Florence

We went on a wonderful trip to Europe in early June, and I decided I’d write a bit about it. In part to write down some memories, but in part also because I am the kind of anxious person who feels better having a step-by-step procedure of an upcoming unknown situation, so I know that this information can help others plan their trips better as well. Note that this post contains some affiliate links, which means that if you make a purchase using one of those links, I will get a very small commission at no extra cost to you. I’m only recommending things that I own myself and that I’m happy I bought! 

A few words about travelling in Florence… 

 - While I did use my Italian (I can figure out a few useful sentences thanks to a course I took in university and 105 days of DuoLingo to refresh my memory), the vast majority of people with whom we interacted spoke English well enough that speaking Italian is not strictly necessary. Museums also have English placards and signs. 

- Even though most stores take credit cards, you will still need some cash on hand, especially if you take cabs or if your hotel requires you to pay the tourist tax up front. 

 - We have a cellphone plan with T-Mobile that covered text messages and data transfers while we were in Europe, which was very useful. (Pro tip: Download WhatsApp to make phone calls using your data plan!) I had created some Google Maps and downloaded them on my phone before going, but was disappointed to see that the pins and itineraries I had created often did not show up on my phone, which made the whole thing somewhat useless. 

 - Note that most attractions (museums, churches, etc.) do not allow backpacks and only allow small or medium-sized purses, and there typically aren’t cloakrooms or lockers available, so I purchased this Travelon anti-theft cross-body bag that was big enough to carry my usual stuff, plus passports, water and sunscreen, etc., while still being small enough to be allowed. It was very useful during this trip and a great investment! You’ll also have to go through metal detectors and security at most attractions. Water bottles must not exceed 16 fluid ounces. And keep in mind that churches are still places of worship, so you can’t just waltz in wearing spaghetti straps, short-shorts or flip-flops. 

- Most restaurants with a printed menu have little numbers after each dish, like footnotes, from 1 to 14. When you look at the end of the menu, each number corresponds to an allergen like nuts, mustard, wheat, or seafood. Number 7 was the one for dairy, including lactose. I am not sure how cross-contact is handled in the kitchen, and it probably varies by restaurant, but this shows that at least allergies are taken seriously. 

- Trains are easy to navigate. Note that if you purchase a ticket for a specific day/time in advance, all you need is your ticket and ID and you’re good to go. If you purchase a paper ticket at the kiosk on the day of your trip, you need to validate your ticket in one of the little green machines, meaning insert the ticket into it so that it gets stamped with a date and time. This basically lets the onboard controller know that you are using the ticket just this once and are not planning on defrauding the train company. To get on or off the train, press on the button to open the doors (this is not automatic). 

- For peace of mind, we used SafetyTats on the kids to make sure they had our phone number visibly on them. We ended up sticking the tats on their clothes instead of their skin, and the stickers were resistant enough that we could stick the same one on several different shirts on consecutive days, yet they remained easy to peel off. I highly recommend them! You can also get them on Amazon. 

- If you have kids between the ages of 4 and 12, I can’t recommend MiFolds enough to keep them safe in a car. It folds up very small, so it’s ideal for travelling when you can’t lug their car seat around. 

- Buy an electrical adapter/converter like this multitasking model with USB ports. So, on to accommodations! 

I knew of a Quebecker who, with his wife, owns rooms for rent in Florence, in an unbeatable location and at competitive rates. Their bed and breakfast was fully booked for the dates we wanted, so we rented the amazing Giotto suite instead and *loved* it! The building is easily accessible from the airport by taxi (roughly €25) and by train (it is near Santa Maria Novella Station). Plus, it is all walking distance to the centro storico, which is where most of the tourist attractions are located. The view from the bedroom window was right on the Duomo, and I spent countless times just staring at it in awe. It was amazing! Plus, this suite gave us room to spread out, we saved some money by using our own kitchenette for breakfast, and we had a washing machine. We were living the dream! 

We were jetlagged upon arrival, but spent the afternoon walking to the Duomo and visiting Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral. We made our way to the Mercato Centrale hoping to buy dinner, but we ended up only buying pastries and purchasing the rest of our essentials at the grocery store down the street from our lodging. 

The next day, we walked to the Galleria dell’Accademia (literally around the block!) to see Michelangelo’s David. I bought our tickets online in advance – it’s a bit more expensive (there is a €4 booking fee per person), but then you get a guaranteed timeslot in which to enter the museum; otherwise, you’d have to stand in line and hope they aren’t already sold out for the day, which just seems like a bad plan to me. Even though the confirmation email said to go collect the tickets at the booth before getting in line to enter, it turned out we actually had to get right in line at our appointed ticket time and get the tickets directly at the entrance. I had printed out the email confirmation and was not asked for identification beyond that, though by law we still have to carry our passports with us. Anyway, the main attraction is in a large room near the entrance, and it is well worth the visit! We didn’t spend too much time in that museum because we had a busy day ahead, but I loved what I saw. 

We then walked south, to and through Piazza della Signoria, where there is a copy of the statue of David in front of the Palazzo Vecchio. We continued to the Gallerie degli Uffizi for more museum time. (I promised the kids that was the only museum day, and I have no regrets even though they were bored to tears by the end.) Just as with the Galleria dell’Accademia, we purchased our tickets in advance for a specific time, though this museum did have a place to pick up the tickets before entering (marked by number 3, near the river bank on the south end). You could easily spend hours and hours in this museum – it probably has the highest concentration of famous works of art I’ve seen, culminating in Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. (We basically told our kids it had works by all the Ninja Turtles, but even that is under-selling it!) 

Just outside the museum, you can get a great view of the Ponte Vecchio. While we did cross it, we didn’t go much further, because the kids, especially the Fox, were tired of walking. If that isn’t a problem for you, I recommend making your way to the Boboli Gardens, the Rose Garden, or the Piazzale Michelangelo for views of the city. You could also visit any of the palaces formerly owned by the Medicis and many more modern museums. 

On our third and last day, we took a day trip to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. (There are other things to see in Pisa if you are so inclined, pardon the pun, but we had reached the quota of museums and history that we could shove down the kids’ throats without a mutiny. The Cathedral, Baptistery, and museum could be your cup of tea too!) The owners of our lodging had confirmed that it was better to book our train or bus tickets in advance, and I’m glad I did. We opted for the train, in large part because it is easy to navigate and because the kids were really excited at the idea of finally travelling by train! I looked up the information on TrenItalia, which is very easy to use even without the app. I made sure to select the Santa Maria Novella station in Florence (since that was the one near our hotel) and the San Rossore station in Pisa (since that’s the one that is walking distance to the tower), using only direct routes (no transfers to worry about). It was only €54 for the four of us, roundtrip. The train takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes to get there, and we spent a few hours there mid-day, which was enough to walk around, get our fill of the tower from the outside, and have lunch in a nearby restaurant before making our way back to Florence. (We didn’t realize that it was once again possible for visitors to climb up the tower. We had a backpack and were on a schedule, so it was not to be for us, but you can also buy a ticket in advance for a specific timeslot; keep that in mind for your visit.) 

I absolutely loved Florence, and my trip in general! The kids didn’t appreciate it as much as I did, or perhaps they appreciated different aspects of it, but if my own European travels at their age is any indication, they’ll look back on it with gratitude and good memories later on.

Bacon and Chard Dutch Baby

 

I was looking for something to liven up dinner, and this fit the bill. I never even got around to making a “regular” Dutch baby for breakfast, but here I go with a savory bacon and chard version! I liked this, though perhaps would use less parmesan next time. And as the Engineer was quick to point out, the bacon does a lot of the heavy lifting in this dish. Still, the kids didn’t completely hate it, so it’s a win! 

5 slices bacon (8 oz. total), chopped 

1-lb bunch Swiss chard, stems and leaves separated and finely chopped (I used a 5-oz package of baby kale) 

1 cup all-purpose flour 

1 cup lactose-free whole milk 

4 large eggs 

2 oz parmesan cheese, grated (about ½ cup), plus more for serving 

½ tsp. kosher salt 

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper 

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh chives 

½ cup lactose-free sour cream 

Preheat oven to 425 °F. Cook bacon in a 12-inch oven proof skillet over medium, stirring occasionally, until crispy, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet. 

Add chard stems to skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, about 2 minutes. Add chard leaves; cook, stirring constantly, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Move chard away from edges of skillet, leaving about ½ inch of space around edges. Place in oven and bake for 5 minutes. 

Whisk flour, milk, eggs, cheese, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl until smooth. 

Remove skillet from oven and carefully pour in batter. Return skillet to oven and bake until puffy and golden brown, about 25 minutes. Top with bacon, chives, and more grated cheese. Serve with sour cream.

Flourless Chocolate Meringue Cake

 

This flourless chocolate meringue cake would be perfect for Passover – though I made it after then and it was still great. There’s a part of the instructions that I accidently glossed over, but I’d like to point out how important this is: do run a knife alongside the edge of the cake right as you take it out of the oven, before it cools down, so that it can settle evenly as it cools. 

10 oz. (283 g) semisweet chocolate (64%-70% cacao), coarsely chopped 

6 Tbsp. grapeseed, avocado, or other neutral oil 

¼ cup strong brewed coffee 

1 ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more 

5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature 

2 tsp. vanilla extract 

1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, divided 

¾ cup (72 g) almond flour or almond meal 

¼ cup water 

Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350 °F. Brush a 9-inch springform pan with vegetable oil, making sure to coat sides all the way to the rim. Line bottom of pan with a parchment paper round; brush parchment with oil. 

Heat chocolate, oil, coffee, and salt in a large heatproof bowl set over a medium saucepan of gently simmering water (bowl should not touch water), stirring occasionally with a heatproof rubber spatula, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove bowl from heat; add egg yolks, vanilla, and ¼ cup sugar and whisk vigorously to combine. Add almond flour and mix well. (Don’t worry if it looks broken and separated.) Add water and whisk vigorously until mixture comes back together and looks smooth and glossy. Set chocolate mixture aside. 

Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat egg whites and a pinch of salt in a large non-plastic bowl until frothy, about 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and continue to beat until foamy and opaque, about 30 seconds. Beating constantly, gradually add remaining ¾ cup sugar in a slow, steady stream. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form and meringue is dense and glossy. (Be careful not to overbeat or it will be dry and grainy and difficult to incorporate into the batter.) 

Scoop out a heaping cupful of meringue and set aside. Scrape about half of the remaining meringue into bowl with reserved chocolate mixture and fold gently with spatula until just a few streaks remain. Scrape in the rest of the meringue; fold just until evenly mixed and batter is light and airy. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth surface. Spoon dollops of reserved meringue over batter. Using a skewer or toothpick, swirl into batter—a little or a lot; it’s up to you. 

Bake cake until surface is risen and cracked, meringue is light golden, and a tester inserted into the center comes out shiny but clean, 60–70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and run a small knife or offset spatula between very top of cake and pan to loosen anywhere it may be stuck (this will help the cake settle evenly as it cools). Let cake cool in pan. 

To serve, run knife around sides again to loosen cake, then unmold.

Batch of links

- There’s a new skin patch that shows promise in helping kids with a peanut allergy. 

- Turns out I’ll have to lay off erythritol. Bummer. 

- Why people who brush still get cavities. 

- There’s only one mustard maker left in Dijon, and it’s not Maille! 

- In the 1930s, some Italians wanted to abandon pasta. Good thing that didn’t last! 

- The life and confessions and mob chef David Ruggerio. This was a great read! 

- Also super interesting: The totally wild world of New York City exotic meat. 

- I’ve been reading more of Virginia Sole-Smith’s writing, such as this piece about the whole Ozempic thing (of which I was peripherally aware through PCOS groups) and this one about kids, weight, and healthy eating), but the one I really want to recommend right now is Underwear Science – Has anyone who designs underwear ever looked at a fat person?. I’ve felt this as an average-size woman, so I can only imagine what it’s like in a bigger body! 

- I love that I got to travel a lot as a kid, but this article about Suzanne Heywood’s round-the-world sailing trip made me grateful I have responsible parents! 

- There’s strong evidence that kids who get smart phones earlier become adults with worse mental health. 

- Did you know Netflix has secret codes?

Poppy Seed Torte

 

Picture a tart with a poppy seed custard or pastry cream filling, and you’re pretty close to what this is! I was really in the mood for a not-too-sweet poppy seed dessert that didn’t rely heavily on lemon, one of those straight-up deals like my mother’s poppy seed cake. I mean, there is some lemon zest in here, but it’s not like a another dessert that had caught my eye and that I ended up casting aside for that reason. I loved this torte! Note that this is the kind of dish you have to make a day ahead, or at least start early in the morning. I would also consider omitting the cream in the filling to make it more solid. 

For the crust 

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 

¼ cup sugar 

1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest 

¼ tsp. salt 

1 stick cold lactose-free butter, cut into ½-inch pieces 

1 large egg yolk 

2 Tbsp. ice water 

For the filling 

½ cup sugar 

4 large egg yolks 

3 Tbsp. cornstarch 

1 pinch of salt 

1 ½ cups lactose-free whole milk 

2 Tbsp. lactose-free butter 

1 tsp. vanilla extract 

½ cup cold lactose-free cream (see note above) 

1 Tbsp. poppy seeds 

For the crust 

Pulse the flour, sugar, lemon zest, and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the egg yolk and ice water; pulse until the dough begins to come together. Turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat into a disk. Wrap tightly and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. 

Lightly coat a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom with cooking spray. Roll out the dough into a 10-inch round on a lightly floured surface. (If it gets too soft, return to the refrigerator until firm.) Ease the dough into the prepared pan and press into the bottom and up the sides, trimming any excess. Pierce the bottom all over with a fork. Refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 375 °F and set a rack in the lowest position. Put the tart pan on a baking sheet. Line the crust with foil, then fill with pie weights. Transfer the baking sheet to the oven; bake until the crust edges are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and weights and continue baking until the crust is golden all over, 15 to 20 more minutes (it was less in my case). Transfer to a rack and let cool completely. 

For the filling 

Meanwhile, whisk the sugar, egg yolks, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl until combined. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat (do not boil). Gradually whisk half of the hot milk into the egg mixture, then pour back into the saucepan with the remaining milk and cook, whisking until thick like pudding, about 4 minutes. Whisk in the butter and vanilla. Pour the filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl (I skipped this step). Let cool to room temperature, stirring frequently, about 30 minutes. 

Whisk the cream with a mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold the whipped cream and poppy seeds into the cooled filling. Spoon into the prepared crust and smooth the top. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours or overnight.

Creamy Spinach Sweet Potato Noodles with Cashew Sauce

Here’s a quick recipe for lunch – or at least, I made it into a quick recipe. You see, my spiralizer is a small hand-held thing that is essentially a pencil sharpener for vegetables. And, you know, I was recovering from a carpal tunnel flare-up, so there was no way I was spiralizing things myself. I ended up getting spiralized butternut squash from the frozen section instead. 

You’ll end up with more sauce than you need, but I don’t recommend halving the recipe because then, you wouldn’t have enough for the blender to really be efficient. You could also add more toppings – the original recipe suggests bacon or caramelized onions, both of which sound great to me! 

1 cup cashews 

¾ cup water (plus more for soaking) 

½ tsp. salt 

1 clove garlic 

1 Tbsp. oil 

4 large sweet potatoes, spiralized (see note above) 

2 cups baby spinach 

1 handful of fresh basil leaves, chives, or other herbs 

salt and pepper, to taste 

olive oil, for drizzling (optional) 

Put the cashews in a bowl and cover them with water; soak for 2 hours or so (I soaked them overnight). 

Drain and rinse thoroughly. Place in a high-powered blender with the ¾ cup water, salt, and garlic. Purée until very smooth. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the sweet potatoes; toss in the pan for 6-7 minutes with tongs until tender-crisp. Remove from heat and toss in the spinach – it should wilt pretty quickly. 

Add half of the herbs and half of the sauce to the pan and toss to combine. (Add water if the mixture is too sticky.) Season generously with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and top with the remaining fresh herbs.

Muffins framboises, betterave et chocolat

 

J’ai fait des pancakes protéinés au chocolat il n’y a pas longtemps, en adaptant cette recette (avec de la poudre de superaliment au chocolat). J’ai trouvé ça correct, sans plus, mais le Petit Prince a tellement aimé que je vous mets quand même le lien, avec une photo médiocre. 

Tant qu’à manger des légumes et du chocolat au petit déjeuner, personnellement, je vous recommande plutôt la recette ci-dessous, tirée du Coup de Pouce d’avril 2023! Pour la betterave, j’ai utilisé des betteraves en conserve; je les ai réduites en purée et j’ai congelé l’excédent. Dans la recette ci-dessous, j’ai ajouté des poids et légèrement modifié quelques quantités. J’ai également réduit toutes les framboises en purée parce que je sais que mes enfants n’apprécient pas les fruits entiers dans leurs muffins; faites comme vous voulez pour les vôtres. 

1 ¼ tasse framboises fraîches ou surgelées décongelées 

½ tasse betterave cuite, coupée en gros morceaux 

¾ tasse sucre 

½ tasse yogourt grec nature sans lactose 

½ tasse huile végétale 

3 œufs, battus légèrement 

1 ¼ tasse (150 g) farine de blé blond 

¾ tasse (75 g) poudre de cacao tamisée 

2 c. à thé poudre à pâte 

1 pincée de sel 

½ tasse pépites de chocolat blanc 

Préchauffer le four à 350 °F. Tapisser 12 moules à muffins de moules en papier ou les graisser légèrement (moi, j’ai obtenu 14 muffins). 

Au robot culinaire ou au mélangeur, réduire ¾ tasse de framboises (voir plus haut) et la betterave en purée lisse. Dans un bol, mélanger la préparation avec le sucre. Incorporer le yogourt, l’huile et les œufs jusqu’à ce que la préparation soit homogène. Réserver. 

Dans un grand bol, mélanger la farine, le cacao, la poudre à pâte et le sel. Ajouter les ingrédients liquides réservés et mélanger à l’aide d’une spatule (j’ai pris une cuillère en bois) en soulevant délicatement la pâte jusqu’à ce qu’elle soit homogène, sans plus. Incorporer les pépites de chocolat et le reste des framboises. 

Répartir la pâte dans les moules à muffins (j’en avais 14 en tout). Cuire au four 25 minutes (23 minutes dans mon cas) ou jusqu’à ce qu’un cure-dents piqué au centre des muffins en ressorte propre. Laisser refroidir sur une grille 5 minutes, puis retirer les muffins des moules et laisser refroidir complètement sur la grille.

Passover Sweet Potato Gnocchi

This recipe was shared by my friend Jen. It is perfect to use up leftover matzo meal from Passover! I have given up on shaping gnocchi, but rest assured that these were delicious nonetheless, and that’s the important thing. The brown butter sauce would be great with sage as well, though I didn’t use any in this recipe because my kids don’t really like it. The recipe below makes 4 small servings. 

1 cup mashed sweet potato (hot or cold) 

¼ cup lactose-free ricotta 

½ cup matzo meal 

¼ cup potato starch (I used corn starch) 

1 scant teaspoon kosher salt 

¼ cup unsalted butter 

10 fresh sage leaves (I feel like this would be too many) 

Mash together the sweet potato, ricotta, matzo meal, potato starch, and salt. When the dough is well mixed, break it into four even pieces. Roll each and cut about a 10-inch roll and cut into small pieces, about 15 per piece of dough. Using a fork, roll the bits of dough to flatten them slightly and make indentations. Boil in salted water just until they rise to the surface. 

In a large saucepan, preferably non-stick, melt the butter and add the sage leaves, after a few minutes add the gnocchi and cook until the sage leaves are crisp and the gnocchi is slightly crisp on the outside.

Spiced Potato Tea Cake

 

This recipe is from the December 2019 issue of Eating Well. It was absolutely delicious! 

1 medium russet potato (about 12 oz), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 

1 cup (120 g) cake flour (I used 2 Tbsp. corn starch and topped it up with all-purpose flour) 

1 cup (120 g) whole wheat pastry flour (I used while whole wheat flour) 

1 tsp. baking powder 

¾ tsp. salt 

½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

¾ cup granulated sugar 

4 Tbsp. (½ stick) lactose-free butter, melted 

¼ cup grapeseed oil (or other neutral vegetable oil) 

4 large eggs 

2 Tbsp. spiced dark rum 

2 ½ Tbsp. brown sugar 

½ tsp. ground cardamom 

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon 

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper 

Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease a 9”x5” loaf pan and dust it with flour, tapping out any extra. 

Place potato in a medium saucepan, cover with 2 inches of water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain and return the potato to the pot to dry for 1 minute. Mash with a potato masher until mostly smooth. Measure out 1 packed cup (reserve any remaining potato for another use). Let cool for 5 minutes. 

Sift cake flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg into a large bowl. 

Pulse the potato and granulated sugar in a food processor just until smooth. Add butter, oil, eggs, and rum; process until smooth. Add the flour mixture and pulse until thoroughly mixed. 

Combine brown sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, and pepper in a small bowl. Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with the brown sugar mixture. Top with the remaining batter. Tap the pan on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 °F. 

Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes more. 

Run a knife along the edges of the cake. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out onto the rack to cool completely, about 1 ½ hours.

The hiatus hat

My hobby has caught up to me: I love to knit, and as I typed this, I accidentally typed “I live to knit” at first, and that’s pretty telling. I started about 18 years ago, and after doing it almost daily for over ten years, I’ve got carpal tunnel syndrome. Time using a computer mouse, working on the backend of my business or just doing things for fun, made things worse. 

Let me back up a bit to recap what happened in the previous months. There are small projects I knit, such as another Baby Fair Isle Cardigan with two skeins of Plymouth Yarn Dreambaby DK Yarn in Grey and some pink yarns and buttons from my stash. 

After that, I used a skein of yarn gifted to me by my mother-in-law. She lives in British Columbia, and there’s a local-to-her business called Wild West Dye that makes naturally dyed yarns. She gifted me 100 grams of bulky weight yarn in Firestar, which is a red colorway that I really loved. This yarn is 80% merino, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon. It was a joy to work with! It rekindled something in me, because it had been over 10 years since I had worked with bulky yarn – the one with which I learned the craft in the first place. 

I looked up patterns to use up that skein and decided to make the Red Herring Reversible Beanie, coincidentally created by someone local-to-me. I actually had to buy 15 mm circular needles and 9 mm circular needles for this because I didn’t own any that were big enough – I did have a pair of 9 mm, but they were straight needles and therefore not appropriate. After knitting my swatch, I adjusted for gauge (buying more and more needles wasn’t an option), and I love the result! It’s a beautiful herringbone on one side, and ridges on the other, so the hat can be worn either way. 

The only downside to that yarn is that it’s losing some fuzz and I’m afraid it’ll felt, but oh well, so be it. Even though it’s a one-ply yarn, it didn’t break when I was frogging and working it up again, so there’s that.

 As I was looking for hat patterns, though, I had come across a photo of the Everyday Hygge Hat insuch a beautiful colorway that I just had to buy both the pattern and a skein of Malabrigo Noventa Yarn in Anniversario. (I also bought yarn for a third hat, which I will reveal later. The fact that I live in a climate where I only rarely need a hat is but a small detail and I won’t let it stop me.) And I bought some 8 mm circular needles – I was happy to try the SmartStix model I’d been hearing about for so long! 

I started knitting this hat and, after two days (just when I had reached the end of the ribbing pattern), my right wrist gave me some sharp pains. So I took a hiatus from knitting to rest my wrist, even though I still had to spend a day making a panda cake. My wrist got so much worse overnight that I had to make my way to urgent care on the weekend, where I was given a splint and a prescription for painkillers. (I wasn’t even able to fill the latter because I had asked for a prescription for a liquid version, but it turned out that my insurance only covered the pill as the difference in price was exponential. It took a while for a doctor to change the prescription to the pill after I had given my assent, but even then they made a mistake and gave me 10 doses instead of the 100 originally prescribed, so I’ve been hoarding those pills for the next time.) A hand therapist gave me the all-clear to resume normal activities, but did not recommend any exercises or modification of knitting technique, so I guess I’ll be looking for another physical therapist at some point. It turns out that the symptoms I’d been bringing up with my PCP for the past two years, which she had brushed off, were in fact early symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome. 

Anyway, knitting at my normal speed and without any frogging, this would have taken me three evenings. In addition to the carpal tunnel break, I also took some time to get the end right – I originally had knit 17 rows after the tip of the front-side pattern before decreasing, and that didn’t leave me with quite enough yarn. So I frogged it and knit 15 rows, which left me with a bit too much yarn, and I frogged again and knit 16 rows before decreasing, which was just right. 

Finally, since the Engineer’s youngest cousin just had a baby named Zelda, I had time to knit a Multiflora cardigan. The mom-to-be said she gravitated toward greens and purples rather than pinks, so I found a few options I liked. The Fox helped me with the final color choice and we settled on Madelinetosh Pashmina Yarn in Lost In Trees. (The photo that shows the colorway truest to life is the first.)

It's a bottom-up cardigan, made in size 9mo. I didn’t have enough yarn to make the matching hat, but at least I didn’t run out while making the cardigan! If I had to do it over again, I would knit the sleeves first, because that would be fewer ends to weave in – you would just graft them on when you got to the arm holes, instead of having to break the yarn at that point to knit sleeves separately. I also found that the buttonholes were a bit too loose for my liking, even though they are only one stitch wide (but the bigger button were too big for the button band, so there’s a chance this cardigan will just stay open). Still, I really loved the delicate floral pattern!