Perky Potholder Activity

I discovered a way to use up the random leftover loops with this pattern (if you can call it that) below. Inevitably, I'll have just a few loops left in a given color, so this works well because I only need 4 or 5 loops per color. And it's kind of fun because it's like 4 potholders in one. Two of these went to a talented co worker who is drawing me a picture to go with my Christmas competition entry.




These are made with the last of the heavy duty wool loops I got for my birthday.


I also made a few potholders out of yarn (not pictured), but I'm still not sure if they're useful or not. Maybe as hot pads on a table. The scarf I made is a little stupid looking. But I think I can weave several yarn potholders together and make a nice lap blanket for the car.

Snow Day!

We had as snow day Friday, which was splendid and made for an ideal opportunity to get a head start on power lounging and playing outside. The McHenry County Conservation District hosts candlelight skiing at various locations, so Roland, Amy and I went Friday night (awesome!), and then Lenore joined us for snowshoeing on Saturday. Roland and I also skied a couple of loops around Beverly Lake in the morning. Sunday was so cold (below zero), we didn't go out at all, which worked out OK since my legs had had quite enough.

Here are a couple pictures from our snowshoeing adventure at Library Springs. Lenore's muscles grudgingly went along with it, even though it was only 2 weeks after chemo.



She called this photo "need air."


Roland decided to follow a deer trail.


Resting on the bench Lenore and I donated (we were the first to leave butt prints).


Sunday we donned several layers and sat around most of the day. I was watching the Food Channel and forgot I had put a potholder on my head.


Lenore worked on the computer and I made some potholders, cleaned out Lenore's freezer (what is it with these people and freezer burn?) and made chicken soup and bread pudding. Joules came over for lunch and cherry bounce tasting. Her batch came out boozier, but it was delicious over ice. She also made some with lime zest that was, in a word, ZESTY. Yowsa.

More on Bounce

(Larry's Cherry Bounce)

During my attempt to confirm the sugar to booze ratio used for the Cherry Bounce recipe (I don't know why I capitalized that...where I work, people are very much into random capitalization, and it drives me up a wall), Google brought me to a delightful blog authored by Larry. Larry blogs about his life on the road with his wife, Teddy, in their RV.

In addition to writing RV poetry, impressive DYI projects, and photography, Larry is a man after my own heart, because he not only likes breakfast, he's not afraid to document it.

Also, he's an Obama supporter. All that AND a bounce fan. Sweet! A recent post about decorating the clubhouse and happy hour are classic.

On a whim, I e-mailed Larry to see if he'd share his bounce recipe, and he sent this, along with permission to post it on my blog as well. Teddy's brother owns and operates a cherry orchard, so I suspect they know how to bounce!

Check out his Cherry Bounce (capped!) entry here. Kind of puts my tiny jars to shame. But wait 'til next year!

Here is the recipe that we have developed over the years.

Appx. 4 lbs fresh red tart (sour) cherries, unpitted.
3 cups sugar
2 liters vodka
1 empty 4 liter glass jug

Using funnel pour sugar into the four liter jug. Add two liters (save the bottles) of the least expensive brand of vodka you can find and drop cherries into the jug until it is full. Let sit in a cool place and invert the jug about once a week. At Thanksgiving time ( or after three to four months) strain out the fruit and bottle. Serve either as an aperitif or after dinner drink.
Note: If you warm the vodka before adding it to the sugar and then stir before adding the cherries you can dissolve all of the sugar then and do away with the weekly inversion

Actually bounce is an infusion of fruit flavors, directly from the fruit into an alcoholic base (usually whiskey, gin, or vodka). We prefer to use vodka as it doesn't add any other flavor to the bounce. In the past we have use cherries, plums, blackberries and cranberries. The infusion time will vary with the softness of the chosen fruit. The plums & blackberries took very little time and the cranberries took so long that we finally gave it up as a failure. If we ever do them again I think that I will semi-crush them first. With softer fruit you have to use a fine mesh strainer to get all of the pulp out.

One last note about Larry's blog: He's a photo collector! While Lenore and I collect faces for our face blog and the Faces in Places web site, he also collects photos for an online photo group called first-name basis signage project, in which photos are taken of any sign bearing someone's first name. It's just quirky enough to delight, don't you think? And BTW, be sure to check out the latest celestial faces on the face blog.

Allrightythen. We now return you to Perky Potholders. Coming soon: Holiday potholders in the making. I've been weaving up a storm while the weather outside is frightful; who will be getting a potholder in his/her stocking this year? Lenore's kitchen can't hold any more.

She's doing great, BTW. Her first chemo treatment took 5 days in the hospital, during which time she walked at least 20 laps a day around the floor and completely dominated the hospital's wireless Internet service with two laptops and an iPhone operating simultaneously.
(photo shamelessly stolen from Laura's blog)

She's feeling OK -- a little nauseated and flu-like, but so far it hasn't slowed her down too much. The port worked like a charm, and her new sock monkey slippers and "cancer sucks" pin were a hit with all the nurses. Now we just need to stay healthy and germ-free for the trip to Williamsburg for Christmas. The doctor gave us masks to wear on the plane. I'm thinking we should draw smiles or lips on them so they'll be less alarming and terrorist-like. Though they are yellow. I don't think the Taliban has that shade in their color palette.

Colder than the Dickens

(Kim and me before the parade)

We did participate in the annual Dickens in Dundee parade again last weekend. It was damn cold, but the turnout was still pretty good. We need to hold these things in July when it's warmer.



I really want one of these flying carpets, and I'll even join the Shriners if I have to.




Roland and Amy bought us lunch after the parade -- delicious European chicken dumpling soup from the Measuring Cup and festive cookies for dessert.

You Would Even Say It Glows

Regular readers may recall a post from last year about this time, when I attended our college Christmas party and received the quintessential white elephant gift. It was as repulsive as it was amusing, and I promptly ditched it in one of the plants. Turns out my little Chernobyl camel was never discovered (or maybe the plant people were afraid to touch it), and he's been living in the plant ever since. (Cue ominous music.) Until today. When I returned from lunch, THIS was sitting on my desk, compliments of my co worker Donna.




I was laughing so hard I had to use my asthma inhaler. Notice the dirt still on his feet. It's probably radioactive. Now we're contemplating a new home for Chernobyl. Too bad today's United Way charity auction is over. (I donated 2 of my cookbooks and 4 perky potholders -- organizers packaged each cookbook with 2 potholders, sparking hot bidding wars. Each Pseudo/Perky package fetched $20.)

Recipe and Update

(my label)

For those who've asked about the recipe for cherry bounce...
Um...I don't remember exactly how I made it. Joules, what's the ratio?

I believe this is approximately the recipe I used. I let mine sit from July ‘til now. I don’t think it matters, just so it can sit for at least a couple months.

2 cups fresh cherries, gently rinsed
1/3 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 cups vodka or whisky (or enough to cover) – the cheap stuff is fine, perhaps even better than expensive booze for this

(I don’t think I was able to use a full three cups of alcohol – I used the mason-type jars that spaghetti sauce comes in.)

Basically you put the cherries in your jar, dump the sugar over the cherries, then add enough booze to cover. I’m going to look around and double check the sugar amount. I did find out that if you drink the whole quart, it’s like 2,400 calories. ‘Course, you wouldn’t care, because you’d be drunk off your ass or maybe dead.

Do not pit the cherries. Gently shake the filled jars, and then every week or so, gently shake them to help dissolve the sugar. Eventually, all the sugar will be gone and the cherries will start to sort of shrink a little and fade in color.

Then, when it’s done, just pour the liquid into bottles. It will get better with age and keep for years. I keep the infused cherries refrigerated though.

Here’s another ratio/recipe:

4 cups sour cherries
1 quart liquor (brandy, whiskey or vodka)
1 cup sugar

Brandy bounce, I’m told, has a smoother taste.

In Lenore news, we're going to the hospital later today to check Lenore into chemo camp. She has to stay for 5 days during which time she'll be hydrated for a day, poisoned with harsh chemicals for 2-3 days, and I believe monitored for a day to make sure her kidneys and bladder haven't shriveled up into useless husks from the chemicals. All in all, it will likely suck, but, unlike at summer camp, there will be no mosquitoes and she'll have WiFi.

This go 'round, she has a port, so hopefully the needle sticks will be much less traumatic and not necessitate me getting uppity with any overly persistent needle-wielding nurses/vampires. (Sometimes we think they are one in the same.)

The crappy news is that the PET scan confirmed that there is "something" on Lenore's thyroid, which will have to be investigated during this stay, and also a small tumor or "something" (she's paying a lot of money for these medical terms) on the liver, which both doctors feel is inaccessible. The plan, as it were, is to try and shrink it (or maybe get rid of it?) with chemo and an estrogen suppressor.

TAFN (that's all for now)

Bottling the Beautiful Bounce

I decided to bottle some of my cherry bounce last night. You might recall the original preparation from last summer. It's been infusing since July, and I can report with happy certainty that it's very delicious. I had a small amount made with whisky, while the rest was made with vodka. You can't see the difference, but the taste is distinctive for both. I think I like the vodka better, because it's a little cherry-er.


Here's the (liquid) fruit of my spoils. Notice how faded the cherries are now. Despite their anemic appearance, they taste quite good, and I'm here to tell ya, they pack their own unique punch! I wasn't really thinking about their alcohol content while munching away on them last night. Oh my. However, as an added bonus, while enjoying my cherry-booze buzz, I became inspired to scribe my entry for the annual McDonald Christmas competition, this year's contest being a Bulwer-Lytton-inspired challenge to see who can write the worst opening line of a story. Oddly enough, my entry has nothing to do with cherries, booze, or bouncing. Go figure.

My found photos this week (those pictures I take and then forget that I've taken them) include the following. This was our last ride on the bike trail before the weather got too cold (for us), though we'll likely take part in the Bicycle Garage's annual "Tour de Lights" ride closer to Christmas.


These are potholders I made and donated to the United Way fundraiser auction we had at work. They haven't been auctioned off yet, but I'm sure they'll earn a pretty penny (and not a penny more).


Merri and her cute husky pup Wexford visited us in November. Hoops was not very gracious, not that Wexford noticed.

Angels Armed With Construction Paper

Lenore shared this account with me and sent the following photos. Many thanks to Elke and the girls (that's Roland's sister and her entourage of three adorable daughters) for such a sweet and thoughtful visit that was both entertaining and efficient!

I had more angels visit my house and help with the vacuuming and dusting. Then Elke took me over to Ace Hardware to buy parts to fix a plumbing problem (which is fixed). I proceeded to lose to the angels in a game called Compatibility. It was fun even though I was not compatible enough with them. I also have new decorations of leaves on my windows, a new mum for the house and interlinked strands of construction paper beautifying up the banister and a door frame. I had fun, got the house cleaned and enjoyed the company!!! The first one is funny since Cora's hair blocked Anja.

What Are Friends For

Had to share this picture of Lenore's leaf bags. There's at least 40 here. Dave, Kathy and Julie raked and raked and stuffed and stuffed and then hauled all these bags of sopping wet leaves into the garage (minus the ones cute little Steve schlepped in there for me earlier in the week just before it rained) for safe keeping -- conveniently positioned to ensure that Lenore doesn't try to drive before the doctor says it's OK. Poor little Pepper Bubbles (that's Lenore's Mini) was trapped. Lenore recently found out she's got *four* layers of internal stitches. That's a lotta cat gut!

Lenore and my mom met with Dr. Cao today, who is the local doctor that will be overseeing her treatment at St. Joe's. Lenore said she feels good about his expertise and perspective, and he's willing to work with Dr. Dolan. He's going to work on getting insurance to do a full-body PET Scan*, and he'd like a new CA-125 before starting treatment as well. Bottom line is it's going to be rough at times, but older and spindlier patients have come through it just fine and so will Lenore. As I told Seattle Pat, underneath that sweet, angelic facad, our Lenore is one tough broad. Dr. Cao is anticipating four to six treatments every four weeks (they like to do every three weeks, but that is probably unrealistic from a body recovery standpoint), if she can tolerate it, and probably four- to 5-day hospital stays for each treatment so they can infuse the nasty stuff slowly and keep a close eye on blood levels (I guess?). His protocol is slightly different in that he likes to hydrate for a full day before starting treatment. Dr. Cao said she's going to live a long time, but there is still a chance that she'll have to go through this again within the next five years. Hopefully as new drugs become available, the fight will get easier (easier being a relative term!).

This weekend we have lunching plans Saturday and Sunday with friends, plus we have to make multiple visits to Starbucks and other favorite eateries while Lenore's still got unadulterated taste buds. I'm happy to assist in this endeavor, because I am, after all, a giver.

*What is a PET Scan you might be wondering. Turns out it has nothing to do with your cat walking around on your person at 3 a.m. It's this:

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans measure emissions from positron-emitting molecules. Because many useful, common elements have positron emitting forms (carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen), valuable functional information can be obtained. This is the main difference between the CT and MRI scans. The PET shows molecular function and activity not structure, and therefore can often differentiate between normal and abnormal (cancerous / tumor) or live versus dead tissue. Like SPECT (single photon emission tomography), PET also can product three dimensional images, and is usually used to compliment rather than replace the information obtained from CT or MRI scans.

You learn something new every day at Perky Potholders.

Cancer Sucks

I made Lenore a prototype button, but here's a better quality option via my Zazzle page.


Order yours by the 20th and save 10% with coupon code zazzlepaypal. You should be able to customize to your liking, if you're so inclined. Click here to get to my Zazzle product page.

Also available...


Lenore is getting her strength back after surgery and appreciating help from my parents (dinners and making Walgreens runs); Dave, Kathy, and Joules (raking and bagging about 300 bags of leaves); Steve (for hauling bags into the garage before it rained); The Measuring Cup ladies (goodies!); and family (a delicious fruit bouquet and a tab at TMC for more goodies). The surgery staples come out Wednesday (see Laura's scar page for documentation!), and we hope to find out just what the heck caused this reoccurrence and how they plan to treat it. The pathology report has the doctor stymied. We're also hoping to get the treatment plan transferred out here to St. Joe's in Elgin, which will be much easier to deal with, especially during rush hour, bad weather, etc.


Lenore spotted many hospital faces during her week-long stay -- I suspect some of them talked to her whilst she was on morphine, but that's another story. Click here to see the full gallery of faces. Here's a face I saw when Lenore was trying to drink all the junk they make you choke down before surgery to "prepare your bowels."


Speaking of hospitals, Lutheran General may be a good one, but accessing it can be a real bitch. Not only is the hospital under construction, there is no way to get there without going through construction -- much of it seems to be a permanent feature of the road system. I've never been on these roads when they've NOT been under construction. But I digress. The other outrage is you have to pay to park there, which just peeves me to no end, especially since the parking is a good block away to begin with, and we're not talking a couple bucks. It's $9. WTF?! It became my personal quest to avoid paying these fees while I was there. In retrospect, it was probably therapeutic that I had something so stupid to be outraged about. I may not be able to conquer cancer (which I will not dignify with a capital C), but dammit, I can stick it to the man!

Day one Lenore had gotten her ticket stamped in the doctor's office, day two I had no cash and they don't take credit cards (again, WTF?), so the surly parking guy just sighed and let me out for free. (Score!) Day three I got out so late there was no one in the booth, and the gate was up, so I booked. I think you're supposed to put money in an envelope slot or some such thing. Yeah, that'll happen. Day four, so many people were trying to get out, they opened the back gate so I zipped out that way. Day five they wanted to charge me five bucks and I offered him three. The guy was baffled and said, "But it's five dollars." I said, "Well, all I got is three, so you can either open the gate or we can sit here all night and talk about it." So then he wanted me to fill out a form so they could bill me for parking there. So I carefully filled out the form. Let's just say Mary Queen of Scots is going to be getting a parking bill. Jerks. It's bad enough you have to be there in the first place without getting soaked to park your damn car. Not that I'm bitter.

In other news, I had to send back the German engineered bifocals, because they were impossible to see out of without getting nauseated. Now I have the old fashioned lined version, which allow me to see without throwing up, but they are also driving me crazy. Lenore thought maybe I should try bigger frames. They are fetching, aren't they.

The Edisto Visit

Lenore and I flew down to SC/Edisto toward the end of October to celebrate October birthdays, which included me, Tommy and Graeme. It was a relaxing visit that included bagel making, eating, shark tooth hunting, eating, watching a glorious sunset and more eating. Also spider watching, as there was a HUGE spider that took up residence near the front steps. We named him Mad Max. I don't know why. Here are a few photos from the visit.

Of course, we first had to establish that EVERYONE is now taller than I am, including Little Tommy, who I must now call Not So Little Tommy (NSLT).



Graeme, who has been taller than I since he was like, 11, is fast approaching the twice as tall mark. I do believe I can fit both of my feet into one of his shoes.



When we got there on Friday, it was raining, and it continued to rain all day and all night (a total of 5 inches I believe). It made for a good excuse to just sit around and visit, read, stare out the window and, of course, make some bagels! Lenore took most of the photos, in between making a popyseed cake with her mom.



Doesn't Lenore look like she should be on the Food Channel? Unfortunately, the heating element in the oven was on the fritz, so this cake took about 4 hours to bake. It turned out wonderfully though -- it was extremely tasty. Then again, that could have just been from lack of freezer burn. (Hey, I didn't say that, someone else did!)


Muffins were also in the making...did I mention about the eating that went on?


Mmmmm...caaaaake. Lenore hid this from Tommy 'til it was time to sing.



I made a little video of the bagel making with photos that Lenore took.

Bagel Making with Tom @ Yahoo! Video

A few other scenes for your viewing pleasure...remember you can click any photo to see it larger.











Here's Mad Max. Note the hairy legs! (I don't feel so bad now.)