Truth

Wake up 1 hour early to write, and at least one of your children will, too.  Same goes for yoga.

Let's cast it ON!

I am not so handy with the double-pointed needles. But I'm glad for the practice offered by this project.  One day I will knit a sock.  With any luck, TWO.  And I get a little better each time I use them.  For instance, up until now, I have always cast all of my stitches onto one needle, then divided them evenly among the other three or four double-points.  Granted, this seemed harder than it should be, and the stitches also seemed to get tighter, being fussed with and moved around to another needle, but I just never looked for another way.  Until today --and I am not a novice (but, then, maybe I am) -- when it finally occurred to me to cast on, dividing as I go.  AHA!  20 stitches to the first needle; then, holding the second needle right alongside the first, and continuing to cast onto it: 20 more stitches; the final 20 to the third needle in the same fashion...  It was a real AHA moment.  Those are awesome, right?  Except when you end up feeling like a moron.  Like, Why Didn't I Think of This Sooner?!  really.  You learn something new everyday.

Now, whether you cast on and divide or cast on all fancy like me, don't forget not to twist the stitches when you join to knit in the round.  Click that link there, and choose "Preventing a Gap" to see how I join to knit in the round.  Though, now I'm sure there are many other ways to do things more efficiently than I'm doing them now...

Fruit Salad Cones

Ingrid's end of the season soccer party was Friday night.  I was charged with fruit salad, and I was skeptical.  What kind of fruit salad will a bunch of 5-6-7 year old kids choose to eat with their pizza -- actually stop running around and eat?  The kind they can keep running around with!

Ingredients:

strawberries

blueberries

agave nectar

granulated sugar

lemon juice

whipped cream

waffle cones

Directions:

Super easy.  Chop the strawberries, mix with blueberries.  Amount depends upon your crowd, and throw in whatever fruit is in season and/or preferred.  Drizzle with a little agave nectar; start with maybe 1 Tablespoon.  Taste it; drizzle some more.  Not too much!  Sprinkle just a little granulated sugar on top (or skip this step, if you prefer). Toss in a little lemon juice for freshness.

Here's the cool part, the part that was cool enough that -by golly- each of those little soccer players got at least one good serving of fruit in that day: spoon this awesomeness right into those sugar cones, and top with chilled whipped cream (from a can if you're busy like me... or you can make your own if you're an over-achiever!).  It was a hit with grown-ups and children alike: I meant to take a picture of a completed cone, but none of them lasted long enough.  Chilling the fruit for a few hours or even freezing it would be yummy, too.