peace

this is cute.....



I really like when the cat is grooming the rat. I might have to show it to my class.

spring fashion show

I really, really, really love clothes.  I like especially new clothes.  They are always more exciting.  I also like finding clothes in the back of my closet that I haven't worn in a long time.  They are kind of like new clothes since I forgot about them.  I marvel how I can go on vacation for 3 weeks with 9 articles of clothing but somehow feel that is not enough clothing for my everyday life.  

This love of clothes can be expensive.  That on top of my love of knitting and sewing makes it even more so.  Kitchens are also expensive and we really need a new one (the dishwasher and table are dying and replacing those starts a dangerous domino effect of remodeling).  My solution?  Make my clothes myself.  Not only am I a big fan of the clothes since the style and fabric are perfect, it has the added benefit of slowing down my consumeristic desires since it takes 8-50 hours to actually make something.  Since finishing my sewing closet and being on break again I have been so inspired to sew and knit of late.  Maybe it is the turn in the weather.

Without further ado, my new spring wardrobe:

A knit top made of cotton and angora (warm and cool at the same time!).  I like the lace stripe.  It was the most expensive part of everything I've made but still 36.00 for a top is the same if not cheaper than buying it in the store (and it is custom fit).

Pants!  The first time I have ever made trouser like pants with a fly.  I love them.  I am so excited that they fit well because now I never ever have to go pants shopping again.  I want to make a pair that are jeans (though for that I have to learn pockets) and a pair that are capri pants.  $15.00 for perfectly fitting pants is way cheaper than, well, any pants.

A halter top made from an old sheet someone gave me..  It needs some more layers for work but will be soooo great in the hot summer.  Free is also cheaper than buying things.  Well 10.00 including the pattern and zipper.  Still cheap.

A tunic-y dress.  I found this fabric at the fabric store for 5.00.  It made a great dress to wear over leggings and also to wear over pants.  I'm not the biggest fan of the way the elastic makes the neck gather, maybe I'll fix it.   Unfortunately the fabric was cheap because it is polyester and has some major static problems.  I need to buy some static guard.

Now I am obsessed.  I want to sew everything, (not just because I have 4 new pieces of clothing for 65 dollars and a really beautiful great sewing closet, though both of those things help).    I wonder if I could make enough stuff that I could only wear homemade stuff for a week?

a perfect vacation day

So, I really really really love vacation.  But some vacations are better than others. As are some vacation days.  Today was perfect.

Perfect thing #1  We woke up to snow.  Surprising lovely snow. Here is what it looked like.  Except it was morning so it wasn't dark.

Perfect thing #2--Inspired by the snow, we decided to go buy a toboggan and go tobogganing or whatever adjective describes hurtling your body down a slick hill on a circular piece of plastic.  We ended up buying not one but 3 toboggans as they were a "caterpillar" set so, theoretically you can link them together for 3 times the fun.  They were supposed to be 15.00 which seemed like a good deal for 3 toboggans but then they were 8 dollars which seems like a steal.  Especially since they are fairly sturdy ones that seem like they will last a while.  The "caterpillar" action does not work for grownups but we still had a great deal of fun hurtling ourselves down hills.  We got very, very wet and are happy to have a bathroom big enough for all our wet things:

Perfect thing #3--I organized the mountain of craft crap and installed it in the sewing closet.  Then I put it to the true test, actually using the sewing machine:

Look!  Contrary to popular opinions girls CAN use glue and screws and saws and make things that don't collapse.  Amazing.  I found strawberry printed fabric at work and took two strawberries to sew together into a pincushion.  It is very cute.  Particularly in my ultra handy girly sewing closet.

(see the shelves below?  one is for buttons and knitted swatches, another for stuffing, small scraps of fabric, and crafty things like googly eyes, and the bottom is for making dolls--something I did years ago but can't get rid of the supplies) Luckily our bed will have drawers to hold the 4 cubic feet of fabric that no longer fits in the sewing closet.  I can't even explain how happy this closet makes me.  It is something about the pink and the fake fur and the sewing machine all interacting to create ecstatic joy.

Perfect thing #4--Eating a delicious dinner and playing chess in our newly arranged kitchen.  We are getting ready to re-do the kitchen and wanted to see what it would feel like to have an island/table in it.  So we moved the fridge and put the dining table in there:

Wow!  Suddenly it is like we got a whole extra room (and didn't even have to pay 100,000 dollars for it!) I seriously have spent the last 3 days sitting in the kitchen.  I think today is the first day I went into the living room for any amount of time.  I cook James sits and talks to me, James does the dishes, I talk to him.  The table is also perfect for getting out leftovers, making drinks, playing with the birdy, and on and on and on.  

Two more days left of vacation.  Lets hope the universe doesn't decide to balance out today by making lots of crappy things happening (you never know dad, the hardware dude might still be right--watch out for crying phone calls.............)

home improvement

Long ago (two years ago) when we were looking for an apartment I had visions of a craft room dancing in my head.  What if I could have a whole room or area just for crafty stuff.  In particular, a place where I could permanently set up my sewing machine.  In our old apartment the sewing machine had a stint in the living room but it had such a tendency to get messy that it was always sort of an eyesore.  A whole room for crafting would mean I could let things be the way they were in the middle of a project without it stressing me out while I relax in the living room.  Ahhhhh.....

Unfortunately I live in New York and the idea of a whole room for crafting or sewing is, well, rather laughable.  Particularly if you can barely afford to buy an apartment to begin with--one with an extra room is setting your sights a bit high.  Since we didn't have an extra 100,000 dollars laying around to dump on getting that craft room I began to think of alternatives.  

When we found our apartment it had a big bedroom and two closets (his and hers).  I realized we could put wardrobes in the bedroom for our clothes and use the closets for other things:

His and Hers hobby closets--guitars and sewing.  Its unfortunate how stereotypical our obsessions are---he likes to play with electricity and loud noises and I like to make clothes.  Sigh. 

Anywho, when we moved in I managed to get all the sewing stuff into a closet with grand visions that any day now I would go get some wood and make my little closet into a little sewing room.  Life of course got in the way and for the past 1.75 years I have been thinking, "any day now I will make that sewing closet functional." Over the past few months I have actually been sewing and the sewing machine has spent a lot of time on the living room table while I think, "any day now I will get around to that sewing closet."

Then last week many forces converged at once.  First we were informed that there is a leak in the basement coming from our apartment.  They would need to go in through the closet wall to fix it, which meant we had to take EVERYTHING out of the sewing closet for a few days so they could do the work.  WOW!  There was an incredible amount of stuff and it completely took over the bedroom, to get to my side of the bed I had to walk over the bed because all the floor space (remember I live in New York so that really means about a 2 foot swath at the bottom and side of the bed) was taken over by mounds of fabric, paint, yarn stuff, and other crafty items.  

Second, we discovered the bed of our dreams which not only is beautiful, but has 6 drawers of storage under it, AND happened to be on sale.  So we bought it.  Then we realized that a new bed was coming, the bedroom was popping with craft crap, and it was not going to be easy to get it all back in the closet the way it was.  So, I decided the time had come for the sewing closet escapade.

I went to the local hardware store, as I would like them to continue to exist and not be run out of business by Home Depot and Lowe's, and asked if they had any wood and if they could cut it to sizes for me.  "Whatcha making?" was the reply.  After explaining that I was putting shelves in  my closet and I need wood in the sizes on my list I got, "Woah! Are you taking a class to learn about being an architect or something?  This is what architects do, they write down all the wood they need in a list just like this.  How did you know to do that?"  I then explained that I just did, my dad builds things a lot and maybe I learned it from him.  "Oh!" was the reply, "your dad made this list.  That makes sense.  Well let's go see what we have."  

We went in the back where he tried to sell me pre-made closet shelves which I rejected because they weren't deep enough.  "What!  How many clothes do you have that you need such big shelves!?" he said.  So I explained about the sewing machine as he raised a questioning eyebrow.  Finally he said, "well so we don't have any lumber you want but you and your dad can go to a place down the street.  Its good you dad is going to do this for you."  I replied, "no, I'm doing it."  "Well, yes its good your dad is doing it because if you did it yourself it would just fall apart and you would have to call him crying to get him to fix it."  So.  I left.  And decided that I maybe don't care so much about his hardware store and went to Home Depot to get some wood.

Miraculously (since I AM a girl) I managed to cut the wood, glue and screw the supports to the wall and get it all to fit:

Then, I painted.  Though my obsession with pink still lies firmly within my early adolescence somehow I really needed this tiny craft closet to be bright, bright pink:

Now I just have to put it together.  Of course it will probably fall apart as soon as I do because the gene for knowing how to use a saw, drill, and glue is apparently located on the Y chromosome.  So dad, the hardware store dude is warning you to expect a tearful crying call any moment now.

swirly bereanie pattern

It's a beret, it's a beanie, its fabulous! Actually it probably is mostly like a beret except that the berets I'm obsessed with are big and slouchy and this one is not.  It fits close to the head like a beanie but the opening fits around your head more like a slouchy beret.

2 skeins of Noro Kureyon in different colorways but that share some shades. I used 199 and 165
size 5 needles (dpns or 16” circular)
size 6 needles (16” circular and DPNs)

Gauge: 5 stitches to the inch using size 6 needles in stockinette

CO 80 stitches in color A using smaller needles (size 5), I used tubular cast on method that I learned from Ysolda Teague's Gretel pattern (a really great pattern-I highly recommend it!). She has a great tutorial here.

Join to work in the round being careful not to twist stitches (if using tubular cast on you will work 3 rows first and will need to sew up the join at the end)

Knit 1x1 ribbing for 1.25 inch or until color starts to change dramatically (my brim is 1 inch because the color started to shift from blue/green to purple and I wanted the brim to be all one contrasting color)

Next row:  Using larger needles *K2 M1* all the way around. There should be 120 stitches

Join B and work a row of stockinette.

(when you join the next color you need to decide how you want the colors to shift.  Start with a part of the yarn that is a very different color for more obvious stripes (though there will probably be areas that are more subtle) or start with a part that is similar for a more subtle shift.  For example, if I had started with the other end of the skein for color B the colors would have lined up more closely throughout the entire hat.

Drop B to the back and pick up A, work one row of stockinette
Drop A to the back and pick up B, work one row of stockinette

Repeat these two rows until hat is 5” from beginning (for berenie) for a slouchier or roomier hat add one or two inches. The decreases will create a flat-ish top and will not add any length.

Decreases:

*K18 K2tog pm* repeat all the way around
Decrease in this pattern all the way around, Knitting to 2 stitches before a marker, k2 together, slip marker for 14 rows still alternating colors. On the 15th decrease row break color A and use only color B continuing to decrease as above until 6 stitches remain.

Thread yarn through 5 stitches but keep the 6th stitch live. K into the front, back, front, back, front of this stitch—you should have 5 stitches on the needle. Purl 1 row, Knit 1 row, Purl 1 row, Knit 1 row, Purl 1 row. Knit all five together.

Break yarn and pull through the last stitch. sew this end into the top of the hat to make a small loop on the top of the hat.

Sew up the brim if you used a tubular cast on

long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

banjo + star wars theme song = hilarious

hum the song to yourself first before listening, it makes it easier to hear!

leaving on a jet plane

My bags are packed and ready to go! Well not the clothes and presents and toiletry stuff, just the knitting. Behold the vacation knitting!


I am really obsessed with these pouches. Not only are they great for walking around the city and knitting but I think they will be great for keeping my various vacation projects separate.

What lurks behind door #1?


socks! A pair of socks that needs to be finished and a pair of knee socks that wants to be started.

Behind door #2?


Basket liners! These are for an impending wedding. This is like homework knitting, it has a deadline. Deadlines make me want to do anything but what is required for the deadline.

Something like what is behind door #3....


Afghan! My third attempt at this blanket, I'm hopeful for this iteration. The yarn is so cozy and has a very wool-y smell and for some reason I am obsessed with knitting it on wooden straight needles. It just seems to fit the farm-y feel of the wool and project. Really this project was my answer to "what do I knit on an airplane when the socks and basket liners are both on teeny metal needles that look more dangerous than they are?" This project is so grandmother-y, how can anyone take my needles away from this?

Who knows how much of this I will actually accomplish or what I will feel drawn to once I am in Tennessee....stay tuned for the results (and pictures of the ridiculous amount of christmas knitting I have accomplished but cannot post for fear that people will see it)!

NaNoSweaMo

So, November has been deemed many many things in the bloggy world this year. Most of these things are absolutely ridiculous for me to even contemplate. For example:

1. Write a novel in the month of November--ummm. I have never even thought about wanting to write a novel and the idea of trying to write one in one month makes me want to jump off a cliff. (Not that it isn't an admirable goal for more writer-ly types.)

2. Post to your blog every day in the month of November---ummmm. Clearly that is not happening. November has been what could most loosely be called a "harrowing" month. October wasn't much better. That would be why there was a two month lag in posts.

I was beginning to feel a little left out until I discovered NaNoSweaMo or "National November is Sweater Month". Maybe. Or knit a sweater in the month of November month? Or something else. I just know that it is NaNoSweaMo because I like saying it 10 times each day. When I discovered it I thought, Hey! I AM already knitting a sweater and I could just finish it by the end of November! It was good incentive.

This is Julia, she is not NaNoSweaMo-ing but I wanted to show you her lovely socks she just made. They are the socks that Tipped Her Over The Edge from being interested in knitting to obsessed. Tee-hee. Now I have a New York knitting friend. Maybe she will be ready for NaJaSweaMo. Lovely socks, no?


OK. Back to my original point. The next thing that happened in November was that I discovered that suddenly everyone I know is procreating. This made me think, HEY! BABY sweaters are sweaters too and they are a lot faster. I can be a multiple NaNoSweaMo-er! (Not that I'm being competitive, I just like acheivement). So last weekend I cranked out this, aka NaNoSweaMo #1


Then I got obsessed (how unlike me). I thought, if I can crank out a sweater while roaming around town with my family maybe I could knit Yet Another Baby Sweater before the end of the month. Well, it turns out that for sweaters to get knit, you have to knit them instead of doing things like working. This is all I could accomplish:


It is a NNSwM or half of a NaNoSweaMo.

But, I can hear you asking, what of the original sweater? The one you were already knitting and trying to finish? The one that is questionably a NaNoSweaMo since you started it in August? Ahh, that sweater was finished Wednesday. Behold the buttons:


This sweater is, despite it's Not Entirely Knit In November status, a NaNaNoNoSweaSweaMoMo. I get double points because it is so amazing. I can't believe I made it. I want to wear it every day for the rest of my life. See? Isn't it ravishingly beautiful?


The first day I wore it (ummm I've been wearing it since Wednesday so it is actually possible that I might wear it every day for the rest of my life) I got 7 compliments on it. 3 of those people didn't know I made it and asked where I got it. They were stunned and shocked to learn I had made it. "What!?" they said, "How can you MAKE something like that?"



Happy NaNoSweaMo! (I wonder what obsession December will take on?)

i heart arlo

So last Saturday my grown-ups, husband, and I went to see Arlo Guthrie. He plays a concert at Carnegie Hall every Thanksgiving-ish and we like to go. I think Arlo is very funny and I enjoy when he tells seemingly pointless stories that end in hilarity. This concert was with the UK orchestra (who he just released an album with). Apparently he has scored many of his songs for an orchestra and wanted to play them for us. At the beginning of the concert he told us some of his songs didn't go so well with an orchestra, like "I wanna pickle." Lots of people laughed. James and I didn't because I think we aren't old enough to know about this particular song. The mystery is revealed (thanks in joint part to my mom and You Tube)



I agree. Not so much an orchestra song. But funny.

I also happen to think that Arlo Guthrie has gotten funnier as an age-ed hippie than he was as a youngster. See.....



practice makes perfect....

sweater on the loose

So, I have many talents. But really one of my strongest one is losing things. I loose keys, staplers, pens, wallets, metrocards, clothes, hats, gloves, and on and on. Really, if you would like something lost you should hand it to me and I will lose it within 15 seconds.

Lately I have been knitting a beautiful baby sweater. It has been very satisfying. I cast on after we ate on Thanksgiving and by this evening I had the back, both arms, and part of the front knit. I was in the middle of explaining how satisfying this was when I went in my bag to find these peices to show-and-tell. Or to brag. Who knows.

But in my bag was only the sweater back, the sleeve I had just finished, and the front that I was knitting. Since I am talented in this area and thus have a lot of experience with What To Do When You Suspect Something Has Been Lost I began carefully and calmly taking everything out of my bag. "It has to be here," I insisted. It wasn't.

So I put everything back into my bag and tried once more. I carefully took everything out one by one checking it closely for signs of a missing sleeve. No sleeve. "Oh well, it must be at home. I probably threw it out of my bag when I was looking for my hat earlier." (Is it becoming clearer why I am so good at losing things?)

Once we got home, no sleeve. So I called everywhere I sat knitting today (1 restaurant, 1 bar) and asked if perhaps I had left it there. Now, usually when you call about a missing object it is easy to describe what you are missing in a generaly fashion, a coat, a headband, a sweater, a wallet. (Again, I know this through much personal experience) But a sleeve to a baby sweater is not so easy. First of all it isn't a sleeve yet, it actually looks more like a washcloth. But it isn't square so a really funny kind of washcloth. "Umm, this might sound strange but I think I left and oddly shaped piece of knitted fabric there earlier today?" "What?" "An oddly shaped piece of knitted orange fabric. It looks like a washcloth but not sqare." "Ummm, is it like a piece of clothing or art?" (Can you tell that I was in Chelsea by all the art galleries?)

Everyone I talked to was very kind, searched the restaurant or bar and got back on the phone, "well, I don't really see anything and I think if we had what you are talking about we would know it. So sorry, we really hope you find it!" (This is the best customer service I've had all day)

So. No knitted sleeve = I have to knit yet another sleeve. Luckily this clearly does not take all that much time. Here is what I am down to in terms of the sweater:


What do you think the other sleeve is out doing? If you happen to see it cavorting around town will you let it know I miss it? That I would really like it to come back now?

I think the fact that I am only mildly irritated by the whole escapade speaks to how totally accustomed I am to losing really important and devastating things. How does one divest themself of a talent?

blast from the past

youtube is so wonderful. I had completely forgotten about this until today. The theme song is so jaunty.

fall warmth

The weather seems to have officially turned towards the fall-ish side of things (now that I say that it will of course get really hot tommorrow). I really love fall. The weather is delicious, you start all kinds of new things (like school), and you get to wear things made out of wool. I've clearly been thinking about warmth lately in my knitting.

Julia gave me a gift certificate to Purl (the most dangerous yarn shop ever) for my birthday. They had a wall of cashmere. I couldn't resist. Luckily the price of one hank of cashmere was less than the gift certificate! Unfortunately one hank of cashmere doesn't go very far.


Ta-da! A cowl is the perfect solution. You get the coziness of a cashmere turtleneck with any shirt you wear! There is a camisole that goes with it that I may or may not knit with the rest of the cashmere.


Next is my thermal sweater which may be my most exciting big project ever. It is knit on very small needles so it will be more like the weight of a store bought sweater and will be wearable in fall and spring.



It is also grape juice colored and I own nothing else that color. Unfortunately small needles = lots of knitting, so who knows if I will actually be able to wear it this fall OR spring.

It is feeling so cozy out that I have even embarked upon a little christmas knitting. Imagine my surprise last night when I began a secret little project to discover that it was also a therma-ish stitch, almost identical to my sweater? Alas, no pictures of it until Christmas time. These are also for christmas but I won't say for who (though I'm fairly confident the person in question does not read the blog)


They are fabulous. And lacey. And cozy even though there is no wool whatsoever in them. It is the softest cotton in the whole world. Surprising, because the yarn didn't feel as yummy as I was knitting it as it did once it was knit.

All of these cozy prospects are distracting me from the more difficult aspects of my fall; getting two cavities filled, training 12 four year olds how to be in the classroom (and reminding the 7 five year olds), and working 10-12 hours a day but still not getting everything done.

Happy Fall!

a trio of productivity

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the start of school. 10 to 12 hour days don't leave a lot of time for anything else. Except, apparantly, knitting. Unlike blogging, cleaning, sleeping, and playing with a parrot knitting is happily portable and is thus happening a lot more often than any of the other above tasks.



Gloves, done! They are lovely and eagerly anticipating a downturn in the temperature.

Who knew that pink-ish goes with orange-ish......



Half of a pair of socks........


And a cashmere cowl............


which was going to be a cashmere hat until I wore the skein around my neck for 8 hours and decided it needed to be a knit object to hang around my neck.

Still to come, the beginning of a thermal sweater...

a lovely day....

Where has this month gone? I can't believe it has been 20 days since I have blogged. Whew, teaching is exhausting. We made up for our sheer exhaustion by having a marvelously lovely fall day on Saturday.

We started by heading off to the Museum of Natural History to see the Mythic Creatures exhibit. Incredible, did you know that people believed in cyclops because they found elephant relative bones and rearranged them the wrong way? It is incredible how you can make elephant bones look like a scary huge human-ish thing. It also explained myths about mermaids (manatees), unicorns (narwhals), dragons (dinosaurs), sasquatch (enormous extinct gorillas), sea serpents (schools of dolphins jumping above water), among other things.

While we were waiting for our admission time we strolled through the dinosaur rooms. Dinosaurs were big and scary.


I'm very glad that I will never meet them.


I also had a sad ephiphany that the reason I think Gris-Gris is very dinosaur like is probably because Stephen Spielberg made his Jurassic Park dinosaurs very bird like. Movies do scary things to my understanding of reality.

Apparantly even Jurassic turtles were scary.


Who knew they could swim in the air?

Next we went for a safari through the wilds of central park. We ate freeze dried ice cream. yum.


It never fails to amaze me how you can be in the middle of Manhattan and then make it just disappear. Every time I'm in the middle of the park I begin to think about what a great place it would be to camp. Then I remember about the big city. And the homeless people who live in the park (who I'm sure are perfectly lovely people, their current circumstances just give them a more "basic needs" approach to life than I have, and I would rather not be stuck in the dark woods with them. In a tent.)

We emerged from the wilderness at the Hans Christian Anderson pond. This place always makes me think of Stuart Little because this is where he took his epic ride on a boat. It makes me very excited to see people sailing boats here because I like to imagine a little mouse on them.


Apparantly childhood fiction also does strange things to my understanding of reality.

Then we visited Alice nearby and her retinue of crazy people. I like the mouse in a teapot. Twinkle Twinkle little bat......



After a lovely knitting ride on a subway we walked home. We happened upon the farmer's market down the street from our apartment and the lovely rainbow of heirloom tomatoes.


I'm obsessed with tasting every different kind. Did you know that tomatoes could taste like strawberries or pineapple? Incredible.

a crocodile for my mother

My mother really wanted my pictures from the crocodile pond so, ta-da here they are!

For those of you who weren't there, the crocodile pond is a pond in Northern Ghana where there are, gasp, many crocodiles! What is hilarious about the pond is that the crocodiles are tame. You buy some chickens, feed the crocodiles and then they let you pick up their tail or....if you get the really big crocodile to come out....lay on its back.

What is surprising about crocodiles is how fast they move to eat chickens (well guinea fowl really) and then how they freeze and look pretty dead. It is shocking really.


My mom with the crocodile:


Me with the crocodile:


Dad with the crocodile:


James with the crocodile:


Emmanuel with the crocodile:


Riveting no? Oooo the danger...............

a weekend for the people

What better way to celebrate the hard working people of america than to go to Coney Island? Perhaps eating cotton candy and playing skee ball?



So the recent tragedy of my life is that Astroland at Coney Island may be turned into condos. They can't tear down the best part, the Cyclone, which is the oldest wooden rollercoaster in the country. The entire thing shakes when the cars go over the tracks, its terrifying to watch. But it is really great to ride, perhaps my favorite roller coaster ever. I figure if they can keep it running for 100+ years it can't be that unsafe.

Today is Astroland's expiration date (though the city may swoop in to save it) so just in case James and I went. We rode the most hilariously antiquated "haunted house" ride in the world. Really, I laughed the whole way through. I think people were more scared by silly crap a long time ago.

Maybe the good people of Astroland think there is nothing more American than turning amusing amusement parks into condos and shopping malls. That seems to be the new millenial American spirit.

The sock enjoyed the ride to and from Coney Island (approximately 30 minutes each way = a lot of knitting)



Then for labor day dinner we decided to eat the food of the people.


What could be more American than sloppy joes? OK perhaps the tofu and organic ingredients detract a bit. But many people think communists aren't very American either and, lets face it, labor day is essentially a communist holiday. Do communists like tofu?

We paired it with the junk food of the people--potato chips and the drink of the people...beer.


OK its german beer. But the bottle cap had an american flag on it which made a nice hat for the sloppy joe. It really improved the All-American spirit of the meal. Why is there an American flag on a german beer? Cuz English is kinda like German?

Gris-gris joined in the All-American fun. She likes All-American tofu sloppy joes.



And she is very American. Did you see her red tail, her white feathers? Salt of the earth really, since salt is one of her favorite food groups, followed only by carbs. She can also sing Dueling Banjos and her parents were immigrants.