So What's New?

I know I've been a bad blogger, it's been weeks since my last post.  Here's what I've been doing: 

Yesterday, in preparation for a Thanksgiving feast for, which I'll be making desserts, at my friend Scout's house, I baked pate a choux or cream puff shells.  And lo and behold, not only did they RISE, but they rose HIGHER than they ever did for me at sea level.  YAY!!!  I didn't even have to alter the recipe.  How awesome is that.  I'd have taken pictures but Anthony and I ate them, which is sort of too bad because they really were pretty.  They ended up getting filled first with tuna for lunch, and then some leftover chocolate custard and almond creme anglaise for dessert.  YUM!  The shells really are very easy to make; don't be intimidated by the French.  There is a fab recipe and step by step instructions complete with photos here.

This past weekend, A and I drove to Farmington, NM, which is in the four corners, for a Fiber Fest to vend Heal My Hands.  No one came.  I'm not kidding - really - no one came.  They missed a year and didn't advertise in the right places, and so no one came.  We made did okay with Heal My Hands, all of the fifty or so people who showed up and most of the vendors bought from us, but I felt terrible for the other vendors - and there were some great people with wonderful yarn and roving (which I did NOT buy because my spinning wheel is STILL not here)!   

I did buy some of the most gorgeous yarn I've ever touched from Elsa Wool Company.  It's cormo from her own flock and it's as soft as a cloud.  I bought both worsted and woolen spun,natural colors in sport and worsted weights.  I wound one skein into a ball last night for socks.  I can't wait to get it on the needles!

Saturday night, after a yummy seafood salad at Red Lobster and a movie in bed at the hotel, my tooth started to hurt.  It got worse through the night and by Sunday morning I was pretty much in agony.  We went to the show but only ended up staying for a couple of hours.  The four hour ride home via Rt 505 took us through some beautiful scenery.  If I hadn't been rocking in pain - I'd have taken more photos, but here's one so you get the idea.  Anthony found a dentist in Santa Fe, Dr. Cho, who met us in his office and started a root canal for me at 7 pm on a Sunday night.  Who say's there are no such things as Angels? 

So my tooth is better now.  The chickens have been doing okay, and we only had a couple of mild scares.  One Feather and one of our red girls have what seems like a head cold.  We're giving them medication and hopefully they'll be better soon.  One of the male peacocks seems to think that perhaps our girls would make fine mates, so he has been preening and shaking his big tail at them whenever he thinks of it.  They seem less than impressed and just appear worried that maybe he'll take their food.

On the knitting front, I have not had much time to knit lately, but I'm almost finished with the veldt shawl. I ran out of Louisa Harding Sari Silk in #20 halfway though a row last night so I have to order more before I can move on.  I also did two baby socks from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters: Book One, link is in my sidebar, and believe me that book is AWESOME!  If you knit socks you NEED to have this book.  It'll change the way you think about knitting socks forever. 

The little sock on the left, is a Coreolis, which is an amazing way of increasing around the sock starting at the outer instep and curving up and around the foot and ankle.  There are NO gussetts!  It is truly amazing and you just have to se it and the other sock architectures for yourself to understand just how brilliant Cat is.   

And last, but by far not least, my daughter just sent me pictures of the cake she made for her company's Holiday Cake contest!  The winner gets a day off WITH PAY!!!!  he's won two years in a row - I'm keeping ALL my fingers crossed for her this year.  The cake inside the sled is a Martha Stewart Coconut cake recipe which she said is delicious.  The sides are gingerbread, and the gifts are dark chocolate fudge, dipped in tinted white chocolate with a fondant bag and bows.  And she did this with three kids, three cats a dog and no help!  She's so good!

So I'm off to the post office (which is another hideously painful and frankly unbelievable story that I'll save for another time) to ship orders.  And I promise to be a better poster.  Really.

      

Comments

[Scoutj]

I can not WAIT to have dessert this year! And tell everyone that they can buy signed copies of that book from me in the shop soon! :)

See you on Thursday!
xo

[Suzanne]

Well hullo there! Maybe Dr. Cho deserves some socks. So sorry to hear about the fiber festival; under-marketing is fatal. You know what I think would be a blast? A transcontinental train trip to western fiber fests. Pack the observation car with knitters and it would be heaven.

[AmyP]

You really are one talented family - the cake looks delicious! I'm glad to hear everything seem to be OK with the chickens (and your tooth!)

[Ellen-Mary]

I was looking at that book and wondering if it was worth having. If you say it's good I'll pick up a copy for myself. Glad to hear your tooth is better and your settling in out there. Pate a Choux is good filled with cannoli cream. You know, in case you run out of chocolate custard.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.