Happy Birthday, Darling Girl

My sweet Melissa turned 25 today. Where did the time go?

Who says birthdays are always about cake? She wanted pie, so I baked her a Peach with Creme Fraiche Pie from Smitten Kitchen. It was wonderful, even if we can't wait to have it again when peaches are in season.

Happy birthday, love.

 

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Spring is Here. I Think.

Wow, I've been a slack blogger lately. Not sure if it's because I'm too busy or if I'm too lazy. I've been knitting a bit every day, but mostly I've been working a lot.

I went to Baa Baa Sheep today, a local knit shop that's owned by Roz, one of the kindest shop owners I've ever met. I don't get there nearly as often as I'd like, due to the afore mentioned work load, but at least I made it there today. I bought a copy of Knit Wear and the latest Interweave Knits. Roz has some beautiful yarns, but as I'm trying to knit from stash as much as I can, I resisted today. I was able to hang and knit for awhile though, and catch up with her and my friend, Lori.

I finished the Thoreau Hat in Shelter, as part of Lori's and my plan to knit one Christmas gift project per month. The agreement is that it has to be a Christmas gift to count. If we make something and use it or gift it before Christmas, it doesn't count. We only started it this month, so I'm right in schedule.

 

 

The weather here has been a roller coaster, 75 degrees one day and 40 degrees the next, so I've been taking pictures of my spring flowers, almost as if I need proof the winter is finally ending.

 

 

And here is Gracie, helping me grade papers last weekend. I swear she rarely leaves my side, more like a dog than a cat in that way. Such a sweetie.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

 

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Cooking

I'm not sure why, but I've been on a cooking binge this week. It's mostly due to the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook I bought from a consignment shop right before Christmas, but hadn't used until now.

Sunday I browsed through it and picked out three recipes, ran to the store for a few ingredients and bam! I made Wild Rice Gratin with Spinach on Sunday as it was the recipe with the longest prep time,

Shells and Peas Alfredo last night,

and today I made Black Bean Ragout in the slow cooker. Not sure how long this will last, but man, oh man, we have certainly enjoyed it.

 

 

The slow cooker beans was a great choice for today, as it allowed me the opportunity to spend an hour on the beach after work today.

The weather was gorgeous and apparently it is supposed to rain tomorrow and be freezing cold on Thursday, so today was the best day to hit the beach. "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may" and all that.

 

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Sad Story

Last Friday, we had an all day rain storm with lots of wind. Consequently, when I was heading to work, I rushed to my car, threw my teaching bag in the back seat like I usually do, and drove to work. When I got home that evening, I noticed a blob in the street. When I got closer, I realized it was my knitting project bag. The Ravelry project bag that held my Brooklyn Tweed Shelter yarn and Brooklyn Tweed pattern, along with my needles and stitch marker; that had until that very morning been the first twenty rounds or so of the Fortnight hat I was making for my stepson. Unfortunately, it must have fallen out of my car that morning and sat in the road all day, being rained on and run over by cars countless times until the pattern disintegrated, the needles and stitch marker broke, and the yarn was mangled into an unrecognizable mess. The only thing that I was able to salvage was the project bag.

My daughter said I could have saved the yarn, but I just didn't have the heart.

 

On a lighter note, here is the finished and blocked baby sweater, made using the One pattern I've used before.

I love the cute button I found for it, don't you?

Hope all your knitting stories are happy ones!

 

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What a Difference . . .

A day makes. This was Sunday:

 

72degrees and a gorgeous day for sitting on the beach and knitting, which I did.

 

And this was Monday:

27 degrees with sleet, ice, and snow. School was cancelled Monday and Tuesday, and I spent all day inside, playing with yarn.

Spring seems far away.

 

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Lovely and Amazing

My mom had breast cancer surgery on Wednesday, and it couldn't have gone any better. She had very little pain after and is impatiently awaiting permission to return to her daily exercise classes. Yesterday, she and I went to a Quilt Show so she could burn off some of her inexhaustible energy, and the colors were gorgeous. Despite a few opportunities to purchase yarn and buttons, I bought nothing. I think my restraint came from the fact that I had started a clearing out on Friday night and knew I had more than enough of everything. This happens sometimes after I go out of town; I come home with a desire to clean and clear out and this time, it happened with a vengeance. I started Friday night as soon as I got home from work, and I'm still at it today. I started with the sun room, as that is where most of my free time is spent, moved to the bedroom, and finished up in the craft room. I still need to do the kitchen, but I'm planning to work in there today. It's funny how even the air feels cleaner afterwards, like all the dust motes are gone. I've sorted out some knitting projects that are very close to finishing, and pulled some forgotten skeins of yarn to the surface of a big basket, and I'm considering doing a little sewing, but I'll have to think about it a bit more.

As for today, it feels like spring is very near; it's sunny and the temperature is in the high sixties. Steve is in the yard and garage doing some clearing up as well, and I'm heading down to the beach to soak up some sunshine and do a little knitting. What a lovely day.

 

Here are a few of the quilts we saw yesterday; the artistry is amazing, isn't it? More like paintings than textiles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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