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Not a Whole Day Off, But a Change

Thanksgiving

Thursday was wonderful and Brian made a wonderful roast duck with roast rutabaga (incredibly satisfying) and roast jicama (just fine but I like it better stir-fried or fresh in salad).

sunsetlansingnov06.jpgI didn’t have to cook. Well, I made a butternut squash late in the day which I ate on Friday… and I made some wild rice in the rice cooker but I did it wrong and it didn’t get finished until after dinner was over. We had wild rice for an evening snack, and it was a wonderful treat.

A Bit O’Work

Thursday night we spent some time trying to get my new shopping cart working. You know, “New.” The one I started working on last spring? That one.

It’s much closer to ready thanks to Brian, but I’m still bewildered at how it works with Paypal. Paypal is my credit card processing company, their service is how I take credit cards even from folks who do not have a Paypal account. They are really not clear about telling my customers that (I can see it’s not in their best interest), and I can not figure out how to code that in. I’m working on that and a few other details.

My patterns are all entered into the shopping cart already. Very good. I have categories set up for adding yarns and buttons and kits, and will add handpainted garments (this week that would be tiger-dyed socks) when I can.

Family Meal

Friday we went to Grand Rapids, an hour away. There were 25 people for a turkey dinner with every possible side dish imaginable. It was beautiful. Everyone gets along very well, and the children are old enough to not make much noise. There is room for them to play downstairs while the adults chat upstairs, and it is a good setup.

The day was so gorgeous that the birds were going on this morning as if it was spring! After dinner about eight of us went for a long walk in the very pleasant, park-like neighborhood where my sister- and brother-in-law now live. I enjoyed that walk very much. (The photo here is actually Wednesday’s sunset but we have had clear skies since then.)

A Bit O’Knit

I did not knit a stitch on Thursday but I knit a lot on my ribbed legwarmers and my Louisa Harding socks on Friday. I finished one sock and started the toe of a second one. With the legwarmers, Diana used part of a ball for a few swatches so I started a second one to make sure they are the same length. I’ll have leftovers in any case, the one I stopped early on reaches over my knee right now if I wear it skintight over leggings with no bagging. I’ll really like these, I’m sure of it.

A Quick Shrimp-Pasta Recipe

When we got home I made myself a second meal of the day, which was shrimp, green frozen peas, water chestnuts and rotini rice pasta. Very nice. It was easy, I boiled everything in one pot. Here’s how I did it:

1. Boil water, and while waiting for the boil start thawing fully-cooked frozen shrimp under cool running water, removing tails.

2. Add frozen peas and water chestnuts, bring to a boil again.

3. Add quick-cooking (5-7 minute) pasta.

4. Just as the pasta is ready, turn off stove and put thawed shrimp in the boiling water for just long enough to heat through, not a whole minute if it’s totally thawed.

5. Drain, place in nice wide soup/salad bowl, drizzle olive oil and herbs of your choice (dill is nice) over the mixture and dig in. One pot, and a happy tummy!

More Work

After dinner I went back to the shopping cart. I was able to buy something from myself, so things are progressing a bit. I’ll keep you posted.

Gratitude

I hope everyone found more than just one thing to be thankful for. Today I’m thankful for good food, nice weather, family/friends, wool to knit and Brian Brian Brian.

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