paste-eaters anonymous

Caramelized Onions

I'm on this kick to cook new things. I figured this was a good start.

Step 1: Put two pounds of thinly sliced onions in a large, covered skillet (this one's non-stick), on medium (I've got an electric stove) for about twenty minutes, stirring once or twice.

Step Two: After twenty minutes, add 2T olive oil and a pinch of salt. Turn heat down to medium-low and cover again, stirring once or twice for another twenty minutes.

Ta-da! While it doesn't look much different than the picture in step two, this is the final result after a full hour of cooking. I'm sure if I had a gas stove I might have had darker, more caramelly-looking onions. 

But these were damn sweet! Thanks to Mark Bittman, How To Cook Everything Vegetarian pg. 329

The Return of the Madman

"You have too many shoes, I'll give you more"

He knocked on the door at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. I was still in my jammies and not feeling well--some kind of stomach bug--so I didn't catch every word. Something about telling Anna that he loves her dearly, he is not a thief and that he has a court date on the 5th. I "okayed" him until he left and I went back to bed.

I chalked it up to being an interesting way to end the year.

I think his date with justice might have something to do with an item I read in the local paper's police beat about stolen gifts found at my apartment building. There were no arrests, but The Husband did see two police cruisers outside the building on the day of his last "visit."

All was quiet until yesterday, which was still quiet, but when we opened the door to go ice skating we found these slippers. Again, we snuck them back downstairs to his welcome mat with no repercussions.

I'm still trying to figure the reasoning behind giving us more shoes. I thought for a moment that maybe it was a hint that we make too much noise, but the dude is deaf as a haddock; let's just say he loves his musicals. And much to my dismay, our apartment has wall-to-wall carpeting.

I can only assume that since we have a habit of taking our shoes off before we go inside, he has seen them and decided we like beat-up old shoes.

He does have folks who stop by and check in on him and there have been other "visits" to my neighbors. I think that his court date might be more about being able to live on his own than about stolen gifts.

Too bad. I think we have the same shoe size.

What I'm Reading After December 17

Damn. I'm real tired of reading my own writing. I can't wait to start something else.

 

I never read fiction, but this one piques my interest. I've heard Serena described as "Ma Walton meets Hannibal Lecter." I've started the first chapter and while I think that description may be fitting, I think Serena is closer to Al Swearengen of Deadwood fame--at least the HBO version. Like that critically-acclaimed but dismally-viewed series, Someone dies right away. I get the feeling this won't be the last, and I'm looking forward to it.

 

Keeping up with the holiday cheer, there's Factory Girls. I've always wondered about the people who make the things that surround our lives. Timely in so many ways. I think I am going to get a new perspective of globalization with this book.

 

Hurry Down Sunshine is Michael Greenberg's memoir of the summer his daughter went insane.

I love memoir because it allows me to see how others see (as remembering or forgetting) events, not just a statement of the facts of what happenned, but how they were shaped in someone's mind. I can't imagine the torment that a parent must go through when their child is sick, but I think there is something even more devastating about madness. You see your loved one as someone else, constantly questioning if his/her actions are the disease or of true intent. It must create some powerfully desperate feelings. 

So that's my happy-go-lucky reading list for the holidays. Probably shaped by years in retail. So be nice to those shop clerks out there, okay?

That's No Pony

I was in Vermont today on business. A brief instance of my five hours on the road gave me my first sighting of a real live moose.
A gawky looking thing just doing a mosey down a dirt path. No antlers, no gloves, no squirrel.

Hair-Raising

Not me. The husband. It's time for a haircut.

I went to Wild and Wooly on Saturday and went a little wild myself, purchasing goodies with my Christmas gift certificates.  I'm just not comfortable spending huge amounts of money--even if it's "free" money--and almost needed a therapeutic intervention. Guess I've been broke for so long it's gone to a cellular level. 

But I got over it. I purchased the Noro I've been wanting, Kureyon #195--with the idea of making some kind of pullover, two skeins of the new Kureyon sock yarn--one for gloves, one to play around with, some Addi turbos (my first!) for the CPH I'm working on as well as some stitch markers--an extravagance for someone who usually uses twist ties and scrap yarn.

All in all, a big day for this humble knitter.

Feeling Itchy

    Last Friday, I gathered up my gifts from Christmas, armed with a the idea of a basic pullover knit in Kureyon, all ready to brave Wild and Wooly during a sale--even though I know Noro will never be on sale-- expecting to see frenzied knitters tugging and fighting over bargain skeins while I get the yarn I've been dreaming of(#195) for a while now, only to be somewhat disappointed on all counts.
    The last time I was there they had a wall of it in the stockroom, but it seems that the Metrowest area has gone a little Noro-nutty lately. So I have to wait for the next shipment to arrive.
    There were no hysterical sale shoppers when I was there; much to my dismay everyone was polite and well-mannered. I looked through the sale yarns and there truly is some wonderful things there, but I know myself enough now to know that is why I have the stash of great intentions and that I should stick to the project I have in mind. I left empty handed. Sad. 
    I have finished another glove, just like the orange ones     only green. Even though I have to wait before starting the new project, I have little motivation to work on the second and while the glove is nice, I can't even get the get-up to take a picture.
     So it is. I start school in a week and I'm sure I will have the knitting groove back in a better perspective then. Nothing like having an itch you can't scratch.

low-profile

In spite of all the projects I have good intentions of making with stash yarn (and if the road to hell is paved with good intentions, then I have a superhighway), I broke down and bought some more. Inspiration came from Kathy's post and news of this yarn on sale at Webs--I'm sure they are delighted that non-regulars are patronizing their business. This looks like a sweater I would wear often and I will get to use some pretty cool buttons on it. A nice olive-brown with KPPM trim that coordinates nicely and even has bits of blue and black.

However, that said, I'm determined to finish my gloves first. Turning over a new leaf and all that (which reminds me, I want to make those embossed leaves socks Alison loves and the backyard leaves scarf, but I digress), I will only open the bag of new yarn when the glove is done. This will kill me.

No walk run today. Tomorrow. Really!