A Work in Progress

a new beginning

2012-01-02T20:55:00.003-09:00

May the lessons learned in 2011,

not be repeated in 2012.

Well Facebook successfully almost killed this blog. During 2011, i realized that i was posting so much over there that the info was getting lost. I really need to keep better records of what and when i am doing things. So i will at least attempt to post weekly in here.

A new year, and the temps are quite chilly. -22 F to be exact.

Already things learned:

make sure board closing chicken coop is firmly in place or the door will open up. not good considering it was the coldest night of the whole winter.
put sawdust down before it gets really cold, the ducks will freeze to the ice and pull out their feathers on their bellies.
butcher when temps are warm. still have 3 to many geese and 2 to many roosters.

only getting 1 egg a day so far.

in cleaning:

Day 1- purged old sheets (4). looks good in the closet.
Day 2- tossed out old spices/seasonings/herbs, outdated canned goods, and cake mixes. Also tossed out old phone books, and assorted papers that tot has brought home from school.

2010-02-06T20:08:00.003-09:00

Saturday sky

(between snowfalls)

tot playing in today's snow...
about 4 inches of the stuff.
Holly wants to play too....
Hugo wants to play w/Holly.
(he plays so hard in the snow!)

no eggs... wondering if Holly isn't eating them.
The goose is limping again.

Now for the finished knitted items from January

Drop Stitch Moebius cowl
yarn used: lion brand trellis
this is an ick!

a Coffee corset
(free Ravelry download)
knitted with Malabrigo
(wonderful stuff)
Fire in the Head fingerless gloves
(erratas in the pattern)
yarn used: was some previously dyed w/Kool Aid
used US 6 dpns and got a child's large size
My grandmothers slippers
yarn: 2 strands of Dusty Rose Red Heart
size made: child shoe size 9

To Russia With Love....
Pattern: Scrappy Hat (archived)
yarn: 1 strand of fun fur and 2 of grey/black boucle
has been donated and already snatched up as a
chemo cap.

Sunday Quotes

2010-01-31T00:52:00.004-09:00

I was just thinking, if it is really religion with these nudist colonies,

they sure must turn atheists in the wintertime.
~Will Rogers
though this link will take you to winter nudist attire.
(link is rated M)

Saturday sky last Saturday...

and my dead ice field.
i dump the ice just outside the door.
(there is a few more blocks now).
have lost 2 water dishes and a bucket this year already.
another bucket is frozen deep in the ice.

Hugo relaxing in the hallway.

Tweedledum scratching Holly's back.

sometime in this next week i will be
posting images of all projects started and
finished in January.

this blog was supposed to be
updated on Sunday
but the comp crashed in the middle.

So Thing 2 doesn't live here anymore.
therefor his bedroom is in dire need
of being mucked out.
There is some serious funk odor
emanating from the room.

First step: Remove all shoes- esp. 2 pairs of wrestling shoes. Nope.
Second step: wash all laundry- 4 pillows, 2 comforters and sleeping bag. Nope.
Third step: clean mattress- wasn't the bed blue and white? now it is brown.
Steps to cleaning mattress:
first: lightly spray with vinegar and cold water mixture,
blot with paper towels.
Open window to air out room- vinegar is powerful smelly.
Second: stand up on end to dry both sides of mattress.
Third: after airing put bed back together and liberally sprinkle with baking soda.
Allow soda to sit
then vacuum.

While mattress is airing,
vacuum up debris under bed.
what is that burning smell?
oh well continue cleaning.
put bed back together and generously apply baking soda.
(did you know that with enough baking soda in the air
it can be tasted?)
now to vacuum the closet...
what is burning?
uh oh bad sound from vacuum.
black stuff underneath vacuum.
take apart... nope not the belt.
how in the world did i burn up the beater bar?
now to replace bar, 7 to 10 days shipping.
Cool. but i still have soda all over the mattress.
now what?
hmm...
shop vac.
plug it in and turn it on.
aw bugger it!
whoever used it last did not remove water.
it smells like mildew.
oh well can't be to bad.
proceeded to remove soda from mattress,
then finished the room,
behind bookcases, dressers and door.
then looked down hallway.
I will just get the hay while i have this out.
oh lookie at all the black dog hair.
finally stop cleaning.
DH comes in and says:
"What is that smell? it stinks in here".
now to air out the whole house.
thankfully it is about 30 F outside.

So to get funk smell out of one room,
we went to vinegar,
burning plastic,
mildew.
best one of all of those was the vinegar.
yes there were little melted bits of plastic in my carpet
they were removed w/scissors.

Sunday Quotes

2010-01-10T22:48:00.003-09:00

"Winter is the time for comfort-
it is the time for home."
Edith Sitwell

no pictures still.
DH worked on the comp but
no drivers and now no volume either.
So my audio cd is not going to be listened to.
the Guernsey Literary and Potato peel pie society

Lily got out yesterday and was discovered in the
chicken coop.
Holly is sleeping with the geese in their hovel.
Still no eggs. Cooked up some beans to
jumpstart the chickens for protein.
didn't work.
Plan B is to start butchering!

our temps have been above normal
but am not understanding the 18 or so degree difference
from Kenai to Soldotna. (the towns are about 10 min apart!)
Kenai 21 F
Soldotna 3 F.
very strange!
wonder what we have here.
but we are now upto 4 hrs of daylight a day.

knitting: am about 3 repeats away from being done
with my moebius scarf.
then onto mittens for me...
or the hat.

that is all
folks.
thanks
for sticking with me w/o piccies.

Wine Tasting Saturday

2010-01-09T23:10:00.002-09:00

this Saturday Night DH and I went out.

A friend invited us to a wine tasting evening.
Only requirement was a bottle of wine from the Northwest region
(Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington)
and a food to go with it.

So I purchased a bottle of
Chateau Ste. Michelle Gewurztraminer Columbia Valley 2008
and cooked up a Japanese Yakatori Stir fry.

The foods that were brought were
cheese, crackers and meat trays,
smoked salmon dip
sushi rolls
Fudge
and a Swedish Apple pie.

The wines were
(the ones i remember)
Delish ones from
Bear Creek Winery Homer Alaska

Blue Zin
Black Raspberry (oh this one was Super good).

A wine from Idaho
wasn't very good- to dry.

Snoqualmie (wasn't very good)
even though it was a white

several reds
never did find the blush
and there were several whites.

(next month i will write them all down
with proper notes).

Sunday Quotes

2010-01-04T00:00:00.003-09:00

"It wouldn't be New Year's if I didn't have regrets."
by William Thomas

I missed having the
Sunday quotes.

So my resolutions
for this year:

Blog more frequently.

Spend less time playing FB games.

Take time for myself each day
and enjoy the simple things in life.

The knitting under the tree this
last Christmas was nonexistent.
So once again i have joined the
Harry Potter House Cup
over in Ravelry.

And have finished one
assignment
DADA (Defense Against the Dark Arts)
which is to make something
that depicts our resolutions.
And i made a Coffee Corset.
out of malabrigo.
using a different technique that didn't work.
when my camera card cooperates w/my
computer i will post piccies.

so that is one thing done for the
1 project a week for 52 week challenge.
(we will see how well i do this year!)

recipes

2009-12-29T23:25:00.003-09:00

wanted to post piccies...
but my new laptop
isn't communicating with my pic card.
so no pictures of
Holly
our new Nigerian Dwarf goat.
(who is a pain!)
on Christmas we drove around the block
to find her.
today she figured out how to
open up the chicken coop door
to eat the chicken feed.

The Female Tweedles isn't doing
very well. She has blisters on her webbed
feet. I have been keeping them penned
up due to ice and the goat eating their feed.

Recipe 1

Chocolate Truffle Tart

of course there are modifications....

Crust:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup ground walnuts
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa

Filling:
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 (9-ounce) package NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
2 oz squares of unsweetened baking choc.
1 t of vanilla
1 cup sweetened whipped cream, (optional)
1 cup fresh raspberries, (optional)

For Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat flour, powdered sugar, nuts, butter and cocoa in large mixer bowl until soft dough forms. Press dough onto bottom of a springform pan.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until puffed. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
For Filling: Combine cream and sugar in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes just to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in morsels and choc; let stand for 5 minutes. Add vanilla and Whisk until smooth . Transfer to small mixer bowl. Cover; refrigerate for 45 to 60 minutes or until mixture is cooled and slightly thickened.
Beat for 20 to 30 seconds or just until color lightens slightly. Spoon into crust. Refrigerate until firm. Remove side of pan; garnish with whipped cream and raspberries.

Makes 8 servings.

Estimated Times
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 20 mins
Cooling Time: 45 mins refrigerating

Wacky Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon vinegar
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup cold coffee

In a 8 x8 square pan, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt. Make three wells in the flour mixture. In one put vanilla; in another the vinegar, and in the third the oil. Pour the cold water over the mixture and stir until moistened. Bake at 350°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it springs back when touched lightly.

sprinkle with powdered sugar or frost... this last time we cut it in half and filled mascarpone cheese.

Lowbush Moose Project weekly update

2009-12-06T21:37:00.004-09:00

Obi has been visiting the last few days.

i took him outside w/me to look
for my cell phone in the car.
whilst i was rummaging around my car
i felt a nose against my leg.
(the car port is dark)

Realize that my phone must be inside after all.
i say to obi "come on then lets go inside".
after walking out of the car port into the lighted
drive, i turn to look- cause the dog is taking awhile.
and out of the car port walks this thing
with a long grey tail and skinny white legs.
i think to my self "how did that happen?"
then quickly realize "wait it is a cat!"
obi was right behind the kitty.
so i bring the kitten inside
to look it over.
soon realize that it is extremely hungry,
and not very old.
somebody dumped the thing and it made it over here.

then realize no wonder the rooster was cackling at 6 pm.
it must have been over by the garden and set the animals off.

so since no body has come looking for it and
nobody has called to say they want it.
i have to drop it off at the shelter in the am.

(here it moved)

and now a better shot w/flash.
all other critters are doing well.
the temps have been warm in the 20's F.
we are getting about 4 eggs a day.
with a light for 14 hrs a day.
houdini keeps dropping eggs onto the floor at night.
think she is having trouble- as her eggs
are the size of a duck egg.
(she is a smaller bird)

Lowbush Moose Project weekly update

2009-11-29T21:14:00.006-09:00

Tot and Hugo
first snow
2009

Tweedles -African goose (female)
in the first snow

Winter quarters
for the small livestock.

we have run an extension cord
from the studio to the coop.
the light stays on for 14 hrs
unless the temps are subzero
(which we already have had -15 F)
the light stays on for 24 hrs.
and at that time we had some really confused
chickens. they were laying at 8 pm
Buffy was crowing at 11:30 pm.

going left to right:
small brooder pen,
chicken coop,
Sarge's pens,
lily, eyebrownie and Cinnabun's pens.

Winter quarters for the Tweedles
(will be used in summer as a greenhouse)
double lined visqueen hut with an
igloo dog house for the super cold nights.

Sarge

Lily and Eyebrownie
(these 2 escaped their pen
and ran around the yard
all night! Caught them after
they decided to check out the geese pen)

Cinnabun

and now an update about Thankful:
he was the most delish bird we have ever had.
didn't look pretty but was good.
cooked him in a bag, breast side down,
slathered in olive oil with a herb rub.

Princess was home for Thanksgiving.
DM came over and an early dinner was served.

RAKed with a JSW

2009-11-20T22:25:00.006-09:00

RAK
(Random Act of Kindness)

sometime ago Femke a friend over in Ravelry
in the group Monthly Adventures
told me to
watch my mailbox...
cause she was sending
this.....

(from the Netherlands!)

opening box....

wow this is wrapped up really well....

now to log onto flikr to see how
she took it apart.....

after minimal assembly.....

the JSW
(janet's Spinning Wheel)

single treadle very nice.....

oh you need roving to spin with?

lookie what she sent!

the far yellow is yarn labeled Sunflower
the white is Swiffer Sheep (that she washed and drum carded)
Grey Sheep (washed once and drum carded)
Alpaca washed drum carded
Alpaca white hand carded
Alpaca dirty not washed nor carded.

So i sat down to practice treadling....
Tot is fascinated...
(until she decides that the wheel needs to be milked)

this is what i produced...

so i tried more....

have a lot of practice ahead of me
before there is enough to make a
wedding ring shawl.
But my hands are super soft
and smell lovely.
(yes i like the smell of lanolin!)

thank you Femke!
you are the bestest!

serious update was neeeded!

2009-11-14T23:09:00.003-09:00

well this is a much needed update.
what almost killed this blog
was the stupid farming games
over on Facebook.
they are major addicting.

so the animals.....
are all quite well
lets see what i've got...

eggs!
Celia laid the blue one (this is one of her first eggs)
Houdini laid the big white one
and unknown who lays what.

sadly no pics of Little Britches are on the comp.
he got mean and became roast chicken.
leaving Buffy the only rooster.

this is BAR the night before he met
with the knife.

we now only have 10 chickens
2 geese and 4 rabbits.
We got snow on November 9 2009
up until then it was nice, frosty.
The horses are gone as well.
Patches could be found over on Craigslist.

The geese are having a bit of trouble
last night it was -7 F.
There is very little info out
on the internet about
raising African Geese through
a winter.

And finally Tot all dressed up for
Halloween trick or treating.
(it was on the chilly side).

thank you all for sticking with me.

busy weekend

2009-09-05T12:35:00.004-08:00

Princess rides Mac very well.
Friday afternoon

Princess night feeding one of the baby bunnies.
one of the bunnies died during the night.
it had a broken leg, that punctured the hide.

Princess and i making sourdough bread.
Princess and DH riding horses
Saturday morning.
(yep key to bringing kids home is get a horse).

and if you get queasy don't look at this last pic.
it is kind of nasty looking.
but looks way better than it did 2 days ago.

and now we are off to a football game.
it is only 1 pm.

All this was in 24 hours

2009-09-04T21:53:00.005-08:00

Hugo brought this little guy home.
Just as we were supposed to be leaving for the
vet.
(sorry no graphic images of Hugo's
nasty looking snout).
Vet said staph infection due to bug bites.

We went horseback riding.
Tot loved it!

(about the only time i got to sit down all day-
and today i am absolutely sore).

This afternoon this is what the
bunnies looked like.
(yes the one multiplied into 3)
we are feeding them cat replacement milk.

I fed the first one every 2 hours last night (cows milk).
So this morn, i went out to feed Hugo.
As i reached for his dish- i noticed a fuzzy creature
lying on the concrete.
my thoughts: huh? but how? you are in your box.
uh oh.. there are 2 now!

So i took them to work to feed them while on break.
DH called me.... and said Hugo just brought another one home.

Here we have
On a wing and a prayer.
(yeah i know that is only 2 names and there are
3 bunnies).
i am tired.

Princess is home for the night.
and we went riding today also.
(ok i lead the horse w/a lead line
while Princess and Tot rode).
Remember i am still sore from riding yesterday.

Sunday update

2009-08-16T20:36:00.003-08:00

Today has been a busy day.....

First the geese are getting bigger.
such noisy creatures.

Sunday sky,
it never did rain though.
cleared up and got into the 60's.

We have Patches and Mac
living in our backyard.
(leasing the back pasture)
but in the meantime we get to enjoy them.
Hugo is going bonkers.
DH and Thing 2 moving the Chicken coop.
wait it is going to fall!

ok this is so much better.
(there is a dolly under the wooden box)

Sadly tonights chicken dinner contained these.
These are eggs.
i killed the wrong bird.
all day i was watching to see which one
was crowing.
but still managed to grab the wrong one.
This was one of my 6 roosters i bought last spring.

Well that is it for today.
think i will take things slow for tomorrow.

Monday update

2009-08-10T20:50:00.005-08:00

Sunday was Elizabeth Zimmermann's birthday.
She has encouraged knitters to think for themselves.
which is much appreciated.

And now folks have asked....
this is the killing post.
have hung 4 birds from it.
this is one of the baby Barred Rocks.
was most delish.

Sunday dinners have been fresh chicken
with homemade buttermilk biscuits.
as i was plucking the last chicken,
was thinking about how relaxing it was
to pluck a bird.
then quickly followed that thought
with how warped i am if i thought
plucking was relaxing.

And now Tweedledee and Tweedledum.
DH was surprised that i picked them
both up at once.
(we need to put up baby gates
to prevent these two from entering the house).

and today was another sunny day...
71 F, Tot went into a wading pool out at DM's.
After I helped finish up the staining of the shed.
Am selling the eggs i gathered for $4.00 a dozen.
we are getting about 6 eggs a day.

catch up

2009-07-31T21:18:00.005-08:00

I got more chickens....
they were transported home via this means.

there are 10 adult birds in those boxes.

these 3 layers were in one box.
This S.O.G.
(center bird).
he was ok eating.

Meet B.A.R.
(Bad Attitude Rooster).
we are using him to train Hugo.
We are now averaging about 6 eggs a day.
sadly i go on an egg hunt every day.
and Lady B.A.R.'s eggs
are nowhere to be found.
might be because she is
freerange and has access to almost an acre.

this was in our driveway.
yes it is an ice cream truck.
so exciting.

Tot loves her pony rides.
(4th of July)

the weirdest things were at the parade.
(4th of July)

the geese 2 weeks ago.

And the geese now.
almost lost one of the geese yesterday.
it got caught in some net.
and was choking.
very nice geese.

we have had an exceptional summer.
very sunny.
a typical day was 70 F.
it has been raining for almost a week now.
but still some nice moments in there.
like Monday was 58F and raining on my way to work at 8:30.
after work at 330 it was 73 F and sunny.
(very muggy and humid though).

a bad week.

2009-07-04T00:16:00.002-08:00

Last week i posted pics of my new hens.
well Sunday the red one died.
It was fine when i put them to bed at 10:30.
and then at 6:15, i went to let them out.
and the red one had a rattle in her chest
and was dripping fluid out of her beak.
By 9:45 i heard a squawking commotion
out in the garden.
the red hen died.
(took it to the dump as we don't eat sick birds).

Wednesday morn, on my way to DM's
i wiped out a whole family of spruce hens.
Mama and 4 babies.
the saddest part was one little guy flew up
and then bounced off of the roof of the car.
Had to leave them as there wasn't time
to process the mamma bird before going to work.

Wednesday Hugo got into the chicken tractor and
created havoc- no death.
then Hugo drug home a bag of fish guts.
EWWW!!!!
but we did have a happy dog
turning somersaults on top of this bag.

The roosters and Thankful were out free ranging
and i thought
i had barricaded them up ok.
guess not.
Because, Hugo mangled Thankful pretty bad.
So bad that i had to put Thankful down.
Hugo had removed the tail, ripped the throat,
and partially removed feathers from the back.
From the feathers scattered about,
Thankful put up one heck of a fight.
None of the other birds showed signs of damage.
DM came in and watched Bumpkins
while i butchered.
Decided that since the bird was already partially skinned
to finish off the skinning.
Skinning is the way to go- so much easier than plucking.
removed the wings, but left legs on.
and then with a great online tutorial
finished the gutting process.
Note: remove crop before removing innards.
was very easy to remove the innards.
easier than i expected.
Guess i have been gutting to many moose.
And the bird weighs at least 8-9lbs.
a small turkey.
might be great for a turducken.

more critters

2009-06-24T22:54:00.005-08:00

today got more chickens.

these are layers
and now animal count is 19.

the geese don't like sharing quarters with
the new chickens so i engineered
something for them tonight.
during the day they free range now.
DH about grossed out when he saw
the new chickens rooting around under
the rabbit hutch.
I then closely watched one chicken,
and it had discovered a cornucopia of worms.
guess the soil there is excellent.

weekly pic of Thankful
and roosters
(the hole in the corner is from Hugo).

we got hail.
the ground was white.

Summer Solstice

2009-06-20T23:17:00.003-08:00

Our Solstice Sky...
much of the day was spent
with rain showers.
we did have fun.
the first Tomato of the year...
Bumpkins took some convincing to eat it though.
then thought it was delish.

We got some new pets a couple of weeks ago....
here they are just brought home.

African Geese

and here they are today....

Tweedledee and Tweedledum.

and last weeks sky.

sorry forgot to take weekly pics of rabbits and chickens.
planted broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower.
(hoping all goes well as my garden is in 20 days late).

Knitting: started a pair of fingerless gloves for me. was hoping to finish up one tonight. but have a bad headache and no motivation.

DH is busy gigging today and last night. Yesterday his Christian band Savant opened for KDLL radio station annual Solstice Party. Big event, parking and booths were in the pasture (yes step out of car into pile of horse poo). Then last night and tonight his Rock Band Danger Pig played out at a bar called Moosequitos. On top of that this evening there was a gig at St. Elias Brewery, best pizza in town.

so hope everyone is doing well.

Monday update

2009-06-08T22:02:00.007-08:00

Lowbush Moose Project
somewhat weekly shot.
the big white bird is the turkey
and all the others are sleeping under the rabbits.
very hygienic.
(bumpkins did think ewww... when
one of the bunnies peed on a chicken).

well i had a week off of work
and i played at home.
obviously i didn't blog or read blogs.
didn't finish my garden either.

Tuesday we decided it was a nice enough day
so lets go to the beach.
it was cold and windy.
Hugo didn't like the water to much.
(until we started throwing things in it for him).
and then these guys decided to get a close up of Hugo.
Stellar Sea Lions.
(we leashed up Hugo quickly
and didn't let him go play with these guys).

Wednesday it was nice 70+ F
DH had a gig at a Wednesday market
Bumpkins and I tagged along.
got slightly burned- color of almost magenta.

Princess came home on Thursday.
We had a nice visit.
Q brought over her rabbit Stormy
for us to bunnysit until August.

Saturday Not Lily was traded for
Cinnabun (2 year old doe)
ummm i hypnotized her for this photo.

Sunday was another Sunny day
so DM, Hugo, Bumpkins and I
decided a round of croquette was in order.
(playing croquette with a dog that fetches balls i
Finished knitting this up using recycled yarn
from a tshirt.
potholder anyone?

Saturday Sky....

2009-05-24T00:09:00.005-08:00

Our Saturday Sky.....

kind of cloudy.

The inside of the new chicken tractor
specifics: 1 old rabbit hutch
removed legs and wire bottom.
very happy birds.

a portion of the garden.
(wondering how many rhubarb plants is enough,
i have around 12 and still have to seperate one).

More rabbits from the thrift store......
now to hope that at least two are female and one is male.
(Lily is the one in the middle).

recommended summer reading:
Watership Down
Hit by a Farm, very interesting read about supporting your partners ideas.

have an awesome Memorial Day weekend.

Thrift store find.....

2009-05-18T22:59:00.002-08:00

This is what came home from the thrift store....

a baby bunny.
it's name is
either Betty or Lily.
can't decide yet and she is breeding stock.

(hope she makes it through the night,
even though daytime temps are high 60's
night time is still running 30's).
and she is maybe 4 weeks old,
a wild caught bunny.

Athena thinks that this critter
is better than the chickens.

Athena checks out what Bumpkins has....

Was another beautiful day,
so i put the chickens outside in
an enclosure.
upon arriving back home discovered that
they all escaped from it.
Thankfully no eagles ate them while they
were free.
(and they are sleeping very good tonight to).

Bought seed taters to go in the big barrels that DH
got yesterday.
2 reds for new potatoes
4 of a yellow variety.
also bought pea seeds
and let Bumpkins pick out the bean seeds.
Yep you guessed it....
we are going to attempt
to grow purple beans.

well it is late and i best be getting to bed.
night all.

random website: How to chit potatoes. makes perfect sense to me. but i think i will be planting small whole potatoes.

Garden Name Contest

2009-05-17T23:02:00.004-08:00

Garden Name Contest

Entries are:

Enchanted Acres
by Lynn

Sunflour Dreams
by Kazul

Chastity Garden
By DH

No Hope without Dope
some guy at the pool

Alaska Lowbush Moose Project
Carol Ernst and Amber

We are gearing up for planting,
filling bottles to keep the
zucchinis warm in the greenhouse.

Hugo is helping Bumpkins
fill the bottles by tasting the water.

What do you mean i can't eat this......
Celia and Hugo on Mother's Day.

knitting: nothing i am so behind! must finish stuff for the house cup this month.

Gardening: dug 2 rows by hand and DH got me some very large barrels for my taters. In the meantime, a lady at church told me about someone who grew sweet taters in hanging baskets. Now i gotta try that one.

we moved into the church today, it is nice.

Very hot dry weather. 61 F with 15% humidity.

update on the chickens. there are at least 5 roosters and one hen (Celia). Also appears Thankful is a Tom turkey.

New Contest and Saturday night sky

2009-05-09T22:21:00.005-08:00

Saturday sky
(8:30 pm and yes it really was that blue)

New Contest:
(as Jane was the only one interested
in the chickies contest).

Here is the new one:
Please leave a comment or email me,
with a name for my garden.
I will then attempt to put suggestions in
the sidebar for voting.
deadline for entries is
May 16.
with deadline for voting
May 22.

(kind of need a name for this website)
One Million Gardens
and another site (no name required this time)
Gardener's Supply
where you pledge to grow 10 lbs of food this year.

Nana's Mother day present....
milk jugs cut in half,
morning glories,
and topped w/soda bottles as mini greenhouses.

Finished raking garden today,
let the chickies play out there.
(so cute)
still have to rototiller it/ prep it for planting.
buds on tomato plants soon will have tomatoes.

eta: told Bumpkins that we would probably be eating the nice chickie Celia (yes she named another animal). She was very sad.

Contest!

2009-05-08T22:12:00.004-08:00

Bupkins wonders what

kind of chickens these are
and if they are all roosters.....

Rules:
Guess the kind of chicken
Guess the sex of the chicken
Person with the most correct guesses wins.
Contest Ends
July 1 2009
(by then we should know
what they are....
so later guesses may be better)
please email me your guesses with a
correct email address.

Have fun!
Prizes will not be chickens.......
(but may be farm related though)

Little brown chick.....
rooster or hen?
type?

Plymouth Rock #1
Rooster or hen?

Plymouth Rock #2
rooster or hen?

Plymouth Rock #3
rooster or Hen?

Plymouth Rock #4
Rooster or Hen?

Bumpkin's fave....
Rooster or Hen?
Type?

Thankful...
White Turkey
Tom or Hen?

The baby chicks.
sleeping for the night....

a bigger home

specifics:
a large HDTV box (free give away)
knife, duct tape
removable dog crate divider
multiple pieces of cardboard
(to prevent fly aways as i cut the opening in the side of the box to big)
cheap auto lamp

remove contents from box.
tape up ends and handle holes
cut a large rectangle in side.
lay down newspaper and straw.
and a new home is ready.

Saturday Sky....

2009-05-02T15:51:00.003-08:00

Here is our Saturday Sky.

Nice and sunny
71 F.
(summer? this morn was 39 F)

Bumpkins swinging on her swingset.
(it dried up FAST!
the ground is still "squishy" though)

The chickies are getting big.

The turkey is the biggest.

Athena is doing very well leaving these guys alone.
Hugo wants to eat them.
(he went on Point today,
while watching a Robin).

I have a really long weekend this week.
which i need to recharge.

been playing with Bumpkins outside.
DH's car is still down, so we have
been tag teaming using my car.

Accidentally unplugged the deep freeze so
many things thawed.
tonight must cook 7 bone roast.

The new term for the Harry Potter House Cup has started.
Now to come up with items to go after points.
Looking to see if the bubbly pi shawl will be allowed.

Swimming lessons are over until June.
well that's all......

New acquistions

2009-04-28T22:35:00.002-08:00

We have babies.....

6 baby roosters
and one
Turkey.
the turkey's name is Thankful.

Athena wants to know if they
are for her.

(the assorted bottles are collected from
many different people and will be
going in my garden to be used as
solar collectors).

Saturday Sky.... not....

2009-04-25T21:34:00.002-08:00

Sorry no pics
left the camera in
the van.
(and if i went to go
get it, the computer would
be used by someone
else by the time I got back).

Got a beautiful shot of the sky last
night with Redoubt's steam plume.

today got a wonderful shot
of my back tail light broken out.
(got backed into while at the track meet).
also today got a Geography lesson in Alaska.
There were teams from all over
participating in the meet.
Kenny Lake, Juneau- Douglas,
(just to name a couple).
And it snowed this morning.

Our driveway is just about bare of snow.
My garden has snow from when it slid off of
the roof.

This week have passed up the
opportunity to buy baby geese,
Baby rabbits, baby chicks, and baby turkeys.
maybe next week.

Work has been extremely busy.
DH is now employed at the census borough.

and because i haven't done one of these for a bit
somethings are just wrong.
Woman makes clothes out of her own hair.

Saturday Sky....

2009-04-18T20:34:00.008-08:00

Saturday evening sky.

taken at 7 pm.
(here is take 2 of Saturday pictures.
somehow my card needed to be reformatted.
lost everything.
but almost everything was uploaded already.)

The view of our drive

Well guess we finally have
a water dog.

this year we needed to put
up sawhorses to prevent people
from going into the lake
beside the house.
(it was deep slush)

Hugo wading in the "lake"
over by the apple tree.

this week has been extremely busy for us. DH's car has a cracked head, and i am working a lot of hours.

Knitting: redoing January's BOM. had it 1/2 done and realized that it was to big. Also have discovered a cool website with Pern shawl patterns. Princess said she didn't want one. Kazul... do you want a Pern inspired shawl? choices are Ruatha, Benden Weyr, Healer, Harperhold, Bubbly pi, shipfish, 1/2 circle, to name just a few.

the weather finally has turned warm. around 48 F most days this week. Today started out with snow but later we had rain.

have discovered that we wont be doing a pig this year. As the shoats are ready to go home and we are nowhere near being set up yet. Also pigs come in 2 and they are running 125 USD ea.
So chicken tractors are our best bet. have plans for 2. Princess has suggested goats, we do have the acreage but i don't have the time come winter. Also i will want fiber goats, rabbits wont' be to bad either. But they have a downside also, need to buy a bred doe and then raise the meat from there. really want to do free range animals.

no new interesting recipes.
Mt Redoubt is building another dome.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T09:10:00.010-08:00

The dyeing of the eggs.......

Along with the dyeing of the snow...

Finding
the basket....

lookie eggs!

Nana's

here!

Playing
outside in the snow.

the yarns being dyed with the leftover egg dye.
(read up on how to do this. leave yarn for several minutes or overnight. Until dye is exhausted- kind of like kool aid.)

Saturday Sky.... not....

2009-04-11T23:50:00.000-08:00

Did take pictures...
not of the sky.
(which started out snowing this morn,
then mostly blue/cloudy).

but of Bumpkins dyeing
Easter Eggs, then
we dyed yarn,
and then the snowbank.
(will post piccies
hopefully in the am.)

Friday after work,
Bumpkins and I went with
friends swimming.
Finally Bumpkins will go into the
deeper section of the kiddie pool
and is willing to jump in.
now to work on arms, legs and floating.

went out knitting this morn.
was talking to one lady who also is on Ravelry.
And found out that she listens to Destiknit's podcast.
(she talks about knitting and spinning a fair amount).

i am off to bed now.
Princess is staying in Anchorage for Easter.

Saturday Sky....

2009-04-04T23:50:00.000-08:00

Saturday Sky.

Mt. Redoubt puffing away.
(love the digital camera- took loads of
pictures but am only using one).

Knitting: this is a bunny rabbit.
some folks say it still needs a tail and face...
what do you think?

Knitting: still am knitting on DM's socks. But have
cast on something entirely for me!
a shawl. Already have 2 repeats of 10 done.
hopefully by the end of the weekend it will be done.

working lots of hours.
and we got more snow on Thursday night.
(several more inches).

Trying to come up with another contest.
anyone up for another contest?

April Fools!

2009-04-01T00:23:00.003-08:00

Happy April Fool's day.
(enjoy the jack-a- lope
a much sought after critter
and my patronus).
even better this is an egg cozy.

as i was surfing tonight i discovered this...
meatloaf cake.
And for dessert
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

bon appetit'
and we are having normal food
here.
oh maybe another coke cake would be good though.

Weekly update

2009-03-30T21:45:00.006-08:00

Our Saturday sky
picture taken at 4:20 pm.
(the last eruption was at 3:30)
didn't get any actual footage of the eruption.

And then Sunday evening
we were back to this......

coke a cola cake anyone?
recipe from recipzaar.
did cut the ingredient in 1/2.
(very rich)

haven't had Athena pic's lately...
(bumpkins decided Athena needed a tent).

Attack of the spiders....
"have i eaten one to many?"
oh, thought i was dreaming.....

Knitting: not going to get DM's socks completed on time. but did figure out a way for them to fit wider feet.

Redoubt has been very active. check out the AVO link, there are some incredible pictures.

Now i understand about everyone who has trouble blogging due to having to share a computer with the fam. I have my own but we are no longer networked, so I have to wait my turn for the internet. And blogging takes some thought and cannot be rushed.

This last Thursday I broke out in hives. Only thing I have done different was to wash Hugo. After much discussion in finding out what is causing the hives, DH thinks it is because of the volcano. Reasons: 1) the only known medication I am allergic to is Septra- it is a sulfuric compound. that gives me hives. 2) there is a lot of sulfur in the air right now.
any thoughts on this one?

Bumpkins and Hugo both had a busy day today. Hugo pulled the large tub of margarine off of the table. Bumpkins picked it up, the only thing destroyed was the lid. Thankfully he didn't get into the margarine. After he was in time out for that one, I let him outside. Where he promptly jumped up on some guitar students. He then had to go on the dog run. very subdued pup after a bit. Bumpkins meanwhile decided to turn her hair gray w/baby powder. While she was doing this I was doing some deep cleaning vacuuming (the inside of the dryer, under the furnace, top of the hot water heater, sucked up specimens of bugs that i didn't identify, more cobwebs than you can imagine, and enough cat hair to transplant on another whole cat)

Well that is life in a nutshell.

Weather: sunny and temps 26F. (the sun now has warmth to it.)

Redoubt update...

2009-03-23T10:29:00.003-08:00

Mt Redoubt has become
extremely active.

Has blown 5 times today.
DM reports some ash already.
Princess should be getting some later today.
And we lost power for a couple of hours this morn,
the main power line from Anchorage went down.
we get 90% of our power from Anchorage.
So the whole Kenai Peninsula was out.
link for Redoubt.

Saturday....

2009-03-21T21:40:00.008-08:00

not really Saturday sky...

but this is a Pizza Delivery car
we spotted last Saturday while in Homer.

(notice the minimal ground clearance?)

baby beanie
Made for :
Janet along over in Ravelry
Harry Potter House Cup
and possibly Charity Knitting for Destiny Podcast.
Needles: US 2 and US 4
Yarn: Bernat Softee
Size: possibly 3 mos.
Cast on Sunday March 15 and wove in ends March 21.

Baby Bootie:
finished back in January.

an example of optical knitting.
do you see a paw print?
this is for the
Harry Potter House Cup
Care of Magical Creatures- March.
knitted using US 8
yarn: Sugar and Cream cotton
very fast.
only took 2 nights.

My socks that I knitted 2 at a time.
(notice the size difference?)
will be making another pair.
Needles: US 5
Yarn: Woo Ease
finished finally back in Feb?

Knitting: have been knitting lots lately. finished a sock for DM, now to cast on another and finish before March 26th.
And now my total of finished items for this year is: 10. not to bad as we are in week 11 of the 2009. (for one of my finished items please check out Ravelry- it is an Easter Present).

Spring Break is finally over and it was crazy out at the pool. Wednesday i fell in while attempting a rescue (the person who i landed by thought i jumped though).

update on why i haven't been blogging, what with the hard drive crashing, then about the time i thought about blogging more the 1 G memory card for the camera went missing. we found it today, Bumpkins had stuffed it into the card slot sideways.

Mt. Redoubt has been steaming alot- will try to take camera tomorrow with us in the car for pictures. Last Sunday there was a minor eruption. but nothing since.

Dinner: made an inexpensive dinner with stir fry veggies and 1 round steak. fed us and was under $7.00 (that includes rice, veggies, soy sauce and steak).

we still are having negative temps in the am and the batteries in my remote start key fob are dead.

i'm back... i hope!

2009-03-12T00:00:00.006-08:00

Athena meets a pygmy Puff......oh this is nice a critter just for me....

What's this.... doing up here?
it must have moved......

it's mine!

Details: Cast on with size US 2 DPN's on Feb 1
Yarn: yellow Fun Fur
Event: Harry Potter House Cup
Care of Magical Creatures
forget what pattern:
knitted it up during the superbowl
but stuffed and sewed together on Feb 27.
Athena loves it!

well i think i am back....
we might be going to
cell phone technology for internet.
downside is that it keeps disconnecting.
not sure if it is faster or not.
(ok it isn't faster than satellite
still took forever to upload my pictures).

i have been knitting until the last couple of days.
but lately i have been working some very long hours.
today was a webcast at work for Red Cross recert.

High School Soccer and High School Track and field have
started. But all the fields and tracks are covered snow.
next week is Spring Break.

Todays weather: snowy and very slick roads.

Dinner: corned beef with cabbage, steamed potatoes and carrots. Family says that cooking the carrots and potatoes gives a better flavor than steaming. (the fatty, salty juice makes the veggies better). also the Fred Meyer brand corned beef is drier and less fatty than the IGA brand.

Sunday Quotes

2009-03-08T13:08:00.003-08:00

“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”
Hal Borland

we are suffering internet problems at
this time.
and can only upload 1 gigabyte of
info each month.

so no piccies.
also i am reading blogs
but sometimes/oftentimes
cannot comment.

Happy Birthday Bumpkins!

2009-02-24T23:47:00.005-09:00

Bumpkin's is 4!

She asked for a Princess Cake....
So I attempted to make a cake in
a bowl. It didn't cook in the allotted time...
So DM made a pink bundt cake.

Bumpkins and I frosted it with Pink frosting
and put pink sprinkles on it.
then I left for work.
Bumpkins put her finger in the frosting
many times.

Now how to stand the Barbie up...
ah ha a trifle bowl.
(first time we have used the bowl)

Bumpkins loved her new Hello Kitty Toothbrush,
Barbie and Barbie puzzle.

(now to find stuff for Princess's bday).

DH and Bumpkins sledding on Sunday,

the best way to come up the hill is to have
Daddy pull you.
(they are sledding in the gravel pit
right next to the house).
and this was day 2 of sledding.

Knitting: started another scarf w/chenille hope to have it done by Friday. It is already 15" and it needs to be 50". Items finished but not posted on here are a market bag (used i-cord and 3 strands of acrylic held together. Also am in the process of making a patronus (only needs a face- watch for it over in Ravelry).

well that is all folks.... have a good day.

Sunday Quotes

2009-02-15T22:00:00.003-09:00

"Let sleeping dogs lie".
-American quote
(Hugo was a little tired after spending
much of the day outside).
Saturday sky......

And this is how Alaskan chilluns swing on the
swings.
(there isn't much room for swinging!
the snow is a tad bit deep).

Knitting: have knitted aprox 12 yards of i-cord. now to knit it into something else. Am involved in the Harry Potter House Cup and am researching for my patronus. Kazul says that a jackalope suits me whereas DH says a Narwhal. What do you think?Bumpkins starts preschool tomorrow, will attempt to let folks know what is going on. I have been a little depressed lately, but hopefully that is ending or getting better. It now stays light until around 5:30 pm and the temps are nice to be outside in. DH, Bumpkins, Hugo and I all went sledding over in the gravel pit today. It was fun. Everyone is already asleep.

Last night DH and I went out. Ate out at the Brewhouse, wasn't as good as last time. Then we came home and watched the movie "Two Weeks Notice". Very funny movie. DM watched Bumpkins, they had fun.

Dinner: Corned beef and Cabbage w/ buttermilk biscuits.

Sunday Quotes

2009-02-01T22:20:00.003-09:00

Saturday Sky
(no Mt. Redoubt pic as the clouds rolled in)

"I'm smiling because your my sister,
and laughing because there is nothing
you can do about it."
author unknown

Happy birthday Kazul!

Knitting: During the Super Bowl I cast on and knitted a pygmy puff. Now to sew it together and stuff it. Used up some of my yellow fun fur. It is on the small side..... you'll see soon.

Sewing: tomorrow must cut out and sew some dog booties together.

Not much else is going on, except the whole house now has my cold. Hopefully DH and Thing 2 don't get this bad. I doubt they will as Thing 2 has been taking vitamin C's and fish oil 2X a day. And DH hasn't been stressing his body out.

Friday update

2009-01-31T00:05:00.004-09:00

Well as most of you know...
we had a magnitude 5.7
earthquake last Sunday.

And now we hurry up and
wait for Mt. Redoubt
to erupt.
Lots of seismic activity
but no eruptions.
(the link is a live web cam)

we are moderately prepared.
Water: in 2 empty kitty litter containers (will work to flush toilets)
Water: in 2 empty laundry detergent tubs (washing dishes)
Water: in 3 empty 2 liter soda bottles (drinking)
Water: 2 large pots in oven, teapot is full, coffee pot is full, and
a hot thermos is full of water also. Pet bowls are filled too.
Bandanas/ dust masks: check (somewhere)
Portable radio: check must find batteries
plastic bags to cover computers
rags to fill cracks in doors
dog booties: must make so Hugo doesn't bring in lots of ash.
we have lots of top ramen and chicken.
matches for stove
must also get a cartridge for a coleman lantern.
also need to get 3 air filters for cars

and need to review the Emily Ocher circular cast on
so I can attempt to knit a pi shawl during this time.

Kazul asked what a meme was.
Here is a definition.
Internet meme:

At its most basic, an Internet meme is simply the propagation of a digital file or hyperlink from one person to others using methods available through the Internet (for example, email, blogs, social networking sites, instant messaging, et cetera). The content often consists of a saying or joke, a rumor, an altered or original image, a complete website, a video clip or animation, or an offbeat news story, among many other possibilities. An Internet meme may stay the same or may evolve over time, by chance or through commentary, imitations, and parody versions, or even by collecting news accounts about itself. Internet memes have a tendency to evolve and spread extremely quickly, sometimes going in and out of popularity in a matter of days. They are spread organically, voluntarily, and peer to peer, rather than by compulsion, predetermined path, or completely automated means.*

The term may refer to the content that spreads from user to user, the idea behind the content, or the phenomenon of its spread. Internet memes have been seen as a form of art. There exist websites that collect and popularize Internet memes as well as sites devoted to the spread of specific Internet memes. The term is generally not applied to content or web services that are seen as legitimate, useful, and non-faddish, or that spread through organized publishing and distribution channels. Thus, serious news stories, videogames, web services, songs by established musical groups, or the like are usually not called Internet memes.*

*copied from wikipedia

An Interview....

2009-01-28T21:12:00.003-09:00

The Interview:

Jane: Q. 1. When and how did you learn how to knit and what was your first project?

(that's actually three questions, isn't it!)
A. I learned to knit about 4 winters ago. 3 different people taught me how to knit, a good friend explained binding off over the phone. My first real project was lace drop stitch scarf from a children's knitting book.

Q 2. What do you do during your long winters in Alaska to ward off 'cabin fever'.
A. work? actually the months of January and early Feb are the hardest on me. I do like to go tanning during those months (when I can). Also if the weather permits cross country night skiing is awesome. But I do sleep and just surf the internet alot, I also used to cook alot.

Q 3. I know you like to cook because you talk about food a lot on your blog - what's your favorite recipe?
A. well my faves go in stages. but I guess the one I use the most is for buttermilk biscuits. I do try to link any good recipe so I can find it later. Like the chocolate shortcake recipe that I didn't link but it was super good.

Q. 4. I know you like the Harry Potter books - what other kinds of books do you like to read?
A. I do read cookbooks, crafting books and Christian Fiction, Anne McCaffrey "Pern" series, and D.E. Stevenson. Usually prefer juvenile literature to adult, and for adult fiction British Authors over American. But Debbie Macomber is pretty good too. She is actually one who really enticed me to learn to knit.

Q 5. What other crafty things do you like to do besides knitting?
A. I sew and attempt to quilt.

For those of you who might want to be interviewed, here are the directions:

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. (I get to pick the questions and I will need your e-mail.).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Random Monday

2009-01-26T09:26:00.002-09:00

a meme from Lynn.
Here are the rules ---Lynn gave me a letter.
My letter is 'T'.
I need to find ten things I like that begin with the letter 'T'.

1. Tot
2. T-shirts
3. Tea
4. Toast
5. Talking w/DH
6. Traveling
7. Teaching little ones how to swim.
8. Talking on the phone
9 Taking walks
10. toe-jam

If you want to play,
just let me know in the comments section
and I'll give you a letter.
I promise I won't give you an obscure letter like X or Q.

Sunday Quotes

2009-01-18T22:55:00.002-09:00

"One of the advantages of being disorderly
is that one is constantly making
exciting discoveries".
-A.A. Milne

Not sure if that would have gone
over very well w/my Dad
on the millionth time of
being told to go clean up my room.

Did take pictures today of
a craft in progress...
but will post them tomorrow
with the finished result.
Bumpkins and I are making beads
out of paper mache'
works ok especially if you
remember to add the flour paste to
the paper mulch.

Very slippery out,
DH and I drove past one section of
highway and then 1 hr later
we drove back by it.
there was an Explorer on its side,
It had flipped. The passengers were
walking around.
And tonight the stars are out
and there is a slick sheen on top of the
trash bins.

Dinner: cheeseburgers w/fried onions and mushrooms. DH put chili on his also. Very filling. Non diet food. Also introduced my family to Little Debbie cookies (they are cheaper than the bakery cookies). The filled oatmeal's are really good.

Saturday Sky....

2009-01-17T21:57:00.006-09:00

Sorry no Sky pic.
was to lazy to go outside
in 39 F, clear blue skies.
Beautiful day.
(it was very slippery out though)

Finished Project of the week:
a double moss stitch
Afghan square.
it is 12"
knitted w/US 10
and Paton's Decor yarn.
(like how the Decor felt- nice and soft).

Today started knitting on DM's sock's again.
Hope to finish them up this month.

Really need to work on DH's Birthday present.
His birthday is Monday. Yikes!

We have had some really wild weather.
Last week it went up to 45 F.
there is ice everywhere!
I almost took out the yellow metal gate post at
work w/my van.

My secret sister Reveal was supposed to be Friday night.
it got canceled due to bad roads.
(have you ever heard of Cab drivers
refusing to drive because the roads are to bad?
Well here they did, but school still went on.)

well that's about it,
Hugo is learning to "Stay".

Dinner: fave this year seems to be Frito Pie. Fritos, covered w/chili, topped w/cheese and sour cream. Almost as good as apples and sweet sour red cabbage topped w/brawts.

2009-01-17T12:00:00.001-09:00

You Are Buttermilk Pancakes

Your prefer traditional, old fashioned foods.

You shy away from anything fake, and you like meals with simple ingredients.

It's not likely someone would find margarine or diet soda in your kitchen.

Instead, someone might find a loaf of homemade bread baking or a soup simmering.

What Kind of Pancakes Are You?

uh huh..... and there you have it.
(and I don't like fake sugar! better give me the real stuff).

Strange Stuff Tuesday and Blogiversary

2009-01-13T23:30:00.005-09:00

(above a self portrait)

realized last night that today
was my 2 year blogiversary.
And for some unknown reason
I really don't feel like celebrating.

But a big thank you
to all who have read this
and commented.

And for some of you...
this will seem wrong.
mulled beer
and interesting read
the history of
mulled beer.

please let me know if you
decide to try this one.
will be very interested in the
results.

And there I bid you
all good night.

And if the above isn't strange enough
tonight there was freezing rain and temps of 31 F.
Last week at this time it was -30 F.
Very extreme weather we are having.

Have started another set of swim lessons out at the pool. tomorrow there will be 4 sets for me to teach. And on Thursday 4 sets of lessons then water aerobics.

Random Monday

2009-01-12T22:18:00.007-09:00

Well not much going on here. Except we did get to go outside for almost 30 min tonight. Finally got Bumpkins to sleep before 10:30 also. DH was fired from his job, so cleaning house is more doable. Before someone was always sleeping, so doing chores and getting Bumpkins to bed at a decent time was not happening. Hopefully something will come forward soon. DH did contact the Army recruiter and the recruiter response as to why he hasn't gotten back was "the internet system was down and everyone was out on leave for Christmas".

Knitting; today's knitting was working a BOM square. 12" square of double moss stitch. Am using US 10 needles and Paton's Decor yarn. I really like how the decor feels in my hands, soft. It is a wool/acrylic blend.

Did errands today and went grocery shopping. Bumpkins asked if we were going shopping and I replied that we already did. She said "3 Bears not shopping, no cookie!"

Dinner was a 10 USD pizza. Very large.

Random website: For those of you not in Alaska, check out this wonderful site.... Bookcrossing it is everywhere! (but Alaska). Very similar to geo-caching but w/o a gps and you get books in return. Kazul there are lots of drops in the area in which you now live.

ETA: and if you thought we were cold the last few weeks, people up in Fairbanks had -40 and there were others who had -52. With wind chill -60. Now that is COLD!

Sunday Quotes

2009-01-11T22:08:00.009-09:00

"In the bleak midwinter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter,
Long ago."
- Christina Rossetti, A Christmas Carol

above Pic: is Bumpkin's Fair Isle Scarf
knitted on US 7
With more Kool Aid Dyed yarn.
(it is also a key hole scarf).

DH got me loom for Christmas...
So I made this neckwarmer.

Finished scarf:
Basket Weave
60" long
knit w/US 10
Blue Wool Ease
(took forever as it was my portable knitting).

It has been super cold here. Temps running below -20 F. Planes have been grounded, unable to fly unless it is daytime. Last Wednesday it was -38 at 10:30 am. this Omega Bloc has been in place since before New Year's. People have frozen pipes and cars, thankfully we only had a frozen car. Tot hasn't been able to go outside much lately due to the extreme temps. Now I wish we had some hard apple cider- guess if you freeze hard apple cider you come up w/Apple Jack. Cider only freezes at extreme temps. The mountains have been beautiful, as we have had one sunny day after another. The full moon has been delightful to look at- unable to really enjoy it due to the cold. And the Northern Lights activity has been non existant, which is a bummer.

Today went for a walk the first one in over a month. Hugo loved it! As our temps finally got above 0 F. Not much else happening here except finally got our Christmas Box from Kazul. She sent it before Christmas from Eastern Oregon and it got here last Thursday. Reminds me of the good old days when all freight came up on a barge.

Knitting: Making Kazul a scarf for her Birthday... Mrs Whatsit's Neckerfuffle from the book Wrinkle in Time. Also have made one baby bootie.

And Jane is having a contest over on her blog first is What I did right in 2008. The other fun thing that she has going on is a 52 week challeng, of knitting 52 items in 52 weeks. Well I am going to modify that to making 52 items wether they be sewing, quilting or knitting. So far I am right on target as this is technically still the second week. (week ends on Thursday). And one items counts as 1 item ie.. my single baby bootie is item #1. not sure if UFO's count or not.

Kazul wants everyone to go vote for her snowman titled Kris and Steve's Snowman over on Today's Snowman.

well good night all. hopefully I am now out of hibernation.

Sunday Quotes

2008-12-28T23:36:00.005-09:00

Our Christmas Day Brunch:
Gingerbread Waffles w/poached pear slices
Monkey Bread
Chopped pineapple w/orange wedges
Hot Spiced Cranberry Apple Cider

Our Christmas Tree
after Santa had been......

Our Christmas Tree
the way it looked for many
days......

Many people look forward to the new year for a new start on old habits.
~Author Unknown

Knitting: still attempting to finish DM's socks before the new year. So I cast another cowl onto the loom, using more stash yarn. Beautiful shaded black and grey, super soft also.

Has been super cold today. was -15 F... brrrr Hugo really like it outside. Maybe it was the moose that was hanging out in our yard all day. Oddly he only barks at other dogs, DM, Bill, snowmachiners and moose, he leaves everybody else alone. Thankfully to, as he has a big dog bark. Today decided to see how much he weighed, so I stood on the scale and attempted to pick him up. Never could get him all the way up, but he stood strechted out almost as tall as I am. And the scale only read 40 lbs. uh huh right that dog weighs more than that! I am guessing an easy 60 lbs. and he is only around 6 mos. So much for our little lap dog that DH wanted.

Saturday....

2008-12-28T00:21:00.002-09:00

So boring with out pictures...
so no sky
still trying to update
computer to even
recognize/ accept
the picture card.

Knitting: am still working on the socks- have only about 5 more inches to go before decreasing for the toes.

DH got me a knifty knitter loom for Christmas. Upon opening it, I was thrilled... (about as much as if he had gotten me a roll of toilet paper. If it had been underwear I would've been super happy, shoelaces hey that is way cool too). So I have spent much time surfing around looking for what to do with this thing. Discovered that leggings for Bumpkins will be super fast on this. And attempted to make a hat, didn't like how it was going so kept going until ran out of yarn. Anybody want a small cowl/neckwarmer? I say small because it barely goes over my head! somehow the bind off is super tight, as in absolutely no give at all.

Princess was home for a few days and that so enjoyable, as I had taken off of work for most of the week too.

Made Meat pie very good!
Christmas Eve dinner:
Cranberry Pork roast in the crockpot- delish! Spinach Salad, and oven roasted veggies. Parsnips, rhutabage, turnip, carrots, yam, sweet tater and the beets were cooked seperately. Now to use the leftovers in Sheperd's Pie.

Christmas Day:
was a grab as you are hungry type thing.
Gingerbread waffles
poached pears
pineapple chunks
orange slices
Hot spiced cranberry apple cider

Then later was cheese ball, crackers and veggie tray.

Dinner:
Meat Pie.... ground pork, ground beef and mashed taters in a pie shell. YUMM!

there was a lot of snow so DH had to snow blow after gettting off of work and opening presents. DM came over with Obi and left with Princess before it really got dark out.

Sunday Quotes

2008-12-21T19:33:00.002-09:00

"Look! an airplane cloud"
Bumpkins

"I want to lay big and make pictures"
Bumpkins

Translations:
in colder temps the airplanes leave
a vapor trail behind-
Today's was really long!

Bumpkins wants me to hold her
until she falls asleep.
Dreams are making pictures.

No new pictures. Kind of depressed- lost all of my pictures when the hard drive crashed. So what ever isn't uploaded to flikr or Picassa are gone.

The tree is up and an angel put on. (learned the hard way to not stand on the arm of the chair to put something on the top of the tree). yep= the chair started to flip over into the tree. Still need to put up stockings, and other decorations. Minimal as Bumpkins and Hugo wont' leave anything alone.

Knitting: these blasted socks are really doing me in. If ever you feel challenged to do two at a time socks. First master short row heels and use stitch markers to mark what is done. Still have 2 more ends to tie in for Bumpkins scarf and still need to block it.

quilting: have ripped out the quilting so many times on DH's guitar quilt.

Thank you for all the well wishes, i am feeling better. Still get tired very easily, but no longer am coughing super hard.

Temps have dropped back down to the single digits.

Catch up (again).

2008-12-18T19:58:00.002-09:00

no new pictures, the laptop is dead (hopefully will be working again tomorrow). The dell is available except today, have to use The Apple tonight.

Knitting: have almost finished Bumpkins scarf, putting a garter stitch border around the whole thing, as the stockingnette is curling really badly. also have 2 more rows of striping to go on DM's socks before turning the heel.

been working a lot of hours at work as has DH. We celebrated Christmas last night w/Thing 2 as he leaves Saturday.

went to the Dr. today and i have Bronchitis. so not much happening.

gotta run, time is up on how long Bumpkins and Hugo can sit still in a confined area.

catch up!

2008-12-08T00:30:00.005-09:00

Weekly Hugo and Bumpkins shot...

mini scarf w/button
specifics: Cast on Wednesday Dec 3
finished Thursday Dec. 4 2008
Used US 15 Needles for garter stitch rows
US 13 for the Moss stitch.
Knitted using 13 stitches.
aprox. 24 inches long.
.5 skein of chenille gone.
Used pin for closure instead of button.

Gave away for gift exchange.

this is secret sister's scarf...
basketweave pattern
almost out of 1 skein of wool ease.
US 10 needles.
40+ inches long already.

Knitting: started teaching a knitting class. So now my Saturday's will be filled with teaching. pretty good money for now.

Sewing: attempted to quilt DH's guitar quilt, but the backing puckered and now I have to rip out some seams. AAARRRGGG!

DH has been working very long hours- w/o a day off. And now has come up with a new harebrained idea. (his words not mine). Will post more when it comes to pass. Life could get really exciting around here soon.

No new decorating for Christmas- but have lots to do tomorrow as next weekend we celebrate Christmas with Thing 2. He leaves the 20th. Did check out some books on menu ideas... not sure what we will eat though. Probably something different and hopefully easy/delish.
Any ideas anybody? we got both brunch and Christmas Eve dinner.

well that's all folks! thanks for reading. have an awesome week.

Random Website Monday

2008-12-01T22:36:00.008-09:00

these are destined to be a pair of socks...
obviously I can't read a pattern
that says Knit 2 Purl 2 not Knit 1 Purl 1.
Also the original pattern
Fred and George
is for toe up socks.
So I try something totally new
2 socks at a time.
and no I am not frogging 2 inches of ribbing.
The socks are the way they are.
And hopefully will be finished by the end of this week.Specifics:
US 5 DPN
Woolease 2 skeins

Been a little bit busy around here. Last week there was a shooting at the local Hospital, the shooter was shot by AST (Alaska State Troopers) and a male Radiologist (who was shot by the shooter). A lady was also shot, she has been medivaced up to Anchorage where on Sunday she came out of the Medical Induced Coma and has spoken with her husband (as of Sunday). Margaret attends the same church as I do. Also sometime in the immediate future the school bus drivers are going on strike. This affects our family as the Security company DH works for is being utilized to provide security. So tonight DH work the hospital shift, then comes home, sleeps and then heads out to the bus barn to protect the buses. DM is babysitting Bumpkins after she gets off of work until I can pick her up after I get done at 9 pm. This should be a very interesting week.

Thanksgiving was nice. Princess came down with her cat, and was very surprised that cats don't get along very well. Easier to get a dog and cat together than 2 cats.
Our dinner consisted of 2 10 lb turkeys (lots of turkey leftovers for everyone), spinach/mandarin orange salad, cranberry sauce, Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, instant mashed taters, gravy, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, cranberry stuffing and the pies. Sweet potato (w/o crust) apple, pumpkin, forest fruits wonderfully baked by Sarah Lee and Safeway.

Friday nights parade was super short. And Kenai has a color guard! Finally I know what they do... March w/a flag to the beat of a drum. Poor kids, it was starting to rain. The firework display was beautiful. Bumpkins loved it all. She even got up to go Black Friday shopping with Princess and I. What a trooper, only complained when we were in JoAnns for 2 hours waiting in the cutting line. But I spent 50 dollars and saved over 100!

Today Bumpkins and I decorated the house with the Advent calendar wall hanging, the Nativity banner and the wreath. (yes Princess the Easter Decorations are still up).

Strange Stuff Tuesday

2008-11-25T23:45:00.005-09:00

Transfiguration homework:
Make something that would be found in
a wizarding household.
Must be steeked and freeform.

this is a mohair vest that I picked up at
Bishops Attic
(thrift store)

Decided to steek it.......
once down the middle
and then across the shoulders.

Felted it...
bother regular and
Shiboli
(Japenese felting by placing waterproof items
in fabric, securing with rubber bands and
tossing in washing machine)
In this case it was glass hearts held in place w/bitty hair rubber bands.
that is what makes the bubbles.

and finally restitching together to form...
a kitty sweater!

In this view you see my machine embroidery
and crochet edging.
there are also 4 buttons sewed on to
hold the straps in place.

here is a close up of the Shiboli.

And that is what the best dressed cats

wear while attending Hogwart's.

Knitting: and now to start the final project for this month's House Cup. A pair of socks- think that I will get them done before this week is over? What with working, cooking, eating and shopping?

someone that frequents the pool might have some toys to pass on to Bumpkins. That'll be nice!

The weather outside is atrocious! Very windy and snowy. In places the snow has drifted over the road to where you can't tell that you are driving over the yellow line until you are on top of it and mostly in the oncoming traffic's lane.

and because what I made wasn't strange enough how about this one? Wonder if it comes in minivan size.

Last night made an awesome sweet potato pie- but a bit to much nutmeg. One of my coworker's loved it! He locked himself in the kitchenette and wouldn't let anyone else near him. Made me feel extremely good!

Sunday Quotes

2008-11-23T23:37:00.006-09:00

"There is no psychiatrist in the world
like a puppy licking your face."
by Bern Williams

(Hugo is getting big!)

and here is picture of the mushroom hat.
(still surprises me that it fits!)
Kazul does anyone in your family
want one?

Knitting: nothing new started. Did work on the Transfiguration assignment tonight. Just 4 final touches and weave in the ends. And that will be ready to post on Tuesday.

Went for a walk with Bumpkins and Hugo, pulled Bumpkins behind me on the sled. She had a blast! Took another 2 block walk with just Hugo tonight. Hope he sleeps well.

Bumpkins decided to give Athena a bath today, even after I told her no. She went into the bathroom and shut the door. I heard splashing, but didn't think anything of it until I heard meowing. Poor kitty! Rescued almost in time. Her back end was a little bit soaked, Bumpkins reasoning was "I smelled her and her stinks. Her needed a bath."

It snowed several inches... so Tuesday DH will have to snowblow if it snows anymore.

mmmm... tomorrow will make a sweet tater pie. might also make a pumpkin pie. Bumpkins also wants cookies. Candy Cane cookies- I think what she wants is the sugar cookie that is in the shape of candy canes (alternating white w/red).

Saturday Sky and yard

2008-11-22T23:33:00.005-09:00

Saturday evening sky...

not sure why my late evening shots are always blue.

the road in front of my house
sunset 4:40 pm

and blogger lost my next picture!

Knitting: finally finished DH's mushroom hat. It was supposed to have been a fast knit, but didn't have much time to knit this last week. Was surprised that it fit him.
specifics:
Cast on November 14 using the Norwegian Cast on (which I really like! best tutorial is over in Youtube).
US 8 DPN's and Paton's Merino Wool.
Did 88 stitches and forgot the stockingnette row between the color change.

finished November 22 2008

this is for my House cup Herbology homework- make something in plant pattern. Now to finish find the item I am making for Transfiguration.

Been busy this last week, work and attempting to clean the house ie.. wash laundry mountain.

Supposed to snow tomorrow but today was chilly 7 F.

ETA: a chicken tractor will only be used during the summer. Raise the poor critters for fall butchering, will way to difficult to attempt to overwinter chickens.

Strange Stuff Tuesday

2008-11-19T00:18:00.003-09:00

Athena does "Patty Cake"
(and she didn't like it either!)

Knitting: trying to finish a hat for DH it is 88 cast on and in the round with US 8 DPN's and K2 P2 ribbing. Hoping that it fits him! seems to be on the small side. Well if it doesn't than a youth in Russia might have a hat (it is Paton's wool).

been crazy around here. I knew that I was going to have a chopped up weekend, but was called in to work on Sat. yeah am loving 3.5 hrs of overtime! Did nothing on Sunday, then Monday Bumpkins wasn't feeling well. So stayed home until 4 then scrambled to do errands before heading out to work and DM's. Went grocery shopping but was careful about what to buy (the outside temps were 6 F and didn't want eggs, produce to freeze). Had training then home again. Made sure Bumpkins ate well, as she finally was going in for her dental work.

Bumpkins is fine! the tooth didn't have to be removed, only put a crown back on. Poor tyke- she had a thing across her nose, headphones on, sunglasses on, bp cuff on, finger monitor and then the Dr started drilling and squirting. Bumpkins cried almost the whole 1/2 hour LOUDLY! I had to sit in the corner of the room. Got a few rows done on the scarf for my secret sister. Got Bumpkins home around 9:30 am and she slept until after 1 pm. Then ate, she again went down for a nap around 7:30 until almost 9 pm. made for bedtime being late!

And there you have it. Hope everyone else is doing great.

and because I came across this thing.... thought I would share it everyone else. And yes I want 2 or 3 of them.
Chicken Tractors:

a meme

2008-11-13T00:38:00.002-09:00

This meme came to me via e-mail.
so feel free to play along
just copy and paste your answers
and link back to me please.

2008 edition of getting to know your family and friends

1. What is your occupation right now ? Swim instructor/ Life Guard
2. What color are your socks right now? White
3. What are you listening to right now? The forced air heater motor
4. What was the last thing that you ate? Sweet pickle and carrot
5. Can you drive a stick shift? yes of course
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? DH
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes
8. How old are you today? 41
9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? swimming/ car racing
10. What is your favorite drink? anything with Pineapple in it
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yep
12. favorite food? chocolate

13. What is the last movie you watched? Little Einsteins ... not sure which one though

14. favorite day of the year? First Day of School
15. How do you vent anger? lots of yelling
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? My Siamese cat Queenie- she did everything!
17. What is your favorite season? umm there is more than 1? Spring
18. Cherries or Blueberries? blueberries
19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? Only if they post.
20. Who is the most likely to respond? Lynn

21. Who is least likely to respond? A random surfer

22. Living arrangements? house
23. When was the last time you cried? Just a second ago when I sneezed.
24. What is on the floor of your closet? Which closet? They all have stuff! Dresser, changing table, plastic tote... etc..
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending to? Kazul

26. What did you do last night? worked, came home did dishes, played w/Hugo, put Bumpkins to bed, surfed the net.
27. Who are you most afraid of displeasing? God, everyone else can just Bugger off!

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? Plain w/fried mushrooms and onions
29. favorite dog breed? Golden Retrievers
30. favorite day of the week? Mondays
31. How many states have you lived in? 3
32. Diamonds or pearls? Moissanite ( a rare mineral found in meteorites)
33. What is your favorite flower? Sunflowers

Strange Stuff Tuesday

2008-11-11T22:46:00.003-09:00

And this is really strange....
any guesses?

it is a homemade swift that DH
manufactured for me to go w/my
new ball winder.

Knitting: finished the Hannah hat. hoping that it is acceptable for charms. This month's challenge was to knit/crochet something that opened and closed. So for those of you in Ravelry it is a free pattern.

Specifics:
Cast on Sunday November 9 2008. Used US 10 and Jiffy Mohair color Denver.
Finished Tuesday November 11 2008.
Fast knit. Unbutton buttons put over head and ponytail. Secure buttons under the pony tail. No more mussed up hair from your hat.

And who wants this one?

Still working on the Transfiguration item. not going to get done tonight.

Well I am back to work tomorrow, had an excellent mini vacation. Didn't get the bathroom re-wallpapered, or get the house cleaned up. Or even finish up this quilt. But did build another snowman today with Bumpkins (no picture as Bumpkins decided to give the poor thing a hug which resulted in the nose falling off. After not listening to me about leaving it alone, she succeeded in knocking the whole head off. After rebuilding the head, Hugo decided to knock it over.)

Bumpkins and I also made Monkey bread again. If you get the chance to try the new caramel apple pie filling do give a go. It is delish! We had it on cancakes (pancakes) and also in the monkey bread.

Have a good week folks, it is good to be back!

Random Website Monday

2008-11-10T23:49:00.005-09:00

And here is my Fashion First Aid bag.
large enough for the laptop.
used 3 skeins of red red-heart yarn.
(none of them are of the same dye lot).
anybody takers for it for Christmas?

Knitting: been working on 2 projects still. Hope to have them both near completion by tomorrow press time. Having a blast w/the Transfiguration project.... me thinks Princess won't be to thrilled with it though.

nothing else is happening. Did spend 45 minutes cleaning out the mini van- got 2 bags of trash, a huge load of my laundry (3 swimming towels and 3 work uniforms). there is still more in there but at least now I am not afraid of stuff falling out when the doors open. Also put up the bike trailer - finally the temps were balmy 30 F.

Very odd weather day- this morning when walking Hugo. It felt warm, until a gust of wind sent ice and dust impaling into the back of my legs. Yes I was wearing shorts, jacket, hat and sorrels. You could literally hear the wind howling, Hugo had a difficult time doing his business. We then went inside and hunkered down. By 10 am the sky was clear and the wind had died way down. Very nice day outside.

Random website: Now lets see.... for an interesting cultural experience go to Living the Travel Channel. Tell her Kazul's sis sent you.

Sunday Quotes

2008-11-10T00:05:00.004-09:00

" I don’t have pet peeves,
I have whole kennels of irritation."
Whoopi Goldberg

a washcloth...
and if you flip your computer screen upside down
you can see the M for Scorpio.
this was an assignment over in the House cup.

This is the cake that DH and Bumpkins made.
it was yummy!

knitting: am working on another House Cup Assignment- one is for charms. And the other is for Transfiguration. The transfiguration will require it's very own blog spot. Will say that steeking and felting were involved.

Today was a low key kind of day.

Now to answer some questions. No we don't have an electric car. Up here and in the Northern Climes of Canada, we plug our cars in to prevent them from freezing up. Some people have block heaters that circulates the water around the engine and others have oil pan heaters which heat up the oil. Further North the cars are left running 24 hrs a day- to prevent them from freezing completely. Thankfully I have never lived where it has been that cold, last winter I guess the tires froze on some cars. And that made some interesting driving- the tires had big old flat spots until they were unthawed. Hope that this clears up some misunderstandings.

Saturday tidings

2008-11-08T16:22:00.005-09:00

Today I received from a lady in Ravelry this awesome box for a Birthday swap. 2 skeins of cascade 220, some other wonderfully soft yarn and Malabrigo! Oh the stuff is as soft as everyone says.
She also sent a soft bear w/candy canes, a calender, note cards and a calender to go on the fridge.

And here is Bumpkins all dressed up
for Halloween.
What an Angel.

The above picture was taken the Saturday before Halloween. For the actual holiday she was under quarantine for Hand, Foot and mouth. It was a long week.

Knitting: nothing finished but have cast on for another House cup project. This one is a washcloth w/my zodiac emblem on it. (not the scorpio creature but the M thingie).

Crocheting: finished the Fashion First Aid bag. Size is HUGE!

Quilting: nothing much going on.

Sewing: whipped up some items for the Birthday swap.

Bumpkins has had an off week w/sleeping. She is staying up until almost midnight, so I haven't been able to blog or do much of anything. Also I worked a lot of hours last week- 3 nine hour days. No new snow- but temps in the mid 20's. did discover that a few times that DH plugged my car in, I didn't notice so I backed out of the carport still plugged in. It is very hard on the cords and plug ins to be yanked apart w/force. Luckily for me that I do back out. This one lady told me about the time she drove 20 miles with her cord trailing after her. (that cord didn't survive).

Well that's all folks.

Update on a Wednesday

2008-10-29T10:52:00.003-08:00

A picture of the sky on Saturday.

Knitting: Nothing new really am attempting to crochet something for the Ravelry House Cup. Doesn't like it will get finished though.

Sewing: have several items to make to send out on Monday. They will be small enough to fit in an envelope.

Bumpkin's is sick and is in quarantine for a week. She has hand foot mouth and can't go to daycare or any place out in public. So no Trick or Treating for her.

Weather here is cold! running about 0F to 5 F at night. Makes for some cold starting cars.

Take care folks.

Sunday Quotes

2008-10-19T21:50:00.004-08:00

The three little kittens they found their mittens,
And they began to cry,
"Oh mother dear, see here, see here
For we have found our mittens."
an excerpt from the Nursery Rhyme
3 Little Kittens

Knitting: finished these mittens for Bumpkins.
Specifics: Lion Brand Homespun yarn, pattern Family of mittens by Lion Brand. (you will have to register w/that website to view pattern).
Knitted on US 5 needles for cuffs, made longer than pattern called for.
Knitted US 7 for remainder of the mittens.
Only took around 2 weeks to knit up (they are extremely fast knit).

Lots of long work hours for me.

Bumpkins now growls like a cat when her hair is washed. On one hand it is funny, she must have heard Athena growling many times!

Our furnace was serviced on Friday (and now there is no heat in the back 1/4 of the house). Think I will be calling them on Monday.

Temps have been in the mid 20's. Friday morning was beautiful, with the full moon. Perfect for skiing (just not enough snow).

Dinner was Brawts, homemade preztels and veggies (did you know that if you don't add enough water to the veggies before microwaving, they will dehydrate. And lots of margarine won't rehydrate them.)

Sunday Quotes on Monday.....

2008-10-13T00:51:00.004-08:00

"I'm tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep.
That's deep enough. What do you want, an adorable pancreas?"
-Jean Kerr
Some fingerless gloves that I knitted up in September.
Used a full skein of Twister by King Cole.
lovely soft yarn- want more.
(60 yards) Easy pattern
Knitted rectangle in garter stitch pattern
then sewed up the sides leaving a gap for the thumb.

These will be DH's for Christmas.
(Kazul or Princess you like/want?)

Knitting: Almost finished w/Bumpkins mitten, 2 more rows than then the finger decreases.

It is late so I will leave you with this link. Strange but funny especially with sound.

Weather: it is snowing again...... possibly another couple of inches. Wonder if this stuff will melt also. Snow tires get put on on Friday.

Saturday yard

2008-10-11T23:35:00.008-08:00

Tuesday morning's front yard.
Thursday there was a nasty blizzard that
dumped at least 6' in places.
Then it rained......My currant dyed yarn that
was overdyed w/Strawberry Kool Aid.
Patons Merino

Today was knitting at Mugz,
PurpleMoose brought out this sock.
This is destined to be in the
Guinness book of World Records.
Yep! I knitted on it and so I am going to be Famous!!!!
Also refreshed 2 knitters on how to knit and
taught one person how to knit.
Check out Big Sock Blog.

Knitting: have several items on the needles now. Basket weave scarf for my Secret Sister at Church- Making that for Charms. A lion Brand mitten pattern using Homespun and US 7 needles, don't really like that one. A scarf to accessorize with Bumpkin's Star hat. Also am crocheting a Lei necklace for Bumpkin's Christmas Dress up box.

The weather here has been icky. The snow is all melted... but just before writing this I glanced at the forecast. Calling for up to 4 inches of snow.

Thing 2 had his first wrestling meet today in Homer. He did ok.

We are training Hugo to close the door behind him when he comes back inside.

DH had another job interview, this time w/the local radio station. Will wait to see what transpires there.

Better post before I lose connection- it is pouring down rain outside.

Saturday Sky and Sunday Quote

2008-10-05T22:46:00.006-08:00

"Autumn is a season followed immediately by looking forward to Spring."
- Anonymous

Saturday Sky....

(if you click on it you may see snow on the Mountains).

Yarn......

Currant dye bath
using this link
Used salt as a fixative

Final product....
to light so I overdyed w/strawberry Kool Aid.
and it felted.

Knitting: have been doing Lots! As I am in a Ravelry Harry Potter House Cup. And am enrolled in 3 classes each month. This month is Herbology (hence the dyeing). Charms - knitting a scarf for someone. History of Magic- a brief quiz that is online. And am not sure if I am going to do Astronomy again or if I will try Potions. So folks Christmas gifts may be odd.......
Also frogged DM's sock it wasn't working out.

Quilting: am working on the Round Robin Quilt. It is very challenging. Need to get sewing on other projects though.

Have been pretty busy w/work. Hugo seems to be settling down- though today he ate DH's earbud piece while DH was working on a Resume'. It snowed here on Friday (just enough to make everyone groan). Have been picking berries, have a bucket that needs to be tended to tonight. Still need to get the last bit of rhubarb and lingonberries in. Decided to make a rhubarb and lingonberry sauce for Christmas dinner. Also the best way to pick currants is to take scissors and clip the chains into a bucket. Super easy! Just make sure the bucket is centered under the chain.

Thing 2 is finished w/Football. Last game was played on a field that was covered in ice (recently plowed) they lost 40- 14. So now it is wrestling season, great here comes the anorexia/starvation. He hopes to only have to lose 10 lbs to make weight.

Weather: sunny, cloudy and temps are running in the low 20's F (am) and daytime rising to 50 F.

Dinner: last night Cornish Pasties! Delish, dessert was heavy cake.

Saturday Sky and Sunday Quote

2008-09-21T19:53:00.004-08:00

Saturday Evening sky....
around 8:30pm

Don't you just love the stuff some folks toss out?
Bumpkins now has a little bike.
(perfectly good)

Bad photo job........

"The dog was created specially for children.
He is the god of frolic."
~Henry Ward Beecher

Knitting: lots - that is pretty much all that I have been doing lately. Started a Norwegian Earflap hat for Bumpkins. Also cast on for a pair of wristlets Super easy. In bulky yarn Cast on 30 knit for 8 inches. Sew up ends about 2/3 then leave space for thumb then sew up the rest. It is a lion brand pattern. I am using Twister and US 13 needles. This last week also finished up a washcloth. hope to post pics this next week.

Have been kind of busy around here, what w/Hugo training, work, home schooling preschool, and Thing 2 having Homecoming this week. The pool finally opened on Thursday am. On Wednesday I was sick so I stayed home and vegged. Friday night was spent out at the Church Camp for a Ladies Evening Out. That was a lot of fun.

Bumpkins has been having a rough time....Monday she was eating a gummie fruit in the car, when she pulled a portion of her tooth out of her mouth. Needless to say emergency trip to the dentist. And the Kenai area has no Ped. dentist full time. The tooth that was broken is a portion of a composite front tooth. Saturday afternoon she decided to climb up some shelves. Well she fell on a Fisher Price little people house and barn, she was hurt. (but didn't stop her from climbing though). Tonight while getting ready to go for our evening walk, she got her fingers shut in the screen door. So no walk and we had to ice her fingers.

Well I better wrap this up before she falls asleep.

If I don't get back this week hope everyone has an awesome week.

Sunday Quotes

2008-09-14T23:08:00.003-08:00

Every evening I turn my worries over to God.
He's going to be up all night anyway.
~Mary C. Crowley

Knitting: lots getting done. finished up the twitterpated purse now only have to figure out how to put the magnetic snaps in. Also finished up Princess's Christmas present. Today knitted another inch on DM's socks.

Sewing: nothing new. This week I need to make a pair of Pj pants for me and also to choose materials for the Round Robin quilt.

Been raining a lot here lately. Shutdown out at the pool is finished... now back to work. Tomorrow is a new beginning, I have decided to homeschool Bumpkins so tomorrow is her first day of Preschool. Hopefully I can do a schedule of 9- 11 am every day. Also need to put some dog training in my morning. We will see what happens. Hugo now has a hurt paw, injured somehow.

And if you get the chance you really need to check out Kazul's weblog. The girls on horseback scare me (only because Bumpkins might want to try that out- today she was riding her trike in the house as fast as she could. The she would crash into the door and a chair that was on the floor). She told me she was crashing, all while emmiting a high pitch noise (which was her version of whistling).

Strange Stuff Tuesday

2008-09-09T22:24:00.002-08:00

Wow it has been almost forever since I last posted...
do I have any readers left?

Any ways can anyone guess what this is?
(besides a dead plant).

Hugo is keeping me very busy. Missed a cute photo op the other night- he got his head stuck in the cat door. So cute. (he now avoids the cat doors). Took him into the vet and he weighs about 15 lbs. And the reason for going to the vet... well I will not tell you the whole gruesome/nasty story, suffice to say that the poor pup has worms. Oddly the breeders didn't deworm the pups before giving them new homes, so unfortunately DM now has to Deworm her 2 dogs.

DH and I had a date night last Saturday night, DM watched Bumpkins. They had a lot of fun. DH and I went to dinner at a local Brewery, DH had an awesome steak sandwich and I had a pizza. Good food and relatively inexpensive. The place takes no reservations, and we went on Soldotna's Homecoming. Afterwards we went to Mykels to listen to Dave Unruh play, DH ended up playing a tune or two. And when we went to leave, DH left a business card. Yoo hoo! possible business coming our way. Danger Pig (the band) is no longer together, but DH is getting a lot more students.

Thing 2 has gotten his license, and tomorrow actual documentation from DMV. So he will be driving Thursday. No more pick up and delivery.

Big milestone: since getting Hugo (who sleeps for now in a laundry basket by my bed) Bumpkins is sleeping EVERY night in her little crib converted into a toddler bed.

Knitting: have finished hand sewing the lining into the purse and am now working on the handle/strap.

Crocheting: see above- made for the House Cup that I am enrolled in over in Ravelry. Any takers for who wants it for Christmas? Thinking that filled w/catnip and suspended from a pole or something it would be an ultimate cat toy.

strange stuff: Now what haven't I posted yet? A duct tape wallet.

Sunday Quotes

2008-08-31T19:56:00.004-08:00

"The best way to get a puppy is to beg for a baby brother
- and they'll settle for a puppy every time."
~Winston Pendelton

Knitting: nothing new just working on a twitterpated purse lining. Hope to have that sewed in tonight and start the strap.

Sewing nothing new. Should make myself some new jammie bottoms.

Hugo was one sick pup last night. He ate a mushroom. After throwing up, he drooled most of the night. Seems to be doing better today, still has diarrhea though. And he has lost a lot of weight. Was unable identify the mushroom, hopefully on Tuesday I will be able to take one like it in and find out what kind it is.

Our computer plugin cable is toasted. Just bumping it will cause it to come unplugged and instantly the computer will turn off. Not to bad, until you are in the middle of a post and all is lost. And anyone uploading pictures using satellite or dial up knows how long that can take.

Please keep the folks in Gustav's path in your prayers. Just wondering after this storm if there will be some cheap waterfront property for sale.

Alaska Scenery

2008-08-30T00:04:00.003-08:00

The little white spots are

Beluga Whales that
Bumpkins and I saw on our way back
from Anchorage Wednesday night.
Knitting: nothing really finished yet....

Had to go to Anchorage last week for a CPO class. (Certified Pool/Spa Operators Class) Very hard. Lots of math formulas and learning how and what chemicals to mix to make your water better. Thankfully this is another of those National Certs- I can go anywhere w/this one.

Surprising things happening here in Alaska. Governor Sarah Palin is now McCain's running mate. Will be interesting to see what comes about in the next couple of months.

Haven't been posting lately, kind of tired- exhausted. after going to Anchorage on Monday and Coming back on Wednesday night (late!) took Thursday off and just vegged. Had to work today and next week (yuck! shut down starts) Should be interesting as we are down 2 workers and have about 10 days to get everything done. Not sure what is all being done except that I get the privilege of scrubbing toilets (takes on the average an hour to do each toilet!)

Strange Stuff Tuesday

2008-08-19T17:39:00.004-08:00

How warmly do you dress your child
On Memorial Day?
(mittens, hat, warm coat, knit leggings
and everyone was sitting under blankets)

Today at work, 2 of my swim lesson kids "got it". They have gone from being absolutely terrified that if I let go of them while swimming the would drown to floating on their backs w/kickboards and one is actually doggie paddling around the pool. That has made my whole summer worthwhile.

Strange Stuff: I wonder if this will keep the moose from eating my apple trees this winter. Tree Cozy.

Hugo was 7 weeks old on 8/8/8. So that makes him almost 9 weeks today.

Random Website Monday

2008-08-18T19:21:00.006-08:00

yet another quilt from the quilt show.

Knitting: Nope nothing...
Was scheduled to have training today Life guard Olympics. But that got canceled- thankfully as I have yet another sinus infection. This is the last week for swim lessons. And i couldn't be more happier.

Random website: A very funny kitty video clip. (plays for just over 2 min long)

Sunday Quotes

2008-08-17T16:55:00.002-08:00

A weed is but an unloved flower.
~Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Flowers from Bumpkins,
Clover smells wonderful!

Knitting: Done knitting Twitterpated and just need to line it. Also have 1 cable done on Princess' gift. Will try to get that done ASAP for 2 reasons to give it to her before winter sets in and to see what modifications are needed for Kazul's.

To busy watching the Olympics to do any sewing, actually between work, watching the Olympics and the new puppy there is no time to sew.

Hugo is doing well. Coworkers assure me that he will get huge, maybe not ginormous.

Had to scramble today to get the laundry off of the dog run as it was starting to rain.

Not to much to say around here except that I must not be getting enough sleep as I am constantly tired. Hugo slept for 5 hrs last night, that is way better than Thursday where he woke up every 2 hours. And then on Friday I had to work 7.5 hrs. Saturday DH had a gig for the mud run, Thing 2 had a football game (Kenai won!) Bumpkins, Hugo and I went out to visit Nana. She had a tooth pulled on Friday, we were checking up on her.

Weather today was sunny and warm.

Welcome Hugo!

2008-08-12T23:40:00.004-08:00

This is Hugo,
he is just a wee pup.Combination Black Lab and golden retriever

run run!

Bumpkins did come up w/this name.
Lily was not used because
the puppy isn't pink.

Now to see how well Athena adjusts to him.
for Hugo's credit he has yet to chase the cat.
(very odd when a dog doesn't chase a cat)
The cat sniffed him and then ran off.

Random Website Monday

2008-08-11T22:55:00.005-08:00

Kool Aid dyed yarn hanging on the dog run.

attempting to hank the Kool Aid dyed yarn

The Kool Aid dyed yarn in a hank.
(kazul please help name it.)
specifics:
2 package of Cherry (makes a deep red!)
2 packages of blue raspberry lemonade (makes a cotton candy blue)
1 package of watermelon cherry (makes for a dark pink/light red)

Knitting: still not very far on Princess's present.

My back is so much better today. So today was spent playing catch up on laundry and other things that have been slacked off on because of my back. Was able to hang up most of the laundry outside to dry today because of the hot temps. 63 F. After Dr. this am and then running Thing 2 to Football at 3:30 really didn't do much else. (besides Kool Aid dyeing yarn).

I am tired so off to bed I go.....

Random website: go here for Olympic coverage.

Saturday yard

2008-08-09T21:21:00.004-08:00

The 1.5 qts of strawberries we picked
from our yard.
Finished!
Paw Cozy
For the Ravelympics.

Close up of the cables.
First time doing cables

Specifics:
Cast on August 8 during opening Olympic ceremonies 6:30 pm Alaska time GMT -8
Finished 8:30 pm August 9.
used US 7 and US 8 dpns
Used worsted weight Stash Acrylic
Made it shorter than called for as DM's retractable leash is the itty bitty size. Also did a 3 needle bind off instead of the button flap for more cold protection. (hoping the little hole left in the tip is big enough for the leash to go through). Had a lot of trouble keeping stitches on the needles as they kept falling off.

Thing 2 lost the game score was 8 to 6. Hard game w/refs preferring the other team over Kenai.

Not much blogging as I have been watching the Olympics and trying to recover from having a sore back.

ETA: Thing 2 graduated from High School! We got a graduation announcement in the mail- he looks good in his cap and gown. What an accomplishment that was.

Life W/ a Male Teen

2008-08-07T19:06:00.003-08:00

This is Thing 2....
He is a Junior in High School this year.
I will attempt to blog our thoughts, challenges
achievements and changes here for this school year.

Hmm.. a week in review
that is challenging.

Sunday night I washed Thing 2's laundry and in the first load was
a really nice shirt and slacks.
My words to him "I suggest that you go hang these clothes up so they don't wrinkle".
He didn't do it,
his logic and words were "you didn't tell me that I had to hang them up now".
This kid is almost an adult, and still has to be told what to do?

Thing 2 is 17 and desperately wants his drivers license and a car.
So Tuesday afternoon upon arriving home I
noticed DH's car strangely parked between 2 sawhorses.
Thing 2 decided that learning to parallel park would be a good thing.
Uh huh... bad idea.

Thing 2 didn't ask to use DH's car or keys.
DH was in the shower and had no idea what was going on.
DH explained that what he did was equivalent to joyriding.
Thing 2 doesn't realize that what he did was wrong.

This morning started extremely early....
Football has started.
Bumpkins, Thing 2 and I were all out of the house before 5 am.
What I learned:

It is now kind of dark at that hour of the morning.
There is little traffic on the roads.
The temp was 39F! (no that isn't a typo).
Thing 2 said thanks for the ride. :)

Now he is gone to Fairbanks until late Saturday night.
hope they play well.

The temp outside is over 65 F.

Strange Stuff Tuesday

2008-08-05T23:04:00.003-08:00

Just minutes later this baby jumped through the
fence to get to Mama.

Knitting: 1/2 way through the Twitterpated purse. Gathering supplies for the Ravelrylympics. Only in one event.

Went to work today, back is still very stiff. Oddly the deep end was the hardest area of the pool to be in.

Picked 1.5 qts of strawberries today- oh so very good! Sweet and full of water/juice. Delish. My currants don't look very good- kind of small. But the lowbush cranberries- better pick those at first frost. Lots of em and bigguns too. Not sure about the crowberries or serviceberries haven't seen any of those patches around.

Think there is going to be another post heading called Life w/Teenage Boys stay tuned for that one.

It is late and finally the sun is setting (another gorgeous sunset). Will try to take a photo tomorrow of the sunset.

Weather: sunny and warm 58 F.

dinner: French toast slathered in Maple Syrup and melted butter w/fresh strawberries on the side.

Saturday Sky

2008-08-03T23:43:00.009-08:00

Saturday night sky 10:00 pm
Bumpkins kept asking why is the sky orange....

This is DM's sock.
Not wanting to knit w/small needles right now.

Knitting: finally cast on something new. Sure I have lots on the needles: the baby sweater, DM's sock, trying to make a granny square out of crochet. But this is something new that called to me using the big ol cone of peach acrylic. Twitterpated purse (free pattern out there on the net). It is just a 9" X12" rectangle. Should satisfy something.......

Quilting: haven't been doing that this week.

Friday at work I somehow tweaked my back and that has disabled me for a time. Getting up out of bed is interesting, somehow roll over and slide out onto my knees then get to cedar chest and hoist myself up. Getting up off of the toilet has me wanting to grab the bars that are in the handicap baths. Absolutely no bending over, reaching is minimal, sitting hurts, laying down gets to me to. Can't stand forever. Bumpkins has been really good through all of this, helping put laundry in the wash and dryer, sliding the laundry basket across the floor. Picking things up for me and not really asking to be picked up and carried. Haven't been blogging because I have been taking Flexiril's and prescription Ibuprofen's and life here is relatively boring.

Well that's all folks.
oh sad part of today was I ran over a squirrel with the mini van. Poor thing, I looked at it through the rear view mirror and its little tail was going up and down. I felt awful!

Random Website Monday

2008-07-28T16:15:00.001-08:00

bumpkins stirring our latest
batch of "eyebrowns".

Another quilt from the quilt show..
a friend made up this pattern.
(If you do a close up, you can see
a bear, fish, cabin)

Knitting: am going to finish up the foot part of the sock tonight.

Today was a busy day... first got up and made phone calls so Thing 2 could get a physical for football. While making those arrangements got another phone call from work saying that there was training today. Didn't make it to that. Honestly didn't think that there was training because we had it last week. Got Thing 2 to practice went grocery shopping and the library (still no Kool Aid swap package). Came home and lounged. Made pizza for dinner. DH picked up Thing 2 from practice and went to DMV for a drivers permit renewal. Now the only things still up in the air is waiting for a phone call from Red Cross and to determine where to take my car to for a new windshield. And waiting to see what happens w/DH's new band. So how was your Monday?

Think a trip outside is in store for all of us.

Weather turned nice and sunny.

Random website: It is absolutely cute pictures of animals. (appropriately called Cute Overload!)

Sunday Update

2008-07-27T23:37:00.000-08:00

Ok blogger isn't being my friend today. Not letting me do anything fun, like pictures, italics, or even centering. So this is going to be a boring post! Almost not worth the work.

Thing 2 came home this am- not scheduled to arrive until midnight. (come to find out it was 12:15 pm not am anyways). Everyone is excited and all routines are shot out the window.

It has been rainy here lately, except of course Friday it was over 70 F but I had to go to work. And by the time I got home it was rainy and 65 F. Tonight it finally got nice around 7:30 pm but couldn't convince Bumpkins to go outside.

If you are following the news about Alaska's State Police Commissioner, it has repercussions all the way into our house. We will see what happens.

Quilting: still working on this quilt border.

Knitting: am almost 1/2 way done w/the first sock that I am testing the pattern out for. Learning lots.

Saturday Sky and Sunday Quote

2008-07-20T20:49:00.004-08:00

"Softly the evening came."
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sunset
(actually this was July 18, Thursday night at 11:45 pm)

My Kool Aid dyed yarn... in hanks
apricot acrylic wouldn't take dye,
gray now green w/2 pkgs of lemon lime Kool aid
Natural Mar now pink w/1 pkg of Slammin kiwi strawberry
and one pkg of watermelon cherry

a close up of the pink.....
there is some places that aren't as pink
but pretty good job for first try and home dye stuff.

Finished project
Swamp Witch Scarf

Knitting: finished up the Swamp Witch Scarf.
Specifics: yarn1 skein of black fun fur, 1 skein of white fun fur
1/2 skein of white acrylic and 1/2 skein of black acrylic
Cast on 12 w/US 19 needles
Garter stitch 4 rows than followed pattern until almost out of yarn.
sold for $30.00

Cast on for another pair of socks, this time as a test knitter. Interesting pattern. Be sure to check it out when she releases it. (will let you know when)

Been cleaning a lot this weekend and just relaxing.
Weather has been super nice high 60's F. And sunny, had to convince Bumpkin's that it was ok to be outside. Her favorite thing to say is "Daddy says no, go inside".

Prize box

2008-07-18T22:17:00.003-08:00

I got this in the mail on Thursday...
a prize box for Monthly Adventures over in Ravelry.
Prize was from PalomaBella
in the CAL portion.

the contents:
a wonderful card, a book on afghans,
Interweave Crochet, a soft handle crochet hook
and a delish candle that she had applied
a picture to.

Also had lots of crumbled up Target ads....
Which entertained Bumpkins for over an hour!

Knitting: almost 1/2 way done with scarf. Have to finish it this weekend.

Quilting: ripping out as fast as I sew these blocks together. My new sewing machine is very hard to determine 1/4 " seams on. No I cant use tape because the tape would sit on top of the feed dogs.

Enjoying my vacation weekend, we are halfway through swim lessons! And school starts in 4.5 weeks.

Well that's all for today- will be posting more tomorrow.

Weather: mostly rainy.

What I saw on Mulberry Street

2008-07-15T22:38:00.002-08:00

Another interesting thing seen.....
(of course it was at the Parade)

what a motorcycle that has 2 wheels up front?

Knitting: nothing new.

Quilting: still working on the Round Robin Quilt- it was supposed to go out in the mail on Tuesday, well looks like another couple of days will do it. Bugger it.

Almost had to cancel lessons today, the power went out at the pool last night and shut down all the comps. that run the pool equipment (the circulation pump, the hoppers for chlorine). No one was around to reset them. So most levels were off this morning- no one was in the water at 7:30 when I got there. Thankfully all was well by 8 am so we could run lessons as scheduled- I am taking a vacation day on Friday, and that would have been a bad day for me if I had to do make ups.

well gotta run out of here early tomorrow... paperwork out at the pool needs to be done.

Strange stuff: Sometimes the recycling bug can go a bit too far- like in the case of this purse.

Random Website Monday

2008-07-14T20:32:00.005-08:00

the dress I am making for Bumpkins,
the front.....

The back...
(complete w/ Bumpkins saying "I Cute!")

Knitting: the above dress is a Ravelry download pattern that is being heavily modified.

Quilting: stayed up until 3:30 making blocks for the border of the Round Robin quilt. Still more work to go on it.

Sent a Resume' out for DH today- will see what comes about on it. Today is a sunny day! Temps in the mid 60's. Still can't convince Bumpkins to go play outside- she is such a girly girl. Yesterday while we drove over the bridge, she had an absolute meltdown. Over a skitter being in the back of the car w/her. She screams bloody murder if a Carpenter Ant is on the stairs w/her. And her brothers don't want her to be a girly girl- they think it is me that makes the girls that way.

Random website: And because you have always wondered about their site.... Glaceau Water- Hydrate Responsibly.

ETA: Didn't realize there was a rainbow in the Saturday sky until Boogeyman's Wife commented about it.

Saturday Sky and Sunday Quote

2008-07-13T19:38:00.004-08:00

Saturday sky.....

"The Sky is the daily bread of the eyes"
by Ralph Waldo EmersonKool Aid dyed yarn...
Stuff on the right was Natural Mar by Patons
Dyed w/1 package of Slammin' Strawberry kiwi
and 1 package of Watermelon Cherry
the stuff on the left is acrylic and wouldn't take the dye.

Knitting: almost finished with the front part of Bumpkins dress. Should finish it up tonight and tomorrow she'll have a new dress to wear.

Sewing/Quilting: nothing new. But have a deadline on Tuesday, so tonight will be spent cutting and sewing blocks together.

The weather has been warm lately 60 F. But Bumpkins thinks that that is too cold! While I have been convincing her to stay outside, the brush around the front yard has been attacked. Yesterday I found the rusty handsaw and took out 6 trees w/a diameter of slightly bigger than my wrist (4").
Today was spent out at a picnic and it was COLD! While we were sitting around outside eating and listening to bluegrass music, a comment was made that we could be in Kentucky for the atmosphere. My reply was "if we were in Kentucky it would be WARMER". Then further discussion was that this weather would be similar to lets say October, November, February, March. 50 F is chilly- and I was wearing long johns today. Especially when I work in 80 F w/ 80% humidity. Took Bumpkins out on a paddle boat ride today- she had fun. Hmm... she didn't complain about it being to cold- oh yeah that is because we already put a Homespun hooded sweater on her.

Recipe: Rhubarb dump cake: 4 c rhubarb, 1 c sugar, 1 3 oz pkg of raspberry jello mix, 1 box of yellow cake mix (dry), 1/2 c melted butter, and 1 c water. Layer in greased 9 X 13" pan than bake 50 min at 350 degrees F. It went fast! Everyone loved it, and there was a lot of rhubarb being displayed at the potluck. (For the butter drizzle over the top of the mixture for even coverage also drizzle the water over it all for even coverage.)

And to think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.......

2008-07-08T23:16:00.007-08:00

On the way to work today....
I saw 7 Police Cars in less then a
1 mile radius!
(didn't realize there were that many
Kenai City Cops and State Troopers on at 7:15 am!)

And other things seen on Mulberry street.........

(Yes the above pic is a DeLorian
aka: Back to the Future Car)

Below is just another really old car
that doesn't even have windows.
Hmm... early A/C?

Question of the Day:
How would you wax a 120+ foot long slide?

A) Put the wax on all of it and then go back to the top and buff it out?

B) Put the wax on in sections and buff it in sections?

Answer:
If you guessed B, you were correct.

Today between Swimming lessons sets much time was spent sitting on
towels going down the slide to remove the excess wax.
Best results were achieved when hot tap water was poured down
the slide, then slide was turned on and more towel sliding commenced.

Knitting: Cast on and am a few rows into this... market bag. Not sure if I am liking it, and I am going to run out of yarn for it also. This is not a Sugar and Cream one ball knit.

Sewing/ Quilting: nothing.

Made brownies w/Bumpkins tonight. While mixing the brownish mixture, Bumpkins said "Mud". Later she asked to eat the "eyebrowns". Translation is Brownies! So her bedtime snack was fresh "Eyebrowns" and warm milk w/a drop of vanilla extract.

Strange stuff: Last night while surfing around and getting Bumpkins quieted down for sleep, I surfed across an interesting free knitting pattern site. Well Bumpkins decided she liked these- and no she isn't going to get them!

Random Website Monday

2008-07-07T19:34:00.003-08:00

Everybody has a job to do...
(the pooper scoopers from the parade).

A new Bistro in Kenai.....
"The Funky Monkey"

Knitting: nothing finished. The chenille is very hard to frog because it likes to stick back upon itself.

Sewing: nothing today.

Another rainy day, so no outdoor play group today. Went grocery shopping instead and the big purchase of the day was.... door knob protectors. You know the ones that stop chilluns from opening the doors. Well Bumpkins doesn't like them- she thinks the doors are all locked (from both sides!)

Well that's about all folks.

Random website: And what time is where? One of the official Greenwich Meantime Converters.

Dinner: baked potatoes, with cheese, broccoli and sour cream. Bumpkins ate carrots, broccoli and sour cream and a 1/2 pint of chocolate milk.

Another recipe: Cornish Game hens stuffed with 1/4 of an apple and glazed an orange marmalade mixture. 2 T orange marmalade, 2 T soy sauce, 2 T Teriyaki sauce and 2 T butter. Heated up in micro until warm and melted then spread 1/2 of glaze over 2 game hens and bake uncovered at 325 for 1 hr. After 1/2 hour spread more glaze over hens. This also can be prepared in crockpot- just use more liquids.

Saturday Sky and Sunday Quote

2008-07-06T23:40:00.003-08:00

"Eagles don't flock,
you find them one at a time."
H. Ross Perot

(if you click on the above pic.
you will see lots of seagulls flocking..)

And now my wonderful smelling
Alaskan Wild Roses.

Knitting: Cast on and started another swamp witch scarf. But have frogged it yet again. Cast on and frogged a top to a dress for Bumpkin's. Note: chenille and fun fur don't frog nicely!

Sewing: nothing new lately.

Quilting: did some sewing and cutting. Realized that the cutting was done w/o allowing for seam allowances. Arg!

Just had some low key laid back days this weekend. Nothing much really accomplished.

Couldn't play outside in the yard for much of the day on Saturday. There was a Mama moose hanging out w/her little calf. Bumpkins and I did go out for about an hour, until I heard a "whoosh" in the woods. Mama exhaled air! I scrambled to get Bumpkins inside. Athena brought in and released another mouse into the house. (this one didn't leave the dining room). After DH got the mouse and tossed it up on top of the carport, Athena decided to catch, kill and start to consume a bee. I put a container over the bee before she actually ate it. Hmm... maybe she needs to be fed some cat food. DH and I ate dinner outside at the picnic table, the sun finally came out!

Sunday there was a Thunder storm. Our temps have gotten warmer- last week we hit 70 F, and today was around 67 F. Nice little rain storm, didn't see any lightening though. (yes I went outside to look for it, but didn't leave the overhang of the house roof). Before the storm DH, Bumpkins and I went to a park in Soldotna.

Recipes: chocolate graham crackers spread w/marshmellow creme. Delish.

Strange Stuff Tuesday

2008-07-01T22:33:00.005-08:00

Another quilt from the show....

A close up of a circle...
looks like a center of a flower...
but look closer
it is a FACE!

Knitting: am done with the yoke of the baby sweater- now to do the lacy body. Attempted to cast on for another Swamp Witch Scarf, that was frogged when the fun fur knotted up on itself. So wound that all into one largish ball (2 skeins of fun fur and 2 skeins of acrylic- black and white).

Quilting: discovered a way to make the quilt border... you know that you have been looking at quilt books to much when you dream about putting different quilt squares together.

The second set to swim lessons have started. Soon we will be 1/2 through the summer. Well best be off to straighten out the house for bed and then it is time to hit the sack.

Weather: sunny and 60's F.

Random website: Finally a site that shows a person the proper way to husk/shuck corn.

Strange stuff: A very scary site... the Worst Quilt Wannabes. Do you have one to enter?

Sunday Quotes

2008-06-29T22:55:00.003-08:00

"I feel fine and comfortable with myself,
but not because I'm beautiful."
by Monica Bellucci

(the above is one of the many quilts that
were featured at Quilting on the Kenai)

my crabapple tree is my weekly yard pic.

Knitting: cast on today for a baby sweater knit on 2 needles by Elizabeth Zimmermann. Hopefully this sweater can be part of a set that gets sent out to Iowa for a flood victim.

crocheting: am almost done w/my Fashion First Aid bag out of the Happy Hookers book. Have run out of red acrylic yarn and so it is hibernating until more red shows up.

Sewing: cut out a dress for Bumpkin's and hope to finish that this week. (again no pattern)

quilting: this Round Robin quilt thing is kicking my behind. Spent much of the morning trying/attempting to create a template. Realized that the template is on the net.... now just to retrieve it.

Saturday DM, Bumpkins and I went to a quilt show. It was ok.. not sure if I will go again, the people wanted to charge Bumpkin's full price for admission. you have got to be kidding! Some of the quilts were exquisite. A few grabbed my attention and those will be featured in the coming weeks.

Today Bumpkins assisted me in doing laundry (I wasn't aware of the help!), she took the towels that she put in the wash machine yesterday out and placed them in the dryer. Later I went to wash the towels- thinking they were still in the wash machine. Wasn't very pleased when I went to take clean dry clothes out of the dryer to discover them wet.. and towels? Next thought was well what was in the washing machine then.. come to find out that my machine was washed empty! Did you know that in a front loader washing machine, soap bubbles will remain after the cycles are done when the machine is run empty.

I declared war on the Cottonwood trees in my yard. The brush pile now is HUGE! And more will go this next week. DH really didn't notice where I took them from until I pointed it out. Sorry no before and after pix.

new recipe: baked rhubarb. Take 1 part chopped rhubarb, 1/3 that amount in sugar season w/spices and bake in greased pan at 400 degree oven for 40 min. Serve over waffles. delish. (so to 1 c rhubarb add 1/3 to 1/2 c sugar)

Another meme...

2008-06-27T22:54:00.000-08:00

I got this from Lynn...
a meme

As a 1930s wife, I am
Superior

Take the test!

Strange Stuff Tuesday

2008-06-24T22:24:00.005-08:00

Knitting: nothing new is really calling to me... do need to cast on another pair of socks for DM for Christmas.

Sewing: unearthed an old UFO quilt square this last week. will post a pic sometime. But in the meantime I have been busy perusing the internet for a border pattern for the Round Robin quilt exchange that I am in. Did buy a wonderful piece of material to go with it. Now to definitely decide on a pattern so I can cut this out and sew it together. Bumpkins and I went to our LQS on Sunday (she did not want to leave! Bribing did nothing; ended up bodily picking her up and hauling her out of there!) Monday after training we walked over to a neighbor's and Bumpkins had a hey day playing in her batiks. Oh wow! what an amazing craft room- it took up the ENTIRE downstairs! Almost 1200 square feet!

Had training on Monday- Red Cross recerts for CPR. Did you know that the Red Cross procedures weren't on their website? You have to go elsewhere to find the official Red Cross guidelines for CPR.

Better be off to bed now... morning comes awfully early.

Strange Stuff: And this gives the term dial up computer a whole new meaning...

eta: and no it doesn't really get pitch black here at night. dusky dark yes but not deep dark. (and that was around 2:30 am. when the temps were down to 34 F again! even the grass doesn't want to grow this year)

Saturday yard

2008-06-21T22:49:00.003-08:00

The irises that are blooming this week.

Bumpkins riding on the white pony,
(see the blue sky)

Knitting: nothing new.
Sewing: received in the mail the new blocks for the Round Robin Quilt swap that I am doing.

Today was a busy day! We got up to hear the rain filling the bucket outside our window... thump, thump, thump. Finally the rain stopped around 10 ish, DH drove his car out to Summer Fun in The Midnight Sun. He was playing the music for the event, Bumpkins and I got out there around 12. The sun was shining, but there was a slight chill in the air. Come to find out that all booths had been moved inside the hockey rink. It was very noisy (lots of echoes), crowded but fun was had by all. Bumpkins did the fishing game and scoop the duck many times- there weren't any other games that she wanted to play. We rode a pony (Princess- Kara was helping out w/the horse rides). There was age appropriate activity time scheduled and Bumpkins ran faster than some of the 4 yr olds, we didn't win the bike :( Arrived home just before 6 pm tonight. A very long nap was had by many, dinner was made and DH seen out the door (he had another gig tonight).

There has been a bunny rabbit frequenting our front yard both this morning and again tonight.

Dinner: macaroni and cheese (DH didn't notice a difference- had to use powdered milk as we are out of regular milk) and chicken nuggets.

Weather: rain in the morning, sunny by afternoon temps mid 50's (don't think that it did get to 60)

Solstice Sky

2008-06-20T23:54:00.003-08:00

Solstice Sunset
(photo taken around 11:30 pm)
after this shot the sky really was beautiful.

This is what happens when a can of
Rock Star is left w/in a small child's grasp.
9:30 pm and she discovered...
that she could climb up the walls backwards!

Knitting: made a keychain key fob but it isn't being my friend. (not felting after 4 washes on hot). Crocheted another key fob will be posting pix and links later.

Sewing: nothing.

Not really working much either- swim lessons and I have been exhausted! Bumpkins got up at 6 am today and I wasn't a happy mama. Put her down w/DH for a nap around 11 am as I left to go to work. Bumpkin's has been having a blast in swim lessons and is telling everyone that she went off the diving board. She didn't want to go, but I took her out to the end of the board anyways. I put her down at the end and asked her if she wanted to jump to Miss..... (meanwhile I was prepared to lower her in) well she launched her little body right off of there! Belly flopped right next to her teacher. She was in life jacket too... but now when asked do you want to go off of the board, she will answer no it is to scary. Well good news is she isn't afraid of the "snakes" out there anymore. And thankfully I have a different class and can move myself to another part of the pool so I can't see what her class is doing.

Well better be getting to bed.. tomorrow is a long day! Summer fun in the Sun out at the pool. Just hope that the weather stays nice.