Another Day, Another Sweater

Notes from the kitchen

So last night I dyed wool for a couple hours, and a good friend brought me a special gift....ricotta cheese and some San Marzano tomatoes.  Four pounds of ricotta and 273 ounces of fabulous tomatoes.  I already have giant cans of San Marzano tomato puree, so the cans of whole tomatoes are a welcome addition to the pantry.  OK, OK.....one can didn't last very long in the pantry. 

A couple pounds of Italian sausage, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 onion and some basil, oregano and half a giant can of San Marzano whole tomatoes.

Oh, by the way, I am cooking in what looks a bit like a war zone.  We are slowly getting new countertops, so part of the kitchen has some granite tile....and some just has plywood.  This lovely part next to the stove has some of both.  Sometime next week they will finish and install the onyx backsplash.  Here' s hoping they apply a really good sealer to the backsplash....these tomatoes are messy.  By the way, the sauce is awesome....yummy.

Maui police encounter

Happy Easter Officers....

Today as I was speeding home from Safeway with my Easter dinner goodies securely packed in the trunk, I glanced over at the little cove near Canoe Beach, and lo and behold, a mother whale and her calf were goofing around really close to shore.  So I pulled safely onto the shoulder...aka bike lane and enjoyed the view for a few minutes.  I was joined by three or four other cars...all rentals. 

Another 5 minutes go by, and along comes the Maui Police Department....two cars, just in case there might be trouble.  They were so sweet, checking on me to make sure I hadn't had an accident....surrounded as I was by all the rental cars, what else could it be?  The whales had moved on by this time, so the show was over and everyone was moving on anyway.  The nice officer wished me well, and drove on....with me calling out, "Happy Easter" at the top of my lungs. 

So Happy Easter from me and the whales here in Maui! (small disclaimer, not my photography....pacific whale foundation image)

And Now for Something Knitted

I finally brought out the camera to document some knitting.....

I love these things....they aren't mine, I knitted them for my roommate, so they are still in the house, but they do not belong to me.  I will probably have to knit some for myself one day.

The pattern is from Melanie Falick's book Handknit Holidays and the design is Annie Modesitt's.   I loved kntting these so much, I knitted a second set for someone else last Xmas.  I obviously did not have the camera out the entire month of November or December, while these were coming together.  I actually had to buy needles for this project.  I know, and me with more needles than you can shake a stick at...ha ha.  Actually, I bought Aluminum needles and they worked great with the wire.  It took a while to find the wire here in paradise, because a shopper's paradise it is not.  Luckily, I met some nice people along the way to finding the beads and the wire.  There are several bead shops here, but only one carries the 24 gauge wire.

Now then, since the camera was out and about....here's one of the sunsets I blame for me not producing alot of finished objects: 

note the teenie tiny sliver of moon

Shameless Yarn Plug---Wow Sunrise

Ok, so I have been working my way through the sunrise series....with this as the latest entry:

Wow Sunrise
100% Superwash Merino Fingering Weight Wool
100g skein, 440 yds +/-
Gauge:  28-32 stitches per 4 inches on US 1-3 needles
First Quality 3 ply yarn, perfect for socks, clothing or lace
Maui Yarn Color: Wow Sunrise

This color was inspired by the Wow factor created by the bright sunrises here in Maui. This wonderfully soft yarn is a multi colored yarn. It will knit up as a multi-colored yarn ranging from pale pink orange and yellow to brighter tones.

***Talk Story with Maui Yarns***

I see visitors in restaurants all the time, nearly falling out of their chairs at 8 pm, their body clocks telling them that it's midnight or later. These are the same visitors who wake up at 4 am, and cannot go back to sleep. These people are at loose ends until anything opens, so they are out walking before sunrise. I see them walking along the road on my way to work. I've even nearly picked off a few backing out of the driveway in the morning. They like to stop at the top of the driveway and watch the whales. If I have the top down on the car, I have a chance of seeing them, but if the top is up....look out! At any rate, I have actually seen the walkers become gawkers in the middle of the road while watching the sun come up over the West Maui Mountains. They risk life and limb...literally standing in the middle of traffic, their faces all wearing the same expressions, mouths wide open saying "Wow." You should come and see it, really you should.

So what's happening here? No Knitting, that's for sure

Lots of little stuff, crazy landlady left, and tile guy came and made this mess in our yard:
 

The yard looks like it's distressed right now, as the landscapers have been here and aerated and then sanded to level everything out.  Then our nasty tile guy came and dumped his gunk in the yard.  Keep in mind this washes directly down the hill and into the ocean.  YUK.
So we are angry and concerned about what will happen when he installs the kitchen countertops and onyx backsplash.  Nightmare mess, I am sure.