grizzly trying on his new sweater. he LOVES it!

fall fare

Cornbread-Crusted White Chili with Green Chilies and Hominy

national pizza month

october is national pizza month. really. it is. when i found out on chan's blog i said, "to heck with meatloaf! we're having pizza for dinner!"

and remind me next time the good crust recipe is in the food processor cook book.

it was ooey, gooey and delicious. chan is hosting a triple-B contest. supposedly a pizza party gains another entry. i don't know if having pizza for dinner constitutes a pizza party but here's hoping!

speaking of hope. . .

this here is known as my hope hat. i'm knitting it for a friend who has a friend who needs some hope in her life. each stitch is infused with that hope. i believe in that sort of magic.

here's hoping. . .

two little pumpkins

we found a pumpkin patch along the side of the road today while we were out enjoying the day. i picked three. ken was shaking his head the whole time as i looked them over, taking time in selecting just the right one. the gal running the place said it's a girl thing - boys come in, pick their pumpkin and they're gone just about before they get there. to me, they need to be the right height, width, color, etc. and have the right stem.

i haven't carved jack-o-lanterns in a few years. i think it's well past time.

and here's the other little pumpkin i mentioned:

i finished ginger's sweater in the wee hours of the morning and she LOVES it! she gets so excited when i go to put it on. it's a perfect fit. the pattern is the piccolo sweater from the book doggie knits . and it is fabulous! super simple and very well written (the collar instructions carries one little error - switch rows 6 & 7). i am so in love with this book. the little pumpkin goes without saying.

when knitting goes to the dogs

literally, folks think i've gone pure mad.

first with the hat, now with a sweater. i'm knitting my dog a sweater. of malabrigo no less. it's going to be gorgeous. she'll be the best dressed dog around to be sure.

now, to those of you who think i've gone totally nuts, when little girl Ginger goes to the groomer, she gets all her hair cut off. and when it's cold out, she shivers. and the coldest is yet to come - it snows here. but in this gorgeous wool sweater, not only will she look fabulous but she'll be toasty all winter long. and i get to knit with my very favorite yarn. malabrigo is the most luscious wool yarn i've ever wrapped my hands around.

i'm using the left-over lettuce from the koolhaas hat and a smidgen of girl-child's pornstar pink (bought for her clapotis) to create the edging. they both go perfectly with the hank of melilla i picked up yesterday in zionsville.

i can't wait to show her off!

The Absent Tears

post title created using random title generator cause i'm lazy like that.

i've been trying to jumpstart my knitting. since the cool ass hat i haven't really knit anything. i cast on another pair of never ending socks but set them down shorty after and i haven't picked them up again.

so, nothing jump starts my mojo like some inspiration. i spent some time browsing patterns on ravelry but just didn't find what i was looking for. i don't know why i was feeling inspired to knit for my dogs, but that's the direction i headed. i got some doggie knits books form the library. and i knit a doggy hat. i think i've officially gone crazy. i'm knitting hats for dogs. i'm a crazy dog lady. somebody save me.

the funny thing about knitting a hat for a dog is they really don't like hats. at least my three little ones don't. i initially knit this hat for fatboy. he must have a weird head. the hat didn't really work on his head. in this hat ginger reminds me of a cheerleader or something with big fluffy pony tails for ears. grizz won't even come near me when i'm holding the hat. i think he's the smartest one of the bunch. myself included.

visiting indy

i like it when friends come to visit. besides getting to play hostess with the most-est, i get to tour my own city. i've lived here (collectively) more than ten years and i've never been to the speedway.

indianapolis, among other things, is known for it's racing: the indy 500 each spring, gathers race fans from all over the world. later in the summer, nascar does it's thing at the brickyard. yesterday, i was the one taking the turns on the famed track. and while i'm no race fan, i enjoyed myself immensely.

perhaps it was the company. my dear friend nansi and her husband, mike came from pennslyvania for the weekend. mike is a race fan. he was quite pleased to visit the brickyard and i think us girls had more fun watching him grin from ear to ear than taking in the sights ourselves.

we debated the felony charges we'd face if we busted through the fence and drove around the track ourselves against having a nice dinner out and somehow dinner won.

saturday afternoon we tried to drive downtown to see all the wonderful architecture and monuments indianapolis has to offer but all the routes were blocked off for the circle city classic: an annual, weekend long event held downtown. so instead, we hit the steak sale at marsh before heading home to relax before dinner. we decided on the friendly tavern in zionsville for dinnner. next time, i'll remember to check game schedules. there was a notre dame game AND and iu game. to say it was loud in there would be a gross understatement. but the food was good so it wasn't a complete loss.

sunday after the track, we came home and just relaxed. we watched a movie before dinner, had some wine and then enjoyed (if i don't say so myself) the best damn steak ever. girl-child and jimmy came for dinner. i think jimmy was a hit with nansi. and i know girl-child loved my friend. she told me so. but really, what's not to love? we laughed until late, then said our good-nights, knowing we'd be parting ways early in the morning.

today, my house is altogether too quiet, just me and the pups. finally having my dear friend here gave me the perfect weekend. thanks for coming, nansi. i miss you already.

friday giveaway

Rambling Along is giving away a $50 AJ Wright giftcard. I get another entry by blogging about it but if you run over and join it lessens my chances so you all just need to stay home!

I'd actually be just as happy if someone I knew won. How sick is that? Go forth. Register. Win!