We're traveled like gypsies Only with worse luck and far less gold

I am leaving Sunday for a week in NJ - another business trip. Yesterday my drive back from Hartford took 3 1/2 hours and my check engine light is on again. Oh well.

I did the swatch for Melissa's test pattern last night - her recommended needle size is 5 but I got gauge with a 3 and I am spot on perfect row and stitch! See:



18 stitches and 31 rows = 4"

So now I have cast on and am knitting the test pattern - I will post pictures as I progress, they will just be slightly obscure, since the pattern won't be available from Sundara till the end of September.

Doesn't the yarn remind you of these:

I showed the yarn to a few people who read my blog and they thought that the picture doesn't do justice to the color.

Figs and leaves and autumn sun

My yarn from Sundara came today:



Isn't it lovely - the color reminds me of a bowl of fresh figs. The color is the picture is a little too bright the yarn is actually much subtler in person. This yarn is so soft and cushy and knits like a dream, I am knitting the swatch now and will post pictures shortly.

On another note - I have joined the International Scarf Exchange 3 - I was a part of both 1 and 2 - the first time I received a lovely loopy scarf in red/black Point 5, # 2 flaked on me and I never received anything, I should have let the organizers know, but I heard from her and she told me she was sending it late so I didn't say anything, but never got the scarf either. I had fun making the scarf for my partner - it was in elann's baby cashmere and I was really pleased with how it turned out. I enjoyed being part of the exchange and that's all that matters, so I signed up for round three.

Tomorrow I will be in Hartford all day, I am hoping I get back to the city by 6 - it is a 2 hour drive from my home to Hartford. I want to get home and work on my new yarn - I want to get it set up before I leave for NJ next week. A whole week at the Doubletree hotel and conference center - oh joy! At least I will have something gorgeous to work on at night!

Someone left the cake out in the rain

I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh, no!

Fortunately, I didn't leave it in the rain and I do still have the recipe - here it is:

Flourless Chocolate Cake

7 oz good quality dark chocolate (I used Lindt 1 bar each of 85% Cocoa and 99% cocoa)
200 gr. butter (about 7 oz on the scale - a little less than 1 1/4 sticks)
1 1/4 cup sugar ( if you use a sweeter dark chocolate only use 1 cup sugar) divided in 1/2
4 eggs separated
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350

break up the chocolate and melt with the butter - add the vanilla, cayenne and cinnamon

Beat 1/2 the sugar with the egg yolks till creamy and light yellow
Beat 1/2 the sugar and the egg whites till stiff peaks form

Fold the egg yolk mixture into the the chocolate
Fold the egg whites into the chocolate - gently, it should be light and fluffy.

I use a 2 piece pan - the kind where the bottom separates from the sides so all I did was grease it - if you use a regular 9" cake pan you need to line it with parchment paper then grease it - the cake is very sticky.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake at 350 for 40 or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Be careful not to over bake - this is more like a souffle - it will rise up very high then drop and the resulting cake is intensely chocolate and chewy, but not very sweet.

This cake tastes best served with whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream on the side.

Enjoy!

I remember, I remember when I lost my mind...

Lots to post today.

[Can I just tell you I hate Justin Timberlake - I have fuse on in the background and the are showing Sexyback - maybe it is just me, but no f*in way sexy and JT go in the same sentence.]

Back to our regularly scheduled blogging

I had a good week, it was great coming hoe to a quite empty apartment, but I missed David a lot at night, I haven't had a good nights sleep since he left last Sunday to go camping. I don't know what I will do while he is away in Albany - Excedrin PM?

At least Tuesday night was LIC knitters, Burt, one of the knitters, brought a shopping bag full of fresh pears. They are sitting in a brown bag in my kitchen ripening. I see a pear tart in my future. I really enjoy Tuesday nights.

I finally got my car fixed - new sensor no check engine light. I brought it in Tuesday morning, but the part never came so I had to bring it back on Wednesday, but now it is running nicely. Oh and I didn't have to drive the VP afterall - one of the Account Manager's took him instead. He was meeting his wife at the airport, she was supposed to arrive at 5, but will all the increased security and tension on Wed, she didn't even board her flight till after 4. I don't think she landed till after 8.

Thursday night I went out with some friends for drinks, it's been a long time since I sat around drinking and laughing with my girlfriends. Seems like all the women I was really close to just drifted away; family, work, life, just seemed to push us apart. Slowly, steadily - like the continental drift, before you realize, the whole map has changed. I didn't notice till it was too late. I had a great time, we were loud, overly caffeinated and laughing really hard. It was a good thing.

Of course Friday morning I wasn't exactly in peak form, and I had to run a webex training session at 7:30 that morning, and I hadn't exactly gone through the material completely beforehand - it's a good thing I can think fast on my feet. I had a professor once that said, if you aren't really sure, but you sound like you know what you are talking about, people will believe you. It's true. I held another session at 4 and that one went smoother.

Last night I went over Marilyn's - we ordered in Greek food and ate out in the yard. I really wish I had a backyard. Today I am supposed to clean house before David gets home tmrw. I am blogging instead.

I won a bid on eBay for cashmere yarn from ColourmartUK 3 cones of 1150 yards each 3500 total:



They are mill ends so the yarn needs to be washed after knitting to bloom, they recommend knitting a swatch, then washing it so see how it looks. It is lace wt so I am thinking I could double it to make a sweater - it would also make a beautiful shawl - maybe I will use one for a shawl and 2 cones together for a sweater, or does anyone know of a good lace wt sweater pattern?

I also ordered 3 skeins of Zephyr from theknitter.com in vanilla:


I am planning on using this for the Flirty Ruffles Shawl from Fibertrends.

and here is the cell phone cover I made:

What should I do with him

~dress him in my apparel and make him my waiting gentlewoman? He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man; and he that is more than a youth is not for me, and he that is less than a man, I am not for him.

So here I sit watching ShakespeaRe-Told on BBC America, drinking vodka and limeade. I have the apartment to myself, David and the boys left this morning for Summer camp, they will be gone all week. When they come back, David will be home for a week then he leaves for 4 weeks trainingg in Albany - he will be home on the weekends, but gone all week. Some time after that he will be going to Atlanta for 2 weeks - I am thinking of meeting him down there for the weekend - it all depends on what his schedule is like and if I can swing it.

Tonight, though I am happily alone, finishing (finally) the back LUG and really enjoying this version of Much Ado!

I went to AC Moore today, bought some more beads, I had a few ideas for some new pieces and I even crocheted a new cellphone holder - I post a picture soon.

Tomorrow I need to take my car in to be fixed - the check engine light keeps coming on and it drives like crap lately - the heat last week didn't help either. I am supposed to drive the new VP back to the airport on Thursday and I want to make sure my car is running and we don't breakdown on the parkway - that would be career suicide!

Through the fiery caverns we sail

Virgil at my side my guide and master
Questing through the nine plains of hell
Infernal wisdom shall fill my soul
Slowly now the days departing
The darkened air releases me

Ok, so maybe it is not that hot out, but it is close. Of course I am now sitting in my office, wearing a fleece jacket over my sundress and my portable heater is on under my desk - that doesn't change the fact that it really is 100 degrees out. The A/C in my building is a little wacked - in the back by the conference rooms, where my office is - is freezing!! But up front where the branch office and the counter are - not so much. The warehouse is a sweatbox.

I have no a/c in my car and normally that does not bother me, see I never planned on Global Warming being part of my car buying decision process. It was so hot driving home last night I was actually feeling a little woosey; when I got home, I jumped in a cool shower and put my pj's on. It was too hot to even go knit with the LIC SnB - the thought of getting dressed again and getting back in my Korean torture devise commonly know as a Hyundai was just too much. I stayed on my sofa with the a/c on going through the new interweave Knits. There are a few patterns in there I would like to make especially the Wonderlust Hoodie and the Swallowtail Shawl. I love when new knit mags show up in my mail.

Tonight I have to run out to the store w/David - he went shopping for work clothes yesterday for his new rr job, he also picked up work boots - 'cept they are 2 different boots and they are both left feet. Now I know he had 2 left feet, but buying boots to fit em won't help that problem.

On another note - one of the women in my SnB makes jewelry and has opened and Etsy shop - check out Susan's work - it is lovely.

Photographs to remind me

I promised pictures:

In no particular order - and with descriptions if I can remember where they are from.




Train Shots


Toledo, OH - I think


Chicago


Inside the Sears Tower


My future home - as seen out a train window


The Jelly Belly Factory






San Francisco assorted shots


Cinderella Cinderella




Johnny Dep and the Pirates of the Carribean


An interesting quilt pattern? - from a house in SF


What can I say?

Vacation, all I ever needed, Vacation had to get away

Sorry I haven't posted sooner - I have been trying to catch up on 2 weeks of work as well as attend 3 days of meetings in Manhattan. AHHHHH!!!!

Our flight left Long Beach Sunday night at 9:45 pm and we landed at Kennedy at 6 am Monday morning. The boys mother picked us up at the airport and drove all of us back to Brooklyn to pick up David's car. We got home and went to bed, eventually I woke up and checked my email and I have been working ever since. I haven't even downloaded my pictures yet.

The trip was great - I love San Francisco and wished we had spent more time there - but by the end of the trip I was looking forward to getting home. The boys were restless and bored with all the driving. I told David that next time we take the kids on vacation, it should be a short trip to a beachfront location instead of all the road trip type vacations that they get tired of.

I only managed to get to 1 yarn shop - Rumplestiltskin in Sacramento, which was a very nice shop - I bought a set of short wood DPN's - no yarn. I have way too much stash and no room for more.

Although, I will be getting some more yarn soon, Melissa W - neoknits - the amazingly talented designer of the Grannie Smith Sweater, Sesame , Lux- both available at magknits, and Lucky from Stitch & Bitch Nation, has asked me to test knit a new pattern she has written for Sundara Yarn!! I can't talk to much about it, other than to say it is a kimono style cardigan and the yarn that Melissa used for the design was truly lovely. She said it was a pleasure to work with and I know the color was gorgeous and that she really enjoyed working with it. I can't wait to see what mine looks like; I requested autumn colors and I will post of picture of the yarn when Sundara sends it to me. I will have to have it finished by the middle of August, so it will be my only project until it is finished.

Next time I will have vacation and hopefully yarn pictures.

Chicago, new york, detroit and its all on the same street.

Your typical city involved in a typical daydream
Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.

We are leaving Sacramento today, heading to Oakland and San Francisco.
Here are a few pictures of what we have seen so far:


Rob and Jeff on the train to Chicago


The first night on the train


Chicago from the top of the Sears Tower


Sunset somewhere between Helper and Provo, UT


Snow covered mountains in CA.


Sacramento from our Hotel window.

But dont look back in anger I heard you say

It has been over 56 hours since we boarded this train in Chicago – right now we are somewhere between Truckee, CA and Colfax, CA in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The scenery is amazing, but I am so ready to get off this train. The trip so far has been mostly fun, Robert and Jeff are behaving themselves and are only now getting bored and cranky. David is in the car across from me playing Skittles checkers on the snack table with Jeff and Robert is napping in my car while I type this out.

We crossed into California about 4 hours ago – we just passed through Alta, the next stop is Colfax, then Roseville and finally Sacramento – we are about 2 hours late. We were supposed to arrive in Sacramento at 2:15, and it is now 4:20. The scenery changed dramatically once we left Nevada, the scrub becoming greener and the trees becoming taller and evergreen. I love the mountains and ifwasn'tasn’t so tired of being on this train, I would really appreciate the view. I have taken a lot of pictures on the train, having discovered the stop motion setting on my camera that allows me to take very clear pictures from the moving train. – When we get to the hotel and I have access to the internet, I will upload them and this post to blogger. We will be spending the next 2 days in Sacramento, then 2 days in Oakland/SF area before making our way south to Tehatchapi and Irvine.

It is now 11pm Sunday night - we finally arrived in Sacramento at 6:30 by the time we got our luggage and checked into the hotel it was after 7 - it took David over an hour to get a lift to the airport to pick up our rental car - a suburu outback and by the time we had dinner is was almost 10:30. But we are back in our room now, looking forward to a good nights sleep on a bed wider than 48" and not moving!

Tomorrow we will explore Sacramento and the surrounding area and I will have pictures to post too.