A Knitting Giveaway…

After quite a few years away I have returned to knitting.  I learned how to knit  in high school in the 60’s when a very young English teacher both advised the cheerleaders and taught us knitting.  We adored her and avidly took up needles. 

                 

I started with a sweater with cables for my brother…I still have the pattern…and continued on.  I still have…and wear… the Irish cable knit sweater I knit 40 years ago!  At some point I stopped knitting but recently I started again with a few small projects. 

                  

First, I knit a scarf using yarn I had given my sister as a gift, thinking she might enjoy learning how to knit…she didn’t and I inherited the small ball of yarn.

                  

After the scarf was finished I decided to knit some headbands for my daughters using up some old yarn in the storeroom.  I finished those in time for Christmas and then started some fingerless mitts for myself in order to use up another skein of yarn that I don’t even remember buying.

The  problem came up on the second mitt…because of the variegated yarn it was a different color than the first….so I knit a third.  Fortunately the third mitt matched the first and a later, fourth mitt matched the second.   I guess what I am trying  to explain is that I now have an extra pair of fingerless mitts that I would like to give to someone who would like them. 

They are what I call Charlie Brown mitts because not one of the measurements is the the same…an amateur knit them and it looks it….If anyone would like a purplish pair of fingerless mitts let me know in the comments and I will draw a name on Friday, Feb 25.  

Even though they acrylic rather than wool I can attest to their warmth and their convenience for taking photos.

I still have lots of left-over yarn so I will probably be knitting more…

Valentines…

I have had hearts on my mind and in the viewfinder a lot this month…

…I think it helped me think less about all that snow out there.

Clementine Cake…

I can’t remember how I stumbled across this recipe for clementine cake but as soon as I read it I knew I wanted to try it…

After all, it includes a seasonal whole fruit, skin and all,…and it has only five ingredients…and it is gluten free…and I am the only one in the house that eats clementines so I don’t always go through the box fast enough.   If you Google “clementine cake” you will see that many have tried this recipe from SmittenKitchen which in turn was inspired by Nigella Lawson which in turn was probably inspired by a middle eastern recipe written by Claudia Roden.   I finally made it and absolutely loved the strong citrus and slightly sweet taste.

First 4-5 whole clementines are covered with water and simmered for two hours.  The house smells pretty good while this is happening…

After they cool, the seeds are removed and the skins, pith, and pulp are chopped up…I used a food processor and maybe chopped them up a little too much…

Beat 6 eggs then mix in 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons sugar, 2 1/3 cups ground almonds, and a heaping teaspoon of baking powder, and the chopped clementines.  I ground the almonds in the food processor too.

Pour the batter into a greased 8 inch springform pan lined with parchment…I only have a 9 inch pan and used that without a problem.

Bake at at 375 degrees for about 40-60 minutes or when test skewer comes out clean.  Cover with foil if it is getting too dark but I didn’t need to.  Cool in the pan on a rack and remove to a plate after cooled.  The recipe call for powdered sugar or a glaze on top but I left mine plain and it was fine.

It didn’t last long in our house…Find the recipe here.

Finished…

31 days of Picture Winter and I enjoyed each one.

I did find it time consuming at times but it got me taking photos outside and inside all month long, taking photos of subjects I never would have stopped and considered before.

“To me, photography is an art of observation.  It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place…I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”   ~  Elliott Erwitt

Still Here…

Just hibernating during this very snowy winter.  Another foot of snow last night had Mr O and I getting our aerobic exercise as we shoveled out…Still I can’t help but find it beautiful and it was warm enough to enjoy being outside.  Later some ibuprofen and a glass of wine did wonders for sore muscles…

Snow Storm…

There is a reason that so many poems have been written about snow…It is hard to describe so well in any other way…

Snow

Billy Collins

I cannot help noticing how this slow Monk solo

seems to go somehow

with the snow

that is coming down this morning,

*

how the notes and the spaces accompany

its easy falling

on the geometry of the ground,

on the flagstone path,

the slanted roof,

and the angles of the split-rail fence

*

as if he had imagined a winter scene

as he sat at the piano

late one night at the Five Spot

playing “Ruby, My Dear.”

*

Then again, it’s the kind of song

that would go easily with rain

or a tumult of leaves,

*

and for that matter it’s a snow

that could attend

an adagio for strings,

the best of the Ronettes,

or George Thorogood and the Destroyers.

*

It falls so indifferently

into the spacious white parlor of the world,

if I were sitting here reading

*

in silence,

reading the morning paper

pr reading Being and Nothingness,

not even letting the spoon

touch the inside of the cup,

I have a feeling

the snow would even go perfectly with that.

After reading this poem I had to discover Thelonious Monk playing “Ruby, My Dear”.  It is as dreamy as the falling snow…

New Projects…

Even though I was thoroughly overwhelmed with keeping up with Picture the Holidays I have started the next workshop called Picture Winter. Now that the holidays are over I am much more comfortable spending time on a photography project and I still like a daily prompt.  Many of my Picture Winter photos will also be showing up in my other new project…

Inspired by the blogs 3191, A Year of Mornings and habit…A Collection of Days,  my daughters and I started a photo blog on January 1st where we will try to contribute a photo and a short statement daily. There the focus will be embracing our daily lives and celebrating everyday beauty. I’m sure it will become hard to keep up, especially for my very busy daughters, but we are off and running and I think they are enjoying it for now.  We are still working out the kinks but we can be visited at OXOXO. 

Besides this I will be starting another online Kim Klassen photoshop class this month…I think a lot of this class will be a refresher for me but at my age I need all the refreshing I can get in hopes that some of sticks.   So it may be cold and snowy outside but I have lots to keep me busy as I hibernate this winter.

A New Year’s Day Walk…

The first day of the year here in RI was unusually warm…perfect weather for a walk on the beach.  Which is exactly what we did, along with what seemed like the rest of the state’s population…

 

There is a lot about the exposure of these photos that I am unhappy about…but I’m happy to have started off the year with some of my family and friends at the beach. 

Embracing the New Year…

I have never been good at making or keeping New Year’s resolutions…but the past few years I have had a focus word.  Two years ago my word was “gather”.  It was a year in which I needed to gather my family, my friends, and any strength I could find.  Last year was my year to “restore”.  I feel like I accomplished very little last year but maybe that is exactly what I needed.  My word for 2011 is “Embrace”.  I hope to be mindful of embracing each moment of each day…to embrace new adventures and to embrace old traditions.  I hope to “take or clasp in the arms…hug” family members and friends more often.  I hope to “take in with the eye and the mind” via photography every day.   I hope to “receive gladly” new ideas, new sensations, new friends.  I hope to “seize” each day.

To start the year off  we lost our internet access for a few days and I have to admit that I found it easy to embrace having more time to read and for getting to bed earlier…but I still plan to embrace my love for photography here at Picturing the Year.  Happy New Year to all who stop by!

My Wishes Are For…