Officer Friendly?

The Credit Crunch

auwillia — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:42:49 +0000

I’m re-reading “The Credit Crunch” by Graham Turner because I needed something small to fit in my bag to read on the bus on the way to work. And also because I think he has some good points about the current economic situation, despite the really poor style in which this book is written. It meanders. He jumps around. At times he assumes the reader shares his vast knowledge base and years of experience, particularly regarding the economy of Japan over the last 2.5 decades. He doesn’t get around to writing a ‘history’ of that economy until chapter 7 (out of 8 chapters). So this time I started with chapter 7 and then went back to the beginning to make sure I have that example well in mind before getting into all the comparisons he makes in the first 6 chapters.

He’s British, but that’s no excuse. This book is not well organized at all. Too bad, because I think he has hit the nail right on the head about what is happening in the economy now. And hopefully I’ll get more out of it this time around.

Sore throat

auwillia — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 01:34:26 +0000

My 4-year old has been sick with a cough and fever most of the weekend, and I feel like I may be catching it. My throat is feeling raw and unpleasant. Crap! And I am training the holiday temp this week and I really need to be able to talk.

Neglect

auwillia — Thu, 26 May 2011 20:02:33 +0000

I have seriously been neglecting this blog. I have been thinking about posting a few things to it lately, so hopefully I’ll have time soon.

Analysis Paralysis

auwillia — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:23:10 +0000

I’m very prone to Analysis Paralysis – too much research keeping me from making a final decision. Milad and I did finally get a new vacuum, though. I made a lunch-time foray over to Stark’s vacuums one day and looked at the Miele and Simplicity models. Then I dragged Milad back over there that weekend and had him look at the two Simplicity models that I’d narrowed it down to. We decided to go with the newer model, the Verve. It has all the bells and whistles and a somewhat longer warranty than the older model, but was a bit more expensive. But I don’t want to have to buy another vacuum anytime soon!

The Simplicity Verve is a cannister vacuum with SR-type HEPA filtration. It has all the attachments we need and can do the upholstery and stairs and dusting. We finally put it through its full paces this weekend. We did the horrid carpet downstairs, all matted down and ugly. It fluffed up pretty well for what it is. Then I did the sofas, and Milad dusted all the electronics and lamps and window sills in the living room. (We found some missing DVD’s under one of the stereo speakers – Omar was looking for his favorite cartoon, but couldn’t remember where he’d put the disc. We’d searched high and low for it, so we were happy to find it.)

Milad did the stairs and upstairs. The biggest bonus was using the crevice tool to do the vinyl lounge chairs in the dining room, which have this raised piping around the seat edges that catches every crumb. I’ve gone over those chairs with a toothpick (literally) and all manner of brushes trying to get them clean, but was always suspicious that I wasn’t really getting the job done all that well. But they look great now.

We put the old Hoover bagless with the broken wheel out by the curb and it was gone in 40 minutes. The only good thing I can say about that vacuum was that it still rolled well with only three wheels. It just didn’t really suck. Omar was fascinated with the idea of putting the vacuum out by the road. He doesn’t seem to miss that vacuum, though. It was really loud compared to the new one. But he is scared of the new one, too.

I’ve been looking at toaster ovens and reading toaster reviews for far too long, too. I finally made up my mind to go with a cheap one, since I don’t make toast often, and I haven’t ever owned a toaster, so I don’t really know what I want in one for sure. So the $15 Proctor Silex was looking good. For a few weeks now I’ve looked at some local stores for a certain model that got good reviews. Thought I saw it in passing one day, but it turned out to be a different model when I went back to check. So I didn’t buy it. I realized this weekend that if I’d just gone to Proctorsilex.com I could have ordered the exact one I wanted and it would have been here by now. So after one more look at Fred Meyer this weekend, since I happened to be there, I made up my mind to just order it today since they didn’t have it.

And while I was on their site I decided to get a new waffle iron too, mainly because they had a free shipping offer on larger orders. I was only somewhat interested in a new waffle iron, since I rarely make waffles. It’s another thing I hadn’t really made up my mind about. But the nice-looking Cuisinart waffle iron I have is broken and slightly dangerous, and the Proctor Silex one was cheap enough to not agonize over.

The Cuisinart was a nice-looking waffle iron, but didn’t last long. It had some annoying features, like a ridge around the side that was hard to clean, and it looks like stainless steel but is mostly plastic. The plastic knob that turns the thing on and off, and selects the color setting, is what broke off. There is a metal pin that sticks out that one could use to turn it, if you can figure out the settings. But it also gets blazing hot when the thing is on. And there’s no way to tell if it’s off or on when you plug it in without the markings on the knob. I haven’t used it in a long time, since I burned my hand on the metal pin last time I tried to use it. I called Cuisinart to see about getting a new knob. It looks like the kind of thing that would be easy to just snap on. But they didn’t have replacement parts, and it’s out of warranty. They offered me 20% off a new one. I thought about that and decided I just don’t want another Cuisinart. I’m not super happy with their brand rice-cooker that I have either. It says it will make 6 cups of rice, but if you try to make that much it overflows – especially with brown rice.

Knit a Kitty Bean Bag

auwillia — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:11:24 +0000

Actually, this could be a pot holder, or a little pillow, or anything you can think of that is flat and round. It could be a different animal, or a flying saucer, or some other critter with different ears. My mom used to crochet this Kitty Bean Bag for me as a kid. I believe the pattern came from a 60’s era “Learn to Crochet” booklet. I never could master crochet.

A while back I stumbled upon the directions for knitting a flat circle, here: http://knit-amigurumi.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-to-knit-flat-circle.html I wanted to try it for the novelty, but could never quite get motivated to try it without a project in mind. It took me a while to think that yes, now I could make my own kitty bean bags for my kids without learning to crochet. So here are the directions for the Kitty Bean Bag. I’ve slightly modified the cast-on at the beginning of the flat circle directions to avoid sewing up such a large hole in the middle.

Kitty face bean bag

This guy is made with Lion® Cotton on size 5 DPN’s. Gauge and yarn type is not important for this project, however if you are going to fill it with beans make sure to use smaller needles so there aren’t any big holes that will let the beans through. (I tend to knit loose, so I have to be careful about these things.)

Cast on 3 stitches on a DPN.

KFB all stitches (6 stitches on needle)

Transfer two stitches to each of three DPNs.

Round 1: Join round and K all stitches.

Round 2: KFB all stitches. (12 stitches total)

Round 3: K all stitches

Round 4: *KFB, K1* around (18 stitches total, 6 per needle)

Round 5: K all stitches on all odd rounds

Round 6: *KFB, K1* (27 total, 9 per needle)

Round 8: *KFB, K2* (36 total, 12 per needle)

Round 10: *KFB, K3* (45 total, 15 per needle)

Round 12: *KFB, K4* (54 total, 18 per needle)

Round 14: *KFB, K5* (63 total, 21 per needle)

Round 16: *KFB, K6* (72 total, 24 per needle)

Etc… to circle size of your choice. I stopped at 72 total stitches for the Kitty Bean Bag pictured.

End on an odd row. Bind off all the stitches on two adjoining needles. To shape ears:

K 6, and hold on one DPN for right ear.

With another DPN, bind off all but last 6 stitches. Work left ear:

Row 1: K 6 stitches.

Row 2: Turn needle and P6.

Row 3: K2, K2Tog, K2

Row 4: P5

Row 5: K2, K2Tog, K1 (right ear: K1, K2Tog, K2)

Row 6: P4

Row 7: K1, K2Tog, K1

Row 8: P 3

Row 9: K, K2Tog (right ear: K2Tog, K1)

Row 10: P2Tog

Bind off last stitch.

Repeat with other ear, starting with purl Row 2 (directions reversed on rows with odd numbers of stitches for symmetry).

To make a bean bag or pillow make another flat circle of the same size, sans ears, for the back. Just bind off all three needles at the end. Wash and block, and embroider the face of your choice on eared circle when dry. Sew up hole in the middle (if there is one, and edges, leaving hole for stuffing or beans. Fill and sew shut.

auwillia — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:03:41 +0000

Turkey Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 small onion, minced (or about 1/4 of a large onion)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 egg

1/4 cup crushed saltines

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley leaves (or 2 T. dried)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan (optional)

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 pound ground turkey

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 jar (26 ounces, about 3 cups) marinara sauce

Pasta of your choice, cooked.

Directions: Add the onion, garlic, egg, cracker crumbs, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper to a large bowl and blend. Mix in the turkey. Shape the turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and saute until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.

Pour off any excess oil. Add the marinara sauce. Turn the heat to medium-low and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly and the meatballs are cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with cooked pasta.

Notes: A bit of poultry seasoning won’t hurt these meatballs.

If you have a food processor you can crush the crackers and mince the onion and parsley all together. Then throw in the egg, garlic, cheese and spices too. Very fast!

Aran Baby Hat pattern

auwillia — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:38:48 +0000

I worked on my Aran baby hat the last two nights. I’d rewritten it for knitting in the round on double-pointed needles. Didn’t have much time to concentrate on it, though. Omar was in and out of my knitting basket and kept spreading double-pointed needles of various sizes all over the place, and was generally climbing all over me while I was trying to knit. So I got into my re-written pattern about three rows before I realized I’d made a basic mistake when I rewrote it for knitting in the round. I forgot to reverse the order of the two patterns I was combining on the even rows. So I had to rip the whole thing out and start over.

I also decided it would be easier if I just write out the two patterns separately but on the same line, instead of combining them all into one long line of abbreviations. So I rewrote it today, and just added a | between the two different patterns. Now I’m ready to give this revised pattern a try. Almost the same abbreviations for the previous knitting flat pattern that I posted:

C2B (K1, P1) – Cable 2 stitches, to back (slip 1 stitch to cable needle and leave at back. K1, and then P1 stitch off the cable needle.)

C4B (K2, K2) – Cable 4 stitches, to back (slip 2 stitches to cable needle and leave at back. K2, and the K2 from cable needle.)

C2F (P1, K1) – Cable 2 stitches, to front (slip 1 stitch to cable needle and leave at front. K1 and then P1 stitch off the cable needle.)

YFWD – Yarn forward

YBK – Yarn back

SL1 – Slip 1 stitch purl-wise

This isn’t really the whole hat pattern yet. I still haven’t figured out how I’m going to shape the crown. But here is the pattern rewritten for working in the round on double-pointed needles:

A multiple of 31 stitches. For knitting in the round. – Twisted Rope Cable (14 stitches) | Tree of Life (17 stitches)

Row 1: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P2, | P6, C2B (K1, P1) , K1, C2F (P1, K1) (P1, K1), P6

Row 2: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P2, | P6, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P1, K1, P1, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P6

Row 3: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P2, | P5, C2B (K1, P1) , P1, K1, P1, C2F (P1, K1) , P5

Row 4: P2, K1, P2, C4B (K2, K2) , P2, K1, P2, | P5, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P2, K1, P2, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P5

Row 5: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P2, | P4, C2B (K1, P1) , P2, K1, P2, C2F (P1, K1) , P4

Row 6: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P2, | P4, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P3, K1, P3, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P4

Row 7: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P2, | P3, C2B (K1, P1) , P3, K1, P3, C2F (P1, K1) , P3

Row 8: P2, K1, P2, C4B (K2, K2) , P2, K1, P2, | P3, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P4, K1, P4, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P3

Row 9: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P2, | P2, C2B (K1, P1) , P4, K1, P4, C2F (P1, K1) , P2

Row 10: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P2, | P2, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P5, K1, P5, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P2

Row 11: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P2, | P1, C2B (K1, P1) , P5, K1, P5, C2F (P1, K1) , P1

Row 12: P2, K1, P2, C4B (K2, K2) , P2, K1, P2, | P1, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P6, K1, P6, YBK, SL1, YFWD, P1

I worked a few rows of K1, P1 ribbing for the bottom of the hat. I also taught myself a new cast-on method, instead of using the usual long-tail cast-on that I do. I learned the knitted cast-on from the Readers Digest Complete Guide to Needlework. It is supposed to be good for a ribbed edge. It looks more like a twist than a braid along the edge. It was a little slower to do than the long-tail cast-on, at least for me. I am kind of a slow knitter, and doubly slow when I’m trying something new.

Now that I’ve been working on this pattern a while I think I know why I haven’t seen any patterns for knitting Aran in the round. You’ve already got 5 dpn’s to fiddle with, and throwing in that cable needle is just one more! I’ve got sticks everywhere! And it doesn’t help that I’m knitting this on itty bitty size 2 needles, I suppose.

Omar and the spinach casserole

auwillia — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:04:44 +0000

I made a Spanikopita Greek spinach casserole the other night. It is a lot of work, being that there are layers of Phylo dough on top and bottom with the filling in between, but I like to make it once in a while. Omar helped me paint melted butter between the Phylo dough layers with a pastry brush.

He was really doing a good job for being 2.5 years old, until he decided it was just as much fun to paint melted butter on the table. Then he decided he wanted to poke holes in the casserole when I was doing the top layer of phyllo dough. I told him not to do that anymore after he gouged a particularly large hole in it and sat there laughing about it. I told him he was going to get a time out if he did it again.

I didn’t know what to do about the hole, really, so I tore off a piece of phyllo dough and wadded it up and stuffed it in the hole. Omar said, “You stuffed a napkin in there?” Phylo dough does look like paper. So now Omar thinks I’ve stuffed a napkin in the middle of the casserole!

He wanted to poke more holes and I wouldn’t let him, so he decided he wanted to ask Daddy about that. Milad had gone to bed already, so Omar went upstairs to consult him. Milad called me at work this morning to ask what the heck Omar was talking about last night. He’d been up there rambling something about poking holes and Momma getting mad and sitting on the stairs, and Milad couldn’t figure out what he was talking about, but thought it was quite funny.

Aran baby hat project

auwillia — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:08:22 +0000

So I have actually had time to work on that idea for the matching hat for the “Pointelle” baby sweater I bought at The Children’s Place. I have got as far as figuring out the “tree of life” Aran pattern that was used in it. There is also a simple rope cable pattern. I will alternate these two patterns in the hat with a rib in between. This is how it is on the back of the sweater. I made a number of test swatches of these two patterns and figured out how to fit them together.

I haven’t made my own knitting pattern before. I got the abbreviations from my Readers Digest Complete Guide to Needlework. I don’t know if they are really the standard abbreviations, though. I have seen others, especially with the cable patterns. So I have listed out the directions for each abbreviation here:

C2B (K1, P1) – Cable 2 stitches, to back (slip 1 stitch to cable needle and leave at back. K1, and then P1 stitch off the cable needle.)

C4B (P2, P2) – Cable 4 stitches, to back (slip 2 stitches to cable needle and leave at back. P2, and the P2 from cable needle.)

C2F (P1, K1) – Cable 2 stitches, to front (slip 1 stitch to cable needle and leave at front. K1 and then P1 stitch off the cable needle.)

YFWD – Yarn forward

YBK – Yarn back

SL1 – Slip 1 stitch

And here is the pattern for one set of the rope cable and the tree of life:

Cast on 31 stitches (or a multiple of 31).

Row 1: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P8, C2B, K1, C2F, P6

Row 2: K6, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K1, P1, K1, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K8, P1, K2, P4, K2, P1, K2

Row 3: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P7, C2B, P1, K1, P1, C2F, P5

Row 4: K5, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K2, P1, K2, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K7, P1, K2, C4B, K2, P1, K2

Row 5: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P6, C2B, P2, K1, P2, C2F, P4

Row 6: K4, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K3, P1, K3, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K6, P1, K2, P4, K2, P1, K2

Row 7: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P5, C2B, P3, K1, P3, C2F, P3

Row 8: K3, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K4, P1, K4, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K5, P1, K2, C4B, K2, P1, K2

Row 9: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P4, C2B, P4, K1, P4, C2F, P2

Row 10: K2, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K5, P1, K5, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K4, P1, K2, P4, K2, P1, K2

Row 11: P2, K1, P2, K4, P2, K1, P3, C2B, P5, K1, P5, C2F, P1

Row 12: K1, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K6, P1, K6, YFWD, SL1, YBK, K3, P1, K2, C4B, K2, P1, K2

This is knit flat. My next step is going to be to figure out how to knit this on double-pointed needles in the round, so I can make a hat with it. I made a small test last night and think I have a good idea of how I will need to re-write the pattern to do it. Basically I think I will need to P all the K’s and K all the P’s in the even-numbered rows. For several rows one side of the tree of life was not coming out right, but then it seemed to fix itself on some of my later rows. I don’t know what I did different though (I was watching the Olympics at the time, and my 2-year old was climbing all over me intermittently, so maybe I just wasn’t concentrating.).

Then, how to do the decreases at the top of the hat without making the cable patterns get all funky. I haven’t seen too many Aran hat patterns, so maybe there’s a reason. I may make the top of the hat plain. Who knows! This project is off and running, though.

My big challenge has been finding a matching color of yarn. The sweater is a dense, smooth cotton/acrylic mix, and is knit nice and tight. (I have been accused of knitting loose.) I found some wool yarn in the right color, but the texture is definitely fuzzier. I may use it anyway, because I haven’t seen any cotton or cotton blend yarns in the right color.

Baby Hat – another project idea

auwillia — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:07:39 +0000

I have more ideas than time. But seeing as I’m expecting a new son in late April, I’ve been keeping an eye out for cute, plain baby boy clothes. I’m just not feeling all the hot colors this year. Never did like really bright stuff, so I’m having a hard time with the neon pinks and yellows and blues this year.

I found a darling little sweater at The Childrens Place a few weeks ago. They had matching hats, but I didn’t get one, and then when I came back they were out of them. So I went on a quest to find a knitting pattern for the seemingly-simple design on this sweater that I could use for a hat. I’ve got the cable pattern, but just needed directions for the twiggy design.

The name of the sweater on the Childrens Place website was “pointelle.” But this seems to be more picturesque than an accurate description of the pattern. Pointelle seems to refer to open-work knit designs, which this isn’t.

I was pretty sure it was a pattern I’d seen before, but trying to figure out what it might be named was challenging. I spent an afternoon googling likely names, like vine, tree, trellis, branches, etc… with no luck. There was a similar-looking but not symmetrical pattern in one of my books called “twigs.” I don’t know where they got the names, but apparently they are not standard.

Then I stumbled upon the exact pattern as part of an aran sweater pattern in one of my knitting books. They called it “tree of life.” But googling that came up with all sorts of other patterns, but not this one.

At least I determined that it is an aran design, and have some basic directions for it. I can probably figure out some way to apply it to a hat pattern. The challenge will be figuring out the gauge and how many panels of this pattern alternated with the cable I can get onto a baby hat in the size I need. I’m thinking of just making a beanie style hat right now. I’m not sure how I’ll do the decreasing at the top of the hat and maintain the cable patterns.

Now to just figure it all out and find the time to do it. That will be most of the challenge.