hopeful

I taught myself to knit in the fall of 1997. I was in India on study abroad and, after three months spent with a large group of American students at a monastery in Bodh Gaya, found myself alone and very cold in the mountain town of Darjeeling for the independent study portion of the semester. After months of intense communal living, the solitude was somewhat comforting, and when I came across a shop that sold yarn and needles, I picked up a few supplies. A college friend had shown me the basics prior to this, so I was easily able to get started. I knit a scarf for my mother, who I was missing, and another for my then boyfriend, who I was missing as well. When it came time to cast off, I toted my project down to the front desk of the Tibetan guest house where I was staying and, without a common language, asked the Tibetan woman there who was often knitting to show me how. I can see her smile so clearly in my mind.


When I decided to join the Peace Corps a year and a half later, I once again found myself alone and very, very, very, very cold (I was assigned to northern Mongolia). I knit a lot. I mean like a crazy lot - I made my friends sweaters and scarves, mittens and hats. I constantly wrote home asking for more yarn, and I collected yarn on countryside visits (which is why I still have six skeins of scratchy camel wool under my bed waiting for a project). I mastered the art of knitting while reading at the same time, so I'd sit by my wood stove with needles in hand and a book balanced on my knees while outside temperatures hovered around -40 degrees. I spent months and months like this.

When I reflect retrospectively on my fifteen year relationship with yarn and needles, there's a theme that runs throughout; I seldom knit for myself. For me, knitting has always been a meditative act; there is something about the rhythm of moving two sticks and a length of yarn together that breeds a reflective quiet in my mind. I like to think of each stitch as a thought for the recipient, be it a distant friend or a soon-to-be-born baby. Okay, that is a bit overstated: there are plenty of times when I am on a timeline and just want the darn thing to be finished...but I'd like to think that the majority of my gifted projects are knit up with tiny little wishes worked into the stitches.

This long-winded introduction is to bring you up to date with my thoughts as of late. My wonderful and amazing mother had gastric bypass surgery last week, and I knew months ago that I wanted to make her an afghan to have around the house during her recovery. That does not mean that I had the wits about me to get started on a afghan months ago, however, so when it suddenly got to be January, I found myself frantically looking for a quick pattern online. Two words. Big needles. Really stinking big needles. This Lion Brand pattern claims to be a six hour project. I don't know if I finished it in six hours since I don't think I've had six consecutive hours to knit since I got home from Mongolia. But I can decisively report that it was really fast, really easy, and super cozy. I particularly like the heft of the blanket - the four strands of yarn held together lend a lot of weight to it. As a bonus, it kept my knees warm while I worked on it.

My mom is recovering beautifully, and it was an absolute joy to present her with this blanket last weekend. I like to think of her covered in my stitch thoughts as her body figures out its many changes..and I am glad, on these cold winter days, that she is warm.

January can be a rough month; the holidays are over, spring is in the distant future, the days are cold, the nights dark. Sean and I had several discussions on this topic during the last lingering days of our winter break, and we decided to get proactive.

As you may recall, during the month of December our kids had an advent calendar that, in addition to chocolate, suggested daily fun activities for the family. I was a bit ambivalent going in, as the daily activities could have very easily lapsed into "another thing to do" at what was already a super busy time of year, but for the most part that didn't happen. The kids loved the experience and as a family we spent more time together doing the activities than we may have on a typical weeknight.

So we decided to kick off January with a brainstorming session of fun things to do and to attempt an activity a night. Listed among the ideas (which ranged from "themed movie night" to "build a marble run" to "have a dance party") was "have a fancy dinner." This event was shortly thereafter renamed "Dapper Dinner" by Finn: according to his teacher, this is his favorite word and is used at least five times a day.

Here's how it works:

• Plan a dinner that is slightly fancier than your usual weeknight fare.
• Pick a night. I highly recommend Friday - this is a night that all too often feels like any other weeknight, and "Dapper Dinner" made it feel extra special.
• Dig through your closets and find your fanciest duds. This is a great opportunity to put your kids in those dressy hand-me-downs that you may not have an opportunity to use otherwise. It's also a chance to trade in your mom clothes for a night. Finn was amazed by my dangly earrings (which I'm fairly positive I got in 1992 for my sister's wedding...).

Sean dressed the boys while I finished making dinner, and when Finn came down wearing a courderoy sport coat and one of his dad's ties, my heart melted:


Emmett followed close behind in his little blue sport coat and "lellow" tie:


And you know what? The night felt super special. We had crackers and olives for appetizers and let the boys drink sparkly water out of wine glasses. We played the "Cool Jazz" station on Pandora and danced around the living room with the boys. We ate a fancier than usual dinner (how often do we get to use those napkin rings we got for a wedding gift?) and had berries and whipped cream in shiny glasses for dessert. We had fun together.

I have a feeling that this will be the first of many "Dapper Dinners" at our house. But we won't have it too often, or it wouldn't feel special. 



Happy January, everyone!

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I last posted. On second thought, I can totally believe it - I can hardly catch my breath around here, let alone compose my thoughts in writing. It has been a whirlwind, but we are slowly figuring things out.

I'll take a moment here to summarize a few things we've been up, and then maybe, just maybe, I can try to get back on track. I have been cooking, and even crafting a bit, and I occasionally remember to snap a photo or two...so I'd love to share some of that with you. Since the original intent of this blog was to prove that you can be a busy mama and still have hobbies, I have to prove myself right, after all.

• I'm knitting a few coasters for Sean's office...a super easy, super mindless knitting project that gives me some much needed meditative needle time to wind down at the end of the night. I love Cascade 100% Highland Wool - it's not too fancy (these are coasters after all) and it felts beautifully.


• We're on a whole grains, produce heavy cooking kick. Eating tons of roasted vegetables. Last week we roasted a huge batch then used them for paninis and pizza throughout the week.


• Finn wants a blanket to bring to school for naptime. Apparently the one he has been using is "too small," so we'll probably spend some time this weekend working on that. School is going really well for the boys...and they are super cute trotting out every morning in their backpacks. I sure miss them, though.

• I'm not home much, but when I am, I'm cooking and baking as much as I can. Made a few loaves of multigrain bread to get us through the week. Made a few batches of yogurt. And we are enjoying big weekend breakfasts...more on that to come.


• Have plans to make an apron that I can wear at work. In part because, frankly, I miss wearing an apron. And in part because there are parts of my work that are just plain dusty, so it'd be nice to have one on hand. Hoping to try the grownup version of this pattern with some kind of wacky librarian print. 

So there you have it. I'm secretly grateful for this rainy, rainy Saturday, and grateful for three days in my little house with my boys.


Here's wishing you all a lovely weekend.

It's Illinois Marathon weekend here in the bustling microurban community of Champaign-Urbana. Last year, our family was deeply involved: Sean ran the full marathon, I ran the 5K, and Finn participated in the Youth Run. Although Finn was the only one of us to participate in a race this year, we still kept busy watching races and cheering on friends and neighbors. It was a super fun weekend, with 20,000 runners participating in six different races and lots of opportunities to get involved.

The Youth Run is a 1K race that starts in the southeast corner of our football stadium, skirts three sides of the perimeter, then ends on the 50 yard line. Last year, at age 3 1/2, Finn sort of half-heartedly loped along, picking up sticks on the way while I encouraged him to keep going. This year, he sprinted and I raced to keep up with him. I was crazy proud of his enthusiasm and energy.



It seemed only right to have a bonus dessert night this weekend after all his hard work, and Sean came up with the brilliant idea of making bread pudding. I had defrosted a loaf of my Easter bread the day before and we still had quite a bit left; the other ingredients were all things we had around the house, so with a quick recipe search and about ten minutes preparation, I threw together this incredibly delicious evening treat for our little runner (and his family).

The sauce has brandy in it, and since my kids were plenty tired without having any alcohol, I scooped a couple spoonfuls into their bowls before adding the liquor. Also, the original recipe calls for Italian bread, allowed to get stale overnight. I think any bread that was somewhat dense would work just fine. I used the anise bread which wasn't stale and frankly it was off the charts good. My proportions halve those in the original recipe as we didn't need 8 to 10 servings, but you could easily double it for a crowd and prepare it in a 9x13 pan.



Bread Pudding
Adapted from Paula Deen
Yield 4-6 servings

PRINT ME!

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large beaten eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups cubed Italian bread, allow to stale overnight in a bowl
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. butter, softened
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans 

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 egg, beaten (do your best)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp. brandy (whiskey would also work)

As some of you may remember, my niece Iona lived with us for four months last fall and attended middle school here in Champaign. Just before Christmas we tearfully sent her home to France and started counting the days until summer when we would see her again. Shortly after that, my sister (her mother) let us know that for the first time ever, they wouldn't be coming in the summer - seems those crazy gas prices impact air travel as well. We never did tell the boys about the change in plans - Emmett wouldn't quite get it, but Finn would have been devastated.


Then something amazing happened. Lufthansa posted tickets from Frankfurt to Chicago for ridiculously cheap that just happened to fall over their spring break. Plans quickly fell into place for a short spring visit. Once again, we decided not to tell the boys - but for a good reason this time!

And so, after lunch yesterday, I told Finn and Emmett to put on their shoes. It was the first time we referenced the surprise at all. We planned on meeting Iona, her brother Edgar, her sister Didi, my sister, and my parents at a restaurant halfway between Chicago and Champaign. As we pulled in, we told Finn that we were going to get a bite to eat before the surprise...still no clue. And then...

(with advance apologies for the terrible quality - we're going Handycam to Webcam here...my computer doesn't want to talk to my videocamera today)




Best.surprise.ever.

Today happens to be my birthday. I can't imagine a better way to spend it than with this crew!


We've got one more surprise in store. This evening, Iona will be surprising the fourteen girls that she attended school with last semester. That's fourteen fourteen-year-old girls about to be surprised by the return of their friend. Expect shrieking. Lots and lots of shrieking.

Happy weekend, all!

As mentioned previously, Sean and his father spent a few days over spring break constructing a swing set in our back yard. So what used to look like this...


...now looks like this!


These are the guys who built it...


...and these are the guys who watched.


And here are a few pics reminding us why we wanted a swing set:



While Sean and his dad put the finishing touches on the set on Saturday morning, I threw together a quick batch of muffins. A few comments about this:

• Muffins are one of those things that remind me how quickly and easily one can bake something homemade. They typically require only about fifteen minutes of hands-on time. I feel that way about scones, also. 


• Muffins are also one of those things that I love because you generally have what you need to make them. I had no intention of making breakfast on Saturday morning - we were planning on stopping somewhere on our way out of town. But as the last few swing set details were still underway, I decided very last minute to make them. And boy were they yummy.


• The recipe comes from an ancient paperback Betty Crocker cookbook. It doesn't even have an ISBN. I use the term "paperback" very loosely, as that implies that the book is bound when, in fact, the book has fallen into four sections and is held together by a rubber band. I believe, however, that everyone needs one cookbook on hand for the essentials.  This is the one I turn to if I need to make a basic white sauce, or pancakes from scratch. 


• I got to wear my new apron for the first time. It was an early birthday gift from my in-laws. Not at all relevant to the muffins, but isn't it cute?

And now, onto the recipe. Included below is the basic sweet muffin recipe included in the quick breads chapter of Betty Crocker's Cookbook. There are several variations that follow. I made Apple Muffins and used chopped pecans in the topping.

Breakfast Muffins
Yield 12 muffins

PRINT ME!

1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1 1/2 cups flour (I used half white and half wheat)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease bottoms of 12 medium muffin cups.

Beat egg. Stir in milk and oil. Mix in remaining ingredients just until flour is moistened. Batter will be lumpy.

Fill muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from pan.

VARIATIONS

• Apple Muffins - Stir in 1 cup grated apple and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Sprinkle with Nut-Crunch Topping: Mix 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/3 cup chopped nuts, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Bake 25 to 30 minutes.
• Blueberry Muffins - Fold 1 cup fresh blueberries or 3/4 cup well-drained frozen blueberries (thawed) into batter.
• Cranberry Orange Muffins - Fold 1 tbsp. grated orange peel and 1 cup cranberries, cut in half, into the batter.
• Surprise Muffins - Fill muffin cups only half full. Drop 1 tsp. jelly in center of each and add batter to fill cups to two-thirds full.