Sunday Quotes

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

"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.

Sunday Quotes

"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!)

Sunday Quotes

“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.

Sunday Quotes

"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

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.

Sunday Quotes

"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.

Sunday Quotes

"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

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.

Sunday Quotes

"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.

Sunday Quotes

"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).

Sunday Quotes on Monday.....

"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 Sky and Sunday Quote

"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

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

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).

Sunday Quotes

"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.

Sunday Quotes

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.

Saturday Sky and Sunday Quote

"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".

Saturday Sky and Sunday Quote

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.)

Saturday Sky and Sunday Quote

"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.