Car sweater modeled

My co-worker and his wife had their first baby back in March. I made a little hat & sweater with a car design on it. I was so excited that they brought the little guy in today wearing the sweater to show "Aunt Bonnie". Isn't he an adorable little guy?!

Hear me ROAR!

As several of you know so well, I'm not a very good patient (thanks for the supportive emails!) Since my mountain climbing injury (sounds better than what I really did, doesn't it?) ten days ago, I have been out of my house a grand total of 1 1/2 hours (not counting surgery and yesterday's cast trip.) And I'm going nuts!!! Too many fun things that I'm missing out on.

So I'm done with that! Today, I washed my own hair. Applied makeup. Wore pants with a zipper. And several other mundane but necessary things that two handed people take for granted. I also went to work and it felt good to be semi-productive and mildly independent.

But as you can see, the best part is I picked up my knitting. OK, So, I look like a spaz and yes my hand is swollen and yellow, but I can see that I'm NOT going to have to wait 6 more weeks to knit! Hooray! I only knit about a row before I gave up (ouchy!!!!) but this is better physical therapy than squeezing a stupid rubber ball. I not allowed to drive until I can grip the wheel and I have to drive to Indianapolis this weekend so I have to git 'er done! But I work better with deadlines.

My doctor erroneously gave me a higher dosage of vicodin (750mg) and it knocked me out this morning and made me slur my words, much to the amusement of my co-workers. I'm only going to take a full dose at bedtime and if I need something during the day, I'll do half.

So anyway, life is good again. Well, better anyway, and I'm done pouting. This weekend, we will be decorating my Christmas cast with ribbons to make it festive!

So much for hand-knit Christmas presents

Yes, I AM an idiot. Thanks for asking. In a split second Friday night, I completely screwed up my holiday plans. I fell on my sidewalk, caught my fall with my wrist and crack! Broke my right arm (yes, I'm right-handed) just above the wrist in two places. Ended up having surgery Monday night. Hopefully, the swelling will be down enough by next Monday to cast it. And yes, I am right handed.

I am so disappointed. I love this time of year and this really puts a damper on things. No knitting; no crafting; no baking; no driving; no wrapping.

My husband is handling Thanksgiving dinner. Hopefully, the kids will help!

OK... That's it for the whining. I know I have much to be thankful for so I'm done feeling sorry for myself. Thanks for listening!

Ballband Bag

Over at Oh Bag Me / Let's Bag it, the monthly bag KAL is a bag designed after the Ballband Dishcloth. Monica wrote up the pattern and made a beautiful bag. I started mine over the weekend and after a false start with variegated yarn, opted for two solids. Here was my progress yesterday morning. (Awful photo taken with my Treo WHILE I was driving to work - bad motorist!!) I did knit a bit more on it last night while watching the Dancing with the Stars finale (Go, Emmit!!) I hope to finish it up this weekend. I'd like to do a similar bag in pale pink and brown. If my daughters seem to like this one when it's done, maybe I'll make one for them.

Perfect Autumn Cookie

I love cookies. Homebaked cookies. I decided to do a little baking over the weekend and made some traditional chocolate chip (if you like them a little chewier / thicker, add an extra 1/2 cup of flour) and I also made a new recipe I've been watching at Allrecipes.com - Soft Ginger Cookies. They were awesome!!! The recipe tells you to roll them in sugar before baking but I thought that made them too sweet. I did the last few batches with just a light sprinkle of sugar on top. If you like gingerbread or molasses cookies, do try these!!! THey are soft and a little chewy - perfect in my opinion!! I also baked some banana chocolate chip muffins that the kids inhaled.

Finally finished the scarf for ISE

Whew! What a slow knitter I am and what a dumb pattern to pick for a project with a deadline! Anyway, I love how this scarf turned out and hope the recipient likes it, too. I mailed it Thursday and it is scheduled to arrive on Tuesday. I think I did take some finished pictures but I must not have downloaded them yet. Here it is blocking.

The yarn is an alpaca blend in a lovely shade of pink. It was lace or aran weight so I used two strands together. The pattern came from last year's grocery store booklet - Simple 1-2-3 Knitting Scarves and the pattern is Aran Cashmere Scarf. Coincidentally, the last scarf I made for this exchange also came from the book.

I did take other pictures and posted them. I think they show the stitch definition a little better than the blocking photo.

More Autumn Food

My 15 yr old daughter and I got into a bit of a tiff (code for really bitchy fight) yesterday. Don't know what you all do when you're mad but I either cook or clean (after I finish yelling and slamming cabinet doors.) Yesterday yielded cooking.

For last night's dinner, I made Rachel Ray's Flounder Francese including the garlic spinach and lemon spaghetti. It was delicious but took me longer than the 30 minutes described on the show and wasn't nearly as pretty as hers. My husband loved it but my 12 year old son's reaction was, "Mom, can't you make plain ole spaghetti. I hate this gourmet stuff." (Mad daughter was at practice so she didn't eat with us - she's a vegetarian anyway and would have turned down the fish.)

I also have chicken marinating for Indonesian Chicken Satay and made a batch of peanut sauce for dipping. I used a friend's recipe for the marinade. I'll cook it on the George Foreman and serve it with rice and steamed broccoli/cauliflower.

Finally, I made one of my favorites - Beef Stew - for later this week. I was inspired after watching Paula Deen's show over the weekend although I used my recipe, which makes a very thick stew, rather than hers. I use beef stock, red wine, and V-8 juice in the broth which gives it a really rich, complex flavor. The recipe is quite easy but takes some time to cook and I think it's better reheated after sitting for a day in the fridge. Here is the recipe I've developed over the years:

Bonnie's Beef Stew

2 lb stew meat, cut in 1" pieces
1 onion, sliced
1/4 cup flour generously seasoned with seasoned salt and pepper
2 T olive oil

1 can beef broth (low sodium)
approx. 1 can water
1 or 2 bay leaves

2-3 potatoes, peeled, cubed
2-3 carrots, peeled, cubed
8 oz mushrooms, coarsely sliced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes, in juice
1 can V-8
1/2 cup red wine (if you don't use wine, use more beef broth)
1 can beef broth (low sodium)

Heat olive oil in dutch oven or deep cast iron skillet. Dust beef cube in seasoned flour (do this on a paper plate for easy clean up) and brown on all sides in skillet. Towards the end of the browning, add the onions and saute until they start to soften. Once beef is browned, add 1 can beef broth, bay leaf and enough water to just cover meat and onions. Cover and cook at 325° for approx. 2 hours. Check a few times to make sure liquid doesn't dissipate; add more water if needed. Beef should stay just covered with the liquid.

Add vegetables and pour in broth, wine and V-8. Add additional wine, broth or water if meat and vegetables are not completely covered. Cook for additional 30-45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender but not overcooked. If broth is too thin, leave lid off for last 15 minutes or so. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, if desired.

Serve with hot crusty bread to sop up the good stew broth. I usually serve with a green salad.

[P.S. Daughter and I have kissed and made up. Hopefully, another kid will piss me off because my house REALLY needs a good cleaning!]

A BAD package arrived

Lookey, lookey at what arrived in the mail today!!! I ordered this purse and wallet from the talented Autum and today the beautiful set arrived! I am so thrilled with it! AND she is such a sweetheart that she also made me a matching keychain and tissue holder, which are adorable. And her little personalized tag is so cute.

If you've never checked out Miss Autum's beautiful workmanship, check out her purse gallery . She will make you something of your own design and she also has an Etsy shop.

Autum, they are absolutely perfect and I can't thank you enough. I will likely be placing an order for bags for my daughters soon (for Christmas presents.) They love my set!

Chilly Chili Day

Yesterday, I made a big pot of chili to donate to my daughter's school for a teacher luncheon. We were given the recipe so everyone who was cooking would make the same thing and to be honest, I was a bit skeptical because it didn't sound very good. Well, I was wrong. It was excellent and I'll make it again! (I made some itty bitty changes to the original recipe because I thought it would be too salty.)

2 lb ground beef or turkey, browned
1 onion, chopped and sautéed
2 pkg taco seasoning (use the low sodium kind)
1 pkg ranch dressing mix
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beef broth

Combine all ingredients in crockpot and cook for 6 hours or so.

Nice to get away

My husband and I went away last weekend to spend a relaxing weekend sans children. He planned the triap and I didn't know where we were headed. We ended up at a B&B called Maple Hill Manor about two hours south of Cincinnati in a small town called Springfield, KY. The B&B was fabulous but the best part .... IT'S ALSO AN ALPACA FARM! My husband didn't even know that part when he booked it; it was a coincidence. I fell asleep before we got to the place and woke up as we were driving up the lane. My eyes got real big and I said "OMG, is that an alpaca?" My husband looked at me like I was crazy because 1) he didn't know what an alpaca was; and 2) he had no idea that yarn is made from them. Oh and another coincidence, I was knitting a scarf from alpaca yarn (the pink aran one) before I fell asleep.

What's especially cool is that the owners, Tyler and Todd, sent their first load of fiber off to a spinner this season and had JUST received the yarn back in. Ummmm..... do you think I bought any????? See the lovely hanks above. Notice how nicely they match the photos of the alpacas themselves? Yup, the yarn was spun from their fiber. Isn't that so cool?! Each "colorway" is named after the alpaca it came from.

The baby you see was just born 4 days before the photo was taken and she was adorable. We got to hold her.

I highly recommend this B&B. Very comfortable accomodations, very friendly, helpful owners and the food was excellent.

Knitting News

I haven't blogged in awhile but I have been knitting. I completed my Tote for the Tote Exchange II and received my Tote, too! The Pink Carpetbag was sent to Jane and the multi colored one was my treat from Judy.

I have not yet received my scarf yet from ISE III nor have I sent mine - you can see the WIP above. I'm just under 30" and it's due in a week. YIKES!!! I'm gonna be late.

And still more Goodies!!!

OMG, when it rains it pours! Yesterday, I arrived home to ANOTHER package!!! LO and BEHOLD, when I opened it, out pops an AUTOGRAPHED copy of the Yarn Harlot's Knitting Rules!!! My dear friend Allison was lucky enough to hear the Yarn Harlot speak recently and she picked up a copy of the book and had it autographed for me.

I feel so blessed to have met such kind people through our shared knitting interests.

Where's the Knitting

I haven't picked up any knitting in almost a week. I am in two exchanges and keep reading about all the people who are DONE (done people! in the first week, no less) and it's making me feel inept. LOL!

Why no knitting, you ask? Just busy with the kids. Nothing exciting.

But on the plus side, look at what the knitting fairy brought me today! A brand new copy of The Yarn Harlot's Knitting Rules. Excellent!!! The knitting fairy is really Becky co-hostess of Caps for a Cure and she sent it to me as a thank you for knitting some chemo caps in August. Isn't that so sweet?!!

Thank you, Becky. I promise that I'm going to start knitting again and will send more caps.

Fun Surprise from Allison

Look what I received yesterday! My friend Allison and I have been admiring the Modular Back pack pattern but it's been hard to find lately. Well, she picked one up and sent it to me as a surprise along with some gorgeous note cards that have my initial on them. Allison and I met as co-hostesses of the International Tote Exchange I (and now II) and have discovered that we have a lot in common. We waste much of our employers’ time everyday sending multiple emails back and forth on very important knitting issues occasionally use our lunch hours to keep in touch via email.

This little package was quite a surprise as I was expecting it to be a pattern she was sending so that we can make the same scarf out of some very cool yarn that she pointed me to (she is a bad bad influence on me.) The yarn is shown here and is called Marjaana in the Jane Addams colorway. The colorways are all named after strong women in history. To be honest, I wasn't familiar with Jane Addams but she was one Rocking Gal!!

Thanks, Allison! You're a great friend!!

Asian Purse

I love this purse. It's a pattern from the book Bag Boutique by Amy Barickman. I believe the name of the pattern is Rachel. I made it to send to someone in Tote Exchange I who appears to have been stiffed. It's not exactly a felted bag like she was probaby expecting but I hope she likes it. I hope to make another one for myself because I like the design so much. The flap is a fake opening. The bag actually has a zipper in the back. Neato, huh?

I found this fabric about a year ago as well as the bead trim to match. I just love it and hope I have enough left to make a little evening bag or something for myself.

I am truly a dog person!!!

OMG!!! I can't believe I said yes. Look what we got today!!! You may remember that a few months ago I broke down and let my daughter get a puppy. She has been the love of our life. Well, a week or two ago, a friend received a puppy but it isn't working out in their household. So today, we agreed to take him!!! He is a 7 week old chihuahua - dachshund mix and is adorable. He came with the name Hershel (I need to find out the background of the name) and I think the name will stick. Our other puppy, Martini, loves him!

Little Hershel reminds me a bit of Autum's adorable dog who has had one heck of a week! Read about it here.

Dishcloth fun

Why oh why, when I have so many sweaters and other projects in the works am I distracting myself with dishcloths? BECAUSE THEY'RE QUICK AND FUN!! The yellow one I have pictured here is my oldest unfinished item. I started it in December 2004! right after I learned how to knit. You can see how the bottom white sections are wrong. I wasn't slipping stitches correctly. I decided to pick it back up recently to finish it. I'm not going to bother to fix it cuz... well.... cuz I'm going to wash dishes with it! I found this in a Leisure Arts Booklet that my mom bought me when I was learning to knit. It is called something like "I can't believe I'm knitting." The second cloth in neon green with accents in yellow, turquoise is the famous Mason Dison warshrag which I've also read was a pattern originally on the Sugar 'n Cream (or maybe Peaches 'n Cream) label. It is really a clever design and I can see why people like it so much.

If you like dishcloths too, perhaps you'll join this blog or this group. Meet other people who find making dishcloths addictive.

You're it - Fabulous Fives

Tag, you're it!! I saw this at Lisa's blog Yes, I should be working....

Five items in my freezer:
1. Bananas for smoothies

2. Huge box of Smucker's Uncrustables that the kids no longer like

3. 3 boxes of puff pastry (why???)

4. large box of veggie burgers

5. chicken breasts

Five items in the coat closet:

1. box of boots

2. vacuum cleaner

3. kids' backpacks for school

4. lots of coats (duh)

5. hats, gloves & scarves

Five items in the car:
1. knitting project - dishcloth

2. paperback book - in case I get stuck in traffic

3. my golf clubs (taking lessons, need to hit the driving range frequently)

4. clips to pull back my hair (it's a convertible after all!)

5. my daughter's temporary license pack.

Five items in my purse:
1. 3 lipsticks

2. tissues

3. hand lotion that I need to remove before I try to board a plane tomorrow

4. credit cards

5. business cards

Weekend Crafting

As we wrap up the Tote Exchange, I am disappointed that several participants have still not received their bags. Some appear to be delayed due to international shipping but nonetheless, it's disappointing for those people to be left with nothing. For those that are still waiting, I decided to send them a hand crafted bag. I am a slow knitter and don't have time to knit bags, however, I can sew pretty darn quick. So I dove into my fabric stash yesterday and planned out a few bags. The bag in the picture is one that I made from a wool sweater purchased from a thrift store. I sewed it first then felted it. I still need to line it and add a flower embellishment and then I'll ship it off. I'll post a picture of the bags I am sewing when I get further along.

I leave you with a picture of a pineapple upside down cake that I baked for my new neighbors. I made one for us, too, and have already devoured a piece. (I'm a firm believer in eating dessert first!!) Yum yum. One of my favorite cakes.

International Tote Exchange II

It's time to kickoff International Tote Exchange II. This exchange
will include the exchange of a hand-knit or crocheted bag which may be
felted or not. If you're interested in joining, read the rules at
International Tote Exchange II ( http://toteexchange2.blogspot.com/ )
and if still interested, send an email to toteexchangehostesses @
gmail . com (no spaces, of course!) that includes:

your name
online nickname (if applicable, i.e. Kim in NJ)
e-mail address
street address
phone number
blog address (if applicable)

This information will only be available to the Hostesses and your
Secret Pal. We will then send you an invitation to join the blog. Once
you have joined, you need to complete the questionnaire and post it on
the blog. Signups will close on August 25, 2006 and all totes must be
delivered by October 31, 2006.

Let me know if you have any questions and I hope you will join in the
fun. TOTE ON!