Sign Off

I have entered a new era of my life. As such, I will no longer be blogging. I have really enjoyed being part of the online knitting community and will continue on Ravelry. Thanks to everyone who has been a reader!

"The man who goes out alone can start today, but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready." --Henry David Thoreau

Thoreau is on to something there.

I am excited by what God has in store for me in the future. With that in mind, I want to share this final video link, which I think is fitting for my blog sign-off. I'm proud of Kylie, rock on, sistah!

I can't resist posting a kitty video :) They are wild things, Fruit Cat and Monkey. (Fruit Cat aka Gibbs eats strawberries out of my hand, and helps himself to any fruit on the countertop)



Having Kitty-kids is great fun, they run to greet me at the door just like my doggie Fizz...a sweet end to the workday!

"People often miss opportunity because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." --Thomas Edison

Here is my final blog project, the 'Not A Drop' scarf I finished a couple weeks ago in Yarntini sockyarn called 'Sweet Honeytini:'

Upward and onward in my Christ-directed life.

"Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."--Helen Keller



Keep your hands busy,





-:¦:-.•:*¨¨*:•.-:¦:-.•:*¨¨*:•.-:¦:-.•:*¨¨*:•.-:¦:-




"You miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take." --Wayne Gretzky

Good Granny!

Here's a fun link to some cute Granny Squares in 3D! There are videos to make each of them, but they are in German. The good thing is, if you watch what they are doing, you can figure it out.




There are some very unique blocks there. My favorite one is this:




Here is a cool tutorial for a caston and also a bindoff picot edge. Very cool!

Aim's knitting update:

I finished Klaralund about 2 weeks ago. It was a speedy and easy knit! I am very happy with it. In this photo it's unblocked, and I just pulled it on over a baggy t-shirt, but you get the idea, happy sherbet colors!




I started another blanket, based on this one on Ravelry, called the Rambling Rows Afghan. I have a bunch of beautiful variegated bulky wools to use in yummy colors!


Last weekend I got a lot done, in spite of being sick again. I am starting to think all the illnesses and fevers I have been having the past couple of years are due to dental problems. I think I need to have the tooth I had crowned last year pulled. Yikes.

Aim's outdoor update:

Miraculously, our weather here has been mild for so long, I was able to get the front yard raked of leaves, and the window frames painted before the first frost. Woot! Now the back yard's leaves will probably not be down for 2 more weeks. My rosebush in front is blooming away still.

I gathered all my green tomatoes last week, and they have been ripening slowly on my kitchen counter. I also brought in my rosemary potted plant for the winter, and just in time! That very night was our first hard frost. And the next morning the drive to work was amazingly beautiful. Frost on the ground, a thin layer of fog over the fields, and a gorgeous sun-dog in the sky.

I have continued to walk to work, but earlier this week I got extremely chilled when I misread how cold it was going to be on the way home. I had to sleep in a wool sweater with wool socks under a wool blanket with the heat turned up! It is hot apple cider weather now :)

Stay warm,

Aim

Happy Saturday!

I made soap today! A second type of soap that was fun and fast.


These are for gift-giving this Christmas, along with others I made earlier this summer.

I walked my dog in the breezy sunny day, and raked the leaves out of my front yard again.

I put all the light-switch covers back on in the living room which I finished painting 2 days ago. I'm liking the new look very much!

I decluttered some areas of my home today, and also roamed the garden photographing late-blooming flowers. My Carefree Wonder roses are still blooming profusely! I have had roses on that bush as late as Thanksgiving, but this year I have not pruned it, so there are mostly rose-hips. I will pick them this winter I think, since they are high in Vitamin C. I have to find out how to process them....

I didn't get around to painting the outdoor woodwork--hopefully I can do that before this week is over, or it will be too late this year. And, I didn't warp my loom yet; that may be a winter project that has to wait.

Yesterday, I made mini donuts in my mini-donut maker. I'm not usually a big fan of goofy electric kitchen appliances, but this one is pretty fun! I froze some of them. Then, I baked Tirali, an Italian cookie also known as Lemon Knots for you Starbuck's fans. I only iced half of them and took them to church; I froze the other 3-1/2 dozen.

I am gearing up to watch the Chicago Bears whoop the Vikings tonight, with some knitting on my lap and a cocktail of some sort. Just my kind of evening :)

Soon winter will be here, and I don't think it'll be as hard as previous winters on me. At the risk of sounding mysterious, I'm being set free from a lot of psychological baggage, and I look forward to the cold weather.

Day 3 of Fall

We got early fall weather in August, but it is really only the 3rd official day of the season. I love autumn!

Klaralund is about 50% finished, I am into the first sleeve and the whole body is finished in the round like I wanted. The yarn is Jojoland Rhythm, and I love the overall color palette of this.

I absolutely love the electric grill my brother gave me last year for Christmas! I turn it on and cook and then turn it off. No messing with propane tanks or charcoal briquets (I hate those things) or lighter fluid! What a great idea! I am enjoying grilled chicken, grilled vegies, grilled steaks, kebabs, pork chops, even tilapia...

Now the weather has turned cool, I'm still grilling, but my taste is changing to different fare: baked goods, beef stew, chili, crockpot goodies that cook all day while I'm at work! Heavier eating, heavier coats, and heavier socks are all in the near future....but hopefully not a heavier me, heh. I continue to lose weight: I have lost 19 lbs. Only 30 more to go!

I now share a recipe for Sauerkraut Salad my friend at work told me about, it is like a sweet and sour cole slaw that is fantastic with grilled meats. A yummy summer side-dish that is very easy and delicious. I never thought sauerkraut could be so good!

SAUERKRAUT SALAD (SWEET & SOUR COLE SLAW)

Boil 1 c sugar with 1/2 c vinegar until clear.

Pour over:
1 can sauerkraut
onion, chopped
green/red bell pepper
1 tsp celery seeds

Stir and refrigerate.

Happy knitting, eating, and walking in the fallen leaves.

Aim

It's Fall!

Wow, turn the calendar page, and the weather magically obeys! It is frigid here today; given that 2 days ago it was 99degrees outside, today's 65 degrees has me bundled up shivering in a wool sweater. DS and I are crying about it today, because it feels so SHOCKING to our systems!

Fall used to be my favorite season, but I have to admit that the past several years it has been harder and harder to adjust to the temperatures dropping. I never used to think about it when I was younger--I'm beginning to feel like a geezer!

We had a lovely bon voyage party for DD, who is deploying to the Middle East later this month with her Reserves unit. We are sending her off with style!

So, because of the party yesterday, I actually have photos of my Shrugalicious that I finished a month ago:

Pay no attention to that belly roll--I'm workin' on it!


Too bad I didn't get any photos of the back of the shrug, it is lovely the way it drapes down with its circular hemline.

I have spent the day so far recuperating from the party =) Been surfing, and I found something really cool: needle felting to darn a sock! What a cool idea!

Been walkin' to work as often as I can--weather permitting. Don't know how long I'll remain at this job, I'm getting the sense now is the time to begin putting in efforts to relocate somewhere WARM! Anyway, I'm trying to make the most of living close enought to walk to work--I've lost 10 lbs since April when I started, and that is not doing any other aerobic exercise but the distance walking! Yay, 30 more to go....

Today's breakfast was chicken salad sandwich and an Italian sub with my hot coffee. Then lunch: a bowl of cheddar broccoli soup with an Italian sub (guess what I had leftover from yesterday's party!) I need to get outside in the sun, this cold air is making me crazy.

Hope to show some weaving results soon! And, today I plan on casting on Klaralund--I need wool to work on, and rather than pick up old hibernating projects, I want to start something new (and easy)!

Happy Autumn!

Aim