Thursday, February 12, 2009

What the Heck's An Ebelskiver?

Finished my Eagle, CO job last Friday. I was only home 1 1/2 days before heading out to my next job in Conroe, TX (just north of Houston). Barely got my clothes washed and repacked (summery stuff this time anticipating the 75 degree weather there) before renting a car in Tyler and driving down Sunday afternoon.

I was determined to find an Ebelskiver pan in between doing laundry and repacking. The local Southern Gourmet store had just what I wanted - a non-stick Nordic Ware 7-hole version. What's an Ebelskiver? I didn't know myself until watching a Food Network show where a chef said banana Ebelskivers were the best food he ever ate. Basically, they're a Danish filled pancake but unlike anything I've ever had before - a cross between a jelly donut, pancake and a crepe. I just used a basic buttermilk pancake mix and had to play around with the cooking technique before succeeding. We had Ebelskivers filled with blackberry jam, some with banana and drizzled with strawberry syrup and a batch filled with Nutella (unbelievably rich). I just dusted them with a little powdered sugar and they were really delish.

I also finished 11 more swatches for J-Knits that took me 2 weeks to knit. I was still blocking them right up until leaving the house for Conroe. I was using size 1 needles to get the gauge with this fine sock yarn and spent every evening in Eagle knitting on them. It took me 3 times longer to knit & block each of them compared to the chunky yarn swatches I did previously. I was really glad to get finished and put them in the mail. I posted a picture of the finished product.

Conroe was a very gratifying job as it turned out perfectly. I was really able to help both the branch assistant, clients and new financial advisor coming in. I spent most of the 2 1/2 days I was in the office with a phone to my ear calling all the clients. I would've liked to have stayed longer as my hotel was right next door to Michael's, Hobby Lobby and Black-Eyed Pea. I also had an awesome little black 2009 Nissan Sentra to drive and it got fantastic gas mileage. It was a 3 hour drive each way to Conroe from Tyler, so I got to enjoy it a bit.

Now I'm home for a little while and catching up on computer stuff, doing taxes and finishing up more large knitting projects (a very involved scarf & a large afghan). I am enjoying the nice weather right now - other parts of the country aren't quite as pleasant.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

On the Road Again

I finally got "deployed" early last week to a new Financial Advisor job. I flew into Eagle/Vail, CO airport and am working about 11 days in the Edward Jones office in Eagle (pop. 3500). This is where Kobe Bryant was tried after he got himself in trouble with that girl in 2003.

I must say, I totally love the area. Not only is it beautiful (see pictures I posted) but I'm remembering how much I always liked this state and the people in it. I haven't seen a single smoker yet and everyone is fit and outdoorsy. The only thing I wasn't prepared for was the 6600 ft altitude. I haven't been much above sea level for many years and the first several days I battled some altitude sickness. Took it easy and drank gallons of water, which helped.

Fortunately I felt well enough yesterday to check out Vail Village (where I almost moved to instead of Santa Fe 22 years ago), Avon and Beaver Creek which are nearby. I hung out awhile in Minturn, the oldest town in the Vail Valley where they had an awesome yarn shop (woohoo) called The Yarn Studio. I stayed over an hour chatting with the very knowledgeable and outgoing employee. Not only was the little house stuffed with high-end yarn and supplies, but the whole upstairs is a great selection of needlepoint. I bought a ball of the newest sock yarn the owner, Kathy, had just brought back from TNNA (see picture). It is a Skacel import, Schoppel Wolle "Zauberball" in wide gradations from white to greys to black. Gotta love that German yarn. I'll start looking for just the right sock pattern to take advantage of the color changes.

Wish I was more of a skiier or snowshoer so I could really take advantage of this gorgeous area, but I'm still enjoying the beauty of the area and the cool people. Hey, I have a Starbucks right by the office, sushi in the well-stocked market and a wonderful yarn shop - what more could I ask for?