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Mary Batts's invitation is awaiting your response

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Invitation to connect on LinkedIn

From Mary Batts sales associate at Sur La Table Austin, Texas Area I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. - Mary Confirm that you know Mary You are receiving Invitation to Connect emails. Unsubscribe © 2012, LinkedIn Corporation. 2029 Stierlin Ct. Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

Happy Valentine's Day, Y'all!

     Grapefruit and Key Lime Pie with Guava Glaze and Meringue Buttons (pie adapted from Steve Raichlen) I added the extras.

 Full Menu: Iceberg wedge with Blue Cheese dressing and bacon crumbles
                   Filet Mignon marinated in balsamic vinaigrette and crushed peppercorns, steamed broccoli with lemon butter, super gooey mac&cheese with panko crust (adapted from Pioneer Woman Cookbook)

He's in charge of wine...maybe a Williams Selyem Pinot Noir. I do have a 2009 Chateau Guiraud Sauternes for later....!

Super Bowl Blackout Baby Boom?

I'm just sayin'....

Orange and Blue

Last year I broke into a flurry of activity for the holidays, as in 12 days and counting. Was I shopping? Nope. I was canning and knitting, knitting and canning.

Jiro persimmons from a neighbor's tree. Nothing says "Howdy, neighbor!" like strolling over and asking "Are you going to eat those or what?"

Persimmon jam waiting for cheery holiday labels. I put up at least a dozen jars of the stuff plus some chutney. A few were set aside for the aforementioned neighbor. I also scored some green tomatoes from another neighbor and made some zesty relish. It was at this point that my sons started looking in the fridge and asking about the origins of various foodstuffs. "Gee, mom, is this mango from next door? What about the broccoli?" I think I heard something about shameless scavenging...

Half Granny Square Shawl, 42"x20", Freia fine handpaints Fingering Ombre, color Moab.

 It was for a golf buddy who likes to hang out in Taos.

 Painted Forest Ribbed Hat, mystery burnt orange yarn in stash. This was for a friend's husband who helps me save money and is a UT Longhorn fan.

 Robin's Egg Blue Hat, Madeline Tosh Chunky, color: Well Water. And this was for that friend. She likes the Longhorns but this color was perfect for her blue eyes. I have enough leftover to make one for myself and got a big pearly button for it.

The Corn Dog Casserole is from a new favorite, The Casserole Queens Cookbook, by Crystal Cook and Sandy Pollock. This goes in the 'Teenaged Boy Food File' along with Tamale Pie and the Gooey Apple Butter Cake (Granny Smith apples+cream cheese+yellow cake mix=Oh. My.)There's a recipe for Bread and Breakfast Casserole that was a huge hit at my knitting group's Annual Thievin' Santa holiday party. It's our version of a white elephant swap, except we all bring nice yarn. That's where I got that pretty skein of Freia Handpaints from.

Monte Cristo from Gourdough's Public House. This is what happens when a classic sandwich meets a freshly fried doughnut. And this is breakfast. And now I need to take a nap.

Christmas and New Year's are long behind us which means Valentine's Day must be coming up. I have an uncle who decided that it was high time he get hitched for the first time just a few months before he turned 70. Talk about hope springs eternal. Some of us in the family have been married and divorced multiple times and we're all younger! This is a picture from the reception which was held at a finca outside of Merida, Mexico. The tuberoses smelled heavenly and were surrounded by orange and blue candles. Really, they should have provided bath tubs for the guests. See? More orange and blue. And speaking of romance, if cupid and roses aren't exactly your style then read this little gem from Smart Bitches Trashy Books. I dare you not to laugh. Double dog dare you. Triple dog....

365 days later.....

11/3/12, Formula Run, Austin TX


It's been a very busy, crazy and stressful year....
I refinanced my mortgage. (the road to thrift is not always painless)
I ran the Capitol 10k. (neither is the road to 6 miles)
I sold my old house. (3500 sf in boxes, plus yarn)
I bought a new house. (2000 sf and a lot of trips to Goodwill)
I hired a contractor to remodel the new house. (ah, the promise of fresh paint...)
I got a job as a sales associate at Sur La Table. (crazy schedule, but 40% employee discount)
I fired the contractor. (I unpacked my Big Girl panties)
I hired a new contractor who finished the remodel. (you should see my LED track lights)
I quit my job. (crazy+schedule+long commute = au revoir and some new knives)
My two sons are now both in high school. (one stop taxi service for me)
My two sons are now on the debate team. (I never get the last word around here)
I ran the Formula Run at the new F1 track. (a personal best time)
and....
The election is finally over!!! (now, we can ALL move on with our lives)

The following is what I was going to post around last Thanksgiving before all hell broke loose in the reality department:

  Fast and Fuzzy

(Twinkle Handknits Baby Chunky, color:Moss)

Here's my early holiday gift to you. A simple scarf in a super soft yarn with a more masculine feel. You cast on 100 stitches and knit it lengthwise, so I'm calling it...

Century Scarf
yarn: Twinkle Handknits Baby Chunky, 136-150 gms
approx. 6" x 48"
needle: size 17 US

Using long-tailed method, cast on 100 stitches. Knit 4 rows.
Row 5: *K4, P4* K4.
Row 6: *P4, K4* P4.
repeat rows 5 and 6 until the scarf is 5 inches wide or desired width.
Knit 3 rows.
BO very loosely or with size 19 US needle.



Thanksgiving 2011. (look at that smile, little did I know...)

Life and Taxes

My little write-offs.
Thanksgiving 2010


Some people find that they have 'senior' moments and others have 'Aha!' moments. I have 'Erma Bombeck' moments. You see, I live with 2 boys who are transitioning into teenagers. The younger one will be officially 13 in a month, but he received excellent training from his 14.5-year-old brother. I'm positive that schizophrenia or bipolar disorder doesn't run in my family, but I'm starting to have my suspicions. Imagine if you threw "The Simpsons," "Tosh.0," "Lucha Libre," "The Golf Channel" and "Dark Shadows" into a sitcom blender, then you'd have a close rendition of my life. They are completely evil, smelly, messy and rude. They are funny, affectionate, clever and curious. They are the future. They must be stopped. They say stuff like, "When I grow up I want to be a real boy," in a silly voice that makes me laugh every time.

And have I mentioned that they sleep a lot? They sleep so deeply that I'm always tempted to grab a mirror to see if they're breathing. But not always. When they're not sleeping, they're eating which brings me to my latest enthusiasm:

Frugal Fixes for Leftovers!

Periodically, I get a sanity break when the boys stay with their father. And, inevitably, I am left with half eaten bags of chips, cookies or a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I am not about to eat 4 doughnuts and they'll get stale by the time the boys are back with me. Remembering an article I read in the NYTimes, I searched their website and found "Jelly Doughnut Pudding."
I only had 4 regular doughnuts and not the original 14 jelly doughnuts as called for in the recipe, so I used about a quarter of the ingredients. I cut the cooking time to 45 minutes, removed the foil and baked the pudding for another 10 minutes, broiling on high for the last 2 minutes. I might drizzle a little chocolate sauce over it...or I might not.

Knitting

I just taught a class on working 2 toe-up socks at the same time, using "Socks from the Toe Up," by Wendy D. Johnson. Judy's Magic cast-on is a marvel. Watch the youTube video and cast on the stitches when you'll not be interrupted. Another delight was the heel. It's a deceptively simple gusset heel that neatly rejoins the instep stitches without any holes. We did work the final decreases to 36 stitches instead of the 34 as written in the pattern. Now, we're working on the "Ruched Yoke Tee' from IK Spring 2011. I cast on for the 38.5" and have increased to the 42.5" size as I want a tighter neckline. I also plan to work my keyhole opening a little deeper as a result. If you want to make a cardigan version of this piece, then try the "Tea Leaves Cardigan" from Madeline Tosh. This pattern has you work with 2 different needle sizes to create the ruching effect.

I feel like I just paid for the new craft room at the Treasury Department, so I think a little recycled doughnut goodness is in order....