Giving Thanks

I am so thankful for this little munchkin!  I baked and sold some sugar cookies this month for a little extra pocket money.  What was I thinking?!  Baking and frosting sugar cookies is always tedious and time consuming and even more so when you have a 7 month old to keep entertained.  He really was pretty good though.  He loves playing with an old set of measuring spoons.  Maybe he'll grow up to be a baker man because I'm going to teach him everything I know about baking!  I used to pipe Dave's name onto cookies when we were still dating but now I'm piping my son's name.

Here is an actual cold weather action shot of him in his car seat with his hat and idiot string mittens.  He has such beautiful blue eyes!

A huge sack of potatoes is a joy forever.  Dave's sister Barb got us this 50 pound sack of russet potatoes and we'll eat them all winter in various forms.  Peasant food is some of the best food.

I finally finished his Tadpole sweater.  This is a free pattern and so user friendly and well written.  The verbiage is idiot-proof and very good for beginner sweater knitters because you're never in any doubt what to do. 

I used maybe one and a quarter skeins of Leading Men Fiber Arts fingering weight in Blue Steel.  I have more than enough left over for a pair of gloves for me some day...when I'm 65 and have some free time.  I soaked it for blocking in my Martha Blue enamel splatterware basin.  Yes that is snow in the picture.  We had some to look at the week before Thanksgiving but it is long gone now.

I just love this sweater and the color.  It's a shame he will outgrow it, and soon.  I made it longer than called for and the triangle pattern is little more than a glorified rib so there is some room for him to grow.  He wore this on Thanksgiving Day when we went to Dave's sister for dinner. 

He wore this underneath it!  My dear friends Melissa and Brenda came to stay last weekend and Melissa brought her Cricut machine.  Where has that been all my life?  I was finally able to make a "Bucky Is Yucky" onesie in time for the Minnesota/Wisconsin football game for Dave.  For myself, I made this "Mama Is A Yarn Ho" version!  Knitty used to have a dog shirt with this on it and I never forgot it.  If I can find a dog shirt to fit Lopi, I'll make one for her too!

Here we all are that weekend.  I can remember when Melissa's daughter was Marek's age.  She says all the time she grows like a weed.  I finally understand what she means!  Every single day it seems we have a new and different kid because he is constantly learning and changing.  It is a miracle and a joy to watch.

Here is our family picture we took that same day.  I'm just sad Lopi isn't in the picture.  It is still a bit much to wrangle the baby and dog at the same time for a picture and the light was fading fast.  We'll have to try again the next time we have company over.  I am thankful for my family and dear friends!

Winter Line of Knitwear

It is getting colder and this fat little boy will need some winter knits!  I bought this darling little pattern at Superbuzzy of all places.  It is supposed to have doe ears if you can believe that but I scrapped that detail as soon as I realized this sized version of the hat would fit him for about another 10 minutes.

I really love this pattern and used a wool/angora blend yarn I got at the fiber festival specifically for winter knits for Marek.  I'm already working on a larger incarnation of this same hat with a gray angora/wool/silk worsted I got at the State Fair for him.  Once that is done, I've been mulling over an idea to make a Minnesota Gopher's variation too.  So much knitting, so little time...

I also made a pair of thumb-less baby mittens complete with idiot strings!  These will do for now but I'll be making another slightly larger pair soon.  This is a nice pattern I've knit before.

The problem with taking pictures of babies in knitting is that they move quickly and can do this...

...or this!

That little pile of snipped yarn always makes me happy.  It is a sign of an impending finished project because all the tails have to be woven in and snipped.  Anne Boleyn is looking on disapprovingly from her coaster. 

The project in question is this raglan sleeve mallard duck blue sweater for Marek and I'm so close to being done I can taste it.  I just have to finish the ribbing on the neckline and button band and sew on the buttons.  With all this outgrowing he is constantly doing, the pressure is on.  I started this ages ago it seems.  I have yarn lined up for a few more projects for him and I have to make sure they are several sizes ahead because lord knows I don't have the time to knit and finish them in a reasonable amount of time.  I've been wearing my green Knitting Olympic sweater around the house lately and they looked so nice thrown together over the back of the couch.  Knitted things make me happy!

Konfirmasjon

My niece was confirmed a week ago and she wore the bunad my ridiculously talented mother sewed for her.  She looks like Solveig from Peer Gynt in this woodsy picture.  I still remember the night this girl was born.  Time flies.

I bought two bunads for Marek in an awesome second hand shop called Uff across the street from the central train station in Oslo.  My sister spotted the shop as we rode by on the tram when she saw a bunad in the window.

I was hoping to have him wear this to Ava's confirmation because it. was. tight.  It wasn't going to fit him for much longer and then he ended up getting a viral stomach bug from daycare and we wound up in the hospital for 2 nights last week.

I'm happy to report he is back to his normal happy self but it was our first test as parents with a really sick kid.  I'm thankful it was nothing serious and I have new sympathy and empathy for families who do struggle with seriously sick kids.  I've been a nurse for 18 years and very seldom am I on the other end of things and I was grateful for all the fabulous care we received.  We have so much to be thankful for.

Happy 1st Halloween!

Here is Marek in his official Halloween costume that we got last year on clearance for $2.  I was fresh home from Norway and pregnant at the time.  He looks cute as a bug in it!  I worked Halloween which was OK.  I put him in his outfit for pictures that morning and he wore it over to his grandparents' house and otherwise napped and played throughout the day so I don't think he minded my absence. 

This was his more 'business casual' Halloween outfit he wore to daycare.  That pumpkin hat was a hand-me-down from my sister I'd knitted for her kids from this pattern.  His onesie is a hand-me-down from Dave's niece Becky and says "My First Halloween" on it.  She has two sons and generously gave us bags and bags of hand-me-downs in all sizes and seasons.  Thank goodness for hand-me-downs!  I swear all I do is sort through his clothes weeding out what is too small and going through the stash for things that will now fit and up and coming fit.  There are so many things that get thinned from the herd that he hasn't even worn!  For that reason, I am also a great believer in shopping at Saver's.

Speaking of Saver's, I picked up this coffee cup the last time I was in there.  I need another coffee cup like I need a hole in the head, but it has a kitchen witch on it!

My grandma had a witch figurine just like this attached to her kitchen clock and we'd look at it sitting around the table eating breakfast.  I wonder if one of my cousins have it now.

They are supposed to bring you luck and keep your pots from boiling over and are a lovely little bit of Scandinavian folklore.  I think of my grandma every time I use it.

And of course we are fully into fall weather and foliage.  Our crab apple tree lost all it's leaves literally overnight and now just has the fruit.  It almost looks like a gumdrop tree!

The apples are such pretty, almost fluorescent, shades of sherbet orange, fuchsia's and yellows.

We have these jewels decorating the vines along the fence.  In the summer, this trailing plant blooms purple flowers that later become these brilliant red berries.

This is baking weather and I'm loving it.  I keep the thermostat low and the upstairs and kitchen are so cozy warm and fragrant from the oven and it's results.  I got this set of 4 mini bread pans at HomeGoods and love them!  I like having some little sweet loaves in the freezer to eat with coffee when we have company.  When Marek is older, he is going to help me bake bread and he can make little Marek sized loaves in these.

Here is my little baker man helping his mother in the kitchen.  I put his high chair next to the counter and give him some measuring spoons and cups and talk to him while I work and he babbles back.  He does really well for long stretches of time with me in the kitchen. 

Fair season ended with the summer and I never reported on my big winners.  That humble little jar of dried mint leaves won the grand champion ribbon for food preservation at the Ramsey county fair.  I couldn't believe it!  It is practically a weed that I picked, washed, dried and threw in a jar and it beat out all the other canned food items.  My favorite part about exhibiting is reading the comments the judges write on your items.  Nothing I took to that fair had any comments except for this mint.  On the back of the tag, it said simply, "Perfection."  HA!  I'm looking forward to making tea with this someday but I read that mint dries up your breast milk so I'll leave it alone for a few more months. 

My knitting didn't win any major awards this year but I won the grand champion ribbon in needlework at the Washington county fair for Marek's baptism booties.  They hand out free yeast and yeast coupons at that fair so I'm all over that.

I have not really had any spare time since this little guy was born so I don't get to knit or sew or craft with reckless abandon like I could before he arrived.  I'm already making a list of things to take to the fair next year but I've resorted to scavenging.  Since I don't have time to make new things, I find things I made over the years but have never exhibited and I already found two things in my Halloween/Fall decorations that can go next year!  All I have to do is look at this boy and know he is so worth the work and exhaustion and no spare time.  He is so very precious.

Garden Success

My mother came to stay with us in May to help us with the baby which freed up some time to plant the garden.  I think we were officially crazy for doing our garden with a baby in the house! 

We had a great year as far as yield.  I think I picked 4 colanders full of tomatoes which were turned into pints and pints of sauce and marinara.  I do enjoy canning and glad that I do come winter when we're enjoying what we put up in the summer.  It can feel like a major chore when you spend your precious time off processing all of it and you have to do it when you do it because it is perishable.  As with everything in my life, I'm a good starter.  I make coffee and get out my favorite tools and equipment and enjoy the colors of the produce...

...and then much later that night my feet are swollen and painful from standing and I'm tired and just want to finish and go to bed but I know I still have to pump, etc.  I destroy the kitchen in the process and I'm ashamed to admit it but when I'm on a roll and canning several days in a row, I just leave the stove messy because it is just going to keep getting crusted up until I'm done.

As I said earlier though, it is worth it to enjoy the colorful treats of summer throughout our bleak and bland Minnesota winters.  Marek enjoys his little exer-saucer thing and I talked to him and picked his toys up when he'd throw them down and he was pretty well occupied while I worked in the kitchen.

You can sure tell the difference between this year and years past.  Our first year gardening, one of us would proudly march up the steps, "I picked a zucchini!" and we were thrilled.  Now I think, "Dirty son-of-a!  What am I going to do with these cucumbers?!"  Dave's mother shared a fantabulous pickle recipe and I've pickled so many cucumbers I've literally run out of jars!  That's one way to stop canning! 

I made zucchini tots, zucchini roll ups, zucchini bread, zucchini muffins, zucchini noodles, pizza with zucchini crust, zucchini cobbler, etc.  I've frozen both grated and chopped zucchini.  As crabby as I get sometimes trying to use it up, I miss it in the winter.

This is all that's left of the pint of pickles I cracked open this afternoon.  It's nice to have a little break from canning as the garden slows down.  The squash are finishing up and the only tomatoes left are green and not in any hurry to ripen.  Maybe I'll fry a few on my day off this week and eat them with the marinara I canned earlier!

Redneck Test Kitchen

I have long been a fan of America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country on PBS.  They will test a recipe 87 times exploring every possible variable to arrive at the perfect version of the dish.  We've recently enjoyed their slow cooker ribs (awesome!) and bibimbap using their method.  Dave even gave me one of their compilation cook books a few Christmases ago but for the latest episodes and recipes, I have to DVR it and take careful notes.  We wanted to try out their spicy Korean wings and the universe was falling into place for us to make it, namely Target had 4 lbs packages of wings for 50% off on the Cartwheel.

I got this cooker years ago at Aldis because I thought it would be a really useful thing to have if we ever re-did our kitchen or in the event of a zombie apocalypse.  I never got it out of the box before this summer.  I'd been looking for an electric dutch oven for deep frying--because I could use it in the garage or on the deck rather than stinking up the house cooking with oil on the stove.  I didn't want a bona fide deep fat fryer with a basket because it can only be used for that one thing whereas an electric dutch oven would be more versatile.  I then remembered I had this thing sitting in the closet and one pot that would work on it.  Any pans used with induction must be magnetic.  This pan is older than I am and is the lone survivor of the pan set my mother cooked in when I was growing up. 

I still can't get over how awesome this cooker is!  It heats up so quickly and has a temperature setting built into it.  I tried to work quickly since I had raw chicken sitting in direct sunlight.  These wings were breaded with a thin flour and cornstarch batter and fried for 7 minutes, rested for 5 minutes before frying again for another 7.  They're  then tossed into a sauce that includes gochujang paste.  This is the spicy and delicious essence of Korean food.  Dave introduced me to it when we were still dating by taking me to Mirror of Korea restaurant and it's still one of our favorite places to go.  Their food is tasty and spicy and healthy as the dishes are very vegetable heavy with meat used only to flavor the dishes rather than be the centerpiece.  I remember I had a terrible case of tonsillitis that first time and I swear that pepper paste cleared it up.  It will definitely clear out your sinuses!  We even went there the week before I delivered hoping the spicy food would induce labor.  No such luck.

These were so crispy and the sauce was that perfect blend of spicy hot with a hint of sweetness.  Your lips tingle for a while after eating it.  It was a beautiful day for cooking out on the deck.  This recipe has earned a place in my recipe notebook and from here on, I will always watch for wings on sale!

Baptism

Last Sunday we joyously baptized baby Marek in our church.  We've found a spiritual home in St. Mark's Lutheran Church which we've been attending as soon as we found out we were pregnant.  Even back then, we knew we needed to find a church so we could baptize our coming baby.  Plus I think it is kind of special that Marek, which is the Czech form of Mark chosen to honor Dave's Czech side of the family, was baptized in a church that bears his name.

My sister Lisa and brother John and Dave's sisters Barb and Teresa served as sponsors.  After the luncheon I realized I should have introduced Dave's family a little better.  He has 7 siblings so you kind of have to say, "Teresa is the sister who helped us with the shelves," and, "Barb is the sister who gave us all the raspberries," so my family knows which one I'm talking about.  In our family, it is just the 3 of us so we just say, "This is my brother," and, "This is my sister."  Done.  I was kind of chuckling about that afterwards.

Here is the special boy on the day is his baptismal gown.  This was made by my mother 40 (!!!) years ago and is what I was baptized in.  My date of birth and initials are embroidered into the hem of the slip so I'll have to do the same with his now.

My mother loaned me the table linens and helped me with the spread and menu and my mother in law sent over her world famous chicken salad.  I set out a Lutheran baptism medallion and a rosary to represent both our family religions as well as a pewter christening cup I got from Etsy.  We got our cake from HyVee and I couldn't have been happier with it.

I thought this was such a special moment and glad I nabbed it with my camera.  I love all the profiles in the light.  Dave's mother hates having her picture taken so I had to do it quickly and stealthily.  Don't anyone tell her I put her picture on the interweb!

The day was kind of like a wedding because you plan and fuss and on the day it just passes quickly in a blur.  It wasn't until the next day I realized we didn't take any family photos together and I'm still kicking myself for that.  This weekend we dressed him back up in his gown for some glamour shots in our living room.

I'm pretty sure it's the law to include one of the baby having a total meltdown fit.

This was a sweet shot too.  Lisa gave him that block that has his initial, a cross, his date of birth, his date of baptism, his sponsors and a bible verse laser etched into it.  I just love it.

In our family we'd always wear a sølje pin on our baptism gowns but I didn't have a small one and I thought it might be a bit frilly for him.  I got this pewter pin years ago in Estonia because it's shape reminded me of a sølje pin.  I thought it had a nice nursery quality to it and was perfect for the day.

I made him a pair of felt shoes from the pattern in this book.  I made a pair of these for each of my sister's kids when they were baptized.  Holding true to tradition, I finished these at 0130 the night before the baptism!