Knitting into springtime…

This year has been a productive knitting year so far. I have only one class, but it’s a 4 hour/week seminar in which I can knit throughout! (In all fairness, I do take periodic notes, sometimes more furiously than others, but the knitting is fabulous.) I was able to finally finish the thrummed mittens (pictured above) that had been languishing for nearly a year in my knitting bag, and even craft a hooded scarf to go with them.

They have been keeping me warm since I finished them, but now I’m looking for something less bulky, perhaps with a little less wool content. Enter socks! I am in love with this yarn, brilliantly named "Tofooties," which is made of soy silk, wool, cotton, and chitin, a unique fiber made from the shells of shrimps and other crustaceans. Apparently it’s antibacterial, and I’ve noticed it has a really unique smell (not bad, just unique). Socks also allow me to indulge myself in terms of my love of technical knitting. Having realized long ago that I’m not a designer of beautiful knitwear, but rather a modifier of really excellent patterns, I’ve also discovered that I love learning new techniques, puzzling out better ways to do things, and watching something a little crazy develop into something cool. Lace knitting comes to mind (pictured below) – it looks like something out of Spiderman meets Sheepman, and then when you block it it’s beautiful.

Socks allow for an incredible amount of flexibility, so these have provided me with a new way to fake a 1x1 crossed cable (in the cuffs) and to recombine several patters to try a new heel that matches the toe. Welcome springtime!

Batch #2

The quest for the perfect granola bar(s) continues. This batch used honey rather than corn syrup (except for the 2 tablespoons called for separately), 1/4 cup brown sugar instead of 1/2 cup white sugar, more cinnamon, and a new mixture of fruits and nuts:

1/4 cup pepitas
1/3 cup cashews 1/3 cup almonds
2/3 cup dried apples
1/2 cup golden raisins

Even as I spread them in the pan I was already thinking about dried mangos, cardamom, cinnamon, and chunky chaat masala…

The results: The honey isn’t as chewy and sticky as the corn syrup, but they are still delicious and really sweet. The cinnamon is wonderful, though I think experimenting with other nut butters would be exciting. I’ve put some away in the freezer, anticipating a side-by-side comparison in the future.

Amazing granola bars

You may have noticed the blog taking a bit of a turn toward food. I’ve been getting more and more into exciting and local foods over the past few years, and have clearly been influenced by some of the other blogs I read, many of which beautifully document the beautiful food they prepare. While I would never call myself a foodie, and don’t pretend to really know what I’m doing in the kitchen, I hope you enjoy this occasional foray into deliciousness… Now back to your regularly scheduled programming:

I can’t figure out how I got to this blog, but it’s amazing. One of the first few posts I read was one about making delicious granola bars. I was wooed not only by the photography, but by the promise of chewy crunchy deliciousness. I’ve been a bit put off recently by most of the store bought bars, and really should be paying $3-5 for the nice one. (I’ve bought a complete lunch for less!) The simplicity and flexibility of the recipe inspired me to give it a shot, and I think these gems will be regulars in the oven and the freezer around here. I used a store bought trail mix for my “dry fruit and nuts” mixture, but am looking forward to a trip to the bulk food store to mix up my own.

Dreaming of springtime

It’s gotten really cold here again. I knew it would happen, as it happens every year, but I do think with global warming (brilliantly re-termed “global weirding” in the NYTimes) is making it worse. Here’s what generally happens:

1. It becomes horribly, bitterly cold at the end of January/beginning of February. I become horribly bitter because it is my birthday.

2. Toward the end of February we have a week of weather in the high 30’s, even hitting 40F once or twice. I begin to think that Michigan winters really aren’t that bad and that soon enough, there will be flowers blooming and all will be well.

3. As fast as the warm weather came, it leaves, and we don’t see another above-freezing temperature for weeks. I return to my bitterness, but also feel somewhat pleased that I can wear my new super warm mittens for another few weeks.

This year though, I’ve taken spring into my own hands. After having a lovely time sprouting and planting little herb seedlings during my prelim last year, and after killing a good number of plants during the weeks leading up to my prospectus defense, I decided that I should try my hand at more container gardening. It’s a relatively cheap investment (approximately $3.50 for seeds) and holds the potential for delicious spinach and cilantro (that’s what’s growing now at least). Based on my current progress, it is sufficient to say that I may not be harvesting huge volumes of crops, but that I am likely to have at least a few little plants. I present to you my attempt at tricking my brain into thinking it’s really spring:

Delicious Olives

Alicia brought me a great page-a-day calendar with recipes on each day. I’m pretty sure it’s from Bon Appetit magazine, based on the copyright to Condé Nast and the green and white color scheme, but this calendar does not have the name of the magazine printed on it anywhere. (Presumably it was on the box and the first page, but I’ve long since recycled those.) In any case, I made marinated olives last week to take to the HBHEDoc Wine and Cheese Potluck on Saturday. They were a great success!

Marinated olives with tangerine and rosemary
Adapted from Bon Appetit Page-A-Day Calendar

1 pound assorted olives
1 small tangerine, cut into 4 wedges and thinly sliced crosswise (I used a clementine and it worked just fine – Whole Foods shockingly did not have tangerines when I went…)
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary (Dried worked fine…)
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, lightly crushed
1/8 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

After draining the olives, I put everything into a large glass jar and shook it around until it looked mixed. I left it in the fridge for 4-5 days, shaking it each day to mix.

The spices and the orange juice permeated the olives, but weren’t too strong. So tasty!

Snow Day!

It’s really coming down this morning and has been since last night. I’ve opted to stay home and work rather than braving the weather (and the inevitably delayed bus). Walter is not pleased that the plows cannot keep up with the snow and he has to walk on covered sidewalks. He is, however, quite pleased that I’m staying home today.

What do you get…

when you sauté garlic and ginger with teriyaki sauce, lime juice in a little sesame oil and then mix in purple cauliflower?

I present crazy magenta cauliflower. This picture is an accurate representation of the color of our dinner:

Sunshine and Puppy Dogs

This is actually from last week when it snowed a bunch, but you get the idea...

Some days it’s harder to be inside that others. It’s chilly today, but is actually a bit above freezing (computer says 36F) and the sun is shining. I felt awake this morning when the alarm went off at 6:00am and so did the dog. We went out and walked a little bit before breakfast (no sun then, but it was already warmer than I’d anticipated). Before my class at 9:00am we went on another walk, appreciating the already sunny morning and the unforeseen side effect of melting snow: revealing more things that Walt has not peed on. Walt appreciated the second part more than I did, but we had a nice walk. Looking at the slice of sky I can see through two layers of window from my cube, I’d like to be back outside walking with the dog, basking in the rare winter sunshine.

Title almost as long as article itself

NYT World Briefing

This is a link to a NYT “World Briefing,” which apparently truly means brief – it is only a single paragraph informing the reader that France has removed “gender identity disorders” from an article of the social security code related to “long-term psychiatric diseases.”  I’m actually not sure what to make of this.  Does it mean that their healthcare system will no longer treat people who need hormones or surgery in order to feel right in their bodies?  Or does it mean that in addition to treating it they’re trying not to stigmatize? 

Here’s a little more information, through these seem to suggest that this change happened last year in May, which is a bit puzzling.  I’m not sure why this made my NYT Health Alert this morning…

ILGA

France Today

Le Provence

Being unreasonable…

Ever have one of those days where you realize that you’ve been being unreasonable all week about a variety of things?  Like getting upset that people take longer than 30 minutes to return your e-mails?  Or that your apartment complex doesn’t recognize the little secret path you use to get out to the bus stop and as a result there is a five foot (seriously) wall of snow between you and your bus?  Or that the dog can’t use the toilet yet? 

Okay, I admit, I’ve never really been angry with the dog about that and when I do you’ll know I’ve truly hit the bottom (or the top) of the unreasonableness scale.  Suffice it to say I’ve had a strange day today peppered with realizations of my own crabbiness.  I think I need to sleep, so tonight I’ve planned to go over to a friend’s house to watch movies.  (What???  Clearly the unreasonableness realizations have not sunk in fully…)  Hopefully I’ll catch up this weekend and can have a more measured week next week.  Fingers crossed!

Still snowing…

You can see the hazy snowfall under the parking lot lights behind our apartment building.

While we’re clearly not receiving the full force of the storm that hit the mid-Atlantic region earlier in the week, it’s been snowing steadily all day today. The parking lot in our complex looks so much prettier like this!

Birthday Calendar

I like to have lots of celebrations for my birthday, often extending it to a week or a month of festivities. This year is no exception… Last night Alicia and I went to the DSO and had a wonderful time. It was a beautiful concert and I really enjoyed it. Tonight we are going for sushi and will be relaxing at home (my activity of choice these days) and I’ll be celebrating with each mom and dad later in the weekend. Yay!

Here's Alicia's first shot with my camera - me inside the lovely Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall.


And a lovely picture of the program...


The hall itself (I was told I could take photos as long as I didn't use a flash, didn't take a picture of any of the musicians, or take any photos during the performance...).


Here we are, having set the camera on the ledge in front of us for a variation on the held-at-arms-length shot.


And finally, Orchestra Hall from down the street on our way home.

There once was a bit of blue sky…

I haven’t really taken the camera outside much due to the weather, but I captured some of the fleeting blue sky last week through our window.

Lazy Sunday…

What a week…

I think I’m heading out a little early today.  This week has been crazy, and has involved things like a crazy disrupted bus schedule, avoiding huge layoffs for Alicia, and the car battery dying.  It has also included Alicia’s birthday and lots of productive work time, but those were each overlaid by a substantial level of stress…  Hoping for a happy and strong finish.  Fingers crossed!

Prospectus/Dissertation Support Group

Or, the importance of setting goals.

In a true stroke of genius, one of my cohort-mates (are they just called cohorts?) suggested reforming our prelim-prep group (with a few additions and one out on maternity leave) in service of completing prospectuses/dissertations in proper timeframes.  This was brilliant, and I will be forever in debt to her. 

As you all know, I am not afraid of structure in my life.  I’m generally quite happy to create it myself, and will occasionally go completely overboard, resulting in days that are scheduled hourly in order to get everything done.  In spite of this, planning such a huge project as a dissertation can be really overwhelming.  Though I had already made a lovely month-by-month schedule for myself, outlining an optimistic schedule to dissertation success, and a weekly breakdown of what projects/subsections I should work on each day, I was constantly consumed by the sheer volume of stuff I needed to complete.  Enter the prospectus/dissertation support group.  In addition to discussing what’s going on with our projects, getting feedback about various aspects of the process, and generally having a nice lunch time, we set goals to be met by the next meeting (generally in two weeks).  It’s amazing how life can be so structured already and yet the critical level of structure is missing.  I now have three scales of calendar posted on in my cube, and it makes me feel so calm and in control – something I’m trying to hold on to more as everything else speeds up. 

The lesson here is nothing new: When you are overwhelmed by a big project, break it into small enough chunks that you have manageable goals, but not so small that you can’t see the big picture.  I find that that the breakthrough moments in my life are rarely truly new.  Rather, they are subtle (and sometimes less so) reiterations of things I’ve already learned and tried to apply in my life.  I suppose, then, the only real lesson is to keep trying until it works…

PS. My IRB was approved!  Now I just have to get my data contract approved and I’ll be on my way.

The internet is working so…

I present you with gratuitous Walter photos.

Did the dog leave his legs on the couch?

No… he’s under there too!

Basil…

During my prelim last summer, I had a lot more free time than you might have imagined. I had eliminated all commitments other than the prelim, and no one expected me to work on anything else. This, combined with the fact that I could really only write productively for 6-7 hours (at most) each day, meant that I had a lot of free evenings, and even some free afternoons. Just a week or so before prelims, I’d remembered a Christmas gift from my brother – an herb container garden – and wanted to get it started. Despite some initial complications that cost me most of the marjoram and parsley and nearly all of the cilantro, I had a healthy crop of basil seedlings and a few other miscellaneous plants. With all of this free time, I decided to start transplanting the little plants into larger containers so that they would stop fighting over the limited resources in their small pots. Though there was substantial attrition through this transition, many of the little seedlings grew into happy plants and are still flourishing now… As I’ve been limited to taking photos mostly in the house (since it’s been dark outside any time I’ve wanted to play with the camera), the basil has been my primary subject.

Isn’t it pretty?

In addition to photographing the basil, I’ve been cooking with it and have been considering trying my hand at a few other container crops. (After my prospectus defense I realized that I’d forgotten to water things for a while and was left with a few more empty pots.) Here is a picture of the potato soup I made last night, made tastier by some pesto cubes from the freezer and fresh basil from the window.

As an aside, these photos are compressed to deal with my tragic internet situation... It should be fixed on Monday (fingers crossed).

Self-portrait

Inspired by one of the blogs I read, I thought I'd take a few self-portraits that were also portraits of the new camera. Not having a nice white wall facing a mirror, you get the next best thing: the bathroom!

Look, it's a camera!And I am so focused on holding it still, that I cannot even smile...I figured out how to do both at once.And the flash works - though it's not ideal for pictures of yourself in the mirror...

Knitting for babies…

This is one of the lovely cupcakes from the surprise baby shower for Ebony... (Taken with the new camera!!!)

I love knitting for babies. They are small making all of their garments both cute and relatively fast to knit. I like green and blue, which are appropriate colors for any baby, and I have found a variety of machine-washable yarns I really like. That said, my friends, you need to space your babies better. I don’t mean the time between your first and second child. I couldn’t care less how you space them. I mean the time between your baby and the baby of my other friends. This month alone I have 3 friends’ babies being born. This combined with a rather superstitious unwillingness to knit before about the 8th or 9th month of pregnancy, and the fact that Christmas was only a month ago, means that I currently have 3 baby projects I mind. The next one isn’t due until June. Couldn’t someone have gotten pregnant a month later?

First, a picture of the sleep-sack in progress for Ebony's baby (due in a few weeks). It still needs a hood, but it's already so cute...

Second, the first of two (thumbless) mittens for Ken's baby, born already but not quite ready for mittens.

Internet, O internet…

Or, AT&T, you vile temptress…

The lack of recent blog posts, contrary to what you may have been thinking, is not, in fact, due to lack of available time on my part.  I am busy, and the semester is off to a rapid start.  What has keep me from posting is the cruel lack of internet at home right now.  We used to share with our neighbor.  This was not an illegal stealing of a network signal, but rather a cost-sharing move that everyone liked.  When Jing moved rather abruptly, our internet access ended.  We were fine for a few days, and decided to wait until after the holidays to deal with it – after all, it seemed unlikely that anything would be accomplished over Christmas.  I called AT&T (after determining that their internet was a better deal than Comcast) the Monday after Christmas and was told that our internet would be activated and that we would have our equipment by December 31, 2009.  It seemed a little unlikely that the mail would move that quickly, but we waited until January 4 to call and complain.  When I called again they told me that my order had never been completed.  Something is clearly not straightforward about our address (unclear as to why, but there it is), and it didn’t go through the first time.  A nice representative started a new order and promised that this one would be completed (and to their credit the AT&T people have been very friendly, if not incredibly good at transferring me to the correct person on the first try – I talked to at least 4 other people before speaking with this woman) .  We received the equipment on the promised date and I attached everything very carefully.  I was so hopeful, and my spirit was crushed when I saw the blinking red lights.  Anyone who has ever tried to deal with anything electronic can tell you that flashing red lights are bad, particularly when you have clear documentation stating that they should be solid green lights.  I called again, and was told that there was a problem with my order and that a specialist would have to call me back.  All I want is internet – is that so hard?!?!?  A specialist called me back, and said that they were still trying to connect my service (still unclear why it is so complicated) and that someone would contact me when it was ready.  He couldn’t give me an exact date (red flag!!!), but said he hoped it would be by the end of the week.  That was last week.  I think I’m going to need to call again today, but I hardly have the strength…  Send happy internet-activating wishes my way (as your IRB wishes are working well so far – relatively few corrections and I think it’s on it’s way now), and hopefully the post frequency will be back up shortly…

It arrived…

and I was too tired/busy to play with it…  The camera travelled in record time (ordered Sunday night, shipped Monday, arrived Wednesday afternoon) but I haven’t gotten any farther along than opening the box, giving a quick visual appraisal, and looking through the first few pages of the owner’s manual.  It gives lots of helpful advice like “Batteries other than those listed for use with this device may cause an explosion” and “If the view screen breaks, be careful of broken glass.”  I hope not to need most of this advice, but I suppose it’s helpful.  I’m almost to the page that tells me how to turn on the camera and take a picture, so maybe I’ll get there tonight… 

In other news, I have submitted the IRB approval for access to my dissertation data set.  Please send happy thoughts to the committee so that they love it, and approve it rapidly.  Also please send happy thoughts to me in Java, as I will be programming like crazy while I’m waiting on the data.  Oh Java, how do I love thee…  let me count the ways:

public int countTheWays() {

theWays = 0;

for (Program program: andreasProject){

     if (screwUp = true) { theWays --; }

     else

               theWays ++;

}

return theWays;

}

Please just don’t tell me if you find a coding error in this, the most nerdy joke I have ever made…

The details

For the curious among you, I decided to get a Pentax K-x.  It’s a nice, light/small, entry-level camera, and as a special bonus also takes high definition video.  I just got an automated phone call (so fancy) that my camera will be delivered tomorrow, which is even earlier than I anticipated.  Such excitement!

Camera: en route

I did it.  I ordered my first digital SLR and I’m super excited.  Now I can use a high(er)-end piece of equipment to photograph the dog sleeping and my knitting.  :)

It should be here Thursday, so watch for newly creative and expertly captured photos to accompany my posts. 

Yay!

Back in School

The semester has officially started, and it’s kind of amazing.  I’m not teaching this semester, and I only have one class.  It was beautiful to make up my daily/weekly schedule (a one sheet guide for myself I’ve been making every term for the last 9 years) and see that really, the vast majority of my time is spent in my office doing my work. 

This is not to suggest that I will be taking it easy.  I’ve made a totally unintimidating (ha!) calendar of what I need to get done on each of my major projects between now and April in order to make sure I have direction and structure in my life even in the absence of coursework…

My class also seems promising, as it’s a seminar with John Holland, an inspiring professor affiliated with the Center for the Study of Complex Systems.  He also mentioned that his daughters knit, so he doesn’t mind if I knit in class. 

It begins…

Startitis

Startitis: n. Inflammation of the starting.

Symptoms: Not wanting to work on anything that’s already been started, and wanting to start new things. This may apply across life domains, or may be limited to a single aspect. It is not generally considered a disorder if the results are productive, such as when the patient is excited to work on the IRB application for a dissertation data set, and is ready to jump back into programming after “a little while” of not doing it. It can cause problems, as well as generate a large volume of materials when all of the patient’s current knitting (and other craft) projects seem relatively uninteresting and so she starts a new sweater for the dog. He will undoubtedly appreciate it, but he probably could have waited until the mittens, scarf, and shawl were at least a little further along. Or the quilt that has been waiting in pieces for the patient since at least last Spring Break.

Cure: A schedule. A plan. Even a vague commitment to finish off a few things. Tomorrow…

Happy New Year!

I know it’s a few days late, but the internet has been a bit spotty around here since our neighbor, with whom we were legitimately and legally sharing the internet, moved precipitously.  The blog just wasn’t a top priority whenever I could get to a coffee shop or some other source of sporadic internet access. 

In any case, I’m wishing all of you a happy and reflective new year.  I always enjoy the clean slate the new year brings, and am looking forward to planning out my semester (without teaching, and with only a single class) of work toward my dissertation.  I’m also planning on continuing to knit a bunch, and have added a yearly tracker for my knitting to the side bar, since now I will actually have a full year to track! 

All the best for 2010!

Dog Snuggie

Before you judge, look at this picture:

Walter loves it, and even though people look ridiculous in them, I think he pulls off the Snuggie with a quiet dignity. He is currently snuggled in it on the couch, loving the warmth it provides when combined with another blanket. (The slightly crazed eyes are just because I pulled the blanket off of him and took his picture...)

Dad, Jodi, Jake, and Cosmo, consider this your thank-you note from the dog!

A real break

Now that the holiday crafting, baking, and driving are finished, the real break begins.  Apart from some AMSA work that needs to be finished this week, and some crafting goals that will let me start fresh for the new year, I have nothing on my calendar!  The dog even recognized this and slept until 8:30 this morning.  It was amazing.

I hope everyone had a happy holiday, and is gearing up for an exciting new year!

So close…

I am almost done with my gift crafting. I’ve let go the idea that I will send out holiday cards before the Solstice, since that was yesterday, but am still hoping to finish them up tomorrow. Today was my first real day off – I finished grading yesterday – and it was truly wonderful to knit, sew, and snuggle the dog all day. Alicia has accused me of spending my day documenting where the dog is sleeping and taking pictures of my knitting. She is closer to correct that I would like to admit…

Today he found some sheets waiting to be laundered and decided they did not yet contain enough dog hair:

Santa’s Sweatshop*

Now that classes are over and almost all of the grading is complete, I’ve turned myself almost entirely to the crafting of Christmas/Solstice gifts for friends and family.  Though I have been diligently knitting many of my gifts since July or August, there remain a number to be sewn/knitted/crafted.  I am pleased to report that there are only a few remaining items, and that I will be completely done before the holiday.  I may even send out holiday cards before the New Year!

*I would like to note that I actually take labor practices very seriously.  My crafting is only like a sweatshop in that I have set somewhat unrealistic expectations for the amount that I will get done in the amount of time that I have, and in that the lighting is not the best in my study.  Otherwise, I am taking plenty of bathroom breaks and have relatively little fear of being fired.

Weird stuff found on the bus…

I am hoping that this won’t become a series, but when I got onto the bus a few days ago and saw this:

I was puzzled. I mean, you aren’t supposed to have any food or drink on the bus, and I’m assuming that includes beer. Add to this the fact that it was not quite 2pm and it becomes even more bizarre. Add to this the fact that it was finals time, and perhaps all is explained, but I'm not sure. I’m glad I wasn’t on the bus to see the person drinking it (as I tend to become irrationally angry when I observe others blatantly breaking the bus rules). I'm also glad I wasn't on the bus when some weird girl was taking a picture of beer cans on the bus, as that would have also seemed strange but blog-worthy...

Winter Wonderland?

I don’t know how much longer I can take these wild fluctuations in temperature. While it’s nice that it gets warmer periodically, it makes for truly messy dog-walking, and an unattractive landscape. Everything is browner than it should be at this time of year. I think it freezing rained last night, so now there is a layer of crunchy slush on the ground. It is quite unsavory…

Here is a picture of Walt, attempting to navigate last week after a little melty snow/rain/wintery mix.

A chilling twist of fate…

I enjoyed November.  It was cool and even a little bit sunny, and I even went so far as to call it the fall I didn’t get in September and October, when it was downright hot.  I even got excited about the snow earlier this week.  I prefer winter over summer, and would rather wear layers of clothing than sunscreen.  As a direct result, I’m sure, it is currently 12 degrees Fahrenheit outside.  It is slightly sunny (which I appreciate a great deal), but it is windy, and it is cold.  This leaves only one appropriate description: “the skin-burning cold.”

Every year I forget about the skin-burning cold as anything other than an entertaining story with which to terrify new students from warmer climates.  Every year I forget that there really is no fabric on earth that can stop this kind of wind.  Every year, I get cocky and do things like not putting the liner in my coat even though I have been informed that the high for the day is the same as the low for the previous night, which was approximately 18 degrees.  And then, every year like clockwork, I’m shocked to feel the biting wind on my face, the bizarre feeling of the condensation on my eyebrows (blown up from my scarf) freezing, and the irrepressible urge to close my eyes to keep the delicate fluid inside them from freezing too. 

But take heart, dear readers, as not all is lost.  I have great plans for new knitted goods for just this sort of day, and within days, I’ll have enough free time to actually start/finish them.  That should make the winter just bearable enough that over the spring, summer, and fall, I forget how awful it really is.

Snow

It snowed a little yesterday, but nothing that really stuck. It’s coming down tonight though, and I got a picture that makes it look sparkly and nice.

Also, a cute picture of Walt chewing his ropes…