Thursday, October 27, 2011

Half way through...

Last week marked the halfway point of the school semester! It's going by FAST. Which is good very good for the most part :-) Sign up for next semester start on Monday :O

In other news, yesterday I wrote out a pattern for a knitted mini stocking ornament. I submitted it to Knit Picks as a free pattern for the IDP program. Now waiting to see if they'll accept it... I was going to post it here tonight but it's on my other computer at home and I'm babysitting granola that is baking in the oven at work. So I'll get to it in the next day or two.

I'm also thinking about putting together a couple Woof! Hat kits with my pattern and hand-dyed yarn. So many ideas, so little time right now...

Thursday, October 20, 2011

A cold, rainy TMT

Brr. It is rainy, WINDY and cold here. Like the middle of November. Just downright nasty weather to be out in. And I was semi out in it for half the afternoon. As soon as I'm done answering Laura's question of the week I'm gonna curl up with some hot tea and my knitting!

So without further ado -



What obstacles have you overcome this week, and what did you learn from them?

Probably would be that I'm now half done with this semester of school!!! I've been plugging away at this degree for the past 3 years. I've done 3-10 hours a semester depending on work so it isn't going to quickly, but it's getting there. I'll have nearly 50 hours complete come December and this makes me very happy!!

The biggest challenge this semester has been math. I'll be honest - math scares me. I tried a math class when I first started school and it stressed me out so bad that I dropped it after three weeks. And I've put it off until this year. But now that I'm getting close to having enough hours for my AA, the time has come. And it's going well!!! Really well. It's work, and it still makes me nervous at times, but I'm getting it done and it makes me very happy and relieved!

I could come up with some statement about conquering my fears, or never saying can't. But for tonight I'll just say that I'm finally really learning all those terms, operations, etc, etc, etc. And I an very relieved to be halfway through the semester and doing alright with it! Givs me hope for next semester...


Friday, October 14, 2011

Friday randomness

I missed TMT yesterday. I was busy with work and school. And I was tired so I'm not even sure that my answers would have been coherent.

I was awoken this morning by a great gray beast yowling in my window. Apparently no one was available to let Pepper into the house when he was ready and in typical cat fashion he got tired of waiting. So he climbed up the outside of the breezeway, onto the roof and into my open window. But the screen was in his way so he yowled. I let him in hoping that Kipp would annoy him. Kipp has an incessant predatory stare that the cats find a bit unnerving. A few years ago the mere mention of "cat" and he'd have only one thing in mind - find and stalk the cat. But no such luck this moring. Kipp has learned the "leave cats alone" lesson well and only stared at Pepper for a minute before heading back to curl up on his bed. Sigh.

I should get off my computer and get back to work packing apples. Because when I'm done I get to head home, work with the dogs, and knit - just started another Knit Picks sample last night!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Woof! Hat Photo shoot

I love the Knit Picks Tonal colorway "Gypsy". Love, love, love it. I did my Woof! Socks with the same colorway only with the Stroll Tonal yarn.

But it's hard to get a good picture of the true red colors in the yarn.


Yesterday I did a third photo shoot trying to get the perfect picture of the hat (so I can finally finish the pattern and get the whole thing sent off to KP)


Here's one that finally seem to have the color right

Love the way the hat turned out - and love the fact that my sister is such a willing model!

Now to get that pattern finished...
Link

Sunday, October 9, 2011

It's another perfect fall day - we've had a week of perfect days now and are supposed to get a few more. Blue skies, changing leaves, gorgeous temperature - what more could you ask for?!?

*Big happy sigh*



Poor sheep aren't really happy even with the great weather. They're stuck in the barnyard for a few days because their pasture was mowed for hay. Oh well. They'll be happy when they have something to eat this winter...

Thursday, October 6, 2011

It's Thursday again!

Time for -




1. If you won the lottery (a big one... I'm talking stupid muchos cash) what would you do with the money?

Buy land - a big piece of land. Like 500+ acres. Then set part of it up as a farm (sheep with a few cows and horses thrown it), part of it as wooded with hiking trails. Have an area for outdoor canine activities. And hold summer camps for inner city kids.

2. After winning the lottery would you work a day job? If so, what would you do?

Manage my place!

3. Do you have any auxiliary dogs? Auxiliary dogs are dogs that are not essential to your main purpose (usually tiny, but not always). If you don't have an auxiliary dog what might you choose?

No dogs but there is Toni, the resident Border Cat

And Pepper, who thinks he's a dog
If I did get a small dog it would probably be a Papillon or a perhaps a Border Terrier



4. Do you have a favorite crock pot recipe (or other recipe) you can share?

Easy Crock Pot Chili -

1-2# beef stew meat
1 large onion
3-4 15 oz cans of chili beans
2 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes

Cut up onion, place in crock pot along the stew meat. Cook overnight on low or 4 hours on high. Add in the canned beans and tomatoes, cook on low for 1-2 hours. Serve with cheese!

I love the texture of beef chunks instead of ground beef in my chili. This is super simple to throw together and I freeze the leftovers in ziploc bags in serving size portions

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Ah! Fall

I love fall! At least when the weather is anything the the weather we're having this week! Today is clear, calm with temps in the high 60s to low 70s. Perfect.

As I was walking past a rack of college newspapers today a "Bike the Trails" blip caught my eye. I grabbed a paper and found that the Student Activity Center had bikes available! The college also has some great wooded trails. So after lunch I grabbed Kenzi and her harness and headed back to school. I signed a bike out and we were off! The trails were well groomed and the weather was perfect for riding. Kenzi ran nicely keeping the line taught and running along the trails. She got caught up in seeing squirrels and chipmunks on occasion, but did really well overall for the first outing. We've never gone biking in the woods before, only roads.

Looking at a map, I'm guessing we did three - four miles. A really nice distance, especially for the hilly, uneven terrain. I want to try it again tomorrow if I'm not too stiff... :D