Comfort Food

Yesterday afternoon, a well-intentioned family member brought over some "jook" or congee for me to eat, knowing that it was one of my favourite cravings from time to time. I hate to say, but it was just not the best congee that I had ever eaten--way too watery and just nothing in it that I liked. So, today I set out to make the most satisfying, congee that I could with all my favourite garnishes. I debated over adding meat to the pot, but decided against it, since my plan was to make my congee egg-heavy with salted duck eggs and century eggs. I was also going to buy some crispy barbequed duck to eat with it on the side, but wouldn't you know it, the closest bbq meat store in my neighbourhood just happened to be closed today. So, I got full this afternoon on plain, but delicious basic white congee to which I added chopped scallions, slivers of peeled ginger, chinese doughnut (yiao tiew)--something I haven't had in a long,long time, century eggs, salted duck eggs, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Now, I don't know if I'll be able to ride to work on such a full stomach....

Back from Vacation

what summer is all about
We're back from vacation, and happy to be in our own beds. We can't believe August is amost over, but much has happened since posting a month ago. First, we had an exciting family visit with the twins, A and Z--new cousins to D and R--our first meeting-- and boy, are they adorable! The twins turned four months while they were here in Vancouver, and they've grown so much in the two weeks that they were here! We're so happy and grateful that my brother's family was able to make the long trip back home for this special visit.

new additions to the family
Then, as soon as my brother's family left for HK, it was speed packing for camping in Tofino and Saltspring. All our camping gear and necessities just went flying into bins labeled kitchen, bed and bath, food, clothing, and kids' activities. I let the hubby take care of the rest of the gear, like shelter, lights, cooler, stove, first aid, and the vehicle. I always feel we take too much stuff, but we manage to use most of it on our trips, and we're always able to jam everything into the back of our van. Oh, and I couldn't forget my knitting project for the road-- my Slipped-Stitch Rib Sock that I started back in May of 2007. I'm happy to report that although I did not complete the sock on the trip, I did get a chance to work on it a lot, especially on Saltspring Island where I had free time to work on it in the early mornings and while the boys were out playing by the lake during the day--D in the water with the other kids and R on the tire swing. All I have left to complete is half the foot and the toe shaping for one sock, and then the closing up of the toes for both socks!

finally, time to myself on MacKenzie Beach
We went on vacation as a group of three families this year, and although challenging at times with not all of the kids getting along, it was fun catching up with old friends, making new ones, and working together as one big group to make the trip a smooth, relaxing, and memorable one. Below are some highlights of our trip from Tofino's MacKenzie Beach to Saltspring Island and then up to Whistler back on the mainland:

waiting for s'mores around the campfire
D posing on the beach
building sand castles
the dramatic rescue of a husband without a lifejacket, whose kayak flipped
the beautiful view from the cottage
hanging out at the Saltspring Saturday Market
hamming it up at Whistler while watching the mountain bikers
We can't wait to do this all over again next year!!!

Summer Delights

The garden is such a magical place despite mine being overgrown and full of weeds. This year I've made a bigger effort into growing more veggies that we could use in our family meals. It's been about four or five years since I've grown snowpeas, so it's a real accomplishment that I actually have a small harvest of both round and flat snowpeas.
My strawberry rhubarb has continued to thrive in its present location next to the fig tree. I've already used it in a coffee cake and a rhubarb bar recipe back in June, so instead of making a pie (which I was too tired to make yesterday), I made a simple rhubarb compote using 6 cups of chopped rhubarb, 1 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon of grated orange rind, and 1/4 cup of water. I involved the boys by teaching them how to de-string rhubarb stalks, which they had fun doing after a light duel with the rhubarb stalks as though they were swords. The compote turned out great and will be delicious with vanilla ice-cream or even just toast in the morning! I can just see myself making more compote and preserves in the future as my strawberry freezer jam turned out so scrumptious as well this year.

February Lady Sweater Started

I've just been so happy knitting sweaters using circs that I can't seem to stop..... here's my February Lady Sweater (pattern by Pamela Wynne) that I started last week. The weather has been so hot lately that I couldn't bring myself to knit in wool, so I'm using Lion Brand's Cotton-Ease in Taupe. I'll hopefully have more progress to show you of the sweater while trying to fit in the boys' summer programs, shift work, gardening/weeding, and keeping the house from falling apart.

Our first MEC Paddlefest

We had a perfect day to try paddling at Ambleside Park this past Sunday. Mountain Equipment Co-op put on some great water clinics with Deep Cove Canoe and Kayak at Paddlefest for kids and adults. D had a great time trying something new despite being the youngest and most inexperienced. He didn't even complain or get upset when he had trouble manoeuvering the kayak to keep up with his group. The teachers were great and everyone seemed passionate about helping one another learn more about the paddle sports.


After the clinic, D told me he'd like to try kayaking again. This is exciting to know. We're glad D isn't too easily discouraged by being thrown into a completely new experience. He's such a good sport!

This guy, on the other hand, was too young to try kayaking, but was quite content blowing bubbles on the beach and having the comfort of his favourite cookbook (yes, you read right, his fave cupcake cookbook) nearby!

Where Did June Go?

It's hard to believe today is the last day of June and it's become hot watermelon- thirst-quenching weather here in Vancouver. The boys have even started sleeping out on the deck in the family tent. June seems to be a blur now, which I only remember as a lot of frenzied planning for the boys' summer activities, the parties laden with sugar wrapping up the school year and the annual late spring activities, namely, strawberry picking and D's birthday planning!



I finally finished the Baby Surprise Jacket in Noro Kureyon. Don't you just love how it turned out?!!! I almost chose wooden buttons for the jacket to give it a rustic flavour, but opted for the classier shell buttons. Like so many others who've knit this jacket, I love the ingenuity of the pattern by Elizabeth Zimmermann. However, I do have to note that the original pattern was seriously confusing to me. If it weren't for Dawn Adcock's super helpful notes here, I may have scrapped this project.

I bribed my youngest to model the sweater, but decided against it, since the jacket was too small for him. Taking photos would have been an injustice to R and the sweater. It looks like Ava will be the lucky recipient of the jacket when she comes for a visit this summer from HK with Zach and the family. I can't wait to meet and play with newborn twins!

Who's Charlie?

I walk into the living room to check on R yesterday morning, and he looks directly at me in this mischievous way and blurts out, "Sit down Charlie." I try not to burst out laughing, explain to my forty-four-month old my name is not Charlie and that I'm a little too busy to sit down right now, and walk back into the kitchen, all the while trying to figure out where he may have picked up this line. Such a funny kid.

What D Thinks About...

Today, as we were walking from the parking lot to the swimming pool for his lessons, D asked me who made the world...... AGAIN! It's really not unlike him to ask me such a deep philosophical question, as he has always been pretty mature for his age, but he's asked me this question before and I always bring up the Big Bang theory and he always suggests the added possibility of God creating the world, an idea he's heard from other people besides me. I stress the uncertainty of it all, and because D never gets the black and white answer, he just continues to ask the question from time to time. Then a little later on at the pool, he asks if I was a mom who was just pretending to be nice, but was really an evil person!!! My first thought is, gee, why can't I have a normal kid?!? But then again, what is normal? Wacky and off-the-wall, but maybe that's what almost-six-year-olds think about or is it just mine--one who probably watches too much tv and/or has a vivid imagination in high def? Anyhooow, my D never fails to surprise me with his sense of wonder.

Other activities this weekend included a trip to check out the Chinatown Night Market, which is small in comparison to the Richmond Night Market, but still quite fun and interesting for the atmosphere and offerings by the variety of vendors. I have to say that this market has improved and is a lot more organized than what I remembered it five years back.

Progress

As you can see, I've made some progress on the Baby Surprise Jacket. I'm not a super fast knitter, but I've been trying to get it in between all the martial art classes, swimming lessons, and the little one's preschool. And lately, I've been getting the urge to start spinning on the Louet 10 again. I actually dug out the nostepinne today to wind up some experimental singles that I had spun up and left on the wheel months ago. I might just have to dig out some new fibre to spin tomorrow, if I have any time left, that is, before having to leave for work in the afternoon.

Handknits for a New Nephew and New Niece

After waiting for nearly two months for my package to arrive in HK, my new nephew and niece have finally received their Baby Yoda jackets with matching hats. I love this kimono style cardigan for babies. They're easy to put on and such a great cover-up for short sleeved onesies. This great pattern by Cari Luna can be found here. I did make a few mods by lengthening the cardigan by an inch to get longer wear from it, by widening the sleeve at the bottom by just a tad, so that it wouldn't be tight for the baby to slip through, and by dropping the kimono ties for a simple and neater button closure. I also added a small snap button on the inside of the jacket to keep the cardigan front pieces in their places. I knit with Cotton-Ease, so that the cardis are machine-washable, which I'm sure the parents of twins will appreciate. Overall, I'm very happy with the way the Baby Yoda jackets turned out.

Finally Trying a Zimmerman Design

Lately, I've had this need to start a new project, one that is more easy going, more relaxing than the Endpaper Mitts, which has been a little slow going due to the chart reading and constant untwisting of my two balls of fingering yarn from colorwork stranding. So, out came my Royal ballwinder to prep some Noro Kureyon (with a little help from R). I got my hands on a copy of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Workshop and came across her very cool Baby Surprise Jacket pattern, a very popular project that's been all over blogland and Ravelry. Of all the Baby Surprise Jackets that I have viewed online, I loved the ones that were either knit in variegated yarn like Noro or hand-dyed, handspun the most, so since I didn't have enough yardage in my own handspun, I chose to use up some of my leftover Noro Kureyon that I had used to make M's earflap felted hat and my sister's Maine Morning Mitts. Here's what I have so far from just a little over one skein of knitting...

Highlights of Long Weekend Sunday

The long awaited weekend for me (two days off!) arrived along with beautiful hot sunny weather, and I did my best to fill it up with some fun activities for both myself and the boys. Sunday started off with a pancake breakfast at home and a good sweaty workout at the gym. After coming home to shower up, we got the boys ready to go to our current favourite dim sum restaurant on Main and 30 something where the seafood dumplings are super plump and delicious.


D loves these dumplings and has been asking for them for over a week. It's just hilarious that he likes only the dumpling wrapper and passes the filling along to me or his "Papa". After a late lunch, we headed over to the eclectic Ruby Dog Arts to poke around as it was only up the street. Nothing new in the store, but D and R came home with a new blank book and some glass "treasures".

Next was a trip to Granville Island where it was opening weekend for the water park. D had a blast, made many friends and got out some cooped-up energy running around the entire water park area. Too bad R needed a nap at the time, but he did wake up to some "sliding" time at the playground. R could've gone to the water park too, but he just wasn't into getting wet, which just goes to show how different the two boys can be. It took some coaxing to leave the playground, but we did it, and by that time, we were way too tired to even drag our crew into the market for dinner ideas. So that was our jam-packed, no-time-for knitting-or-crafting Sunday!

Ordering Japanese Craft Books

With the city in bloom with beautiful flowers, like my favorite bleeding heart plant above, I've been thinking of ordering some new Japanese magazines. Besides, I've been good. I think it's been a year since I've ordered, and I recently discovered how to view some of the latest titles. If you love Japanese craft books as much as I do, not only for their awesome styling and photography, but for their inspiring projects, then YesAsia is a definite site to check out. It's a much easier site to navigate than Amazon Japan, even when translated into English. For the most direct route to the new Japanese craft books, go to my sidebar on the right, click on YesAsia. You will be taken to the page with the latest Japanese book releases. In order to go to the new Japanese craft book releases, look on the left sidebar under the "Browse" category: Hobby/Lifestyle/Culture. Click on it and then once you are on a new page, look under the "Browse" category again and click on "Lifestyle" to filter into the latest Japanese craft book pages. Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of English info about each book title other than its cover, author, ISBN, price and release date once you click on each interested title, but it's more info than you can glean from Amazon Japan. Also, as a bonus, shipping is free if you order $25US as a US resident and $39US as a Canadian resident with YesAsia. I hope these instructions demystify any confusion you had about ordering these beautiful craft books. I've ordered more than a couple of times from YesAsia and it has always been a good experience. Go to this post for a look into some of the books that I have purchased in the past.

Ready to Ride a Two-Wheeler

D finally agreed to take off the training wheels of his bike to practise riding on two wheels this past weekend. It only took several tries with his papa holding him at first and then letting him go down the gravel path or grassy areas of Trout Lake. In no time, he was cycling around the lake without any help at all. Me, I stayed with R, who played in the playground and then pedalled to the beach in his tricycle. We all met up a little later at the beach where R insisted on hamming it up for the camera every time I wanted a more serious brotherly shot of the two of them. Good on ya' for finally letting go of those training wheels, D!!! We celebrated with some ice-cream afterwards.

So, as much as I was tempted to start another mini-sewing project from Amy Karol's book, yarn and needles won out because I'm surrounded by so much yarn in my house! Here's what I started this past weekend....Eunny Jang's Endpaper Mitts. I originally wanted to make these mitts in red and tuquoise, but the "turquoise" that I ordered from elann just wasn't bright enough for my taste, so I just went with the two colors above--black and a subdued chartreuse, a boring, but very practical combination. I have to admit, the knitting takes some concentration with chart reading and all, but the results will be worth it. I can tell already....

Sun Run Day

It was Sun Run Day here in Vancouver, and not only was I grateful for amazing sunny day weather (after snow on Friday night), but for finishing the 10K without feeling like I had to drag my entire body across the finish line this year. Although I didn't officially "train" this year, I have been hitting the gym regularly for the past four weeks and consciously trying to get in more sleep. This annual event is one that I've tried to keep up since the 90's and pre-kids. Now that we've had kids, I think I've only skipped the year R was born, and the year afterwards. D has been doing the Mini Sun Run since he was three years old, a fact of which he is proud. R, on the other hand, looks at us like we're crazy and prefers to watch the rest of us do all the work from his stroller seat. This year is the first where I did the Mini Sun Run (2.5K) with the family and then headed up to Georgia Street to do the 10K while Dad looked after the boys in the stadium. It was very "do-able" as it only took less than half an hour to complete the kids' run which started at 8am. The timed Sun Run did not start until 9am, and my group did not cross the start line until well after 9:30am. It was another record attendance year (close to 60, 000 participants, I heard), making the Sun Run the second-largest timed 10K race in the world and third-biggest timed race on the planet for any distance. How cool is that to be a part of such a big community event!

So, here's the Artsy Clutch that I recently completed from Amy Karol's Bend-the-Rules Sewing book. I used cotton fabric that I purchased at IKEA for the exterior and some leftover cherry blossom cotton print for the lining. This is a very cute, practical pattern that I'll probably be using again very soon.


And finally, another reversible fabric headband that I made this afternoon in a silk print on one side, and cotton/linen on the other side in three colors: brown, soft red, and light purple. This pattern worked out much better for my head after narrowing the width by 1cm. I'll definitely be making more of these too!