new stuff!

yay! silver dance shoes! should be here sometime next week...

and in other mail-related news, not only did i recently receive a lovely box containing 20 skeins of noro kureyon (color 188) with which to make myself a lizard ridge blanket, but i also just ordered the new pink martini album. whoo hoo! it's a good month for mail...

i seem to be buying a lot of sock yarn, too, even though i am still on my first sock ever. i blame THK and her contagious sock mojo for this...

anyway--happy friday, people. i am off to eat sushi and dance!

mama's house

this weekend i went home to see my mama. i haven't been home since christmas, which always makes my parents a little sad, so i figured it was time to make the effort. plus i miss them! it was one of those quickie trips home that left me pretty exhausted, but it was also utterly relaxing to be there. since my father retired, he has taken on the yard as one of his major projects, and my mother has joined forces with him--it's been great for both of them. and the yard? it's looking pretty awesome. there's a path through the woods--the same path where my childhood bff, lee, and i used to run together--that my father has taken firmly in hand. he's turned into something of a garden: he and my mother have planted hastas and azeleas and ferns as well as carefully babying the shade blooming groundcovers, mosses, and ferns that were already there. the wild ginger is thriving. there was even a trillium lily about to bloom. my dad has gotten all into roses, and has some lovely and fragrant ones blooming and climbing trelises. there are rhododendrons and beds of wildflowers and sweet william in the yard. my mother kept telling me that i had missed all the spring blooms and that i should have seen it 3 weeks ago, but to me--it seemed that there was something lovely every way i turned. and the smell!!! i forgot that lush green earthy small that you get in the spring in the woods. so peaceful. i spent most of my time there knitting in the swing in between walks through the woods. i could have stayed a month.

i didn't take a ton of pictures, but the ones i did take are here if you are interested. this one of my dad's favorite toy might be my favorite.

step. sculpt. burn.

let's talk about fitness for a minute, shall we? it's been an insanely busy few months, in which i haven't been updating the fat blog at all. however, i HAVE been making some small amount of progress on the fitness front, both physically and mentally. when we bought the new house, the hippie and i re-joined our same gym because they had just purchased a new location very close to the new neighborhood. and so far, i like it about 50x better than the old one. it's smaller and less of a meat market, and feels more like a neighborhood place. we shall not, however, speak of their music selection...

this is the third week that i have been going to step and body sculpting classes 2-3 times a week. it's pure coincidence that the same instructor teaches literally every class i can get to, and it's extremely fortunate for me that i LOVE her! her name is paula, and she's cute and enthusiastic without being annoying. (sometimes she has pigtails, hippie!) those of you who have ever done any aerobics know that this is a RARE combination. plus she's in great shape, and it's clear that she has done every kind of fitness training ever invented--she manages to incorporate a lot of different things into her workouts, and she's careful to work every part of your body in just an hour, which i definitely appreciate. i actually look forward to her classes. this is HUGE for me, people. i have started scheduling my life around going.

between the classes and the two hours of dance class we are taking every week, i am actually starting to feel like i person who works out. i am trying to go slowly and not get burned out, which is super-hard for me. i tend to gear up, work out like a fiend for a few weeks, and then crash, get sick, and take like 4 months to get back in there at all. obviously, there was something that needed to change, and i am pretty sure it was me.

in addition to structured workouts, i have been trying to just be generally more active in my day-to-day life. taking the stairs, going for more walks, being more active at home... i tell you, moving was a GREAT start to this. my shape has gotten better and my clothes are looser just from all the physical labor associated with moving out of one house and into another, but i have no idea how much i weigh right now. i have actually been avoiding getting on a scale lest it DE-motivate me--after all, it's less about that number, and more about how i FEEL. it's interesting--i was just telling laura this morning that i have been trying hard to look at being more active not as a means to an end, so that i can wear this or that cute pair of pants or so that i hit a particular weight, but more as a daily investment in my health and my life. and you know what, people? it's starting to work. i stand amazed.

a meme? really?

y'all, i have been blogging a while, and this is the first time anyone has ever tagged me for a meme. a certain yarn maniac has directed me to do the 8 things meme, so i figure--why not?! it's an easy one--i just have to tell you 8 interesting things about myself, and then tag 8 people to do the same. that should be simple enough. :)

let's see...

i loathe raspberries and always have--this seems to freak people out.

my dream is to own my own business and to make enough money doing creative things athat i don't need a separate "day job".

i like to read physics books and do math for fun. i never have enough time for this.

my goal for this year is to produce at least one oil painting, inspired by either this or this. i used to paint all the time, but have not had room for it in years. this is one of the reasons the new house excites me--i have a studio!!!

i hate it when my toenails aren't painted. the only pictures of myself i ever like are pictures of my feet.

my favorite thing to do on vacation is cook. my second favorite thing to do is walk.

i wish i lived by the sea, and yet being in the ocean kind of terrifies me.

mother's day is depressing. i wish i was a mother, and i am pretty sure i never will be--makes that day a little rough.

and now i will tag my eight people. hmmmm. how about meredith, THK (who might post here instead of here), laura, allegra, flaurella, kristin, kimmie (just do it in the comments, kimmie--or you know, start you a blog...), and the sam. i feel like such a JOINER! :)

y'all go make some pie, now

it's friday, and strawberries are in season. this is the Right Time for making as many strawberry rhubarb pies as you possibly can. this is the hippie's favorite dessert in the universe, so i make this as often as possible during the months of may and june. i have made two so far, and i am SURE there will be a few more before these months have passed me by. this recipe is awesome--it was given to me by the hippie's grandmother very early in our relationsip. i am sure this was just her looking out for her grand-boy's interests and not the sign of acceptance of me that i decided to take it for, but hey--i will believe whatever i want. anyway--y'all go make some of this right now! you won't regret it!

strawberry rhubarb pie, grandma style

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 3 tbsp. quick cooking tapioca (1/3 c. flour will also work)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 3 c. rhubarb, cut up
• 1 c. fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
• pastry for 9 in. pie (top and bottom crusts)
• 1 tbsp. butter

DIRECTIONS

mix together sugar, tapioca, salt, nutmeg, rhubarb, and strawberries so that fruit is well coated. let stand for 20 minnutes. in the meantime, make pastry for a double crusted 9 in. pie. place bottom crust into pie pan, and fill with fruit mixture. dot with butter. place top crust onto pie, and crimp to seal. bBake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. we like this warm with vanilla ice cream.

NOTE: for a deep dish pie, multiply this recipe by 1.5.

mmmmmmmmm....

death of a baby blanket

i haven't had much time to knit or make things over the past couple of months, but in what little time i HAVE had, i have been working on this yellow baby blanket. (how cool does it look in my blue bag?) there are so many babies being born this year for whom i want to make gifts--i am afraid some of them will be a little late. this one was supposed to be for jeff and carrie's baby, who is going to be born TODAY (if all goes well), but circumstance and love forced a bit of a change. this blanket met with a different fate...

this top picture is my friend alyce's son, adam, when he was only a week old. i made him a yellow baby blanket before he was born, and he has been covered up with it from day one of his life. it's his "banket", and is a miracle worker for him--it goes where he goes. it soothes his hurts and calms him for sleeping. and when he was very small, it developed a little hole, which adam stuck his tiny hand through and held onto. as he has grown, so has the hole. until, well--the hole got so big that he could put the blanket over his head like a poncho. a couple of weeks ago, he was doing this at day care, and the day care folks told alyce that adam would have to leave the blanket at home--they considered it a safety hazard. so. alyce called me, and begged for a new one. adam was in the background yelling for me to PLEEEEEEASE make him a new banket! how can anyone say no to that? so i busted ass to finish up the yellow blanket, and sent it to adam as soon as it was done. i didn't even wash it first, figuring alyce will be washing it pretty much every day anyway. and well--you see the results! he LOVES banket 2.0 as much as he loved banket 1.0, which i believe is now packed away. alyce said he keeps showing everyone the new blanket, and telling them, “jackie made it for you.” breaks my heart with cuteness! and i know i have said it before, but man, does it not make you happy when something you have made is loved, literally to death? maybe i will just go ahead and make a bigger one so it's ready for him on his 4th birthday. :)

no worries, by the way, the new blanket for Freeman_Baby v2.0 is will on its way to completion as well. it's a completely different color--there's only so much yellow knitting i can take!