...7.22...Friday Update...

...we've been having storms every afternoon...and they've been lasting into my "bike-riding-window-of-time"...which I had moved to about 8 PM because we have the lowest daylight temps then...so I snapped this pretty fuzzy little rainbow during my ride...it was still thundering around in the distance but not actively storming...and the pavement was wet and puddle-y...thank goodness I have fenders...

...it's my turn to have the Dune book from the library...so I went ahead and picked up my hold even though I'm not quite through with Claudius the God...I'm on chapter 28 though so I should be able to finish it and start my re-read of Dune tomorrow or Sunday...

...and this version has a neat map on the back cover...

...and dollie's unders in the crinkly shiny yarn seemed a bit too thick and chunky...so...

...I'm starting over with a slightly thinner...but still shiny yarn from stash...I also only have a tiny little bit of it...but I think it will be enough for her tiny little underthings...

...it's definitely thinner but still a little bit sparkly which I think will make some nice undies...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your weekend!

...7.21...What I Ate in a Day...as a Vegan...

...I had gotten the bottle of Just Egg on sale...I like it but I usually only buy it when it's on sale...

...so...I scrambled some of that up for brekkie...and just made a slice of toast to go with it...and tea...of course...

...mid morning I had some canteloupe...not the best one I've ever had...that was one of the ribbed ones that Daddy brought in from Texas on his truck...so it's been a while and I still remember it because it was so good...

...lunch was some leftovers...black beans on tortillas toasted with some vegan cheese...and lots of salsa...and a small bowl of leftover "fried" cabbage...one of the gifted cucumbers...and an apple...and tea...

...in the afternoon...I had one of my favorite snacks...a bowl of rice with a big dollop of Earth Balance...so...so good...

...dinner was a crudité plate with vegan ranch...a boiled new potato...steamed broccoli and baked tofu...

...and Mom had given me the leftover sour cream that she'd gotten to make me some goodies for the reunion...

...so I slathered that on top of my potato...and it was delicious...

...what did you eat yesterday?...

~Have a lovely day!

...7.20...W.I.P. Wednesday...

...Keito Doll #1 is finally finished...

...and I unbraided her hair...

...but I may braid it again...I'm used to it that way...and Big Sissie can undo it if she prefers it that way...

...next up some unders...so I don't have to keep photographing a nekkid doll...haha...

...and I found this small amount of kind of shiny white yarn in the stash...and thought it would make some nice undies...

...what's in your workbasket this week?...

~Have a lovely day!

...7.19...Tuesdays with Julia...

...we made what I think is the last Brussels Sprouts recipe...(I may find another one hidden in another section...) and served it with some vegan roast chicken...per Julia's suggestion...

...and it was delicious...but then I love Brussels sprouts...and I know not everyone does...haha...

...all of the particulars are over at the Vegan Version...

~Have a lovely day!

...7.18...Over the Weekend...

...there's really not much going on Chez Affectioknit...it's hot...Hot...HOT...highs in the 90s (high 30s C)...with heat indexes over 100°...so just mostly trying to stay cool...

...I did get the shopping...nothing unusual...and we had a very short list...corn was still 4 for $1...

...and we got another gift of squash and cucumbers...

...and fresh green beans...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!

...7.16...Dinner and a Movie...

...the Man made Tofu Tetrazzini for dinner...

...we had it with some cubed butternut squash roasted with rosemary...and asparagus...and a mixture of wild and white rice...

...it was delicious...

...and it was his turn to choose the movie...and he chose a new series...Our Man in Italy...we had previously watched Our Man in Japan and enjoyed it...it's James May...and he's such a nice travel guide..it's humorous but not like the Idiot Abroad...James May does get into some funny situations but so far they've been more embarrassing than rude...

...what have you been watching lately?...

~Have a lovely day!

...7.15...Vegan Chocolate Biscuits and Gravy...or Vegan Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy...it's a Southern Thing...

...so...I've lived in the "South"...almost all my life...(excepting the 7 years in North Dakota)...and I've never had this "Southern" breakfast...but it came up in a conversation with my sweet MIL the other day...as she used to have "Chocolate Gravy" for breakfast as a child...but oddly...during my whole dating and married life...she has never once served this for breakfast...

...so I mixed up some quick vegan drop biscuits...I added a little bit of ACV to some soymilk to make "buttermilk"...

...and dropped some hefty spoonfuls onto my Pampered Chef sheet pan...

...they start rising up right away...

...all puffed and golden brown...

...on a plate...

...covered with chocolate pudding...I cheated here...this is just boxed instant chocolate pudding made with soymilk...I don't put in the full 2 cups to make it a little bit thicker...

...ok...this was really good...like a sort of deconstructed chocolate pie...it was yummy...

...have you ever had Vegan Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy...for breakfast...or otherwise?...

~Wishing you a lovely start to your weekend!

...7.14...What I Ate in a Day...as a Vegan...

...just your typical/regular/boring day of vegan eats chez Affectioknit...of course that doesn't mean that I didn't think it was all delish...because I did...obvi...

...for brekkie...I made a couple of slices of whole wheat toast...because I wanted TWO different tastes...

...so I cut each slice in half to make a half of a sammie each...

...on one side I put baked tofu sprinkled with kala namak (suflfur-y egg-y tasting salt) and pepper...and on the other side peanut butter and banana...and it was a very satisfying breakfast...

...for lunch I had another slice of baked tofu...with some "Griddler-ed" broccoli...I sprinkled on some soy sauce...and I had tea of course...

...and then for dinner...guess what...more tofu...I do LOVE me some tofu...this time the Man cooked it on the grill...with a slightly-too-spicy-for-me sauce...haha...just boiled red new potatoes on the side...and a big salad of romaine with walnuts and apple and 'boughten' raspberry vinaigrette dressing...

...and I think the only snack I had was an apple and some nuts...

...7.13...W.I.P. Wednesday...

...are y'all tired of hearing me complain about the TOO LONG needles I've been using to knit this dollie...

...well...I've fixed that...haha...and it didn't take but a few minutes...this post will make it seem like it took a lot longer...but it probably took longer to document than to actually do it...

...I really need some 3 to 4 inch needles for these tiny little appendages...so I got out my bamboo skewers...

and found a couple that fit perfectly in the needle gauge for size 2...

...then I sanded them...

...and sanded the super sharp little point to something more knitting-needle-like...

...then I just snapped them in half...

...and sanded a point on the other (broken) end of each "needle"...

...went over each one again with another light sanding...

...and then oiled them...just with a few drops of olive oil...

...and left them to dry and soak it in for a bit...

..and here they are beside the original metal needle...they are a little bit less than half the size...

...and in about 15 minutes I was back in business...

...these are not super silky to knit with but they work well here...being a little bit "grip-ier"...and I'm happy not to have to wrangle those long needles anymore...

...what's in your workbasket this week?...

~Have a lovely day!