the decorating starts...

Hope everyone had a FABULOUS day yesterday! It was wonderful here. We ate, spent time with each other, took a nap and brought down ALL the Christmas decorations out of the attic.

That is what the girls and I are doing ALL day today. I'm sure we won't get it all done today and we will have to do some tomorrow. My little helpers are helping with cleaning the table tops in the living room right now. So far so good. No sound of glass breaking. :)

I couldn't resist putting the Christmas music out there for you to listen hear while checking in on this crazy group. And of course I'll have to keep my eye out for silly pics to share with you. I love the one above. I'm sure that is exactly how I will be feeling about the lights by the time the day is over. :) At least the outside lights are up. Glenn did the annual "get on the roof and try to kill yourself putting lights on" ordeal Wednesday. Everything went well and there were no trips to the ER. Our moose is outside standing by his pond of blue lights. There will be more added to that. It looks like a drought took place and we can't have little ole' moose standing by a puddle. I'll take pics as soon as I finish everything because there will be more added after this weekend.

Anyhoo, I'm getting the cue that the tables are done and someone is digging in the bins. Must be off! Have a great weekend!

(great progress on the sweater! I just have to sew it together and add the hood! yipee!)

Toodle Noodles!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just stopping in to wish everyone a very Happy & Wonderful Thanksgiving!!!

Very low key this year with just Glenn, myself and the kids. I love the no fuss days. It's especially great for when that nap feeling creeps up on you and all one has to do is go curl up with some comfy blankies and sleep off the food you just stuffed yourself with. Awesome!

Things we are thankful for:

Our family

Our home

Great food to eat

and most of all

for living in the greatest country in the world (for now).

And of course... yarn. :)

Slowing down...

Another weekend marked off the calendar. There was plenty of raking going on again, some baking, reading with a little one and a few artistic creations that just had to be made by two little people. And of course, some yarn time. Busy, but wonderful. It was the right kind of busy. Nothing that left you pulling your hair out. Aren't those days wonderful.

I was able to get the front and back finished on Glenn's sweater. I sat in the amongst the quietness this morning and started on a sleeve. I'm liking the charcoal color that Glenn picked out to go with the gray. It's funny to watch Glenn come by every once in a while to check on the progress made and hear his "it's looking good" comments. There was even a little jig to go along with the comments yesterday. Hilarious! Who knew you could so excited over having a sweater made for you.

The girls and I made some bread Saturday and you must try the recipe. Thanks Sherry for sharing your Mom's recipe on your blog. We ended up with 4 loaves and only 1/2 of one is left. It is that good. Glenn asked if we were going to make more today. I might be able to squeeze it into my busy schedule. :) And yes Sherry, I kept telling everyone to get out of the kitchen and quit eating the bread all day Sunday. This is all I was able to save. Sherry's recipe is definitely a keeper around here. Yummo!!! It's great with soup!

Well, off to enjoy another cup of hot chocolate and then get to the bread. There are no lessons for the week and we are just winging it, enjoying the week as it comes. Wednesday will be our prep day for Thanksgiving. I let the girls choose the desert this year. Instead of pie, we are having blueberry crisp. Can't go wrong with that. Just don't smile after eating it. Blue teeth galore! :)

The radio station in town that plays non-stop Christmas songs for the season has already started. I just think that is wrong. We haven't even cut the turkey yet for Pete sake. I'm making the girls wait until Friday morning to turn it on. Then they can listen as long as they want.

Hope everyone has a wonderful few days before Thanksgiving. I'm not letting anything stress me out this year. Just take it as it comes, as I am sitting and enjoying some wonderful yarn time here and there. Life is good!

A Christmas sweater...

Well, the sweater made it to my sister. I know you were probably wondering what was going on with the green project that I never shared pics on. I was going to send it out last week but forgot the little label that goes inside. So then I waited till Monday to mail things off. You know every little person needs a wonderful first Christmas outfit to wear. So now my little niece will be all decked out. It's looking like she will arrive on Dec. 3rd if she doesn't make a move herself. The doctor doesn't want to take any chances with my sisters gestational diabetes. Two more weeks...

Last night I started Glenn's sweater. I'm loving this bulky yarn. It's going pretty fast. So hopefully this project won't take as long as the others. You know I just jinxed myself. The pic isn't the best with the lighting being awful here today. Overcast and gray. Another storm is moving in to dump lots of snow in the mountains. We might have a dusting down here in the valley over the weekend. The girls are doing their "snow dance". And it's a long dance. I guess that means I better get moving to the store to get everything for Thanksgiving.

I just have to decide what to make for desert. No one wants pie. So maybe a cobbler or something. That's always a winner around here. The girls helped with a peach cobbler last night and there's maybe one helping left. So...

Hope everyone has a great weekend. You know what I will be doing. Like that's hard to figure out. Just making sure everyone is prepared for the Ice Age, whenever that happens. Doing my part you know. :)

Toodles!!!

One down, one to go...

The headband is finished. I just have to add the button. Not sure which one to choose from the collection I have. I might go with another wood button like the one I used on the sweater. Flashy wouldn't be good. Of course the girls have placed their orders for a few of their own. They will have to wait. I'm not putting Glenn's sweater off any longer. And they have LOTS of head warmer gear to keep them toasty. Trust me. They would be ready for the Ice Age.

I started the neck warmer last night and

I'm loving it! The yarn is sooooo soft and the pattern is easy. (I'm just glad I found it 50% off at the LYS.) I ended up using the size needle the pattern called for but with a longer cable, thus using the "magic loop" method. I don't have the 16" circular the pattern calls for. One day. I'm making a list you know. :) The cast on for this one was new for me (cable cast on). I ended up using a crochet hook as suggested in the tip and it made the cast on much easier. So we will see if it gets finished today. Cross your fingers. Glenn is waiting so patiently. :)

It's done!

I finished the sweater Sunday afternoon. And yes I was dancing around, but not enough to hurt myself. :) It's so cozy and warm! It has to be my favorite new sweater. I didn't get any pics of wearing it yet. Not that good of a photographer. Maybe on one of Glenn's days off I'll get one. One good thing about today is that I will be wearing this gem all day today since there will be trips outside the house. It's that warm! What a great day it is going to be!

So with the sweater being done and all, I had to move on to something else. After a wee little chat with Glenn, who is very understanding I must add, two quick projects were bumped up on the project list since they are quick to finish. I really love my Glenn. Did I ever mention that before? Wasn't sure.

So anyhoo, I started yesterday the Calorimetry pattern that I have had for a couple of years now. I adjusted it just a bit because of the yarn I used. I finished it last night and I love it. I just need to add the button and it will be ready to wear. Then the second little project will be a neck warmer to go along with the headband. Because like Glenn said, "you can't have one without the other". So that will be started later today. I'm using the same yarn that I used for the headband because one should have coordinating pieces in their wardrobe you know. :) Here is a link to a pic of the neck warmer to get an idea of what it will look like. Hopefully this will only be a day or two project and then on to Glenn's hoodie. Cross your fingers.

There was one bit of excitement running around here yesterday that I must share because I'm just so pleased as punch with myself. I don't like tooting my own horn, but I was doing a dance all around the house over this one.

Back at the beginning of May I do believe, the shower arm broke off in the wall of the shower in my bathroom. Yes, another plumbing problem right after we had just fixed the "LEAK". Glenn and I thought we can fix that ourselves instead of paying someone nearly $200 to come out for a few minutes to remedy the problem. So we looked and looked for the "right tool" to do the job. No luck. Nothing work, after buying about 5 different things that were suppose to be "sure fixes". Yeah, right.

So, Glenn and I were talking this past weekend about how we really need to fix that thing because hauling ourselves downstairs to the 3rd bathroom every time we want to shower is way past getting old. Well, I had a dream night before last where my Dad was telling me that I had to look online for the fix. But he wasn't telling me what I needed to fix. Anyhoo, when I got online yesterday morning to search for "lesson info" I diverted away and went to go look for shower arm fixes. I found ONE that wasn't the same as what we had already tried. I had to go get a #10 flat file from the hardware store, tap the wide end into the pipe with a hammer and then turn it with vice grip pliers. Well, IT WORKED!!!!!!! For the love of Pete!! $5 and two minutes of work and we were back in business!!! At first when I felt the pipe turn I thought "OH Crumbs!!!" I just broke the copper pipe in the wall. But with the flashlight and a little more turning realized that the broke piece was actually coming out of the copper pipe! I'm sure the neighbors heard me squeal. I started jigging and then realized that I was still standing on the step stool and that wasn't so smart. So I got off of that and continued in my room. Glenn called from work before leaving and I made him tell me how freakin' awesome I am before I told him what I had done. I heard laughter in the background from his co-workers. :) Oh you don't know how wonderful it was to shower in my own bathroom last night. I was singing my little "I love my shower" song as Glenn was asking if I really needed to do that. And I don't normally sing in the shower. At least we didn't hear any dogs in the neighborhood singing along. A good sign I guess.

Glenn can now go to work and tell the guys how he "made" me fix something else in the house. Apparently there is a "girl" who works with Glenn who thinks it is absolutely awful how Glenn makes me do "fix it" jobs around the house. All the guys who know me got a kick out of that because of a conversation one day at break time. All the other guys told her "you obviously don't know Kar because Glenn is not going to make her do something she doesn't want to do". Please keep in mind that this "girl" thinks that guys are scum and they have no place in the world. Yeah, she needs help. She obviously forgot how it took a guy's help to get her into this world. Anyhoo...

So all is FANTABULOUS in this little slice of Idaho today. I'll be wearing my new sweater. I'll be starting a second project today. And the shower is FIXED!!!! What else could a person want in the world? Not much. For now. I'll let you know if there is anything else. :)

Hope you have a fantabulous day also!

Moving on up to the hood...

Things are moving right along with the sweater. Did I mention that I have ants in my pants about getting it done so I can wear it? Wasn't sure. Maybe this weekend. Cross your fingers, toes, eyes, etc. so that it happens. I've got other things to start. Let's not even begin to talk about "the project list". That has been going through some rearranging since I started on Ravelry (karsbliss)at the beginning of the month. Quite sad I tell you. Problems have risen up concerning "the project list" since seeing all the wonderful projects out in the yarny world of ours. I'm going to have to squeeze in a little head warmer thingy for me before I conquer Glenn's sweater. (That man puts up with alot I tell you.) I have had this pattern printed out for a VERY long time and never did anything with it. Well, now I'm going to use it. Ravelry has stirred up a whole new "mess" of trouble for me. At least it's nothing illegal.

Anyhoo, after one person had a bit of a melt down yesterday with Math, we are staying away from that and sticking with lessons that "shouldn't" bring out that kind of episode about again. Cross your fingers on that one also. At least there will be an outing today to the bowling alley to hang out with some friends. Then a stop to the store for some necessities and a treat maybe.

We have a slight chance for some snow tonight. And I must say that I'm hoping for it. Nothing like seeing the white stuff float to the ground while you are curled up with a comfy, cozy blanket while enjoying some yarn action and the kids just hanging out around you. Could things be any better? Not in my book. Well, maybe add some hot chocolate and a hot yummy casserole and it's perfect. I'm feeling a finished project update within the next few days, so do check back.

Have a FAB weekend! Hope you all stay comfy cozy in your neck of the woods. :)

I had to stop in quick to show how the sweater is coming along. I can't wait for it to be completely finished.

I tried it on long enough to check out the length of the sleeve. I can't wait for it to be finished. I LOVE it! So tonight there will be another bit of fast knitting a few hours before its time to hit the sack. It's so comfy, cozy!

Last week I finally got onto Ravelry, after much coaxing from a couple of the girls at the LYS. My word! That place is addicting! I was loading up everything I could when I had a free moment or two. I even made Glenn get off the computer once this weekend so that I could load up all my needle sizes before I forgot. I'm crazy. I'm just trying to make sure I'm not buying duplicates you know.

So anyway, I loaded up all the little projects that will be tackled in the near future. There was some shuffling around that was done with the order of things. Glenn's sweater is still next (which is now the Santa Cruz hoodie from Knit 2 Together) and then the ballerina slippers that the girls want. But then there were will be another beauty made just for me. The Pimlico Shrug. You have got to go take a peek at this. Gorgeous! I loooove the color that Knitterella used for her shrug. I will be surely knitting as fast as I can just so I can get to this project. I might need physical therapy afterwards though! LOL!!!

Another busy day around these parts. I started with getting up early and doing my yoga routine on the Wii Fit plus. Who would have known that you can feel relaxed and stretched after doing all of that. I also realized that I'm old and rickety and yoga is helping. Who knew that stuff is good for you. At least dinner is done and that is one less thing on my list today. I need to dig my pig snout out for dinner. We had German Rouladen, purple cabbage and spaetzle last night and it was GOOOOD!!! It was torture though smelling the rouladen cook in the crock pot all day yesterday. Alot of drooling going on. It has to be on the top 5 list of Fav's around here. I was calling Mom a couple of times just to make sure I wasn't forgetting something here and there. Don't want to mess that up!

Hope everyone had a FAB weekend! The week seems to be shaping up well around here. Hope it's good for you too! Cool weather, yummy food planned, comfy blankies, working out and KNITTING!!! Great plan of attack if you ask me.

Leaf Hunters

A little leaf hunting was done after a mad dash to the store to beat the rain.

Only the perfect little leaves could be picked. Very discriminating hunters they are.

There were a few discussions before the final picks. Was it the right color? Too big, too small? Things had to be just right.

While all of that was going on, there were some yummy Chocolate Chip Pumpkin cookies being made. They are yummy! I made these a little bigger than the recipe called for (with my baking scoop). They are wonderful just the same! They look like muffin tops and oh so soft. You should try them out.

Then after much coaxing and trying, the real leaves did not work out for our craft. We will have to plan way ahead next time with the particular leaves that were picked. They will have to be pressed to lay completely flat on the jars. Oh well, they girls didn't give up though. They got the tissue paper out, traced some of the real leaves and when all was said on done, TaDa!!! I think they look great this way also! The girls want to try them out today. I'm sure they will look FAB! I think scarecrows are on the list today. The girls love doing crafts without me having to help with every step. Very rewarding you know. I like just sitting back watching while working on something of my own.

I finished the main body of the sweater last night and will be moving on to the sleeves sometime today. Whenever I get to a certain point with a project I start to get "ants in the pants" for it to be done. Can't wait to wear it!

Anyhoo, hoping for a quiet, crafty weekend around here. I just love not having big plans for the weekend when the weather is cool, damp and breezy. Nothing better that sitting at home and enjoying "stuff".

I have to share one tidbit with you about what I did to Glenn yesterday morning. Poor guy. You really have to wonder about what he puts up with around here at times. We were both lying in bed still. I was half asleep and didn't know that he was lying there awake. I was unaware that is was near time for him to get up for work. He must have been holding his arm up or something and dropped it down. I, still half asleep, noticed the dead weight drop and thought for some reason he wasn't breathing. Didn't feel his chest move, didn't hear any breathing. So I jumped up and started to shake his head and then smacked him a couple of times on the cheek telling him to "Breath!". Of course he jumps up yelling "what the H*** is wrong with you!?". I told him that I thought he stopped breathing and it scared me, so I tried to get him to start breathing again. Just to let you know, that is not the way to wake your husband up in the morning! Yeah, go ahead and laugh!!! We are busting a gut about it now. But something tells me that my turn is coming.

I keep telling you that the people in this house are "just not right".

Have a great weekend!

Toodles!!!!

November! Already!!

Is it me, or is the calendar just flying by way too fast? It could be just a little slower for my liking. I'm just saying. :)

Halloween was fun for all. Glenn went out with the girls while I stayed home passing out candy. I thought I would get some knitting in. Yeah, right! What was I thinking? Obviously I wasn't! :) The trick or treating report was that Brenna didn't slow down one bit and skipped the entire time she was out. She was out cold with a half hour of getting changed into pj's. She was one tired punkin'. And it was wonderful to see the kids of the neighborhood getting bigger and to see what they dressed up as this year. Always fun!

I do have one gripe about the candy situation though. I can't believe how much old candy I found in the girls bags!! Left overs from Valentines & Easter for pete sake!!! Really people! Can we not be so freakin' cheap! Unbelievable!!! Okay, I'm done.

I started my sweater last Thursday and have made some great progress on it. I just started my 3rd skein on it last night. I'm so liking how it is turning out! I can't not say enough about the Knitting Pure & Simple patterns. So easy! And no information is left out! If anyone is interested, you can get them here online. You won't be disappointed. I'll show more pics of how things are going next time.

I'm really liking they yarn I picked out for Glenn's sweaters. Too bad it took so long to get here. Oh well, it's here now and all wound up and waiting for me to finish my sweater. I've never knit with bulky yarn before, so I'm anxious to get to it. Both are wonderful to the touch but I must say that the rusty colored one is the fav right now. It's Knit Picks Swish Bulky and it is soft! So far Glenn is liking the colors. He keeps asking how my sweater is coming along. I assume he would like me to hurry along with mine. LOL!!!!

I finally got my tail outside on Monday to take the Halloween decorations out of the front yard. Afterwards I realized that there was some major leaf raking to be done. So being that dinner was in the crock pot, the girls and I went on to tackle that. The girls are still amazed at the amount of leaves we get in our yard being we only have one pine tree on our property. They forget that we are surrounded by trees thanks to the neighbors and the wind helps with the sharing. I don't mind raking. Kind of peaceful in a weird sort of way. Try not to understand that one!

After the raking was done, I spied the tree most despised by this family. We call it the "pea pod" tree. Don't know the official name, don't care. We just can't stand it. The pods are just annoying to no end, and let's not even start with the eensy weensy leaves it drops. Takes forever to get those things raked so they don't kill the grass. Every year we try to put a hex on the thing in hopes that it will go away one day. I think old age is getting to it first though. Our neighbors have this weird thing about getting "different trees". They have done a mighty fine job with that goal.

At one point I had to stop and just watch the girls play with one of the spider webs that wasn't worth keeping for next year. After a bit of running through the leaves and dragging the thing across the yard, it looked like a nasty ole' rat's tail. It is amazing at how much fun one has with the simplest of things. You really have to shake your head around here when seeing things such as this. Cracks me up!! I don't even ask anymore. Just sit along the sidelines and snicker.

Sunday found us wondering around the bookstore where everyone got something new to enjoy. Glenn picked out a photo mag, Brenna has a new My Little Pony book, and Em decided on 1001 Unbelievable Facts. Some things you have to wonder about in that book. I was shaking my head a few times.

I for one could not resist this little gem. You know that my "soon to arrive" niece will have a few of these little beauties made for her the next few years. We must keep her looking FAB! Just go to the link and click on view more images to see what I'm talking about. Those images are just a teensy little sample of what is waiting patiently to be made! I love Susan's patterns! They are so easy, fun, cute and no info left out of the pattern! (you know that is a big thing for me lately.) I'm hoping for her other books for Christmas. You have to go check out all her free patterns. AWESOME!!! My project list just never works itself down. Oh well, things could be worse! Like not knowing how to make these wonderful things! Oh the horror!!!

Before I forget, the recipe for Taco Soup. It's from a Mr. Food cookbook I've had for a long time. Easy, fast recipes. And they taste FAB! But I've changed it around a wee bit for our liking.

Taco Soup

1 lb. hamb

1 large onion, chopped

2 cans, chili beans, undrained

1 cup frozen corn

1 can tomato soup

1 can diced tomatoes

1 small can of green chiles (I drain and rinse them for the girls)

1 pkg. of taco seasoning mix

1 pkg. of Ranch dressing powder mix

2 cans chicken broth

*brown the hamburger and onion in a big pot until the meat is done, on medium heat. Drain. Then add all the other ingredients and simmer together until it's all hot and bubbly. Stir often so things don't stick to the bottom of the pot.

*when finished, serve with tortilla chips, sharp cheddar, sour cream, etc. And enjoy!

Well, I must get going for the day. I've got a birthday boy to call. Can't believe Brendon is 22 today. I miss my little cuddle bug. Even Glenn has his moments were he wishes Brendon would be small again. We would never hear the end of it if we "forgot" him, being his birthday is the day after our anniversary. I always tell him that he was the best gift I could have ever got for my 1st anniversary.

So, yes. Yesterday was 23 years for Glenn and I. Very good years I must say. Some easy, some tough. But at least I had Glenn by my side for all of them. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I wouldn't let him get anything "big" for a gift. I'm not a jewelry girl, so none of that. Usually we don't worry about gifts because we get things throughout the year. But he wanted to get something we could both use and enjoy. So I finally agreed on a Wii Fit plus. It doesn't cost anything compared to what he was originally thinking of buying (I nearly had a coronary!). So today I will see how this contraption works. Hopefully it won't tell me I'm so out of shape that I should just start digging a hole. :) I just have to get the girls off of it now. Can you believe they work up early to try the thing out! At least they are moving and not sitting on their tails all day.

Anyhoo, I hope you all have a FAB day! It's shaping up to be pretty good in these parts.

Toodles!!!!