Thirteen for 50 - A Yarn about Yarn, plus Cat Poems, and Creamy Pineapple Deliciousness

Thank you for all the kind words and support on my last blog post.  I love that you are reading it and enjoying!  I hope I'll be inspired to have another post like it again some day.  

If you are concerned about my walking goals not being met, don't worry - I figured that the winter months would be a little low and will catch up with higher mileage months the rest of the year.  I am on pace for 50 in March - just need about 4 more in the next 3 days which is very doable. I told E I wanted to walk 3 miles today - we ended up with a tiring (for me) 3.7.

The Knitting Grandmas (& Friends!) group that I make the baby hats with has developed a connection with a women's correctional facility in the area.  There is a group there that knits and crochets (and teaches others to knit and crochet) blankets that they then donate to shelters.  I don't know the whole backstory of how we got connected but they accept yarn donations for their projects.  Occasionally the Grandmas (& Friends!) will receive yarn that we can't use for baby hats (we have been advised to use only a certain brand and type of acrylic yarn due to allergies, softness and ease of washing), so we then pass that yarn on to the correctional facility group.  Once word spread, people started donating entire boxes and garbage bags full of yarn and our group became kind of a yarn pipeline.  Our weekly email last week, telling us how many hats we had turned in for the week (108, none of them mine), also said if you are planning to donate to the ladies in prison, we should bring it in on Monday because there probably won't be another pickup until 2nd quarter.  This prompted me to gather all my yarn in one place, write down what I have and how much of it I have, and weed out the stuff that I am not likely to use.  Most of what I am donating is either smaller amounts, too small for any projects I will do but good for the bright colorful blankets the women make, or yarn that I picked up for free somewhere along the way that I am just not going to use (color, type of yarn, etc.).  I came up with a large plastic bagful to donate (bigger than a Target bag, smaller than a kitchen garbage bag.  I thought you might like this picture of a bunch (but not all) of my yarn in one place.

I also found the giant first-ever sock which reminded me again that GAUGE MATTERS, one random granny square (I was teaching myself the technique), and a part of what appears to be a knit flower where I was trying to figure out how the petals work in stockinette or garter stitch (they curl up in stockinette and look much better in garter).  It only has 2 of the petals, though, so made me really think about what it was supposed to be.

I'll drop off hats and yarn tomorrow, so we'll count and post about those hats next time.  I think I have maybe 6 to drop off?

Book 12

I finished another book of poems - Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot.  Because poetry is best read aloud, I read a few of them to my cat Zeke.  He seemed bored (slept through most of it) but maybe that is because these poems are about cats, not for cats.  These poems are the basis for most of the songs in the Broadway musical Cats, which I saw in NYC when I was 18.  We had amazing seats for this show, in the orchestra pit area so right up front and close.  I loved this show so much and only partly because I was already familiar with the music by the time we saw it live.  I liked how the cats/actors moved, and their costumes were really cool too.  As I read the poems, I had a little trouble because I wanted to sing them instead. Some of them show their age, and every time I cringed a little, I had to remind myself that they were published in the 1930's, very much a different time.  Overall I enjoyed the book, though, and love how he captures the very different personalities of cats in the characters like Rum Tum Tugger, Macavity, and Skimbleshanks.

Recipe 12 - Dole Whip

I will confess - I have never had this at Disney, but I did have it once from the work cafeteria and that is kind of the same, right?  Back when we used to have a frozen yogurt shop at work instead of a coffee shop, they gave out samples of Dole Whip.  I raved about it to E, who somewhat surprisingly likes pineapple, and then several times he stopped by my yogurt shop but Dole Whip was not in stock.  Finally, I found an easy recipe that seems true to the spirit of the real thing - no dairy.  Pineapples were on sale so I had E pick one up, and then made him cut it up and freeze (I am bossy, I know).  This was a good version of it, though I added some pineapple juice because it was too thick.  From Holderness Family (whose videos I also enjoy).

2 cups frozen pineapple 

1/3 cup coconut milk (I was surprised to find the can of coconut milk solid when I opened it - apparently it does this at room temperature?)

3 Tbsp maple syrup (there was an incident at my house that may or may not have been kind of a sticky mess - I got part of the measured amount into my blender)

1 tsp lemon juice (I forgot this)

1 tsp lime juice (I forgot this too)

1 pinch salt (guess what?  I forgot it)

Put all ingredients into blender or food processor (I used my Ninja because that is what I have for both blender and processor, and because it works well on frozen stuff). You may have to stop and scraped down sides (I did several times before I added in the juice which helped loosen it up some).  If you want to be fancy, you can put it in a plastic bag and pipe into dishes. (I put mine in plastic bag and then in freezer because we weren't ready to eat it yet and it makes 4 servings and we were only eating 2 of them.  I scooped out with ice cream scoop and we have some left for another evening.)

That's it.  Simple, tasty and fast.  If you don't like or have coconut milk, you could swap in another type of milk.  Honestly, I couldn't taste the coconut nor the maple, just the creamy delicious pineapple goodness.

 Fifty for 50 Tally

Books completed – 12 (5 more in progress)

Recipes tried – 12

Blog posts published– 13

Miles walked in March - 46.07

               Miles walked year-to-date –123.86

Scrap book pages completed –12

Hats donated – 16

Hours volunteered – 0

Until we read or eat again,

Hallie

Twelve for 50 - Feeling Springy and Making Choices

The first day of spring was yesterday.  It felt a bit springy, at least for this part of the world, and we took a long walk (well, long for me anyway, about 3 miles), then I picked up the yard a little.  Removed trash, cleaned up the spruce tips, took down the little Christmas trees and lights.  I did not pick up the large piles of dog turds from behind the pine trees along the path, however.  I am more than a little irritated at dog owners who leave behind dog crap.  I considered a sign on each pile (I found 3) saying "You forgot something" but then thought my signs might blow away and further add to the litter.  

Today is very windy - Karl, DAN, and Sergei are all dancing manically.  Perhaps I should explain these characters.  Karl is Karl Foerster ornamental grass, DAN is what we call the Dwarf Arctic Willow bushes (having misread the abbreviation Beth wrote on our garden plan as DAN instead of DAW), and Sergei is, of course, the Russian sage.  If it is a little breezy, Karl dances.  A bit windier and DAN joins in.  Today, even Sergei was busting a move.  Our walk today started against the wind and tired me out even sooner than I tired yesterday, but we still did 3 miles.

I didn't finish any books this week, nor turn in hats or even try any new recipes.  My energy was spent during the workday with a new hire and friend (same person!), demonstrating and talking through many of the finer points of underwriting at Thrivent.  It was both very fun and exhausting.  I love my job most of the time, though occasionally am reminding how far outside my normal comfort zone I often find myself.  Like I said, fun and exhausting.

Before I started my Fifty for 50 and announced it to the world (or at least the 3-4 dozen of you who read my blog regularly), I had told a couple of people about my idea.  There were some good supporters but also some who thought I was crazy, that it was "too much".  Sometimes now 3 months in, I still get the awe and wonder that I can "do all those things", but I maintain it is stuff I like and want to do.  You may notice that I am keeping up with the plan as well - just under 1/4 way through the year and on pace. I believe that "not enough time" is more likely not prioritizing the things that are important to you.  "How do you have time to knit and read and cook and bake and scrapbook and..." I have been asked.  Those are things that I choose to do.  Here are things I don't do much of that many others spend time on:

• cleaning - my house is neat enough and there are rooms to which you will never be invited but then again, why the heck would I be inviting people to my bedroom or home office anyway?  I do not think anyone is going to lie upon their deathbed and think, "gosh, I really wish I had spent more time cleaning."  Except perhaps the person who is lying under a pile of stuff that collapsed on them, but that is another story altogether.
• hair, makeup and clothes - I can be ready (even to be on camera or in person) in less than 20 minutes.  I have never worn makeup, I almost refuse to do anything with my hair other than wash every couple days and comb, and I am simplistic in my wardrobe. Picking from a dozen most-frequently worn shirts and a handful of pants that are comfortable and fit well is way easier than fussing with outfits and accessories.  
• commuting.  Even pre-pandemic, I worked from home.  I engage frequently (sometimes all day long) with co-workers via video or audio, sometimes just instant message and email, get my work done as efficiently and effectively as possible and can get to the office from my bedroom in under 10 seconds (slightly longer if I trip over a cat).
• going to the gym/exercising.  I don't like exercising - never have.  We typically walk in the morning before and after work for about 20 minutes and 1.2 miles (same loop) each time.  Occasionally I will flop on my yoga mat and do some stretches while watching TV in the evening.  In the summertime, I may take my bike out for 10-15 minute ride at lunchtime.  I'll probably die 12 minutes sooner than if I DID exercise.  I am willing to sacrifice those 12 minutes.
• running children around or fussing with children's lives - I don't have children.  Some people spend a whole lot of time with kid's activities.  I don't have to.
• shopping.  Since last March, E has taken over the grocery shopping.  He goes once a week after 10 at night to avoid crowds.  We make a list together on AnyList (we can each edit the list at the same time and I can add to it while he is at the store) after planning lunch and dinner menus for the week.  Planning meals and shopping once saves a ton of time, even if it was me going to the store.  I don't have to spend a bunch of time thinking about what I am going to make for dinner and then searching around to see if I have all the ingredients to make it, all while I am ready to chew off my own arm in hunger.  I don't enjoy shopping either, be it for food, clothes, or almost anything else, so I do it as little as possible.  I manage a little shopping on-line, or for pickup at Target, for necessities like shampoo, books, yarn and scrapbooking supplies.
• entertaining large groups of family or friends.  Even pre-pandemic, I was not an entertainer.  Once or maybe two times a year we would have a small group of friends over for what you might call a party or gathering.  Once a year I host a holiday dinner.  Once a year I host book club.  It helps that my family and E's are small (at least the immediate parents/siblings parts of the family) and that our circle of friends is small too.  I like having people at our house or cabin - don't get me wrong - but I don't do it frequently.  And when I do, it is simple.  There are not huge spreads of food or lots of planned entertainment going on.  We have a few good foods that I know people like, a variety of beverages, occasionally we play a game (or if at the lake, go float around on the pontoon for hours) but that is it.
• sports - watching, listening to, participating in or following in any way.  I just don't even care, other than going to a rare baseball game or even more rare hockey game in person (not on TV).  You don't even need to engage me in rivalries or who is seeded where or playing when - I could not care less.

None of this is to judge others on how they spend their time, and I am fully aware that some of these are circumstances vs. choices (like kids or the size of ones family).  I could make the argument that even those circumstances still have choices that are made, though.  Yes, you have children but you also can choose to have them involved in 3 activities at all times or to have them pick one that they enjoy.  Yes, you may have a large immediate or extended family but you can choose to have all 57 members of the family at your house for holiday dinner or you could keep it to your spouse and children + grandchildren, or only have them over for one holiday a year vs. all the holidays and all the birthdays and every Sunday after church.

We can all make choices about how we spend our time, our days, our lives. If I find myself thinking that I HAVE to do something, I drag my feet and have a bad attitude about it.  If I think of it as a choice, it goes a little easier.  Try it and see.  Even something that may seem like a "have to" is very likely actually a choice.  I choose to go to work today because I would like to keep my job so that I can continue to get paid so that I can pay my bills and have a little left over to buy some squooshy yarn to make something that can bring me or someone else a little joy.  I choose to cook dinner tonight so that I have control over the ingredients and can feel comfortable knowing what I am putting in my mouth, and nourishing my body.  I choose to take a walk because I can spend some lovely time talking to my husband, feeling the sunshine (or wind) on my face, and loosening up my hips that get so tight sitting all day.

See what you think.  It is spring.  Maybe time for a fresh start.

Until we read or eat again,

Hallie

Fifty for 50 Tally

Books completed – 11 (6 more in progress)

Recipes tried – 11

Blog posts published– 12

Miles walked in March - 36.57

               Miles walked year-to-date –114.36

Scrap book pages completed –12

Hats donated – 16

Hours volunteered – 0