Eureka!

I've figured it out! And, I didn't have to resort to Google. Always a plus when the mental synapses work. It was Center Stage.

The May socks are progressing much better then the March socks did. I have one down and the ribbing done on the second one. I got 3 inches of cuff and the heel flap done in the car on Thursday when we went to Wilkes Barre. It's nice to have something to do in the car. I hate just sitting still and doing nothing.

The local strawberries are appearing. I had shortcake last night.

I still haven't figured out exactly what is wrong with my oven, but I think it may be speaking to Squirm's. I put the shortcakes in the oven last night and checked the temp on the thermometer. It was under what the oven said it should be, so I raised the temp accordingly. When next I checked, it was over. This is not good.

My internet was non operational yesturday. Of course there were things I needed to do.

I have located a 6 quart crock pot. Now all I need is a trivet for it and a loaf pan. I made vegetable curry this week. It turned out very well. The gray fiend was interested in what I was doing, so I told him that he didn't like curry. Mother said the cat was sensible.

The way things are

Well, I still haven't figured out where I've seen the actress who played Uhura. Squirm was no help at all. His suggestion was to look her up on some website. At somepoint I will figure it out.

Since it's moving into summer, I've been getting hungry for yogurt. I've been contemplating getting a yogurt maker. In part because of the high amount of sugar in yogurt but also because so many yogurts have geletin in them. So, I was reviewing the yogurt section to find non-geletin yogurts. I don't go with generic for the flavored yogurt. I found some, and this is weird. Breyers -- but, just the ones with the stir in crunchies. Not the regular, not the light, just with the stir ins. Hmm, odd. Rest assured, I will check the next time I buy yogurt, as I do not presume that the geletin will stay out. FYI, the cookies and creme is good.

The fiends did not have an entirely good weekend. There was thunder (they huddled on the stairs). And, their food bowls went into the dishwasher. At first this was exciting, Mom picked up the bowls -- WET FOOD! But, bowls did not come back down and Mom left kitchen. And, there were NO food bowls. When food bowls came back, it was kibble.

Things improve......

The March socks are finally done. I realized when on the heel flap for the second sock that I had done the toe incorrectly. I hadn't continued the purl ground. OH WELL. I was not frogging the entire completed sock, especially since it will not be noticed inside the shoe.

The yarn and pattern for the May socks has arrived. The yarn has been wound. The fiends were quite interested. Since the March socks are now done, I can work on the May socks. However, I hadn't wound the yarn, so I started on the Bettie's Lace Stockings. My mother doesn't care for them. She does like the March socks though. I will need to put the lace socks on hold until I get the 5" bamboo threes. The shawl did not get completed. It was too hot to work on it. It may need to hibernate for the summer. Maybe I'll pick up again on the Magical Night cross stitch.

The fiends say hello.

Being a government employee, I have today off. This of course will throw off the rest of the week, because I will be confused as to what day it is. As it is a nice day, and since I'm home, I opened the downstairs windows. The fiends enjoy the open windows.
The plants enjoyed yesturday's rain. This also means I don't have to water them today.

I tore out quite a few morning glories. They had reseeded themselves with a bit to much vigor.


Being Memorial Day, we had a parade. The Girl Scouts were marching in the parade. The marching went well.

My brother and I went to see Star Trek. I was a bit confused at first, but once I figured something out, I was good. I'm not going to say what it was. Go watch the movie yourself. The movie was quite good. The previews on the other hand were bad (with the exception of Night at the Museum). Squirm said this was in part because they were for sequels and I hadn't seen the first movie. Umm, no. They were bad -- the main theme seemed to be destroy as much of the planet as possible, with gigantic robots.

Live Long & Prosper.

Of Course

The March socks are finally somewhat cooperating. I won't say fully because the fit is just a little off what I really like. And they were frogged about 5-6 times. I am not taking a picture till the second one is done. Who knows why they are finally cooperating.

The current traveling project is. not. a. sock. GASP! It is actually a shawl. It is in a chunky blue Bernet that I forget the name off (and of course do not have the ball band for). I am working on a crocheted prayer shawl. The blessing is this coming Sunday. I may need prayer. The traveling sock is currently taking a hiatus in the overhead bin at work. I should work on it soon -- if only to free the needles. But, it doesn't have a due date -- think quilt completion.

The 1 kilt hose is done. FINALLY. My fingers are taking a break from kilt hose. Sorry Squirm. They're a Christmas present. Deal with it. The next time someone goes down or Mortal comes up, remind me to send the hose along with her. I started thinking about my next project. The wool finally came in for the sweater, but it is almost June. I don't do sweaters in the summer. And yes, before you remind me, I know the next sock shipment is coming soon. I'm thinking of Bettie's Lace Stockings (from Spring Interweave). Then I looked at the yarn and it only needs a little less then 400 yards for both socks. Then I looked in my yarn basket. Found appropriate yarn. New problem: my fat feet (thank you genetics). I have to increase the gauge. Which would normally not be a problem except that my LYS is relocating. They are closed until June. I need size 3 bamboo needles. Oh fudge.

I made chili on Saturday. I'm still missing something in the recipe. I am happy to report that the Fiber One Apple muffin mix is quite good. I used my silicone muffin top pans and baked them for about 15 minutes. I'm planning to make a spinach pate for the choir picnic in June. Yes, I realize that it will not be a true pate. Deal with it. I just need to find a 6 quart crockpot......

Hungry?

The Bible study spring dinner was this past Thursday at my house. The fiends were perturbed. They were incarcerated for the duration of the actual dinner (it was about 1 1/2 hours and they were in the bedroom, so don't feel to sorry for them. They also got tuna).

I made tuna salad, cheese puffs and truffles. There were other things brought, but that's what I made. I'm not fond of mayo, so I looked through some cookbooks for a dressing idea. I used the Cilantro Lime Pesto from Moosewood Daily Special. It contained cilantro (duh), scallions, dill, lime juice and olive oil. It was quite tasty. I think that when I make this again, I will either use less olive oil or use plain yogurt instead. The salad consisted of albacore tuna, toasted pine nuts, apple, grapes, onion and celery. It was very tasty.

The cheese puffs are not those poofy fake cheese powder covered things you find in the potato chip aisle. These were made with choux paste (what cream puffs and eclairs are made with) and I added garlic chives and cheddar cheese. Yum. They didn't turn out quite as I was expecting -- I think this has something to do with the fact that there is something wrong with the oven.

Truffles: white chocolate butterscotch, dark chocolate plain, milk chocolate mint and dark chocolate raspberry. Very tasty, much appreciated. I gave some to my mother for Mother's Day as well.

The basic truffle recipe:

• 6 oz chocolate (this is a little less then 2 Ghiradelli bars)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons flavor (I've used Schnapps, Godiva chocolate liquor, creme de menthe, Amaretto, Chambord)

1. melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler over simmering water. Do not let it boil and make sure the top part of your double boiler doesn't touch the water. Stir occasionally.
2. remove from heat.
3. add cream and flavoring agent. I usually have the cream and flavoring already mixed in a separate bowl that I pour the chocolate into. This way, I can start another batch without washing and completely drying the double boiler between batches.
4. If you are adding any texture items, coconut, nuts, etc, add them now.
5. Let cool. If you're going to put it in the fridge, keep an eye on it. You don't want it to get to hard. For white chocolate -- you will need to put it in the fridge.
6. Form into balls. If rolling truffles, roll them in finishing agent (cocoa, 10x, nuts, coconut). Place in fridge.
7. If dipping in chocolate put the truffles in the freezer for ~30 minutes right before dipping, melt chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water. Remove from heat. I usually set on a trivet so my potholders don't get soaked. Place truffles in chocolate, roll to cover, remove and place on wax paper.
8. Refridgerate
9. Eat and enjoy.

Each batch (6oz chocolate) will yield around 2 dozen truffles depending on size and how much chocolate you eat while making :)

I usually make 4 batches at a time, as heavy cream comes in a 1 cup container.

10 Things I have learned...

From Disaster Movies

1. Sticking with the main group is not always good.
2. Be resourceful.
3. Be prepared.
4. The government is not always right (but I already knew that).
5. NYC is not the best place to live (neither is LA).
6. The universe is a dangerous place and there are aliens that are out to get us.
7. There are things that cannot be prepared for.
8. Being able to swim is a good skill to have.
9. A well rounded education is necessary.
10. Always have a plan B.

And, on a final note, never travel on a ship named Titanic or Poseidon.

Tax Time = Panic Time

Taxes are due tomorrow -- Have you filed yours?

The brief panic moments for this year:

• Realized it was April & I hadn't filed yet
• Turbo Tax would not run on the available computer b/c I didn't have the most current Flash player. I think this is just dumb.
• Could not remember seeing the local form. solved, they changed the looks. It came in a regular envelope this year.
• Realizing you will be getting a refund after all, priceless.

Anyway, the taxes have been filed, check will be mailed to state today and local will be mailed today.

The refund will cover Gil's hospital bill. WhooHOO! An update on the food, wet food #2 was eaten as food of last resort. Dry food #2 & #3 were eaten. Wet food #3 was eaten. I even got purrs. The ladies at the vets' office thought it rather odd that the fiends were picky about the wet food and not picky at all about the dry. Oh well, it was known that the fiends are odd. Gil did not like receiving his twice daily pill. I did not like giving it to him. So, for the ease of all, we got pill pockets from the vet. They are soft cat treats that look like little brown buckets. You put the pill in the center then pinch the top. Gil likes them. Rose likes the fact that he is getting treats as well. The dosing is done in less then a minute with the treats instead of taking upwards of 5 minutes. On Saturday, I was in the kitchen putting the groceries away and Gil was sitting in front of the pantry giving his best imploring pauvre petite starving degeted neglected puddy eyes. Mother stopped by and saw him. She told him that his message (food bowl empty, food in pantry) had been received and understood, but that food would not be put into the bowl at this time. The poor fiend.

Rogue Roses has been restarted and frogged a second time. This is really depressing as I REALLY LIKE the pattern and the colorway. The kilt hose continue. Recipient will be trying them on tonight. The yarn for the second pair has arrived (Thraven from BMFA). We bought one extra skein as an insurance skein. As neither pair needs to be done until January 3, I think we're good.