Up Swing
More music!
A Little Music
A friend of my shared a playlist on her blog a few days ago. Hannah’s was upbeat and fun- I liked the idea of sharing playlists right away. It’s one thing to enjoy an album as the artist intended it, to move through its ups and downs, and appreciate the flow from one song to the next. In fact, most of the time, I listen to albums in their entirety instead of just one song at a time. But when I’m in the mood to mix things up, I truly appreciate the emotive power a good playlist can have. So, I’m sharing a favorite playlist of mine. I made this a few years ago (a sheer testament of how much I love it- most playlists get deleted after a week or two) and I still listen to it on a fairly regular basis. I guess it’s sort of become an album of its own in my mind. I listen to this when I want to relax, or need to find that quite place in my head after a long day. Many people have asked me to burn this for them and I never seem to get around to it, so here she is:
An Exercise in Nostalgia
Is it possible to be nostalgic for something you can’t really remember? My dad cooked a lot when I was young. In fact, I have almost no memories of my mother in the kitchen before he died. He made all sorts of things- mostly dishes rich in saturated fat with a side of starch. Not that I’m complaining- I loved it growing up. I’m sure he’s 100% of the reason I love to cook (ok, ok, that’s a lie. Julia Child also has something to do with that). I was going though a cook book in my kitchen this afternoon looking for a cookie recipe for my sister. I also found something that I didn’t expect to find- my dad’s chicken fried steak, gravy, and french fried (yes, actually fried, none of that oven baked crap) potatoes. The strange part is, I don’t actually remember him cooking this. I remember lots of his food, but this one somehow escaped the ol’ hippocampus.
Anyway, I think I’ll make this stuff soon. The following week, I’ll probably eat only salad, this stuff looks absolutely horrible for you. Deliciously horrible. Whipping cream and peanut oil, anyone?
In other, non saturated fat related news, my shawl class is going swimmingly. Picking 4 lace patterns with the same stitch count is frustrating, but I’ve worked up a few options that I’m excited about. Now, to knit about a billion swatches. Which is, perhaps, my least favorite part of the design process. I’d love to just pick a few things, stick them together and then – BAM- have it work. Sadly, the wool gods don’t work that way. Here’s what I’m using for my planning stages ( the blue) and the for the final stages (the pink)
Speaking of wool gods- I went to a sheep farm on Monday. The sheep were really friendly and absolutely adorable. Evidence:
Who can resist that face?
I really need to update my flickr with my YIP shots- I’ve not missed a single day this year, yet I can’t seem to get motivated to upload them to flickr- maybe I’ll do it later this evening. 
Snow!
It feels like we never get significant amounts of snow here, and when we do, it’s never pretty. I must admit, as a southerner, my version of “significant snow” is fairly wimpy. The past few days though, have been really pretty outside. I just wish I could make it off our street,I need to get beads…
I thought I’d share some of the snow pictures I took a few days ago. Enjoy!
