Happenings throughout the Day

Now, one would think that situations you see in in sitcoms only happens on sitcoms.  A few minutes ago, I received the strangest call.  It was from a wireless phone that I did not recognized.  I picked up the phone and the person asked for Jeri Harmon who I happened to know.  I thought what are the odds of receiving the wrong phone number and the person he or she is asking for you you know.  However, as it turns out, Jeri gave the person my telephone number because she does not own home phone number.  Of course, I take down his telephone number to give to Jeri so she can call him.  I have unwittingly become her answering service.

On another note, I stopped by one of my favorite health foods stores in New York City.  There are times when I drink soy milk and use it for smoothies.  There are times when I take a break from drinking milk. Bell Bates is the name of the store, and they have good prices on health food.  I buy a pound of rolled oats for $1.99 and it’s last me at least a month.  I also pick up raw nuts like brazil, pistachios, and walnuts. Flaxseed to put in hot cereals or smoothies, amaranth and quinoa as alternative to rice because I am allergic to rice (and means all rice).  I do not understand why I am allergic to rice, but I know it’s just weird.

I wanted to share a muffin recipe that make a great snack, and a great way to sneak veggies into the kids.  I made it a few years ago, and liked it.  It’s from Better Homes and Garden, do not worry I am not like Cindy McCain and pass off recipes as if there were mine, lol.  I know that the buckwheat might sound too earthy for some, but adding the cinnamon and orange juice will give it a nice balance and taste.  Well, it’s time to turn off the lights and call it a night.  Good night everyone!

Three B  (Buckwheat, Blueberry, and butternut squash)

Ingredients

•   Nonstick cooking spray
• 1-1/3  cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4  cup buckwheat flour
• 1/4  to 1/3 cup sugar
• 1-1/2  teaspoon baking powder
• 1  teaspioon ground cinnamon
• 1/2  teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon salt
• 2  eggs, slightly beaten
• 1  cup mashed cooked butternut squash
• 1/2  cup fat-free milk
• 2  tablespoons cooking oil
• 1/2  teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
• 1/4  cup orange juice
• 3/4  cup fresh or frozen blueberries
•   Rolled oats

Directions

1. Spray twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with nonstick spray or line with paper bake cups; set pan aside. Combine the all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.

2. Combine the eggs, squash, milk, oil, orange peel, and orange juice in a separate mixing bowl. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in blueberries.

3. Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each almost full. Sprinkle with oats. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the muffins are light brown. Cool in muffin cups on wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm. Makes 12 muffins.

The Importance of Voting

Today is super Tuesday with more than 20 states in the country participating in caucus or primaries to decide on candidate to nominate for President in November.  This is an historic election as we have two serious candidates on the democratic side in contention for the office.  I understand that there are some people who apathetic about voting and believe that her or his vote does not count, but the person could not be anymore mistaken.    I listen to BBC News in the mornings, and hear reports of people from other parts of the world struggle to get the opportunity to vote for their political choices.  Sometimes they are met with opposition, physical intimidation, and sometimes death for that previous moment to walk into that booth to vote. 

Yet some people living in the United States with the right and freedom to vote make excuses for not voting thus refusing to participate in the process.  There are times when we take things for granted, but there is a moment when one should understand the importance of voting.  It is the right of everyone who reaches the age of 18 to vote in this country, and we have the responsibility to comprehend and participate in the process.  Now, I certainly cannot tell you who to vote for, but asking you to consider that you are part of the process, and voice your opinion at the polls.  Also, do not forget to write letters to your Congresspersons and Senators, in addition to local politicians to voice your complaints.

Hope and Inspiration

This morning, I had the pleasure of listening to speech given by Barack Obama at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr. on Sunday. I heard sound bites of the speech on yesterday’s news, but needed to wait for the video to air on the website or You Tube. The speech is entitled The Great Need of the Hour and I find it hopeful and inspiring.  With this hope and inspiration should invoke a passion to change, and no question that with change uncertainty that may cause some people apprehension.  However, there are times in life when you should take a risk and not always stand on the sidelines.  I posted the speech below and with one note, I am hopeful to complete the baby sweater this week.

The Scripture tells us that when Joshua and the Israelites arrived at the gates of Jericho, they could not enter. The walls of the city were too steep for any one person to climb; too strong to be taken down with brute force. And so they sat for days, unable to pass on through.

But God had a plan for his people. He told them to stand together and march together around the city, and on the seventh day he told them that when they heard the sound of the ram’s horn, they should speak with one voice. And at the chosen hour, when the horn sounded and a chorus of voices cried out together, the mighty walls of Jericho came tumbling down.

There are many lessons to take from this passage, just as there are many lessons to take from this day, just as there are many memories that fill the space of this church. As I was thinking about which ones we need to remember at this hour, my mind went back to the very beginning of the modern Civil Rights Era.

Because before Memphis and the mountaintop; before the bridge in Selma and the march on Washington; before Birmingham and the beatings; the fire hoses and the loss of those four little girls; before there was King the icon and his magnificent dream, there was King the young preacher and a people who found themselves suffering under the yoke of oppression.

And on the eve of the bus boycotts in Montgomery, at a time when many were still doubtful about the possibilities of change, a time when those in the black community mistrusted themselves, and at times mistrusted each other, King inspired with words not of anger, but of an urgency that still speaks to us today:

“Unity is the great need of the hour” is what King said. Unity is how we shall overcome.

What Dr. King understood is that if just one person chose to walk instead of ride the bus, those walls of oppression would not be moved. But maybe if a few more walked, the foundation might start to shake. If a few more women were willing to do what Rosa Parks had done, maybe the cracks would start to show. If teenagers took freedom rides from North to South, maybe a few bricks would come loose. Maybe if white folks marched because they had come to understand that their freedom too was at stake in the impending battle, the wall would begin to sway. And if enough Americans were awakened to the injustice; if they joined together, North and South, rich and poor, Christian and Jew, then perhaps that wall would come tumbling down, and justice would flow like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Unity is the great need of the hour – the great need of this hour. Not because it sounds pleasant or because it makes us feel good, but because it’s the only way we can overcome the essential deficit that exists in this country.

I’m not talking about a budget deficit. I’m not talking about a trade deficit. I’m not talking about a deficit of good ideas or new plans.

I’m talking about a moral deficit. I’m talking about an empathy deficit. I’m taking about an inability to recognize ourselves in one another; to understand that we are our brother’s keeper; we are our sister’s keeper; that, in the words of Dr. King, we are all tied together in a single garment of destiny.

We have an empathy deficit when we’re still sending our children down corridors of shame – schools in the forgotten corners of America where the color of your skin still affects the content of your education.

We have a deficit when CEOs are making more in ten minutes than some workers make in ten months; when families lose their homes so that lenders make a profit; when mothers can’t afford a doctor when their children get sick.

We have a deficit in this country when there is Scooter Libby justice for some and Jena justice for others; when our children see nooses hanging from a schoolyard tree today, in the present, in the twenty-first century.

We have a deficit when homeless veterans sleep on the streets of our cities; when innocents are slaughtered in the deserts of Darfur; when young Americans serve tour after tour of duty in a war that should’ve never been authorized and never been waged.

And we have a deficit when it takes a breach in our levees to reveal a breach in our compassion; when it takes a terrible storm to reveal the hungry that God calls on us to feed; the sick He calls on us to care for; the least of these He commands that we treat as our own.

So we have a deficit to close. We have walls – barriers to justice and equality – that must come down. And to do this, we know that unity is the great need of this hour.

Unfortunately, all too often when we talk about unity in this country, we’ve come to believe that it can be purchased on the cheap. We’ve come to believe that racial reconciliation can come easily – that it’s just a matter of a few ignorant people trapped in the prejudices of the past, and that if the demagogues and those who exploit our racial divisions will simply go away, then all our problems would be solved.

All too often, we seek to ignore the profound institutional barriers that stand in the way of ensuring opportunity for all children, or decent jobs for all people, or health care for those who are sick. We long for unity, but are unwilling to pay the price.

But of course, true unity cannot be so easily won. It starts with a change in attitudes – a broadening of our minds, and a broadening of our hearts.

It’s not easy to stand in somebody else’s shoes. It’s not easy to see past our differences. We’ve all encountered this in our own lives. But what makes it even more difficult is that we have a politics in this country that seeks to drive us apart – that puts up walls between us.

We are told that those who differ from us on a few things are different from us on all things; that our problems are the fault of those who don’t think like us or look like us or come from where we do. The welfare queen is taking our tax money. The immigrant is taking our jobs. The believer condemns the non-believer as immoral, and the non-believer chides the believer as intolerant.

For most of this country’s history, we in the African-American community have been at the receiving end of man’s inhumanity to man. And all of us understand intimately the insidious role that race still sometimes plays – on the job, in the schools, in our health care system, and in our criminal justice system.

And yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that none of our hands are entirely clean. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’ll acknowledge that our own community has not always been true to King’s vision of a beloved community.

We have scorned our gay brothers and sisters instead of embracing them. The scourge of anti-Semitism has, at times, revealed itself in our community. For too long, some of us have seen immigrants as competitors for jobs instead of companions in the fight for opportunity.

Every day, our politics fuels and exploits this kind of division across all races and regions; across gender and party. It is played out on television. It is sensationalized by the media. And last week, it even crept into the campaign for President, with charges and counter-charges that served to obscure the issues instead of illuminating the critical choices we face as a nation.

So let us say that on this day of all days, each of us carries with us the task of changing our hearts and minds. The division, the stereotypes, the scape-goating, the ease with which we blame our plight on others – all of this distracts us from the common challenges we face – war and poverty; injustice and inequality. We can no longer afford to build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. We can no longer afford to traffic in lies or fear or hate. It is the poison that we must purge from our politics; the wall that we must tear down before the hour grows too late.

Because if Dr. King could love his jailor; if he could call on the faithful who once sat where you do to forgive those who set dogs and fire hoses upon them, then surely we can look past what divides us in our time, and bind up our wounds, and erase the empathy deficit that exists in our hearts.

But if changing our hearts and minds is the first critical step, we cannot stop there. It is not enough to bemoan the plight of poor children in this country and remain unwilling to push our elected officials to provide the resources to fix our schools. It is not enough to decry the disparities of health care and yet allow the insurance companies and the drug companies to block much-needed reforms. It is not enough for us to abhor the costs of a misguided war, and yet allow ourselves to be driven by a politics of fear that sees the threat of attack as way to scare up votes instead of a call to come together around a common effort.

The Scripture tells us that we are judged not just by word, but by deed. And if we are to truly bring about the unity that is so crucial in this time, we must find it within ourselves to act on what we know; to understand that living up to this country’s ideals and its possibilities will require great effort and resources; sacrifice and stamina.

And that is what is at stake in the great political debate we are having today. The changes that are needed are not just a matter of tinkering at the edges, and they will not come if politicians simply tell us what we want to hear. All of us will be called upon to make some sacrifice. None of us will be exempt from responsibility. We will have to fight to fix our schools, but we will also have to challenge ourselves to be better parents. We will have to confront the biases in our criminal justice system, but we will also have to acknowledge the deep-seated violence that still resides in our own communities and marshal the will to break its grip.

That is how we will bring about the change we seek. That is how Dr. King led this country through the wilderness. He did it with words – words that he spoke not just to the children of slaves, but the children of slave owners. Words that inspired not just black but also white; not just the Christian but the Jew; not just the Southerner but also the Northerner.

He led with words, but he also led with deeds. He also led by example. He led by marching and going to jail and suffering threats and being away from his family. He led by taking a stand against a war, knowing full well that it would diminish his popularity. He led by challenging our economic structures, understanding that it would cause discomfort. Dr. King understood that unity cannot be won on the cheap; that we would have to earn it through great effort and determination.

That is the unity – the hard-earned unity – that we need right now. It is that effort, and that determination, that can transform blind optimism into hope – the hope to imagine, and work for, and fight for what seemed impossible before.

The stories that give me such hope don’t happen in the spotlight. They don’t happen on the presidential stage. They happen in the quiet corners of our lives. They happen in the moments we least expect. Let me give you an example of one of those stories.

There is a young, twenty-three year old white woman named Ashley Baia who organizes for our campaign in Florence, South Carolina. She’s been working to organize a mostly African-American community since the beginning of this campaign, and the other day she was at a roundtable discussion where everyone went around telling their story and why they were there.

And Ashley said that when she was nine years old, her mother got cancer. And because she had to miss days of work, she was let go and lost her health care. They had to file for bankruptcy, and that’s when Ashley decided that she had to do something to help her mom.

She knew that food was one of their most expensive costs, and so Ashley convinced her mother that what she really liked and really wanted to eat more than anything else was mustard and relish sandwiches. Because that was the cheapest way to eat.

She did this for a year until her mom got better, and she told everyone at the roundtable that the reason she joined our campaign was so that she could help the millions of other children in the country who want and need to help their parents too.

So Ashley finishes her story and then goes around the room and asks everyone else why they’re supporting the campaign. They all have different stories and reasons. Many bring up a specific issue. And finally they come to this elderly black man who’s been sitting there quietly the entire time. And Ashley asks him why he’s there. And he does not bring up a specific issue. He does not say health care or the economy. He does not say education or the war. He does not say that he was there because of Barack Obama. He simply says to everyone in the room, “I am here because of Ashley.”

By itself, that single moment of recognition between that young white girl and that old black man is not enough. It is not enough to give health care to the sick, or jobs to the jobless, or education to our children.

But it is where we begin. It is why the walls in that room began to crack and shake.

And if they can shake in that room, they can shake in Atlanta.

And if they can shake in Atlanta, they can shake in Georgia.

And if they can shake in Georgia, they can shake all across America. And if enough of our voices join together; we can bring those walls tumbling down. The walls of Jericho can finally come tumbling down. That is our hope – but only if we pray together, and work together, and march together.

Brothers and sisters, we cannot walk alone.

In the struggle for peace and justice, we cannot walk alone.

In the struggle for opportunity and equality, we cannot walk alone

In the struggle to heal this nation and repair this world, we cannot walk alone.

So I ask you to walk with me, and march with me, and join your voice with mine, and together we will sing the song that tears down the walls that divide us, and lift up an America that is truly indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all. May God bless the memory of the great pastor of this church, and may God bless the United States of America.

Only Tuesday

Yesterday, I returned to work after being on vacation for a week and discovered over 60 emails in my box with only a few of them really important such program changes due to covering the Iowa Caucus last Thursday.  Of course that particularly email was no longer a priority since the time has come and gone.  However, one email stood out from all the others.  The radio station is moving to a new location in Soho New York City and dealing with moving more than 250 employees and engineering and studio equipment.  I was designated as the move coordinator for my department and serve as the “conduit of information” between the department and facilities director.  Much to my surprise and chagrin the email stated that was a meeting for Tuesday located at the new space.  I asked myself, why do we need to meet at the new space to discuss the move when it came be done at the current one.  It is a 20 minute commute via subway and sit for a little over an hour discussing the logistics of the move.  That took a two hours of my work day particularly when you have other things on your plate at work.

 

 

Then I came home and find an email from Hot Patterns for the latest patterns to its catalog.  Hot Patterns as two new patterns, a blouse and the Wong-Singh-Jones Kimono dress.  I love the dress pattern for its contrasting fabric in the front and slash.  I so am going to purchase the pattern and find some cotton or silk jersey with a print for the contrasting fabric.  Then again, there is always a black and white print shape-like thin branches with a black solid fabric for the contrast.  There are plenty of ideas, but it is only Tuesday.

 

A New Year on the Horizon

Before writing my thoughts today, I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday and that you did not eat too much as I think we may ourselves taking our measurements finding that we may be inch wider than a few weeks ago.  My holiday was a good one with seeing my family and for the most part a quiet Christmas.  After everyone left, I had an opportunity to think about what the New Year may bring and will I be ready for what possibly may come.  While, thinking about this thought, I was in the process of discerning my resolution for 2008.  Some of us typically have some lofty resolutions of what they would like to change about themselves, and sometimes it is usually some physical change such as losing weight.

Now I do have losing weight on my resolution list along with being more organized.  There is learning a new skill such as learning to speak Spanish, becoming a good sewer, knit that sweater, and watching my spending as I would like to retire with financial security.  I have to say this that marriage does not cross my mind as I had not met that guy that made me say to myself that I want to live with this person for the rest of my life (this I had resolved some years ago). 

With creating resolution, I learned that I should see things how they really are and not what I think how things should be.  It is this idea that I think I can resolve things with more realistic look.  I know that this seems very pragmatic, but it is about taking a more profound look of who I am really am as a person.  The first thing to learn is that I am not a perfect person, and admit that I do have weaknesses and recognize my strengths.  I also have to think about what small changes I make that will have a positive impact.  It comes to accepting and becoming less judging of yourself and others.  So my new year’s resolution for 2008 is to take it easy, become more aware and thoughtful, become a little less of a perfection and being more human.  I believe I will have greater success.

It’s Monday

Yes, another Monday has come once again and can not help but wonder what is in store.  First, I woke up this morning not in a bad mood, but pondered how it would be not to work again in life because I would be wealthy and wherewithal to pay all of bills and travel.  However, reality does set in and I need to get out of bed for work.  Actually, it helps when you have your grandmother’s voice in your head saying to you that you should be lucky that you have a job.  Two things with this thought, one, it is amazing how your parents or grandparents words remain with you long after they are no longer living, and two, although, the statement maybe true, it does not stop a person for feeling differently.  Today is one of those days that I feel differently, so I look forward of what the day as in store for me.

While getting dressed for work, I heard a story on NPR about a man who had an idea to help his son improve his vocabulary for the SATs.  He is a computer programmer who was working on a website about learning about hunger called www.poverty.com, and thought about juxtaposing the two ideas together and created www.freerice.com.  Free rice is a vocabulary game where ontestants are offered four definitions for a word; by clicking on the right definition, a donation of 20 grains of rice is made to the U.N. World Food Programme. The U.N. distributes the rice worldwide.  So you can learn new words and help send food to countries in need.  See you never know what the day may bring. 

Friday and other Happenings

I must admit that I have not done any knitting or sewing this week, but it continues to stay on my mind the list of projects that need to be completed. I have been catching up some reading particular magazine articles from the New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine for have I a need to know what is going on in the country and around the world. I watched a heart-wrenching documentary on HBO about the situation in Darfur entitled “Sand and Sorrow” narrated by George Clooney. What I find so amazing how people can get so involved in politics and concerned who is going to control the land that we lose our sense of humanity in the process. I remember first hearing about Darfur in 2003 on BBC as the United States did not cover the story until some months later. Darfur is a very complex story with many rebel factions and the Sudanese government’s involvement of displacing and killing its own citizens making a distinction from Arabs and non Arabs persons (although both groups practice Islam). It is very unfortunate that we have yet learned from past mistakes and continue the perpetuation of violence of the poorest citizens of the world. It is with great sadness that the powers that be find these citizens dispensable and it is an fortunate truth that I wish one day no longer exist. This really makes the scandal of the use of steroids among baseball players seem trifling in the grander scheme. If anyone is interested in learning more about Darfur Don Cheadle (Actor) and John Prendergest has a written a book entitled Not on Our Watch: The Mission to end Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, you can visit www.enoughproject.org.

Well enough of my preaching, I have no plans of doing anything this weekend which means catching up some cleaning for the holidays. I purchased a magazine yesterday that I have seen many times, but have not brought. The publisher is Somerset Studio which publishes a variety of magazines that include mix media, scrapbooking, and blogging. I brought the paper and mixed media edition which has some very inspirational ideas of holiday cards and ornaments. I think am going to subscribe to Belle Amoire and possibly Artful Blogging magazines (I need to have a more artful look to my blog). Belle Amoire focuses on handmade garments, jewelry, and accessories and I want to learn more about felting fabric. Well that is it for my ramblings today. Happy Friday Everybody!

Holiday Cooking and other things

Can you believe that Christmas is less than twenty days away?  We will be celebrating the holidays this month including attending all those office and private parties, and before it’s all over you weigh ten pounds before the hand strikes welcoming the New Year.  However, it seems worth at the time because you are enjoying the holidays with family and friends and it only once a year.  I will be no different than anyone else.  Tomorrow night, my department will be off to a hotel resort for our annual sales retreat with a cocktail hour and dinner.  The next morning is having breakfast, our meeting (need plenty of coffee for that), and ending the retreat with lunch.

Of course, I am thinking about my menu for Christmas dinner.  When growing up, my grandmother made the same dinner for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  However, I have change that tradition by doing a different dinner for Christmas each year.  I made a goose last year, but want to make a prime rib because it is easy to roast it.  I am thinking about butternut squash and collard greens with onions, but I may change the side dishes.  I need to make something because I have to return to work the next day, so I am thinking about herb popovers, and haven’t decided what dessert to prepare, but may an after dinner drink like chocolate/mint martini.  Let me know what you think.

The Compliment

While leaving for the weekend from my office, I ran into to a guy at work at the elevator. He paid me a compliment on my scarf. He told me it was a nice scarf and asked where I got it. I told him that I made it myself, and he replied yes I figure that you did because it doesn’t look at anything you would buy from the store. He started to ask me what made me get into knitting, and I said I want to learn how to knit from a child so finally learned how a few years ago. He said I bet you knit on the train, and I responded by saying whenever I have elbow room. He mentioned something about knitting and how it seemed a little exhibitionist by saying to the world that you can make your own clothes. And I told it is probably no different than reading on train, and he responded by saying yes telling the world you are reading War and Peace.

That conversation lead me to think about a lot of knitters like to knit on the go, and is there a little truth about what the guy said about being an exhibitionist knitter. I certainly can’t speak for the knitting population, but the reason why I knit on the train is simply to finish my project as quickly as possible. Of course, there is some truth about showing the world that I know how to knit. That sense of independence in saying to the world that I have possess a skill and it gives me power in a sense. There is a certain sense of pride in showing your work. When I am out in public and if I am carrying my knitting, I am going to knit to pass some time, but I do the same time with reading. Reading is a solitary activity because it means that you really do not want to speak to anyone, and want to become involved in the story you are reading at the time. Knitting does not necessarily mean I want to be alone, but want something to do while commuting to and from work.How do you show the world what you can do?

What’s Happening Friday

Friday has finally arrived and the a little cold weather in New Jersey.  We are expecting some rain/sleet/rain on Sunday which means going out on Saturday to run errands and perhaps getting in a movie.  This Christmas is playing in theaters and it’s nice to see one new Christmas movie, although I have to say one of my favorite movies about the holiday is “A Christmas Story with Darren McGavin and Peter Billingsley.  It is one of the funniest stories about a little boy’s repeated requests for a Red Ryder B-B gun, and it’s a story that does not have a perfect Christmas which makes really human.  If you have never seen it, TBS will air the movie all the month of December or just rent it.  I am going to attempt to get some sewing done this weekend and finish up a project, and get some reading in as well. I am currently reading the book Exposed in which 

I mentioned in my blog earlier this week, and probably will finish it as it is not a long book, however, the book is eye-opening.  Of course, I tend to get in some fiction by finishing The Jane Austen Book Club that started over a month ago and haven’t completed it yet.  I haven’t started any knitting projects, but have yarn where I could make a few more scarves.I went the theater last night at Lincoln Theater which is an amazing performance venue to see Phylicia Rashad in Cymbeline.  I though the play was good, but better in the second act whcih happened to be longer than first which is unusual for a play.  However, I am talking about Shakespeare and his plays are generally long. 

Some of you my know, that I am beginner sewer and admit that I do not have a serger just yet.  Hopefully I will able to purchase one in the near future as I want to sew up some knit dresses and pieces to give it a more finished look to the garment.  There are times when I ask myself to serge or not to serge.  Some sewers say you do not need a serger, but others believe it is a necessity and I am still on the fence.  I was thinking about purchasing a used serger, but it is just a mere thought and will make a decision in the next couple of months.  Well Ithink that is what on my mind at the moment.  Have a good weekend everyone!

Out of Thanksgiving Coma

Hello everyone!  I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving was great and that you didn’t eat yourself into coma.  Cooking for Thanksgiving can be ebullient and tiring at the same time.  You do no notice that you are tire while spending a good part of that day cooking and putting finishing touches on your fabulous meal, but it hits you later after washing and putting away that last dish, you sit down and realize how tired you were when it’s all over.  However, you look forward to the next holiday.

This time of year comes with holiday parties and celebrating four holidays with Thanksigving kicking off.  Everyone will be in holiday mode.  In fact, Christmas decorations were on display in several towns before Thanksgiving and some radio station began playing holiday music two weeks before Thanksgiving.  Personally, I can wait to play my Charlie Brown’s Christmas soundtrack next week because I needed to get through Thanksgiving first.  I do not decorate my house for the holidays because I live alone, but I will make the trip to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree and walk down Fifth Avenue as New York City is beautiful this time of year.  I also have this wish that it snows around the holidays because I really have seen snow in a couple of years and it would nice.

Now on the creative front, I have a some projects in the works and need to organize my time to get them done.  I have scarf that is almost completed and need to start another one.  The muslins I created can now become the real project to sew.  Getting things done will be a slow process due to the holidays and preparing meals in between that time.  I may have to edit myself and be realistic about what I do get done in a certain amount of time.  I am still looking for fabric for my dress which I still haven’t seen anything that catches my eye, and reverting to black is not what I want to do.  I want to find a fabric with an expansive array of color, now I probably will end up with making three or four dress that are black, lol.

Gobble, Gobble Everybody!

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and I know that some of you are preparing tomorrow’s feast.  I thought I would never get out of work on time today because I too have a date with Tom the Turkey.  Last night, I put my bird in a brine solution to soak, today I am making some desserts and candied yams.  What I can prepare today means doing less tomorrow.  Of course in between the cooking and washing dishes, I am going to get some knitting before bed, then it’s getting up around six in the morning to wash the bird, season, and place into the oven by 8:00 am.  I am debating on to stuff or not stuff the turkey because my father wanted to get a 17 lb bird for four people (which means turkey pot pie next week).

I do everything possible to make the easiest recipes that taste wonderful and not out of a can.  Can someone explain green bean casserole to me because from what I’ve seen it doesn’t look very tasty, however, I digress.  At any rate, I hope everyone enjoy the day tomorrow even if means putting up with one relative you cannot stand.  Just look at from this perspective, you will only have to see him or her tomorrow and probably will not see the person until next year.  I’m kidding, lol.  Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

It’s Monday

I finally made the trip to the fabric store after work today to exchange the knitting needles and purchase sewing machine needles to finish my skirt, although when finally getting home, I did not feel like doing it.  It’s difficult coming home from work with the desire to work on my knitting and sewing.  In fact, it’s usually the reason why I do my sewing projects on the weekends, and knitting I do just about anywhere such commuting to and from work (whenever I have some elbow room).  What I that said, while walking to the train to come home, I forgot to get some bobbins for the sewing machine (can never enough bobbins) and just couldn’t go back.

I am going to admit to purchasing two more patterns from Simplicity this past weekend.  One is a wardrobe coordinates patterns that I could make a pants, skirt, and t-shirt from knit fabric.  I need knits in my wardrobe for after work and weekend wear.  In fact, I can considered the pattern (New Look 6762) the alternative sweat suit. This reminds me while writing the previous sentence that I am going to need needles for knits.  I haven’t worked with knits yet, but the pattern seems like a good introduction to work with the fabric.  The other pattern (Simplicity 3566) which I think is a great wardrobe because it has a dress, jacket, skirt, pants, and top to coordinate with other pieces in the wardrobe.  I want to sew all of the pieces to this pattern and I want to do the pants in a light weight tweed (I like tweed).  I also get excited about color like finding purple fabric to make the dress or skirt, or a brown tweed for the pants and skirts (brown and purple goes together).  The patterns just gives me so many ideas and interruptions.  Perhaps it was a good idea to write a blog entry tonight to get me inspired and invigorated for the rest of the week. What gets you inspired?

Catching Up to Time and Other Moments

Upon waking up this morning, something feel a little off to me.  Although I woke up during daylight, it still felt very early to me and the realization hit that I forgot to turn back the clocks prior to going to bed (not use to standard time occurring in November).  It was only 6:25 am with one clock reflecting the correct time (my cable box), so simply got out of bed and turned all of my clocks back (went back to bed as well).  A typical Sunday for me is really staying around the house, cooking, and just relaxing.  However, I did manage to pinned another muslin project for a pair of pants.  I think pinning and cutting pants patterns are probably one of the easiest thing for me to do.  Actually I am using a Simplicity pattern and find using those patterns are easiest for me considering I am neophyte to the sewing world.  This is the first pattern that I am putting in darts and a zipper.  All I really need to do is just take my time and everything should fine.  However, I am going to need to put a lining for the fabric I am using to make the pants (wool flannel).

Now I may be creating more work for myself, but it’s important to me have my fall/winter apparel lined.  I do not know if anyone has noticed, but clothes in the department stores are not lined.  I brought a pair of Ellen Tracy wool gabardine without a lining.  Now a person would think that a pair of pants with a $250.00 price tag should have a lining (I only paid $50.00), but no because it’s a way for designers to find shortcut in order to save money for the company.  I think quality suffers in the process, but what do I know for I am just a mere consumer who’s spending her money.  That’s enough of venting for the day.

I haven’t really knitted anything this weekend and still trying to figure out what knit stitches to use for my new scarf.  I am differently knitting another long scarf. but want to do an interesting knitting pattern that will look nice with the yarn.  Maybe a simple lace pattern, I can search on knitting pattern central to find a pattern that is simple and quick to knit.  I still  haven’t purchased any yarn for my knitted skirt project, but promised myself that I am going to knit a skirt.  I hope I am not suffering from knitting and sewing overload, but there could other things that are worst.

Oh Mine!

After two weeks of waiting patiently of receiving some books I ordered, it finally came this afternoon except the books I order did not arrive.  Instead, I received the wrong books.  Although, I am all for learning new things, canning and preserving is not one of them.  I do not understand how I received a book about canning when I ordered Essential Baby Knits and Vogue Sewing.  I am also dismay by the fact that I have failed to receive the two Butterick patterns after ordering them over two weeks ago.  My patience must prevail through all the little mishaps, and the realization that is not the end of the world as things can be corrected.  I will simply returned the wrong books, and will contact Butterick by phone to see what happened to my order.

It is raining today in New Jersey as result of the residual from tropical storm Noel, and now there’s rain and wind (mostly windy).  This is a good day to stay inside and do some knitting and sewing, or perhaps see a movie.  Yet, there is no reason why one should not do them all as it is the weekend.  After, I have yet to see Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married,” as it is still doing well at the box office.

Friday night, I went to see American Gangster with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe and thought it was a good and well-acted movie to watch.  Washington portrays Frank Lucas, a real life person who was a big-time heroin dealer in Harlem from the late 60s to mid 70s before getting arrested for conspiracy to distribute illegal drugs.  Lucas brought his drugs directly from the wholesaler in Bangkok with the help of a cousin station there during the Vietnam War, and transported the drugs in the coffins of dead servicemen coming home in military planes.  Lucas eliminated the middleman which enabled him to sell his drugs at a cheaper price and of better quality than his competitors.  Crows plays the detective who works to bring Lucas down, Lucas later becomes an informant to bring down corruption in the police department in New York City.  It was a good movie, yet disturbing film for those Washington fans who do not like seeing him play the bad guy.

Well I think that’s all have to write today as I should get some other work done today.  Have a good day everyone!

My Weekend

Actually this entry would have more suitable to write yesterday, but became so enthralled with doing muslin(s) that writing my weekend became secondary.  Anyway, I went to see Dionne Warick in concert Friday and it was a good concert.  Of course, she sang all of her hits and talked about her life.  There was one story she told about Marlene Dietrich meeting her at airport in Paris for a concert, and got her first lesson in couture.

Saturday was a bigger night than Friday.  I went to a welcome home dinner party for a couple who sent to Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) for ten days.  They spent three days volunteering at a school for orphans.  They took a lot of photographs and had videos of their trip and it seem like such an experience.  Many of the children didn’t have shoes and walk for miles to attend school.  They are for the most part destitute with limited resources of water, and have one meal per day.  The children carry containers for their food and need to keep up with them because they have nothing to put in their food.  The couple said it was really an emotional experience and probably one they will not forget.

After being out for two straight evenings, I decided to stay on Sunday and finally get started on some sewing projects.  Which are the muslins I talked about yesterday with some good results.  My jacket should come out well and probably pratice on putting on the collar tonight since it will be my first collar.  I thought about doing the jacket in wool for the fall/winter, and a cotton twill for the spring/summer.  I am thinking about doing a muslin for a pair of trousers to make into demin once I see if there are any adjustments to make in the hip/thigh and crotch area.  I think pants are tricky particular when you are 5′4″ like me and need to make adjustments in the length, but the crotch isn’t right.  I probably do some reading tonight as well for putting on a collar, and a zipper.  I think the best instructions I read thus for installing a zipper is in So What Skirts, the instruction seem clear to me and have another option of taping the zipper in the place.  I don’t know, I just read those instructions and the light bulb turned on in my head.  Another book that gave me in clear instructions on a french seam was in Simple Sewing with a French Twist.  I didn’t purchase the book, but read the instruction for french seams and again a light came on in my head.

Well, I am on my way off to the book store for my lunch hour at work.  I actually am very brazen to write my blog during work hours, but I have some down time.  Hope to write soon and have a good day.

MIDWEEK - THANK GOODNESS

I decided to change the format of my blog after noticing that it seem crowded.  I think this format looks better and much easier to view and read.  Anyway, it’s Wednesday or hump day as some people may call it and it’s been a cloudy and rainy day.  I decided to listen to my iPod during my commute to and from work.  I have artists such as India Arie, Cornine Rae Bailey, Lizz Wright, and Paul Simon’s Graceland.  There is a song on the Graceland Album I consider my favorite and needed to here today.  The name of the tune is “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” which Paul Simon singing and featuring the group from South Africa Ladysmith Black Mambazo.  I happened to find a video of a concert they did in South Africa maybe 20 years ago, and just as great live.  I do have an affinity for world music because the language is universal and it doesn’t matter if the artist is singing in a different language.  I did have an opportunity to see Ladysmith Black Mambazo in concert a couple of years when they tour in the US, and what a treat.  One of the peaks of working at a radio station is getting an opportunity of being offered tickets to concerts and shows (and it’s FREE).  However, I thought would share this video to give folks the energy to make it through the rest of the week.  Enjoy!

My Weekend

I am writing during the early part of the day for me. I typically don’t blog any entries until later in the afternoon or while into the night, but I am going to see Three Mo’ Tenors tonight in New York City at the Little Shubert Theatre. I saw them perform a couple of years ago at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC for the New Jerseyans), and thought they were great singing a range of musical genres from opera to rhythm and blues.

Now going to the concert means that not doing very much on the knitting and sewing front. However, I did pick up a new knitting book a couple days ago titled Knitting Patterns for Dummies by Kristi Porter, knitwear designer and frequent contributor of Knitty.com. Her work has been featured in the Knitgrrl series, The Big Girls Knits series, No Sheep For You, and Knit Wit. Kristi describes her book as not a learn how to knit, but “learn how to knit better” book. The reason for me purchasing the book is to get a better idea of not just knitting the basic scarf and hat, but improve on my decreasing and increasing, and for once for all how to knit armholes so that I can my darn sweater or knit t-shirt. It’s a great guide for learning how to read a pattern and follow a grid (which I have not done yet). My goal is to learn and master the basic stitches and knitting techniques to create my own designs. For you all you knitters out there, Lion Brand has posted its first pod-cast, http://yarncraft.lionbrand.com. I listened to the pod-cast yesterday and thought it was great and intend to write Lion Brand to let them know what I thought about it. I hope they will do a pod-cast on how to knit a sweater (obsessing).

I guess that it’s for today and hey I love to hear from people who read my blog, so write a comment and let me know what’s going on with you or if you have a blog yourself for me to read as well. Do not be shy, it’s only a blog and you are more than welcome to your thoughts. Have a good weekend everyone!

Little Ramblings of the Day

Today on my way home from work, I made the usually track to the Path train station to get back to New Jersey when I heard news of a possible bomb threat. Of course, there are two things that are going through my mind, one I hope it isn’t too serious, and two, it’s time to take an alternate route home. I was there September 11, and know that one should take things calmly in order to think rationally. While, I am there at the path station, people are thinking about how are they going to get home. I on the other hand, just walked in up north to next subway station and caught the A train to Penn Station to take the New Jersey Transit train home. It is a little annoying, yes but what is a person going to do. Well for me get on the train and knit.

I think that’s what got into the knitting as a way to quiet my mind, and just calm down for we don’t have control over everything. Someone once said that you create your own day, but I think it’s only partly true. We can only react to what the day brings us and knitting gives me a sense of balance of my life. I could have been angry today, I stood outside for an half-hour waiting for the bus to work and a bomb scare occurs on my way back home. But getting angry gives me a tension headache and isn’t very productive. Knitting on the hand puts me into a better moods giving me a different perspective about the day. Sure there were little annoyances happened during the course of the day, but at the end of the day I got a little closer in finishing my turtleneck poncho.

I think the poncho is coming along well. I did add a couple of inches to the poncho to make it a longer giving its total length 19 1/2″ excluding the turtleneck. This is my first knitting project that was not a scarf or hat. Slowly but surely, I am making my way to that sweater, lol.

Birthday Thoughts

Today is my birthday.  That’s right, I am another year older and hopefully wiser (at least I like to think).  Of course one thinks about the things he or she has not or has yet to do.  At 42, I decided to start some new interests like sewing which only seemed natural after learning how to knit a couple of years ago.  Yes, after many years, the creative side has finally decided to shine through and it’s a great feeling.

So keeping active both body, mind, and soul will what I have hope give me happiness and peace.  It is my wish to continue living the best life possible no matter how long that might be as tomorrow isn’t promised to anyway, but it is how we live is important.  I must try to new things and challenge myself further before, and not live in a state of regret as that will not make me go forward in life.  Keep in mind that I should be kind to myself and others, and yes smile.