Lounge Shawl

Made this today with some swap yarn that Kelly sent me - this is RH super saver, starbrights. I used to skeins, double strands and a Q hook (more like N or P for most of you), crocheted the top as long as I wanted it, then sc in the FLO, decreasing by one on each end every row. Worked up super fast. I'm not sure I'd wear it out - I think my dh would kill me - but it will be perfect and cozy for lounging around this fall. Hence the name, "Lounge Shawl."



I found it interesting that at the beginning of it, I was getting a different color in each strand, but by about halfway through the skeins, they suddenly matched up and stayed that way, so it looked almost like I was using one skein instead of two. If that makes any sense, lol.

Lots to report today!

Check out my budding scientist - Brendan found a small butterfly (I'm pretty sure it's a moth) and has given it a home in a water bottle.



I realized I never posted pictures of these finished - these are matching ponchos, with a couple of hair things (small scrunchies), which were commissioned by a friend. It's basically the lionbrand poncho, although I had to adapt it quite a bit to fit a 2T and a 4T. I also added a scalloped edging to it to make them a little more "girly."





I received a yarn swap package today! Thanks Kelly - it's all wonderful! :) Lots of cotton (woohoo!!!!) and some pretty post its and a candle that smells WONDERFUL.



And, I made a snowflake last night. I got the pattern off the lionbrand site - it's intended for yarn, but I like it in thread. :)

Cotillion Doily

I just discovered what a wonderful thing blocking is. I was terribly worried that my doily would never lay flat but lo and behold run the iron over it and presto! it's flat. The pattern is here



This is being sent to my grandmother. It was her who originally started me crocheting, and it is because of her influence that I love thread crochet so much, so I want her to get my first "real" thread project (the bookmark doesn't count, lol). I gave her one of my first yarn projects as well, this red blanket - pic shows her snuggling up under it when we celebrated Christmas with my family. The cat is my dad's cat, Roo, who died shortly after Christmas.



Speaking of cats ... here's Daisy, nicely decorated with a toilet paper collar (thank Betsy for that one!):



And here's Cinder, in, as usual, a typically "cat" spot. I can't fathom how laying on a couple of (uneven) stacks of books would be comfortable; then again - I'm not a cat.

I tried thread crochet!!

I absolutely LOVE it! I've always loved the way it looks and been envious of anyone who could do it ... well, after trying it, I want to do more. My first project is the Lacy Bookmark and I think it turned out well - I couldn't find the iron, so it isn't blocked, but I was too excited to wait, lol!



Cinder is, once again, taking over crochet projects. I'm making blankets for the kids for Christmas; I started Brendan's and it's all in blues and greens - just all hdc, then a new color each row. I'm just going to leave the ends as fringe - I think.



And - just to prove to those who might be skeptical - Justin IS eating new things! I've been making the WW tomato sauce (with some changes, of course, when do I ever leave recipes alone??) and he inhaled it the other night. Here's proof:



Look, mommy! YUM!

Conquering the square ...

and other tales.

I decided to try the Fisherman's Ring 6" square pattern and really struggled on the second round. I eventually figured it out but it took a couple of froggings - and it's still not right on this square, although I had it straight by round 5. I'm calling this a practice square because it's too big (7") for the square swap.



I put the hats in a box and still Justin finds them ...



He's been into a lot of mischief lately. Yesterday was bad, he climbed on some of the still unpacked boxes next to the downstairs bookshelves and proceeded to dump about 2-3 shelves worth (probably around 3-400 books). And that was just one of his endeavors.

We finally tried out the hot tub - oh, it's nice. I still can't see paying for one but it sure is nice to have inherited one with the house we bought. Wonderful invention! :)

A tooth and a summer hat

Lots of excitement today! I'll start with the worst first ... Andrew flooded the upstairs toilet. By some miracle, it is NOT flooding through the floor, but it did make quite a mess (thankfully it seems to be all water??) in the bathroom.

Other news ... Justin kept stealing my charity hats, so I finally decided to make him his own. I think it turned out really cute but then I'm not exactly unbiased!



And ... Betsy lost one of her top teeth! It has been loose for months and somehow in the course of playing it got yanked out (nice, eh?) - we've been joking about wouldn't it be neat if it came out on her birthday? Well, that's what happened! She is VERY excited.

Happy 7th Birthday Betsy!

It is my dd's birthday and since it is now after her birth time she is OFFICIALLY seven years old. Where did the time go ...



We're lazing around the house, and doing LOTS of cooking (her reqest) - tuna sandwiches for lunch (cut into fun shapes, of course) and lasagna (out of my Betty Crocker kids' cookbook). I'm still trying to figure out how to sneak a cake - I have an idea for making jello cake into cupcakes, I'll report back on how that goes.

Two more ditty bags (I finally took a picture of the other two I made); I LOVE this little pattern!



And the hats that are done - four are the "proper" UBW hats, one is made with an M hook and might, if we get lucky, fit an infant (LOL), and the other is just a single strand dc hat. 6 towards my goal of 50.



This is a single recipe - I usually make a triple recipe so I can play around with the flavors and add some "good" stuff (whole wheat flour and either wheat germ or ground flax seeds). My WW friendly variations are in parantheses.

Sunrise Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar (or splenda)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten (1/2 cup egg beaters)
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used the fit and fiber apple flavored yogurt sweetened with splenda, as well as half a cup sugar free lemon in my triple recipe)
1/2 cup water
2-1/2 to 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted, divided (I used canola oil, and only about 1 or 1 1/2 tbsp per recipe)

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Combine eggs, yogurt, and water in medium bowl. Whisk in butter. Pour liquid ingredients, all at once, into dry ingredients. Stir until moistened.

Heat electric skillet to 325-350F. Pour about 1/8 cup batter onto hot griddle for each pancake; spread batter out to make 2-3-inch circles. Cook until tops of pancakes are bubbly and appear dry; turn and cook until browned (about 2 minutes for the first side and 1 for the second).

Sunday Tidbits.

We've had a pretty laid back weekend. Here are a few snippets:

We went to Target last night and found some things for Betsy's room and the younger boys' room, too - I'll have to take pictures once we get the stuff in.

I've resolved to make a bunch of UBW Hats (I have to use a P hook to get it to come out the right size - I HATE crocheting tight!) and I'm looking for a place to donate them. (I want to find someplace local, so please don't ask me to ship them somewhere.) I want to get them done by Thanksgiving or the beginning of December; now I'm trying to decide what a reasonable number would be - 50 is a reasonable (and very doable) number, but I don't know if it's enough of a challenge. Maybe I start there and see how quickly I get the first 50 done?? I'll post a pic of what's done later.

Justin is using the potty again - we got really lazy with it when we moved because it was so much easier to just put a pull up on him (all my fault, I take full responsibility for it); he is now asking to go when he needs to. It's very exciting to think of never buying diapers again! He's also eating a wider variety of foods, too; he's eating some pastas, rolls (when we're out) and meatballs. And will often try a bite of something "new". It's progress, anyway - anything is better than pb&j and frozen celeste pizzas at every meal!

Dot's Little Ditty Bag

Or, in our case, party favor bag! :) Betsy is having a slumber party for her 7th birthday (she's 7 on the 18th, party is - well, now) - I wish I had gotten a picture of them making fruit salad.

Pattern is here.

Open, filled with fun girly goodies:



Closed and ready to go:



I only photographed the ones that were actually given out, I made a few more. It fits nicely a small bottle of nail polish (they're going to paint their toenails!!), some pretty lip gloss, a head band, and a hair clip - oh, and a blow pop. Gotta have some junk in there, lol. Anyway - I thought it would be nice to give them a keepable "bag" for once - and it's a great size for kids that age.

Only two girls came, but we've been giggling about the fact that we just get more cake and ice cream that way, lol. They're having fun, and my computer is in the perfect spot for me to keep an eye out without breathing down their necks.

It's a fabulous pattern and the possibilities for it are endless. I highly recommend it! Thanks Dot!

Why biker shorts are black ...

A bit of off color humor, so if you are offended easily (or don't wish to see something - umm - a touch inappropriate) skip this post!

Black:



Red:

Baby Bag

This was today's experiment. I'm feeling a bit under the weather and this was something I could do off my feet. I've never made a bag before, never even looked at patterns for them, so this was me completely flying by the seat of my pants. It could be better, but then it could also be worse, lol. It's intended to hold one or two of Betsy's "babies." Needs a few kinks worked out, but all in all, I'm pretty pleased with it.

Spices, biting and yarn

I got my first spice order today from Spice Express. I like everything I got and am impressed with their pricing - shipping is cheap (and pretty quick) too.

Here's what I received from left to right: garlic granulates, salad supreme, sesame seeds, taco seasoning, ground celery (a fabulous addition to chicken if you've never tried it), mixed sprinkles, and poppy seeds.



A couple kitty pictures ...
Daisy, all poofed up and freaked out by something (she's a short hair, so that tail is amazing!)


Cinder, happy at home - on her favorite blanket - which I hate, it was left here by the previous owners but Cinder likes it, so I haven't had the heart to part with it! Orange, mustard yellow, dark brown, and black are just not my favorite colors, I'm not even going into what a hideous color combination that I (personally) think it is.


And some of my thrift shop yarn finds (this picture is the result of a C'ville conversation) - these are going into scrap blankets, which will go to the kids for Christmas, in the colors they like. The brown - not so sure about that one. I might just make a neutral-ish one later using the browns and some off whites.


A sweet one from this morning - Justin often wakes up early, comes in our room and goes back to sleep after cuddling up. Bedtime has gotten better - I made the discovery that he DOES NOT like having his door closed, and the threat of that will get him laying in his bed and going to sleep. He still likes my shirts, and the combination of the two has cut down the bedtime struggle from a minimum of an hour to half an hour last night. Now if I can just get him to stop biting Andrew. :(

Sweet Dreams

This post is ALL thanks to Elizabeth! We've had a horrible time getting Justin to go to sleep. Okay, not exactly ... he'll go to sleep just fine if he can lay somewhere with me (the couch or mom's bed) but alone in his toddler bed?? Forget it. Bedtime has been a nightmare for months now, especially since we moved. He goes to sleep just when it's time for me to go to bed (and guess what, look at the time on this post - voila, my bedtime!). And at almost 3 this should not still be such an issue. Right?!

Anyway, I was chatting with E on AIM. Extremely frustrated. I'm ready to ship him to Abu Dhabi (remember Garfield?). "What about a gate?" Nope, don't have any. Yes, we'd already done a bedtime routine. Yes, we've tried giving him one of my shirts in the past. Try again.

So I changed my shirt (just changed into my pajamas, it IS bedtime after all), took him back into his bedroom (for the 5 zillionth time tonight), and held out my shirt. "Would you like Mommy's shirt?" Rubbed it against his cheek. Almost instantly, the eyelids droop, he turns his face into it, hugs it, then rolls on his side.

I haven't heard another peep out of him. I don't know if it will work again tomorrow night, but for tonight's sanity - thanks E! (((hugs)))

Cinder's home!

She came home this morning - a little the worse for wear (and still trying to get back out, into the rain??), and Daisy is NOT happy she's home (we have much growling and hissing whenever we see Cinder!) but I sure am!!



Another WIP - still not telling what the last one is! - this one is a blanket for my godson, Ryan - or will be at any rate, when it's done. It's 25% done in this picture.



Here's another recipe - tried this one grilled on my birthday and I LOVE it. It's even good cold. This is a dump chicken recipe - you put 4-8 chicken pieces in with it in a freezer ziploc and freeze; thaw overnight in the fridge and then cook however you like. I marinate fileted boneless, skinless chicken breasts in it and then Mike grills it for me.

Honey Glazed Chicken

1/4 cup melted butter
1/8 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup honey

Kitty is still missing

I'm calling the shelter today, and will stop by and talk to our old neighbors. I wish Cinder would come home. Any prayers or positive thoughts for her safe return home would be appreciated.

Here's a picture of my pretty girl:



And a square just for a "secret project" - does this fit the bill? I'm trying to figure out how best to interpret "fugly" lol! It has texture to it, at any rate!



I have been a lazy recipe poster, so here are a couple to make up for it. Nothing I'm making today (I have some cubed beef and a bottled marinade in the crockpot and a loaf of bread in the breakmaker for the first time) but here are a couple of yummy recipes we've had recently.

This one sounds odd but it is quite good. The sweet and salty compliment each other quite well - and if you dislike the acidity typically in pineapple, this gives you the sweet and the flavor but the acidity is virtually non-existant. A half recipe fits nicely in an 8x8 square pan, and a whole recipe fits in a 9x13 pan. I originally got this recipe from dh's cousin, so I can't claim it as mine, but I highly recommend it. It's great for potlucks, especially served with something like ham.

PINEAPPLE CASSEROLE

Ingredients:
2 large cans chunk pineapple (I like crushed) with juice
1 c. sugar
5 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese (don't use pre-packaged, it won't melt)
1 1/2 c. Ritz crackers
1 stick butter, melted

Directions:
Place 2 large cans chunk pineapple with juice in dish. Mix sugar and flour; sprinkle over pineapple. Top with grated cheese. Mix Ritz crackers and butter. Spread on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

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And another new one - this one tastes exactly like homemade, from scratch, macaroni and cheese - just with potatoes. Simple, quick and very, very good. Thanks to Bonnie for this one!

Cheesy Hash Browns

2 pkgs frozen has brown squares (I used a large package of regular hash brown cubes, thawed)
1/2 cup butter (I use 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1-2 tsp onion powder instead)
1 can cream of chicken soup (98% fat free works)
3/4 pt. sour cream (light is fine)
10 oz grated cheddar cheese (I used Cracker barrel 2% extra sharp cheddar)
breadcrumbs

Mix all ingredients together. Top with breadcrumbs. Bake at 350 for one hour.

Happy Independence Day!!!

Want to see one of my kitties? Here's Daisy:



My other kitty, Cinder, snuck out yesterday morning and still isn't back. I'm really hoping she isn't over at the old house - we'll drive by later to check. My hope, though, is that she'll be a little smarter than that, and come back here. I don't think there's much question that she can find her way back; the question is will she.

The other reason that picture is so neat ... it's the first one taken with my new birthday present!



That's right, Mike got me a new camera for my birthday (which, btw, he's taken more pictures with than I have, lol) - he asked whether I would rather have a new camera or a new sound system for my computer (I have ZERO sound on this machine) - well, it was a no brainer for me. I can't take pictures outside with the old one, and the colors were badly inaccurate, so a camera it is! I wasn't expecting one this nice, though, and am having a lot of fun playing with it. I love it!!

Here's a WIP - anyone care to guess what it might be?



Still working on getting the lighting right - the colors themselves are accurate, they're just brighter than they show up in the picture (all simply soft brights).

A picture of the kids outside yesterday (Mike playing with the camera - lol)



And here's all of them saying Happy Fourth of July! and wearing their Old Navy shirts. Justin doesn't have one because they messed up the order (so we have an extra size 8 - not sure how size 3 translated an 8).



BTW - if you can see something unusual on Andrew's lip - that's leftover excitement from my birthday. For some unknown reason he was trying to climb on the kitchen counter (didn't make it), fell, and split open his lower lip - on both the inside and the outside. It was horribly swollen - much better today, but he's still eating with caution. My poor accident prone child!

Have a wonderful Fourth of July! We're unpacking and doing more "new house" stuff and then hopefully grilling and watching some more fireworks tonight!

Happy Birthday to me!

It's my birthday! No pictures today, just had to send myself some birthday salutions!

Baby plants!!

I am SO proud of these - it is the first time I have ever tried growing something on my own (ie. not in school (those all died anyway) or in my dad's garden growing up) and I am pleased as punch that they're growing.

This first is the pansies that I'm trying to grow - we're up to four leaves on one (two now?) and three on the third. I planted them about 6 weeks ago now.



And this is either basil or oregano - I can't remember which is the one that sprouts so quickly, but I planted these on Monday, so 5 days. Look for the little green specks - lol!