Monday, March 31, 2008

Nacho Cheese Dip

I made Jennifer Schmoo's Nacho Dip - http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/2006/10/nacho-cheese-dip.html - my only substitution was to add about 1/2 jar of Pace Mild Picante Sauce - just because we like the chunky bits...

...served with homemade tortilla chips - I just sprinkle on a little salt and bake them at 350° for about 8-10 minutes - until slightly brown and crispy - they're fat free - and really good...

Sunday, March 30, 2008

A sure sign of Spring...

...is when you start to see 'bugs'...

...this slow moving little guy was trying to catch some rays...

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Luxury Knits

The Man and the Man-Cub came home with this book for me the other day - from the book section of our local grocery store, of all places - it's lovely

I'm sort of annoyed with all of the descriptions of their animal based fibers - but you know I'm quite the 'substituter' when it comes to yarn anyway.

I wish I had seen this before I started Bella - as it would have been so much easier - but i do love the Bella and there's always next Easter - right...

The New Washing Machine

Our washing machine died last Thursday night - I had to pull soaking wet clothes out and let them drip dry long enough to be able to put them into the dryer - that was not fun. We actually have a Sears appliance store here in town - so Friday the Man met with the executive members of council and they approved the purchase of a new washing machine - YAY! (I wanted to have the old one fixed - you know how thrifty I am and I didn't want it to go to the dump - BUT - it didn't belong to me and the council didn't want to spend $200 to fix a 10 year old washer) - so...

Meet our new energy and water saving washing machine...

I've never had a front loading machine before - the clothes come out almost dry - I bet it cuts the dryer time in half - it will still be a few months before we can dry clothes outside...

Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Big Thaw...or...Boys will be Boys...or...Puddle Jumping

I thought of lots of titles for this post. The Man-Cub loves the Spring Thaw - the grown-ups not so much...

You see - all that snow that's been piled up frozen all winter - sort of melts all at once - and everything is a big muddy mess for a couple of weeks...

...but little boys love big muddy messes...

...and finding the deepest puddles that don't overflow the rainboots...

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Snow Catapult

The Man-Cub devised a new use for his swing set - a Snow Catapult...

...first you load...

...then you draw...

...then you launch...

...repeat...

Monday, March 24, 2008

Shitake

See, I told you the Shitakes were budding as well as the Namekos - we've now had a little harvest - YUM!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Small Hands

somewhere i have never travelled

somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously) her first rose

or if your wish be to close me,i and
my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility: whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens; only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain, has such small hands

e.e. cummings

I used to love e.e. cummings when I was in Junior High School - I don't know why - maybe it was his lack of capitalization -it made him stand out from the other poets we studied - I remember reading this and a lot of Frost in Miss Moon's 7th grade English class - it's sad to think that she's gone now - I love this poem...

...anyway - it makes me think of my boy's small hands (not really so small anymore) - but he was asking to use the sewing machine while I was working on LWR quilts - and I thought what better project to learn with - nice long straight seams...

...such fun for small hands...

Bella Finale


2008 Easter Outfit

Bella is finished - of course - at the last possible moment - that's just the way I roll - (one of my Cub's Mama says that - I think it's cute)...

Anywhoo - I enjoyed the pattern - and under less pressure would enjoy it even more. And my yarn substitutions were spot on - I got just the look I was hoping for. I made the size 38 1/2 as I thought the 34 1/2 would be too small - what I really needed was a 36 1/2 - but I didn't think I had time to fool with adapting...

It's very soft and has a nice drape to it - I used one skein and a few yards from another of Bernat Softee Baby ($3.69) in white for the body - (so I'll have plenty left over to make a little something for the Man-Cub's 2nd grade teacher who's expecting in July) and 3 balls of crochet thread for the inserts ($1.77 each) - so this has definitely been one of the most economical sweaters I've ever made - less than $10...

My only change to the pattern was to sew up about 1 1/2 inch at the center front as it's quite low...

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Frosty Trees

We awoke to trees encased in ice - very pretty - and really pretty as it cracked and fell off in the morning sun...


The Man-Cub went over to clean the sidewalks at the church...

we got another inch or so of snow last night - and we had sun and clouds and blowing snow all day...

...he plays at this - but does a good job...

...shoveling snow is fun - the longer he believes that the better...

Our Easter Egg Hunt was a chilly one - 29 degrees (above) and patches of snow...

...still lots of fun 'though...

I wonder how many more years we'll be hiding Easter Eggs for the Man-Cub...

Friday, March 21, 2008

Particle Board - How I Loathe Thee

...let me count the ways - um - 4 - drawers that is. The top right drawer in our bathroom cabinet fell apart today - it couldn't be that I had crammed too much stuff into it - no!

...I take it all apart to find that someone had tried to patch up these drawers before me - with some glue and brads - because despite the nice solid oak fronts - the drawers are actually made of particle board - ugh!

...So I got some small (1 inch) drywall screws and 'fixed' the broken drawer and did a little preventive maintanence on the other three...

...now, hopefully, they'll stay together - I did some serious cleaning out at the same time - so they won't be overloaded anymore...

...everything back in order - carry on...

Good Friday Snow

Just after I posted that the snow was 'going' - it came back - not with a vengence - just a gentle reminder on the first day of Spring that Winter is not over yet. We got about an inch of snow last night - I hope there's no more before Easter. BTW no one does Sunrise Service outside up here...

In other news...
I'm still frantically working on Bella - even when I should be practicing the organ - Maundy Thursday service last night went fine - a couple of small (left hand) mistakes (the Man-Cub said he heard them) - I hope my wrists hold out.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

...as the snow goes...

...another 'funny' thing they say up here is that the 'snow goes' - that's it - there's no 'away'... Sort of like when they say 'do you want to go with' - without the 'me' - very cute...

...I guess I used to say 'the snow melts'...

...but when you have snow for 6 months out of the year - it's sort of like a friend and it 'goes'...

More Prayer Shawls

I didn't crochet either of these - I just sewed on the little tags - I love them...

The pink one was crocheted by one of our parishoners in her last few days on earth - so special...

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Bella Progress

I finished the front of the Bella - all stockinett stitch - and it looks like it's going to be too low necked...

I added the lace inserts and it looks a little better - I dunno...

BROWN BELT

The Man-Cub is now the proud owner of a Brown Belt. He tested last night - a nearly perfect test - he definitely showed a lot more confidence in his answers and his kicks - this was his first test that included a palm break - the turn back kick took 5 tries - but the palm break he got on the first try - now that's one proud Man-Cub...

...his stances were great...

...caught in mid-air...

...I love this shot...

...The Break!!!

...the new belt...

...the old belt...

Wash...the...dog

Sing that to the walk the dog song...

The Man-Cub informed us that he could bathe Jack all by himself...

Jack never looks too happy in his bath...

and I'll have to check his ears carefully for the next few days...

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

The Easter Skirt

Well - I have to have something to wear under my Bella Blouse for Easter right! I bought this skirt for a quarter (yep 25¢) at the local K-Mart - it was on their clearance rack at the end of last summer and I put it away - and it's a size 3X...

It's nice and wide here - but wait...

If I take out about 5 inches of elastic - arghh - it's stiched top and bottom to the elastic - I hate when that happens...

Oh well - the seam ripper is your friend! I ripped out all of the elastic (it only has elastic at the back) snipped off about 5 inches - stretched it and pinned it at the middle and then again at the quarter point - then stretched it and stitched back just like they had - to the top first and then turned under and stitched back to the skirt - I left the right seam open just a little bit for the front elastic...

...then the front had no elastic and needed about 5 inches taken up there too - so I cut a small slit with the seam ripper...

...attached a safety pin to a piece of elastic...

...inserted that in the waistband - and inched it along until I got to the other side of the waistband - where (I had left it open here when I did the back elastic) I pulled up the back elastic and stitched it to the front elastic - and then stitched up the two small remaining holes...

...and VOILA! a nicely gathered 25¢ skirt...

...Ta Daa - trust me it will look much nicer with the Bella Blouse over the top...and no socks...

Still Bella

I finished the collars to the Bella Blouse...

I don't know if I'll finish in time for Easter or not - that's still a lot of Stockinette Stitch for one week...
...but of course I'm going to try...