Knitterykate 2

The girls thought it would be fun to see whether Felix would be afraid of tin foil. Not only was he not afraid he thought it would be good place to sit awhile and take a bath. I'm guessing they thought he would dance or something.

When I first saw this yarn I thought it was beautiful but way too expensive. But when Micheal's handed me a 40% off coupon I knew just how I would use it. The pattern: One Day Beret . So simple even I had no trouble. (I would give yourself more than one day, though! It takes me at least two days to finish this pattern.) Then! Micheal's gave me a coupon for 50% off. And another coupon! And another! Now I have four balls of the most luscious yarn in a green colorway. I'm thinking of making a "One Day Beret", some finger-less mitts and a cowl or scarf. Here's the yarn. Lovely, green, and so squishy.

I had never cooked bok choi but thought ai would give it a chance since i'm bound to like most vegetables. I really like it as it has a nice crunch!

When some brethren from South Korea came to visit last year we were privileged to go out to dinner with them. We were persuaded to order this after much cajoling from our host and Mr. Shin. One whole lobster, complete with "nut crackers" and pics. Bruce and I shared this meal, for your information. And it was delish! Mr. Shin and his wife also got the lobster. Hannah and Mr. J were a little more conservative with steak and fish.   Rob, Peter and Walter flabbergasted by their meals.  Kasia, Wayne and Jan digging in. Some of us got dessert. Certainly not me! I can't remember, but I think we rolled out of the restaurant.

Almost got the second sleeve done. But notice the red rod on the right sleeve. That's to hold your kniting safely until you have time to knit again. If you slide your needles, along with your work in progress, into the blue tube and then slide the red tube over the blue you can then sucure your work. Give it a little twist once the tubes are nestled together, Voila! No loose stitches

The first thing I pack or even think about before I go on a trip is: What knitting project will I bring? Do I need to bring two? three? How long will I be away? Two nights? Two weeks? Do I need reading material in case my fingers get tired? Having settled that I need two projects for every night I'm away and two "How To" books and one current knitting magazine I am then ready to pack my bags for non-essentials like medication and clothes. So what if I forget a pair of shoes and have to wear my flip flops instead? Or if I forget my tennis shoes for walking (heh, heh) Or even if I have to wear a shirt two days in a row? (Won't happen. I always over pack when it comes to tops). As long as I have my  therapy  knitting... I'm good to go. BTW just looking at this yarn makes me want to knit this:  mitered-baby-jacket . Oh, to have grandchildren.

Forgive me if I have blogged about this before. My mind is becoming like my mother's - full of swiss cheese (by her admission! I'm not that disrespectful!) Only it seems my cheese is full of bigger holes or maybe it's older. In any case I'm thinking I need more B vitamins. In the fall we visited the East, as you know. While there we took in a few conferences as well as made many side trips. After all, this is where I was born and Bruce had never been there. We took full advantage of our little rental car and made our way north, south, and west of Newark where we landed. One of the little side trips involved visiting our friends Cam and Judy. Interesting enough they live quite near the factory where they make one of my favorite yarns. Briggs and Little Since Cam and Judy live nearby they obliged us by taking us there. We were delighted! (I was, anyway - Bruce is not usually delighted by yarn shops). In fact, Cam's mother used to work for Briggs and Littl...

There is something about the weather that affects me. I don't think I have SAD but after weeks of fog and overcast skies it's got to take a toll. The best think to do is to just roll out of bed and go through the motions without thinking twice about the heaviness that pervades the environment - physically as well as emotionally. And when the sun finally does come out? Rejoice! The above is not my picture. I don't know the protocol for "borrowing pics" from the newspaper. Here are some of my own:

After days of shopping, cooking, directing, baking, washing, sewing, and planning, it's all over. And we all got sick.

When you work in the basement of your home you can come to work any way you want...within reason.

I did. I did cave. The "Willow Cowl" called and called and I listened. I opened my yarn box and on top was the perfect sock yarn. I cast on 150 stitches and knit. For eight rounds. And I continued. It's not as if I went out and bought more yarn. I didn't. Nor did I go out and buy a pattern. It was there. It was free. It all whispered to me that it would be a perfect match..."try it out" it said. So, I did. And how could I not when the weather is like this?  You want that I should have a cold neck? I am making progress on other projects. The orange wallaby is coming right along. Two sleeves done and part of the body.

My neck is cold and I gave away all my turtlenecks. Is that a good enough excuse to make a cowl? I thought so. I found this on -line -  willow_cowl  - and wondered if I had yarn to make it. Then I realized that I had far too many projects on the needles to even think about casting on another. So I thought I would try to get at least one project a week done from the previous post and see if my neck was still cold. After all, it should be about May before I get these projects remotely close to being finished. Here's some progress: I combined two patterns: the "One Day Beret" and the "Baby Pin Wheel" blanket. I would show you her face but she was brushing her teeth. I did take a picture though - for future blackmailing. After all, she was the one who wanted me to take the picture. And I never said I wouldn't post it. The fingerless mitts are done as well. LJ wears them and I know they keep her warm at work. It's been -7degrees C (20degrees F) her...

We had Korean Beef for dinner tonight. At least, it's my variation of it. I dumped a splash of soy sauce in a non-stick pan and added about 1/2 cup of brown sugar on top. Then I mixed it around til the brown sugar was dissolved. Added sliced up inside blade steak (?), placed it on a burner and while it was cooking away I made some oven roasted veggies - broccoli, onions, carrots and green pepper. I was too lazy to put rice in the rice cooker so I popped a couple of potatoes in the microwave and nuked them. Add to the whole thing -potato fixings, a side salad and sliced avocadoes and I was done. I would serve it to company. I finished another "One Day Beret"! This is in "Amazing" yarn in the Glacier colorway. I think this is the best yarn that Micheal's sells. At first I refused to buy it because it was/is so expensive but finally, I clued in to their 50% off coupons. Makes it reasonable. Where else can you get a beret for $4.99? Laura's fingerless m...