saturday sky....
nice blue warm sky makes it hard to stay inside after a chilly week....
wip wednesday
since adopting the continental style knitting, progress has been slowing down, but i'm enjoying the process and the "feel" of this style of knitting. halfway through the first hedgerow socks i adopted continental knitting and was surprised the switch-over didn't significantly affect the gauge of knitting. this is the progress so far on the first sock done in mama llama bamboo sock.
i've completed one of the maine morning mitts done up in some noro silk garden i had in stash
it's been really chilly - nice knitting weather! maybe a nice bowl of soup tomorrow nite at aloha knitters if this weather holds up....
happy new year!
preparations started on new year's eve - my husband's birthday!
i made a sour cream chocolate cake using the recipe from the local desserts cookbook. it doesn't call for frosting and my husband is not a frosting fan, but because the kids insisted, i made a frosting from scratch from the same book and it turned out real ono! in addition to the boxed cake mix i added one box instant pudding, 4 eggs, 3/4 c salad oil, 1 pt sour cream and 1/2 cup chocolate chips (i didn't use the optional 1/3 c kahlua). this cake was very tasty, moist and dense - a keeper!
i did manage to bake these chocolate cherry cookies today - another recipe keeper! my friend told me to use the best cocoa i could afford - she suggested valrhona chocolate cocoa from the R Field Wine Company in Foodland. well i went to the Kailua Foodland at 7am yesterday, hoping to beat the mad new year's rush at the supermarket and R Field doesn't open 'til 10am! so i picked up some scharffen berger cocoa from Foodland. i used the dried tart cherries which i had picked up on sale from Safeway's a couple weeks ago. the cookies baked very fast, nice and chocolaty and the cherries added a very nice taste! to my surprise, the cookies were lighter than i had expected, i had expected a little more dense cookie, but i'm very happy with the results.
i did some cleaning today and for every day this month i will devote at least 30 minutes (on work/weekdays, 1 hour on weekends) to purging - ive started with this 40 gal garbage bag to add rubbish to everyday - i hope this will help me clean the dungeon by jan. 31 (2008!). i also plan to take some magazines and books down to the library as i purge.
annnnd, i managed to fit in a yoga practice this evening. the practice focused on getting ready for the new year and achieving your resolutions - seeing them as not going to be met, but have been met. we also did some relaxation/meditation and i managed to doze off, waking myself up with a snore - how embarrassing! but before the relaxation, our instructor told us not to get upset at ourselves if we fall asleep, so, i didn't feel all that bad.
well, the only upset for the day was the sugarbowl....but my husband and son enjoyed watching it on the new tv, so all was not lost.....
a look back....
i thought opal had a great idea about revisiting the previous new year's resolutions, so i think i'll follow suit.
my last post for 2006 included goals for 2007:
my knitting goals for next year? more sock knitting: i did remain loyal to sock knitting - i just didn't really knit 'more' than the previous year, in fact in looking over my projects, i've managed to complete 7 pairs, 5 less than last year....
and some lacey scarves: i completed 2 scarves, not lacey, but scarves nonetheless
hoping to buckle down with spindling: yikes! gotta admit i didn't even touch it.....
hoping to feel a little more comfortable with continental knitting: i've been practicing here and there, but for the past month have been adopting this style which accounts for knitting at a snail's pace!
other crafting goals include some sewing: bought a new sewing machine, but was too chicken to use it when i had projects for work (modifying these denim aprons) and sewing a couple pillows for a service project for church - i used my old standby
oh, and i want to read more : i averaged a book a month!
other accomplishments: joining weight watchers and loosing nearly 40 pounds; starting yoga - something i enjoyed for about a year more than 25 years ago; oh! and i can't forget the discovery of aloha knitters - these ladies have been a great encouragement and motivator in my knitting endeavors.
so, what are my dreams for 2008?
*clean up the dungeon by the end of jan. 2008
*maintain my weight loss goal weight
*yoga sessions at least once weekly and practice at home
*walks with my husband at least 3 times a week
*increase my cooking/baking repertoire
*make my attendance at aloha knitters more regular-specifically, i'm shooting for weekly attendance
*read at least 2 books a month
*finish ufo's (specifically, ripple blanket, forest canopy shawl, and cece)
*finish one mini sock ornament a month for my 2008 christmas tree
*limit sock yarn purchases and knit from the stash
*if i could start one garment knit project, i'm looking at the minimalist cardigan from the fall 2007 interweave knits
and anything else i accomplish is icing on the cookie!
p.s. i'm printing this post up and including it my planner/datebook.
tried and true
or something new? here's a collection of some of the new cookbooks i've acquired recently. my daughter said, "for a person who doesn't cook, you sure have a lot of cookbooks!" anyway, the new year's family dinner is at my house this tuesday since we've got a new tv, and guess what game everyone wants to watch?
but i've been put in charge of a dessert, and since one of my goals this year is to try different recipes, i want to do something i've never tried before. since 1/3 of us are on weight watchers, dessert needn't be something fancy. in fact last week i made those black bottom cupcakes (except the cream cheese rose to the top instead of staying at the bottom - same taste....). i did want to try this, especially when i tasted a sample that a co-worker made. of course i could just make a chocolate cake or some brownies....my family is very easy to please....
check this out....
if you have the chance: wool 100%. it was showing on digital AZN last night and although i didn't get to watch it all the way through, i did dvr it to watch later on. kinda interesting if you're into that kind of artsy kinda movie.
sorry about the photos from previous post not being able to enlarge - i'm home alone again (well, that is, just hubby and me tonite, but he's no use when it comes to the computer....) so tried to post photos but it just doesn't work again.....i'll sit my daughter down to help me....
lots of little knitting....
well, december turned out to be a productive month of knitting!
i also managed to finish a pair of the 'fetching' fingerless mitts for another friend who went to las vegas for a few days vacation. also finished them in the nick of time. she brought me back some candy cane joe-joe's from trader joe's that i read about in blog-land, and these are so delicious and minty - she knows me well, she brought me back 4 boxes! 
i also knit 4 mini sock tree ornaments (sorry, tree and ornaments already packed away....) for our new (artificial) christmas tree. the other tree must've been 20 yrs old and was falling apart and rusting. i told my husband i refused to use it and assigned him the task of finding another one no shorter than 4 ft. he came home with a pretty decent one at 4 1/2 ft. the week before christmas. being the slow knitter that i am, i only managed the four socks, soooo....one of my knitting goals is to knit a mini sock a month, so i end up with an additional 12 for christmas 2008. i'm considering crochet snowflakes - anyone know of an easy online pattern? other knitting goals include knitting from the stash and finishing a couple ufo's.
my major goal is to declutter - i simply have acquired too many "things" (yarn, books, magazines, etc....) i want to clean out my "dungeon" once and for all - i've started and hope to finish by the end of january (i'm trying to be realistic). my kids have gotten after me, so i know it's time. plus, we've got plans to do some house repairs which will force me to limit my spending on more "stuff."
my other goal is to practice yoga regularly. i hope to make it to at least once weekly sessions and supplement at home - this will actually be my major personal "splurge" for the year.
anyone considering blog365? i've been toying with the idea in hopes it may help me be more consistent in posting.....
i wish i had tho't of that!
check out one family's christmas tradition!
we've had an artificial christmas tree once the kids got bigger (and the prices of the real ones kept getting higher each year), but maybe this would've encouraged us to get the real thing....such a neat tradition!
happy holidaze!
well, it's been a long absence! just been busy with work, and lazing around. i have been knitting sporadically....
finished monkey socks in lightweight str in cobalt bloom - and they're nearly identical twins! so soft and warm, of course they're for me, keeping my feet toasty in this nippy weather we're having.
i've started these hedgerow socks from the august 23 knitter's review newsletter. done up in mama llama's bamboo sock, it's a gift for a friend's daughter. as i knitted the rib pattern i felt it was a bit nondescript, but i kept knitting and when you stretch it to fit, it looks better....
this is a scarve i knit for myself for my boston trip last month. it kept me nice and cozy and i love it! knit in an angora wool blend "cloud 9" by cascade yarn i got from my lys. the pattern is a very simple knit on the bias i found very relaxing to do. being the slow knitter that i am, i'm delighted to say i was able to knit a scarf for one travelling companion and a pair of socks for the other.
ttfn!
