Crazy weather

We're supposed to hit a record high today. The record is 56, they are saying 58-60. There is still snow out there that needs to go somewhere, but unfortunately the ground is still frozen solid. To top it off, thunderstorms tomorrow.

If we didn't live on this particular dirt road, I would not have a problem with the washing away of the 8 weeks of snow that has accumulated with no real melting. ( We didn't get our typical January thaw.... the snow just kept coming and the temps would hardly budge out of the single digits and teens.) But when things get warm really fast like this (and add some rain on top of it) our road can not handle it and turns to a muddy mess. Every year I pray it is not the year we have to resort to parking at the corner and putting on our boots to walk home. We've come close a few years, but this might be the one. Hoo boy... fun times.

On the knitting front, I am almost done with one of the pieces for my new pattern. The pattern will have several different options to choose from, and I am hoping to have samples to show all, or at least most, of the options in photos on the pattern. I'm getting good feedback about the design, and will announce it here when it's ready.

I spent about 7 hours Saturday in the company of my knitting buddies at Kim's house. We had ourselves a little mid-winter knitting retreat. Lots of chatter, food, and knitting. Unfortunately I was the first one who had to leave.... I really didn't want to leave but I had to tear myself away to go to a fundraiser that night. We had a really great time. Kim lives in a rural area where wildlife abound and at one point during the afternoon, 4 deer came and stood right outside her dining area window to feed a bit, and then stared as us while we stared at them. It was so cool!

Feels like a heat wave!

I was able to walk out the door to get the mail without turning into a popsicle today. We're having a one-day heat wave here. It's 35 degrees at the moment. Now, to some of you (Hi Maria!) who may be enjoying unseasonably warm temps, we have been below freezing, and quite often below zero, for a while now. Brrr.... We also had a bunch of snow dump on us again last weekend, but thankfully none since then.

 

It's going to get frigid again this weekend. Single digits overnight with highs in the teens. Winter has a tight grip on us this year for sure. My wool socks and felted clogs are on my feet constantly. I've even had to wear socks to bed a few times and let me tell you, it has to be mighty cold for me to go to bed with socks on. I HATE having my feet covered in bed. Most times I have them sticking out of the sheets and blankets. So yes, this little warm up today feels nice. Even if it is short-lived.

I started these socks before Stitch 'n Pitch this summer so I could knit something small at the ballpark. After the game, they got put aside so I could work on my Rhinebeck sweater. I finally decided to pick the socks back up, and I've made a good bit of progress in the past few days. Hopefully they will be done this weekend. I love the pattern and the yarn!



I have another pair of socks that have been in progress even longer than these. I need to finish them so I can dive into my sock yarn stash and start a new pair. I really want to knit up some of my sock yarn before I buy any more. Not all of it, mind you, but at least a couple more pairs of socks have to come from my stash before I buy any more (and I already know what the first purchase will be. I got to see and feel some Mini Mochi last night and it is so pretty, and SO soft. That yarn is going to make some scrumptious socks!)

I'm working on a new design right now. It's being tested, and I hope to get the pattern written up, photos taken, and have it for sale soon! Watch for details here!

Happy New Year!

The holidays left very little time, energy, or desire to blog. But here I finally am!

Christmas was wonderful. We had Christmas Eve here at our house, with Kim and Drew, my parents, and my brother Andy and his family. Mike made homemade kielbasa, and golabki (pronounced gawumpki....which is Polish stuffed cabbage). We also put a ham in the oven, and had some yummy side dishes. SIL Karen brought an awesome salad that I will definitely make again. It was unique and wonderful!  Here is the link: Spinach Salad.  She used fresh bean sprouts instead of canned (a very wise choice in my opinion!) and added Toastettes croutons as well. Yum.

Kim and Drew spent the night as they always do, and we all woke up in the same house to share the festivities on Christmas Morning. Lots of great gifts were passed around and then opened and enjoyed.  We had a rather lazy day, just the way we like it. 

New Year's Eve plans were changed at the last minute. The party we were to go to was cancelled so we ended up picking up some take-out and staying home. No problem. Another quiet, lazy day. Same with New Year's Day. More time for vegging.

This morning I awoke to a strange sound coming from downstairs. Even as I came down, I couldn't figure out what I was hearing. Turns out Mike had started stripping the wallpaper and had the steamer going to get the paper and glue off once the top layer of paper came off.

We have been talking about redoing the kitchen for many months now, and if you don't take that first step, it will never happen.

We've had the same theme in the kitchen since we gutted and remodeled the kitchen not too long after moving in over 15 years ago! It's hunter green checkerboard, and apples. I loved it at the time we did it. I've had a LOT of matching accessories added to the room over the years, but after a while you just get to the point where it starts to drive you crazy. Apples, apples, EVERYWHERE!

When I got my Fiesta dishes, I started thinking more seriously about changing things up. So now it looks like we have made the decision to do it. I can't wait. The few walls that we've gotten the wallpaper off today already look better (though we will have lots of repair work to do before we can actually put some fresh paint up). And unfortunately, it's not just 4 walls of one room that need to be done. The apple/checkerboard theme goes towards the back entrance area, and also down the hallway to the stairs. I think it's actually on 15 surfaces. A big job, for sure. But it will be worth it in the end. I am SO ready for this!

My plan is to paint all the walls one color of Fiesta (pretty sure I've decided on turquoise) and then the window and door moldings will be a combination of the other Fiesta colors that I have in my dishes. It's going to be quirky and whimsical, and I'm going to love it! I plan on using Porcelaine 150 paints (mixing to make Fiesta-like colors when they are not available) and painting all of the 40+ ceramic cabinet and drawer knobs I have now. I have looked and looked and have not found anything I like to replace them without spending about $500. I have used the paint before and it is very durable after being baked in a regular oven...no kiln needed! 

I have no idea how long this project is going to take, but I'm glad it's finally underway and I really am looking forward to my fresh, new kitchen! Long overdue. 

 The big issue we have to decide on is whether to tear up the ceramic tile countertop and backsplash now, or have that be a separate project later on. The tile is almond, with an almond/green checkerboard backsplash. It REALLY needs to go (I'm thinking about a soapstone or concrete countertop). Now, or later, that is the question.......

Off to put the last of the Christmas decor away. Hopefully weeks won't go by again before I blog the next time, huh?

(Holy cow, I just went back and looked at the post when I got my Fiesta dishes and started talking about taking down the wallpaper and painting the kitchen. That was over EIGHT MONTHS AGO! It took us a while to get to this point, huh? Sheesh!)

Busy Busy BUSY!

Holy cow, December is just flying by!

I think everyone is scrambling to get ready for Christmas this year. With Thanksgiving being late this year, December was right around the corner, and now it's half over already. Sheesh!

No knitting pictures to show, no knitting content to report. I'm too busy doing other things. Decorating, getting packages ready for the mail, baking, etc.

I've taken some time out to have some fun along the way though!

Kim and I had a little 2-day mother/daughter outing 2 weekends ago. We went shopping in Frankenmuth all day on Sunday (and a little more Monday morning) and then headed over to Birch Run outlet mall to shop the rest of the day. We had a fun time, and it was nice to get a little more shopping done while spending time with Kim. Included in the fun was a HUGE chicken dinner at Zehnder's in Frankenmuth. Zehnder's is an institution, THE place to eat when in Frankenmuth, but we had never been there before. Our waitress was a real sweetie and we really enjoyed her after a long day of hitting the sidewalks. The other place you MUST go to is Bronner's.  A true Christmas wonderland! We spent over an hour there Sunday night but they closed down the store when we had only seen about 3/4 of the store, and so we had to go back in the morning to actually make our selections and purchases. 

Here are Kim and I outside the Frankenmuth Woolen Mill store. Kim froze her butt on the metal sheep toy. It was about 15 degrees that day. 

This past Saturday was Mike's company Christmas party. They provided everyone a room (or a taxi ride home instead) at the hotel complex where the party was held. It was nice to be able to enjoy the evening and then just go upstairs and sleep it off.  A good time was had by all (That tends to happen when the alcohol is flowing freely!)

It's crunch time now, so I must fire up my KitchenAid mixer and get back to work!

We're having Christmas eve here with my mom and dad, Kim and Drew, and my brother's family. My brother loves cheesecake, so the past several years his gift has been a couple different flavors of cheesecakes. After baking, I freeze them, then cut each one into 4 pieces, wrap in foil and pop them back in the freezer. That way he can just pull out 1/4 of a cheesecake now and then and have a little treat. So I have 2 cheesecakes to make for him, and one for us to have Christmas eve. I also want to get some cookies made. I will try out something I bought myself at the outlet mall, which my friend Tam told me about. There was a 3-6 week wait to get one online so I was happy to find it in the store. 

It's the New Metro beater blade for my mixer. It's got silicone edges that scrape the sides for you and it even gets down to the very bottom of the bowl where sometimes things don't quite get mixed in. 

Ok, time to get into the kitchen and get crackin'!  

(I just heard on the radio we are going to get some snow this evening. Yay! Yesterday morning it was pouring rain, and I really am not happy when it pours in December, washes away the snow and makes everything muddy brown again. It was 50+ degrees when Mike left for work yesterday morning, but down into the low 20s by afternoon. Brrr......)

Thankful

I am thankful for so many things this year, and counting my blessings on all of my fingers and toes.

Our family is blessed with health, employment, (two biggies in my book) many friends, and a wonderful family to gather with and share a feast. We will count these blessings and many more, and pray for those less fortunate. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Yay Hooray! The Sweater! It is D-O-N-E!!!

Back in the spring, I went to Threadbear in Lansing for the "More Big Girl Knits" book launch. They had many of the garments from the book there to try on, and I fell in love with the Hot Cocoa Jacket, designed by Jordana Paige.  I decided to make it, and meant to have it done in time to wear at Rhinebeck. I could have done it, but I am such a procrastinator. When will I ever learn? It didn't help that I lost a month of knitting time right before Rhinebeck when I was messing around with the CRT contact lenses. Oh well, that's all water under the bridge. The sweater is done, only a month late. I sewed the button on yesterday and wore it last night to show off to my knitting buddies. It was met with rave reviews, and I was so happy to finally be able to wear it. It was COLD last night, and as I walked in from the parking lot I could tell it was keeping me toasty warm. But with that big open neckline, something was needed to go with it.

Here's what I came up with. This is a scarf I knit with yarn I spun about a year ago. It's the first project that I have knit for myself with my handspun. That makes it very special to me! I used all of the 4 oz. I had spun, with only a teeny tiny little ball left. The pattern is called Mariko,and it was designed by Joan at Heritage Spinning and Weaving. I'm not sure if the pattern is up for sale yet. I loved knitting it. Very easy to memorize and I think it was perfect for the yarn. I started the scarf last Thursday evening at our knit night, and I think I surprised a few of the gals when I walked in with it a mere week later, done, blocked, and around my neck. 

See more photos and information about both projects on my Ravelry pages. (Click up there at the top right)

Now I need to take a little knitting break and rest my hands. I figure between knitting the collar on the sweater on Friday, and knitting the full scarf, I knit almost 40,000 stitches this past week. Yes, that is the correct number of zeros....40 THOUSAND stitches. Yikes!

Overheard at Great Clips

I took Jake to get his hair cut today, and was knitting while I was waiting. BTW-- The Hot Cocoa Jacket is OFF THE NEEDLES and in the process of being seamed. Everybody say YAY!  (YAY!) I was knitting a scarf with some handspun. 

There were two little girls, sisters, maybe 5 and 8 years old. Their grandma was getting a haircut and they were very patiently waiting. The older one was reading to the younger girl. I heard the older one say "she's knitting" which made my ears perk up and then the little one said "I like that!" So I looked up, and she was looking at me, so I said "Thank You!". She asked me if it was going to be a scarf. I said yes, and held it up to show her. The older sister said "Is that really hard to do?" I assured her that once you learn how that no, it really isn't that hard at all. Then the little one said:

"I thought that was in the olden days". 

I very gently corrected her and said "Oh no, there are lots and LOTS of people who like to knit!!"

I hope someday they will learn how. I would have showed them if Jake wasn't done just then!

Gratitudes

• A day that started out gray and drizzling, turned into a sunny, warm day with a beautiful full moon at night.
• I am sooo close to being done with my Hot Cocoa Jacket. I'll be so glad to weave in the ends and finally wear it! Just in time, because the weekend looks to be freezing!
• Kaitlyn's teachers had nothing but good things to say about her at conferences last night. She must really shine when she's at school. I am proud of her hard work and am amazed by the effect she has had on her teachers. 
• Getting together with my knitting buds last night was a blast. There were only 4 of us in attendance last night, which is unusual, but we had enough fun to make up for those who were not there. A lot of laughter (and good-hearted teasing) and more laughter...it's a wonder we didn't get kicked out. Good times, for sure.

I am keeping my nephew Jared, and his lovely Annalise, in my thoughts and prayers today. They were evacuated from their home in Santa Barbara due to the fires. I pray they will be safe, and their home and belongings will be untouched by the flames. 

Spinning again!

Coming home from Rhinebeck with some lovely fiber has inspired me to dust off the spinning wheels. They haven't been touched in many months. Shame on me! I forgot how much I enjoy spinning!

Before I could get started on the beautiful BFL I got from the Briar Rose booth, I had to crack the whip on myself and finish up the merino I started spinning for Linda (I hate to say how long ago). It has been a huge weight on my shoulders and I am happy to say that since I've been home, I finished spinning it, plied it and then this morning wound it into 2 hanks, soaked them, and they are outside drying right this very moment. I'm hoping that the 70 degree temps and sunshine will help them dry so I can present them to Linda at our knit-night tonight. 

Meanwhile, here's the first bobbin of Briar Rose BFL. (isn't it GORGEOUS?) Click to get a better look....

The fiber is prepared well, and it is a joy to spin. The colors in the roving are just beautiful and I love seeing how they blend together as I spin. I will probably end up with 3 bobbins, and am debating if I should do my first 3-ply or stick with 2 ply. I'm not sure if the colors will look too muddy if I ply 3 strands together. I guess I could try a little bit and see, and if I'm not happy, just do 2 ply!

Abolish the College!

Electoral College, that is...

A little politcal rant here. I try not to talk politics with friends and family or on this blog, and this isn't about the candidates or how I am voting, but I need to vent....

My annoyance at the electoral college method of election is growing again since I heard this morning that McCain could have 3 to 4 MILLION less votes than Obama and still (possibly) win the election. I totally do not agree with this. I would like for someone to please explain to me why it is so important for us to vote when our individual votes are not what decides the election. Is this democracy??? Hardly.  I understand why they might have thought it was a good idea at the time (not that I agree, but that was THEN, and this is NOW!) Does it make sense to hold onto this old idea? We have come a long way since this system was put in place for its archaic reasons.

I would like to think that all Americans would say they are perfectly capable of making up their own minds on who they would like to vote for and that they would like their individual vote to count. Is there really any average-"Joe The Plumber" who thinks the electoral college is still a good way to decide our leader? 

If you agree with the Electoral College, please leave me a comment and tell me why you do not want YOUR vote to count. 

I know I want MY vote to count. I want my family members, neighbors, friends all to have their say. I want YOU to have your say. I want everyone's vote to have equal weight in a decision this important. I want those who are voting for my choice as well as those voting for the opponent all to have equal say in who runs this country for the next 4 years. I want people in states with only 3 EC votes to feel their individual vote counts as much as someone who lives in a state with many more EC votes.  Why is this not the way we do things? 

I suppose if you live in one of those "undecided" states today, your vote will count. Sort of. I am reminded of 2000 when I felt like only those who lived in Florida had any say in the election. Oh how those votes were scrutinized and agonized over, and gosh, was your chad hanging or not? Over a month ....they counted and recounted while the rest of the country (if they were like me) sat back and wondered "why isn't MY vote just as important as those in Florida?".  

And when all was said and done, a group of 538 strangers decided our president. Decided for the masses. I much prefer if the masses decide for ourselves, thank you very much. The masses said Al Gore, but the EC said nope, you get George Bush. I thought there would be talk of changing the system at that point. I thought the people of this country would say "Wait a minute! What just happened here!? We need to look at this and see if maybe we shouldn't come into the 21st century and really let the people decide (since that's what most people incorrectly assume is actually happening). But the uprising never came. 

Click here for an explaination about how the Electoral College works, (you should really go read it if you're not clear). I especially like the final paragraph:

If all this sounds incredibly complicated it’s because it is. This is, however, the way the self-proclaimed “world’s greatest democracy” conducts its business. A far more democratic system would be for the American people to vote for the candidate of their choice. The candidate with the most votes would be declared the winner. This would also mean that the candidates would have to campaign in each of the fifty states because every vote would count. From my point of view, this would certainly not be ideal, but it would be an extraordinary improvement over the absurdity that presently exists.

So, I'm off to vote, even though it doesn't really count..... Michigan is already decided... Our EC is blue. McCain gave up campaigning here many weeks ago. Basically this said to me "Michigan's votes don't count anymore."  I guess the only votes that really count today are from the states that haven't already been decided before election day. I really hope this system changes in my lifetime, or at least in our children's lifetime. 

From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Main Entry:

de·moc·ra·cy 

Pronunciation:

\di-ˈmä-krə-sē\

Function:

noun

Inflected Form(s):

plural de·moc·ra·cies

Etymology:

Middle French democratie, from Late Latin democratia, from Greek dēmokratia, from dēmos + -kratia -cracy

Date:

1576

1 a: government by the people ; especially : rule of the majority

End of rant...

Have a great day (It's going to be in the 70s here today! Woo Hoo! Gotta love Indian Summer!)

Happy Halloween!

My little leprechaun and the Zombie Prom Queen 2008 as they went off to school this morning....

Rhinebeck Recap

I've already posted about my birthday, but there was so much more to the weekend. Linda, Tamara and I left early Thursday morning, drove up to Pt. Huron and across the bridge into Canada. The drive was just beautiful. It was a crisp, clear fall day. The further east we got, the more the landscape changed. Soon we were in the rolling hills, and they were covered in autumn's splendor of colors.

It was a very long drive, but I knit for several hours of it, thinking I might be able to actually finish my Rhinebeck sweater, but it wasn't to be. The chatter and laughter made the time fly by and before we knew it we were checking in to our hotel.

Frankie had arrived just before us. Frankie was a friend of ours, and was a member of our knitting group before she moved to NY a while back. She and Linda knew each other before they joined our knitting group. It was great to see her again! 

We all had some dinner and caught up a bit with Frankie, then got some sleep.

On Friday we enjoyed the fall colors some more, and the big event of the day was visiting the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park.  Click the link for lots of info, and photos of the interior. 

I loved hearing the guide tell the all about the Vanderbilt family, and the history of the magnificent home that we were touring. (Magnificent, but the smallest of their many homes). We were not allowed to take photos inside, but I got some great shots (with my new camera) of the grounds, and the mansion from outside. Here is just one of them:

After the tour, we went into Red Hook to find some lunch. We ended up at Bread Alone Bakery. Yum. After that we visited a winery, and then the indulgence of the day, we found Taste Budds, which is all about chocolate. Here's what I ended up with. I told myself all along that I was not holding back this weekend. Whether it was food, or drink, or fiber...I was going for it!

Isn't it pretty? It was sooo good. It's called Life By Chocolate (better than Death By Chocolate, right?)  Chocolate graham crust, flourless chocolate cake, chocolate mousse and chocolate glaze. Here's a peek at the inside. Mmmmm... And yes, I ate the whole thing. 

When we were done poking around in Red Hook, we headed back to our hotel for a bit, then went back out, tried to find a Geocache but Tam's phone wasn't able to pinpoint close enough. In trying to find it, we did enjoy driving through a neighborhood with some beautiful old homes. The architecture in the area just oozes history. The girls decided to get a light dinner from Panera Bread, but I still was filled up with the above chocolately goodness. We went back to the hotel and knit in the lobby, watching TV, while they ate. Eventually I walked across the parking lot and grabbed some Taco Bell when I got hungry. There were several other knitters in the lobby. It was nice to just relax before the craziness was to begin. 

I've already posted about most of my day on Saturday.  Sunday was more of the same.... walking and browsing and fondling and desiring and deciding and buying and eating and spending time with friends and enjoying the animals, etc.  I think a future post will highlight all of the purchases. 

We were back on the road early Monday morning. We left the hotel at 7am, when it was 28 degrees and there was a thick layer of frost on everything. It was actually several hours later before we saw the last of the frost. It took a long time for the sun to warm things up enough to melt it off. Enjoyed the scenery all the way home, but it was very anti-climactic.... The excitement was gone, we were exhausted, the landscape became more and more flat as we left the mountains and rolling hills behind. Before we knew it we were sitting in a long line of cars to cross the bridge back into Michigan from Sarnia, Ontario. 

I arrived back on my doorstep at 7pm, and fell into bed shortly afterwards. After a wonderful whirlwind birthday weekend, it was great to be back in my own bed.