Inspired

I went to a gathering of ladies yesterday and was quite inspired by a fellow knitter. She knits and sells her items on Etsy. I have an Etsy page, but after a less than successful attempt to sell crocheted hot pads, I kind of gave up. But, alas, that was crocheting and this is knitting. I can knit better than I can crochet. So I have decided to try again. Smaller, quicker knitted items may be on the agenda first. Larger items later. I have been knitting mostly socks since early fall. I think I need a diversion. While I love to knit useful items for my family....I think I need to expand.
My husband is down at his son's house and my daughter and I plan to sit snugly in the house, eating homemade chicky noodle soup, watching girly movies and knitting. The free pattern downloads from Ravelry should give us a few afternoon inspirations.

Week in review: Read the obituary of an old school mate that died too young. Worked on knitting socks for The Daughter, house work, part-time job, walked the dog 315 times, (o.k. not that many really, but you know what I mean, right? a whole lotta times), lived through my one billionth head cold (again....not that many), shoveled the side walk, knit on socks, shoveled the walk again and again, etc. visited with my mom and sisters, went to church twice, the library, piano lesson, blogged a bit, watched the president on TV, drank 4 pots of coffee,home educated The Daughter and got jealous at Debbie's warm south Texas weather. So....I guess you could say...I have been busy. Today.....the couch is my friend and the tissue box. :)
Have a wonderful day.

Happy Birthday Bre!

Bre is turning twenty today. Happy Birthday!

Pie Recipes

Hello again.
The two recipes for the pies I made for National Pie Day are here and here.
You can view all of the recipes from The Year of the Pie, here.
Thanks for asking.

The Pies I Made for National Pie Day

National Pie Day has finally arrived.
I made a Snow Pie for my husband and church. It has coconut in it and all of the ingredients are white, except the vanilla.

For my daughter and for home, I made a French Apple Pie. It isn't lovely looking, but it usually tastes great.

I invited my blogging friends to make pies too, and
Debbie has made a delicious looking pie. Go here.

National Pie Day!

The pies are being made........stay tuned.

The Movies

Last weekend we watched the movie, "True Grit" with John Wayne. It had been years and years since Chris or myself had seen it. Maggie had never seen it. We all liked it.
Last evening we ventured out to the movie theater and watched the new version of "True Grit" with Jeff Bridges. We all liked it o.k. It is hard not to compare the two. Well, you can't really. But, I am glad they picked Matt Damon for the Texas Ranger....a little better than Glen Campbell. Stick to singing Glen.

So, the new True Grit or the old True Grit?

Blue Socks

My latest creation.

Patons Kroy Socks FX
Washable wool and nylon
Each sock took one skein.
#1, 47 inch needle

She Hit the Jackpot

Chris had just filled Jenna's cooler with a new bag of dog food. We keep it in the back by the door, as you can see, we keep a lot of things there. :)
She normally eats out of a smaller bowl, but just for fun, we let her have a couple bites from here.
She is completely blind, do you think she knew how much food was really there? It was cute to watch.
The picnic basket sits on top of the cooler and is a quick place to grab hats and gloves on the way out.

Let's Talk Pie........again.

It is time, once again, to celebrate National Pie Day. The American Pie , Council is here and the Pies on Parade in Rockland, Maine sounds like total and absolute fun.
I like to make pies, even pies I don't like.
Anything with coconut seems senseless to me, but I still make Coconut Cream pie with gladness in my heart because my husband likes it and I like to make pies!!!!
Our current readings of "The Swiss FamilyRobinson" indicate that coconuts are quite useful. whatever.

Anywho, the big day is, Sunday, January 23, 2011. It falls on that date each year. I have been celebrating NPD for only three years now, but I look forward to many more.
So why not make a pie with me? Please????
I will post my pie(s) and you can post yours and well, you know the rest. You have plenty of time to plan it and even practice a bit if you need to. I don't think it is cheating if you buy a store made crust or even use a can of pie filling. The goal is to make a pie. Here is my Year of the Pie journey. It shows the ups and downs of my 52 weeks of pie making.
I invite, as well, my friends from outside the USA. Share pies with us so we can learn about what is popular in your region.

Biscuits - Bread Month Three

Four our third installment of a year of bread, I wanted to share a biscuit recipe that I have tried a few times now and haven't been disappointed. The first time I made them I shredded some sharp cheddar cheese and added it in and they were quite good. The next couple times I made them with out the cheese and they were very good. I like the crunchiness of the outside and the yumminess of the inside. Go to Mrs.MamaHen and check out how to make these biscuits and all of her other delicious recipes. You won't be disappointed, I promise. Also, browse more of her blog to see her family's trip to Alaska last summer.

Here are my biscuits. I cut the recipe in half and end up with five. Perfect for a our family of three.

Merriment

Today I received my EZ loot. :)
I splurged and just bought them. They were on sale of course. I know my knitting friends are sharing in my glee.

Cabled Headband 2010

The headband after I had gotten it finished. The beginning end was held with waist yarn. When you are ready to weave the ends together, you put a needle in to help with the process. It is laying on the quilt I made for The Husband a few years ago. The pattern is called the Australian Bush Quilt. It was fun to make.
The top picture is me modeling it. I am quite brave! Now you can see all the colors of my hair-all natural by the way. A little reddish tint, some brown and lots of silver.
The pattern is from "One-Skein Wonders: 101 Yarn Shop Favorites"
It certainly took less than a skein.
The yarn was Patons Classic 100% wool.
Colorway was blue denim.
It was very nice to knit with.
My ravelry page has more info on it.

Our First ON LINE Follow Along Adventure

How could we pass up a trip to the Amazon?
We splurged and signed up for the "Into the Amazon" adventure.
I like Doug Phillips and you probably will too. Go here to get to know him and possibly join them on their adventure.

The Red Pot

I have wanted a Lodge, enamel coated cast iron dutch oven for a long, long time. After some serious hinting to The Husband, he got one for me. I love, love, LOVE it!!!!! It is pretty and I love cooking with it, ON the stove and IN the oven. It is a 6-quart pot and the inside is white.

Just wanted to share.
Oh, a friend from church said that he heard on the radio that PIES are the IN-thing for 2011. Ha...go figure!.

Earthquake Site

Since the recent earthquake activity in Indiana, I have found this site very interesting. Perhaps you will too. The USGS site.