Miss Hook If You Please

I recently purchased The Crochet Handbook & Stitch Guide, edited by Ruth Patrick.  I decided it was high time to learn how to crochet and I certainly chose the correct book for such an endeavor.  Last night I made a single crochet stitch wash cloth and this afternoon I made a half double crochet stitch wash cloth.

The reason I want to learn crochet is fairly simple, I want to make a granny square afghan  like this:

and amigurmi cuties like this:

The pattern for these cuties and many more may be found at:

The Instructables

Wild Hare Mystery Toffee

Wild Hare Mystery Toffee*

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

8 Tablespoons butter

1½ cups water

1.  Mix/stir all ingredients in pot and melt over medium heat until sugar dissolves.

2.  Without further stirring, boil until 290 degrees.

3.  Pour into greased 9 x 12 pan. Let cool.  Score surface.  Break into pieces.

 

*This is called mystery toffe because it’s a mystery where I procured it from.  It is neatly written on a recipe card with absolutely no reference as to where it comes from.  If it’s your recipe, let me know.  I’d love to give credit where credit is due.  🙂

 

David Eyre’s Pancake

Roaming about the ‘net this past weekend, I stumbled upon an amazing recipe site, Food 52.  And when I use the term ‘stumbled’ it is not with the use of the ‘Stumble Upon’ site, but the lesser cousin and literal ‘stumble upon’; as in I was hock deep in sites, windows open willy-nilly and found myself quite curiously there.  It would probably be easier to say, I just found the site and it was a very happy find indeed.

I made this for dinner this evening and it is very tasty.  I should add a disclaimer though, if you live in a normal household with average appetites this would easily serve a family of four.  I, on the other hand, live in a house populated with hobbits disguised as humans.   The denizens of this house saw this dish as more of an appetizer!

David Eyre’s Pancake Recipe

Father’s Little Dividend

Last night Miss IMp and I visited  the Mountain Arts Community Center for it’s monthly classic movie night.  This is the third film we’ve enjoyed there and we look forward to many more.  I’m enjoying this introduction to the golden days of cinema; the clothing is magnificent, the actors scrumptious, and the humor just as sly as the day it was first performed.

I might also add, when I peeked at the review of this film online it was listed in the categories of ‘feel good’ and ‘sentimental’…*sigh and swoon*

Giraffe Lady Knits

I just completed the ‘Perfectly Easy Beanie‘ and ‘Maddie’s Fingerless Mitts’  by Giraffe Lady Knits.  The designer, Linda Heins, is a friend of mine from Montana and the one I credit with teaching me the finer points of beginning knitting…as I had only the rough, gangly points down.  🙂

 

*This set is a twin to the set I knit for a swap at Ravelry this month.  🙂

On Account of Faith

In a recent email, a friend of mine mentioned that she was adopting a word for the year; a word…a feeling… a resolution to embrace the very heart and soul of that term…her choice, ‘Joy’.

I’ve been giving the idea a great deal of thought, wondering what might my word for the year be.  I’ve finally settled on ‘Faith’.

Faith = the act of believing in or accepting something intangible or unprovable, or without empirical evidence.

I tend to question, half deny,  and out right squash that which is not easily proven with fact and logic…a crafty Spock who strangely enough sucks at math and science…go figure!  In the last few weeks I’ve really been working on this, trusting in the powers that be, believing that there is a purpose for me in the midst of tangled skeins and strings of certainty…trusting that some shadows aren’t made by tree branches and moon light…that not all dreams are due to over consumption of brownies and caffeine…that the Gods are with us and whisper their wisdom to us…that some flowers really are the Wee Folk …and that I am more than I imagined…

Delicate Sensibilities

I usually am not a serious movie kind of gal.  I prefer light hearted comedies, romance, and animation; all three in one place makes me a very happy camper.  I know this throws me into many categories, probably none very flattering and I am A-okay with that.  Oh, certainly I love the good drama every now and then, “Dangerous Liasons”,  “Gone With the Wind”, “Gettysburg”, and the like…but give me “ThePrincess and the Frog” any day of the week; I laugh, my heart smiles, and I cry tears of sweet joy at the happy endings.

Yesterday my friend Angela and I went to see Black Swan.  It started out as a lovely day.  The sun was out, a fair miracle since the week has been grey and dreary.  We visited her mother’s amazing apartment downtown with a view of the river that took my breath away, then it was off for lunch at Tony’s.  After an absoultely delicious lunch and wonderful conversation, we made our way to the theater to see “Black Swan”.

The movie was so daunting and frightening and chaotic to my senses I felt like an 18th century Amish person watching “Terminator”( a film I might add I’ve never watched) for the first time.  I was shaken by the film, the graphic toe/finger skin/nail file scenes to the point I actually became queasy and even left to get sick in the lady’s room at one point.  My poor dear film companion, Angela, was forced to take care fo me, which she did in perfect Southern gentile  fashion; stopping twice up the mountain for me to take deep breaths of the cold air, buying me stomache medicine, and trying to talk me through it all while I turned various shades of green.   I fear I wasn’t a very good date. I’m not certain I’ll ever be able to forget parts of the film and am supremely thankful I didn’t have nightmares last eve.

 

Dangerous Liasons…Bedside Goodies

One of my favorite parts of “Dangerous Liasons” is when John Malkovich’s Valmont orders his lackey to find out everything about Madame Marie de Tourval; what’s on her bedisde table, what she’s reading…in honor of strange, unbelievable love and one of my favorite movies, here’s what’s on my bedside table:

A vintage pink lamp that makes my entire room seem happy and warm.

A Lego building made by IMp#2

The following books in a teetering stack:

The Constant Princess, by Philippa Gregory

Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Queen & Di, by INgrid Steward

Costume Drawings, by Doten Boulard

What’s Your Sign?, by Madalyn Aslan

Hearts, Cupics, and Red Roses, by Edna Barth

The Widow of the South, by Robert Hicks (on page 97)

A Kitty Kat jewelery box I’ve had since I was 9 years old

a crack-berry

A Pile of markers in case I have a dream or sketch that simply can’t wait

and

Last but not least a postcard “snowball” from a dear friend not so far away.  🙂

 

So, what’s on yours?

Flight of the Valkyries

My daughter and I’ve been reading Norse Myths as of late.  Inspired by the tales and adventures of the Aesir, we’ve bothe been rather crafty.  She has fashioned a set of dolls; Freya, Thor, Odin, and Frig.  She even made me a Nanna doll!  🙂  For her, I made this hat.

In the Eye of the beholder

I grew up in my Nana’s home in Maryland; a huge house full of oddly placed religous items and icons.  Outside of my room was a beautiful ivory Madonna, in fact she was the first thing I saw when I left my room each morning.  In the dining room hung a portrait of Blessed John XXIII (1958-63).  I was always confused when people said no one knew what God looked like, because I believed the portrait of the Pope was actually a painting of God.  I was of course very kind to those people who had never seen God and would invite them to our house to view the painting.  It seemed terribly wrong that only my family and our friends knew what He looked like; of course I could share His image.

As time wore on I realized my mistake and pondered  often what God did or might look like.  There are times I think He/She takes on whatever guise is most fitting for the visit or job at hand.   But when I meditate on the Divine, when I pray, when I dream of the Divine I see someone who looks very much like Michael Clarke Duncan.

One of the books that introduced me to modern Paganism/Wicca is Starhawk’s Spiral Dance.  There is a meditation in there that involves a Place of Power, a place of your creation where you are able to grow and learn spiritually.  It’s a big part of my meditation practice and where I find contact with the Divine and spiritual teachers.  When I’m visited by the Divine, it is in the guise of a man resembling Mr. Duncan; sometimes he wears a smile so wide and warm it could melt an iceberg.  Other times he is stern and serious, his eyes smoldering while he schools Himself to be patient.  His mode of dress changes often, maybe because I myself am a clothes horse and feel He should be too.  🙂  Sometimes He resembles a Jedi in elegant robes and linen tunic, than sometimes he’s in a woolen cloak and heavy boots.  I don’t think He’s ever appeared in jeans and plaid, but who really knows.

On a somewhat related note, Saint Sophia shows up periodically to tell me I talk too much and need to listen more.  Listen for the voice of God, listen to the sounds of Mother Nature, and frankly even without all that religious listening I just need to shut my mouth every so often! She has even threatened in a grandmotherly tone that if I don’t mend my ways she’s going to sew my mouth shut.  I’ve come to view her as a spiritual guide not to be trifled with  or argued with, I tend to nod a lot in her company.  I alsohave no idea why St. Sophia looks like Andrea Martin so much, but there it is!