N is for Nordic Sweaters and O is for O'Brien

My apologies - N could be for "not posting yesterday" and O for "Oscar on opiates".  Quick update before the actual A-Z challenge post - My 12 1/2 year old orange tabby, Oscar, had some extensive dental work yesterday.  I was a bit stressed out because of this and then because I couldn't get him to take his pain meds last night (liquid and the vet had instructed to put the syringe in his mouth - has she met my cat?!) so I was worried the little guy was going to be in pain.  I have now been told that, though it is the less desired method of delivery, I can mix the drugs in a small amount of canned food, so Oscar is now hopped up on kitty morphine.  So... on with the actual post.  Thanks for listening to me be a bit neurotic about my cat.

Sweater #1

Creating: N is for Norwegian (or Nordic, if you prefer) sweaters.  As mention previously in post on Knitting, I am a fearless knitter.  As my third ever project, I took a class to learn how to make multicolored Norwegian sweaters.  Techniques I learned in this class included: knitting in the round (on circular needles and on double points), knitting without a pattern and designing as I go, and using multiple colors.  The sweaters are made from the neck down and are completely seamless.   They are lovely to knit and quite possibly my favorite way to make sweaters.  You can try them on as you go to make sure they fit over your shoulders, and the sleeves are long enough and the body is the length you want it.  The first one I made was rather untraditional colors - Chili Pepper, Turquoise and Cream.  It looks like it belongs in Phoenix or New Mexico.  The average age in my class (not including me) was about 70 and the instructor was encouraging those in the group with gray/white hair to find colors which complemented their silvery tones.  Mine did not match my hair.

close up of yoke - sweater #1

detail at bottom - sweater #1

yoke detail - sweater #2

The class lasted 6-8 weeks and I had all except one sleeve finished for the final class. 

Sweater #2

The second sweater was completed that same year.  I wanted one in more traditional colors and I wanted to wear it to Christmas Festival (choir concert) at my alma mater where Nordic sweaters are more common than any other kind of clothes.  This one, I made a little longer and the sleeves were actually long enough (, the first one is kind of a shortie with 3/4 length sleeves because I got a bit impatient).  It is red, black and snow white.  I really like the little leaf pattern on the bottom and sleeves.  Oh, and in case you are wondering, the little dots of color on the body are called "lice". Appealing name, eh? 

Sweater #3

I knit the third just a few years ago, maybe about 5 years ago?  This one I made with mock-turtle neck and a bit more complex zig-zag design on yoke and on the bottom and also a more difficult snowflake pattern.  Instead of color lice, I simply purled the lice instead, so they are textured instead of colored.  This one reminds me of the ocean, which I live nowhere near. 

Yoke detail - sweater #3

 Reading: O is for Tim O'Brien.  Another Minnesota author (see?  We have more than just Garrison Keillor and John Sandford!), O'Brien is well-known for writing about the Vietnam Conflict.  I have several of his books on my list of books to read someday, but one novel that I have read at least 3 times is In the Lake of the Woods.  I selected this for bookclub I think the first year (so back in 1997) because I had read and loved it and wanted to discuss with someone.  The story centers on a John Wade who has just spectacularly lost an election for senate and retreats with his wife Kathy to a cabin in the woods on Lake of the Woods in northern Minnesota (the little "chimney" that sticks up into Canada, if you look at a map).  He wakes one morning to find his wife is missing.  The story is a combination of flashbacks to his childhood, college years,  and his time served in Vietnam, as well as testimony and evidence from related characters.  It presents several hypotheses on what happened to Kathy.  I won't spoil it for you but if you only read books with neatly-tied-up happy endings, you may find yourself discouraged with this one.  Very cleverly written and engaging to read, this book is also disturbing on many levels, as one might expect of a book about a misisng wife and a former soldier who has seen the atrocities of war up close.  It also has a great feeling of place, the isolation of the big lake and surrounding woods.  I would highly recommend In the Lake of the Woods, and plan to also read If I Die in the Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home (memoir), Going after Cacciato (winner of the National Book Award for Fiction),  and novel The Things They Carried.

Until we knit and read again,
Hallie

P.S. We are going to our favorite restaurant tonight for dinner, which could also have been the topic for "N" - Nectar Wine Bar and Bistro.  I have already blogged (and blabbed) about that, though.  Tonight I am going to try the beef bourginon which has never been on the menu before.

F is for Forsythia and Floss flower

Weeding: The flowers in my garden tend to be shades of purple and yellow. I also have sections of red but I really like purple and yellow. E says it is for the Minnesota Vikings. I say not. I just like 'em. Early in the spring, among the first plants to bloom in my yard is the forsythia. It first gets the flowers, the branches covered with yellow petals, then the leaves come.  It, like everything else this year, bloomed even earlier than usual.  The photos were taken probably a week after it first bloomed so you can see the leaves starting to come in.  Our first forsythia was an anniversary give from my mom.  I forgot to plant it.  It died in the pot (sorry, Mom!), so I bought a new one and it has done quite well right outside the front door.  In the photo below, Oscar steps outside to pose with the yellow shrub.  Isn't he handsome?

Forsythia and Oscar, a study in warm colors

Floss flower also starts with F.  I don't plant many annuals anymore.  I am too lazy and too cheap but I do like floss flowers.  They get piles of fuzzy little purple flowers.  Grow them as a border or container.  I think they come in taller varieties too, but I like the shorter mounding type.  They are quite heat tolerant, though I have seen some of them fry when they grew too close to the asphalt driveway.

And there you have it - 2 new plants to add to your F garden.  'Cuz I know you have your garden alphabetized.

Until we weed again,
Hallie

Reading: I went to the store the other day to buy the next book for bookclub, Not All Tarts Are Apple by Pip Granger (love the title!). It was out of stock so I ordered it and then browsed. One of the little gift books on display caught my eye, AstroCats: The secrets of your cat's star sign. I picked it up and started reading the section on determining your cat's sign (when you don't know his birthday). It seemed kind of fun so, for a couple bucks, I bought it. As I was checking out, buying only Astrocats, the guy working at the checkout asked me if I found what I was looking for. I started laughing and when he looked up to figure out what I was laughing at, I said, "Yeah, because I was looking everywhere for a book on cat astrology!" Fortunately he got the humor in it and laughed too. I hate it when people don't get me. 'Cuz really I am quite amusing.

Eating: No new recipes tried lately but I see that BettyCrocker.com has a recipe for Chicago-style pizza that I will try sometime soon.

I saw an excellent movie this weekend, Pieces of April. I had never heard of it but it sounded interesting and the friend I was going with was interested in it. It had Katie Holmes (for Dawson's Creek, if there are any DC fans reading this) and a small part for Sean Hayes (Jack from Will and Grace) where he was surprisingly not gay, though still very odd. Anyway, the summary in the paper was something along the lines of "Young woman cooks Thanksgiving dinner for her family and things go wrong". The summary made me think of Home for the Holidays, which I also liked very much, so I thought we would check it out. It was WONDERFUL! It was an independent film and there were some moments of shaky camera (not like Blair Witch Hunt or anything, just a couple times) but it was touching, it was funny, it was interesting. We laughed, we cried, we would go again! 2 very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Cold Mountain the movie will be out soon (we read the book for BC, so will go see the movie and then pan it as "not as good as the book") and some other BC book will be a movie too, but I can't remember now which one. We saw Under the Tuscan Sun last month and my opinion was that not only was it not as good as the book, it was not anything the same as the book. If I could enthusiastically "thumbs-down" it, I would like to.

Reading: I am in the middle of at least 3 books right now, all very different. On the bus I am reading The Power of a Praying Wife. It was a wedding shower gift over 3 years ago now but I just picked it up. I've never felt I was very good at praying and it is really challenging to pray for someone else. It has some really interesting ideas to think about and even if the power of prayer isn't enough, the thinking that I am doing about my husband, our relationship and myself is helpful in itself. The book is not for everyone (I wasn't sure it was for me which is why I have just now picked it up) but if you are in a relationship, even if you think it is the best relationship in the world, I think there is always at least one aspect of life your husband would appreciate a prayer for.

At lunch time, I am reading Life of Pi--very interesting so far. I enjoyed the argument in favor of zoos (not a commonly heard viewpoint) and in learning how he became a Hindu that also practices Christianity and Islam. I really wish I could remember more of what I learned about Hinduism and Islam in college. I don't have the books anymore either because I had borrowed them and had to return them after the class. I remember we read the Bhagavad-Gita and parts of the Koran and that I decided that of all the "world religions" that we learned about, I most wanted to be a Hindu. I don't now remember why.

At bedtime, I am reading The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (no relation to Wild Oscar, my cat). This is another bookclub book that I did not finish.

I also have in my stack of books I have started but not finished: Pride and Prejudice, Galileo's Daughter and Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own.

Eating: Dinner last night was a repeat recipe but one I have not yet written about: Ham and Cheese Mashed Potatoes. It was a perfect after-Easter recipe and used up the leftover ham. This time, I had some diced ham in the freezer and that made the preparation quite easy. Would be even easier if I had leftover mashed potatoes... Mix together 2 C. mashed potatoes and 1 tsp garlic salt and spread in the bottom of 1.5 quart casserole. Sprinkle 1 C. diced ham over the potatoes. Whip 1/2 C. whipping cream, fold in 1 C. shredded cheddar and spoon the mixture over ham. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Very tasty, easy and filling. My opinions on mashed potatoes--Yukon Gold make the tastiest mashed potatoes and a ricer is the preferred method of mashing (results in fluffier, non-lumpy, non-starchy potatoes). I don't care for potatoes whipped with an electric mixer because it releases too much starch and makes the potatoes less flavorful. With a traditional masher, there are too many lumps left and you might as well just serve boiled potatoes and let everyone smush his own. It seems like a stupid thing to have such strong opinions on but I do. And it is my blog. So there.