Ishbel and a Holiday Sneak Peek

Here are some pictures of my "spring" shawl, called Ishbel by Ysolda Teague a very talented Scottish designer. I met her one knit night at The Needle Lady but I was very new to knitting and I think all I said to her was "hi, my name is..." I knit it last spring but it got so hot so quickly I never had a chance to wear it, and it's pretty warm. So now it can be my fall shawl, y'all. (Sorry, I couldn't help myself.)

The lace work drove me crazy. It's necessary to count the stitches on every row, and that's a lot of stitches.

I am really happy with how it turned out in variegated yarn. The yarn I used I bought with Christmas money and it's scrumptious (100% Merino wool).

Kicking it with some Myspace style photography

I've also made some of Ysolda's flip-top mittens (which I'll photograph eventually) and I plan to make the matching tam before the winter is over. That is, after Christmas presents and my cardigan are finished! Speaking of Christmas gifts here's some fabulous yarn I bought at The Needle Lady's "Friday Night Knitting Club" event last week.

Ooooo what lovely yarn! What could she be crafting?! Muahahahahaaaaa...

The event I mentioned was a trunk show with Claudia who makes the yarn in the last picture. She's from Harrisonburg which makes her local. You cannot imagine the colors. I just looked at them on her site and it really does them no justice. They are so vibrant and perfectly mixed. I digress. It was also an event to meet the author of The Friday Night Knitting Club. We chatted with her through Skype. There was also wine and cheese, a store wide discount, and lots of friendly faces.

From the Kitchen

Roasted Chicken and Scallions (MS Living April 2010) with Warm Butternut Squash and Chickpea Salad from Smitten Kitchen. My first time eating butternut squash. First of all it smells like a pumpkin which freaked me out but after roasting it I didn't find it had much flavor. So it was ok.

Pan sauteed Tilapia with Emeril's Lemon Butter Sauce (OMG this is the best lemon butter sauce on the face of the planet. Seriously, I licked my plate. TMI?) and Emeril's Creole Rice Pilaf, which we've already discussed.

It's the sauces.

The Barefoot Contessa's Chicken Stew with Biscuits. This ain't yo mama's chicken stew. Well, unless Ina Garten is your mom. We've made this before but this was the first time I went to the trouble of roasting the chicken instead of just boiling it to save time. Y'all. Roast the chicken. It's like the filling of chicken pot pie (which I don't think I've ever had). Also make the biscuits. Don't cheat. Put on some music and relax. Cook it on a Sunday when you have lots of time. It's labor intensive but oh so worth it.

Pioneer Woman's Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Goat Cheese Polenta and steamed green beans. We bought the short ribs from the Organic Butcher whose prices are pretty comparable to Whole Foods. It took around 3 hours to cook- not 2. This was the first time I've had polenta. I didn't realize it was just corn meal. I liked it, but Michael wasn't a fan since it has a grit like quality to it. The goat cheese was a scrumptious addition.

Rendering fat from Pancetta.

Carrots. duh.

I can't believe I forgot to talk about my breakfast this morning. Mr B's Waffles with Bananas Foster Sauce (I actually used Emeril's Bananas Foster recipe - halved- and the rum halved again). I want to shout it from the mountaintops how ridiculously awesome this was. Oh man. It was perfect.

Thoughts on the James Bond Movie Marathon

Six Bond movies in we started making a list of "bests" from the movies.

First you should know the things you will most likely find in every Bond film:

• Naked women's silhouettes in the opening credits
• Suggestive one liners
• Women lining up to throw themselves at 007
• The first woman in the film involved with James usually dies
• 007 sleeps with bad women and they end up helping him
• James Bond will eventually get caught by a henchman by getting hit on the back of the neck
• Henchmen/ women in matching outfits
• Bad guy gives James a tour of evil lair and divulges entire evil plan then...
• Attempts to kill James in some super elaborate scheme

Note: Most of these are all true up until the Pierce Brosnan movies where the films got a little too cool for all the super cheesiness (except the one liners.)

Now for our favorites:

• Theme Song: Die Another Day; Live and Let Die
• Opening Credits: Die Another Day; Casino Royale (2006)
• Best Henchman: Goldfinger- Odd Job ; The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker- Jaws; Live and Let Die- Whisper
• Best Ambiguously Gay Henchmen Duo: Diamonds are Forever- Mr Wint and Mr Kidd
• Best Way to Kill a Henchman: Diamonds are Forever- Bond ties a bomb to the henchman's coat tails and flips him overboard
• Baddest B*tch: The World is Not Enough- Elektra King; A View to a Kill- May Day
• Best Car Chase: Diamonds are Forever- Bond commandeers a moon vehicle. At some point in this chase he needs a new vehicle and gets one by kicking a henchman in the head.
• Most Elaborate Way to kill James (after he's seen the secret lair of course): Never Say Never Again- Bond is chained up by handcuffs in a tower with vultures and bars on the windows. Of course they don't take away his watch that happens to have a laser.; Live and Let Die- James escapes his doom of getting eaten alive by alligators and crocodiles by running across their backs to safety.
• Best End of Film Henchmen Showdown: Moonraker, hands down. It's a fight in outer space.
• Best Villain: You Only Live Twice- Ernst Stavro Blofeld (this was my favorite actor since Blofeld was the villain in several films); A View to a Kill- Max Zorin
• Best James Bond: I really liked George Lazenby in On Your Majesty's Secret Service. Unfortunately he was only in that one. So as far as the quintessential Bond our vote is for Roger Moore. The movies he was in had all the elements needed for a James Bond film. We do love Daniel Craig in the newest James Bond films. He's a good spy and he's really bad ass.
• Favorite Movie: On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Here are some pointers if you should find yourself interested in embarking on a James Bond marathon. The sound effects will get better. The one liners will not. Don't waste your time on Never Say Never Again. It's the same story at Thunderball with some variations of course, but it's just kind of weird. Also don't bother with the original Casino Royale. It's a spoof and it's really long and strange. We didn't even finish watching it. Working on a simple craft project will help you get through it. Sometimes you might have to watch it in segments. We're actually a little sad that the marathon is over.

Our next potential marathon- one that I thought of doing a while back- is a Jude Law marathon. Yes, he's easy on the eyes. My interest in this marathon, however, is to see in how many of his movies does he cry. He cries in most of the ones we've seen and he's such a pathetic crier.

Friday Coloring Book Page

I like to color. I have 3 coloring books which I either bought or received in the last year and a half. So I'm starting the Friday Coloring Book Page here on the blog to show off my skillz. Enjoy.

Knittin' n' Stitchin'

Last year I was asked to knit my uncle a scarf. The yarn is un-dyed alpaca from my aunt's travels in Guatemala. I think. Anyway alpaca is so nice but it's a little slippery. I think it turned out nicely. Just in time for cooler weather. Here Michael models it. (Notice the quality of the photos!)

Here's a work in progress (WIP). It's a short sleeve open cardigan made with Malabrigo which is some fabulously soft wool. Both sleeves are on now and I'm working on putting the edging around the neck/ sides/ back. I plan to get some help with it this week so I can wear it. Did I mention it's 42 degrees outside right now at a quarter to 11? This is going to be the perfect winter accessory!

You knew Michael's mom visited. But you didn't know that she was knitting up a storm. She knit this mobius cowl like the one I made last year and I'm now realizing I didn't share with you. Anyway, this was her first project and it came out awesome! I wear my cowl all the time and her cowl will definitely come in handy at those LSU games. It's made with baby alpaca yarn so I wouldn't blame her if she won't let you try it on because you will want to keep it. It's that wonderful.

I will also tell you that I married into a family with mad Do-It-Yourself skills. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law both sew. This was good news for me since I agreed to make a friend's baby mobile ornaments. While I could have eventually figured it out, Michael's mom kindly offered her skills and was done sewing the dogs together in like 5 minutes. I did the stuffing and finishing and little felt collars with bows which I absolutely love.

I'm thinking a fall photo shoot with the new camera and Theo and his sweater is in order. I have to go dig out my sweatpants!

A Fine Frenzy

A couple weeks ago we ate at Eppie's and saw a poster for An Evening with A Fine Frenzy at Old Cabell Hall which is an auditorium at UVa where Michael received his white coat. We bought tickets right away thinking for sure it would sell out because it's some seriously good music.

Well the concert was last night and it didn't sell out. It ended up being really cozy. It was an acoustic set and the crowd was so polite. I definitely think she didn't expected such a respectful crowd. Alison Sudol's voice is beautiful and the acoustics in Old Cabell hall are great.

She said "oh dear" and we think she might knit. We could be friends! I think I might need to start using "oh dear." I wish it was possible to experience more music this way. I really don't like concerts where people are drunk or talking through the whole thing. Anyway, we had a really great time. The tickets were a steal, too.

Residency

So far Michael has at least 10 interviews for residency. Since radiology is a competitive field it's recommended that Michael interview at around 12 programs. He'll make a list then we'll find out on March 17 where he matches.

His first one was yesterday at UVa. It went really well, and a little tiny bit of the pressure is off now that he knows what to expect.

Besides matching at a good program, here's what I'm looking for in a new town:

1. Proximity to family

2. Yarn shop and knitting group

3. Seasons which would require having a yarn shop

4. Cupcake shop

5. In my mind the presence of both shops indicate that the town must be a nice place to live

6. Dog friendly

As far as real estate goes, pretty much everywhere is loads cheaper than Charlottesville (with the exception of Houston).

So that's what's keeping our minds occupied until March. I see lots of knitting and baking in my future.