Blanket/Afghan

Another hot one out there today! I am happily and comfortably ensconced on my easy chair, content with my crochet project. I finally decided to create the whole blanket/afghan using the Suzette Stitch, which is a stitch that is created with a foundation chain in multiples of two, which simplifies figuring out how to make the blanket. I decided on a width of 36 inches, then crocheted a foundation chain approximately 36 inches long. The only decisions left to make will be how long to make the blanket/afghan, and what border I would like to add when that length has been reached. Because I am using a yarn that changes colour, there will be only a few ends to sew in, where I have to start a new ball of yarn.

I like to listen to audio books, or “watch” videos while I am crocheting. The audio books are my favourite, and I can borrow them from the library online, so they are affordable and accessible without a car. We have Netflix and Prime Video, which offers enough variety between the two subscriptions to provide enough interesting viewing. Prime has mostly standard popular offerings, most of which I have seen elsewhere, and a lot of vapid crap, and violent crap that I won’t spend time with. Netflix has more variety, some unusual offerings. However, I know there is an inaccessible world of film out there, and I wish it were within my reach. I cannot subscribe to PBS or BBC programming, and I would if I could. I find the Canadian CBC offerings superficial, and provincial, perhaps because being a Canadian I am well aware of what life here is really like for many people, and how different that is from how life here is characterized by our national broadcasting organization. I cannot watch it without feeling disappointed.

Our Scarlet Runner beans are producing a bumper crop this year. The seeds are those saved from last years plants, pods left to mature and dry before removing the beans, which we planted this spring. Attila feels the harvest will slow down now, as he has left quite a few pods to mature for seed. He brought in a six quart basket of beans last night. We eat our fill of fresh beans, and blanch and freeze the rest for the winter. Our tomato plants are not producing a bumper crop, but the tomatoes are plentiful enough that I eat at least one every day. We have our fingers crossed that our squash matures before frost, we don’t have many, but the those that are there are huge. Attila has been picking dill seed, which he enjoys in his tuna salad. I don’t like dill. Attila also harvested one of our cabbages last night. It is quite small, so the whole cabbage was chopped and went into Attila’s favourite cabbage soup, to which he adds salt, so I cannot eat it. Food preparation is an ongoing project for us here at Mist Cottage. It keeps us very busy, as Attila is very fussy about what he eats, and I have extremely restricted choices when it comes to food.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

26°C
Date: 2:00 PM EDT Thursday 21 September 2017
Condition: Partly Cloudy
Pressure: 101.9 kPa
Tendency: Falling
Temperature: 26.2°C
Dew point: 16.4°C
Humidity: 54%
Wind: NNE 13 km/h
Humidex: 31
Visibility: 24 km

Quote

“You begin saving the world by saving one man at a time; all else is grandiose romanticism or politics.”
Charles Bukowski
1920 – 1994

And so you have it. Women have been not just saving, but creating, one man at a time since time immemorial. They also create one woman at a time.
Bukowski’s formula can be approached by anyone and everyone… a little kindness and compassion reach further than we can see.

[I am always saddened by the use of “man” as representing all members of our species, even if it was the accepted usage of their time… wise people should have known better, rather than blindly accepting the social mores of the day.]

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Bex Crowell

Happy to hear your blanket has begun! I got my Bernat Pop and I tried it out doing a sample Willow square, and it was so thick! I meant to tell you… but for a blanket, I think it will be wonderful. One tip (if you haven’t already started it yet, is to do the foundation row with a size higher hook than you will be using for the body. Or else just do the foundation chain stitches real loose! I need to look up that stitch… good luck and happy hooking!

TopsyTurvy (Teri)

Maggie, couldn’t you separate out some of the cabbage soup before Attila salts it, so you could have some too?

On Facebook the other day a friend posted a recipe for an unstuffed cabbage roll casserole, which sounded like a great idea. I wasn’t thrilled with the ingredients used but I think I have my grandmother’s old recipe for stuffed cabbage, so I don’t see why I couldn’t use the old ingredients and then just layer them in the way of the casserole recipe, chopped cabbage first, then a layer of tomato meat sauce combined with cooked rice, then repeat the first two layers. I’ll have to try it once ot cools down a little, I’m really curious how it will turn out.

Bex Crowell

” I wake up in the morning thinking about the yarn and how it feels, great feeling!” – So do I! In fact, thinking about getting my hands on that yarn is what spurs me to get out of bed most days. The other thing is that Belle is sitting at the bottom of the stairs waiting for me and I get the guilts if I languish too long in bed. But mainly, it’s the yarn!