Happy New Year

It is snowing and I am starting to feel like I live inside a marshmallow. It really isn't pretty after a while.



Niko hasn't been able to go outside in a long time. She is even grumpier than usual. She wishes you a Happy New Year too.

I am knitting. I am still working on Morrocan days whatever shawl. I put it down and now picked it up again. The picture is better if you click on the image.



I am still working on Mr Yarn's sweater. He will freeze to death before I finish it.



That is all. Have a good one!

Oh Jules!!!!

Look at us! I found this picture and you still make me smile. I can still remember taking that picture and I still remember how much you meant to me. You still do. You still make me laugh. I was the ugly girl and you were the pretty girl but you always let me wear the rabbit coat.

Boy am **I** glad Xmas is over. I got great gifts and all but there is something so creepy about no stores being open and feeling like everyone has fallen off the face of the planet.



We got this tree ornament that I LOVE from Kim and Denis. It looks just like our houses and I love it so so much. I also got a new digital camera that I took the picture with from Mr Yarn and it is awesome.

Esther had a good day. It was our first Xmas with her.

FIRE!!! or Happy Xmas Eve

So the street was quiet this morning and being the new kid on the block I figured I needed to stir stuff up. Ya know, get the neighbors blood rushing to get their day started. So, when I woke up this morning and said "I smell something" and Mr Yarn (my PhD chemist) said "I will check it out WHEN I GET HOME FROM WORK" I didn't think much of it. As I drank my second cup of coffee and was getting sick to my stomach I decided to call my neighbor Cathy who is a mom and who knows more than chemists. When I opened my front door and she said "Grab your purse with your cell phone [take your coffee with you] and lets open all windows and turn off ALL electricity!" I believed her. She then called the fire department.



They showed up! They converged on the house and determined that I should be checked out by the paramedics as well. Pffft. I didn't need any paramedic and I told them so, but they called em anyhow.





So, it wasn't natural gas. Know what it was?



The mighty snowblower that we spent a wad of money on because being Californians we didn't know that we didn't need one the size of a leer jet. It was leaking gasoline. Mr Fireman made me learn how to turn it off and on. He then made jokes about having to take it to the station for "Evidence". Har har.

Best part of my morning is when one of the firemen lit a cigarette and proceeded to smoke it in my driveway. "Uh, Mr Fireman is that SAFE with gas leaking?" his reply was "Yeah, it is the "test" to see that all is safe".

MAKE IT STOP!!!

Oh, but california
California Im coming home
Im going to see the folks I dig
Ill even kiss a sunset pig
California Im coming home















Esther likes it.

Its a storm!

Couldn't help myself. I have always wanted to do this. Now I know I could have lived the rest of my life without doing it.



But it is pretty. If you can stay inside and just look at it it is perfect.



Which I couldn't seem to have enough self discipline to do

White Xmas

I woke up this morning to our first real snow. It is going to be a White Xmas!



I decided to let Esther out to see what she would do



She was running like a mad dog and eating it and going nuts. She loves it.

And because I am still 5 years old at heart...

Ice Storm

I tried to take a picture of the ice on the trees. If you click on it you can see the bigger picture. Pretty isn't it? No, it is NOT. This is what caused us to be without power for a full day. Electrical lines were down and trees had fallen into roads and on top of houses. It was a mess. We are the lucky ones because people here are still without power that isn't expected to be back on until Sunday. Being without power isn't so bad when it isn't 16 degrees outside. I had two fireplaces going and it wasn't too bad. Before I came here I hated people that talked about the weather all the time. I have turned into one of those people and now understand firsthand why they are obsessed with it. It is because it actually controls your daily life. I have changed from a California Urban Woman to the Knitting Mountain Woman who has to stoke fires, clean leaves and make sure pipes don't burst. It always sounded so romantic when I was living in 70 degree weather (which now my California friends tell me got down to a FREEZING 50 degrees).

On the knitting front...
I am knitting like a fiend but can't post any of it because I am knitting for a yarn company and designer. This stuff will be published so I can't post. I will take pictures to prove that it is being done and post when appropriate. I miss knitting my own stuff though. Knitting with a purpose is ok too.

So, stay warm and don't judge because I talked about the weather AGAIN.

Let it snow!

I know that I said it "snowed" before, but it was just sleet. Silly me. THIS was the first REAL snow of the year. It is the first time that I have lived somewhere that there is actually snow. It really makes it feel like Holiday time. I love it.

We put up our tree this weekend and (cough) I bought a tree that was a little too tall for the room. Mr Yarn had to get out his saw and make a little adjustment.



Happy Holidays! I am really excited to be in a place that is 2 degrees below zero (ok, that is with the wind chill factor but still..)

They call it sleet but...

*I* call it snow and it is the first white stuff I have gotten to seen since I moved here! How excited was I when my neighbor Kim called me from her driveway and said "Look outside!". I love you for now snow. I know I will grow to hate and resent you but for now you are beautiful to me.



Another Turkey under my wing. Came out great if I have to say so myself. Just goes to show you what 2lbs of butter will do to zip up your cooking.


I am very thankful for family, friends and all that I have in this world.

More stuff

It was Dakota's one year birthday on November 11th. We bought her a new collar and a birthday bone (it says "Happy Birthday").

Just a shout out to Fall. "I hate you damn beautiful leaves that left me in awe and then fell all over the place to make a mess that isn't any fun at all"



One more thought...
We just got back from Texas and this is what I learned

1. People ARE friendlier there and are more ready to lend a hand
2. It is an ugly state as far as the flat brown nothingness that goes on for miles
3. When someone says "Bless your heart" they don't mean it. They mean "Damn, that was stupid" or "I can't believe you just did that"

MOST important
4. Check your pants before you put them on because a red ant just MIGHT be in them and eat the crap out of your leg". Ask me how I know this.

So cute!

Since Annie is the music girl, I made her a pair of fingerless gloves that were appropriate. It is a pattern I got on Ravelry called "Musica"

It makes me happy when I see this picture.

Ham and knitting

I have had a long standing joke with Laurel about a Smithfield ham. Well it isn't THAT long standing of a joke, but "Miss Smartypants" sent me this beautiful ham (and believe me it is a beaut). So the neighbors are coming this weekend to help us dig in. I will make some other stuff along with it that will harden the arteries even further. I am going to miss my California ham companions (waving to Kate and Gene with a really long face).

Onto knitting news:



I started another sweater. I bought the kit from "Mostly Merino" at the Vermont Sheep and Wool festival. It is called "Northern Lights" and I am loving it.

Halloween

Mr Yarn and I carved the annual pumpkins. Every year I say I am not doing it again because of the gooey mess but every year I do it.



Esther dressed up for the party. Actually, our neighbor Kim put this on her at the end of the evening for a laugh. I don't think that the pooch thought it was funny, but we did.



All is back to normal except...

We had a skunk die in our driveway this morning. I didn't wake up to the smell of coffee but to the stench of skunk. The smell isn't going away anytime soon. Not a good week so far.

Go out and vote! Hopefully the news of the election returns will make my day tomorrow.

Tagged

I was tagged by Kim


1. I hate roses.
2. I don't like chocolate.
3. Disneyland gives me the creeps.
4. My favorite food is artichoke.
5. I love opera music.
6. I still read Usenet groups.
7. I always wanted singing lessons.

I bore even me.

I have lots to blog and I have Halloween pictures to post but things have been pretty sad around here for the last few days. Mr. Yarn's dad passed away on Sunday. We will be heading off to San Antonio in a week to take care of stuff.

Cooking and sheep

I have had a long week. First off Mr. Yarn's father ended up in ICU and is really sick. Mr Yarn had to hop on a plane to San Antonio and was there for a week. I had a friend coming into town from the Bay Area and we were on our way to Rhinebeck in upstate New York. We were going to the Wool and Sheep festival. It is a long story involving the "Bates Motel" and a COLD day walking around looking at Fiber related stuff. My favorite part of the day was getting to see sheep and watching them being judged. I especially fell in love with the one that stood up and kept putting its head on my shoulder. My new pal. As you can see I was dressed like the Michelin Tire man for the occasion.

Moving on.




When Val was here to visit she brought me an issue of Gourmet magazine from January 2006. I must say that it is one of the best issues I have ever seen from Gourmet. I stopped being a big fan of theirs when the issues became more about snotty places to visit than food. This issue has 65 years 65recipes. It is from the 40's (when the magazine began) until 2006. I told Val that I would make everything in that magazine and blog about it. I must change that to say I will make most of what is in that magazine and blog it (I just can't bring myself to make Braised Pork Loin and PRUNES). I just can't bring myself to make some of the stuff in there.

So, Rich came home on Saturday night and we started cooking from the magazine last night. My first recipe. It is from 1964 (I am not going in order of date) and it is "Drunkard's Soup with Egg Barley".



Starts with bacon (can't go wrong there).

Continues with onions.



It also involves sauerkraut and Kielbasa. The main ingredient is Barley shaped egg noodles (yeah, manischevitz) which are browned with some paprika and flour.




Ends up in the cooking process looking like this (and I should have known the outcome)



Let cook for 1.5 hours (huh?) and you get this:



All I can say is 1 down and eaten (not my favorite, as a matter of fact LOW on the list).

I would post recipes but it is a copyright infringement to do so. Lets just say you aren't missing anything.