Home Again, Again

I've gone away and come home again in between the last blog post and this one.  It's been a busy summer and I'm about ready to settle back into the school year. The kids aren't, they like to be able to sleep in, but I think they secretly enjoy seeing friends every day at school.

We had a week in between our last trip and the beginning of the school year. We were out in California for a family Bar Mitzvah and really enjoyed seeing so many relatives. We snuck in a couple college visits for our daughter-who-will-be-a-senior while we were out there too. (She liked UCLA but not UCSD) And the whole time we were there I didn't take ONE picture. Thank goodness some of the relatives took pictures and shared.

We got home in time to celebrate my birthday - 48! Woohoo!

birthday flowers from my husband

Kids finished up summer jobs and summer homework. I worked on preparing for the beginning of school. I've been making quiche (it's a kid favorite for breakfast - who'd a thunk?) and putting them in the freezer so we have some "ready-made" breakfasts during the school year. I can put onions,  Swiss chard, kale, leeks, spinach, garlic, almost anything we get in our CSA (community supported agriculture) box that can be chopped and sautéed, and the kids will eat it. I've been using my grandmother's pie dough recipe, which is super easy, and a quick quiche recipe that came with the veggies one week.

You can see how well-used my pie dough recipe is. My grandmother taught me how to make it when I was about 12. Directions are simple: put flour, sugar and salt in a bowl. Cut in shortening. Add liquid (I've always used water; I chill it in the fridge before adding it to the dough). Mix gently. When dough holds together, turn out onto a floured board and knead 2 or 3 times, no more. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Here's the quiche recipe:

1 tsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 bunch swiss chard (or spinach, or kale, or almost anything)
~2 c shredded cheese
4 eggs
1 c skim milk
salt/pepper

Preheat oven to 375 deg F. Wash and dry chard/veggie of choice and chop. Add oil to a sauté pan and  sauté chard and onion until tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. Whisk eggs in a large bowl. Add milk and cheese and mix. Fold in chard mixture. Put a bottom crust into a pie dish. Pour in the egg mixture. Bake 45-50 minutes until golden brown.

I usually put in a blend of available veggies. It always comes out tasty.

Took me so long to get to the blog that the kids have already started school. Seemed to be a good beginning, and homework has begun (today was the first day!).  Weather is starting to cool down just a bit and I think we're all enjoying the fresh new year, though the kids won't admit it. Daughter is driving in to school this year so I get a a break on the driving. 

Haven't been knitting, did a little bit of sewing (mostly mending) and am on track with my training for the half-marathon. Toughest workout was getting in my 10 miles while we were in California. I managed it though, using google maps (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com) to plot a course, and it was 11 miles this past weekend here at home. My husband will only run about 7 miles with me, but I met another woman this summer who is also training for the half marathon and we are doing the long runs together. We have a similar pace and it sure helps to have company. We'll be running 12 miles this weekend.

The calendar is already becoming overpopulated with parent meetings, back-to-school nights, sports, and extra-curricular activities. Then I get to fit in my own, like tap dance classes and knitting group. Busy but fun.

Shelley in CT

Celebrating 50!

No, not me, my husband. I'm the trophy wife (ha!) Yesterday was the dreaded 50th birthday so we had a party. I spent most of the week beforehand cleaning up clutter, vacuuming (or having kids vacuum), clearing and wiping surfaces, cleaning bathrooms, and, the pièce de résistance, scrubbing all the mildew off the screen porch (it has been years since I scrubbed it). It was in sad shape; the roof has been leaking for years and we are currently talking to a contractor about tearing it down and rebuilding, so it has not been a priority. But with the party coming up and the possibility of being outdoors, it had to be cleaned. The things I'll do for the love of my husband...

before

after

It took me two days of scrubbing both ceilings and walls. Phew! Then, after all that, we had such hot humid weather the night of the party that nobody could stand to be outside, so we all stayed comfortable in the air conditioning inside. Oh well, at least as the weather cools in the fall we'll have a lovely, clean, comfortable screened porch to enjoy.

With all the party prep, I lost steam on my olympics knitting. Closing ceremonies are tonight and I'm not very close to finished. No medal for me!

It's more than halfway done though, and I will finish it and find a person or charity to give it to. I think it will really blossom when I block it.

Now that we have enjoyed and cleaned up from the big party, it's time to get ready for the next "thing," the trip to California for a family Bar Mitzvah. We have to be packed and ready by tomorrow night so we can leave the house the next day before the crack of dawn to catch our very early flight. So today it's laundry, lists, and more organizing. Phew! No wonder the summer always seems so short; we never have time to get bored and lazy!

The Bar Mitzvah is in San Diego, near where we lived when the two older kids were born. The summer weather out there can be hot, but predictions are for fairly comfortable temps this coming week (high 70s and low 80s), and there will be virtually no humidity! Yay! I'm going to really appreciate that, as I need to fit in a 10-mile run sometime during this week in order to stay on my training schedule for the half marathon in September. Our 90% humidity here has really slowed me down lately.

Onward!

Shelley in CT

Olympic Knitting

I had a hard time deciding what project to work on during the Olympics. I never joined a team on Ravelry to compete in the Ravellenic Games on Ravelry (formerly known as the Ravelympics) but wanted to try to start and finish a project during the games as my way of participating. I pored over patterns and pulled yarn out of my stash and looked at projects I have lined up. I finally decided on some gift/charity knitting and some mohair yarn that has been nicely aging in my stash for the past 20 years. Then I pulled out patterns. I started one, and it was a little fussy following the chart, and then after all that focus I wasn't happy with the result. I switched to a different stitch pattern, just using what I had knitted as a big swatch. Wasn't entirely happy with the second option, so I hunted some more and found yet another pattern to try.

Here is my "Olympic trial." I'm sure the first stitch pattern would look better once it's blocked, but I wasn't happy with the way it was knitting up. There's a lacy pattern on top of that, and a different lacy pattern at the very top, which I eventually decided on. The pattern is from knitty.com. Here's the link: http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer07/PATTwisp.html

Ta da! As I write this the piece is already 3 times as long as it is in this  picture and it's easy to keep track of but interesting enough that I'm not getting bored with the knitting. 

I am thoroughly enjoying watching the Olympics, and find myself cheering for all sorts of athletes from all different countries, though I do cheer for all the Americans, and there is still a special place in my heart for the Canadians, as I lived in Canada for 8 years during my childhood.

Well, back to Olympics coverage and more knitting.

Shelley in CT