My two loves

Food and knitting, my two great non-human loves, have finally joined forces to overwhelm the world with cuteness. Sorry about the photo quality - I snapped these with the webcam - but I don't think you'll be able to resist.
I give you Aubergine and Carrot, from Hansi Singh's Amigurumi Knits. The book was a gift from Wendy, and I can't get enough of these fluffy little summer projects.

Recipe of the day: Key Lime Vinaigrette

I love to cook. I can be imaginative, but I usually find myself riffing off someone else's recipe. Tonight was a rare exception: I had a bottle of key lime juice in the pantry thanks to Melanie, a request from Josh for a cold salad dinner, and a lot of time to think about it.

What came out was a barbecue chicken salad made with breast meat, homemade bbq sauce from the fridge, and some pantry staples, and then the main course: a whole wheat couscous salad with green beans, tomato, cucumber (thanks, Nadine!), red pepper, onion, cilantro, canned beans, and a delectable key lime vinaigrette. Throw some ingredients into the bowl, Internet, and mix this generously throughout - you won't be disappointed.

Key Lime Vinaigrette - Emily's Own!

1/2c olive oil
1/2c key lime juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-3 tsp. agave nectar, to taste
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper, or more to taste

Combine all ingredients in a tall, narrow container and blend with stick blender. Taste and adjust acid/sugar balance; season as desired. Drizzle over absolutely everything, and send royalties to emilymsullins at gmail dot com.

P.S. I know that a 1:1 oil to acid ratio is unusual, and in fact I started with 2:1. But the acid in key lime juice is pretty subtle and I just kept adding more until the ratio was about even, and it was delicious. I WALK ON THE WILD SIDE.

Miracles redux

So I was just sitting in my humid, un-air-conditioned living room (it's broken and I'm waiting for a call back) sweating and cursing this incredibly loud cicada who had perched on the wall outside. This was one horny buggie, chirping so loudly that I actually considered shutting the window and the airflow, just to get some peace. And then, mid-chirp - and can I just say that they should have another word like SCREAM because that is not some measly chirp - a bird flew in front of the window and gobbled it up!

Crows: 1. Cicadas: 0. My ears? Magnificent.

Miracles

We arrived in Yokosuka last night around 7:00, home by 7:45 and in bed not long after that. We'd been traveling for twenty hours including a nine and a half hour flight, two buses, a taxi, a friend's car, and last of all the QE2. We both slept well until about 4:00 this morning, and I've been catching up on the Internet and tidying up ever since.

About those miracles, though: it's like a miracle to come home after a long trip. I didn't see much of the house last night, but just sleeping in the A/C next to my husband, in our bed, was heaven. This morning I've just been opening cabinets and drawers and running my fingers over our things, in awe. Nearly every single thing in this house is something Josh, I, or we wanted and got, or were given in love from someone dear to us. Other people's dear things have been a great comfort to both of us during our travels, but nothing compares to home. Even when it's so far away from home.

Still, we need bread and milk and vegetables, an A/C unit is malfunctioning and it seems the rainy season has not been good for some of my plants - despite Kelsey's valiant efforts! I'm off to tackle some of those pesky chores today, and likely fall back into bed not long after 8:00 again.

Homeward Bound

Hey y'all,

We're on our way home. This has been a crazy trip - busy, good and bad. We're so indebted to everyone for looking after us on the way, and we're sad to leave. But Josh can see, and we've got some whole wheat pasta in the suitcase, so the trip was a success. We get in on Thursday, Japan time, and I'll try to be more attentive shortly thereafter.

P.S. I can't believe I'm going back to an Ivy-free Japan. C'est la Navy. :(

Vision

He can see!

I was waiting to post until I could upload a few pics of Josh with his shades on, or seeing things sans glasses for the first time, but I've been torturing everyone by not posting.

Josh's PRK surgery was a success (so far), with a super easy and painless procedure followed by about twenty hours of sleep. He's a little sore now, using drops every 30 minutes when he's awake, and taking a fair amount of ibuprofen and Percocet.

The procedure is really remarkable - the lights from the laser were all blurry, then it did its thing, and immediately he could see it perfectly. The docs are hopeful for 20/20 vision or better, and he should be pretty well recovered in a couple days.

You can go ahead and keep those fingers crossed for a safe - albeit dry and uncomfortable - plane ride to Tokyo on Wednesday. And wish me luck now that I can't hide his glasses and do whatever I want while he can't see.

Fingers crossed!

and four-leaf clovers and brilliant, careful doctors. Josh is having PRK surgery in the morning, which should correct his vision after decades of glasses. The risks are pretty minimal - they do dozens of these per week - but it's still surgery, and I'll be happy when it's over. Fingers crossed!