It’s been a long time….

August 25, 2009 at 5:10 am (family, food, home, Knitting)

Haven’t posted here in a year!  Either I had too much going on, or my life got really boring all of a sudden…

 nap

Since  I started this as a blog to follow my knitting, I guess that I should start with that first.   I guess that just about finishes that!  I really haven’t been doing much in the way of knitting.  Right now I threw a pair of mittens on just to make it look like I plan on using all of that yarn.  Also, I have two sheep worth of wool just sitting in my garage.  I WILL say that since I added the wool, I haven’t had a mouse problem!  Of course the wool has not been cleaned, and smells rather….  sheepy ; P   

 

So, in other news, I have been preserving like a mad woman!  Blackberry Vanilla Jam, Peach Jam, Chokecherry Syrup, Sour Cherry Jam, and Refrigerator Pickles.  I also dehydrated some zucchini into zucchini chips - YUM!  I plan on doing more as soon as I get more produce and jars for the smaller stuff.  (Half pints)  I think that I am going to pickle some carrots soon as well.

 jam

And in the yard, Kali has grown some amazing tomato plants and petunias.  They are really amazing, since she started them all from seed.  Abby is growing some green beans in the house (in the big bay window) but we ran into a problem.  Our bush beans are now about three and a half feet tall, and are winding around my wind chimes.  Yes, I said bush beans.  And so did the package.  But they aren’t even close.  So now I have to find something for the little buggers to climb.  Oh me!

 

So, we have been busy, not just sitting around wasting time.  That we will save for winter.

 blackberry

So, for anyone interested, here is the recipe for Blackberry Vanilla Jam: (This makes about three pints.)

9 cups crushed berries

6 cups sugar

3 tablespoons vanilla (or to taste)

Put all ingredients into a large saucepan.  Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Cook rapidly to gelling point.  As mixture thickens, stir frequently to prevent sticking.  Remove the pot from heat and skin=m off any foam that has accumulated.  Ladle this into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch head-space.  Cover using 2 piece cap and process for 15 minutes using boiling water bath canning method. 

 

I hope everyone enjoys this little remider of summer as much as I do!

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Happiness is Homemade

October 12, 2008 at 2:00 am (family, food, Friends, home)
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I love my family.  Today we babysat a beautiful little girl for a friend of mine.  She was a little doll.   Kali loved having someone to play with, and Abby and Adrian helped take care of the two younger ones.  Mike said, “We should have her back more often.”  And everyone just laughed and played and had a great time.  Right up until work called for Mike and said, “Are you coming in? ”  Turns out the clock had died, and he still thought that he had a half hour to get ready for work!  After all was said and done, he made it to work about half an our late.  Time for a new clock, though!  We finished out our day by making homemade pizza, which the kids helped immensely with.  We just snuggled up and didn’t leave the house at all this evening.  (There are winter storm warnings in effect until Monday morning, and Kali is feeling a little yucky…)  I can’t wait for tomorrow to see what adventure is in store! 

Snowing, and the leaves are still on the trees!
Snowing, and the leaves are still on the trees!

It just might be time to find those snow suits and boots and get outside before it starts getting really cold.

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Sick kids…

October 8, 2008 at 12:49 am (family)
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So, I have been trying to get to the park with my kids.  And I have been tryingto get more knitting done.  And I have been trying to get more cleaning done.  (Notice the use of the word trying in each of these sentences.)  I have accomplished nil due to illness.  I hate times like these when nothing gets done.  I guess all I can do is keep trying, right?

I really have nothing else to say, since all I know from the last two days I learned at the clinic.  Maybe I’ll have something more interesting to say the next time I post!

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The library

October 4, 2008 at 11:12 pm (Library)
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I made a trip to the library with my three kids the other day. We had a great time and found a few good books to read and some movies to watch. I thought everything went well, but when I went back to the library today, the librarian held a very LOUD discussion with another patron about “people who let their kids run free in the library and then put all of the books their kids pull off of the shelf wherever they feel… blah,blah,blah…” So now I am trying to decide, was she referring to me, or is she just inconsiderate of the patrons to this library in general?

A little background on this – YES – I took my kids to the library. YES – we checked out books. NO – my kids did not “run free.” YES – I put all of the books we were not going to take home back in their place. and I DO understand the dewey decimal system. I used to volunteer in a library. I am not as dumb as some people think!

There is nothing I can do about this situation really except to not go to the library. And that is not fair to my children. I am trying to teach them to love books, and how to be frugal – no need to buy, just check it out! So what would you do? I could go to the next town – their library is much bigger and much more user friendly. But then I have to drive an extra 14 miles every week. What to do?

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Princess Bride

October 3, 2008 at 3:10 am (Uncategorized)


 

Your result for The Princess Bride trivia Test…

Westley

Inconceivable! You scored 93%!

You live it, you love it, you lost track long ago of how many times you have seen it. You have been known to wish someone luck by hollering “have fun storming the castle!” You scoff at people who cannot recite the entire ‘battle of wits.’ You are a true fan.
Thank you. Its people like you that give me hope for humanity.

Take The Princess Bride trivia Test at HelloQuizzy

I rock hard core!  I am Westley!  We all had a good day.  Adrian and Abby took the Princess Bride quiz with me from “Hello Quizzy.”  Adrian is Vizzini, Abby is Inigo.  And again, I am WESTLEY!!!  So, I leave you by saying, “Have fun storming the castle!”

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Look at me go!

October 2, 2008 at 3:58 am (food, Knitting, Work)
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Well, all in all it has been an interesting week.  Mike heard back from BNSF – not this time, try again in six months…  Oh well, Heavenly Father must have other plans for us, right? 

So I walked in to our local craft store today and guess what?!   The owner asked me to knit a pair of socks out of thier new sock yarn for her to display!  I am SO on it already!  I decided to make the first pair in plain vanilla.  (The yarn is self striping – this way the colors will be shown off more.)  I am hoping this goes well, as designers are more likely to hire you as a test knitter if you have worked in a local market and have some experience.

On the home front, I bought some jars today to preserve some wonderful carmel spice pear butter I hope to make later this week.   I found a recipe in the “Canning Freezing and Drying” book by Sunset that I am going to try.  Wish me luck with that as Kali will most likely “help.”  I also plan on making some mint jelly…  Just like grandma used to make.  This (I am hoping) will help with my food storage, which is looking pretty sad and neglected…

Ready when you are, mom!

Ready when you are, mom!

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Haven’t been posting much…

September 29, 2008 at 6:51 pm (Uncategorized)

So I noticed that I haven’t been posting much… I guess I just forgot.  (My kids’ favorite excuse…)   So anyhow, Mike applied for a job with  BNSF.  (Burlington Northern/Santa Fe Railway)   The deadline for applying was the 8th of September.  They emailed him back and told him they would like him to come test.  The test happened on Thursday the 25th.  Now we play the waiting game.  They said they would let him know within a week and a half.  So, we wait.

On the knitting front, I have been to nervous to start any big projects, so I have whipped out a couple of baby hats.  Frogged my “Fetching” due to a HUGE discrepancy in the gauge between the two.  Like one was loose on me.  One was tight on Abby.  HUGE difference.  SO – I will be starting a new pair.  I am hoping to make a portion of my Christmas presents this year, but am trying to be creative about it.  I want to let people know that I actually CARE about what they like.  I do have ONE idea, but can’t talk about it here. Someone may be lurking…

So, if Mike gets the job, we will be moving back to Montana.  I am mixed on this.  I would love to be back by my crazy sister, but at the same time I just started hanging out with a couple friends from church and would be sad to miss out on the chance to visit them.  It’s not that I couldn’t drive the thirty minutes to come hang out, but it’s already a strain to get together sometimes when we live in the same community!  Well, I guess all I can do is leave it to God to sort out.

I’m gonna try my hand at writing a couple of knitting patterns soon, and will post them here and on Ravelry when I do.  But first I gotta get the crazy sister to test knit…  I’ll try to keep you posted on my progress…

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I just discovered…

September 1, 2008 at 3:49 am (Uncategorized)

I just found the website “wordle” on the net.  It was mentioned in the knitpicks blogs, and I thought I’d try it out.  You plug in the URL of your blog, and it makes a collage of the most frequently used words.  You can customize the font and colors, etc.  Apparently I like to talk about time and knitting, and I mention my sister alot. 

Speaking of sisters, she is going to be moving to Dickinson soon.  Maybe I’ll get to see her more often!  Or maybe not…  She cut her hair, so no more mohawk.  She didn’t think it looked to proffesional.  (I’d have to agree…)  At any rate, I am still waiting on the fifth of September.  It’s sad when I am more excited about the knit along than I am my own B-day.  It’s just that I know my hubby most likely won’t remember or do anything special for me.  Oh, well.  I’m the one who picked him, right?

Well, here is my Wordle…

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Waiting….

August 27, 2008 at 9:39 pm (Knitting)
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So, anyone who reads this already knows that I am not a patient person.  Not in the least.  So waiting for this pattern is KILLING me.I’ve picked my yarn, swatched, blocked, shown off the swatch, done everything but stood on my head, and I am still going crazy waiting for the pattern.  I want to start something in the mean time to keep my mind off the wait, but I don’t want to have another UFO when it comes time to start the stole.  Maybe I should put down the keyboard and finish something I’ve already started. 

Cascade 220 used for Koolhass

Cascade 220 used for Koolhass

I think I’ll finish my Koolhass so my head can be nice and warm…  and then we’ll see what next. 

I haven’t heard from my sister in a couple of days…  hope she’s not in jail for killing a co-worker! lol!

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My first KAL

August 25, 2008 at 11:58 pm (Knitting)
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So I signed up for Mystery Stole 4 KAL and I am very excited.  I haven’t read a lace chart since my grandma was still with us, but I will get this done in memory of her.  I haven’t picked up my yarn yet, but I know that it will be a plain white in colour with garnet beads to match the stone in grandmas favorite ring.

I CAN’T WAIT TO START THIS PROJECT!  I AM SO EXCITED! 

Beyond that, life is good – I’m changing hours at work soon to allow for more knitting time.  Oh, and I’ll get paid while I do it.  Nice.  I hope that happens soon, but it looks like it will take a couple of weeks.  Here’s to hoping, though!

If I were crazy, this is what I'd look like. But insead it's my sister.

If I were crazy, this is what I would look like. But instead it's my sister.

 

Anyone who reads this should really tell her to join the Mystery Stole 4 KAL.  She is “jessikerlaine” on ravelry.  And feel free to tell her Erika sent you!

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