The Film Noir Experience

So, I'm sitting down after dinner to turn a few rounds on my sock before settling in to see how much reading I can get done while watching Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal make tennis look easy and there is just something wrong with the sock.

The good news is, I believe there is something further down in my Ravelry queue that I can make in Wasp Woman yellow instead of lime green.

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I have three days of school under my belt. I am watching the first round of the US Open, (currently, Andy Roddick is two sets and five games up on Fabrice "The Magician" Santoro) and I am knitting up a wasp woman sock. I am not particularly happy with how its coming so far. The yarn I bought (I went through the Yarndex and picked something different from what was recommended) is an all-cotton yarn and normally I like that for socks. So far, they are a little stiff and there is not a lot of give. But, I am not trying to focus on it because Autumn is arriving. And, I couldn't be more excited about it.

Something that I enjoyed about Iowa was Autumn. You would get up for your morning classes and get to watch the mist rise up off of the river. That is lovely, in addition to the changing of the leaves and the crisp, cool air and all the wonderful fruits and vegetables that come into season. The past few years I've been remembering Iowa Autumn while trudging through the constant drizzle of Cardiff. (Not that I'm complaining now, nor was I complaining then.) I am really looking forward to experiencing the Fall in another part of the World.

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I am about three quarters of the way through knitting a pair of socks. It is very gratifying knitting socks. You can see the progress, thirty rows and then you have a heel. Another thirty rows and you have a gusset.

Plus, when all you want to do is sit around and relax and not really do anything, you can knit while you're vegging out and you are still being productive. For example, today I turned a heel. I haven't made lunch and I went out and bought coffee, but I've turned a heel. (Even when I'm taking time off, I'm still a Domestic Goddess.) Once you do that, you're home free when it comes to knitting socks. Now I just have to pick up the slipped stitches, decrease and finish off the puppy. I might even be able to wear them tomorrow.

This pair of socks that I'm knitting have come out of a book that I found in the bargain section at Barnes and Noble. It is knit out of a sport weight yarn that is one hundred percent cotton, so they will be really nice when they are done. This pattern has been really easy to follow, and I already have a pattern picked out for what I'm going to knit next. I've actually added a number of things to my Ravelry queue. I'm pretty excited about everything I've got coming up in the next couple of months. (Including starting my PhD program tomorrow!)

Posted by Kate at 07:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I had such a good time last weekend being a domestic goddess, that I have decided that there may need to be more of that in my future.

Although, maybe instead of baking, I would branch out into the world of jam making. I like toast and jam, so this seems completely reasonable. Also, I was pretty sure that you can't make just one jar of jam, you have to make some multiple (that will most likely be larger than the amount of jam I consume in a year.) I had all these thoughts while knitting a pair of socks.

A pair of socks that I've recently decided would be a perfect gift for someone. You know what also makes a good gift? A jar of jam. Its true. You can look it up.

While I was making pie, I found this fantastic website PickYourOwn.Org. It has the blueberry pie recipe that I used and a number of other awesome resources like where to find pick your own farms in your area and a number of recipes. So, of course they have canning instructions. I've been reading about the process all morning and I'm more than sure that it is within my realm of capabilities. However, it doesn't seem like a one day project.

So, I think I might do the prepping today and then tomorrow I will do the jam making. I'm pretty excited about the prospect of it.

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I'm sitting at my kitchen table, drinking Pomegranate Cherry Crystal Light and finishing off the only blueberry scone I didn't freeze. And, I'm thinking, "They could have used more blueberries." And, "I shouldn't have worked the dough as much as I did." But, given that they came from a Weight Watchers recipe for two point scones. I think they came out pretty well. And, I'm sure that come November when I'm defrosting them for a quick breakfast before I jet off to class, I won't have any complaints. (Plus, the thought of eating a scone that was at one time frozen that isn't going to make me itch with some crazy allergic reaction pleases me to no end.)

I have noticed the last couple of days that I've had a number of Bridget Jones moments. For example, the title of this entry. I find that I've been making statements, typically about myself, without including the subject. (Which wouldn't be odd, except that English isn't a pro-drop language.) Now, if I were speaking to myself in Spanish...things would be different. I've also had a number of moments similar to Bridget's "This is Bridget Jones for Sit Up Britain, Searching for Tuna." Only in my case, its more like, "My name is Kate, and I approve this scone."

Yesterday saw the accomplishment of the following things:

1. I eyeballed the amount of blueberries and decided I could in fact make three more recipes from them.

2. Went to the store and procured the odds and ends that I didn't have to complete these three recipes. (You know, important things like baking powder and buttermilk.)

3. Blueberry Buckle. My Blueberry Buckle didn't actually buckle like it was supposed to. It rose. Significantly. I think maybe my pan was a little too small. But, the bit that I snuck tasted pretty good so I'm not complaining about that, either.

Doesn't that look tasty?

4. Blueberry Scones. A dozen of them.

Mmm...Scones.

5. Blueberry Muffins. These guys came from another Weight Watchers recipe. While I'm not really a big fan of the Weight Watchers program, Weight Watchers dieters have a knack for creating tasty, low-fat, high fiber recipes. (I have a lot of respect for the whole point system. And, I can see where it would be helpful. I just seem to go better when I eat a lot of vegetables as opposed to counting a lot of points.)
There were a dozen of these bad boys as well.

Yummy.

6. Since having a house full of baked goods isn't necessarily good for the waist line (even if two of the recipes were diet recipes) I decided most of the goodness needed to go in the freezer. Not really trusting my quart sized ziploc bags to be seriously freezer proof, I followed a suggestion from my Mother and wrapped everything in foil. The blueberry buckle was easy. The muffins and scones were more of a challenge. In the end, I decided to wrap each piece individually (thus making the easier to thaw one at a time). I also tossed some of the blueberries I had left into the freezer as well. It'll be nice, come December, to have a little taste of summer (even if they are a little squishy.) Besides, frozen berries make the best smoothies.

7. After everything was cleaned and sorted, I finished knitting a pair of socks I'm making for my Father. I had intended to do a bit of the Knitting Olympics this year, even if it wasn't going on officially anywhere else (Which isn't true, Ravelry has been holding the Ravelympics.) So, the plan was I cast on during the opening ceremony, I knit while I watch the games, and I'm done by the closing ceremonies. That didn't quite work out. But, I have been knitting while I've been watching everything from rowing and boxing to Jamaica sweeping the 100m finals last night. Now, these socks that I started in December ( I know! Eep.) for my Father are done!

8. My night didn't stop there. As if all that wasn't enough, I cast on a brand new sock once I was finished. I haven't knit a pair of socks for myself in over a year now. I have decided its time. Plus, this is giving me a chance to check out the patterns in a book I found at Barnes and Noble. Simple 1-2-3 Knitting has a lot of really cute things in it. The sort of things you make and give away to people you love. I'm knitting the "ribby sock" out of it. It took a few rounds to sort out what I was doing (I hardly had to back up at all. Although, I did try to knit needle four as if it were needle one once.)

And, that's where it ends. I was pretty tired at that point, and can you blame me?

Posted by Kate at 02:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As it turns out, four and a quarter pounds of blueberries is an awful lot of blueberries. I baked the pie yesterday, complete with a crumble topping and it turned out really, really well. I was pretty excited about it. But, I thought that I'd be putting pounds of blueberries into the pie and not cups. Turns out I was wrong.

So, I figured buckle was the next thing on the list. Now, I don't really need a house full of tasty baked goods. That just seems unwise. My solution? Everything else I bake with all this blueberry goodness is getting properly wrapped and tossed into the freezer to be retrieved when company arrives. (Assuming I know that it is blueberry eating company.) The next thing on the list of things to bake after the buckle? Scones.

My friend E. is a dedicated knitter and in the last three years or so, she has started spinning her own. Her theory on this is that by adding extra steps to the process you are both reducing costs and increasing the fun. I agree with her. Seeing a project all the way from fiber festival through washing, combing, spinning and dying all the way to pattern selection, knitting and the finished project. Well, that sounds like a fun to me, too.

I think this theory also applies to cooking. I've spent at least an hour this morning pouring through cookbooks and googling recipes. And, I have found, among other things, a recipe that makes 1 (weight watchers) point blueberry scones. I think I may have to try them out. (Although, I found a 2 point recipe that I like just a little bit more, so I will probably end up making those. I'll let you know, though.)

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So, I live near the The Niagara Wine Trail. I know this because I've driven past the "Niagara Wine Trail Begins Here" sign at least one hundred times since Monday.

I figured, I should see what its all about. Apparently, you can purchase their "vino visa passport" and with it you get a wine tasting at all of the vineyards on the trail.

I went to the first one today. The Warm Lake Estate Vineyard and Winery was Wine Spectator's highest rated Pinot Noir in New York State in 2007. The wine tasting consisted of five wines all made from the pinot grape. The two Estate wines (which were nice and smooth and a little sweet and a little spicy. I'm thinking the bottle I bought needs to be served with a lovely steak.), one I think was called "Mountain Road", (I should have taken better notes.) This one I didn't like as much, it had a huge black peppery kick at the end which I didn't care for. And, then the last two were their Glacé Noir. The first one was way too sweet for me. Although, apparently it is fantastic when mixed with pomegranate juice and chocolate martini mix. The last one was a mistake. It was meant to be the Glacé Noir, but instead ended up being more like a pinot brandy. It was fantastic.

From there I did a little exploring. I got lost for a minute on the way to where I planned to have lunch. I finally gave up looking for it and decided to go to the next place where food was served (that wasn't a fast food chain.) The next place I drove past was a bar and grill next to a take out sub place. I didn't feel like eating in my car, so I walked into the bar and grill.

Let me rephrase that. I walked into the BAR and grill. At this point, I just had to go with it. Yup, I had lunch down the bar from the two guys who had decided that Happy Hour started at 2 pm.

Then, I found Lake Ontario. Which isn't hard because it is huge.

But that's not where the excitement started. The excitement started after I breezed past the second vineyard I was planning on visiting. Looking for a place to turn around I found Russell's U Pick Blueberries. Russell gave me a bucket and let me wander through his twelve acres of blueberries.

When I first arrived here in Buffalo, we went to the grocery store and the first thing I saw was a huge flat of blueberries (that I had to be talked out of.) And, for the past week I've been thinking about going back to the store and buying blueberries and doing a lot of baking. Right now, I have four and quarter pounds of blueberries chilling in my fridge. Tomorrow, I'm going to make a pie from scratch. And, then maybe some blueberry buckle. Goodness, I couldn't be happier.

After that, I stopped at a fruit farm and bought some super cheap fresh veg (and a pint of apricots!). And, I drove past some orchards that I'm hoping are "U Pick" apple orchards once apples are in season. I think Western New York and I are going to be very good friends.

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So, we get in the cars at ridiculous o'clock in the morning and we start the long process of driving from Iowa to Upstate New York. The bulk of my belongings are stuffed into the back of the car I'm buying from my sister (one that hopefully won't get stuck in the Buffalo snow) and into the back of my Mother's car.

It is around seven o'clock in the morning and we're making good time. I am listening to a CD of music made popular whilst I was living in the UK, singing along and enjoying the early part of the drive. Dream Catch Me by Newton Faulkner comes on the CD and I belt it out (because everyone is Diana Ross in their car.)

As we begin to go cross the Mississippi in Illinois, I have this thought: I'm leaving Iowa. And, this time it actually feels real. I'm leaving home and going someplace where I'm expected to be on the top of my game and act like an adult. I'm going some place where I not only have a room of my own, but a whole one bedroom flat of my own. Of course, I lose it. I'm singing and crying and driving across this immense bridge over a slightly swollen Mississippi.

But, then I have to laugh. As I'm having this immense, "I'm leaving" moment on the road to Buffalo, I'm being passed by a Good Ol' Boy in a rusty Ford pickup truck doing upwards of 80 miles an hour (on a bridge) with a confederate flag in back window. "Yup," I think, "I won't miss that in New York."

Posted by Kate at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In preparation for moving to Buffalo so that I can begin work on my PhD, I have had the opportunity to go through a number of things that were in storage while I was in Wales.

It has been a bizarre and amazing experience.

Among the things that I have found have been a number of journals. As it turns out, I'm an obsessive journal writer, both online and out in the world. What is interesting about being an obsessive journaler is that you can see the development of an idea.

In 2001 while I was studying abroad, I had the opportunity to audit this class on Women and Gender in Indian Society. I didn't take it for credit, although I should have because I really would have enjoyed the research I would have done for it (things you realize in hindsight.) Part of the coursework involved a trip to visit an women's group in the area surrounding our city. It was a profound experience for me. It occurred to me that while Feminism in America seemed to make the statement, " I can do what you can do." Feminism in India seemed to say something completely different. It seemed to say, "What I am doing here has value." This women's group in the hills had gotten a large number of men in the village to stop drinking and bring home more of their paychecks so that stuff could get done around the house and in the village. They had also put together a small fund that they were using to send children to school. I thought that was amazing. I still do.

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