Temperature Blanket - Update 6

Laughing and crying ... and honesty.

Life Lesson #3981 - With my earlier faux pas with the temperature blanket, I had been working super hard to catch up after ripping the whole thing back. After my last post, a friend asked me to post a picture of the temperature blanket as a whole - which is when my whole project started to unravel. I had assumed (my first mistake) that I was carrying on fine, working super hard, recording the temperature so that I could crochet that row when I eventually got to it. Not really paying attention to counting my stitches as I have always been a fairly accurate crocheter.

When I laid the blanket out to take a picture of the whole thing -- I nearly died. How on earth had I gone so far wrong and for SO LONG! My family couldn't tell if I was laughing or crying but I said the 'F' word a lot. Truthfully, I couldn't tell if I was laughing or crying. It was such an epic mistake. Such a beginner's mistake.

Here's what I mean:

My cheeky daughter offered that it would be perfect for a mermaid. I mean it's beautiful -- I love the colours and the variety of the patterns and stitches -- it's just so far out of alignment. I couldn't believe what I had done. Partly in denial and completely in shock and horror, I folded it up and put it away and went to bed cursing my own stupidity.

It sat in my craft room in a neatly folded mess while I contemplated what to do. I mean I was blogging this project for the world to see -- well the world of 19 viewers but it felt like the whole world was watching -- watching me fail. I thought about deleting all the posts and pretending that the project never existed. I thought about pulling it all out to the point of the mistake and fixing it and never admitting anything had ever gone wrong. And then I thought about the point of this blog -- loving my perfect imperfect life. Recognizing that life isn't perfect, we aren't perfect and how coming to terms with that makes us happier -- so then how could I just ignore this piece of my imperfect world. I loved this project (despite or in spite of its flaws). I preach to my kids that the best thing is just to own our mistakes -- recognize them, do what we can to repair them and move on. Something I need to continuously practice.

As for the temperature blanket - I'm pulling it out to the point of the mistake, repairing it, and moving on with it. It will be awhile before you see me post about it again -- it's going to take a bit to catch up -- but it will get finished.

Ignoring our problems doesn't make them go away (even temperature blankets) and making a mistake doesn't make us a failure -- only human and authentic.

Greek Meatballs

This recipe comes from Weight Watchers and this quick and tasty recipe has become a family favourite. You can also use ground pork, ground beef, or even ground lamb for a more traditional Greek taste.

Greek Meatballs with Orzo
Makes 6 servings

3/4 lb. skinless ground turkey
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large egg
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 (28 oz.) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped
3 Tablespoons tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound orzo, cooked according to package

It is important to note that the ingredients above are split between the sauce and the meatballs. I have often forgotten this and used the amounts listed in the meatballs and needed to add more for the sauce.

Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray; set aside.

Meatballs: In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, 1/2 cup of the onion, bread crumbs, half of the minced garlic, egg, Parmesan cheese, parsley, mint, 1 teaspoon of oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon of the cinnamon. Mix well. With damp hands, form into 18 (1-inch) meatballs. Place the meatballs on the baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Turn meatballs after 10 minutes. Once cooked, set aside the meatballs.

Sauce: In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add remaining onion, garlic, and oregano. Cook just until the onion begins to soften and become fragrant -- approximately 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, and cinnamon. Add salt if desired, I never use it. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally until the sauce begins to thicken -- approximately 15 minutes.

Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for an additional 15 minutes longer.

Top cooked orzo with meatballs and sauce. 

If made with the exact measurements, 3 meatballs with 1/2 cup orzo is worth 6 Weight Watchers points. Each serving has 327 calories, 9g. fat, 44g. carbs, 4g fibre, and 18g protein.

Temperature Blanket - Update 5

Temperature Blanket - Update 5 

First I need to admit that I wasn't happy with how the temperature blanket was going. I felt that it was too wide, so rather than continue, I decided to rip it all back and begin again. Therefore, I haven't been able to post an update while I was working on re-creating the blanket to the point that I had been at. While this set me back a bit and I have been playing catch-up, I'm much happier with the end result.

The last update left off with Row 55 which was a double crochet row to finish off the granny squares. 

Row 55 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row to attach the granny squares (Medium green)

Row 56 - V Stitch, chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn, skip first dc and in next stitch *dc, chain 1, dc, skip next stitch, repeat from * across until the last stitch, 1 dc in last stitch. (Dark green)

Row 57 - V Stitch, chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn, skip first dc and in next stitch *dc, chain 1, dc, skip next stitch, repeat from * across until the last stitch, 1 dc in last stitch. (Medium green)

Row 58 - V Stitch, chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn, skip first dc and in next stitch *dc, chain 1, dc, skip next stitch, repeat from * across until the last stitch, 1 dc in last stitch.

In the image below, you can see the three rows of V Stitch in dark green, medium green, and white.

While in Maui, I bought a beautiful green hand-dyed wool by Maui Yarns. The tag on this beautiful yarn says that it "has been lovingly hand dyed in West Maui, Hawaii. All the yarn is gently rinsed in waters from the rainforests of the West Maui Mountains and dried in the natural breezes from our tradewinds" while the spinner, Sara Lindquist, admits it's just her tap water "a good portion of [the water] truly does come from [the] rainforest." What could be more perfect for a temperature blanket than this beautiful wool that encompasses the wind and rain of Maui.

The weight of the yarn is lighter than the yarn I've been using so I used a smaller hook and choose to do hdc so that it would be denser and the straight crocheting would show the variations in the yarn. The colour reminds me of the sea turtles that swim in the waters around Maui.

Rows 59, 60, 61 and 62 - Chain 2, hdc across the row. 

When I added the granny squares, I seemed to throw my stitch count out of whack and ended up with more stitches in the row than had originally been there so in these 4 rows (above) I worked to decrease and bring the blanket back into line.

Little Woolie's mixed stitch stripey blanket features this lovely chevron pattern, which I have attempted to duplicate here.

The chevron pattern should be done on the wrong side so I needed to add another row (Row 63) so that I would be working on the wrong side of the work.

Row 63 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row (Mint green)

Row 64 - (On the wrong) chain 1, *1 hdc into the next stitch, 1 dc into next stitch, 3 treble (tr) into next stitch, 1 dc into next stitch, 1 hdc into next stitch, 1 sc into next stitch** repeat from * to ** across the row. You may need to adjust depending upon your stitch count. (Mint green) 

Row 65 - Change colour, chain 1, skip 1 stitch, 1 sc into next stitch (counts as sc2tog), 1 sc into each of next 2 stitches, *3 sc into next stitch, 1 sc into next 2 stitches, over the next 3 stitches work sc3tog, 1 sc into each of the next 2 sts; repeat from * until the last 5 sts, 3sc into next stitch, 1 sc into each next 2 stitches, over last 2 stitches work sc2tog, turn. You may need to adjust depending upon your stitch count. (Grey)

Row 66 - This is a repeat of Row 65. (Grey) 

Row 67 - This is the 4th row of the chevron pattern and completes the pattern. Change colour, ch 4, skip 1 stitche, 1 tr into the next stitch (counts as tr2tog), * 1 dc into next stitch, 1 hdc into next stitch, 1 sc into next stitch, 1 hdc into next stitch, 1 dc into next stitch, over next 3 sts work tr3tog; repeat from * for rest of the row. (Mint green)

To make the pattern symmetrical, I completed another row of dc in mint green. 

Row 68 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row (Mint green)

To break the colours up a bit and because we were still getting the odd bit of snow, I did a row of double crochet in white.

Row 69 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row (White) 

I was getting a wee bit tired of the green wool I had in my stash, so I splurged at our local wool shop, Top Drawer Yarn on a lovely skein of variegated grey, white, and green wool. I felt that the colours represented the current weather as even though the spring green is attempting to peek through it is often hampered by bits of snow when the temperature drops a bit and the grey of the skies and dust from the sand that is put on the roads. This wool is certainly more pretty than the streets are in early spring in PG. It's hard to see in the image below but there is such a gentle green in the mix.

Row 70 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row (Variegated grey, white and green) 

Row 71 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row (Variegated grey, white and green)

The wool was quite a bit thicker than the previous wool so again I did a bit of adjusting to compensate.

I wanted to work on a bit of a shell stitch which turned out to be a bit of fail but I like the colours and frankly I've done enough ripping out for a while. 

Row 72 - Shell - chain 3, dc in bottom of chain 3, skip 3 stitches, 4 dc in next stitch, repeat across ... (Dusty green)

The weather is warming up and it is time to add some yellow. It certainly is early for us but I am tentatively optimistic that this weather will last. 

Row 73 - Shell - chain 3, dc in bottom of chain 3, 2 dc in same stitch, skip 3 stitches, 4 dc in space between two shells, repeat across until end. (Vanna's Choice Duckie)

Row 74 - Shell - chain 3, dc in bottom of chain 3, 2 dc in same stitch, skip 3 stitches, 4 dc in space between two shells, repeat across until end. (Vanna's Choice White)

Well, the warm weather continues. I must admit that I am happy to have the chance to crochet in a colour other than green and blue.

Row 75 - Chain 2 (counts as first hdc), turn and hdc in each stitch across row (Light yellow)

Row 76 - Chain 2 (counts as first hdc), turn and hdc in each stitch across row (Yellow)

Well we have now made it to St. Patrick's day and Row 77. The temperature has cooperated with me and dropped to below 10 to allow me to use green. On my recent shopping trip to Top Drawer Yarn, I had picked up a lovely Irish green -- Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed from Kilcar, Ireland).

Row 77 - Chain 2 (counts as first hdc), turn and hdc in each stitch across row (Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed from Kilcar Ireland)

Row 78 - Chain 2 (counts as first hdc), turn and hdc in each stitch across row (Yellow)

In the name of symmetry, I cheated a wee bit and used the Irish green for another row.

Row 79 - Chain 2 (counts as first hdc), turn and hdc in each stitch across row (Green tweed)

Row 80 - Chain 2 (counts as first hdc), turn and hdc in each stitch across row (Yellow)

Row 81 - Chain 2 (counts as first hdc), turn and hdc in each stitch across row (Light yellow)

Row 82 - Chain 2 (counts as first hdc), turn and hdc in each stitch across row (White) 

Now for a wee bit of fun - more bobbles.

Row 83 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row (Light yellow)

This will count as the foundation row for the bobbles.

Row 84 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), lay your bobble colour yarn along top of your stitches. Start to double crochet as normal, making sure your bobble yarn gets enclosed. Double crochet along until you get to the stitch before the one where you want to have the bobble. I chose to have my bobbles every 15 stitches. Start to do a double crochet but do not pull the yarn through the two loops on the hook. Now bring the yarn you were using forward and to the side so that it lies along the stitches of the row below. Take the bobble yarn back over your fingers to the usual position for crocheting. Pull the bobble yarn through the two loops on your hook to complete the double crochet stitch you started. The next stitch you do will go into the next stitch along just like normal. Start your bobble by doing a treble stitch but do not pull the yarn through the last two loops on the hook. Do another treble, again leaving the last two loops of that treble. Do this twice more so you'll have five loops on your hook. Next pull the yarn through all five loops on your hook. Now change yarns over and do a double crochet into the stitch. Bring the bobble yarn towards you and the other yarn goes over your fingers in the usual way. Do a double crochet in the usual way using the 'non' bobble yarn. Double crochet along to where you want your next bobble. Repeat across. (Dc in light yellow and bobbles in white)

Please see Tales from Cuckoo Land for a great tutorial on the bobble stitch.

Row 85 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row (Light yellow)

Row 86 - Repeat Row 84 - bobble row. This time I offset the bobbles and used a darker yellow.

Row 87 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row (Light yellow)

Row 88 - Repeat Row 84 - bobble row. I set the bobbles 15 stitches apart and used white for the bobbles again.

Row 89 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row (Light yellow)

Row 90 - Chain 1 (counts as first sc), turn and sc in each stitch across row (White)

Row 91 - Chain 2 (counts as first hdc), turn and hdc in each stitch across row (Duckie)

With spring well in hand and temperatures going over 20 degrees, I thought this tulip motif would be perfect. I chose to do a foundation row in white to break the patterns.

Row 92 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row (White)

Row 93 - V stitch - change colour, chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn, skip first dc and in next stitch *dc, chain 1, dc, skip next stitch, repeat from * across until the last stitch, 1 dc in last stitch. (Impeccable soft fern)

Row 94 - Cluster** stitch which forms the tulip - with right side facing you, change colour, chain 4 (counts as first dc and chain 1 space); *CL in ch-1 space of V-stitch, ch 2; repeat from * across to last v-stitch, CL in last space, ch 1, dc in dc to finish off. (Orange)

**Cluster (CL): (YO, insert hook in specified st and draw up a lp to height of a dc) 4 times; YO and draw through all 9 lps on hook: CL made. 

Row 95 - Chain 2 (counts as first hdc), turn and hdc in each stitch across row (White)

Row 96 - Chain 3 (counts as first dc), turn and dc in each stitch across row (Yellow)

Beer Can Chicken

This is another family favourite. So much so that I started making 3 chickens as it goes so quickly. If you do manage to have any leftovers, it's great for sandwiches, salads, or chicken quesadillas during the week.

Beer Can Chicken
Makes 1 whole chicken but can easily be doubled or tripled.

1 whole chicken
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil or olive oil
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
3 Tbsp. dry rub spice mix (recipe below)
1 can beer*

*Experiment with your favourite brew and try different beers and ales to subtly change the flavour of the chicken.

Prepare chicken by removing neck and giblets -- discard these - rinse the chicken inside and out. Pat dry with paper towel. Rub chicken lightly with oil inside and out. Then I place a spoonful of prepared minced garlic in the chicken cavity and rub a good spoonful of garlic on the outside of the chicken.

Finally rub with salt, pepper, and dry rub spice mix. Be generous with the dry rub.

Open the can of beer, room temperature is best, and empty approximately 1/3 of the can of beer out. You can pour it into a glass and drink it.

Heat the grill to medium high heat. If possible, turn the centre burners off and just keep the side burners on as this allows for indirect heat and will cut down on flames.

Take the prepared chicken and beer out to the BBQ. Place the beer can onto the BBQ and then place the chicken over top of the beer can using the legs as part of the stand. Balance the chicken on the beer and its two legs like a tripod. Straighten out the chicken and ensure it is solidly in place.

Try to keep the chicken over the centre element that isn't on.

Cook the chicken over medium high, indirect heat, with the grill cover closed, for approximately 2 hours. If you add more chicken you will need to allow for a longer cooking time. Use a meat thermometer to ensure the chicken is well cooked.

This chicken is so well done and so tender and juicy that it fell apart taking it off the grill.

Dry Rub Spice Mix 

1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Can be made ahead and stored for when needed. Easy to multiply and make a big jar.

Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes

Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes by Nigella Lawson.

I love Nigella's cooking and this is such a great recipe, flavourful, all in one pan, and company worthy. All of the ingredients are readily available in your local grocery store.

Here's Nigella's website for more ideas.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
12 chicken thighs (I use boneless and skinless and often use a mix of breasts and thighs)
750 grams chorizo, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
1 kilogram new potatoes, halved
2 red onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 teaspoon dried oregano (I use fresh when available)
1 orange

Method:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Put 1 teaspoon of the oil in the each bottom of 2 shallow roasting pans.

If using chicken breasts, chop into roughly the same size as the chicken thighs. I usually cut the breasts into thirds. Chop chorizo sausage into approximately 1 inch slices. Put both of these into the pan.

Chop onions, not overly small, but smaller than the chorizo.

Clean potatoes; cutting the larger ones into smaller pieces. Place in pan.

If using fresh oregano, mince to release flavour. Zest your orange. Now that you have all the ingredients: potatoes, onions, chorizo, and chicken in the pan. Drizzle approximately two Tbsp. (tablespoons) of oil over top. Squeeze the juice from both halves the orange.

Sprinkle with pepper, salt (if desired), orange zest, and oregano.

This recipe can easily be doubled and then you would simply divide the chorizo, potatoes, chicken, and onions between the two roasting pans. Now you're ready for the oven.

Cook for 1 hour. If you are using two pans swap the top tray and bottom tray after 30 minutes. Throughout the cooking time, baste the contents with the pan juices once or twice.

And presto - dinner's ready.

Craft Room Update

Last fall, Dave and I started working on a craft room. With the kids moved out this left space for us to spread out and more importantly ORGANIZE. It hasn't moved as quickly as Dave would like but we have done a few projects over the last few months and while the room is far from finished, I wanted to share a little preview of some of my projects.

Gift Wrapping Corner

One of the things I wanted was a central place to wrap gifts and store gift wrap, ribbon, bows, etc. I saw this fabulous project on Pinterest by Shanty Insanity and Dave was able to make it happen (that's his super power -- making things happen).

Dave built the frame for me. It needed the crossbar at the back to give it some stability. We used doweling for the rods and hooks to hold on the doweling. I painted the frame and the doweling white.

Here's a good picture of the structure. It really was a very simple project but helped us pull together the gift wrapping supplies. Here's the final project complete with wrapping and ribbon. We added a hook on the wall for scissors and some clear file folder holders (in-boxes) for gift bag storage.

Fabric Storage

I'm not a quilter or seamstress in the true sense of the word but I do have bits of fabric that I bought with a small project in mind or that is leftover -- the trouble is they are scattered everywhere. Seeing the pattern, yet? When I was searching for ideas for designing the craft room, I came across this lovely idea of using a filing cabinet and hanging file folder to store and organize fabric. Dave really was the hero of this project because he was able to work his carpentry magic on this great cabinet we bought from the Clinton Emporium and Flea Market in Clinton, BC. It wasn't set up to hang file folders but Dave was able to add some doweling and it works perfectly.

Originally, I thought I would paint it but in the end the wood was just too perfect the way it was for me to play around with it.

One of the storage struggles for me is that I am a visual person and so once I tuck something away, in my mind it often ceases to exist. This is perfect because by simply opening the I can still see all my fabric.

Thread Storage

The two cornerstone pieces of my craft room are my grandmother's hand-me-down sewing machines. I don't use either for sewing anymore but I do use them as stands for my old Singer sewing machine and my serger. The one cabinet has lovely drawers, one of which Dave helped me transform to a great way to keep my thread and bobbins organized. I didn't want to do anything that would alter the actual cabinet, so Dave cut a piece of wood that would sit on the bottom and used that to add nails that would act as pegs for the spools and bobbins.

Here was my original thread mess - the picture doesn't do justice to how tangled those threads were ...

Now I have this ... 

And Dave and I are both happy. Cleanliness and organization make Dave happy and being able to open a drawer and find the thread I need makes me happy.

Small steps but working towards the bigger goal of an organized space to craft in.

March Music Challenge - Day 14

As Billy Ocean told us in 1986, There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry), which leads us to the challenge song for Day 14 to name a song that makes you cry.

We all have songs that make us cry - there are youtube and Spotify playlists for just that reason. The song that makes me cry isn't about a boy but it is about a lost love -- my mom. Shortly after she died, a friend introduced me to this song by Jann Arden and told me that it reminded her of my mom and I -- All the Days. And to this day it is truly hard for me to hear that song without tearing up a little. It's the lyrics that get me every time especially the line about how "all of me, is inside of you / Though I’m gone, I’m like a song that sings and sighs and coos". 

There's only one youtube video with the song -- I've actually thought about making my own video of my mom set to the music. 

All the Days

When I am old, I’ll think of all the hearts I broke to be here, with you

When I am grey and somewhat vague and too confused, I know I’ll still remember you the very most

And all the days will wrap around our fingers

They’ll hang around our hearts like bits of stars

And all the tears we counted all the memories that we thought would linger disappear, they disappear

When I lay down, and close my eyes to see if Jesus died for me

And that there is a God

I’ll wait for you beyond the lights where darkness fights to keep the sun from coming up

And all the days will wrap around our fingers

They’ll hang around our hearts like bits of stars

And all the tears we counted all the memories that we thought would linger disappear, oh they disappear

Can’t you see, that all of me, is inside of you

Though I’m gone, I’m like a song that sings and sighs and coos

When I’m old, I’ll sift through all the words I spoke, and picture all our happy times

I’ll kiss your face and think about the life we made with all our might, with all that love

And all the days will wrap around our fingers

They’ll hang around our hearts like bits of stars

And all the tears we counted all the memories that we thought would linger disappear

Oh, they disappear