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.

UPDATED: On the docket

Well, updated twice actually - first when I remembered an exciting chore, at the end of this post. And now again, at 9:15pm and in bold, I give you the results of my day.
I applied for a job several weeks ago, had two interviews, sent references, got my background checked, and was told to expect a call early last week. Well, it's now mid-THIS WEEK, and I haven't heard. So here's how I'll be distracting myself for the next few days:

1. Vacuum the house. (Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...) No one is going to believe me, but I really did this one. And it was disgusting.
2. Dye yarn with Kool Aid. (Thanks, Aunt Debbie!) Nope, not yet. I'm still waiting on this project, maybe for a rainy day.
3. Make some broccoli slaw. YES! This stuff is so good.
4. And maybe a raspberry cake. Everybody who cooks, go read Smitten Kitchen and wake from your slumber.
Well, I couldn't find raspberries. But strawberry buttermilk cake, made with whole wheat pastry flour, was outrageously good. According to Josh: "Best cake ever."

This one wasn't on the list, but I made it a Smitten Kitchen day and cooked two herbed zucchini tortes for dinner. Have I mentioned I love her blog?

5. Start composing a post about living in my Japanese home, with pictures. A post with pictures, not my home with pictures...blast you, sentence structure! And I didn't start this yet either. Nor did I buy any furniture. But I live to fight another day!

That ought to do it.

UPDATE: That does not do it! I forgot I want to go to Homes and buy a new piece of furniture for the dining room - something tall and slim with glass doors, to hold dishes and table linens. Kelsey, you're an inspiration.

Joy!

As you may have guessed, this post is all about me.

...


Okay, just kidding. It may be a tiny bit about that baby, the baby who, as you can see, is toddling now. Can you believe it's been seven months since this was taken?

Joy, of course, refers to a happy almost-one-year-old wearing a new dress, lovingly knitted by her Aren'ty Em. (I'm like an Aunt, but I Aren't.) And did you notice the band around the bottom of the dress?! The band that is knitted with TWO COLORS?

Yes, I have learned stranded knitting, and I am rather pleased. Who wants a lesson?

Simple pleasures

Winter has been exceptionally mild here, objectively and by local standards. They had a doozy last year, I'm told, but so far this year it hasn't hardly broken the freezing mark. Most days, it's in the 40s or even 50s and sunny, with wind. Can anybody tell me why the wind ALWAYS picks up and rushes at night, after a still day? I'd like to know. The wind combines with the chillier nights to whip through our drafty, uninsulated house.

Regardless of the weather, winter is a time for simplicity in my house. The short days send me out into the sunlight for much of the day, and when evening starts around 4:00, I want a pot of soup to simmer and bread to bake in the oven while the boy and I kick back. Good books, (video) games, and lots of knitting are the best this time of year.

So far we've been pretty successful in that department. I reread some of the Harry Potter books recently, and there has been a lot of black bean stew, chili, and even a chocolate chili in this house. I've been baking bread several times per week and knitting a sweater, new wool socks, and the ongoing blanket project.

Then one day last week I started reading a book I'd gotten for Christmas from my big bro Ben: An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken. I rarely read nonfiction, but this was a memoir of the baby she delivered stillborn at 41 weeks, and of the baby born healthy a year later. You can hear the book review that pointed me toward the book here.

Hoo boy, did I cry over that book. It was beautifully, tragically written, full of honesty and pain and hope and guilt and grief - oh, me. I read the book in the space of a couple hours, weeping and occasionally laughing on the couch. I was so touched that I sent an email to the author, thanking her and letting her how important her book was to me.

AND SHE WROTE BACK!

Less than twelve hours after I emailed her, she sent a beautiful reply. I don't have permission to publish what she wrote, so it will have to stay between Ms. McCracken and me. I will say that I was incredibly touched once again, and overjoyed that since the book was published, she and her husband have had a third baby, a girl. The book alone was enough simple pleasure for one day, but the email put me over the moon.

And speaking of over the moon, and to completely change the subject, sorry to disappoint if you were really enjoying the dead babies conversation, I actually TEARED UP over a VEGETABLE in the commissary yesterday. And no, it didn't say anything about my mama.

See, I have a soft spot in my heart for Brussels sprouts. While I was raised in a veggie house - and that's really something in frozen Maine! - we didn't eat Brussels sprouts when I was growing up. I'd seen them boiled before, but ew. Then I discovered this recipe, which I've written about before, and fell in love.

Well. Since we moved out of our Rhode Island apartment in June, I haven't seen a fresh Brussels sprout. I've been buying and cooking frozen ones instead, since the flavor and vitamins are sort of, but not really, the same. But really? Freezing a leafy vegetable is not that good. Blech. I kept looking for them at the commissary and in the Japanese grocery stores, but no: UNTIL YESTERDAY! There they were, smiling up at me in the corner of the produce section.

The people around me must have thought I was crazy - grinning like an idiot with tears in my eyes, filling a giant plastic bag with Brussels sprouts. It's a joke vegetable! A punishment for naughty children; you have to eat all your Brussels sprouts.

I bought three pounds. And, along with homemade spinach pizza (Josh's birthday request) we ate every last bite.

Yarn love

Nadine and I went to Kamata yesterday to a giant complex of craft shops - one for yarn and needle crafts, another full of beads (mostly plastic and glass), a flower shop and a fabric store...it was great! After having a yummy lunch on the way, we got to shopping. Ms. Poppins is planning to knit some really cute pants for the baby, and she picked up gorgeous dark blue merino wool for the project. I can't wait to see the results!

As for me, I found the motherlode.

Yes, it was a whole wall of Noro.Isn't it beautiful? They have it all; Silk Garden and Kureyon Sock being my favorites at the moment. It took a lot of willpower to talk myself out of buying a whole bunch, but I am occupied with two projects of my own at the moment and awaiting sock yarn from Mama, so I resisted.

But now that I know it's there? The Noro is calling to me.

Farewells

I had to say goodbye to Irish and Steve tonight. This SUCKS! It's a necessary part of Navy life though; someone is always coming or going. We've known them for a couple months now and we are lucky that they're moving to a place where we'll be sure to visit soon.

Here's Irish with her latest project - a cabled wool scarf made of beautiful variegated handspun yarn. She's a natural.

We'd been planning to have them over for dinner last weekend, but Josh got the flu and was laid up the whole time. Luckily, Josh got better after a few days laid up on the couch. Steve and Irish found time to come tonight, despite their busy packout and moving schedule, so I made it worth their while with shrimp and grits, roasted green beans, and six minute chocolate cake. The latter is a recipe from Moosewood Restaurant, and in lieu of frosting it has a dark chocolate candy glaze. The meal was delicious, and the company can't be beat.

Seriously, we love these guys. They are great company, funny, smart, and we talked about everything from politics and the recent election to fiber arts, all with good humor all around.

Meeting and then saying goodbye to new friends here in Japan is wonderful, and of course it reminds me just how much I miss everyone back in the states. COME VISIT - I promise the food will be delicious.

Felicidades

So you know that friend*? The one who you remember how you met, and when you fought, and who, if there was any justice in the world, you'd be freaking related to already?

In my case, her name's Melanie.

Mel and I met in junior year of high school, my second semester in Florida. We worked on a project in history class together, schemed about boys, and had more G-rated fun than should be really allowed in high school. For real - the stories. Driving in her mom's mail truck with the hole in the floor and no passenger seatbelt, or, erm, seat. Staying up late doing Calculus homework and hallucinating sigmas. Trying to drop hints to the boy I liked, or parsing her latest conversation with her boyfriend. (What up, Tony?) As for the fights, we had a couple during college, but thankfully they weren't terminal.

Well, Melanie is having a baby next spring, and I am over the moon. By a cruel twist of fate, we've both married Navy men yet we can't seem to get stationed together, so she and her tiny belly are thousands of miles away, growing together COMPLETELY REGARDLESS of the fact that I can't be there. Since I couldn't manage to send myself there for a hug, I had to make a hug to send in my place. Ladies and gentlemen, the secret project - my first handmade sweater.

Wait, that's kind of a bland picture of an inert object. Let's see how it looks in action.

Isn't she lovely, folks? And Melanie too? :)

Remember back in September, when I got all that yarn? Here it is, at long last. I bought the blue for Mel, the orange for me. More on the latter, later.

Seven hours later, it looked like this. Note the beautiful Navy Lodge bed covering.

and I wanted it to look, someday, like this, the Oblique sweater from Knitty. There were times when I thought it would never get there, but after about two months of work, it looked like this!



This was a labor of love, a five-piece raglan sweater with short-rows, W&T, reverse cuffs, three different lace patterns, and about a MILLION ends to weave in. The pattern is flawless, and I LOVE the way it turned out. It was even fun to make - notice in those pictures the beautiful stitch markers?! Those come courtesy of my amazing mom, and they are made of real gemstones. I love it! (Email redearthdesign AT mac DOT com for more info or ordering.)

When I told Mom about this project, she offered to help - we wanted the sweater to grow with Mel's belly, so I didn't add any buttons. Instead, Mom found some really cool kilt pins and decorated them herself. Check this out.




Mel can move the pins outward as that teensy belly grows! It was so cool to do this, to make something that would keep Mel warm in the cold Monterey wind, and to do this with help from Mom from afar.

So my girl is having a baby, in about five months. She and Tony (what up, Tony?) are going to be incredible parents, and I hope I'll get to be there occasionally, along the way. Congratulations Mel - I love you.

*(Some of us are lucky beyond belief and have more than one of these friends. I love you guys.)

The heart of the house

Mom, Dad, and Rudy in Maine this summer

A number of years ago today, my mom was born. I'm told she didn't know until much later that she would even be my mom, but I'm not sure I believe it.

What can I say about Mom? This artist, photographer, creator (not a reactor) with mad Trivial Pursuit skills and an uncanny bullshit detector? It's difficult to know where to begin - so I'll begin in the kitchen.

Someday I'll be able to cook like she does. A running joke in our house when I was growing up was that there could be a lemon, a tomato, and a jar of peanut butter in the pantry and Mom would come up with a gourmet meal - one we all ate around the table, by candlelight, for as far back as I can remember. She taught me about seasoning, creativity, and - when you use a recipe - reading it ALL THE WAY THROUGH before you begin, young lady. She bakes like a pro too; don't get me started on the key lime cheesecake.

In my lifetime I've seen her sew clothes, knit, make jewelry, paint, sculpt, weld, and design her homes in innovative and stunning ways. She went back to school as an adult, with three young kids, and got a degree in art, proving to us in the meantime that we could do anything and it was never too late. She has always been an anchor, a rock, for her family of seven siblings, her kids, and her friends. And she somehow manages to do all this without taking psychic self too seriously.

She also doesn't so much like having her picture taken.

I wish I could say more, could find the words to express how she has given me life, again and again, has been my greatest teacher and biggest fan. I wish I could fly to South Carolina right now and give her a great big hug - that one I wish nearly every day. But it will have to do to say:

Happy Birthday, Mama. And many more.



Note: The title is from an Alanis Morissette song about her mother. It's beautiful - go listen to it.

Pumpkin coma

UPDATE: now with pics!

Is there a better kind of coma? Cause I wouldn't trade this one.

I met Irish* in the hospital on base - I was waiting for a prescription and she was waiting for a phone call, and she struck up a conversation about my knitting. Turned out she wanted to learn and I wanted to teach, et voila! A friendship was forged. Irish is strikingly good at knitting, having learned knit, purl, cast on, and CABLES in her first month or so. She is a PRO already.

Anyhow, Irish and her husband Steve had Josh and me over to dinner tonight. They went all out, those crazy kids - Irish made pumpkin soup IN A PUMPKIN, as pictured above. It was so beautiful and rich and tasty...mmm... Then for the main attraction we had cornish game hens and garlicky spinach canapes. We are spoiled.

I brought us a pumpkin cheesecake for dessert which was, to quote the character Mary Poppins (not my friend Nadine), quite satisfactory. America's Test Kitchen dessert recipes tend to be complex, but they are worth it. This one was a winner.


Irish and I managed to make it all the way through dinner before we started to discuss knitting**, even though we both knew that she had bought her first sock needles and Noro Kureyon sock yarn this very day! As we munched on dessert we got her all cast on, stitches divided on the needles, and she'd finished the first cuff round before I left.

What a lovely evening. We're headed to bed early now since we have a big day tomorrow - stay tuned!

*Thought you had me all figured out, didn't you? But Irish is her given name. Maybe I'll nickname her Scottish, just to shake things up.
**The men, I will add, did not even make it to the soup course before they started talking about Navy coin collecting. Nerdorama.

Knitting in Yokosuka

So, remember a while back when I said I was starting a secret new project? It is KILLING me that I can't post more about it - photos, stories, the challenges and pleasures of working on this, um, thing. I can't wait to tell you more about it, Internet.

But in the meantime, I'll share a couple pieces from the past. The first is one of my first projects, completed almost exactly two years ago. It's the Big Bad Baby Blanket from Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook. I knitted it in orange and blue superwash merino wool for my dear friend Levi, who was expecting a baby at the time.



Baby Amelia is a happy toddler now, and it was a joy to make my first big project for her. I may well revisit that pattern in the future - it made a great, heirloom-quality blanket, and it was fun to knit the seed stitch border and stockinette panels.

The only things I've made since arriving in Japan (other than a whole lot of SECRET) are two mesh grocery bags, which I use all the time. The pattern is Everlasting Bagstopper from www.knitty.com, and it is GREAT.

There's a funny story about this one. I had a knitting pattern-a-day calendar last year (thanks Scott, Amanda, and Ben!) and there was a mesh bag pattern that caught my eye. I started it back in Newport in June, intending to finish the bag in transit to Japan.

Well, that was not meant to be.

First, I left the needles on the bed when Josh and I lived in a B&B in Newport for two weeks. We got to wrasslin' (it's ok, we're married) and I put my knee into my beautiful wooden needles, and snapped them both. Crap. I had new needles expressed to Mom and Dad's house, and kept working on the bag from there. But I have to tell you, that pattern had to be one of the worst ever written. It was convoluted and confusing, and required a DOZEN stitch holders at one point.

I worked on that damn thing for two months, and got all the way to the last inch of the last strap before I ripped it the hell out. Then I found Bagstopper, and promptly slapped myself in the face. Figuratively. That pattern is simple, effective, and gorgeous - here it is!

It's brilliantly written, and includes a drawstring around the middle - you can fold the top half of the bag into itself, pull the drawstring, and toss the bag into your purse, just in case you need it.


I use them mostly for library books and produce. Love them.

I've taught a few knitting lessons here in Yokosuka, and I'm hoping to do more. So many people are afraid to knit - I love sharing my enthusiasm and watching them get the bug.

As for the secret project, well, time marches on.

It's the stuff that counts

I mean, if you're thinking about sending me a care package, how would I know? It's the stuff that really gets the job done. :)

I have gotten some great mail since we arrived here! There was the darkness and light package from my mom, some much-appreciated letters and cards from Jess, Grammy and Pappy, and my Tnellecxe Tnua Arabrab (she knows who she is). Then last week I got another surprise - a big box from my friend Kendall, artist extrordinaire. I was going to wait to post about it until I had pictures, but I cannot hold back any longer.

Kendall sent me two books, one of which I've forgotten the name of(Grammar! It's not for everyone to learn it good!) and the other of which is I was Told There'd be Cake. Also in the box was a couple skeins of yarn, always a big winner with me, a card, and a big bag of black and white kettle corn from Lesser Evil Snacks. This company is great - check out their site. Even Josh succumbed to temptation, by which I mean he stole it and ate half when I wasn't looking. Health nut, my foot.

But best of all in the Kendall Box was tucked away in the bottom - three original pieces of art, about postcard sized, to hang on my wall. You see, I was smart enough in college to hang out with the art and music crowd, despite posessing no artistic talent and thus selling out into a Public Affairs major. (And yet I'm the one with no job now. Karma.) Many of my friends are incredible artists, and I am a grateful mooch. So thank you, Dirty Monster, for the delicious/beautiful/fuzzy/enlightening/entertaining care package. You rule!

Around the same time that the box arrived, Christie asked what we'd like in future care packages. I asked Josh, and he replied "Anything from Trader Joe's*!" If you don't live in the D.C. area, Boston, or on the West Coast, it's likely you haven't experienced Trader Joe's, you poor dear. Our choice of venue for retirement will be heavily influenced by proximity to the TJ.

Also too, we have had trouble finding all-natural, hypoallergenic soap here (since we can't yet read Japanese), and good espresso beans are always a hit with Josh and me. But mostly, we want to hear from our friends and family and get the scoop on what's up back home. We miss you all. So send us a note, and start thinking about what kinds of odd Japanese treats you want for Christmas. Tnua Arabrab, yours will most certainly have suckers on it.

I don't want to jinx it, but I'm told we will have Internet access at home THIS WEEK. Look for streamers and confetti soon.

*Yes, he speaks in hyperlinks. What of it?

Spaces and loops

Oh, the knitting! Since I've arrived in Japan I have knitted two mesh market bags and a set of knitted sushi for a toddler's birthday. What fun!

But even better, today I received my first package: a box of twenty-eight skeins of merino wool yarn in two colors. It is GORGEOUS, incredibly soft, and I have already started working on a special gift for a special lady...one who is currently cooking a baby in her belly! No more hints on the project or the recipient, but I am really excited.

Off to knit!

Update

Eating: Coconut curry soup. Thanks, for the recipe, Mel!

Drinking: Homemade hot chocolate made from Nestle mini-morsels and skim milk in the microwave

Reading: Nothing at the moment

Watching: Season three of The West Wing, on loan from the library

Knitting: Everlasting Bagstopper from www.knitty.com