Where Was I? Oh Right, We Have a Blog

Man, have I really not posted anything since September?  Oophta.  Sorry about that.  That whole “I should make a to-do list to give myself something to blog about” and “Now that Paul moved his blog over to this one, there will be TWICE the stuff to read about” strategies really worked well, didn’t they?

However, a recent conversation with Abbey really drove home how lazy I’ve been the last couple of months, especially during the workweek.  There is a reasonable explanation for this, and I have accomplished some of the items on my To-Do list, but overall, it hasn’t been anything to brag about.  I’ll elaborate more on this in a bit.

In my defense (it’s my blog, so I get to rationalize my actions all I want), October was always the busiest month for me at work, and as soon as the dust settled from those events, I accepted a job at Central Wyoming College in Riverton.  I started just before Thanksgiving and, honestly, I’m still trying to figure out how my schedule/routine/life in general should look with a new job and a 45 minute commute factored in to the beginning and end of my day.  So while life has been relatively busy, there’s not a whole lot that merits a blog post.

Nevertheless, it’s time to get back into the swing of things, so here we go; over the last four months, I can officially cross the following items off my list:

2. Plan out future knitting projects (Christmas presents, perhaps?)

I finished more baby items (I know, it’s what I do), for one of Paul’s colleagues in the English Department.  Since C is HUGE Avs fan, I knitted hats, booties and mittens in Avs colors (shockingly, this was Paul’s idea).  I neglected to take pictures of any of the items, but C kindly tagged me in some photos of her baby girl in her new duds on Facebook, so y’all can check it out there.

I also knitted a scarf, was dissatisfied with the result, undid said scarf, looked for other patterns, was dissatisfied with those other patterns, and eventually re-knitted the exact same scarf for my stepmother-in-law for Christmas.  Despite my ridiculous indecisiveness, I was really happy with how the scarf turned out.  No pictures were taken of that item either, but you can check out the pattern here.  I don’t have too much else in the pipeline, but maybe, just maybe it’s time to explore new frontiers…like socks!  Or sweaters!

4. Start going to Yoga on a somewhat regular basis

So, this one started out well (I went for a month), but then fizzeled.  The teacher is great, the class was really laid back and, while I realized I need to strengthen my core, and consequently was not very good at yoga overall, I still really enjoyed the class.  However the only class time that worked with my old job’s schedule doesn’t quite mesh with my new work schedule and I have yet to research if there are any yoga studios in The Riv.  CWC actually allots its employees three hours a week to either take classes or participate in some sort of physical activity and it seems silly to not take advantage of that little perk.   I recently learned of a Zumba class in Lander that starts late enough in the evening for me to get home from work, change, and get to class with time to spare.  Stay tuned for that adventure…

5. Clean out and organize the office

The office was out of control.  It was full of unfiled bills, old textbooks, notebooks from undergrad and grad school (from Paul and me), defunct printers, cell phones, computer speakers, a dog kennel, a desktop computer we never used, and bags of clothes that needed to be donated.  So we finally took the plunge, pulled the covers off of the outdated textbooks for recycling, boxed up the computer to return to Paul’s folks in the spring, sorted the electronics into dump and donation piles, sorted through years of Anthropology and Secondary Education related class notes, and dismantled and found a new home for the dog kennel.  After making contributions to the dump, recycling center and Methodist Thrift Store and giving the room an overall thorough cleaning, we actually have an office we can use as office.  Oddly enough, by clearing the clutter in the office, our dining room table is now less cluttered because Paul can actually do work in the office.  Weird.

7. Go to UW Football game

Paul and I at the less fun, cold, and snowy UW game in November 2009

We made it to UW’s homecoming game.  The weather was lovely for Laramie in October— no snow, relatively little wind, and the sun was shining.  This was a vast improvement from the last game we attended in November two years prior—blizzard on the way to Laramie, a foot of snow being plowed off the field before the game and mid-thirties for the entire game.  I’d much rather watch football when I don’t have to go to the restroom to thaw my feet out.

21. Unpack and find space for Paul’s Grammy’s china–all 107 pieces of it

Out of the box!

This wasn’t nearly the undertaking I thought it would be and I feel a little silly that this didn’t happen until this weekend.  After clearing out some space in the hutch and buffet, everything fits nicely.  I admit there are pieces in the set that I am unsure of their function, but we now have fancy china.  As Paul put away the last of the teacups in the hutch, he said he felt very domesticated.  I have to agree; there’s something about putting honest to goodness china in your china hutch that makes you feel very domestically adult, whether you deserve it or not.

24. Trip to the BH and to the Little Bighorn Battlefield

The Garber Girls at Eaton's for J&M's Wedding

Well, we’ve made it back to Big Horn twice since the last time I posted, but we weren’t able to make it to the Little Bighorn Battlefield either time.  We made it back in October for J and M’s wedding at Eaton’s Dude Ranch and then back again for Christmas.  As much as I love Lander, it’s always nice to go home.

18. Learn how to use Photoshop

This one is still very much a work in progress, but I really started to dig in this weekend.  I should note that it’s Photoshop Elements and not the full version of Photoshop.  This is a good thing, because the more I try to figure out PSE, the more I realize the full-blown version would be waaaay over my head.  I’m hoping once I feel more comfortable with the software, I can finally finish the living room collage and work on some pictures for my office (did I mention the new job came with its own office?  It’s pretty sweet).

…

Alright, so that’s it for now.  There’s still plenty left on the list (and I do intend to keep working at it), as well as other things rattling around in my little brain, so hopefully this is a habit I can get back into.

6. Plan Out the Epic Tomato Harvest of 2011

Round 1: Before

I should have reworded this particular item “Plan Out and Implement the Epic Tomato Harvest of 2011.”

Romas

Last weekend, with Autumn looming ever closer, I looked out at our backyard garden beds and realized it was time to start turning the fruits of Paul’s summertime labor into delicious sauces and other edible treats that we can enjoy until summer rolls around and we can start growing fresh veggies again.  This time last year found Paul and myself knee deep in grad school (yep, I brought it up, again) and we just gave away most of the tomatoes we had left on the vines. Some of Paul’s colleagues made some salsa with our orphaned Romas, so I didn’t feel too guilty.  It did feel wrong, however, to spend the spring and summer watching these plants grow only to do nothing when the plants produced so much.

Other Assortment of Tomatoes

But not this year!  I purposefully put this item on the list to ensure we did not repeat the mistakes of last year.  Our tomato beds consisted of cherry tomatoes, romas and a mixture of other house and heirloom varieties. We’ll continue to eat the heirlooms fresh off the vines, but all other varieties are fair game for sauce making.

Cherry Tomatoes

First, I halved and put all our Sweet Baby Girl cherry tomatoes into the dehydrater for use in pastas and salads.  I set our dehydrater to 140 degrees and it took about 18 hours to get the tomatoes to a raisin like state. I just put them in a freezer bag and they’re good to go.  Sun dried tomatoes without the sun part!  Done and done!

And then there was the other 20 lbs of tomatoes to deal with…I had been told by friends that they had found delicious and simple sauce recipes that don’t require skinning or de-seeding, but something in me wanted to do this the hard way.  Something in my needed to prove that I could make sauce, from scratch, shortcuts be damned.  However, I do have another round of tomatoes sitting on my kitchen counter as I type this and those buggers may be destined for an easier, crock pot related recipe.

Romas washed and ready to be milled

I found this recipe on a site that I’ve been coveting for quite awhile and was really excited to finally try out something from her archives.  I did two batches of sauce, one with the romas and one with the assortment of other tomatoes in the garden.  Due to the sheer amount that I had, I tripled the recipe for the Romas and doubled the recipe for the others.

Romas in the mill

The recipe shows how to blanche, peel and de-seed the tomatoes, I went for the “easier” route and bought a food mill.  In the long run, it made for a smoother, more pureed sauce, thus eliminating the need to possibly blend the sauce at the end of the process.  Besides, I have blanched and peeled tomatoes before, and while still time consuming, I still think milling is faster.  I had never used a mill before, but it really isn’t too complicated (as was evidenced by the lack of manual and mere written instructions on the side of the box).  I was skeptical that there would be a lot of waste, but after an hour or so of milling, and re-milling my bowl of tomato guts several times, I started with 12 lbs of romas and ended up with two bowls of sauce and one small bowl of leftover skins and seeds. Not bad.

Romas: After the mill (puree)

This sauce also has two components: the tomatoes and all the yummy, sauteed veggies that were mixed into the sauce.  I diced my carrots, celery, onions, and garlic and set them aside before turning to the tomatoes.  I sauteed the veggies and then added some oregano (from our garden) and basil (store bought because I can’t grow  basil to save my life) near the end of the process before adding in the tomatoes.

Sauteed veggies and herbs

And then there was a lot of sitting around, waiting for the sauce to cook down.  For the first batch of sauce, I waited until 5:00 in the evening to start, and so I could have let the sauce cook down and thicken up more than I did, but it was 11:30 and I wanted to go to bed.  I figure I can always cook the sauce down more when I add it to spaghetti or whatever dish we use the sauce with.

Final Product

So by the end of the weekend, I turned 20+ lbs of tomatoes into 9 quarts of sauce and a quart baggie of dehydrated tomatoes.

I’m not sure if I’ll post Round 2, if I go the same route.  There are also the green tomatoes still on the vine that we can pick and let rippen inside after the frost sets in. Clearly, I’ve got my work cut out for me.  If I find a faster way to make sauce (I’ll be freezing everything, due to lack of shelf space and an abundance of freezer space in our house), I’ll be sure to let you all know.

Round 1: Bagged and ready for the freezer

Happy Harvesting!

1. Finish knitting cute little baby accessories for Baby Emmett

Fall and Winter Hats and Booties for Emmett

Emmett’s package of knitted goodies arrived in Sheridan earlier this week (and his momma just sent me a text this morning with little E rockin’ one of his new hats), so it’s safe to officially cross this one off my List. Huzzah!

Since I started knitting 2 1/2 or so years ago, the majority of my gift recipients have been babies.  Sure, I’ve knitted some hats for Paul and me and a scarf and fingerless mittens for my own use, but everything else has been for sweet babes new to our little world.  Unfortunately, I didn’t start making photographic evidence of my projects until about a year ago, so the evolution of my skills can’t fully be documented, but that’s not really what this is about, anyway, right?

I started knitting when my older sister J, and her husband, P adopted their first child. It was then that I began toying with the idea that making cute little knitted clothing and accessories might be a great “Auntie” thing to do.  I distinctly remember sitting in our basement about three years ago, practicing a set of stitches that were supposed to create an eyelet pattern for a hat (that I would eventually make Brynn), and telling Paul, “I think I want knitting to be my hobby.”  I had never had a hobby previously, and it only took me 26 years to find one; not too bad, I guess.

All The Hats and Booties

Creating neat and uniform stitches, and watching your project grow, row by row is really satisfying.  Also as a plus, this hobby is pretty mobile, I can pack supplies into a small bag and knit from practically anywhere–the car, the airport, airplanes, etc.  Up until now, I’ve had to balance knitting projects with school (I know, you’re thinking, when she going to stop talking about school–all in good time, dear readers; I promise I’ll get there), mostly knitting on holiday breaks or between semesters.  There was (and still is) something very calming about the whole process: setting down my textbooks, backing away from my laptop and browsing the various knitting pattern books I’ve either purchased, or have been kindly given to me as gifts, or internet websites (all hail, Ravelry) and then picking out yarns–unfortunately, the local yarn shop closed about six months before I started knitting, so all of my shopping has been online, but even that’s pretty satisfying–and then being able to embark on a new project.  Knitting was definitely key in keeping my sanity through grad school.

Holidays and breaks between semesters serendipitously occurred around the times I needed to work on and finish projects before nieces and nephews made their world premieres.  Working on apparel for babies is especially satisfying for the novice knitter; baby clothes aren’t very big and don’t take too long to complete, no matter how slow or busy you are.

For Baby Olivia

For Baby Aiden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that this latest project is behind me, I’m thinking about moving on to new endeavors (socks!  sweaters!) for people larger than a newborn (toddlers! kids! adults!).  Our housemate, E, recently moved into her own place, so I’ve lost my evening knitting buddy, but we’ve already discussed getting together once in a while for a knitting circle.  Also, with winter just around the corner (ugh), I’m sure I will be knitting more to get me through the days when it’s too cold to even enjoy our beautiful surroundings.  When it’s below zero, I can’t think of a better way to spend my time.

Related articles

• Post MBA To Do List (kathrynandpaul.wordpress.com)

Post MBA To Do List

My sister-in-law over at Freckles and Sunshine made a fabulous Summer Fun List this year, and feeling similarly inspired (oh alright, I’m totally copying her idea), and in hopes that it jump starts my productivity and gives me something to blog about, here is my Post MBA To Do List, in no particular order.  Some are fairly specific, others are bigger, more long-term or even slightly vague, and I will, no doubt, add to as time progresses.  At the very least, it’s a small amount of accountability I didn’t have before:

1. Finish knitting cute little baby accessories for Baby Emmett
2. Plan out future knitting projects (Christmas presents, perhaps?)
3. Finish photo collage in living room
4. Start going to Yoga on a somewhat regular basis
5. Clean out and organize the office
6. Plan out the Epic Tomato Harvest of 2011
7. Go to UW Football game
8. Girls weekend with my sisters
9. Fall trip to Yellowstone
10. Get sewing machine repaired (top stitch is crooked) so I can be more adventurous with sewing
11. Window treatments for living room window
12. Paint downstairs family room
13. Paint guest bedroom
14. Fabric wall art for guest bedroom
15. Go on more day hikes
16. Bake more
17. Read more of the classics
18. Learn how to use Photoshop
19. Research new cameras
20. Cross-country ski in Yellowstone and stay in the Park
21. Unpack and find space for Paul’s Grammy’s china–all 107 pieces of it
22. Take more weekend bike rides before the weather and roads make it impossible to do so
23. Train the dog not to jump all over people, and bark, when they walk through the front door
24. Trip to the BH and to the Little Bighorn Battlefield
25. Weekend trip to Jackson

Well, I think that’s a good start, anyway.  It feels great just to have it in writing and hopefully I’ll have more to report/write about in the coming weeks and months.