Jet lag notwithstanding, a wonderful time in Las Vegas celebrating Beryl's 85th birthday. My first visit to Vegas and I was not sure what to expect. What I got was entertainment with sights and sounds and tastes and smells - a sensory experience, I would not say always a delight! The best thing, though, as ever, is being with family. There is that wonderful and amazing ease that comes with meeting up with family members, even distant ones, after a number of years and it feeling as if we only saw each other yesterday. Some catching up is inevitable but I love the comfort factor of family.
Over a few short days we did breakfast for $3.95 and brunch for $30. We caught buses and went shopping. We had a celebration meal at the top of the Stratosphere, Italian in the Cosmopolitan and constant supplies of Starbucks and MacDonalds. Our gambling experience was limited to penny slots and $1 poker games. We did not return US dollar millionaires but more or less broke even. Beryl loved her early morning balloon ride over the Grand Canyon and photographs show 8 content adults in the biggest theme park for adults that I have ever seen.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Thursday, 10 November 2011
A recipe for Banana Bread
250g butter - melted
300g light brown sugar
4 eggs
350g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 bananas - mashed
100g chopped walnuts
2 lined loaf tins. Oven at gas mark 3
Beat butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time then mix in the bananas, walnuts and vanilla.
Add the baking powder and bicarb to the flour and gently fold in to the mixture. Divide between the 2 loaf tins.
Bake for about an hour until skewer comes out clean
The bananas that went missing were returned in a slightly battered state but this recipe calls for well ripened, even battered, bananas.
300g light brown sugar
4 eggs
350g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 bananas - mashed
100g chopped walnuts
2 lined loaf tins. Oven at gas mark 3
Beat butter and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time then mix in the bananas, walnuts and vanilla.
Add the baking powder and bicarb to the flour and gently fold in to the mixture. Divide between the 2 loaf tins.
Bake for about an hour until skewer comes out clean
The bananas that went missing were returned in a slightly battered state but this recipe calls for well ripened, even battered, bananas.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
A typical November day
On of those days when it never seems to be quite light. Lamps on in the house all day and fire lit by 11 in the morning. I do love having an open fire - the glow of coals, or better still, logs, is a warming focal point on a dismal day.
Socks coming along after re-working the heel. It is still not right but I am going with it and will amend the pattern for the second sock.
The hens are wallowing in mud. They had taken themselves inside by just after 4.30pm but during the day had been covering everything with the mud that engulfs their coop at this time of year. I watched as they trampled across the clear plastic which covers a run for them, managed to stand in their food and flicked more mud into their water. Collecting eggs is a dirty business - 3 today but all covered with mud. I pulled up a piece of turf from around the vegetable beds and threw it in to them earlier. It had disappeared by my next visit.
My plans for today had included making a batch of Banana Bread. Last week's online delivery had contained an excess of bananas which were looking, last night, at the right stage of ripeness for baking. Going to retrieve them today for my list of ingredients I found that all but 2 were missing. I was certain that there were 6 last night and I had intended to make 2 large loaves - 3 bananas each. A couple of phone calls later and the culprit emerged - had taken 2 to eat during the day but had made that decision twice and added 4 to the rucksack. No Banana bread baked today.
Safely wrapped up warm inside now with the curtains closed, fire blazing and supper in the oven. Knitting at my side and some easy entertainment on the TV. In less than 48 hours I will be on my way to Vegas!
Socks coming along after re-working the heel. It is still not right but I am going with it and will amend the pattern for the second sock.
The hens are wallowing in mud. They had taken themselves inside by just after 4.30pm but during the day had been covering everything with the mud that engulfs their coop at this time of year. I watched as they trampled across the clear plastic which covers a run for them, managed to stand in their food and flicked more mud into their water. Collecting eggs is a dirty business - 3 today but all covered with mud. I pulled up a piece of turf from around the vegetable beds and threw it in to them earlier. It had disappeared by my next visit.
My plans for today had included making a batch of Banana Bread. Last week's online delivery had contained an excess of bananas which were looking, last night, at the right stage of ripeness for baking. Going to retrieve them today for my list of ingredients I found that all but 2 were missing. I was certain that there were 6 last night and I had intended to make 2 large loaves - 3 bananas each. A couple of phone calls later and the culprit emerged - had taken 2 to eat during the day but had made that decision twice and added 4 to the rucksack. No Banana bread baked today.
Safely wrapped up warm inside now with the curtains closed, fire blazing and supper in the oven. Knitting at my side and some easy entertainment on the TV. In less than 48 hours I will be on my way to Vegas!
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
Turning the heel
Disaster - not in global terms but in Jessica's socks terms. I have continued with the knitting - inbetween ironing a few shirts but I cannot call the heel a success. I believe that I was going along the right lines until it came to "see diagram 5". I think I got lost at about:
"Rep rows 3 and 4 until the last double sts ( bearing in mind that I had not figured out the double stitches) have been worked together with the outer sts of the centre third of the heel sts., see dia 5." I am still confused by this.
Then " Now k 2 rounds over all sts,. ( I think I did "all" sts and maybe it was meant to just be the heel stitiches?) and at ther same time, on 1st round pick up both parts of the doubles sts ( the ones I didn't do properly) together and k as for 1 st....."
I did have the correct number of stitches so whatever I did or didn't do didn't seme to matter but it got worse:
"After another 2 rounds work short rows with double sts., but in the opposite direction, thus from the inside out." At this point I decided that I must try to find another pattern
The wool is lovely, the colours are fun and I am sure that Jess will not mind the slight point in the heel - nor the holes.
"Rep rows 3 and 4 until the last double sts ( bearing in mind that I had not figured out the double stitches) have been worked together with the outer sts of the centre third of the heel sts., see dia 5." I am still confused by this.
Then " Now k 2 rounds over all sts,. ( I think I did "all" sts and maybe it was meant to just be the heel stitiches?) and at ther same time, on 1st round pick up both parts of the doubles sts ( the ones I didn't do properly) together and k as for 1 st....."
I did have the correct number of stitches so whatever I did or didn't do didn't seme to matter but it got worse:
"After another 2 rounds work short rows with double sts., but in the opposite direction, thus from the inside out." At this point I decided that I must try to find another pattern
The sock saga - day 3
How addictive can knitting socks be? This is my first pair of socks and I thought it would just be a different project to my usual, quite straightforward, baby items. I was quite wrong. I am supposed to be ironing but I am sitting here knitting this first sock. I have actually put the knitting down now with the intention of picking up the iron but have to get my thoughts down now before I can continue. I have been loving the knitting rounds on 4 needles although I do have the tell tale signs of small holes where each exchange of needle takes place that are the sign of inexperience. This morning I reached 12 cms which is going to be the length of Jessica's socks to the heel. I would have preferred exact details on the pattern for a length as a beginner sock knitter. Now comes the heel. I figured out that it would now be 3 needles and found 2 holders for the remaining stitches on needles 2 and 3 - using needles 1 and 4 for the heel. Then came the "double stitch". I read and re-read the instructions, looked at and looked at again, the diagram, attempted the stitch, tried again and again and finally made a stitch that is an estimation of what I think it is. How wonderful it would be to be able to call a Mother, Mother in law or Grandmother at this stage and ask for an explanation. On Youtube I can only find a crochet double stitch and a site where someone says that she vows to put on Youtube a demonstration of the kind of double stitch I am talking about - but she doesn't seem to have done so as yet. From her diagrams I am not doing it correctly and it is "allegedly" an example of German engineering. I have only done 4 rows in my version so I will try to make a better attempt on row 5 rather than "frog". I accept that this is my first attempt and I am learning more each day. Jess has already said that she would like the socks just to wear around the house but I shall still try to do the best I can.
Monday, 7 November 2011
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