And I'm not a garagiste

"Garage wine," from the Bordeaux region in France, is a kind of down and dirty, lickety-split red wine compared to its more properly aged grandfather of the area. Someone who makes this wine is called a garagiste, and not always kindly.

I know. I learned that this morning, too.

I found a recipe for a sweet, fruity faux wine, just add the decanter. It looks like a rosé, no?



Equal parts white grape juice and ginger ale to a half part cranberry juice.

Ginger ale, you say? Why, that's--

Stop calling it punch. Around here, it deserves stemware. It's a dessert wine. I didn't even need a garage.



Linked to:

• The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday
• Crazy Domestic
• All Thingz Related's Anything Related

Snow Day Knitting

For the second Tuesday in a row, I'm on a Snow Day. Last week, the umpteen-state Snowpocalypse of 2011 gave me two days at home because I was, by no means, taking out my wee Smart Car to get shucked around like a pinball on the snowy streets. During my stint at home, I read NuttyIrishman Knits's blog post about her Swallowtail Shawl. She used a bulky yarn (Cascade's Eco Wool) for a shawl pattern that calls for lace weight.

That inspired me to use up my Eco yarn with which I made a blanket last year.  Since I had a little over 200 yards left, I chose the shawlette pattern 198 Yds. of Heaven.



It was so quick! It's meant to use up yarn too luxurious (read: to expensive) to have acquired more than one skein. Eco isn't luxury yarn, but the wool comes in fantastic, heathered colors. Like Rainier Heather.



As it turns out, the pattern used up only 115 yards of my yarn, so I could have kept going to make a larger shawl. I wish I had since my shawlette is barely large enough to be a kerchief. Still, it's a warm kerchief. And pretty.



And it's earned approval from the other girl in the house.