Girls Day

Teri and I spent a girls day out shopping. A good time was had by both of us. I even managed to finish a spin a long challenge before it was over, now to boil, thwack and dry the yarn. I can't do the next part of the challenge, which is to knit it into a finished object for at least a week. But that's a whole different  story. So I think I will get back to the family and get a little more precious Teri time while I can.

Recovering

We spent the day recovering after a long night of sick kids. I am kind of surprised that I got all the non fussy laundry in the middle of the night, but failed to get the fussy laundry done today. Well like the song says "there's always tomorrow, tomorrow is only a day away".

We all spent they day relaxing. This afternoon Eric and I stumbled upon the PBS Holiday Parade from the Bay Area.  I would highly recommend adding it to your TIVO list for next year. No commercials and all the PBS kids favorite charters. There were also a lot of bands. A real old fashion parade.

Well It is time to get Eric ready for bed. so good night everyone.

Too Busy To Blog

I have been having a great time with all the family at home right now. John is home from work, Teri and Eric are on winter break. We have been having such a great time that by the time I usually blog I have been fast asleep.

Today a little reality did creep into our day and Eric has a fever. Hopefully it will not go any further, but I will try to keep everyone in the loop.

Please forgive me if I do not blog much while Teri is home. This is her last break before she takes the California Bar this summer and after that she will enter the grown-up world of work. She grew up much too fast.

She Is Home

My dear sweet darling daughter Teri is home for winter break. I plan on relishing every minute of it. The mood is cheery and Eric gave Teri one of those smiles that only he can give. It was nice to have a full kitchen table at dinner. Well it has been a long day. So it is time to say good night.

Transformations

Well it is finally done the room that was set up for crafts and exercise on Monday is now a full fledged guest room. As you can see from the picture the Murphy bed is even pulled down and the linens freshly washed. Yes the room was vacuumed also. Although I am not sure that the Swifter duster made a trip in there yet.

With time to spare the spinning area was also straightened out too.  There are no pictures there because in my humble opinion there is not as much progress to show.

This did leave me in a state of total exhaustion with an unscheduled nap taken. I did find some time to knit and listen to a few more chapters of 2030. Yes it is a must read book. Some more work was done on the scarf challenge for tomorrow. I am almost finished. Another just in time project.

A special thanks goes out to Kayla for all her help in this endeavour. If you need someone with extraordinary organizing skills she is your go to gal.

Well it is time to get dinner going an quite possibly think about what I am going to make for tomorrow's party since I have procured help for Eric and plan on being out of the house for a few hours.  Respite is wonderful.

Sunday and Monday

I enjoyed my time Sunday at the Fourth Avenue Street Fair. I got to spend some time with Kathy Withers and do some spinning. I found a few nice things that I will blog about when I have time to take the pictures. Monday was spent waiting for another service call in which the contractor did not show up leading me to miss coffee with some friends who are even busier than I am, so it is  very hard to meet up. So I would like to give the service man the lack of courtesy award. He did not even call to say he was not going to make the appointment.

While I was home I spent part of the day organizing my yarn stash I found the equivalent space of 3 empty drawers in the official yarn storage area so I took yarn from the sewing room and put it away. I also started my scarf for guild on Thursday, but unless Eric is better I will not be going. If I do manage to get out the door you will see a one of a kind scarf with hand spun yarn and samples of yarn from all over the world. Oh and did I mention some of my own hand spun yarn too.

They broke Eric yet again at school. He started eyrping right before bed and it lasted most of the night. So I guess I will cut it short here and go take care of the boy.

So Much for Planning

Well today was the 5th day in a row that Eric made it to school. I was planning on going to the 4th Avenue Street Fair, but spent the day waiting for a service man who did not show up.

So it was time to work on the house. I finally had enough energy to do some house work and paperwork. The good news is that the paper work is down by 2/3's. The house is better than it was but not where I want it to be. I even found time to do some repairs from the mending pile on the sewing machine.  A very small dent was made in the repair pile.

I took some yarn off the spinning wheel today. Over 300 yards and 4.8 ounces. It is from a wool mohair art batt by Kathy Withers. She does not have any art batts in her shop at this moment but if you let her know what you are looking for she may be able to get it for you. Unique Designs by Kathy . I still have to boil the yarn and let it dry. I think it is some of the best yarn that has come off the wheel yet. Almost on par with my spindle spinning.

I would like to say that I made progress on Teri's blanket today, but everything I knit tonight was tinked and re knit so I consider it a stand still for today.

Well it is time to go put Eric to bed. So it is time to say good night.

A Taste of Freedom

Well Eric has been in school 4 whole days this month. Even better 4 days in a row. I did not realize how tired I was until I got Eric to school. To answer a few of the questions you might have.                        
No I did not do much house work.
No I did not do a lot a knitting or spinning. I am still in the process of take some yarn off the wheel. 300 yards and counting. I will have to figure out a better way to take those large skeins off the wheel.
Yes I got things to the Post Office in a timely manner.
Yes I took a lot of naps, at least 2 hours a day but I am no way caught up on sleep.
I meet with friends.
I took myself out to lunch.
I did not hit the malls.
I did make it to the grocery store and Trader Joe's.
I did make one of 2 doctors appointments that I needed to . The other one was out until Monday.
I talked to the roofer.
I am enjoying the Albert Brooks book 2030
But best of all, I got to talk to Teri. 3 finals down 1 to go.
Now it is time to go to sleep.

And the Winners Are...

First off I would like to say that there were only 3 entries so everyone is getting something.

WonderWhyGal you won -The First Prize winner will win a copy of the pattern and enough yarn to make the shawl. Please note that since this shawl is made with hand spun yarn and I bought and used the entire batch of the yarn for this shawl. This means that your yarn will be a different color. I don't have enough hand spun yarn but I do have enough in a variegate light color or  gray or light blue and possibly black.

Jennifer QKW you won - The second prize winner will win a copy of the pattern and a set of stitch markers.

Kerri Warmus you won - The third prize winner will win a set of stitch markers

Please get in touch with me. I need your address to mail the prizes.

Thanks for taking the time to enter.

A Day Off

Today was my first day all alone since the day before Thanksgiving. I took a nap, went to lunch and I also made it to the grocery store too. Well 2 grocery stores to be exact. In my dreams I spent my first day off knitting and spinning, sipping tea oblivious to all around me. So much for the first day of me time dream.

I have been home so much this winter that I missed the invasion of the snow birds. Yes, folks they are out there in full force. With a high of only 50f  today, I wonder why they choose to winter in such a cold spot. The only good thing about the cold weather is that I have a few days a year to wear my warm woollies that I like to knit.

Before I ramble on too much I think I will head over to my spinning wheel and see if she remembers me. I should really be hitting the tread mill. Later all.

Smooth Sailing

It has been a quiet weekend so far. Friday, John was home so I got to join the girls for knitting and lunch. These ladies are the best. They can take me from up tight mom with sick kid at home to relaxation in under 2 hours. All I can say is that I am grateful for such fantastic friends. After going out to lunch with them it was back home to give John a break from child care.

I also figured why I had not finished a doll blanket. I had taken it out of the UFO box where it has been for the last 3 years. After working on it for 2 hours at knitting and some additional time at home I found that I did not have enough yarn to finish it. I know that 3/4 of the way through and all I can say is darn and time to tink it. For those that read this blog who don't knit, tink is a different way to say I am ripping it out. Maybe I will make some bean bags or something that uses a light weight cotton yarn

We did manage to get out of the house today. John saw something with a lot of booms in it. Eric and I saw the Muppet Movie. It is very different from the past Muppet movies with a lack of forks in the road and other skits. It was more like the Muppet Show, which Eric and I still watch on occasion. Eric and I liked the movie very much.

We managed to get home just as the rain was starting. Timing is everything right. I frogged the project I started in the movie, I just did not get it right. I don't know if it was the 3 women in front of us texting through out the movie or that I just did not know what I had in mind. It is now recast on and going well. I did wind up some more yarn and made pumpkin bread for dinner. Cold rainy days are great for baking.

Well it is almost time to get dinner on the table. so have a great night.

So Much Yarn So Much Time

The weather outside was dreadful. Eric's new cold is in full swing. I managed to list a few more items in my on line shop. Just click on the side bar to see everything I have. If you want to give hand knit items but you ran out of time please check my shop. There will be frequent updates as a lot of knitting is getting done at the moment.

I got one more cowl off the needles today, when the finishing work is done I will list it. Well its getting late time to catch some zzzzzz's

How I am Keeping Busy

It has been almost a week since I last blogged. Since then Eric has gotten sick yet again this time a tummy bug that entailed wild eyrping for 24 hours straight, the poor guy. Just when I thought I might get him out the door this week he started showing symptoms of a head cold. I swear the little dude has not been out of the house since the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. I do have one suggestion for PBS and Sprout, for the sake of parents of sick kids please don't put your shows on a 6 hour loop. There are only so many times I can watch the same show on the same day before I go nuts.

I am happy to report that Teri has made it through her first final with only  3 more to go.  That achievement should not be taken lightly. I can't begin to tell the whole world just how proud I am of her. It is truly a blessing that she is in my life. Teri is a wonderful part of our family.

I have been spending my days knitting and cleaning, aside for hanging around with Eric.  I think we are in week 5 or 6 of Eric being home and I am trying not to go stir crazy. I am taking every opportunity to get out of the house for a few minutes when I can. There has been plenty of laundry, which I am happy to say that up until this point I have been keeping up with. I have not had much time for spinning, weaving or sewing. I am beginning to think I will not have a new quilt for John with no time to go into the sewing room or have Teri's new blanket finished as it is to big to take to Eric's room. I am publicly rethinking my holiday presents. Yes, Teri I know I just announced it to the world.

I have added some new items to my etsy studio and have a small pile of things that need photos before listing. I hope to get that done tomorrow. Well it is getting late so its time to say goodnight.

Were Still Here

We have not fallen off the face of the earth. I got Eric to school on Monday and Tuesday. Needless to say I got in as many errands done on those 2 days as possible. I meet with the girls to knit.

Tuesday I even went to 2 different stores to get my holiday shopping done. Not everything I needed was at Trader Joe's. Although I did score my turkey breast at the 1st stop. So a trip to Basha's after my eye doctors appointment seemed like a strategic move. They are right across the street from the eye doctors.

Wednesday with both Eric and John home I did some of the prep for Thursday. I made homemade cranberry sauce from scratch if you want the recipe let me know.  And kept very busy. Thursday was spent with the guys, watching the parade on TIVO after my nap. Then there was more cooking while John and Eric napped.This was the first Thanksgiving in I don't remember how long that I was able to do all the chopping and cooking all by my self. It was one small victory over my arthritis.

Friday I left the guys at home and meet the girls for knitting. I had lunch with Nancy and then went home. We hung out and watched a little bit of TV.

Today Nancy and I went to the Reid Park Arts Festival. I came to the conclusion that art shows in the park were not going to be my thing. First of all a lot of the scarfs were made from polyester most were $15.00 or under. They were not my kind of knitting. I left wondering how they were going to break even let alone make any money. Yes they priced their items to sell, but the fiber artist should not have to sell handmade quality at discount store prices. We need to educated the public about the value of handmade and the need for the fiber artist to do more then break even or sell at a loss.

We stopped by Kiwi ( one of our local yarn shops ) to support a local business today. We stayed and did some knitting and chatting too. By the time I got home I took care of Eric's immediate needs then took a nap. John and I made it to Cafe Ole for dinner. Another one of our favorite locally owned restaurants. Dessert was curiosity of Frost another local Tucson favorites.

Well it is time to get Eric to bed for the night .

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

This recipe is a family favorite for Thanksgiving and when ever they can persuade me to make it for them. It is a very easy recipe to make but I like to keep a few things special. So with out further ado.

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

2 - 29 ounce cans of Princella Cut Sweet Potatoes in light syrup - drained
1  - 20 ounce can of Dole Crushed Pineapple in its own juice. Drained and the juice put in a separate glass on ice
1 - stick of margarine
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 cups of miniature marshmallows. Reserve the extra from the bag for the topping.
A dash of Cinnamon

1 large casserole dish sprayed with Pam or greased. For the holidays I sometimes use an aluminum foil pan to save on clean up or so I don't have to worry about taking the dish back from the party.

I use my Kitchen Aide K-5 to do the mixing but you can do it by hand or with a hand mixer.

Add the Drained Sweet Potatoes, pineapple, margarine, a dash of Cinnamon and brown sugar to the mixing bowl. Beat on a slow speed until smooth. I typically start on speed 1 and work my way up to speed 4. It is important that you scrape down the sides of the bowl often. After the mixture is smooth turn the mixer to the lowest speed and stir in 2 cups of marshmallows.

Pour the mixture into your greased casserole dish and smooth out the top in a nice design. Liberally cover with more of the marshmallows. Cover with the casserole lid or foil.

For a GLASS CASSEROLE put the casserole dish in a COLD oven and turn the temperature to 325f and bake for one hour. For all other pans pre-heat the oven to 350f and bake for 45 minutes. You might want to take the foil cover off for the last 10 minutes if you want a bubbly brown top.

This recipe can be modified for a variety of diets.

For the diabetic reduce or eliminate the brown sugar and cut the amount of marshmallows in half.
For a low fat diet cut in half the amount of margarine or eliminate it entirely.

Now you are probably wondering why you put the pineapple juice on ice. After you clean up the pans it will be time to kick up your feet and and have a nice cold glass of juice.

More Milestones

As we celebrate another milestone in Eric's life. I would like to ask you to help us reach more milestones in his life. There are two organizations that play a vital part in Eric's life.

First there is the ML4 Foundation. Eric's primary diagnosis is ML4.  Mucolipidosis Type IV (ML4) is a horrible genetic disease effecting children across the world. Doctors say that children with ML4 will likely never walk or talk, have a maximum mental capacity of about 18 months, go blind by twelve years old and live only into early adulthood. The mission of the ML4 Foundation is to promote and fund medical research to develop treatments and find a cure for ML4.

Any amount will help fund this research. Just think that in Eric's life time we have already found the gene mutation that causes ML4. We as a family know that anything is possible.

ML4 Foundation Donation Page

The second organization that we would like you to consider is the Tucson Jewish Community Center. Eric has been going to summer camp at the TJCC since he has been 4 years old. Over that span of time the inclusion program has grown from just a few special needs children mixed in with other campers to a full inclusion program with a wait list. The program has also evolved over the years to include a young adult program called Tag-Lit which is for high school age and older campers. Tag-Lit also has a year round program which Eric will transition to after high school and join the year round program.

This program is funded primarily through shrinking state dollars and grants. Any amount of money contributed to this effort would go a long way in helping Eric and his friends. Eric has been together with some of his friends for 17 years. I know it is very hard to believe that these wonderful people have kept the program going for so long.

Please use the pull down menu to the inclusion fund designation and this money will go to special needs programs and equipment at the Tucson JCC. They can stretch a dollar like no other organization I have seen.

Tucson JCC Donation form.

My Family and I would like to thank you in advance for your support. I would also like to thank you fror lending an ear over the years.. Sheri

Party Day

We had a small party for Eric today. We had 1 friend for Eric and just did a little hanging out and relaxing. A lot of the Elmo's made it off the shelf. At one point we had a Sesame Street video going plus a few Elmos' sing and one even telling stories. Eric reached for every Elmo that made it to the bed. Matthew even managed to find and get John to open 2 more Elmo's that were still in the boxes. Eric and Matthew had a great time even though I fell asleep this morning instead of making a cake. I don't think it made a difference to either of them.

The party favor was a new dog pillow for Matthews dog. I had enough scraps to stuff a dog pillow for Frank. I made the mistake of putting my hand in the stuffing mix and have a nice blister on my hand. Polyfil is great to stuff dog pillows with along with yarn and spinning scraps, but my skin does not like it. When will I ever learn. sigh.

I did manage to score a Phat Fiber sampler box on the second drop today and it should be here before Thanksgiving. I did not find time to spin but I did get a few rows done on a hat and 1 1/2 squares done on Teri's blanket. I think the month is catching up with me so it is time to call it a night.

TGIF

Well we made it to Friday in one piece.  John had the day off so I took advantage and went to knitting. I had fun with the girls. You should see all the creative Christmas decorations they are knitting up for their trees. There were baskets, pine cones and miniature sweaters. Me on the other hand a knit 1 purl 2 scarf pattern, it is a very steady pattern that comes out quite nice. Oh I forgot cast on in multiples of 3.

I did get some spinning time in today. I am 2/3 of the way through one of Kathy Withers batts. I did notice that she did not have any listed in her shop, but if you send her a note through her etsy shop she might be able to come up with something just for you.

At dinner, yes I take my knitting when we eat out, I found a very large mistake in the red cowl I was 2/3 of the way done and it was not a recoverable error. Believe me I did try that first before I frogged the whole thing. I had the project re casted before we went home.

A little more knitting tonight. Two more squares were finished on Teri's Queen size blanket. Just in case you were wondering why the blanket is taking so long to knit;it is being knit on US size seven knitting needles.  So unless I love you as much as I love Teri I will not be making you one on size 7 needles ever. If it were for anyone else but Teri I would have given up on it a long time ago.

Well it is getting late so 1 last quick reminder. the contest is open until November 20 at midnight MST. I have 3 prizes and only 2 entries so far so you chances are very good so far.

I Will be a Willow Tree

Sometimes I wonder why I bother to make plans at all. About 50% of my plans land in the blender. Take today for instance. I had planed to go to the knitting guild meeting today and hang out with some friends and maybe have lunch. So to that end I called and scheduled a nurse for today last Friday, because Eric is still home. I figured 6 days in advance was enough. Well 8:00 am came and went. We are suppose to wait a reasonable amount of time in case the nurse gets lost. By 8:30  still no nurse and they have 2 hours to find a replacement. So much for the guild meeting and lunch with friends.

So instead I went to the pantry and filled a bag of food for the annual stuff the Mayflower for the Tucson Community Food Bank that our local radio station 94.9MIXfm puts on. Let Eric watch some TV while I got ready. Negotiated with Eric what shows he wanted to watch before we dropped the food and check off. Yes we had to wait until Sesame Street was over.

Then it was getting Eric ready to go and all that that entails. Load Eric in the car and drive down to the drop off site. Then I had to explain that Eric wanted to make the donation of the food so I put it in his lap so the volunteer could take the bag of food from him and then they said thank you to Eric. I also took a moment to drop the check in the collection bucket.

Back home again and it was time for my lunch and then to put Eric down for a nap. Eric wanted company so I did some knitting. When he dozed off I did some pretty awesome tossing of junk into recycle. Then Eric would squeak and I would go back to his room,  knit some more until he dozed  and then it was back to cleaning.This went on for 4 hours this afternoon. But the net result is a cleaner section of the house. And enough magazines tossed to compress the recycle bin a little.

I also figured out what was causing Eric's bed to act all funny. Yes I fixed that too. I just love duck tape, I just need to get more of it. An darn if I was not at the hardware store just last night and walked right past it thinking that I had enough of it.

Eric's afternoon aide was late too. He showed up 25 minutes after the start of the shift and then tried to play the we need to fill out the time card in pencil routine, yes like I have never seen that done before and did not know he was going to erase the time he was here with the time he was suppose to be here. Pencil really who was he trying to kid? I wrote over his pencil in black ink.

I can truly say that I am very tired and that it was a long day. Other than the disappointment of not being able to go out or have the energy to take pictures for my on line shop the day did turn out all right.

Now if Eric would only sleep through the night tonight.

Hump Day

After a long night with Eric, I decided to take it slow today. Actually my body did not give me much of a choice. Even fully caffeinated Eric and I managed to take a couple of naps today. To clarify I had the caffeine and not Eric, I am not that brave to try and give him caffeine.

More napping than knitting got done. On Eric's 3rd nap of the day I did manage to do some finishing work. If the nurse does not show tomorrow I will spend the morning taking pictures with Eric. I have incorporated some of my own hand spun in 2 of the hats.

When the mail came today Eric decided that he wanted the t-shirt that I had won as a prize from Pepsi. So I told him if he really wanted it he would have to take it out of my hands. He  really surprised me by reaching over with both hands and really giving it a tug. So now I would like to thank Pepsi for the new t-shirt for Eric from the Pepsi Refresh Project. As a reminder for everyone. Eric is still collecting tabs for the Ronald McDonald House here in Tucson for his charity work. He Just loves it when you send tabs his way.

I know the blog is rambling tonight so I guess this means it is time to go to sleep. Night all.

A Pretty Good Day

I had a pretty good day for being in the middle of week 3 home with Eric. Eric is starting to feel better and is not quiet as grumpy as yesterday.  This left me with some time to do a little pick up around the house and make a home cooked dinner.

I managed to finish some UFOs. One was an order due next Monday and the other was a hat for the online shop. I plan on doing the finishing work tomorrow. One of my circular needles got lonely so I cast on another hat to work on when I am sitting with Eric. Yes I know I just created another UFO but what can I say. The needles were lonely and the yarn was there. If the boss is in a good enough mood I may even be able to take some pictures and list some items tomorrow.

I did manage to get some spinning done today. I am working with one of Kathy Withers batts in apricot. It is just so lovely to spin. I find that spinning can take me to a nice place of relaxation. It is just me and the fiber. Nothing else happens when the fiber is being spun. I have come to the conclusion that spinning is as good as chocolate but less fattening.

Even with such a good day, I think I am slowly creeping into a snarky mood which will have to be sent packing tomorrow. It might have been do to the fact that I woke with a raging margarine at 5:15 this morning.  Yes it is very easy to be snarky, but I still strive to be the nice gentle optimistic person I usually am and want to be.

It is getting late so I will try to get some sleep so I have the energy to deal with Eric tomorrow.

On and On

We are now at the beginning of week 3 of Eric being home sick this time. Yes really this is week 3.  We are on our second round of medicine. His sleep is still very erratic.  I have continued to master sit down and take a nap at the drop of a hat. Which means not much is getting done around here but the essentials. By the way are clean laundry and home cooked meals really essential?

There are plenty of things on hold such as working out and test knitting new patterns, listing the few finished things I have in my on line shop, cleaning, spinning, sewing. The one thing I have been able to do in bits and pieces is knit. I have been going through yarn at a good clip. The hats are getting very creative. I have started mixing commercially and hand spun yarn in the same hat for some really neat texture and color combinations. I also have finished a few cowls.

I hope to have Eric out the door to school by next Monday which will give me exactly 2 days off before he is home for the holiday weekend.  Before I ramble any more I hear laundry calling my name.

Rainy Days and Monday

Today did not start off in a stellar fashion. By 8 am I wanted a do over. Yes, really seriously. As I got out of the shower I thought I heard the low battery on a smoke alarm. Since John did not change them Halloween weekend as is our custom. So out came the step ladder and the 9 volt batteries. I changed all the batteries. On the new models we got they are a lot easier to change the batteries than the ones we bought in 1994. Did you know the life span of the average smoke detector is 10 years. Have you replaced your units if the are over 10 years old.

Back from the random tangent. I still heard the beeping after changing all of the batteries. Upon further investigation I found John's pager going off like mad. I wish I knew how to turn it off. Just for a point of reference it went off so many times this morning it bounced it's way off the shelf.

Eric spiked a temperature this morning. So my anticipated day of freedom will be put off at least another day or two. To add to the morning jumble the wrong trash can was out this morning, so we have to wait another week for recycling to go out.

The best part of the day was that we got 1/2 inch of a nice gentle rain this morning. Oh how I love the rain. Yes it does not rain much here. It was also the second day this week that we got snow on the Santa Catalina's. Not a whole lot just enough to make me want more so I could take a picture.

I seem to be in a knitting funk. I am busy starting new projects without finishing old ones. I have at least 10 small projects going and I really need to finish Teri's blanket. The spinning front is not going much better. I have wip's on my wheel and on all but one of my spindles. I am hoping to finish some of the smaller projects tomorrow and Wednesday. When I finally get Eric out of the house I am going to be in desperate need of girl/knit and chat time.  So please be prepared for a random phone call, you know who you are.

Well it is almost time to get Eric ready for bed. Yes I know he has been in bed for most of the day but it is now really bed time.

Old Fashioned Beef Stew

This is what I served John for dinner last night. It takes a little more preparation than my usual recipes but the taste is well worth the effort in my humble opinion.

Old Fashioned Beef Stew

1 pound beef stew meat
24 ounces of mini potatoes washed
1 medium sweet onion coarsely chopped
6 large sweet carrots peeled and coarsely sliced
1 whole celery washed and coarsely sliced
1 pound frozen mixed vegetables
salt and pepper to taste

Three and one half hours before dinner get your 4 1/4 quart Le Creuset pot or a similar sized pot. Make sure it will hold the steam in. I did not add any extra liquid to this recipe so it is important to not lose steam or liquid during cooking. If you pot lets out to much steam you may have to add water to keep this from burning.

On a medium heat add the stew meat with the salt and pepper to brown. Once the meat is no longer bright red add the onions and cook covered until the onions are soft. Then layer in the potatoes, carrots and celery. Cover and continue to heat on a medium heat for 30 minutes. Carefully take the lid off the pot to keep as much of the moisture in the pan as possible. Stir the pot and put the cover back on. Lower the temperature to medium low and cook for 1 more hour. Carefully take off the lid to preserve the moisture in the pan. Add the frozen vegetables and cover for 30 minutes. Stir and cover for the last half hour.

Serve with fresh bread or biscuits. Serves 4.

You may substitute fresh lamb, or chicken in the stew but the flavorings may have to be adjusted.

A New Contest for a New Shawl Pattern

I have just listed my new pattern called Handspun Sherbet Shawl in my etsy shop http://www.etsy.com/shop/skaro964 . So In honor of the release of this pattern, I am having a contest.

The First Prize winner will win a copy of the pattern and enough yarn to make the shawl. Please note that since this shawl is made with hand spun yarn and I bought and used the entire batch of the yarn for this shawl.  This means that your yarn will be a different color.

The second prize winner will win a copy of the pattern and a set of stitch markers.

The third prize winner will win a set of stitch markers.

To enter just leave a comment about the shawl or my new etsy shop which is a little on the bare side now, but more goodies will be going in soon. Please leave a way for me to contact you. I will use a random number generator to pick the winners.

Contest ends November 20, 2011.

Of course if you can't wait to get a hold of the pattern please feel free to use the linky above to get to my shop.. Good luck and have a great weekend.

The Day that Went On and On

After my post yesterday, the day seemed to go on and on. I was up until 3:30 am with Eric. It was one heck of a night. We had it all fever, chills, icky tummy, tears, almost eyrping, sinus infection and almost anything thing else you could think of.

My day started at 7:00 am this morning. Eric's aide left at 8:00 and was suppose to be followed by a nurse. I tried calling the nursing agency several times but could not get through until about 10. I asked where Eric's nurse was and they told me she was here. You just gotta love the system. NOT. It took them until after 1pm to figure out where she was and offer to to get someone out in a few hours. Yeah right his afternoon aide comes in at 4:45p and there is a 2 hours minimum. So much for the extra help today.

The phone also was ringing non stop today. One place even called 3 times to confirm the same appointment for John. By the third call I was really annoyed. I think tired was setting in. The very bright phone call was from Teri. Eric and I had a good time chatting with her. Eric was really animated and did a lot of signing and sending hugs through the phone. I really have to add skype to my ipod.

On the bright side I got a small pile of bills paid and 4 boxes labeled and out to the car. That includes 6 pounds of left over Halloween candy and 10 scarfs to Operation Gratitude. A special box for Teri. Since she reads my blog I will not divulge the contents. The last box was filled with some items from Handmade~by~Sheri for on on line auction to help a mom pay for some cancer treatments. I will include a blurb around the time of the auction so you can check it out.

I also got some knitting done. Although I can say with certainty that I don't knit as fast when I am running on a sleep deprived cycle. I also do a lousy job of matching colors in the middle of the night so I have 2 hats on the needles at the same time. Something that I really don't like to do with scrappy hats.  My hope is that Eric sleeps tonight and that we get him out the door by Monday.

John will bring home dinner tonight. You just got to love a guy who works all day but still brings home dinner.  I would like to spin but I am so tired my eyes and hands are not working together. Things can only get better from here. A few good nights worth of sleep for all of us will fix everything.

I hope my blog is not to incoherent tonight, but I plead exhaustion. Enjoy your families.

Wild Eyrps and Other Things

Day umpteenth and 1 of Eric being sick. He has also shared his latest cold with me. He gave me one of his huge smiles when I thanked him for the cold.

It was a very busy but productive day. Eric had not 1 but 2 doctors office visits. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. Yes he did manage to eyrp at both offices. I have to say Dr. Williams and his staff handled the eyrping better than UPH. Luckily for me he did not eyrp at my doctors appointment. Other than a sinus infection Eric seems to be doing OK for Eric. My Arthritis seems to be OK and the meds seem to be working. By the way did you know your whole hand can act like a trigger finger? Its just something I thought I would pass along to you. Just in case you needed a random oddity to discuss.

I did bring a drop spindle and knitting with me today. I finished knitting one cap and started knitting another one. I also got a little spinning done. My to do list is a mess having only accomplished the doctors appointments and nothing else.

Well I think I will go get Eric's medicine and leave him with the nurse for a few minutes.  Then either collapse or work on Mondays to do list. That is yet to be decided. I always have to end a a bright note and today that note is dinner is cooked for tonight already. So have a good evening and enjoy your families.

Happy November

I hope every ones November is off to a great start. Mine has not started off well but will get better. I am home with a sick kiddo for it seems like the umpteenth day in a row. Yes I know it has not been that long.  It just seems like it. I hope to have time to post some new things in my etsy shop soon. I also need to go to the post office, do paper work, make phone calls and some serious straighting of the house.  Yes I will even try to get a nurse for tomorrow.

After I get Eric better, I will post a new contest. So be on the look out for it.

Well I am off to knit and hang with Eric. 

Spinning Outside the House

Yesterday I took my spinning outside. It was the first time I took my wheel outside to spin. It was such a nice day. I had my ice tea and i-pod for music. Yes I did play the song Spinning Wheels in the second set of music.  I had a great time. And learned a lot.

Some of the things that I learned included the most important lesson of spinning so far. If the fluff I am working with has a lot of left over farm matter, (read that as left over hay) I only have to dust the wheel afterwards. No vacuuming needed. After all who really cares if I leave dirt on the garage floor or the patio.

It is even more relaxing to spin outside. Listening to the birds chirp. Watching the bunnies stop and try to figure out if everything is OK with the new sound.

Watching the neighbors either walk by or drive by without stopping or saying hi.  Is it just me or do most people not like face to face any more.

I need to put a pad on the chair if I am going to be spinning for that long. It turns out I was having such a good time I did not notice that 2 hours had passed. The sore bottom did not hit until I stood up.

Even though spinning in the house is relaxing it helps to change things up a bit.

The things I need to figure out about the wheel. On the outside bobbin placement the wheel seems to work fine. If I put the drive belt on the middle on the whole wheel seems to go wobbly on me. I probably need a new belt or learn some adjustments. I think these things will come with time. But If you have the answers please leave a comment for me. Thanks.

Now it is time to finish processing the yarn I spun yesterday.

Destashing Progress

Well this morning was spent cleaning the garage and condensing my yarn stash. I am happy to report that I have 4 fewer containers of yarn than last time. 2 -  under bed boxes, 1 -36 quart and 1 - 96 quart box are all empty. There are also no laundry baskets, boxes or bags of yarn in the storage room. That is about 25% less yarn than last time I went through my stash. The big secret that I don't want anyone to tell John about is that there is no more yarn in the storage room. By the way I have the storage room on his honey do list, but I already finished most of it with Kayla's help.

Since that did not take as much time as I had planned in the garage, we went on to the sewing room and organized that. I see running a vacuum cleaner through that room when my body stops yelling at me for doing so much cleaning in one fail swoop.

I also found enough yarn for about a dozen more scrappy hats. I also found 3 baby blankets in progress. I must have been meant to do this today because someone tweeted me about some baby blankets half way through the cleaning and 2 wip's are suitable for the project.

Well I think it is time for me to kick up my feet and rest before the boy gets home from school. So enjoy your families.

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 .

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

ML4

As a lot of you who read my blog with regularity know that my youngest child Eric has ML4. You already know that a considerable part of my time is spent caring for Eric. I never thought that in my life time let alone Eric's that we would be able to find the gene that causes so many problems for Eric. Yet through the ML4 Foundations funding of research has help make that dream come true.  It would be nice to dream that in Eric's life time there was a treatment to slow or stop this life altering disease. This is a copy of a mass appeal fundraising letter that is going out this week. If you can find it in your heart and budget any help would be wonderful.


A clear link to the letter is ML4 Letter
In case you can't read the mailing address checks can be sent to

ML4 Foundation
719 East 17th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11230

www.ml4.org

Please feel free to pass this letter on to anyone who might be interested.
Have a wonderful weekend with your families.

A Simple Soup

I made this fast and easy soup for dinner last night.

White Acorn Squash Soup

1 White Acorn Squash - peeled, seeded and coarsely diced
2 Large Russet Potatoes - scrubbed and coarsely diced
1 pound frozen mixed vegetables
2 Cans chicken broth ( you may substitute a vegetable broth to make this vegan)

I put all my vegetables in my 4.5 quart Le Creuset pot. I added the 2 cans of broth. I brought the soup up to a low boil and reduced the heat to low and cooked it for 2 hours on low.  I did not add any additional seasonings, but feel free to spice it up anyway you would like.

This will serve 4 as a main course. I can't give you a calorie count but it will be pretty high in fiber.

A Little Catch Up

Well it has been a little over a week since I last blogged. A week ago Monday I got Eric out the door to school and spent the next 3 days running around town like a mad lady trying to get everything under the sun done.

I found a new home for the 2 knitting machines that were in need of a lot of work. They went home with a nice couple from the Midwest. They joined us a knitting and had breakfast with us. Afterward they moved their car by mine and we whooshed the machines to their new home.

I did get my 2 rather large boxes off to Vermont. The final count that I sent was 30 back packs, 25 scarfs and 23 hats. This should actually read that I got about 50 to 60 skeins of yarn plus some backpacks out of the house. Some of the scarfs took multiple skeins. The sad part of this is that other than reclaiming a shopping bag I personally don't think I made much of a dent in my yarn stash. I will keep knitting up a storm because winter is coming and I know that the need will be great this year. I think I will make my motto "Have yarn will knit"

When it gets a little cooler, to read in the mid to low 80's. I will get some help to move yarn around the garage and see if the stash has gone down. This is when I plan on doing some more decluttering. I have found that the garage is like Fiber McGee's closet only larger and less prone to fall on me.

Not one bit of spinning has gotten done since last Friday.  Although John has discovered where the newly spun yarn takes a short rest after being boiled and thwacked. His only comment was "more yarn".

John and I did manage to get out of the house for a bit of "us" time this weekend. I would also like to add that at the party we went to the hostess graciously accepted one of my hand knit hats hot off the needles so I did not have to take the finished object home with me.  Can I count that as 1 more skein out the door? Yes I do take my knitting every where.

Well it is time to end this post so good night all. Please enjoy your families.

All Is Well

All is well again. Today Eric woke up with a smile, the first time in it seems like weeks. Thursday and Friday I started to slow down an opted to have some help with Eric. By the way Thursday was also the first day of my flare up.

My knitting mojo slowed down by Thursday. I finished 2 scarfs and started another scarf. I also started a special order for Logan.  I also started another hat today.  Friday was the day the spindles got a lot of action. It just seemed to be what my body and soul needed.

I have started spinning unique combinations to put together in embellishment packages that I will have at the Tucson Wool Festival on October 22, 2011 At Kathy's Ranch , just follow the link for details.  Don't worry I will also have a large selection of stitch markers too. Rumor has it that there are new yarns in her store this week,. If you love her yarn as much as I do hurry in as the yarn will be sold long before the wool festival. If you can not make it out to the ranch check out Kathy's Esty Store . By the way I did not tell Kathy Withers, I was going to write about her new yarn nor am I receiving any compensation. This is all my version of fan mail for a very talented lady.

Well it is time to go check out what is happening in the rest of the house. Have a great weekend and enjoy your families.

And Today Is?

It has been another long day of sick child care. This morning while we were in the living room I did the finishing work on 6 scarfs and 2 hats. I tagged them and put them in the rather full bag destine for Vermont. They also wanted woolen socks, gloves and mittens, but you know that I don't do those. It would mean that I had to pay attention to what I am doing. So a very large bag of scarfs and hats are going to be headed their way.  Some is better than none and I think these will still be useful. If you would like to send some hand knit socks or mittens let me know and I will send you the name of the contact person, school and address.

After lunch I finished 1 more scarf and started another one. I spent the majority of the afternoon being a chair back for Eric to he could breath easier. So not a lot of knitting got done, but breathing is better than knitting. I want to try to get a little more picking up done before John gets home so I am going to end the blog here tonight.

Crazy Times Needs an Easy Dinner

It has been very crazy around here as of late. Over the holiday weekend Eric had a cold. I did get Eric in to school for part of the week. But this weekend the cold morphed into Pneumonia/ear infection with fluid behind the ears. The up shot of the cold and pneumonia is that a lot of knitting has been getting done. Not the finishing work, just the knitting. Eric will not let me bring the finishing work to his room. Saturday I said not to expect me any where before Wednesday but I think judging by today it will be most of the week.

In between Eric's cold and pneumonia John had a few days off and we did some work around the house. We spent most of the stay cation playing catch up.  We have a new door handle to the garage. A new coat rack went up in the laundry room. Believe it or not the back wall of the laundry room floor is empty.  As well as the floor in the pantry. A new pack rat trap that worked in under 1 hour. Just in case you are curious I put a link to it in the blog. I also managed to make a big dent in the craft room. I even returned projects that people wanted me to finish for them, undone, no they were not going to pay me to do them, they just thought I needed something to keep me busy. Like I really need people to give me busy work. That's Eric's job. It is very liberating to say no to people.

This is what I am making for dinner tonight.

Easy Chicken Stew

1 Package of Trader Joe's Maripox Mix
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Package of Trader Joe's ready cooked chicken
1 Pound Package of Trader Joe's Frozen Mixed vegetables
1 Pound Package of Trader Joe's frozen carrots (the yellow/orange kind)
1 can Chicken Broth
1 pound of small potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the Maripox mix. Saute in the Olive Oil. Add the chicken, mixed vegetables, carrots and chicken broth. Bring to a low boil and add the potatoes. Cook for 60 to 90 minutes.

Serves 4 to 6.

On Ward and Up Ward

On ward and up ward would have to be today's theme. After a long day yesterday followed by a long night  last night with Eric, John spent the morning with Eric so I could go to knit with the girls. It was a very productive morning. I got to talk and relax. I finished 2 UFOs, both were scarfs. now I just have to tag them and put them in the right charity bags.

I would like to thank the good people at Einsteins on Shannon for making lunch for John and I.  By the way we are also having bagel sandwiches for dinner. A Perfect bagel day. Bagels for breakfast lunch and dinner. Nom nom nom.

After lunch I spent some time working on my latest weaving project. I stop working when I start making mistakes because I just hate unweaving. There has to be a better term than unweaving. Then it was off to the cleaning stage of my day. I was very successful in my humble opinion. 3 baskets of recycles out of the house, all the small trash cans emptied and the kitchen trash filled.

I went through my box of handmade items from my studio and sorted everything out. I have one box that is going to charity with woolen scarfs and hats. All the stitch markers and earrings are sorted out by price and bagged. I went through some of the mess in the craft room and made a first cut.

You will never guess what I found when cleaning today. Well you know the scarf that I started 4 years ago to go with my holiday outfit and never finished. What about the socks that I started when Teri and I went looking at law schools. Turquoise yarn that I bought for Teri a few years ago. Well you might have guessed that I found that bag. I will finish everything in the bag starting with the holiday scarf and then the socks.

The question I have for every one tonight is: will the socks get done before Teri finishes law school. In other words can I finish one pair of socks in 3 1/2 years? This one will have a prize so please send in your answers. The winner will be picked by a random number generator. The prize is yet to be determined but it will be good. The drawing will be on September 26, 2011. By the way please leave a way for me to contact you if you win. 

A Big Change

You will notice something different about my blog today. I no longer have an Artfire Studio link. As of today I have closed my studio. Yes I will still make and sell stitch markers and hand knit items. I will also be making hand spun yarn. I am also working on the weaving bug. I will have a few select patterns that will come out locally. If you need any of these items you can contact me directly. If I have something spectacular I will show case it on Facebook and Twitter. You can find me on Twitter as skaro964. When I figure out how to do it I will list my patterns on Raverly.

I still plan on participating in Kathy Withers Wool festivals. Anything else will be up to divine providence as I have to put the house and men in my life first. Teri is getting to be pretty independent but still needs me on occasion.

This has been mulled over for quite a while. This frees me up to do more charity knitting. More time to spend honing my crafts. But most of all getting  my house in order. At this time it would also be a very bad time for people to throw new projects my way as I have already over committed myself to a lot of projects that need to get done.

As my life evolves I hope that this will be the beginning of another great chapter in my life.

A Recipe for Teri

Before I start this blog post I would like to send a out a big thank you to the simply wonderful folks at Le Creuset. My daughter had a problem with her Le Creuset Stoneware Casserole. A very long story short , they were very good at keeping the warranty on the casserole and a replacement was sent to her.

As I have said may times before and will say it again this is my favorite brand of pots  and casserole's. I have been using them since so last century, really my first one was bought in the early 1990's. Yes I still do use the red heart shaped casserole. It also still looks as good as the last purchase from last year. Yes I know that they are pricey but if you consider how long they last and their excellent customer service they are a good value.

I would like to add at this point that this opinion is my very own. I have 6 different pans. I have purchased or received them as gifts from my husband. My daughter has 3. I have not received any compensation from the Le Creuset Company. Nor did they asks for this very public thank you.

Now on to one of Teri's childhood favorite recipes.

Italian Chicken

1 whole chicken cut into pieces, washed in cold water
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 24 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce
2 4oz cans of mushrooms drained
1 large can of black olives (optional)
Salt and pepper

In a fry pan warm up the extra virgin olive oil. Carefully add the chicken and brown. Place the browned chicken in the casserole dish. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the mushrooms and olives if desired. Cover with the spaghetti sauce. Cover and place the casserole dish in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 325f and cook for 60  to 90 minutes. This dish can remain in the oven longer just check after one hour to see if more liquid is needed.

Be sure not to put the grease from the fry pan down the drain. Municipal sewer systems were not designed for this. Either drain the fat into you fat can or wipe down the pan with a paper towel before washing.

When removing glass or stoneware casseroles from the oven I prefer to place them on trivets , cookie cooling racks or several layers of towels. For your own safety please DO NOT place this type of pan on a cold or wet counter.

This recipe serves 4 to 8 people. This can be served with pasta, rice or potatoes.

An Almost Perfect Day

I had a pretty good day today. Lots of knitting and spinning. I had a small batt from the High Weald Fibre Factory  in the UK that I spun on the wheel.I really liked the fiber and how well it just seemed to know what it was suppose to do. It came out a little over plied which was entirely my fault. I am hoping that with a little rest and boiling of the yarn it will relax a little. I am still not as good on the wheel as the hand spindle but with everything it will take practice.

I did spin my first Alpaca today from Beesybee Fibers. I did this on a spindle and it was just a dream to spin with. I must make a note to buy more alpaca fiber. I and in the process of deciding weather to ply this or not but it will wait for tomorrow. When I am a little less tired.

At Guild today we had yet another color class. From this class and the general reaction is that some people have an innate talent for blending colors and some people can take the classes and watch the DVDs ad nausium and still not get the concept. I guess it is all part of the creative process. I am also glad that color blending and texture blending are something that I do very well at.

We also got some rain today and in true Tucson fashion it was raining in the backyard a full 30 minutes before the front yard. But we got in the 1/2 inch range so I am very happy. The lighting did delay Eric's night time routine by 45 minutes and with the power iffy for 30 minutes I almost did not cook dinner. But everything settled down and things went on as usual but 45 minutes delayed.

We the boy is asleep so I am going to take advantage and go to bed on the early side.

2 New Rules for the House

Today had a pretty good start with odds and ends getting done at a wonderful pace. I also managed to do 3 loads of laundry. I would rather not talk about the middle of my day until I am calmer and have had time to process it.

I think you are familiar with the rules of the house.

Rule #1
Mom is always right.
Rule #2
If mom happens to be wrong see rule #1.

Well today I decided to add rule #3 and #4 to the list. Yes these will also be etched in to stone.

Rule #3
Don't promise someone else that Mom will do a project for you or your friends without asking first.
Rule #4
If rule #3 is not followed the answer will always be NO.
If you happen to disagree with rules 3 or 4  please see rule #1

I know the new rules will sound very harsh to most of you, but I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately and the new rules are to protect my well being. I have a lot to do around the house and my schedule can be very erratic so this will hopefully help keep things in a better order for me.

Eric came home from school early and help me with some knitting and spinning. I also finished the pink yarn today and if I have to say so it is my best effort on the wheel yet.  My secret was to do the first spin on the smaller bobbins. Then change to the bulky flyer and larger bobbin to ply. It was almost perfect.

Well it is getting late and I have a busy day tommrow. So enjoy your families.

Our First Sick Day of the New School Year

Well you probably know by now that the school year started for Eric last Thursday. I would like to say that we got 3 whole days at school before his first sick day of the year.

So In honor of Eric's first sick day of the year we spent the day together. We even got to watch the same episode of Sesame Street twice thanks to the marvels of cable television. I managed to get 12 inches of lace knitting done on a scarf. A few more inches done on a pattern that I am trying to modify for beginning knitters. Yes it is a charity project and will be put up on the blog under a Creative Commons Copy Right when I am happy with the pattern. I also started a new hat this evening and did almost 1 inch on the brim. I am so glad that my thumb is feeling better and my knitting mojo is in full gear. Although no spinning got done. I just can't do it all everyday.

I also managed to get dinner on the table and am happy to report that we all made it through the day. So good night all and enjoy your families.

Out of the Blender

Today did not go as planned. I had this whole day planned out. I had a mental list of what was going to get done. Well most of the list got scrapped.  If my life was a book in progress there would have been so many edits that the story line got lost.

I woke up on the very achy side and started my list,but I did not get far. I did however get the following things done in no particular order. I took a nap.  I cleaned out the fridge. Rearranged some of Eric's room, Cleaned out the washing machine fabric softener dispenser, 20 tea kettles of boiling water later,  which lead to washing the washing machine with the Tide washing machine cleaner. Got half way through cooking dinner when I realized that the main ingredient went bad and ran to the store for a quick dinner substitute. Manage to fill the kitchen trash can 3 times and the recycle bin twice.

I also found time to finish one hat and fill almost one whole bobbin of spinning. So I did find some me time.

The things that did not get done were the paper work.  Packing things to mail. Do some miscellaneous cleaning. Planning my shopping list, well at least I have a valid excuse for that one. I had the Safeway flyer's all lined up ready to make my shopping list. When I sat down to make the list I noticed all the sale flyer's were cut beyond being useful and needing to be replace thanks to one of Eric's aides. That familiar angry feeling rose up. Isn't this my home. Isn't this my stuff. Don't I get anything first from the paper that I pay for. This feels more like a place of business than my home. Where is my space. I know that I should be grateful for the help that allows us to keep Eric at home, but I really need some me space.. I would really like first crack at my coupons. I do have a pile of coupons for the aides that I have gone through and don't need. That pile was at least 5 feet away and on a different table than my coupons. This rant could continue for hours but won't.  I need to control my me space issues but sometimes it is very hard. The worst times are when I am in a flare up and cranky.

Eric is not doing well tonight so it is time to go check on my little guy and hopefully get him to sleep so I can get some sleep too.

How Not to Plan a Day

OK So I thought I had a great day planned, but..Well I am a little ahead of myself here. So from the beginning. I slept in until about 6:30am and enjoyed the quiet house until 8 am when everything came from the quiet of the night to the busy morning in just a few moments.

John and I got competitive on the Wii. He broke his distance for a 20 minute run so I had to top him with a 50 minute work out that included a 30 minute virtual bike ride around the island several times for a total of 7.35 miles and 20 minutes of yoga. Well round one went to me of course.

Then it was off to lunch with John and Eric at Shogun. Then you guessed it for more walking around the mall. at least 2 miles and 1.5 hours later we headed home. I was trying to out do John on exercise and Eric was enjoying being out.

After getting Eric settled in for a rest we decided to catch up on Tivo. I was working on a hat that I started yesterday. That's when my body decided to start telling me off. Gently at first with random shooting pain. So I tried to get into the relaxed I not going to let my body run my life mode. About an hour later my body said enough and put me in sleep mode until John woke me up for dinner. We went out to the unlimited soup and salad at the Olive Garden which was pretty good.

After we got home my body decided it was time to show who was in control and it won over my mind by a long shot. The random pain and stiffness of Arthritis has taken over.  I have decided that I don't have time for or want a flare up this week so I am really working on this mind over matter stuff. With this in mind I think I will call it an early night and see if a few straight hours of sleep will be curative for me,. so good night all and enjoy your families...

A Wonderful Day

A very relaxing day was had by all today. The day started off with some spinning . Followed by an unintended nap. You guessed it followed by more spinning and knitting. Shopping and dinner with John.  I was really adventuresome at dinner and had salmon at Mayco's and yes I would order it again.

You will also notice that I changed my amazon link and plan to highlight some of my favorite songs. I promise the mix will be electric and that I personally like all the songs that will be listed. I also have paid for my own copies of the songs. If you click the link and decide to buy the song, Amazon will credit me with a small advertising fee. But please only buy the songs if you like them.

Well it is getting late and I think my guys want to do a little more tomorrow.

Its Been A While

It has been a while since I last blogged. In that time John had a wonderful trip to visit Teri. Teri came home for 3 days. I got sick and went on antibiotics. The medicine knocked me for a loop. I also had 3 or 4 days when I was just too sick to knit or spin. Yes it was that bad.

I am doing better and have gotten my knitting, spinning and weaving mojo back. I just might be making a dent in the scrap yarn and odd ball collection. Yes I am on my fourth scrappy hat of the week. Other stuff is getting done too.

Eric went back to school on Thursday and Teri starts sometime very soon. Teri is already busy doing reading and other homework before school starts. You just have to admire teachers who give out assignments before the first day of school and are confident that the work will get done.

Well before I run out of steam I will say goodnight and have a wonderful weekend. Most of all enjoy your families.

Saturday Night

It has been a quite but busy few days round here. Fridays pictures still need to be down loaded from my camera so you can see all my finished work. The is still finished plied yarn on the wheel and lots of goodies to spin and knit up.

I will try to get it done on Monday. Have a great weekend.

New Look

This is my new look. How do you like it?

Keeping Busy

It has been a very busy day around here. A lot got done in small and not so small spurts. Today's activities included paperwork,  ordering Eric's supplies for the month, laundry, cleaning bathrooms, getting rid of recyclable papers of all kinds, getting yarn ready to photograph, spinning, plying and knitting, the dishwasher. Vacuuming, yes I used Roomba. What did you really think I was going to push a vacuum myself?

Out side of the house teaching the camp councilors how to do a spin without getting one's self bruised while wheelchair dancing. Did I mention that it is good physical therapy and really good exercise for Eric.

I seem to be making a lot of long run on sentences so I think its time to say good night.

A great day

Today was a very great day,as long as you do not look at my to do list. A lot of knitting got done. My hand is feeling better. I have the beginnings of a grip again. Well I will write more tomorrow, it's after 10p.

A quick update

It has been a busy time around here. Eric managed to get the flu that has been going around town. Yes he made it back to camp today. I did not get much knitting or spinning done due to my sore hand. This could also be why not many blogs have gotten typed either. I did go to the doctor for the sore hand and we tried the least invasive treatment first. We are giving it a week to see if it works and then go from there if necessary.

I have done a little deep cleaning, all the phone books that were not printed this year are gone. I think it might have been a tactical mistake to put the heavy items on the bottom of the barrel but we will see as the week goes on.   I am not sure how many of the new ones that I will actually keep since most of the information is on line anyway. I now have 3/4 of a shelf that is over my head and of no use to this short person. Maybe John needs some space in the laundry room? Well you never know right. I also did some regular cleaning after I realized that the cleaning faerie skipped my house today. Maybe I will try a house elf next. I hear they are more reliable.

My favorite bakery in Phoenix has closed this summer and I will miss all the home style goodies that they made so well. Not to mention the bread.  I might even have to start making holiday treats myself.

Well it is getting late but I thought everyone might like to know that we are all doing well.

Chicken Salad

It is time for another recipe, This one is for chicken salad with a little twist.

Sheri's Chicken Salad

1 pound of cooked chicken diced
3/4 cup of dried cherries roughly chopped
1 cup of pecan half's roughly chopped
3 cups of celery diced
4 teaspoons of dried chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise or more if using as a sandwich filling

Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl that has a lid. Mix everything together. Cover and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Server over salad, on crackers or as sandwiches.  This is a great party recipe. This serves at least 6 people depending on how it is served.

Spinning My Wheels Today

If you think I spent the day at my spinning wheel or using a spindle you would be way off on your guess at my day. I did get Eric off to camp with out a hitch. Then it was off to Fry's to get a few things for the house. I managed to get home by 11 and could not figure out where the morning went.

After I put away the grocery's it was time to go to lunch with a friend who needed a shoulder and some resolve. A very long and convoluted story that will not be gone into here. Needles to say this left me drained.  So I thought a quick nap was in order. So I set my timer and closed my eyes.

5 minutes later...

You guessed it. A call from camp. Eric's Kangaroo pump was acting up. So it was off to spend the afternoon at camp with Eric and his pump. Yes the pump is now running. But I am a little peeved with that particular inanimate object. I really did plan on getting some cleaning done today. 3 loads of laundry, shopping and 1 load of recycles out was a lot less than I had planned on doing today.  Well maybe if I end my blog here I can get a little more cleaning done tonight. Then again there is always tomorrow..

Tour de Fleece

OK I know its been a week since I blogged but I thought I would share the first bit of fleece that I finished. This is ready to be wound into usable balls for knitting. Yes I swear that they are all from the same 4 ounce braid. With no different dye lots.

The dyeing of the braid was done by Cloudlover
The colorway is Sakura.
It is 50% Moreno , 50% Silk. Yes I did find the silk a challenge to spin, but isn't that what the Tour De fleece is all about.

Since I plan on using a different vendor for each item spun in the tour I will give you the link to each shop as I show the photos. The is the link to Natalie's shop  Cloudlover . And Just in case you were wondering this will be made into a top down shawl for me.

Currently on the spindle I have Easter Egg BFL and It is a dream to spin. I like the long staples of the fibre. I like everything I have gotten from Rachel so far. Don't forget to check out her soap, even my fussy skin likes it.

I have one more batt lined up after that by Kathy, of Unique Designs by Kathy Sky Blue Batt. I am also a fan of Kathy's hand spun yarn.

I am still practicing on the wheel but I have a while to go before I am happy with that yarn. Right now that wheel spun yarn is suitable for rugs, place mats or coasters. So if you need something for those projects let me know and we can work something out.

Well it is time to get back to work. Laundry and cooking await me.

From Bad to Better

Eric had a very bad night last night. He needed to be turned every 1 to 2 hours. So it should not surprise you that I grabbed a bottle of conditioner by mistake this morning. I could not figure out why I was not getting any lather. Then I picked up the bottle and tried to focus on the label, I got as far as the big C to realize that I had made a mistake. So I rinsed out the condition, shampooed my hair and reconditioned it. My hair was none the worse from the extra round of conditioner.

You will be happy to know that my day did get a lot better from there. 2 cups of tea later I started working on the pink hand spun shawl. After some tinking and playing with the pattern.  90 minutes of knitting later the shawl for the UCP fundraiser was finished. I will post pictures tomorrow. After that I did manage to spin for a few minutes today. Only a few yards got spun.

Then it was nap time. I don't know how everyone figures out that is is nap time but the phone rang incessantly. Then it was time to pick up Eric from camp. Despite being tired he had a very good day. I even managed to find time to do Wii today and made a very small incremental goal.

Well it is getting late and I still have a few chores to do before bed. So Have a great evening.

The Last Few Days

Well your guess is correct. A tired body going into a four day weekend is not a good thing. We still did try to do a few things this weekend. Eric and I saw Larry Crowne. It was a pretty good movie. I would go and see it if you have a chance.  Eric was pretty impressed when Larry Crowne got the teacher. I want to know how Julia Roberts keeps her legs so slender.  I hope that they don't make a sequel to this movie because it was a good stand alone movie. John saw the latest guy movie Transformers. I  also did replace my cell phone so hopefully this one will work better.

The fireworks are on Tivo and I will watch them sometime this week. The rains have started and so far at the house we have had slightly over 1/2 inch. I really do love the summer rains, but for some reason this year I am very distracted and am having a hard time just sitting and watching the rain.

I have not done as much spinning as I had planned to do so far, but I have fibre and spindles, so I will get to play with the fibre.

 So we trudged through the weekend and made it to Tuesday, the light at the end of the tunnel. I spent the day doing chores and paperwork in short bursts and most of the knitting I did today will have to be tinked, but such is life in the fast lane. Well it is getting late and I see a long day in my future.

Orange Slush or My Restful Day

Wednesday my body won. I spent the day resting, knitting and spinning. I have also come to the following conclusions:

1. I am not superwoman (but this might be readdressed when I get a little more rest).

2. My toe will probably heal faster if I don't kick things multiple times a day.

3. I love fruit especially when someone else cuts it up.

4. Some people provide great entertainment thus people watching is good.

5. Naps are good at times.

Well even though I spent the day resting I am very tired and I think it's time to call it a night.

Although I would like to provide my recipe for the day.


Orange Slush

1 blender full of ice

Orange juice to cover

Blend until smooth. Pour in to glasses and top with a splash of orange juice. Serve with spoons.

114

Would you believe it was 114f at our house today. We are usually a few degrees hotter than the airport. So I gave the appliance the afternoon off, well not exactly it was more like the whole day off durning daylight hours.

I decided that the ice had a funny taste to it so it was time to clean out the ice maker. Note to self it is probably not the wisest thing to do on the hottest day of the year so far. Then while the appliance were busy resting, I also took a nap. Then packed up a few boxes, did a bit of cleaning. I did manage to make a dent in the empty recycle bin and reclaim most of the dining room table. Not much knitting and no spinning got done today.

Off to the post office and then to pick up Eric from camp. Then it was time to clean out the fridge and do some more picking up. It was definitely time for a light dinner of salmon salad, canned green beans and crackers. Well they can't all be 5 star dinners, the cook gets tired sometimes.

I wanted to mention the best part of the day was the heat. Even when I made a trip to the trash can at 11 pm it was still nice and warm. Well if I am to get to sleep before tomorrow it is time to say good night.

Just a Quick Update

It has been a great couple of days around here. On Friday Eric got to go swimming for the first time this summer. He was so excited that he did not let me leave camp even for a cuppa tea. Since I did not have the project I wanted to work on I spent the waiting time spinning. Spinning along with knitting is a great way to kill time. He had a great time in the water and I think (fingers crossed) that I will not have to be at all the pool events for Eric to go swimming this summer..

It looks like the 3rd time is going to be the final design on a shawl that I have ripped out twice already. I managed to find a perfect match for some hand spun yarn to make an art shawl a little bigger. I found the art yarn at Grandma's Spinning Wheel on Tanque Verde South of Grant on the east side of the street. I am knitting 2 rows of art yarn alternating with 2 rows of hand spun. I picked up a partial skein of art yarn for the boarder at Kiwi's on 6th and Tucson blvd. I did notice that they had some of my stitch markers left if you need any.

We saw the movie Cars today. It was a pretty good movie and of course the good guys won in the end. It is a good movie for kids of all ages. I am also getting a head start on laundry tonight considering that it was 113f at our house today according to John's weather station. It has cooled down to 97f at 10:30 pm so it is the perfect time to run the washer and dryer. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day so it is time to say good night.

Chilled Gazpacho Soup

I had big plans for today, but alas my body went on strike. So not much got done today. This is the recipe I made for dinner. No it was not a good idea in light of the very bad body day I am having. No this can not be made in a blender it must be chopped by hand so here goes.

Gazpacho Soup

1.5 pounds of fresh tomatoes diced
1 sweet onion peeled and diced
1 large or 2 small cucumbers peeled and diced
1 clove of garlic peeled and finely diced
1/4 cup of cilantro finely diced
1/2 green bell pepper finely diced
2 tablespoons of basil finely diced
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 large or 2 small limes juiced.  For Key Limes I would use 3 or 4
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes
Avocado as needed ( usually 1/4 to 1/2 an avocado per person)
Fresh scallions if desired
French, Ciabatia, or rustic white bread. If the bread is slightly stale that would be OK too since the bread is used to sop up the soup and no butter is used.

Mix all ingredients in a large Glass bowl. (you do not want to use plastic or metal because the flavor of the soup will change). Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or longer to chill and develop the full flavor.

This will make a little over 8 cups of soup. So as an appetizer I would guess it would make about 16 servings. For a main course it should serve 6 to 8.

The First Day of Summer

Well the weekend went very well and everyone enjoyed their Teri time. Yesterday and today were spent catching up. I am exactly one day behind in my weekly schedule. But Teri can pop in any time she wants. I don't mind being behind schedule for her.

I spent the day with two different sets of friends. After I dropped Eric off at camp I went to knitting/breakfast with the first group of friends and almost finished a shawl. Then it was off to lunch with another friend. Just for the heck of it I stopped by Casa de los Ninos thrift store and did some browsing. I found some storage binders to organize my patterns for 50 cents a piece much better than the $22.00 a piece price at the local office supply. This morning I got an e-mail saying that Eric needed a t-shirt to tie dye this week. I am so glad I am not a "working mom" so I have time to pick up the last minute odds and ends. Then it was off to Target to get a little shopping done. I also took the opportunity to get my walking done while at Target. After my shopping I did 2 laps around the store.

I am enjoying the new season of White Collar and have almost finished another hat. I did not find time to spin today but I am managing to gather another box for Goodwill. Well it is getting late so I am going to wind things down for the night.

A Father's Day Suprise

Yesterday the secret plan for John's Father's Day present came to fruition. Yes we did manage to pull it off. John is so hard to shop for because he is a man of just the basics. So what do you get a man who has everything he wants? So last month Teri and I hatched a plan for her to be John's fathers day present. Teri would fly in to Tucson and call her dad with car problems. Since John had the day off I had Teri call him from her layover. When we got the call we were eating lunch.  I answered the phone and it went something like this.

Me. Hi Teri. (I could hear the sounds of the airport in the back round) What, you have car trouble, let me give the phone to dad. John then put the phone on speaker mode. Not much chit chat but a very worried look on Johns face ( I could see the wheel running do we call AAA, how much is this repair going to cost us.) Well you get the picture.

Teri. Hi dad I drove into the city( San Fransisco) and somehow landed up at LAX and I am going to need a ride home from the airport in about an hour.  John was a little confused and then everything clicked when Teri said that I had her flight itinerary. By the very surprised look on John's face I knew that we had pulled off the perfect surprise.

The next little bit of time was spent getting Teri's room ready. Washing the sheets vacuuming  and getting the clutter creep out of her room. I sent John to the airport to pick up his present. He was just so excited that he was going to see his little girl. They came home with a Tucson favorite, Eegee's drinks.

After a little catching up and some nap time. I sent Teri and John out to Bookmans and dinner. They both had a great time. We then spent some time watching TV and playing around with our ipods. Yes geekdom does rule in this house.

All in all a very good day and a terffice fathers day present.

Things I LIke About Summer

The things I like about summer are in no particular order.

1. A wet shirt hung to day at 6 am is ready to wear at 9 am after it cools off from the clothes line.
2. I love the summer heat. I never have to bundle up. Except in the movie theaters and restaurants.
3. I like waking up with the sun.
4. I like all the very small knitting projects that I make. They go very fast and I get a lot of things done.
5. Iced tea. But then again I drink iced tea year round.
6. The grocery stores are empty and shopping goes faster.
7. No waits for tables when I eat out.
8. Lighter traffic. No snow birds and very few students.

Things I can do with out.

1. Eric's summer colds. Oh wait I don't like those in the winter either.
2. People complaining about the heat. If you don't like the heat don't move to where it is hot. But I will give you a gimme when it hits 115f, then it is hot. Did you know our airport closes to commercial traffic at 120f.

Well I have been up since before dawn. The moon was very pretty at around 3:30 am. Yes Eric has a cold yet again so its time to say goodnight.