May 27, 2010

End of Spring

My husband once said he couldn’t ever live in a claustrophobic flat without a yard and a garage. I have to admit I agree with him, not because I love working on the yard, I am not that type of gal who likes to stuff my nails with dirty. Primadona? Yeap.
But I take pride in my husband’s landscape skills. He spends endless hours, gathering leaves and branches, mowing the lawn, seedling and transplanting beautiful flowers in various colors. All season long, I am mesmerized, every time I open the front door and look at the stunning flowers and greenery. First blooms are always the camellias, then the tulips and roses, daffodils and daisies and finally the variegated hydrangeas. A parade to put the Rose Parade to shame.
From March until late May, our little home is a mixture of green and color everywhere. Sometimes, for me who lived ⅔ of my life in apartments in big cities, is almost like a dream living in a house with a front yard and back porch.
I have my privacy, my lone moments, my flowers and my trees. What else can I ask for?................. A Pool?


Uma vez meu marido disse que ele se sentiria claustrofóbico em um apartamento, sem um quintal e uma garagem. Tenho que admitir que concordo com ele, não porque eu gosto de jardinagem, eu não sou aquele tipo que gosta de cavar a terra e sujar as unhas. Primadona? Talvez.
Mas me orgulho das habilidades do meu marido com jardinagem e paisagismo. Ele passa horas intermináveis, recolhendo folhas e ramos, cortando a grama, transplantando lindas flores daqui pra lá. Durante a primavera, cada vez que eu abro a porta da frente e vejo as flores e a vegetação, me deslumbro. Primeiro, as camélias são as primeiras a florir, em seguida, as tulipas e as rosas, depois os narcisos e as margaridas e, finalmente, as hortênsias que mudam de cores. Uma desfile para fazer o desfile das Rosas sentir um pouco de inveja de nós.
De março até o final de maio, a nossa casinha é uma mistura de verde e cor em toda parte. Às vezes, para mim, que vivi ⅔ da minha vida em apartamentos nas grandes cidades, é quase como um sonho, viver em uma casa com jardim e quintal.
Eu tenho minha privacidade, meus momentos solitários, as minhas flores e minhas árvores. O que mais eu posso querer?.............. Uma piscina?

May 24, 2010

terrain



The owl vest is already off the needles and does not fit Fernanda’s baby. He’s only 5 months old, but he is wearing an equivalent of a 2 year-old boy(exaggerating a bit)- Oh, well… there I go once again try to knit something that fits him. I decided for the surprise baby jacket from Zimmermann’s book, The Opinionated Knitter and this time, it’d better to fit, because this yarn is way too pricey and it is the best yarn I have ever bought.
I got it two weeks ago and I felt in love with it. I am seriously contemplating buying a different colorway for future projects. The lady from the store seems to be a nice lady and after sending her an e-mail thanking her for the stunning yarn she wrote me back a short and sweet note:
“Thanks Gisley!
I really needed that email. My heart is all warm and fuzzy. I have a teen so this is a rare and wonderful state for me to treasure! I’m really glad you like your yarn. That’s *so* important to me!
Meg aka Twisted Dyer"
Of course I will go back to buy from her again. Of cooourse!!!! Yeap! Like I need an excuse to buy more yarn....
By the way, I love exotic tastes and this past weekend I made a shrimp and green apple salad and it was served with this dressing:

Apple and Shrimp Salad
Ingredients
2 lbs. shrimp, cooked and peeled
4 medium apples, (Granny Smith, unpeeled and cubed)
4 ripe avocados
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup
6 drops of hot sauce
2 Tbsp. cognac
2 Tbsp. dry sherry
2 tsp. Cherchies® Lem'n Dill Seasoning

---------------------------------------

●Cut shrimp into 2 to 3 pieces. Set aside in mixing bowl. ●Slice avocado in half, discard the pit. Scoop out avocado meat with a spoon (you will use the shell for serving). Cube avocado meat and add apples and avocado to the shrimp in mixing bowl. ●In a separate bowl, blend remaining ingredients to make a dressing. Add this dressing to shrimp mixture and toss to coat evenly. ●Spoon salad mixture into avocado shells. ●Place the shells on a bed of lettuce before serving.

Serves 8(I modified by not using avocado,cognac and sherry)



I eyeball the ingredients and by doing so, the first bite tasted a little spicy, so watch out for the amount of hot sauce.
This salad is perfect to be savored with a nice glass of dry white wine. Enjoy it!!

May 18, 2010

A knit-addict



double heart scarf


Lately I’ve been feeling a bit like a train wreck and my only source of energy has been engrossing myself in knitting. Since the first day I learned how to knit, I haven’t stopped. First it was three hours a day, then five, sometimes the whole weekend. I became a knit-addict. Yes, I self assessed my condition: I am an addict/compulsive knitter, greedy for more and more yarn and seriously in need of quitting buying them. I realized, the more I do nothing, the more addicted and compulsive I get.
I look at my house, dust everywhere, baths in need to be scrubbed, floors in need to be mopped, piles of clothes waiting to be washed, dried and folded … and what do I do? I just stare at the mess ... in total boredom and just nod my head and can’t help to feel is all the same every day! Tired! I'm tired of the same old, same old! At least I do knitting. Oh my knitting, my blessed knitting. Thank God and the internet I learned how to knit. Knitting away every piece, every minute is a gift that saves me, that makes me happy, that lifts me up (even with all the bad news I hear everywhere) that inspires me to live.
I admire every knitter who patiently has taught this craft through various blogs on the net. I thank every knitter for their passion to knitting and for passing on so many precious lessons, tips and specially the "free patterns". I bow to all knitters with creativity and a keen eye for transforming a single skein of yarn in such beautiful pieces that bring happiness to others.

owl tuque and froggy


Ultimamente, tenho me sentido muito cansada, parecendo uma trombada de jamanta com carroça e minha única fonte de energia tem sido o tricô. Desde o primeiro dia que aprendi a tricotar, nunca mais parei. Primeiro eram três horas por dia, depois cinco, às vezes o fim de semana inteiro. Tornei-me uma tricociada. Sim, eu ja me submeti ao diagnóstico; eu sou uma viciada / compulsiva, ávida para comprar linhas e tendo que seriamente parar de comprá-las. Eu percebi, quanto mais eu não faço nada, mais viciada e compulsiva me torno.
Eu olho para a minha casa, a poeira em toda parte, os banheiros precisando de uma limpeza, pisos precisando de aspiração, pilhas de roupa à espera para ser lavada, secada e dobrada ... e o que eu faço? Nada! Olho para a bagunça ... em tédio total e apenas aceno a cabeça, sem deixar de sentir que é tudo a mesma coisa todos os dias! Exausta! Estou exausta da mesma coisa, da mesma rotina! Pelo menos eu faço tricô. Ah, meu tricô, tricô meu abençoado. Graças à Deus e à internet eu aprendi a fazer tricô.
Tricotar todo dia, peças diferentes, é um passatempo que me salva, que me faz feliz, que me anima (mesmo com todas as más notícias que ouço em todo lugar) que me inspira a viver.
Admiro todas as tricoteiras que pacientemente ensinam esta arte através dos vários blogs na net. Agradeço a todas as tricoteiras por esta paixão por tricô e por transmitir tantas lições preciosas, dicas e receitas (gratuitas). Eu me curvo a todas tricoteiras, com criatividade e esse dom maravilhoso, de transformar um único novelo, em lindas peças que só trazem felicidade aos outros.