Kitty Photo

You gotta love this photo of our kitten.

Yes, that is Pam's hand that you see moving the mouse around and it is hilarious to watch Sophie's head move trying to catch the cursor on the screen.

I also LOVE this new option on blogger to directly load your photos INTO your post without having to deal with the middle man, resizing, etc.

Pam, have a good trip and THANK YOU for all of your great work!

Ok, and you have to check out this blog Pam found noting UGLY knitted items!!

http://youknitwhat.blogspot.com/

Isn't it hysterical???

Why is Hannah growing up so Fast...and a recipe!

Hannah needed more shorts so we went to the mall yesterday. I found her a great backpack for $8.50 at Robinson's May. It was marked down from $34! It has padding on the back, an extra strap over the chest and around the waist, 3 pockets, etc. Hannah was very excited because it is "just like a teenager's backpack". That is a direct quote.

Anyway, we cleaned out Children's Place and this is the new outfit (shorts, headband & socks anyway) today. Wow, when did she grow up into a young lady????? I could have sworn she was a toddler just yesterday!



Note the bunny tailed socks and pose. The pose is all Hannah!

And now for the recipe. It was really tasty last night!

Thai-glazed Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Makes: 4 servings
Prep: 20 Minutes
Cook: 5-6 minutes

1 lb thin-cut boneless skinless chicken breast
Grill seasoning mix, such as McCormick Montreal Seasoning
2 T vegetable oil
2 T chili oil or 1 tsp hot red pepper flakes
2 T minced fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 c shredded cabbage
1 large red sweet pepper, seeded & thinly sliced
3 scallions, chopped on an angle
½ c plum sauce (I used hoison)
2 c basil leaves
1 T fish sauce
1/3 seedless cucumber, chopped
1 head iceberg lettuce, quartered

Thinly slice chicken into strips and sprinkle with grill seasoning mix.
Heat large skillet to hot. Add vegetable oil and chicken. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add chili oil, ginger, garlic, cabbage, pepper & scallions. Stir fry another 2 minutes. Add plum sauce and toss for 1 minute. Add basil and wilt leaves into dish. Add fish sauce; turn to coat.
Transfer chicken and vegetables to a bowl. Serve alongside chopped cucumber and cut lettuce for wrapping. Place spoonfuls of chicken into a piece of lettuce with cucumber and fold lettuce over to eat like small tacos.

Source: Round the Clock: Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals

SnB at Coffee Rush

The usual suspects were there (Pam, Eva, Heather & Melanie) plus the Luscious Gracious Clan, African Kelli, Mary and Elaine.

I know African Kelli has a blog but I can't seem to locate it. However, here she is knitting a scarf with Elaine knitting a HUGE felted bag and Eva working on another tank.



We have Heather just looking like the Diva she is.....next to Pam working on the Pink Tofu (soy silk) sweater (still).





Steve, Lily & Lucy working on a variety of projects sans Mom.


And Melanie on the tail end of a felted hat.


And Mary, who always brings the coolest yarn and knitting gadgets working on a tank/top with an embedded design. Yummy yarn colors, don't you think?


Hey, look, no photo of me! I started a lace weight shawl, again, and it is going really well. It is the Beginner's Luck Pattern.The biggest hurdle before was casting on 229 stitches using a provisional cast on...learned how to do that and am using stitch markers EVERY 6 stitches of the repeat! The project is going swimmingly. I'd show you a photo but 8 rows of lace looks like nothing!

I am using the Shimmer from Knit Picks in Happy Dance.

I finished an object yesterday. It is the dropped stitch shawl from Knit Picks. Wouldn't you know, after I BOUGHT the pattern, it is now free. That is probably the case with the felted, cabled backpack pattern too. Grumble, grumble, because we all know I can't afford a $1.99 pattern!



The pattern is interesting because the fringe is "unraveled" from the knitting itself after it is done. It was very slick.

See the unraveled stitches?


Well, here they are unraveled and then tied off!




And finally, doesn't this bracelet look like a bunch of stitch markers waiting to happen? And, the bonus, I won't really have to BEAD!!! I have visions of grandeur, I know. We will see.



Of course, due to the weight of fancy stitch markers, I had to use boring rings to get going on my lace shawl.

Gratuitous Children Photos!!!

Here are a couple of pics from the Prescott Valley Days.

As I mentioned in my Sunday post, it had a Mardi Gras theme and the kids collected a lot of beads...just for showing up, not for showing off any private parts!!! Get your minds out of the gutter people!





On the knitting front, I am sick of knitting the prayer shawl. It is not the pattern, I just get bored easily with a repetitive pattern that requires me to knit 5 skeins of Wool-Ease worsted weight on size 8 needles!!!! I wlll survive and finish it in the next week or so!!!!

Rest in Peace Cokie

We got a call from our friends, Rosie & Woody, last night to tell us they had to put Cokie to sleep yesterday due to heart failure.

Rosie & Woody brought Cokie back from Puerto Rico some years back after they found him begging for food in a restaurant.



As Pam mentioned on her blog, we got a mystery bag of yarn yesterday. Here is the total haul.



And my share of it.



Pam kept the pinks because neither of us use them but she thought she would do some charity knitting with the pinks so I told her to go for it!!!!!

I didn't make it to SnB last night. It was just too mellow an evening to leave the house. Simon fell asleep on the couch at 6:15 pm!!! Hannah was off to bed around 7:15 pm and David was snoring on the couch at 7:40 pm. Needless to say, I just had my own private SnB on the couch watching Blow Out and Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares on Tivo.

I LOVE Tivo. You just set it and then the shows you want to watch are waiting for you when it is convenient for you!

A new prayer shawl.

A new prayer shawl for a friend who recently lost her husband of 43 years.

The yarn is Wool-Ease in a blue with heathered colors in it.




The pattern is from the Knitting Pattern a Day calendar. Note the new stitch markers from my secret pal!

Rosie & Woody

We had an absolutely great evening on Saturday night with Rosie & Woody Schurz.

They are a very interesting couple. Woody worked in Hollywood in the 1940's to the 1960's as a set designer. In his current life, he is "retired" and an interior designer.

Rosie has done many things in life. She came from Germany and is a great photographer and cellist. Most recently, in the past 10 years, she and Woody started a charity that helped under-privileged children learn the joy and value of music. I won't mention it's name because there was a bit of a corporate take over and everything went down the tubes quickly!

Here is Rosie with her babies, Cokie and I forget the name of the gorgeous bird that is on her shoulder.



We started the evening at Rosie & Woody's beautiful home near Camelback & 44th street.


After drinks, gooey Camembert and pate we headed off to dinner at a new 5 star restaurant at the Chinese Cultural Center called the Golden Buddah.

We ordered Peking Duck, which apparently takes 1.5 hours to make, mixed veggies, a gorgeous shrimp dish and a really good beef dish. Since our waitress spoke almost no English, we did not learn about the Peking Duck preparation time until about 1.25 hours later! I can tell you that we were getting REALLY HUNGRY since it was getting to be 9.45 pm.


I can honestly tell you that by the time the food arrived, we tucked into it like a pack of wolverines and pretty much cleared the table in about 10 minutes! Ok, maybe it took 20 but I can tell you we definitely did the food justice!

Peking Duck is a 3 course meal in itself. The first course was the duck meat chopped and stir fried with a yummy sauce and veggies served with rice, lettuce, carrots, scallions, celery and pancakes. We made little wraps with the goodies.

The second course was the skin fried up in pieces which you also used the "fixing's" to make a wrap of sorts with some gorgeous plum sauce.


I had to take a photo of David & Woody with this pillow that says, "Be Naughty and Save Santa the trip."

Look What I got from my Secret Pal!!!

Ok, I have to admit, when I usually do things like the Secret Pal or Secret Santa or the like, I tend to get a dud! However, this time, I got a real great one!!! Thank you Secret Pal!

Below you will see a cotton Dale Garn and Deco Ribbon from Crystal Palace. I did not know that Dale made a cotton yarn. Actually, it is cotton and silk!!!

Hmm...I guess when I lived in Norway and learned to knit, I was totally focused on the wool. In retrospect, if I knew what I do now, I would have bought A LOT of Dale Garn to take home. Alas, I was broke and so, came home with no yarn but a couple of great Norwegian sweaters!



Look at the cool stitch markers she made! Yea, I always need more!


And finally, knitting notecards!! Who knew!??



Here is a photo of Pam's chest..ok, just the shirt on her chest. I am a HUGE pro-choice kind of gal so I love this shirt of Pam's that she got when she went to the Roe March in DC. Way to go Pam!

I also have to tell you how smart and cool Pam is as a person! She has been doing some GREAT work for me during her job hunting time and she is an absolute pleasure to work with! She is conscientious, smart, nice, self starting, dependable, etc., etc., etc.

Hmmm...sounds like I should give her a reference!

Of course, I realize that working for me has helped Pam cross another potential job off her list!!!!

Stitch N Bitch

We met up with Nancy who is in town to visit her parents because her Mom had surgery on Monday. Karen also came to knit too. Karen is working on the cable shrug from IK Summer 2005.



Pam is working on scarves for children in Mozambique.



Eva was working on her Soleil and Heather had started a new Clapotis out of some SWTC Oasis. In a funny note, her son actually ASKED her if she was making another Clapotis!!!????? Just when you think your teenagers are ignoring you they come up with something crazy!

I was working on the 4 of 5 sections on the back of my W tank from knitty as mentioned in yesterday's post.

And here is a gratuitous photo of my Dad & Hannah on his wedding day!

Does Knitting Equal Boredom???

I suppose that I should pose that question to the non-knitting/crocheting people (person??) that reads my blog!

Last night David & I went to see the Moody Blues as part of David's birthday extravaganza.

We left the house and started down to the Dodge Theatre in Phoenix. As we were passing Ray & I-10 we discussed going to On the Border but at the last minute decided to go to Carrabba's Italian Kitchen. I have to tell you, the food was really good!

Anyway, after dinner we headed off to the concert. We got there about 5 minutes before the show started so I knit a little while we waited. They had a 20 minute intermission about an hour or so into the concert so I pulled out my knitting. Someone next to us asked what I was making and I told them a tank top and went on my way. They made the joke that the band was taking a nap (since most of them are pushing 60ish) and I was knitting, like the two things were synonymous and I must be bored.

My hubby appeared to be a bit embarrassed about my knitting in public. I said that I could be standing in line for the bathroom or to get something to drink and why not relax in my seat and knit?

Anyway, that is my baby vent for the morning.

The concert was really good. No photos/cameras allowed but the guy in front of me was using his camera phone. How is that different?

Oh, and the groupies are always a sight to behold, no matter who the band is or how old they are!

David's Birthday!!!

Yesterday was David's birthday. So, what do you get the man that needs nothing and likes to wear the same casual clothes? Ties!!! Because he does wear a suit to work every day so he needs ties!

He let the kids help him open his gifts.







Here he is with his cake from Cold Stone Creamery. It is a Devil's Food cake with coffee ice cream, heath bars and a chocolate ganache covering. I have to say it was good but I still like Dairy Queen's cakes better. This one was just too rich although very tasty.



And some Pouilly-Fuisse wine for after dinner. You see David doing is wine know it all pose!


And, after all that, here is Sophie taking a rest after her very long day!

Kid's & Computers

Hannah was a child that was very interested in computers from a young age. It appears Simon is no different.

As you can see, they are working together on Playhouse Disney but I know that this too will pass. I see a timer by the computer in the near future!!!!!



Here is the progress I have made on the W tank top. Only the final wedge on the back. I have learned a lot about the pattern and making short rows without some type of hole. I also think that blocking will help this sweater out a lot. It is a pretty quick knit. I am using size 9 needles and worsted weight yarn.

New Yarn...Like Needed More

I had read on the knitlist (also known as the twitlist by the Knitting Curmudgeon) that Tuesday Morning had some Lion Brand yarns at their stores. So...while Hannah was at a birthday party yesterday, I dropped by and found this yarn.


You can see that it was a whoppin $5.99 for the 3 skeins. Don't ask me what other colors where there of the cotton-ease because we all know if you wave something green in front of me, I become color blind to any other color.

Of course, I need 4 skeins to make W from knitty.com. It is a tank made by short rowing and it interesting. This is how far I got last night while watching Hotel Rwanda and this morning after Simon got out of bed at 5:00 ish!



They also had Wool Ease in sport weight in a couple of different colors and some Lion Brand Magic Stripes in bright green, white and orange which are just the colors the Pam mentioned on her blog yesterday! Of course, each of these came in a 3 pack so that would make at least 3 pairs of socks but it would only cost about $6!

I figure I will use the left overs to make a fish blanket/shawl for a child either to be used as a prayer shawl or maybe a blanket for Project Linus.

This pattern is a cute and fun way to use up scrap yarn that is congregating around the house.

Peer pressure at 6?!!!!?????

This morning started out fine until we got to preschool to drop the kids off.

Hannah has a field trip to Espee Park in Chandler that has animals/sprinkler types of things that spout water for the kids to play in and have fun.

Anyway, I packed Hannah's towel & underwear in the offending bag below. I thought it was cute and the perfect size to take along. Apparently I was WRONG!



We leave the house, she doesn't take the bag. We get out of the car at preschool, she doesn't take the bag. I drop it in front of her room, she won't take the bag and then gets all teary eyed about not taking the bag!!!!

Please, don't talk to me about it, just do a drama because we all know how well those work!!!!!

Finally, after much conjoling, it was decided that this would be the swimming bag for the summer.



If this is a foretaste of puberty, shoot me NOW!!!

Dropped Stitch Shawl & a Busy Morning

I am over half way through my dropped stitch shawl. The pattern is from Knitpicks.com. The interesting thing about it is that you somehow unravel the side 5 stitches to make the fringe after the fact. You are assured that you won't run out of yarn while doing the fringe!

The pattern is similar in look to the infamous Clapotis.

I am using Bernat Matrix yarn. It is a ladder yarn. I had originally bought the yarn to make a tank but it is nylon & polyester and that would just be WAY too hot!



As you can see, Sophie likes my shawl too!


I interviewed a nice young lady named Heather to be our back up babysitter and she was actually wearing wrist warmers much like the ones in the photo from the Stitch N Bitch Nation book. I knew I was old when I wondered if anyone actually wore those darn things!!!! Gosh I feel like I am just not COOL anymore! Of course, give me a couple of years and Hannah will confirm that fact!!!!!!



And finally, I have had a busy morning and it isn't even 8 am! We had a sprinkler guy over at 6 am, got the kids dressed, Hannah's lunch packed for her field trip, updated my blog, folded two loads of laundry, gave Simon his nebulizer meds, fed the kids breakfast, got a baby gift wrapped and the shipping label printed. Finally, after all that, I dropped the kids off at preschool, came home and tidied up the kitchen and am getting settled down to work! I am tired already! ;)

Hannah's Kindergarten Graduation & Sunday Stitch N Bitch

Hannah graduated from Kindergarten on June 1, 2005. Here is a photo in her room right before we were all getting ready to go home!



And here she is doing their Star Day concert! Hannah is the 3rd from the left in the back row.




We met up with Pam, Heather, Eva and Melanie at Coffee Rush yesterday afternoon for some knitting.

Eva is working on Soleil in YELLOW. Hmm, is that ironic?



And, if Heather's head was not nearly so BIG (both actually and euphmistically), we could see Pam, working on her shawl from a HUGE SKEIN of yarn from Joanne's and Melanie too. I can't remember what Melanie was working on since I got a bunch of phone calls from home asking how to work the dvd player in the rec room.


You know, I leave the house and the place falls apart! Just kidding David!