2013 the Year of Change

A lot of things are changing in my life right now. Our life is being lived at a different pace from the past. I still need to wrap my head and arms around this year. When I figure out where I am going I will let you know. So far the changes seem positive.

The things I still need to do are:

1. Look at my calendar more often.
2. Become a better communicator.
3. Work out a new routine. Yes my old routine was set aside with the new year. With no new action plan in place.
4. Organize the garage.
5. Organize the sewing room.
6. Get more organized in getting my patterns out of my head, pod and word processing program.
7. Make more to do lists and learn to go through them without getting distracted.
8. Get more projects finished.

There is probably more but it is time to get dinner going.

Queit is Good

It was a very quiet weekend around here. Little odds and ends got done such as the third skein of yarn for Teri's shawl got spun. I will take it off the wheel tomorrow to wash and dry it. I think it might just go straight to the bathroom to dry, we are expecting cold wet weather tomorrow.  Speaking of Teri's shawl the rows are now almost 200 stitches long and 66 rows have been completed. I think it is almost half way done. She wants hers the same size as mine so I will have to lay one on top of the other to be sure.

The Big Event

Our big event of the day was the purchase and insulation of a new printer. This replaced the 7 1/2 year old printer that died earlier this week.  Yes I am very surprised that it took less than a week to purchase a replacement and install it the same day.  John is totally wonderful and full of surprises.

Another Needle Worn Out

I got a lot of knitting done today. Another hat got finished along with a dpn that bit the dust. This is the second dpn that I have worn out in the last 2 months. I guess that I have been doing so many hats that the dpn's are actually wearing out.  Yes I also started another hat. They are my current small project addiction.

I also got another 10 rows done on Teri's shawl. I am up to 130'ish stitches per row. The shawl started out with 9 stitches so good progress is being made. I will have to wind the next skein before I can go on. Which reminds me I need to spin the next skein of yarn for the shawl.

Where Did It Go?

Even though I managed to sleep in until 6:20 this morning, I have no idea where the day went. Although I do have a very long list of things that got done today.

That list includes:
1. Mixed up a bowl of Matzo Balls to cook later in the day.
2.  Driving Eric both ways to his program. Yeah he got out of the house.
3. A quick breakfast followed by a trip to Trader Joe's.
4. Making a 7 1/4 quart pot of chicken soup from scratch. I would like to thank Lisa and Mark for helping consume some of the soup. I did clean up as I went.
5. Lunch with John
6. I hit a few sales and got a few needed items. I also learned that each store has it's own sizing scheme and that no 2 are alike. So hence forth I will go by fit not size. I am finally able to fit into the clothes at Lucy's. Did you know that Lucy's size XL is has the same fit as J.Jill size medium in t-shirts on me? I bet Lucy's is closer to the sizing of way back last century.
7. Scrubbed the metal screen for the exhaust fan over the stove.
8. Got rid of expired coupons. Cut new coupons out.
9. Did one load of laundry and got everything put away. A side note. I did rescue 3 pairs of socks from the odd sock basket.
10. Got in 19 minutes of yesterdays Rose Parade. I also did a little knitting during that time.
11. Ran and emptied the dish washer.
12. Had dinner with John
13. Watched a few old episodes of The Big Bang. Yes more knitting got done.
14. Did some random cleaning.
15. Got a short walk in.

I am sure that I have left a few things off the list. If you want a copy of today's recipes please let me know and I will type them up. Yet I have no idea how it became 10:00 pm and time to call it a night.

Welcome to 2013

My only News Years resolution is to remember to write 2013 on every thing I have to sign and date. I decided not to go after a long list that I will review later in the year to feel bad about. I think daily or weekly to do list are better for me. That being said I was asleep by the time the New Year arrived.

We had a very slow day today.  Only 3 loads of laundry and a little picking up got done. I did start spinning the 3rd skein of yarn for Teri's shawl. One skein of yarn is still drying. With the 1st skein I am 40 rows into the 130 or so rows of the pattern. Did I mention how soft the alpaca is? If it were not promised to my wonderful daughter, I would keep it myself.  I am making it a little larger than the pattern calls for. If you would like to knit along with me I am using the silk-moon-crescent-shawlette by Jaala Spiro Designs. I know the Pattern calls for Noro Silk Garden, but the hand spun alpaca, spun to the same weight is working out well. By the way the shawl does look fantastic in Noro Silk Garden.

When I got tired of working on the solid black shawl for Teri, I started a new scarf in a lighter color. Well sort of, dark purple with a purple and pink carry along. Well I need to go mix up the Matzo Balls for tomorrow night dinner. I will give you the recipe tomorrow.

 

Le Creuset 4 1/4 quart Soup Pot

I first wrote about my Le Creuset 4 1/4 quart soup pot way back in January of 2010. That's almost 3 years ago. It has been my blog post with the most views. Since then It has been used a minimum of twice a week, sometimes more often for the entire time. But never more than 6 days a week. I have cooked stews, roasts, chilli's and of course soup in it. It has been used in the oven as a roaster. On the stove as a soup pot. Basically it is my go to pot.

I would still recommend the Le Creuset cast iron line to everyone. They are still made by hand in France. I should say that this was a gift from my husband. I suspect that he likes the easy clean up feature of the pot. For tough clean ups like cooked on BBQ sauce he just lets it sit over night in warm soapy water, then wipes it out followed by a quick rinse in the sink the next day. Most nights he just lets the pot cool down and gives it a quick wash down.

Well you have all seen the new pretty pictures of the Le Creuset line of pot and pans. This is what my pot looks like inside and out after 3 years. This is my most used and most versatile piece of Le Creuset that I currently own. I have 5 other pieces of Le Creuset cookware, all are used with love and some are almost 20 years old and still in use. If I happen to remember I will give you a glimpse of this pot in another few years.

I have not been paid by Le Creuset for this recommendation, As I said before the pot was a gift from my wonderful husband. All opinions are my own.