bits and bobs...

in the process of emptying the contents of my camera onto the computer, i came across a few noteworthy glimpses into my recent bouts of absurdity.

first, there were those kielbasas in the back of the freezer that somehow escaped the sarma pot.  a couple weeks ago, i steamed one up for lunch for 15 mins in about 1/2 an inch... pardonne moi... 1 cm (forget where i am sometimes)... of  water, and had it alongside a tasting sampler of mustards.  come on... i know i'm not the only one with (from right to left) whole grain, chardonnay dijon, and good-ole French's® "yellow" mustard in their fridge right now!

 i've been knitting again.  it's winter in Canada.  not much else to do if you don't hunt moose or play hockey (i will regret that if any Canadians ever see this).  someone super-special has a birthday approaching, so i've been working on this really cool curved shawl, Annis, as a secret gift.  okay... so it's for my mom.  here it is being wet-blocked.

 i can't take credit for the design, but i can semi-claim the yarn as my own hand-spun.  i have a cone of some cobweb-weight wool-silk blend i purchased from an outfit in Cali more than 2 years ago now.  i believe the yarn is originally from Italy, but i've lost part of the label inside the cone, so all i know at present is that it is a 90/10 wool/silk blend.  i luuuv this shade of blue, which is not done justice in these images, but the yarn was too thin to do anything with that would not result in my being hauled away in a straight jacket... so i pulled out ye-olde-wheel, and chain-plied (tripled) the thread, then chain-plied it again (3x3), resulting in something that knitted up pretty quickly.  i've barely made a dent on the cone, so i will be returning to this yarn in the future.  

and finally, what to do when you have 500ml of cheap wine hanging about?  mull it, baby!!!

nothing fancy here.  i poured the wine into a small saucepan, added some cinnamon, whole cloves, a few cardamon pods, and a couple tablespoons of brown sugar, brought it nearly to a boil, and tossed in a strip of orange peel and let it all get happy together for a few minutes.  many mulled wine recipes include additional alcohol, brandy being a favorite, but i was not aiming to end up flat on my face here, so i skipped that part.  naturally, it gets more flavorful the longer it... well... mulls, but that requires a level of patience that i could never be accused of approaching.  yes... i am drinking from a McDonald's® cup that was a promo for a Batman® movie more than a decade ago.  don't judge me!!!