The second Monkey sock is progressing well. Here it is just past the gusset and zooming right along. I just need one more item for my Monkey Sock Swap package and I’ll be all set.
LADY’S SLIPPER
Carman, Bliss, (1861-1929)
Who passed this way and left this trace Of beauty in so wild a place,
To stir our souls with marveling At so incredible a thing?
Who sent this living miracle In the deep Northern woods to dwell,
Where only hermit thrushes come And the shy brown bear makes his home?
Whence was the inspiration caught? Whose was the sudden happy thought?
Or whose the impulse thus to bless The rough untrodden wilderness?
Deep in our hearts glad tidings say, Beauty herself came by this way,
And with a wisdom older far Than alphabet or calendar,
Cast off her sandal as she sped Lest we should miss the way she fled.
And so forever we pursue The shadowy trail of Beauty's shoe,
And for her sake must leave behind Riches and rest and peace of mind,
To follow on that shining trace, With beating heart and breathless pace.
By darkling wood and haunted stream, Still lured by the enchanting gleam,
Wherever the long way may lead, To keep the trail is all our need.
On simple fare, in poor attire, Torn and waylaid by flint and briar,
With the lone dawn upon the height Or the great desert stars by night,
Through burning sun and blinding snow Untiring and content we go,
If only so we may behold Dear Beauty's self ere we are old.
I've been trying to get out and walk on the days I feel well enough. Yesterday as I walked I spotted these lovely lady slippers. When I lived in Louisiana I had a greenhouse full of over 300 orchids and Lady slippers were certainly among my favorites. Chris (between 5 and 10 then) called them the saxophone orchids because of the shape of their blooms. Unfortunately, these walks are exactly what's making me feel worse as I caught the weather report this morning and noticed that mold is through the roof. Mold is one of the worst offenders where my allergies are concerned so I'll not be venturing outside at all until I'm feeling a great deal better indeed.
Meanwhile, I managed to finish the first web sock out of the luscious purple koigu. The more I knit with this colorway the more I enjoy it. I'd love to do an entire sweater out of the stuff. Hey Debbi, can you dye some yarn these colors for me?
Well maybe not the wabbit but certainly the hedgehog. I really should pull that pattern out and knit a few more as he’s so well loved that it’s a miracle there’s anything left to "kill". You can see that some of Gwen’s pads are pink. Our vet says that’s unusual for a black cat and is always volunteering to take her should we ever get bored.
This old-fashioned mower is our newest garden purchase. Jason likes the price and I like the reduction in noise and air pollution. It’s not that it’s terribly quiet but compared to a mower with a motor it’s definitely nicer. I read that the grass would lay down if you let it grow so we tried that but no luck this time, I think because it had set seed. We’ll try again as it’s certainly nicer to walk on when it’s long and soft rather than stubby and pokey.
Jason’s been doing all the cooking for the past several days but despite a bout with sinus infection on top of the recovery I’m beginning to feel better. He grilled sausages and corn and made potato salad yesterday. I’ve been craving marshmallows since they came up at knitting a few weeks ago so we picked up fixin’s for s’mores and I whipped up some marshmallows for the coals later in the day.
Marshmallows
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup light corn syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
cooking spray
Coat a 9 x 12-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Combine sugar, corn syrup, salt and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Allow mixture to boil undisturbed, until the temperature registers 238 F on a candy thermometer (10-15 minutes on my stove). Combine gelatin and 1/3 cup water in the bowl of a mixer and let soften 5 minutes.
Slowly stream the syrup into the gelatin mixture with the mixer running on low until all of the syrup has been transferred. Gradually increase the speed to high and beat for 12 minutes or until the mixture triples in volume and becomes white and quite fluffy. Add the vanilla and continue to beat until well incorporated. With a spatula sprayed with cooking spray, spread the mixture onto the surfaced of the coated parchment paper and cool for a 2-3 hours.
Cut marshmallow into shapes with 2-inch round biscuit cutter. Toss marshmallows in a bit of confectioner’s sugar mixed with cornstarch to prevent them sticking. Dip cutter in the sugar/cornstarch mixture between each cutting to help reduce sticking.
Ever since meeting Beth at the CT S&W we’ve been chatting back and forth a bit via our blogs about spinning. In one of those conversations we were discussing chain/Navajo plying and she mentioned wanting to make the One row handspun scarf written up by our clever Stephanie. I suddenly remembered a Grafton rainbow batt lurking in the fiber stash that I’d bought after seeing Grace’s luck with a similar batt. Yesterday I pulled the batt out from the bottom of the tub, gently unrolled it and began to spin. Thanks Beth for reminding me I had that!
Yesterday I managed to knit a few rows though I didn’t get far as I kept falling asleep. I’ll probably wait until at least tomorrow before I try and pick up the monkey sock again.
This was my view for the day yesterday with my self-appointed nursemaid. She often followed me when I got up and resumed her post when I sat down. Jason made a grocery run before he went to work and brought home things I could eat with a sore throat. Chris went out for more ice for the icepack later in the day and picked up Daniel from school for me.
Here’s what I took with me yesterday to occupy my hands while I waited. I didn’t want to risk anything happening to Monkey sock #2 so that one stayed safe at home. This is the Web sock just after the gusset was finished.
Yesterday I finished spinning the tourmaline pencil roving. Apparently I forgot to write down the yardage on the first half but this half yeilded just a touch less than 250 yards so all together I expect I have enough for a small shawl.
Yesterday was allergy testing day phase one. I haven’t had my allergies tested in quite some time and the GP suggested it might be a good idea to have that done again. We tested for seasonal things. First they did a series of 16 on my back and as there was no "significant" reaction there they did another series of 12 on my arm. Here again they found no "significant" reaction but did mention that I’m a little allergic to spring trees (but the worst offender is either cedar or juniper or both and they don’t test for that), feathers, horse dander, and cockroaches. In a month I’ll go back for another round of testing where they’ll be looking at year-round allergens.
The second Monkey sock is progressing well. Here it is just past the gusset and zooming right along. I just need one more item for my Monkey Sock Swap package and I’ll be all set.
![Barefoot in the Park: A Comedy [UNABRIDGED]](
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"Barefoot in the Park: A Comedy [UNABRIDGED]")
