More Cathedral Rose Progress

Sorry I've been MIA this past week. I've just been pretty exhausted and the last thing on my mind was blogging. I spent most of yesterday sleeping. On Friday night, I fell asleep at 9:30 and still slept most of Saturday away. I roused myself long enough to help hubby with laundry and get a few rows of the Cathedral Window in.



I added the half circles and the black border around them. Sorry the pic is a bit dark. Its cloudy today and hard to get the lighting just right.

We've got some heavy family stuff going on, so keep us in your prayers if you're of the praying variety.

Happy Birthday Inky Binky!

Just want to say a quick Happy Birthday to my little sister who is 20 today! My entire family went out to dinner to a Japanese Habashi steakhouse tonight. The food was good and the entertainment was alot of fun. I know my sis got some pics...I'll see if I can grab them from her soon. My favorite part was the fried ice cream...yum! Can you hear my arteries clogging?

Not much else going on. Still working on my swap crochet, but its been slow. Work is so busy that I'm exhausted by the time I get home and haven't picked up my hook to work on anything else. Even subway crocheting has been pretty scarce the last few days. I mostly close my eyes to rest or do some light reading.

Pi will be spending this upcoming weekend at her dad's house, so I'm hoping to get some much needed rest and recharge.

Reconciliation

Last night was Pi's first Reconciliation. She was chosen to be a reader at the prayer service and read the first part of the Prodigal Son parable. You could tell she was nervous because she rushed through it, but I was so proud of her for memorizing it all and speaking in front of all those people.

When it came time for the children to do their first confession, the parents walked up with them and introduced them to the priests. Then we walked away and left the kids to talk with the priests. I could see her, but I couldn't hear anything she said.

I didn't think I would be emotional....I certainly wasn't emotional during my first confession (I was 12). I didn't understand the signficance then. But to see my daughter receive this sacrament filled me with all of this unexpected emotion. I began to cry because it was so beautiful. I don't cry at weddings, funerals, or much of anything in between. When she was finished and had received her blessing, she looked at me and gave me a look to tell me that my crying was embarrasing her.

I'm going to be a basket case when she gets married.

Here she is in front of the church after the prayer service was over (those spots are rain drops).



Pi's cousin Michaela came over for a sleepover later that night. They used blankets to make a tent under Pi's bed (she has a raised bed) and threw the mattress on the floor to go camping. This is what I found when I woke up this morning, haha!



We had a girl scout trip today and I brought the girls to the park to play for awhile. They were so exhausted they fell asleep on the floor while watching Santa Clause 2. Apparently, they've not let go of winter yet. :)

My co-worker rented No Country for Old Men and lent it to me, so I threw it in after they fell asleep. I nearly threw up in my mouth a few times. It was a good movie, but some of the gore was just too much for me. And it ended so abruptly. Anyone else see it? Thoughts?

No crochet to show just yet. I'm alternately working on the secret purse, some daisy squares, and a smidge on the Cathedral Window. I've got crocheters ADD. Hopefully soon, I'll have some progress to show you.

Feeling Funky?

The last few days I've been in a crochet funk. Since Saturday, I hadn't done much crocheting at all. I'd look at patterns for hours, but not crochet.

I took out an ami book from the library called Amigurumi Animals by.Annie Obaachman last Friday. Pi saw the book and instantly fell in love with the panda. I figured this was a good way to get out of my funk, so I whipped this little guy up yesterday. His feet are a bit fatter than in the book and I changed his ears. I used a bigger hook than recommended and he turned out to be about 8" tall. Pi really likes him!



Also, Andrea from Knits and Knots is hosting an auction and I agreed to make something. I was inspired by Ashley's Lion Brand bunnies. They were so cute I had to try one. This guy works up really fast!



I made him in mint green and white, so he'll appeal to either a boy or a girl. I love him! Andrea, he'll be travelling to you tomorrow!

Hopefully my funk is over for awhile. Its time to really get going on my purse swap!

Artsy on the subway

I was riding the subway on my way home Saturday. The train was fairly empty, with nothing unusual going on. There was a couple sitting close by that were obviusly tourists...they were snapping pictures of the advertisements. There was a man skecthing in a book and a girl listening to an MP3 player. I pulled out my crochet and quit paying attention to anything else.

About halfway home (on DeKalb for all you subway savvy peeps), the man with the sketchbook got up, slid a piece of paper onto the emtpy seat next to me and ran off the train to catch a connecting train.

I was pretty surprised when I looked at the paper and the man had sketched me crocheting! I looked out the window and was able to manage a wave of thanks before my train took off again.



How neat is that!?

Artsy New Yorkers = just one more reason I love this city.

Chrysanthemum Tea Shawl

Any crocheter worth their salt knows who Doris Chan is. I love her stuff but have never been gutsy enough to try one of her designs. I have the book Amazing Crochet Lace and figured it was time to give it a go.

My favorite pattern in the book is the Chrysanthemum Tea Shawl. It took a little over a week, though that time could have been halved. I only worked on it in spurts. It was pretty easy, though I think I flubbed up the middle a bit. Who cares...I love it! This bad boy is about 48" across and could have easily been blocked larger.



Its made with Patons Classic Merino wool and K hook. The original pattern calls for sport weight but since I'm chunky I wanted the gauge a bit larger. If I do it again, I'll use a smaller hook to make it sturdier by being less lacy.

(look my hair is growing back already!)


Sorry this pic is crooked. My camera person is about 4 feet tall and has no patience.

Well I know what I look like from the midget's perspective.

There's alot to do at work, so I get to go into work today...Saturday. Joy.

Empanadas

Its been awhile since I did a food post, so I thought I'd give you a recipe for empanadas that my family loves. The filling looks weird, but it tastes great! I give credit to Cathy, a former co-worker for the recipe.


Ingredients:

1 pound of ground chicken or 3 diced chicken breasts (you can also use beef or shrimp)
white pepper and red pepper
1 small can of tomato paste
1 small can of tomato sauce
mexican 4 cheese (we like the sargento better than kraft)
goya discos (found in the spanish frozen section at the supermarket)
1 tbsp olive oil


First, remove your discos from the freezer, so they can defrost. Sprinkle your diced chicken with white and red pepper. The more you use, the spicier, so sprinkle at your discretion. Heat the olive oil in a pan and cook the chicken until browned.


After the chicken is browned, add tomato paste and tomato sauce. Stir well. It will look like a goopy mess, like this:





Turn off the heat and place filling into a large bowl. Add the package of cheese and mix well. We use the whole package because we like them cheesy! Let the mixture cool for a half hour or so. It will look like this:





When the mixture is cooled, sppon some mixture onto a disco. Don't overfill or you'll have a heck of a time closing it.





Fold the disco over and close edges with a fork. Some people prefer to use their fingers, but I like the fork closure. This is Pi's favorite part and she's a pro at closing the empanadas.




If you want to be healthy bake your empanadas at 350 degrees until the disco is browned. If you like them the traditional (ie: unhealthy) way, you can fry them in hot oil. We like them fried so we use olive oil to be a little healthier than corn or vegetable oil. It will literally take less than 60 seconds to brown each side in oil.

Viola! With some rice on the side, this is crowd pleaser everytime. Even my non-spanish anonymous hubby likes these!