Karoline Knits

Happy New Year!

2012-01-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

I have no exciting adventures to report after a very relaxing two weeks of vacation. Our school didn't get out until the 23rd, which I complained was very unfamily-friendly, but actually, it was kind of nice since we had time after Christmas and New Year's to enjoy ourselves. We had planned on going skiing in Yosemite earlier this week, but there was no snow, so we didn't go anywhere other

Ribbed Socks

2011-11-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

No tasty pictures of our Thanksgiving feast, even though it was pretty delicious and no awesome pictures of Russ and my recent trips to Hearst Castle or Arroyo Grande or Morro Bay, even though they were wonderful. Just a picture of some socks that I knit as part of my little knitting group's KAL. My friends are all very competent knitters, but none of them had knit socks before, so we decided

Uninspired and uninspiring

2011-10-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

So, it's come to this. Posting pictures of my fireplace, on which I've admittedly displayed a few knit items, but they're items I knit several years ago. I'd like to pretend that I painted the eggs myself, but they're just an exorbitant purchase from Sturbridge Yankee Workshop. I was just afraid that if I didn't post soon, I'd forget my blog password! This is the time of year that I wish

This and That

2011-09-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

I once told a friend that I'd call myself a "neat freak" except that I'm so insecure about my abilities in that area that I'd be afraid that people would think that was strange to call myself "neat" when my house in never that clean. There are several reasons for this fact, but the number one reason is that we have three animals who have the run of the house at all times. Our beagles may

Predictable Patterns

2011-09-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I've found a nice "hold-me-over" until I feel like starting a more complex project. I'm knitting another cuddle up cushion. I have about ten skeins of Jaeger merino extra-fine merino, which, unfortunately, is discontinued, that I bought three years ago in Santa Monica. I knit a baby sweater out of some of it last year. I think I'd planned to use it in a blanket originally, but I'm happy

Becalmed

2011-09-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

becalmed [bɪˈkɑːmd] (Transport / Nautical Terms) (of a sailing boat or ship) motionless through lack of wind I haven't been exactly motionless, but I have been a little stagnate for the last couple of weeks, creativity-wise. I'm actually surprised that I ever accomplish any knitting in September. I want to like September. I remember going back to college in Nebraska during September, and it

Pie!

2011-08-30T16:00:00.000-07:00

When my parents first moved to Northern California, there was tons of blackberry bushes growing on the hillside right near their neighborhood. We'd pick bushels of them every summer, and I would plan to make jam and pie, etc. but I never made jam and had mixed success with pie. I think I redeemed myself this summer. I baked a delicious pie. It wasn't the most beautiful looking pie in the world,

Interweave Knits Sale!

2011-08-23T21:03:00.000-07:00

Wow! Zibeline Knits has a post about an unbelievable sale over at Interweave Knits. Their 2009 Edition of Knit Accessories is only 10 cents, as a download. I almost thought it was a joke, but it's not. I have my copy already. Hurry! It won't last long.

So...Here We Go Again!

2011-08-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

School starts tomorrow, and I'm not even in mourning. Of course, I would prefer to be independently wealthy and not work every day, but since I'm not, I feel lucky to have a job that I hardly ever hate and sometimes even love. Sorry folks who think that teachers only deserve respect if they sacrifice their health and family life for their job. I'm a hard worker, but I've been doing it long enough

Humboldt County Fair

2011-08-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

We just got home last night from visiting my parents in Humboldt County, which is a grueling eleven hour drive. I'm trying not to be depressed by the string of 100 degree temps I see forecast for us this coming week because we had a great vacation up in foggy, Northern California. One of the highlights of our summer for years has been the Humboldt County Fair, which is held in the town of

Easy Caprese Salad

2011-08-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

I used to love Shepherd's Garden Seeds, but one year I couldn't find them on the internet anymore. I'm not sure what happened but I'm pretty sure that Renee's Garden Seeds is the same company basically. I don't know if there seeds are any better than anyone else, because I buy her seeds for the packet pictures. I love them. This spring I bought a packet of mini pear tomatoes and a packet of

Is That Any Way to Treat My Bunnies, Kitty?

2011-08-05T23:02:00.000-07:00

Another Beach Bunny

2011-08-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

Russ, Paige, and I had a great day at the beach, eating out at the Bayside Cafe in Morro Bay, going for a walk on the beach, and stopping by the Los Osos Farmer's Market.I love walking on the beach by Morro Rock in the early morning, collecting shells, but we didn't get to the beach until early afternoon, so I figured there wouldn't be any shells that hadn't been broken by all the people walking

Birthday Fun

2011-07-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

I knit a little friend for two of my bunnies that have been hanging out on my bookcase lately. I did my typical mixing of patterns. I used Julie's pattern for egg cozies for the head and a variation of Barabara Prime's Well Dressed Bunny pattern for everything else. My main changes involve using double-pointed needles. I knit the body in the round and part of the legs in the round. I actually

Loving Kate!

2011-07-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

I have probably never mentioned here that I like going to my dentist. I have only had one cavity in my life, but I still see him more than the suggested two times a year for a checkup and cleaning because I have Invisalign "braces," which require monthly check ups. I didn't have particularly crooked teeth, what with having worn braces when I was a teenager and then again in my thirties. I must

Good Cookies

2011-07-17T13:25:00.000-07:00

The weather's been almost cool, so I've been baking! Last year, my sister-in-law and nephew came out for a wonderful Spring-Break visit. We spent a lot of time at the beach, of course, and one of our discoveries was the Brown Butter Cookie Company in Cayucos. Their Brown Butter Seal Salt cookies were so good that we repeatedly shelled out a dollar for about two bites of salty-sweet deliciousness

It's Hot!

2011-07-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

There is nothing that inhibits my creativity more than the heat. I don't mean 90 degrees with low humidity, which is sometimes possible during the summer where I live in Central California. We were gone for the last half of June, and that was basically the kind of weather that they had while we were gone, but the day after we got home from vacation, the temperatures starting climbing. I'm

Back From Nebraska...

2011-07-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

Besides visiting (very quickly, in some cases) Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, The Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone, not to mention a wonderful, old farmhouse in Crawford, Nebraska, I did do a little knitting during the last two and a half weeks. I finished my Cuddle-Up Cushion, cover and even though I'm still not sold on Rowan tweed, I like my finished product. Since we hadn't driven to Nebraska

Yosemite

2011-06-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

Even though we are planning in a big trip to Yellowstone in a few days, culminating in meeting my sister-in-law and brother-in-law at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, and then on to visit family in Lincoln, Nebraska; we still went on our annual trip to Yosemite this week. A friend of mine from work has been organizing this trip for almost thirty years, and we've been going for about five of them. There

School's Out!

2011-06-01T15:56:00.000-07:00

For most of the years that my kids were young, I would leave school on the last day with an entire two and a half months of freedom before me. Summer vacation is now more like two months long, and for the last four or five years, I've somehow found myself teaching summer school, which usually puts a bit of a damper on my celebratory attitude. If I'd be more fiscally responsible during the

Quick Knit

2011-05-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

I have lunch every Friday at work with a couple of friends. Lunch for a high school teacher means thirty-five minutes to wolf down eat a quick bite, usually in front of a computer, grading. I'd rather do that and leave earlier after school. So, it's nice that one day a week, I have a social lunch. When we first started having lunch together, we'd all bring food, but this year, my friend Nancy

That's Better!

2011-05-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

I lied. I did care that the toes didn't match with my Nemesis socks. I kind of knew as I wrote it that I didn't really believe that I was happy just to be finished. Since these socks were the first knitted gift I've ever given my friend Sara, who knows that I've been knitting since high school, I couldn't stand the thought that she might conclude that I'm just a mediocre knitter after all of

Finished

2011-05-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

They're not perfect. The patterning at the end of the toes doesn't quite match....and I don't care! Gratuitous Rowdy Beagle picture. I was going to take a nap this afternoon, but he had my spot! And, yes, he is lying on my 40 dollar L.L Bean Starfish pillow.

Waylaid

2011-05-07T13:16:00.000-07:00

Well, my well-intended idea of posting food on Fridays seems to have taken the back burner for the past two weeks. Since I was sick, I didn't get much exciting cooking done. This morning, however, I woke up to a nice, tidy kitchen, which is always a sign to me that Russ has gone on a long bike ride. He seems to think I won't complain about him not accomplishing household tasks if he leaves the

Ugh!

2011-05-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

So...I thought I'd be posting my finished Nemesis socks this evening. For quite a while, I had been holding my breath, worried that I was going to run out of yarn since Nemesis does use a lot of yarn. I even went to the Loopy Ewe website, considering buying another skein of Gertrude Eberle 2 yarn, but reconsidered when I remembered that it was a little on the pricey side. Happily, as I neared

Hot Cross Buns

2011-04-22T22:34:00.000-07:00

I always intend to bake hot cross buns on Good Friday, but I don't think I ever have followed through. I not only followed through today; I was even a little adventurous. I baked hot cross buns with my sourdough starter. I often use my starter as a yeast replacement with rolls or pizza dough, which usually results in finished products that are good but not identifiable as sourdough, so I thought

Nemesis Sock Knitting

2011-04-19T20:24:00.000-07:00

I've been on a yarn diet for most of this year, but awhile back, I gave in to the urge to browse through The Loopy Ewe's yarn and made a couple of purchases. One of them was some yarn from the Schaeffer Yarn Company called Gertrude Eberle. Being an ex-swimmer, I knew exactly who Gertrude Eberle was, an Olympic champion, who was the first woman to swim the English Channel. I also knew who I wanted

Food On Friday #2

2011-04-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

I bragged last week that we like trying ethnic food, but my biggest cooking success this week wasn't that exotic. Still, it was a little different and really good. Russ has bought Trader Joe's Cajun Salmon a couple times, and Kai had raved about it. I thought I'd see if I could measure up. Russ found me a recipe for blackened salmon at All Recipes. I improvised quite a bit, and we all agree that

Egg..cellent Gift

2011-04-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

I love reading novels that use food motifs to illustrate larger issues, but in the whole scheme of things, it seems to me that one of the most common uses of food (besides that whole needing nutrients thing) is to show someone that you like them. Unfortunately for my weight, I seem to have a lot of people who like me, ha, ha. We're not just talking kids offering to give me their cookie on "

Friday! Friday!

2011-04-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

Kai has a big swim meet tomorrow in Fresno, which is about a three-hour drive from us. At the beginning of the week, we'd planned to drive up today after school, so that we wouldn't have to get up on a Saturday at 4:30 for Kai to go on the bus with the rest of the team. By yesterday, we'd decided that we'd just tough it out and have Kai go on the bus, and we'd leave a little later ourselves...at

Perfect!

2011-04-07T20:04:00.001-07:00

So, I'm adding my niece to my list of people who know how to use positive reinforcement with me. She sent me a nice little thank you message on Facebook the day that she received the little sweater for her daughter, and the next day, she posted this picture. I think she looks darling! The sleeves are a little short, it looks like, but I'll just say I'd planned on 3/4 length. And I definitely

2011-03-28T19:58:00.000-07:00

Finally, my little Tulip sweater is ready to be sent to Kentucky to my little grandniece. I had been waiting for over a week for the buttons to arrive and was starting to get a little irritated because it seemed to be taking sooo long. When they arrived, I found out why. They had to come all the way from Lithuania, which I would have noticed had I looked at the Etsy page more carefully. The

Aran Bunny

2011-03-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

I'm nearly finished with my grandniece's sweater, except that I'm waiting for some buttons that I ordered for it. What to do while waiting? Knit a bunny, of course. I'm especially happy with his little sweater. I used some left over Lornas Laces sock yarn that was close to the same color as the sweater.

Sheep Again

2011-03-16T06:58:00.000-07:00

These are not "exotic" sheep like the ones I see on some of the "sheepy blogs" I like to frequent, but they're still cute. Last Sunday afternoon, I dropped Russ and Kai off at the head of the Kern River Parkview, planning to meet them an hour or so later after I'd done some grocery shopping. Instead of going in a straight line to my destination though, I thought I'd see if there any lambs out

What's Cooking

2011-03-13T18:42:00.000-07:00

My family does most of their grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. Although we appreciate the wonderful candy and wine selections, our main purpose in shopping there is the variety of healthy food. We have our staples that we buy every week but almost always try at least one new item every time we shop. A month or so ago, Paige saw their peanut flour and was interested in it, so I bought some,

Cake, Anyone?

2011-03-12T11:53:00.000-08:00

Looking back at some of my earlier posts, I realize that the main reason I used to have more posts was that I wasn't at all afraid of randomness, posting about cooking, hiking, reading, etc. I'm still pretty random at times, but I was trying to stick with knitting for a while, but what's the point of that? If I have a big project going, it may take weeks for anything interesting to

Mostly Braggin', But Not About Knittin'

2011-03-05T13:47:00.000-08:00

Well, my backup plan for not having enough purple yarn was foiled last week when I somehow misplaced the little bit of purple I did have left to finish off the last sleeve. I admittedly deserve to be in such a fix. I often don't plan ahead. This may be a stretch, but there's a line in W.W. Jacobs' short story "The Monkey's Paw," that I've always thought kind of reminded me of me and my knitting

Fighting SSS

2011-02-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

Well, I tried, but I just couldn't start on my second insidious sock without doing a little knitting on another project. Seeing how cute little Eliza looked in her jacket, I felt compelled to knit another little girl item. I have appreciated that my "little girl" has shown an interest in knitted apparel lately, but I wanted to knit something "cutesy," complete with flowers and feminine

Can You Spell Indecision?

2011-02-19T09:47:00.000-08:00

After trying three other socks patterns and investing a significant number of hours knitting and unraveling, I decided to use limedragon's insidious socks with my new yarn. I'm not absolutely in love with these socks, but I'm happy. I always think of "insidious" as being closely related with "evil," and the cable for these socks isn't close to being evil. It's not even much of a challenge. It's

Positive Reinforcement

2011-02-12T18:11:00.000-08:00

I like gifting things I've knit, but only to people who I know understand the time and effort that went into them, and who won't throw them into the hot wash turning them into felted mats after one use. Not that I haven't ruined tons of knitted items myself. My sister is one of those people who understands the "time and effort" thing, so I've given her and her kids probably more knitted items

Begin, Knit, Repeat

2011-02-08T19:43:00.000-08:00

The older I have gotten, the more I have appreciated the idea of ritual. When my kids were younger, I didn't really think about whether I was partaking in a ritual or not. I just had things that I repeatedly did, sometimes daily, like reading books together before tucking Paige and Kai in at night or more randomly, whenever we were in the car together for more than a half hour. Of course, many

Comfort Bunny

2011-02-03T22:21:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has read my blog for any amount of time knows that I LOVE Julie's bunnies at Little Cotton Rabbits, but I've long ago given up ever buying one from her. I seem to remember her having something like 300 hits the last time she announced that she was selling one. I also am not as obsessed with knitting bunnies that look exactly like hers. On the other hand, she's still my inspiration,

Beret Blues

2011-01-31T21:00:00.000-08:00

One of my good knitting buddies had a sad experience a couple of months ago, knitting a beret for her daughter. The beret ended up being too big for her rather petite daughter. She tried shrinking it, and, as she says, it ended up looking kind of like a felted bowl. Sympathetic friend that I am, I had the audacity to make fun of her. I laughingly referred to the "lovely bowl"-- that she had knit

Surprise from Scotland

2011-01-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I got an email from an address I didn't recognize. I almost didn't open it, but I'm so glad I did. It was from Anne at Frayed at the Edges. She said that I'd won third prize in her drawing. I was, of course, happy, thinking that third prize probably meant a stitch marker or some other little knitting-related item. I never dreamed it would be luscious, hand-dyed yarn from

Slow Start

2011-01-26T18:17:00.000-08:00

I love the process of reading, not just the content of what I'm reading but the actual process. I remember as a kid making a little "fort" around my breakfast bowl with cereal boxes and just reading them as I ate. I just like reading. Of course, now, since I don't have as much time to waste, I'm unwilling to waste time on mindless reading. I'm pretty thoughtful about what I read. My knitting--

2011-01-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

I'm not sorry to tell Lyric Tree good-bye. I finally finished it last night, and Paige seems to be very happy with it, but I won't hold my breath waiting for her to actually wear it. Part of the reason for my pessimism is that our weather has been just too dang perfect! It was in the mid 60s today. A heavy wool sweater just won't cut it if we don't get some miserable weather soon. I know that

Merry Christmas Swap to Me!

2010-12-30T12:13:00.000-08:00

My friend Julie and I did a Christmas Swap last Christmas based on our love of books and knitting. Julie's gift put mine to shame although I did like my idea of using Little Women. She based hers on A Christmas Carol and included lots of goodies besides yarn to knit a beautiful shawl. I promised myself that this year I would show her up, planning way ahead and thoughtfully buying little items to

Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away...Just Yet

2010-12-19T19:16:00.000-08:00

I live in Central California, which means that we often have fewer than ten inches of rain a year. Heck, I remember years, when we've had less than four or five. This weekend alone, it has rained over three inches. What a wonderful way to begin my Christmas vacation, with an excuse to stay inside and do nothing other than read and knit! Now, for Russ, Paige, and me, reading isn't out of the

Baking...and More Knitting

2010-12-04T16:19:00.000-08:00

A friend gave me her Napa Style catalog a couple of weeks ago, and besides wanting almost everything in it, I found more evidence that knitting isn't diminishing in popularity. I love these little wine bottle toppers. I don't need to pay $20 apiece for my "winter apparel" for my wine bottles though. I used a mini-mittens pattern from Ravelry, to make my own, and I'm pretty happy with the

Good-Bye Thanksgiving!

2010-11-28T14:54:00.000-08:00

We got an entire week off for Thanksgiving, and I enjoyed almost every minute of it. I did have quite a bit of grading to do, but I got a lot of it over with early in the week. What a typical whiney thing for a teacher to mention! In between cooking, baking, and reading, I, of course, knit. I had some beautiful wool from Maine that a friend bought for me last summer, and I've been looking for the

Still Knitting a Little

2010-11-22T23:03:00.000-08:00

I had a goal this year to try to blog at least one day more each month than I did last year. I've done pretty well, but I missed my October goal, and it's unlikely that I'll get seven posts completed this month, considering that the month is nearly over. Jay Jay at Trouble with Trebles had a post last month about blogs, talking about how so many people are not into blogger as they were several

Time to Re-Group

2010-10-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

Sooo, it was the end of the quarter at my high school last week, and even after nearly twenty-five years, it almost did me in. If teachers, English teachers, at least, are honest, they will admit that they cannot possibly accomplish half of what's expected of them by administrators, most of the time. Strike that, most administrators don't care much about actual education, so the real problem is

Back to School--Cooking School, That is

2010-10-02T18:38:00.000-07:00

I got up at 6:30 this morning, a Saturday, and drove an hour to Bakersfield College. That's quite an accomplishment for someone who hates starting her Saturday's too early. I'm going to take pastry classes at the Levan Center at B.C. for six weeks. Bakersfield College offers a degree in cooking, but our class is more for people who are interested in enrichment. A friend of mine, who loves cooking

The Eternal Conflict

2010-09-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

It's the eternal knitter's struggle--to knit or to read. It seems to me that most knitters I know are a bit on the introverted, or at least introspective, side. Those two characteristics also seem to go hand-in-hand with loving books. But, I'm not one of those people who can knit and read at the same time, so I have to balance two of my favorite activities. Sometimes, I'll go months without

Bunnies Again!

2010-09-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

I went through a long period where I was practically obsessed with Julie's bunnies at Little Cotton Rabbit. I tried innumerable times to buy one, but I finally gave up. I'd be ready to buy one at exactly the time she said she'd post them for sale, and I still wouldn't get one. I still love her bunnies though, and I always try to imitate her style. Her faces are so expressive, and I never feel

Weary

2010-09-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

The problem with having a beagle is that sometimes it's hard to tell if they're feeling bad since unless they're getting offered a cookie or about to go on a walk, their normal expression is pretty much a "hang dog" one. Our seven-year-old beagle, Rowdy seemed a little more lethargic than usual a couple of weeks ago, and one day when I came home from work, he didn't even get up to greet me,

Progress with Elegant Empire

2010-08-31T21:10:00.000-07:00

So, I got Paige, my busy college student, to slow down enough to model my elegant empire sweater for me. It has been moving along nicely after several missteps. It's one thing messing up a sock and unraveling it, and quite another messing up and having to unravel twenty rows of almost two hundred stitches, but I'm hanging in there. The construction is really different, knitting the left side,

Something New!

2010-08-29T11:02:00.000-07:00

I have always loved browsing through the Garn Studio website. I love all of the free patterns they have available there, like the little baby jacket I was working on in June. Russ, Paige, and I drove over to the coast to get apples yesterday and decided that since Kai wasn't along to insist on a carnivorous restaurant that we would eat at Big Sky in San Luis Obispo. It's on Broad St., but there

Just a Little Knitting

2010-08-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

I always have a hard time getting motivated in August. It's always mercilessly hot, and I know that there's really no chance for a break for at least another month. That means that I usually don't accomplish much knitting during August. I'm running true to form pretty much this year. I did knit this pair of fingerless gloves on the long trip home from Humboldt County a couple of weeks ago. It's

Actual Knitting Narrative

2010-08-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

Gingerbread Mansion on Berding St. in Ferndale I remember reading somewhere that Meg Swanson had written something to the effect that she was envious of new knitters beginning their "knitting adventure." For some reason, I thought it seemed like a silly comment at the time, but as I've gotten older, I've really understood what she was saying as far as the big picture goes and, of course, with

Last Hurrah

2010-08-05T09:58:00.000-07:00

For as long we've had kids, we've always waited until the end of summer vacation to go up to my parents' home in Northern California. The main reason was to make sure that we would be able to go to the Humboldt County Fair at least one time. That tradition has been railroaded, however, by my school schedule, which has been set back a week earlier, so that my first day back at work coincides with

Summer Accomplishments

2010-07-31T11:54:00.000-07:00

5 trips to the beach - I started the summer with a long girls' weekend at my friend's beach house, followed by one pretty successful camping trip and three very successful day trips with my family. Visits to knitting or craft shops are not usually on the agenda when I'm with Russ or the kids although Russ doesn't mind if he can browse around in a nearby bike shop while I'm exploring. Paige went

Sad Socks

2010-07-19T11:21:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm finished with my paraphernalia socks. This pattern wasn't difficult at all, and I really like the cable, but I had endless trouble with the second sock. I have a bad habit of making minor changes in sock patterns and then forgetting exactly what I've done by the time I'm knitting the second sock. I honestly can't count how many times, I unraveled and re-knit the heal of the second

Success, After All

2010-07-13T10:06:00.000-07:00

So, I think I do like the unfelted cream part of my first needle holder after all, but I really like my second try. I have a front-lead washer, so felting is a little bit of a challenge, but I'm happy with the finished product. Now, I just need to knit some smaller holders for my double-pointed needles. I had planned to make my second needle holder a little larger than the first, but I ended up

Win Some, Lose Some

2010-07-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

Success: Carrot Cilantro Soup Since Paige is a vegetarian, I try to fix vegetarian choices for dinner a lot of the time, something that doesn't always thrill Kai; but I made carrot cilantro soup the night we got back from the beach that made everyone happy. I did a quick Google search, and found a recipe for Alice Waler's Carrot Cilantro from her book Chez Panisse Vegetables on a blog called

It's Beginning to Feel A Lot Like Summer

2010-07-09T17:03:00.000-07:00

I still haven't completely finished my garnstudio sweater, but I'm close. I saw some darling gingham buttons at Posy Gets Cozy, but I couldn't find if she said where she found them. I ended up ordering some pretty cute, plastic buttons from ebay, but now I can't decide on what color to use. The green definitely doesn't look good, but I think the yellow or the purple have possibilities. I'd

Quiz Time

2010-07-02T23:16:00.000-07:00

Lazy Kate tagged me for a little quiz a while back. I loved reading her answers, and since I haven't made much knitting progress lately, I thought I'd go ahead see how boring I sound. 1. What's your staple meal (ie. what meal do you cook most often when you can't be bothered to be adventurous) ? I have a hard time with just cooking up something really fast. I'll either fix a great,

So When Does Vacation Start?

2010-06-24T16:52:00.000-07:00

I neglected to mention in my previous post that I'm not exactly on vacation yet. We've had a really expensive year, so I decided that I should just bite the bullet and teach summer school to help ourselves climb out of the red. I probably neglected mentioning it because I really don't like thinking about it too much. It's not terrible; 7:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. four days a week for three weeks.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T17:32:00.000-07:00

Russ hasn't managed to relax much today even though it's Father's Day since he's in the middle of remodeling our kids' bathroom and is anxious to get finished, but I guess you could say we celebrated yesterday. We left around 7:30 for Shell Beach to eat breakfast at Zorro's. Mmmm.. Ranchero Suissas and Chilachiles! The only thing better than Mexican food for dinner is Mexican food for

Knitting Mojo Regained

2010-06-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

My goal this year was to post at least one more time each month than I did last year, not a very challenging goal considering my 2009 record. Since I only posted once last May, I wasn't a bit concerned about meeting my May goal this year, but I failed. I tried repeated times in the last month to get enthused about a project, but I just couldn't. I've wanted to knit Knotty gloves from Laris

Loving My Book Club

2010-04-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

I finished my purple socks and now seem to be in a bit of the knitting doldrums. Our weather has still been a little chilly, at least in the morning and evening, so I'm not adverse to using wool as I sometimes am by now. I just need a little break I guess. So, I've mostly been focusing on two of my other hobbies: reading and eating. Some friends from work and I formed a book club last year,

And the Winner is...

2010-04-21T15:26:00.000-07:00

I didn't forget about my giveaway, and I've had so much fun reading everyone's comments, but somehow it' been over a week from the time I said I was going to pick a winner! I used a very scientific method...I asked my son to pick a number between one and twenty-three, and he chose eleven, which means that you're the winner, Rani! I know that whatever you knit with it will get good use,

Free Yarn

2010-04-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

Before I offer up this yarn to someone who can give it a good home and love it as it deserves, I have to admit that I have no idea why I bought it. It's hand-dyed, worsted weight and did look pretty with its green, pink and orange tones sitting in a basket with more muted-toned yarns. It was $25, so it wasn't terribly expensive...or cheap either. I just kind of think its color combination is

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

This was about the extent of my Easter decorating this year, not that I usually do that much anyway. My mom always had us paint eggs and make an Easter egg tree when I was little, but I never really started that tradition with my own kids even though I loved the Easter egg trees we used to make. We did spend a great evening decorating egg with my SIL and nephew before they left, and I've had

It's All About the Salt

2010-03-31T11:58:00.000-07:00

My family has spent a lot of time on the Central Coast of California, and I thought I knew Cayucos, the little town where we stayed this weekend pretty well, but it's changed a lot in the last few years, for the better, I think. It's still a tiny place with none of that Southern California congestion and rush, but it's been spruced up. Of course, that also means that we could never afford a home

California Weekend

2010-03-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

My sister-in-law, Ann and nephew, Sam came from Nebraska for a fun-filled, long weekend last week, which is part of the reason that I haven't gotten any farther on my L'Amour socks than I was a week ago, not that I didn't try. We had a wonderful, leisurely time, and I had lots of opportunities to knit, but it seems that every time I ended a knitting session, I discovered that I had miscounted

Spring Has Sprung

2010-03-21T15:04:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to enjoy every minute of spring out in my garden. Last week, I wrote a Facebook posting that said, "I just picked a worm up off of my patio and threw it back in the garden. It's official...I'm my mother." Several of my friends thought that was pretty funny, especially since I'm an English teacher, and I inadvertently spelled "threw" as "through." There was further evidence that

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T21:00:00.000-07:00

Being of Danish and German descent, our family doesn't do anything for St. Patrick's Day other than try to remember to wear a little green. On the other hand, I'm always interested in having great food experiences. I waited until the last minute to try to figure out what to cook today. I discovered this interesting recipe for corned beef and cabbage pizza though. Unfortunately, I discovered

More Sheep

2010-03-13T17:24:00.000-08:00

So, the morning began at 5:30 for Russ and Kai since Kai had to leave for a swim meet at 6:00. I was helpful enough to wake up and tell them to hurry, but then promptly went back to sleep. Paige didn't go either since she's battling a cold. We eventually headed to the swim meet at 11:00 ourselves but had to make a perfunctory stop along the side of the road so that I could admire the sheep, which

Awaiting Spring

2010-03-11T19:04:00.000-08:00

I have lived in Central California for most of my life, and the summer weather here is almost without exception very harsh. Somehow though, every spring I pretend that the flowers that I plant will make my yard look beautiful for months and months. There is a chance that they will make it until July though, and I enjoy them for the brief time I have them. I used to buy Shepherd Garden Seeds

Lovin' Thorpe Hats

2010-03-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

I really do love Kristen Kapur's Thorpe hat pattern. I can knit one in a day if I'm so inclined, which I was on Sunday. I actually was knitting this hat for a boy on my kids' swim team who kept teasing me last week at a swim meet that he hoped I was knitting a hat for him. I thought I would just go ahead and knit him one since I have a gazillion skeins of yarn just waiting to be knit into hats

Thanks Capital One, But We're OK

2010-02-28T20:50:00.000-08:00

Email Message From Capital One: Please call us ASAP so that we can confirm that your credit card account has not been compromised. There has been unusual activity on it today. What I Would Have Emailed Back Had I Not Simply Called: Dear Capital One. Thank you for your concern. There was indeed excessive activity on our account today, to the tune of $3,300. I spent five unbelievable weeks in the

Inexorable Week

2010-02-26T18:12:00.000-08:00

Note to self; stop and smell the flowers this weekend. My daffodils have been blooming for over a week, and they're just beautiful. I started out with around three or four bulbs, and they've continued to multiply every year. I don't think daffodils actually smell, but I do plan to enjoy some hours in the garden enjoying all of my flowers that are starting to bloom. I knew that this week was going

A Little Bit of Christmas

2010-02-21T18:16:00.000-08:00

The problem with setting a goal to write in your blog one time more each month than the year before is that sometimes you have absolutely nothing to say. Fortunately, I haven't set a particularly high bar in that area, so I won't worry that my post today is unexceptional. I bought a little Christmas ornament kit at a quilt shop in Bakersfield called Strawberry Patches a while back. There were

Just Showing Off

2010-02-18T19:41:00.000-08:00

I've so enjoyed the Winter Olympics this week. It's the perfect excuse to sit and knit. I don't want to have to concentrate though, so I've been knitting some fancy socks. Actually, I also knit another Thorpe Hat for one of my daughter's friends earlier in the week, but my daughter delivered it before I could snap a pic. I've had this pattern bookmarked forever. I found it in on A Bluestocking

Still Needing to Learn My Manners

2010-02-12T15:13:00.000-08:00

OK, so before I brag about finished my second Icewine Mitten I have to tell an embarrassing story from my past. When my husband and I were first married, we spent a lot of time with a single friend of ours just going to movies, concerts, and whatever. We'd run into this guy from work and his wife every once in a while. The guy was really nice, and his wife seemed nice enough, but every time we'd

I Love Hearts

2010-02-10T22:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm not doing so well with my post writing goals for this month. For some crazy reason, I had five posts last February. I better get writing if I'm going to beat that this year. I don't have a mitten to show off just yet, but I'm within minutes of being finished with my second one again. I received so many encouraging comments about not giving up on it that I just couldn't call it quits!

Frogged!

2010-01-30T15:41:00.000-08:00

OK, That feels better. I'm not ready to start over just yet, but I will.....I think.

Awwwww!

2010-01-30T12:21:00.000-08:00

A friend at work and I have had this ongoing conversation about success. We've noticed with our students that almost invariably it's tenacity that makes them successful, not intellectual superiority. I've had many really bright kids who were quitters, and quite a few kids with seemingly average IQs with so much drive and willingness to work through failures that they became excellent. Success is

Lofty Goal?

2010-01-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

I don't mind working: I just don't like working ALL of the time. It's so disheartening to have more to do than you can possibly accomplish well. If you're giving everything you've got just to keep your head above water, eventually it seems pointless to try so hard. I periodically find myself overwhelmed by work, which is my fault since I choose to do the extra college classes. Case in point, last

Cooking Sometimes Trumps Knitting

2010-01-17T20:48:00.000-08:00

Since my family lives in California, Mexican food is a big part of our culinary lives. Few of the recipes we prepare are very "authentic," but the individual ingredients often are: jalapeno, chipotle, and ancho chiles, queso fresco, and avocados, to name a few. I don't know if langostino are authentically Mexican, but if Rubio's Fresh Mexican Grill puts langostino in their burritos and calls

How to Enjoy a Weekend

2010-01-16T20:40:00.000-08:00

I woke up early this morning, which probably had something to do with taking a two hour nap after work yesterday, I'd guess. I started the day by doing a little knitting on a pair of mittens I've been working on. I can't say much about them because they're a gift, and the recipient reads my blog pretty regularly, but I will say that they're been fun to work on, even though I've had to pay

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T10:56:00.000-08:00

Without a doubt this has been the most relaxing Christmas vacation my family has had, but we needed it. 2009 was a good year in many ways, but it wasn't an easy one. We're all ready for a great and a little less stressful 2010. Starting tomorrow, however, the only one napping around here for a while will be kitty, but that's OK, we're ready! < Whenever we have a vacation of any length, I feel

Happy Holidays

2009-12-26T15:19:00.000-08:00

I knit these little bunnies last year, but they're so cheerful on our mantel that I thought they deserved another chance to wish everyone Merry Christmas. I don't have much knitting to show off since I've been cooking since last Wednesday, although I did knit my friend Julie a little mitten as part of a swap we did, but I forgot to take a pic of it before I sent it. I also knit a little sweater

Catastrophic Crab Dip

2009-12-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

I have quite a few Christmas cookbooks, but my favorite is the Mystic Seaport Christmas Memories Cookbook. Last night I decided to make a crab dip recipe from it for a potluck at school. This doesn't sound like it should have been a dangerous endeavor. It was, however, the indirect reason that I ended up in the emergency room in Bakersfield forty miles away. As I was reaching for the crab in our

Knit Cupcakes

2009-12-10T20:20:00.001-08:00

I love Vegan Yum Yum's Knit Cupcakes. I've tried to make them a couple of times, and I've been only moderately successful; they're not easy. One thing I've learned is that Albertson's must not sell marizpan too often because both times I've bought it, it was hard as a rock. World Market, on the other hand, has nice, soft marzipan. I "knit" my cupcakes for a little knitting get-together with some

Loving Thanksgiving

2009-11-29T16:48:00.001-08:00

I noticed that many people were on the ball and wished their fellow bloggers a Happy Thanksgiving on the actual day, but I was too busy cooking and then eating to think about that. Our family usually celebrates a small (people-wise) Thanksgiving since traveling during Thanksgiving seems pretty much like torture. The fact that we don't spend Thanksgiving with our extended family used to bother me

The Lambs are Back

2009-11-22T12:16:00.000-08:00

Every year, around Thanksgiving time sheep start showing up in the fields near where we live near Bakersfield. These aren't beautiful Shetland sheep, but I still love having them around, especially when they start having lambs. Russ pulled off the highway yesterday, so I could get a closer look at a flock. There were tons of lambs, not newborns, but still very young and cute. It seemed like there

Thorpe Hat

2009-11-16T16:34:00.000-08:00

I love the idea of winter: bundling up in warm sweaters, wool socks, cozy stocking caps and mittens. In actuality, I didn't really like the excessive cold when I lived in Nebraska during college and a few years after. I prefer our Central California winters where it's often around thirty degrees in the morning but hits fifty or more by noon. I may begin my day with a warm coat, but hats, scarves,

Alpaca Field Trip

2009-11-13T16:33:00.000-08:00

My Xtreme Knitters Club went on a fun little trip on Veteran's Day. We visited the Silver Suns Alpaca Farm, near the Danish village of Solvang, one of my favorite little towns, even if it is a major tourist trap.I've seen a lot of llamas, but aplacas are smaller, and they seem more friendly, like not as likely to spit. The owner was really nice, and took us into the pen with some of the alpacas.