Author: annbh356

Retired librarian who remains a library advocate & enthusiast, loves knitting, reading, gardening & a variety of other items of interest.
Baking

Happy Birthday!

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This was a kitchen day from mid-morning to mid-afternoon while prepping Richard’s simple birthday celebration requests.

Chocolate Amaretto Cheesecake – Modified from one large springform pan to four small 5-inch silicone & glass bottom pans since there are just the two of us celebrating together in these Covid days.  The topping is still to be determined.  Do I go with simple fresh whipped cream, the recipe prescribed Amaretto flavored whipped cream, or a decadent chocolate glaze for a chocolate-on-chocolate birthday treat?  (Decisions.  Decisions.)

Barbecued short ribs – In the slow cooker after modifying Mom’s c. 1940 rib recipe from the Good Housekeeping cookbook she received as a 1945 wedding present.

All to be toasted with Glenlivet 15 Year Old French Oak Reserve, his early morning present.  Additional packages mailed to Eau Claire to ensure secrecy will have to wait as we opt back into semi-self-quarantine with Minnesota and Wisconsin experiencing pandemic spikes.

Happy 74th Birthday, Richard!

Knitting

Project Peace 2020

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During a week of rollercoaster emotions but definitely a big add in my positive column, is the news that Christina Campbell will host another Project Peace knit-along.  Since 2016, I have joined her and knitters from around the world by picking up my needles and conscientiously focusing on peace during hectic December days.  What started five years ago as a unique idea to conduct a knitting “peace-along” after the electoral dismay of 2016 has continued each December. Every year Christina shares a new themed pattern and daily meditations.  Project Peace 2020’s theme is “peace in place inspired by the need to connect with place during the pandemic and find peace in the now.”

My Ravelry project page is built and I am anxiously awaiting yarn suggestions (November 18) and the pattern drop on November 30. I am already imaging the fiber loveliness that will become an elongated, textured shawl since Christina’s previous patterns gave me these crafted beauties.

  • 2016 Peace-Along
    2016 Peace-Along
  • 2017 Rippling Peace
    2017 Rippling Peace
  • 2019 Climate Action & Peace
    2019 Climate Action & Peace

You can even follow everyone’s progress on Instagram: @thehealthyknitter by checking the hashtags: #projectpeace2020 and #knitforpeace.  

Knitting · Reading

Fox in Socks

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Fox    Socks    Box    Knox    Knox in box.  Fox in socks.

After my toe-up Ruisseau Socks, I swore off knitting this particular clothes item.  Too fussy.  All that work to complete just one and, of course, one is not enough so you are done but not done.  Then the September Knit Camp project was (you guessed it) SOCKS.  So, ever the practical person (after all why pay for classes and then skip them) I tackled another pair.  Designed by Marie Greene and dubbed Milkshake Socks because this is “An old-fashion recipe for plain socks that you can shake up with your choice of colorful yarns. … Think of your yarn choice like adding flavor to your milkshake.” 

Gauge for Ruisseau required US #1 needles.  My first time working with something that small and my sock learning experience was to continue as Milkshake necessitated a #0 based on my tension and this yarn.  To get a sense of size – pull out a ruler with metric measurements.  A #1 needle is 2.25mm in diameter and the #0 a fraction smaller at 2mm.

New socks.  Two socks.  Whose socks?  Sue’s socks.  Who sews whose socks?  Sue sews Sue’s socks.

No new yarn was purchased for this project as I did a stash dive for this orange-turquoise-gray self-striping skein called Enceladus (one of Saturn’s ice moons).  The color combo was unique to Northfield Yarns and purchased during the 2015 YarnVenture shop hop.  At the time I had yet to knit a pair of socks or even add them to my project queue.  I picked up the exclusive hand dyed skein solely because as it was featured by what I now dub my local yarn store (LYS).

With my Milkshake Socks complete, I think I may really be done with socks – – – Thank you Dr. Suess and Fox in Socks [or not!]

Knitting

Traveling to the Beach – Virtually

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After years of attending library conferences that were defined by long days, lots of sessions, vendor meetings, networking and tasty meals shared with colleagues, as well as visiting unique locations – Wrigley Field, Independence Hall, or walking the Golden Gate Bridge, I am experiencing conference life – Covid style.

Repos Hat in a squishy Merino & cashmere blend

Just this month, I participated in restful meditations while knitting my Repos Hat with Solène Le Roux, a French knitting artist whose work I love.  Her Zoom and Facebook Live sessions featured daily themed meditations in French and English, as well as stitch instruction that complimented her most recent five part mystery knit-along (KAL). (French to English translation: repos – rest)

After those quiet days, I joined the exuberant Marie Greene and her Olive Knit team for the inaugural beach and camp themed Knit Camp at the Coast.  I joined hundreds and hundreds of knitters from around the world.  (Although, I was in a couple of breakout groups with people from Carver, Rochester and Zumbrota, Minnesota – small world!)  I learned new techniques for socks and stranded knitting which I can incorporate into current projects on my needles, tackled my first Brioche sample (that is going to take a lot more practice) and even took restful breaks led by Yoga for Knotted Knitters – great for my tense shoulders.

My comfort level with traveling in this time of Covid is very low (non-existent actually) so while I hope to join others in real places for future workshops and tours, the virtual learning and crafting opportunities are just right for 2020. Happy knitting!

Other items of interest

Audi Q5 worth the 7 month wait

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After months of car spec research, Richard determined the perfect combo of options for our new 2020 Audi Q5.  He placed a February order specifically timed for a spring delivery so we could enjoy driving at least one season with clear vision through a windshield without sand and salt micro-pits. 

After decades of silver vehicles we thought we’d whirl the color wheel and picked Azores Green only to learn that color had been discontinued just one week earlier.  Then came Covid.  Audi factories worldwide closed and our order for a Navarra Blue Q5 with Nougat Brown interior went into limbo.

Our excitement began building when Richard read factories were starting up.  Anticipation took a big leap when we learned our car was built on August 11, then grew a bit more when it arrived in Houston from Mexico on September 4  Needless to say I did a happy dance yesterday when we learned our new Audi was being prepped in Rochester for Saturday pick up.  With just 15 miles on the odometer, we have a future of driving fun starting with fall colors and nearby blue line twisty bits.

Knitting · Travel

Denmark

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I know the answer to the Danish prince’s question; “To be or not to be…” Sadly it is not to be.  I should be packing not writing about not traveling.  The big trip of my 2020 travel itinerary (as planned pre-pandemic) was to be a “fiber adventure in Copenhagen & the Faroe Islands” with Rowan Tree Travels.  My Danish nine days was to include the traditional highlights of Copenhagen (the Tivoli Gardens and the Amalienborg Palace) as well as visiting local yarn stores and enjoying a smørrebrød before flying to the Faroe Islands.  And, in case you need a geographic reference (like I did) here is a quick Wikipedia fact … “a North Atlantic archipelago, about 200 miles north-northwest of Scotland, and half way between Norway and Iceland”.  I would have spent five days touring the Faroe Islands visiting sheep farms and studying with fiber artists to learn traditional pattern work.  All with a small group of 12-14 knitting enthusiasts.  Now my international knitting escapade must wait for safe times in 2021.

Gardening

Water – Splash and flowing

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Our small Kutzky Park garden is actually several distinct patches.  Six, 4-foot square raised beds for vegetables, four fenced blueberry bushes that yielded 25 cups of succulent summer fruit that we greedily consumed only sharing two berries with our neighbor, a rain garden that replaced an old tarmac driveway and an assortment of annuals and perennials for cutting with a small solar fountain at the center.  It is not a hardship to sit on our screened porch, especially this pandemic summer and listen to the solar fountain gently splashing while often catching sight of a brilliant goldfinch perched on the fountain’s edge.

One of this summer’s home improvement projects was the refurbishing the rain garden.  Our initial attempt to direct roof runoff worked well but a decade of freezing and thawing resulted in too much water flowing into the storm drain.  Now, with new river rock spillways leading from downspouts to a catch basin, we once again capture the rainwater from the east side of our house and, coincidently, the west side our neighbor’s roof.  Just in time for this week’s cool temperatures and rainy days.  Autumn has arrived.

Racing · Travel

Spa

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There are those iconic images that immediately alert the viewer to a special place, maybe a special time and memory as well:  Mount Rushmore when I was seven; the Matterhorn on an early September morning in 1991 or the Circuit de Spa Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium, 2018.

After decades of watching Formula 1 with Richard (free practice on Fridays, Saturday qualifying and Sunday’s race) and attending five race weekends[1] onsite, I recognize a number of international race tracks.  One of the most iconic with homage to a bygone era is Spa where we watched a somewhat less exciting race from the bleachers at La Source in 2018.  My travel journal reports:

Pit lane and the run down to Eau Rouge

As races go, this one was not the most exciting. All of the drama happened on lap one right in front of us. Hulkenberg hit the back of Alonso’s car as they accordioned into La Source, sending Fernando airborne over the top of Charles Leclerc. Very scary.  Race results:  Vettel, Hamilton, Verstappen

Today’s race was viewed in home comfort with large screen details and ongoing color commentary without any of the radical weather changes for which the Ardennes Forest is known.  And, without Flemish Frietes (thick cut, twice fried French fries served with gobs and gobs of mayo.) 2020 race results:  Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen

[1]  Phoenix – 1989; Montreal – 2000 & 2014; Indianapolis – 2005; Spa – 2018