Spotting & Fixing Errors

Thanks for the ideas on how to use those t-shirts. I'll let you know what I decide to do. I had totally forgotten but my neighbor used to do a lot with wonder under. She used to take her kids character bedsheets when they were worn out in the center and use the rest to decorate canvas bags for projects at her kids' birthday parties. I'm going to pick her brain before I try anything.

In knitting news, I love the way the cabled scarf pattern is turning out. It is definitely a pattern that is best done while the kids are at school. There's too much counting to lose track of when everyone is around. I fouled up a row of my lace scarf last night but, thankfully, I can show it to my teacher tonight and she'll know in a second how to fix it. I think that's the best part of taking classes. I'd like to develop that eye for how to fix my knitting errors.

I hadn't thought about it before but that's something I already have with cooking, although its taken me years to cultivate it and most of the knowledge arrived as a result of screw ups I made along the way. Honestly, who among us hasn't made bread bricks or muffin hockey pucks?) I've gotten very good at diagnosing the problems people have when cooking and what to do about them.

I think that makes it easier for me to be confident when I make recipe substitutions, which ultimately makes it easier for me to be both frugal and healthy when cooking. Let's face it, I make almost as many substitutions to make ingredients healthier (ie. whole wheat flour for white, oil for margarine, pureed dates for sugar, etc.) as I do to make a dish vegan.

Speaking of fixing my own errors, here's something I discovered years ago but was reminded of when a new kitty joined our family a few weeks ago. Don't vacuum up used kitty litter that somehow makes it out of the catbox. The stench inside the vacuum will make you want/need to change your bag sooner than necessary. Instead, use a stiff broom and a dustpan to get as much up as possible, even if its on a rug like mine is. When you've gotten as much as you can by this method, then get the vacuum out.

If you're wondering how used kitty litter magically flies out of the cat box then you obviously don't have a dog who thinks the catbox is his personal snack bar. Consider yourself very lucky and ignore this last bit of wisdom. As for me, I'm on the lookout for a kiddie gate to stick in the doorway so the cat can come and go while the dog can not.