Cricket in a Biscuit

We've been breaking from our usual patterns at the Dahl house. I switched gears a bit with my fitness, and decided to give 21 Day Fix * a go. I resisted for a long time, fearing regression, but it's been a fun change. Granted, I'm not lifting the heavy weights, but it's a challenge in a new direction, and the shorter workouts feel great. I'm taking on a new challenge in my knitting as well, stranded colorwork. When I've dabbled in the past, the results have been less than stellar. Sometimes, however, the right motivation is all that is required. Russian dolls, matryoshka, are "a thing" in our house. Laney and I love them; we built her fifth birthday around a matryoshka theme. So, when doll leggings landed on my radar, they were immediately elevated to unicorn status. (The first pair I saw were the wrong size.) Now, I've been trying to curtail unnecessary spending due to unexpected expenses. Darren has needed a slew of dental work — I...

We are generally a pretty hardy bunch, so the last few weeks have been overwhelming and a little bewildering. At least one person has been stay-at-home sick almost every day since the middle of January. A dental crisis and some overtime hours tacked on for good measure was more than I felt equipped to handle. But, as I explained to Laney when she was wondering why Daddy was out shoveling even though he was in misery, being a grownup means doing what needs to be done, even when you don't feel like it. It seems like the worst is behind us now, knock on wood, and I'm looking forward to everyone being back to normal. There is, however, an upside to an entire family requiring rest and unable to leave the house: plenty of time for quiet hobbies. We may have been under a self-imposed quarantine, but I got so much accomplished! Before, the illness, I finished the two cowls on which I'd been working. The Bear Hug is wrapped up and waiting for Ainsleigh's birthday, ...

After all the last minute rushing and prep, Christmas finally arrived! I hope yours was merry. We enjoyed time spent with family, and it was a happy holiday, indeed. With the gifts safely delivered, I can show you what I've been working on. The big knitting project which claimed not one, but two of my interchangeable cables was a baby blanket for my nephew, Cooper, who will be arriving this spring. The pattern by Marie Grace Smith is one I've been wanting to make forever, but I allow Darren's input on a lot of my baby projects, and he kept vetoing this one. One day, though, I walked into Jo-Ann Fabrics and these yarns just called to me. The pattern recommends a solid color, fingering weight. Of course, the yarn I chose is worsted weight, not even close to the same, but they were the perfect neutrals; it just seemed right. The nice thing about blankets, they are a simple shape, so the yarn weight really doesn't matter. Just knit until it is the right size. This blank...

Many years ago, there was a candy shop in Duluth, which was owned by my maternal great-grandfather. Though it has been closed for decades, the candy tradition has been passed down through the family. Every Christmas, we start churning out sweet treats by the pound, which is what I was busy doing this weekend. My sister and I happened to have the same weekend free — anyone else have totally insane December schedule this year?! — and we enjoyed spending the time with our mom. We all use the same core recipes: English toffee, caramel, and chocolate covered cherries, but over time we've each developed our own twist. Mine is sea salt toffee with dark chocolate. My sister likes to add turtles to her selection, and my brother's family has ventured into the white chocolate territory. Last year, my mom found the old family recipe for butterscotch, which was pretty good. I would not be sad if those became a regular feature! You're probably wondering if I'm going to share s...

Hugs from my Sophie Darling rank high among my favorite things. Ever since school started, one or more members of the family have been fighting some sort of cold. Currently, we are dealing with a head-cold/sinus thing, and it's my turn. Until I'm feeling better, I'm keeping my exercise pretty low key — that is, as much as drill instructor, Ainsleigh, will allow. She likes to watch me sweat, that's for sure! My go-to when I need to recuperate is yoga. I like that it is low stress but still presents a strength challenge and uses the entire body. It also helps relax tight muscles, and I sleep much better, especially if I do a quick practice at night. Beachbody has just added Yoga Studio, a collection of yoga routines from across all the programs, to the On-Demand member library with new practices being added all the time. I've been exploring the newest options and found a couple I really like. One is a 10-minute routine to ease lower back pain, which I've...

Soap, socks, sheep, sewing, sawing and siblings Last week , I mentioned wanting to try an old, but new to me, recipe for pumpkin patch pie. The little girls and I stuffed a pumpkin with apples, dried cranberries, cinnamon and sugar, too much nutmeg and baked it. In the end, it wasn't as good as we'd hoped, but still worth another shot after some adjustments. Our savory fall dish before, during and after baking. I tried a couple new soap recipes. The first was a deodorizing kitchen soap made with coffee. I found the recipe in a book of hot process soaps checked out from the library. Before returning the book, I copied down the most intriguing recipes. The first I tried was a goat milk soap. It was a nice soap, but through it I discovered a preference for cold process. Fortunately, most recipes can be used with either process, so I used cold process for the kitchen soap. It was a large batch. I have a  mold Darren made from a rain gutter, which turns out the perfe...

Something I started for me has come to mean a whole lot more… for my entire family This post is for all those hard-working, self-sacrificing moms. I say moms because I am one, but really it goes for all caregivers. I want to ask you this question. How many nights each week do you lay down for the night and realize you've done nothing for yourself? You spend the entirety of your days running around taking care of other people, making sure their needs are met, but you never manage to work far enough down the to-do list to reach your name. Ainsleigh helping me warm up with some Supermans That's where I was for a very long time. Sure, my most basic needs were met. Obviously I ate regularly, mainly because I was making meals for everyone else. When Laney was just tiny, I didn't always eat, because there was no one to cook for. I had clothes to wear and a roof over my head, but I would go to bed each night feeling completely neglected. I tried explaining this Darren...

This teriyaki flavored noodle dish was a spontaneous creation resulting from a total change in direction in the middle of the dinner-making process. It went over really well, so I thought I would pass it on. Given the size of my family, one would think it essential for me to be super organized with meals. Sometimes I do plan ahead, especially for dishes requiring special ingredients. However, most days go more like this. Around lunch time, I pull something from the freezer and throw it in water with the fervent hope it will be thawed before I need to start cooking. I let ideas percolate in the back of my mind, and, by three o'clock, usually have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to make. At four o'clock, I start cooking and we eat sometime after five. The night I made this, I had taken out a pack of chicken breasts, the big split ones with the skin and bones, because they were on sale. I was pretty set on making Alfredo. The plan was to use two of the breasts in ...

Before my mom taught me to knit, crochet and sew, that knowledge was passed to her. My Grandma Hansen was a tough lady. The kind who wouldn't tolerate rude behavior or disrespect from anyone old enough to control the tone of their voice. She could still a child squirming through church with an outstretched hand. She was also the kind who, with a wink and a smile, would slide an M&M across the table to a kid to shy to ask for one, then elicit a whispered, "Thank you," with a gentle, but expectant, "You're welcome." Grandma Hansen in 2005. Grandma was also a crafter. She gifted many crochet dolls to her grand-daughters. One Christmas, each grand-kid was given a pillow case. Mine, a black and white panda print with lace on the cuff, is still in circulation. Another year it was a pajama set, wrapped and topped with a little crochet animal. My brother's gift topper was accidentally sent out with the wrapping paper, and she made him another. It sh...

Photo by Jim Caspersen When my brother called me about heading out on a mini ski vacation, I was pumped — and a little nervous. It had been six years since I'd last strapped on a pair of skis! I almost chickened out. When it comes to backing out of things, I have the ever-ready no one to watch the kids excuse, but Darren wasn't going to let me out that easy. When I ran it by him, he thought the trip was a great idea. So, off I went. And it was awesome. The first day I only skied for a couple hours. Missing the last chance turn off, and the resulting trip — on my butt — down a black diamond, revealed the wisdom in enjoying some down time in the chalet. Might as well live to ski another day. Day two I saw a lot more of the mountain, and it was a blast! Two kid free days in a row, down hill skiing with my kid brother… Yeah, I'm glad I went. Lutsen Mountain