Month: August 2018

Peaches & Cream Oatmeal

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Last weekend, over bland oatmeal at the hotel breakfast, Kathleen and I were waxing poetic about instant oatmeal packets. Sure, they are gluey and loaded with sugar, but in my memory they are amazing.

I wanted to make something that recreated that flavor, but with less sugar and more real food. So this morning I made easy peaches and cream oatmeal.

1 c water

1/2 c rolled oats

1/2 c frozen peach slices

1/4 t cinnamon

2 t brown sugar

1 T half and half or milk or milk substitute

Put water, oats, frozen peaches, and cinnamon in a pan and bring to a simmer. Once the peaches have softened a bit use kitchen shears to cut them into smaller pieces. I suppose you could take them out and do that with a knife, but I found it easier to cut them up in the pot as they simmered away. When the oatmeal is done (I think it is supposed to be 3 minutes, but I usually cook them until the eggs are done or the table is set and it turns out fine), stir in sugar and half and half. 20180821_1025038344897483415556342.jpg

These are as good as the oatmeal that I remember, and they contain a full serving of fruit. The sugar can be adjusted based on  your mood or the sweetness of the fruit you are using. I like that I always have these ingredients on hand, so I can whip it up whenever the mood strikes. I’ll be making it again soon, as Audrey is suddenly a big fan of oatmeal.20180821_102456(0)8158907589725980936.jpg

Weekend Fun and Summer Colds

mildlygranola, , 4 Comments

Happy Monday! I was silent over the weekend because I was on my annual girls trip with my mom and sisters.

This year we went to Dubuque, which is about halfway between Des Moines (where my sister Kathleen and I are) and Chicago (where my sister Mary-Claire is).

I hadn’t been to Dubuque in about five years. It has changed so much. I was blown away with how great of a town Dubuque is. We headed to dinner at Brazen, which is in the historic Millwork District. We had sweet corn pizza, which was remarkable. I am torn between trying to recreate it or letting it live on in excellence in my memory.

The following morning we went to the farmers market, which was large, full of great prices, and full of interesting products. I picked up some cinnamon spice tea from a local tea company.

My mom and sisters continued to have fun after the market, but I am suffering from a severe summer cold, so I headed back to take a nap at the hotel. After my nap I joined them for a ride on the Fenlon Place Elevator. This short and affordable ride on the world’s shortest, steepest scenic railway is a must any time I visit Dubuque.

After our ride down the hill we went on a carriage ride tour around downtown Dubuque. It was wonderful. I learned a lot about Dubuque, even if a lot of it seemed exaggerated – like Al Capone owning several buildings downtown that were connected by tunnels to hide his cars and provide him with a quick getaway.

It was a great weekend in Dubuque. I am sad that I missed out on a lot of it due to coughing/trying to breathe/trying to stay awake.

I returned home to two kids and a husband in the early stages of the cold. It is likely to be a long week filled with Bob the Builder and Mickey Mouse around here.

 

I hope you all have a relaxing week planned. I hope you stay healthy!

 

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WIP Wednesday: 32/52

mildlygranola, , 2 Comments

Happy Wednesday! The kids and I are back in Des Moines. I packed both the sweater and the shawl for our trip to Cedar Falls, but I never picked up the sweater. That’s really the theme of my week. I love the sweater, but it is never what I want to be working on.

I am completely addicted to working on the Study Hall Shawl. It is a very easy pattern. The colorwork is done with slipped stitches, so you are only working with one color on each row. That makes it easy enough for me to knit while my kids play. 20180815_123818617347542577181328.jpg

I’m surprised at how fast this is knitting up and how easy it is. It is to be determined if I pick up my sweater again before I finish the shawl. I’ll let you know next Wednesday.

Skein Shop

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Earlier this month I mentioned I that I bought more purple yarn for my sweater. Ever since the yarn arrived I’ve been worried I would run out of green yarn. I have enough purple yarn now I could make the sleeves purple without any stripes and I would be fine. I decided against that, because I really love the stripes. I ordered more green yarn. The craziest thing happened. 20180813_1154504574771078846564536.jpgThe dye lot matches! It is a second knitting miracle in one sweater!

I ordered the yarn from Skein Shop both times. I had never heard of Skein Shop before; I discovered it by clicking on a link in Ravelry.  I have been blown away by their customer service, and I’ll be using them again.

With my first order I received a nice thank you note and a nail file.20180814_0956048923741615691868928.jpg

With my second order I received a note that recognized me as a return customer and some stitch markers. 20180813_1157101209798258250444730.jpg

With both orders I selected free shipping. I received an e-mail within hours of both orders telling me that the yarn was in the mail. I also received an e mail when my order was out for delivery.

I appreciate extra touches like notes and e mails that update me on the shipping process. I also love free shipping and fast delivery. If you are looking for yarn that you can’t find at your local yarn shop, I recommend giving Skein Shop a try.

Do you have any on-line yarn resources that you adore? Tell me about them, please.

Off the Needles: Grace Hopper Socks

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The kids and I are headed up to Cedar Falls for a few days later this morning. I know John will miss us, so I wanted to leave him with something to make his afternoon better: fresh off the needles socks.20180813_1021351857550536698080672.jpg

Pardon the photo taken in direct sunlight. The yarn really looks closer to what was pictured in my post from last Wednesday. The yarn is the Grace Hopper colorway from Yarn Geek Fibers. The yarn was beautiful to work with, and I’m happy that I have another skein of her yarn in my stash.

I’m going to see what life is like without a pair of socks on my needles. I always have a pair in progress, but so far my shawl is so easy I can pick it up and put it down just like socks.

I hope your week starts with a completed project too. Even if I accomplish nothing for the rest of the week I’ll still feel like I did something.

 

Knitting Q&A

mildlygranola14 Comments

Karen, over at NothingButKnit recently posted some knitting questions over on her blog. Instead of just commenting my response, I thought it would be fun to respond over here and seeing if any of you would want to participate.

The questions are:

  1. What technique were you surprised that you enjoyed?
  2. What technique do you want to love but don’t?
  3. What is your favorite item to make?
  4. You’re only allowed to knit with one yarn weight forever. What weight is it and why?
  5. What item that you made is your all time favorite?

 

 

Here are my answers:

  1. I love picking up stitches for button bands or to add a finished look to a piece. For years I avoided patterns that had you pick up stitches because I thought it would be difficult and fiddly. I was wrong.
  2. I really want to like moss stitch and seed stitch. They look great, but I find them incredibly tedious. I also feel that way about ribbing. Basically if I have to move the yarn back and forth I don’t like the technique. I’m a thrower and I wonder if pickers have the same issues with that.
  3. Socks. They are small enough to throw in a purse. They are easy to pick up and put down. John and the kids love hand knit socks as much as I do, so they actually get used (unlike most of the sweaters I’ve made the kids).
  4. Fingering weight. This is a no brainer for me. I currently have 4 fingering weight projects on the needles: socks, a shawl, my scrap blanket, and a sweater (currently hibernating, but still technically on the needles).
  5. This blanket. It is beautiful, the right weight for napping, and a tangible reminder of my commitment to knit a little bit every day. There are bits of memories sewn in  – the long line of variegated yarn? That is from when Elliot was born. The parts where there are three squares in a row? Those are birthdays or anniversaries. I love this blanket so much. Probably too much, actually, as it is currently in my closet until Wrigley dies because her paws would ruin the blanket pretty quickly.20180522_15091451727142.jpg

I would love to hear your answers to the questions. If you’ve already answered Karen let me know and I’ll go read the comments. Even if you have only been knitting a few weeks (ahem, Kathleen), I would love to hear your answers.