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.

Question Time

I need some answers. Perhaps you can enlighten me. I can be talking to a random person or an acquaintance with the conversation going smoothly until the topic of Eric comes up. Then some people get really uncomfortable. They sometimes look like they opened the proverbial can of worms. I am not really sure why. Eric came into to this world the way he is and has a very good life with lots of friends.

Among his friends he is has a reputation as a ladies man. Always smiling at the girls and giving kisses on the back of the hand. The boys just seem to want to hang around him and make sure he is OK. He and his sister have a good relationship. So what is it that I am missing?

So If you can give me some answers that would be wonderful.

Saturday

Today was a much better day. I did manage to do a lot of picking up before everyone woke up this morning. I did make considerable progress in the craft room. I did a lot of throwing which is always good. All totaled about four bags of trash/recycling made it out of the house today. Yeah Me!!

On the fun side I got a lot of knitting, spinning and napping done also. The pink shawl I started Thursday with pink hand spun is going to be too small for me so I will send it off to a charity fund raiser. I am falling in love with a scarf that was suppose to go to a charity fund raiser. So I think I just might switch the items that I am sending. I have until the end of the month to get the creations done. On the spinning front I found that if I treadle a little slower the yarn seems to come out better.

Every one is doing well today. I am looking forward to an even better day tomorrow. Since it is summer I will probably be up with the sun so I think I will call it a night.

Murphy's Law Rules the Day

I thought I would blog a little on the early side today. Eric did not have the best of nights last night and around 4 am his Kangaroo Joey decided to stop working. Not being totally awake it took me until about 6 am to figure out the problem and call the equipment company.  I managed to put together a temporary feeding "machine", yes that's right a syringe and a bolost tube powered by myself and his camp councilor. Yes we do have a new pump. The equipment company forgot to call me with a delivery time and left the new pump on the doorstep.

But wait the day gets better. We get to camp and I realized that I have the wrong backpack. I have the red one not the blue one. So I drive home behind the group of cars who will not go over 25 mph in a 40/45mph zone, both lanes mind you. I then drive back to camp. I changed out the back pack and decided to stop at Starbucks on the way home. I could not figure out why a once bustling Starbucks was so slow. That is until I got my drink order. I ordered a venti drink and received a grande, one size smaller. I asked why and was told that since I brought my own cup it was policy* to make the drink one size smaller than the cup.  I took my 3/4 full cup of tea a little miffed. Then it was back home to drop off the red backpack because I could not leave it in the hot car. I know it was only in the high 90's today but with the car closed up in a hot parking lot it was too hot for Eric's emergency kit.

Today must not have been my day to knit either. I spent as much time tinking** as knitting. I did take Jeans advice and call the Starbucks Corporate Offices and spoke to a nice young lady by the name of Lexi. I asked her about the "new policy*" that I was told about at the store. The Very good news is that is not the corporate policy and that they will send me a coupon for a replacement drink. I would like to give Starbucks a shout out for great customer service and the professionalism of Lexi.

This paragraph contains some politics so if you don't like politics please skip it and go to the next paragraph.

I should not have checked my e-mail either. Our wonderful, thoughtful Governor wants to cut our respit services by 50%. When Eric was born the state run institutions were closing down with state and federal  officials saying that they would continue to provide services that would enable us to keep our children at home and in the community. Over the last 2 decades there has been a gradual decline in services.  A mear 20 years later just as our children are reaching adulthood they are cutting the services to the bone and beyond. Yes I know that we are in a recession and money is tight. But it is time to stop cutting taxes. It is time for our elected officials to stop running around like life was a popularity contest and do their job. A sound bite slogan does not give me a good nights sleep. Raise our taxes if you need to but dont' throw our families under a bus.

The political statement is over.

I was to tired to fix much lunch so it was cheese and crackers and time for a  nap. A note to my self, Sheri please restock the cheese drawer. Do you think I will remember tomorrow? A 2 hour nap and it was time to pick Eric up from camp. Now if I could just stay awake long enough to get Eric to bed tonight it will great. If he sleeps though the night it will be even better.

Well it is time to find the energy to pick up and do a little cleaning before the weekend.

At least when I make chili, I usually make 4 servings so at least dinner is cooked for the night.

**Tinking - the polite way to say you have to rip out the @#*&% rows and knitting and redo them

Pictures



Camp Pillows

Eric's Quilt

Joe's pillows

Early spinning

Here are a few pictures of some recent work of mine.  The top 13 pillows were made yesterday and are going to camp today. The next 2 pillows were also made yesterday and are for Joe's dogs. They are stuffed with poly fill, yarn, spinning and sewing scraps. In case you don't know Joe is one of Eric's aides. And the next picture is of Eric's new quilt. Its hard to tell from the picture but there are 2 different quilting styles on the quilt. The first is the "correct way" in which I hurt my finger and the other half was my way which went so much smoother. As you can tell my sewing machine and I are on speaking terms again. The last picture is of some of my treadling practice on the spinning wheel. Before you get to excited I was practicing treadling and was using a bobbin.

I do apologize for the placement of the pictures I will really get better some day.

Hi Again

I know it has been a while since I last blogged. It was Eric's first day of summer break. I have been very busy with Eric and John, both guys were off together so I was a bit too busy with the boys to sit down and write. There was also the hand issue, but I am happy to say both my hands are feeling better after almost 2 weeks of very light use. This should be read as no knitting and very minimal spinning, but mostly doing nothing but ice packs and splints.

We did go to a movie this week. Eric and I saw Kung Fu Panda 2. We both liked it a lot. I am hoping that the last scene in the movie is alluding to a third movie in the series. I would recommend this as a family movie although most dads will want to go to a comic book action movie.

I do have a quick question for everyone. I have 5 skeins of yarn which is enough for 3 small projects. I was wondering if everyone was up to a contest with between 1 and 3 winners or if you think I should find a local knitter for the yarn. Your input would be nice.

Well it is getting late and we have another full day scheduled for tomorrow.

Eric's Vacation Day 1

Eric's vacation day one went pretty well. I stopped at Starbucks for my free drink and then on to the dealership to do routine maintenance's on my brick. I would personally like to thank all the other customers for letting me switch the TV to the Disney channel instead of the news. Eric was really happy about that. I did manage to get a small hank of spinning done. I am still not knitting but my hands are feeling much better and I am on less aspirin.

We then went on to the VA to drop of a case of Christmas cards. Someone gave them to me and said that if I sent them out Eric would be cured. Well I had Eric deliver them in person and guess what he still has ML4. I am quite sure that the person meant well.

Then it was off to World Care to drop of some supplies destine for Joplin or some other community in need. Eric does love helping other people and doing charity runs, so I guess there will be a Goodwill run next week.

We then decided that we were to tired to head to Target, so we headed home for a nap. Eric was out before I was. After nap time we had a new aide for Eric, I don't know if it was him or me not feeling well but it did not go well.

John was gracious enough to bring home dinner so I did the polite thing and cleaned up from dinner. I know it is just so difficult to put takeaway out in the trash. Well it is getting late so good night all.

Eric's Last Day of School

Today was Eric's last day of school for the 2010-2011 school year. It does not seem possible to me that the school year is already over. I mean Eric spent more time at home then at school this year. He will be my constant buddy for the next 2 1/2 weeks until summer camp starts. So expect to see us out and about in town.

On the hand front, the splints seem to be working. I can do a little light spinning, but I don't think my hands are quite ready for knitting yet.

I did manage to work for about an hour in the craft room, yes I know that one hour of cleaning is not going to go very far but it is a start. Well I am starting to fade and my "boss" for the next 2 1/2 weeks is a go go kind of guy so its time to turn in for the night.

Yuck

It has been a few days since I last blogged. My hands have been a total wreck with tendinitis and carpel tunnel.  I have splints for both hands and it seems to help. I am going through terrible withdrawal symptoms from knitting and spinning. I hate not doing anything but I must give my hands a break. In the mean time you will find me wearing a matching set of these. Its so fun doing laundry while wearing them.

Well its time to put the boy to bed so he can go to his last day of school tomorrow.

Catching Up

I have been very busy since Wednesday with routine stuff., and therefore to busy to blog. Here is a brief catch up for everyone. Teri got a summer internship in the bay area and will be with in walking distance from a Bart station. Eric made it to school every day this week, to bad he only has a few more days of the school year left.

I have also done a lot of knitting and spinning this week. I really don't know if that contributed to a sore left hand and swollen thumb this morning. I have put my hand in a brace and the swelling seems to be going down although the clicking still seems to be there. I have spent the entire day Not spinning or knitting and to cope I went through old knitting magazines picking out the patterns that I want before I pass the magazines on.  Maybe I can swap them for fluff on Raverly.

Well my hand is very tired so it is time to say goodnight to everyone.

Hump Day better Known as Wednesday

Today was another busy day in the Old Pueblo for me.  I actually made it to the dentist for a long over do check up and guess what Mom? No cavities. I learned an interesting tidbit at the Post Office today. Did you know that you pay more for larger lighter packages then smaller heaver packages? Something about the space it takes on the plane and not the amount of fuel used per pound. It seems odd to me.

Then it was on to Bookmans our favorite used book store to see if they had anything I wanted and to see if they would take anything that was in the go to Bookmans bag. Well I did not find anything that I wanted so Teri will have $10.00 more in store credit when she comes for her next visit. Hopefully this summer before her 3rd year of law school, because December is just to long to wait.

I came home and had left overs for lunch and watched a little TV with some spinning on the spindle and knitting included. After lunch I went to work in the craft room and manage to put some things away and add some more to the charity pile. While Eric was doing his percussion I sat down at the spinning wheel to practice with some very thin roving to get the hang of the wheel. I think my plan worked very well. I am starting to feel better about the wheel, but if I ever up grade I think I might get a 2 peddle wheel. Also I think that 45 minutes is long enough to sit and spin in one session for right now.

Well it is getting late and I have another very over booked day for tomorrow so good night all.

A Busy Time of Year

It has been a week since I last posted. In that span of time I fell off my shoe while walking and wrenched my knee. Yes I know sandals with heels are not the best exercise shoe around.  If it is still bothering me next week I will have it looked at. John and I put together my spinning wheel. The spinning definitely needs some practice as it is so different from the spindle as it goes much faster. The kindest thing you can say about my first spin is that it super bulky. I think I will try to put together a spinning wheel orifice hook, as I think this might help getting the yarn through the orifice.

Eric is back to sleeping through the night and we are getting much needed sleep. He delivered the going away scarf to his teacher, he picked the yarn by feel and the color from my descriptions, of course he choose green. The scarf pattern was potato chip Scarf Pattern. The yarn was by Rachael of the The CountingSheepFarm. I just lover her colorways, fiber and handmade soap..

I have started to attack the last room of the house and am happy to say that I am making slow but steady progress. I am limiting my self to no more than a half hour at a time several times a day. I find that heavy deep cleaning has to be taken in short spurts until the room is almost done and then I find its OK to go longer to finish.

I have been doing a lot of charity knitting and am slowly filling my giant Ziploc XXL bags. One bag even hit the 10 inch mark this week. I have made a very small dent in the hat yarn basket, but I am afraid that I might find more small bits for  the basket as I clean the craft room. I am almost done with another Project Gratitude scarf. As you can tell I am so glad that the yucks of winter are past and things are getting done at a good pace. I am not so glad that the school year is almost over, since it seems to me that Eric was home more then in school.

I am so glad that I am finding time to knit with my friends as I find that getting out of the house is a very good thing. This leads me to my money saving tip of the week. If you bring your own drink glass most places will give you a discount on your drinks from 10 cent on upwards of almost a dollar a drink.   Well it is time to go get dinner ready. So have a great day and enjoy your families.a drink.

An Amazing Day

I think I had quite an amazing day today, considering Eric kept me up until 3 am and I was up before 7:30. I joined the Tuesday morning knitting group at Einsteins arriving a little late, I had a hard time getting into gear this morning. As I walked in Nancy said to the group that there is another teacher here to the assembled group. I looked around wondering who it might be and then Carolyn piped in that it was me. Was I ever so surprised that Nancy thought so much of my humble knitting skills. So I spent part of the morning teaching an adorable little blond how to pearl and cast on. Considering how tired I was, I found that I could improvise on my feet pretty well.

A drive to Kiwi to look at some fibre and for the other to get more yarn to finish their current projects. Then more driving to the Tucson Mall to have lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen. Note to self even the half order of salad is enough for 2. Their Moroccan Chicken salad is just wonderful. Just be sure to leave off the dressing for the full flavor of the salad.

I then went home and watched a little Tivo until Eric got home. A little spinning and laundry got done. The dishwasher run and emptied. Did I mention that I had planed leftovers for dinner so there was no cooking involved.

I would like to thank every one who has helped Eric over the last 2 months collecting tabs for our local Ronald McDonald house. His 2 month total was 3.9 pounds. That is quite a lot for one not so little guy to carry in.

Well here is hoping that the not so little guy is asleep.

Semi Homemade Chicken Pot Pie.

It was a very rare lazy day for me. I followed my bodies lead and took it very slow today.  So this is what John got for dinner tonight.

Semi Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

6 ounces pre diced onions
2 cups frozen hash brown potato cubes
2 heaping tablespoons margarine
1 box of Pillsbury ready made pie crusts - you will need both
1 pound frozen mixed vegetables
6 ounces pre cooked chicken diced
1 large deep dish pie pan
1 foil lined cookie sheet

In a large fry pan or wok melt the margarine on a medium low heat. Add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes. Lower the temperature to a lower heat and add the frozen potatoes and cook until soft. Add the chicken and the vegetables and keep on a low heat until 45 minutes before dinner. Unroll the first crust into an un greased pie pan. Pat the pie crust in place. Add all the mixture from the pan and pack it very firmly into the pie crust. dampen the edges of the pie crust and unroll the second pie crust on top. Wet the entire top of the pie crust with a small amount of water. Roll the bottom and top edges together and crimp anyway you would like. There are no bonus points for perfect thumb prints or crimps. Make 4 slits around the top of the pie crust and another vent hole in the center. Place in a cold oven and bake at 325 for 45 minutes,  a little longer if you like a darker crust.

You will notice two things about this recipe. First I did not add additional seasonings. I find that when making semi homemade items everything is usually very well seasoned to begin with. Secondly that I place the pot pie in a cold oven. I use a glass pie dish and I do not want it to crack so I put it on a cookie sheet lined with foil into a cold oven. It is better for the pie dish to heat up very slowly. When I remove the pot pie I leave it on the cookie sheet. It is very important that you do not put hot glass baking dishes on a damp or cold surface when taking it out of the oven.  So the cookie sheet is perfect in two ways. First it will catch any over flow and second just leave the pot pie on the cookie sheet until both are cool.

This serves 4 to 5 people. For a vegan pot pie just leave out the chicken.