Pieces and Meal

Well, Oatmeal is practically an FO. I finished seaming over the weekend- no small feat. While I am still not a "yay, I love seaming" type of gal, I must admit this was probably the best seaming job I've done thus far. That isn't to say it's phenomenal, but - let's put it this way - it doesn't totally suck. Which, in the end, is all I can really ask of myself at this point. The assembled Oatmeal had a bath yesterday and is now blocking. I had some leftover yarn, so I decided to really milk this East Coast baby thing and knit a pair of mittens to go with it.

Only four pieces, but man was there a lot of seaming.

I cooked another ginormous batch of veggies yesterday. (Note to self: we really need to acquire an outdoor grill. It was f-ing hot in the house yesterday from all the cooking.) Lest you assume that I am a vegetarian, don't believe the hype. I ate a smorgasboard of delish food (chicken, beef, veggie, and shrimp kabobs, and mashed potato bar, among other such deliciousness) on Saturday night at my friend's birthday party. I just felt really good last week, toning it down and sticking with mostly veggies and grains that I thought I'd try for another week. Thanks, not only to that one stop at Real Food Daily over a week ago that jump-started me, but also to Alice Waters (another long-time source of culinary inspiration) and my Chez Panisse Vegetables cookbook for some of this week's ideas. Again, I have no delusions that I will keep this up, but why not ride the wave for as long as it will take me?

Lentils and rice, sauteed broccoli, sugar snap peas, and baby bok choy, roasted eggplant, zucchini, crookneck squash, mushrooms, and red onions, braised swiss chard.

I totally forgot about the asparagus and cauliflower, so I think I will roast some of that tonight to add to the mix, along with some corn on the cob. Yum! I love cooking up a big batch of food on Sunday that will last me for days- I heart leftovers!

The following has nothing to do with anything, except it looked so cute just lying in the middle of the bed, that I had to take its picture. This smushy, much licked and slobbered on, mangled, soggy, and much loved thing is Dakota's bear. He has other toys, but aside from playing catch outside, he only likes (LOVES) this one. He's very cute with, too. He holds it in his front paws and licks it, chews on it a little, but not enough to do any severe damage (although, the bear lost his stitched-on mouth long ago).

I bought a back-up bear, in anticipation of when this one dies, but so far so good! He takes a lickin' (literally) and keeps on tickin'!

A Doogleversary

Yes, we adopted Dakota two years ago today.* Hard to believe. Haven't we had him forever? He is camera shy most of the time, looking away just as I'm about to click...

But sometimes, I get his attention just long enough to get a pic in, and it's all worth it.

That face! This is the face B and I first fell in love with, as soon as we saw him at the Bill Foundation's adoption fair just over two years ago. And this is the face that continues to "speak to us," make us laugh, and love us back.

The poor guy will probably always have at least some residual issues from his previous life on the streets and, we suspect, an abusive environment before that. He is still cautious of new people and new surroundings, not to mention certain noises and objects that are put near him. But he has come a long way. He obeys commands, always sits before going out or in a door until we give the OK, and never ever touches anything that doesn't belong to him. Ours is far from being a tidy house, yet we never have to worry about him getting into things or making a mess. And he is super sweet and cuddly. He loves being petted and laying either balled up right up against us, or with his head on B's lap. He also loves sleeping on our bed. We start him off in his own bed at night, but much like a small child, he climbs into our bed somewhere in the middle of the night. We don't mind. We still struggle with certain things that scare him, and I don't think nail-cutting time will ever be fun for any of the parties involved, but we're all coming along. He is a great dog to us, enriching our lives in countless ways and we strive to be great people to him. Two years, really? I can hardly remember what life was like without him...nor do I want to.

Happy Anniversary, Doogles!

* If you or someone you know is interested in getting a dog, I highly recommend adopting. There are so many rescued dogs out there that need good, loving homes. I also highly recommend contacting the Bill Foundation if you are in the Southern California area. They are good people doing good things. I can't say enough.

Quietly Knitting Away

So as not to disturb...

Although I've been feeling under the weather for the past couple of weeks, I have been doing some knitting here and there. It seems to be just what the doctor ordered, too, because this hat just cheers me up!

The pattern is the Bobbled Topper from Kat's fabulous book, Boho Baby Knits. This adorable hat and matching soaker (which I will also be making) are just too cute, I couldn't resist casting on.

I've also been working on a nursing shawl for my friend-slash-boss, who is expecting her first child in a few months. The pattern is the Leafy Lace Shawl from Louisa Harding's Natural Knits for Babies and Moms. I started it, contemplated scrapping it, but ultimately decided to continue with it (at least for now). My dilemma from the get go has revolved around yarn selection. The original pattern calls for chenille, which I wasn't quite feeling. I wanted something similarly soft, though not too heavy, and oh yeah- not shiny. After much searching, I decided to try fleece. Questionable, I know. It's way soft, but I wasn't sure this kind of "fluffy" yarn would work with this kind of pattern. I feared it would just look like a jumbled mound of messy mush (how's that for alliteration?) but lo and behold, it doesn't look nearly as bad as I thought it might. I actually think it looks pretty good. Color is pretty off here (picture more on the plum side, less pink) and it's not blocked, but I think you can get an idea.

Bulky lace. Who knew? I think it will look good once it's complete and will serve it's purpose as a comfy shawl for late-night (or whenever) feedings. We'll see. (Did I mention how soft it is?)

Cure for a sore throat

Okay, so I didn't exactly see the doogles listed as a treatment method on WebMD or anything, but looking at this sweet face does make me feel better. :)