S'mores brownies

So I was feeling kind of woogy all day today and was craving something sweet by the time I got home. And I'm the kind of person who always gives in to cravings. I remembered that Kathryn had given me various flavoured sprinkles, one of which was S'mores. I thought they might be good on some brownies, so I whipped up a batch. Because they were s'mores brownies and I knew I had marshmallows, I thought I'd throw some in (pro tip: if you need to turn marshmallows into marshmallow pieces, scissors are the way to go). I also had graham crackers, but was too lazy to open the box. After I mixed in my marshmallow pieces and was greasing the pan, I realized that melted marshmallows on the pan would likely be one heck of a mess. Did I think better of my plan? NO! I would not be the cavalier baker if I thought better of things. I brazenly dumped my batter into the pan. I did make the concession of moving the marshmallow chunks off the very edges so they weren't touching the pan. I figured, since they're mostly air, they'd float and sticking to the bottom wouldn't be an issue. I then sprinkled the whole thing with Kathryn's sprinkles (which were basically pure sugar but also pure delicious) and then into the oven it went.

I pulled them out to find that the marshmallows had basically just melted into the brownies (as I figured they would, once I stopped and thought about it once they were in the oven). No real mess, though. And still good. Basically just really sweet brownies. Were I to do it again - and, why not, right? - I would probably not be lazy and go ahead and pull out the graham crackers and break some up and put them into the batter, topping the whole mess with some marshmallows most of the way through baking, so they retain some integrity. Maybe even a sprinkle of chocolate chips on top, to melt in with the marshmallows. Mmmm. Now I want to try another batch!

It kinda creeps up on you...

So I just spent the last hour lugging a gallon of herbicide around spraying for poison ivy and Virginia creeper. The poison ivy is the main thing I want to kill off, because Jeremy's super sensitive to it. He currently has several spots on him. A few times it has spread so rampantly on him that he had to go get steroids from the doctor to get it under control. It's crazy. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum, I don't seem to be susceptible to it at all. Thus, my responsibility to rid ourselves of the poison ivy. You've heard of "leaves of three, let them be," right? Well, here's what you're looking for, in case you didn't know:

The leaves usually do look somewhat shiny due to their oily secretions, but these ones might look even more so as I'd already sprayed them.

Virginia creeper isn't really that big a deal except that it, well, creeps. All over the place. So, if left to its own devices, it would creep up my pine trees and probably kill them by shading them out (plants need sun to photosynthesize, of course). It apparently turns a lovely shade of red in the fall and, as such, is planted ornamentally, but I don't want it. It has leaves of five and is very prolific:

Fortunately, both of these seem to confine themselves to the slightly wooded areas of my yard - under a couple pine tree stands that we have. It narrows down where all I need to look. I've been spraying for weeks, now, but more and more keeps popping up. I'm hoping once it gets warmer and drier that I'll be able to kill it for the year. But it's definitely an annual ritual in which I must partake.

Just wanted to say, for Sunshine's sake, those would be compound leaves, so really leaflets in 3 or 5, of course.

The other azalea

So spring has sprung and we had a veritable explosion of daffodils. They've mostly faded, but the azaleas are just starting to go. We had one, very small, light purple one come and go early. The bigger ones are in bloom now or getting there. In the front, there's a whole hedge of azalea, and as the buds developed, it became clear one was red/pink and one was white. But between them, there was one that was developing more slowly and I didn't know what color it would be.

Well, it's finally starting to bloom, and it's dark pink edged in white, lovely! I think it'll be spectacular when it's in full bloom.

There are a few on the other side of the deck that haven't really opened, yet, but look like they're going to be a light pink. Can't wait to see.

I put in a bunch of plants this spring, so we'll see how my garden grows...

Latest knitting, now with beads!

So one of the last few holdouts just signed up for facebook. That would be me. Mostly it's because I'm on the verge of finally getting out of grad school and the peoples want to continue to see my handiwork. I certainly don't intend to update it or anything. Mostly I figured I'd use it as photographic documentation of my yarnworks, plants, and food excursions. Then I was thinking a blog type format might better suit my needs. I remembered I had this from lo these many years ago, so thought I'd fire it back up. I haven't decided which I'll ultimately end up doing, but I'll keep my options open. I likely won't know for a while, yet, as I probably won't be doing too much in the way of extracurriculars until I'm truly free and clear of school. We'll see how it goes.

Meanwhile, the latest on the knitting front, claimed by Maitreyi in my lab.
The Holden Shawl:

Dream in Color Smooshy - Dusky Aurora. With silver-lined purple E beads along the bottom row - you can just seem them in this pic.