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!