the biggest little city

Posted on June 18, 2004 by mariko

We’re back from Reno! We had a fun time, and Peter’s dad came in 15th in the bowling tournament, which was good enough to win some $$. The tournament was held at the National Bowling Stadium, which has 50 lanes. It was pretty incredible, and it was great fun watching all the bowling (confession: I actually enjoy watching bowling on TV. It’s one of the only sporting events I watch).
Here are all the old guys and gals marching into the stadium:
bowl entrance.JPG
And here’s a shot of Peter’s dad in action:
bowling day 2 action.JPG
Other highlights of the trip:
– We ate the famous Awful Awful Burger at the Nugget Diner, a crazy, dingy little place that was straight out of a Saturday Night Live sketch (you know, “cheebooger cheebooger cheebooger Pepsi”). I would have taken a photo of the food and the diner, but the lights went out, and by the time they came back on, my fingers were covered in sauce.
– I went to Jimmy Beans Wool in Truckee! Very cute store, very nice owner.
– We had lunch at Ikeda’s in Auburn, and I finally got to try their pie.
– While I vegged out in the hotel room, Peter played video poker for 38 minutes on a single dollar.
– The Chinese restaurant in the El Dorado Hotel/Casino, where we stayed, was actually really good, and I learned how to say “thank you” in Cantonese.
Knitting updates to come this weekend, probably. Hope everyone had a good week!

Posted in General | 12 Comments

off to the circus!

Posted on June 14, 2004 by mariko

team rod copy.png
Okay, so I’m not really off to the circus, but we are going to Reno for the next few days to cheer for Peter’s dad as he competes in the ABC Senior Masters bowling tournament.
Speaking of the circus, though, I whipped up this crazy circus skirt:
circus skirt.JPG
Back at the end of the week!

Posted in sewing | 14 Comments

the ever-growing projects list

Posted on June 12, 2004 by mariko

goodmail.JPG
Cherry Moon is in the house! The mailman brought a couple little knittin’ goodies today*–my Cotton Fleece to finish Gigi is FINALLY here, and a kit for knitting Caryl’s Kerchief with one skein of Koigu came. I learned about the kerchief via Kerrie, and I ordered the lovely kit, which comes complete with pattern, beads, and skein of Koigu, from Foxyknits. I highly recommend ordering from Foxyknits. Service was prompt and efficient, and she sent the PERFECT color scheme for me.
Also in the photo is a miniature rug kit gifted to me by the artist herself! Marny, who is also in the knitting guild, creates the most amazing miniature rugs made solely of French knots. I have another kit of hers, also with a Halloween theme, and my goal is to finish both rugs by Halloween. So many projects, so little time!
*I have a suspicion these packages may have arrived Friday had the postal service not been closed for the day, but let’s not get started on THAT …

Posted in knitting | 8 Comments

relieved

Posted on June 10, 2004 by mariko

How about a little knitting update? I’ve been waiting for Cotton Fleece in cherry moon from Patternworks to arrive so I can finish Gigi, but IT’S STILL NOT HERE. I ordered it on May 29, and it was sent out on June 1. I know New Hampshire is pretty far from California, but surely there have been some advancements in the mailing system?!?
In the meantime, I’ve been working on the Oh What a Relief T from Rebecca #22. I’m knitting it with TLC Cotton Plus, a cotton/acrylic blend that cost $3.49 a skein (less 30 percent! Woohoo!). In short, a bargain, and it’s pretty nice stuff (though not the best choice for this particular design, since it doesn’t highlight the relief pattern very well. But eh, I don’t really mind). Here’s part of one side:
relief progress.JPG
I have to say that Carolyn came to my rescue on this. I got utterly confused trying to decipher the instructions, so she sent me some charts that saved my life (and sanity). Hers looks great.

Posted in knitting | 9 Comments

biscuits

Posted on June 9, 2004 by mariko

Who doesn’t love a good biscuit? I got the latest issue of Cook’s Illustrated a few weeks ago and have been wanting to try the Mile-High Buttermilk Biscuit recipe. Since it requires the oven to be set at 500 degrees, I refrained (I mean, does anyone in his/her right mind turn on the oven to 500 degrees when it’s 100 degrees outside?). It cooled down this week, though, and I just happened to have some buttermilk in the fridge, so today was the day.
biscuits.JPG
They were rather tasty. I’d post the recipe, but I think the copyright police would come after me. You’ll just have to go buy the mag. It’s a brilliant magazine, and they have a recipe for a free-form fruit tart that sounds pretty darn tasty, too.
I don’t care if David Sedaris is gay; I still have a crush on him. And crazy brother got to hear him read yesterday, and he got me a signed copy of the new book!

Posted in baking | 16 Comments

raspberry sherbet

Posted on June 8, 2004 by mariko

Behold the goodness of the giant cone of cotton!
raspberry yarn.JPG
(The grapefruit is in there for scale. Helpful, huh.)
That cone made it all the way from Portland! It was hand delivered today by the Hedster, who took a little driving vacation. It is quite soft, and I love the color!

Posted in knitting | 11 Comments

skirtin’ along

Posted on June 7, 2004 by mariko

I sewed up another little skirt over the weekend:
school skirt.JPG
This is New Look pattern #6345. I had a few problems, as I usually do, but I’m generally happy with the results. I don’t know how wearable or practical this skirt is going to be (I gotta tell you–nothing beats the elastic waistband skirt!), and I’m not sure the weight of the fabric is the most appropriate for this design, but eh, what are you going to do? You can’t see the fabric that well, but there are different panels and motifs, such as “school time,” “play time,” “lunch time,” etc. Heh heh.

Posted in sewing | 24 Comments

the gelato that wasn’t

Posted on June 5, 2004 by mariko

I was going to blog about Earl Grey Gelato today, but the gelato was a complete failure. The only recipe I could find was from Cooking Light, so I was suspicious to begin with, but I did not anticipate such an utter disaster. The mixture simply would NOT firm up, and after nearly an hour it was still a soupy mess. I threw it away, but not before Peter scooped some up in a container and stuck it into the freezer. That came out like ice milk, sort of, and though I’m still disappointed in it, Peter kind of likes it. Well, anyway, here’s a photo of olallieberry crumble that I did not make but did help devour:
olallieberry.JPG
It was delicious, and it made it feel like summer! Are you drooling, Rachael? For those of you who don’t know, Rachael is pretty obsessed with olallieberries. And Rachael, the Avila Valley Barn is open now!

Posted in cooking | 7 Comments

cones and cones and cones of yarn

Posted on June 3, 2004 by mariko

If you’re strapped for some yarn money, here is a deal and a half. Cones of Conshohocken cotton softball yarn. This all-cotton yarn was used by Hanna Anderson, and these cones are the leftovers, I guess. Each $15 cone has about 4,000 yards. The yarn is pretty skinny, but doubled it’d churn out a nice little summery sweater!
Peter and I went to the Chinese buffet for dinner. The waiters are all Chinese or Taiwanese or Thai or Other Asian, but their nametags display American names. Tonight our waiter was Edwin, but I seriously doubt this guy’s name is really Edwin. Once I asked a waiter what his REAL name was, and he got a nervous look on his face and ran away. This particular buffet also sports a soft-serve machine, complete with vanilla-and-chocolate twist option. Sometimes I take my own jimmies with me. Edwin and the boys don’t seem to mind.

Posted in knitting | 11 Comments

knit & tell

Posted on June 2, 2004 by mariko

Eons ago I worked with Alan, one of the most wonderful guys in the world. Imagine my surprise, then, when I got an e-mail from his partner, John, who is a KNITTER. And he KNITS AMAZING THINGS for ALAN!!! With John’s permission, I am sharing his latest creations:
john alan.bmp
There’s Alan! He’s wearing the Oregon Vest, knit with Lopi Icelandic Wool.
And some socks:
john socks.bmp
No, John’s not color blind. He very cleverly made two different socks so that he would be more motivated to knit two pairs rather than one!

Posted in knitting | 7 Comments