Mrs. Allerton’s cabin was the next. It was exquisitely neat, and a faint old-fashioned smell of lavender hung about it. The two men’s search was soon over. Race remarked as they left it, “Nice woman, that.”
-Agatha Christie, Death on the Nile
This passage is one that stuck with me all through Christie’s oeuvre. I should like [...]
Archive for July, 2007
The lavender problem
Posted in life on July 31, 2007 | 2 Comments »
Core chili
Posted in food on July 30, 2007 | 2 Comments »
Well, I’m getting back on the wagon with the Weight Watchers Core program. Because their website won’t allow me to sign up for the eTools, I’m doing it on my own this time.
The Core program is really wonderful, for me. I have good awareness of appetite and satiety, which is what you need for [...]
I’m a little teapot (1)
Posted in knit, knitting on July 29, 2007 | 2 Comments »
The Cup’a Tea? group at Ravelry is currently trying to organize a tea cozy knit-along, and I am soooooooo in. Do you see this sad, naked teapot?
I have three other teapots that all have pretty blue-and-white designs painted on. Unfortunately, they’re all smallish four- or six-cup jobs, and sometimes… well, sometimes a girl holds a [...]
Saturday morning, settling in
Posted in food, life on July 28, 2007 | 4 Comments »
Things aren’t completely uncivilized around here, I guess.
Glass-top stove heats up faster than I can get eggs in the skillet
I found my kettle and my Kitchenaid
My dishes and silverware, too
And the contents of my spice cabinet
And I’ve even managed to find places to put away all of my tea things. I can’t ask for more [...]
Pay it forward
Posted in memes on July 26, 2007 | 3 Comments »
I am going to be the beneficiary of this swap via a friend from LiveJournal (Jennifer, do you want a link?), so here I am fulfilling the whole point of the thing: the Pay It Forward swap. The first three people who leave comments on this post that expicitly express their desire to participate, [...]
The guest bed
Posted in house, life, quilt, quilting on July 26, 2007 | 6 Comments »
It was a ten-hour quest, but at last I triumphed! I found my iron and my ironing board, which made it worthwhile to iron the guest bed’s bedskirt, put it on, and make the whole thing up. Oh! How much better I feel about the house, now that I can see this:
The quilt will be [...]
Preliminary report
Posted in house, life on July 25, 2007 | 4 Comments »
This is Snapdragons, on the ground in Illinois. The moving van is unloaded, and I am alone in the middle of the Cardboard Sea.
The great room. If you look closely, you’ll see the back of my beloved green loveseat. That’s because there isn’t room for it in the study after all. No really, there isn’t. [...]
She’s got it!
Posted in literature, reading on July 20, 2007 | 5 Comments »
Yeah baby, she’s got it!
July 20
Posted in life on July 20, 2007 | 5 Comments »
July 20, 1980. I was born 27 years ago today.
Sun sign: Cancer
Moon sign: Scorpio
Ascendant: Scorpio
Element: Water
Planet: Moon
Symbol: Crab
I love my Sun sign. I am a Cancer to a T. Romantic, domestic, and old fashioned? Checkity. Sentimental, emotional, practical? Checkity. Crabby, grabby, and determined? Checkity.
Chinese zodiac: Monkey
Element: Metal
I love my Chinese zodiac sign, too. Self-indulgent show [...]
Boxes and sockses
Posted in knit, knitting on July 19, 2007 | 2 Comments »
Before I wax lyrical on today’s topic: I’d like to thank everyone who leaves kind comments on this blog. I enjoy what I do enough that I think I’d blog if no one was paying attention, but the attention is very, very nice. Thanks.
These pictures are a wonderful representation of my life right now. Boxes, [...]
Sunset in yarn
Posted in knit, knitting on July 18, 2007 | 5 Comments »
Everyone, I am sure, is aware that there are lots and lots of sock yarns available. There are pure wools and pure merinos, alpaca blends and cashmere blends, nylon-reinforced and modal-reinforced (or are they the same thing?), cotton and bamboo and soy, elastic and sparkly and DK. There are solid colors, kettle-dyed semisolids, self-striping [...]
Thai chicken coconut soup
Posted in food on July 17, 2007 | 3 Comments »
Had one of those really dreadful days. Dreadful-dreadful. Not physically hard, but psychologically tortuous. I guess that doesn’t elicit sympathy with many people, but at the end of it, I needed some real help. In comes this:
Thai Chicken Coconut Soup (my recipe)
Cooked rice
Cooked chicken breast, shredded
Bring 1 14-ounce can of coconut milk and 2 cups [...]
Tea with me
Posted in food, literature, reading on July 16, 2007 | 2 Comments »
Tea with Me is the Place to Be
Snapdragon’s tea room–hottest invitation this side of… of what? I can’t say “campus” and I can’t even name my old department, because I’m not in it anymore. Poo. Anyway, here is tea-for-lunch. Every day, in every way, I’m getting better and better. Sandwiches featured are cucumber, smoked salmon, [...]
Throwing in the brush
Posted in house on July 15, 2007 | 1 Comment »
I’m back from another hard weekend at the house. This time, I painted the study and… thought about assembling my new push-reel lawnmower. It was exhausting, I tell you. Exhausting.
Because the Peanut Gallery demands it, here is the color I have painted my master bedroom. It is “Paris Pink” from the Martha Stewart colors for [...]
Leisure Arts #3249
Posted in crochet on July 14, 2007 | 3 Comments »
Dear all who have inquired, thanks so much for the interest in the afghan! The pamphlet really is one of my favorite, and there are several other gems in it. “Rose Cottage Afghans” is apparently still available from Leisure Arts’ website. I haven’t tried to go all the way through the process of buying [...]
One tranquil retreat
Posted in crochet, food on July 13, 2007 | 7 Comments »
Oh frabjous day, calloo! Callay!
Tranquil Retreat is finished. I loved crocheting this afghan, but the sewing together? Rescue me! I let it drag out to over two weeks. But now? It’s finished, and I have a really lovely, comfy afghan. It was worth it.
This is Tranquil Retreat from Leisure Arts pamphlet #3249, “Rose Cottage Afghans.” [...]
Eight random things
Posted in memes on July 13, 2007 | 1 Comment »
Ooh, Christy tagged me for the “Eight Random Things” meme. I did the “Eight Things” meme way back in the beginning of this blog (last month already!), but this is obviously a different meme. This is eight random things. And it’s the first time I’ve ever been tagged for a meme. And my favorite [...]
Padded book covers
Posted in reading, sewing on July 12, 2007 | 5 Comments »
Or, Who Needs Martha?
Padded book covers! This is #4, after three failures, all of which failed because I thought I was too smart to use a straightedge.
This book cover is meant to fit any of the Barnes & Noble Pocket Library editions–which have sadly been discontinued. I have all six of Jane Austen’s novels, which [...]
Vanity Fair: Bleeker Street
Posted in fabric, food, literature, reading, sewing on July 11, 2007 | 2 Comments »
I kept the same major professor for both my master’s and my doctorate because he was such a wonderful major professor. He managed to strike the perfect balance between taking care of students, and staying hands-off. A lot of students wanted more guidance, but me? My first word was “self,” as in, “I want [...]
Vanity Fair: Amelia’s gimcracks
Posted in collections, literature, reading on July 10, 2007 | 1 Comment »
In the midst of all this material chaos, I have permitted myself to slip into Vanity Fair. It is one of my very favorite books, not because I care for the plot or characters (which I don’t particularly), but because Thackeray writes so delightfully, especially about the material things that his characters handle. Vanity Fair [...]
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