hurrayic

{this moment}**

A tree? a tree!

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~ Soule Mama

{this moment}** a single photo with a few accompanying words ~ hurrayic

 

Have a good weekend!

30-Day Vegan: Week 1

dinner awaits

I thought perhaps I would write a weekly post (or two) about the 30-Day Vegan workshop I'm participating in.  So today is as good a day as ever to begin, right?  I've been enjoying the background info, the pantry tips, the idea of taking care of yourself (many ways; not just eating), the shopping list, the video(s)and of course, all the recipes.  Yum.  What I am appreciating about the course so far is the thoughtful and gentle approach to introducing veganism to a non-vegan.  Yes, we aleady eat a lot of meatless and vegetarian meals, and I like to cook, but I do like my cheese I am learning how to approach eliminating and/or substituting certain items in a new way.  It has been fun.  Unfortunately,  I wasn't as prepared ahead of time as I had hoped, but so far, so good.

new-to-me

Although my pantry is pretty well-stocked, I did visit Whole Foods for a few items that I did not have on hand.  Items that I knew little or nothing about.  Like gomasio?  What?  Or nutritional yeast?  Isn't that the yeast you bake with?  And sea vegetables!  Ohhh?  Sounds scary! (smile)  There were a few items that I opted not to purchase due to the too-high sodium content, but that's okay.  Heather said we could be flexible and adjust things that work for us. 

quinoa chili and  chickpea & spinach curry

I have to say that in just a few short days, I have already fallen off the wagon!  Twice!  Ack!  The first time on the very day this workshop began...my mom (who is also participating) and I were chatting away while snacking on a handful of rice chips.  Yum.  Until I realized that we were eating the parmesan variety!!!  Oh well.  It wasn't intentional. 

pad thai (made with the wrong noodles but still tasted good)

The 2nd occurrence was more intentional but with good reason.  While visiting a museum in the area, we decided to have lunch.  I had not packed anything ahead of time other than a water bottle and a banana.  Upon arriving in the cafeteria (ravenously hungry I might add) and discovering the limited choices the museum had to offer (vegan or non-vegan), I realized there was not one thing on the menu that would fit the vegan category (unless you counted a salad with cheese, turkey and egg.) Well, needless to say...you can guess the outcome... a slice of cheese pizza...

too huge a helping of garlic and beans over angel hair (with gomasio and nutritional yeast)

So, in just a little bit of time, I'm beginning to appreciate how good it is to think ahead and plan.  Thankfully, Heather is addressing the importance of meal planning in her workshop too.  Thanks, Heather!

Yarn Along: new yarns

No school lessons.  A wee bit more free time.  An extra pair of hands to help with dinner prep and clean up (thanks, Mom).  All of these things add up to more knitting and reading this week.  I finished the body of my black Annabel and am working through one sleeve.  I think I should have it completed for next week.  Exciting! 

Even more exciting is discovering stumbling upon a new yarn store in the area.  On Friday, we (grandmother, mother and daughter) had a girls'-day-out and visited 3 yarns stores nearby.  We intended to visit only the first being that we did not know the other two existed.  (the owner of the first store told us of the other two stores)  Good thing she did (or not so good depending on how you look at it...he he)... at any rate, I came home with a linen yarn (Louet Euroflax in Pewter) and a few skeins of Berroco Seduce in Graphite.  I'm thinking of a simple lacy scarf for the Euroflax, but the jury's still out for the Berroco yarn.  Might go back and buy more to make this top or this one.  I saw a sample knit of the 2nd top at the store and bought a pattern since I like the ruching on the front.  But with my ahem figure, it may not be the best match.  We'll see. 

At night I've been reading a combination of things: various cookbooks, recipes, printouts from Heather's 30-Day Vegan workshop, and  An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler.  After reading Amanda's post on the book (read her post - she very eloquently talks about the book!), I ordered it from the library.  Haven't gotten too far but am enjoying what I've read up to this point.  The author makes you approach eating in a new way; it's more of mini 'essays'. (No, no...not the boring and lengthy paragraphs that we were forced to write and read about in school!) These 'essays' are filled with lively adjectives and tidbits on how to use foods in a creative and common sense way rather than recipes per se.   How to Boil Water is the very first chapter heading...interesting, indeed! 

So what are you reading and knitting for Ginny's Yarn Along this week?

{this moment}**

early morning chess game with Grandpa

 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~ Soule Mama

{this moment}** a single photo with a few accompanying words ~ hurrayic

 

Enjoy your weekend!

 

Yarn Along: Annabel progress

Ginny's Yarn Along has snuck up on me again.  I have been knitting (albeit a few rows or rounds here and there) but somehow not enough to show a big difference.  I've made progress on my Black Annabel although from the picture above you probably just see a big old mess of knitting.  Right now, I'm thinking that finishing the present skein of yarn and perhaps using another will cover the body, and then I'll just have to move onto the sleeves.  My goal is to try and finish the sweater by the end of May (and perhaps the purple scarf as well), but since my parents are visiting this week, and ...ahem... I foresee a few visits to local yarn stores...meeting that goal may prove challenging. 

Reading has consisted of prepping for homeschool again and drooling over the pictures in the La Tartine Gourmande.  I like the freshness and combinations of food used throughout the book.  The photos remind me of some of the gourmet cooking books that I would pore over when we were first married (when we had more leisure time...remember leisure time?)

Right now, my time is limited and honestly, my interest has shifted away from recipes that require a hundred unique ingredients and thousands of hours spent in the kitchen to execute that one gourmet meal.  Instead, I'm into simpler, wholesome recipes that are also easier to make and much quicker to grace our table. Admittedly, this cookbook does lean to the gourmet side (maybe for special occasions?), but there are few recipes that fit the easy/quick need.  Of course there is one recipe that caught my eye right away when I browsed through this at the library.  It'll probably take a bit of time to execute but who knows?  I'm willing to give it a go.  Chocolate crepes.  What do you think?  Have any of you tried recipes from this book?

What are you reading and crafting?

Sewing: 241 Tote ~ Take 2 (& a button)

Spent a little time sewing this past weekend.  I had done most of this 241 Tote several weeks months prior, and then it sat in my to-do basket messy pile.  I opted for another loop closure rather than the suggested magnetic snap and lengthened the strap like the last time around.  I like this one better than the first. 

And just so that you don't think I'm a total procrastinator (which I am), I managed to find a button for the first tote and actually sew it on.  It's not ideal, but it'll do. 

The black purse is made from:

Kona cotton in black
Washi - Star Flower in charcoal
Japanese ume blossom print that I bought several years ago from Japan.

Are you sewing anything now?

Enjoying: 24 today

Good morning, Monday!

After another busy week with errands and school and cleaning and dinner with friends who will be moving soon and missing the neighborhood tag sale (got the dates mixed up!) and no piano recital after all since a stomach bug claimed a victim this past weekend (during the dinner with friends no less!) and enjoying a simple mother's day where I did not have to cook or clean (!!!!) and informing my parents that they may have to reschedule their plane tickets (bad stomach bug! go away!)and...

Right now, I'm enjoying a conversation that went something like this:

 

    One of my sons was looking at 'old' photos and commenting along the way...

    "Boy, you guys look a LOT different."

    "What do you mean?"

    "You know."

    I feigned ignorance at this point.  I knew to what he was alluding.

    "What do you mean?" I repeated.

    "You and Dad looked so much YOUNGER."

    I nodded. "Why thank you very much, son."

After 24 years of marriage and 4 children, I like to think of our gray hairs as gaining wisdom, wrinkles as expressing ourselves in unique ways and our added weight as extra 'insulation' to keep us warm and cozy...

 

Happy Anniversary, Honey! 

 

 

{this moment}**

my girl

 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~ Soule Mama

{this moment}** a single photo with a few accompanying words ~ hurrayic

 

Enjoy the time you have!

Yarn Along: treading water

Like my title for this installment of Ginny's Yarn Along ? I think treading water would make a nice name for a knitting project, don't you agree?  I imagine a long flowing scarf or shawl that cascades down to my knees or puddles at my feet using a silky turquoise yarn that I would knit in an undulating design.  Something to wear to the beach?  No.  Too hot. Too much time to knit...never mind. Besides, if I wore a scarf that lengthy, I might end up like Isadora...

Actually, my knitting and reading this week have once again seen very little of me. Hence the title of this post. Treading water.  It's not anything big.  It's just a lot of 'little' things that are taking up my time again: helping the seniors find part-time employment, finalizing college stuff, trying to figure out a date to have a graduation party (sort of like trying to write the guest list for a wedding, I tell you), continuing on with school lessons, hoping the piano recital goes well, readying the house for family, realizing only yesterday that we need to call an exterminator, looking forward to dinner with a friend and her family... you get the picture.

After finishing my husband's scarf, I knit roughly two more inches of the Lace Ribbon Scarf.  I like knitting this pattern design much more.  It seems to go faster.  Good thing I have 3 skeins since I'm on my 2nd skein now, and it looks like I'll definitely need the 3rd in order to have the scarf long enough.  But as you can tell, I'm in no hurry...it'll get done...eventually. 

Reading has consisted of beginning to read aloud the final two physical science books for my younger boys: Light and Sound.  Good thing.  We just finished the Magnets & Electromagnetism book in the series and all of us were getting sort of 'bored' with it.  I think it's just that time of year.

Knitting: Circle & Stripe Scarf

Finally!  I finally managed to finish my husband's very belated Christmas present a few days ago:  the Circle and Stripe Scarf!  What a patient man he is.  And good-natured!  He humored me by modeling it in almost 80 degree heat.  In that last photo there with his Peter Pan stance, I asked him, "what are you doing?" to which he replied, "sucking in my gut of course..."  There...ahem... seems to a bit of sucking in the gut at our house lately (both of us!).  At least the scarf will fit.  smile. 

I haven't blocked the scarf and probably won't since I actually like the way it curls on the edges into a tube.  The Malabrigo yarn was soft and easy to work with.  The colorway reminds me of salt & pepper...sort of like the direction his beard is headed...