Changes

We’re buying a house. Give or take 30 days, and we’ll be moved in – pending bank approval. We made the decision to use our savings not as a down payment, but to buy a small 1 bedroom condo – the theory being that HOA + utilities will be about $500, freeing up a lot of money to put into retirement accounts, and we can then turn the house around in a better economy for a decent profit.

The other bonuses being no roommates, and no landlords. After being used to put new carpets in my landlord’s overpriced, crappy duplex, I never want to rent again. But what do we do until the house closes and we’ve moved out of our old duplex? Obviously, road trip. Rather than pay $800 for a tiny studio (San Diego is beyond crazy expensive) we opted to use that money to see friends in other areas.

So far, it’s been a blast. Camping in Ramona at a gorgeous campsite (with hot showers!), then Utah, and currently we’re in Lake Tahoe with natives. :D Going snowboarding later.

Knitting also progresses rapidly here – though not without the problems of knitting for 3-8 hours. I hope to have a piece from Dustin on massage for knitters soon. So far, completed a striped gift hat, a cowl, and one mitten – with the second on the needles as well as a sweater. :D

Our trip plan, so far:
View Roadtrip Map in a larger map

Knitting for Gifts

A friend of mine may soon be baby-making. She’s had the plans going for a bit, and I told her once it was official, I would knit her something for a toddler, knowing that babies just outgrow anything you make them.

Knitting is how we show our love. It’s something that takes time, thought, and money – and too often, we find it isn’t appreciated or wanted. I hope to be as lucky as the Soule Family, whose children realize that not all kids get handknitted sweaters. My husband already greatly enjoys the knitted blankets, handwarmers, and soon sweaters I make for him. How lucky I am to have my love taken care of so well.

Fresh Hot Chocolate

Unless you’re buying those expensive boxes of real hot chocolate (just ground up chocolate with spices for $15 an ounce!) you’re missing out on the most luscious, creamy, and rich real thing – perfect for curling up under a blanket and knitting with.

The best part? It’s easy.

1 package of chocolate chips (whatever you like – I use Ghiradelli because it’s what’s in the house.
Cream or milk (to taste – I use about 1/2 qt for my big batch)
Pinch of cayenne pepper or 1 t vanilla extract.

Heat in a small saucepan, and stir, careful not to burn. Serve warm in mugs. (Optional garnish – shavings of chocolate, marshmallows, or cayenne if you like it extra spicy.)

I use Mimicream, which is a vegan, gluten-free cream substitute – and also much cheaper than real cream! It does, however, use hazelnuts and almonds if you’re allergic. Mine was in the non-refrigerated soymilks aisle for about $2.50 – the same amount of real cream would have been $7, and this adds a rich, lightly nutty taste. (Don’t get the non-refrigerated Almond Milk though, it’s terrible.)

Our Beauty is Killing Us

So, no shampoo is a movement to go without shampoos, typically showering with red cider vinegar and perhaps a small amount of baking soda. Some wash with conditioner only. Due to crazy, medicine-immune scalp issues, I’ve been going no shampoo for the last two months, since my trip to San Francisco (a lot has happened!) The biggest query I get is, “Your hair looks so clean!” Yes, it is, and I don’t use cider vinegar – just scrubbing.

I have chronic dry-scalp, and have just been resigned to deal with it after five years of trying every “dry scalp cure” and shampoo I could find. I actually had tried no-poo before, but with vinegar and baking soda ‘scrub and rinse’ and it didn’t work either. I did, however, learn a lot during this journey, and things finally seem to be returning to normal.

On Goat Butter, Ghee, Margarine, and Baking

Quite a mouthful, huh? I love to host parties. My house is small (the living room is the size of most people’s kitchens) but I have a beautiful backyard and throw small, intimate parties filled with friends. I offered space at the last minute to the San Diego Reddit meetup, but the organizer was dismayed with the size of my house, and although it’s perfect for the size of party he wanted (I feel small spaces force people to talk and builds relationships), he opted to take the party elsewhere. I don’t begrudge him – not everyone can manage living in a small space. Our house is just the right size, though we certainly have growing pains once in a while.

We opted this year to throw a Yule party – Christmas is my birthday, and most people will be with their families. But on Yule, we can have traditional pagan celebrations and it’s all just silly fun. We’ll be picking up a large, dead pine tree that might otherwise just get thrown out to burn in the Viking tradition, a king’s pie (you give everyone some small pies, and one is filled with peas – they’re the king of festivities), caroling, and whatever else seems fun. Though, with the weather as it is, I’ll just be happy if it stops raining so we can light the fire!

So, that said, I’ve been planning the menu for our Yule, keeping in mind that my friend Melissa can’t have gluten or casein, and her husband is a vegetarian. My first observation is that, unless you’re a vegan, margarine just isn’t good enough for baking. The second is that goat butter is expensive, and margarine is not. But, goat milk is relatively inexpensive, so… make your own butter or ghee!

Etsy-ing it Up

I finally got the courage to start up my shop on Etsy. I’m always finding beautiful vintage clothing, knick-nacks, or items that can easily be repurposed – so I figured I might as well attempt to pay for groceries with my skill. I’ve got some very cool surprises in store, including a beautiful 1930′s velvet gown. Hopefully, I can make enough money to pay for groceries or textbooks.

Dustin’s Easy Fingerless Gloves

Dustin’s Easy Fingerless Gloves
Modification of Knitting at Noon’s Fingerless Mitts. This adds a seamless thumb gusset and changes the thumb border. It also clarifies some things I found confusing.

Size: Adult

Materials:
Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in Plum. Worsted weight yarn. Gauge 20 x 26 per 4″.
4-5x DPN in size 6.
Stitch holder or another DPN.

Increase rounds: Knit to marker, kfb of stitch after marker, knit to last st before second marker, kfb, slip marker, knit to end of round.
CO 36 stitches. Divide between needles (12 per) and join in the round.
Round 1: Purl
2: Knit.
3: Purl.
4-9: Knit
10: Increase round. (For 10, you will kfb both stitches between the markers, no knit between).
11-13, 15-17, 19-21, 23-25: Knit.
14, 18, 22, 26: Increase round. By 26, you should have 12 stitches between the markers.
27: Knit.
28: Knit to marker, place the next 12 stitches on another needle, CO 2 stitches, knit to end of round.
Next round: Knit to marker, place next 12 sts on a small stitch holder, cast on 2 sts, knit to end of round.
29-39: Knit.
40: Purl
41: Knit
42: Purl
BO loosely in knit.
Thumb: With another needle, pick up two stitches from the edges and 6-8 from the glove itself. When picking up stitches, pick up the same you’d use for make one stitches. This is kind of a weird one, so if you have trouble picking up all 8, 6 is fine – you can stitch it together later. Divide onto 3 needles.
Knit four rows. Purl one row, knit one row, purl one row. Bind off loosely in knit. Take any extra yarn left from BO and use to cover holes, if necessary.

Homemade Holidays

It’s been a goal of mine to give only handmade gifts for everyone on my list in a holiday season. We’ll see if I manage this year.

So far, we have:

• 6 jars of bourbon vanilla
• 1 set of upcycled cashmere armwarmers
• 1 set of green handwarmers (soon to be two)
• 1 upcycled leather dice bag
• 1 Plan Toys wooden fire engine (they’re an amazing company – it counts!)

And on the to-do list:

• 1 beanie with a Star of David colorwork
• 1 lotus beanie for my friend Liza
• A set of 10 Calla coasters
• A retro skirt
• 2 aprons
• 2 pint jars of mulled cider
• 2 pint jars of mulled wine

Memories of the South: Chess Pie

I was born in Kentucky, but left before it could really have a hold on me. I grew up very much a city girl – while I want space and freedom, I love the city and the excitement. Everything I know and associate with the South comes from my mother, and from the food and stories she would tell me. Maybe that’s why I have such a fascination with it – my mother and I never really bonded well, and learning about the South gives me a chance to understand her better.

A lot revolves around food. Good, rich food, meant to be shared with others. A community built on bringing food to a recent widow, or to a couple that have just brought home their first child. When people look at the recipes, they freak out at the butter and sugar asked for – it’s not uncommon to find whole sticks of butter in everything. But you must understand – this is food meant to be shared. These aren’t single servings – these are dishes you linger over, talking and dancing with friends and family, hearty food to fuel a workday.

Having found many Chess Pie recipes, and few that were authentic to the way my mother made them, I’ve carefully recreated hers.

Personal Packing for War

Getting ready for Great Western War! As a proud anal-retentive quartermaster, it’s left to me to pack for war quite often. I bring most of the tents, food, garb, and camp gear. But since my camp can range from 8 people to 50, some leeway is necessary. This is the list I’ve come up with, a combination of other’s packing lists and my own additions. Never pack anything too expensive, and you won’t feel bad if it gets lost. $30 towels have no place camping!

SCA events are not quite camping, but not hotels either. Packing tables, chairs, favors, bulky tents, etc is normal, but so is rain, hail, high winds, and ants. Packing well means sitting in your tent during a rainstorm, curled up in wool blankets and watching the show, instead of trying to hold the tent down in a downpour. I keep separate, labeled rubbermaids for each of these categories.