A peek.
Later, taters.
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My Patterns
Charade Socks
Bloody Mary Socks
La Mer Socks
La-La-Love-You Cowl
The Ramen Chronicles
So I was walking down the ramen aisle at the local Asian market yesterday taking in the seemingly endless varieties of sodium-laden instant noodles goodness in their cute, compact packaging when I decided right then and there that I was going to go on a ramen quest.
I was going to try every single type of ramen in every single flavor they had to offer in that aisle. I mean, I love ramen. I loooove ramen. Loooooooove it. While to most Americans ramen is usually associated with college students or the unemployed, it holds a near and dear spot in all Asians’ heart. So then why is it I’ve just stuck to the same old 4 or 5 brands I in my near 30 years of existence? I needed to break out of my comfort zone. I needed to expand my horizons. I needed to get some water boiling.
And so without further ado. . .
The Ramen Chronicles #1: Asshi brand Vietnamese Noodle Soup (Pho) 아씨 월남 국수* (click to hear the Korean pronunciation)
So what we have here is Koreans ramen-itizing Vietnamese Pho.
Yeah. I know.
Actually tho, it’s wasn’t that bad. But there was a whole lot of nothing going on. The noodles were thin and held up well although they lacked the satisfying chewiness of real Pho noodles. The broth was just tasted of salt and MSG with some mild heat coming from the dried chilies. I wasn’t expecting much, sure, but I dunno, was expecting a hint of some sort of herbiness, perhaps. Something citrusy. Something that makes Pho distinctivly Pho, ya know? Mmmm, Pho…the perfect amalgamation of minty, savory, sour, sweet, spicy, taste sensations. But whatevs, I would have settled for a sprinkling of whatever the hell Tostitos puts on their lime-flavored chips but they couldn’t even do that.
The plus side? As I said, not terrible. Both noodles and broth are both satisfying enough in their inoffensiveness and for a buck and some change you get a really quick (just add water) hot meal. And it’s a lot lower in fat and calories and sodium than your usual ramen fare. Just do as the packaging sez and you’ll be fine:
ADD KIMCHI for better taste! ADD KIMCHI for better anything and everything, damnit! KOREA FIGHTING!
Grade: C-
Would I buy it again? Nah.
*Assi (아씨) means “lady” or “madam” in Korean but I thought Google Translate’s translation was mildly lulzy.
Been a while
Been MIA for a bit. Sorry about that. There has been (minimal) knitting during my little impromptu hiatus, but there’re to be gifted so no pix or anymore deets until the recipients, well, receive them. Shhhh.
Spring is officially underway. Still a touch too nippy for my taste but beggars can’t be choosers, (especially after a particularly unrelenting winter) amirite?
Big plans for a garden this season. Cherry and yellow pear tomatoes (above pic), basil (behind the tomats).
Arugula & lavender.
Thai chili peppers.
Also in the works are a couple different kinds of beans, cucumbers, and zucchini. This is my first attempt at a full fledged garden (thinking it’ll be approximately 10×10 feet). I normally don’t have much of a green thumb but hey, a) I managed to get the starters to where they are now from seeds without too much a hitch, a real good sign, no? and 2) even if I do screw everything, it’ll have been a valuable learning experience. If at first you don’t succeed and all that good stuff. . . Haven’t dug up any dirt just yet. I hope to get started this weekend (if the weather cooperates) with Not Leonard by my side.
The plan is to get my act together and be less of a stranger around these parts. Post pics of an FO or two. Until then.
xoxo
-S
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Impromptu Weekend FO
Dear Reader,
It’s a love/hate thing when it comes to making amigurumi. I’m not a big fan of finishing so having to sew on all sort of bits and pieces is tedious for me but I do appreciate how little time it requires before you have a cute plush in your midst. And I also looooove the fact you don’t have to sew in any of the ends since you can tuck them all in inside and no one will be the wiser.
Click on over to my Ravelry if you need the specs.
So stinking cute. I was browsing Ravelry on Friday and came across this pattern and couldn’t help myself. Had to bust out the ol’ crochet hook and give it a go. Makes the perfect last-minute gift for just about everyone cuz who isn’t totally sucked in my the birds which are angry these days?
Hope you’re enjoying your weekend. Next up, a gardening update!
xoxo
-S
I ain’t proud.
Dear Reader,
A short list of guilty pleasures I’m indulging in these days.
KFC mac and cheese-like product
International Delight Almond Joy flavored non-dairy creamer
Wegmans Diet Wedge grapefruit flavored soda
Mmmmm, preservatives, Aspartame, and petroleum (I’m convinced it’s the primary ingredients to KFC’s m+c). Why must it feel so good to be so bad?
Oh, on a total off-note. I’ve been itching to bust out some paper and lay down some origami.
These koi are so pretty. I think it might be neat to fold a whole bunch of these and make a mobile out of them or something. Found a couple of tutorials online and it looks like it is very much like folding a crane, which I got down pat. So I’m hoping it won’t be too hard to get the hang off. *crosses fingers*
Have a lovely weekend, you. It’s gonna be cold, windy, and wet. But, chin up! As of right now, it’s 23 days and 9 hours till spring, spring, glorious spring!
xoxo,
-Sandra
Posted in Nomz
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Single Scarf Syndrome (Or, Everything You Always Wanted To Know about Wool [But Were Afraid To Ask])
Dear Reader,
I’m starting to think that I am never going to finish this thing.
So close yet so very far. . .
In other news:
I think I might have to do this.
Also, Leonard Lopate (over at WNYC) dedicated last week’s Please Explain segment to wool. He talked with one of my knitting heroes, Clara Parkes, author of The Knitter’s Book of Yarn: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing, Using, and Enjoying Yarn and Dr. Christopher Lupton, Professor, Wool and Mohair Research Laboratory, Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center (I wish that were my job title). Well worth the half-hour listen. Really.
So, Happy V-Day, R. I will always choo-choo-choose you.
xoxo
-S
Posted in Scarves, WIP
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Here is a video of my pet tortoise eating some mangoes.
Brace yrself.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOZART! And also, a scarf!
Dear Reader,
The Irish Hiking scarf doesn’t roll at all! And looks quite smart to boot. I say it’s a keeper. What I want to do with this scarf here is make it super long so I’ll be able to wrap it around my neck a good three or four times and be super snug. Or I might just cast off after my this (second) skein of yarn is done. I’ll see what mood I’m in. . .
My whole diet experiment went all right. I was only able to make it for 5 1/5 days. I just missed alcohol too much. However, I think this little endeavor was worth it. It was an exercise in discipline. While before I would reward myself to a cookie or two after a dinner of grilled chicken and salad or something, I had transitioned to a perpetual Cookie Monster state during the holidays (ME WANT COOKIE OM NOM NOM NOM NOM). I feel overall I’m being a lot more considerate of what I shove into my mouth.
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Today is also the 255th birthday of one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I doubt I need to sit here and dedicate time to explaining what a fucking genius he was and all but you know for me, the road to appreciating, really appreciate him has been a long one. I always liked him well enough since my days as a wee youth tinkering my way on the piano but my appreciation for him until recently had mostly been purely an academic one. As in, ”Man, he sure is talented and all but he kinda leave me cold.” It was all incredibly adorable and astute at best. His music didn’t move me. And ultimately, isn’t that the whole point of music? These organized gathering of sounds? Isn’t it what differentiates, say, an alarm clock from Beethoven’s 9th? I know I’m being simplistic here. What I am trying to say is my taste in music, especially classical music has evolved over the last few years and am a bit startled to see where I am in regards to what I thought were my favorite composers. For instance, Chopin has gone from being an all-time favorite to now being horribly and embarrassingly too emo. I can’t stand to listen to him, nails across a chalkboard. And with ol’ WAM it’s kinda the other way around. It’s much more about his music making me feel a particular and singular emotion at any given point. With WAM, for a few minutes anyway, the universe just seems to fall into place. Everything makes perfect sense and I am reassured. That’s it, ultimately. I think I need music to tell me more than to feel HAPPY! [ 
] or SAD! [:(]. It needs to tell me YES.
Woody Allen said that the Jupiter Symphony proved that God existed. Haven’t heard a stronger argument up until this point. Except for the existence of Bach, of course.
xo
-Sandra
P.S. OH! I’m going to be in Fort Lauderdale for about a week. Oh god, non-freezing temperatures, here I come!
Posted in Diet, Music, Scarves, WIP
Tagged bach, classical music, irish hiking, mozart, scarf
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Detox and socks
Dear Reader,
Mango + almond milk smoothie.
I am on day 3 of the detox diet. I’m hanging in there. Feeling good overall and less bloated and lethargic. I miss booze a lot, tho. And cheese. Hmm. Saturday seems like an awful long time from now. I’m prolly gonna watch the Jets/Steelers (Go Jets!) game at a bar somewhere this Sunday and all I can do is fantasize about beer and french fries.
Finally finished those pesky socks. Just a generic stockinette top-down sock pattern with slipped stitched heel. Doesn’t get more basic than that. I used Patons Kroy Socks yarn in Summer Moss on US 2 double pointed needles. Ah, I had forgotten how nice and warm hand-knit socks were. Just the thing in the drafty ol’ place.
I am really over the cold, btw. H8 U, winter. Hope you’re staying warm where you are.
xo,
-Sandra
DETOX
Dearest Reader,
I decided I’m going to go on Gwyneth’s detox diet starting tomorrow. I visited Korea a couple of months ago and during my time there I had inadvertently gone on a detox diet of sorts. I didn’t go boozing, smoke (chicks doing things like that is frowned upon), eat fast/junk/processed food, drink Diet Coke (you can’t find aspartame there), and cut down my coffee intake to 1 smallish cup a day (Koreans and Americans have far different notions of what constitutes as a “large coffee” and I was going broke buying eight cups a day) for over a week. Don’t get me wrong, the first 2-3 days were terrible.
TERRIBLE.
REALLY FUCKING TERRIBLE.
But. . .but then. . .I woke up one morning and I felt. . .fine. Which for me is saying a lot. I had a lot more energy than I ever did drinking my whole pots of coffee back home. I spent entire days being in an OKish – good mood. I was getting sleep. It was kinda amazing.
That all fell to crap after a week home in the States. And I’ve especially been feeling cruddy (emotionally and physically) the last three weeks so perhaps this is the sort of change I need in my routine now. We’ll see.
Overall, I think I can handle all the restrictions:
no dairy, grains with gluten, meat, shellfish, anything processed (including all soy products), fatty nuts, nightshades (potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant), condiments, sugar and obviously no alcohol, caffeine or soda.
But I will tell you right now, I’m not going to quit coffee. I’ll start by going down to two small cups and see where that takes me.
This is going to be rough but you’ll hold my hand through this, R, won’t you?
I’ve been needing to get a new blender for some time now and now I have an excuse. I’ll get back to you tomorrow with an update. Until then. . .
Yours,
-S