It's knitting season

The wind is whipping the trees bare and the cold dampness is seeping into my bones. Washington winter is upon us. Of course it is sad to see the sun fade away behind a thick blanket of gray, however, this means it is time to bring out the buckets of wool and get all your needles in a row. It's knitting season! My first project: arm warmers. It was my first run with size 2 needles and that multicolored yarn that knits up in stripes. Socks are next!

Open your pie hole!

Pie: 300 Tried-and-True Recipes for Delicious Homemade Pie by Ken Haedrich. How could I resist a title like that! I found this amazing book at an amazing little kitchen store in Fairhaven: the Pacific Chef. I could go on about the store, but I'll refrain. Suffice to say it's my consumer kitchen dream come true. Especially because they stock this pie cookbook. My love for Ken Haedrich's simply titled work of genius began when I found it on the shelves of the Ipswich Library in the summer of 2005. So I when I rediscovered it a few weeks ago in Fairhaven, I decided to make the investment. Haedrich's writing is a delight to read and the recipes are easy to follow with a few variation for many of the different pies. And the crusts are perfect! I made a cheddar-crusted apple pie with grannies from our CSA, B-grade maple syrup and a crumble top: a New England special for my Vermonter. Yum! This pie and this book come highly recommended. Check it out at your local library.

Vancouver Crafting

My sister and I took advantage of the rainy Vancouver skies last weekend and paid a visit to the famous Dressew. This amazing sewing store is two floors chock full of every bell and whistle one would ever need to create the ultimate sewing project. Walls of fabric. Aisles of zippers. Piles of buttons. And all at wicked cheap prices. Even for Canada! You can check out the cool project I made for Kevin's birthday this spring. All the supplies came from Dressew. Every little grommet.

On this particular mission, I was focused on pouches. For those of you who keep up with my sister's blog, you may remember the cute bear pouch she made last month. On that rainy Saturday, we were going to have a pouch-making lesson. With supplies in hand, we made our way back to the apartment and spent the day cutting and sewing and eating samosas. The guys read and baked cookies and played with the bunny.

Here's the final product. I added a little flurish of my own: hand-carved bird stencil. The bird is complemented by the bright red lining. It still needs a strap or something for the zipper, but I think it's quite sharp looking.

Mystery of the Phantom Ponytail

It's really no mystery at all: I cut it off! After years of hemming and hawing, I finally took the plunge. (Spencer, I know you'll be proud). My hair has not been this short since the seventh grade. I also dyed it purple at that time... I was going through my "alternative" phase. I couldn't find the perfect picture to convey my perfect haircut to my stylist "Jenna" so we decided on something between a Winona Ryder and a Keira Knightly. I'm quite happy with the results and Jenna said I looked "so frickin' cute". I love my stylist.


This photo is post-salon. Of course, the reality is a little more tussled and a lot more poofy. Something between the child star of a 1950's film about a sweet-faced tomboy with a love for horses and a Dickens street urchin. I have no photo verification of this comparison, but you can google "Oliver Twist". At night, I still reach back to remove the elastic that once held my flowing locks, but it is no longer there. Instead I feel the bristle of the short hair at my neck. It will take some getting use to, but I'm liking the new look.

Gardening Like It's My Job

Well, I've found some honest work out here in Seattle, something to help pay the bills. And wouldn't you know, I'm gardening! Are you surprised? These past three weeks I have been digging my little fingers into people's yards: weeding, pruning, raking, deadheading. It is a strange time to begin a gardening career, but with Seattle's mild climate there are things to do year round. Who else will manicure this city's "better homes & gardens"?


I work on a team of three people, and we drive this big, old truck all over north Seattle and some on the east side (that is the east side of Lake Washington... where Bill Gates lives). We work on a variety of different gardens, mostly private homes. BIG private homes.

It's a decent job so far. I work four 10-hour days with a 5-mile bike ride tacked on at each end. As the days get colder and grayer and rainier, I may have to finally embrace my coffee girl career. I'm still looking for the perfect job, but until then I'm pretty happy to be among the plants.