Many projects simultaneously

Santa hat

Just finished this morning! I guess there are some perks to getting up at 4am.

Whorled Peace Scarf

As you can see, it's barely started, just the first four rows of garter stitch.

Pink scarf

Coming along nicely, although it's probably a challenge for you to see that from this picture. Love how soft this yarn is - and so pretty too.

Helmet liner

Another soft yarn project - yay!

Rainbow shawl

Avoiding undoing the cast-off edge and putting umpteen stitches back on the needles. This is the only project for me though so I should really just do it.

Would rather be knitting

Boston eats

Breakfast at Panera: chai latte and souffle. Yum!




Dinner at 29 Newbury

Max and I met Marvin's new girlfriend sometime before dinner and then made our way over to 29 Newbury Street. A great meal and a good atmosphere to get to know someone for the first time. I had the pizza. Max had the 29 Clambake. For dessert I had the grilled figs with marscapone cheese. Delicious. There are pictures but they are on Max's phone. Check out Urbanspoon. I'll probably upload them there sometime soon.

Dinner at Elephant Walk

We all had dinner together on Saturday night. I had the duck ravioli appetizer and the Loc Lac for my entree. A good meal and still one of our favorites.



JP Licks for dessert

Max's on the left is small mint chocolate chip. Mine is a medium - yes, that's right - maple butter walnut and pumpkin custard. The pumpkin custard is out of this world. So, so good!



Lunch at Legal Seafoods on Sunday was our last chance to hang out together and talk. Again, there are pictures but they are on Max's phone. I had the shrimp and garlic pasta - very good.

Boston

Flew in Friday and part of our walk down Newbury Street was a stop at number 164, Newbury Yarns.

Picked up some pink worsted weight yarn. Making a pair of mittens for my brother's girlfriend for Christmas.

Met up with some trick-or-treaters collecting donations for Unicef. Max generously gave them $5.

Walked through the farmer's market outside Trinity Church and bought some donuts to snack on.



The rest of the weekend was family time... meeting my brother-in-law's new girlfriend (who is wonderful), spending time with Max's Dad, walking, a little shopping and eating out - more on that tomorrow!

Helmet liner

For a coworker's husband who is stationed overseas

Gourdy

Fairytale pumpkin and miniature gourds.

New needles

Reds Bistro & Wine Bar

I met my friend Karen from university for dinner while I was in Toronto. We went to Reds Bistro & Wine Bar.


To start, we shared the Seared East Coast Sea Scallop, Pan Roasted House Made Bacon, Sweet Pea Puree, Foie Gras And Scallop Boudin, Carrot Relish. Biggest scallop ever. So tasty!


Karen had the Chilled Maritime Lobster Salad with Sweet Peas, Buttermilk Creme Fraiche, Shallot and Mint Vinaigrette, Smoked Ham Hock Terrine.


I had the chicken. Or as they called it, the Breast of Voltigeur Hen with Fennel & Garlic Crust, Smoked Bacon, Wild Mushroom Pappardelle, Roasted Chicken Marjoram Jus. It was amazing! The pasta was very good and the bacon boosted all the flavors.


For dessert I had the Burnt Butter Crepes with vanilla gelato, golden honey and warm peach compote. So good!


Karen had the Cheesecake Semifreddo with stewed cherries, almond streusel and candied almonds.


It was a great meal. Great service and we were able to talk and talk and talk. I'd definitely go there again but probably only for a special occasion... it was a little pricey!

Star Walk Buffet

Last weekend my parents took me, my brother, sister, and her husband out to dim sum. There was also sushi and sashimi, salad bar, dessert buffet at the Star Walk Buffet in Mississauga. It was good and I think Max missed out. Guess he'll have to wait until the next time we go up to Canada.

Eggspectations

I've been to Eggspectations before so I knew that it was pretty safe to take my Mom there for breakfast. An added bonus is that since we went to the Toronto location, you could get peameal bacon as a side. YUM!

My Mom had the smoked salmon eggs benedict, which came with cantelope, asparagus, toast and potatoes. She only ate about half because it was so much food!

I had the banana crepes with banana sauce. I ate most of the peameal bacon but my Mom had a piece as well.

The Chefs' House- George Brown College

Another great meal!

My Mom and I went to The Chefs' House- George Brown College for lunch as part of our trip to Toronto. The prices are very reasonable and the food is fantastic. The only disclaimer is that you need to be patient for your meal. Not only is the kitchen staff mostly students, but the wait staff as well.

There was freshly baked bread to start. Crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, and warm. Served with whipped butter.



I had the onion soup, which was good but a little greasy.



My Mom had the crab cake, which she seemed to enjoy very much.

For the entree, I had the house made pappardelle pasta with braised duck, parmesan and pine nuts. The pasta was fantastic!

My Mom had the grilled salmon fillet steak with feta, cucumber, and olive salad. She really liked her dish as well and completely cleaned her plate.

For dessert we both had the Ontario apple strudel with caramel sauce and cardamom ice cream. The ice cream was delicious and the strudel pastry was so light and flaky that I am sure that it must be made fresh on site.

A great meal and I would definitely go there again.

Mercatto

Went with my Mom as part of our trip to Toronto. Great meal! Thoroughly enjoyed our antipasto plate of garlic fire roasted peppers, marinated & charred artichokes with pecorino cheese, bresaola, Niagara proscuitto, burrata, and taleggio.



We also shared the gorgonzola, fig & arugula pizza and the gnudi. The pizza was my favorite.



My Mom was very impressed with their cappucino - very frothy!

Cellphone service at Metro stations

Oh no! I hope it will not expand to the trains as well. It would be fine if it was just for checking email but having all those people talking on their phones all at once (and you know they will!) - it could make commuting even that more unbearable. Who's in for teleworking??

Read more of the story here.

More rows

Made some progress on the baby blanket...

Also working on a steelers scarf for a certain little boy. More on that later.

On the couch

My Mom has her blanket and it's on the couch. She seems very happy with it... though "it could be larger..."

For now, I'm working on the baby blanket that has become my travel project.

Handspun jackpot

Courtesy of a work friend. More details to come.

Driving update

Two achievements yesterday:

1) Drove through my first bit of construction. Not letting people in was just as stressful as actually passing the construction itself but I handled both parts fine.

2) Drove into my garage. A tight fit but I did it! No problem.

Hodology KAL

On Saturday, I was contacted by Karen Gilbank, president of the Fraser Valley Knitting Guild

I just love your hat pattern! In fact, loved it so much, that our Fraser Valley Knitting Guild (a group here on Ravelry) are going to have a Knit along with it! It is a very clever little hat, that should see some more action. It is perfect for those wanting a little more cable work. Thank you so much for sharing such a lovely pattern with Ravelry. We are a small, but growing knitting guild in Surrey/Langley area of BC Canada, just outside of Vancouver.

I'm so psyched!

Here's the link if you're interested in joining the knit-a-long.

BRABO

Great food, and they make a great cosmo too! The restaurant is lovely and the service is wonderful. Is there a better way to celebrate a milestone? Sorry for the grainy photos. I forgot my camera so we took the pictures using Max's phone.

Duck confit raviolis with green Peppercorn and orange cognac sauce

Roasted chestnut soup with housemade venison sausage



Seared Chesapeake rockfish with potato gnocchi, baby artichokes, and wild mushrooms



Moroccan spiced lamb tenderloin with almond mint couscous and roasted red pepper sauce



Spiced pear Pomegranate cobbler with black Pepper ice cream



Brabo Belgian waffle with cinnamon apple compote and apple butter ice cream

Colour

Look at this colour!



I love knitting with this yarn and it's perfect with this pattern... the colours change gradually from the beginning to end of each row... and so does the thickness, which I also really like. Adds texture. The ball is probably about half the size it was before I started and the project is about 8 inches wide when it's really stretched. I'm guessing that it will end up as a scarf rather than a Shawl but it will be a great accessory!

Driving update

This morning I drove to work. Despite having to wear sunglasses because of the sun in my eye, the stop and go because of traffic, I did fine! Sweaty, but fine.

Feather and fan

I finally decided to make something for myself. Using the yarn I bought in Lancaster in June, Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball. It's fingering weight but I'm using a size 8 needle to extend it. Hoping for a shawl but might only be a scarf. We'll see.




Easy stitch pattern. Cast on lots of stitches so each row is very long.

Fall in Lancaster

This weekend, Max and I went up to Lancaster, PA with our friend Missy to run a 5k race and spend some time with her family. It was a busy weekend - and a lot of fun!

Hands-on House 5k

Day started out very foggy but the sun came out just before the race started. Great weather throughout!




Official Results
230/360 Max 31:29
231/360 Missy 31:25
324/360 Liz 38:55
323/360 Nicole 39:16

In the afternoon, we all went to Missy's nephew's soccer game to cheer him on. Afterward, the girls and guys split up to run some errands to get dinner on the table. I drove the girls to the grocery store and then back to Missy's sister's house. No problems! After dinner we roasted marshmallows on a campfire. Yum!

Adding on

Another road trip = a few more inches

Fallsy

Finally done

Look at this thing:



Made up of 5 balls of Red Heart Super Saver, knit in linen stitch on US size 11 (8mm) needles. Cast on July 16 in Canada.

8/1 - joined the 3rd skein

8/13 - finished the 3rd skein

9/1 - measures about 56” wide and 60” long.

9/10 - joined with 4th skein

9/24 - knit the last row, just need to bind off.

Finished size is roughly 60"x71" though I need to remeasure it to be sure. Amazingly, I do not hate linen stitch... in fact, pretty much still loving it. Simple, easy, mindless. Sometimes that's exactly what you need.

CLARENDON DAY 10K

This morning, Max and I ran the CLARENDON DAY 10K. It was cool this morning, only 58 when we got to the start line. I was apprehensive, not nervous, just worried about my knees and concerned that I wouldn't have a good run. We started at 9am and by the half mile mark, I was feeling good. After a long stretch of downhill running along Wilson Boulevard, I felt great. Max and I ran together to the turn around at about mile 4, then he began to run on ahead. He was almost always in sight, at least until the last half mile. I just kept pushing myself to not stop and I was able to finish strong - and without stopping to walk.

After the finish, we walked back to the start. Briefly checked out the Clarendon Day booths but headed back to the car around 11am just as it was starting to rain. After a hot shower, we had hearty "Oktoberfest" lunch at Food Matters.

Official Results
781/878 Max 1:05:14
792/878 Nicole 1:06:21

A new take

Before:



And after:



What do you think? Is it an improvement? I like it better but it's still not great... makes for a good road trip project though.

First day of autumn

Crisp apples

Autumn Soup

I made this soup over the weekend using what was in our fridge. Turns out... it tastes wonderful. Hearty and very satisfying. Max had seconds.

6 pieces bacon, cut into 1" pieces

4 chicken drumsticks, about 1lb, skin removed

1 garlic clove

5 or 6 carrots, cut into 1/2" rounds

1 potato, diced into 1/2" pieces

32 ounces black beans, cooked, with liquid

15.5 ounces chickpeas, cooked, with liquid

4 cups chicken broth

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, fry up bacon. Remove bacon from pot and set aside. Brown chicken. Remove chicken and set aside. Sauté the carrots, potatoes and garlic. Add bacon, chicken, beans, chickpeas, broth and bay leaves. Bring to a boil uncovered, cover, and then simmer for 25 minutes. Separate the chicken meat from the bones and remove bones. Remove bay leaves and discard before serving.