Merry Christmas!

Harold and I had great fun filling our stockings at dollarama this year. The puppies got stockings too, check out the little paw prints from Auntie El. They are so cute! The were hung up above the fireplace but we moved them down for the picture and so the roo roos could have a sniff and play with their new toys.


Dollarama just happened to have puppy Santa outfits! These stayed on for about two minutes!Mindy Moo is really not a fan of wearing anything...so we just took her solo picture with the coat draped over her...hahaha....she looks so happy don't you think!Myah is a gentle girl...and always willing to sit for some attention and a photo shoot :-) She probably would have left her coat on... but they're actually a size too big...that's what you get for $1.25...I wasn't being picky! And a side view of Miss MyahMyah and Mindy say "Merry Christmas" and we all hope you had a very merry day :-)

Baby it's cold outside!

I'm not sure why I can't make my text normal and not underlined...grrrrr

¨Did this work...nope
how about this....still nope....I don't know why there isn't an underline toggle button up top on blogger...this has happened to me before...very irritating...
I'll change the font...nope...bold.....hmmm bold AND underlined....

Oh well, underlined it is

OK...so I searched help..and apparently I have to edit the html code...sheesh...like I'm qualified...how the heck did this happen in the first place!?!?!?!

Ok, so hopefully this will work...you can laugh at my mad computer skills later. Aha! It looks like I fixed some of it.... back to my irregularly scheduled blog post.



I was looking around on Ravelry for some simple but cool hat patterns in bulky or worsted weight wool for my Auntie El, and I came across this pattern Twisted (rav link...it doesn't come up in the search for some reason). Not simple...definitely not something I would suggest for someone just learning to knit,..but I had to have it. Harold always mentions how I don't have a hat, but I've knit him two. So I figured...it's bulky weight, it's small, it shouldn't take too long, and I casted on.
Here's my new hat. I love it!




I threw in a belly picture for those who are wondering how chubby I'm getting. 15 weeks and 1 day

So, for about the last three months I've been freezing cold...then over the past two days I've become seriously HOT!!! hot hot hot!
I expected the hot...I never expected the cold.... I gotta say...the cold was easier to deal with...hahaha....
I don't care....I'm just so happy to be pregnant!

I got my first order of diapers in the mail today!!!


I got 4 packs (so 24 total) newborn sized prefold diapers
3 newborn size super brite covers (the little white ones)
3 small size super brite covers (yellow, green, blue)
1 medium size super brite cover (blue)
3 snappi fasteners

I was so excited about the diapers that I forgot that I need some special laundry soap for cloth diapers..... I guess the regular stuff can leave residue or something.

I can't wait to start knitting woolie covers :-) I hope I get some knitting mojo...because I have a whole lot of knitting to do.... (and a pretty big stash of yarn...all except the right wool for diaper covers of course...tee hee)

Woo hoo baby!

Well, it seems I've been away for a very long time. Truth is 3 days after my last post I found out I was pregnant on my hubby's birthday. He said it was the best birthday present he'd ever received! ...but I also then sort of hibernated for the next 3 months just willing it to go by quickly.
We've had some struggles along the way, and so it's been a scary ride so far, but everything looks great now. I'm at that point of "OK to tell" woo hoo.
Here's a picture of our perfect little one. I'm so curious to know if we're having a he or a she!
I'm so crazy. I've already started researching cloth diapers like made and even placed an order for some a week ago...they should arrive on Wednesday and I'm so impatient that I want them now!!!! Even though we won't need them until late May or early June.
So, I've got a couple of projects that I must finish before I can start knitting baby things....and it's driving me crazy..haha...but it's great motivation to actually complete things! Then I'm going to try to make some diaper cover soaker thingies...I've never made any before, so I hope I can do it...then there are blankets and sweaters and baby socks and hats and etc etc etc....tee hee My ravelry queue is going to be ridiculous!

One warm puppy

I finally knit something. It's one of the fastest projects ever...but it still took me forever to knit. I find since we got the puppies there has not been much time for anything else. I do very little knitting, not much stamping, ha...not much laundry or housecleaning either (unless you count cleaning up after puppies).
So, I made sweet Mindy a coat for winter...she hates it! yes...hates it...not much thanks there, but I imagine when she's freezing her little heiny off outside this winter she'll like it a lot more :-)

Poor Myah probably won't get a coat like this. The pattern was nice enough, clear and easy to knit, quick even, but I'm just not very good at repeating patterns. Even making mittens is a struggle for me because I'm so bored by the end of anything. No matter what it is...I'm bored and uninterested by the time I'm 1/2 done. With the exception of the Cross Country Chullo I knit a couple of winters ago. That thing had me humming the whole way...I was shocked...then again, I was listening to Twilight the whole time I knit it, and I spend about 4 hours in a chair everynight doing nothing but listening and knitting. I don't think the puppies would let me do that!

Anyways...I suppose I'd better find another pattern to make for Myah...but I think I'll wait awhile...I'm done with puppy coats for a while....see....as I write this...I'm not even actually done..I have one leg opening to pick up stitches on and knit a garter stitch border, and then ends to weave in...but I'm writing this post anyways as if I'm already finished (so bored...ha!)

Anyways, I've given myself permission to not worry about it when I don't blog for months....I've come to terms with being a periodic blogger....I probably always will be....why stress about it. I think about blogging quite a bit..but just never seem to get around to writing the posts...
I'm still reading though...and love to see what everyone else is up to :-)

Oh My Puppies!

We got puppies! I can't believe it, after years of wanting a puppy Harold actually agreed. So we went puppy shopping...and guess what we came home with. Not just one puppy but two puppies! Harold the big softy just couldn't leave one of these little girls behind.

This first picture is Mindy. She's a quiet girl, so very sweet, and a bit timid.
This is Myah, she is a firecracker....nuff said!
Well, I have much more to update you on....mostly puppy stuff...but right now...I've got to go help hubby set up our new tent in the back yard to check it out!

It's been a pretty good...tiring but good...day :-)

Glad to read you had a great time Jennifer :-) We'll chat soon! I was so glad to see you posted...I had to write one myself ;p

Debbie

Walk for MS

Every year a number of people in my family to the Walk for Multiple Sclerosis. A number of people in my family HAVE multiple sclerosis (MS). When I was in grad school my project was related to MS.
This year my 11 year old niece Brooklynn is going to do the walk for the first time with my sister Kim.

If anyone would like to sponsor Brooklynn and Kim here is a link to their sponsor page.

Every little bit counts and I know how much it would encourage them to be able to raise a little bit more money than they expected. (Plus, I made my sister...who's not all that "into" computers go onto the website and figure out how to set herself up so I could sponsor her online.... I think she had trouble...so ummmm please...help me reward her a little bit... LOL)

My sweetums got me flowers!

My sweetums brought home daffodils for me the other day. I managed to snap a picture (or 20 :-)
He's brought me flowers once before...and I was so darned shocked I forgot to take a picture...I've been pretty sad about that ever since....I'm not much for drying flowers, I don't like how the end up dying twice, once in the vase because I dry them, then again because they get so covered in dust that you eventually have to toss them anyways....I prefer to just enjoy them fully while they're here, and completely beautiful...I like to take a picture, because to me drying just doesn't keep all the beauty....but then again...I'm a weird one sometimes so maybe that's just me.

I finally have a finished object to show. I've been floating around between multiple WIPs one of them is even crochet! Gasp! I know...I haven't felt like crocheting in years...but now I'm crocheting a wee bit, and even taught a friend who I thought might take to that better than knitting....she did...and now she is totally excited about amigurumi! Excellent!
It's this little guy that I finished up. He's been knit for a couple of months, it was just the sewing that I had to finish, honestly it took about 20 minutes this morning...how lazy am I!
He's cute though, I'm happy with him. The pattern is available on Ravelry it's called "Flower Power Elephants" I too lazy to link it....but I'm sure you'll find it in a search. It's well written IMO and simple to follow, quick to knit, but a little fiddly.... This guy is pretty tiny (which I wanted) 7 1/2 inched from snout to rump and about 3 1/2 inches tall.
This little guy needs a name, he's currently just called "neon elephant for baby Jared"Jared is the 4 month old baby boy of a friend of mine who I hold dear to my heart (both parents and baby Jared)..hmmmm should that have been "whom I hold" great....I don't even have a good grasp on my own native language...what can ya do!

I'm making this!

http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2006/02/second-helpingsturkey-barley-soup.html

I love making turkey barley soup...but I never...never make it exactly the same way twice...and I've always just sort of thrown things in till it tastes good :-)
So...I thought I'd check online for a recipe and see if I could improve...or at least get more consistent results...yummmm..... This is sooooooo close to what I already do...except for the poultry seasoning...my soup has randon herbs and spices thrown in...
oh and I've never cooked any of the veggies before except for the onion...

I'll let you know how it turns out :-D

Guide me oh leather master

OK. So I went for coffee with friend tonight...then we went to Giant Tiger, and to Talize (I'd never been to Talize before). At Giant tiger I think I totally scored...H and I still don't have curtains on the dining room patio door...so our main living area is sort of like living in a fish bowl when it gets dark, and there is a walking path that runs just behind our fence...it's a little creepy. We were given some money for Christmas and I wanted to buy curtains, but seriously curtains are EXPENSIVE! Guess what I found at the GT boutique....curtains...for about 1/2 the price of the ones I was about to give in and order from Sears. They're not exactly what I was looking for..the have a back tab top, instead of grommets, and they're ivory faux suede instead of white something or other....but they're so close and I think they'll work great!

So then at Talize I looked for some leather. I can't believe how much I had to choose from! It's incredible! I picked up too large mens coats. They are both in great shape, I will almost be sad to cut them up. The first is suede, the second is leather. Have a look.......lot's of leather yardage in these two!
I love LOVE the colour and the intersting seams in this one, it's hard to see in the picture, but there are neato little seam lines running vertically on the front...and on the back.
See, lot's o' yardage....
And now...if I actually get over the fear of cutting and sewing leather, maybe I'll make that book cover...... oh leather master..... teach me your ways :-) Actually....can I just mail you the leather...and you can put it together for me :-P

Help me decide (assuming I'll get as far as casting on)

In case you feel like voting....I think I need another big warm cozy sweater...since I have one that fits this description...and I wear it at home constantly...maybe it needs a buddy to take the pressure off of it.

Soooooo..I did a quick browse through for patterns for a big comfy sweater/jacket type wintery warm thing to knit. They are all ravelry links... Let me know if you take a look..which are your favs.

My criteria are: fat yarn, big needles, fast knit, cozy, collar or something cozy right up to the neck, comfortable so not too form fitting, but not so sloppy that I have to take it off to do things (know what I mean). warm, so even the ones with a tie front I'd probably alter so that they closed all the way down.

thick-knit-car-coat

109-19-jacket-in-symphony

petra

sedum

one-more-notch

77-vine-lace-top-down-cardigan

Hmmmm, I'm also open to any other suggestions you might have :-)

MMM comfort soup and knitting

I have been doing some knitting...steadily actually on one thing!
The first picture here is my swatch..so you can actually see the stitch pattern...it's very simple but makes a nice little detail.
And this is how much I've got done. There is a long way to go...but lot's of relaxing over the holidays gave me a pretty good start. It's to be a tank top...a rather big one with room for expansion...I'm thinking ahead here, it's for some reason encouraging to me to be knitting this.
Pattern: Anjou sleeveless top (ravelry link).
This morning/afternoon I made a nice warm comforting soup. We got one of those spiral hams on sale after Christmas, so I saved the bone and some of the meat. I've never made a ham soup before (never have I bought one of those hams before either). I did some internet searching and found a recipe to loosely follow.... but I changed most of it based on my likes and availability of ingredients.Potatoes, green onions, carrots.... some spices (celery salt because I had no celery)Quite a bit of left over ham....I like lot's of meat in soups.It's a very thick soup...lot's of stuff in it...just the way I like it. I actually made it a cream soup...but the picture of that just looked like, well, cream, so I showed this one...before making it creamy....
Yumm!
I'm even eating the carrots instead of picking them out ...hehe