MMMMMMMM, Margaritas

We have guests in town from England this week so posting will continue to be non-existant until Monday. Knitting is fairly non-existant as well, as all of our time has been spent on food and beverage consumption. And a bit of shopping.

They brought Hubster an inflatable moose head. Picture on Monday.

whee!

I have pretty pink toes. With sparkly flowers on the big toes! I treated myself to a pedicure today. I am now the most relaxed human on the face of the earth.

Since I skipped SnB on Sunday and instead went gallivanting around with the Bean, I'm going to pop up to my fave yarn store today since it's close to Lowe's/Home Depot Expo, etc. (OK, not really close but on the same side of the highway so I'm justifying.) Hopefully, I will find some curtains at Expo. At some point, curtain manufacturers decided that everyone wants pocket or tab curtains instead of old-fashioned pleated curtains. We have a bay window. We need regular ole curtains. Just some nice, sandy-colored, semi-sheer curtains. You'd think they would have them everywhere. Nope.

Tomorrow, our friends arrive from England. I only have about two inches completed on his scarf (oops). Nevermind. It's too hot to wear it right now anyway! I can't wait for the orgy of food and wine that will proceed from this weekend. I met them through a combined culinary endeavor, so it's a guarantee that we'll eat some fairly fabulous food and drink some fairly fabulous wine and beer. Tomorrow, I'm making homeade pizza. Now I just have to plan tonight's meal for us. I'm thinking pasta with Tomato Vodka Cream sauce sounds pretty darn good.

Sleep good

Spent most of yesterday sleeping. It's been quite a long time since I've done anything like that (being in bed from the flu most definitely does not count). Didn't even knit, just laid there.

Today, my Stitch n Bitch group meets. We only meet twice a month and I haven't been in 6 weeks and I'm still wondering if I'm going to muster up the energy to go. We have guests arriving from London on Wednesday meaning I need to clean the house and straighten up the guest room. And, it's not quite fair to the Hubster to leave him with Bean this afternoon when I spent most of yesterday unconcious ;> We'll see how it goes. I may pop down for a bit and then come home.

Just in case you were wondering...

... no ill befell Bean, despite the removal of my Sacred Floss Line of Life.

I will have to unknit back to a good spot in the FBS. Therefore, the FBS is on hold until May because there is no way in hell I'm going to have the time or energy to concentrate until after the houseguests have come and gone next week.

Yesterday, I was reading Phyl's blog in which she posts about the new Kim Hargreaves web site. I went to the site and was doing the happy dance because all of her new patterns are in Rowan Denim and Rowan Summer Tweed, two yarns that I have quite alot of in the stash. Then, I realized that she doesn't sell the patterns. Only kits. I don't want a kit. I have the yarn. I'm trying to find something to knit with the damn yarn and this is not going to do it. We used to cut up our sweaters that way when I was in college. If I were still in college, I'd go for it if I had the hundred bucks it would take for the yarn. Twenty years later*, not so much. I was thinking more along the lines of Harmony or Glimmer. And for Denim: Joy . But no, you can't get just the patterns.

Then I looked a bit more. You are supposed to order a kit based on your bust size, but none of the patterns offer schematics or any details at all. Soooooo, I'm supposed to pony up around $90US for a kit, not including shipping, on the basis of a pretty picture. Sorry, Kim. Lovely patterns but no can do. Publish a book and I'll buy it.

Amusing Beanecdote of the day: Bean likes old school punk rock and 70s disco. We were listening to the Violent Femmes yesterday when I had a sudden heart attack realizing what the next verse was going to be on "Add It Up" (Why can't I get just one fsck?). Thank goodness for CD fast forward. Must remember to make compilation CDs of songs in which the references to sex and drugs are incomprehensible.

Floss This

About a week ago, we started flossing the Bean's teeth. She's getting into the swing of things. Yesterday, she came up to me with a rather long length of floss and asked to floss my teeth. I sat down and let her fool around for a few minutes. But I was puzzled at where she'd gotten the floss. I knew it wasn't from the trash can. I'd just emptied the trash. I figured I needed to put the floss where she couldn't get at it because, while she had figured out how to use the cutter correctly this time, there might be a next time in which we wouldn't be so lucky.


And then I had a horrific thought.



A project.



Using a lifeline.



Of dental floss.



Yes, Bean removed the lifeline from my Flower Basket Shawl and "flossed" my teeth with it.

Funny, no?


Especially since there is a big, honking wierd spot that started about 10 rows back.

Sigh.

Monday Monday

We boarded the dog over the weekend to avoid any potential birthday party problems including lots of children and hyper dogs and the chocolate cake issue. She had a nice bath and we thought it would be more relaxing for all of us. Apparently not. The dog is now having excessive stress-related digestive issues. We have added $25 to the cost of the weekend for a prescription to help her and I spent the past hour cleaning my kitchen. Enough said. Poor Molly-dog and poor me. She just ate a bowl of chicken and rice, so that should help her tummy.

I did leave the house to make a grocery run and go to the vet to pick up the meds for the dog. While at the vet's, I spotted some really cute shoes. And I really needed some cute shoes for tonight. And the store was on the way home...


Interchageable flowers! Whee!

Fantasy World

Birthday parties: 5
Knitting: 0

OK, maybe it's not quite that bad. I am in the 6th repeat of the Flower Basket Shawl. But we've had 5 birthday parties in the last 8 days including Bean's 3rd (!) birthday party. 8 of her friends showed along with various parents and siblings. It was a nice party. Perfect, perfect weather in the 70s with a nice breeze and glorious sun a blue skies with a few nice fluffy clouds. I couldn't have ordered a better day from a catalog. Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and "bonilla" ice cream was devoured by all.

I have promised myself that tomorrow, after the grocery run, I'm going to put in Singin in the Rain (Bean's favorite movie) and finish the 6th repeat of the Flower Basket Shawl. Tonight, I'm going to cast on for a scarf that I need to have finished by the 27th. Oh, and I need to have most of a sock finished by next Saturday. In an ideal (fantasy) world, I'll finish the FBS and have it blocked for wearing on Friday; have most of a sock finished for Saturday; and finish the scarf for next Wednesday. I've always had a rich fantasy life...

Let the frogging begin

Ran into a little problem with the Flower Basket Shawl. UPDATE: Problem fixed.

Today, the Bean and I plan to sit in bed and watch movies and be slothful. Bean also plans to give everyone in the house a checkup with her "stefoscope". She's discovered where we keep the bandaids and, how to open the bandaids. I have seven bandaids on various "boo-boos" right now. I have managed to convince her that Molly the Razor-Blade-Eating* Dog would not be real happy with bandaids on her paws.

*Yes, my goat dog once consumed the better part of a safety razor including most of the blade. She's fine. She has a steel-lined digestive system. Vet knows us by name.

Wild and Woolly!

What a week! I have been meaning to post for something like two weeks now and have been too busy to think. Today alone I have:
Taken the Bean to get her glasses adjusted
Taken her for a haircut
Been to the party store to pick up Minnie Mouse party supplies for her 3rd birthday party this weekend
Been to the grocery store
Finished stuffing, sealing, and stamping the last of 500 envelopes for a charity to-do next week (because I don't seem to have enough to do on my own so I need to add volunteer work with a 24-hour turnaround time to the mix)

Last weekend we had three parties. Friday at the Tompson's, Saturday at the Thompson's, and Sunday at the Thomson's. The all-t(h)om(p)son weekend!

Yes, there was knitting:



Bias Stole
2 sk Fiesta Yarns La Boheme
Tutti Fruitti colorway




Clapotis 2: Electric Boogaloo
Artyarns Royal Silk

The jury is still out on Clap2. Right now it's Clap On the needles but it may be Clap Off before the week is out. I love the yarn but am unsure that Clapotis is really the right pattern. The reason?


Flower Basket Shawl
Fall 2004 Interweave Knits
Debbie Bliss Cathay in Fushcia

I'm loving this pattern and wondering how it would look in the Artyarns Royal Silk. Would the variegation of the yarn overwhelm the pattern? Would the pattern not do the yarn justice?

Opinions gratefully accepted.

Overall, I don't think the Royal Silk would make a good garment for me. Too fragile. I'd be waiting for "occasions" to wear it rather than really using it. A shawl would get alot more use. It's getting to be perfect shawl weather in Texas. Once it starts heating up, everyone jacks up their air conditioners to the point where you could hang meat. I take a sweater or shawl everywhere in the summer.

So, lots of knitting last week. Lots of running around.

And something lovely came in the mail as well! A few weeks ago, Julia had a caption contest on her blog. I won and received my prize in the mail last weekend!


Lovely Rowan Magpie!!!

Many thanks to Julia for a fun contest and such a luscious prize!

Things you don't want to hear and a recipe

Things You Don't Want To Hear:

Uttered by my husband while he was sweeping the kitchen floor: "Some of this dust has legs."

Ewwwwwww.

Recipe (cause the above makes you hungry - admit it)

Zucchini Boats.=

I don't remember the original name - Stuffed Zucchini or something like that but one time after my mother had made this something like three times in two weeks there was a comic where one character was complaining about his mother's cooking and referred to "Zucchini Boats".

You'll need a 13x9 inch pyrex dish
5 medium to small zucchini
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1 cup frozen corn
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 onion, diced and sauteed until golden and limp
2 t oregano
1/2 t cayenne
1 t cumin
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350F

Cook the ground beef. When the beef is about halfway done, season with salt and pepper and add oregano, cumin and cayenne. Cook until beef is done all the way through. Add onions, tomatoes and tomato sauce and cook on medium-low for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the zukes in half and use a spoon to scoop out the middles. Add zucchini guts to the beef. Arrange zucchini halves in glass casserole dish.

Add rice and corn to beef and cook for another 10 minutes.

Pour beef mixture over zuccchini halves. Don't worry about actually "stuffing" each individual zucchini - just pour the beef stuff over the top of all of it. Top with cheese and bake for 45 minutes. You may need to turn up the heatto 400F at the end to make sure the cheese is all melted and bubbly.

Mmmmm.