I Went Ahead and...

...did it. I joined the "InstaPot" club. See, it was our anniversary and I honestly wasn't expecting anything except a card. I'm ok with that. 

Well. FIRST, Hubby hands me THREE dozen roses. I almost fell over. We don't normally do flowers. They're right here next to me, a medley of pink, red, and white. Two vases. Yeah, I could've stuck them in one vase, but I wanted to give them room. 

As you can see, I arrange flowers for crap. But even so, these were and are gorgeous! A few don't look like they're going to open fully, but I don't care. 

I miss my roses. I once had a thriving rose garden in my front yard, many of the bushes planted in memory of people I care/cared about. But we have large maples in our front and back yard. I noticed my roses looking pretty nasty: spindly, no blooms to speak of, yellow leaves... So I consulted a biologist friend of mine who said, "You need to get rid of all your roses." I thought I would cry. Apparently, there's a fungus (I can't remember the name of the nasty little bugger), and it's in the roots of maples, and gets into the dirt. I doused my soil with neem oil (on his suggestion) and ripped all the roses out. 

Well, now as you may remember, it's a wildflower garden and it's thriving. But I miss my fragrant, home-grown roses. 

So. We had a nice weekend. We went to dinner on the Saturday before our anniversary since the Sunday was going to be busy. We exchanged cards on Sunday. The roses showed up Saturday, by the way... And as I was knitting (see below), he hands me a large-ish box. 

It was this little beauty. It's an InstaPot Duo Mini. It's just the right size for the 2 of us, and gives us 4 portions of whatever we're cooking. So tonight, we had a brown rice & chicken thing - I found a recipe and I also did a bit of "winging it." 

With broth AND pineapple juice (I'm telling you --- my new best friend when pressure cooking chicken), we used organic brown basmati, about 8 spring onions, 4 large cloves of garlic, a total of 1.5 cups of broth/juice. I also used 3 carrots, chunked, and about a cup of peas. The chicken breasts were FROZEN. I'm talking two bricks-of-chicken. I also used Penzey's Sunny Paris blend, salt and pepper. 

It took one hour, start to finish. So when people say, "Hey, my InstaPot cooks stuff in 15 minutes," it's only partially true. It takes some time when using the pressure cooker part, to get up to pressure, then to release the pressure. So don't count on dinner on the table in 20 minutes. There's also prep time. This thing sautees, so I initially sauteed the veggies, then added a little broth to deglaze, then rinsed the rice, put that in with the broth/juice, and spices. Stirred it up and then laid the chicken breasts on the top. Locked it down, set the time & pressure and walked away. Hubby really likes the "vent the pressure" thing. It must be a guy thing. Anyway, I also nuked the peas and put them in afterwards. I shredded the chicken, too. 

Notes: I'd add more onions & garlic, and add more salt & pepper. It was a touch bland. But you could taste a bit of the pineapple juice. It's a keeper, worth tweaking. 

Knitting Knews...

Sorry. It's been awhile since I did a poorly-executed pun-ish kind of thing. I won't do it again, I promise. 


I started a "Two Hour Shawl." Well. It's not 2 hours. But then, I have a caveat. I know I knit slowly. I've been working on this for a couple of days. I mean, I do have a couple of other jobs to do. It's from Wolfberry Knits, and it's called, "The (literally) Two Hour Shawl." I'm doing it in a crazy acrylic purple + sparkles, and yes, using fringe. 

It's going to a special person, and I have to hold that close to the vest for now. I am using "trees" to knit... Mind you, I've been doing a lot of sock knitting and the Close to You Shawl - I've been knitting with much, MUCH smaller needles. 

These are size 15 and I'm holding the yarn double. I've also been playing a little yarn chicken. You see, I bought 2 balls, and I cut the fringe (all 100 pieces....I'm dyin' here...) from one ball, thinking I'd use two-ish balls for the shawl. Then I got the brilliant idea, since they called for 100 meters/ball, to DOUBLE the yarn. I have to get to 90 stitches across. 

The yarn the pattern called for needs to be blocked. Obviously, I'm not blocking acrylic. I won't have to. But I might pin it out anyway, just so I can get the fringe on there correctly. There are 50 fringes per side. I normally don't fringe anything, but this will really work with the pattern.  

It's a pretty yarn, and soft. But it's truly like knitting with tree trunks after all the sock yarn. I've set the Close to You Shawl aside till I get some headways on this one. I mean, really - two hours, bulky yarn, huge needles... But honestly, I really don't like knitting this large - at least not often. For some things, it's totally the way to do that. For an 8-hour baby blanket (which takes me about 3 weeks), that's perfect. But putting it in perspective, these are the shawls-in-the-works side by side. 

Church Yard Sale Bargains...

I really tried to avoid any buying at the yard sale. Heck, I donated THREE boxes of stuff. (And there's more in the basement, which we're planning on sending over for the Fall Sale) But I did find a few gems that I couldn't pass up. One of them, I got for free - because I found them after the sale was over and before the Salvation Army got them!

I got a lovely large blue spatterware platter, which we can use for our large family gatherings. Hubby liked that one a lot. For a buck. I also got a Fiestaware pitcher - I've never had any kind of Fiestaware, and this is a nice one for my fridge. For TWO bucks. 

When I posted that on Facebook, I got some side-eye because it was only $2. Hey, not my fault. I was promoting the Rummage Sale. Your fault if you don't come and see what's there. 

I also got a small bud vase; I'm usually scrambling for one of those. For 50 cents, it was worth it. 


It was nice to see my stuff leaving the building... And as I said, I'm anxious to get rid of more of it in the Fall. 

These beauties are for Kid #2. He's into vinyl. Apparently, that's the "in" thing. So some of these are truly trash, but some may be nice things to have. They're "old school" vinyl. My one friend grabbed one of them out of the box, and while she was getting ready to go home, it slipped out of her hand, and the edge hit the table. A huge chunk cracked off... She was only going to frame it, so she can glue it up nicely and it'll be ok for that. This box has lots of chipped ones, but maybe he can find a few that are unique. 

We had several boxes of LPs and someone came and asked one of our volunteers to thumb through each and every one. He bought a few of them for upwards of $30 -- and we were selling them for $1 each! I suggested that someone get a valuer in for the Fall sale, especially if we had stuff like records and depression glass, etc. No sense selling it for a dollar or two if we can get a little more for it. We did have someone bargaining for a set of silver tea spoons. I'm not talking "teaspoons." I'm talking about Polish silver tea spoons, like demitasse spoons, with a maker's mark and all. He wanted them for $5 for a set of 6. Our warden wasn't budging. At $10, that set was enough of a bargain. As usual, there were far too many purses, tatty Christmas decorations and baby items, but we did well, and have hopes for a better Fall sale. 

Hey, maybe there'll be more Fiestaware!

Random Picture...

So I'm going to Colorado to see Kid #1 with my "wingman," Kid #2. And I'm meeting the new girlfriend. So we've been texting back and forth, and exchanging pictures. I tried to get one of Quinn to show her. And of course, Quinn responds well to bribery. A little too well here!! 

Funny story: My sister came over so I could help her with a resume. She's seen my dogs - at least the Elkhounds. Tippi visited with her right when I first got her. And later, Quinn - who was supposed to be my sister's dog in the first place - raced around the yard with her dog Kali. They had a blast. 

She hadn't met Raisa yet, and of course fell in love with the red-headed Siberian Husk-clown... 

Anyway, Quinn seems to have forgotten her manners. She took one look at my sister and went to hide in the bathroom... She eventually came out, we were working on my sister's stuff. I petted both dogs. Tippi was glued to her side, wanting pets - and being the quiet, well-trained therapy dog she is -- was, well... QUIET. Tippi doesn't paw at you for attention (like some Husky I know...) and she doesn't intrude on you. She sits and waits. 

Quinn was on the couch. Eventually, both dogs up and walked to the back of the house. My sister didn't even hear them go. She was shocked that they went "poof" like little grey fog clouds... "How can such big dogs move so quietly???" she asked. She did eventually pet Quinn, and I think they're friends. 

Maybe. 

So what's on your needles? What's on with garden plans? What are you reading? Fill me in! 

Not Sure Where...

...the time went!  Hubby and I just had our 19th anniversary. It seems like "forever" and then it seems like "forever and a day" -- during good times and bad, right? We don't make a "big do" out of anniversaries. For one, our schedules are insane. And we have 3 dogs. And he has a 4 a.m. wake-up call... And my schedule can vary to where I'm either working all day, working the evening shift or coming home from work, grabbing a cheese stick and heading out to teach yoga. 

Cranes

But we did do a little something. We bought some cranes. I will say I'm disappointed. Menard's has these "two in a box" with one SKU number... but they charge you FOR EACH even though the tag didn't say that. It was a bummer. But anyway, this is what's in the front garden now. 

Eventually, there will be gravel there; we're working on it. 

We did cranes for a specific reason. Cranes are in it for life. Once they pick a partner, they're done. We've had some hard times, and rough starts. But we keep re-starting. We keep working at this thing called marriage. He's my rock. I don't tell him that enough. 

I am always amazed that he's as crazy about me as he says he is. Why is that so hard? Well, I don't think I'm alone - it's a human thing, and probably more of a female-thing. I don't ever think I'm "enough." Pretty enough; slim enough; happy enough; you get the idea. 

But he's shown me that "in good times and bad; in sickness and health" really does have meaning. Deep, abiding meaning. 

And for that, a pair of cranes just doesn't seem to do it. But he understands. 

Happy Anniversary, Dear!!

Crappy Mow Job...

Sounds like a really bad porn movie, right?? Well, where I work, I'm next to an empty lot. It's owned by a company who owns a LOT of empty lots in our county. And the village where I work is VERY particular that you keep your property mowed. 

Last year, I had lots of fighting on my hands because they also own the lot on the other side of my building and I had a huge influx of "critters" due to their lack of maintenance. 

Imagine how happy I was to see the mowers. 

Then look at this. Really??? I could've bought a herd of goats or alpaca and the grass would've looked MUCH better than this. Plus, I'd have gotten yarn AND fertilizer out of the bargain, too... 

I suppose I should just say, "Okey-dokey - not my problem." And really, it's not. And the bug guy will be happy to see this. He's coming out next week. He was gracious enough last year to give me a second spray for free because of the "new tenants" I kept seeing for a few weeks last year. 

And -- there's good news. My Coral Bells have come back!! I bought these at the end of the season, for 99-cents at the local Ace hardware. That was after deer ate the petunias. The pansies. The lamb's ear. Apparently, they don't like Coral Bells. 

Coral Bells

But bees do. And these will throw off some lovely tall white-flowered spires later on. 

I would've sworn they had died off. Those concrete planters are on the north side of the campus, and after all the brutal winter weather, I figured I was going to have to hike off for more plants. 

But lookee!!! I'm so excited!

I had them for years on the north side of my house, but in a bucket, sort of on the northeast side where they got a little more light. They're lovely flowers and if you can pick some up, do so. They come in a couple different varieties and with luck, they last several years. 

Detente...

Quinn & Raisa

Quinn and Raisa have come to a detente. As you can see, we no longer have exclusive rights to the couch. Well, we do, but we all know that it's too adorable when they want to sit there, especially together. 

For a while, we knew it was going to be a long process. Our patience has been rewarded. They've begun to play together more, and while we're still watchful, it's nice to see them developing a friendship. They make very good walking partners, as Tippi doesn't like to move fast and Quinn's a speedy little stinker. Raisa is the one who can not only keep up with her but probably outlast her. 

Raisa has become quite the vocalist. Every morning, I get a wake-up woooooooooo and every day when I come home, I get the Welcome Home Song. That's in addition to the "The Elkhounds are Singing, So I'm Doing Harmony" song and the "The Harmonica is Playing" song and our very favorite: "The Happy Toast" song. I'll have to get some of them on video. The other day when I was playing guitar, she started in, too, so maybe we'll have a "special screening" of her accompanying me. What a goof-ball she is!

Raisa is also doing quite well in Obedience. At least in class! I think we'll get Intermediate done with and then have her spayed. That'll get her over the rest of the summer, I think. It'll be interesting to see if we can keep the Red Husk-Cat Ninja away from her incision. The tube we used on the Elkhounds isn't going to be enough for this contortionist. It looks like it may have to be The Cone of Shame. 

That ought to be interesting. 

Sock KAL...

Sock KAL

So you know the Sock KAL is going along well. Sock #1 was done in a record 13 days. Yep. Thirteen days. By me. 

Go ahead. Fan yourself. My needles were practically on fire. I'm taking it a little more slowly on Sock #2, but Sock #1 won't have long to wait. Why is it that 1x1 ribbing takes forever??? Elizabeth Zimmerman used to say, "Knit the ribbing till you just about can't stand it, and then it's long enough." It works great on sweaters, but socks pretty much have to match. 

Except these won't exactly match. The construction will be the same, but I didn't want to waste the yarn to find the area closest to the beginning of Sock #1. It's a yarn that I'm not sure I can find again, and honestly, it's the same hank. If you're going to be that critical, then knit your own socks the way you want them. 

Isn't it enough that I'm knitting my own socks? I don't mean to be cranky, but occasionally on the knitting discussion sites, there are the "matchy" people and I don't happen to think that there's a strict rule about matching. Some yarns are really easy to match - I've seen some stunning, gorgeous, MATCHING socks. However, at least in my mind, if you have a ball of yarn that makes a pair, use it. Deal with the fact that even if you DID manage to find the starting point, unless you're doing 2 at a time, they're not going to be exact anyway. Every day you knit, you knit differently. Your state of mind, the weather, how you slept, how your hands feel... All of that impacts your knitting. My granny was a stickler for tension, so I'm usually ok with that, but as far as matching these?

This would drive her nuts. But she wouldn't have knitted this anyway. She'd have done argyles. 

Spring...

Junk Drawer

Cleaning, first. I had a spare moment, so I dove into the Junk Drawer at work and got rid of a car-load of pens. I brought them home, because our house apparently devours pens in the night. It's a lot neater now. I keep the coffee machine money in there, and it was becoming a disaster area. 

Nothing big, right? But "spring cleaning" starts incrementally. At least for me it does!

I'm told that this is the Year of the Deck. Our back deck is pretty horrid and it needs to be replaced. I keep nagging suggesting that this be done sooner rather than later. I finally got an assurance that yes, this is the year it'll get done. Along with the gravel in the front bed, and cleaning up the south bed. The south bed is about 99% done anyway; we just have to get some landscape brick or other system to contain it and we'll be putting slate chips in there. It's too much to maintain a garden on that side, and it's muddy right now. I don't want to put grass all the way to the house, and Hubby thinks it's just an invite to mice. 

Pictures of any progress will follow. I promise. I don't think he'll let me do anything else. 

And... nothing says "spring" like the annual (sometimes 2x/year) pedicure! I should have waited, I guess, but I was able to get in on a day off, so I took advantage of it. It's a little spa down the way from my house, and they're very nice there. The technician and I spent most of the time discussing our dogs.

Spring Toes

The only thing I would say that I don't like is that there's not a huge array of colors to pick from. The spa across the way from my office is larger, and they're about the same price. With more colors.

I finally found some nice, dressy sandals that are comfortable and have support. They're a little "retro" but I like that. They're made by Earth, and I got them on sale at Zappos. 

I like the rose-red color of the polish, and it's pearlized. I like that better than the solids. I apologize in advance for the "winter white" skin, but that's about as good as it gets. I'm not a sun-bunny. I'm a firm believer in sunscreen, hats and staying in when it's the most likely to scorch me. 

Anyway, these sandals are going with me to our Zonta convention in Orlando. This June. Really. Orlando in June. Yeesh. Last time I went, it was San Antonio. In June. I gotta get somewhere more temperate!

Random Picture...

Stingray Toy

Raisa is a toy hog. Seriously bad, and we don't want to start a war. And most of them, she destroys. Or the squeakers drive us to distraction. 

This is a new one. The tail is already chewed (and it's rated 7-out-of-10 in "toughness"), but I expected that. What I like is that it's not only keeping her occupied, but the squeaker is there and quiet. So she gets her squeaks and we can hear ourselves think. 

It's from Fun Time Dog Shop, of course, and it's the "Ray-Ray Sting Ray" toy. Click on the link and browse. All profits go to rescues and you can pick from a very nice list she has. 

At some point, we're hoping to gradually go through the toy box and get rid of some of the more "loved" toys. If we put a few of them out there, then perhaps she'll share. If not, she's going to learn how to share anyway. 

She only THINKS she's in charge. But then again, every Siberian Husky does!