Relaxing Saturday

I had a nice birthday. We went out for breakfast at Poco's on the Boulevard and then to Room 39 for lunch. I heard from all the kids, my family and friends. That made me really happy. Then, I made crab cakes for dinner. Sam watched Piddles this morning so I could sleep in. (8 a.m. Woo Hoo.)
In between entering my stash on Ravelry I worked on the laundry and cleaning. Sam tried his best to keep me from doing laundry. (You're NOT cleaning and doing laundry on your BIRTHDAY!) But that kind of stuff doesn't really bother me. Plus, there was a ton of laundry to do. How did I ever survive doing laundry for four kids and a husband? I'm trying to remember. So far, I have 40 yarns stashed. And that's just the tip if the iceberg. I'm sure I'll have well over 100. Yarn is all over the place in the spare bedroom and office. I've been having to unearth all of my yarn in the various hiding spots. It looks like a tornado ran through those rooms.
So, today I'll continue to work on cleaning the house in between entering my knitting data on Ravelry. I wonder who has the largest stash so far... (I'm such a nerd!)

Happy Birthday

to me. I'm 48. Oh well.
I took the day off from work, so I've got a long weekend ahead of me.
I received my invitation from Ravelry a couple of days ago, so I've been playing around in there. Quite a site. I've already received an email with pattern corrections from a designer. I might actually get my knitting organized. Amazing.

Patience is a

Well, the casserole last night was gross. Don't make it. I wanted to throw the entire thing in the trash, but Sam took it to work to share with his co-workers. What does that say?

Tonight: spaghetti and meatballs. I know, I know. Making 6 lbs of meatballs is not in keeping with the KISS weeknight meals. Alas, I didn't have time on Sunday to make them ahead of time. So, bite me.

I dropped an egg while making the meatballs and summoned the dogs in for a quick clean-up. This didn't fare well with the puppy, as she ran to the family room to barf. It was her first time barfing, so she was upset. She was so cute with those little sad eyes looking at the piles of barf. Oh, if only I had the camera handy. I can't wait to replace the carpeting!

I took her outside afterward only to discover this:

Whut thu Hull???

Anyone?

I've been working on the Knitting Pure & Simple Cardigan. It really is going pretty fast. I tried it on today, and it looks as if I have maybe 7 inches to go on the body. And since the yarn is so thick that won't take much time at all. It's going to be a heavy duty cardigan. A real work horse.

Well, I'm under 200 on the Ravelry waiting list. With my luck, it will be stuck on 4 for several days. I'm dying to see what other knitters are doing.

I've got a little more of my OWN time

The Fuzzy Feet are complete. These slippers are for Danny. And I'm done with the second of the socks on two circs, with the exception of Kitchenering the tip. I prolly should make Caitlin a pair before I mail then out.

I'll be moving the Nikko Wrap to the Stall Wall. It just needs more beads added. And beading is such a pain in the ass. I'm wondering if I'm just too dumb to have figured out the easy way.

On Saturday, I listened to some of the Pod casts on Knit picks. I was surprised to find out that the owner has about 7 projects on the needles at all times. Maybe it's because she wants to encourage us all to buy more stuff from her web site. Or maybe she's just not as strict with herself. After hearing that, however, I certainly wanted to cast on for more projects.

But, I resisted.

I'm kind of holding off to see what happens when I finally get on Ravelry. I'm under less than 1K now. I'm excited. I wonder how many projects other knitters have on their needles. And what everyone else is making. Maybe I can get some help with the dang Baby Surprise Surplice Wrap too. I'm also waiting to see if I get any of the Kaffe Fassett Sock Yarn soon. If I do, that will be my next sock project. On one long circular.

I decided that I have to pair down my weeknight cooking. While I was working overtime, we had carry-out more than I'd like to. It left us both feeling yucky. And while I'm glad that I'll have some more time, I want to keep our weeknight meals simple. I think I'm going to do more cooking on Sundays, so that the weeknights can go smoothly.

I made some chicken stock on Saturday. I love making stock. I'll hope to be making matzo ball soup this week. Or I can it freeze the stock for later. Tate mentioned that they brown their bones where she works. So, that will be next. She also mentioned a technique where you drop cold water on the roasted bones to cause them to open. That way, when you boil them you get the most bang for your buck.

So, I'm going to start working on the Knitting Pure & Simple Cardigan again. I remember saying that it would fly off the needles. I guess that is only if you don't have Knitter's ADD.

Tonight I made Sopa Seca. I used up the rest of the roast turkey I had instead of smoked turkey. I also used Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes and added some chorizo I had on hand.

Quiet Friday

Sam had to pull an all-nighter at work Friday night, so I had the evening to myself. I took the dogs on a walk. (It's getting easier!) I went to Whole Foods and bought Cioppino for dinner and a salad for lunch today. I got a little knitting done. Not much, because the dogs were running all over the place. Nell turns into an alligator puppy when she gets tired. Snapping at everything. I gave the puppy a bath, cleaned out her crate, and turned in early. I kept waking up because I had trouble regulating my temperature.
I had a nice lunch with my mom, Dustin, and Tate on Thursday. It's good to get out in the middle of the day once in a while. The weather has be beautiful.
Today is the very last day of the overtime project. I'm ready for it to be over. I want my time back. With any luck, I should be on Ravelry by next weekend.

I'm obsessed about being admitted to Ravelry. As of now, I'm 4,580 in line. Maybe I'll get my invitation by my birthday.

I've turned the heel on the second sock and I'm hoping I can get the second Fuzzy

Foot finished with the yarn I have left.

First Day of Fall

Happy first day of Fall.
I took yesterday off from the volunteer overtime project. I wasn't feeling all that great when I woke up, so I decided that I needed two days off in a row. It was nice to get the house in order. I had lunch with my dad. I got a new hair cut that is darn cute. I was inspired by Caitlin and Danny to have a more modern wash & go type of style. Dustin and Tate had been encouraging me to grow it long. But, it was driving me crazy, so now I'm sporting a new chin-length razored do. I was considering coloring it again. But my hair stylist insisted that my natural silver was pretty and that it simply needed a few things for extra Oomph. So, maybe I'll have him even out the color and add some dramatic streak or something.
I was thumbing through my recipe books and tumbled upon The Complete Book of Breads. I think my brother got this for my birthday some 25 years ago. I used to make Sunset White Bread for my kids when they were little. So, I thought I'd make it again. It didn't rise well and was a flop. I figured I could use it for croutons or something. We made Hot Browns for dinner last night using the bread. It is a Kentucky favorite open-faced sandwich made with toast, roast turkey, cheese sauce, and bacon. It was simply awful. I couldn't even eat mine. It looked like a big brown pile on the plate. Yuck.
In the past, when Fall arrived, I used to spend most of my knitting time in a hurried frenzy making gifts for Christmas. After I figured out that this took a considerable amount of joy out of knitting, I decided to stop. There was no need to make a gift for every person. Nobody else makes each gift. Now, I make things throughout the year. This year, I'm not sure that I will even cast on for another gift between now and Christmas. Better to get the things I have started completed.
I finished reading our book club selection, "Wait Till Next Year." I enjoyed the parts about history very much. However, the first part of the book about her early childhood told through rose coloured glasses was a bit boring. And, I found myself skimming over the play by plays of particular baseball games.

I spoke to Dustin yesterday. His cat, Willa, died Thursday night. He seemed to be taking it fairly well. It's so hard when you help a four-legged friend die.