Bougie sweatshirts, and other marvels including curry leaf plants

 Yesterday's knitting group was a lovely big meeting, well, big for this group --  eight people. And here are a couple of marvels

Bougie sweatshirt is Serena's pattern, and there's all that's left of the yarn on the right there. I think there should be a Yarn Chicken Award for this.

and look at this amazing yarnover pattern, looping back and forward over the surface, Sandy at it again. She makes wonderful stitch patterning in solid colors.

Note that all knits I show are works in progress, not yet finished nor blocked. Even so, you can see the skills. There was an embroiderer there at work, too, but no pic, also other projects you've seen before. And my inevitable sock.

It's always a great discussion ranging this week from Long Covid to groundhogs, birth order, grandchildren, complete with latest pictures, book club choices, Misfits market, passports, Italy, underage children's id issues, public gardens in NJ. And more.

Speaking of gardens, following on Jeanie's comment about my new curry leaf plant, she mentioned her one-time curry plant which looked different, more like rosemary. So I checked and found this.

Here's her curry plant, I think 

And here's my curry leaf plant 

They're different, but both aromatic and good for flavor in cooking. 

And they're herbs, not spices. They're not related to curry powder, which is a mixture of ground spices, not herbs. 

I've been there a number of times with people who say oh, but I don't like curry when I talk about how good the curry leaf is for flavor. I don't know how the names came about but i don't use curry leaves in making curry!

Jeanie, thank you for raising an interesting little byway for me to wander down.

Then today the ever patient Dove Parent

Buried deeper and deeper, probably hoping the chicks will soon peep.

Coming back in to report on the home-made laundry detergent, which I used yesterday. It's great, cleaned very well and colors came up bright, clearly residue of earlier detergents had been removed, too. And I made a gallon, which will last ages, at one cup per load. So I can recommend it.

Happy day everyone, happy mother's day tomorrow, if it's celebrated where you are. Handsome Son is working, as usual on a Sunday, but I expect I'll hear from him.

Enjoy your day and remember you don't have to have your own human children to be a Mom! There's honorary Moms, too, to people and pets and wildlife. Here's Billy the Grandpup.

 

Misfits lasagna and curry plant

The lasagna came to be. The Misfits ricotta and other cheese, mezzaluna? mezzanine? mozzarella, that's the one, were very good, and now mostly used up. I also used a fancy Misfits egg in the ricotta mixture.

I did boil the pasta briefly, just a couple of minutes for home made, and it held up just fine to handling, also to being frozen then thawed then boiled. 

So here's the earliest stage

The next processes were too involved to stop and wave a camera about, but there were several. 

Meat sauce cooking for ages then a bit on the bottom of the dish so the pasta wouldn't stick, I suppose. They always tell you to do that. Pasta on the right, water briefly went off the boil after it was put in.

The number of tools this dish needs is amazing. 

But it came out nicely. 25 minutes foil hat on, 25 minutes hatless. I baked it on a sheet pan just in case it bubbled over. It bubbled over inside the dish instead, between the foil and the glass, dang it. 

I did get the cook's first slice privilege, though.

With a bit of green salad and mezzaluna, why not. And it was good.

I did manage to maneuver the lasagna in foil out of the dish to freeze it, using both big spatulas and some basic language.  

And Handsome Son's next dinner is all set, easy. Probably mid February.  Valentine's, president's Day,  59th wedding anniversary, thereabouts. I count them anyway, though the other half of the act has been with the choir celestial for many years now. 

And here it is, last day of January and I still haven't done a jigsaw puzzle. They might end up with the gallon of water and the first aid box as part of the survival kit. There seem to have been so many interesting things to do first.

Speaking of which, here's the curry plant with new growth.

I've been picking the lower leaves for cooking all winter, so it doesn't seem to mind. It's a wonderful flavor, use wherever you'd use bay leaves, but better. 

Indian cooks use it a lot because it really punches up vegetables, and my Indian friends are mostly vegetarian. This came from next door, dear Aditha, great gardener.

And there was light. Also plants. And a cat.

The ceiling light arrived and friend installed it for me. What an improvement. I can see to work now.

He also replaced the walkway temporarily on the patio so I can use it again, there being no sign of the fence project continuing, and my view is much better for the winter. Also I was tired of walking in mud or teetering on cinder blocks to use the back gate.

And here may be the reason I've had no activity at the bird feeder.

Maui, one of the cats from next door, heading for the last of the chives. Handsome Son saw him chase off a squirrel the other day.

While we were messing about with the walkway, and I tripped but didn't fall, over one of the boards, thrills and spills,  the neighbor I gave the sedum to, came over to give me off-shoots of her ginger and turmeric. Also a curry leaf plant. I cook a lot with curry leaves. 

Her entire garden is in containers, a previous owner having paved over the patio, and she's amazingly successful. Also knowledgeable. She explained the whole process of commercial harvesting of ginger and turmeric where she comes from, in Bangalore. Always interesting to talk to her.

Left turmeric, right ginger. See the active roots.  I could harvest both but I'd like to grow them on a bit.

So I now have unexpected additions to the plants.

And Gary is bringing me a very nice bromeliad, to rescue it from being bitten by the same cat who's eating the chives,  unless he forgets, so there's that.

Now I wonder if the decluttering  rule of one in one out applies to plants. If so I'm running late.

The lovely Dyes and Paints book arrived, by a recent Textiles and Tea guest. 

I had requested it at the library, though it's long out of print, just in hopes. Sorry, nearest copy would be an interstate loan, so I said nah,  I'll look on eBay. 

Which I did, found a copy at an excellent price and condition, via a dealer in Indiana, a long way from here, and found

It had been deaccessioned from a library just up the road twenty minutes from here! When I buy second hand I look for library copies, better binding and condition usually. 

And here's what it's about

Today I'll definitely be studying this. Many thoughts of future work, with that stash of natural dyes in the freezer.

Warm sunshine is back for now, do I'll get a walk. Happy day, everyone.

Oh, housekeeping note to anyone who didn't hear back to their recent email: yahoo seems to be decluttering behind the scenes, my inbox wiped clean this morning, files collapsed into each other, some truncated. I checked more than one device, same story. I'll catch up, just can't reread what you said, sorry.