Hi all,
Recovering at home is tougher than I’d expect it to be. I wake up, eat breakfast, sit on the couch to watch the morning tv. It was fun for a while but now it’s miserable. I’m not in as much pain as I was before but I still have pain when I lift something. So… I do go grocery shopping now. But I just have to split my hauling into smaller bags that are less painful to handle.
I have a few knitting pieces to show off. The first is Nicole (Click on the link to see the original). Here’s my version knit with Debbie Bliss Cathay.
I finished this baby last week. I seamed what I needed to last week and even wove in the ends. However, buttons still need to be sewn in which is why you don’t get a pic with me modeling it. Gosh… I’m not dreading seaming so much anymore. Buttons seam to be my nemesis. The buttons on my CPH are hanging on precariously and I sewed them in about 2 weeks ago. I’ve been getting tons of wear out of it btw. If anyone has any doubts about knitting the CPH, I say go for it! It’s highly wearable and the sweater gets recognized by other knitters. Who knew that a sweater could be so famous!
Here’s what I’m working on now.
This is the Short Sleeved Cardigan with Ribbing from Fitted Knits. Easy peasy pattern that is knit raglan style. Meaning top down. I’m anticipating very few seams to do with this project but again I have to find cute buttons and sew them on. Gosh… who knew fastenings could be so difficult. I’m knitting this out of the recommended yarn which is Cascade 128. I have 5 skeins and I am currently on the 3rd skein. I think I will have enough. I don’t know if I like knitting with yarn that feels as thick as rope. It’s going along quickly but I wonder if I’ll look like a linebacker in it.
Lastly, I’ve been doing a lot of reading. I’m reading a book called “Midwives”. It’s not what you think it is… If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a book that was on the Oprah reading list. There… it’s not as technical as you think. It’s about a midwife who gets tried for a birth that did not turn out well. I’m not done with so I can’t give you a through review. I’ve also been reading a lot about the vegan movement. I’ve never been much of a meat eater. I ate chicken mostly, beef begrudgingly for Matt, and pork… well never. I do love my dairy and eggs though. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian for about 5 years then started eating meat again last year. Give me a good piece of gruyere or blue cheese and I was in heaven. I also loved ice cream. Yum… so smooth and yummy.
But, I have a friend who was a die hard meat eater. She ate things like hot dogs, California burritos (for non-Californians, this is a gross concoction of carne asada beef, avocado, salsa, and french fries), and steak. She also loved chicken and pork. Funny, she isn’t as big a vegetable or fish eater. But I had dinner with her and a bunch of friends in January at a swanky restaurant in downtown San Diego and noticed that she ordered the mushroom risotto. Like I said, mushrooms aren’t a big hit with my friend. When I asked her, she said that she wasn’t going to eat meat, dairy, or eggs anymore. I was impressed. She simply said that it was gross.
I started surfing the web the week that I was bedridden from the accident and found that there are many reasons to go vegan which is avoiding dairy, meat, and eggs. Basically no animal products are consumed. I started eating vegetables and beans in salads that day and got a few vegan cookbooks and have been experimenting ever since then. I haven’t had a shred of meat since the accident and no dairy or eggs for about 2 weeks. What do you eat when you are vegan??? Here’s a couple of pictures.
This is the leek cassoult with biscuits from Veganomicon by Isa Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. It has potato, green peas, carrots, beans, onions, veggie broth, and of course leeks. This was my first time ever cooking with leeks and I have to say, leeks are quite tasty. They remind me of licorice. The biscuit was quite easy to prepare as well. It had some soymilk, vinegar, baking powder, flour, and some vegan shortening.
This next picture is a vegan chocolate chip. I used egg replacer in it. I’ve been reading some other books that say you should not use store bought egg replacer but use other ingredients like tofu and applesauce. Since I’m a beginning vegan cook, I’m going to use whatever shortcuts I can. These are also quite yummy and were gobbled up by Matt last night. These last few cookies were the burnt ones. Sorry if they don’t look so appetizing.
Well, I’m not quite sure how I feel about using wool yet. I have to do my research on it. But I think by not eating meat, dairy, or eggs, I’m doing my part to reduce my carbon imprint, help save 95 animals per year, and avoid the chronic diseases that plague people that follow the typical American diet. After I watched the news about the huge beef recall, I was glad that I stopped eating meat. In case you were wondering, I’ve lost 4 pounds since I started eating vegan style. And the food is yummy. 
I hope everyone is doing well. I’ll continue knitting and reading about my new lifestyle. All I have to do now is add some physical exercise and I’ll be on my way to healthiness.
