People Who Should Be Rich

This is just one in a long list of things that will be different when I rule the world. Sadly, I have just received my order of hamantaschen, so world domination will have to wait until I finish my cookies.

There are lots of people who should be rich and aren't, and lots of people who shouldn't be rich but are.

Let me note that I realize that, for the most part, if you live in the U.S. or Canada or Western Europe, you're obscenely wealthy by world standards. That, however, is a post for another day. What I'm talking about here are the people in the developed (whatever that means) world that do amazing things and yet struggle to make ends meet.

Here's my list. It's obviously biased based on my own interests. Feel free to comment on whom you think should be added:

knitwear designers - There are people stunningly famous in the knitting world who create gorgeous, ingenius patterns and yet still have problems paying their bills. I assume this is true for other fields as well.

teachers - I know they have lots of days off, but they also spend most of their spare time during the school year grading and planning. And they put up with children and teenagers ALL THE TIME. It boggles the mind.

childcare workers - Apparently my new niece had her first blow out--all over the couch and even, because she's an overachiever, on their living room wall. My sister-in-law said it looked like silly string. People who deal with this as part of their career deserve to have enough money to hire a personal chef. And cleaner.

authors - Did you know that most authors don't get rich for writing bestselling novels? How is this possible? Whom can I blame?

President Obama - I'm not saying he's poor. I'm saying he should be wealthier.

bloggers who are read and enjoyed by a gajillion people - Yarn Harlot and Crazy Aunt Purl, I'm looking at you.

people who do all the real work in a job (as opposed to those who are clueless about what actually is done but yet get paid an obscene amount of money because of their title)

I'm confident there are many, many more, but I have sufficiently vented my grumpiness. Now, I'm going to go eat hamantaschen.

Have a nice weekend, everyone!

Big Yarn on Big Needles

I adore knitting. However, I understand that many people equate it with a) rocking chairs, and/or b) horrifying sweaters sporting giant wildlife in silhouette. As for the first concern, I am not too bothered. The people who think my knitting hobby is geriatric are probably the same people who think reading is for losers. I pay no attention to them.

As for the second, well... I know. I have a little saying I like to tote out while looking through knitting magazines: "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." There are a lot of ugly knitting patterns out there.

However, there are also some gorgeous ones. My next project is the Helleborus Yoke sweater. It's going to be gray. Or grey. I haven't decided. I've swatched, ripped out the swatch, changed needles, swatched again, puzzled over swatch, started sweater and now need to rip out the bit I've knitted 'cause I made a mistake on the first row.

Basically, it's going as expected.

I'm excited about it. It's strange to knit chunky yarn on big needles after doing so many socks. It feels like the project just flies. Of course, the project would fly more if I didn't have to rip out everything I knit, but I can't have everything.

When there's actually yarn in rows on needles, I'll insert a picture. For now, look at the yarn and the sweater photo and imagine how awesome it's going to be.

Nice, right?

Recipes #5 - #7

Yesterday was an ambitious Tuesday. We get a produce bin delivered every other week, and it is my goal to use up all the produce in the bin. This usually doesn't work--a bunch of parsley is A BUNCH of parsley, but I continue to try.

For Recipe #5, I had everything except for the pumpkin seeds. (As an aside, I stopped at a grocery I don't usually frequent on the way home from work. I couldn't find the pumpkin seeds. Turns out, they're with the beer. Huh.)

This is Sweet Potato Salad with Apple and Avocado from Vegetarian Times. We ate it over salad greens.


A word about sweet potatoes--actually, the same word I use for butternut squash: HARD. After two knives, much pain, and a pretty childish flipping off of the sweet potatoes, Andrew took over with knife #3 and whacked them into chunks for me. I later found that I had actually cut the heel of my hand on the back of the knife from pressing so hard. I didn't even know that was possible. It still hurts this morning. I am a delicate flower. I am also in need of a) knife skills and b) better knives. Or a personal chef. That would work just as well.

Besides cutting the sweet potatoes, everything else went well. This recipe is sweet potato, apple, onion (which I omitted), cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, corn, pumpkin seeds, and black pepper. If I could find the sweet potato already cut and in the freezer section, I would seriously consider making this again. As it is, I enjoyed it last night and will enjoy leftovers.

Recipe #6 was Mexican-Flavored Edamame, and it was really, really good. Boil edamame, drain, mix with red cayenne pepper, cumin, and chili powder. Eat. Weight Watchers also has Japanese and Indian versions, so I can eat edamame all the time. Since it's a good source of protein, I probably will.


I stuck some multigrain bread under the broiler to round out the dinner. Here's how pretty everything looked on the plate. The cilantro is on the side since the friend who came for dinner (and to help prepare) doesn't like it.

For dessert, I made Recipe #7, also a Weight Watchers one: Twice Baked Apples with Cinnamon-Yogurt Vanilla Sauce. As far as I can tell, there's no "twice baked" about it, but it does make it sound fancier. It's done in the microwave and uses applesauce to keep the apples very moist. Andrew thought they could be sweeter, but I liked it as is. I'm thinking he can sprinkle more Splenda brown sugar on his next time.

This is a pretty easy way to use apples, and spooning some yogurt over the top and sprinkling it with cinnamon takes no time but makes it feel very elegant. I'm a fan.

I'm going to call all of those successes. Seven down, eighteen to go.*

*I called my mom last night, and she said, "I thought you were making one new recipe a week!" Um, no. Twenty-five in 2010 is a good goal for me, thankyouverymuch.

Introversion, or Why I'm Not Crazy

Lynn sent me this link, which talks about introversion. The site is to help counselors understand introverts and the different approaches they might use with introverts as compared to extroverts.

I was surprised to see that only 25-30% of the population are introverted. One out of four? How is that possible? I realize introverts tend to either a) stay at home or b) befriend likeminded introverts. It's reasonable that I think there are a lot more of us than there really are because almost all of my friends are introverted. Extroverts take too much energy.

I was thinking about introversion this past weekend while we were spending a lot of time with Andrew's brother and sister-in-law and our new niece. Andrew and I kept telling the new parents that they should feel free to tell everyone to go home if that's what they wanted. It occurred to me that perhaps they don't feel exhausted by having people around. I've heard, although I've never understood it, that some people gain energy by being around others. According to that website, apparently three-fourths of the population does this.

Huh. I wonder what that would be like.

On a slightly related note, I wonder what percentage of bloggers are introverts. I'm guessing that the percentage is much higher than 25-30%. Here we can think and think and think and write and edit and rewrite and edit again before we release our thoughts into the world. It's so much easier than talking. Sadly, you don't get an edit button for talking.

So, if there are any extroverts who happen upon this blog (although from the website's definition of an extrovert's understanding of the Internet that isn't very likely), here are some things to know:

• Just because you make us tired doesn't mean we don't love you. We may love you very much.
• That doesn't mean we want to spend all our time with you.
• Not having something to say every moment we are together is not a crisis. I know that's hard to believe, but it's not. There is such a thing as a peaceful silence. Or, there would be if you'd stop freaking out that we're not talking.
• We have many interests and hobbies. We are not all crazy cat ladies... although some of us are.
• "Introverted" does not equal "shy." An introvert replenishes her emotional energy by being alone or with a very few, close friends. An extrovert replenishes her emotional energy by being with lots of people. Basically, extroverts are vampiric whereas introverts get what they need from themselves. I'm just sayin'.
• It may take us awhile to get what we're thinking out of our mouths, but HOO BOY it will be worth it when we do.

Knitting Olympic Gold!

Tonight I earned Knitting Olympic gold.

Leyburn Pattern, Rockin' Sock Club July 2009 yarn - Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight in Garden Daze colorway

I'm not sure what's more impressive: these socks or the aerial skiing in the background.

Okay, maybe the skiing. Still, I love these socks!

Potholes at Dinner

Last night Andrew and I tried to go to the new Mexican place very near our house. The old Mexican place very near our house was terrible. Our hope is that the new place will be great and we can walk to and from dinner to burn off some of the chips and queso.

The restaurant was closed, and there were no hours posted. There was a menu, and it had breakfast items, so perhaps it's a breakfast and lunch place.

Undaunted, we went to a big chain Mexican place. There were two vegetarian options. The author of the book that turned me vegetarian said that there will always be one vegetarian option on a restaurant's menu. Don't think too much about it; just order it. That's become my motto.

I ordered the spinach quesadilla, which came with beans and rice. The server asked me if I was vegetarian, and then said, "The beans have pork in them and the rice is cooked in chicken stock."

I'm afraid my mouth stayed open for awhile. She kindly told me the only two sides not cooked in meat, and that's what I had.

I had to talk myself down from a full-blown freakout though. I eat at Mexican restaurants a lot. I've never asked about their rice and beans because, well.... they're RICE and BEANS. I cook my rice and beans with water.

Now I'm wondering if I need to announce to every server at every restaurant that I'm vegetarian and specifically ask if the things I'm ordering have somehow been coupled with animal.

It's frustrating. I don't like drawing attention to myself.

That's all I have to say about that.

New Additions

I'm halfway to my Knitting Olympic goal!

I love these socks. (Okay, technically, it's just one sock. I love this sock.) I love the yarn. I love the pattern. I love the pattern with the yarn. I have a feeling there will be more Leyburns in my future.

Do you know what, besides sitting on the couch watching the Olympics, gives you lots of time to knit?





Waiting for this:

Our new niece, Ruth Allison, was born yesterday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Everyone is doing well.

Welcome to the family!