miscellany

winter garden walk

2011-12-18T09:38:00.001-05:00

finally, a nice hard frost. this morning it covered every surface. not quite the snow I'm hoping for, but lovely nonetheless.

on my hollyhock, hibiscus seed heads, oregano and sweet autumn clematis.

blogoversary

2011-11-26T11:15:00.001-05:00

my blog is having a birthday next month. to celebrate, how about i give YOU a gift?
do you know ree drummond, the pioneer woman? that woman is everywhere these days. i have one slightly used copy of her wonderful cookbook, pioneer woman cooks.

it is chock full of man-pleasin' recipes, pw's amazing photographs and tidbits of life on the ranch.
you want it? leave a comment by midnight, december 31st EST and on new year's day i will pick a winner. it could be YOU!

wordless wednesday

2011-11-09T17:46:00.002-05:00

2011-08-15T17:53:00.000-04:00

sew cute

2011-08-11T19:59:00.000-04:00

i was sketching a simple rag doll the other day - round head, triangle body, skinny legs. i knew i wanted felt hair but sketching wasn't helping so i went to the internet for inspiration.

i stumbled upon retro mama and fell in love with greta. i spent hours figuring out how to execute this dolly on my own.

i made pattern pieces, rifled through my stash and the very first 'lissa doll was born.

once i get kim's actual pattern, i know i'll be able to work out the kinks of assembly. this little girl is formidable. don't let the cute fool you.

i already know of four girlies who would love their own. i fear this is about to get out of control.

2011-04-04T01:43:00.001-04:00

2011-03-23T17:34:00.002-04:00

karen bower at Rock Red Shoes posted this pearl today.
she rocks. red shoes or not.

"You are not your bra-size, nor are you the width of your waist, nor are you the slenderness of your calves. You are not your hair color, your skin color, nor are you a shade of lipstick. Your shoe-size is of no consequence. You are not defined by the amount of attention you get from males, females, or any combination thereof. You are not the number of sit-ups you can do, nor are you the number of calories in a day. You are not your mustache. You are not the hair on your legs. You are not a little red dress. You are no amalgam of these things.

You are the content of your character. You are the ambitions that drive you. You are the goals that you set. You are the things that you laugh at and the words that you say. You are the thoughts you think and the things you wonder. You are beautiful and desirable not for the clique you attend, but for the spark of life within you that compels you to make your life a full and meaningful one. You are beautiful not for the shape of the vessel, but for the volume of the soul it carries."

— Unknown

rubberband man

2011-03-16T16:07:00.000-04:00

justin & timmy

i needed a rubber band today. i knew ken had some in his office. i looked up and there was justin's rubberband ball. he was so into rubber bands one year ashey gave him boxes FULL for christmas. i think it was his favorite gift. i don't remember any others, only the laugh we all shared.

thanks for the picture, cristi. i sangged it from you .:)

actual knitting content

2011-03-15T14:08:00.000-04:00

knitting up this sweater for girl-child. i am loving it! started ten days ago and i feel like i'm almost done! i know i'm not, but still. digging how easy the pattern is to follow. the yarn is so soft and i love the construction - top down, raglan sleeves and the cabled ribbing is so nice! i know i just spoke in a foreign language to my non-knitterly friends. my apologies. but for those who do understand, check out this amazingly easy pattern by amy swenson.

yarn is by elann, peruvian sierra aran. pattern is mr. greenjeans.

no winter lasts forever

2011-03-07T15:58:00.000-05:00

no spring skips its turn.

walking outside today, my spirits were lifted by bits of spring i saw everywhere - birds chirping happily in the trees, flowers pushing through the sun-warmed soil, blooming in spite of frosty temperatures and me with my baby-friend, both of us happy to be outside, playing in the sunshine.

today marks a year, our first year without justin. everyone is asking how we're doing. ashley and i both agree - we are no more sad today than yesterday. one year doesn't hurt any more than 364 days. losing someone you love just hurts. every day. but today, noticing spring all around in the company of a small child whose whole world is filled with wonder made me hurt a little less.

quote by Hal Borland

hallmark holiday

2011-02-14T09:40:00.001-05:00

my husband calls valentine's day a 'hallmark holiday'. i'm pretty sure he hates it, but he does love me, so this morning i was surprised with chocolates galore and sweet nothings found in cards stashed all over the house. for valentine's day. he did good.

this is such a rare occurrence for him (ha!) that he requested public recognition for his deed.

so here you go, babe. thank you for the cards and the chocolates and the extra ten pounds i will most certainly gain from your generosity. i love you!

and a little history of valentine's day, just so you all know.

glad we don't celebrate valentine's day like the ancients did - i'd be slapped with bloodied goat strips! chocolates are a much better way to show your affections, don't you think?

my own recipe

2011-01-20T10:53:00.000-05:00

eta: in thinking about this recipe, i decided it's really more of a pilaf, as the brown rice never creamed up like a good risotto rice would. so, for the instructions, i would cook the rice according to directions, seasoning the water with the turmeric. cook the vegetables in a little olive oil until tender, adding kale and beans last few minutes just to wilt the kale and warm the beans.

i can't wait to make this again.

olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
a few handfuls of baby carrots, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups brown rice
turmeric
water
salt & pepper

sauté onion and carrot until onion is cooked through, browning slightly. add garlic, cooking just a bit. you don't want to burn it. set the veggies aside in a separate dish to add back later. add rice to the pan and just enough water to barely cover the rice. cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. when water cooks down, add a little more. keep adding water until rice is tender. i did this for twenty minutes, then added more water and put a cover on the pan, reduced the heat to low and simmered for another fifteen minutes. i would probably add back the veggies before this last simmer. i cooked mine from the beginning and the carrots were mushy.

i season with salt and pepper at each step - first the cooking vegetables and again when i add the rice. the turmeric was a surprise. i was looking through my spices, smelling as i went and the turmeric spoke to me, adding great flavor and color.

when the rice was tender, i added a scootch more water, made a little well and cracked an egg on top. popped the lid back on and cooked till the whites were done but the yolk was still soft.

for my nanny family, i would add kale and white beans at the end. i think it would be great with any vegetables and the beans add protein. what a great meal! healthy, hearty and good.

i impressed myself. i don't cook like this. i find good recipes. and today? i guess i did just that.

eggcellent

2010-10-28T11:45:00.000-04:00

it made me rediculously happy yesterday to find this little beauty waiting in one of the nesting boxes:

next to a store-bought egg:

my two boys. rocky in the front and clyde in the back.

so you can see the size difference between my two roos:

rocky is an old english bantam. he will always be this small.

as the chickens grew, the coop seemed to shrink! clyde found a new home with three hens, in toledo with my friend susan. i hear they're doing very well. now the coop is perfect for rocky and his girls.

the four remaining hens are doing great. no eggs today, but i'm hoping for more happiness soon.

stitches

2010-08-28T09:14:00.000-04:00

i had the deep pleasure of going to stitches, midwest last week with a couple of great knitterly friends. i went on their website to see if my new favorite yarn, madelinetosh was hosting a booth. i sadly discovered they were not. but! webs was there with a huge lot of this gorgeous yarn. don't you just love the name? i came away with this little lovely in composition book grey. but really, i think of it more as storm clouds. it's very similar to my dear mmmalabrigo. now, what does it want to become?

indiana state fair

2010-08-18T21:04:00.000-04:00

we had a great time at the fair last week. we arrived early to beat the heat and the crowds. though i didn't get to see everything, i did get to spend close to an hour in the poultry barn, talk cattle with a cute cowboy and got my fill of lemon shake-ups (my favorite).

we spent the first part of our visit checking out the antique tractors and visiting all the activities in pioneer village. there was primitive woodworking for the mister and fiber arts for me. we just kept giving girl-child cotton candy and she was happy. some things never change.

the day was too short but it was about all we could stand in the indiana heat. i forget how blasted hot it gets here in august. i think it's like childbirth that way - too painful to remember.

i'm seriously thinking of entering a project in next year's fair. think this lovely would win any ribbons?

i finished my modern quilt wrap.

if you missed it on facebook or ravelry, here it is for your viewing pleasure. i don't see how i'll ever knit anything so lovely again. even though it's simple garter stitch, the colors are so striking against each other it looks quite impressive. i can't believe it's done! finally! it would be fun to enter something in the fair and i can't think of a better project. stay tuned...

housing chickens

2010-07-25T20:43:00.000-04:00

ken figures these "free chickens" have cost us about $500. so at two eggs per hen per day, if they started laying tomorrow, it would take until new years for any sort of ROI (return on investment). my numbers geek husband. i don't care about any of that. i look out my window and this view makes me smile. that's what matters.

on naming chickens

2010-07-24T21:59:00.001-04:00

this is cleo.

she was the first hen to get a name. with her 'eyeliner' i thought it was fitting. this photo was taken a few weeks ago, when we first got the chickens. below is cleo now, pictured with 'flo' (the other red hen). they've really grown!

we also have 'rocky', 'clyde', 'lola', 'carmela', 'bonnie', 'beth' and 'chica-kahn'. (HA!)

sadly, we lost adrianne last week. i don't know what happened except she was teeny tiny and i don't have a CLUE as to what i'm doing with these birds! but i am learning. that was a hard day. but it's all part of raising animals, i guess. and now that i know better i can do better.

i think ken was worried about us getting too attached - naming them. but in my mind, how can i not name them? they are living beings. they will eventually gift me with their eggs. how can i not?

and let me just say, if he didn't care about them too, he wouldn't be talking the time to build a perfect coop.

we're almost done! tonight is the first night they'll actually sleep inside.
today, the coop got painted. tomorrow, i'll start on the trim. you just wouldn't believe the craftsmanship that has gone in to this little coop! it's all trimmed out in rough-hewn cedar. the window is a totally custom casement window. and both side doors have hinges, latches and screens for ventilation. that window! i think it's my favorite part. ken took four 12 x 12 panes of glass and built a perfect window. it's insulated, and the nesting boxes come out the back with hinged lids. ken says his brother is going to call these 'city chickens'. that is fine by me.

someone is pretty pleased with himself. and nine little somethings are clucking happily tonight.

wednesday webshare

2010-07-07T15:44:00.001-04:00

i found the most adorable patterns for dishcloths ever! kris patay, of kris knits has designed some serious cute. i bought one set and went back the next day and bought four more! i mentioned it to a friend and she said she just couldn't pay for dishcloth patterns. the next day i got a text that read, "i just spent eight dollars on dishcloth patterns!" serious cute.

with inexpensive cotton and just a few hours you can easily create a whole set of cloths to keep for yourself, or gift to someone special.

i made all of these in the last week or so, all available in her free pattern section:

picture courtesy of kris knits.

this is the first one i did as a blanket square. it ended up a little small, but with some tweaking, i think many of her patterns would be usable for blanket squares.
this is the one i did in blue for the schuyler blanket project:

they knit up in a jiffy. go on and buy yourself some cute.

kentucky unfried chickens

2010-07-06T10:15:00.001-04:00

ken went down to kentucky this weekend to do some work for his parents. he stopped by his brother's small farm on the way home. when he told me where he'd been and said, "i have a surprise for you." my first question was, "is is alive?" i know my husband. he's the sort that will come in the house with something cupped in his hands - toads, snakes, bunnies and once, even a baby raccoon! i was pleased to see my surprise was only a box of chickens. i'd been talking all year about wanting some laying hens. well, now i have nine. and one little banty rooster. today, we need to build a home for them.

pics to follow!

Schuyler Blanket Project

2010-06-20T09:31:00.002-04:00

i haven't been knitting much lately. i don't know if it's just a summertime thing, or maybe grief, but i just haven't felt inspired. i've gone to my knitting group a few times in the past weeks and that has helped. but otherwise, i've just not felt creative, until yesterday.

a few weeks ago i joined a particular knitting group on ravelry but it's ties are much closer than just an internet forum. the schuyler blanket project was founded by my friend, tammany. her daughter, the namesake of the project was born last summer. when schuyler died the same day, tammany's knitting friends put together a blanket of squares, hand-knit by them, in the hopes she would feel the comfort of their love as she wrapped the blanket around her. tammany started the schuyler blanket project to share that love with other grieving families.

i pledged two squares on a blanket for a woman i don't even know. but i do know her pain. and i know the magic these blankets hold. these squares, hand made with love are no great miracle but in some small way they matter.

if you have some spare time (literally, my first square knit up in just a few hours), and a willing heart, please consider knitting (or crocheting) an 8 x 8 square for this wonderfully worthwhile project. send your squares to me directly and i will see they find a home in a blanket for a mother who has experienced life's greatest loss.

as the garden grows, so does the gardener

2010-06-01T20:45:00.000-04:00

mr. melly has been working non-stop for weeks, in the yard and in the garden.
last year was our first gardening experience, and as the garden grew, so did this gardener. i learned the difference between pole beans and bush beans. i learned the best way to eat a tomato is like an apple, right off the vine, warmed by the sun. i grew hibiscus from seed. they made it through the winter. the mandevilla did not.

i learned wisteria do not like to be moved around. i grew a plant from seed last year and was thrilled to see it leaf this spring. i wanted to move it to the garden, but killed it trying to replant. one day i will have a blooming wisteria. but not this year.

but i do have strawberries!

they are sweet and delicious. and i learned six plants can easily turn into about ten!

i also learned some work needs to be done in the fall. it has taken ken no less than five days to get the space ready to plant. he got a rototiller and made quick work - removing the grass, turning the fall leaves and working in my compost. compost, what a miracle! i took all my kitchen scraps last year, sawdust from baby mac's crib and weeds basically, and created a beautiful, nutrient rich product to work into the soil. mother nature is one clever lady.

stay tuned for more pictures and to see how my garden grows.

hold on

2010-05-14T22:59:00.000-04:00

many of you know my love for the work of artist kelly rae roberts.

recently, she teamed with demdaco and that union made her work incredibly affordable.

remember i got one of her art girlies? well today, i found this little gem.

a gentle reminder to just. hold. on.

starring marilyn monroe

2010-04-26T14:59:00.000-04:00

i've been thinking about blogging lately. so i figured maybe i'd come and post something. but what can i say?

and what can i blog about that will push the last post down, out of sight? everything feels trivial. dumb.and then, i think of marilyn.

she's the one on top of the dog pile. and she's justin's cat - marilyn monroe.

i've never known a cat like marylin. she acts more like a dog, really. she greets ken at the door when he gets home from work with the rest of the pack. she comes when he calls her and cries for him at the door when he goes outside. ken, the self-proclaimed cat hater is now a self-proclaimed cat lover. this cat, anyway. her antics make us laugh every day. and laughter really is good medicine.

2010-03-07T19:48:00.002-05:00

justin james

september 10, 1987 - march 7, 2010

love you, buddy. always.

this

2010-02-24T15:50:00.000-05:00

is in my yard right now.
my dogs are going NUTS!

kelly rae roberts decorative art girlies

2010-02-13T10:12:00.000-05:00

oh. my. goodness.

i am in love!

my very favorite artist, author and possibilitarian, kelly rae roberts has really done it this time. i've been following her creative journey for over a year and she just keeps wowing me.

i was lucky enough to get one of her art girlies when they went on sale this week. i called it my own valentines day gift. :)

mine is the love girl, (pictured in the back, right), and she is precious. i squealed when i opened the package (addressed to the lovely melly crocker :)) and even got a little teary. she is perfection. so unique, so original. and so affordable!

one day i will have an original of hers. but until then, i'm going to gobble up every bit i can of her wonderful pieces by demdaco. check your local gift shops. everyone needs a little of the joy this amazing woman is spreading around.

photo belongs to kelly rae. click to go right to her blog/online shop.

cage the elephant

2010-02-10T16:47:00.002-05:00

i started her weeks ago. she sat patiently in my knitting bag. surviving dog attacks, she was waiting for me to pick her up again. she probably wanted me to knit her some legs so she could run from that pesky dottie!

but here she is! posing for her closeup. ready to make girl-child smile. i'm calling her valentine.

isn't my trunk fine?

third time's a charm

2010-02-10T09:44:00.001-05:00

finally finished my cousin's hat. now that the average temperature in california is well into the 40's...

ah well. she'll love it because she loves me.

thanks again, jared for a fantastic pattern!

so much more than just a blog share

2010-02-06T10:32:00.000-05:00

you might have noticed my new badge over on the sidebar. about loving with my whole heart?

i've been spending some time with dr. brené brown. well, her blog anyway. and i love what this woman has to say! she's got some great articles on treating each other with basic respect and dignity, facebooking our fears (so good!) and living without shame and fear. she writes about living in authenticity.

what is authenticity you might ask?

brené offers this:

both of these badges are available as downloads to print from her blog, ordinary courage.

"mindfully practicing authenticity during our most soul-searching struggles is how we invite grace, joy and gratitude into our lives."

now i don't know about you, but i'm all for inviting more joy into my life.

"cultivating the courage to be imperfect." i. love. this.

today i will live and love with my whole heart, will you?

and then i fainted

2010-02-01T10:30:00.000-05:00

i gasped aloud when i pulled these from the wash yesterday. they are among my favorite socks, second only to the purple stripe socks i knit myself. i wear them all. the. time. and now it shows. :(

this is why hand-knit socks are such a labor of love. they wear out. the more you love them the faster they go. i'm so sad. i think they can be fixed. when red rhonda gifted them to me, she also gave me a teeny hank of the yarn. just for this purpose, i'm thinking.

can anyone help?

*sigh*

2010-01-27T16:44:00.005-05:00

i was watching oprah today. something about me hates the way that sounds. but sometimes, i like her. today she's good.

she's talking about food (surprise! i know!).

it seems eating healthy is all the rage. not low fat. not low carb. just healthy. one of her guests had his 'rules for food', like eating meat that has eaten well itself, and eating food that dies (plants and animals). my favorite, was something about eating only food a third grader could spell. can i choose the third grader? my new friend, has a rocking third grader. i bet that kid can spell some weird shit. :)

i think i like this new diet. think about everything you can eat by those rules. the experts promise my skin will look great, i'll have tons of energy and evidently i'll be pooping. but seriously, who doesn't love to poo? that's healthy, right? i digress...

food. tastes good right? it's supposed to. think about all the food that tastes good that's good for you. go ahead, i'll wait. there's more than you think. i had an orange today i got from whole foods. even before oprah was talking about it, i was there buying food. and i looked at that orange when i cut it open. i love pretty food. and that orange was juicy and bright. i was already smiling. and when i took that first bite i thought, "mmm this is good!" i can't remember when a bologna sandwich last caused that reaction. though i will admit it is an occasional guilty pleasure. on wonder bread with american cheese and iceberg lettuce? don't judge.

wait. does pizza die? pizza does die. (whew!) what about brownies? can a third grader spell brownies?

some of that stuff is good. but you know, my orange was good too.

another rule was it's ok to eat fast food if you make it at home. love french fries? how often would you go to the trouble if you followed these rules? i don't know about you, but i would not make french fries from scratch every day. how bad for you could they be, eating a reasonable portion once every other week? how many of us eat fast food fries several times a week? a burger and fries, one of my favorite meals. think of how different a meal it would be if you made it at home. how often would you go to the trouble? and think how different it would be, with grass-fed beef, good, whole-grain bread and locally grown vegetables? all completely sustainable, supporting local farmers. i could be down with that.

i watched anthony bourdain last night. love me some on demand cable! he was in Brittany, France. i was all but calling the travel agent. it. was. lovely.

there was a painter quoted as saying, we can't paint here because in brittany everything looks different from one moment to the next. it was breathtaking. tony called the color in brittany a "cinematographer's wet dream". the hills are lush and green, dotted with with buildings each one painted a different, bright color. all set against the sea that isn't blue, isn't green, isn't grey. it's some magical word that means all of these colors, yet none of them. (and if i wasn't over 40 i'd remember the dang word.) watch the episode. it's fantastic. but the food! one guy said, "the butter is great here!" and i said to ken, that's because you know they're getting it from a farmer whose own wife probably churns the butter! talk about sustainability.

it dawned on me today - i have something pretty close to this just up the road:

Trader's Point Creamery. do you think if i say Trader's Point Creamery often enough, some flag will go up in their office and i'll get a free chocolate milk? i would type nothing but Trader's Point Creamery for the next paragraph and a half if i thought that was true. it's like dessert. but seriously, they have an amazing farmers market all year. now, granted, those fresh, garden tomatoes of summer are probably hard to come buy but i bet there are some great winter squash. and real butter and grass-fed beef. fresh, local eggs. good food. look for their stuff in a store where you live. word is getting around. it's no brittany, but there are green hills, barns on the hill and good things going on there. plus it's right up the road. where the hell is brittany, anyway?

i was going to say, how do i explain this to mr. meat and potatoes? but think of all the amazing meals we'd have following those few simple rules? meat? check! potatoes? check. but also eggs and cheese. fresh fruits and vegetables. grains and beans. can a third grader spell vegetables? ken probably isn't going to be happy about that one. but there is pizza! and even ice-cream. honestly, it's pretty much the food we're eating now, only better.

ken would say i've been watching too much Food TV.

procrastinate much?

2010-01-24T16:54:00.001-05:00

do you all remember when i said i'd finished the quilt top i was making for justin? well...i wasn't completely honest. it wasn't an intentional lie. after all that cutting and sewing back together and cutting again only to sew it back together again, the top felt done at that point. but today! today it's done for real. not only is the top done:

but i also finished the back:

now to decide if i want the strip going horizontal or vertical. it's a square quilt does it really matter? somehow, yes. it does.

and now for a confession: i don't have a CLUE what to do next. i've decided to quilt it myself. is that a bad idea? i've already called my quilty friend trista twice today. perhaps the next step should wait till tomorrow when she won't think me a pest when i call again.

greek pizza

2010-01-24T11:15:00.003-05:00

those of you who really know me, know i'm a recipe girl. i'm a good cook because i take time to seek out good recipes. but last night, i made my own pizza and it was A. MAZ. ING.

i started with the crust recipe i love from my food processor cookbook. it couldn't be more simple: yeast, water, flour, oil and salt. i rolled it out and it just sort of came to me: what if i used garlic hummus rather than the traditional red sauce? then i remembered the beautiful kalamata olives from my trip to trader joe's last week. chopped those up. looked in the fridge and found some spinach and red onions and then some cheese to top it off. chicken would have been really good but i went vegetarian and it was perfect! i started thinking about things i love with hummus and pita - cucumbers are my favorite. i diced up fresh cucumbers and tossed them in a vinaigrette with more red onion and some grape tomatoes. fresh cracked pepper finished it off:

i can't even tell you how exciting this was for me. i just don't cook this way. and i realized why: i shop from a menu generated list. now, it's a loose menu but still. when i plan a trip to the grocery store, i write down dinner ideas and make a list of the ingredients i need for those meals. and i rarely stray from that list. not so last week! i spent an hour in trader joe's and just grabbed a few things that looked good to me (olives, hummus and spinach for example) and look at the end result - a tasty, ORIGINAL recipe made by me.

i'm so proud.

i am captivated

2010-01-22T22:15:00.002-05:00

i got ken this amaryllis for giftmas never thinking i'd enjoy it so much. i actually thought he would take it to his office. i'm so glad he didn't. i'm so glad i'm not missing this:

mid-west winters are long and dreary. it's an absolute miracle to have this kind of beauty growing and changing every day. it's like hope blooming right on our table - hope of springtime and flowers.

earth laughs in flowers

2010-01-18T17:17:00.001-05:00

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

and a dog! on thursday!

2010-01-07T12:05:00.003-05:00

sadie girl. this picture makes me fall in love with her all over again.

i always fall off the wagon when it comes to regular things i'm supposed to post. i can't get it together enough to post dogs every thursday. because it's not just dogs on thursday. it's dogs on thursdays, tuesdays with dorrie, barefoot contessa on every third friday (or something like that) and it's all just. too. much.

but isn't it fun when i do remember?

winter wonderland

2010-01-07T10:39:00.001-05:00

french press felted slippers

2010-01-02T17:45:00.003-05:00

i've been staring at these slippers for weeks. i can't even tell if they're cute any more. i fell in love with the pattern when i saw it on ravelry back in november, and i thought i'd love the finished product, but i don't. and i'm sad about that. they knit up like a dream - super quick! and they don't take very much wool so i thought they'd make great gifts but how can i gift something i don't love?
i do have one more pair to knit up for a friend. we'll see how i feel after that. i'll let you know.

you better not pout

2009-12-22T20:32:00.003-05:00

my friend, amanda stopped by today with a craft emergency. we decided i must be martha stewart's evil twin - tattooed, knitting, harley riding, cooking, swearing. i'll buy that.

to ~~bribe~~ pay me for my brainstorming efforts, she loaded me up on sugar. but these little beauties are evil. they taste like the stuff inside an oreo. she's promised the recipe. and don't you worry, internet. i will share.

i've already decided weight watchers is on my horizon. again. i've gained ten pounds! think that's not a lot? tape two bags of sugar to your belly and come back in an hour. no wonder my back hurts.

let's get through the hoidays with it's noshings and imbibing and i'll get to it. america's next top model here i come.

i'm no scrooge

2009-12-19T18:17:00.007-05:00

but i wasn't going to do any christmas knitting. proclaiming christmas a knit-free zone was one way to lighten my holiday load. i wasn't going to send any christmas cards either. . .funny how these things work. or not.

i mean, i have things on the needles, i am knitting: a clapotis for girl-child and manly socks for ken but i wasn't going to have this mad dash to the finish line, pressured to finish last-minute gifts.

enter exhibit a:

ashley's boyfriend put in a hat request. and i'm doing a gift exchange with some knitters after the holidays. then i found this blog and her felted slippers and it's been downhill since. i have procured more wool in the last week than i can shake a . . .a knitting stick at!

this is the french press felted slipper, before and after. ravelry is the best way to get the pattern, especially after poor melynda was 'harlotized'. i think i've been staring at it too long. i can't even tell if it's cute any more! it needs one more good run through the wash so it's not so floppy but i think it's cute. now to find the perfect buttons...

and one more knitting related bit. can i just say my mom rocks? i asked her if she could knit girl-child a sweater. ashley said, "omg! i love that sweater!" when we were watching a scene from the movie juno. so, i took a picture of my TV with my cell phone, emailed it to my mom and said, "can you knit THIS sweater?"

she took that crappy cell phone picture, bought some yarn, found a squirrel chart and worked her magic:

ashley was squeeing all over the kitchen. i couldn't even get her to hold still for a picture.

well, maybe one.

she absolutely loves it. as in, wears-it-every-day loves it. cried when she opened the package loves it. wasn't going to let me take it to my knitting group to brag on my mom loves it.

thanks mom.

and the gifts keep coming

2009-12-15T10:01:00.002-05:00

is there a better way to express your love and affection than the gift of yarn? i think not.

my momma, she loves me. she gifts me with potential. a bag of fibery goodness says, "here you go, let's see what sort of beauty you can create with THIS!"

a bag of yarn. the perfect gift. one size really does fit all.

i can tell it's christmas. and not just because of the parade of gifts.

we finally got our tree up. no one in town had the mini, multi lights! i ended up ordering them from target.com.

ken strung them up and i decorated the rest. we love our tree. it's like a living museum of our lives together. each ornament hand selected either by us or for us to commemorate all sorts of things. decorating the tree is one of my favorite traditions even if it is a lot of work!

nothing but heaven itself is better

2009-12-14T23:38:00.003-05:00

than a friend who is really a friend. -plautus

it's so wonderful when a friend takes time out of her busy day to sprinkle my day with happiness.

thanks, bird. this hit the spot.

clever girl

2009-12-10T00:00:00.001-05:00

now i know my abc's

2009-12-05T15:19:00.004-05:00

holly, over at chez beeper bebe shared an excellent tutorial on creating these wonderfully whimsical, fabric, magnetic abc's.

i was in the process of making a set today when one of ken's co-workers asked if i'd make his twin girls their names.

these are so easy. i made the two names in less than an hour. i've gone one step further in simplifying holly's idea: i use arial black font, all caps and print up the alphabet (or name). in word, if you go to format: font you can select outline. i cut the letters out square, set my machine to a short length and sew, following the lines of the printed letters (layering the pieces according to holly's tutorial). the machine needle perforates the paper, and you just tear it away. ridiculously easy.

i purchased the magnets, and i used scraps of fabric and batting that i had already. so for less than $10 i have a super cute gift idea! and now you do too.

post turkey day post

2009-11-27T08:48:00.003-05:00

we had a very low-key turkey day. a few friends and a deep fried bird.

i know.

before you start moaning about tradition, take a gander:

it was, dare i say? they best damn turkey ever.

i'm a traditionalist. i've roasted my turkey in the oven every thanksgiving for probably the last 15 years. i've balked at frying my turkey in hot oil for probably the last 5. but there is something to this deep frying. it presented the most delectable meat, my mouth is watering as i sit here trying to find the right adjectives. it was moist, perfectly seasoned, crispy outside, tender and juicy inside. YUM! but i will say, getting used to the house smelling like a chinese food restaurant on thanksgiving may take some getting used to.

come and get it!

and no holiday would be complete without gram's banana cream pies.

hope your day was filled with all the traditions you love best.

manly socks

2009-11-17T20:32:00.002-05:00

ken loves his handknit socks so much. i thought he might need an alternate pair to wear while his never ending socks are in the laundry.

for those inquiring minds, this is one of the harry potter yarns by opal - hedgewig, i think. not bad, eh?

happy fall ya'll

2009-11-14T20:23:00.005-05:00

ken has a bad habit of cleaning the garage.

i put stuff out there for storage and next thing i know, i can't find anything. i think it's his way of punishing me for entering his sacred domain.

last weekend, i happened to go outside when he was out there cleaning. he had our storage trailer open and i saw my decorations box sitting right there! christmas wreathes, halloween decorations and who knew i had thanksgiving decor? not me!

we cleaned out boy-child's room last weekend. a craft room is imminent! and i've told ken from now on, all my holiday decorations can be stored in that closet.

but in the meantime, this little lovely welcomes guests outside my front door:

happy fall!

Verizon's Droid: 10 Apps to Get You Started

2009-11-11T10:12:00.001-05:00

Verizon's Droid: 10 Apps to Get You Started

Posted using ShareThis

apple grilled pork chops

2009-11-08T16:04:00.003-05:00

i think they looked better than they tasted!

fresh-cut rosemary from the garden. stuffed with butter sautéed onions and crisp, tart slices of granny smith rubbed with brown sugar. this should have been delicious. but neither girl-child or i liked them.

but they sure were pretty to look at.

ribbed lace

2009-11-06T20:48:00.006-05:00

i know a lot of people have knit this pattern. ravelry told me so. i've knit this pattern! i don't think it's difficult, per se: it's an 8 stitch repeat with a 24 row pattern repeat. it's a combination of increases, decreases and yarn overs that creates this lovely fabric of lace. i remember it being a bit challenging the first time but the end result was a pair of socks so. . .

since then i have tried no less than four times to create these socks again. and i'm not sitting here with a single pair of ribbed lace socks.

i tried once with some beautiful yarnlove. it certainly wasn't a problem with the yarn: silk and wool. for your feet. delicious.

i tried again this summer in seattle with some lorna's laces. again, lovely yarn but the pattern just wouldn't come off my needles.

the other day i cast on these:

and, here we go again. i'm having trouble already. i know what i did wrong but do you know how fun it is to un-knit three rounds of yarnovers, increases and decreases?! ::maniacal laughter:: do you?

but. i will say, i'm a much better knitter now than i was last year when i knit these socks the first time so fixing should be a breeze. right?!

remember my sister the rock star?

2009-11-05T16:28:00.002-05:00

well, she also writes children's books:

the picture is an amazon link.

my sister is a published author. somehow that makes me seem more awesome!

it's been so fun being part of this process with her. i saw the book in the beginning, when it was just a poem or two, emailed to me with a 'what do you think' subject line. i watched it grow into a whole book. with amazing pictures and everything! her illustrator, christine bennett is so imaginative. she put faces to my sister's words. it's a terrific marriage.

if you need an autographed copy, i can hook you up.

2009-10-30T21:27:00.002-04:00

grizzly trying on his new sweater. he LOVES it!

fall fare

2009-10-25T17:01:00.002-04:00

Cornbread-Crusted White Chili with Green Chilies and Hominy

national pizza month

2009-10-14T22:10:00.003-04:00

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

2009-10-12T17:37:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-11T01:44:00.006-04:00

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

2009-10-07T17:11:00.002-04:00

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

2009-10-05T19:23:00.004-04:00

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

2009-10-02T10:40:00.001-04:00

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!

koolhaas redux

2009-09-20T21:58:00.004-04:00

jared flood of brooklyn tweed is pure knitting genius. i've been a long-time admirer through his blog - his knitting, spinning and photography are just so inspiring. when i knit his koolhaas hat the first time last year, i was smitten. but now i'm 100% in love. this pattern looks complex but knits up so easily, and it creates this amazing lattice that honestly makes me look like a much better knitter than i am. how can i ask for more than that?

if you're a knitter and haven't made this hat yet, well shame. on. you.

holliday park

2009-09-16T15:48:00.004-04:00

eta: name correction. thanks brenda!

halfway

2009-09-14T12:50:00.003-04:00

i'm finally halfway done with my modern quilt wrap. it's seriously the finest thing i've ever knit. and i'm not just talking yarn weight. it's absolutely lovely. and halfway done.

and now i know

2009-09-10T15:33:00.008-04:00

i've been knitting socks for more than a year now. i've knit probably half a dozen pair. some have been on double pointed needles, some magic looped on one long circular needle but up to this point always one at a time and always from the cuff down. after spending a week with the fabulous two-at-a-time sock knitting ms g i was seduced into knitting socks two at a time, toe up. she made it look so easy. plus she gifted me with this fabulous yarn. how could i refuse?

and easy it is! i learned judy's magic cast on. i like it!

but i'm not sure i like working on one long needle.
there are some knitters who hate double pointed needles. and while i agree, sometimes it does feel like wrestling a porcupine, knitting on one long circular, for me, isn't any better. it's just different. i'm glad to have this new technique mastered but did i love it? not really. and now i know.

as a portable project, one at a time works better for me and i swear it's faster! i always laugh at knitters who say one way takes longer than the other, because really, isn't it the same number of stitches? but i swear, two at a time felt like it took forever!! surely i can knit two socks one at a time in less than 16 days!

and i'm not crazy about the afterthought heel. it's easy enough to work but i do like a good heel flap. when you knit socks from the cuff down, once you cast off, you're done. with this, i cast off both socks late last night, then spent all day working just one heel. it's done. mighty pointy, but i know how to fix that next time. this heel does seem much less bulky, so less likely to bunch up out the back of my shoe. that's a plus. and now i know. but i'm done with only one. it will be at least one more day before i have a finished pair of socks.
/whine.

i guess besides all the whining, the point of this post was to encourage you knitters to reach outside of your comfort zone and try something new. you may like it or not, but at least you can say, " i came. i saw. i knit it and now i know."

housewarming

2009-09-07T21:55:00.002-04:00

justin moved out of the house last year. but recently he and his girlfriend jessica got an apartment together. when girl-child moved out i made her a cookbook scrapbook of some of her favorite recipes. justin requested the same. but he said, "go ahead and put some gross stuff in it too, since it's not just for me."

so justin and jessica, here is your cookbook with gross stuff included.

i bought this paper pack a few months ago, not having a clue what i was going to do with it. i was worried it was too girlie for this project but since justin now has his own girlie, i think it's perfect!

thought handwriting each recipe was a nice touch too.

♥ mom

dogs on thursday

2009-09-03T13:36:00.002-04:00

do take a second and send some well wishes to our good friend, beau. he had to have emergency surgery yesterday. scary time for the fabulous ms g and her mr.

our thoughts are with you guys!

check out the other great dogs on thursdays.

what is in a name?

2009-08-27T20:51:00.003-04:00

a bunch of the dot crew are answering this question. saw it on chanknits first, then the fabulous ms g - lord those gals are making me want a basset hound in the worst way!
on to the question at hand: what's in a name?
let's start with the boys:

old man ruger was our third. third rottweiler, third ruger. ken used to be quite the marksman and one of his favorite pistols was a ruger. the name stuck. we liked it.

fatboy (the minpin) came with his name. interesting story though. girl-child had gotten an older female from a friend of ours who used to breed minpins. said friend's daughter came home from college and had a fit that her mother had given away her childhood dog so girl-child gave miss lucy back. she and her dad visited the pound on a regular basis. one visit, as they were leaving, a guy walked up to ken and said, "this is the perfect dog for you! his name is 'fatboy'!" (ken was wearing a harley shirt). fatboy hadn't even been inprocessed yet. he left with ken and one happy little girl-child.

turns out our friend who bred minpins used to give the all the litter pups harley names. and with there being only a few breeders in the area, there's a pretty good chance fatboy was one of miss lucy's pups. ashley calls him muffin or monkey. ken and i call him piss hound.

grizz got his name from an old black lab we dogsat when ruger was just a puppy. ken and i never forgot how much we enjoyed watching that gentle giant dog play with our sweet puppy. he's grizzly bear, grizzers and bubby.

and the girls:

we got sadie from another motorcycle friend. our first group ride was called a sadie hawkins ride. it was all about the girls. our friend brought her two remaining puppies to the park where we gathered afterward for a cook out. i knew as soon as i took her into my arms that she was mine. mostly she's just sadie. sadie-girl.

and gigi:

she came to us as ginger. cami gave her the middle name of mirabeau. so now, she's gigi beau beau.

turns out there's a whole lot in a name. :)

creativity

2009-08-24T11:40:00.003-04:00

sometimes there's no making sense of creativity. it strikes at stranges times or worse, i sit and wait for it to come. she can be fickle, my muse.

last night at midnight, i was up creating this little gem. it's the tin my teeny gingher scissors came in, re-purposed into a random act of kindness for a fellow raveler. if you're not familar with ravelry, on the message boards, there are buttons you can click to show love(1), or if you disagree(1) with someone or think something is funny(1). i thought the love(1) was a whimsical touch. the recipient enjoys family recipes, so this tin will include some of our favorites. cute no?

paper and rubons are basic grey, font is quickutz zoey (i think).

who knew grocery shopping could be so fun?

2009-08-23T01:47:00.003-04:00

my garden girls kidnapped me this week and introduced me to whole foods.

i might be in love.

i found everything i needed to re-create a very special meal: goat cheese, raspberry chipolte sauce, rice crackers and a bottle of chateau st. michele. my sister, robin may not cook but she can sure slap down a spread! love you robbie.

then we came home and raided the garden. they swear they harvested while i was away but they left with twenty pounds of tomatoes. 20!! and i found these, hiding down low:

cami gifted me with two hibiscus plants last fall. i took them home and promptly killed them (it's what i do) but not before harvesting the seeds! and look what i grew this year from those same small seeds. it's like a miracle, really.

summertime fare

2009-08-20T10:37:00.005-04:00

thimbleanna posted these wonderfully simple kilbasa/veggie packs for a summertime grilled dinner. what could be simpler?

i have everything i need right here - smoked sausage, potatoes, zucchini, onions, peppers. YUM! time to fire up the grill, or even the bonefire! thanks anna!

and, a dog - because it's thursday:

girl-child has a boyfriend named jimmy (happy birthday, jimmy!) and jimmy has a dog named dude.

and dude has the longest tongue i've ever seen!

sydney's woobie

2009-08-12T13:57:00.002-04:00

i have a new baby niece. and every new baby needs a woobie, right?
sometimes i find a project as a gift and sometimes the project finds me. that was the case with this blankie. this is the opart from knitty and it is fabulous.
a quick knit, done in a washable acrylic/nylon blend makes the perfect, drag around the house while i suck my thumb sort of gift.

happy baby, dave and lis.
love you.

friday fill in

2009-08-07T00:00:00.002-04:00

1. sweet corn is my favorite summertime food.

2. My favorite John Hughes movie is a three way tie between sixteen candles, christmas vacation and ferris bueller's day off.

3. malibrigo is something I love to touch.

4. The full moon makes me smile.

5. my dog is drinking out of the toilet right now.

6. When daylight fades so do i.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to new netflix pics, tomorrow my plans include maybe going for a drive with ken and Sunday, I want to relax!

jim's peppered vodka sauce

2009-08-06T19:28:00.005-04:00

tonight i made giada de laurentiis' vodka sauce recipe from her book everyday italian. i call it jim's peppered vodka sauce because my friend, trista gifted me with some of her husband's pepper infused vodka and that's where the peppered jim comes from.

this sauce is delicious. you'd think, because of the cream it would be heavy but it's not! a little goes a long way. the vodka give it a nice heat and depth of flavor. with penne pasta it was perfection. for me. ken had ragu. bet you mine was better.

vodka sauce

3 cups marinara sauce

1 cup vodka

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste

simmer the tomato sauce and vodka in a heavy large skillet over low heat until the mixture reduces by 1/4, stirring often, about 20 minutes. stir the cream into the tomato and vodka sauce. simmer over low heat until the sauce is heated through. stir in the parmesan cheese until melted and well blended.

meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. drain the pasta and transfer it to the pan with the sauce, and toss to coat.

and because it's thursday:

picture by joni

it's grizz, waiting for his supper!

goodbye july!

2009-07-31T14:16:00.002-04:00

i hardly knew ye!

apron done!

2009-07-31T13:48:00.000-04:00

happy birthday, roo

2009-07-31T12:51:00.003-04:00

my daughter is 23 today. i feel old.

dog. on thursday

2009-07-30T12:05:00.003-04:00

i'm working on ken's computer while mine takes a little break. i have so few pictures available to me here. but here's one, of sweet ginger, pretty fresh from the groomer, lounging on the couch with a diet coke. :)
i had a great picture of fatboy sunning himself but i figure i need to spread out the doggie love between all my furries.

thanks, ms g for the reminder!

hey anna - do you see your pincushion in the picture?? :)

fat give-away

2009-07-30T00:25:00.003-04:00

no, it's not what you think. if you have some fat you're looking to get rid of, you'll have to find your own means. the fat i'm speaking of is being given away in the form of quarters - fat quarters.
rachel over at p.s. i quilt is giving away $50 worth of fat quarters also known as bits of fabric goodness for you muggles.
click on the picture for your chance to win!

blog find

2009-07-29T01:57:00.001-04:00

haute*nature

"Ecologically based creative ideas, art & green products for your children, home and lifestyle........an eco guide blending high style with sustainability."

and very, very cool. check it.

first friday fill in

2009-07-24T12:42:00.004-04:00

there's a blog that posts a new fill in every friday. i decided to give it a try. be prepared, more often than not, to see it on saturday. :)

my answers in italics below.

1. being a hormonal mess is not the end of the world.

2. Sitting here, listening to the sound of rain falling, I think of home (washington state).

3. the fresh tomatoes from my garden taste so good!

4. Sometimes, putting others first is a bad idea.

5. the scenery back home (see #2) is breathtaking, really.

6. Well, maybe there is hope.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching the new netflix movies coming in today's mail, tomorrow my plans include knitting as much as possible and Sunday, I want to wash my car!

guest dog

2009-07-23T09:31:00.002-04:00

we have a four-legged houseguest. a friend of ours is recovering from a serious illness. so while he gets better, his best friend gets to play at our house. i tried snapping some pictures the other day but this is all i got. he's in the doggie protection program.

ginger is having a ball playing with her new friend.

2009-07-19T11:31:00.002-04:00

Latest knit, the OpArt blanket. I'm blogging from my phone on the back porch so I can't add the linky but it's on ravelry and knitty for those who may be interested. It's for my new baby niece Sidney Grace. Though girl-child wants dibs. :)

dogs on friday again

2009-07-17T07:03:00.002-04:00

caught the boys napping. fatboy is a real snuggler. ken too for that matter. :)

da do ron ron

2009-07-15T18:16:00.000-04:00

if you're in the indianapolis area and you need a new hair stylist, go see mel terhune at allure salon. that cute little asian girl is rockin' my world! i got a cut, color and highlights. and i feel like a whole new woman. thanks mel!

friends - next time i say i'm going to color my own hair? punch me right in the face!

where flowers bloom. . .

2009-07-14T11:04:00.005-04:00

. . .so does hope. - lady bird johnson

we are really enjoying the flowers in our garden. the sheer size of these sunflowers amazes us daily.

the zinnia bed changes every day, making me smile. and when cut, they last forever inside!

and we have corn! we've already enjoyed a few tomatoes, zucchini, swiss chard, cucumbers and beans. we're growing food. it's way cool.

and THIS! is a chocolate sunflower. isn't it delicious??

scrapbooking give-away!

2009-07-10T08:06:00.002-04:00

i'm earning an extra entry for posting about rebecca's give-away! she's giving away some heidi grace!

"Each cardstock paper pack has 24 pieces of double sided cardstock. I put 4 different accessory packs that coordinate with the cardstock packs. Even if you aren’t a scrap booker, with a few basic supplies you can use these to create a whole album or even a bunch of cute cards!"

if you're into scrapbooking or papercrafting, hurry over to Rainy Day Kisses and add your name to to hat. or don't. i guess my chances are better if you don't. :)

barefoot dogs. . .on friday

2009-07-10T07:04:00.005-04:00

i knew when i joined barefoot bloggers the schedule might pose a bit of a challenge. while i love the idea of cooking something new with this group every couple of weeks, it doesn't always fit into my life. for one i live with Mr. Meat and Potatoes. my husband doesn't eat anything that is or ever was green. you may laugh but i'm not kidding. so to purchase all the ingredients and create a dish only i will eat isn't something i do on a regular basis. and while i want to try ina's pasta with sun-dried tomatoes. it won't be in a timely barefoot blogger fashion. and i apologize.

and to my new doggie pals, seems i'm slacking with you too. but i leave you with this:

my bad-to-the-bone, gigi. well worth the wait, no?

quit top complete!

2009-07-08T17:53:00.003-04:00

after not too much swearing, i give you this:

can i get opinions on how it should be finished? i'm not doing the quilting. i think it needs some sort of solid border and then the bias in one of the fabrics - maybe one of the reds? no border? bias in black? i think i want it a scooch bigger. it's approx. 60 x 72 (minus seam allowances) and boy-child has a full sized bed so i do need to add something. i like this idea from the quilt along.

these are some seriously talented folks. i'm a little in awe to be sewing among them. click the link to see their work all together in our flickr pool.

serious fun.

webshare

2009-07-07T06:51:00.003-04:00

not so litte red riding hood

by Dina Goldstein

omg this is funny as hell. or not: when disney princesses don't live happily ever after. pretty much like the rest of us. snow white's prince charming is not so charming, cinderella is a drunk, rapunzel gets cancer and belle (is it?) goes under the knife.

jpg online mag ran these photos. check it.

i'm official!

2009-07-02T22:09:00.003-04:00

thanks for the shout, g. finally, the folks over at dogs on thursday recognise me as an official member. whew!

now to share a picture. . . since my sadie girl will be seven this month, this one is for her.

on her first birthday, the breeder threw a birthday party for the whole litter. there were thirteen golden retrievers swimming in the pond, chasing balls, sniffing butts and having cake. yes, there was even a cake. it was a hoot.

i had several friends who had goldens, they came for the party. it was the most fun i'd had in a long time.

happy birthday, sadie - girl.

smarter than me

2009-07-02T16:14:00.008-04:00

i'm sitting here cleaning off my desk when i come across the metal knitting needles my sister gave me. as i looked at them i thought, i bet you could bend these around to make a bracelet. and i was sure the clever crafty folk on the internet were already on top of this one.

you should SEE some of the crazy things crafty folk are doing with knitting needles! go look, i'll wait. check this one too.

etsy is one of my favorite rabbit holes. type in something you love and see what comes up. by artisans. you know, those folk who make things. with their hands. people like me only way cooler. ;)

epic fail averted

2009-06-30T16:00:00.002-04:00

thanks to everyone who offered encouragement and sympathy after my nervous breakdown. i decided to get new fabric and start over. and hello bonus - i like this combination of prints even better. how about you?

i've got all the strips sewn together and cut apart into blocks. now, after squaring everything up a bit i'll be ready to sew the blocks together.

quilting seems a bit like madness - you cut everything up only to sew it back together again just to cut it all up again so you can sew it back together. seems a little crazy to me but i am enjoying the process. i am. i swear. a lot, i know. i'm not even going to pretend and say i'm working on it because quite frankly, i like to swear. and quilting, as it turns out, gives me plenty of opportunity! so yes, i -do- like quilting!

first quilt - EPIC fail

2009-06-27T13:08:00.004-04:00

i've been thinking about the old red barn co. quilt along for a few weeks now. i've spent hours drooling over all the flickr uploads of the beautiful quilts being submitted. i finally decided to go ahead and join the fun. sure, i'm about six weeks late. and ok, so i'm not that experienced of a sewer. i can do this, right? right?

i spent over an hour at the fabric store this week selecting just the right fabrics. the excitement is building. yesterday, i worked for an hour or so cutting all these fun fabrics into perfect little one and a half inch strips. they looked so happy nestled in their box. and today, i was all set to go:

machine - CHECK

ironing board and iron - CHECK

spray sizing - CHECK

happy little stacks of one and a half inch strips - CHE. . .

what? the strips are supposed to be HOW wide??

TWO and a half inches you say?

pardon me while i have a complete nervous breakdown.

miscellany

2009-06-25T18:21:00.005-04:00

this post is exactly why i chose the name for my blog. today i have a little of this, a smidge of that and dogs. because it's thursday. i'm still not official, as if i need an excuse to talk about my dogs! and if you don't like hearing about them well, you may be in the wrong place.

first things first:

grown by me. from scratch. i love zinnias.

my sadie girl. holding still long enough for me to snag a picture.

and a sneak peek. inspiration here and here. but shhhhh. don't tell. it's a boy-child surprise.

and lastly, i am official over at barefoot bloggers. got my acceptance email this week. short notice though for today's recipe. i am ill equipped. after looking over the recipe i wondered - is it wrong of me to want to serve this in a glass with some vodka? :D check out meryl of my bit of earth. she selected ina's gazpacho this week. she's got a nice little blog. i think i'm going to like it on barefoot bloggers.

are you cooking up anything fun?

today

2009-06-25T10:56:00.005-04:00

ali did it the other day. cathy's doin it today. and now, i'm doing it too. cause you know i want to be like cathy z. when i grow up.

TODAY June 25th, 2009

Outside my window... my garden is growing by leaps every second.

I am thinking... hormones are not my friend.

I am thankful for... my husband's good job.

From the kitchen... chocolate chip cookies. gone.

I am wearing... comfy capris and a wife beater. barefoot.

I am creating... fingerless gloves. again.

I am going... crazy with cabin fever.

I am reading... new moon. again.

I am hoping... the weather cools to bearable for being outside.

I am hearing... commercials on the tv.

Around the house... is dog hair, dog hair and more dog hair. oh and don't forget the dog hair.

One of my favorite things... air conditioning. in the house and now in the man-cave. i may never see him again.

A few plans for the rest of the week... hitting the local fabric stores for the makings of a surprise quilt.

fingerless gloves done!

2009-06-22T23:58:00.004-04:00

sorry for the crap cell phone photo. i was in a hurry to share.

these are for my friend, noemi. she has tiny little hands. i may try a pair for me knit up on bigger needles. i did model these but if i was going to wear them for any length of time i'd want them a smidge bigger.

now all these ideas are swirling through my head - i'm thinking any of my favorite sock patterns could easily become fingerless gloves. monkeys perhaps? the possibilities are endless!

knitting up something good!

2009-06-20T12:52:00.003-04:00

knittywhipped offered up this great pattern for fingerless gloves. click on 'mitt envy'. super simple pattern. i cast these on last night. late last night. love me a speedy knit!

check out this tutorial for cabling without a cable needle. omg. i -love- it!

stephanie gifted me this fabulous yarn when we were in seattle. check out her etsy store to get your own fabulousness.

friday's blog finds

2009-06-19T19:15:00.003-04:00

today it's all about the food!

first time reading baking bites today. they've posted girl-scout cookie recipes. hells yeah. thin mints here i come! ironic name, no?
i'd forgotten how great the cupcake bakeshop was. and now it's closed. :( for some of the strangest but best flavor combinations in cupcake form, check out chockylit.
robin sue over at the big red kitchen shares some fantastic recipes. do try her mini ham and chesse rolls. they rock. seriously. i can eat about a million.
cathy at noble pig is busy moving but she still manages to share beautiful, step-by-step photography with her recipes. rivaled only by ree over at pioneer woman cooks.

mmm remember these?

Grilled Pizza 5/22

2009-06-17T08:36:00.001-04:00

when i took the garden pictures this morning, i realized i never uploaded these.

and this is just too good not to share.

my first time grilling pizza. so good.

i used mozzarella - had trouble finding the manchego. it was still good. have i mentioned how this was good?

it's exciting to me, finding new uses for my grill. i do all the cooking at my house. even grilling. if you want something charred beyond all recognition, ken is your guy. but if you want a tender, chewy crust, smoky, delicious and perfectly grilled, you'd better call on me. or do it yourself. :)

enjoy!

Grilled Flatbreads with Caramelized Onions, Sausage, and Manchego Cheese

Bon Appétit | June 2009
by Diane Rossen Worthington
Grilling the pizza dough adds a smoky flavor to the crust.
Yield: Makes 12 appetizer servings

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large red onions (1 1/2 to 1 3/4 pounds), halved, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry red wine (such as Zinfandel)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausages (about 4 links), casings removed
Pizza Dough Rounds or 1 pound purchased fresh pizza dough

Nonstick olive oil spray
2 cups (packed) coarsely shredded Manchego cheese,* divided

Heat vegetable oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until soft and deep golden brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Stir in wine, vinegar, and sugar. Reduce heat to low and simmer until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring often, 3 to 4 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. Cool.

Heat medium skillet over medium heat. Add sausage; sauté until cooked through and browned, breaking up with back of fork, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl. Cool. DO AHEAD: Onions and sausage can be made 1 day ahead. Cover separately; chill. Bring to room temperature before using.

Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Lightly flour 2 rimless baking sheets. Divide purchased pizza dough in half (if using). Working with 1 dough round or dough half at a time, roll out on lightly floured surface to 12x8-inch oval. Transfer to baking sheets. Spray top of flatbreads with nonstick spray.

Invert flatbreads, sprayed side down, onto grill. Cook until grill marks appear and sides of bread are dry, 3 to 5 minutes. Return to same baking sheets, grilled side down. Spray uncooked side with nonstick spray. Turn flatbreads over on baking sheets, grilled side up. Sprinkle 3/4 cup cheese over each flatbread. Sprinkle onions, then sausage, over flatbreads, dividing equally. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese over, dividing equally. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Transfer flatbreads, topping side up, to grill. Cover and cook until crusts are crisp and cheese melts, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to work surface. Cut into rectangles and serve.

* A Spanish cheese made from sheep’s milk; sold at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores.

garden update - zucchini, cucumbers and strawberries. oh my!

2009-06-17T08:23:00.002-04:00

zucchini and corn. broccoli and root vegs.

beans, strawberries, lettuce and cucumber. and tomatoes!

i keep telling the girls, if all the strawberries go missing i don't know a thing about it!

and the shade garden.

sunflowers

2009-06-17T08:11:00.004-04:00

the morning sun beckoned.