Maple Leaf Madness

Note to self: Do not buy yummy junk food and expect not to want to eat it in large quantities. These cookies are horrendously good. Want to eat the entire package in one sitting kind of good. Must be the maple syrup that is in them. Seriously, these things are addictive. Which is why they are living on top of the fridge above my eye line. Because every time I see them I want to eat them. I must remember to STICK TO THE GROCERY LIST next time.

On a more heathy food note, I made yogurt marinated chicken last night. Soooooo good. And so many possibilities. The recipe I used had chili powder, cumin, lemon juice and olive oil and fat-free greek yogurt. It wasn't as spicy as I had hoped, but I think I can remedy that next time. Although, I think next time I'll try doing garlic and lemon juice...or some other fun combination. It really sticks to the chicken more than regular marinade. I cooked it under the broiler which was super easy made for a nice glazed outside. Yum. I paired it with some garlic naan from Trader Joe's. Usually store bought naan isn't as good as I hope it will be....but once again, Trader Joe's came through! I put it on a baking sheet in the oven and drizzled it with a wee bit of EVOO so it wouldn't dry out.

Did I tell you my parents got a puppy?! His name is Benny and he's a 6 month old pug. Sailor has decided that his new favorite spot to sit is in the guest room on the futon so he can look out the window:

Silly dog.

Have you been watching LOST? The Biggest Loser? Tuesday night TV is going to be NUTS when Glee starts back up. Thankfully, I can watch the Biggest Loser on demand since I can only DVR 2 shows at a time (and I have to be watching one of them).

Well, I need to bring all the shoes and rugs in from outside! Feel better!

Love,
Liz

Sleeves: The Black Hole of Knitting

Why is it that it feels like it takes twice as long to knit sleeves as it does to knit the rest of a sweater?! I really shouldn't complain, 5 days to make a sweater is absolutely respectable. But I felt like the sleeves took FOREVER (even though I'm not sure they actually took longer than the body). At any rate, the Oatmeal Pullover is now complete:

I used just under 600 yards of MadelineTosh Bulky. I made quite a few modifications to the pattern for a better fit. I added an extra increase round and an extra straight round before separating the sleeves because I wanted about 1 1/2 inches of negative ease instead of 3 inches of negative ease. I also picked up extra stitches under the arm because the sleeves as written are about 9 1/2 inches around...and mine are, well, much larger. I also decreased 1 stitch on each side of the waist for a little waist shaping.

In non-knitting related news, Seth had I ate at this fabulous place down in Eugene on Saturday. We went down to climb at the gym (Seth is headed to Vegas for a climbing trip with his dad and is trying to get "in climbing shape") and went to the Laughing Planet Cafe for lunch. They use as much locally grown produce/ingredients as they can and everything is freshly cooked. I had this ridiculously yummy "bowl" full of mashed potatoes, Tillamook Cheese (from NW Oregon), grilled chicken and sweet corn. Sooooo good. Seth had some crazy bowl with beans, rice and tons of steamed veggies topped with salsa.

We're going to try and head to Bend next weekend to climb at Smith Rock. As long as the weather holds out in the mountains, we should be able to get there without a problem.

And last, but not least:

Remember all the pretty pink flowers on the plum tree? Well, they are falling all over the deck and Sailor gets covered in them every time he is out there! Goof.

Hope you are feeling better!

Love,

Liz

New Handspun, A Finished Project, and A New Project...

Are you feeling any better?? At least you aren't too sick to knit :)

I finished my Snapdragon Tam hat the other day and I blocked it yesterday. The brim stretched out a little, so it's not quite as snug as I'd like, but I might run a narrow piece of elastic around the brim. I did throw it in the dryer and it helped a little bit. I knit it in MadelineTosh DK in Lichen (green with little bits of purple...possibly my favorite colorway by MadelineTosh).

It's been quite rainy and windy here the last few days and it had me wanting a cushy, instant gratification project and my MadelineTosh Bulky (a test base for them, so far) arrived in the mail on Wednesday...and it was begging to be knit up. I cast on for the Oatmeal Pullover by Jane Richmond on Wednesday night, and am almost done with the body (yay for bulky yarn and size 11 needles!). I've had to make a few modifications. It is written with 3 inches of negative ease, and I didn't think a skin-tight sweater would be  too awfully flattering. So I added an extra increase round which gave me an extra inch and a half or so. I've tried it on a couple of times and it seems to fit pretty well. Doesn't this yarn just scream bulky, squishy sweater???

And lastly, I finished spinning up some Blue Faced Leicester today. I got about 300 yards of sportweight yarn. It still needs a yarny bath before I can knit it up.

Well, that's it for now....time to make some asian pork kebabs (minus the actual skewers) and mashed potatoes!

Feel better!

love,

liz

a haze.

i. have.  yarn. envy.

you are one lucky lady :)  i'm sick.  have been since sunday and honestly it just feels different every day... not better or worse... no actually today it's worse... yesterday i made it through two hours at work before calling it quits.  today i think i'm leaving after our weekend prep meeting...

im on dayquil and i feel like a zombie.
and if i never have soup again, i'll be glad.  even when it's yummy chicken and toasted orzo soup with a splash or sirachi hot sauce...

but i've been knitting in a haze on the couch.  watched two movies- up in the air (awesome.  i thought it was terribly funny...) and good hair (a chris rock documentary on black hair... also totally awesome.  made me proud to not have a weave...!)

im working on my sister's mitts and contemplating another baby sweater.  i'm such a sucker for a baby sweater... especially on size 15 needles ;)

i really wish i could take nyquil and sleep the day away.  is that bad??

Yarn Pretties and a New Project

I wanted to show off this big honkin' 500 yard skein of Merino/Silk that I got this weekend. It's by Blue Moon Fiber Arts....it's soooo soft and squishy!

I started a new knitting project the other day, a Snapdragon Tam by Ysolda Teague:

The pattern is brilliant and really well written. The best part is that the directions are actually written out in addition to having a chart, so you don't actually have to use the chart if you don't want to (which I don't!). Once you start a row, the pattern repeat is easy to memorize because it makes so much sense. This is my first Ysolda pattern, but I will definitely be making more of her designs. LOVE THEM.

I've been walking with a woman and her border collie the last couple of weeks and yesterday we walked SIX MILES (and boy was I tired yesterday afternoon!). The dogs had fun chasing the big, fat, grey squirrels in the woods and running like crazy dogs.

Remember how our rice cooker broke a while back? Well, our brand new rice cooker busted last night when I was making dinner. UGH. So annoying. Seth made rice on the stove, and then forgot to turn the burner off and burned some of it to the bottom of the pot.

On a brighter food note, I can't say enough wonderful things about Trader Joe's. Seriously, I'm spending the same amount of money that I was spending at the regular grocery store, and buying almost all organic. I bought these amazing ice cream cookie sandwich things. They are the size of Oreo cookies with mint ice cream in the middle. And only 60 calories per cookie sandwich! The perfect amount of to satisfy my sweets craving.  :)

I have actually seen those Mug Cakes! There is a woman who has a whole Mug Cake recipe book, and she was on Rachel Ray a couple months ago. They look pretty tasty!

Have you been watching LOST? Did you watch last night? I kept jumping up and saying "I was there, I was there!". I just started re-watching the first season....so good!

I'm hoping to finish the Snapdragon Tam tonight...I'll post more pictures when it's finished!

Love,
Liz

things.

Well, fun fact.  Dog is now waking up at five. in. the. morning.  Which mean's I'm pretty much awake at that time too.... not sure, but i think it's because i'm starving him... He goes to the vet next Monday, but after his last appointment per vet recommendation, I dropped a cup from his daily meals- he's at 1.5 twice a day, down from 2 twice a day....  since august, he's obviously been a lot more active.  I'm trying to find other food sources, live veggies, rice and fruit when i can... but I think he's just plain starving!  We'll see what happens on Monday.

Oh and if you haven't tried the dental chews from iams, they are pretty amazing.  philo's teeth a pretty darn clean :)

Knitting:  finished my cowl and started sis' gloves.  F's hat is a catastrophe.  I knit too tightly to do that many cables!  We'll see how it turns out.  Running, also going well.  Minor set back Sunday as I got a nice little allergy head cold/sinus something... I'm coughing and slowly dying... but pounding fluids... so here's to hoping!

Weather has been hopeful lately- we finally hit the sixties!  I pulled down all of the window plastic and cleaned like a crazy woman on Saturday.  I now have about 5 tubs of clothes to donate at some point to salvation army, or the like.  I'm trying to really look at what I wear and need versus just have.... simplify.  I also did a bunch of mending (hereby adding to my old lady dorkiness.  F thinks it's hysterical.) and fixed a bunch of things- like one of my EMS fleece things, a hoody, a sweater sleeve and a few more smaller items.  I sort of feel like I little homesteader...

Have you ever watched the Dan Ho Show on FitTV?  I'm kind of obsessed.  He's a "lifestyle guru" but he's totally self-effacing.  And with a last name like Ho, the options are endless or witty double entendres :)

On the food-front there has been a small miracle.  I'm trying to eat out less- trying to save some money for a plane ticket to visit a certain someone.... which means I'm getting very inventive with my food choices.

I made a pretty yummy pasta dish the other night with spinach, hot pepper flakes, burst tomatoes and garlic... with a little marscapone cheese for creaminess.  I also made a salad for dinner on Saturday of cucumber and tomatoes with some avocado chunks and a lemon vinaigrette.  dammmnnn good.

have you ever made salad dressing?  I can't imagine buying it now that I make it at home... it's so much better tasting and you know what you are eating.

OH AND THE MOST EXCITING THING EVER!!!  have you ever made a mug cake?  I was having a chocolate craving last night (after pounding excessive fluids all day, I really wanted real food) and decided this would be a better choice than making a pan of brownies and eating them all week... and although it wasn't amazing (it needs some doctoring, especially in the flavor department), it did the trick.  i got to eat a chunk of cake in three minutes.  It's almost worth it just so that you can watch in wonder as it cooks up to the top of the mug.... mmmm. :)  i think with ice cream, it would be amazing.  like super amazing.

What a fun weekend!

We had such a great weekend with Weirdo! We picked him up in Portland late Friday night and we all crashed as soon as we got home. Seth and Weirdo took Sailor on a 12 mile run in the woods and then we all played on the slackline in the 65 degree weather! Since it was so beautiful and clear out we took a drive up Mary's Peak (Seth and I hadn't been yet) and hiked the 3/4 mile Summit Trail to the top. The views were GORGEOUS....snow-capped mountains in one direction and the ocean (way off in the distance) in the other. Unfortunately, my camera battery died when we were close to the top, but I did manage to get a few good shots in beforehand.

After our trip up Mary's Peak, we stopped at the fish market and picked up some Ahi Tuna Steaks. We had seared tuna steaks and oven roasted potatoes....and proceeded to all be in bed by 9pm! Weirdo flew out this morning to Hawaii. After we dropped him off at the airport, Seth and I went to the Stepping Stone Cafe, which was sooooooo tasty. I ordered Cinnamon Bun French Toast (yes, seriously a cinnamon bun turned into french toast....heaven) and Seth had the Banana Bread French Toast (which had sliced bananas and walnuts over the top). We stopped at Powell Books and Twisted (a yarn shop where I got some lovely yarn which I'll share later) while our food digested and then headed to the climbing gym. Needless to say, we are exhausted from all the festivities. 

Hope you had a lovely weekend....off to do some knitting!

Love,

liz