Sometimes things sound like such good ideas and then turn out to be Trouble. Note the capital T that rhymes with C that stands for Cookie. Last Fall our church had an auction. I didn't have any art to donate nor any money to give towards prizes or setup but I wanted to contribute. I decided to give a "Cookie of the Month" basket. The blurb promised 20 homemade from scratch cookies a month and the display was a basket containing the first installment of Snickerdoodles. I should have known how hard this would be when it took me 4 days and 6 batches of cookies to decide, at the last hour, on the snickerdoodles (which I'd never made or eaten before). There was a bit of a bidding war over the auction item (preen, preen). Halfway through the bidding I was approached by an auction leader who asked if I would be willing to do two items instead on one. I'm very happy I said NO. That was October. I can't remember what I sent in November. The December offering was a plate of holiday varieties which was way more than the 20 I had promised; I just couldn't decide. January I sent chocolate chunk cookies; they were so delicious I had to make three batches to satisfy my family so they would allow 20 cookies to leave the house. My parents and sisters rolled with laughter when they heard what I'd done. It's not that I'm not a good cook; I'm a great cook and my cookies are delicious. Then they each retold the story of the year I made coupon books for Christmas presents. Those coupons were a good idea, I still say that, but they looked so skimpy. I felt terrible giving little slips of paper even after I'd tarted them up to look fancy so I gave each person a book of coupons. (sigh) My family ended up forgiving a lot of the coupons when it became apparent that I couldn't fulfill them all.

Tomorrow is the date for the February delivery. I said they would be Valentine cookies. Tonight I used the last 3/4 lb of butter to make Linzer cookies. The recipe called for the cookies to bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. I set the timer for 17 minutes and opened the oven door to overly browned cookies. I put the second pan in and set the timer for 12 minutes - overly browned cookies again. Now I didn't have enough dough to make 20 Linzer cookies and I didn't have any butter to make another batch of cookies. It's 10pm and I wasn't going to be able to produce my 20 cookies.

Deep Breath

So I made two complete double layer Linzer cookies, 13 full size but single layer cookies, and a handfull of mini heart cookies. The Linzer base cookies are meant to be eaten with jam and powdered sugar on them so they are very plain. I didn't have any butter to make icing and open faced jam would be too messy. I finally melted some excellent bittersweet chocolate and spread it across the non-Linzered cookies. Tada! 15 large cookies and 10 small cookies. Surely that added up to 20 cookies worth of cookies.

Did I mention that I'm anxious every month that the winning bidders will not like the cookies or find fault with them? I'm nuts.

The Moebius scarf is very interesting and fun to knit. It is knit on circular needles. The casting on and first round were the most difficult; alfet that it was the easiest knitting I've ever done, no changing hands or switching needles. Learn about Moebius strips. I bought a book on moebius knitting by Cat Bordhi. This first moebius scarf I knitted very narrow because I was working on very small needles (36") and was unsure of what I was doing. It was a practice scarf and now I can move up to other moebius knitting.

I did wonder as I was binding off, what would happen if I bound of about 10" and then continued knitting? the 10" sort of looked like a handle. PErhaps Cat addresses these ideas later in her book.

Moebius wrapped twice 

Complete moebius. One side, one edge. 

Moebius knitted from the middle outward 

As a kerchief 

As a scarf 

Clover hat 

Keyhole scarf 

I'm learning to knit. I've tried to learn on and off for decades and finally it clicked. I'm teaching myself with the help of Vogue Beginning Knitting and a pamphlet from Dale of Norway. The pamphlet is geared toward children so I find the instructions to sometimes be clearer than the Vogue book.

I will post pics of my completed projects.

Hat 

Dragon Hat 

Hat with tassles 

Muffler with decorative pewter buttons 

Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Agencies: (there may be some duplicates)

With numbers of dead and homeless rising across southern Asia in the
wake of 26 December's unprecedented Indian Ocean tsunami, Episcopal
Relief and Development has begun emergency response efforts and
welcomes financial contributions to aid these initiatives.

ERD representatives request that contributions be directed to Episcopal
Relief and Development, South Asia Relief Fund, P.O. Box 12043, Newark,
NJ 07101. Contributions may also be forwarded on-line:
http://www.er-d.org

Other ways to help:
Oxfam https://secure.ga3.org/02/asia_earthquake04

American Red Cross International Response Fund: 800-HELP NOW, http://www.redcross.org

Direct Relief International: 805-964-4767, http://www.directrelief.org

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres: 888-392-0392,
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

International Medical Corps: 800-481-4462, http://www.imcworldwide.org

International Orthodox Christian Charities Middle East Crisis Response: 877-803-
4622, http://www.iocc.org

Mercy Corps: 800-852-2100, http://www.mercycorps.org

Operation USA: 800-678-7255, http://www.opusa.org

Northwest Medical Teams http://www.nwmedicalteams.org

ADRA International 800-424-ADRA (2372) http://www.adra.org

American Friends Service Committee 888-588-2372 http://www.afsc.org

International Orthodox Christian Charities 877-803-4622 http://www.iocc.org

American Jewish World Service: 800-889-7146, http://www.ajws.org

Action Against Hunger http://www.actionagainsthunger.org

American Red Cross http://www.redcross.org

American Refugee Committee http://www.archq.org

AmeriCares http://www.americares.org

Brother's Brother Foundation http://www.brothersbrother.org

CARE http://www.care.org

Concern Worldwide, US http://www.concernusa.org

Direct Relief International http://www.directrelief.org

Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org

Heart to Heart International http://www.hearttoheart.org

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies http://www.ifrc.org

International Medical Corps http://www.imcworldwide.org

International Relief Teams http://www.IRTeams.org

International Rescue Committee http://www.theIRC.org

Operation USA http://www.opusa.org

Oxfam America http://www.oxfamamerica.org

Plan USA http://www.planusa.org

Project Concern International http://www.projectconcern.org

Project HOPE http://www.projecthope.org

Save the Children USA http://www.savethechildren.org

Stop Hunger Now http://www.stophungernow.org

US Fund for UNICEF http://www.unicefusa.org

The American Military Dead for this week:

Capt. William W. Jacobsen Jr., 31, of Charlotte, N.C. Jacobsen was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Sgt. Maj. Robert D. O'Dell, 38, of Manassas, Va. O'Dell was assigned to the United States Army Intelligence & Security Command, Fort Belvoir, Va.

Sgt. 1st Class Paul D. Karpowich, 30, of Bridgeport, Pa. Karpowich was assigned to the Army Reserve's 2nd Battalion, 390th Infantry Regiment, Webster, N.Y.

Staff Sgt. Julian S. Melo, 47, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Melo was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Staff Sgt. Darren D. VanKomen, 33, of Bluefield, W.Va. VanKomen was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Staff Sgt. Robert S. Johnson, 23, of Castro Valley, Calif. Johnson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Sgt. Lynn R. Poulin Sr., 47, of Freedom, Maine. Poulin was assigned to the Army National Guard's 133rd Engineer Battalion, Belfast, Maine.

Spc. Jonathan Castro, 21, of Corona, Calif. Castro was assigned to the 73rd Engineer Company, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Spc. Thomas J. Dostie, 20, of Sommerville, Maine. Dostie was assigned to the Army National Guard's 133rd Engineer Battalion, Portland, Maine.

Spc. Cory M. Hewitt, 26, of Stewart, Tenn. Hewitt was assigned to the 705th Ordnance Company, Fort Polk, La.

Spc. Nicholas C. Mason, 20, of King George, Va. Mason was assigned to the Army National Guard's 276th Engineer Battalion, West Point, Va.

Spc. David A. Ruhren, 20, of Stafford, Va. Ruhren was assigned to the Army National Guard's 276th Engineer Battalion, West Point, Va.

Pfc. Lionel Ayro, 22, of Jeanerette, La. Ayro was assigned to the 73rd Engineer Company, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

1st Lt. Christopher W. Barnett, 32, of Baton Rouge, La., died Dec. 23 in Baghdad, Iraq. Barnett was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 156th Armor Regiment, 256th Brigade Combat Team, Shreveport, La

Chief Joel Egan Baldwin, 37, of Arlington, Va., died in Mosul, Iraq on Dec. 21, when the dining facility was attacked.

Lance Cpl. Eric Hillenburg, 21, of Marion, Ind.

Lance Cpl. James R. Phillips, 21, of Hillsboro, Fla.

Cpl. Raleigh C. Smith, 21, of Lincoln, Mont

Staff Sgt. Todd D. Olson, 36, from Loyal, Wis., died Dec. 27 in the 67th Combat Support Hospital in Tikrit, Iraq from wounds sustained in Samarra, Iraq on Dec. 26. Olson was assigned to the National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 128th Infantry Regiment, Neillsville, Wis

Spc. Jose A. Rivera-Serrano, 26, from Mayaquez, Puerto Rico, died Dec. 27 in Baghdad, Iraq, from wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device hit his vehicle. Rivera-Serrano was assigned to the 2d Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.

Staff Sgt. Jason A. Lehto, 31, of Mount Clemens, Mich., died Dec. 28 in a non-hostile incident in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Lehto was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve’s Marine Wing Support Group 47, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Mt. Clemens, Mich

Navy Seaman Pablito Pena Briones, Jr., 22, of Anaheim, Calf., died Dec. 28 of a non-hostile gun shot wound in Fallujah, Iraq. Briones was assigned to 1st Marine Division Detachment, Naval Medical Center San Diego.

Staff Sgt. Nathaniel J. Nyren, 31, from Reston, Va., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Dec. 28, when a civilian vehicle struck his military vehicle. Nyren was assigned to the Army’s 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division in Fort Hood, Texas.

Pfc. Oscar Sanchez, 19, from Modesto, Calif., died Dec. 29 in Mosul, Iraq, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device struck his observation post. Sanchez was assigned to 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash

It's hard work

I've been thinking about hard work ever since the September 30, 2004 Presidential debate when President Bush used the phrase "hard work" 11 times. He was talking about the war in Iraq but it got me to thinking about hard work in general.

The Presidency is hard work. Usually the pace is exhausting and the many issues which must be dealt with in depth, immediately, are many. But nobody is forced to become President of the United States (POTUS). President Bush chose to run for the office, leaving behind his wealthy non-presidential life, and spent millions to achieve the office. Somewhere there may be jobs that are not hard work but I can't think of what they might be.

Many jobs are difficult in their own ways although not what are traditionally thought of as hard. Picking tomatoes is hard work - backache, sunburned, finger cut, aching joint, bugbitten hard. Childcare is hard - backache, swollen foot, long day, hordes of germs, dry skin from washing so much, stinky diaper and vomit clean up hard. Being a jewelry artisan is hard work - sweating over the tools, trying to get idea from brain to metal after multiple failures and not usre how much more materials you can afford to ruin, pinched, cut, burned, putting yourself out to talk to total strangers and being open for rejection, living in your mom's basement when you are 32, struggling to pay the bills and taking other jobs so you can eat hard. Teaching is hard - planning for hours late at night, figuring out what you can do to help the kid in trouble, dealing with the hurt feelings and emotions of a 2nd grader, scrounging for 1.75 for a missing lunch, talking for hours, listening for hours, standing for hours, dealing with bureaucracy hard.

Many jobs include heavy lifting, hours on our feet, isolation or its equally exhausting counterpart unending interaction with other people. We take these jobs because we need to support ourselves and our families. We need to supplement the family income so that we can eat meat or have heat during the winter or pay for the car/gas/insurance that we need to keep healthcare and groceries in reach.

Sometimes the hard jobs have significant payoffs either monetary or emotional that make them worth the hard work or at least palatable.

When you have a hard job sometimes you gripe about the work. You whine about how unappreciated you are, you feel abandoned by your community, you feel bone tired and cannot imagine that a meal and good sleep will leave you feeling any better. I'm sure even the President feels that way. However, when you have the chance of a good meal and sleep then you are already doing better than millions of people in the world.

I acknowledge that the jobs I've had were hard and other people have even harder jobs and that I'm lucky to have had a job at all and that I've had food enough to keep working and a roof over my head. When I find myself chronically whining about work, I set myself two choices...shutup or move on to another job; I have choices of jobs and can move on, so does the President.

Supper tonight was Chicken with Lentils. It was delicious and the family wiped the pot clean. This is adapted from a Madhur Jaffrey recipe. I served it with Idli (frozen, microwaveable) and various pickles on the side.

Chicken and Lentils

4-6 Tb. oil, divided
3 bay leaves
5 whole cloves
6 cardamom pods
a 2" stick of cinnamon
A dried chili or some sprinkles of crushed red peppers
I used about 1.5 lbs of b/s chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cans of lentils
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt
pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
8 oz of green beans - I used frozen
1 can of diced tomatoes or half a can of tomato pureePinch of asafetida (optional but good)
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1.5 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
ground chilies (optional)


In a large pan heat 3 Tb. oil or more as needed. Throw in the bay, cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon, and red pepper sprinkles. Sizzle for a minute. Put in chicken and brown it all over. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Stir. Add turmeric, lentils, beans, and tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes is up, in a separate small pan, heat 1-2 Tb oil, add in asafetida, cumin, garlic, ground coriander,garam masala, and ground chilies if you are using them. Sizzle for a minute or two while stirring. Stir the spice mix into the chicken and lentils and serve.

During this time of "High Alert" I drive pas the electronic signs entreating us to report suspicious activity. What exactly is suspicious activity? I've seen all sorts of things as I drive along inside the Beltway: people eating bowls of chili, putting on makeup, performing oral sex, shaving, curling their hair, talking on cell phones while drinking a cup of coffee, hitting their children, filling in the crossword puzzle, using both hands to speak in sign language, and counting large amounts of money. Those are common things; common can't be suspicious. Right?

Today I saw something NEW. Could it be suspicious enough to call the 1-800 number to Homeland Security? The guy next to me was picking his nose but he wasn't eating the boogers or wiping them on his car door. He was carefully putting each one inside his briefcase. Was he placing them on a special file folder to hide in the files of some unsuspecting coworker? Is this some sort of dirty bomb?

Why, Yes, that was a whiney complaint by a woman with bronchitis.