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.