FO: Rainbow Socks, or the socks that took two years

Pattern: Monkey by Cookie A.

Yarn: Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Crazy Color 4-ply in Color #5399

Needles: 2 16" KnitPicks Size 1 circulars

Last week I cast off my much-loved pair of Rainbow Monkey socks. I'm not sure why they took so long. While knitting them, the Yarn Harlot blogged about the yarn and just about everyone else in my knitting group made themselves a pair. I guess life just got in the way of chart reading. :)

Faboo pattern, but I'm doubting anyone needs my recommendation this late in the game. Excellent yarn -- the color is dreamy. The wool is a bit itchy and much too warm for Nica, but Ali has adopted them as her own and I'm not one to argue with children who are willfully accepting knitted items.

While they are not exactly alike, they're really close -- definitely as close as I think I could get them given I modified sock 1, but didn't leave myself notes for sock 2. :)

And with just a bit of yarn left (and having already put a block in the SYB), I came up with this little number for my sweet Emily. She who loves all things knitted and who has already worn this jobby in about 50 different ways.

Resurrection Cookie Recipe

It's Holy Week here in Nicaragua and we've already seen our fair share of Jesus', crucifixs and other religious icons. Having not been raised Catholic, the uber-Catholic traditions of Nicaragua are really interesting and new to me.

But ultimately, God is about relationship and not ritual. Or bunnies. Which is why, in the middle of all of the hoopla this week, we'll be focusing on Him.

A great illustration of the Resurrection story is Resurrection Cookies -- perfect for kids of any age.

We'll be making ours next week, care to join us?

The cookies must be made exactly as written, and the Bible readings can be done with each step for emphasis. I have included the various scriptures so that you can print them out to read as you do the recipe.

These must be started the night before Easter.

Resurrection Cookies

• 1 cup whole pecans
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• a pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• a zipper baggy
• 1 wooden spoon
• scotch tape
• Bible

1. Preheat oven to 300F.
2. Before you do anything else put the whole pecans in zip-loc and let your children beat them with a meat mallet, or hammers, to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested. He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.

^{John 19:1-3} So Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped. The soldiers, having braided a crown from thorns, set it on his head, threw a purple robe over him, and approached him with, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they greeted him with slaps in the face.

3. Allow each child to smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross He was given vinegar
to drink.

^{John 19:28-30} Jesus, seeing that everything had been completed so that the Scripture record might also be complete, then said, "I'm thirsty." A jug of sour wine was standing by. Someone put a sponge soaked with the wine on a javelin and lifted it to his mouth. After he took the wine, Jesus said, "It's done . . . complete." Bowing his head, he offered up his spirit.

4. Add the egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.

John 10-11: I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary.

5. Put a little of the salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest
into the bowl. If you have a lot of kids like I do put the pinch of salt INTO the bowl and then allow them to taste a little of salt or you will have too much salt in the recipe! Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.

Luke 23:27 A huge crowd of people followed, along with women weeping and carrying on. At one point Jesus turned to the women and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, don't cry for me.

6. So far the ingredients would not make a very good dessert! Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to
know and belong to Him.

^{Psalm 34:8} Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see—
how good God is.
Blessed are you who run to him.

John 3:16 This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

7. Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks form. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.

^{Isaiah 1:18} "Come. Sit down. Let's argue this out."
This is God's Message:
"If your sins are blood-red,
they'll be snow-white.

^{John 3:1-3} There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it." Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to—to God's kingdom."

8. Fold in the broken nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper covered cookie sheet.
Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.

^{Matthew 27:57-60} Late in the afternoon a wealthy man from Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, arrived. His name was Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate granted his request. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linens, put it in his own tomb, a new tomb only recently cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the entrance. Then he went off.

9. Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.

10. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.
Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed.

^{Matthew 27:65-66} Pilate told them, "You will have a guard. Go ahead and secure it the best you can." So they went out and secured the tomb, sealing the stone and posting guards.

11. Now, go to bed. Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.

John 16:20, 22 Then fix this firmly in your minds: You're going to be in deep mourning while the godless world throws a party. You'll be sad, very sad, but your sadness will develop into gladness...The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you'll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. You'll no longer be so full of questions.

12. On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked
surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow!

On the first Easter Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Matthew 28:1-10 After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God's angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn't move.

The angel spoke to the women: "There is nothing to fear here. I know you're looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.

"Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, 'He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.' That's the message."

The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there."

1 Maniac

"The middle of the night belongs to your mother, the middle of the night belongs to us."

-- Alison

(her interpretation of 'Because the Night' by the 10,000 Maniacs)

LOST

I have spent the last three months re-watching the first five seasons of LOST with the help of DVDs, iTunes and the interwebs. Note that I said "re-watching", that's because I have been watching LOST since the very first Wednesday it aired.

I remember watching the first episode and thinking that the writers/producers/show-makers had decided that they could do whatever they wanted with the plot and I was definitely interested in where that was going to go.

In college, as a Communication major who wanted to go into film, I took a lot of classes on being a critical observer and on plot. I figure out the ending to a lot of movies, usually pretty early on. It's not because I want to, but it just happens. LOST has always surprised me, I've been able to simply watch and not worry about being disappointed because I figured it out too soon.

Wayne's never taken to it, although he did watch seasons 1-3 with me during the great rewatch, but they weren't as good because he'd seen a lot from the future episodes. Enough to erase the suspense that has made the show so good.

During the rewatch I've been looking for a specific flashback episode with Locke, but as it turns out, apparently my LOST-obsessed brain made it up. That's right, I made up an episode of possibly the most confusing show ever, further confusing myself.

I've got the first handful of episodes from season 6 waiting for me in iTunes. I'm excited to start watching them!

UFO: Rainbow Monkey Socks

The current not-snowy weather here in Central America has led me to a hankering to knit small, not-blankety things. So after working up a few dishclothes for the kitchen at the base, my hands turned to socks.

While I went through my yarn contico (trunk) looking for something to start, I happened upon a ziploc bag with one Rainbow Monkey sock and a full ball of yarn. I didn't remember when I started them or why I didn't kitchner Sock 1 closed, but here they were with my size 1 circular needles.

After a quick grafting session with Sock 1, I cast on for Sock 2 on Saturday morning. Right now, Sunday night, I'm almost to the heel flap -- I think they were just what I was looking for. :)

My Little Preschooler

Emily has just completed her first complete week of Preschool here in Nica and she LOVES it.

She comes home everyday with her work from the day and our refrigerator has been full of her daily accomplishments. I'm really impressed with the curriculum and teaching path her school is using as they introduce colors, shapes, letters, prewriting and all the standard preschool stuff.

She's a cutie!

p.s. That's totally our bright green house in the background, no HOAs dictating colors here. :)

iTunes

Me: How did this song get on my iTunes?

Wayne: Because your iTunes recognized that this song is awesome and wanted you to be awesomer.

:)

First Day of Second Grade!

Things have been very busy here in Casa Tingle. Work is moving forward at a rapid pace and we're really excited to see all the things God is allowing to happen! In the midst of all that, we've made a conscious effort to be a family.

A family who eats dinner together. Who reads stories at bedtime and says nighttime prayers together. A family who has fun together. :)

Our family has also been preparing to send two little chickies to school this week. The Nicaraguan school calendar runs February to November so we've just completed our "summer" break. :)

Alison is returning to the Christian school she attended last fall for one month. We attended her Open House on Friday night and discovered that instead of placing her in first grade (so she'd get a full year of 1st grade), that the Director, first grade teacher and second grade teacher got together and decided that she could handle second grade! We're really proud of her! She's such a smart cookie. :)

She woke up at 4AM today because she was so excited! She and I had breakfast together where she told me about how she thought the day was going to go.

A little while later, the transport arrived and she was off.

The school holds a great position on academics and in the interest of not wasting anytime sent home her first homework assignments today! With a little help she was able to complete all of her homework, in Spanish, without getting frustrated! It's going to be a great year!

RIP: J.D. Salinger

Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.

-- The Catcher in the Rye

LifeLink International is pleased to announce that our Child Sponsorship program is now Live! Our preschool opens in Feb. 2010 with 100 students and they all need sponsors. Please consider how you can be a part of this great program.

A $35 a month sponsorship links you directly to a child. You will be aiding the child in purchasing supplies, clothes, a daily nutritional meal, and getting a Christian education.

You can get more information at www.lifelinkint.org. Click "Child Sponsorships".

If you have any questions you can use the contact page or feel free to email me directly at mtingle@lifelinkint.org

The gift of opportunity becomes the gift of a lifetime.

Emily cuteness

I've made chili for dinner -- from scratch! as there is no handy-dandy McCormick's mix here -- which is not on Emily's rider of approved dinner options. Instead of throwing a fit she instead approached me with the following request:

"Can I have a hot dog for dinner, or-haps?"

And I melted.

Orhaps is totally the new perhaps. :)

Linkity-link-link-link

In place of an actual post about knitting or Nica or the fam since I've been very busy, here is a list of links from my google reader that I think you should check out. I was a diehard bloglines fan and resisted the Reader forever, but Wayne started using it and when I tried it, "just to see", I immediately fell in love. If you still click from blog to blog, I highly recommend it.

Magic Pixie Knitter : http://magicpixieknitter.blogspot.com/ <-- my friend Adrienne, an amazingly talented chick who knits a lot!

Lolly Knitting Around : http://lollygirl.com/blog <-- great photography, also writes about yoga, library-ing, healthy living and travel.

Nicole the Knitting Goddess : http://knittinggoddess.typepad.com/ <-- my friend Nicole, great photos, this chick finishes projects faster than anyone I know. Lots of FOs and great details about yarn subs and mods.

Halfway Down the Stairs : http://halfway-down-the-stairs.blogspot.com/ <-- Guinifer knits socks, lots of them! A real inspiration for pattern and yarn ideas.

Fricknits : http://fricknits.typepad.com/ <-- Julie is a knitter, crocheter, quilter and more. Gorgeous photos, great inspiration.

365 days in the life of one blanket

Started Jan. 1, 2009

Knit in 3 countries and 2 states on Addi Turbo 16" circulars, size 2.

Includes yarns from socks I've knit, projects of dear friends and fellow knitters I'll probably never meet. And hand-dyed and handspun yarns.

This blanket has spawned, at last count, 6 or 7 other blankets.

It has been my constant companion in a year of a lot of change. It hold memories that I'll treasure for a very long time.

I plan to continue to add to it -- Lord knows I have the yarn. :)

More photos of the blankie adventure: http://www.flickr.com/photos/megaknits/sets/72157612411946506/

Not usually one to politick

But I read this in the online paper last week and it struck a chord:

"I don't know how Sen. Jesus would vote on health care. I don't think he is a socialist, a free-market capitalist, a Democrat, a liberal, or in the case of prosperity Gospel adherents--a Ponzi-sheme artist. I don't think Jesus is for fewer taxes and smaller government, or more taxes and bigger government. People who claim other wise are creating God in their own image. These matters fall under the domain of Ceaser. Unfortunately, our version of Ceaser leaves much to be desired, as we have seen by the machinations in Congress. Need a vote? Give a bribe.

Republicans obsess over the fate of the unborn and the near-dead but seem much less concerned about those in between. Democrats will pay for it all with Medicare cuts everybody knows aren't coming. Both sides tell us we won't have to sacrifice when, in fact, I think we should be asked to sacrifice.

So my prayer is this simple: Dear God, by the time they are done, please let everyone who is sick in the upcoming decade see a doctor. And please have us pay cash.

For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help. The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.-Psalm 72:12"

--the article was written by Mike Thomas. The article appeared on Dec. 24th in the Orlando Sentinel.

Merry Christmas!

November 2009 Newsletter

November 2009 Newsletter

A glimpse at the why

We face a humanity that is too precious to neglect.

We know a remedy for the ills of the world too wonderful to withhold.

We have a Christ too glorious to hide.

We have an adventure that is too thrilling to miss.
--Theodore Williams

Photo by Paul Triller, www.paultriller.com

Knitting Progress!!

Since it is technically winter here, I've been trying to take advantage of the cooler bits of the day to get some knitting done. I got out the Toshtastic Shalom and have been making good progress.

I knit two squares of the blanket last night, while missing my knitting ladies in Jamlando. :) Here's how it's looking now, complete with adorable 3-year-old to provide scale.

We just hosted a group, you can read about it here.

October 18...

...is National Chocolate Cupcake Day!! And since we're moving this weekend, I should be able to bake a batch to celebrate in our new house!!

Sustainability

This past weekend we had the privilege of meeting the family of our nanny, Miriam. They live in Los Encuentras, a small town in the mountains.
Their house is made of concrete and mud block with a tile roof that isn't quite perfect. The floor is dirt and several of the interior walls are tarps.

But what they lack in material possessions, they've quadrupled in kindness, hospitality and love.
On their property there are 4 houses, each houses a relative of Miriam's parents. They live together in a little community, helping each other and enjoying time together.
Mama Carmen and Miriam's Tia Frances bake bread to sell in the market everyday. The flour for the bread comes from the corn and wheat on Miriam's Dad's farm. From seed to finished product, they do it all.When the corn is ready to be harvested, they lay it out on tarps until it is dry. Then they grind it by hand into flour. They make a lot of dough, then prepare tortillas, bread and sweet bread. On days that they don't go to the market to sell the bread, Miriam's cousins, Frances (10) and Lucy (9), sell it door to door in the town.

While we were visiting I learned how to make a corn tortilla, prepare the dough for baking the bread and how to form the sweet bread with filling. It was a great experience. So many strong women, joined in camaraderie and work.

Miriam's mom took me aside while we were there and told me that their door is never closed to us. I think we'll go back often -- and I'd love to spend a day baking and selling with them. :)