Starting Over...

Well. The downside of all this "organization" is that, even though I've found a number of projects that I want to finish or start, I've also managed to mislay several. Either the project, part of the project, or the directions. 

Not cool. 

The good news is that several things have been finished. The bad news is, now that I want to finish at least one of the "single socks," I can't find (a) either the sock; or (b) the instructions. Well. Crap. 

So, what's finished and what's still working... Here we go, kids...

MY Emergency One Day Hat is finished. I'm calling it my March Hat, because I'll be wearing it to the 2019 Women's March in Chicago. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we're going to have one. 

Encore Worsted, in a pink heathered colorway, and some of the Caron Purple Sparkle from a prayer shawl. 

This time, it worked better than trying to do the Fun Fur. I liked doing this in the larger size; it taxed the length of my 16" circulars, though. 

Once again, the stitch definition is great; this time, I think the decreases worked a bit better. Having to switch all of that to DPNs made it a little wonky - you had to keep track of which of the markers was the beginning of the round, which was easy this time because I put a different marker at Place #1. 

I actually haven't tried this on - I suppose I ought to. I did measure it, though, so it should fit. 

No, it doesn't match any coat I own. Even the purple coat I have. But wearing it for the march is the point. I really don't like the "cat ear" hats, though I wore one at the first march. Heck, I was freezing. I wore it!

I still have it. But I'm happy with this one, and I'm anxious to wear it even aside from the march. I thought to myself, "Self, you could, technically, make one of these for each of the kids for Christmas...since this one literally took you 6 days."

Self is still thinking about it, honestly. I have enough worsted weight yarn, and I could even make one for Kid #1's girlfriend. Though I'm not sure of her head size... 

So the other thing I finished was, amazingly, a Fun Fur mini-scarf. I say "mini" because it's not very long. Almost an "ascot" length, where I could poke a skewer through it to hold it on. I held the yarn double, and used size 10 needles. I could've gone to 11 or 13, actually. I probably should have. And maybe 2 or 3 stitches thinner. 

I finished it relatively swiftly, while doing more of the prayer patches at lunch breaks. And I got it to stretch a bit by whipping it - cracking it like a whip to fluff out the fur. The dogs thought I was nuts. 

I could keep this or hold it as a "stash gift" - which is a strong thought, though it's a tad bit too small for that, unless it's for a kid. Actually, I should see if it sort of matches the kid's hat I made, and then maybe make that a two-piece gift. That scarf may fit a 3-year-old! I think that's a plan!

I like the way the colors managed to match when I fold it in half. I'm sure it's just the yarn, and no special work on my part. 

What I've started: Well, I'm kind of over the 'big needle knitting' for a bit, so while I'll continue on with the prayer patches, because we need them for the installation of our vicar, I started looking for my single socks. 

Found Petty Harbour, but not the directions. Found the Green Sock, but not the mate. I went "once over lightly" in the office and couldn't find any of my other "pending projects." Well. Fudge. 

So I pulled out the Monkey Socks that I started...oh... I don't know. A long while ago. I can't figure out why it looks like I've marked some of the lace - I didn't have but 3 rows of knitting done on only 1 sock. 

I frogged it and started over. I'm doing my 6-row knit top, because it's done on 64 stitches, so I think they may be a bit taut on my leg. One more reason to start exercising more and get some weight off... 

I like the Monkey Sock. Now, lest you're thinking of the "work sock monkey toy" thing? Nope. This is a pattern (link there) from Knitty - one of the popular designers, Cookie A. It's a lace pattern, and frankly, the sock that got me started thinking about knitting lace. It's really a pretty 11-row repeat. 

I'm using bamboo needles, which worry me a bit. Toothpicks, indeed. I can always switch them to the Karbonz, if I need to. Here's the deal, though. It's something that we need to consider as knitters or even crocheters. Needle color + yarn color...

Think about it. This yarn, Opal's "Vincent" colorway. I chose it because Monkey reminds me of fall leaves. And this yarn just called out "autumn!!" 

But the bamboo needles are basically the color of that orangey-tan. And they're 1.5 - tiny, tiny... Not as bad as 00, but they match the yarn too closely. 

That's why I was thinking that, if it got awful, even with the OttLite, I'd switch to the Karbonz, because the black will at least pop the yarn color and I could see what I'm doing. 

I do remember my grandma telling me about this when she'd do an afghan. If she was doing a purple afghan and only had a purple hook, she'd buy or borrow a different color so that the yarn and hook didn't blend in together. 

I can see that now. And I should've thought of that. But as I sit here and just kind of meditate over the yarn, I seem to recall that I was mainly excited to be knitting with "real" sock needles. I don't think the color of the needles + color of the yarn even occurred to me. 

It does now. We'll see how this works out. 

Orchids Everywhere...

In a way, I'm kind of itching to talk about current events, but for right now - I think we need a break so I'll talk about something that's kind of my new obsession: orchids. 

It's not really a "new" obsession. I've just decided to get my act together and learn more about them, after killing off several of them. Including one given to me by Kid #2 (shhh!).

This is my "orchid altar." I did a little more research, and figured out how to pot them, perhaps, in a way that will better work out for the conditions I have: Midwest, southwest corner of the house, and probably too near the heat vent, even though I've got a device on there to direct the air across the floor instead of straight up, under those orchids. 

Left to right, the one in the little one in the bowl is from my former job. It's lasted about 2 years now - but she's got no roots!! What she DID give me, however, is a baby. 

If you see that little thing there at the left? It's a Keiki -- the vaguely Hawaiian-sounding name, meaning "baby." That Keiki came off the spike of the orchid where you see the large green leaf in the picture. 

I'm told, if the YouTubes are correct, that there's a chance to resurrect Mamma Orchid...If I keep her humidified, and sprits/soak her stem every few days, to encourage root re-growth. The problem with her was that I followed the advice on the label and "just added ice cubes." I burned the aerial roots. And then it got a bit drowned, because one of Kid #2's friends is an "orchid whisperer" and he told me (a) no ice; and (b) water. The bark on top looked dry. 

Classic rookie mistake: it was draining into the decorative pot and it was sitting in water. A big NO-NO for orchids. They don't like to swim. 

Orchids, basically, are air plants - in the wild, they hang off the trees! Look at this. Does it look like it should be crammed into a pot stuffed with sphagnum moss and overwatered in some chilly Home Depot?

Now, this is a wild phalaenopsis orchid. You can clearly see the silvery roots clinging to the bark of the tree. It looks pretty spiffy there, actually. Most of what we buy are in containers, and most of what I've seen in the "big box" stores are in moss, not bark. 

We have an orchid place sort of near us - it'll be a while before I can get up there with my crazy schedule. I just checked, and while it's "37 minutes via Google" from where I work, and I have a fairly decent lunch break? It's probably not a good idea to go up there during lunch. 

But boy, it's tempting!

So. Back to reality. I can't afford to buy fancy orchids; I don't even like them. I like a straight-up phal. The other ones kind of creep me out... 

I bought this one to replace the one I killed from The Kid. (Sorry) Even though I risk blossom drop, I took one of them and immediately put it into a glass container, taking all the moss out of it. It was soggy, as most of them are. 

This was one I bought pretty much because it was smaller, and while not a "mini" it's a bit petite. 

I got this one at the Jewel. Let's see how it does in the bark with most of it being "airy." 

I need to find some styrofoam. One of my sources, M.E.'s Orchids, suggests a thin circle of styrofoam - the theory being that you put that in the bottom of your vase, and water to THAT height. Bark or decorative rocks on top of that to hold the orchid, and that way, no roots should dip into the water. The styrofoam ends up acting like a "water brake" - where you know just how deeply to water. 

I have to get some decorative rock, too. The bark can break down and oxidize, something I learned with African Violets. Which I love, but I don't have a good space to grow them in this house. So if I can "sprinkle" a little bark for decoration, but have mainly stones, I think it'll keep them healthier. 

I have yet to repot the Big Boy there in the middle. That will come soon. I raided our church's Rummage Sale of a lot of their glass vases. For a buck or two, I have a nice stash for future orchids. Though, right now, the 3 + baby are fine for me. If I can make Mamma Orchid come back, I'll be really chuffed!! 

I put my crystals around them. Who knows? Maybe the big Selenite next to the petite one, and the bowl of amethysts near Momma + baby will help. The Gerosole Opal may give some great vibes to Big Boy. 

Random Picture...

The other day, this tree, in my backyard, was green. It's not now. As Autumn progresses, this tree should be getting more and more orange. The one in front is "lipstick red." This is a "pumpkin orange."

On good autumns, when the weather isn't so screwy, you can see these two trees from either end of the block because they're tall enough and the colors are pretty much the most vibrant ones on the block. 

But with climate change and the warming of the planet almost past the tipping point - if we haven't, indeed, passed that tipping point - it's hard to predict how fall colors will go this year. 

That's one reason why I love the Midwest: we do get 4 seasons (and 5 if you count "construction season" but I digress...). They used to be more distinct, but lately, we get the seasons melding together. I'm used to Indian Summer in the middle of fall, but this year, they're kind of confused. 

And so are we. We know what the seasons are supposed to be. But we've also screwed up our planet. All we can do now is individually try to help Mother Nature recover. If we can. 

Busy Day Off...

So I took the day off. Well, it wasn't really a "day off." Tippi was Principal for the Day (well, half a day) at a local early childhood center. We lasted half a day and she'd had enough. It's hard to see that she's getting older, but while she was there, she enjoyed herself, I think. They want us back, but only in smaller groups. 

I have no pictures. I was busy with her and the kids. If the principal sends me some, I'll certainly share. She's got to check to make sure it's ok with the parents. 

And while I was there, I had to drive Hubby's "big old boat." My car was in the shop. Both tie rods were going out, and the tires had to be rotated, and the whole thing realigned. The car - or at least the steering - was "juddering." The steering wheel was shaking badly and the whole front end felt like the wheels were going to come off. Of course, that's what happens when a tie rod goes - the tire attached to it goes all wonky. And BOTH of mine were doing that. No wonder the whole thing felt like it was going to collapse on me. 

So. I had to drive the big old boat. Which I could barely park, by the way. But it does drive nicer than mine... 

And the vet thinks Tippi may have a kidney or bladder stone. X-rays tomorrow. 

So, what does one do with one's car out of commission? One cancels their guitar lesson and gets baking done for the church's Rummage & Bake Sale. It's all freezable, so we're good to go. 

First up is Chocolate Chip Pumpkin mini loaves. Granted, I could've done 8 of them - should have, actually, but these turned out ok. 

Yes. I know. The photo is upside down. I did turn it the other way round, but somehow, my phone's camera ate it. Deal with it, please...

And a teeny tiny little secret about these loaves... They're from a box mix. That's not why they're not up to the top. They're a tad skimpy because there are 10 of them, like I said, but I don't think that will keep people from buying them. I've added chocolate chips; strangely enough, chocolate and pumpkin kind of go together. 

Next, I had 2 pears I needed to do something with. I should've eaten them, but I didn't. So there you had it. And I had 1 apple. Trolling through The Internets, I found this Apple Pear Bread recipe. Which I promptly changed a couple of ways and which I think made it a lot better. This is a really stiff dough, but it turned out to be quite nice. 

I must say, the custard cups were genius on my part. That loaf pan is my biggest one. But I knew this was a bit more. It called for one pan, but I'm not sure how I ended up with more batter. I know that by the time I diced everything up, I had lots more fruit than was called for, which is fine by me. I added two generous teaspoons of my NEW FAVORITE SPICE: Penzey's BAKING SPICE. Wow, is that stuff great! And a couple great big shakes of McCormick's Chai Spice Blend, plus 4 nice slices, diced, of candied ginger. I wanted the "harvest" aspect to come out, and for me, Autumn is Ginger Time! So Hubby and I ate the ones in the custard cups. He ate two of them, for the record. I also sprinkled the tops with Turbinado sugar, but it didn't "pop" the way I like it. I think I could've gone a little heavier on that, but all in all, I'm pleased with the adjustments I made, and this is a keeper. 

One complaint - this took FOREVER to bake. But I kind of knew it would. The cups only took about 1/2 an hour, but the loaf took an additional 50 minutes. 

Next up were CPS Butter Cookies. Reminder to self: CHILL the dough before you bake these!! They flattened out a good bit. It's a great cookie -- basically a super-easy shortbread that you push your fingers into. Supposed to be three fingers, but I think my balls need to be bigger for that. And it would've needed to be chilled - otherwise they don't hold the impression of the fingers. 

These are a Christmas favorite. You can see the ridges - they actually looked like "reindeer hooves" before they were baked. I could go a little bigger on these for Christmas and bake them a little shorter than the 15 minutes called for. That would make them a tad more chewy and less brown on the sides. 

Tomorrow, after working at the local mission serving lunch and going to a Get Out the Vote event, I'll be finishing up with Jewish Honey Cookies  and Molasses Oatmeal Banana Bread. That fulfills my "baking ration" for the church... and gets me in the mood for holiday baking, honestly. 

Last year, Hubby did the majority of the baking, which concurrently made me angry and happy. Happy that he could do it, because my schedule was so crazy, but angry because I honestly love to bake; it's a stress-reliever for me and I'm pretty good at it. I'll admit, I was jealous that everyone was complimenting him on "his cookies."

This year, I hope it's better. Because it's something we both enjoy doing. 

Knitting On...

I'm knitting that Emergency One Day Hat again - in the largest size, for me. I'm using the same pink yarn (stash busting - the rest I'll use for prayer patches). I'll wear it for the 2019 Women's March. I'm also adding color in the ridges, with the leftover purple sparkle yarn. It's coming along. 

A friend asked if I'd knit her some socks. This is always a tricky thing, because if people ask "How much would you charge?" it's a totally loaded question. So, how much would I charge with $19.00-ish yarn, my time, and knitting basically 100,000 stitches - twice - with a plain pattern? See where I'm going here? I know the Yarn Harlot gives hers away, and that's cool. One can do that when one's a Knitting Goddess. But for the rest of us, there's no way we could even "knit for profit" unless we turned into designers. 

The upshot of that request? I gave her the Opal site, told her to order two of her favorite colors, and I'd do 2 pairs for her. I will be doing Plain Vanilla... We shall see if she gets the yarn. I also told her to measure her foot, but I'll have to get pretty specific because I need to know more than "I'm a size 8"... I may have her trace her foot onto cardboard, so at least I know where to start the toes. 

This knitting socks for other people is complex business. How in the world do others do it with ease?? And what DO people charge, if someone asks, to make a pair of regular socks??

While knitting and baking, an old, old movie came on. No surprise, right... But it was Don Knotts... "The Incredible Mr. Limpet." I loved that when I was a kid... 

It was kind of fun to see it again! The mixture of "real movie" and animation was Big Stuff when I was a kid. 

Heck, I didn't know the animation was in color till high school. Seriously, I thought everyone was making a big deal out of it when "The Wizard of Oz" came on once a year. Yes, children, movies didn't repeat in those days. They came on once a year. And no - we didn't have a color TV till I was in high school.

And my parents were in charge of the channels. There was no remote. 

I Did This Thing...

I wrote a note to Dr. Blasey-Ford. Back in the day, women flooded Anita Hill's mailbox with handwritten notes of support. I wasn't aware enough then to realize what it took to do what she did. 

I am now. I wrote her a note and enclosed one of my Prayer Patches for her. I hope her mailbox is flooded with letters and cards. What she did and what she's enduring? 

Seriously, for Melania to whine that "I'm the most bullied person on the planet." Give me a break honey-child. Let's talk Michelle Obama. Hillary Clinton. Dr. Blasey-Ford. 

Clearly, the woman has no clue what "bullied" really is. And her "Be Best" campaign is laughable given Agent Orange's propensity to toilet-tweet in the wee hours. 

Bullied. Darlin' you have no idea. And if you do have an idea, then you knew what you were marrying and you have not one jot of my sympathy. 

Random Picture...

After I got my car back, I took a quick run to the store. It was quick till I hit the deli...where it took FOR. EVER. 

As I waited, I saw this. And thought, "ohhhhhhhhhhhh NO!" 

When I was a kid, Fried Bologna was a thing. On Wonder Bread. 

Go ahead. Gag. I did. And I still do. 

You can pretty that pig up and you know what? It's still a pig. 

Well, actually, that's an insult to adorable porcine critters everywhere. 

You can put cheese and brioche buns on that sausage, but it's still nasty. 

I hated the smell. I hated the taste. There's no "wonderful" about fried bologna.

What's the thing you remember from your childhood that makes you go "ewwwwwwww"? 

I've Got Finished Objects!

Well, dang... I've got TWO finished projects to show you, neither of which showed up at all on the sidebar there... 

Yeah, I know - go ahead and fan yourself; I did!

I'm on a mission to #shopinstash - shopping in the stash that I've accumulated. If I haven't given it away to the church for the Prayer Shawl Ministry, I'm determined to knit it up. 

First, I finished the "Emergency One Day Hat" -- which of course took more than one day, but was relatively quick nonetheless. Even with frogging a bit to get that @*^ Fun Fur out of there, it ended up turning out quite cute. 

I momentarily thought about putting a pompom on it, but in the end, decided not to. 

I've also confirmed that I really, really despise knitting with 4 DPNs. Not that I don't love double-pointed needles. I just like a set of 5, where your knitting is spread over 4 needles and one is the "working needle."

This? This was a pain in the patootie. As the decreases went on (and they look lovely, by the way), it just got tighter and tighter. I probably messed up the last few ones, but I don't care. That's where a pompom would come in, to cover a few sins. But I looked at it, and it looks fine. 

I dragged out "The Head" and got the hat on it. I really believe that if I'd just sat all weekend, I could've done it in 2 days. Totally fast knit, rather mindless, after you converted everything from centimeters to inches. And the Encore Worsted was and is a favorite of mine! 

You can see the outstanding stitch definition. I'll be doing this again - I have some choices; I've got more of this pink, and I'm making myself a "Women's March Hat." I could've done the ridges in chocolate brown. Pink + brown is one of my favorite combos. 

But I have some of the Caron Party yarn - the worsted purple with sparkles in it... and I think that would be a great idea for my 2019 March Hat. It's got some negative ease, so it'll be a snug fit, but since my head is 23" around, I can do the "large" size. 

It'll be pretty and it'll be quick. 

I also finished the mitts this morning. Sewed 'em up, turned them inside out and waited for Hubby to take the photograph. 

Yes, that's me in my robe. I was aiming to do the picture on top of my laptop. 

Instead, he stuck me with a picture of me in my robe...

Oh well.

Again, I hope the recipient likes them. I still have a ton of that sock yarn left, so I may whip up some of the "Prayer Patches" that our Vicar wants to use for her installation and for an alternative to those of us who have a hard time finishing a full-sized prayer shawl, or even a lap robe. 

And I started another thing from The Stash. That *^#@ Fun Fur... I figured I'd whip up a scarf. Like I need another fuzzy scarf? I don't. I can always stash it for a quick gift, or a donation to our church's Rummage Sale. I just want to get it out of the stash. 

You know, I could have given it away or donated it to the yard sale... But I figured I wanted something mindless to knit for just a little bit. Before I pick up one of the larger Stash projects, like a sweater or whatever else is in there. 

This is held doubled, on size 1o needles. The colorway is Copacabana. I started it this afternoon, and brought it to wait for my yoga class tonight. And did a bit more now; I've set it aside to finish this blog. I may toss in a few rows before I go to sleep, but I'll have to see. 

Right now, it looks like a tropical-colored Tribble. This stuff is extra-easy to knit with, really. Just knit it. And every 5 or 6 rows, just shake it out. It puffs up really nicely. 

I would really have liked to have had that fur on the hat. But it just wasn't going to work. The frustration wasn't worth the trouble. 

And a friend just IM'd me asking me to make her 2 pairs of socks... I sent her the link to the Opal site and told her they'd be plain... We'll see if she takes me up on it. 

Halloween Gone to the Dogs...

So those dogs that I got for Halloween? They're driving me bananas... 

We've had several days of thunderstorms, and the dogs get set off every time. Both the furry ones and these! At least these have an "off" switch. I just ran out tonight, in a dumping rain, to bring them onto the porch and shut them off. 

In the meantime, Tippi and Quinn both hid in the big bathroom - not happy with either the "barking dogs" or the thunder!

I got Quinn into her crate; and Tippi is in the back bedroom. It's going to be a bumpy night. 


On the other hand, I've got bats! 

One of my favorite decorations, which I've had for years, is this stick with wiggly bats on it. I can't even remember where I bought it, but it's a sturdy decoration that's lasted for about 10 years or so. In the wind, the little bats flutter. 

It's nothing fancy, but it's cute. I used to have some bats that stuck on the windows, and I think somewhere, I have a bat that's motion activated and I hung off my porch. 

Lord knows I don't need any other motion-activated pieces this year! I turned off the raven and he's stayed off for a few days. At least till the weather clears up. 

Random Picture...


One more "prison clean-up date." At least it wasn't beastly hot, but it was humid as all get-out. We did outside work, then worked in the hospital building. We could only do the rooms where we had light or windows; we still don't have power widely available. And you can imagine, after all the rain, how things leaked. 

I saw some photographers go into one of the wings of the Admin building, where most of the cell blocks are. As I stepped into a lower door, I heard them talking about "getting the mist bouncing off the walls" and "the nascent light in the fog." 

I dunno... I just cranked off a picture. Granted, it's only my cell phone, so it won't win any prizes. 

But I think I caught the ambiance of a vacant prison cell block, deteriorated almost beyond repair. If you look closely, you can barely see one of the shutterbugs on the gallery stairs there... 

The hospital was a mess, as you can imagine. I wore my mask and even though I was dripping wet from the mask, I kept it on. No more "prison crud" for me, if I can help it!

We took out debris, when we found records, we put them aside, and a lot of furniture was moved out. We swept and scooped up the crap and made sure that the trades guys knew which rooms needed a dumpster to empty out. 

It's a fantastic place; definitely worth saving. But the work will continue for years. 

Kava-Nope...

There comes a time in the life of a country in which the average person has to stand up for what he or she believes in. A time when the "leadership" needs to take stock of what "the people" really want. 

Unfortunately, in our country, we've reached the first part. But we're likely to not ever reach the second, since our government has been bought and paid for not only by lobbyists and corporations, but by Russia... Our democracy is in peril. 

We're on the verge of having a Supreme Court Justice who's temperamentally unqualified, appears to be a high-functioning alcoholic, and has been groomed, over the years, to do this very thing: irrevocably change the highest court in the land for generations to come.

I've been calling the 4 or 5 senators who might flip the vote. I'm reaching out to democrats who're in primarily red districts to tell them to keep the faith and vote for what's right. My problem is, I'm not sure it'll work. 

I'm not sure that this isn't all pre-ordained somehow. My rage and disgust are palpable. I can't sleep, I've got an upset stomach, and I'm very, very touchy. And that's not good. 

We have been divided as a nation. We have divided families. We have divided friends. It's scary what's happening and I'm afraid it might indeed be beyond repair. Not only the damage this administration(?) is doing by taking back all the regulations that are keeping our forests pristine, our water clear and our skies clean -- but the damage done to families where they're so divided by politics as to be unable to be in the same room. 

Honestly? I don't know what to say. Women I know are curled in balls, reliving memories they've tried to "live around." Women I know are criticizing those same women and telling them that they should have "done something when it mattered." 

We all got a "presidential text message" that we're not allowed to opt out of. I'm not happy about that. It's very 1984 to me, and I hope that's the last one I'll ever get. I don't need that on my phone. 

I have no words. All I can do are the actions I am doing. And to hope others are doing the same. I can hope that I don't lose a friendship (or more) in this. But I have no sure way of knowing. 

Knitting, Knitting, Knitting...

The hat is on the DPNs. I took off the Fun Fur (not fun) and in the process of getting the stitches on the DPNs, I dropped one. I found it...before it had gone too far. I'm not happy with the catywampus way the stitches are arranged, but there are so many markers that the beginning of the row (with the yellow triangular marker) is kind of in the wrong place. I have to wriggle things around a bit. The markers indicate the decreases, and I'm about to do a whole whack of 'em as I decrease the last few rows toward finishing this up. 

I've taken the mitts to work and I'm doing those at lunch. I need them for November, so I've gotta get skippy on them. 

After that, it's a polka-dot bag - have to see what's in that one and get it moving. And do another prayer shawl. And do the "prayer patches" that we're doing for church. Lots to do. Not enough time to do it in. 

Canning, Canning, Canning...

So this is the demented Pepper Pizza Sauce. This is the one that's two-thirds sweet peppers and one-third tomatoes. I suppose it'll be good; just too much pepper for me. 

I think we have at least one more batch in the fridge - and this one is mostly tomatoes! It's super-easy to do this. As a matter of fact, I could probably use this sauce here for Pasta Fagioli (a bean and tomato-based soup). That would be interesting, wouldn't it? 

Anyway, this recipe is nowhere near Blue Book standards; it's my own. But I do use the Blue Book when I'm timing it. And the Blue Book tells me to put lemon juice in the sauce to keep it acid enough to last. 

The kids will get this. I think maybe I'll bring some to work, and I'll give my mom some. It would be a good sauce for pigs-in-a-blanket (cabbage rolls) or stuffed peppers. 

But I'm not eating it. 

Quinn poses in her crown...

I got Halloween costumes for the dogs. And of course, even the "large" wasn't big enough... But I did find a cute crown. Of course, Quinn looks adorable in it. 

We entered the 2018 Howl-O-Ween contest; not in the costumes I want, but stuff I kind of threw together. Sometimes it's best this way. 

I don't like what they've done in regard to allowing people to PhotoShop stuff. It used to be that people got really creative with their costumes and the dogs played along grudgingly (or with treats!). But now people can add stuff electronically. To me, that's kind of lazy. But I'm not running it. 

We shall see. Entries are down, and that's sad. I know people are busy and distracted, but it's a great event to raise money for rescue. 

Random Picture...

Speaking of which. This was the first one we entered. And we won. We raised over $800 for the rescue with this one. We titled it, "They'll never know I'm on the couch." 

This, by the way, was Tippi. It was the first Halloween after we got her, and I literally "tossed" this one together. We'd just gotten the couch and that grey blanket was their signal that it was ok to get up there. I jokingly tossed the cover around her, her tail was exposed, and I snapped the shot. 

Everyone loved it. 

We came close a couple of other years, but this was my very proudest moment because she was such a good sport. This year, she's entered as well, but I'm not sure how she'll do. You never know. It's any dog's game. 

Do you dress up your dogs for Halloween? Share some pics! I'd love to see them! 

Saucy Kind of Day...

What happens when you pull stuff out of the freezer to make sauce? Let me explain...

We had a bounty of tomatoes at one point (not this year) and we cut them up and froze them. We even had cherry tomatoes coming out our ears in October and up to the first frost. Obviously more than we could eat, and people were starting to look at us funny when we'd bring yet another bag of tomatoes to church or to work. 

So we spent a weekend cutting them up and freezing them. We knew we wanted to make sauce, but we didn't have the time. We also got peppers and cut them up. It seemed like we had "only a few" bags of each, but we had...several. 


We made one batch. Today, Hubby thought we could squeeze in a second batch before I went off to teach. I set it up and started everything cooking. 

Except I grabbed two bags of peppers and one of tomato. I meant to grab 2 tomatoes, 1 pepper. Hey, it all was yellow and red, and I couldn't really tell what was what. I mean, really - look at this stuff in my sink. I can tell some things, but not everything. 

I cooked it all up like I was making spaghetti sauce, and all was well till I tasted it. WOWZA - lots of pepper in there. Mind you, sweet pepper, but pepper nonetheless. We're marking this as "Pizza Sauce" and the kids will get this and so will my mom. I don't like peppers. I like a bit of pepper. Not a lot. 


There was a lot of fiddling to get the sauce to where I thought it was "edible." Hubby loves it. I do not. 

The good new? I now have freezer space! 

As you can see, it's a nice robust-looking sauce. I used Penzey's Tuscan Spice blend. It took quite a lot. Leeks. Ten cloves of garlic. Parsley from the garden (stole it from the caterpillar!), and a large stalk of Rosemary from the garden. Salt, pepper. 4 tablespoons of vegan broth powder to give it some oomph, and some lemon juice (recommended by the canning instructions). Then I tasted it. 

And added about 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar to tame that acidic bite of the peppers. My dad used to use sugar in his sauce when needed. I hope the lemon juice still keeps it nice and bright. 

It went into a water bath for 25 minutes, so I'm pretty sure it's nice and tight. But still too peppery... Come to think of it, I probably should have added a couple stalks of celery. That might have mitigated the pepper. 

The First Soup of the Season happened yesterday...It was a chilly day and we thought soup would be good. Chicken with veggies, and I added a brown rice + quinoa mixture to it. 

The simple soup makes enough for 2 dinners. We've been trying to really cut down on what we're cooking. It's just the two of us and it's crazy to keep stuff in the freezer till we forget it's there. 

You know the drill. We're used to cooking for a family, and then as we "empty the nest," we have a hard time changing those cooking habits to be more reasonable with our food. 

So anyway, I also made biscuits. They're sour cream + rosemary from the garden. They were pretty good. The sour cream kind of was a bit dense, but it worked out ok. I did a "drop biscuit" but I rolled them into balls and then slightly flattened them. They may have been less dense if I didn't handle them as much, but there you go. 

So that was my first "meal of regular food." I'd been off rice, grains, dairy...trying to eat as cleanly as I could. Of course, I still didn't lose a pound, but I was trying to re-set my stomach. For the most part, it worked. 

You'll be happy to know that my tummy is now where it belongs. No more 50-yard dash to the bathroom...

Knitting...

The Emergency One Day Hat has, so far, taken 3 days of solid knitting on that thing. I can see where it's a one-day hat if (a) you knit faster than I do; and (b) you have nothing else to do but knit that day. 

Unfortunately, I have a life. So the hat's taken a bit longer, but I'm ok with that. I'm not on a deadline, except for the mitts. 

It's actually a bit farther along than this. This shot was this afternoon, before I taught my class. Now, I've got both rows of ridges, and I'm on the part just before I shape the crown. 

I'll pick up the mitts this week and finish the last one off, then I'm done with that project. 

I'm really liking the Encore yarn. I'm seriously jazzed with this, and it's my go-to baby yarn for afghans. This is the first hat I've made with it, and I think I may make another, just for stash. Or I'll knit up a couple of them, for Xmas for the kids. But then I have to knit 2 more for the young boys. Oy. This could be a project or a nightmare. 

Or I could knit myself another hat - I'm pretty sure I can "biggen" this one up a bit. It's so far, super simple. I'm thinking of adding an I-cord "pom-pom" on top of this one. Don't know yet. We'll see when I get there. 

I've got two projects pulled to do next: a scarf frogged (formerly in stash) which will be a prayer shawl, and I'm going to finish that hand-dyed scarf from the one worsted weight thing I have, the "Precious Metals" one. I'm nearly through the ball on that one, so I'd like to get it done as long as we're staring scarf-weather in the face. 

Halloween gone to the dogs...

We haven't dressed the dogs yet, but that's coming this week. Late, but it is what it is. Anyway, Hubby asked me to go to Home Depot (I was running around anyway), and "get the wolves" he'd found. He RARELY asks for decorations; in fact, he puts up with my propensity to want to decorate the outside of the house, which means he does all the work. 

I didn't find wolves. They were greyhounds. He's bummed because he wanted the wolves because, apparently, they howl. Like we don't have enough noise around here with three dogs in the first place? 

I get it. And wolves - skeletal, red-light-eyed wolves - would've been majorly cool. But the greyhounds ain't bad. Except one of them is like our Quinn. Every. Bump. Made. It. Bark. Every single stop. Every single start... It was a noisy ride home. Here they are in the front bed. When you walk past them, their jaws snap, they "bark" and their eyes glow. 

In addition, you may notice the purple glass globes with witch hats on them. They actually are solar lights, and glow orange at night. We're not done yet. The ghosts are up, around the front and back yard, and we still have The Great Pumpkin, our skeletal owls and the skeletal flamingos. 

Yes, I like Halloween. If I could, I'd dress up and hand out treats. But I'm working that day; though I did get the boss to let us dress up "as long as it's not too crazy." 

Yay!!!

Oh, and I got a raven! I'd be totally jazzed if it quoted Edgar Allen Poe. It does not. 

But it does caw and move its head and it's got beady red eyes. And it says, "Are you sure you want to go in there??" I'll move the stake a little closer to the front door, so that the trick-or-treat gang can get the full effect. 

No, I'm not 12 years old. I just want a bit of levity. After this past week, when strong women I know have been either screaming in fury at their televisions, or curled up in a ball reliving the horrors that they themselves experienced while listening to another man-baby have a meltdown because he didn't get his way? 

Oh, I'm sorry: a liar-man-baby who was groomed to take this seat on the Supreme Court and systematically reverse everything that Agent Orange and the Republican goons haven't yet overturned... That man-baby. 

Sorry - I can barely watch his testimony. My father was a drunk. He finally saw the light and got into recovery, but that's another chapter in the novel. My point is, this dude is a functioning alcoholic. The rages. The inability to accept his part in anything negative. The fury and conspiracy theories...textbook, kids. Textbook. 

So if I want to decorate my yard and kind of block it all out? Who's going to blame me. 

Random Picture...

As we started the sauce, of course we needed a canine supervisor. Because, you know, a random bit of food might hit the floor. 

Regardless of the fact that she doesn't eat veggies of any kind, Raisa needed to make sure we did it up right. 

Yes, in the walkway. Where every good Husky goes when they're watching for the safety of their humans. 

Yes, when the stick blender was activated, she was singing. Singing the song of her people... 

Crazy dog. 

How about you? How was your weekend? Do anything fun?

I'd love to chat with you about what you're reading; what you're crafting; what's going on with you. Join me!