Hamburgers from scratch
July 13, 2009 at 6:32 pm | In baking, crochet, family, food, knitting | Leave a CommentThe Bug and I helped Uncle G make hamburgers from scratch (grind meat, bake buns, make ketchup, relish, and mustard) as inspired by an article in Gourmet magazine. They were very good, especially those that were more coursely ground.
I’ve also made a few dishcloths…
This last one didn’t handle the ‘up-sizing’ as well as the other blocks.
I’ve also made progress on the lace scarf (a la Meghan-Jasmin’s Lace Throwdown)…no pix just yet.
The blackberries are going full-ahead, so we also made blackberry crisp using this recipe from Alton Brown. I made a double batch in a 9×13 pan and just used all the ‘crumble’ part. We used gingersnaps for the cookies. It was yummy!
Vacation
June 29, 2009 at 8:55 pm | In family, travel | Leave a CommentWe survived vacation in North Carolina and returned safely on Sunday. The first evening (Sunday) was spent unpacking and getting settled. We used Monday to go to the store and then took the kids to do some ‘gem mining’ and putt-putt golf just to get them out of the house and moving around.
On Tuesday we headed to Cherokee, NC. We stopped in the visitor center there, which is a great location on the water and is staffed with very friendly, helpful people.
We went gem mining again and found the Oconaluftee Islands Park to have our picnic …
the Fun Factory to appease both small and big kids (but when can you appease a teenager? – tell me…!)
On Wednesday, we went horseback riding and then visited the water park area in Cherokee (near the Cherokee Coney and Cream Ice Cream Shop – mmMMMmmm!) The horseback riding was very traumatic and Bug screamed and screamed, so they took us back while the others continued on…
Thursday took us to Asheville. Everyone went to visit the antique car museum/sculpture garden, but then we split up. Bug and I went to the North Carolina Arboretum to see the bonsai and quilt gardens. Everyone else went to the Biltmore. I’d been there and never care to go back. They now agree with me (told you so!)
Enough for now… 
Princess Tea Party and ‘blather’
April 2, 2009 at 9:30 pm | In Baby, family, gardening, knitting | Leave a CommentBug loves to dress up…
so when I saw a “princess” tea party advertised in Nana and Pappaw T.’s home town, I signed her up. Paducah has this thing called Paducah iList that is an email of all the happenings in Paducah each week. I wish we had one for Murfreesboro. Princess Bug went to the “Princess” tea party with her Nana T. We went to Paducah especially for it. It was a fundraiser for Easter Seals. Bug had a great time and wore herself out.
I’ve been trodging along working on bits and pieces of things. I finished the knitting part of the gradient scarf and just need to find the right masculine button for it (DH claimed it). I’m waiting to take pictures until it is done. The afgans are still in progress and being worked on, as well as the socks.
Spring and gardening are pulling at my mind.
I’ve been thinking of ordering a fig tree and some blueberry bushes for our yard. DH loves brown turkey figs and they will grow here. I signed us up for a CSA (community supported agriculture) at the Avalon Acres Farms. We will be getting a 1/2 share of veggies and a meat/eggs portion each Wednesday starting in May.
School is hectic with the last push of things (research posters and class research projects, etc) with which to deal. With the nice weather, I’ve been walking outside instead of going to the gym. Now, if it will only stop raining and flooding our yard….
Ambling along
January 22, 2009 at 9:14 pm | In Baby, family, food, knitting | 1 CommentSchool has started and the cold has let up a bit, but it supposed to be back tonight. I have had a fierce need to make stuff, WARM stuff…
KNITTING –
FO: Emerald Hug
A scarf for my Grandma (a knitted, fuzzy green hug)
Yarn: Riot eyelash from Yarn Bee, color seamist
Pattern: simple garter stitch, CO 15 with US 10
FO: The John Deere clogs for MY Dear Dad
pre-felt
post-felt
Yarn: Lopi Lite, every bit of 6 balls (4 green and 2 yellow) for Men’s medium
Pattern: the brilliant FiberTrends felted clogs!
WIP: Blue Beret
Yarn: malabrigo, mmmmm
Pattern: One Day Beret by Through the Loops
WIP: Pinkie Clogs for MIL
Yarn: Regular Lopi, pink and gray
Pattern: Yes, more clogs!
COOKING –
DH wants to eat more vegetarian dishes (not so much meat), so I am obliging. I used to eat very little meat – especially in graduate school. So, besides another batch of yummy biscotti (not as good with peanuts as pecans), I made onion soup this week from the Moosewood Cookbook – yum! We’re going to try a butternut squash/quinoa dish DH found, and perhaps a frittata or risotto (from the Splendid Table) this coming week.
ENJOYING –
I am also enjoying the flurry of podcasts that have picked up after the holiday breaks. I am especially enjoying Cogknitive, Stash and Burn, and StitchIt. I seem to be dealing a bit better with the winter blues so far this winter. I have been exercising more and that seems to help. However, I haven’t talked to my family much – I generally do that when I am starting to feel sad. So, I am looking forward to Dr. Gemma’s strategies (cogknitive) for fighting back those winter blahs/blues.
Little Bug has been behaving somewhat better these past few days, so I feel a bit more at ease.
Here are all of our “winter” flowers: Daisy, Iris, Lily and Bug (she has a flower name, too).
So much…
December 28, 2008 at 8:37 pm | In Baby, family, knitting | Leave a CommentWe’ve had a whirlwind of activity here…
Bug had a Christmas program at school.
We had a good Christmas and Bug got to spend lots of time with her Pappaw T.
I finished a few things (I’ll add details later):
a pair of fetching with an added ‘pointelle’ lace pattern from the vogue Stitchionary in silk/alpaca
and a pair of clogs for FIL
I’m glad to be back home – whew!
Mitt-o-rama
December 7, 2008 at 9:47 pm | In family, knitting | Leave a CommentI’ve been knitting mitts up a storm. Mainly for gifts. I like to give people things to kind of thank them around this time of year, but I don’t want them to feel like they need to give me something back. So, I don’t wrap them, I just give them as I get them done.
1. Mitts for NB
Yarn: Knit picks wool of the Andes, 1 ball
Needles: US 9
Pattern: made it up – CO 45, did K2, P1 ribbing and a 1×1 cable sort of like fetching, but for a man’s hand
2. Sherbet Mitts
Yarn: Knit picks Memories, 1 ball, used double stranded
Needles: US 6
Pattern: Fetching
3. Purple Mitts for CB
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino, 1 ball
Needles: US 3
Pattern: Top Down Alpaca Mitts by Ann M from 101 Luxury One skein Wonders
Also, DH ran in the Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer 5k on Friday. They gave out ‘noses.’
We went to FIL’s family Christmas dinner on Saturday where Bug played with a piano for the first time.
I lost my grandfather on Saturday. He was an 88 year old cratchety type of guy who didn’t know us the last year or so. We’ll be traveling back to Ohio for the services. I was born with all 4 grandparents and 3 great-grandparents living. I have only one grandparent left now – my Mammaw S. I know lots of people who don’t have any. I was very lucky to have had so many of my older family around me growing up. They taught me a lot about working hard, having fun, and the importance of family – especially my great-grandpa J. I miss them.
Finishing frenzy
November 23, 2008 at 9:32 pm | In Baby, family, knitting, whining, work | Leave a CommentThe big orange hunting socks are finally finished. These took quite a long time to knit compare to the others lately. First they are bigger socks and longer socks and the pattern repeats are on every round – whew!
First modeled by Miss Bug…
Then by DH. His father is the recipient.
Particulars…
Yarn: Trekking XXL, used most of one skein
Color: mostly orange
Needle: US 2 (knit picks, used magic loop, one at at time)
Pattern: Made it up
Inspiration: Hedgerow socks and fetching
Size: Men’s size 10-11 wide
I also knit up a pair of mittens for me!
Particulars:
Yarn: Manos de Uruguay, used about 2/3 of a skein
Needle: US 9, magic loop, ‘toe-up’
Pattern: plain, kind of made up, numbers based on Ann Budd’s book of patterns
I also sewed up my sister’s clogs (fiber-trends) and will felt them over Thanksgiving. She has tiny feet, so I wanted to do it when I have her foot around for measurement purposes. I also am working on a pair of fingerless mitts for my friend’s husband. I just taught her to knit yesterday. Pictures later…
Otherwise, things are ticking along here.
Bug had her Thanksgiving program at ’school’ in which the kids sang. She is wearing orange.
She was actually on good behavior this year – no crying like last year. And she even ate some of the lunch! Since Thanksgiving is so late this year and Bug is very much in the holiday spirit, we also made ornaments
and put up our Christmas tree this weekend.
We are hoping to avoid so much materialism with her. She seems to want everything she sees. So, we devised this plan – she gets to cut out pictures of things she wants and glue them to a special block of construction paper we keep on the freezer with Santa’s picture on it. Then Santa will choose one thing to bring her. We will get here something and her grandparents will too, but maybe it won’t be so overwhelming…?
I have only one more lecture and two more classes in this semester – one course was double the time each week (to allow for travel) and ended at mid-semester. However, there is ‘no rest for the wicked’ – as soon as classes are finished, I have to report for US district jury duty for the remainder of December… BIG FUN!
So much..
October 3, 2008 at 7:54 pm | In Baby, family, knitting | Leave a CommentMany adventures since the last post… A quick picture-filled post!
Socks based on a stitch pattern (Fancy pattern # 17 by Fitter Knitter) are done. The chevron pattern reminds me of Charlie Brown’s shirt (the zig-zag), so these are my “Charlie Brown” socks.
Particulars:
Knitpicks essential, 2 skeins (but not all)
Color: cocoa
US 2
This yarn is awesome. I hope it wears well.
We’ve been to the Brown County Fair to see the big pumpkins
The winner was a mere 150.5 pounds.
The big surprise vegetable was the cabbage that weighed 29.4 pounds!
Miss Bug rode the carousel after MUCH coaxing – then wanted to go again and again.
All in all a good time -
Ending vacation story and some socks
July 13, 2008 at 3:15 pm | In family, knitting | 2 CommentsThe other houses at the Frontier Culture Museum are houses of the pioneer times in America. This one was in progress.
This one was later and represented two periods of time.
Bug even found a baby bed to put her horse to sleep in.
The next morning we left for home. A long trip, but still better than I had envisioned. Since then, we’ve run our first 5k (me) and 10k (DH), been to Paducah to see Nana and Pappaw T and celebrate Independence Day with Bug’s first fireworks.
She also enjoyed a carriage ride with Pappaw and Dad.
I finished the corn socks and gave them to DH, but have yet to get a picture. I also started another pair of socks from the Hill country sock yarn club (Instant gratification sock yarn in russet). If a yarn was every named appropriately, this one is it. I started the socks on July 3 and am nearly done with them. The pattern is Lotus that came with the yarn.
Views galore
July 1, 2008 at 8:28 pm | In family, gardening, knitting | 1 CommentWednesday in Virginia was spent looking at the mountains. We traveled to the visitor center at the Peaks of Otter in Bedford County, Virginia (Blue Ridge Mountains) and had lunch at the lodge (slow service, but ok). We then rode the bus up the mountain and walked up to the observation area with the whole gang (minus Uncle T because he had to work).
This was the view from the bus drop off.
On the way up to the summit – a bit scary with toddlers. Z and C practically ran up, but Bug trudged along barely.
View of the top (LOTS of big rocks). Again, a bit scary with the toddlers and the open rock areas.
Views of the mountains from the top (FlatTop, Sharp Top, and Harkening Hill).
Here in TN, we picked a handful of blackberries and our first peach – MmmmmMMmmMMM! The corn socks are almost done (middle of the afterthought heel on the second sock!)
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