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.