kitties take advantage of the turkey day resting period

I'd intended to link up to Gussy Sews Inspiration Workshop, but Christmas Carol tech got in the way... At any rate, here's my post!

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Thanksgiving is my Dad's favorite holiday.

When I was a kid we would walk down our snowy street to the neighbors' Thaksgiving. It was always full of rowdy kids, joyful adults and mountains of food. The Grandfather of the family was a retired, blind piano tuner. His familiar and forgotten melodies created the cozy backdrop for our grateful holiday. We kids would play hide and seek while the adults cooked and visited. They always called it visiting.

After my parents got divorced that Thanksgiving tradition, like so many other things, never felt comfortable again. But, like so many other things, we moved on and created new traditions.

I remember making Thanksgiving dinner for my Norwegian friends my first year in NYC. I didn't think to order a turkey, so we had Cornish game hens.

I remember the year I flew home to surprise everyone.

I remember my friends squeezing 20 or so artistic orphans into their Brooklyn apartment. I think I sat at the table on an exercise ball.

Last year we hosted my whole family for the first time. Sweet P read Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclimation and wept his way through a prayer. Lily took a nap with Dad before the pie corse. Everyone went home with a Tupperware full of leftovers. I felt like a real adult.

My Dad's townhouse is all renovated so we're back at his house for his favorite feast. I wish I could bring Lily along to take advantage of the resting period.

olive is helpful

how to make pear pants

Print out and tape together a whole mess of 8.5 x 11s to form a drawstring pants pattern. Buy incredibly adorable pear fabric from your local craft store.

Wash and press fabric. (This will need to be repeated when you realize that you didn't buy enough fabric. You will also learn that fabric comes in two different widths. Who knew?)

Cut out pattern after lengthening it for your tall husband.

Fold fabric in half lengthwise to match selvedges. Admire adorable fabric before remembering that you're supposed to fold it so the wrong side faces out. 

Pin paper pattern to fabric, cut out and start sewing according to your pattern instructions. This will take several tries. Get annoyed that Martha Stewart takes for granted that you understand what she means by pin and sew crotch, because that could very well mean start at crotch and result in sewing the inseams of the fronts to each other rather than the rise. Right?

Take a deep breath and admire the pretty butterfly pins you bought. 

The next step will involve sewing and ripping: sewing the zig-zag seams too tight and ripping them out, sewing with the feed dogs down and ripping out the pile of thread, sewing the pants to themselves rather than just at the seam and ripping the entire thing out. But eventually you will have pants.

Insert elastic. Ponder closing seam around elastic in drawstring pants. Cleverly close gap with small placket. Enjoy the word placket.

Apply pants to husband. 

Sigh when husband prefers the sweatpants you bought him on sale at the University bookstore.

happy birthday sweet p

monday, monday...

Monday is my only day off when I'm employed. During the run I work 32 hours a week; rehearsals 48 hours a week and during tech 60 hours a week. Monday is very precious during tech week, so today I took full advantage.

A trip to Linden Hills Yarn for the final skein of my Long Stitch Wrap knit in beautiful Rowan Kid Classic purple.

Over to Wild Rumpus Books to pat the chickens.

Coffee and Tea Ltd. for a cup of masala spiced chai and a bag of cinnamon orange.

Bring it, tech.

apple butter

During the 5th biggest winter storm in the Twin Cities Metro area -- 17 inches collapsed the Metrodome -- a friend and I decided the best thing to do was hunker down and make apple butter.

Apple butter requires 3-4 hours of "constant stirring". We laughed in the face of "constant stirring", but as the apple butter started to congeal at the bottom of the pan, threatening to burn, "constant stirring" won out. 3-4 hours.

The apple butter turned out a little thin -- see afore mentioned 3-4 hours of "constant stirring"-- but very tasty and beautifully jarred. I'll meet "constant stirring" again one day and we'll see who wins a rematch.

my first thanksgiving hosting for my family

 15 pound herb butter stuffed beauty.

 The tables -- places for 14.

 The organized buffet -- pre-food.

The plentiful buffet. 

 Per reading President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation and praying -- to appeal to both the faithful and political natures of our merry band.

 The feast.

 The resting period -- kitties don't need resting periods, they just like to take advantage of them.

The pies.

roll on by

Roll On By, originally uploaded by BlurDotBlog.

I think my upstairs neighbors are rollerblading around their apartment. It's 10:30p, folks, I can't hear House reruns. Time to step out of the '90s and go to bed.

the other people who live in our house

mother & child long, originally uploaded by eag.

I should be cleaning and organizing in preparation for the return of our roomie, but I'm having a hard time getting motivated. I love organizing, I love when things are clean... why is the starting so hard?

monday makes me merry

In an effort to keep peeking around the corner to the bright side, I will now initiate a regular column on my blog: Monday Makes Me Merry -- 10 things that made me merry since last Monday, besides Monday being my day off.

1. Silas. He is my babysitting charge and holy cats is one cutie patootie! Observe:

2. Understudy Rehearsal. Last Tuesday was our official understudy rehearsal. We got to wear costume shoes and run through the show on the set. What with using all the props it felt like playing pretend in someone else's house! As always with a run, I knew more than I thought, got thrown by all the new information and forgot things I thought I knew, got out of control, delved deeper into moments and learned many lessons. God willing I won't ever have to do it again, but it was lovely to walk around in Stella's shoes (and Eunice's and the Nurses's shoes) for an afternoon.

3. Knitting Baby Booties.

4. Brass Messengers at Bastille Day Block Party. Oh, and burlesque dancers getting nekid in the middle of Irving Ave. Yow!

5. Waking Up Surrounded By Sweet Fat Kitties. Specifically the ones who live in my house and sleep snuggled up to me after Sweet P leaves for work. As soon as I open my eyes they gather around and rub their soft faces against my cheeks.

6. Biking. It gets easier and more pleasurable everyday. 

7. Open Windows. The weather has decided to cool itself off enough that we can turn off the ac and let in the sweet summer air. I love to hear the tinkling voices of playing kids and gentle whisper of the rustling trees. 

8. Sore Muscles. Means I'm working hard on falling back into my body.

9. Afternoon Naps.

10. Finishing Shadow Tag. I am falling more deeply in love with Louise all the time, but I'm glad to put the indulgently miserable characters behind me. What an exhausting a beautiful book. 

moth and shrimp and stella

The Summer So Far: In 3 Parts

PART 1: MOTH

There was a giant moth on our back stairs. 

I haven't quite figured out what sort he was, but he was very impressive.  

I think he must have just completed his metamorphosis miracle, because there was some sort of blue goo around his feet. I was sad to see him go, but happy that he made it out into the world safely.

PART 2: SHRIMP

I'm not really a cook. I can cook and I like it, but I have to follow recipes and I always overcook the pork and burn the chicken breasts. Maybe it's living with the French Knight, but I have become more and more inspired to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire... as it were.

I've had an idea for a summer meal running around my head for the past week that involved shrimp, pasta and black pepper. Last night it finally came to life! I did it! I pulled an idea out of my head, added garlic and heat to it and invented a recipe! I am a cook! Sweet P was talking to his mom on the phone last night while I was cooking and after I screamed, "I don't know what I'm doing!" she yelled through the phone, "That's what cooking is!"

My only mistake was not making enough for seconds. Well, and I overcooked the shrimp a little... but I'd never cooked them before, so I think my error can be excused.

SUMMER SHRIMP PASTA - serves 2

1/4 box linguini
2 Tablespoons butter
10 shrimp peeled, cleaned and de-tailed
2 large cloves of garlic minced
1/2 cup grape tomatoes quartered with seeds and juice removed
1/4 cup white wine or vermouth
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
As much black pepper as you can stand
Salt to taste

Cook linguini according to box. Meanwhile, melt butter over medium high heat. Add shrimp, garlic and pepper stirring and turning shrimp. When shrimp start to pink up add tomatoes and vermouth. Let vermouth cook off a bit and get sticky in the pan. Add a bit of water from the cooking pasta, 1/2 cup or so. Drain pasta and add shrimp mixture to pot. Add parmesan, more pepper and salt to taste, toss pasta and serve with a leafy salad!

(sorry this photo is a little ugly... I garnished with fresh ground pepper and extra cheese and it was much prettier.)

PART 3: STELLA

Oh, Stella, Stella, Stella for Star... This is my first foray into real understudying. I've understudied roles in shows that I've been in before, but never this large a role and never when I haven't been at all involved in the process. It's really bizarre. Just memorize by rote, watch hours of tech rehearsals to learn the blocking, try to glean the choices being made, maybe stand backstage during a preview to learn that track, attend opening, then get up and do the show with the stage manager and fellow understudies. Wild. Just wild. 

I watched a run-through in the rehearsal room the other night just to give myself some sense of continuity before it all gets torn apart by tech. What a masterpiece of a play. I've been doing so much new work that I forgot why our classics have earned their status. What stunning characters Williams created and what a way to watch them reveal their story. 

Even if it's a bizarre way to be involved in a show, I feel so blessed be involved.