Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Wed WIPs & FOs


I've only managed to finish one thing this week (a washcloth, go figure), although I'm finally making progress on the Retro socks.

Sunday, July 05, 2009

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It's been a really nice day. I went out with my friends for lunch, managing to knit/spin while we were at it. Then I spent the afternoon on a Dr. Who marathon. (My daughter has a lot to answer for, since she suggested what has quickly become an obsession.)

I had originally planned to go into work and catch up on paperwork, but I had a lot more fun with the revised plans.

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Happy Fourth of July!


Well, how did you expect me to celebrate? Knitting, friends, coffee, chocolate, and Dr. Who made for a perfect day. (Okay, family would have been better -- but my kids had other ideas.)

Friday, July 03, 2009

Friday's Favorite - Ambrosia

Today's favorite thing is ambrosia salad. Last week we held a Luau at work, and I brought a double-batch of ambrosia as my contribution to the potluck luncheon. It was so popular, that I decided to bring another batch to work today for our Independence Day picnic. This time I had to be sure to make a batch for home, too.

Ambrosia really very easy to make. I learned the recipe when I was in 7th grade. My best friend back then was Lori M., and the ambrosia was her mother's recipe. I was at Lori's house for a sleepover party when her mom showed me how to make the salad. (Parties at Lori's were always the best, since she lived right on the water and she had a sailboat -- I love sailing!)

I've been making Ambrosia ever since. It's been my take-along standby for church dinners, picnics, family celebrations, and just about any other special or not-so-special occasion.

Ambrosia

1 large container of cottage cheese (16 oz?)
1 large box (or 2 small boxes) orange flavored Jello mix
1 can (large is better) mandarin oranges, drained
1 large container of Cool Whip (12 oz)

Mix the cottage cheese and jello together. (Note - use the jello powder straight from the box.) Add the drained mandarin oranges. Fold in the Cool Whip. Chill, then serve.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

It's never too late -- in fiction or in life -- to revise. (Nancy Thayer)

It's been a good week, knitting-wise.

I finished the sweater for Cassie. That, by the way, is the secret gift-project I was working on. I don't think that Cassie's gotten the sweater yet (although it has been mailed off), but the surprise was already ruined when I accidentally posted this picture on Facebook. Well, I meant to post the picture on Facebook, in my "knitting" album. I thought I had the security thing figured out, so that only my Fiberholic Friends would be able to see it. Apparently I was wrong.

My knitting group started the Mitten KAL today. I had decided on doing the Kingdom gloves from Knitty.com. This is probably a mistake, since I only managed to get the first chart finished, which isn't even halfway around the cuff. The others are almost through the first mitten. Even with cabling without a cable needle (thank goodness I can do that!), this is not a quick knit. And it's something that you really have to concentrate on, so I won't be able to do it while sitting around with others. It really is pretty, though. The picture isn't a good one; the color is actually browns. You can see it better on the swift.


My wonderful brother-in-law made this swift for me, and this was the first real excuse I've had to use it. It's wonderful. I've always had to put the yarn around my feet and do "sit-ups" when I wanted to wind my yarn. The swift is much, much quicker - not to mention much easier!

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

It's Wednesday, so you're probably expecting a fiber update. And I've got lots of excitement to share about my fiber fun. But I'm really tired, and the thought of figuring how to get all the pictures from my phone to the blog (my camera was accidentally sent to my mom's house) is just more than I can handle right now. So I'll wait until tomorrow to post progress and details.

In the meantime, go check out my friend's latest creation (www.mydailyfiber.com). It's a great resource for all things fiber -- knitting & crochet clubs, local and online yarn shops, lots of free pattern listings, and lots more that I'm still exploring. I would have given it a big plug anyway, but be sure to check out the banner along the bottom of the homepage. She's made us feel so big-time special-important!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do. (Jason Love)

I only have the one child left at home now, and I just want to wrap her up in bubble wrap and keep her close to me. She has other ideas, mainly to grab the car keys and take off down the highway as fast as possible. For the moment we're compromising -- she gets to grab the car keys, but we crawl along in a parking lot until mommy feels a little more comfortable. I figure that this truce will last about two more days.

Monday, June 29, 2009

What a Monday!

1. I said goodbye to my son, and sent him off to boot camp. It was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I honestly thought that I was prepared to let him go. Apparently not.

2. I toughened up and let my youngest behind the wheel. I knew I wasn't prepared for this. I'm still looking for volunteers to take over.

3. I finally posted the show notes from episode four of Spun in the Sun. They're only two weeks behind. But at least I got them up before we recorded episode five. (We're planning on getting together for that tomorrow night.)

4. I finished the gift for Cassie, and it's wrapped and ready to mail. Finally.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

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Yumm, chocolate chip cookies! I love being able to bake treats as a lesson plan. After all, it's fine motor, math/counting, and following directives. And when the cookies are ready, it will be socialization skills (as everyone gathers around for a snack).

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

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Thank goodness I work at a place that understands me.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Have you heard Episode Four yet?

We posted another episode of Spun in the Sun, for anyone who is interested. There's a lot of web resources, and we're even running our first contest!

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Parents' Day!

Father's Day isn't just for fathers. Single moms deserve pampering,too. Yes, we already celebrated motherhood in May. But single moms (or cusodial parents) put in double duty, bearing full responsibility without any "tag team" help. So they deserve to claim both days.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it. (Brunch was wonderful.)

Monday, June 15, 2009

Vacation!

I've been on vacation for the past couple of days. When we left, I made sure to pack my laptop (even remembering my extra power cord) so that I would be able to post from the road. I thought that I'd have lots of time to compose really great posts. In fact, I was hoping to take some time and decide what direction I really wanted to go with my blog so that I could improve from the "what I did today" diary format it's been taking.

Unfortunately/fortunately, we've been having a wonderful time and I just haven't wanted to interrupt our family activities to sit at a keyboard. So any posting will just have to wait until I'm back to real life.

Sorry about that. If you want to file a complaint, you can probably find me out in the hot tub.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Feed the Gators - $2

Quick picture to prove we're doing the tourist thing