A Bad Hand Day

I am frustrated. I really want to knit, but my hands and not in the mood.  I don't know what I will do to keep myself busy.  Today I cleaned and napped. I can't do that everyday, the napping part that is. I guess I will fix and warp the loom tomorrow.  That should be a sore hands friendly activity. 

I Cheated

I am not usually the one to really break into any kind of present early. I really enjoy the aniticapation, wondering what is in the box. That said, I knew what John had gotten me for my birthday this year and the box was taunting me to open it. The box won, I could not wait any longer to play with my new WooLee Winder for the Lendrum spinning wheel.  

Well I have to say this, I do not feel guilty about it.  I actually played 2 skeins of yarn and spun another 2 skeins of yarn yesterday.  I have not measured ounce for ounce but to the naked eye it seems to get twice the amount of yarn on the bobbin. I think this may be due to the way the yarn is wound onto the bobbin. I have to say that John really knows how to pick out birthday presents.  Thank you John.  

On A Roll

Today I finished 1 crochet project, a child's purse that has been on the hook for over 4 years and 1 hat before noon today.  John will be very happy that the purse was no sooner off the hook then it found its way to a new home that was not ours. Since I did not want the circular knitting needles to be lonely, I cast on the next hat. In reality I find it harder to lose stitch markers and knitting needles when they are in the middle of a project. Even though it is too heavy to carry around, I was reminded that it was past time to finish Teri's 1st year of law school blanket. Miss Teri, how many years is it overdue?

I certainly don't have the energy for it but now that it is under 100f, it is time to wash Eric's swim stuff from today. while I am at it a little picking up would not hurt either. After all no matter how much I want to play all day with fiber, the house work should come first. Maybe I will have dinner with John first.

A New Pattern

Today I added a new pattern to my Ravelry Shop. I have found that when I use 3 different cameras to take pictures, the pictures go to 3 different places in the computer memory. John says he has an easy fix for this. It took me 3 days to transfer the pattern from my iPad to the main computer and add the picture, I could have knit this pattern at least 3 times in the time it took to transfer the pattern. I know that this is a winter hat, made with bulky yarn. When the high is 111 for the day, I find that releasing a winter hat pattern adds a bit of fun to the day. It's a Tucson thing, where else do you go to celebrate the first day of 100 degree weather of the season?

The hat is called Grandma's Winter Hat and my friend Jimmy was gracious enough to be my model. This is the link to Grandma's Winter Hat . Even though it is listed on Ravelry you will be able to view and purchase this pattern with this link. It will fit teenages through adults. If you are in a country outside the United States, use this link to  Loveknitting.com , you can find this pattern and 5 of my other patterns. At Love Knitting you will also be able to buy the yarn and supplies to knit this pattern.

Squirrel

Today did not go as planned, but it was very productive anyway.  My closet floor got cleaned and a few more things were purged from my closet. My purses were organized, with the larger ones going up on the closet shelf and the smaller ones hanging.  I did not get any spinning or the new pattern posted to Raverly. I did manage to do a bit of knitting though.  

I did manage to get over 13,00 steps on my fit bit today.  That is a little over 5 miles of walking with most of it done doing house work. I also managed to gift 2 project bags and a couple of skeins of yarn.   Eric thinks that I should have given more yarn away.  

I think that I will call it a night so that I can get more things besides sleeping done tomorrow.  

Busier Than Usual

It was a catch me if you can type of day.  I started off making a sorting box for a friend of Eric's.  He was very excited when Eric gave it to him.  Then it was a quick breakfast and off to buy out one store.  Then it was time to print some coupons for the next store. The first Wednesday of the month I get an extra 10% off grocreys. So I get the things like laundry detergent and other things that happen to be on sale.  

Before I knew it, it was 2:20pm and I had not had lunch or put the groceries away. So after a few pita chips and a slice of cheese it was time to get Eric.  Then it was time to start the laundry and put things away. I even managed to make a home cooked dinner tonight.  

Would anyone be surprised that I have over 10,000 steps and have not done any knitting today?

Bits and Pieces

I have finally found a pair of pants that fits after a 2 year search. This is very good news.  As usual the there is a down side.  I can't find another pair of pants with the UCP code 7-06254-39523-8 at any Macy's store in Tucson or on line at Macy's.com.  If anyone from Macy's reads this blog post please consider restocking this style of pants. 

I started a new round of deep cleaning this afternoon and have already filled one box. Hopefully by next weekend I will have a few more boxes filled and dropped of at the Goodwill.  I also had to tink a scarf that was halfway finished, because it started unraveling at the bottom.  So much for starting a scarf while watching a movie.  

Also keep those tabs coming in.. Eric has just dropped off the latest batch to our Tucson Ronal McDonald House. For those keeping track it was 25.9 pounds of tabs.  I think that my dad would have been very proud of Eric for his commitment to collecting tabs to help the sick kids. 

Memorial Day

My heartfelt condolences go out to all the Gold Star Families whose loved ones paid the ultimate price for the freedoms that we all enjoy today.

I would like everyone to take a few minutes out of your day to remember these heroes who will never enjoy time with their families again.

A Little Mishap

There are certain things in life that must be done methodically every time that they are done or things go wonky rather quickly. Take Eric's new lift for example. It is mounted to the ceiling with the lift being operated by a pneumatic air compressor which is operated by a switch. We ask everyone who uses it with Eric to make sure that it does not get tangled. Tangles always cause problems.  I noticed that this mornings aide did not put the lift back on the charger, but failed to notice how badly tangled the wires were left until it was too late.

Do to tangling in the wires the pneumatic motor became disengaged, is simpler terms it broke at a most inconvenient time. Yes half way down. This left Eric miffed to be stuck in mid air. My tall guy was out and about an hour away. I am to short to reach up and fix it. The bed was to far from the problem to safely fix the lift. It would have been a very embarrassing call to 911. I can not lift Eric by myself.  I finally found a step ladder so I could reach up and fix everything. The whole incident took less than 2 minutes, but to me it felt like hours. Eric's glares did not help much either, but I could not blame him, his ride broke midway through.

This will result in everyone who works with Eric to be retrained on the lift. I personally hate redundant training, but will do this because it is a safety issue.

By the time everything was fixed and I was calm enough to drive we had missed the movie that we wanted to go to across town and hurried to catch a later showing at another theater. By the way we went to see Zootopia. It is a must see movie for this summer.

By the way as long as we are talking about retraining, I would like to mention that a movie theaters the handicapped seating is for those who truly need to use them. For example people in wheelchairs and their companions, people who use walkers or canes and have other mobility issues. You just do not know how hard it is to move a wheelchair through those heavy doors to go to the other side. I think it would be much easier to move your able body self and kids a few seat and show some manners. I am off my soap box now.

Just A Thought

I have thought long and hard before writing this blog post.  I don't want to sound preachy or holy than thou. I just want to put forth this idea.

I know we all live very busy life's. Most of us have more on our plates than a reasonable person would consider prudent. We are in a hurry to get everywhere. We live in our own bubbles. Who has time to pull over for a siren, even for a minute? What difference would my minute make?

What if I told you it could make a world of diffrence for someone outside of  your bubble? Wouldn't be nice if everyone pulled over? Maybe even say a prayer for those on the ambulance for a speedy recovery. Pray that the Public Saftey Officer returns safely to their families at the end of their shifts.  I feel that the power of prayer is very powerful. We can make a diffrence by one act at a time. I know that there are a few atheists who read my blog and think the whole idea of prayer is useless at best. For you all I ask is that you pull over for sirens because it is the right thing to do. 

The thoughts and opinions are my own. If you agree with this blog post please feel

free to share the link. If you would like to publish this post elsewhere please contact me, arrangements can be made. 

Have a nice weekend and enjoy your families. 

The Bear is Off Limits

Whatever you do don't blame the bear. Let me back track a little bit. At 3:30 this morning Eric was a little cranky. His favorite bear was wrapped snuggly in his blanket, while a very cold Eric was trying to cover himself with his pillows. So I talked to Eric's bear about stealing Eric's blankets in the middle of the night while I was getting Eric resettled in. This morning that included a change out and some physical therapy. By the way John repeated this exercise a little while after I finished, but he did not lecture the bear. So daddy was golden.

By the time I got Eric settled again 30 minutes latter, he was really mad about me talking to his beloved bear like that. He was still mad when I dropped him off at his day program.  He would not even let me give him a kiss goodbye. It took Maggie a little bit of persuasion to send a smile picture of himself to me.

So the lesson learned today was never ever blame the beloved stuffed animal. No matter if they steal the blankets in the middle of the night and leave your child cold, they are still off limits for a mommy lecture.

By 3:00 this afternoon he was no longer mad at me and let me drive him home.

Tuesday's Unplanned Day

Today started at 5:30 am with Eric not feeling well.  That of course threw my plans for the day in the blender.  So I spent the day bouncing around between Taking care of Eric, laundry, cleaning and spinning.  

Talking about spinning, I finally finished the very soft and pretty 15 micron merino wool dyed by my friend Jimmy.  It was the first yarn that came off my spinning wheel since the December 7, 2015 car accident.  I guess it shows that I am making progress on the road to recovery, albeit very slowly. 

Monday

My body and I were at war most of the day.  I even managed to snap all the tendons in my right hand while wearing my hand brace today.  I am just so talented like that. So needless to say not much got done today.  At least I got some spinning today.

A Bad Night

As I write this I am waiting for Eric to fall asleep.  I woke up a little over 3 hours ago with bad joint pain. Just as I had managed to loosen up the joints in my hands, when Eric decided it was time for a complete change out.  Twenty minutes later he is still kicking off the covers and crying when he gets cold.  I have been to his room 4 times in the last hour to recover him.  

I am now officially tired and cranky. So today's word of the day is NO.  As Teri likes to point out, NO is a complete sentence.  

A Funky Day

I just know the day is going to be a bit off when I have wheelchair repairs before I have had time to get dressed. To make matters a little more rushed my favorite set of Allen Wrenches were not where I wanted them to be. So I had to get the box of spare Eric equipment parts from his room. Sometimes pieces of equipment come with some spare parts and tools.  I am also still training a new aide for Eric, yes its million question time yet again. So getting Eric to his day program only 30 minutes late was not bad at all.

Once we got to Eric's program, I noticed that the chest positioning strap was not quite right. So I then readjusted all the straps, so Eric does not have to work as hard sitting up. I then took a few minutes to relax before I went to the gym for my 10 minutes planed on the elliptical. I managed to get 15 minutes done.While I was cooling down after my workout a lady noticed my knitting and said that she was having a hard time with it. I asked if I could help her and she then proceeded to try to get me to cure her hands of arthritis. I told her she needed to talk to her doctor or a specialist about her hands. This was repeated several times, I felt like I was in a loop. I was just about to suggest duct tape, it fixes everything, right? When her personal trainer walked up. How do these people find me? What part about talk to your doctor is so hard to understand? I do admit that I am a stay at home mom and I can do a lot of diffrent things, but I am not a doctor. I don't practice medicine without a licence. If you are getting your medical advice from strangers on the street you have more problems than just the arthritis

 Then home to catch up on paperwork. I was only 10 percent through with my paperwork before I need to take a nap. Somehow flare ups make me tired. I woke up with just enough time to eat a quick lunch before I went to get Eric. The rest of the afternoon was taken up by Eric, cooking dinner, cleaning and relaxing.

On Track

I got to hang out with some friends today.  We sat around crafting and talking.  This was followed by Physical Therapy which I hope is almost over.  Then some shopping, a quick lunch and a nap.  I picked up Eric so he could supervise the cleaning and laundry. He actually was worried that I did not have enough laundry and made more for me to wash today.  

I was working with a new aide for Eric this afternoon.  When she tried to rush through things, I explained that Eric's schedule was like a concert.  You don't start with the finale.  So we are working on the rythem of Eric.  I think things will go well.  We just need to practice, practice and a little more practice. We will not get to Carnagie Hall, but Eric will be happy with a smooth routine.  

Tomorrow is being set aside for paperwork. With any luck I will be caught up by carpool time.  

Slowing Down

I have been in a crazy mode since the accident on December 7. 2015. My life just took on an agenda of its own and I tried to keep up. I can really feel the effects it has been having on my body. So I am taking Teri's advice that "No" is a complete sentence with no explanation necessary. I am trying to do things that relax me and that I want to do.

I took the weekend off, as much as I could at least. The guys took me to Dim Sum at China Phoenix on Saturday. Out to dinner with John on Saturday and Sunday nights. Lisa, Eric and I also went to see the movie Mothers Day on Mother's Day. If you need to see a great movie that will keep you laughing most of the time, this is the on to go see. Yes, it is a chick flick. Yes the weekend did include 5 loads of laundry, I am beginning to think in his own way Eric is showing me his love.

Everyone gave me flavored teas to help with a healthier lifestyle. I still have not had a soda since the flu bug a few months ago.

I also have been knitting more, which is not a bad thing. Well it might, because I have a lot of knitting and weaving to do before I really need to shop for yarn. I spent some time spinning today. I am finally unwound enough to try sleep so wish me luck.

A Couple of Words

Eric is not a kid who uses many spoken words. So I thought that I would share his latest gem. We we both napping after the long stint of being awake when Eric was sick.

I was just waking up from my nap when Eric said,

"I'm alive"

I just wish I knew what the rest of the thought was about. I just can not prompt Eric to talk when he does not want to or can not manage speech.

What I need is someone to invent a machine that translates thoughts into the spoke word. Any takers?

A very Long Day

Eric got sick right before bedtime last night. It was a very long and eyrpy night. On the bright side as of bedtime tonight he is back on formula. I also worked on a bag of UFO yarn, finishing 1 charity hat and starting another. I will finish all the projects in this bag first.  I have decided that I need to knit or redisposition the yarn to other projects in any project bag that I pick up. This is so that I don't have bags full of yarn 6 months from now with no plans or pattern attached.

I managed to get all the eyrpy laundry washed. I have decided not to fold the laundry today. As long as it is clean folding the laundry was not an issue today.

I am sorry if this blog is choppy but I have been up almost 40 hours and am really feeling tired. With a little sleep tonight all will be better in the morning.

Ranting Again

My day was going really well then....

The formula supply company just called and is trying to change the formula AGAIN to save money. At least they were upfront about it this time. I thought we had this resolved. They even acknowledged that they have the doctors script. We have to try at least a partial case before we can say no. I swear that Amazon may become our formula supplier if this keeps up. Then bill the health insurance company for what they are required to pay for by state law. They don't care about Eric at all. Just their @#%$#@# contract and nickle and dimeing the patients to keep their bottom line. If they can not break even on on the contract that they bid on, then maybe they should not have bid so low on the contract with the insurance company. Or, maybe the insurance companies should give the companies a reasonable operating budget over the cost of supplies. Either way they need to put Eric first.

Asking us to try another formula that might possibly do Eric harm is beyond the scope of my thinking right now. We have just gotten him almost back on his feet from the last formula fiasco. What makes a bunch of bean counters and paper pushers think that they know Eric as well as his doctors. Just because something is similar does not mean that it alike and will work the same. Just think about the possibility of of using oranges instead of apples in an apple cobbler, they are both fruit so it should work, right? I really like the comment that even though it is not listed on the label this new formula has fiber, right what about FDA labeling regulations?

So I talked it over with John. We decided that the best course of action was to call back and ask for everything in writing. I was put on hold for a few minutes. They came back and said the formula change was just a" suggestion". I decided to go with what the doctor ordered and long story short, they will continue to send out the formula that the doctor ordered. I now feel like a wet rag. I think that I will spin for a while to get back to my center. Then spend the evening knitting after dinner.

Things are Better

Things are going better with Eric. Long story short, the insurance company and provider changed the script and formulation of Eric's nutrition to save the insurance company money and prove that the provider was willing to do anything including compromise the health of its patients to keep the newly acquired contract.   After a very small dust up with Eric's nutrition provider, an order of formula from Amazon with next day delivery and some back and forth with Eric's wonderful doctor and the provider of nutrition,things have been resolved.  

We are almost through the first case of formula that I ordered from Amazon.  I am thankful that I was able to get what Eric needed very badly, overnight.  Amazon thank you for you help in this matter.  

Eric has woken up happy and smiling for the last 2 days. He has slept through the night for the last 2 nights.  Now I have to start sleeping through the night again.  His skin color is back to normal.  He has more energy. He is back to being the life of the party at program.  

I am very thankful for all my friends who gave me such wonderful support during this crisis.  I really can't adaquility  put in words what it meant to me.  Thank you all. 

Why?

I don't know what ever possessed me to knit a lace trim with 3 different skeins of similar colored yarn.  It sure does look pretty though. I hope it looks good on me when I finish it. 

No Caffeine

Around 2:30 this morning Eric started eyrping. I must say that the LG washer handled all 3 loads with ease.  I also had my first Eric sick day without soda. It was a very long day.  I missed the sugar and caffeine rush that kept me going.  I did not even have energy to knit. The good news is that the eyrping has stopped and all that I have to deal with is the cold de jour tomorrow.  

Eric and I will be home again tomorrow and I will need to cancel one appointment.  I will also have to write and finish knitting my Thursday's class. It's a good thing that I love modular knitting and know a decent amount about modular knitting.  

My biggest hope that Eric sleeps tonight.  

Modular Knitting

Thursday I am going to teach modular knitting at The Old Publeo Knitters Knitting Guild Meeting.  I am currently working on the samples. I will teach 3 different ways to connect the knitted squares so you do not have to do any seaming.  I will also give a brief history of modular knitting.  

So if you are in Tucson on Thursday our meetings start at 9:30 am at St. Phillips Church at the corner of River And Campbell Avenues in the Murphy Hall.  The first 2 meetings are free.  All you need to bring are 2 skeins of Sugar and Cream, one ombré and one solid color skein, US side 7 or 8 by 24" circular knitting needles, a Crochet hook, and a pair of scissors.  Yes, I will weave the ends in as part of my demonstration. I will be teaching the 9 Patch Dish Rag.  Here is the sample that I started tonight.  This is about an hour of knitting so far.  

Bucket List

Check something else off my bucket list. Spinning yarn at the beach. It happened Monday at Santa Monica Pier. I was dressed for s party so sitting in the sand was not an option.  

Did you know the windier it is the more the drop spindle stops spinning? The choice of the roving matching the clouds in the sky and the water was a happy surprise. 

Good Things

John and I were on the same wave length yesterday. After work he called to see if he could bring home Salmon Sandwiches from Beyond Bread home for dinner. They were great as usual, Thanks to everyone at Beyond Bread in Tucson.

I finished my scarf last night. I wove in the ends and wove the hand dyed silk through as a design element. I can't wait to wear it next winter. Oh by the way it has 411 rows of knitting for the Ravely 1 million row challenge.

A First Today

Eric had a very rocky start to his day and almost came home from program today 5 minutes after we got there. So I sat and knit for a while, not wanting to drive home and turn right back to pick him up. After about an hour he got settled in. I decided to say later to the errands on my list and came home to ice my back and rest. The world was not going to end if I did not get to Costco for Vanilla Soy milk or drop of the clothes at the dry cleaners. I think it helped my back a lot to rest.

As you know Eric feels it is his job to do laundry to keep me busy. I wore out the old whirlpool after 25 years of use. We then got an LG washer. Since we have gotten the LG washer, I have not come close to filling it to capacity until today. Today I filled it to the top and had laundry left over. I was very surprised to say the least. Thank goodness one of Eric's aides is putting it all in the dryer and doing the folding. my back is not quite up to that. I also don't want to hit John with that the moment he walks in the door.

I am hoping that John will pick up the Salmon Sandwiches (it is the Friday special) for dinner from Beyond Bread tonight so that I can ice my back and rest some more instead of cooking dinner. I may just finish a scarf for me if I have the energy tonight.

Its time to go ice my back.

Slowly Cleaning and Healing

My back is still in the healing process. Yes this is still from the December accident.  I have found that I either have the energy to do chores and errands or knit and spin using my drop spindle. Just not both in the same day.   I really wish that backs would not take so long to heal.   I am really over being so uncomfortable and having no energy.  

The purging of closets is continuing. This week 8 pairs of shoes that I have shrunk out of are no longer in residence.  My attention span seems to be at 10 to 30 minutes of deep cleaning about once a week. I hope that will get better as my back gets better, because I would really like to tackle Teri's old room and the garage. The deep cleaning song of the week is Inch Worm, that old childhood classic.  This might be dating me but I like the Danny Kaye version. 

I am working on my summer tea concoctions and as soon as I have one that I really like, I will share the recipe. I am still not drinking sodas, so I can safely say that I think I kicked that habit at a savings of at least $520 a year.   TTFN.   

I Am Still Here

I have been very cranky of late. The minor fender bender of December has moved down my back and is causing more pain that I can deal with. So that would explain the absence of blog posts. So my plan of action is to continue with physical therapy and get a second opinion to make sure we are not doing more harm than good with therapy. I am also back to icing my back and cutting back on a few activities.

Also, it is possible according, to the shoe salesman for my feet to lose another shoe size after a weight loss. Its funny the weight and inches have been coming off so slowly that I do not seem to notice that much. Friends who do not see me on a regular basis notice more. So I am purging my shoe closet yet again. I will also hold off buying more shoes just in case my feet decide to shrink again. Also when I have time I will be looking for smaller pants too. Shirts are not as much of a problem because I can shrink them a bit by throwing them in the dryer. I am not bothered when they get longer. Pant waistbands however, should not be riding on my ribs. Pant shopping may have to wait until I move and feel better. On my skirts as long as they stay up and don't get too long should not be a problem. Most of my skirts are 3 inches longer, so a few will need high heels. Flat ones of course, like clogs, no spiked heels for me.

Well it is time to get dinner going.

Shrinking Feet Again

Since giving up soda a little over a month ago my feet have shrunk another shoe size. I was under the impression that your feet were suppose to get bigger as you aged.   This is the second time in 12 months that I have had to get rid of shoes that were to large.  Oh well, who is up for shoe shopping with me? Maybe I should only get a few pairs and see where I am 6 months from now. 

Oh, did I mention that the skirts that I bought to wear with flats in December now require high heels, yes we are talking 2 inch heels. This means that the skirts are now 3 inches longer. My hips have lost some padding. I think I will hold off on clothes a few more weeks to see where I settle out.  Just maybe I will get back into my skinny clothes.  

Now if I could just figure out what is going on with my hip things would be better. 

Knitting Again

I am making my way back from the arthritis flare up caused by flu.   I know this because I finished knitting 3 hats and 1 scarf today.  I also cast on a few more hats too.  I have not counted the rows yet, I will do that tomorrow.  

Still Resting

Eric had a rough night, last night. I never did figure out what the problem was, but a long mommy hug seemed to do the trick. I was only up for 3 hours with him. John was so nice and took care of everything this morning. Even so, this lead to a very tired day for me. I screwed up on the same section of scarf twice, so I put it aside for when I am more awake.  I was too tired to do laundry today, so all the baskets will be at least knee high tomorrow.  

I am looking forward to tomorrow.  New Mobility is coming to the house to do the updates on Eric's wheelchair. How cool is that? I don't have to pull Eric out of his program or drive across town for wheelchair modifications.  Maybe I'll celebrate by doing some laundry while they are here. 

I hope to have more energy tomorrow.  Maybe I can catch up on a few things around the house. It's time to go tuck Eric in for the night.  

Laying. Low

I spent the day laying low today.  Eric and I napped while John worked on setting up his work shop.  He is doing a great job.  I am hoping that laying low will give my body time to finally kick the bug and after effects that have been slowing me down.  This afternoon Eric and I watched a documentary on John Denver. I also got some knitting done.  I am planning another lay low day tomorrow.  

An Updated Chicken Soup Recipe

I have updated an old family recipe to include parsnips, which by the way tend to have the taste and texture of potatoes in this soup. A good friend Lisa loves this soup and wanted the recipe so she does not have to wait for me to make it.

This is my families favorite chicken soup. This is a basic recipe that you can change up with the addition of matzo balls, dumplings or noodles or a combination of noodles and dumplings or matzo balls.

1 whole chicken ,washed in cold water.
1 teaspoon salt
water to cover chicken
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 pounds of carrots peeled and sliced
1 large celery sliced, this will be about 7-8 cups
1 onion diced
1 Large Parsnip peeled and sliced*

In a large pot add cleaned chicken and salt. Cover with water. Bring to a boil. Skim the pot of any junk that comes to the top, this should take about 30 minutes. While you are waiting for the chicken to boil now is an excellent time to scrub down your sink with your favorite bleach cleanser. It is important to clean the sink and the surrounding area before you chop the vegetables.

Once the chicken is not making any more junk and the broth has been skimmed clear, Add all the vegetables at once and add the pepper. Turn the stove to medium low and and simmer at least 2 hours.

After about 2 hours I carefully pull the chicken from the pot and de-bone the chicken, this is the process where the skin is pulled off and the bones are taken out of the chicken. Smaller pieces of chicken are tossed right back in the pot, I tend to dice the larger pieces before they are put back in the pot.

If you are going to add dumplings this is the point where you add them. For a quick dumpling just use a regular biscuit recipe and spoon into the boiling broth and turn down the temperature and simmer for about 20 minutes. For and even faster dumpling just get your favorite ready to use biscuits and layer them on the top of the broth and simmer for about 20 minutes.

I usually make the noodles separately and keep them separate from the soup. Since everyone has their own noodle preference I let everyone scoop their own noodles and then add the soup. The only exception to this would be alphabet noodles which just taste better when they have more time in the broth.

The soup is ready to serve. I usually serve this with bread and margarine.

Enjoy this soup recipe and add your families favorite vegetables to the soup to make it your own.

Unfortunately I have no vegan or vegetarian options for this soup.

* The parsnips are not in the original version published in 2009.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

Wanna Bee's

This is an open letter to all Printshop Owners and People who want to second guess my art.

Dear Print Shop Professional,

Your staff screwed up beyond belief today. I won't be coming back. Thank goodness it was a very limited run.  Not only did your staff MUCK with the color of my new knitting pattern turning a medium blue into a dark royal blue after, yes I said after my color approval.  The reason is because they thought it looked better. if your employee wants to be an artist fine, yes really.  That does not give them the right to MUCK up my artwork.  The blue almost black your employee turned the picture made the picture worthless to the knitters who will be using the new pattern. Not only that but you charged 80 cents more per copy than last year. $1.00 per copy this year verses 20 cents a copy last year.  Inflation is just not running that high around here.  

Depending on the size and scope of the project it can take me any where from 20 to 80 hours or more from design,to knitting the sample,to getting the finished pattern out the door.  This is why I am so mad. If they wanted to get into the act of this pattern design, they should have showed up in early January. 

Now I will take the high road and not mention your print shop by name.  I have no idea why you hired this person in the first place and frankly I really don't care.  What I do care about is getting my project done right, yes my way.  Also be aware that not everyone has an eye for color. There is a world of difference between a verigated medium blue and a royal or black blue. So if you or your employee does not have an eye for color, just don't mess with my color.  Don't presume that I don't my colors and won't notice. 

Feeling Better

I think I have finally kick the flu and the secondary.  I am still going to take it slow.  At least the house did not take too bad of a hit. I have got my knitting mojo back, so maybe I can get some projects off the needles this week and get 2 patterns out the door.  Well it's time to go back to knitting.  

I Am Bored

This is day 2 on the medicine. I am exhausted. I am even too tired to knit.  I was even too tired to watch tv or listen to books.  So I spent most of the day resting and sleeping. The big excitement of the day was a flickering of power followed by a power outage that lasted an hour and a half. Eric was not a happy camper.  It was so wide spread that I could not even bring up Twitter to find out what was happening.  The power company has still not called me to say that the power has been restored. At least we have lights. I still have not reset the clocks around the house.  Maybe I can get John to reset them tomorrow.  

The Flu Morphed

The flu bug morphed.  I tried to get into my doctors office today, the earliest appointment was Friday.  So I headed to urgent care.   I also managed to lock my keys in the van.  Not only that but dropped them under the seat where my hands could not reach.  John came to my rescue, he not only brought the spare keys, but was able to reach under the seat to get the keys.  He then went to pick up my medicine so I could go home and eat some lunch so that I could take the medicine when he got home.  

I spent the rest of the day resting.  I hope to kick this bug soon because I am not a sit on the couch for days type of gal.  I did not even have energy to knit or do laundry today.  Tomorrow will be better.   

Teri Time

Teri time is almost over. Teri and I had a great weekend.  I will pack before bed tonight; have breakfast with Teri; and then head to the airport.  I still have some knitting to do on the flights and while I wait for my planes. I will get home in time to tuck Eric into bed. It looks like the guys did great on their own. : )

Teri Time

I get to spend the weekend with Teri.  We are having fun shopping. Need I really say more?

Time to Tink

Sometimes when I find a projected buried at the back of the closet there is a very good reason for it.... In this case I was not fond of the pattern and could not see me wearing it.  Between the price of the yarn and the time it was taking to make it would be too expensive for me to sell. It is also not a charity scarf. So while Eric is doing his breathing treatment I will frog this scarf and make something more useful. Rip-it rip-it rip-it.

Addendum: As I was tinking the project the yarn just started breaking. I gave up after the 7th break in less then 1/4 of the skein. So Now the yarn and scarf are in the dog pillow stuffing box. I am not going to waste any more time on it.

We survived

Eric and I are both feeling better. Just maybe he will go to program on Thursday.  I also picked out one of my knitting projects for the weekend.  Just maybe I can get a few things for me done.  Well it's time to call it a night.  Eric will still be home tomorrow.  

My Name is Toast

I picked up the bug du jour last week, which started with a 4 day headache and then moved down. I have spent the last 2 days sleeping hoping that it will help me get over this bug. I was hoping for another solid day of sleeping tomorrow. Eric had other plans, he just started throwing up. I gently suggested to him that tomorrow would be a day of sleep and he just glared at me. Lisa suggested that he take care of himself and he shoot that dagger glare. I have decided that I will be over this by Thursday, I sure hope that my body listens to me.

If you want to join the party here tomorrow just bring Pedilyte and Lemonade. Also I declare tomorrow will be another laundry is like fine wine day. No laundry shall be folded before its time. Even though it's after 8 pm I expect to get 2 loads of laundry washed tonight.

Wish me luck for tomorrow.

Catching Up

Eric has been keeping us very busy with tummie troubles. He has missed almost a week of program.  The hours have been long and the stress hit my back with vengence.  I have been to stressed out to eat at times, which lead to odd meal times when I was relaxed enough to eat.   Eric is feeling better and we will try a half day at program tomorrow.  Lisa has been a godsend coming over to sit with Eric while I went to PT. 

I am behind on all things crafty.  I just cast off my new shawl pattern now I just have to do the finishing work and polish the pattern.  I am wondering how Amber is doing on her test shawl. I am also behind on finishing the belt made with the new weaving sticks at Grandma's Spinning Wheel. I just started it tonight and am already 25% of the way through the project after just 1 hour.  I am having fun with this project.  I hope to have it done tomorrow.  Now it's time to go back to weaving. 

New Pattern

I am almost finished knitting my new pattern.  This is all the yarn I have left. I have given it to my test knitter. Since it was designed with new knitters in mind I showed Amber how to do the knitting combanation and gave her the lace weight yarn she will need to knit the pattern.  I can't wait to see how Amber does with this pattern.  

Now it's time to finish knitting and clean up the pattern.  

Salsa Chicken

Salsa Chicken is a recipie that is fast, easy and gluten free. I will have some more gluten free dishes on the blog as I create them for my wonderful sister in law Marla.  They will all be fast and easy to put together. Many will be semi homemade with pre-made ingredients. Perfect for the cook with active children or newer cooks.  This is an easy recipie to bring the younger cooks into the kitchen to help with. 

For those of you who do not live in the United States the following conversions will be helpful. These are exact conversions,  C= F-32.00/1.8) Since I do not cook in celius just get them as close as possible to your own oven.  

350f is equal to 176.67c

325f is equal to 162.78c

185f is equal to 85c

 16 ounces or 1 pound is equal to 0.45 kilograms

Ingredients

1 pound of chicken ( more or less depending on your needs. )

Salt and white pepper

1 cup of salsa, pre made is fine. 

Spray your favorite casserole dish with non stick cooking spray. The clean up crew likes this.   Add the chicken.  Lightly salt and pepper. I use white pepper because it has a milder taste.  Evenly cover the chicken with the salsa. Bake at 350f for 50 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal tempature of 185f. If you are using a glass casserole dish set the oven to 325f and bake for 1 hour or until the chicken reaches 185f.   

I will be serving this with gluten free corn  tortillas, refrained beans and vegetables. You can also add olives for good luck, this is a south of the boarder tradition.

In The Blender

My life has been in the blender, which is like dancing as fast as you can on the edge of a sword, but with an I interminted vortex being controlled by a higher power than me.  I am sitting with Eric who is having a bad tummy week.  We know what the problem is and tried the quick fix solution.  Since it is almost 12:30 on Thursday morning we know that is not the solution.  Weather we go down path B , C D, or E will be up to team Eric medical professionals.  

I am just wondering how early I can hand off my meeting notes for tomorrow, so that I can take care of Eric and someone else can run the Old Pueblo Knitting Guild Meeting.  I am positive that this is the wrong hour of the morning to call someone.  

I would also like to thank PBS Kids for running good programming for kids at a time when we should all be sleeping. If you don't already support public television, a small donation will keep early morning programming going for Eric and other kids..I also want to know why Sprout has changed their programming to run excercize programming at midnight for kids?

Well I think it is time to go adjust the air conditioning.  I usually don't run the air conditioning in February. Then I will do some charity knitting.  

A Plague of a Day

It would have been enough if I had only woken up with the room spinning and my ears hurting, without  the right medicine in the house.  Then finding out that you can't get it at the drive up window was a bit much this morning. 

It would have been enough to get to Eric's doctors appointment on time, but not being at the wrong office was too much this morning.  

It would have been enough to leave after Eric's doctors appointment and bring him to his day program. , instead of enjoying the fine dinning of the hospital cafeteria.  

It would have been quite helpful to know that there are really bad colors that need immediate attention.  We learned the hard way, don't ask.  

On the bright side it was a nice sunny day so Eric and I enjoyed some time outside listening to music. 

On the bright side we check into the lab test early and the hospital transport system was behind so we got in early to the test.  

On the bright side we are home tonight.  I am exhausted beyond belief.  It takes a lot of energy to get in to high gear when I don't feel good, let alone keeping it up all day.  

On the very bright side John brought home dinner.  For that I am very grateful. 

Today's Progress

Today I tackled 7 boxes in Teri's room.  I did the daughting task of separating her tea cup collection that she inherited from her Grandama Audrey from my own tea cups and precious memories.  My collection is now neatly arranged and Teri had 3 boxes to deal with.  I also found a lovely Spode serving dish that we got as a wedding present and never used waiting for a fancy enough dinner. I made the decision to unbox it and make it an everyday dish, because everyday is special.  

For those of you who remember what the shelf used to look like here is the new view.  I still might rearrange things so all the Woodland Flowers tea cups are together.  John on he other hand has 4 boxes to break down and recycle.  I also did not need all the newspaper that I thought that I would.  This means that the recycle can will be extra full this week.  

The Last Room

Today I started the deep cleaning of the last room that has not been zenned. I am hoping that it will only take about a week.  Although I have my doubts, I put in 4 hours of solid cleaning and only made a small dent.  Tomorrow I hope to sort the tea cups, Teri's and mine got blended together in her jounior year of high school.  At least most of mine are in a different style.  My tea cups will go on display and Teri's will be repacked so she can take them when she is ready for them.  I probably should not have recycled last weeks newspaper.  

I did not realize just how much hand spun yarn I had in Teri's dresser and in her bookcases.  That was all moved today.  I will have to do more knitting and weaving to start using it up.  2016 will be my year of creating as much as possible. I am off to a good start in knitting more projects. I would like to finish Teri's room and start on the zenning of the garage before it hits the 100's.