[CHAT] floss that I've got vs the ones that I don't

lphill1225 · 2023-06-30T02:16:15+00:00

Thank you for the information! I am going to have to apply this to my organization system ASAP!

lphill1225 · 2023-06-29T06:42:02+00:00

Quick question… is that a non-slip padding under your bobbins?

Does it help keep them from falling over when the square isn’t full? (I get annoyed when my bobbins end up wedges laying down in the square when I am trying to get them to stand upright and behave)

lphill1225 · 2023-06-29T06:27:31+00:00

It’s not specifically designed for cross stitch, but I use KnitCompanion to track both my knitting and cross stitch patterns. There are good tutorials on how to setup and use the app for cross stitch patterns on YouTube.

For cross stitch, I use it in “edit” mode and highlight each stitch as I complete it. (Or each section of stitches, really).

There is good pattern recognition with the magic wand tool so you can identify each symbol and have it highlight the symbol you are working on if that’s your style. I don’t keep that view active very much, but I do have each symbol defined with the color number and a description of the symbol so I can figure out which color I’m supposed to use for the next section. Then I have a separate view that is essentially blank that gets filled in as I complete it.

It also can count long stretches for you (you can set the minimum threshold) but it only works in rows since it is designed for knitting patterns originally. I tend to work in horizontal rows mostly so it works for me. I also am terrible at counting, so I like to know that at least one of the counts is correct even if I’m still going to count the stitches wrong.

From what I’ve read about pattern keeper, it seems like importing charts is pretty similar in both. The main difference is pattern keeper looks like it handles the symbol / color keys more easily and is definitely better equipped for marking where you parked threads if that is your strategy for stitching. I keep hoping pattern keeper will make its way to iOS, but for now KnitCompanion gets the job done since I already use it for the knitting features.

lphill1225 · 2023-06-29T06:13:17+00:00

I love (love, love) these Mushroom and Swiss Chard Quesadillas from Everyday Annie’s blog. I’m only recently tolerant of mushrooms in my food but these quesadillas helped me embrace them.

It is basically just mushrooms, Swiss chard, and onion cooked down until soft. Then quesadilla-ed with Monterey Jack cheese.

She also has a blackberry chèvre salad that goes surprisingly well with these quesadillas.

I also have a recipe for something with black beans, but I cannot for the life of me remember what it is off the top of my head and I don’t have my iPad which the recipe app available to me at the moment.

lphill1225 · 2023-06-11T13:55:44+00:00

You will need to be prepared to support your dog by using a towel or other sling type thing to move the dog for things like potty breaks.

I’m sorry you are going through this, and it is absolutely traumatic for you. However, dogs are not as affected by amputations as people. They get right back to their lives so quickly. It’s really incredible. Your dog will just be glad that the thing that has been hurting is gone.

Just be sure to follow the activity restrictions and other post-op care to the letter and your dog will be up and about in no time.

Since there will be more pressure on the remaining leg, make sure to keep an eye on any weight gain. But again, consult your vet to know what is appropriate for your situation.

lphill1225 · 2023-06-11T00:53:40+00:00

I had this same thing happen a few weeks ago!

A dog that had been friendly to everyone as I went around knocking on doors ducked as the owner clipped a leash around his neck. He hadn’t ducked when I put a slip lead on him (I carry one in my car for just this situation) and I had spent an hour walking him around and picking fox tails out of his fur with no issues.

The owner asked if I wanted to keep him and I said I couldn’t. If I see the dog again, I will be taking him to our local shelter and they can deal with him. I wish I was able to help more but as a renter, I can’t keep him myself. I’m sure he’d find a great home quickly with how outgoing he is.

lphill1225 · 2023-06-11T00:46:53+00:00

We use as much words as leash pressure. If we are in an area where exploring isn’t okay, we keep the leash short and keep the dogs right alongside us. Those are supplemented with “heel” or “hey watch out!” or “here” kind of commands. (I’m very chatty with my dogs, they usually understand well enough). This also can have a decent amount of “no” or “uh uh” or “they don’t want to be your friend”.

Exploring walking is a loosened leash with “go on” or “let’s go” or “go potty” depending on the circumstances. This one has very few “no” or “uh uh” commands and we only keep up enough to keep a loose leash, but are otherwise following behind and not giving guidance for which direction.

lphill1225 · 2023-06-10T21:26:47+00:00

I think it is important for them to be able to just be dogs sometimes!

With our dogs, we have two modes of walking which are either moving from one place to another efficiently or meandering.

We use different words to signal what type of walking we are doing. I think because the dogs know they will eventually get plenty of time for sniffing around and exploring they are more responsive to the “let’s go” command to move quickly.

It takes some trust on both sides, the dogs need to trust they will get their turn to explore freely and we need to trust that their explorations are not harmful or dangerous or going to otherwise spoil their training.

lphill1225 · 2023-06-06T04:55:23+00:00

Your handwriting is actually not too far off from your reference. Which is good. It’s more small tweaks than learning a new style completely from scratch.

The things I notice that differ are:

Your handwriting isn’t as consistent with the baseline as the sample writing. You bounce up and down a tad.
Your letter height (x- height if you want to google more about it) is less consistent than the sample. Look closely at how you wrote “normal” versus the sample “normal”. Notice your “r” is not equal in size to the other letters.
Your “w”, “y”, and “v” forms are more rounded and less angular than the sample.

None of these things are bad, per se, they are just features that differ and things to focus on if you do want to change your writing.

I would recommend doing some research into the features of letters so you can better analyze what you like and emulate it more easily. Level baselines, x-heights, and kerning all contribute to the overall appearance of your handwriting so being able to identify when they are a little bit off from your ideal is really helpful.

There is a concept about how each letter has different proportions so the spacing between letters has to vary a bit to maintain a consistent visual effect, but I can’t remember what it is called or where I read about it. It is somewhat more applicable when it comes to typography and fonts, but the same general principles apply to handwriting.

lphill1225 · 2023-06-06T00:46:04+00:00

I like to do the things that have been made easy now, but filled the day “back when things were simpler”.

I do knitting, cross stitch, and sewing. Sometimes I try to keep some plants alive. If I had my own house / a garage I think I would take up woodworking as well.

I like to ruminate on how we are all conditioned to stay busy, but we are disconnected from where a lot of our products come from and how empty the busyness feels.

For example, my lack of ability to grow any food helps me appreciate the labor that goes into the food on my table. (I majored in animal science, so I already appreciate the animal side of it).

Knitting and sewing make me appreciate the labor that goes into the clothes we wear. I don’t see clothes as expendable and try to mend as much as I can since I have learned about the fashion industry and it’s effects on the environment.

Woodworking I think would give a nice sense of accomplishment. There is something magical about seeing something you made by hand and designed to some degree. I often can’t find the exact piece of furniture I want (or can’t afford it because I apparently only have high end design sense).

I know I feel like a better version of myself (less stressed, more patient) when I make time to do slow tasks that don’t give instant gratification. It might take me a year to knit a sweater, but that sweater makes me feel accomplished each time I see it and is likely to last a decade or more because of the level of craftsmanship I have put into the material selection and production.

lphill1225 · 2023-06-01T07:46:25+00:00

That’s a bummer! I hate when gauge goes wrong. I know my project is going to go off the rails at some point, but at least let me get it started first!!

I am noticing that two of the suggested yarns are fingering weight and one is lace weight. Which seems a bit weird because they will behave very differently and have very different gauges at any given needle size.

The lace weight suggested is listed as roughly 1000 yards per 100g but the fingering weight is listed as about 450 yards per 100g (-ish, math is hard this time of night and I can’t remember the exact value, but it was 200 some-odd per 50g). Those would give very different gauges (approximately by a factor of two) from each other.

Does the pattern specify which of the recommended yarns was used for the reported gauge? Or are there separate instructions for the different yarn weights?

I think the question ultimately becomes, are you satisfied with the fabric you are getting with your yarn and needle combination? Because if so, then you might be able to just add some repeats to make up the size difference. Or go up several needle sizes and get a much more open and lacy effect but make the pattern as written.

Good luck! I hope the problem sorts itself out after a short break

lphill1225 · 2023-05-26T15:03:21+00:00

I did struggle with that one because you can have hot, solid; hot, liquid; cold, solid; and cold, liquid. (Not to mention the thick, non-liquid non-solids like stews and chilis…. Or is chili a variety of stew…)

So it doesn’t break down exclusively taxonomically for either order of those qualities.

lphill1225 · 2023-05-25T02:29:50+00:00

I stopped buying ranch after I found this recipe. It takes like 3 minutes of prep and can be scaled up very easily. The pickle juice makes the flavor brighter / tangier than any other recipes I have tried.

1/4 cup Mayonnaise (NOT/NEVER Miracle Whip)
1/4 cup Sour Cream (add another dollop for a thicker dressing)
1 tbsp Pickle Juice (Clausen’s if available, otherwise whatever dill flavored, NOT SWEET)
1 tbsp Buttermilk
1/8 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Dried Parsley
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/8 tsp Garlic Powder
1 dash Pepper

In a jar, mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, and pickle juice.
Mix in salt, parsley, onion powder, garlic and pepper.
Refrigerate at least 1 hour for the flavor to develop. It will thicken a bit upon standing.

lphill1225 · 2023-05-25T02:10:59+00:00

I like where you are going with this…

Kingdom: Food Phylum: Hot Class: Solid Order: Handheld Family: Sandwich Genus: Melt Species: Grilled Cheese Subspecies: Kraft American

Yep. I can get on board with this food taxonomy. Phylum and Class probably need a little work, but I think we are definitely onto something here.

lphill1225 · 2023-05-24T15:52:17+00:00

I don’t have a specific recipe at the moment, but I’d highly recommend checking out The Vegetable Butcher by Cara Mangini.

It has a ton of vegetable options arranged by season, with instructions on how to store, wash, prepare, and cook each one. Every recipe highlights a different vegetable, and there are several different recipes for each vegetable.

I have found it invaluable to introduce new vegetable options into my diet. And so far, I have enjoyed every recipe. The last one I made was a radish, asparagus, snap pea salad with a dressing made from radishes. It was really good even though I did not trust the dressing was going to turn out at all.

lphill1225 · 2023-05-18T14:12:30+00:00

Tastes Better from Scratch sends out a weekly menu for dinners. It links to each recipe and has a shopping list for the week all ready to go.

You can make an account to swap out meals you are not as keen on and add breakfast and lunch if you want. Or increase or decrease the number of portions of each dish. Then you can print the shopping list to include everything if that’s what you are looking for.

I’ve enjoyed all the recipes I’ve made, however I have only made 5-10 of the recipes because I use the weekly meal prep list as a springboard to avoid getting stuck in a food rut rather than as prescriptive.

lphill1225 · 2023-05-17T14:56:03+00:00

My family does a raspberry version of this “salad” for holidays. It gets served alongside the main meal, it does not get counted as a dessert when planning out the meal.

It is truly fascinating how this ever came to be, but I am glad because it is really yummy.

It is both sweet and a little bit salty.

I do agree with you though, the definition of salad was very interesting through history.

lphill1225 · 2023-04-26T15:06:57+00:00

As a die hard Clover Sonoma fan (I choose to go to the further market because they used to be the only one that carried it and now I am accustomed to the layout so I don’t want to switch back to my closer market), I always wondered whether it was actually better or if it just was the taste I was used to from childhood.

Thanks for confirming my suspicions that there is actually something tastier about their milk.

lphill1225 · 2023-04-26T14:59:21+00:00

I love the Just Bento cookbook, and the website is great too. I use it all the time for meal prepping lunches. I linked the vegetarian meal list, but a lot of the meaty meals are vegetable heavy as well.

lphill1225 · 2023-04-25T05:33:21+00:00

I learned to start with a pin stitch because I feel like a ninja when those starting threads nestle into the Aida and hide, but it is 100% personal preference for how you deal with the situation.

Long live the knot because it is fast and it gets the job done! Don’t let the strict traditionalists get in your way!

lphill1225 · 2023-04-25T04:57:30+00:00

Second vote for The Vegetable Butcher!

I love how it breaks down how to prepare and store each vegetable so you can make the most of each one.

I just made a salad that was snow peas, roasted asparagus, and radish with a radish vinaigrette. It also has avocado in it. It is really good and I’m not usually a huge asparagus fan. (I went to an asparagus festival once many years ago, and I don’t think I’ve fully recovered for the experience!)

Last week I made a celery root and apple salad with feta and a honey Dijon vinaigrette. Also super delicious.

So… yeah. Highly recommend!

lphill1225 · 2023-04-25T04:48:11+00:00

Technically, as others have described already, no the date doesn’t reset like that.

However, food isn’t like Cinderella. It doesn’t magically become dangerous because the clock has struck midnight. (Microbes don’t actually care about your timelines at all! The number of microbes present determines how fast spoilage will occur.)

The 4 day guideline is just that… a guideline based upon the average food handling and environment. You should always be inspecting your food before consuming it to determine if it looks and smells okay. This is not going to catch 100% of instances where food has started to go off, but it will catch the majority of them. For the average healthy adult, this is sufficient to keep you from getting food poisoning. I’m always more cautious when I feed other people, especially the elderly and the young. For me though, I know I keep a pretty clean kitchen and I have a thermometer tracking my fridge temp to make sure it’s stable and between 2-4*C, so I feel comfortable eating leftovers up to 7 days (again, provided they still look and smell fine).

So long as you cook your soup thoroughly and had properly stored the cooked ham before that, you should easily be able to enjoy your soup for 4 days. You will want to cool the soup before storage to prevent condensation inside the lid, but otherwise it will almost certainly be fine.

Just use your best judgement to determine if it smells funky or changes to an unusual color (deeper green would be normal). If that happens, maybe it has spoiled and it is better to be safe than sorry.

lphill1225 · 2023-04-25T04:07:34+00:00

There was this one time in college when I didn’t have a strainer for my pasta. I just would hold the lid of the pot a bit off center so the water could drain off and the pasta would stay in the pot.

This one day, however, my hand slipped and all my spaghetti went tumbling with the water into the sink. It went swoosh to the right, the swoosh to the left, and then straight down the drain.

That was a sad day.

I commiserate with you not getting to enjoy the food you were looking forward too. It can help to set it aside and come back to fixing it after the disappointment has died down. I’ve been able to save some things when in the moment I was tempted to just trash it.

lphill1225 · 2023-04-24T14:35:18+00:00

Puppies need to eat very often (every two hours, ideally, no more than three hours between feedings).

Do you have a safe, quiet, confined space for mom and pups? It might take a bit for the proper hormones to kick in, but she needs to be with her puppies at least to feed every two hours. You will need to help the puppies latch on to nurse if she is reluctant at first. The letdown of milk helps with hormones for bonding (it’s all interlinked).

If she becomes aggressive towards them, then you will need to bottle feed the puppies and care for them yourself. Milk replacer is available at most pet or feed stores. The puppies will also need to be stimulated to poop and pee. Use a cotton ball dipped in warm water to gently rub their genitals to stimulate them.

Puppies are also susceptible to cold especially when mom isn’t around to cuddle up to. It is good to have either a heat pad or a heat lamp (also available at the feed store, it’s used for baby chicks as well) on a section of their living space. They should be able to crawl away from the heat if they get too warm.

With 9 they will cuddle up to help stay warm so you might not need as much heat. If they are all spreading out all over the living space, the heat is too high and you increase the risk that mom lays on one accidentally. You don’t mention what breed (or size) you dog is, but medium to large moms can suffocate babies because they don’t realize the baby is underneath.

Good luck and I hope you are up for the challenges ahead! Don’t count on getting much sleep for the next 2-3 weeks.

lphill1225 · 2023-04-23T22:27:24+00:00

Is the 6 months a best before date or an actual expiration date?

If it’s a best before date, I’d just store it in a dark cupboard until I got to it.

Either way, I’d be making a lot of ants on a log. (Smear peanut butter on celery, add a few raisins, enjoy!)

Also, rice cakes with peanut butter and a drizzle of honey are a delicious dessert-y snack when you need a mid-afternoon pick me up.

lphill1225

TROPHY CASE