Mersydotes

Isn't peanut butter a wonderful food?!  Gluten-free and scrumptious, all three of us eat an awful lot of it around here (especially the puppy!).  And while making it at home doesn't save a great deal of money, it does save a bit, and we thought it would be an adventure.  So, we decided to give it a try!  The Smucker's all-natural that we buy runs about $3.50 a jar (which is one pound), and we discovered that we could buy two pounds of peanuts for $6.00 at the local fruit stand.  We started by roasting the peanuts in the oven and then ground them up in the food processor.  Here's what happened:  There was a pivotal moment where everything suddenly emulsified and became wonderfully creamy- it was pretty magical!  After we had hit the right consistency, we tossed in about a quarter teaspoon of salt, and we've been living off the stuff ever since!  It has a deeply nutty, meaty flavor that is really delicious with a sliced ba...

About three weeks ago, little Penny went through a tough time, health-wise.  She wasn't feeling very good, and we were worried that her 9 years were catching up to her.  She pulled through like a champ, though, and she is back to her normal routines, including cuddling up wherever the morning sun might shine.  I'm glad that we've had more sunny days recently so she could enjoy the warmth on her tummy and recuperate in comfort.  She is an amazing creature.   Although the weather hasn't warmed up much (we had warmer days in December!), there are still signs of spring throughout the city, and we've been chomping at the bit to get out in the natural world.  Outside, the super has planted two lonely little hostas in the entry way flower patches, and inside, our herb box is adding flavor to our suppers.  Thank you, oregano! To celebrate our anniversary, Mr. Mersy and I went bicycle riding last weekend in Central Park.  We picked th...

Ready for a wonderful sense of closure?  Now is the time to "tie up all of our loose ends"!  Hehehehehe! In this tutorial, we will look at how to use a yarn needle to weave in the loose ends left over from our foundation chain and from casting/binding off our last row of stitches.  Depending on how tight the weave of your fabric is, or if you're working in the round, you might choose a plastic needle rather than a metal one for added flexibility. The first step is to flip your work to the back/reverse/wrong side so that your ends won't accidentally poke out of the front.  Then, thread your needle with the yarn tail, and weave it underneath the back loops of the nearest row of stitches:  The more stitches you thread the end under, the more secure it will be.  I wouldn't recommend taking the loose end all the way to the edge of the fabric, as you might be able to notice the frayed end from the front/right side: Finally, all you have to do i...

Although I love to both crochet and knit, crocheting still feels less restrictive and more freewheeling to me.  There aren't as many stitches or sticks to keep track of, and mistakes are easier to fix.  Another plus is that casting (or binding) off in crochet is really straightforward, while in knitting there are myriad ways to end your project. When you come to the last stitch in your final row or round, you'll need a way to secure your fabric so that things don't come unravelled after all your hard work.  I suggest airing on the side of caution and keeping your needle in the final stitch while you cut your working yarn.  Leave a nice, long yarn tail so that you have enough to work with later when you weave in the loose ends:  Then, all you have to do is to pull straight up with your needle to bring the yarn tail through the loop of your final stitch:  And shazam! Now your stitches are secure and ...

Even if you try to be careful while you're crocheting, it's very easy to lose count of how many rows you've completed.  Especially if you're crocheting while chatting, watching TV, daydreaming, etc.!  Here are some photos that might be helpful if you ever need to count your rows.  In each photo, the rows are numbered beginning with the first row of full stitches (not the counting the foundation chain as a row). Single  Crochet Half-Double Crochet Double Crochet Treble Crochet Have fun and happy stitching! Lots of love, ~Mersydotes

Do you every worry about standing still?  Stopping growing and thinking and discovering and wondering?  I think about that sometimes when I feel like I've gotten too stuck in my familiar day-to-day patterns.  Sometimes I want to bust out.  So I'm trying to challenge myself a bit more these days. About a month ago, I took advantage of an special offer from a blog that I read for a 3-month subscription to Skill Share for just 99 cents.  I'm not usually the technologically adventurous type, but I was really intrigued by their cooking tutorials from around the world.  And I have to say, it's been really fascinating. I started with chopping veggies.  The chef who taught the class took me through dicing, mincing, and julienne for onions, peppers, garlic, etc. Needless to say, we had stir fry and veggie burgers with rice that night- had to put all those chopped veggies to good use! There was another awes...

All we've had in May so far is cold, drizzly rain.  Looking out the windows, all I see is people wearing stocking caps and scarves scuttling along the grey sidewalks- in May!  How will my tomatoes survive this drought of sunlight? Shouldn't we have gotten this out of the way with all that "April showers" jazz?  There's been a lot of indoors time recently for me and Penny, but at least it's been warm and colorful.  It helps when you're a pint-sized furry mammal who can luxuriate anywhere and everywhere : ) I shouldn't complain too much, though, because we did have one gorgeous day last Saturday.  Walking after brunch with friends through Central Park, everything felt right in the world.  Too warm for a jacket, the sun on our faces, families out in droves to enjoy the newly opened public lawns- it was lovely! In March I was out of town for a few weeks, and when I came back to NYC, the city had taken its revenge: all of the copies of The New ...

Ready to move on to the double crochet stitch (dc)?  Yay!  Also called the treble crochet stitch in UK terms, this stitch is even taller than the half double crochet stitch.  Because it is a taller stitch, we will need to allow for three chains from the foundation row to act as the first stitch.  This means that we will begin stitching in the fourth chain from the hook, shown by the triangle below. This is a tall, two-step stitch, so we need to wrap the yarn once around the hook form the back and over the top before we get started.  This extra yarn wrap will let us build the stitch up in two steps. Next, insert the hook from front to back under the top loop of the fourth chain from the hook. Wrap the yarn around the hook again from the back and over the top and pull it towards you through the loop.  Now, you will have three loops on your hook: Now it's time to build up the first level of the stitch.  Wrap the ya...