Sweater Weather

My grandma was a superb knitter. She knit this sweater for my mom when she was younger. She also knit a matching one for my dad. They were a set of ski sweaters, I recall my mom explaining. One of my sisters has my dad's version.

Today, I wore the sweater to work. It's made of wool so it's nice and toasty, perfect for a fall walk outside. Much of the charm of the sweater is in the details. My grandma had her own tag (Hand Knit and Fashioned by) and just look at those buttons.

It's Carvin' Time

Here's my sister and her husband's pumpkin battling my husband and my pumpkin (can you tell what they are?). These pumpkins were carved last year using steak knives. A trying task indeed. This year, I went to look for proper pumpkin carving tools but no grocery store here seems to carry them. Despite my disappointment, I did have fun sticking my hand into a motion sensitive candy-cauldron, where a skeleton hand closes down on your own with the accompaniment of an evil laugh. Yeah, I put my hand in a couple of times and got scared a couple of times.

As my Halloween luck would have it, my sister sent me some pumpkin carving tools in the mail the other day so we are set to carve for real this year. Thanks! And I just might make some Halloween cake donuts or some pumpkin donuts to spice up this time of year. What are your traditions for Halloween?

So about produce

A couple of posts ago, I asked for good ways to enjoy fresh produce. Your comments helped, and your suggestions are being put to good use, really. I've also been able to enjoy great veggie recipes. Here's one way I've been preparing fresh green beans, it's a recipe from my sister.
And here's another way to enjoy corn with a kick, a recipe from a friend at work.

Other delicious foods that aren't about produce but I feel like mentioning:
Peanut Butter and honey on toasted wheat bread,
Cottage cheese mixed with salsa (with tortilla chips, if desired).

Any fall foods you particularly like? I'm always looking to expand my horizons.

tag -errific III

I've been tagged to describe 6 quirky things about myself, so here I go:

1. Sometimes when I am explaining things in primary or at work, I end my sentences in a sing-songy way. I didn't realize I did this until my friend at work said, "You must like to sing." "How'd you guess?" amazed and surprised she knew that little tidbit about me. "You end your sentences by singing sometimes." "Oh..." I responded, saddened that it wasn't because of my amazing posture or music-exuding countenance.
2. The only person who is able to cut my hair the way I want it is my sister.
3. I have such a hard time ending phone conversations that it sometimes makes my phone conversations awkward.
4. I've always been interested in having good stylized handwriting. I remember being in 2nd grade and practicing my "Ns" and "Hs". In 7th grade I got chided and lost points on assignments for using all capitals and was pained when I had to change it.
5. I prefer a chalkboard to a dry erase board and was bummed when school and church classrooms started replacing all of their chalk boards.
6. I like to shorten words, but I think I used to do it more often. One time, while in the thick of my shortening phase, I believe I was talking to my sister and shortened the word "observation" to "ob." That's when she said I had taken the shortening word thing a little too far.

Join in the tag fun if you like.

Oh Mensch!

The other day, while among children, I exclaimed, "Oh man!" to which one of the children replied, "You just said a bad word." I thought I had heard incorrectly and kept going on my merry way when, for some reason I said, "Oh man!" once more. And once again, the child told me that I had committed an offense. "'Man' is a bad word?" I asked. "Yep," my question was answered.

I guess this means I'll have to change my "Oh man!" to "Yip skip!" or something.

Persuasion

Did you know about this Jane Austen tale? I didn't, until a friend recently let me borrow her dvd of the BBC version (thanks!). I was taken up with the movie just as I have been with all other Jane Austen films (excepting an awful 80s version of Northanger Abbey - picture late 18th century costume and storyline mixed with 80s hair influence and full-on 80s music). All films are wonderful and all have happy endings. Nothing like Tess of the D'Urbervilles or Wuthering Heights, thank goodness. What's strange is, and here's a confession of sorts, while I've read both of these sad stories, I have never read a Jane Austen novel. It may just be time to begin.

Elevator Usage

The elevator is a great invention. It facilitates people movement in very tall buildings; helps us move heavy/large/fragile items easily; and assists those of us who are in wheelchairs, using crutches, or suffering from arthritis or other joint malady. However, if you aren't taking part in any of the aforementioned activities or previously discussed situations, I think you should be taking the stairs.

At work, I find myself passing individuals waiting for the elevator on the 1st floor only to beat them to the 3rd floor by taking the stairs. Some persons I give the benefit of the doubt to, remembering certain activities or situations, but others I'm pretty sure could use those quadriceps and carry themselves up a few flights. The worst is when I spot a young 20-something waiting for the elevator with a tray full of food from the 1st floor cafeteria. I take a gander at his/her lunch choices: french fries, a diet soda, frozen yogurt. That meal practically mandates stair usage!

On the other hand, I see several regulars taking advantage of the stairs at work (There's even one woman who does her exercises every afternoon by walking up and down them for about 30 minutes). If they're carrying food, I've got to satisfy my curiosity, and I look at what they've chosen from the cafeteria menu: minestrone soup, breadsticks, and a fruit cup.

It's alarming how often lousy vs. healthy meal choices accompany elevator vs. stair usage. Do you think if I went to the cafeteria and watched what people bought I could tell whether or not they were going to take the elevator? Quite possibly.

Fresh Produce Gone Bad

My husband and I just can't seem to eat our fresh veggie produce fast enough (eating fruits, on the other hand, is quite easy)! It's not that I'm buying a ton of vegetables, it's just that we forget to eat them and I haven't got good ideas for making veggies a part of a meal. We like to pull out a carrot and enjoy it raw, but what should I do if the carrots are bitter? My first inclination is to boil the orange roots, but then they'll lose all of their vitamin A. And spinach, I buy it fresh and we eat some salads, but then the leftovers go bad (aka slimy).

Don't get me wrong, we actually enjoy eating vegetables (or at least I thought we did), but even our frozen broccoli is getting freezer burnt and that isn't a good sign. Does anyone have any good ideas of good, quick, veggie presentations? Or is this a case of, "Hey, it's really not that difficult. Just make sure you eat them"? I hope it's not the latter, but the longer this post gets, the more I think it may be that way.

The Kite Runner: A Review

Definitely don't judge this book by it's cover or by it's name. Maybe I'm one of only a few people who mistakenly thought The Kite Runner was a sweet story about boyhood friends; but come on, a small boy on the front, the thought of flying kites, what are these book cover designers trying to pull on me?

While this book is a story about boyhood friends, it certainly isn't sweet. In fact, this book is far from sweet. It is very intense. That's the best word I can use to describe it. I read it in three days partly because I wanted to stop thinking about it, put some closure to it. The other reason I read it so quickly was because this book is high throttle; new events were being thrown at me before I could really digest them (maybe that's for the best) , and I wanted to find out what happened in the end. The intensity never stops. You can never rest and possibly, that may be the point.

This story centers around two boys growing up in Afghanistan and follows them as they grow to adulthood. While they are best friends, they are complete opposites. In religion, in social class, in physical look, in faith and beliefs, and in what is emphasized most, character. What results is a narrative that's bound to be emotional, even for the stiffest of individuals. I'd suggest only reading it if you're up for a severe story.

Style - Layering

It started in high school and I've liked doing it ever since. That is, layering. One morning I went to school with a navy blue t-shirt, a fresh plaid button up, and a red sweater. A friend said to me, as if pointing out an obvious blunder, "You've got three shirts on!" That was the point. In college I didn't like wearing a coat, even on the chilliest of days, because I'd rather layer. Thin t-shirt, long sleeve tee, corduroy button up, sweater, and then a zip up sweatshirt. I was never cold walking to campus. And when I did get hot in class, I'd shed a layer and place it in my backpack, no huge parka to lug around for a day or stuff under my seat.

After college I've continued to layer, but I haven't been coming up with as many new combinations, seeing as I don't purchase clothes that often (insert sentence about cheapness and laziness to look through all of the sales racks here), and layering just isn't as fun as it used to be (although I still do it, sometimes looking just like I did in high school!).

This is where The Sartorialist comes in. Have you heard of it? Probably, I hear it's pretty big. However, I just came upon it while perusing through this blogosphere. I won't describe it because you can take a look for yourself, but let's just say it's put the joy back into layering for me (just in time for fall). The sartorial blog serves me much like my sister's old J. Crew catalogs did back in high school. Lots of photos of neat style ideas and cues, all of which are brought to you by everyday people (well, mostly everyday people, but some are bigwigs and smallwigs in the fashion world). Plus, the blogger can talk about a pocket square and what a south paw is all in one post. A catalog never does that.

photo from j.crew.com