A New Knudson Family Member

And not the baby kind, for those of you that may have just gotten ahead of yourselves. Today we welcomed Ry's old cat Silvio back into the family. Silvio lived with Ry for five years until we had to give him because no cats were allowed in our residence hall apartment. Apparently he was in need of a new home again and we got the call asking whether or not we'd be in a position to take him.

Since giving up Silvio Ry had been very vocally basking in cat-free life, saying that he was so glad that he didn't have to clean up any cat hair and that it was gross how they climbed all over everything. He said he never, ever wanted a cat again. I still held out hope that someday maybe we could get one, or at least some kind of pet but had mostly come to the conclusion that our house is too small for a dog. The night before we got the call I was looking at little grey cats on the Humane Society website, hoping to very passively entice Ry into a new one.

We took a few days to deliberate and to weigh the pros and cons. Silvio was always extremely active, sometimes very aggressive (I have a big bite scar on my leg to prove it) and very vocal. We thought about the house and how we'd keep it in order, whether he'd break our things, whether he'd eventually be compatible with a baby. In spite of all of the questions, I still wanted him and Ry essentially left the choice up to me.

Last night we went out for dinner at a restaurant with a patio called Senor Luna that we saw along a bike path in New Berlin. On the drive there we got a big chuckle thanks to a middle aged man driving a bright yellow Miata with a license plate that read "MENTOR". He was jamming out thoughtfully to Steve Nicks singing "Landslide" and then pulled out a rag to buff finger prints off the door while he was waiting at the stop light. This scene was just too much for each of us. Senor Luna was nothing spectacular, but we enjoyed sitting outside and drinking margaritas. We kept laughing because I was wearing my sunglasses with mirrored fronts and Ry could not stop looking at himself and making goofy faces into them. Afterwards we stopped at the pet store to by supplies like food, litter box, toys, etc.

We spent this morning cleaning up the house and put away a few valuables that we were worried Silvio might break, such as the clay candeleria from Mexico that sits on our mantel. He was dropped off at around 1:30 and we've been watching him check things out. He was very timid and quiet at first roaming from room to room. Overall he seems a little mellower, a few more years might have just done him some good. He's still vocal, meowing every time he enters a room to announce his presence. He loves our big windows and has found a few perches that will probably be permanent.

In other news, Ry has been experimenting with a new whole wheat sour dough starter he created from the original starter my friend Kathleen gave him in Durango, CO on our summer road trip. We've been rich with bread and it's starting to taste more sour with the new recipes Ry is trying. Not sure whether I mentioned the starter before, but it was a pretty spectacular gift. It's been alive and well in Kathleen's family since 1963 when a customer who needed dental work couldn't pay for it and traded Kathleen's father the starter in exchange for the work.

I've been mostly going to bed early without doing much else after getting home from work this past week. This afternoon I tried out a new recipe from Vegetarian Times that I had been excitedly waiting to make. It was a kasha black bean soup. When I initially identified the recipe as something I want to try, I had bought all of the ingredients. However, by the time I got ready to make it I had already used them. So, I subbed out red bell pepper for hot fresh banana peppers and black-eyed peas for black beans. It only took about a half hour to make and was a spectacular lunch for a cool afternoon. We paired it with Ry's crusty homemade bread creation from this morning and voila!

Since I've been getting questions about the vegan pledge, here's where we're at...we've still been eating mostly vegan, but have integrated dairy items (mostly cheese) just a few times a week. It's simply too hard when you're not always in control of where you are and what they will have available. Sometimes it's just a nice treat. I'm trying to look at it in a less rigid when than when we initially committed. We are totally meat free, we feel much better, have lost weight and are still mostly vegan, most days. We've made good progress and that good progress is not negated by dairy every now and then (mostly weekends).

The other thing I started working on is a new hand sewn baby quilt for my old boss Michael. He and his wife are set to have a baby this fall and I haven't been able to work on one since little Chloe Hetzel was born in February. It will take me some time to complete, but I've posted pictures of the preparation and pinning process.

Finally, my drive to and from Whitewater has been just lovely over the past week. It's starting to look a little bit like fall with a red or yellow tree popping up every now and then. Also, I've been some great wildlife including sand hills cranes in flight, hawks, a woodchuck and a lovely cream colored horse mottled with red spots. I can't wait for fall colors to hit in earnest. This is by far my favorite season of the year.


Ironing the fabric after I washed it and pre-shrunk the organic cotton/bamboo batting. All supplies from Drawstring Studio, which has an Etsy shop and a local brick and mortar store in Bayview. A friend Danielle owns this, so...go buy local and support her great fabric store!


Cutting off a little excess batting after I sandwiched it smoothly between the two layers of fabric.


Pinned with the edges folded over.


Silvio, our new/old addition.


We are so crazy for fresh food it's a little ridiculous. Fresh goodies from last week's West Allis Farmer's Market.


The Kasha Black Bean Soup turned Kasha Black Eyed-Pea Soup.


A slice of Ry's homemade bread with natural peanut butter and Bonne Maman Wild Blueberry, my favorite delicious brand of French jams. The variety I love most is Four Fruits, if you are going to give it a shot.