Kids, little lacey things, and orgasmic oatmeal raisins

So, I've sort of taken on another kid part-time. I'm all for it, but I guess I forgot two things: 1. What having an 18-month-old is like. and 2. That not only do I have an 18-month-old, but also an almost 3-year-old. Wow!

I've only had her one day so far, and honestly, they play together well. They're both really good kids, etc. so I don't think it'll be all that difficult once we all are on the same schedule and are more familiar with each other. Every baby has their own baby language and personality and I'm still learning hers, which means that I'm not always spot on with meeting her needs/demands. Fortunately, she's much more patient than J ever was at that age.




After making a decision to go with the smaller size beads on my mystery stole, I was all set to go when the first clue came out on Friday. Of course, I have to work on Fridays, but told myself that I'd cast on just as soon as I got home. That turned into just as soon as J goes to bed, which then turned into "I'll wake up an hour or so early in the morning to get started." Well, I did manage to wake up early, but no sooner had I cast on and done the first three rows (which is nothing, considering you start by casting on 2 stitches!) than J woke up, too. I simply can't focus on lace with J clamoring for my attention. It's not fair to either of us. And so, I put it away.

Since I couldn't knit I figured that the next best thing to do would be to prepare myself for absolute success once I did get started. So J and I hit the kitchen to whip up food to munch on for the next couple of days. If I take cooking out of the equation for the next several days I'll have all that extra time to sneak in a row or two here and there.

So we made a huge pot of leftover soup. I have fond memories of my grandmother's "Magic Soup", which she swore had magical powers. My brother and I would eat it up, fully believing that it was magical. It's a tradition which is lost on Jonas so far. He has no interest in it, magical or not. He loves soup, but it has to be the creamy kind. Hubby doesn't eat soup either, so I've got this ginormous pot all to myself.

I'll eat it for a few more days, then freeze the rest, I suppose.

Soup made, I decided that hours of sitting on my butt knitting deserved a sweet treat to go along with it. Now, I've always had a weakness for a nice soft, warm, oatmeal raisin cookie. My problem is this: I've never made a recipe that stands up to the demands of my picky palate. Sure, they're just cookies, kind of the red-headed stepchild of the baking world, but I'm quite picky about them. They can't be too soft, or too crispy, or too sweet. You get the idea. I decided I might as well give it another try with a new recipe that seemed to have good reviews. You can find it here, if you wish to give them a try yourself. They really are simple, and they turned out perfect.

The recipe says that it'll yield 36 cookies, but I only got 28. Of course, I didn't measure mine out, so some were bigger than others. If you took the time to measure out each cookie, you probably could get the full 36. Man! What do you do with 3 dozen cookies, anyway?

The verdict?

Oh my freaking god!!! These are absolutely the best cookies to ever come out of my oven! There's nothing pretentious about them... just humble little oatmeal raisin cookies, but they are so absolutely perfect in every way. I wanted to crumble them up and mix them into some ice cream. Or maybe just snarf a plate full along with a tall glass of milk. Oh! The control it took to keep from devouring them all!

I did add a bit of cinnamon to the mix, which improved the recipe, I think. If they have any fault at all, it's that they're maybe a bit too sweet... as in, make your teeth hurt sweet, but I can live with that, I think. :)

In order to maintain some sort of control, I went ahead and boxed up a dozen of them to take to work next week. That means I only have 16 left to worry about. Doesn't sound nearly as dangerous, does it?




This morning I was able to get about an hour in on the mystery stole, along with an oh so healthy breakfast of a cookie and a cup of coffee. Here's the progress so far. Yes, I realize it's not big enough to really see any sort of design at all, but I'm loving it so far. Do you see the beads along the edge? I'm so glad that I went with the smaller ones! They might be a little lost in the pattern, but the bigger ones would surely have overpowered the design.




Later I'll share a few little tips that I've already come up with while working these 30 rows.