Author Archives: Knitting After Hours

4 Books and Movies for Adventurous Homebodies

I know adventurous homebody is a paradox, but there are those of us indoor people who like a good adventure every once in a while. I like to go hiking, though my longest hike has only been about 6 hours round trip. Camping is great too, especially with good friends and a nice fire going. When it’s wet and chilly outside, as it is most of this season in Vancouver, and I can’t muster up the energy to pull on my rain boots and venture out, I like to read and watch other people doing crazy things like mountaineering and be glad I’m at home with dry feet.

  1. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (1997)
A group of climbers climbing up a steep icy slope on Mount Everest on a sunny day
Image credit: Mountain Madness

Right now I’m about halfway through this book, and I already know I will never ever attempt to climb Mount Everest- not that I was ever going to, but I’m definitely not going to now. Krakauer tells the story of when he joined an Everest expedition guided by Rob Hall that ended in a severe storm, killing four on Krakauer’s team, including Hall. Krakauer is an accomplished climber and author of Into the Wild, so his wonderful writing paired with vivid descriptions of the climb and explanations of everything that’s involved in a successful expedition make for an immersive book.

“Everest has always been a magnet for kooks, publicity seekers, hopeless romantics, and others with a shaky hold on reality.”

-Jon Krakauer (p. 114)

Krakauer also touches on the dangers that Sherpas undertake to support Westerners’ expeditions, and raises the question of whether climbing Mount Everest on commercial expeditions is harmful to the region. Sherpas often don’t get the same amount of recognition as foreign climbers, but they do all the same climbing and then some. In July 2022 Sanu Sherpa, a Nepali climber, completed all 14 highest peaks for the second time, the only person to have done them all twice. Lhakpa Sherpa, 48, became the first woman to climb to the summit of Mount Everest 10 times. Kami Rita, a Sherpa Everest guide, has summited Everest 26 times and holds the world record for most summits.

I’ve been reading chapters here and there at breakfast and on my commute, and it definitely puts the small worries of the day into perspective.

2. 14 Peaks : Nothing is Impossible (2021)

Nims and three team members in snowsuits holding up the Project Possible flag

Nirmal Purja, or Nims, and his team of Sherpas, including Mingma David Sherpa, Geljen Sherpa, Gesman Tamang, and Lakpa Dendi, climbed all 14 of the world’s 8,000 metre peaks in six months and six days. To put this project in perspective, the first climber to summit all 8,000 metre peaks, Reinhold Messner, took 16 years to accomplish his feat. The previous time record for the 14 peak project was over 7 years, by Kim Chang-ho. This is a massively respected project no matter the time it takes. Nims is memorable for his strong personal character and cheerful but fiercely focused outlook.

3. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne (1864)

An inactive volcano in Iceland
Image credit: Iceland Mag

I’m a big fan of Jules Verne’s writing, and this is maybe my favourite of his books. A geologist and his nephew decide to travel into the centre of the planet after finding an account of a 16th century explorer, who claimed to have found a route to the Earth’s core. The pair enter the route through Snæfellsjökull, an inactive volcano in Iceland. The book is pure science fiction, but Verne’s science-y reasoning and well-developed characters make it feel almost biographical.

4. The River Runner (2021)

Scott Lindgren with a kayak on his back standing on a rock at the bank of a huge river with a strong current
Image credit: Paddling Life

In The River Runner Scott Lindgren kayaks through the four rivers flowing from Mount Kailash in Tibet, attempting to be the first person to complete all four. Lindgren talks about his experience with mental health, finding out he has a brain tumour, and learning to be vulnerable.

In this documentary Lindgren explores the mental side of extreme sports- many people in these kinds of fields have to be incredibly focused and strong to deal with the dangers and losses that are inherent to things like mountaineering or extreme kayaking. That mentality is useful in threatening situations, but it needs to be balanced with vulnerability and support.

Coraline Cookies

I watched Coraline the other night while I was knitting. I’ve found recently that enjoying movies and music from my childhood helps with stress from adult-related things like school and work. Coraline, though absolutely and completely terrifying, is nostalgic for me. Then I remembered I saved a recipe on Pinterest for button cookies inspired by Coraline’s ‘other mother’, and my mum has been asking me for cookies for the past week, so there we go.

Image credit: Coraline (2009)

The original recipe by Bakerella calls for peanut butter cookies. I like peanut butter, but my favourites are chocolate cookies. I found a recipe for chocolate dough from Cafe Delites, which I realized may have been a mistake- they taste wonderful, but the chocolate chips weakened the structure of the already-tiny cookies, and made them a little cracked around the edges. Oh well, I prefer taste over looks anyway.

Unbaked chocolate cookie dough rolled into small balls on a baking sheet

Make sure you use a bottle cap to test the size of the dough balls, so they don’t become ginormous buttons. I used, as directed by Bakerella, a bottle cap (make sure it’s plastic, not metal, so you don’t burn off your fingertips) to make a circular indent in the middle of the buttons and then used a skewer to poke four holes in the middle to make the button shape.

I realize they look like little poops before they’re baked. But they taste good, promise. They’re perfect alongside black tea or coffee if you, like me, need something strong and slightly bitter to offset sweet things.

Recipes:

Coraline Cookies by Bakerella

Best Fudgy Chocolate Brownie Cookies by Cafe Delites

Designing and De-stressing

I’ve been following @motherofpurl on Instagram for a few years now, since before I began to knit. They recently put up a new website, and I really like the design. Lauren from Mother of Purl designs patterns, sells art yarn and wool rovings, and holds classes on fibre art. Their website is designed to be a business, and you can see the appeal of their creations right on the home page with curated photos of their collections and hand-dyed or spun fibre.

My favourite part of the website is probably Lauren’s thorough About section. They include their values and a bit of their history and experience with knitting, and the features available through Mother of Purl. I admire the layout as well, they continue to use a few main colours- pale olive, burgundy, and light green- throughout the website and this section, so even though the format of each page is different there is a good flow. Their logo has the same colours, and it cleverly represents the title of the website- a clam shell with a ball of yarn as its pearl.

I like to follow experienced knitters and fibre artists, because I think knitting is one of the many crafts that is passed down through generations, and still retains techniques from many years ago. It’s a unique craft in the amount of time that it takes and its artistic practicality. Lauren, and many knitters, have built their business and art from fibre, and it is good to see that this slow craft can sustain people even in fast-moving times.

I finally feel like the design of this website is coming along, so I’ve been more relaxed. I got some good marks back on assignments from a couple of classes that I was nervous about. I know academic validation can be an unhealthy thing to base confidence on, but it still feels uplifting to get good feedback.

This weekend I’ve been trying to think about my health a little more. Since starting school I’ve succumbed to the daily routine of: wake up late, drink loads of coffee, grab snacks whenever I can, study for hours without much moving around, and go to sleep when it’s already tomorrow. Over the past few days I caught up on doctor’s appointments, cleaned, went running, cooked lunch, and spent more time giving myself breaks. I didn’t do anything about my sleeping schedule- I’m convinced it’s a lost cause. I know every weekend won’t give me the chance to do all of this, but it helped to take a breather.