hey, you got somethin' on your forehead . . .

+ peace this Lent

ketchup

- Laverne was right; Phantom on Sunday was the best I have seen. The chandelier didn't seem to fall as rapidly as I remember, but Will said it was exciting. Between the show, lunch and a stop at the bike shop, we had a great day.

- I abandoned The Friday Night Knitting Club and put it in the Goodwill pile. I just couldn't stand it anymore, and it would just be mean to pass it along to a friend. I did peek at the "shocking ending" people wrote about on Amazon.com, however. The ending only further convinced me that this is much less a novel and more a screenplay. Abby gave me A Thousand Splendid Suns for Christmas (I suspect her mother picked it out) and I think I will start it this weekend.

- I finished the orange shawl; Maggie said Nate's mom loved his hat and would like one, so I'm casting on for that today.

- It was painful, but I ripped out Tommy's sweater, and am looking for the perfect little hooded cardigan for him. Off to the library.

- Funny story. I witnessed a wreck after dropping Will off at school on Wednesday -- I'll get to the funny part in a moment. Girl #1 pulled out of the gas station and didn't see Girl #2 who ran right into her. Girl #1 drove a shiny new car; her bumper and fender shattered into a thousand little pieces all over the road (I suspect because it was bitterly cold). Girl #2 works for a rival gas station and was out checking prices (let's not even go into that); her older model car was wrinkled up accordian-style, but both girls were fine. I was on my way to Mass, but gave the girls my cell number. During Mass, I left my cell phone in the school kitchen; I was on my way back to the kitchen, talking to someone in the cafeteria, when I heard it ring. Our friend Doug, the school janitor and all-around goof, answered my phone with, "Georgiann's answering service," then after a few seconds said, "I'm sorry, she's pretty drunk, and I think she's been smoking a little pot this morning, too."

It was the police.

Luckily, the policeman was in my high school class and knows Doug, so after my initial mortification, it was all very funny.

Remind me not to leave my phone where Doug can get to it.


Some bloggers are great at regular themed postings -- work-in-progress Wednesdays, new yarn acquisitions on Fridays -- Jo posts a book report every week. I don't know how successful I will be, but I think I will try to post a recipe every Friday -- not so much for posterity, but to remind me of how I made something. I tend to make a dish differently every time because I forget to write down how I did it. This week, I made chicken chili, and Will said it was one of my best efforts. Clay just ate until his stomach hurt -- high praise, indeed.

White Chicken Chili

1 large white onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
8 c. chicken stock
4 cups cooked chicken (this time, I poached 5 Market Day Chickensteaks and shredded them)
2 jars of white beans
1 can diced green chilis
2 cans white whole kernel corn
3 T. diced jalapenos
2 t. ground cumin
1 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. white pepper
1 t. oregano
2 T. lime juice
2T. chopped cilantro

In the soup pot, saute the onion and garlic in about 2 T. olive oil until translucent. Add everything else except lime juice and cilantro, and bring to a near-boil, then turn down heat and simmer for about half an hour. Right before serving, stir in lime juice and cilantro. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and extra chopped jalapenos.

peace and warm soup to all

Quit Needling Me,

here they are, the answer to a recent Blogstalking topic: all of my needles in one place.

Sort of.

I have loaned out several pair to library and nursing home knitters, and I have no idea where my little bag of circulars has gone to.

And there might be a couple of dpn's down inside the couch.

The ones I really miss are some handmade maple #15's -- I don't think I ever made anything with them, but I just like the sound of them clicking together.

Needles not in use:

I really love these needle cases from Ashland Sky.

(don't tell anyone I let my crochet hooks hang out with my dpns)

And the emergency #10.5's I made from a dowel rod:

Nate (Maggie's boyfriend) gave me his grandma's needles. I think they look nice in this Mason jar, and every once in awhile they come in handy.

Needles in use:

#4's on Tommy's Accordion Sweater. I think this is destined for the frog pond; the Swish is just too springy -- when I blocked out the back, just to see what would happen, it sprang back to the tight ribbing immediately. I like the yarn, I love the pattern, but I don't think they will work together.

The Harley Shawl for Nate's mom, on #13's. She starts another round of chemo and radiation soon, and those chemo rooms are always so cold. They're a big Harley family, so I thought this color would be appropriate (it matches her kitchen!) but the Dayflower pattern makes it a little more feminine. Sue at Knit Night suggested adding black ribbon fringe, but I think I will pass on that.

#8 circulars on the Modern Quilt Wrap in progress. Maybe progress is the wrong word. Abandoned might be a better word. I am re-thinking this.

This is really embarrassing. # 7 circulars on Nathan's Baptism blanket. Nathan will be 2 next month. I hadn't seen this for a while -- I found it in the bottom of a box of yarn in the basement, where I guess I stashed it after I didn't get it finished by his baptism. I think it is time to wrap this up -- I have the Celtic braid for the other side done, so it shouldn't be too hard to finish.

peace, love and pointy sticks

January 28, 1986

Ellison Onizuka, Michael Smith, Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Greg Jarvis, Ronald McNair and Judy Resnick

peace

Well,

my finger is much better, thank you very much. I sliced a bit of the end off while chopping the 6 pounds of onions for the 15 gallons of spaghetti sauce for the wrestling dinner last week. I probably could have used a stitch or two, as it bled like a stuffed pig*.

Speaking of wrestling, Will's season is over. Today was sectionals at Jennings County, and after a pretty solid match, he lost in the first round. We stayed until the end, though; four members of his team advanced to the regionals and we had one sectional champion. We got home around 7:30; Clay and I both have another bad case of bleacher-ass, but on the bright side, I got a lot of knitting done (pictures soon) and several chapters of The Friday Night Knitting Club read.

About 50 pages in, I was convinced that this was the worst book I had ever paid money for. It was an impulse buy at Target a few weeks ago -- I was sucked in by the yarn on the cover! If it had been a library book, I would have returned it posthaste, but since I purchased it, I feel compelled to finish. But it is getting better -- still choppy and disjointed, but more interesting.

And, speaking of getting better, dad is walking. Just 5 steps, but that counts.

And talking, if "goddammit" counts, and I say it does.

peace

*my very favorite dave-ism. Dave, Clay's college roommate all 4 years and the cleanest person I know, was convinced that was the correct wording. Having witnessed a "stuck pig," I think I prefer Dave's version -- give me a stuffed pig any day.

Ouch

It is hard to knit, type or play the piano when your finger is like this. So I'm not.

peace

Nice Things

Snow, enough to be pretty, but not enough to cause much trouble.

A letter from Senator Lugar, thanking me for thanking him for introducing the International Violence Against Women Act (along with Senator Biden).

Phantom at a Discount

I didn't go see Phantom in Louisville with my friends on Sunday; I didn't have a sub to play at Our Lady of Providence and I didn't have the confirmation lesson complete for class that night. Besides, I have seen it twice. At Confirmation, my friend Laverne, who saw it that afternoon, told me it was the best production she had seen (her 3rd, as well.) I was telling Will about that, and he said, "You know mom, next time it is near, I'd like to go." Since it is in Louisville until the 27th, I went Internet searching for tickets. I found two for next Sunday, and started to place my order with Ticketmaster, when a pop-up box informed me that Clay had membership reward points which we could apply to the purchase, so I did. Two tickets, orchestra level, slightly right of center in the middle of the house for $59. Not too shabby.

But the nicest thing of all is that Clay's dad, who had a stroke before Christmas, stood up yesterday.

I haven't written anything about dad; there's really just too much to say, and it has all been so difficult -- the holidays, the distance, the frustrations. But I probably should have written that despite all that, there is hope, joy and laughter. This is one crazy family, but it's an amazing, loving family.

Two of my favorite pictures:

Dad and Maggie on her first birthday, September 1988

Dad and Will, Christmas Eve, 1993

Dad had stayed home with Will, who had a fever. This is how we found them when we got home from Mass. Pretty sweet.

peace