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I've moved!!!

2008-02-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

I know it's been forever since I've blogged here.

Just wanted to let everyone know, I moved.

I'm here now.

Come check out my new blog.

I want to post daily so there will be a lot of content for you all.

See you there!

OLS Week 10

2007-09-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

The last week of one local summer. It's been a lot of fun coming up with meals of all local ingredients. For this last week I decided to try something new, Salad Nicoise. The only thing not local was the tuna. Of course, as been the case with most meals, we dug into it before we could get a good photo.

Ahhh......Friday

2007-08-17T12:58:00.001-07:00

This week has been quite busy. We're getting ready for fair next week.

I've been doing a lot more photography lately. Trying to get my groove and soaking up info as quick as I can get it. Here are this week's favorites.

OLS Week 7

2007-08-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

This week I finally went out and harvested some of our basil on a more grande scale. It's been going gangbusters and I needed to do something with a large quantity. Of course, Pesto!

For dinner this week we had pesto chicken on pasta with a kitchen sink salad.(everything we could think of we through into that salad: eggs, carrots, zucchini, tomatoes....) We had fresh nectarines for dessert.

The fair is coming! The fair is coming!

2007-08-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

And although my kids seem to think I'm chicken little, the fair IS coming. And, sooner than they think. Our local fair starts a week from next Tuesday. The kids have things they intend to enter and of course, haven't started on most of them.

C is doing some demo's this year for the first time and she really needs to practice before the day of. H wants to enter some lego creations but he and his dad haven't made it a priority. And of course, I want to enter some mittens, my clapotis from last fall, and some homespun yarn. The yarn on the left is from Merino Top bought from A Swell Yarn Shop. On the right is Blue Faced Leicester, my new favorite fiber to spin, dyed with natural indigo.

Luckily, I've got the yarn done and just need to finish up with these mittens(pattern courtesy Hello Yarn). The yarn for the mittens is from the same batch of homespun I did the hat from. I've completed 1 mitten 4 times. Yes, you read that right, 4 times. My gauge is just off and I was trying to remember back to when I did the hat what needles I used. And because I keep such great notes, er well mental notes, I started with a too small needle and then kept having to rip it out and go up a size. I am making sure that I document the needle size on Ravelry this time. (What would we do without the internet?) And am successfully knitting on size 7. My goal was to finish by today but as you can see, they are still in need of some work. I plan on spending the afternoon working on them if I can keep my eyes open.(:

Tonight we are going to a local minor league baseball game and I'm thinking of bringing them along. I just need to warn my dh to keep an eye out for me so I don't get beamed with a baseball. Because, you know if that happens I'll be crying: "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

And they just keep getting older...

2007-08-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

It's really hard to let the 7yo become an 8yo. I'd have loved to have kept him at 5, if truth be told. He just keeps on having birthdays.

This last week was a blur-o-birthday for H. I think it's finally out of his system and I would love nothing other to not leave the house for a week except for necessities.

I'm feeling really behind on stuff like laundry, general house cleaning, decluttering, and some projects I've been wanting to get done.

We were able to declutter his room before the influx of birthday booty invaded. It still feels like I've got a lot more to go.

The garden is looking a little tired from all the heat. The tomatoes are really redding up now. The zucchini has still only produced 2 full size zucchinis or would that be zucchini? I'm about ready to harvest my first red bell pepper and some eggplant. I have a bunch of dead heading to do on the "cosmos that ate my garden". Seriously, I have to post a photo of this thing. It was only supposed to get 18inches tall and it's easily 4 feet. I need to do something with some of the butternut squash start that needs to be planted. Maybe I'll just go stick it in the compost pile and let it take over....

Maybe you'll even get another post this week if I don't have to go anywhere....(:

OLS Week 6

2007-08-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

With the garden on overload and a birthday this week, our OLS meal was very quick. We had stir fried veggies with egg. Very yummy and very quick.

Harry Potter Love

2007-07-24T10:39:00.001-07:00

Friday we went to the midnight Harry Potter book release party at our local mass market book store. I would have rather gone to the local owned book store but C was set on this store since she knew it would be packed with other Potter-philes. And boy was it ever packed.

We got there when it started at 9:00 and it was already busy. By 11:00 they had to stop letting people in because it was fire code full. Which meant that you couldn't leave because they wouldn't let you back in. The line to get in wrapped around the building. We felt lucky to have gotten there early.

Prior to the party begining, we had to stand in line to get a queue number for standing in line at midnight. Lots of standing that day. Our numbers were 76 & 77 respectively. This is a bit misleading since for every book you ordered, you got a number. I know the woman in front of me ordered 5 books and 1 audio book.

There were some amazing costumes. I wanted to take photos of everyone but after snapping off only 2, they announced over the loud speaker that photos taken in the store were forbidden and if you were caught, you'd get kicked out of the store. Still not sure why but I didn't dare risk taking any more. The 2 I did get were of H dressed like a dementor for the costume contest and the stack of books behind the counter waiting for midnight to strike.

At 11:30, we lined up in order to buy our books and by 12:05, we were out the door and an the way home. C had napped during the day with the intention of staying up as late as she could to read. Her goal was to finish the book within 24 hours of getting it. And she did! She finished it Saturday night at 11:24 pm. YAY!!!

She's been super cool about not spoiling it for me as I won't be able to read it until at least next week, maybe later.

Now to keep the world from spoiling it for me.

OLS Week 4

2007-07-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

No photos for this meal. We had Troy's grandfather over for this dinner and I was running around like a chicken with their head cut off. It was very delicious though. We had roasted chicken with roasted root vegetables and fruit for dessert. All of the food was less than 20 miles away.

Simple and delicious.

OLS Week 3

2007-07-14T12:12:00.000-07:00

This week's dish celebrates the new red tomatoes I've got on my vines. They are the most delicious thing ever. I decided a red onion, bell pepper, and fresh basil pizza with homemade sauce and a ton of fresh tomatoes on top. It was so yummy, absolutely no leftovers to be had.

Ingredients
Wheat Flour- 120miles (still can't find a closer source)
Tomato Sauce- 10 miles (made from local tomatoes last year)
Red Onions- 10 miles
Bell Peppers- 10 miles
Fresh Tomatoes- from the back yard
Fresh Basil- from the back yard

Allowances: salt/pepper

OLS Week 2

2007-07-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

I was gone nearly the entire week. We got home yesterday and I quickly whipped up some blueberry muffins for a great on the go breakfast this morning. Then it was off to swim lessons, Dr. appts., library, grocery shopping, a quick stop @ Papa's house (he turns 81 tomorrow~ Happy Birthday Papa), and now I'm off to book group. YAY!!

The blueberries are from 10 miles away
Flour is 120 miles away
Eggs are from 12 miles away
Sugar and Oil exempt but organic and not close to me at all.

On Vacation

2007-07-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

I'll be out of town and out of reach of the internets until Sunday.
Have a great week!

One Local Summer Week One

2007-07-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

I'm so sorry I'm late. I've had a food poisoning for the last 3 days. (Not from local food(: )
I'm still recovering so please excuse the lateness.

My first week's OLS meal was fried green tomatoes, grilled zucchini, strawberry rhubarb cobbler and blueberry slab pie. I'm still unable to find really local flour. What I've been buying is 120 miles away and milled onsite so I'm going to call is close. I didn't take photos of the tomatoes and zucchini because we devoured them before I remembered to take a photo. DOH! But I did hold back the natives so I could take a photo of the desserts.

Wondering what One Local Summer is go here.

Visit the OLS Blog here.

I'm Here!

2007-06-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still here. I've been tres busy lately so lets just start from.....

now.

I've been going to the farmer's market a lot. The amount of local produce available is staggering. I've discovered that I LOVE artichokes and HATE turnips. I seem to be an all or nothing gal when it comes to my veggies.

Right now there are some wonderful offerings that include:

Cherries (all sorts)
Potatoes
Asparagus
Peas
Zucchini + Flowers
Strawberries
Rhubarb
Greens (all sorts)
Onions
Peanuts
Summer Squash (all sorts)
Bok Choi
Turnips
Carrots
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Raspberries
Blueberries
Spinach
Radish
Chicken
Eggs

And you know, I've got to be forgetting something. What a bounty to be had.

There is a woman who will make you a bouquet while you wait for $6. It's got some of the most amazing flowers in it. I've decided that it's a luxury that I will budget for. They are amazing. Here is last week's:

This is a short post but there will be another tomorrow so I'll see you then.

Summer's Coming...

2007-05-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

waiting...waiting...waiting...

It's Here!!!!

Summer Patio

2007-05-16T10:09:00.000-07:00

This is our new back patio entertaining area. I've been wanting a nice place where we could retire to the outside in the summer. It's really nice to be outside in the evenings.

For mother's day, I got that wonderful chiminea in the lower right corner. It's a fire place for outside made from clay. It's beautiful at night and creates some heat as well. I love that mine has fleur de lis on the outside and around the chimney.

The table was my crazy idea. We needed a place to set drinks and such. I didn't want wood or plastic. While driving past a place that sells stone countertops, I came up with this idea. It's a remnant of granite and is more pinkish in person than in this photo. It was already in this shape, so all we had to do was arrange some pavers we had sitting around and voila, a sturdy, weather resistant table. ANd the bonus is that it was cheaper than anything we could have bought.

I had one of the benches already. The other was given to my by my mother. I just threw some pads on the seats and it became really cozy. The pads made a huge improvement on the bare wood when it came to comfort.

I love plants and had gotten a wonderful lavender (Hidcote Blue) for mother's day that I set on one side(closest plant). On the far side, there is a day lily that my grandmother gave me. It's a wonderful size. It helps to hide the heat pump in the corner. Also, in the far back middle, you can barely see my clothes line pole. I actually really love it there. At night we can hang white holiday lights on it and it helps to add a nice glow to the area.

This is one of the projects we've been working on. I have before and after paint photos to show you as well. We're doing the kitchen this week and I want to wait till we're done to do the complete reveal.

Do you have an outdoor entertaining area? I'd love to see photos.

Merry May Day!

2007-05-02T20:49:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry, I'm a day late. I hope you had a wonderful May Day.

I remember making tissue flowers for mayday and also makeing the little paper door hanger for my mother so that I could hand the flowers on the door and run off.

It such a wonderful holiday. I really think it reaches into my primal nature worshiping self that yearns to celebrate in tune with the cycles of the seasons.

Since my kids don't go to school, I forget they don't know about certain things like the wonderfulness of May Day. So, no flowers for me.

I was able to spread a little flower love by taking some to the woman who hosts our book group. I didn't ring and run however.

Busy Like Bees...

2007-04-28T13:51:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy this month. It started with my birthday and is ending with us helping out with the local children's theatre production of Charlotte's Web.

I'm loving my camera more and more everyday. I've already learned so much about what it can do. Whenever I get an opportunity for practice, out it comes. So far, it's the best birthday gift ever.

Some April Birthday Buddies
I've been able to catch a few yard sales already. I'm finding that I'm a "Hit 'em early...go home early" kinda gal. Today I went to maybe 4 and ya know, I was done. One of the biggest scores today was 7 dozen wide mouth quart jars for a $1 a box. They were super clean and nice too! I also found this wonderful bowl. It's not marked but feels like Pyrex/Fireking. There was a small rim chip but I was successful at smoothing it out with my dremel. It will be a great chip/popcorn/really big salad bowl for summer.

We finished painting the living/dining room area and I just bought paint for the kitchen. I'm not planning on doing any of the cupboards, just walls. I'd like to not do trim either. My hope is to get it done this week.

I've been hanging all our laundry to dry and the natives have finally stopped complaining about the stiff factor. I think the clothes feel better 'crisp'. They feel cleaner to me. I unplugged the dryer so any attempts at use by the natives will result in still wet clothes.(: ssshhhh don't tell

There is just so much to catch up on. I guess I'll be doing a series of posts this week.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Happy Birthday!

2007-04-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

Today is my niece's birthday!

Two never looked so good!

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone!

We've been busy painting the interior of our house so I'm a bit behind on blogging. Will catch up next week.

I have put some stuff on flickr so click on the box in the side bar to see more photos.

Let the Yard Sales Begin!

2007-03-31T12:35:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the first weekend that the kids and I went out in search of some screamin' deals. I found some amazing finds. I got this wonderful chair. It's so sturdy and has some great natural wear. The train case I got at an estate sale along with a nice stack of vintage fabric. I also got a very large vintage oilcloth tablecloth. The girl scored a Paul Frank hooded sweatshirt and the grand total for the day was $15. Yippie!

I've always wanted a train case. They seem so very proper and all together cool. I'm not sure what I'll use it for, maybe my camera stuff. I plan on using the vintage fabric on some clothes and accessories.

I plan on using this chair to do photos in and probably as a dining chair. Do you think I should refinish it or should I just let it look aged?

This was a bonus from the estate sale, not a gnome more like a pixie but I love it!

At the park

2007-03-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

My Nephews came for a visit this weekend. The Boy loves his cousin J. Whenever they get together they just take off and we rarely see them. They get along wonderfully which is nice. We met at the park today to get a little more play time in before they headed back home. My niece #1 came as well and we all had a wonderful game of tag. It was all we could do to keep warm.

Hello Spring!

2007-03-21T10:35:00.000-07:00

We've been waiting for you!

Spring is so full of hope.

I'm loving playing with my camera and the tolerance of my friends

I'm craving tomatoes with chevre on toast

The longer days are nice

I'm still listening to The Shins but now can listen to Belle and Sebastian

I want to sew a shirt like this

Happy Spring everyone!

Last Week...

2007-03-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

I had a horrible scare when my son woke up and crawled into bed with me. As soon as I touched him I could tell he was fevering. He cried that his tummy hurt and wouldn't let me touch it. We rushed to the Emergency Room thinking it was appendicitis.

They ran some tests

He threw up

They gave him medicine for his nausea and pain

He calmed down

They sent us home

He's doing much better but it made for a crazy week. The photos above were taken right after we got home from the hospital. He curled up in a ball and slept for over 4 hours barely moving. The cool purple gloves were given to him by the xray people.

St. Patrick's Day

2007-03-17T20:51:00.001-07:00

We had a pretty lazy St. Patrick's day. We were going to go to the local catholic school's Irish games. When we went, we found out that you have to pay $3 per person to get in. When I asked the ticket person what was inside, they said food booths and carnival rides that you had to pay for in addition to the entry fee. We decided to pocket the money and go to Atomic (out local brew pub) for pizza. It was a very good decision.

The boy took photos from our side of the table and the girl took photos from her side of the table. We were all supposed to make funny faces except the girl always looks like that. Teenagers!

On A Quest

2007-03-16T13:43:00.001-07:00

We went to Chamna nature preserve the other day for our daily exercise. It's really beautiful right now. All the new grass is so bright and green. There are wonderful signs that spring is right around the corner. When ever we go here, my kids start talking Lord of the Rings and the boy gets freaked out.

It's a great place to try out my new camera. To answer the questions from the previous comments...

It's a Nikon D50 with a 55mm lens. I'm loving it. Of course I'm starting to look towards my next lens. It's pitiful, I know.

Here are some more photos:

My visual DNA

2007-03-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

Thanks Green Mommy!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Happy Birthday to Me!

2007-03-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

No, it's not my birthday today. My birthday is coming up in April. I usually buy for myself since my husband never knows what I really want. You know, the list...there are like 5 items on it and you really want 2 but they make you give them more so you don't guess and then they get you the thing you only kinda wanted. Well, he gave up on that years ago and has let me get what I want.

I still feel like it's a gift though and I'm always very happy.

This year, I've been saving up for a camera. My intention was to buy the best I could get for my money and I intended to save for at least a year to get it. In talking with my friend who is a great photographer, she suggested an entry level SLR since I'm just learning and could easily upgrade later. After some online searching I found out it was a lot less than what I had thought. I still didn't have enough though so I asked my extremely wonderful husband if I could have the difference for my birthday. He said yes!

Since I'm not one for waiting...I ordered it and it came last night. I've been having a lot of fun learning all I can about Aperture/Shutter Speed/ISO and just how the camera works in general. I think I'm getting the hang of it(still tons to learn). Let me tell you, it's a lot harder than just pointing and shooting (which the camera does also) .

Here are some photos I've taken so far. Remember I'm still learning.

Runaway Projects

2007-03-02T15:39:00.000-08:00

I love to do things. Not boring things like clean the bathroom, but creative things like knitting socks, or dying fiber to spin, or just plain creating. I see something in a magazine of online and thing, "Hey! That's cool! I can do that." Then I either go out and buy all the ingredients/supplies and do it. Then I'll make another and another. Then, maybe another and I'm done with that specific project.

Things I still love to do are knitting, spinning, cooking/baking, taking photos, reading, sewing, making soap.....

Things that have fallen to the wayside are scrap booking, beading, stamping. It's not that I don't enjoy doing those things anymore but with the amount of time I have, I'd rather do something else.

A while back, I went through all my knitting "stuff" and really got rid of quite a bit. I made it all fit into the closet and wasn't afraid to open the door. It felt good to toss those projects that I didn't really want to finish. After the holidays, I really felt like I was in a knitting funk. None of the WIPs (works in progress) sounded like fun. I finally settled on some St Patrick's day socks. It gave me a time limit (almost 3 weeks) and it was going to be mindless.

It did make me start to think about the current state of my knitting and the other day, I started tossing again. It's so hard to let some of it go since I see $$$ when I'm going through it. I was able to get down to 6 projects including the socks I'm currently working on. They are listed over on the right in order of completion. When I'm done with this list, I'll only buy yarn for a project I intend to work on and finish right away. No more half started projects. No more yarn without a firm plan-o-action. I think this will save my sanity in the long run and will definitely save me money.

I have to thank Ali for inspiring me on this. She's got some sort of spring cleaning bug going on and I must say, it's quite contagious.

Thrifty McThriftser

2007-02-26T12:28:00.000-08:00

I've been getting garage sale fever and the only way to cure it is hitting the thrift store. The obvious problem is that I end up bringing something home. I even got to find some clothes yesterday when I went since I was alone and didn't have to hear anyone whining to leave. Seriously, I can just drive by that place and they will both go into fits of moans and groans.

Some of my current finds are a vintage tv tray for the Teen Room in the basement. To be used as a side table. It's got some beautiful dogwood flowers that totally match her color theme. Bonus is that it folds up for storage when it's not needed.

I've been slowly trying to replace my plastic storage containers with glass. The only thing I have left is a spaghetti container. I just haven't found anything in glass or tin that is that tall. Actually, this paragraph could be it's own post. Back to regular scheduled programming Anyway, I bought some super cool vintage refrigerator containers for $2 each. Only one lid however. I can always use some wax paper and a rubber band if I need to cover the other one.

I also bought a button down light summery shirt for my husband and 3 shirts for myself and a pair of Birkenstock Footprints shoes for a friend (I hope they fit because they are so cute and I did the whole Cinderella's ugly stepsister shoe thing and would love it if someone I know could wear them). Grand total of $13.48.

Sorry I only have photos of the Pyrex. If there is interest, I'll snap some off of the other stuff.

What the Hail?!

2007-02-25T08:54:00.000-08:00

The weather outside is crazy!

Friday during full sun, it began to hail. Then yesterday morning we woke up to huge snowflakes that lasted for maybe 20 minutes then turned to rain. Today, the sun is out (for now).

Today

2007-02-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

Laundry
Thrift Store Drop Done
Produce Shopping Done
Drop off Forms @ ACT Done
Work on St Pat's Socks Done
Read More Spiderwick Done
Read More Dubliners Done
Clean Off Cluttered Surfaces Done
Work on March Menu Done
Start Azure Order Done
Update Quicken Done
Watch Flushed Away w/kids Done
Walk the Dog
Make Dinner Done
Blog Post on Other Blogs Done
More Knitting Done

Update:

I went to a last minute Ladies' Night Out and didn't get the laundry folded and sadly didn't walk the dog.

Who are you?

2007-02-17T11:24:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Cheryl for this fun side track...

Your results:
You are Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy		50%
Apocalypse		42%
Dr. Doom		39%
Catwoman		36%
Magneto		34%
The Joker		34%
Dark Phoenix		34%
Riddler		32%
Mr. Freeze		32%
Venom		30%
Lex Luthor		29%
Two-Face		28%
Mystique		24%
Juggernaut		24%
Kingpin		23%
Green Goblin		16%

You would go to almost any length for the protection of the environment including manipulation and elimination.

Click here to take the "Which Super Villain are you?" quiz...

And thanks to Green Mommy too...

What Classic Pin-Up Are You?

You're Brigitte Bardot!
Take this quiz!

Quizilla |
Join

| Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Tissue Paper Flowers

2007-02-08T09:10:00.001-08:00

Of all the crafts I learned as a child, tissue paper flowers are still my all time favorite. Something about peeling the petals that brings me great joy. The Girl and I are going to a play this Friday. We know two people who are performing and instead of bringing the usual real flowers, I decided to use some supplies from the craft closet and make tissue flowers. They will also last a lot longer than real flowers so they can keep them as long as they like or they could recycle them. They would also make a great Valentine's Day gift. In case you've never made them or forgot, here's a tutorial.

Supplies:
Tissue Paper (you can use recycled gift tissue, it works great)
Pipe Cleaners (I like the long ones)
Scissors

First, I like to cut them into square-ish shapes and then sort them by size. The tissue I'm using is some left over gift tissue from T@rget. I think it was $1.99 for the whole package and will make an impressive bouquet.

Once I get them all cut out and sorted, I trim the edges a bit to look like petals. I try to use a different edge per size so that there is some variety.

Now your ready for construction: For these flowers, I used three sheets of each color. Layering the tissue, largest to smallest with the petals on the sides.

Next, accordion fold your tissue. Then, pinch the center and affix your pipe cleaner firmly. Fan out your tissue like a butterfly.

Starting from the center, gently begin pealing the petals towards your pipe cleaner center working you way sheet at a time until you are doing the outer petals. Sometimes the paper will tear, it's ok, they are usually so full that you won't notice unless it's an outer petal. Once it's all been peeled, you can scrunch them into shape. A vase is great to hold them as you make them so they don't get squashed. Make a lot and give them away.

Flash Yer Fridge!

2007-02-04T14:10:00.001-08:00

I got tagged by Cheryl for this really fun meme. I have to include a disclaimer, I can't get a very good shot of my fridge since my kitchen is itty bitty. See:

So here are the contents of my fridge. I didn't do anything but open the door and take the shot. I've added notes on the photo over at flickr so you can click on the photo and it should take you there to explain what some of it is.

I'd like to keep it going so I'm going to tag some folks. If you don't want to that's totally fine. I'm just a bit of a voyeur at heart so I find it quite fun. Ali, Kansas Simplicity, Mary Ellen, Jennifer(yes you), The Green Mommy, and Stephanie you are tagged!

January 2007

2007-02-02T21:35:00.000-08:00

What a weird month. Since I'm not in the mood for words, here's the month in photos...

The New Year is Here

2007-01-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

It's that time again, time to post my goals for the next year. I usually review my last years goals but I'm starting over. I don't want to look back only forward.

So, here they are:

Grow a Garden
Become Debt Free
Knit or Dump any knitting projects that are started or I have supplies for. List them and Blog them as well.
Live a Healthier lifestyle i.e move, eat healthier foods, etc
Get a disaster preparedness kid together and stock up on the food
De clutter to a new level
Start a House cleaning routine
Clean out shed.
Clean out basement.
New floor in dining area
Complete bathroom project
Walk my dog daily I've already started this and am on day 4 WOOT!
Finish the painting project
Be more in the moment, especially with family.
Limit Computer time and TV time and replace time reading or doing things I love.
Spin 3x per week.
Make soap.
Bake Bread at least 1x p/wk
Start a New Blog dedicated to homeschooling.
Blog at least once a week on this blog.

OK, so that's it. Doesn't seem to crazy right? Very doable.

Do you have any goals for this year?

White and Nerdy

2007-01-02T10:14:00.000-08:00

White Christmas?

2006-12-23T09:56:00.000-08:00

The day before the day before christmas and I found this. I hope we get more. It's been a long time since we had a white christmas.

Holiday Meme

2006-12-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

Found through Knitting Iris. Feel free to do this meme on your own blog...

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Silk soy nog. This is the best stuff ever. I've had it for a few years now and have turned a lot of other friends on to it as well. I do love a nice hot chocolate mostly when it's really cold outside. It's great after sledding.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Actually, Santa doesn't bring presents. In our house, Santa fills the stockings and parents buy the gifts.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I'm a white light girl. Colors seem very distracting to me and many times they steal the show from the ornaments. We only do tree lights.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Yes, it's between the kitchen and dining room so it get a lot of use.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Usually on or near December 1st. We keep them up till Jan 1st.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? I'm always tasting new and great foods during the holidays. Ummm my mom's sugar cookies w/icing and probably mash potatoes.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? I remember we were really lacking in funds after my brother was born and we made a tin foil start for the top of the tree. I always thought that was the coolest to make do and find ways to approach a problem in a different way.

8 . When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember. I kinda think I heard some rumours at school and asked my mom. She said that Santa would still come as long as I kept believing in him.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No, but, being from a divorced home, we had two holidays. The one with our father's family was usually a week or so before the holiday.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? It's a mish-mash of found, gifted, and made ornaments.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I really like snow especially when I don't have to go anywhere.

12. Can you ice skate? Yes. I didn't learn until I was a teenager though.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I got lots of great stuff as a kid. I remember a stereo one year and this Barbi that had lipstick and a button on her back you would push and she would make a kiss sound.

14. What's your favorite thing(s) about the holidays? I like being with my kids and husband. Seeing my family and just laying about with no agenda.

15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? I like pumpkin pie a lot.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Decorating the tree and driving around to see all the neighborhood lights.

17. What tops your tree? This year it's a silver pipe cleaner snowflake

18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? I kind of like both.

19. What is your favorite Christmas song? "Baby, It's Cold Outside"-Johnny Mercer & Margaret Whiting and "Christmas Waltz"-Frank Sinatra and "Mistletoe and Holly"-Frank Sinatra OH! and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"-Frank Sinatra and "I'll Be Home For Christmas" Bing Crosby and "Christmas Time is Here"- Vince Guaraldi Trio

20. What is your favorite holiday book? "The Night Before Christmas"- Illustrated by Tasha Tudor and "A Christmas Carol"- Dickens

21. Candy canes yuck or yum? Yum if they're fresh, yuck if they're a year old. Also, I'm kinda partial to the little tiny candy canes that can be finished in one go.

21. What's number one on your Christmas list this year? I'd really love world peace. If I can't have that then maybe end the war on terror. Since that is probably not going to happen, I'd just love to have a wonderful uneventful holiday for me, my friends, and family.

The Best New Music Ever ~ Jonathon Coulton

2006-12-10T12:28:00.000-08:00

I have just found the coolest new artist ever!!!

Jonathon Coulton

Oh my, he so rocks.

You can go here to check out his music.

Songs we love:

Tom Cruise Crazy

Re: Your Brains

Flickr

You ruined everything

W's Duty

Code Monkey

Baby Got Back (with Banjo you gotta love it)

This guy is so clever! He should be famous!

Spread the word...

BONUS!
Flickr Video

I almost forgot!!!

2006-12-05T11:40:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness!

I almost forgot Leslie Harpold's Online Advent Calendar.

Enjoy!

Well, I've been doing stuff...

2006-11-28T15:33:00.000-08:00

I finished this cute little sweater a few weeks ago for my new niece. I went with the medium size because babies grow way to fast to actually knit them something to size. C picked out the buttons. I'd picked out each one as an option and she liked the way they looked together so we just used all of them.

On a light note...

2006-11-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

Like I talk about anything heavy here.

I saw this on Pixiegenne and had to play along.

here's how it works:
1. open your library (iTunes, winamp, media player, iPod)
2. put it on shuffle
3. press play
4. for every question, type the song that's playing
5. new question-- press the next button
6. don't lie and try to pretend you're cool

opening credits:
"Medley: A Man Has Dreams (The Life I Lead)/A Spoonful Of Sugar" Mary Poppins Soundtrack

waking up:
"lives" modest mouse

first day at school:
"root down" beastie boys

falling in love:
"love the world" scooby-doo sountrack

breaking up:
"I am a man of constant sorrow" soggy bottom boys

prom:
"dreamer in my dreams" wilco

life's okay:
"outsiders" franz ferdinand

mental breakdown:
"C'mon let the good times roll" jimi hendrix

driving:
"the otherside of paradise" The Hoodoo Gurus

flashback:
"dash 7" wilco

getting back together:
"E Pro" beck

wedding:
"Anything but Me" Phish

birth of child:
"Way Out West" Big Star

final battle:
"Dirty Frank" Pearl Jam

death scene:
"famine" Sinead O'Conner

funeral song:
"Soul Kitchen" The Doors

end credits:
"Poison Arrow" ABC

Thoughts:
Damn Troy and his 80's music tastes!! Also, I was pissed that there was absolutely no jazz on the list. You should see the huge Jazz selection on my iTunes and none of it came up(Wilco gets 2 spots c'mon!). I was really surprised how the music really fit the themes in most catagories. I should make a mix disc of it all or at least a playlist. hmmmm

Anyone want a copy?

Bonus:
Did you know you could use your iPod/iTunes as a magic 8 ball? It's true, ask the question and hit shuffel. Your answer will be in the song that plays.

Rescue Gnomes

2006-11-03T13:46:00.000-08:00

I went to an estate sale down the street today. I found some cool things like this fabric. There are actually two pieces. They appear to be vintage cotton and with quite a bit of yardage on each. I also got some more tins for holiday goodies and a large-ish tin for my own biscuit box. (sorry no photos).

There was a room full of holiday stuff. We've been trying to decide if we should do the live tree thing this year. It's been a long time since we've had a live tree. H has never had a live tree so it would be a first for him. If we do get one, we'll go to the blue mtns. near where we live and pick out a small modest tree. I was able to pick up this sweet vintage tree skirt for $1. It has some damage (I think they cut out a Santa) but I'll just put that in the back. I don't actually have a tree skirt. I've always just shoved some fabric under the tree to cover the stand. I also picked up a tree stand.

With estate sales, you get to wander through out this person's house and check out all their stuff, inside and out. I sometimes picture them freaking out that all these people are in their house taking their stuff. I always try and be very reverent at estate sales in case they're watching. I also figure it might be good sale Karma which it totally turned out to be today. C was in the basement and found this great gnome tin bank in excellent condition. Each side has a different gnome scene and the top has two gnomes sliding on a rainbow. I can't decide which scene is my favorite, although the two on the rainbow is awfully sweet. The bottom of the bank reads, "Bankland 1980".

After perusing the basement and a second pass through the upstairs, we headed outside to the back yard. There was a lot of garden equipment. They had an awesome raised garden bed that took up an entire corner of the house. One other thing about estate sales, you get to see these great houses that are all still decked out in their vintage charm. This place was no exception, I felt like I was in the late 50s early 60s.

I probably should have looked over the garden stuff more carefully but something caught my eye. Hiding under an over grown bush I caught sight of a couple of scared looking fellas. Knowing everything is for sale at an estate sale I started looking for someone in charge. She came out the back door right at that moment and quoted me $5 ea. SOLD! I heaped all my treasures into my arms taking them from my kids and instructed them to go grab a gnome. Luckily, they weren't stone or my 7yo would have had some trouble...LOL. They are both great gnomes and we're happy to save them from an usure future.

My Halloween Spooks

2006-11-01T17:46:00.000-08:00

The Modern Vampyre and Pee Wee Herman

Honorary Gnome of the Day

2006-10-31T08:13:00.000-08:00

I've decided in the spirit of this blog to give special notice to my fellow bloggers who get gnome-y.

The very first award goes to Siri over at Knitting Iris.
Go see her amazing costume.

This Year's Costumes

2006-10-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

Here are the kids' costumes for this year:

The kid on the left is a loaner, he's a construction worker. My dd is a modern vampire and my little dude is Pee Wee Herman.

We had a 4H meeting/holiday party so they got to wear their costumes early. They turned out great. C's vampire teeth are a one time use thing so she's waiting for the big day to wear them.

Beatnik Socks

2006-10-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

They're done and they're too big. Dang! I had a feeling they were going to be a bit too big but I just kept thinking I could wash them. Let me tell ya, no amount of washing is going to fix this. The good news is, I was planning on knitting my dad a pair of socks for x-mas and guess what, I just finished early. I luckily hadn't bought the yarn for his socks so I'm not out $.

Speaking of holiday knitting....here's my list from now till the big day:

Baby Sweater for my Niece
Scarf for my Sister's Birthday
2 Pairs of felted Mary Jane slippers (nieces)
A Felted Hedgehog
Cabled Skull Cap
Mystery Knit for my DH
Maybe something for my nephews
Socks for my dad....oh wait that's done WOOT!
Pirate Mittens to match the hat (for me)

Oh, and for those who keep searching...I'm here to stay baby. Blog Gnome, this one. I'm really enjoying all the new features on Blogger Beta so I'm not moving anymore. My VOX acct is not very active since I don't know a lot of people on VOX so I'm sticking here. Thanks for following me.

As far as not posting a lot, I've been busy on another project. (Some of you know about it and have found it) I'm planning on keeping up with this blog but it might go to a weekly format.

What is your holiday list looking like?

These Fuzzyfeet are made for walkin'...

2006-09-28T16:29:00.000-07:00

I whipped up these Fuzzy Feet this week to take on my trip to Whidbey Island. (felted just this morning) I'm not expecting the freakishly hot weather we've been having around here.
Specs:
Pattern: Fuzzyfeet from Knitty
Yarn: Cascade 220 scraps

I'm leaving in the morning to go to Djangofest and I'm really excited. It will be nice to not have to think of anyone but myself for a while. I just hope the women I'm going with will forgive me the occasional, "Now has everyone used the bathroom before we go."

I'll be back Sunday. Have a great weekend.

YAARRRRRR!!!!

2006-09-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

OMG! I almost forgot!
Today is "Talk Like a Pirate Day"

Beatnik Socks

2006-09-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

I started on these a little over a week ago. The colors are amazing in person. The yarn is from Hello Yarn. I have to say, I've never been disapointed from anything I've gotten there. And, the customer service is outstanding. She just updated her shop today and there is some sock yarn calling my name. But, I'm being good because I'm going to Port Townsend in a few weeks and I know I'll want to buy something there as well.

This photo is from a few days ago and I've actually finished the heel and started on the cuff. I'm so converted to the toe up sock. It seems so much faster to me and I know that after the heel, I can just knit away on the cuff without worry of running out of yarn. I hope to get this one done by tomorrow and start on the second. The goal is to have nice new toasty socks for Djangofest in two weeks.

All this knitting for myself has been such a treat. I did however start my X-mas list and am shocked at the amount of knitting I had planned for. Good thing I'm doing it now or I'd have been super stressed come November.

This leads me to a thought... gift giving season is the same month every year. And yet, I let it sneak up on me . Not this year. All gifts bought by Oct. 1st and all projects planned out as well.

Stress free....we'll see.

YUM!

2006-09-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

So, I went to the doctor for a medical problem I've been having for a while and the verdict was spastic colon. Nuf' said on that.

The remedy, no dairy and high fiber diet. I LOVE the cheese...how will I survive? Feeling pretty sad about it, Troy took me to the grocery store and told me to pick out something for myself. Pizza sounded good so I grabbed this. Totally expecting it to taste so-so. I mean really, no cheese pizza....whatever!

This is the best frozen pizza I've ever had. EVER!!! It's so tasty I'm on my 3rd pizza this week.

For dessert, Newman-o sandwich cookies...
Yeah, poor me. HAH!

Soccer Boy

2006-09-13T08:52:00.000-07:00

This is is H's first year ever playing soccer. He's really liking it. He loves the "gear" he got to buy and his new soccer ball (it has purple on it, that is as close to pink as he gets in public). The other boys on his team have played at least a year and I was worried he would be to old. Luckily the boys and the team are really nice and have been helping him out. As you can tell in the action shot below, he's just happy to be there, running up and down the field with the other boys. He's not very aggresive, but that's just his nature. He really loves playing goalie.

Good Bye Summer

2006-09-10T20:33:00.000-07:00

My Friend E brought these beautiful flowers for me. Can you believe they're from her yard?!!

This is one thing that I'm going to miss about summer, Flowers in Bloom.

It's Done!!!

2006-09-08T19:07:00.001-07:00

I finally finished the Mermaid Clapotis!! Woo Hoo!

Things are Happening....

2006-09-06T19:09:00.000-07:00

Stay tuned for a completed object!!!

Will post tomorrow.

Gnome-alicious

2006-09-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd try out the new blogger beta version to see if I like it better. So far, it's pretty cool. More easy ways to customize. I really need to create my own header though. Something original. I need change....