Friday, April 04, 2008

Incumbent came in 2nd !

Greetings, and Dear Cynthia,

Too weird about our parallel worlds lately! I'm so glad to hear that your good hand washing skills have paid off in nobody else in your family getting sick from your Easter cooking! I really don't remember having the hand washing discussion with you and my mom, though I totally believe it happened -- since I am a bit of a pest that way. You reminded me of this comic I used to have displayed in my bathroom:Ahem...

In any case, to help us stay on parallel paths, I decided to try my hand at knitting two toe-up socks at the same time on one circular needle:These are **not** on my Mission Possible: 2008 list, though they are from stash yarn, purchased at Stitches Midwest last summer. The yarn is Regia Stretch. I **love** the short bursts of color. I can't say the same about making two socks at the same time. Though my favorite technique for starting sock toes uses magic loop on a long circular needle, I really prefer working with five dpn's for the rest of the sock. Also, only one sock at a time, to prevent tangles which arise by working with two yarn sources... That said, I am committed to finishing this pair of socks on this one circular needle, at the same time, just to be able to say I did it :-)

We're having homemade pizza for dinner. The last time I made it, my partially baked crusts ended up looking like this:
I've been trying to incorporate more whole wheat flour, so I used about a 2:1 ratio for my white to whole wheat flour amounts. The crust on the left in the photo was rolled; the crust on the right was patted into place. Could the rolling cause the huge bubble which formed in the crust on the left? I am tempted to try throwing my crust up in the air to get it big and flat and round, the way I've seen it done at some pizza parlors. I am sure, however, that I would end up with something more like this:...except instead of my sons pajama bottoms in the ceiling fan, it would be pizza dough...

You might be wondering, why are my son's pajama bottoms in the ceiling fan? I was wondering the same thing. I've told my kids many, many times not to throw things in the house. So, I asked my five year old, "How did your pajamas get up in the ceiling fan, since you aren't supposed to throw things in the house?" His response: "I was just trying to get them into the laundry basket." (Note that the laundry basket lives in the closet, and on the FLOOR. Some things I will never understand...)

OH, I almost forgot the biggest news! It's a great day in my district! The guy I was working for in the race for alderman WON -- and he did not let any dust settle before he handed five of us each a different sign up sheet to begin forming neighborhood committees to start working on some projects. He said he would "bring people together," and I think he meant it. It's been a lot of fun!

Okay, now it's time for me to make a crust. Just for kicks, maybe I'll see if there are any pizza dough throwing tutorials on the web...

Have a great weekend!
Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)

5 comments:

allisonmariecat said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I'm so excited for you. Way to bring about change instead of most of us, who just complain about the status quo :)

I love making pizza! Have you tried whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flour instead of the heavier regular whole wheat? I find either of those makes for a lighter crust, and you can use a higher percentage as well. My husband can't tell most of the time when I sub white whole wheat flour (still WHOLE wheat, just from a different variety). Rolling helps to prevent bubbles, definitely. I also prick the crust with a fork and blind bake before adding toppings. I have a recipe on my blog--tinyurl.com/6sxov7--that works pretty well, if that helps.

marit said...

How nice that "your guy" won!
Homemade pizza is gooood! The kids often help with it, they've got a couple of okay recipes at school. I've never baked them before adding topping though!
I've only made one pair of socks toe-up using magic loop, but I liked it, and will definitely use it again. There weren't a lot of tangles-actually less than when knitting fair isle!

Cindy G said...

Hooray for grassroots organization. It's so nice to hear that your efforts paid off.

My very favorite pic in the post involves a light fixture.

But my second involves socks, because I love, love, love those colors.

Kitty Mommy said...

Nice meeting you last weekend!

I am very sad to say that I am not at all mystified by the PJs on the ceiling fan. I'm just surprised that MY five-year-old didn't come up with it first.

Marie N. said...

If my son had a ceiling fan in his room it would have underwear on it. It seems he believes the proper method for removing this garment is to pull it to the ankles, step out of one leg, then kick the other leg sharply and high.