This is what we ate for breakfast this morning. Well, maybe I should call it brunch even though it's only granola; it was close to noon by the time we ate it. Besides, it has chocolate in it and that makes it fancy enough to be called brunch even if it's only granola.

The recipe is French Granola from Orangette (scroll way down). I found it via Make Something just before Christmas but put off making it until I'd finished the Christmas granola* we got from Jane and Niall. Karyn suggests mixing up a second batch of the dry ingredients to have on hand for when you finish your first batch and I'm definitely going to follow her advise. This stuff is so good.

I pretty much followed the recipe as written. I was too lazy to chop up my own chocolate and bought mini chocolate chips instead. I think they look pretty cute anyway. I also added some dried cranberries (orange flavoured) because I like to have a little fruit in my breakfast. They go very nicely with the chocolate.

Cooking the granola filled the kitchen with the loveliest delicate "wake up" aroma - almonds and honey and oats all mingling together. I cooked my granola for about 30 minutes to get a nice colour. My baking sheet has very low (or non-existant) sides so things were kind of mounded up in the middle to reduce my chances of spilling granola all over the floor of the oven. A rimmed baking sheet will be procured in my next shopping trip.

I'm torn between giving jars of this to every person I know and keeping it all for myself. It's really that good.
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*It had every yummy thing you could possibly think to put in granola plus chocolate covered almonds and raisins. I was very sorry to reach the end of our supply.

Well, the mystery knitting from my last post was the second of my Endpaper Mitts, originally started in 2007. I was impressed with how quickly it was going after I took that picture. In only two sittings I was finished the colour-work and on to the top ribbing. Unfortunately that was the first time I decided to check the mitt I was knitting against the one I finished three years ago. Guess what?

My gauge has changed.

That shouldn't really surprise me. Three years is a long time and I could tell that I was a lot more comfortable working the colour-work that I was in 2007. It's still kind of frustrating though. I briefly considered just letting it be and seeing how much I could make the mitts match with some careful blocking but in the end I frogged it back to the ribbing. It was too much for blocking: the new mitt was a full inch longer than the old one and I hadn't even added the top ribbing yet. It was also a lot looser - kind of slouchy instead of snug. I like the snug fit better. I'll try again on smaller needles.

At least I know it goes quickly.

ps. Katy was the only one to submit a guess so she gets the chocolate but since she used email instead of the comments (and she lives in town and I regularly walk past her office) I'm going to save myself the stamp and hand deliver it.

Shadows cast by a street lamp along my path after work. I love the absolute quiet of this picture.


The beginning of the end for our gingerbread houses. This recipe is so good - they're still spicy.


I made a new batch of laundry soap. I love using this stuff; your clothes come out clean and smelling like nothing. I'd never realized how much smell my unscented detergent had until my sister gave me a bottle of this stuff.


Paper craft tools. Hanging out on my desk.


Friends of ours are having a baby this spring. I heard that the Mummy half likes hats with ears and went looking for this pattern. So cute! 


I cleaned out my stash the other night (do I get bonus points for putting the laundry away first? I needed the basket to sort yarn). This is one old project back on the needles. I'll mail a bar of chocolate to whoever guesses what it is; if more than one person guesses correctly I'll draw names. You've got until midnight (my time - mountain) on Tuesday; I'll get the chocolate in the mail on Wednesday.


I took down the tree (don't laugh - it's not going to be light here after work for almost another month - the tree is cheerful). I got this ornament box a few years ago. It has two layers of little compartments to hold all sorts of things. Most get wrapped in tissue for an added layer of protection.