Pinky Lace
10:11 a.m. - 2006-09-20


Grandpa's birthday was very nice. There was us and them, and Susie and Tom. I brought the cake unconstructed, then, after we got there, I put in the custard filling and slathered whipped cream all over it. As a finish, I drizzled it with chocolate syrup. I mean really, how bad could that be? Grandpa's favorite is chocolate cake with whipped cream, so that is what he got. I told him that it was his birthday (84th) so there was nothing remotely healthy about the cake. I have been experimenting with Splenda for his desserts since he has diabetes (but manages it pretty well, apparently), but decided that when you are 84 you can splurge on that day, don't you think? And he did.

Not much gossip to report except that JTFM is planning to marry that nice girl he is going with. They are renting a house south of Livermore, where he works in the loan industry and she is going to study nursing. They were going to get married next spring, but have a request from C & S not to get married in March, because R is expecting another baby and they have to go back East for that. I kept my promise to JTFM's fiance and sent over a box of cookbooks I didn't want anymore, and Suz tells me that she was thrilled to get them. So my orphan books have a nice home now. I actually gave away some of my cookbooks, how peculiar of me. Though I did put three books in the box and then take them out again because I couldn't part with them.

Yesterday I went to Costco and bought a lot of meat. I had cleaned out the big freezer and realized that the universe abhors a vacuum. I got chuck roasts, pork tenderloins, pork chops, ham steaks, chickens, gardenburgers, etc etc. Life is good when your freezer is full. Now I have to think of what to take on the picnic lunch with the EG's. I am thinking that I will make some sandwich rolls, then maybe just use some of the cold cuts I have in the freezer. Maybe make some brownies or blondies and buy some fruit.

I know I said I was tired of socks, but I decided to try designing one of my own, so I am using a pretty cream colored yarn splotched with shades of pink. I have wanted to try a lace sock, so after I swatched the yarn, I hunted up my lace charts for the knitting machine and picked one to try. Unfortunately, it bunched up on itself to look more like a skin disease than lace, so I ripped that one out and tried again. The one I am using now is #655 in the Brother knitting machine pattern book from about 1974, if such a book should ever come your way, a 12-stitch, 8-row pattern, very attractive. It took a few minutes to readjust my brain from machine knitting chart reading to hand knitting, but it is going well now.

Off to eat breakfast, which will be tortilla related.