We're back--we hope you missed us! And we brought scissors, and we are not afraid to use them in spatchcocking a turkey for Thanksgiving. "Spatchcocking?" You may well ask. It's not just a word for removing the spine of the turkey to make for a wonderfully evenly roasted bird in half the time--say goodbye to over-cooked, dry breasts and under-cooked thighs (the turkey's, that is). But it's more than that as chef, teacher and cookbook author Kim O'Donnel explains in "Spatchocking: A Culinary Term for Our Times." Written in 2022 after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, but perhaps even more resonant today, O'Donnel reflects on her own freedom to make choices that have shaped who she is.

"The right to decide allowed me to become the woman I am . . . The choices that were mine to make allowed me to forge my own path. They've given me the wisdom to know this: Without safe, legal abortion, this country is spatchcocked."

Kim O'Donnel, "Spatchcock: A Culinary Term for Our Times," Lulu Pork Chop, July 3, 2022

But what about Rhinebeck?! While other podcasters might broadcast live from the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, we prefer to wallow in the womb of time and reflect on our experience for a month. What did we conclude? It wasn't just fun, it was joyously inspiring. We met so many designers and knitters we admire--Aimée Gille, Vincent Williams, Patty Lyons, Sarah Schira, Jamie Lomax, Bristol Ivy, Gigi Queen of Orange, the Grocery Girls and Rosann Fleischauer. What about Andrea Mowry? Don't worry, her pattern "Framed" clearly caught the collective fancy this year and was everywhere in all colors and sizes. It was magical to see so many people wearing hand-knit their framed garb on the hill for the meet-up.

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