My Row Counter

Yesterday's Scripture Reading: Bemidbar (Numbers) 11-13

Today's Scripture Reading: Vayigash (And He Drew Near)

Torah: Breisheet (Genesis) 44:18-47:27
Haftarah: Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 37:15-28
Ketuvim Netzarim: Luke 6:12-16; Ephesians 2:1-10


Crockpot Beef Stew: We had this Thursday night. Husband and kids loved it, but me not so much. I thought it was too thyme-y tasting. I had doubled the recipe and substituted potatoes for the carrots and celery, so maybe that ended up making the proportions off, but for me, the thyme taste was too strong.

Pinwheel Sweater: I would not even try to hazard a guess as to how many toys there are in this house, but however many there are, it must not be enough. I came home from errands and shopping yesterday, more than ready to finally sit down, relax and do some knitting, only to discover that my little less-than-one-inch row counter had proved to be too much of a temptation for at least one of my apparently entertainment-challenged children. When I began this sweater, I made a point of alerting everyone to how important this little tool was to me and how I was not able to put it on the needles because this item is knitted in the round, so I was having to place the little row counter on the console of the sectional where I generally sit to knit. I placed it right next to my snips and made it clear that, like the snips, the row counter was off limits and not to be touched, moved or lost.
When I discovered that my row counter was on '75', I knew someone just hadn't been able to resist moving the dials and changing the numbers because I knew for sure I had blogged about being on round 76 on Thursday, and that was BEFORE Thursday night's knitting/TV time. I was pretty sure I had made it to round 80, but I rely on my row counter, not my memory, to keep track of that for me. Well, it was a little difficult to determine who the culprit was, but when it comes to things like this, I always know it's one of my three invisible children--'Not me', 'I don't know' and 'I didn't do it'--and sure enough, those were the names on the lips of my three visible children.



Ethan Cap: Since I didn't have the energy or mindset at that point to try to figure out what row I was on, I figured it was a good time to take a break from the sweater and crochet the Ethan Cap for my youngest son's class gift exchange. The pattern is from Quick Caps by Leisure Arts, and it did work up quickly--got it done while watching The Next Great American Band and Spiderman 3







The Next Great American Band: I think this is the first time ever on one of these types of shows that our favorites from the very beginning have made it all the way to the end. The Clark Brothers, Sixwire and Denver & The Mile-High Orchestra have been our favorites from the first time we saw them audition, so we're kind of amazed and puzzled about being so in synch with the rest of America, but it's also kind of comforting to know we're in agreement with so many. At this point, though, how do you choose between these three? They're all equally great for different reasons. I think for me, though, The Clark Brothers slightly edge out the others just based on my emotional reactions to their music. I have emotional reactions to the others, too, but I think with The Clark Brothers it's just slightly stronger.


Dinner Tonight: Crockpot Beef Stew leftovers.

A Little Bit Of Sweater Progress

Scripture Reading: Bemidbar (Numbers) 4-5

Num 5:18 ‘And the priest shall make the woman stand before יהוה, and shall uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy, while the priest holds in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse.



Pinwheel Sweater: I'm now on round 58, and the stitches are getting a little crowded on the longest cable. Tonight I'm going to try joining the two largest cables from the Denise kit to make a larger circular needle and see if I've gauged the circumference well enough to ease the crowding, but not stretch the stitches too far apart. By the time I reach the final round on this, there are going to be a massive number of stitches since they increase by 8 every other round.


Ethan Cap: Before the 20th, I'm going to have to take a break from the sweater to make a cap for my youngest son's gift exchange at school. He requested that I make a cap like the one I made for him for him to give as his gift, so I'm going to try to grant his request. I need to check and see if I have enough yarn in a 'boy' color. Happily, these caps crochet up pretty quickly, so I should be able to get back to my sweater without too long of a break.




America's Most Smartest Model: This is a perfect example of what I was saying before about reality shows. Who cares who wins? The two finalists are equally unlikable. Do you root for the guy who has disdained America and Americans, constantly proclaiming himself and his Soviet-ness to be superior? Or do you root for the slimy American who hides all the study materials from the others, eavesdrops and copies? At least on this show there are judges picking who goes home each week based on performance, so maybe it's just a coincidence that these two guys ended up being the cream of the crop, or sadly, could it be that they are representative of what is at the top of the modeling world?








Dexter: Could that Lila be any more of a sleaze? As if any guy would want you when you're framing his friend. And by the way, Dexter, what kind of an idiot leaves his car window open enough to get an arm through to unlock it when he's going on a day trip? I'm guessing that Lila will want Dexter even more if she believes what Doakes tells her about Dexter being the Bay Harbor Butcher. I didn't believe for one minute that Dexter would actually turn himself in. It looks like it will be a great finale. Can't wait. I'm hoping that Lila comes to a bad end.
Chanukah Reading:


Bemidbar (Numbers) 7:36-47
Zekaryah (Zechariah) 2:14-4:7
Yochanan (John) 9:1-7; 10:22-39


Dinner Tonight: Steak Diane.
http://food.yahoo.com/recipes/taste-of-home/114773/steak-diane