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Good morning. I’m at work and my eyes are tearing from yawning so much and I made my coffee just a touch too strong, and I’m having some kind of allergic reaction to something. My lower lip is itchy, but I don’t think it’s blowing up in my normal MSG reaction. I have been so careful lately with food — it seems that some additives in cheap chocolate are now settting off my face/lip/eye swelling thing. Whoppers did it one day at work, and then Reeses PB cups another day. No, we can’t talk about it. It is too sad. I refuse to be allergic to Reeses. Will not think about it.

But in the meantime, I’m trying to be good about cooking well and eating good stuff. I got the new book Veganomicon, not because I’m trying in ANY way to be vegan (no cheese? Please!) nor even a vegetarian, but because I want some new ways to cook veggies. My new favorite thing: Brussel sprouts cut in half, chopped up potatoes, and cubed butternut squash, thrown in the oven with olive oil, salt and chopped garlic, roasted at 400 for 40 minutes, pine nuts thrown in during the last ten minutes. WHY DOES THAT TASTE SO GOOD? I’ve never liked brussel sprouts before, but now I’m dying for them. And beets. Never been a beet fan before this year, but now, oh, give me some beets with some spinach, poppyseed dressing, yum. I don’t recognize my cravings anymore. Weird.

Last night I made a marinated portabello avocado spicy mustard salad from the book. Took like forty minutes, including cooking the mushroom, which was a lot for me on a work night, but it was so damn good. Also, the book itself is hysterical. I read most of it yesterday at work, and kept reading bits of it out loud to the annoyance of my coworkers. I mean, really, anyone reading a vegan cookbook out loud is the HEIGHT of pompous arrogance and deserves a good pinch. But the authors, they’re irreverant and casual, traits that I value in anyone, but in cookbook writers I find particularly charming.

Now I’m going to stop writing and go back to knitting. I’m working on a scarf for a coworker that I drew in the work Secret Santa exchange — normally I would never knit for a coworker, but I lurve her, and she deserves a nice scarf even though I am SO bored of knitting k1p1 rib. Looks pretty, though, in blue merino Arucania.

https://rachaelherron.com/good-morning-im/

This is my new favorite thing. Really. I LOVE THIS IDEA, both in concept and in execution. Actually, I don’t have this exa yet, but I did just order it. I think it is the most clever dealie-bob EVER.

It’s a knitter’s abacus. Throw out your red dangling stitch counter, this bracelet is prettier. Let me explain real quick-like: those little green beads? They count for one row, and there are nine of them. The larger beads count for ten rows. You slip the beads through that little elastic ring of beads as you go. If you have three large beads and two small beads on the Big Bead side, you’re on row 32. They’re trapped close to the big bead, so your count is safe, even when you take the bracelet off (which you won’t want to do). You can count up to one hundred rows, the same amount as those ugly plastic counters. On your wrist! Pretty! (Plus, there’s a hook for holding stitch markers! I’m dying here.)

And these are UNDER TEN DOLLARS. Seriously. There are other people selling similar items, for more, but I think Hide and Sheep’s are the prettiest. I ordered one, light green, earlier this week and got it in three days flat.

I’ve been using it and I love the way it looks and feels. And I just ordered that one above, so sadly, you can’t have it, but her site says if you want one duplicated, she’ll do that fer ya, and I believe it. Here’s another one available right now:

Shoot. I love that one. I shoulda bought that one.

Site is HERE. Go. Buy. Be happy. I swear I don’t know this gal, but I wish I did.

* Since I posted this, she’s run out of all but Xmas bracelets, but look at the SOLD bracelets — she can custom make any to match prior bracelets, at no extra charge. She rules.

 

Went to the Nanowrimo Thank God It’s Over party last night, and it was FUN.

There were crowns:

    My sister Bethany and me.

And more crowns:


    Me’n’Becky, hooray!

My sister Christy read to a group of fascinated listeners, and I was SO PROUD of her. She was the only one of our group who had the cojones to do it.

   
    Jodi, hooray! You may remember her from such hits like officiating my U.S. marriage.

WOW! Chris Baty! The Nano inventor himself! I walked up to him and asked if I could take our picture together. I asked if I could blog it. He said no one had ever asked him that! Weird, we thought. Then I opened my mouth and something very close to this came out, "I just have the biggest crush on you. Probably everyone in this room does, we’re all just watching you walk by and saying, ‘there goes Chris Baty.’ So anyway. Thanks! You’re cute! I’ll send you the link for the photo!"

So I’ll send him the link. Hi, Chris Baty! You rule! Thanks for being nice to me and dude, your speech rocked. You practically have me talked into ScriptFrenzy.

Then we left, and went and saw the Union Square tree.

Yay for sisters! Christy, me and tree.

And I apologize for plastering my image all over this post, but I have to mention this: I paired Meet the Fleet with the new Rowan Arianne sweater, something I never thought I’d do. And it worked. Very strangely, it worked. I never wear that tank, but it was something cool under such a fuzzy warm sweater that I might just do it again sometime.

Now. I have three days OFF, and I don’t have to do anything. (Because of that, my brain is full of things I want to do, like drive and get ollalieberry pie in Pescadero, or see Enchanted, or watch the hang-gliders at Fort Funston. Or I may just sit on the couch and knit and watch the Raiders. Dunno. But it will be nice. (PS – Bethany just texted back — we’re off for pie! And maybe I’ll come across some yarn on the way! O joy!)

Reading: Lost and Found, by Carolyn Parkhurst. SO much fun. It’s a novel based on an Amazing Race-type reality show, and it’s like a long, extended, interior version of my favorite reality TV. It’s not literary fiction, but it’s literate fiction. I love her language, and I’m caught by the characters. Brain candy, but more like a banana than a doughnut.

Listening: "Hate on Me" Jill Scott.  Get thee over to iTunes now and take a listen. I really like the whole album, love certain songs, but LOVE that one. I dance in the car every single time, and I’m not that big a car-dancer.

Doing: Going tonight to San Francisco with sisters and friends to the Nanowrimo party (OH YEAH!), and then to Union Square to see the tree, and then to the Top of the Mark for a holiday drink (the last two are my sister Bethany’s traditions, and I’m so glad I’m off work tonight and get to go).

Also doing: NOTHING for three days. I’m off for the next three days, long, beautiful days in which I have NOTHING planned. No writing! (Although I can if I want. But no pressure.) Lala’s coming home from Buddha camp tomorrow night, after being away 11 days, and I’M SO READY FOR THAT. I miss her AND I need help with the menagerie. Eight animals. Six different feeding areas. No joke. It takes time, friends. I should learn a language on tape while I feed animals.

I’m off work in 15 minutes! Weekend! Hoooray!

https://rachaelherron.com/reading-lost-an/

It’s not good, and it’s not really fiction, and it’s not done, but I WON! I’m really happy. And I’m not writing tomorrow. Or the next day. Wooooot! I think I’m going to go buy a book for my reward. Hoooray!

I put up my first Christmas tree! All by myself!

I put it in the sunporch, where Digit eats, because he’s the only animal who ever goes out there. But you can see it beautifully from both the street and the living room. It’s perfect. I love, love, love it. The only decorations are the lights and those snowflakes that my sister Christy helped me make. Happy. Always wanted one, now I have one. Happy, happy, happy.

Now I’m going to have a glass of wine and watch A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila. None of y’all are admitting to watching it, but I will confess: I’ve seen every awful, trashy episode. A bisexual reality TV show? Come on! How can you NOT watch? Opinions: Dani should win, and Tila is boring but cute. There. I said it. Confess something to me now, please?

(Also, Sile of knit-one-one would like to remind the Bay Area folk that The Magical Mystery Knitting Party is happening this Friday, November 30th. This is how it works. Knitters arrive with their supplies, are served the libation of their choice–usually wine—then Kate corrals everyone and starts issuing forth directions—Cast on 10 stitches—-for example. Because you see the fun in all this is that no-one knows what they will be knitting! Wild guesses abound–of course—-and the winner gets a prize. It is an hilarious evening filled with laughter, fun, knitting and knitters—and you walk away at the end of the evening with a cute little knitted something in your hot little hands. A perfect event. (There is a pic of the last Magical Mystery Knitting project on the blog.))