Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Another Day in the Life of...

Well more of the same old same old going on around here today. Eric is home sick. Piles of laundry and yes some will be left for tomorrow. Although I did manage to fold or hang every load of laundry done today. No applause necessary just throw fluff my way.  13 more inches done on an Operation Gratitude scarf.

I don't feel like cooking so John is stuck with a roast, sweet potatoes and steamed vegetables. You can commiserate with him when you see him next time. Yes there is enough for roast beef sandwiches tomorrow.

Well since I have some help here right now I am going to try to finish one of Kathy Withers wonderful batts. If you would like to see some of Kathy's batts here is a link to her etsy store Unique Designs by Kathy . Right now she has a lot of art yarn. One skein will make a fabulous one of a kind scarf. Also check out her pattern and one of a kind creations.

Enjoy your families .

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Just Another Sunday

The weekend was too short, I could have used another couple of days. This time of year I could really use a 48 hour day or a clone or 2. Will someone let me know when either of those options become available.

We had a relaxing slow day today. After a very slow start we went to Beyond Bread for lunch. I had the Gazpacho soup and John had the tuna salad. We decided that Eric needed some down time so it was back home again. While Eric rested we rent the movie Paul, about the space alien. It was the perfect movie for today. I also finished another Operation Gratitude scarf and am 3/4 done with the next one. My goal is to knit 3 more scarfs for this project before I mail them off on Friday.

Just in case you would like to make an Operation Gratitude Scarf this is the pattern that I like the best. Using US size 7 or 8 needles with a worsted weight yarn. I prefer to send them in natural fibers. Cast on 27 to 30 stitches depending on how tight you knit.  Knit 1 Purl 2* repeat this pattern for the entire scarf.  Cast off in the stitch pattern. It should be between 48 and 50 inches long and 5 to 7 inches wide when done. For more information on Operation Gratitude just click the link. You can also send your left over Halloween candy to them for the care packages.

I ran out for some supplies to make home made pizza and freshly steamed green beans for dinner.  After dinner we caught up on some TV viewing. I actually sat still and did not have knitting needles or a spindle in my hand. I just sat and relaxed. It is a really odd experience as I always have to keep something moving.

Well I think I will call it a night and if I owe you a phone call it will happen tomorrow.

Saturday, October 22, 2011

A Perfect Day

What a wonderful day I had. I spent the day at the Tucson Wool Festival. The people were great, the vendors were awesome and a few sheep and goats got their hair cut. I would like to publicly thank Kathy and Mark Withers for putting on such an awesome event.

Some of the highlights included:

Demonstrations of spinning on wheels and spindles.

Farm tours.

Knitting and crochet demonstrations.

Carding demonstrations.

Mini lessons. I got to teach a wonderful 5th grader named Georgia how to knit. She had a good inch knit by the time the show was over.

There was a very quick visit by John and Eric. They were so wonderful and brought me a sandwich and of Venti cup of iced green tea from Starbucks. It was a little on the hot side for Eric so I sent John to look around and sent them packing after about 15 minutes. I did not think I have it in me to do an all nighter tonight.

Oh yes and I did not take home as much as I came with. I would also like to say what took me 4 days to assemble for the show was unpacked and put away in less than and hour. Go figure. Well it is almost 6 pm so I am headed out to Mayco's to pick up dinner. Have a wonderful evening.

Friday, October 21, 2011

EEK!!!!

It has been a very busy week around here. With Eric being sick all of Sunday evening into the wee hours of Monday morning. I was not being able to get some rest until 6:10 am Monday morning(this should read as an hour and a half nap). All I can say is thank goodness that Eric slept until 1pm and  I also got to sleep after the aide left. Eric was feeling better by dinner time but my dear sweet and wonderful husband still brought dinner home.

Eric did make it to school on Tuesday and the rest of the week. This did however leave me exactly one day behind in my preparation for the Tucson Wool Festival on Saturday. I did not get as much yarn spun as I had hoped for but what I have is very nice. To compound matters even more, my showcase piece sold before it was even off the needles, so I hurriedly started another one. I am happy to say that I am with in 4 rows of having it finished tonight. So off I go a knitting. I hope to see a lot of you at the Wool Festival tomorrow. Here is a link to the Tucson Wool Festival .

I also opened an etsy shop this week. You can find me at http://www.etsy.com/shop/skaro964 . After the wool festival I will add two new patterns and some other surprises.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Eric's Vacation Day 1

Today was Eric's first day off for fall break. So we went to the grand opening of the New Nordstroms Rack in town. It was too crowded to do any real shopping. In my humble opinion Disneyland is less crowded during winter break then the store was. I literally had people falling over the wheelchair so we cut our visit short and I will go back another day. We then went to Jacobs Park to play on the fantastic wheelchair accessible play structure. I was pushing 90 pounds of boy and 100 pounds of wheelchair up and down the ramps of the play structure. I gave out after 20 minutes.

We had a brief break and got to watch some Dinosaur Train, Barney and Sesame Street. When the aide came Eric decided to that mommy needed more exercise so off to the mall we went for a 2 mile walk. Eric is taking a break now so I am catching up on chores before spinning.

More vacation adventures to follow tomorrow.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Fantasy vs Reality

Fantasy
Yesterday my plans included 8 hours of sleep. Bringing the spinning wheel to the front porch and spinning for a couple of hours. It was such a lovely fall day. Followed by a trip to the post office. A light lunch and clothes shopping all before Eric got home.

Reality

Up half the night with Eric, but he did go to school. I tried to nap but the phone was ringing non stop. That was not all that bad I did get to talk to my good friend Donna. Thirty minutes trying to make a doctors appointment. Followed by lots of paper work, a trip to the post office. Three hours at the Social Security Office, a quick trip to Trader Joe's and lunch to go at Burger King at 3:30pm.. By the time I finished lunch I had 20 minutes to decompress before Eric got home. A few hours to get things done while the aide was here. If you have not guessed by now up until 1:30 am with a sick boy. Yes he does have the cold de jour. I did manage to finish one scarf and start another.

Today

I have been up since 6 am. Eric is home sick. I have managed breakfast so far, but not much else. My plans today include a lot of knitting and maybe some spinning.  I should also squeeze in some finishing work to clear the pile of freshly knitted objects. I will also try to figure out how to take in my skirts or dash out when John gets home so my skirt is not falling down during services this weekend.

Have a great day.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Butternut Squash Soup

When all else fails I will give you a new recipe. Yes, Eric was up until all hours. I had a fight with the insurance company over Eric's formula. Lets just say I lost round one. Unlike the old days of so last century the executives and decision makers don't take phone calls. I just love when a big company states we are exempt from state laws because they say so...are not...

The day was not all bad though. I did manage to use 1/2 of a can of Pledge on the front door. Boy that wood was dry. It just soaked up the polish like the prickly pears soak up the summer rain. The upshot is that the door looks so much better. I even did a few windows too. That was my exercise for today.

So without further ado.

Butternut Squash Soup

1 small Onion peeled and diced
1 Banana Nut Squash peeled and diced
2 medium Yams peeled and diced
2 tart Apples cored and diced
2 Tablespoons of Oleo
2 14.5 ounce cans of Chicken Broth
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

In a 4 quart soup pot melt oleo. Add the onion and saute until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the temperature and simmer for 2 hours. Lightly break up some of the larger chunks of vegetables and serve.

This soup is definitely better the first night. Serves 4 for a main course.