Tori's Bloglet

What I want to be working on tonight....

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 22:23:38 -0600

What I want to be working on tonight.

I am converting turning this into a cardigan. I need to figure out the math. Possibly not the best thing to do during Lost. (TiVo rocks.)

From Knitted Objects

Instead, I am working on this. I have like three rows left, and buttons to sew on. This is the project I failed to complete during the Olympics.

The light in my house tends to be weird, and so I don't generally like taking pictures at night. I have lost all the purple, pink, and green subtleties in my Morningstar swatch, and the cardigan is black.

And, because they turned out to be on my on memory stick, here are the few pictures I have of the stole I knit for Julia to wear to her cousin's wedding.

From Knitted Objects

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Went to see Alice in Wonderland yesterday...

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:11:45 -0600

Went to see Alice in Wonderland yesterday. It was pretty, and an interesting Return to Wonderland. It bore about the same resemblance to Alice as Hook bears to Peter Pan. The 3-D didn't really add anything, and there were times when it felt poorly done and it made me a little sick.
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Random creativity day today: ...

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:09:38 -0600

Random creativity day today:

I dyed lace-weight silk yarn olive green. I'm not sure it has enough dye, but I want to let it dry out and maybe rewind it before figuring that out for sure.

I have been experimenting all weekend at converting a stitch pattern from a triangual shawl into a sweater for a sweater I have been working on creating in my head for more than half a year. I haven't entirely figured it out yet, but I think I might have figured out the right math (this shouldn't be as hard as I am making it).

In my oven, I have a batch of strawberry-orange meringues, and a batch of chocolate-hazelnut meringues. The uncooked meringue gunk for both tastes awesome. The strawberry-orange was created by using all natural orange extract and some of Trader Joe's freeze dried strawberries which I crushed (easily) with a mortar and pestal. The chocolate hazelnut is hazelnut extract and chocolate powder. Yum, yum...

And now, I finish cleaning up the kitchen, and I start cooking soup for dinner. And then I will clean up the kitchen a second time. And watch the Oscars. (Hopefully, without too much a delay this year. I miss the Eagles!)
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Do they make games for seniors with dementia that...

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:15:31 -0600

Do they make games for seniors with dementia that are like the sorts of games you play with little kids, but that don't look like they're for little kids? If not, they should. Because I would buy them for my grandmother.
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I really can't decide if I am excited about Tim...

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:25:45 -0600

I really can't decide if I am excited about Tim Burton's new Alice in Wonderland movie, or if I find the whole idea to be really dreadful. On the one hand, it looks pretty, and I love Alice. And on the other hand, I love Alice, and I'm tired of Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in Tim Burton movies. (I also seriously thought about typing men and de instead of on the one hand and on the other hand. I think Greek broke my brain.)

Also, I kind of want to see something in 3-D again, and I have something against Avatar that I can't really explain. The more I hear how pretty and wonderful it is, the less I want to see it.
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Last night, I handed my grandmother a stack of...

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:28:06 -0600

Last night, I handed my grandmother a stack of cookbooks and said "I'm going to make cookies, but I don't know what kind, want to help me figure it out?" After flipping through one of my Barefoot Contessa cookbooks for a while, she decided that what she wanted me to make was Fruitcake Cookies with Peanut Butter frosting. We argued a little bit, until ultimately I decided I was just going to completely ignore her and make Sugar Cookies. Which are awesome and delicious. I rolled them in turbinado sugar and they taste almost like those little pretzel shaped cookies you get in those blue tins of Danish Butter Cookies.
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The woman at Flatback made a pretty design on the...

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:53:28 -0600

The woman at Flatback made a pretty design on the top of my raspberry mocha thing this morning (I usually drink regular coffee, but I decided I wanted something more interesting), carefully pouring in foam, and then doing pretty things with the chocolate syrup. And then I had to put a lid on it, because it is cold and rainy.

I am so tired. I started making cookies at 10:30 last night for Book Group tonight, because apparently I felt it was more important to make cookies than to work on reading the book, sleep, watch the cross country skiing/bobsled, work on the cardigan that I have until Sunday to finish or I will feel like a personal failure, or watch Tuesday's episode of Lost. I pulled the last sheet of cookies out of the oven after midnight, and then I cleaned up the kitchen. I want to curl back up in my warm bed and sleep. And then wake up slowly at my own pace and read. I'm not even really sure I care what I read right now. I've finally broken through a wall in Middlesex where I've started to enjoy it, but I'm not sure I actually care. I had a Book Group avoidance fit a few weekends ago and actually started reading The Colour of Magic which I had always sort of avoided because I don't like Rincewind. Or I could start something entirely new.

Or nothing at all, since I am actually at work, like a responsible person on a Thursday morning, with a frighteningly sweet raspberry coffee drink. And I am less than 30% finished with my book for my Book Group tonight. (Weird thing about Kindle reading: I am thinking about in percentage read.)
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Lady and the trampOriginally uploaded by...

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:43:31 -0600

Lady and the tramp
Originally uploaded by ToriTyrrell

Sent from my phone. Please excuse any typos.

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I don't really know why the frosting is so runny,...

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 22:39:52 -0600

I don't really know why the frosting is so runny, possibly it was the limoncello. Or else the butter and cream cheese got too soft. The cupcakes are lemon-limoncello cupcakes, inexpertly filled with homemade meyer-lemon curd that wound up more on my hands than in the cupcakes. But they are delicious.
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Lemon insane cupcakesOriginally uploaded by...

Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:24:17 -0600

Lemon insane cupcakes
Originally uploaded by ToriTyrrell

Sent from my phone. Please excuse any typos.

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I was seriously disturbed on Tuesday night by...

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:08:58 -0600

I was seriously disturbed on Tuesday night by NBC's bio thing about Yevegeny Plushenko during the short skate. I mean, seriously, he's driving around, talking about wanting to crush his enemies, while there is dark forboding music...and random shots of statues of Stalin? And the hammer and sickle? It could be the story of someone determined to beat his rivals to get two Olympic gold medals in figure skating, and instead it's like some anti-Soviet thing. Did anyone else watch this? Was anyone else disturbed?
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Caveat: this is likely to be a little incoherant ...

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:43:09 -0600

Caveat: this is likely to be a little incoherant because I'm trying to write about something that's mostly visual.

I started a cardigan when the Olympics started. About 8-10 inches in, I realized that I wasn't making it quite as wide as I ought to have been (I think I screwed up the math when when I decided I liked the way the stiches looked at larger gauge than the pattern suggested I shoot for and tried to convert down). But, I figured, it's okay, because I have to pick up a bunch of stitches to make a button band anyway, so I'll just make it wider than the pattern says, and it'll all look fine. It was something I'd been thinking about anyway, because the rib at the bottom is like 4 inches, and the button band is supposed to be 1, and that struck me as out of balance. So, I will have a 4 inch ribbed button band down the middle, and it'll all be fine.

Now, I have buttons to go with this sweater with the smaller button band that I had originally intended. Shiny pretty buttons that I really want to use (see! So shiny!)

Now I'm not sure they'll be large enough to look right. What do you think? Should I get larger buttons and save the shiny buttons for another project? Or do you think I can get away with them?
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Okay, I just have to say, incest in modern...

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:11:07 -0600

Okay, I just have to say, incest in modern realistic fiction makes me so much more uncomfortable than it ever did in Greek mythology, King Arthur, or any fantasy (collected Darkover novels and Tigana, I am looking at you). Middlesex is...weird.
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Hey, Martin, you called this four years ago...

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 23:55:37 -0600

Hey, Martin, you called this four years ago. No Russians on the podium for pairs.
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Since the Olympics have started, I have started a...

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:41:01 -0600

Since the Olympics have started, I have started a sweater and knit about ten inches of the sides and front (I am knitting in one piece because I never sew things together), dyed my hair, and learned why my bisquits always failed (turns out: you don't kneed bisquits like you kneed bread, and even more you don't kneed either one like you're wedging clay). I have also been fascinated by the bad-ass Newfoundland tap dancing violinists (seriously, OMG, if you haven't seen that part of the opening ceremony, find it on You Tube, cause it was awesome). I have also learned why I can't find my normal favorite valentines heart candy (Necco decided to change their formula into something that tastes like a chalky Jolly Rancher). And I have brushed dogs, and let Farmville eat my life.
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I love Apolo Ohno because he has a cool name...

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 17:04:58 -0600

I love Apolo Ohno because he has a cool name. (Still watching yesterday's TiVoed Olympics.)
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While I watched yesterday's Luge events on my...

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:29:33 -0600

While I watched yesterday's Luge events on my TiVo, I commented on how much fun I think the Luge looks, and my sister thinks I'm crazy. It's like my fascination with sky diving, or the way I ski fast.
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My god, I don't want to read my Book Group Book...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:09:56 -0600

My god, I don't want to read my Book Group Book. I can't even make myself care that it's supposed to be very good, I want to curl up in a ball and finish reading Alcestis, maybe try Anna Karenina again. I want to watch 30 Rock finish my green sweater before Friday (not going to happen). I want to read just about anything except a 500+ page novel about a Greek hermaphrodite and his/her immigrant family spanning generations.
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This morning, on my way to work, a van cut off (or...

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 09:46:56 -0600

This morning, on my way to work, a van cut off (or something; I think the other driver might have been changing lanes while turning in an intersection) my bus and caused a minor accident. Everyone slid forward a little on their seats as the driver slammed on his breaks, and my knee hit the seat in front of me (it hurt for less than 30 seconds). And then they pulled through the light, and they stood there and exchanged information. Eventually, most of the people on the bus realized that it was going to take a while, we were right by the entrance to the T, or we were only two or three stops away from where he was going to let us off anyway, so we mostly got off and walked the rest of the way. It was a fairly uneventful accident, but I've been feeling a little shaken by it.
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Morning mystery birdOriginally uploaded by...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:52:03 -0600

Morning mystery bird
Originally uploaded by ToriTyrrell

Sent from my phone. Please excuse any typos.

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There is a bird outside my kitchen (or there was...

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:44:08 -0600

There is a bird outside my kitchen (or there was before I left for work) that looks like hawk or osprey of some kind, except it has a long thin beak. It has long variegated brown and white feathers, and it's hiding its head under its wing and keeps pulling one foot up to its body at a time. It looks very cold, and I think it missed its migration or got lost or something, because it doesn't look like it belongs in Boston in February.

I tried to take a picture of it with my phone, through the window, but that really didn't work, and didn't want to disturb it by going outside to try to get a better picture. I know that's not really enough to go on, but does anyone have any idea what this bird might be? Googling "bird that looks like a hawk with a long beak" doesn't really get you anything useful.
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Also, I made an angel food cake, using actual cake...

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:13:35 -0600

Also, I made an angel food cake, using actual cake flour instead of all purpose flour, which is what I usually use. I managed to totally fail at seperating at least three eggs, and then somehow I misread how much salt I was supposed to put in and added 1 1/2 t of salt (which was the measurement for vanilla) instead of 1/4 t. Since I hadn't mixed it up yet, my mom spooned most of it out. I swore a ton at the cake, and the brand new swifter that I had to switch hands every few minutes. And it didn't rise as much as it should have, but I think that was because I failed at folding. The batter tasted fine, though, in the end, not to salty, so that is good at least.
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I want to learn how to make torrone style soft...

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 00:10:52 -0600

I want to learn how to make torrone style soft nougat with nuts. This afternoon, while running a series of errands in the North End, we went into a shop that clearly sold spices to see if they had any, and they suggested we try to buy some from one of the bakeries that claims to make the stuff fresh. We also tried Our Favorite Shop of delicious cheese and fresh pasta (and, apparently, bacon, but I don't have any opinion on bacon), and they suggested the same bakery. So, off I went to the bakery, going the longest of all possible routes around only to find out that they only take cash, and I don't carry cash. And so, my torrone adventures will wait for another day. This is probably a fairly dull blog entry, in fact, but I don't care much.
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I am giving up in despair of ever seeing my iPod...

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:52:39 -0600

I am giving up in despair of ever seeing my iPod again, after losing it last night while shopping with Julia. Since it was an iPod Touch, I'm now trying to figure out how to iTunes not to take it as part of my iTunes account anymore. ((sigh)) (Things I have tried for getting it back: looking all over Starbucks, asking clerk for help, retracing steps back to closed yarn store, Craigslist Lost and Found posting, entry in Google Calendar for every day until I decide to cancel it saying "RETURN IPOD TO GRATEFUL OWNER - contact me at ((insert email address here))", calling yarn store twice.)

And now I am really sad abou tthe whole thing.
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Of the list of things I wanted to do tonight and...

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 23:02:48 -0600

Of the list of things I wanted to do tonight and the things that I was probably going to get done tonight, I have so far managed to start marshmallows. That is all. We found a candy thermometer at a different grocery store than we usually go to (I made some phone calls), and when my mom went shopping, she got it. I am unpacked, my Christmas presents are unwrapped. I am so tired I feel like throwing up, but I need to get this done tonight so I can cut them up tomorrow and drench them in powdered sugar so I can just put them in my backpack (which isn't what I was going to take) when I go to work so I can take the bus.

I have attempted to teach my grandmother how to play sudoku, to basically no avail. (Not entirely true, she is okay at 2x2 sudoku, but normal 3x3 is beyond her.) And, that and waiting for my candy thermometer is basicaly how I have spent my evening. I have to take out trash, I need to pack a suitcase, but my jeans are in the dryer. I think I might cry.
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Things I want to do tonight: Paint my nails ...

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:30:19 -0600

Things I want to do tonight:

Paint my nails
Make caramels or marshmallows
Finish winding up the balls of yarn for my sweater (how this fits in with painting my nails, I'm not actually sure)
Work on my sweater while watching bad TV

Things I will do tonight:

Run all over the Boston area trying to find a candy thermometer not at Williams and Sonoma (I would spend $20, not $40 on a candy thermometer tonight)
Stay up way too late making marshmallows and caramels

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If a recipe calls for equal parts heavy cream and...

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:20:42 -0600

If a recipe calls for equal parts heavy cream and milk, can you just use half and half?
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There is something extremely fitting about only...

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:01:25 -0600

There is something extremely fitting about only half watching a movie while running around making cookies if the movie is Julie and Julia. And the cookies I am working on are Julia's shortbread cookies.
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I feel incredibly dense, but if calcium is...

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:51:00 -0600

I feel incredibly dense, but if calcium is supposed to build up bones, and vitamin D absorbs calcium, why are you supposed to have the two toge
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My mom is in New Hampshire, where you can buy the...

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:17:11 -0600

My mom is in New Hampshire, where you can buy the good kind of marshmallow fluff, the kind that isn't made in Somerville. I'm so absurdly excited about the idea of fudge.
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