Weekend Links

Things have been quiet here on the blog, but that doesn't mean they've been quiet anywhere else...As I type this I'm staring at a pile of dishes and needing to run off to work.  Last weekend was full of catching up with an old friend who's in town for a conference, cooking for the week ahead (and doing  dishes - so many dishes!), organizing, and bingeing on Game of Thrones Season 3 and the Downton Abbey season finale.

Knitting

It's almost the end of February and I'm behind on my knitting. Go figure. I'm still looking for a sweater to knit - I'm planning on making three this year, remember? Anyways, I've been seeing a lot of lovely yokes and fabulous construction. This sweater has piqued my interest, and is a strong contender.

DIY

I'm almost out of store-bought all-purpose cleaner. I think I'll give this one a try next.

Gardening

I'm pretty much apolitical on most topics, but get me talking about the farm bill and I start foaming at the mouth. I've never understood why the government subsidizes corn, wheat, and soy to the extent they do, while they don't subsidize vegetables. It is completely incongruent with their message to eat more veggies (which we should all be doing, whether the government tells us to or not, but I digress). It turns out that vegetable farmers don't want subsidies. This article is really interesting and clear about what on earth is going on with the farm bill. There's always room for improvement, but I'm frothing at the mouth a little less.

Cooking

Maybe you've heard the news that eating too much sugar leads to heart disease. Womp womp. The kicker is that "too much" is way less than we thought it was, and of course, most processed foods have sneaky amounts of sugar. My mother was on to something when she started making baked goods sweetened with fruit juice all those years ago. (Sorry for making fun of you back then, Mom.) I've noticed, off and on, that I do better with fewer grains, even gluten-free ones, and less sugar. Last weekend I baked chcoclate cupcakes sweetened with applesauce and just three tablespoons of sugar. They're different, to say the least, but I could get used to them. Next up, these cinnamon rolls.   This website seems great for low-carb, low-sugar goodies, only I'd rather take my chances with a few tablespoons of sugar spread out over a dozen treats than use xylitol or stevia.

What caught your eye last week?