Yarn!

Knitting is good

2010-11-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

I knit every day. I would say that a day doesn't go by that I don't knit. The fact that I am not posting on here is due to the fact that I mostly post to my other blog. I realized that is all fine and dandy but the stuff that I knit isn't being shared. Not that any of you care but my mom does.

I did a pair of fingerless gloves to drive with this winter.

A cowl to keep warm.

A different cowl to keep warm.

Challah Eternity Scarf. It was a fun knit and it is really warm and cute. It is a pattern by Pam Powers.

Because I never grew out of loving crazy quilts and granny square blankets, I made this out of scrap sock yarn.

Um, yeah it is me posting

2010-09-19T08:23:00.001-07:00

I knit some convertible mittens that I thought I would show you. I have to say that I think it is time to take down this blog. I never really post anything anymore and all the stuff that I do knit is now on ravelry.

Still around and still knitting baby stuff!

2010-08-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

I finished up the baby blanket #2 for the baby.

This is the other side of the blanket.

I also made a pair of pants.

California was great and the next time I go out will be to see the new baby Anderson.

More knitting for sweetpea

2010-07-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

I saw these little jeans on Knitty and just so happened to have Rowan denim. I had to make these. They are called Blu

The back of the jeans.

Grammy Brand jeans for my little sweetpea. I can't wait to meet him.

I finished it!

2010-05-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

I know that I don't post here very often because I normally am posting to my cooking blog, but I still knit constantly. I have been working on this sweater for a while and I finally finished it. I still have to block it but seeing that it is my first steeked sweater I still can't get over the fear that it will unravel as soon as it hits water. I will NEVER steek again. I hate it. I will continue to purl.

Totems

2010-04-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

I have always had totems that I have carried around from every move I have made. Most of them are things that remind me of my kids. The one above was a doll that we made one day when the kids were bored and I had to come up with an art project to keep us all amused. I love this one and it has always been on my bedside table.

Another one that I love is the "Glow in the dark boogers" that Annie made me when she was a kid. I don't know why these got to me but they did and all these years later they are still on my bedside table. She made them out of some goo that glowed in the dark. Even though they don't glow anymore the memory is still one that makes me smile.

Hulk Hogan... Evan gave me this when he was a little kid. It has been clipped onto one computer to the next over the years I have had new computers. I have lost him a couple of times but he always returns.

I love these memories.

So when I saw these 2 toys at my homeopathic pet shop I had to have them considering what we just went through with the pooch.

I just fell in love with "tick" and "flea" and was hoping that these guys would keep away the real thing for the summer.

So does Dakota.

Blanket for my sweetpea

2010-04-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

I guess by now you know that I have gotten word that I am going to be a grandma for the first time. My first grandchild. There is no experience that is quite the same as when you hear your daughter tell you. So what is it that I do when I am so excited and have to wait for months? I knit.

I have wanted to make this Alice Starmore blanket for a long time. I decided to make it reversible. I used Dream in Color Smooshy. I made up the backside of this blanket specially for my sweetpea.

Onto the next baby project!!!!!

What do I have in common with this woman?

2010-03-18T13:52:00.000-07:00

This is Grandma Moses...

and?

I am going to be a Grandma!

Yes I am alive and have a new sweater

2010-01-27T10:28:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I posted here. I suppose it could be it is because I have had nothing too amusing to tell you about my winter in New England. Oh yeah, wait! There are no vegetables here in the winter and people don't know how to drive even though they never move away from here and have been here their whole lives in the snow. Oh yeah, one more thing....if I hear someone say "SOFER" instead of SOFA one more time, I may go insane.

So yeah, I have been knitting. Cooking and knitting keep me sane. A garden would help but there is no way in hell (or New England) that this will happen. So this is a Bohus sweater called Wild Apple. Do Wild Apples grow in snow? They do now.

I don't know what is up with my camera but I can't get a good picture of it. Could be the problem of no natural sun.

Just to cheer myself up I added something to the sleeve even though it wasn't called for. I am a crazy woman breaking the rules on this sweater.

No really, I will be fine.

White Xmas

2009-12-20T05:46:00.000-08:00

It is going to be a white Xmas here afterall. We are getting pelted with a snow storm. I still love it though. There is something very cool (no pun intended) about sitting around all Sunday with the fireplace on and snow outside. Of course Mr Yarn has to shovel and snow blow but I will be supportive.

Esther loves the snow!

I don't think the heat lamps will be working for a while.

I think that there will be some shoveling to do

Brrrrr!

2009-12-07T10:56:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I didn't really believe that the snow would ever be here again. I figured that last year was a fluke and it was a bunch of hooey that it really snows here every year. I was wrong.

I guess my herbs are really going to die and that basil really can't live through the winter

It is cold.

St. Brigid is done!

2009-11-30T09:43:00.000-08:00

I finished my Starmore "St. Brigid' sweater and I am really happy with how it turned out. I know that I don't post all that much here anymore but I post almost everyday on Bite Me New England For now I am just sort of post my knitting and other misc stuff. I am almost done with Heroine. Just one more sleeve to go and then I have to felt it.

WHAT DID I DO TODAY???!!!!

2009-11-08T16:39:00.000-08:00

See all of the damn leaves? AWWWWW pretty you say? PFFFT. I raked the damn things and stepped in dog poop along the way. Glad you asked?

Annie and Tim and Halloween in New England

2009-11-04T13:57:00.000-08:00

Annie and Tim came to visit and Annie knitted me my very own monster. I can not tell you how much I love this monster and how much I love that Annie made it for me.

So, it was the day before Halloween and what better place to go visit than Sleepy Hollow

We visited Ralph Waldo Emerson's grave.

Someone left him a note. He is dead and I don't think he will be able to read it.

On Halloween we had a party. We made Candy Corn Martini's. I may have drank one too many because even looking at this picture kind of makes me sick.

Tim wore a really creepy mask

Annie and I wore weird eye lashes

Dakota wore little devil ears and wasn't too into it.

and Mr Yarn....well...what do I say?

Yeah, I am still here...

2009-10-26T12:38:00.001-07:00

Got the back of St Brigid done. I think it will be done by the first snow. Technically it snowed a couple of weeks ago but I mean the first REAL snow.

Not much happening here. Annie and Tim are coming to visit in a couple of days and I can't wait. We will be having a Halloween party on Saturday so maybe there will be more pictures and things to post from that.

Neil Young and my Brother

2009-10-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

When I was a teenager my brother would bug me because I listened to Neil Young over and over and over again. He hated him. I loved him. So my brother wrote up an agreement that read something like "In ten years hence Neil Young will be forgotten". We signed in agreement (him) and in disagreement me. Years went by and this agreement lived in a harmonica case that I dragged everywhere I moved.

My brother just came to visit and when he asked to borrow a t-shirt, this is what I found to give him

I won.

Change change changes!

2009-10-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

I know I sound like a grump not liking fall, but if you had to deal with this

you wouldn't like it either. Fair is fair though and it is pretty incredible when it starts to peek. This is for my California friends that just don't get the changing colors of the trees. You can say "We do!" but you don't.

We were driving and I was trying to get some pictures. Most of it is through a rainy window

I am knitting but not really having fun

2009-10-08T07:54:00.000-07:00

I started a new sweater. I am sick of the lace I am knitting on. This is Alice Starmore's St. Brigid. I am changing it a bit because the original is an 80's sweater that comes down to the knees and has fringe. That would most likely make me look like Cousin It.

I know that I haven't been posting here very much lately but it is because I really have been spending more time cooking and blogging to "Bite Me New England. I will keep posting here as well but there isn't a whole lot happening right now. Unless you want to see the stupid colors of the trees because winter is coming and I will be living in the freezing cold again. No really the trees are beautiful.

Noooooooooooooooo!!!

2009-09-26T05:11:00.000-07:00

See that red thing in the distance? It is a tree. It is changing colors. Do you know what that means? It means having to rake for days. It means the pool closing down. It means having to schlep everything off the patio before it snows. It means putting away normal summer clothes and replacing it with the Michelin Tire Man clothes that make you look like a cream puff.

I never thought I would resent Fall.

My old friends are weird...

2009-09-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

Lee and Nikki came to visit. They are friends that I have had for a long long time. I have been missing them something terrible. I knew that they would appreciate the history around here. So, I took them to Minuteman State Park and showed them the whole Paul Revere thing.

We went to the "Bridge"

We rode the trail (in the car not on horse)

and we went to Sudbury to see the Wayside Inn. We also went to Walden Pond (well, we drove by it and went to the gift shop because we didn't feel like paying for parking).

But what we were all waiting for was unspoken

Saturday we went to Lizzy Borden's house in Fall River.

I took pictures of some of the stuff but not all of it.

(see the orb out the window...that isn't glare it is an orb from a ghost...shutup...it is!)

Look to the right of that picture...another ORB.

Look on the ceiling to the left of the picture.... UFO? I'm just sayin....

Lizzy's sewing machine...pssst...look at the right hand side of the wall....

and because Lee and Nikki are sorta sick puppies we had to go to the cemetery to see "Lizbeth" (NO, we didn't put the flowers there).

So that was fun.

Come visit and we will take you somewhere fun too.

A trip to Bar Harbor but I did hear banjo's playing

2009-09-14T11:00:00.003-07:00

We went with Cathy and Jeff to Bar Harbor. It was beautiful. We spent our time walking around the town and walking and driving around Acadia State Park.

We saw sand dollars

and seaweed

Crab...(ok, it WAS dead)

Ocean and trees

Took touristy pictures

Saw Thunder Hole

Views from Thunder Mountain

Flowers

A midget lighthouse that closed right when we got there so we couldn't climb up the 5 steps

A tourist shop filled with crystal that were really sparkly

Tall ships

and now for the banjo part (Cathy, turn away so you don't get reaggravated)

Meet our guide for 2 hours on a private boat cruise. His name is Winston. Read what the website had to say about him:

"Blessed with a healthy curiosity, Capt. Shaw has "never met a fact he wasn't interested in" according to his wife Joyce. And there is nothing he enjoys more than sharing the wealth of information he has collected over the past quarter century with visitors eager to truly "experience" all Acadia National Park and the Mount Desert Island area has to offer."

Sharing the information meant that he talked about himself (with his back turned to where we were going) and didn't shut up for 2 hours. He has done every job in the world as well as having lived in San Francisco. Imagine THAT. Problem was that he never told us about anything else about our surroundings (unless we asked which Cathy, bless her heart, kept trying to do). Luckily Jeff had his eye on the ocean so we didn't hit the 10 lobster traps that he was heading straight for.

I tried to get video but it wasn't easy to do it without being obvious. Here is a sample of what we listened to for 2 hours but I am sorry that I didn't get any of his stories about having to get his clearance from homeland security or the story of him passing out in Arizona, or his escapades in New Mexico, or being at Berkeley or you name it and he told us.

There was more (2 hours worth...) and every story turned into something about himself...

I didn't catch it here but I wanted to share. The worse part of this whole thing is that he was going about 5 miles an hour. It was just tedium. There wasn't anything to see and we just putted around. Problem was he charged us for the extra time it ran over because he talked so much and went so slow. Not to mention that he was 15 minutes late taking off because I was stupid enough to tell him that we moved to Massachusetts from the Bay area.

Argh...

So, on the way home I took a picture of a house that I saw on the way there that I loved. Check it out.

Ok, that is all...carry on.

Lets try this again

2009-09-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know I have the attention span of a flea, but I started a new lace project. I like this one so far. Hope it doesn't suffer the same fate as the last. Crazy thought that I ever finished the Rose of England project (of course I never blocked it).

This is Magickal earth shawl from the book "Gathering of Lace". I am so not a unicorn person (yeah, it has unicorns on it) but I do want to see if I can knit them.

So, what have I been doing lately? Obsessing on cooking and cooking Magickal (just put that so that there was a theme to this post and because I detest when people spell it that way so I am being sarcastic...except if I have to tell you I am being sarcastic it isn't so funny anymore.

I been hanging out on my other blog. Sorry, cooking has my interest more these days.

Driving in the neighborhood

2009-08-28T08:52:00.001-07:00

I just love the green and I want to remember it when the snow comes.

Oh and if you want to know where we were going it was to the CVS to get my antibiotic and Mucinex D for ANOTHER friggin sinus infection (California I want to come home). Mucinex D makes you kind of crazy in the head. No wonder it is behind the counter.

YOU DON'T KNOW ME...well maybe you do

2009-08-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

I have been knitting on this shawl for about 2 months. Granted it has been sporadic because I have been knitting for "Designer X" and I have stopped to do that, but for the most part I put a lot of time into this. It is the aeolian shawl. Yesteday in a midst of knitting, a huge attack of boredom came over me and about 15 rows from finishing I ripped it off the needles.

Uh oh...I kinda like it. I should have finished it.

Making the best of life

2009-08-19T14:46:00.002-07:00

Lobster and clam bakes are ok by me! This was my first.

Bad Bad Blogger

2009-08-13T14:10:00.000-07:00

I must apologize for not posting here very much anymore. I must admit that I have been spending more of my time over at Bite Me New England I just have not been that into knitting these days. Yes, I am knitting on some lace that I will post when it is done and I am also going to be knitting for "Ms Designer" but I just have not been real into it. My heart has been with canning and cooking and stuff like that.

So, I did go out into the rain to retrieve anything that still might be alive in my garden...

whoopie! four small roma tomatoes....

5 puny tomatillos...

a handful of fava beans

Best of all Mr UPS came and brought me the food processor that I won on Foodbuzz

I also got my electric gizmo to make Injera on.

Sorry I just don't have that much else to tell you...

Ready for more?

2009-07-28T05:38:00.000-07:00

So part II of sis visiting was New York. God, I love New York. This was my first trip there but I fell in love. I won't get into the food aspect of the city but I did do so on my blog Bite Me New England

There was so much to see. We started off with Grand Central Station

We walked on over to Rockefeller Center

The hotel room was nice. We stayed at the Radisson and the room was small but clean. It was a reasonable price but VERY noisy at night. City was digging from 12:00 until 4:00. Oh well.

I am a number 35 on a sleep number bed in case you were wondering.

Next day we were off to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

The view from the ferry was incredible

Ellis Island got to me. To think that my grandparents landed there put a personal perspective on it.

This is the hall that all the immigrants came to so that they could be processed into the system. When they came it was crowded and people were all speaking different languages

Through this window you can see the Statue of Liberty in the distance

Next day we were off to explore the city more. We went to "Ground Zero" but didn't stick around too long. I felt ghoulish even being there. It was a tourist attraction with a museum and something was really creepy about it. I felt sort of disrespectful being there.

We took the subway all over the place

We went to Times Square

We walked to Washington Square park

I made everyone walk to Bleecker street. I wanted to see what Simon and Garfunkel were talking about:

Fog's rollin' in off the East River bank
Like a shroud it covers Bleecker Street
Fills the alleys where men sleep
Hides the shepherd from the sheep

Voices leaking from a sad cafe
Smiling faces try to understand
I saw a shadow touch a shadow's hand
On Bleecker Street

A poet reads his crooked rhyme
Holy, holy is his sacrament
Thirty dollars pays your rent
On Bleecker Street

I heard a church bell softly chime
In a melody sustainin'
It's a long road to Canaan
On Bleecker Street
Bleecker Street

We walked and I took pictures

Walked through Central Park

Ate at Katz Deli

One of the coolest things we did was take a tour at the Tenement museum.

I think that this museum was my favorite.

We did go to the Guggenheim. There was a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit. It was amazing.

There was also the Empire State Building

and after walking and walking and looking and all of that....

There were a few beer stops in the 4 days we were there.

Vacation time

2009-07-27T13:53:00.000-07:00

My sis and my brother-in-law came into town and the vacation started with a trip to Shelburne Falls. This is one of my all time favorite places. We went for a walk over the bridge of flowers

The day was really perfect. On the way home we stopped at one of my favorite farms. Nubian goats and great cheese no less.

I got to pet my pals

I wanted to take one home but you know where talking about that gets me...

Next stop was an Indian trading post. Ok, politically incorrect but it is the Mohawk trail for gods sake.

I got into the photo op

My personal favorite

I guess they didn't want the threat of a law suit if the bear bit someone.

Oh and here is one that I couldn't resist.

This was the first part of the trip.

There was also a trek to the Grist Mill (another favorite)

and some drinking involved at the bar who invented the first cocktail

There was also Walden Pond where I really was excited to go to...

Got to see Thoreau's itsy bitsy one room "house"

and this was just part of the trip. Stay tuned for "Lucy, Ethel, Ricky and Fred go to New York"

Yes indeed, I do knit and this blog is named "Yarn!"

2009-07-16T10:52:00.001-07:00

I finally finished the Mandarin Jacket for my mother. The pattern was by Nadine Shapiro and the jacket is made entirely out of Koigu. I had the old Koigu stashed or else this jacket would not have gotten made. The new colors are garish and awful.

I have now moved on to do more lace. It is summer and it is humid. I don't really even feel like knitting. I need a job.

Saturday in the city and tall ships

2009-07-13T13:34:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we headed into the city with our neighbors Jeff, Cathy and Sydney. We drove and then took the T to see the tall ships. First off we stopped at Jeff's work site and got to see the W hotel in the middle of being built. It really was the highlight of the day but the Tall ships were cool too. The view from the top floor of the building was amazing.

It felt amazing to be in the sun and just walking around Boston. I love this city!!

The Tall Ships were cool

and this was my favorite boat of all. If you click on the photo to get a larger picture you can see all the detail. I just loved the dirty dishes.

Camping in Sabego

2009-07-07T06:10:00.000-07:00

Sebago Lake is the deepest and second largest lake in the U.S. state of Maine. I know this because I looked it up on Wikipedia. I thought you would like to know this. Our friends took us camping with them here. I had a blast and I decided to chronicle the trip with pictures that I took. You know that I am not a real wordy person so I took pictures to share our good time. Almost like you all were there with us or something.

Oh yeah, I am bitten up alive and I have poison ivy. Now my arm is swelling up. I just wanted to share because I know if I go to the doctor they will just give me that blank look like I am crazy for coming in for a "rash" and how the hell are THEY suppose to know what to do about it.

Ok on with the camping trip and enough about me.

First night of camping was a little wet. Um, like torrential shall we say.

Next day the sun was out and we were back in business

I was armed with the mosquito buster. If you are ever wondering if these work, I can tell you very simply....No.

Lots of beach sitting

and duck watching

Boat stuff and water skiing (no, not me but others)

and camp fires

Then there was the 4th of July!

We went into town for some good ole fireworks and to freeze our behinds off.

and then it was time to see the spectacular!

Our last night there it was perfectly clear and an almost full moon

and a big ole fire

and then the next day packing up... I left a little part of my heart back there.

Thanks Cathy and Jeff!!! So glad that we moved here and lucked out to have you as our neighbors and friends.

Happenings around the farm

2009-06-30T13:46:00.000-07:00

Crazy farm that is...

I thought I would give you a little update on the bat box since I know that you have been checkin in to see how it is going. There was a dove on the top of it the other night but to date no bats. I will keep you posted though.

I put up a birdhouse. I have a "thing" for birdhouses (waving to Annie although she doesn't read my blog because she thinks it is stupid)

I pretended like a bird would build a nest in it like it did in my neighbors. So the other day I pointed my camera inside (because I saw twigs) and this is what I saw

If you blow up the picture you can see a little white thing at the end of the twig. *I* am pretending that this is an egg. It is too! I know that a bird will fly out of there sooner or later and I will have the last laugh.

I am knitting. I swear I am

It is from Knitty. I forgot what it is called but I am knitting it.

Oh, Esther says hi!

They like me...they really LIKE me!

2009-06-24T06:33:00.000-07:00

I submitted 5 photos to an online magazine called The Kitchen The pictures were of my backyard living space. I won a book and a t-shirt. Check out the photos at: My Great Outdoors

Oh, please do not mention to them that the last photo in the series that I sent was a picture of poison ivy.

Thanks Ted!

2009-06-23T08:33:00.001-07:00

One of the hardest parts of leaving my home in California (besides all the obvious things like my kids and family and friends) is that I had to give up a lot of my plants. I had a keffir lime tree that I had for years and that I cherished. I cooked with the leaf and knew that it wouldn't be able to come with me to this cold climate. I gave the lime tree to my brother and I am ashamed that I haven't asked about how it is doing. Part of me doesn't want to know.

There were other plants that I loved and had sentimental value to me. I entrusted these to my friend Ted. I knew that Ted would be totally trustworthy to take care of all that I gave him. I must admit that I haven't thought back about my plants since I moved here. I have dwelled more on my kids, family and friends and how heartsick I sometimes feel that they are not within driving distance. I also miss going out to dinner or having them over for dinner. So, the plants take back seat. But, I can not tell you how my heart sang when I opened up an email from Ted (who I haven't corresponded with since I moved here) and the picture above was in his email. I knew that he would have my back where my plants were concerned.

Thanks Ted!

Knitting boredom

2009-06-16T05:54:00.000-07:00

So I decided to show some of the knitting I have been working on. I am bored to tears with all of it. I am considering really letting it go and taking up a new hobby. I swear. I think I have mastered it to a degree in which nothing is a challenge anymore. If you have something that you think would be challenging for me let me know.

I am working on a Koigu sweater for my mom. She loved it and *I* don't. Here are all the pieces sitting there and since the sun never comes out here in New England it is a crappy photo.

I must be into the 60's look because here is another multi color project that I have been working on. It is Barn Raising blanket.

And because I love my garden so much, here is another picture of it.

I planted strawberries in a Topsy Turvey to see what will happen

and last but not least my girl Esther

I have started a separate blog for cooking and food. It is called "Bite Me New England. Not sure if I will be able to keep two blogs going but my interest is more "Food!" than "Yarn!" these days.

Lamb and Bat boxes and jam...ohmy!

2009-06-07T07:41:00.000-07:00

This is my bat box. Our friend Jeff gave it to me at xmas time because I told him I always wanted one.

So one night we were sitting on our pals Cathy and Jeff's porch and just shootin the breeze.

Jeff came up with the idea of putting the bat box up on the light post across the street from the porch so we could watch for bats when we sat out there. Never thought it would happen but last night the plan was carried out.

What a guy. Can't tell you how excited I will be to see my first bat fly into that box.

Busy weekend. We drove to Leyden Glen Farm. We met Kristin Nicholas and her wonderful husband Mark and adorable daughter Julia. We got to meet the sheep, chickens and new kittens.

We also left there happy as could be with our whole lamb (no, not alive) and a dozen fresh eggs.

Our new freezer is finally starting to look like it belongs to us

On our way home from the farm we stopped for lunch at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant. THE most awesome gyro that I have EVER had. While we were there we picked up this locally handmade soda.

I also made some jam to go on this lamb we brought home. My neighbor Roxanne gave me Rhubarb from her garden so I made a recipe that I found at Gourmet online. It was Rhubarb Rosemary Jelly to be eaten on lamb.

How I spent my Memorial Day weekend

2009-05-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

We were determined to finish the vegetable garden. We went to the nursery two times and planted a LOT of stuff. I now have tons of stuff growing. Padron peppers for tapas and blackeyed peas which I love. Lots of heirloom tomatoes and collard greens and broccoli and on and on and on.

Also worked on the deck a little.

We worked on the front of the house too. Mr Yarn got out power tools and gave the hedges a haircut. Here is a before and after:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

I planted some marigolds just so I could see some color

Oh yeah and last but not least I planted a Topsy Turvy tomato plant "As seen on TV" (just because I am a sucker)

Ended the holiday with a BBQ at Cathy and Jeff's. Good holiday weekend.

Stuff

2009-05-19T05:31:00.000-07:00

Knitting a new sweater. It is called "Mandarin Jacket". Can't decide if I hate it or like it. I will finish it and most likely send it on to my mother who did like it.

In other news, the garden is coming along. I planted more stuff

I have learned my lesson to NOT plant before Memorial Day. I had to go outside last night and cover everything in plastic because it was going to frost. What a pain in the ass.

A great Bday

2009-05-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

Got surprised with a weekend trip for my birthday! Started off on Thur. and we ended up in Stonehedge Inn. Our room was beautiful and I even got to have a massage in the spa.

Dinner at this place is the best I have had since I have left California. This is a BIG statement but it is true.

On Friday we drove along the coast to Maine.

The beaches here are not my wonderful Pacific but oh well.

I know this looks fake but it really is a picture I took of a lighthouse that we stopped at

Once we got to Portland Maine the eating began! We were lead to J's Oysters for oysters and a beer. This place was really great for sitting around and eating lunch with all kinds of local characters.

Yum oysters (ok, maybe I had one too many beers and the picture got a little blurry)

To end the trip we went and got a donut at Tony's. My friend Andrew insisted that I needed to do this.

Not sure if my stomach agreed.

A great time and will surly go back!

Everything is just fine

2009-04-27T05:32:00.000-07:00

I finally finished the Yellow Collar Bohus sweater. Thank god. I have to say that it is pretty boring knitting this sweater. I am glad it is done. I really do knit knit knit still. I have been working on a rush job for a designer that I knit for. Been knitting like a fiend!

Spent the beautiful warm weekend working outside. We cleaned up around the pool and planted and bought stuff. I bought this hummingbird feeder that I fell in love with. Not sure if we will get hummingbirds in these parts of the woods (well maybe a few but not what we are used to) but we are going to try.

And last but not least we started the vegetable garden. I still need to buy plants and I am going to sprout some seeds (still too cool here to plant them) but I went ahead and planted brussel sprouts and onions. We also put a little fence around the garden so that the pooch won't step through it.

Life is good...

Spring?

2009-04-20T05:18:00.000-07:00

I think Spring is here. My bulbs are coming up and there is gardening going on. It hasn't gotten very warm but I CAN feel my hands and feet again.

I love my hyacinth

We started our vegetable garden. 3 cubic yards of dirt was dumped into our neighbors driveway (shhhhh, they won't care).

Our neighbors Jeff and Cathy are the best! They helped us shovel all of this into the beds. I must admit that "one of us" (cough) was a wimp when it came to shoveling. I raked and evened out the dirt in the beds though!

What a good feeling when it was done. Today we are going to look for a fence to put around it so that the critters can't get to it.

Oh and about knitting...
I started the "Barn Raising" blanket shown here but had to put it aside for a sweater that I am test knitting.

uh, ignore the cat and dog fur that I just noticed on the ottoman. I think my animals are molting for the summer.

Been sick but enough about me...

2009-04-11T09:31:00.001-07:00

Cat scans and sinus stuff and teeth stuff and codeine and LOTS of antibiotics. Ok, that is the short synopsis and enough about me.

I realized that Dakota aka Esther doesn't get enough attention on this blog so here is a current (as of today) picture of the freckle face girl. Here is another:

She is the best and I love her so much!

So, my sis wanted me to copy a sweater for her. This sweater is one that she has had for too many years and it is tattered and well worn. Her FAVORITE sweater in the whole world. So I did my best and bought cheap yarn (her version was a TJ Maxx special so cheap yarn was called for). Voila...I did my best with it. Knitted it over and over until I got it right. Glad it is done.

I went to the "Woolapalooza" and all I came home with is wool

2009-03-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

Yup, Mr Yarn and I headed over to the Woolapalooza on Saturday. It was sheep shearing time. The National Audubon Society sanctuary (Drumlin Farm Wildlife Sanctuary) a beautiful place right near our house and this was an event there.

So some old hippy guy was shearing the sheep with these big ole scissors. I must say that I felt like he was manhandling that poor sheep a bit and I felt sorry for the poor thing (the sheep not the man).

Next, we went to go see the Nubian goats. This is MY personal favorite. We got to see a baby. Awwww.

About 15 minutes before we got into the barn this cutie was born. Doesn't get much cuter than that (shhhh, I liked the Nubian goat better but don't tell anyone because goats aren't as cool as sheep in knitting circles, but you can make goat cheese out of their milk)

This sheep looked like someone sheared it with a Flowbee. I couldn't stop myself from yelling to it "Hey baldie, looks like you were sheared with kitchen scissors"

We watched the dog boss the sheep around. Those sheep sure knew that the dog meant business. He had them running one way, and then the other and all around and everywhere. I heard one sheep say to the other "Man this dog is a tyrant, I need a drink".

Just because I am a bit odd I took a picture of a chicken. I love chickens. I want to own chickens (Mr. Yarn said that is all good and fine with him but what the hell are we going to do with them in the winter...he won't let me waste electricity heating the coop).

Ok, so that was my Audubon experience and we even became members. Stay tuned for my bird watching adventures (that is after I take up Kayaking and juggling).

More fun with food and snow

2009-03-24T11:41:00.000-07:00

So as promised I took a picture of me playing with food.

Here I am wrapping potato strips around a cucumber. Not as easy as it looks. Do not try this in your own home.

Frying it up (have more than one cucumber on hand if you want to do these stupid baskets.

What this basket looks like after you have suffered through making them

NOT worth it. The little morsels that go inside were well worth it though.

The short ribs were fantastic and the meal was a success. Just don't bother making little baskets out of potato strips and you will be fine. Note to self: Don't play with your food...simple is best.

Oh, and while we were cooking and drinking wine on this lovely 50 degree SPRING day, Denis yelled over Neil Young on my iPod: "It is SNOWING". Yup...I thought he was messing with my head but Noooooo

Obsessed in the kitchen...

2009-03-20T14:25:00.000-07:00

I just got this cookbook and I want to make everything that is in it. So, I have really obsessed with the potato recipes. This is the one that I am going for first

It is little potato baskets that you make by slicing a potato on a Japanese slicer (makes long long threads) and you wrap the long thread around a cucumber. Then you fry it up in a fryer and slip it off the cucumber. You have a basket. The basket is filled with potato balls that are glazed in a homemade stock that has been reduced to nothing.

So, I made the stock and I fried up the little balls today. You have to fry them a second time but since we can't do this all at the last second you can fry them the first time and freeze them.

This is going to go with Short ribs with mushroom Jam (or something that sounds stupid like that in the recipe). We got that recipe at a cooking class that was given by the chef of a local restaurant. A dinner that we will test out on our neighbor Denis. He is game for anything (as long as there is good wine to go with it).

The new dog in town

2009-03-16T08:54:00.001-07:00

ZEPHYR. from Evan Lane on Vimeo.

Evan's girlfriend Lauren just got a new puppy. Evan shot this video.

Flowers and Spring and Whiskers on kittens

2009-03-09T10:16:00.001-07:00

Really, I was going to blog about how nice it was yesterday and how my bulbs are coming up. I was going to take a picture of the little green sprout coming out of the ground. I was going to say how it felt like spring was near and 50 degrees felt wonderful. But....

The flakes are the size of boulders.

I still love you California

2009-03-03T05:40:00.000-08:00

We are back from our trip to California. Besides the fact that I was sick as a dog with bronchitis and ended up in urgent care, the trip was great. I was on every medication known to man but still was back "home" and happy to be with Annie and Tim and we got to see Evan and my mom and sister and brother. We also got to have dinner with our pals. I miss them all more than words can describe.

So, I took pictures. Lots of em.

First off is my Granddogs

This is Dahlia. I got to meet her for the first time and she is the best. I wanted to sneak both of these guys home in my suitcase but Annie wouldn't let me.

This is Ricky

I didn't get a really good picture of him. He is also the cutest dog in the world (besides Esther).

We drove down 101 to L.A. and I got to see my perfect ocean. Not the fake ocean that I live near now. This is the REAL ocean.

Check out that sky.

How could I ever have taken this for granted? This is Marina Del Rey at its normal. I forgot how beautiful L.A. could be.

Ok, the traffic sucks in L.A. and this is at 9:30 in the morning on a Thursday.

On the way back to the Bay Area

Things I miss about Oakland

It is called DIVERSITY.

Ah yes, and these were sitting outside the Longs Drugstore in February

Back to Annie and Tim's and ready for party time

Birthday girl

Tim built Annie a birthday cake. She is the cupcake queen so this was appropriate

And just in time we made it back home before the storm hit. We are lucky to have the best neighbors in the whole world.

Back to reality

I am not dead even though it feels like I am

2009-02-18T11:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a picture of the snow melting. It is practically GONE. Um, still looks like it is there to me but everyone in the know seems to think that we are on a warming up trend. Yeah, I will believe it when I see it...

So, I have my 30th cold in a row. I never have gotten better since I moved here. I think I am better and then WHAM another cold. This time it is like an elephant is sitting on my chest. Wheeeee, how much fun flying to California on Saturday. That should be swell. Not to mention that it will probably rain there too despite all the "Oh, it is so hot here" comments I have gotten all winter.

So, here is something embarrassing that I will share with you...
I hate Valentines day. It is stupid and contrived and it has always bugged me. So on that special day Mr Yarn and I usually play it down. I ask for cheap chocolate made out nothing found in real life. You know the chemical type that you find at the drug store. The ones that all the pathetic men are buying at the last minute because they forgot what a "special" day this is. *I* usually buy Mr. Yarn a cheesy pair of boxer shorts that I buy at the drug store. The ones with hearts and stupid stuff on them. This year Mr. Yarn came home from a trip to India on Valentines day. He had beautiful flowers delivered to me in the morning (breaking protocol but they were beautiful) and when he came home he had bought me perfume that he knew I had wanted. He went all out. I kept to the routine of boxer shorts. However, this time I ordered them online because for some reason New England doesn't go for cheesy drug store boxer shorts the same way that California does. So, I pick what I can and have the damn things monogramed. They were suppose to read " I (heart) Janis" Cheesy enough, yes?

The morons took it upon themselves to bump it up a notch in case the Mr. has more than one Janis in his life

Ohhhh p.s. (I am writing this a couple of hours later)

It is snowing.

Knitting and such

2009-02-03T07:27:00.000-08:00

I am working on the Large Lace Collar Bohus. We are talking size 0 needles here. I did just finish another sweater that I am doing for a designer that I can't post. I swear that I finished it and blocked it this morning.

In other news...

Nikko is getting obese because she can't prowl outside in the snow. I think I better have her start doing the Wii Fit.

Dirty snow

2009-01-26T14:39:00.000-08:00

When I found out that I was moving somewhere that it snowed all the time I was like a little kid with dreams. Dreams of the white fluffy stuff that I could tromp in and throw and play in. Little did I know that over the season the snow never goes away and melts. It sits there and collects dirt. It collects salt. It is just something that you start to ignore as if it weren't there at all. The other day driving home I noticed that it is downright ugly.

just wanted you to know

2009-01-19T07:46:00.000-08:00

It is still winter here and has been snowing. Dear friends and family in California you can stop calling me to tell me how balmy and summer like it is there. I still love you though.

I never really posted the new colors of the den (it really isn't THAT red) and I know you wanted to see it mom.

I am thinking about painting the rest of the stuff that needs painting (I am waiting until spring to do it but HEY SPRING IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER!!!....shut up...it IS.

Any suggestions on colors?

Last but not least...
I was sent this picture from a time when I was not pale and ghost like and my hair actually was faded from the sun. It is amazing how pale and scary you become when you move to the tundra.

Bored

2009-01-14T08:07:00.001-08:00

I am finally done with Mr Yarn's sweater. It is an Alice Starmore's Na Craga. Took forever because I kept putting it down to do something else. When it got so cold here that I noticed that even Mr. Yarn was cold, I finished it.

The cat is bored.

The dog is bored.

I am bored out of my mind but I am not going out in 10 degrees.

Change (and playing with a new camera)

2009-01-08T08:45:00.001-08:00

If it doesn't work go to:

Change

4 Degrees of Cold

2009-01-01T08:28:00.000-08:00

Ok, I caught on to the dress code in New England. It is 4 degrees today and I finally think I got it down on how to keep warm. I have on a thermal shirt and a sweatshirt under that jacket. I also am wearing two pairs of long underwear (one didn't work). Nice look for the thighs and legs that now look like sausages. That isn't to mention the down jacket under the jacket and a damn face mask so that my nose doesn't fall off. Sad part is that I know it is going to get colder than this and I am all out of arsenal.

Not only that but who knew that snow actually blows around and pelts you in the face and makes you feel like you can't breathe...oh wait, I couldn't breathe because my nose was covered by the synthetic material.

Happy New Year

2008-12-31T13:41:00.000-08:00

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!!!!

2008-12-26T07:01:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-24T11:06:00.000-08:00

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!!!

2008-12-21T13:17:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-20T05:58:00.000-08:00

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

2008-12-17T05:44:00.002-08:00

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

2008-12-16T07:41:00.000-08:00

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!

2008-12-08T08:12:00.001-08:00

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...

2008-12-01T12:46:00.000-08:00

*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

2008-11-19T15:12:00.001-08:00

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!

2008-11-11T05:48:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-07T14:02:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-04T06:25:00.001-08:00

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

2008-11-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

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

2008-10-27T06:57:00.000-07:00

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.

Gearing up for Winter

2008-10-16T14:59:00.001-07:00

Trystero sock pattern by Cookie A:

Oh, and I found the downside of the "beautiful" turning colors of the trees in New England

Someone is going to have to rake up the leaves...

Cranberries are good for you!

2008-10-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

Because I feel obligated to chronicle the changing of seasons (I don't know why I feel that it is MY job to do this) here is another picture of the trees changing colors. Ok, enough.

Call me weird but I always wanted to see a Cranberry bog. We drove down near the cape (I forget where we were) and I got my chance at the Cranberry Harvest Festival. Mr Yarn made me drive a tractor ride around for 30 minutes (which really was longer than necessary to see what we were seeing).

I love cranberries.

Here is a great recipe for your thanksgiving table:

Every year as Thanksgiving approaches, fans ask NPR's Susan Stamberg for her mother-in-law's recipe for cranberry relish.

"It sounds terrible but tastes terrific," Stamberg says of the Pepto Bismol-pink dish.

Below is the cranberry relish recipe.

Mama Stamberg's Cranberry Relish

2 cups whole raw cranberries, washed

1 small onion

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons horseradish from a jar ("red is a bit milder than white")

Grind the raw berries and onion together. ("I use an old-fashioned meat grinder," says Stamberg. "I'm sure there's a setting on the food processor that will give you a chunky grind -- not a puree.")

Add everything else and mix.

Put in a plastic container and freeze.

Early Thanksgiving morning, move it from freezer to refrigerator compartment to thaw. ("It should still have some little icy slivers left.")

The relish will be thick, creamy, and shocking pink. ("OK, Pepto Bismol pink. It has a tangy taste that cuts through and perks up the turkey and gravy. It’s also good on next-day turkey sandwiches, and with roast beef.")

Makes 1 1/2 pints.

What am I doing today?

2008-10-10T08:59:00.001-07:00

Making chicken stock. We have friends coming over for dinner tomorrow and we are making Paella. I decided to make the stock for it.

I then decided to make some Ricotta cheese because I had all the ingredients and the rennet to make it. I need some for a three cheese focaccia that I am making to serve as an appetizer.

That is about it. I think I may be bored and I really need to find a job.

Knitting and the seasons

2008-10-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

I don't know what is happening to me but I just don't feel all that creative right now. I don't really feel like knitting and yet I have to be knitting. I have been working on socks for the most part. Problem is that you have to finish 2 of them for them to be useful.

I seem to have a hard time finishing anything lately. I did plant lots and lots and lots of bulbs yesterday. I hear that I won't know if it is Spring unless I see my tulips sprouting. Who am I to argue?

I have also been working on "Moroccan Nights" shawl. I love how it is coming out.

I took some pictures of the trees changing colors in our backyard. Same tree different days:

Oooooh....ahhhhhh. Come on, say it.

Last but not least...
Wood. We got a cord of wood for the winter. This isn't just for looks like it was in California. It is so we don't freeze our asses off.

Fall

2008-10-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

I know that I have been whining terribly about New England and being homesick etc. But it is Fall and the trees are changing. It is amazingly beautiful.

I still don't get the concept of coming from other places and taking vacation time to go "Leaf Peeping". I mean it IS beautiful. I see the beauty. I get it. I just don't get going out to find it and taking time off of work to do so. Yes, it IS beautiful and yes, I know I am mean.

Another sign that Fall is here is that we had to "close" the pool. Another new concept to me. It made me sad.

So, my friend Cathy came over and brought me concord grapes from her mothers garden. I proceeded to turn on music. Turn on the fake fire and the real fire.

Here is the fake fire:

The real one burned out and I was too lazy to restart it.

So, I started taking all the skins off the grapes and this is what the outcome was:

Took a long time to finish this process. Do you know what I got out of it? Really, this isn't a joke. I spent 2 hours making jam from all these grapes and this is what I got

One of them goes to Cathy for giving me the grapes. It is ok... I hate grape jam anyhow.

It is Fall and New England is beautiful.

Busy week

2008-09-24T14:18:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy week. Val came from California to visit and brought a bit of sunshine to Massachusetts. We kept really busy. Her visit started off with us planning a birthday dinner for Mr Yarn. We shopped and cooked for this meal for three days. It was a recipe out of "The French Laundry" cookbook. Thomas Keller is a sick puppy. It was a lesson in patience.

Our first course was a composed Lobster Salad that Val whipped up.

It was great.

Next came the short ribs (I am too tired to even explain this one) and potato pancakes which were a request from the birthday guy.

Oh yeah, this dish also had some kind of bone marrow morsel along with it. I won't even get into THAT.

During these three days we found time to go Apple Picking at Togas Farms. More about that later.

We also got to the Clam Shack in Ipswich and showed Val Cambridge.

Next day Val and I drove up to the Berkshires and we visited the Nubian Goats (my new best friends). We also stopped off at my new favorite yarn shop. It is called Metaphor Yarns and it is in Shelburne Falls. Love this place.

Monday we decided to do something with all the apples we picked (told you I would get back on the subject). We made apple butter.

I dropped Val off at Logan express this morning. I am homesick. I wanted to get on that plane with her and go back to my old house in Alameda. I miss my friends.

Socks

2008-09-16T06:12:00.000-07:00

Not much knitting going on. I am doing the Mystery Shawl 4 but don't feel like taking a picture of it until more of it is done. I did finish the socks above. I don't even remember what pattern they are. If I find out what they are I will put it up on Ravelry.

Evan's here visiting. I hate the fact that he has to go home today.

Say CHEEEEEESE!

2008-09-08T05:51:00.000-07:00

Rich and I left for a few days and headed for Vermont. I knew that I should have moved there instead of Massachusetts the minute we got there. What a beautiful place it is. Our goal was to hit up every cheese farm on the cheese trail. We followed the map and we actually did get to most of the places. We took a cooler with us and bought cheese from every dairy. We will have a Vermont cheese tasting as soon as we can find friends or even strangers that want to do it. Hmmm. Pretty depressing because if we were in the Bay Area we know LOTS of willing victims that would have been right on over.

The last dairy we went to was a Water Buffalo cheese and yogurt farm. I didn't bring my camera on this trip so I had to steal pictures to reenact some of the trip.

So, we were sitting around and Rich was reading a local paper and he says "hey do you have any interest in going to the Vermont Wool and Sheep festival?" He knew that he would get a reaction. We went, and I bought. It was a small show but it was fun and I got to pet some alpacas.

(this wasn't the actual alpaca I pet. It is a "likeness" to the one I pet. As I have mentioned I didn't bring my camera.)

We also went fishing on Lake Champlain. We limited out on trout (which we need to find friends that want to help us eat it) and
I caught the biggest fish. It was 12lbs. It was heavy and they MADE me reel it in even though I kept trying to give the fishing pole to Rich for him to reel it in because my hand was going numb. Glad that he didn't do it though because now I keep getting to torture him that I caught the biggest fish.

Um, this isn't MY fish exactly, but this is what it looked like (ok, I know it was stupid not to bring my CAMERA).

So, it was a great trip and I wish we didn't have to leave Vermont. Vermont is like California only it isn't. I just felt less homesick there.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we stayed at the Inn at Essex which is the Culinary Institute. Food was good. We didn't take any classes because there was nothing we really wanted to take. Not sure if I would go back here.

Just stuff

2008-08-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

Been trying to keep busy so that I don't go nuts this week. Ya know "houseguest" is still here. So, I decided to can a bunch more tomatoes so I would have them in the winter.

Also, we took "guest" to a Nubian Goat farm in the Berkshires and I bought goats milk to make cheese. So, I made cheese.

I have also been keeping busy with IIBS's (Impulsive Internet Buying Spree). I bought this yarn from Woolen Rabbit to make Moroccan Days/Arabian Nights Shawl. I also bought beads at some little bead shop near the house (yeah, I went out of the house).

Oh yeah, and there has been psycho knitting. That means I can't stick to one thing for more than 5 minutes. I am making "Mr. Yarn" the Na Craga Starmore sweater and at the same time I am making Butterfly socks.

For him:

For me:

And poor Esther looks like *I* feel

Notice she is by the front door waiting to make that great escape...

Not a good week

2008-08-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

Lets just say that I have been under some stress due to a guest that is here.
I am knitting a little bit but it makes it hard to concentrate when you feel like you are going to jump out of your skin.
So, I knit what I usually knit when I want to do something mindless

Socks. I can't get the color to come out so they look awful in the picture, but I loved the Classic Elite Sock yarn. This is what the color really looks like:

Wish me luck. 5 more days.

Life is too short

2008-08-12T14:12:00.001-07:00

Know what that is? That is the poetry in stitches sweater packed up and about to be buried somewhere that I will never have to look at it unless I clean that closet which by that time I will just throw it away. You know that life is too short and I want you all to remind me if I ever go to do a colorwork sweater again that I shouldn't do it because I hate doing it and I will just bail on the project anyhow.

Ok, I got that off my chest. I am going to go start somethin else now.

Fern

2008-08-10T15:31:00.001-07:00

"Fern" is done and blocked!

Some knitting going on

2008-08-08T09:12:00.003-07:00

I started the sweater that I have wanted to make for a long time. It is from Poetry in Stitches and is by Solveig Hisdal. I don't know what I am thinking by starting this sweater. If I didn't love it and didn't want to wear it I could never get through it. I hate doing color work of any kind.

At the same time, I am working on Elizabeth Zimmermens Garter Stitch blanket. Although most versions I have seen of it really don't appeal to me because I think they are ugly, I loved Brooklyn Tweeds version and shamelessly copied his exactly. I need it for winter. It is a boring knit but I will be glad I did it come winter.

Last but not least, I was excited because we finally ate in our dining room the other night with neighbors that I invited over for Paella. They brought the sangria and the board game Redneck for us to play after dinner.

More stuff

2008-08-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

I forgot to mention that my sister and brother in law are in town and we went to Sturbridge Village. It was way cooler than I thought it would be. We ended up spending the whole day there. I loved it.

Now for promised pictures (you know who you are that kept bugging me for them) of the kitchen

(if you click on it you can see a bigger picture of it mom)

and another of the new built in for the kitchen

I just noticed that I have the same chicken sitting on the counter as the one at Sturbridge. Only difference is the one on the counter is fake.

I wanna go home

2008-07-31T06:26:00.000-07:00

Why is there a picture of my foot covered in Calamine? It is to demonstrate that after 2 months of non stop bites and poison ivy, and no sleeping because I want to scratch my leg off, I have a good reason why I want to stop pretending that I live in Massachusetts and I want to come home to California. For some reason every bug and deadly plant in this state wants me to leave as well.

I am done for a while...

2008-07-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

Since this house is way too big for us (what was *I* thinking when we bought it????) I decided on dedicating the empty rooms to visitors. So, I went to an antique shop and I found room numbers from an old hotel (although the guy couldn't give me any good stories behind the numbers). We put them up last night:

Behind room 1848 is Guest room 2 (Guest room 1 is bigger and has its own bath. We charge more). I just painted this room a really pretty color that doesn't really show up in these pictures so you will all have to just come and visit. I give my blog readers a BIG discount.

Here you can see the color a little better

Room 1849 is the command station from which I am working out of to get all the other rooms done. It will be my art room when I drag my yarn up here from the basement.

Room 1850 is our room. We haven't done much with it but I like it anyhow.

We still have to get a flat screen TV and get rid of the clunker. If you are observant you can see that I have a trial swatch of color over by the balcony (that looks down into the den). Still trying to figure out the color for the den.

Room 1851 is the Guest room 1. My personal favorite.

Here is Guest Room 1's bathroom. I just painted it a mind numbing blue. I may have gone overboard.

And there you have the second floor of this house. I will do the kitchen pictures in a few days. It is all done and really came out perfect (at least perfect for me).

I am pooped.

My god son Larry

2008-07-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

This is Larry my god son. I made myself his god mother because I love him so much. He belongs to my pal Karo. She doesn't mind if I say he is my god son because she knows that beside her I love him the most in the whole world. Mr Yarn wouldn't let me have my own Lemur so I have to get all my fun by looking at pictures that Karo sends me.

Larry was hot so he had a popsicle. He has good taste because he chose an orange popsicle and not something stupid like cherry.

Larry rocks!

The indignity

2008-07-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

Esther went to the groomer for the first time today. When she came out she had two purple bows in her hair. I don't know if they noticed but she is a SAINT BERNARD not a poodle. I was expecting a bandanna or something. Poor girl. She muttered all the way home about how she didn't want to get out of the car because the neighbors might see her.

I think MY day is worse than hers though. It is about 90 degrees today and it is so humid it feels like you have to swim through the air just to move. I popped in my ipod and got to work on painting doors. I was so happy. Just as I got to the middle of the guest bathroom door I turned around and made a critical error. I bumped into the ladder that had the paint sitting on it. One gallon of white paint went flying around a bathroom that is no bigger than a closet. It got on everything including me. I cleaned up most of it but still have a nasty reminder.

So, this weekend we are pulling out the vanity and putting in a new one (we were going to do that anyhow). My sister and her husband are staying here next weekend and I want it done before they get here. Being me sucks right now.

Paint me stupid...

2008-07-17T12:24:00.000-07:00

I am on a huge painting spree. Everything in this house needs to be painted because the people that lived here before didn't really like to see anything around them. They painted everything so dark that I swear they must have been moles. So I am on a kick to lighten it up with some color and with some warmth. This is a terrible picture of the true color but if you saw it in person I swear you would love it (or maybe not but *I* do).

So since I am on a roll I decided to paint all the closet doors which were in dire need of some paint. As I moved on I thought "Well, if I am doing the closet doors I may as well do the doors too" This is not to mention that there are about 30 doors upstairs. So I paint my first door in the guest bedroom and I am feeling all smug. "Why should I hire a painter, I am doing a great job myself". I get off the ladder to admire my handywork and it hits me in the face.

The damn door jams aren't white. They are a nondescript dirty something or other. Now I have to paint all the door jams and windowsills too.

Just how *I* wanted to spend my first sweltering summer in Massachusetts.

Took a break

2008-07-14T06:50:00.000-07:00

We took a break Sunday and stopped working on the house. Had to get out of here for a while. So, we decided to go see if we could go find ourselves some fried clams. After all we are near the fried clam mecca. We headed to Ipswich to see for ourselves. It was between the Clam Shack and Woodman's. We got to the Clam Shack first so that is where we ended up eating. The line was out the door as we expected but it was well worth the wait. I have to say that I am now a fan of whole belly clams. We will hit up Woodman's next time. As a matter of fact I am sure sooner or later we will hit up all the clams shacks we can. Then again, if I could find some steamed clams I would be happy too. I have to admit that I am not a huge fan of all that is fried.

Summer

2008-07-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

Had nothing to do yesterday so I decided to go pick blueberries at a local farm. Tougas Farm was really cool and it was the first day of blueberry picking. So I grabbed my neighbor Cathy and off we went. Between the two of us we picked 15lbs. Plenty to make jam and maybe more. So I got up early and started on the task of making a Blueberry Buckle (never heard of a buckle till I moved here. Then again, I never was in the habit of going to a farm for the heck of it in the middle of the week because there was nothing better to do).

After an all day project of making buckle

Sorta scary when I noticed that the buckle blends into our new counters. Oh well, less to clean...

Then came the jam. Argh. I tripled the recipe which made it an hour of stirring. I was glad to be done.

Voila

For those of you that notice (waving to mom) the walls are getting tiled on Monday. I can't wait for this damn kitchen to be done.

I am starting to feel like "Little Home on the Prairie or is that Green Acres? Scooped a big ole frog out of the pool last night (realllly big frog) and saw my first dragonfly this morning. So there is diversity here.... wish I could get basil on a consistent basis.

Knitting sighting!

2008-07-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

I finished the Drops Alpaca baby sweater for a Laurel's niece Hannah. This sweater was pretty fun to knit until I had to join the tiny sleeve into the body. I would make this sweater again.

Firefly

2008-07-07T05:11:00.000-07:00

It was the most amazing thing I have seen in a long time. Just when I was getting so homesick I could hardly stand it, Rich called me outside to see something. There in the backyard were blinking lights that looked like magical little fairies. My first firefly sighting. I felt like I was 5 years old again. It was beautiful. I had to stop myself from running into the house to get a jar to catch them.

It is June 24th

2008-06-24T14:43:00.000-07:00

Check out the little white things all over the place and no they aren't rocks.
That's all I'm sayin...

How I spent my summer vacation

2008-06-23T08:16:00.001-07:00

Yup it is raining again. I have never seen it rain this hard. The thundering and lightening are weird enough and loud enough that I can't hear myself think. To make it even more fun it is raining little rocks. Yup, hail. This all would be sorta cool if it weren't for the fact that I am sweating. It is humid. It is wet. It is summer for gods sake!

Ok, enough of my whining.

A picture of a picture of a picture

2008-06-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

Last time Evan was at our house in Alameda, a hummingbird got inside the house and couldn't get out. It flew over to our leaded glass window and Evan got a shot of it. I had the picture blown up and printed on canvas. I will now have it hanging in my den and it will remind me of Evan and our old house. You can see the Oakland hills in the picture which I love.

Stuff

2008-06-13T13:31:00.000-07:00

Dakota (aka Esther [because my friend Julie refuses to call her anything else so I put that for her]) turned 7 months old a couple of days ago. First time I have ever known the actual birthday of a pet. Her birthday is November 9th. I can't believe how fast she is growing and her dog classes are going great. She is really smart (for a Saint Bernard that is). She has really mellowed out and she obeys commands most of the time (if you happen to have a piece of hotdog in your hand).

On the home front...

All the cabinets are done and we are waiting to get our stove and hood and to get the counter tops put in. Oh yeah, we also have to paint and tile the backsplash. I can't wait for all of this to be done because washing dishes in a bathroom sort of disgusts me. Call me crazy.

Fern

2008-06-11T11:03:00.000-07:00

Yes indeedy, I have been knitting. This is Alice Starmore's "Fern". I love the yarn and I love the sweater so far. I don't love knitting on it in 100 degree weather but it will be worth it when it is 20 below.

I never knew why people in other parts of the country talked about the weather all the time. That is I didn't understand it until I moved away from California. It has become an obsession. Everything revolves around it. I suppose that I will get used to it but in the meantime it freaks me out. For instance, last night lightening (and yes it was still in the 80's) hit a tree on our street and we were without electricity all night. This meant that there was NO air. I started to panic when I tried to go downstairs and realized that it was pitch black and I couldn't see. Me being stubborn me felt my way around the room until I was trapped and really didn't know where I was. Mr Yarn thought it was pretty funny that I was in the office and was groping around banging on the printer. I got downstairs and slept on the couch.

I really don't want to turn into one of those "what about this weather we are having" type of people. I have to refrain from getting stuck with that nasty habit.

Um, how is the weather where you are?

Kitchen remodel Part I

2008-06-09T14:23:00.000-07:00

I thought I was sorta unpacked and done moving the kitchen stuff in. We try not to think about the millions of boxes in the basement and garage and the pool room. So, having to start all over isn't much fun. Here is what it is looking like:

Not good.

Here is the beginning of the new kitchen

another shot

If I don't die from the stress and the heat I will keep you posted as this progresses. Oh yeah, I also will take pictures of the new sweaters I am working on because despite the sweltering heat, I am knitting.

I beat the heat wave

2008-06-05T07:42:00.001-07:00

Got up first thing this morning and finished painting the room. I guess rolling on paint is the easy part because it only took me a couple of hours.

Someone that bet that I wouldn't get my ass off the couch to paint the room while Mr Yarn was in India owes me some money.

Yarn!

Knitting is good

Um, yeah it is me posting

Still around and still knitting baby stuff!

More knitting for sweetpea

I finished it!

Totems

Blanket for my sweetpea

What do I have in common with this woman?

Yes I am alive and have a new sweater

White Xmas

Brrrrr!

St. Brigid is done!

WHAT DID *I* DO TODAY???!!!!

Annie and Tim and Halloween in New England

Yeah, I am still here...

Neil Young and my Brother

Change change changes!

I am knitting but not really having fun

Noooooooooooooooo!!!

My old friends are weird...

A trip to Bar Harbor but I did hear banjo's playing

Lets try this again

Driving in the neighborhood

YOU DON'T KNOW ME...well maybe you do

Making the best of life

Bad Bad Blogger

Ready for more?

Vacation time

Yes indeed, I do knit and this blog is named "Yarn!"

Saturday in the city and tall ships

Camping in Sabego

Happenings around the farm

They like me...they really LIKE me!

Thanks Ted!

Knitting boredom

Lamb and Bat boxes and jam...ohmy!

How I spent my Memorial Day weekend

Stuff

A great Bday

Everything is just fine

Spring?

Been sick but enough about me...

I went to the "Woolapalooza" and all I came home with is wool

More fun with food and snow

Obsessed in the kitchen...

The new dog in town

Flowers and Spring and Whiskers on kittens

I still love you California

I am not dead even though it feels like I am

Knitting and such

Dirty snow

just wanted you to know

Bored

Change (and playing with a new camera)

4 Degrees of Cold

Happy New Year

Oh Jules!!!!

FIRE!!! or Happy Xmas Eve

MAKE IT STOP!!!

Its a storm!

White Xmas

Ice Storm

Let it snow!

They call it sleet but...

More stuff

So cute!

Ham and knitting

Halloween

Tagged

Cooking and sheep

Gearing up for Winter

Cranberries are good for you!

What am I doing today?

Knitting and the seasons

Fall

Busy week

Socks

Say CHEEEEEESE!

Just stuff

WHAT DID I DO TODAY???!!!!