A Fall Assortment

GOOD NEWS:  I am making progress once again on The Boring Socks of Boringness.

BAD NEWS:  Said progress is due to spending several hours in the ICU waiting area at Kaiser Hospital in Richmond, where Andrew's cousin Angie was admitted last Wednesday.  Her improvement is slow but steady.  As of the most recent update, she is relying less and less on the the ventilator, her color is coming back, edema is going down, etc.  She could still use thoughts and prayers, though.

KNITTING:  The lace Pi Shawl is coming along, though the going is slow with 512 stitches per round.  I'm on the last lace section.  Once this is done, I have to figure out what type of edging I want to use.

• RELATED:  I'm going to need some test knitters soon.  I have a friend who usually tests for me, but I'm going to need three items tested at once, so, even if she's able, I'll need two more people to help.  Items that will need to be tested are:  a garter-based mobius cowl;  a half-circle shawl; a Pi shawl.  All are in lace weight yarn on US size 5 needles.  Please comment or email me if you're interested in testing.  I can't afford to pay you, but it should be good fun.

BAKING:  I've been trying different muffin recipes lately because I want something Abby can grab to eat on her way to school in the morning or to tide her through afternoon rehearsals.

The first attempt (a baked oatmeal recipe) was a fail.

Second attempt was Trader Joe's pumpkin bread mix with added pecans.  They went over well.  Third try was a variation on the first ones - better, but just "meh" (no more baked oatmeal for us!).  Banana muffins were OK.

These Easy Berry Bisquick Muffins were a hit.
Don't judge me for using Bisquick, OK?

MODIFICATIONS:

Banana Muffins:  I added 1tsp vanilla extract and...a handful (?) of pecan pieces.

Berry Muffins:  I added 1tsp vanilla extract and forgot to sprinkle sugar on the tops of the muffins.

Abby loves poppy seed muffins, so as soon as I get my hands on some almond extract, I'm going to try my hand at these Costco-esque babies, though I won't make them as giant as the Costco ones.

COOKING:  I've put Sarah in charge of making dinner once a week or so.  She has her own binder of recipes and has wanted to make chicken and dumplings for a while, but it was too warm out for a soup-like meal.  Yesterday was cold, grey, and a little rainy, so she made it, and Andrew and Abby really liked it.  Abby said it tasted "like the inside of a pot pie", so I know it came out right, LOL.

• Modifications:  homemade chicken stock instead of canned (because we had some in the freezer that needed to get used);  cut-up baby carrots instead of canned (because ICK);  leftover shredded chicken instead of canned (because GROSS and because we had some in the fridge that needed to get eaten); left out the parsley
• Recipe supposedly serves six, but that would only work if you were also having a salad or something with it.  If the soup is your entire meal (Hey, it has protein, veggies, and carbs all in one!), I'd suggest doubling the recipe in order to have any leftovers.
• Yes, I'd prefer that she make something I can eat, too, but I don't really mind it as long as what she makes goes over well;  I am in the minority, after all.

Speaking of Abby, I found this on the desk after she had stayed up late to work on an essay for her English class.  Just based on the picture, any guesses on what piece of literature was the focus of the assignment?