questions

Posted on January 4, 2005 by mariko

Tune in tomorrow or the next day, and I may have some lycra capris to show you (I know! And it’s not even Halloween!). In the meantime, I have some questions:
1. Has anyone tried Rowan Handknit DK Cotton? How is it? Are there any good substitutions, or is the Rowan stuff da bomb (and do people still say that? I have never said it, so I don’t know why I am now).
2. Seeking moisturizer suggestions. I am always in search of the perfect facial moisturizer. I prefer something with spf, since I have some age-related pigmentation issues. I have normal to dry skin, but I don’t really like creams, cuz they make my face feel gree-zeee, and that’s gross. Oh, I also don’t like really smelly stuff, and I don’t really feel like paying a fortune (no Creme de la Mer for me), because that just seems silly and a tad delusional. Any advice?

Posted in General | 63 Comments

to fringe or not to fringe

Posted on January 3, 2005 by mariko

Lillie, my friend Wendy’s daughter, asked me to knit her a poncho in blue and/or purple, so I did.

lillie poncho.JPG

I used Lion Brand Jiffy, and it took just a smidge over 4 balls. I’m going to send along the 5th ball in case Lillie wants fringe. For the pattern, I used the fabulous poncho generator. Unfortunately, I think I entered some erroneous data, which meant I had to punt a bit on the poncho. Unfortunately again, I didn’t think through that punt all too well, so I had to improvise further (note the triangular panel). Still, I think it came out pretty cute, and the thing is toasty warm. I just hope Lillie likes it!

Posted in knitting | 5 Comments

come a gully washer

Posted on January 2, 2005 by mariko

It’s been raining like crazy around here lately, so I figured it was high time I made Deedle a raincoat. It just didn’t seem fair that I can put on my fancy raincoat while she just gets drenched. I had been mulling over a design for some time, and it turned out sort of like I had envisioned.
deedle with raincoat2.JPG
And a side view:
deedle with raincoat side 2.JPG
It’s a little baggy. I guess I overcompensated for the fact that most readymade dog clothing is too tight around her bulbous chest. Anyway, it is basically a lycra body (so the dirt splashing up won’t soil her tummy) with a Goretex upper. It’s sort of like a rain fly for a tent. She doesn’t seem to mind wearing it, either!

Posted in sewing | 23 Comments

New Year’s Brioche

Posted on January 1, 2005 by mariko

Hope everyone had a nice New Year’s eve and day. I went to bed before midnight (hey, I’m old), but we did enjoy the eve by watching the Poseidon Adventure. Peter has been wanting to watch that on NY’s eve for years, and I finally got it. It’s amazing how all the scenes came flooding back into my memory as we watched it.
So anyway, today I made some not-really-brioches-but-they’re-called-brioches brioches from the Cheese Board cookbook (I found it at the library! Score! And yay for public libraries!). I made the dough last night, and I had to do the yeast thing twice, because the first time I was not feeling very confident about the yeast activation. I wasn’t feeling very confident the second time, either, but I thought, eh, just go ahead. Well, I’m glad I did, because these little boogers are TASTY.

cheeseboard brioche.JPG

Read on for the recipe …

Continue reading →

Posted in baking | 5 Comments

happy new year

Posted on December 31, 2004 by mariko

I wish I had something clever to write for my year-end post, but alas, I do not, so here is a little haiku that I just made up:
It is New Year’s Eve
Time to welcome the New Year
Out with the old, dude!
Though there has been no shortage of calamities in 2004, I have a feeling 2005 is going to be a good year. Happy New Year!

Posted in General | 11 Comments

snappy gingersnaps

Posted on December 29, 2004 by mariko

Just when I thought I could not eat another cookie (okay, I should rephrase that to “Just when I decided I should not eat another cookie … “), I made another batch! I stumbled upon a food blog that offered the recipe for Chez Panisse Gingersnaps, so how could I resist?

chez panisse gingersnaps copy.jpg

This recipe makes a ton of cookies, and see how they are a pleasing rectangular shape? You gotta love that! I should mention that you should place the slices about 2″ apart on the cookie sheet, cuz these babies are spreaders. My first batch turned into one giant cookie because I didn’t leave much space between the slices.

Posted in baking | 8 Comments

peter the seamster

Posted on December 27, 2004 by mariko

Peter did some more sewing today. He completed two large bags for storing our sleeping bags:
peter sewing.JPG
He says he is ready to take on new projects now!
In other sewing, does anyone have a recommendation for a place to order custom woven labels, i.e., labels that would be sewn onto the exterior of items? I know about NW Tag & Label, but I would like to know if there are other options out there.

Posted in sewing | 12 Comments

boxing day

Posted on December 26, 2004 by mariko

Hope everyone had a nice and relaxing holiday. Ours was fun, and my butternut squash soup turned out just fine, thanks to your suggestions! I don’t have much else to report except that Peter completed his very first sewing project today and that we just got back from having coffee with Rachael. It’s always delightful to see her, and she brought us a plate of assorted cookies baked by her mother! It doesn’t get much better than that.
I must go knit now, so I will leave you with a photo of my latest candy discovery:

kitkat.JPG

Yup, it’s a green tea-flavored Kit Kat, and it is delicious (you have to like green tea-flavored stuff, though, obviously). It was sent by the friend in Japan who also sent us the Cheese Carls.

Posted in candy/chocolate | 11 Comments

the scone age

Posted on December 24, 2004 by mariko

cheeseboard scones.JPG

It’s Christmas eve, and I just finished baking two batches of scones. I had been eager to try these recipes, since they are for Cheese Board scones. The Cheese Board Collective is a venerable Berkeley bakery and cheese shop located across the street from Chez Panisse. It was at the Cheese Board that I tasted my first scone EVER. I was in college (yes, so I had a sheltered, sconeless childhood), and my favorite thing in the world was to walk to Peet’s with my mug, get a cup of coffee, then walk the block and a half to the Cheese Board for my scone. Good times, people.
So anyway, the Cheese Board came out with a cookbook recently. I do not yet own a copy, but thanks to the wonders of the world wide web, I did manage to find recipes for my two favorite kinds of scones: Currant Scones (the original and almighty Cheese Board scone) and Cherry Cornmeal Scones. I ended up kind of burning the Currant Scones because I had two sheets of them in the oven at the same time. Doh! They still taste pretty darn good, though.
Hope everyone has a happy holiday, however you spend it. Oh, and since Rachael already outed me, here’s a non-headless shot of me and my brother. As you can see, in addition to being kept in the dark about scones, I didn’t have much contact with big white guys with beards, either.
santa.jpg

Posted in baking | 13 Comments

super socks

Posted on December 23, 2004 by mariko

I got my socks! I got my socks!

fssss socks.JPG

I was lucky enough to be allowed to participate in a little sock swap with some major league sock knitters. Thank goodness for affirmative action (socks are not my forte). As you can see, the candy-colored socks I received are splendiferous. They were knit by ace sock knitter Theresa. She also sent along some Frango chocolates!
There’s going to be some baking happening Friday. I suspect others will be baking and cooking as well? Whatcha all making?

Posted in knitting | 18 Comments