SuperEggplant

I’m talking about the incredible, edible KINDER SURPRISE EGGS, of course. I accidentally ordered some from Germany, and they arrived today in all their ovoid splendor:

These things are addictive. Not only is the chocolate quite tasty, but the surprise toys hidden inside are so amazing! The variety is staggering as well, which makes it hard to share these eggs. I want to hoard them all! All for me! We’ve opened two so far, and, well, the toys were kind of lame. I got Doctor Diesel and Petrocoyote, some weird coyote figuring standing next to a gas pump. As I have mentioned before, kinder eggs are not readily available in the US. If you have some fine Canadian or German friends, they might be willing to send you a couple. You can also visit your closest German delicatessen.
Lest you are feeling annoyed at the recent lack of knitting content, here is an in-progress shot of Aubergine Delight*, sweater #13 from Rebecca #27:

That Cecil yarn by Schoeller Stahl is the splittiest yarn I’ve ever handled. It’s like the strands want NOTHING to do with one another. But, you know, it’s all okay.
*Is it me, or does there seem to be an unspoken rule that knitbloggers must name their sweaters? I don’t think I ever named my sweaters before …

I feel so much better today that I am practically giddy with delight! Thanks for all your well wishes. I should probably talk about knitting, but today I would rather talk about chocolate, okay? Have any of you noticed the recent flood of caramel-infused sweets (no, of course you haven’t, because, well, you probably all have better things to do than to obsess about the latest candy offerings. So, aren’t you glad you have ME to tell you?)? I have seen Caramel Ho-Hos, Milky Way Caramels (which I never would have known about if it weren’t for Threadbear Rob!), Caramel M&Ms (okay, so they fancy them up by calling them Dulce de Leche), caramel milkshakes at Jack in the Box, and then these, Hershey’s Caramel Kisses:

(I bought them in the interest of science). Anyway, I’m sure there are many others. How do you explain this new interest in caramel?
Other chocolate news:
– a friend of mine just got back from Brooklyn (that would be in NY), and she brought back some Jacques Torres chocolates! WOOHOO!!! I would have taken a photo, but I received them on a puny day. I felt well enough to try one, and it was delicious–rich and smooth and creamy! I told Peter he should try one, so he disappeared into the kitchen for about 5 seconds. When he came back, I asked if he tried one, and he said, “Uh, yeah, well, a couple.” So I asked, “How many?” “Uhh, four.” “FOUR?!? But you were only gone a few seconds!” “I couldn’t stop myself,” he protested. “Well, were they all the same or different,” I asked, fishing for details and a juicy description. “Different.”
– I must thank Rae in Tokyo for helping me with a chocolate mission. Insane brother lived in Japan at one point, and there he grew to love a Japanese chocolate bar called Vessel in the Fog. You can’t get them in the US, so Rae graciously tracked down 15 bars and sent them to my bro for his birthday! SPREADIN’ THE CHOCOLATELY LOVE AROUND THE WORLD, BABY.
– And finally, if you want to read about how a chocoholic and chocolate expert spends his holidays, go to chocophile and read about his vacation in Paris (it’s the April 14 post).

Holy moly, I have been SICK. Major Punes. Flat on my back for the entire weekend! Thankfully, though, I was feeling fine-ish on Friday so was able to make the trip to San Francisco to visit Megan. She is doing okay, though she wishes she were doing better and healing faster! Her scars look better than I thought they would. There is some weird healing happening with the new boob, so they just have to wait and see what happens with that. It was odd to see Megan so tired and having to move so slowly–that’s not the Megan I know! But, that same Megan spark is there: just this morning I called her to see how she is doing, and she said she is doing so-so, but then she tells me she has to go get her bikini wax in San Mateo today, and oh, maybe she should go to Target, and boy, she wishes she could go to Palo Alto to buy some cake. She just keeps on truckin’!
It was a bummer not being able to do a bit more in the Bay Area (I was sick on Saturday morning and could not even enjoy a Bay Area coffee!!!), but the most important things I accomplished: I got to see Megan, I was able to see a couple of other good friends, and I got to eat a cherry cornmeal scone from the Cheeseboard in Berkeley (if you are EVER in Berkeley and love bread, you really MUST go to the Cheeseboard). Also, Peter had an absolutely wonderful time at the boat show. Looking on the bright side–that’s what I’m trying to do in the 21st century!

This morning I woke up with the punes. My upper stomach was all prickly, and I felt weak and blechy. I’ve been hunched over all day. At least it gave me a good excuse to just loll about on the couch and start reading The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem. I need to be better by tomorrow, though, because we are heading up to the Bay Area, and I need to be well and upbeat to see Megan! It’s been two weeks since her mastectomy and DIEP flap procedure, and she is not healing as quickly as she would like. I just can’t imagine going through months of chemo then having to get completely chopped up. She is one of the bravest people I know. Don’t take your health for granted, people (or peeps, if you prefer)!
I’ll leave you with something fun. I recently joined the State Swap, and this was the first package I received. It’s from Carla in Michigan:

There’s a Russian shawl, handknit washcloths, stitch markers, yarn, a bracelet beading kit, and dried blueberries, cherries, and lime curd all from Michigan!