The Amazing Knitted Video

Have you seen this video - it's amazing - and it's in French!!!




The Lyrics...and my poor (I'm sure) translation - but you'll get the general idea anyway...

LES PEAUX DE LIèVRES (Hare's Skins - YUCK - this has got to be some sort of idiom for big snowflakes - I know I'm vegan and all - but there's nothing else here about hares...)


T'as les joues rouge boréale
You have boreal red cheeks

Tes couettes noires virent au blanc comme l'asphalte
Y tombe des peaux d'lièvres sur Montréal
Your black feather beds change to white like the asphalt where the hare's skins fall on Montreal (see this would be much prettier if we said 'big snowflakes' instead of hare's skins - I've just never heard that idiom...)

On s'éclipse du party
La neige crisse sous nos pieds
Les flocons dansent doucement
Dans le vent

It eclipses the party (or we eclipse ourselves from the party??)
snow grates under our feet
the flakes dance gently
In the wind

Mais c'pas la faute du temps
Si j'frissonne
Et nos mains se repèrent
Et nos coeurs s'accelèrent

But it's not the fault of time
If I shiver
And our hands seek each other
And our hearts beat faster

On s'dit rien et pourtant
On s'comprend
C'est mes premiers murmures
De l'hiver

We say nothing and yet
we understand each other
These are my first murmurs
Of winter

Le désir nous harcèle
On court par les ruelles
Ça fait tellement longtemps qu'on s'attend
La nuit s'annonce si chaude et si belle

Desire besets us
We run through the lanes
It makes such a long time that we wait for (the night)
The night announces itself so hot and so beautiful

T'as les joues rouge boréale
Tes couettes noires virent au blanc comme l'asphalte
Y tombe des peaux d'lièvres sur Montréal


The group is called Tricot Machine (Knitting Machine) and they're from Montreal...

Super quick and easy cinnamon rolls

These are made from Pillsbury lowfat breadsticks - yep - they're vegan...


Just unroll the dough sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and roll them back up - then pull them apart into little rolls and bake - make a glaze of powdered sugar and soymilk and you're done...

PS - the Man-Cub loved these and they're quick and easy enough for a school morning breakfast!

The things in the window

Someone asked about the other things in the window

They are a votive holder with the Man-Cub's thumb prints painted on (that we use to hold the aluminum tabs from drinks - they collect them at his school - not sure why...)

A bird whistle from the Frula concert - you fill it with water and blow and it - it sounds just like a bird -

Three pennies - 2 Canadian ones - the Man-Cub still collects these - they were pretty rare in SC - but fairly common here - and a wheat penny -

The wooden tulip - hand painted by the Man-Cub when he was in 2nd grade -

A soap polar bear carved by the Man-Cub -

And a bead bracelet - sometimes called a 'Wordless Bracelet' - This was given to me at a Ladies supper at one of the other Lutheran Churches here in town - I must have taken it off to wash dishes and left it laying there...

Winter is the king of showmen

Winter really hangs on here in the Northern Midwest - and when other people are posting about spring and flowers and the like we still have winter...

Winter is the king of showmen,
Turning tree stumps into snow men
And houses into birthday cakes
And spreading sugar over the lakes.
Smooth and clean and frost white
The world looks good enough to bite.
That's the season to be young,
Catching snowflakes on your tongue.
Snow is snowy when it's snowing
I'm sorry it's slushy when it's going.
--ogden nash

I like this poem a lot - because it's so true - everything does look pretty with a fresh layer of pristine snow - and young people really do love it - and we still have the slushy part to look forward to...

Normally my kitchen window looks like this - although it is the collection point for all rocks and twigs and freshly picked wildflowers and such 'found' things in the summertime - now in the winter it's pretty bare...

...but a couple of years ago the Man-Cub made me this flower to always brighten my window...

The Man brought me a single pink rose to replace the fading Valentines - so that I would have some flowers too...

It's in the milk glass vase that Grandma brought to Mom at the hospital the day I was born - I think it held pink roses then too...

Better to Give

It really is more fun to give than to receive... That may sound corny - but it's true - give it a try...

I had so much fun putting together this little package for Auntie X and sending it off yesterday.

First of course I finished the dishcloth - this one was knit during the last movie the Man-Cub and I went to see - Auntie X requested a dark blue border - so this may look black - but it's navy...

Then - I had bought this little tool a while back (at Michaels I think) for stenciling/embossing...

I printed out a pretty script letter A - and cut that out with an exacto knife - and taped the center pieces back in place...

The little notch at the top is so I can put a post it note there and hold it to my card stock without damaging it - you can see the post it note in the picture above too...

Then - I went to the local office supply store (yes we still have one on Old Main) and bought some pretty parchment card stock and embossed the letter onto that...

But it was actually nicer on the plain white card stock that I already had...

...so here is the little package of goodies ready to be mailed - everybody loves tea - right - and there's vegan mango soap too - see how much fun that was...

Camp Food

This is the inside of the big old fashioned wooden walk-in refrigerator at camp - Of course there is very little vegan food at camp so I always bring my own and they very sweetly let me stow it in the cooler and use the kitchen to cook - on the menu for the evening meal - baked tofu, salad and mixed veg - not exciting - but I should have taken a snap of it on the table - it was yummy...

The jar contains soy milk and the orange stuff in the bowl is 'Gee Whiz' Cheese sauce from the Ultimate Un-Cheese Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak and I had brought a box of crackers in case we got 'snacky' (remember that phrase Karen - I got it from one of your boys...)

Transformers Retreat

See when I'm away - I just come back a do a whole lot of posts to catch up = Here's a BUNCH of pictures from the retreat...


This 'Carpet Ball' game was the HIT of the retreat - the kids played it every spare minute - they even had a tournament - with prizes $1.00 .75¢ and a Transformer Poster for the winners - the Man-Cub chose the .75¢ prize and got a Mountain Dew at the Canteen - go figure...

The frozen lake...

another view of the lake...

there was even time for a quick game of one on one while everyone got registered...

...dribble dribble...

...this was a game of 'octopus octopus can we cross your ocean' - NOT supposed to be a contact sport...

...this is what I did all weekend - BLISS - I really tried to stay out of the way and only come out about once an hour to snap some photos - I wanted the Man-Cub to be able to have fun without Mom around...That's the Nora Gaughan's Bella Blouse from Knitting Daily - more about that later...

They formed groups and built a Transformer...

...suiting up - or being transformed...

...the battle of the Transformers...

They had a visit from a Transformer during the Bible Study...

...and then got to watch one of the 'old' Transformer's videos - from like 1984...

...then it was campfire time before bed...

...the view from my window...

...on the way to the sledding hill - right after breakfast...

...down we go - let's try and hit the ramp...

...let's try it standing up...

...let's try it on a tube...

...let's try it on a bigger tube...

...the chapel in the snow...

...and all too soon it was time to pack up and head home - the Man-Cub is thrilled that this is the first retreat and he's eligible to come back for two more years...

Soldiers Angels

The correct answer to the contest was that this is a package headed over to Afghanistan for one of our soldiers. We adopted him through an organization called Soldiers Angels http://soldiersangels.org/ . It was really easy and fun - we got his name and address in an email and he is so nice. He told us a few things that he needed so we rushed out and bought them - socks, trail mix and something to read - were his simple requests. We've already corresponded several times via email. The program suggests that you send at least one letter per week - and this requires only a first class stamp - and that you send at least one care package per month. This will only get easier as we get to know our soldier better and what his needs are. I suggest everyone adopt a soldier - War is a terrible thing...

And the Winner is Auntie X from http://purlingpearlsofperl.blogspot.com/

Transformers Retreat

The retreat was so nice. I stayed in the Americana room - I would not have picked this room for myself - but the lady from my church who decorated it asked me to stay there and let her know what I thought. It was very nice and cozy - it's on the first floor - so there was snow up to the window instead of a nice lakeview like I would have had from the second floor - but the new bed was super comfy and I really slept well - I did put all three quilts on the bed 'though...







I'll be posting more pictures from the retreat shortly...

Guess What??? You're Right!!! A Contest!!!

I've never done a contest before - but I've had a lot of fun entering other people's...(and I've won a couple too!)

This one's not in honor of anything - it's just for fun. The winner(s) will receive a handknit dishcloth and something else and something else - I haven't gotten that far yet...

They'll even get to choose the border color for their cloth - don't worry I have every imaginable color in my stash...

So here's all you have to do:

Post a comment with a guess as to what this photo is... and the usual - if you post on your blog about the contest you get an extra entry and if you refer someone you get an extra entry...

I'm taking our 4-5-6th graders on a retreat this weekend so I won't be back 'til Sunday - I'll post the winner(s) Monday...

Have Fun!

Lunar Eclipse

Lunar Eclipses are a big deal around here - if they happen in the summertime you can find us lying on our backs for hours watching them - even if we have to get up in the middle of the night. They are so much more fun than solar eclipses because you can actually watch them. Alas - it was 22 below zero for last night's eclipse - so we bundled up - went out on the deck - took some pictures and oooohed and ahhhhed a bit and ran back inside - we probably did this every 15 minutes from about 7:30 to 10:00 when we decided the Man-Cub just 'had to' go to bed...

...here's what we saw...







...the pictures are posted in the order they were taken - it was really interesting and sparked a lot of geometrical/spacial questions from the Man-Cub as the shadow cast by the earth did not pass directly from left to right...

Three of a Kind

The play was a huge success. When they performed for the school - the Musketeers got a rousing second ovation. The Man-Cub did a super job with his solo - he must take after his Papa - hehe...

Here the confreres are in the back for the opening song...

...then they're center front for the rest of the play...

This shot is from the dressing room after the play - just to show a little more detail on the frilly shirt...
...don't you just love that sweet grin - with the silly moustache and goatee...

The Seriously Chunky Scarf

This has actually been finished for a couple of weeks - I knit the entire project at the Man-Cub's play practices - and the play is tonight...


Yarn - 4 skeins of Caron Soft - or other worsted weight of your choice. Hold all four yarns together - it makes a very chunky yarn with a nice tweedy effect.

Cast on 17 stitches on size 15 needles.

Knit 20 rows.

Pattern
Row 1 - K2 Purl 13 K2
Row 2 - K across

Work in Pattern for 20 rows then Knit two rows.

Continue in Pattern for 20 rows then Knit two rows.

Continue in Pattern for 40 rows then Knit two rows.

Continue in Pattern for 40 rows then Knit two rows.

Continue in Pattern for 20 rows then Knit two rows.

Continue in Pattern for 20 rows

then Knit twenty rows and bind off.

Sushi

The guys I used to work with in Columbia loved Sushi - the dead fish kind - so we often went as a group to a sushi restaurant - where of couse I could have miso soup and whatever vegan rolls the chef would make for me - apart from the smell of the other food it was quite nice - and the guys often 'tried' my vegan fare...

I've posted before about a friend here - whose mother was a WWII bride from Japan - we had the Asian potstickers at her house http://affectioknit.blogspot.com/2007/01/asian-potstickers-we-went-to-friends.html. Her mother has recently moved to a retirement village and she often visits her there and they cook together - guess what they made this week...

Vegan sushi - and they made me three huge rolls - I popped two of them in the freezer - they are so yummy and I'm so lucky...