Saturday, December 30, 2006
Belated Merry Xmas and Early Happy New year!
We spent the week in Austin with R's parents. We are not keen to do it again. It was an interesting week. We just got back this evening and I am completely beat from the plane ride and a certain little girl stomping on me throughout the entire ride.
On the knitting front, I am almost finished Marlis' bulky roll neck sweater and making good progress on the other WIPs. Will upload the photos of some new FOs tomorrow.
On the knitting front, I am almost finished Marlis' bulky roll neck sweater and making good progress on the other WIPs. Will upload the photos of some new FOs tomorrow.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Richard's tarot
You are The Sun
Happiness, Content, Joy.
The meanings for the Sun are fairly simple and consistent.
Young, healthy, new, fresh. The brain is working, things that were muddled come clear, everything falls into place, and everything seems to go your way.
The Sun is ruled by the Sun, of course. This is the light that comes after the long dark night, Apollo to the Moon's Diana. A positive card, it promises you your day in the sun. Glory, gain, triumph, pleasure, truth, success. As the moon symbolized inspiration from the unconscious, from dreams, this card symbolizes discoveries made fully consciousness and wide awake. You have an understanding and enjoyment of science and math, beautifully constructed music, carefully reasoned philosophy. It is a card of intellect, clarity of mind, and feelings of youthful energy.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.
Updates and tarot cards
The tarot card posting below is kind of nostalgic, I guess. I remember back in 1996 or 1997, me and some g.friends had a night out and we went to a club on St-Laurent and there was a tarot card reader at this club. Both my friend and I had our cards read and sad to say (or happy to say), most of what that tarot card lady told us came true. The breaking up with my university love, the travelling, etc.
Anyhow, my university love has since spent the years after our breakup with a good friend of mine. Ok, there were hard feelings at first but time passed and we all mature. They just had a baby girl on Friday: Arianne Naomi. Isn't that such a gorgeous name??? Haven't seen the photos yet but I am sure that she is a gorgeous little girl, very much loved by her parents.
On the knitting front, not much done, maybe a few more inches on the Zip cardi from LMKG. I did buy some more knitting books, Alpaca Silk book 1 and Cashmere book from Debbie Bliss. Now, if only my littleknits.com order would hurry up and get here...
Anyhow, my university love has since spent the years after our breakup with a good friend of mine. Ok, there were hard feelings at first but time passed and we all mature. They just had a baby girl on Friday: Arianne Naomi. Isn't that such a gorgeous name??? Haven't seen the photos yet but I am sure that she is a gorgeous little girl, very much loved by her parents.
On the knitting front, not much done, maybe a few more inches on the Zip cardi from LMKG. I did buy some more knitting books, Alpaca Silk book 1 and Cashmere book from Debbie Bliss. Now, if only my littleknits.com order would hurry up and get here...
Which Tarot Card are you????
You are the World
Completion, Good Reward.
The World is the final card of the Major Arcana, and as such represents saturnian energies, time, and completion.
The World card pictures a dancer in a Yoni (sometimes made of laurel leaves). The Yoni symbolizes the great Mother, the cervix through which everything is born, and also the doorway to the next life after death. It is indicative of a complete circle. Everything is finally coming together, successfully and at last. You will get that Ph.D. you've been working for years to complete, graduate at long last, marry after a long engagement, or finish that huge project. This card is not for little ends, but for big ones, important ones, ones that come with well earned cheers and acknowledgements. Your hard work, knowledge, wisdom, patience, etc, will absolutely pay-off; you've done everything right.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Xmas meme
Took this off of www.peasoupoftheday.blogspot.com.
Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate for Malris. Herbal tea for me. Coffe with Kahlua for hubby
Does Father Christmas wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
Wrapped and placed under the tree.
Coloured lights on tree/house or white?
Coloured lights on tree. No special lights outside.
Do you hang mistletoe?
No
When do you put up your decorations?
Usually mid-December although we don't have a tree this year because we will be my in-laws.
What's your favourite Christmas dish?
Last year, I made a roasted duck stuffed with a wild rice stuffing with a garlic-port sauce. Not sure what the in-laws will be making but whatever it is, I am sure either the dish will contain meat or pork. :-(
Favourite Christmas memory as a child?
We didn't really celebrate Xmas in our family so every year, I remember my parents, my bro, and I searching for a decent restaurant to have Xmas dinner. I think one year, we ate at McDonald's. (Most restaurants in Montreal close on Xmas day and it is usually -15 C around that time so we were not keen to walk around)
When and how did you learn the truth about Father Christmas?
Like at 5, when my mom took me to get my photo taken with Santa Claus at the Bay.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Growing up, my parents did not believe in wrapping gifts (they still don't) so we got our gifts as soon as they bought them. Now, Richard insists that we wait until after breakfast on Xmas morning.
How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
With the ornaments that we've amassed from various Weinachtsmarkt in Europe.
Snow! Love it or dread it?
I Love it. I miss it. I love being able to go sledding after the a major snowfall!
Can you ice skate?
YES!!!! A definite pre-requisite growing up in Montreal!
Do you remember your favourite gift?
I got a working baking oven one year! I made many many cakes.
What's the most important thing about Christmas for you?
Chilling out with family and friends.
What's your favourite Christmas dessert?
Flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and vanilla gelato
What's your favourite Christmas tradition?
Baking about a million cookies to give to friends and colleagues.
What tops your tree?
One year, we put a little mitten up there because that's what we found at the Basel market. Now, a little art work from Marlis.
Which do you prefer: giving or receiving?
Both but lean toward giving.
What's your favourite Christmas song?
Handel's Messiah, the entire oratorio
Candy canes?
Nope, only a tree decorations. We stay away from high fructose corn syrup as much as we can.
Egg nog or hot chocolate?
Hot chocolate for Malris. Herbal tea for me. Coffe with Kahlua for hubby
Does Father Christmas wrap presents or just set them under the tree?
Wrapped and placed under the tree.
Coloured lights on tree/house or white?
Coloured lights on tree. No special lights outside.
Do you hang mistletoe?
No
When do you put up your decorations?
Usually mid-December although we don't have a tree this year because we will be my in-laws.
What's your favourite Christmas dish?
Last year, I made a roasted duck stuffed with a wild rice stuffing with a garlic-port sauce. Not sure what the in-laws will be making but whatever it is, I am sure either the dish will contain meat or pork. :-(
Favourite Christmas memory as a child?
We didn't really celebrate Xmas in our family so every year, I remember my parents, my bro, and I searching for a decent restaurant to have Xmas dinner. I think one year, we ate at McDonald's. (Most restaurants in Montreal close on Xmas day and it is usually -15 C around that time so we were not keen to walk around)
When and how did you learn the truth about Father Christmas?
Like at 5, when my mom took me to get my photo taken with Santa Claus at the Bay.
Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?
Growing up, my parents did not believe in wrapping gifts (they still don't) so we got our gifts as soon as they bought them. Now, Richard insists that we wait until after breakfast on Xmas morning.
How do you decorate your Christmas tree?
With the ornaments that we've amassed from various Weinachtsmarkt in Europe.
Snow! Love it or dread it?
I Love it. I miss it. I love being able to go sledding after the a major snowfall!
Can you ice skate?
YES!!!! A definite pre-requisite growing up in Montreal!
Do you remember your favourite gift?
I got a working baking oven one year! I made many many cakes.
What's the most important thing about Christmas for you?
Chilling out with family and friends.
What's your favourite Christmas dessert?
Flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce and vanilla gelato
What's your favourite Christmas tradition?
Baking about a million cookies to give to friends and colleagues.
What tops your tree?
One year, we put a little mitten up there because that's what we found at the Basel market. Now, a little art work from Marlis.
Which do you prefer: giving or receiving?
Both but lean toward giving.
What's your favourite Christmas song?
Handel's Messiah, the entire oratorio
Candy canes?
Nope, only a tree decorations. We stay away from high fructose corn syrup as much as we can.
Cranberry pear walnut cake recipe
I baked this cake when I should have been working on my tallying up how many documents I have reviewed and approved this year...
Here's the recipe (I modified the recipe from www.taste.com.au "Country pear cake")
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
1 c sugar
2 eggs, at room temp
1 1/2 c unbleached flour
2 t baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 dash ground nutmeg
reserved juice from peeling the pears and 1/4 c (+ 2 T?) of buttermilk
2 ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, and chopped
1 to 2 handful chopped pecans
1 handful roughly chopped frozen cranberries
some honey (I used Wildflower honey)
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Grease 9-inch round cake pan, line bottom with parchment paper
- Beat (with mixer) together butter and sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time. Beat until combined
- Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg into another bowl
- Add some reserved pear juice/buttermilk to butter mixture. Add about 1/2 the dry mix. Blend. Add rest of dry mix and end with the liquid. Beat until just mixed.
- Fold in the pears, pecans, and cranberries
- Spoon into pan, even out the surface
- Bake 1 hr (?) or until toothpick comes out clean
- Brush honey on top
-Cool for 10 min, invert onto rack, invert cake again so that the honey side is facing up
- Yummy! and try not to eat too many slices all at once!!!
Here's the recipe (I modified the recipe from www.taste.com.au "Country pear cake")
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp
1 c sugar
2 eggs, at room temp
1 1/2 c unbleached flour
2 t baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 dash ground nutmeg
reserved juice from peeling the pears and 1/4 c (+ 2 T?) of buttermilk
2 ripe Bartlett pears, peeled, and chopped
1 to 2 handful chopped pecans
1 handful roughly chopped frozen cranberries
some honey (I used Wildflower honey)
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Grease 9-inch round cake pan, line bottom with parchment paper
- Beat (with mixer) together butter and sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time. Beat until combined
- Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg into another bowl
- Add some reserved pear juice/buttermilk to butter mixture. Add about 1/2 the dry mix. Blend. Add rest of dry mix and end with the liquid. Beat until just mixed.
- Fold in the pears, pecans, and cranberries
- Spoon into pan, even out the surface
- Bake 1 hr (?) or until toothpick comes out clean
- Brush honey on top
-Cool for 10 min, invert onto rack, invert cake again so that the honey side is facing up
- Yummy! and try not to eat too many slices all at once!!!
Sunday, December 10, 2006
I am such an idiot
Can you spot what I did wrong??!!!!!
Funny thing because I did not realize it either until I had knitted about 15 bloody rows of the Hourglass sweater (this will be the 3rd time I had to rip this cursed WIP).
In case you still can't figure it out, I twisted a stitch (es) and well, frog, frog, frog...
Funny thing because I did not realize it either until I had knitted about 15 bloody rows of the Hourglass sweater (this will be the 3rd time I had to rip this cursed WIP).
In case you still can't figure it out, I twisted a stitch (es) and well, frog, frog, frog...
For my Secret Pal, hehehe
Look at what I got in the post last week!!!!!
Okay, okay, I had also ordered some stuff for me too. Namely the Lantern Moon baskets but I have to tease you with the photos of the yarns you ordered!!!!! And the colours are definitely more vibrant in real life than in the photos!!!!!
Okay, okay, I had also ordered some stuff for me too. Namely the Lantern Moon baskets but I have to tease you with the photos of the yarns you ordered!!!!! And the colours are definitely more vibrant in real life than in the photos!!!!!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
It's a catastrophe! Shoulders, shoulders!!!!!
I went to a yoga intensive at the Yoga studio in Madison, NJ this weekend (started Friday night). The intensive was taught by a Senior Iyengar teacher from Florence, Italy. Gabriella Giubilaro (www.yogawisdom.com). She was fantastic but tough. She LOVES to do arm-balances. I swear if I practiced those arm-balances, I would probably be able to arm-wrestle R and WIN!!!!! We really worked on our shoulders on Saturday and she kept screaming "It's a catastrophe!" because we kept losing the rotation in our shoulders when we were doing urdhva hastasana. And also we were flexing our spine in uthitta trikonsana. One thing I am proud of is that I can kick up w/o assistance into pincha mayurasana.
Next weekend is the intensive with Manouso Manos. Looking forward to that but I know he LOVES to teach all the standing asanas and sitting asanas. Better be good this week and not eat a lot of crap. Definitely no wine cuz I don't want my cells to be drunk.
Next weekend is the intensive with Manouso Manos. Looking forward to that but I know he LOVES to teach all the standing asanas and sitting asanas. Better be good this week and not eat a lot of crap. Definitely no wine cuz I don't want my cells to be drunk.
