A Day in Pictures

Stash Down 2014.....

This is the first empty stash down bag of 2014.t. Yes the knitting of hats is going on and on my friends, I am well over 100 hats since October.  With one basket and 2 more bags of yarn to go I just might hit 200 hats in this burst of knitting. 

When I have the stash down, I will start knitting for myself. I know this will lead to more scrap yarn for hats. I will try not to let the bits and pieces get so out of hand again. 

I also managed to get 8 ounces of plied yarn on a single jumbo bobbin. I have not taken it off yet, but there should be some good yardage there.  I see a shawlette in its future.  

Yes I know the spinning is leading to more stash yarn. I just find spinning one of those relaxing activities that I can "run away" from home without leaving the house. I would like to thank Kathy Withers for taking the time to teach me. I am going to try some art yarn next. 

Well I think it is time to settle Eric in for the night. 

Vegan Corn Chowder

As promised here is a brand new recipe to end the year. On top of having a wonderful texture and taste it can be one of your higher fiber soups for the coming year. With only 5 ingredients it is also very quick to put together. You will also note that it is slightly different from the Corn Chowder recipe of January 20,2011.  It does not include the carrots or celery, i.e. the marpoix mix. So here goes.

Vegan Corn Chowder

1- 32 ounce carton of Imagine Creamy Sweet Corn Soup

1 very large onion or 2 smaller onions peeled and coarsely chopped, about 2 cups

2 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Large Russet Potatoes peeled and coarsely diced between 2 to 3 cups

1 pound of frozen sweet white corn

In your LeCreuset 4 quart soup pot, heat olive oil over a low heat. Add the onions and saute over medium heat until translucent. Add the diced potatoes and saute until they start to stick to the pan. Add the Imagine Sweet Corn Soup and the frozen corn. Cook over a medium low heat for at least 1 hour stirring occasionally to make sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. The soup is done when the potatoes are tender. 

This should make between 4 to 8 servings depending on the size of your bowls. 

A Good Day

It was a good day today. I felt well enough to start digging the house out of mommy being sick mode. There is still a lot to catch up on but progress was made.

I also got to teach Lisa how to use a drum carder. We worked on some of the buffalo fiber her dad gave is to play with. I was amazed at the difference between the under coat and the outer fiber, which was still very course even after all the guard hair was removed.  We almost got through the first carding. I think it will take 2 or 3 more trips through the carder before we blend in the silk. 

I made a lovely vegan corn chowder for dinner. I will try to get the recipe up layer in the week.  After dinner I managed to knit 2 more hats for charity. 

Mostly on the Mend

Eric and I are doing much better. The antibiotics are working their magic. John on the other hand has gotten what I hope is a milder form of what we had. 

I did figure out why I was running out of clean clothes. I have not done any laundry for John and I since Eric got sick.  Today I took care of that. Yes Eric still had more dirty clothes than we did. I have been doing at least 2 loads a day for him since he got sick. 

I did venture out today to Whole Foods for a few things we had run out of and dinner. It was nice to get out but it did leave me a bit tired. 

After dinner I finished a hat that I had started 2 days ago. Then promptly cast on the next hat with bulkier yarn. I did not get much spinning done today. It seemed that every time I got my rythem I got interrupted.  After 30 minutes and 4 interruptions I gave up. 

We'll it is time to call it a night. 

An Update 1461 Days in the Making

If you were following my blog in December of 2009 you might vaguely remember the one from December 9th. That was the one in which I stated that I gave up everything with HFCS and aspartame. This is thanks to my friend Kay. As you might recall the weight came off very fast for the 1st 10 pounds and then seemed to slow to almost nothing. I have since dropped 3 dress sizes and as of today a total of  24.5 pounds.  Which is also bucking the trend for women my age to gain 1 to 5 pounds a year.

In the 4 years since I have give up HFCS and aspartame, I have found more energy. I am eating a lot less junk food, because lets face it those 2 things are in a lot of processed foods. I have also gotten more active. I have given up the house keeper, which is a huge bonus since I get more exercise time in and have a cleaner more organized house. I also have more money for things we need and want. Yes some of that money made it toward yarn and fluff. I am not an angle after all.  I have more time for the things that I love. I can now wear more fashionable clothing. I am getting sick a lot less. Yes, I know that as I write this blog post, Eric and I are recovering from a very aggressive cold that has put us on antibiotics.

The best news is that my body is changing shape and redefining itself. I am finally getting happier with my body. Not that I still don't have a long way to go, in my humble opinion. But  I am letting my body lead the way without the aide of crash diets or weighing and measuring everything. No more paying for rah rah sessions where I tend to pick up bad habits.  My body has reset itself. I now stop eating when I am full. This is a very good thing. I tend to eat more when I am more active and less on quieter days. Which with restaurant portions it often leads to boxes of leftovers or I just order an appetizer instead of a meal. I also tend to snack a lot less, even when Eric is sick.

I know that 6.125 pounds a year is not a huge weight loss in any ones book. The daily average weight loss looks even worse just 0.01676933607118412 pounds per day, yes I was playing around with the numbers. This just means that I will not look at the daily weight loss. I will try not to become to attached to the scale, but rather how my clothes are fitting me and how much energy that I have. I will let you know how I feel when I hit my next milestone. Just think you might not have to wait a full 1461 days to find out.

Feeling Yucky

The crud has invaded. Both Eric and I are sick. We will try to get into the doctors or urgent care this morning. Now to keep John from getting it, because I have so little energy even knitting seems to be a lot of work. I am drinking my hot tea with lemon and honey while I write this. It might be old school but it tastes better than cough syrup.

I do have to end this on the bright side thought. Just remember that the family that gets sick together stays together.

Update:

Both Eric and I are on antibiotics and will lay low for a few days and hope that John does not get this.