"B" is for

.

B is for birdies. Specifically, the bird of paradise...get a load of this bird's dance! Ha ha haaaaaa!!! I know you bird-lovers out there will crack up when you see this! ETA new link

(DS told me this is his new favorite animal, heh!) I love his smiley face dance, it's sorta hip-hop!!

B is for Bagsmith Giant Knitting Needles and Crochet Hooks! These things are so awesome, I had to buy a pair after I saw someone at knit-night using them. They totally crack me up! My friend Robin bought a pair and was cranking out gorgeous scarves in about 2 hours total knitting time! WHAT?! I was stunned.

So I treated myself to a pair in November. I haven't yet used them (I was busy knitting Moderne, remember?!) With these big fat needles, you are supposed to hold 5 strands of yarn together. I will pull yarns from my stash and mix/match them; this will be a great use for that W#lm#rt craft yarn I bought en masse a year ago. I'm inspired to emulate Robin's style, she has such an eye for combining multiple yarns in a project! (and she's afraid of cables, go figure)

I thought I'd make bathmats, and scarves, blankets. There's a pic of someone knitting with them here, scroll down.

B is for blogging. I love this hobby. I have met some incredible people by surfing their blogs, and writing my own! You all rock!!!

B is for books. Fiction reading is one of my old favs, currently enjoying a resurgence! But I love books of all kinds, and I love browsing bookstores, new and used! In our early years of marriage, we could afford very little with our tight budget. We hardly ever went out, but every wedding anniversary DH and I went to a new restaurant and a used-book store. That was quite a day for us. I found some real treats on those trips, including an old hardcover copy of the Rodale Book of Organic Gardening, c 1959--purchased for $2.95!

Reading is such a peaceful thing to do, and helps me deal with stress by taking me out of my personal reality for a bit. And speaking of my personal reality....

B is for boss. Yes, that difficult man is my next subject. We had it out on January 2nd, after weeks of building stress in the office. He can be so selfish and awful to his employees, but I will give him credit for one thing: he learns from his mistakes. Last year I told him not to talk to me like that, and since then he hasn't. Instead, this year he stomped around the office in a temper tantrum, criticizing every move I made for weeks on end instead of simply telling me what pissed him off (back in early November.) So much for holiday spirit. But I offloaded my own thoughts during our blowout. I told him he's a bully, I told him to stop sending me mixed messages about what he wants out of me, and that I need more time off b/c I'm not a workhorse. And miraculously, we are now back on even footing. Everything's hunky-dory. (Do we really have to do this annually? Sigh)

So, as I was saying, B is for books. And B is for brownies. Yum....My fav recipe is this one, which has been a fudgey standard for years in our family:

Brownies!

1-1/3 cup flour
2 c sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts
2/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix dry ingredients. Mix oil, eggs and vanilla together; add to dry mixture. DON'T OVERMIX. Spread in 13x9x2" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes (pick inserted into center comes out clean). Makes 24 brownies.

B is for Butterflies. I love them! (This is really saying something, b/c I generally hate bugs...) I want to knit up the Butterfly Counterpane by Paula Levy--from an old issue of Knitters (summer 2000). Check out Jinjifore's versions of that pattern! She knit hers up in laceweight yarns on size 1 or 2 needles! What lovely baby blankies!

B is for "Ballerina" by Hanne Falkenberg. I'm enjoying this pattern...I am now onto the second segment, though this photo is from about a week ago. I look forward to knitting on this after a week of work. Especially now, when it is a blizzard outside! (B is for blizzard...)

I'm gonna go grab a plate of brownies and a glass of milk, and knit in my fav chair! "C" ya later :o)