by Kat | Jan 22, 2018 | General, In This Moment
It was a fly by weekend here and I am hoping this week moves at the same clip.
Friday Happy Hour was extra special with a couple of Blood Orange martini’s (super simple: Gin and Blood Orange juice in a 2-1 ratio and these were so good they got a replay on Sunday for football!). I do so love January citrus! I also laughed at the email from IKEA with an appetizer recipe. Thanks, IKEA! FYI, plain yogurt is an excellent sub for sour cream.
Saturday, the big thaw kicked into high gear and I spent much of the day doing Swedish Death Cleaning while listening to Behold the Dreamers. This cleaning unearthed some well-aged WIP’s. Some have moved into the knitting rotation to be finished and others have been frogged. All this cleaning made a space for my floor loom to move to my office/craft room. I also started a little birthday knitting for daughter number one, which I need to kick into high gear and get done this week!!
I also pulled out a couple of skeins of yarn that might work for Kirsten’s Mystery socks. I am contemplating red and green… and the red should be really winning for February sock knitting, the yarn is 100% wool, so I don’t think it will wear well at all. Have any of you ever knit socks with 100% superwash merino? If so, how did they wear? And, thanks in advance for sharing your tips!
Sunday, I really wanted to head down to Pittsburgh and join the Woman’s March, but prior commitments kept me from doing so, however, the sunset was appropriately pink!
On my list for today: some intensive death cleaning of the overflowing kitchen junk drawer and then some birthday knitting!
Happy Monday, everyone!
by Kat | Jan 16, 2018 | General, In This Moment
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Mary Oliver
This quote is the January inspiration from The Balanced Life and it is speaking volumes to me each day. I have included it in my morning mediation and it has been a wonderful help in homing in on that which improves my one “wild and precious life”!
This year, I have not made “resolutions” nor have I set any “intentions”. I did not spend time thinking about any little words to choose for the year. But, rather this year I have decided to move forward with those things that worked well last year with hopes of improving them even more this year. Those things include healthy food and activity, inspiring creativity in myself and others, and giving more – especially my time.
So, with these things in mind, here is my “right now”:
Queueing Up: as many healthy Instant Pot recipes that I can for these cold winter days. I have started a board on Pinterest, and last night began day one of our “Instant Pot” suppers. I am always wowed by how easy the Instant Pot is, seriously. In less than 30 minutes start to finish dinner was ready! I would like to get to the point where I don’t need a “recipe” and feel comfortable using the Instant Pot for a variety of meals. Vicki shared a link yesterday, and I will be making it later this week. I will let you know what I think! Last nights supper was super easy: Boneless pork loin chops, frozen diced red peppers from last summer, 1 diced onion, a bit of salt and pepper, half a cup of water and half a jar of salsa. I served this on warm cannellini beans and topped with a diced jalapeno. It was so good, and the pork chops were so tender and moist!
Stitching: For a much longer time each day. I have already filled about half of my fabric and I am really happy with how Winter is progressing. I am using the books Margene sent to me to help me learn new stitch patterns and I have been enjoying practicing the new things I am learning over the course of several days. I have also been planning how to put together last years stitching, and I think I am ready to begin that process! Then I just need to figure out what I want to use for backing!
Procrastinating: Yes, this is still a problem in my life, but I am working on it! I want to participate in Beth’s Weave Along, but I have yet to wind my warp. I am procrastinating because the thoughts of warping the loom are more than a bit daunting. I am not sure I remember exactly how to do it. However, I have queued up a Craftsy class with hopes that it will jog my memory and spur me to get this done!
Selecting: Yarn from my stash to knit Kirsten Kapur’s mystery socks in February. I am also wondering why I can manage to finish mystery socks, but non-mystery socks remain in the unfinished category. Perhaps, non-mystery socks need to go in the procrastinating category! Ha!
Moving: Several times a week I have been doing this HIIT workout that Robin sent out; it is HARD but I feel so good when I am done! This has been super helpful in these bitterly cold days when getting outside at all is a challenge!
There you have my life currently, what are you up to?
P.S. A big thanks to Gale for her photo inspiration!
by Kat | Jan 15, 2018 | General, In This Moment
Or Hello from Pittsburgh in January!
In less than 24 hours we went from temps in the 70’s. Seriously, it was 72 here on Friday and we got over two inches of rain which then changed over to snow with temps in the teens on Saturday. My back yard is now a snow-covered ice rink! All that standing water from all that rain froze solid overnight.
Weekend bonus? All that cold weather meant that Treysta got lots of wear time! And, while I did not make my “goal” and start on sleeves on my Stopover, the body is almost done. And with this cold weather hanging around here for much of the week I have plenty of incentive to keep knitting and get those sleeves done pronto!
I spent some time this weekend playing with the Ravelry Project Challenge, which I think pairs well with my #MakeNine2018 goals. I have set a goal of 18 projects which is very wishful thinking! But, as in all things: if you don’t set goals – you achieve nothing! Like my Goodreads challenges, I never imagined I could do it until I did!
I also did some reading this weekend in a Net Galley book, but I keep having to go back to re-read parts because I feel like I am missing something. I am not too far in, so I hope this will sort itself out shortly!
On tap for today? Line up a bunch of Instant Pot recipes to make meal planning easier this week. (and to perhaps avoid that dreaded question of “what’s for dinner”)
I hope your Monday is warm and easy!
by Kat | Jan 8, 2018 | General, In This Moment
Sometimes the best thing about a weekend is the surprise extension of it on Monday morning. That’s right, Steve’s office is closed today because if you have days on end of at or below zero-degree weather, when it rains and instantly freezes creating a ginormous disaster of ice.
That puts Monday in the win column an even nicer treat after the quiet weekend we had.
I read lots. It felt so good to just sit and do not much but that.
I also did some knitting. I was really not happy with the ribbing on Treysta, so I ripped it out and did the same thing as the neckline (a rolled edge knit with a much smaller needle) This looks much better to my eye and in trying it on, it feels much better than the loose ribbing. I think I need to put ribbing on the list of things that I need to work on improving this year.
The weekend might have included more than one of Lidia’s An Italian in Manhattan. Oh.my.gosh. These are so good! And, they are super simple to make:
An Italian in Manhattan, ala Lidia Bastianich:
First off, Lidia says to put your glasses in the freezer at least 15 minutes before you plan on sipping this delightful concoction. She is right, it is an absolutely necessary step!
**Please note, this makes 1 cocktail**
- 2 ounces whiskey (we used Crown)
- 1-ounce Cinzano Rosso vermouth (we did not have this in the house, but I did have Martini & Rossi and that worked just fine)
- ½ ounce Averna (or other Italian amaro) **amaro is in the Campari family, it is the much darker cousin
- 2 amarena cherries in syrup, drained (I found the cutest little jars of these at my local Trader Joe’s)
In a cocktail shaker with a few ice cubes, combine the whiskey, sweet vermouth, and Averna. Stir to combine. Strain into the chilled glass, drop in the cherries, and serve.
I would add: repeat as necessary, just because.
And, so now on with my Monday that is a continuation of the weekend. I hope you are warm and dry wherever you are!
by Kat | Jan 2, 2018 | General, In This Moment
Did you miss me? I sure missed you all!
My plans to end 2017 did not include falling off the blogging map! I did have some rather nice posts planned to close out the year. However, they were only plans in my head and not plans in the form of ready to go blog posts.
Sickness and that lack of preplanning made for very quiet days at Casa delKatKnits as 2017 ended. A HUGE thank you to those who messaged me asking if I was alright! Yes, I am back among the land of the living…barely, but absolutely on the upswing!
In my absentia, besides sleeping an inordinate amount of time, I managed to finish my epic yearlong stitching project. I am stitching away on my new stitching project with mixed feelings. I have not taken any stitches out, but I am not feeling much love for this project in its current state. I spent some time meditating yesterday while I untrimmed the tree and I think I have figured out a way ahead and I am excited to stitch today, so I hope I might be on the right path. More on both projects later this week!
I also managed to finish the body of Treysta and I am working on sleeve one! This was accomplished while binge-watching Strange Things on Netflix. Sometimes, mindless, in the round knitting and unbelievable television are the best companions for the sickly!
Reading absolutely won in 2017, because I only managed to finish 15 projects last year…5 hats, a pair of mitts, a pair of socks, 3 shawls, a necklace, and 4 sweaters. Not a lot of knitting for me for an entire year. I hope to rectify that this year.
There are parts of me that would like a bit of a do-over for some things last week, most especially NYE. Steve found a recipe for Milk Street Kitchen’s version of a French 75. I was determined to not be a total party pooper NYE and I did make us a drink to have with the homemade soup, but it was just not quite right and would have been ever so much better with some actual celebratory eats! Perhaps this weekend we can make them again – this time with more fitting accoutrements…(and perhaps even pictures!)
Now, I have an insanely long, sort of out of control, catch-all list from hell that has my name burned on the top of it. I better get to it before I self-destruct! Doing laundry is tops on the list as I am almost out of clean jammies. Perhaps getting dressed might also be a good idea today!
See you back here tomorrow for some Unraveling!
P.S. To the brilliant commentor who quickly saw my ginormous math mistake, thank you! You won the day and are absolute proof that finishing blog posts that include math while deathly ill is not the smartest thing ever. But, thanks to her genius skills, I was even happier to find out that my reading success was even MORE successful!
by Kat | Dec 26, 2017 | General, In This Moment
A short and quick post today! The weather man so kindly shared yesterday that Pittsburgh had its first white Christmas since 2010. I know, how crazy is that? But, the snow was the perfect thing to wake up to on Christmas morning!
My “to do” list today is short on tasks but long on reading and knitting, which is the best way to extend the weekend!
I hope your Christmas was all that you wished for and more!
