Fiber Arts and FO Friday

Happy Friday!  Or is it Sunday?  This is my second of two days off, then I go back tomorrow, Saturday and have Sunday and Monday off.  So, is Saturday my Monday or Friday? I don't know.  I'm sooo confused.

Let's talk about socks.  I can have an intelligent conversation about socks.  I think. Um, maybe. I'll give it a shot.

I finished one sock, so I'm throwing it in the ring for a finish.  This is toe up, using Wendy Knits' pattern Waterfall Socks. (It's free.) I'm using Alpaca Peds yarn in the Kaleidosock colorway. It comes with a smaller skein for the toes and heels but I did toes and cuff.  I'm calling it my Tucson colored sock.  The colors remind of the color accents on the sand colored buildings here.  Terra Cotta, purple and turquoise.

I like the short row toe better than Judy's magic cast on for toe up socks.  I'm tried both so far.  For the heel, I found I liked Fleegle's heel better than the short row heel. It didn't seem to look right using a different color for the heel without a proper flap.

I used Jenny's Stretchy Bind Off for the cuff.  I first used it when I knit a cowl last year and that is what prompted me to try toe up socks.  Previously, I had been worried about the bind off not being stretchy enough.  I think this past year of experimenting, I'm converted to toe-up socks.  Now, I want to get a bunch of 0 and 1 cable needles and give two at once a second try.

Yesterday, I worked on my Bellevue Cardigan in Knit One Crochet Too, teals.  I completed the second repeat of the pattern stitches then dozed off in my chair during a Roseanne episode last night.  

Last Friday, I bought myself a Crazy Zauberball for some socks.  I stared at it in the bag until Tuesday night, when I came home in that foul mood.  So, I cast on a cuff down basic sock.  Too sooth myself, I took it for my bus knitting on Wednesday.  It was a fun knit for two hours when the phone system went down and all was chaos for awhile. 

Did you go out in the madness today?  I stayed home. I slept in to all of 6am today.  It was a high of 56 and cloudy here by noon.  We had rain overnight.  I woke this morning to my left shoulder blade, back and left hip hurting really bad. Needless to say, I didn't spend any time with my spinning wheel.   Spent the day finishing the above finished sock and starting the second one.  That was about all the ambition I had.  Then I took a two and half hour nap at 1:30. It seems like forever since I took an afternoon nap. 

Last week, Frys had a New York Strip roast on sale.  We had not heard of a cut of roast like that before.  It was a $55.00 dollar roast for $17.00.  Yeah, you know you would have carted that thing home too.  Duane noticed there was a little whole in the plastic wrap a couple days ago.  Not wanting a roast like that to get freezer burnt, he took it out of the freezer to thaw.  That was what we had for dinner tonight. 

My plate.  Yes, I sucked the whole thing up.  I need sustenance for my long walk and shift tomorrow. 

Can you believe it has been over 24 hours that this box of chocolates has been in the house and we haven't ripped into yet?  We just sit here and admire the size of it. Temptation will win over one of these days soon.  I guess it can be a bit of blog suspense.  How many days will those two stare at that box of chocolates before they finally give in and open it? 

Thanks for stopping by. Click the following links for more FO's  and Fiber Arts.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving for those who are celebrating.

I had the day off and yet I still got up at 5:30am. UGH!!  I'm thankful to be home and not taking calls for Drugs R Us, I can tell you that.

I needed to walk up to the CVS for evaporated milk to make the pumpkin pie.  Duane went with me and we shopped.  Our eyes lit up when we saw the biggest Whitman's Sampler box, ever.

It is about over 2 feet by 1 foot.  It's huge!!  Amazingly we didn't tear into when came home.  It's still sitting here in the plastic wrap.  The pie will probably wait til tomorrow's breakfast too.  (Note to self.  Put the pies away so Bright Eyes doesn't help herself.)

I'm thankful we're all still here together, though some of us are carrying scars from the year.  That we could afford to buy more food than 2 people, 4 cats, 3 rabbits and 18 birds could possibly eat.

My daughter called with good news.  Tuesday, the judge gave her immediate temporary full custody of Faith. Until they have a formal hearing.  Which the father said he's not going to even show up for.  That will bite him in the butt someday.  Nicole said, Duane and I can Faith for the summer.

After the holidays, I need to save up for a down payment on a car.  Then I was researching house rentals and found some 3 bedroom with 2 baths for just a couple hundred a month more than what we are paying.  After that, the plane money to fly up get Faith and come back.  Plus, pick up a puppy in Pennsylvania.  I've found the puppy I've been wanting for five years. I've researched this breed and it seems like it will fit in with our menagerie.

(Picture from Greenfield Puppies)

I told Duane this summer, I will fly up north and come back with a child and a puppy.  He rolled his eyes, thanks ever so much.

Me:  She's not three anymore.  She's seven.  Old enough that she can be of help to you.

Him:  Ok, Faith, go entertain the puppy.

We're excited to have her for the summer.  Seven should be the right age which will have lasting memories of coming to visit Mama and Pappa for the summer.  Thirty years from now she'll remember waking up to Mama's flock of birds chirping away in the living room.  

I have tomorrow off too.  No, I won't be participating in the Black Friday madness.  I work Saturday, then have Sunday and Monday off.  Maybe, I can actually get some spinning done during that time.

Stay safe if you're going out to face that madness that will be in the stores.

I Can Haz Chalupa

Guest post by my beloved.  He hasn't been feeling well this week, but a wrote a short post over the weekend as follows:

Regular readers of this here blog will no doubt know that I’ve been a tad under the weather for some time,and will have some idea of what the circumstances are and have been. If you’re not a regular reader,I suggest that you hie theeself back a few pages and acquaint thyself with the contents of this area of the blogosphere.

Suffice it to say that oxygen is NOT over-rated. I myself receive 3 liters per hour of the stuff,the delivery system being @50 feet of slender plastic hose surmounted by a nasal cannula,which I commonly refer to as a chalupa,which isn’t necessarily the item that is carried by Taco Bell,or a cannoli,a delicious Sicilian dessert.

In any event,I am alive,reasonably well,and busily creating edible treats for our evening repast. Our budget is small,which allows for a great deal of creativity and an endless search for the best bang for the buck.

So thanks for all of the well-wishing and like that. I truly appreciate it. I am pleased to announce that I am still alive and possessed of a variety of humors,which are only exacerbated by my condition. Those of you who wish further elucidation or have a corresponding need to excoriate me may contact me via facebook,via my own corner of cyberspace (see blogzilla aka modblog),or by email at moderanathotmaildotcom.

And speaking of edible treats,here’s one for you folks to try-my version of pineapple/mango salsa:

Pineapple/Mango Salsa

ingredients:

1 fresh pineapple,cored,peeled,coarsely chopped

1 red mango,peeled,seeded,coarsely chopped

1 pickled jalapeno,sliced (jarred is okay)

1 yellow onion,peeled and diced

1/4  each of red and green bell peppers,chopped and seeded

1 tablespoon white sugar

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

chopped cilantro to taste

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 stick butter

preparation:

Over low-medium heat,melt butter. Add chopped onion and peppers. When the onion starts becoming transparent,add the pineapple,mango,and jalapeno.

combine liquid elements,sugar,salt pepper,garlic powder. Stir to dissolve.

When the onion begins to brown,add the liquid to the pan,turn the heat up to medium,and cook until the mixture begins to bubble,stirring occasionally.

Turn off the burner,cover the pan,and let the salsa cool at room temperature.. It will thicken slightly while cooling. Store in refrigerator-it’ll last a week or so. Great over pork,poultry,or fish. We had ours over roast pork with a brown sugar/chipotle rub,with white rice and stir-fried vegetables on the side.

A yellow mango was also sacrificed to the cause,being peeled,seeded,and chopped,placed in the blender,and covered with ice and gin,with a little sugar and half a cup of cold water. Yum.

Happy New Year

Hope you all have a happy and healthy New Year.  I've been pretty quiet this week as the weather has been cold and crappy for Tucson.  There are three things that will take me out of commission.  The first is a migraine headache, and I get cluster migraines since I was 14.  Thankfully, they are only once or twice a month and not several times a week.  The other is any kind of gastric upset.   Third is nerve pain, that is the worse or equal to a migraine.  I don't like to be a moaner, so I keep to myself.

Firstly, as of last night we have three little baby birds and one egg left.  The little peeps are getting louder and more frequent.  Huey the daddy bird hops around on the perches chirping loudly when he hears the peeps.  I imagine him saying, "Hey, settle down for your mother."  "Hush now"  Then he looks up-side down into the box, "Don't make me come in there."  Then he goes in and they settle down after a bit.

From Knitting Kitties

D had to work both New Year's Eve and day.  So, I thought to myself how can we have a good dinner.  He loves to cook the big fancy meals.  I came up with the idea let's have our big meal at midnight.  We could have snacks while we were waiting.  Thursday, despite pain and cold temps I braved the outdoors and proceeded to make a few trips on the bus to the store and back to haul everything that we needed.  Our tradition is to get the most expensive roast we can reasonably afford.  Fry's I got a rib roast for a dollar cheaper per pound than what was quoted on the phone.  I ran to the check out and bus stop before they could change their mind.

D called as he always does when he gets off the bus to see if we needed anything.  He said he would pick something up for dinner, but I told him it was already in the oven ready.  Yes, he usually is gone 12 hours a day and still comes home and makes dinner.  His voice really perked up when I said I had dinner waiting.  It was just shake and bake chicken with rice.  He also does any dishes on his days off.

He took tons of pictures of his masterpiece.   I'll spare you and only post a few.  That roast was $4.77 a pound!!!  As much as I miss Wegman's,  there is no way Danny would have given that great a deal.  I kind of wish he had today off and did his dishes.  Sometimes, I think he tries to see how many he can get dirty.

From Knitting Kitties

From Knitting Kitties

From Knitting Kitties

Today, I was feeling better.  I made homemade shrimp eggrolls.  Well, I had them already for him to fry up.  They were so good he had about five and I think I ate four.  Which is saying something.  I usually don't like to eat my own cooking.  Not that it's bad.  I'm just so sick of it when I finish I'm not in the mood anymore.  I like to spin other people's dye jobs too.

From Knitting Kitties

The leftovers, that we'll freeze for later.

Finally, on the way home tonight, D stopped in at Walgreens and found this for me for what he said was a ridiculously low price.

From Knitting Kitties

From Knitting Kitties

You're a really big guy.

From Knitting Kitties

Maybe you'll think about being my body guard? I will be your long lost pal.

No, 2010 recap here.  It's been a long strange year and I'm glad to see the backside of it.

I still haven't found a fix to get the comments showing on the mainpage.  Just click on the title and the comments will show at the bottom of this post.  Thanks for visiting me.