At 21, I'm at an age where I've started to figure out what my values are, and am trying very hard to live by them (idealistically and almost certainly naively, but that comes with the territory). It means that sometimes I find myself making choices that might seem sort of extreme, which is completely normal.

A decade from not I'll probably find myself with a more "mainstream" lifestyle (or the mainstream will change), giggling about the person I used to be. I'm fine with that, it's as it should be. But I'm not going to let it ruin the fun of this phase.

Right now I'm reading about handling money, because I realized that I know nothing about it (other than the very general "don't blow it all on candy and pretty toys," and "pay your bills on time").

The book, Your Money or Your Life defines money as "life energy" (which sounds cheesy, but really it's just trying to make you think about the time and energy they spend at work), and asks the reader to really think about what they value. What material objects are really worth the time and energy that goes into earning the money to buy them. The book also encourages the reader to take some time to write out a list of the things they value, so that spending habits can be better examined. This fueled a little writing session for me, as I thought about what I really want in my life.

I'm not comfortable sharing what I wrote, but here are the highlights:

• Creativity is important to me. I'm happiest when I'm making things, so I want to spend as much time as I can making stuff. I don't care if it's a story, a drawing, a knit something, or just a decent loaf of bread. I want to share what I make with others, as gifts or whatever. And I don't care about the number of people I share with.
• Being trustworthy/responsible. I want the people I care about to feel like they can count on me.
• Being useful and active. Having a wide skill-set and working to the best of my ability. I like feeling capable.
• Living up to my own values, even if it's difficult.

Everything else sort of falls under those 4 categories. As long as I'm living up to that, I'll be happy with my life. Everything else is just gravy :)

I've started a new knitting project. I bought a skein of beautiful bright orange wool (the picture really doesn't do the color justice) a few weeks ago, intending to make myself a knit headband to cover my ears. I made the headband, and then decided that I didn't really need that after all. What I needed was a new scarf.
So I took the headband apart, and cast 24 stitches onto size 4 needles for a nice tight gauge. Then I did a simple basketweave stitch (*k4, p4 for 6 rows. Then *p4, k4 for 6 rows. Repeat). I'm really loving it so far. The really old-fashioned textured stitch plays nicely against the more modern color and shape (the scarf is about 4" wide, and will end up being pretty long) and makes for a really interesting piece. I'll enjoy wearing it with my black coat :)

I finished a tight gauge wool hat for my brother's birthday (which is happening in 2 months, so I feel pretty good about that).

I also finished a pair of socks for myself, with enough yarn left over to make another pair (they'll be ankle socks though). I'm just now working on the heel flap of the first ankle sock.

I've also been having the urge to make a sweater. Either some especially cheesy stranded "Christmas Jumper" for myself, or my niece. Of course realistically, that would be biting off way more than I can chew right now.

I would like to do another lacy piece at some point too. I did a really detailed lace shawl last summer and gave it to one of my sisters-in-law. I should probably make one for my other sister-in-law as well. I really like this one but this is probably more to her taste.

There are so many projects I want to do! But I have so much yarn in my stash right now, I need to use up some of that before buying materials to make any of these lovely things. Yesterday I cleaned my room top to bottom and discovered that I have way more yarn than I though. Enough smooth, worsted weight acrylic to make several brightly-colored stuffed animals. Enough bulky synthetics and blends to make several pairs of slippers and/or scarves. And enough decent wool to make at least a couple of hats. Maybe even mittens.

I want to use that pound of halfway decent black acrylic I have lying around to make this vest. If I like the pattern I might actually purchase some good yarn and make it up in that. Other than that, I guess I'll be making a lot of stuffed animals and slippers. I have some friends with small children, maybe I can pawn a few of the toys off on them.

I thought up an awesome way to organize my yarn. Instead of winding it into lots and lots of balls of varying sizes (which tend to unroll themselves and tangle together), I'm winding my yarn around empty toilet paper tubes. Just cut a slit in one end of the tube, tie a knot in the end of your yarn, slip the yarn into the end and wind around the tube. When you're done, just cut a slit in the other end of the tube and slip the end in there (sort of like the notch on the top of a spool of thread). Then label the edge of the tube with the fiber content. Suddenly my yarn stash isn't looking so bad. I can actually find what I need. There's also something really gorgeous about a basket full of brightly-colored, neatly rolled yarn.

I finally managed a decent library run last week, so I've got some interesting books to read this month. I picked up a copy of Othello, a biography of Winston Churchill (cause I realized that all I know about that famous historical figure is that he was portly, he was the prime minister of Britain during WWII rght after Neville Chamberlain, and his mother was scandalous), a cook book, and a book about the role religion has played in US politics (historically). I finished the cook book yesterday (while doing laundry and winding yarn), and just cracked the political one last night.

Other things going on... I got my hands on a Spanish grammar workbook a few days ago (bought it w/ an amazon giftcard I got for Christmas) and have been brushing up on that. I'm only on lesson 2 of the first chapter, but it's amazing how much I remember (despite having spent high school Spanish class doodling in my notebook and staring out the window). My grammar isn't great. I can usually conjugate verbs okay, but have trouble remembering which articles to use. My vocabulary is abysmal, but I remember more than I thought I did. This chapter I learned that paragus= umbrella. To remember I think of the BBC series Sherlock, and Mycroft's use of an umbrella as a fashion accessory (esp. in the clips used for this fanvideo).

My Spanish dictionary should be arriving in a day or two, so that should help fill in holes. I also need to find a Mexican TV show to watch so I can figure out the rythm of speech a bit better (my accent is okay. It's just harder to form sentences outloud than it is in writing).

I already mentioned Sherlock in this post, but I'll go ahead and discuss it properly. It's one of my shows, and the new season is running right now. Basically, two Sherlock Holmes fanboys (who are also well-known and well-loved screenwriters) decided to remake the series and have it set in contemporary London. Each season is a miniseries of  three 90-120 minute "episodes" that play out like movies. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as John Watson. The actors have amazing chemistry, there are plenty of nods to the Arthur Conan Doyle cannon ("inside jokes", if you will), and a really cool use of contemporary technology (John Watson's "memoirs" become his "blog", Sherlock checks his facts by looking up info on his blackberry). The plots aren't typically very believable, but neither were the ones in the original stories. Mostly the show is a fantastic blend of action, suspense, and character development. I'll be eagerly watching the season finale tomorrow!

I've been in something of a slump with my cooking lately. Last week I roasted a duck, made some frozen burritos, and shortbread cookies. But before that there were the holidays, and then I was working some crazy hours (at work we had a floorset and then inventory in the same week), and then recovering from the craziness... I've gotten out of the habit of proper meal planning. I need to fix that. And I need to do some just for fun cooking. So I've been reading recipes and making plans. I think I want to play around with succotash (since I've got some frozen corn and lima beans in the freezer), do something with roasted root vegetables and sausage and this bread. I also absolutely have to make this since it's everything I love in a cake (Mostly fruit, a simple batter, not at all fussy. No frosting).

So, that's what I've been up to :)

Happy New Year! I'm starting 2012 with a marginally more organized pantry, and a bunch of "tiny people".
First with the pantry. I bought plastic cannisters for my baking goods! No luck on the oil bottles yet, I haven't really had a chance to brainstorm what I really want.

Before.

After.

 And now for my Tiny People. I've made minor changes to this pattern to make tiny, unique toys. The plan is to make a whole bunch, and then give them to my niece for her birthday next year. I'm also going to hunt down an interesting old jewelry box at the thrift store, paint it, and use that to store the Tiny People. It'll be sort of like a playset, but handmade.
Here's what I have so far:

The first one. I mostly followed the original pattern, but had a little fun with the hat.

This one is really small. I had to use size 3 needles and a really tight stitch to
make the superfine yarn hold in stuffing.

This one has green hair :D

My (5 year-old) niece loves "scary stuff", so I made her a vampire. Eventually I'll sew on fangs and button eyes. I'll probably make a werewolf and a witch or ghost too. 

 

Kitchen Organization

I've been reading this article, and it has me thinking about pantry organization.
My food cupboard is mostly organized. I keep beans, rice, pasta, and popcorn in glass jars (I use 1q canning jars because they're airtight, clear, and inexpensive). I've got a tupperware container full of tea bags, and one with some garlic in it (I know I should do something about that, garlic ought to breath. But I like that it's contained, and I haven't gotten around to searching for another solution).

I became something of a stickler about not using original packaging a couple of years back, when I had a minor mice infestation. Once you've reached into a seemingly unopened box of granola bars and find that one has been gnawed on, you're a little reluctant to trust any container that isn't hard. Even if you know you don't have a pest problem.

I like my containers to be clear, because I'm lazy. I don't have the time or the energy to go through a cupboard full of opaque canisters. If they're labelled? Well... labels aren't nearly as apetizing as looking at the food itself. There's something beautiful about a cupboard full of jars of brilliantly yellow popcorn, brown rice, green dried split-peas, and mahogany kidney beans. It's gorgeous, it makes me hungry, and it puts me in the mood to cook.

Even with the glass jars, I like to label my food. It's helpful. I don't second guess myself when a jar is clearly labelled (sometimes it's easy to get jars of similar-looking beans and grains confused). It isn't hard or expensive to label jars. I use a piece of masking tape and a permanent marker. Easy peasy. And it looks cute.

All that said, there is definitely some room for improvement when it comes to organizing my food cupboard. I have opened bags of flour and sugar cluttering up the baking shelf (ripped paper is so MESSY), and I keep my baked goods in ziplock freezer bags (my rolls are too large for the 1 quart jars). I keep my cooking oils in their original containers, which are too large to fit in the cupboard and have to sit on top of the fridge instead.

I need to figure out a solution for all this. Here are some ideas:

• Store my flour and sugars in large airtight clear plastic containers. (I've thought about using glass canisters, but that'd be way too heavy and there'd be a risk of shattering. I've been looking at different types of containers, but I really need to measure my cabinets before making any major decisions on that front)
• Invest in a cookie jar
• Get reusable containers to devote exclusively to cooking oils. (They'll need to fit in my cupboards, have good lids, and be easy to pour out of. This would probably save money over time, because I could buy my cooking oils in bulk. Just keep the smaller containers filled, and store the larger ones someplace secure and out of the way)

I like to think I'm pretty well organized, but there's still a lot more waste than I'm comfortable with. Does anyone else have suggestions? How do you organize your pantry?





My food cupboard right now. It's not too bad, but there's obviously room for improvement.
 Top shelf: non-perishable staples like grains, beans, and canned tomato.
Middle Shelf: snacks, breakfast stuff. There's a bag of chocolate chips I need to put in a jar, and a plastic bag full of bread
Bottom shelf: baking stuff. Bags of sugar strewn all over the place, jars of stuff not set neatly at all.
On top of the fridge: The cereal and box of instant oatmeal aren't mine, the containers of vegetable oil and olive oil are.
On top of the cupboard left to right: thermoses, one of my tiny casserole dishes, sugary breakfast cereal (I was feeling indulgent this week), a container full of  "cheap white rice" for bulking up soups and such.

Owl hat for my niece. I knit it ages ago, but didn't sew the buttons on until Christmas Eve.

Holiday Bread, on its last rise. It's challah dough, with a filling made of dates and dried apricots.

right out of the oven. The round loaf cracked a bit, cause it stuck to the edge of the pan.

Garlic bread

My favorite corner of the kitchen, with my makeshift spice-rack (it needs another shelf)

I got sick of kitchen drawers getting stuck, so I made a "utensil bouquet". It now lives next to the stove.

I've been really liking Sam Harris lately. He has some very strong opinions, and is fairly blunt about them, but his talks are intelligent and he isn't as abrasive as a lot of his contemporaries. Today I finished up making Christmas cards, washed and blocked some knit gifts, knit a pair of socks, and watched this:

http://fora.tv/2007/07/04/Clash_Between_Faith_and_Reason#fullprogram