MOVED...again

yikes! domain problems kept me from easily moving, but here i am:: Find me here!

http://mini-soup.com

We've MOVED

Hi. Miss me? Yeah, I miss you too. We should totally hang out. OVER HERE.

OH MY... she got a website? Yup, and she's bloggin... every. damn. day.

Meet me here. 

Ten On Tuesday "Ugh... Do I Hafta?"

Hi. Yeah, this is awkward, right? I haven't been around much? No... it's not you. It's me. I love blogging. I miss blogging. I miss blogging with you. But, things are changing.... BIG CHANGES.

Before that, let's talk 10 on Tuesday, the "Ugh... Do I Hafta?" edition. Ten chores I hate doing...

1. Cat box. I told PC when we got Pumpkin that I am totally uninterested in kitty litter. I hate it. So, 80% of the time, it's PC who cleans it, but those other 20%? I'm dying inside. 
2. Sweeping, swiffering, mopping floors. I hate it. They never feel as clean as my mom used to get them. The baseboards are always grimy. 
3. Bringing up laundry. Note: in our current apartment, you have to exit the backdoor, walk across the deck, enter in another door, climb up 3 steps to close that door and open another door behind it, walk down a rickety 9 steps and across the basement to do laundry. EVEN IN JANUARY. I have slid, slipped, tripped, fallen, scraped along this path to laundry for 3+ years. I want my own laundry back. NOW. (it used to be in my kitchen). **I will fold, put away, sort, stack, etc the laundry, I just hate hauling it up.
4. Dusting. It makes me sneeze
5. Raking leaves. I used to have to do this at my parents house-- I'm 5 feet tall. No matter where I hold the rake, i get blisters b/c I am grasping raw wood all day. 
6. Shoveling snow. Most days our landlord has us plowed, but we have to clear off the stairs and deck. Last few years and the big storms? They almost broke me. PC does a lot of shoveling, but I try to help as much as I can.
7. Taking out the trash. I grew up in a house where it went out every night. PC did not. So, it grosses me out that the trash sits and sits for days. eww. 
8. swapping over seasonal clothes. We have teeny tiny closets (and only 2 usable ones) in this WHOLE house, so underbed storage is key to happiness. And it's my job to do it. I hate it, I hate it. 
9. Picking up after other people... coffee mugs, cereal bowls, trash/mail they seem to accumulate. (this has gotten significantly worse for me in years past)
10. Charitable sorting- choosing what stays, what goes. I feel better when I'm done, but the process is exhausting for me. (and i need to do it this week).

Interview Keywords...ten of them

What can I say? I have had the unfortune to be out of work, a lot, and I have interviewed a lot, with many companies. So, how do I describe myself?

-Patient, but persistent
-Creative
-Considerate
-Collaborative
-Loyal
-Adaptable
-Leader
-organized
-Stable
-effective

Would you hire me?

Keepin' It Sugar, Wheat, and Soy Free

Eating mostly green veggies kind of limits my culinary skills. I have roasted broccoli, sauteed broccolini, steamed green beans, grilled zucchini and baked asparagus...my ideas have come and gone.

Then I remembered latkes. Yummy, crispy, potato pancakes. Hmm. Potatoes are on my no-no list. So are bread crumbs and flour.

Thus, zucchini and feta latkes. I wanted them to be either a side, or a base, like for a fried egg ( drool). And i didn't want them greasy, so no oil or frying.

Ingredients:
3small zuchini, grated, salted and strained for 1 hour
2 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp penzeys greek seasoning
1/2 tbsp crushed red pepper
1/2 cup almond flour ( or coconut flour)
4 ounces fat free feta, crumbled

Make:

Mix together and put onto non stick cookie sheet- 12 small balls, flattened into 3 inch disks. Bake at 425 F for 12 mins, flip and bake another 12 min.

Top with greek yogurt.

Treats for summer

Ten treats? How about 100? No? Okay, ten...but not in any order.

My new diet is wheat free, soy free, sugar free, low carb and lean proteins, so here is what i am treating myself to this summer:

1. Watermelon. I love it ice cold. No salt, no feta, just melon.
2. Corn on the cob. I get it once a year and it has to be the local kind.
3. Non fat, sugar free fro yo. From Cabots in Newton.
4. Nectarines!  Non of the hassle of a peach, but all the juice.
5. Grilled...anything. PC is a grill master and has turned out bison steaks, tuna, halibut, scallops and chicken that is mind blowing.
6. Zucchini. I am a zucchini addict. Grilled, sauteed, in stews, on salads...
7. Popsicles. Sugar free, but i love them in the summer.
8. Iced coffee. We drink gallons of this a week.
9. Late nights on the back deck. PC and i sit there and dream about whats next for us.
10. Camping...we love our summer house ( coleman tent) and cant wait to run away for a quick camping weekend on our favorite lake.

Too hot to breathe...

Someone at the library today said " its too hot too breathe" and i agree! 100 degrees here in Boston,  with our usual humidity (90% or so it feels) .

Too hot to knit.
Too hot to work.
Too hot to clean.

Thunderstorms are predicted for tomorrow, and a reprieve is expected sunday.

Tempers are short. AC units hum.

158 days until christmas.

Its all about perspective round here.

Super Secret Iced Coffee

Ok, wow. So many want to know my secret to ah-mazing iced coffee. And i am sure several of you have said- she cold brews.

Nope.

The best iced is made HOT, then cooled slowly.

First, our coffee maker has a "strong" setting, which you need for this. Each pot will be 10-10.5 cups.

Start with 12.5 cups water, cold, in the brewer. Then add 15 tbsp. Yup. 1-5. Of coffee to a filter. Brew strong. 

Cool for a few hours on the counter and then in the fridge. We add vanilla syrup and skim milk. 

Yummmm.

Oh, and the secret? Our brand of coffee.... ;)

Ten on Tuesday-feelin hot, hot, hot!

  Ten on Tuesday

Beating the heat....hmm. I kinda hate the summer. Especially here in the Northeast, it's never the temps that get me....you guessed it! It's the humidity. I hate that feeling like you are wading through a cup of hot soup. Your hair goes wacko, your shorts stick to you, and you never feel "right".  And, Boston is on it's third heat wave (+90F for three r more days) in 2013. 

But, I do know how to stay cool!

1. Air conditioning. Find it. Stay there. Malls, shops, friends houses...
2. Find a hill. Sunds silly right? My parents live on a hill and there s always a breeze.
3. Popsicles! Cool, low calorie instant cool. 
4. Icy water...I love ice.cold.water in the heat.
5. Iced coffee. I have a secret recipe that is to die for and make a double batch every night!
6. Municipal pools. We have some great ones in the greater Boston area...and a day pass is cheap. Cheaper than the beach.
7. Tank tops and shorts- my summer wardrobe. The less clothing, the better.
8. Sunscreen! Nothing makes you hotter than a sunburn.
9. Cool showers. This house hasn't taken a warm shower in weeks! 
10. Ponytails. Pig tails. Braids. Get that hair up and off your neck!

Wheat-free Me

  I am appealing to all of you...I need some help. In recent years, I have developed insulin resistance due to my PCOS (poly cystic ovarian syndrome). Meds help, a little, but major dietary changes are needed: no soy, no sugar, low carb, no wheat, lean protein, limited fruits. Do you have a fave recipe that fits this? Please share! 

***i am not gluten free- wheat free, I can have barley, rice, quinoa, rye. BUT, they have a ton of carbs, so are a once-a-month-meal treat.

Grateful....ten things

These days it can be hard to be grateful for anything. No job, emergency fund dwindling, a "pay cut" from unemployment due to sequestration (btw, unemployment is not a lot of money....20%less hurts), and frustrating job searches, 

But, each day I am grateful to wake up, see the world and be alive. 

Today I am grateful for...

1. Dan...who kisses me every day and asks about the job hunt. He never pushes, worries along with me, keeps me in perspective, encourages me when I need it, and tolerates my tears when they show up. 
2. A good girlfriend with words of encouragement and a laugh. 
3. Another good friend who finds ways to help me out... Like today, where I am babysitting for her in a pinch. And it will pay for groceries. 
4. Yarn. Knitting is free. It can turn a bad temperament into a pair of socks.
5. My stash. It is keeping me going while not sending me to the yarn shop. It's amazing what this can do!
6. The happy little girl I watch each morning...she is sweet, funny and a hugger. I get her up for school, fed, dressed and do the big fancy private school drop off....then take her two puppies to the dog park. It's not much, but it helps. Especially the hugs and the puppies. 
7. My parents who are just as happy to have Dan and I sit on their deck with them than go out for dinner. N
8. My resourcefulness in the kitchen. We are eating off a strict budget these days and dinners have been nutritious, yummy and well rounded. 
9. My landlady who noticed that I have been home and planted my garden for me. She said "you home, I give you garden.... You eat. Job soon. I light candle- you job soon." ( a little Italian grandma prayer can't hurt)

1. Our amazing friends who have forgone dinner out for a potluck, movies for playing cards. 

Ten on Tuesday: justification edition

Today is the Top Ten Reasons Why I Knit.

Hmm.

I am kind of stumped. I learned to knit at the ripe old age of 3, so it has never occurred to me NOT to knit. Let's see what I come up with...

1. It keeps my hands busy. Idle hands and all that, but I am really not great at sitting still.
2. Focus. I wouldn't self diagnose as ADD, but I am a creative, very intelligent woman- my mind wanders.
3. Babies look cuter in handknits.
4. On my worst day, i can feel brilliant because I can turn two types of heels without instruction.
5. It connects me to my godmother, Shirley, who passed away when i was 20. I miss her every day and my heart aches to see her again.
6. I have a lot of yarn and its not going to knit itself.
7. My knitting and a cup of tea can stop me from eating after dinner.
8. It lets me go to knitting groups, where the people i meet are amazing!
9. This blog would me a lot more boring if it were just me and the cat, no knitting.
10. I am exactly have Irish and half Norwegian-  if i didn't like to knit, i think my DNA would compel me to anyway. ( cables and color work are my favorites, go figure).

On Waxing... and Waning

I started this in an email to a friend, but I thought it might be very appropriate to put here. I'm at sixes and sevens. Restless. Without direction. Blocked. Stagnated. 

Sixes.And.Sevens. 

Some may (or may not) know that I lost my job in February. I was only there 3 months and while I'm not happy to not be working, I am happy to not be working there. Long story (don't feel bad- I'm not telling anyone what happened) and let's just say I cried, I breathed out and I cashed a check. 

And I've been okay since. Daily work searches, emailing people, applying online for jobs, networking, networking, networking... and then cleaning, organizing, cooking, cleaning, prepping, tidying, laundering, knitting, quilting, knitting... rinse and repeat.  Easy right? I'm collecting unemployment and it's (barely) paying the bills (not all, but most). Until this week. This week was the wall. Week 10. 70 days of not working. 10 40-hour weeks of not having officemates. Not having lunch at my desk. Not having a commute. 

This week. No, this week has been the week of yoga pants, no direction, a lot of coffee, job hunting slow-down and all around... well, sixes and sevens. I don't know what to do with myself. 

It's not like I don't have anything to do. At this EXACT moment of writing this I could be doing (and SHOULD be doing) the following:

• writing my final paper for COM701 (love my professor and don't want her to hate me)
• cleaning the bathroom
• cleaning the kitchen floor---does anyone else have those awful leafy things coming into their houses? From the oak trees? Know how to get them out of grout?
• prepping dinner
• making a pot of coffee for PC when he gets home
• changing the cat box
• feeding the cat
• vacuuming
• doing my COM725 homework
• visiting my mom
• swapping my wardrobe from fall/winter to spring/summer
• gathering up things to donate
• balancing our checkbooks
• calling our health insurance

Instead, I'm writing my blog post and sharing some new FO photos with you. I knit up this sweet, sweet sweater for a friend who lives in crazy-hot North Carolina and just had her second daughter. Ava. Isn't that a beautiful name? Big sister is Maya--- also a stunning name and a stunning little girl. :)

Ava is going to be battling two things in North Carolina: heat and air conditioning. So, a sweater was necessary. Last week (before ennui set in), I sat down with needles (US 3), pattern (Baby Valentine Sweater- Rav Link) and 2 balls of Dale Baby Ull yarn, in a lilac color. 2 nights later, I had this:

Close up of the heart lace

No sleeves! Perfect for layering and doesn't inhibit chunky little baby arms. 

Look for some changes next week to the blog. A while ago, I spent some time with a graphic designer to re-oomph the blog; I think next week's post-semester end project will be swapping the closets AND revamping the blog. Chhh...chhh...changes!

Boston, You're My Home.

Marathon Monday is a proud, 117 year Boston tradition. It's also Patriots Day, a day celebrating the American Revolution and the patriotic spirit that has created and inspired our nation to independence and greatness. 

The marathon runs through my city, Newton, effectively cutting it in half. Each year, the two side of town rise early to negotiate getting by the marathon route. I happen to love the marathon...the wheelchair contenders, looking for the Hoyts in the crowd, and seeing the Burger Brigade make French fries and burgers running up Heartbreak Hill look effortless. 

Famous along the route is the Scream Tunnel, where normally very proper Wellesley College girls scream, yell and kiss their encouragement to the runners...letting them know that they are halfway. Heartbreak Hill is a thing of legend and lore among marathoners, but for some Newtonians, it's just their morning run. The marathon is more than just a road race...it's our spirit, a source of pride and more importantly, it's the runners, the volunteers and the spectators along the way. 

Marathon Monday always brings this to mind:

But, because of the insane actions of horrible people (person?), the 117th marathon ended like this:

My heart breaks for the city my family has called home for many generations (7? 8?), the city my grandfather adopted as his home because "it was filled with smart people", the city where I met and fell in love with PC...the city we have chosen to stay within. I wept today as I saw the horror of the bombings at the finish line. I wept for my friends "in town", the families of those hurt, the people who were just there to watch their loved ones finish an amazing accomplishment... 

The people of Boston are often thought of as cold, unfriendly and a little aloof. Today, strangers ran to help. People have opened their homes to those who need one. We opened our hearts, even while they were breaking. 

The sadness and unfathomability of today has no words. Pray with me that my city heals, victims recover and that justice is served, either ( as so eloquently put in the great Boston film, The Town) " on this side or the other."

Peace Be With You, 

Kate

  

Saturday Sighting

I have been working ( slowly, its my out-and-about knitting)  on the Easy Drop stitch scarf for a week now. Its an 8 row repeat and its coming along. My friend, Jen , was knitting one in a variegated colorway and i fell in love. I had seen hundreds of these scarves, but hers inspired me.

The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill, dk weight. The colors are part of their "potluck"  series, where you get whatever they threw together,  no recipe, no matching. I have just enough for a good long scarf. Needles are US 5, 3.76mm.

Today, the scarf and I are headed west on the Mass Pike to grab a beer and a burger. PC is driving so i can knit. (And i think he likes my Subaru sporty engine on the highway

)

Hoo is good looking?

These kids! My best friend has three amazing kids, ages 4 1/2 years, 23 months, and 11 months. They are a delight to knit for because she puts them in their handknits for such special occasions such as: going for a walk, the playground, running errands, running in the yard and more! I will happily reknit a favorite sweater when i know its been worn out due to too many times down the slide. Or it got ripped on a nature hike.

Patterns;
new look owelets, size 1 and 3 ( green and red, respectively) and Adrian Bizilla's totoro bonnet, sans totoro.

Sweaters are knit with Encore Chunky Tweed, 3 skeins per sweater and the bonnet is Berrocco Vintage, 0.5 skein. Sweaters are on US 10.5 and bonnet on US 5.

Still here....

It has been awhile, huh? I am still here but i am back not working and job hunting, unhappily so. I have been knitting. A lot, actually. Here are two of my FO projects from February 2013.

One of the ways I have been whittling down the stash is with quick stash busting projects like mittens and hats. The two below are the same pattern, different yarns. The blue is patons classic wool- a $5 project which makes for an excellent gift.  The pink are Malabrigo, colorway Pretty Little Things, and are divine. Each project took less than 10 hours of total knit time.

Ten on Tuesday: the winter blah edition

Well, the mittens are done...and this second pair (malabrigo) are also done. And two hats and a baby sweater. Yes, I've been busy. I've also been not working, so there you have it. 

Carole is not a huge fan of winter, but I am. I will admit that after the third 6+ inch snowstorm, I can admit defeat as well. So, here are ten things I dont love about winter:

1. Freezing rain. I hate damp, cold pant legs.
2. Ice. I'm tired of clinging to railings on stairs.
3. Slush. Snow or rain, pick one.
4. Dry skin...eczema is my BFF and I kinda want to break up with her.
5. Booger-y children. I love kids, I do!, but I don't love YOUR booger smearing little snowflake rubbing the apples in the grocery store. Yep. Yesterday. Made me buy different apples. And wash them eight times when I got home.
6. Static hair. I electrocute the cat at least twice a day!
7. Heating bills...we, blessedly, have natural gas, but even our chilly home (67 when people are home, 60 at night....put on a sweater!), the bill climbs.
8. Reduced sunlight...I NEED light to function. I HATE dark rooms, so our electric bill escalates as well.
9. Comfort food. Sounds good until you are trying to lift those extra pounds off your yoga mat.
10. Less "outside" time....I love me some deck sitting. 

Countdown to camping began this month!  And to kick it off, PC and I are heading north for a mini vacation to our favorite place on earth: North Conway! 

  

A street I know...

  What can you do with one night at a guild meeting and an episode of Moonshiners? 95% of a mitten. I am loving this pattern: Thames Street ( rav link).  It's knitting up quickly, on US 5 dpns with Ella Rae classic ( color 10). 

One thing you should know about the pattern is to keep your even rows loose in order to  work the 3Y3 stitch ( k3tog, leave stitches on needle, yo, k3tog) which can be a little tricky. 

The book in the image above? New detective novel that I'm loving...can barely put it down to knit....good thing these mittens are quick! Sometimes the discount bin at BN is worth a good long look. 

Ten on Tuesday: hearts edition

Ten ways to celebrate Valentines Day? 

1. Cards. PC is the bomb when it comes to cards...always one sweet, one sassy, and one silly. Keeps me on my toes, card-wise.
2. Dinner...we never go out on Valentine's Day, so I will make something yummy for us that night, light some candles, and pour some drinks.
3. Handmade. I make PC a gift each year that speaks to who we are and what he means to me.
4. Candy/treats. I do this via a yummy dessert.
5. Snuggle up!
6. Hugs. Kisses are great, but PC hugs me when he gets home each day and I love his hugs.
7. Saying I love you, to my mom, my dad, my cat....it's a day of love!
8. Saying why you llove someone....this is important to me. Why do I love you? I love you because you are... Kind, thoughtful, insightful, inspiring, pragmatic. Use your words!
9. Write a love letter. To your honey. To your cat. To yourself. I have a friend who writes herself a letter every birthday....so why not Valentine's Day?
10. Smooch. Make out. When was the last time you just smooched for the sake of smooching? Unleash your inner teenager and make the best of the couch. :)