TGIF

Good Morning!

Finally!  Friday is here and I am on vacation.  Woo-Hoo!  Of course, I found emails to respond to this morning and last minute work related things to do, but that's not too bad, and no conference calls for me today!  We don't leave for our trip until Sunday, so I have two days to wrap up some things.

First of all, here are the granola bars I made.

 I would call these a definite FAIL.  The flavor is wonderful and they are filled with all good things - dried berries and cherries, pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds, oatmeal.  BUT, they are so moist they were difficult to cut and they won't stay together.  This is the recipe I used, but I will not be saving it.  We can eat these...just not as a hand-held granola bar.  I have to find the recipe Colin gave me a couple of years ago that worked out well.

The pumpkin cookies are now considered a fail as well.  I think that pumpkin is better suited for muffins or a quick bread.  The cookies are so moist and stick together so much that when you try to separate them they fall apart!  Again, we can consume, just not easily.  Both items are in the frig as I'm afraid with all the moisture in them they will get moldy quickly.

Live and learn.  Today's baking will be a cake because it's Fletch's birthday today!!  Also on my agenda is to pick up the last minute groceries we need.  We've pretty much planned out our camping meals, but I have some veggies, fruit and yogurt to pick up.  I also need to stop at the ATM to get some cash.  Laundry is all done and I just need to finish packing.  We'll be gone for about 10 days and I'll be trying to read blogs, but it will be on my phone, so most likely I will not be commenting.  Once we are back I have to jump right back into work - with a meeting in the office the day after we return.  I also have my eye surgery 2 days after we return!  Busy times.

What's For Dinner?

 Hey There!  Good Morning!

How are you?  I've been sleeping better, so I am doing well.  It feels a bit balmy outside and it is quite breezy.  Dampness in the air - I'm thinking it will end up being kind of a rainy day.  Yesterday I actually was able to cross several more things off my "must do before vacation" list, so that is being whittled down.  A nice feeling.  Work was busy, but I managed to find time to make cookies, do some knitting and a little bit of stitching!

Today's recipe is for Firecracker Salmon.  We had this earlier in the week (tonight we are having wings on the grill).  This is an easy and tasty dish.

Firecracker Salmon

Mix up a marinade for the salmon:

• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 1TBS Sriracha
• 1 TBS EVOO
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp ginger (fresh is nice, but dried works well)
• Red Pepper Flakes

Spread the marinade over your salmon filets and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.  Cook at 425 for approx. 18-20 minutes.

See?  Very simple and very tasty.  We had this with some farro and carrots cooked with a cinnamon stick.

The cookies I made yesterday were These - Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.  The dough came together quickly.  I added some dried cranberries and some pepitas to the mix and they are good!  More like a cake texture than a cookie.  Also, the recipe states it makes 36, but I guess mine were a little smaller as I ended up with 60!  

Fletch even liked them, and he prefers a crispy, crunchy cookie.  We will take some with us on vacation and I plan to give the rest to Colin when he comes over tonight.

Today...after my Thursday financial reports for work...I will be making a (new to me) recipe for granola bars.  Again - some to take on vacation and some to share with Colin & Mailing.  I'll let you know how those turn out and will share the recipe if it's a good one!

Meanwhile, onward and upward...lots to do today.  Hope your Thursday is a good one.

Unraveled Wednesday 9/22/21

 Hello, Hello!

It's Wednesday and for me it's my next to last day of work before vacation.  YAY!!  Yesterday I did actually manage to check a number of things off my "must do before vacation" list.  The kitchen floor has been scrubbed, the bathrooms are clean, the upstairs has been dusted and vacuumed.  I returned the things that didn't fit to TJMaxx and picked up the needed prosciutto for last night's dinner (which was delicious!).  Today's plan includes making the (new to me) recipe for pumpkin cookies.

And...my floss arrived!  After finally hearing back from the company that "the USPS dropped the ball," the skein of floss showed up in our afternoon mail.  I let the company know (they had said they would ship again), I also let them know how disappointed I was in their service (or lack there of).  But that's over now and I can take the small sampler on vacation with me.  Joy!

Happy Fall Equinox!  The mornings are definitely darker and Fletch and I have noticed more of our usual winter birds beginning to show up - a number of chickadees and cardinals and we had a fly catcher hanging out yesterday.  You know I'm fond of crows...

Well yesterday afternoon we actually had a murder of crows!  There had to be a dozen or so soaring over our property and our neighbors.  And they were silent!  Weird.  After that we noticed about half a dozen bluebirds in our yard!  They are so beautiful and we don't normally see them.  There must have been something tasty to eat in our yard because they would sit on a branch of our apple tree and then swoop down to grab a grub or some kind of bug.  When they would fly and the sun hit their wings and back at just the right angle, their blue was just about blinding.

Anyway, here we are at another Unraveled Wednesday.  As usual, I'm linking up with Kat and her band of Merry Unravelers to talk making and reading.  On the making side, here is the state of Peggy's first plain sock:

I managed 5 more rows after dinner while Fletch read, but that was it (busy day noted above).  I hope to add some more today as well as put in some more rows on the 2nd French Market Bag.  Here is the state of that:

Glad to be past that very fiddly beginning!  Now if I can just keep my fingers from cramping up with this thicker yarn and bigger needles, I'll be golden.

As far as reading goes, I finally finished Conjure Women which I found to be ok.  It was a bit of a slog for me in places and seemed to go on too long.  Just my opinion.  I need to get it back to the library today (and pay a fine - I think it was due back yesterday or Monday).  I charged up my Kindle yesterday to take on vacation and I have one "real" book that I plan to take.  I'll also throw in "Table of Contents" by John McPhee so that Fletch and I can continue reading after dinner.

Last night I read a few more essays from the book Fletch gave me about different book stores around the country.  One of the essays I read was about Book People located in Austin - where Colin & Mailing will be moving come January!  Looks like a wonderful store, so I need to remember to tell them about it, as well as put it on the list of places to visit when Fletch and I head to Austin to see those kids.

Well, time to get rolling.  I need another cup of coffee and, perhaps, a bit of breakfast.  Be sure to head over to Kat's space to see what everyone is up to these days.

Tiny Needle Tuesday

 Good Morning!

I woke at 3 a.m. and looked out the back window to see a deer munching apples in the yard.  Then, of course, I had a difficult time getting back to sleep.

I only saw 3 other people (from a distance) at the office yesterday.  I was there a little longer than normal, but was able to accomplish a lot.  Then I did head out for wine and a little shopping at TJMaxx.  Today I need to go back to TJMaxx to return things.  The dressing rooms were not open, so I couldn't try stuff on.  The black jeans I bought are skin tight - like leggings.  If I wanted leggings, I would have bought those.  It seems that all the jeans I see in stores these days are either skin tight or ripped or huge bell bottoms - none of which I want.  I also bought bras with no underwires, but they don't fit right.  No biggie, I can do without, just a pain to have to drive back over there.

Meanwhile on Tiny Needle Tuesday I just have a tiny amount of stitching to show.  I did nothing on the Pomegranate Birds sampler and just managed to start the bottom portion of the Coverlet Birds Sampler.

I'm still waiting on the blue flower thread so that I can complete this.  I ordered it on September 6th and thought it would be here that week.  When I emailed about the order on the 14th, the response I received was "I will pop it in the mail this morning...sorry for the delay."  Well, the delay continues.  I hope it comes before the weekend as I'd like to take this small project with me on vacation...but I need the blue thread to be able to work on it.  I should have just used DMC for this one...hindsight....

It's looking a little murky out this morning.  I will try to tackle at least some of the cleaning things on my "to do before vacation" list.  If work isn't too crazy I should be able to get things done.  Dinner tonight is an easy but good one:  broiled asparagus wrapped in prosciutto.  Yum!

Cheers to a productive Tuesday!!

Weekending 9-20-21

 Good Morning!

How was your weekend?  Mine was lovely!  Friday wasn't as quiet as I would have liked work-wise, but I managed to enjoy it.  Saturday morning I met up with Dee for some coffee and knitting and chatter.  And, as it turns out, for some knitting help.

I had started working on Peggy's sock - the cuff was finished and I started in on a lace pattern that I had written out on paper.  It looked pretty on paper, but it just wasn't working with the yarn, so I decided to rip out.  When this very same thing happened (different pattern, but same yarn) a week or two ago I ripped out EVERYTHING, including the cuff.  I'm not real good at picking up stitches when I rip out, unless there is a lifeline involved.  It turns out Dee is very good at that.  And speedy.  So, while I sipped coffee, she ripped out the rows I had knit down to the cuff and then picked up all 64 stitches and NONE of them were twisted!  Thank you my friend!  Turns out that yarn was just begging to be a PLAIN sock, so that is what it will be.

Later on Saturday I went out for a pedicure.  My first pedicure in years - really!  I used to get pedicures and manicures every 2 weeks, but my nails became brittle, so I stopped.  Oh boy did I enjoy the pedicure on Saturday though.  This may be common, but where I go you always get a hot stone massage on your legs and feet.  My feet really appreciated the work on my calluses and the focus on them too.  So now my toes are pretty and my feet are soft.

Sunday was filled with a bunch of miscellaneous things including yarn!  I wound the blue skein of yarn that I bought the other week at the fiber fistival.  It is gorgeous caked up:

And I picked out this pattern:  Mariner's Scarf to make a scarf for Zhongren with this yarn.  this is one of the things I plan to take on our vacation.

One thing I managed to do Friday morning was pick out yarn for the next French Market Bag.  I tried to start it Saturday morning after the sock fail, but it is way too fiddly a start to try to do while talking (at least for me).  But Sunday afternoon I had a bit of free time and buckled down and got it started!

The start is much further along now.  The fiddly part is having just 2 stitches on each needle and then making two M1 on each needle.  As someone once told me, they call it a "belly button" and that really is what it is like.  I'm now up to 80 stitches on each needle (not quite ready to switch to a circular, but soon!) and it is going faster.  I stopped, because the weight of the yarn and the size of the needles (7) was beginning to bother my fingers and hands.  Obviously this bag will not be a solid color.  There will be some stripes of grey and green (both of those yarns are Plymouth Earth Homestead 100% wool - found somewhere - maybe the shop in Chesapeake City?? for $3 each!).  The multicolor yarn will be used along the body of the bag.  That yarn is "Gina" from the Plymouth Yarn Company - another bargain for $6.  This will also come on vacation.

And, of course, Peggy's plain socks will travel to New England as well.  Those three projects should be sufficient - LOL.  (I know I will throw in some cross stitch as well...)

Meanwhile this is our last week at home before we leave next weekend for New England!  I cannot wait.  There is lots to do before we take off.  As I've mentioned before, I'm one of those people who clean the house before we leave.  I want to come home to a clean house for sure.  So, bathrooms and kitchen floor are on the list as well as dusting and vacuuming.  Yuck!  Then, I plan to make some new cookies to take (a pumpkin cookie with chocolate chips, some nuts and maybe some dried cranberries) plus a new granola bar recipe.  And...Friday is Fletcher's birthday, so there is a cake to be made.  Plus packing, planning camping meals, etc., etc.

Today, however, I am heading to the office.  Work has become ridiculously busy and I've got a ton to do before we leave.  Some of it needs to be done at the office, so I would rather get that over with today.  I'll stop at the State Store near my office for wine to take on vacation and I also want to run into TJ Maxx.

Wishing you all (and myself!) a productive and easy Monday!

Oversleeping!

 Hello!

Hoo-Boy!  I overslept this a.m. by quite a bit.  I have not used an alarm clock since the Pandemic and usually I am awake by 5:30...sometimes 6 and more lately even 6:30.  All of which is fine since I'm working from home.  But this morning?  I never woke up till 7:30.  And Thursdays are my big financial reports day.  So a bit of a scrambling this a.m., but I managed to finish up all the reports before Noon.  It was a busy morning with other stuff as well (work-related) and the afternoon is a little nuts.

But, I wanted to post some pictures of the Finished French Market Bag!  (French Market Bag)  First up, stuffed with plastic bags (to somewhat shape it) and drying in the breeze on the clothesline.

It's a bit more shallow than I anticipated.  I actually knit it 4" longer than the pattern suggests.  Next time (and there will be another time!!) I will knit it even longer and I may shorten up the width a bit.  Here's a picture from last night - sitting on the kitchen table.

I love the color (Thistle is the colorway and the yarn is Patagonia Organic Merino).  It felted up in no time.  I have a skein and a bit left over.  I think the next one I make will be two colors (at least).  I have a bunch more 100% wool in my stash that will felt well.  It was a bit of a slog at times (round and round and round you go), but it is the perfect knit when you don't want to (or can't) think.  This particular bag should work well to cart around a sock project.

Speaking of which, I need to get working on the socks for Peggy!  Maybe a bit later today.  Not sure about tonight - Colin will be over as usual for dinner and it looks like a beautiful day to have a fire after dinner.  Dinner is the brisket and pinto bean dish I blogged about a week ago.  It smells great so far, but the beans are still tough - hopefully they will soften up by dinner time.

Inbetween emails from work I plan to catch up on some blogs.  Hope everyone is having a great day!

Unraveled Wednesday September 15, 2021

 Good Morning Everyone!

It's looking a bit on the hazy side this morning - at least in Eastern PA.  Thanks for all the well wishes for my eye.  Turns out I'm not crazy!  I have felt as though there were a film over my right eye making everything a bit blurry.  And, turns out I do have a film of sorts!  It is not an uncommon thing to happen after cataract surgery.  Basically your eye puts the film there to protect it from the foreign object (the lens implant).  The film can be removed via laser surgery and I am now scheduled for that on October 7th.  They had an opening next week, but I have to see the eye doctor 5 days after the surgery, and we will be on vacation then (and out of town).  So, meanwhile I will wait and just have slightly blurry vision with that one eye.  Once that surgery is completed, I will get a prescriptin for new glasses.  I don't really need them for distance (driving) and readers are working ok for close work (reading, knitting, stitching).  But I do still have a bit of  astigmatism in my eyes, so a prescription will be a bit better than standard drugstore readers.

All of that brings us to mid-September and Unraveled Wednesday with Kat and the other Merry Unravelers.  I'm happy to report that there HAS been knitting this week, though not on the socks.  Months ago I started to knit a French Market Bag and then I sort of forgot about it.  Well, the past couple of times I have gotten together with Dee for knitting, that is what I have worked on and last night I finished it up and wove in the ends.

It kind of looks like a blob there, but next up will be the felting and that should bring it into shape.  I hope to get to that this afternoon.

On the reading side of things, Fletch and I are continuing to enjoy Table of Contents by John McPhee.  I am reading my way through Conjure Women and am enjoying it, though it is easy to put down and pick up something else.  I've read maybe 125 pages, so about a third of the way through it.  I got distracted by a book that Fletch gave me:  My Bookstore which is just a fun read.  Each entry is only 3-5 pages at most so it makes a great book to have next to your bed.  I like that the back of the book has a list of all the book shops reviewed by State...so when traveling you can pick out a shop or two to visit (I will be doing that in the coming week).  It is fun to see where some favorite authors shop and hang out.

As I mentioned yesterday, I'll be heading to the office in a bit.  Bill ended up going in yesterday, so I will not be meeting him, but there is still purging I can do.  I'll just plan to go in a little later since I have a meeting at 11...no sense getting in too early and then having to sit around and wait for the meeting.  On my way in I'll make a stop at Trader Joe's and also the State Store for some wine.

The deer are so busy here munching on all the fallen apples.  I woke around 3 a.m. this morning and looked out the back window and could see 2-3 deer around our picnic table and the apple tree...quietly munching away.  And this morning they are browsing in our boggy area (no wonder our day lilies were so sparse this year!).

Wishing you all the best that Wednesday can offer.  Be sure to check out the links on Kat's blog!

Tiny Needle Tuesday 9/14/21

 Good Morning!

The heat has definitely returned around here.  But there are signs that the seasons are changing.  We have noticed that there are not as many birds around when we sit on the patio between 4 and 5 in the afternoon.  Some have already started on their migration paths, and not all of our winter friends have arrived yet.  We are seeing more chickadees which is nice.  The deer are coming down for apples - even when we sit on the patio they will walk right down the yard...keeping their eyes on us of course.  

Our neighbors across the street are away again, so I went over the other day and cut some of the last of the zinnias from their garden.  Rob really cleaned up things over there - all the squash vines have been pulled up.  There is one pumpkin hanging on a back fence and some hot peppers still turning red, but everything else is pretty much finished.  Our garden is still messy looking.  Fletch has been focused on other things - like getting stuff together for our camping vacation in 2 weeks.  Plus, now that it's hot again, he won't want to be out in the garden at all!  The figs have slowed down ripening.  I think there will be more to pick as there are a lot on the tree, but they are still small and green.

This past week provided a lot of opportunity for stitching!  The upper parts of both samplers have been completed.  First up the Coverlet Birds piece:

There is a bottom section to this, but I am waiting for my blue thread to arrive.  The majority of it is in blue and I'm not sure I have sufficient left to stitch it all.

The Pomegranate Birds sampler really saw a lot of stitching:

Next up will be the two colorful birds on either side of the urn.  And, the urn will be filled in and will include my initials and 2021.  I love the way this has turned out so far.

I'm hoping for an easy day today, but the work emails have already been flying back and forth.  I have an eye doctor appointment at 11 which I am looking forward to.  My right eye is still quite blurry after the cataract surgery, so I'm anxious for the doctor to take a look at it.  I'm hoping to get a glasses prescription today, but with my right eye issues, I'm not sure.

Tomorrow will be another day in the office.  Hopefully not all day!  I'm meeting Bill in the morning and we will purge more files and papers from his office.  And I have an in-person meeting from 11 - 12 (so it will be a longer day than I like!).

Wishing you all a wonderful Tuesday - enjoy!!

Weekending

 Hello, Hello!

How are you this morning?  I am doing well.  First of all, thank you so much for the Birthday wishes.  I had a fine day (despite having two conference calls in the morning) and I bugged out of work early and spent the afternoon doing fun things (knitting and stitching).  All I wanted for dinner was pizza, so I got a spinach/mushroom/roasted red pepper pizza.  Fletch ordered Chinese.  And Fletch fetched while I sat and had a glass of wine.  Lovely.

My friend Leslie sent a package filled with birthday gifts and a card.  Also a set of cordial glasses.  These are glasses that her Mom (my second Mom) used and they are gorgeous:

I love the Dogwood blossoms on them (and the blossoms are 3 dimensional!).  I haven't used them yet, but you can bet I'll be enjoying an after dinner sip in one of these!  It just means so much to me to have something from Mom.

Saturday dawned another gorgeous day (our weather over the last few days has been what I would call perfect!) and I drove up to Dee's and from there we went to the NJ Sheep & Wool Festival.  YAY!!  An in-person event full of sheep and yarn.  There were not as many vendors as in the past and not as many sheep either.  I would guess that a scant half of people we saw had masks on.  Let's look at some of the cute animals:

My what big horns you have!  The front guy must have been Baa-ing for a long time because he sounded very hoarse!

Fluffiness!!

Sweet Boy!

Yours truly petting the most friendly sheep in the world!  I think he cried when Dee and I walked away.

A sheep in a coat!

Is purple a better color for me?

And what you really want to see:  what I bought!!  I did not go crazy by any means.  first up a skein of gorgeous blue yarn for a scarf for Zhongren:

A skein I couldn't resist - the colors just called out to me.  The colourway is "Hiking Trail" and I thought that it would knit up into gorgeous man socks.

And lastly some mini skeins that I will use in a cowl I'm planning to make for Bonnie.  I have another set that will blend with these very nicely (and Bonnie loves purples and pinks).

The cowl I plan to make is Land of Sweets by Helen Stewart.

So, I was very restrained!!  And Dee?  She bought NOTHING!!!  I could not believe it.

We ended up at Inn of the Hawke for a delicious lunch (outside on the patio) and then went for coffee and knitting at Amsterdam Coffee - a lovely, new coffee shop outside of New Hope.  The owner is really into Bonsai and had dozens of bonsai plants inside and outside.

The temps have been gradually rising around here and I think this week will be back to hot weather.  But it is September, so that will not last too long.  Thanks for sticking through this long post.  Have a wonderful week!

TGIF 9/10/21

 Good Morning!

Another Friday - thank goodness!!  And today is my Birthday!!  Naturally I have conference calls I need to be on, but only 2 - the longest and most boring one has been cancelled.  YAY  I'm thinking that before Noon I should be able to call it a day and just relax and knit or stitch some.  Fingers crossed.

Fletch and I wandered over to Colin & Mailing's late yesterday afternoon.  It was a nice change of pace to be at their place on a Thursday.  We did order out (I had a grilled veggie hoagie which was way too large - I couldn't even eat half of it!).  And after that we had a nice fire in the pit.  It was cool enough that we all had jackets on - even around the fire.

Colin & Mailing have been busy, busy, busy building a patio off of their sun room.  this has been going on for some time - the gravel, sand and slate sat in their driveway for months as they excavated the area for the patio.  First they dug the area and then, finally, filled it with gravel and then sand and then laid slate pieces on top.  Turns out they need another pallet of blue slate, but it's getting there.  They also got other large pieces of slate/rock to make pathways.  One from around the side of their garage over to the patio and then one down their back yard to where they have a table and chairs and the fire pit.  This is what it looks like at present looking back up to the house.

At the patio area they plan to add some soil between the slate slabs and then plant some ground covers.  I think it is going to be so pretty.

So, tomorrow is the fiber festival - Cannot Wait!  I have some ideas of things - yarn - that I would like to get, but I always get distracted at these events and just sort of buy willy-nilly.  Oh well, for me that's the fun of it.  

Other excitement - only 2 weeks till we go on vacation!  Woo-Hoo.  We are both So Ready to Get Away.  You know I will be locating yarn shops near our vacation locations before we hit the road.  I will be prepared!

Have a wonderful weekend!

What's for Dinner? September 9, 2021

 Good Morning!

It's already after 9 a.m., but my weekly financial reports are all complete and have been sent out.  When the library opens at 10 I'll head over there to pick up a book that came in for me.  Yesterday was a day!  First of all, my commute was more than double the usual time (so I didn't need to over-sleep...I arrived at work later than I had planned anyway - LOL).  So many roads are still closed due to the remnants of Ida last week.  Every time I tried a route that I usually take I came to a closed road.

Then, when I got to the office and took my laptop out of my backpack it was scalding HOT!  This had happened once before and our IT guy told me I probably had something still running in the background that prevented the laptop from shutting down.  Ever since then I've been careful to shut down and wait a bit before taking it off the docking station and putting it in my backpack.  Anyway, it wouldn't come on (or off as the case may be) for almost 2 hours!  I was getting frantic.  Finally around 10 I was able to get it turned on.  Tom (from IT) is going to run a more detailed scan on my laptop - he thinks there is something else going on, so next time we are both in the office he will look at it.

Work itself was fine.  Though long...I was at the office till 4 p.m.  There were more people than usual in, but everyone was masked.  Lisa, the new Division President for the West Coast, is nice.  She indicated she is very independent so won't be calling on me for a lot of things (thank goodness!!).  Even though she is nice, it will take some time getting used to working with/for her.  And from a distance since she lives in CA.

Meanwhile, let's talk food.  I'm not making dinner tonight.  Colin texted that he has a flat tire and won't be getting it fixed today (and he cannot turn the lugnuts to put the donut on himself).  So, Fletch and I are going to head to his place for dinner and we've decided just to order out from Goombas - a favorite place of Colin & Mailing for steak sandwiches and the like.  Fletch and I have had their food before and it is YUMMY.  The hard part will be deciding what to order!  But, I thought I'd share with you the recipe I had been planning to make if we were going to have dinner here.  It's a recipe from my sister-in-law and it is easy and good.  A slow cooker meal and it satisfies the craving I've been having for winter comfort food.

Ranch Style Brisket & Beans

• 1 16 oz bag dried pinto beans (rinsed & drained)
• 2 C hot water
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1.5 C ketchup
• 3 TBS Worcestershire
• 1 TBS yellow mustard
• 1/4 C red wine vinegar
• 1/4 C packed brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1 3 lb brisket, trimmed (this time I'm just using a pot roast)

In slow cooker, combine beans, water and onion.

Mix all other ingredients in a bowl.  Stir half the mixture into the beans.  Place meat on top and spread remaining mixture over the meat.

Cover and cook on low 9-10 hours.  Stir 1-2 times

Depending on the weather, I may make this over the weekend or sometime next week...maybe next Thursday when Colin should be over.

I'm really looking forward to the weekend!  I'm thrilled that the New Jersey Sheep and Fiber Festival is still on and Dee and I are planning to get over there Saturday morning.  It has been too long!  It will be fun to see all the animals and touch all the yarn!  

Hope your Thursday is a good one!

Unraveled Wednesday September 8, 2021

 Hello and Good Morning!

An early and fast post before I dash off to the office.  I did not sleep well and at one point, when I did sleep, I had a dream that I overslept by several hours!  LOL  I haven't used an alarm clock for the past year plus, but last night I did since this is an "important/big" day at the office for me.  That was probably enough to give me anxiety!  Oh well.  I'm sipping coffee and will hopefully ease out of being groggy.

As usual on Wednesday, I'm linking up with Kat and other Merry Unravelers to talk making and reading.  Not much knitting has taken place, but I did manage to re-cast on the first of Peggy's socks and complete the cuff.

I also managed to chart out a pattern that I will use on the leg of the sock.  Perhaps I can get a start on that tonight...if I'm not too worn out from being at the office all day.

On the reading side of things I finished a couple of mysteries in the various series I am reading.  One by Linda Castillo and the other by Deborah Crombie.  Next up I'll start Conjure Women which has been on my radar list.  Fletch and I finished "From Earth to the Moon" by Jules Verne and really enjoyed it.  Last night we started Table of Contents by John McPhee.  I read this probably 28 years ago or so, but don't really remember it.  We both enjoy McPhee's writing, so this will be enjoyable.

And that's a wrap for me.  I'm off to have a little yogurt, wake Fletch, and trade my PJ pants for something more appropriate for being out in public.  Wishing you all a wonderful day!

Tiny Needle Tuesday September 7 2021

 Good Morning!

Welcome back from a long Labor Day Weekend.  Our weekend was nice, though a bit busy in places.  Colin & Mailing and Mailing's parents came over for a cookout on Sunday (it drizzled and we ended up having dinner inside...but it cleared enough for a fire in the pit a little later), so there was cooking and cleaning that took place.  Friday night I made a big batch of cookies.  Saturday morning I made some lemon sorbet.  Dessert for Sunday was taken care of.  Then I cleaned (scrubbing floors, etc.).  Sunday I made a big pasta salad with a lot of veggies in it and some marinated eggplant.  Bonnie brought a couple of side dishes.  We grilled two pork loins and I did end up making a fig sauce (with onions and balsamic vinegar) to go on the pork.  It was so good!

There was also a mini disaster on Friday!  I was making the candied jalapenos and took my eyes off the pan and it started to boil over.  Sugar, vinegar, etc.  Oh yuck!  When I lifted the pan off the burner it dripped onto the center of the burner and started flaming.  I was able to stop the flames (thank God) but drips happended on the floor and the counter and my new sink.  Everything hardened into a sticky mess.  I was worried that my new stove would have a non-functioning burner, but all is ok.  The mess was cleaned up (Fletch to the rescue) and no one can tell that it happened!

And here we are on Tiny Needle Tuesday.  Just a small amount of stitching was accomplished inbetween kitchen stuff.  First up is the Coverlet Birds mini piece:

Just some more blue in the center.  Yesterday I ordered more of the blue thread as I know I don't have enough to finish this piece.  I was surprised to find that this thread (Ginny Thompson Flower Thread) is still being manufactured.

And here is the Pomegranate Birds sampler:

I managed to complete the top right flower to (sort of) match the one on the left.  Still a bit of work to be done on this one.  I'm looking forward to getting to the birds in the lower section, but first will complete the top part.  As a reminder, this is what the overall piece will (or should) look like when I finish:

Today should be a quiet day - here's hoping.  Tomorrow is the day I have to be in the office ALL DAY LONG.  I have not done that in over a year and a half and am NOT looking forward to it.  I'll be lucky if I can keep my eyes open all day - LOL.  Lisa, the Lame Duck's West coast replacement, will be visiting our corporate offices and I've lined up folks to meet with her all day and I'm on the agenda to meet with her at 4 p.m.  I just hope that no one needs as much time as I've allowed and the day can end a bit earlier.  I also received an email indicating that the office has reinstated it's mask policy.  I feel better about that.

That's all I've got for today.  I hope everyone had a good weekend.

What's For Dinner? Not Much!!

 Good Morning!

It's later than normal for me, I know.  The title of this post refers to last night.  Just as I was getting ready to cook up some dinner (really simple - fried clams [from a box], some tater tots and creamed spinach) our power went off.  And stayed off.

We were in the midst of the remnants of Hurricane Ida and boy did we get a ton of rain.  At one point our rain gauge was only showing a quarter of an inch.  About half an hour later it was at 2"!  And on and on.  Our back yard was like a lake...or rather several lakes and ponds with rivers flowing between.  Our gravel driveway now has a huge gully in it that I will have to be very careful to avoid when I back up.

Overall we ended up with about 5" of rain.  A town not that far away and near my office got 10"!!  There were many, many tornadoes around us, but thankfully not right over us.  Our power was off for 3+ hours and then again was off in the middle of the night.  When I got up, my alarm clock said 5:30, but it was actually after 7 a.m. (I thought it was unusually light for 5:30 - LOL).  My office is without power and they don't expect that back on till around 11 this evening.  It's a mess.

But...we are safe.

So, dinner last night was not much.  LOL  I had some cheese with crackers.  Fletch had a few cold leftovers from the frig.  I did have wine.  I was bored...it was dark and stormy and no lights, so no reading, no knitting or stitching.  Even our house phone was out.  I ended up talking with my little brother in CO (cell phone).

The power came back on in a vague way around 9:00.  Only the LED lights in the kitchen came on and they were dim.  Finally later full power was restored (only to go out again while I slept).

Dinner tonight should be better.  I thawed out some home-made sauce with hot and sweet sausage in it and will roast a giant spaghetti squash from our neighbor.  I'm hoping/planning to get to making the candied jalapenos today...if work is quiet...so I thought I would share my recipe for that with you all.

Candied Jalapenos

• 1 lb of jalapeno peppers
• 2/3 C apple cider vinegar
• 2 C sugar
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 head of garlic

Core the peppers (wear gloves) and slice into 1/4" rounds

Peel the garlic

Heat the vinegar, sugar and lime juice.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes

Add the cut up peppers and garlic cloves.

Bring back to a boil for 5 minutes.

Put peppers and garlic in jars.  Cool syrup another 5 minutes and then pour over the peppers.

Process in a water bath for 10 minutes.

These are delicious!  They have a little heat, but toned down a bit with all the sugar.  Great on salads or just snacking on out of the jar!  The 4 dozen jalapenos I picked weighed in at just about 2 pounds, so I will be doubling this recipe.  

Hope everyone who was in Ida's path is safe.  We are almost at the (long) weekend and that makes me happy!!

Unraveled Wednesday 9/1/21

 Hello!

How are you on this gloomy day in Eastern PA?  Actually I'm not minding the gloom this morning.  The rain is gently falling and ushering in one of my favorite months.  I feel like I should go out and buy school supplies (which I LOVED to do) or something.  I do need to run out for a couple of limes and lemons, but those won't approximate school supplies.  Maybe I can find a new gel pen or something.

So September 1st and an Unraveled Wednesday.  Yes, there was unravelling this week.  The picture below is not what I had planned to show.

But there you have it.  This is the yarn I have picked out for socks for Peggy (Damon's wife).  It is another skein from KnitPicks in their Static line and the colorway is "glow."  To me it looks a bit like faded rose petals.  There are some darker shades in there, but plenty of light pinks and a bit of brown too.  I had cast on and had the cuff done (15 rows of 2x2 ribbing).  I found a pattern I thought would be nice and on row 4 I ended up with 19 stitches on one needle!  That is 3 extra.  I tried tinking but that wasn't working so I just pulled the needles out and wound up the yarn.  Today I plan to cast on again and I've written out a lace pattern to do.  Hopefully work will remain quiet and allow me to do this.

On the reading side of things I finished The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths.  this is the latest in the ruth Galloway series she is writing and this one did not disappoint.  Plenty of archaelogy, Druids and murders.  I enjoyed it.  Now I'm nearing the end of The Devil's Bed by William Kent Krueger.  This is not part of the Cork O'Connor series that I have been enjoying but rather a conspiracy thriller.  It is not a disappointing read!

Yesterday I picked a baker's dozen of figs!!

Coupled with the 8 I picked the day before, we have quite a bowl-full.  I need to think of something to do with these.  Someone - I think Kim wanted to see the figs on the tree.  Of course I didn't think to take a picture until AFTER I had picked the ripe ones, so there are just green ones here.

If you enlarge the picture, you will see the fig at the bottom...left of the branch...is just barely beginning to show a blush of color.  A day of strong sun brings them out for sure.

My office day yesterday wasn't too bad.  I was out of there by Noon and got a lot accomplished in the morning.  I won't go back to the office till next Wednesday, the 8th at which time the Lame Duck's West Coast replacement will be in town for the first time.  Bill and I pulled a lot of stuff together for her, and I'm sure there will be more.  

My one conference call this coming Friday has already been cancelled, so I think I can start the Labor Day weekend a bit early!!

As usual, I'm linking up with Kat and other Unravellers to talk about making and reading.  Head over there when you can, there is always a boat load of inspiration!  Enjoy your Wednesday.