Marie Grace Designs

Hey Tater...

what are ya do'in?

 

Helping the kittens make their Christmas list.

Really? You're helping them?

Yup. They tell me what they want and I write it down.

 

Those are the 2 remaining orphans we've been raising for weeks and weeks. We started out with 4 of the little buggers but they were sicker than even I realized and even after trips to the vet and days and days of medicine 2 of them didn't make it. Quite frankly the vet said we'd be lucky to save any of them so we're relieved that these 2 are finally doing so well.

I've made it pretty clear to the kids the entire time that we were most definitely not keeping these 2 and that our job was to get them healthy and then get them good homes but Tater (and he sister) are doing a pretty good job of pretending they can't hear me.

Now the kittens have their own Christmas lists but all I want for Christmas is for those 2 to find permanent homes. With our 3 big cats running around the house these 2 little ones are confined to our bathroom and bedroom. There's nothing better in the morning than having kitty littler stuck to your bare feet and a kitten trying to climb your leg as soon as you step out of the shower.

So for those of you that are local to me (you know who you are) these 2 need good homes for Christmas. And by good home I mean homes that aren't looking for kittens on a holiday whim. We need permanent indoor homes for these 2 (I think they're both girls)... they were raised in the house by humans and are very affectionate and attached to their people.

 

 

Stuffed...

 

What can I possibly say in a day-after-the-holiday post that you haven't already seen and heard? I'm sure everybody else is just as stuffed with turkey and cranberry as we are and there are no great epiphanies to speak of yet there is that big sigh of contentment and sense of warm home-y holiday after-glow.

Tater is 6 years past her first holiday turkey and tackled setting the table all by herself (with a minimum of coaching from me). Setting the table is one of those things she loves so much that I'm not sure I even understand it. Though its a family priority for us to always eat dinner as a family even on busy nights we very rarely set a table with more than the basics... something to eat on and something to eat with and a glass of something. But she loves place-mats and pretty bowls and folded napkins and has been known to insist on all the propers for a Tuesday night soup-and-sandwich style dinner. Needless to say she was thrilled with herself on Turkey Day and delighted when I let her dig out the wine glasses.

 

The turkey was perfect (big sigh of relief), the table was sparkly, and the weather was just sharp enough to make it all feel warm and cozy inside the house. We shared dinner and the day with the kind of friends who bring stuffing and go back for seconds. The kind of friends who stick around to play cards and drink wine late into the evening and tolerate Mac Daddy reading passages from The Good Book. 

 

All in all a fabulous day and a relaxing evening. 

And today we'll do what everybody does the day after Turkey Day... eat leftovers and shoot guns up on the farm. Now.. where's my boots...

  

The calm before the bird...

First up... proof I made yummy bread...

I can now say with confidence that "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes  a Day" is an awesome book and an awesome method for making bread. If I can do it anybody can.

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A quick trip to the farmer's market this morning yielded the last few things necessary for tomorrow's bird meal. This is the first time in a few years that we are staying home and having company here. The last time we stayed home and made our own dinner was the year Tater was born. Turned out she was the turkey that year as she made her entrance 3 weeks ahead of schedule. Mac Daddy cooked the entire feast himself that year. I think that was the first time I even saw him cook anything and I was quite impressed.

 Here's the obligatory picture of Tater and turkey from that year...

 

I never get tired of that picture. She weighed about half as much as the turkey did.

Anyway... I am confined to the house and doing my very best Martha impressions every time somebody walks into the kitchen. The kids will be home from their half a school day before long and Tater will no doubt be under foot helping. I'll be Martha and line up all the cookies "just so" and she'll be Rachael with all the giggling and insisting that everything would be better with cheese on it. 

 

All this fresh stuff is so pretty and I'm so excited but I tell ya I just can't get the hang of taking foodie photos. I read those blogs with all the snappy recipes and the macro food shots and it all looks so good but I just can't seem to get it. (I also don't own an apron so I keep wiping cookie dough on my jeans.)

The problem is that even though the house smells like bread and apples my mind is still on the yarn. The darn yarn. 

Oh wait. That's what's missing...

 

 Mmmmmm. Mmmmmm. Malabrigo. Much better.

 

 

Tut-tut, it looks like rain...

Not that I'm complaining but it does sort of limit my photo taking opportunities inside the house. My skills aren't quite up to the challenge of dreary lighting so there ya go... pretty red leaves that are still hang'in on to the little maple out back.

There's a turkey thawing in the fridge and all manner of other things waiting in stacks and even bread dough in a container. My first batch turned out not only edible but quite good so a second bigger batch of dough is waiting patiently to be a part of the big dinner. If I can keep Mac Daddy out of it long enough. He's on vacation from work all week and hanging around the house with me trying to get little nibbles of everything I bake and trying to convince me that half this stuff could be made on The Manly Grill. Needless to say I've chased him out of the kitchen more than once with a wooden spoon.

There's a stack of material that really wants to be a (smocked) holiday dress for Tater and some knitting going on. Did I mention yesterday was Tater's 6th birthday and she's missing 3 teeth and she's been reading to me at bedtime. How time flies.

Here's to a week full of baking ovens, wooly yarn, nibbling family members, and better lighting.

About the bread...

 

This could go all totally wrong. Last time this happened I spent days dusted in flour and ended up in tears and Mac Daddy brought me home a bread machine. 

Yup. I'm gonna try to make homemade bread.

I don't know what it is about bread. I can bake cakes and cookies and tarts and pies. I can make custard and pumpkin roll and poached pears and cheesecake. But not bread.

I don't know if its the yeast or the humidity or the cat hair but every attempt I've made has resulted in either a brick or a flat doughy thing that casually resembles the belly roll of an old man in tight pants. 

If only I could give up on the dream of making fresh bread for Mac Daddy. He loves bread. He stops on his way home some days just to buy a fresh loaf of crusty grainy bread to have with dinner. It pains me to see him walk in the door with that paper bag. I wish he could just come home and open the door and have the smell of fresh bread waft around his head. 

Okay... well thats half the story. The other half is that I'm really angry that I can't make bread. Dammit.

So I've heard lots of good stuff about this book and this method and its supposed to be easy and even quick so we'll see. I'm not holding out much hope but I'm giving it a shot because I want nothing more than to put fresh bread on my holiday table this year. If I fail I swear I will smuggle in bread from the bakery and lie. Lie!

 

In the meantime I made cookies. I can make cookies. I made Bezzie's cookies. I even saved enough so that when the kids left this morning (with cookies lovingly packed in their lunches) I had cookies left to have with my coffee for breakfast. Cause ya know they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day!

Designer's Studio...

Have you seen the new Designer's Studio website?

Its a great new project created by Faina Goberstein as a place to showcase knit designers. 

Here's what Faina says about the project...

Modeled after the famous TV program called Inside The Actors Studio The Designer's Studio is the place where you will meet a well-known designer and read about her/his designing style, philosophy, most favorite techniques, publications, and many other interesting details of the creative world of knitwear designers. Our guest will be answering a set of 15 questions (the same for every guest) and you will have the opportunity to leave the comment or your question after the interview is posted. We will try to keep up with your questions. This is a very exciting project and I hope you will visit here often and will not miss any of the interviews posted here.

If you have a look at the sidebar there you'll see names like Stephanie Japel, Donna Druchunas, Eunny Jang, Marnie MacLean, and Annie Modesitt among others. There's an interview with Shannon Okey up now and I've been invited to do an interview as well.

This is a great way to get to know a bit about your favorite designers and you can leave comments and even questions after their interviews.

Stop by often so you don't miss anybody! 

Let the madness begin...

I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that the stores are already filled with everything Christmas. The turkey hasn't even thawed yet but there are twinkly lights in the neighbor's yard and hand-written lists on my fridge.

Though I, and it seems many others, are irritated by the earlier and earlier appearance of tinsel and door wreathes I must admit that it is an exciting time of year all around.

With the holidays right around the corner knitters everywhere are struggling to decide who, if anyone, deserves to receive a hand-knit gift. The cold weather setting in has mothers frantically knitting warm hats and mittens for chilly cheeked little ones. And I'm sure I'm not the only designer hoping to eek out a last minute design or 2 in the "quick to knit" category before December all the while still planning ahead for TNNA.

 

Oh, we may scoff because its just too early and too soon and too much but like it or not that season has arrived. The season of houses warmed by ovens baking cookies and company holiday parties and cheezy Hallmark cards and TV marathons of favorite movies (You'll shoot your eye out, kid!).

May as well embrace the craziness of it all. And knit.

The best knitting...

Ya know there's lots of kinds of knitting like "Dang its cold out and I need a hat" knitting and gift knitting and something to do knitting and for some of us there's even work knitting. But you wonder if they'll like it and should you even bother and will it fit or heaven forbid they decide they're allergic to wool.

When did it all get so complicated?

Well yesterday a friend and I threw off our responsibilities (I've got deadlines and she's a mom who has returned to college) and went out for Greasy Burgers of Death for lunch (with fries) and then spent the afternoon camped out in my living room with yarn and daytime TV. It was blissful. The best knitting ever.

It was the most relaxing afternoon I've had in eons. We both have kids and we both have dogs so she wasn't concerned about the toys on the sofa or the hair balls on the floor and she drinks coffee too. We chatted some and were quiet some and we did a lot of knitting. Such a pleasant reminder of how completely liberating greasy burgers and an afternoon of knitting can be.

When in Rome...

Well maybe not Rome but the living room will do. 

It seems that we've had a successfully relaxing weekend complete with movies (Hitchcock, Jules Verne, and Bram Stoker) and homemade soup (potato and mushroom chowder... yum).

Tater didn't even get out of her PJs all day on Saturday and to top it off she ever so unceremoniously parked herself in this laundry basket at my feet and there she stayed for quite some time watching movies with me. I'm not really sure why she felt compelled to camp out in a basket but who am I to question a 5 year old? Especially one who has a tissue paper ghost on a stick.

 

And while Tater camped in a basket at my feet Tucker snoozed on the floor at her feet and several cats were dreaming away amongst the quilts piled at the end of the other sofa right by the window. People... you often couldn't get this sort of day even if you paid big money so I consider it a very good day indeed.

And even better yet... while all these smallish creatures kept me company I did some knitting. Hours worth of knitting actually that is well on its way to being a new design. At least that's the plan. 

So how about your weekend? Was it full of relaxing and knitting or candy and monsters?