Gratitude

Sorry there is no photo with this post.  It is just a short quick one to say that we got the news we had hoped for -- that our new baby will be born without the disease that took our dear Josephine from us.  I thought the predominant emotion would be relief, but I don't feel relief -- maybe because I never really felt fear over it all.  Not because I didn't believe it could happen again -- I knew very well it was a real possibility.  I guess I felt I had nothing to lose and when you have nothing to lose, there is nothing to fear.  The worst fear of my life came true and fearing it didn't keep it from happening.  It is all just wasted energy.

No, the overwhelming emotion is a deep and humbling gratitude.  I would have accepted any outcome and I was ready, but I am so thankful it is as it is. There now seems to be a pathway of hope into the future where we can make a dream again.  I wish Josephine were here to share in the joy, but I know she is somewhere looking down on us and smiling.

Estes Vest: Finished!

I finally finished the Estes Vest.  The biggest hurdle was picking out the buttons and then waiting for them to arrive in the mail.  I managed to finished it just in time for the weather to turn cool and for the sweater to not really fit anymore, but it works fine if I don't button it.

I finished the whole sweater minus the buttons so long ago now that I hardly remember the changes I made to the pattern.  I remember I made the body longer than the pattern -- 2" added to the length on the bottom and 1/2" added to the arm opening, I think.  I added an extra column of knit stitches between the horseshoe cable and the hexagon on the front parts so that it matches the pictures in the magazine (not sure why the directions didn't match).  Oh, and I made the collar shorter and used 5 buttons instead of 6.

Halfway through the project I discovered Brittany cable needles and what a difference they make!  I can't believe just how much they improved the ease of knitting cables.  You can see a picture of them here.  (I didn't order mine from this company, so don't think this is a recommendation for this site -- they just have a nice picture and the Brittany website doesn't) It is hard to believe that something so simple could work so well.

If I had to do it over again, I would probably knit it in one piece instead of three and take a good bit of width off the shoulders -- if I look at it on me for too long, it starts to look a bit Star Trek-y with the I-cord trim.

The Pebble Vest

Another baby knit -- the first baby knit (unless you count rattles) I have knit since I knit for Josephine.  A sweater vest for a baby born early in March when the weather can be who knows what around here.  Certainly, there will be a few cool days when a little added warmth will be needed, but not too much -- arms free to flap and wiggle as they always seem to do with newborns.  The first knit for our next baby -- a little one who we may be graced to watch grow through all phases of life into adulthood or who may be with us a very short time.  A child who will know and feel love no matter his or her lifespan -- a life I have already grown to love. This one will have hand-mades, too.  Here is the first.

The pattern is called Pebble and I found it here.  I made it with 4 buttons down the side instead of 5. The wool is Sublime 100% organic merino.  The yarn is so incredibly soft and well . . . .sublime.

The Bowl

I can't believe that roasted chicken has been up there for more than a week -- not my original intention.  Anyway, I have been meaning to write about the bowl for a little while.  Not too long ago Rudy asked to see what was in the bowl.  His eyes lit up as he fingered through its contents. I hadn't really looked at it in ages and I wasn't really ready to on that day -- lots of memories of a life that has changed so much in the last year.

So the bowl is combination button jar, trinket box, and souvenir shelf -- many bits collected from travels, an antique button from my grandmother's coat, parts of childhood toys and hair bands, a pretty rock or bit of shell or coral collected on a beach, flea market finds, old jewelry.  Not everything sentimental, many things cherished, just bits of beauty to inspire.  I spent some evenings in my single days sorting though it, putting its contents into piles, building it back up into the bowl -- there was something theraputic about the activity. 

I let Rudy look through it and then put it back on the piano.  Someday I will visit it again.

Roasted Chicken

Nothing smells or tastes homier to me than a delicious roasted chicken.  I recognize that this picture is unlikely to entice anyone to run out and buy a chicken to roast for tonight's dinner, but it is my photography skills to blame -- I assure you it tasted divine. Despite the fact that I roast a chicken fairly regularly, when Ed (who does not particularly like chicken) comes in from work and exclaims, "Mmmm something smells good!", I get a deflated "oh" when I tell him, "It is chicken tonight."  This always makes me laugh to myself, because I have learned that I will always get a , "Wow, this is great chicken!" from him after the first bite.

Here is the way I make it:

1.  Mash together 2T soft butter, 1 tsp coarse salt, pepper, juice from 1/2 lemon, herbs of choice (I almost always use marjoram and one other herb -- rosemary, thyme, parsley or whatever).

2.  Slice an onion and line the bottom of a small roasting/baking pan with the onions.  Put the chicken on top of this and slide the butter mixture under the breast skin (this is the secret to this recipe).  Rub the top of the chicken with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and peper.  Tie the legs.

3.  Place in a 425 degree oven for about 1 hour 15 minutes if it is about 5 lbs.  Make sure you do the whole meat thermometer in the fattest part of the thigh thing to make sure it is done.

4.  I always stir the onions in the pan juices and serve this over mashed potatoes or rice instead of any gravy.  It is so delicious -- you won't miss the gravy.