Three weeks ago, Lisa bought some shiny yarn (Blue Heron Rayon Metallic – Aubergine) and wasn’t sure what she was going to do with it. At the same time, I was researching what kind or a wrap I might knit for a wedding in March. I ran across a Jeanie in BHRM on ravelry.com, and thought of the yarn Lisa bought and decided that would be perfect! She may have been a little miffed that I found a use for her dream yarn before she did, but she’s super cool and doesn’t hold a grudge so…..

A couple of weeks ago, I bought this shiny yarn:

Blue Heron Rayon Metallic
Deep Space Silver

and I wound it into a shiny ball:

and then I began to knit the Jeanie wrap from knitty.com by Keri Williams

Dropping the stitches the first time was a little scarey, but I did it, and now I’m almost 40% through with the body. I must disclaim that I’m getting distracted from my shiny Jeanie with other projects, but I’m going to finish it and am not bored with it yet. Here’s a picture of it right after the first couple of drops:


But, I’m like a bird, getting distracted by the next shiny thing. One might almost think I have an actual nest to line and feather. Next, I want to knit these socks, no, knit that sweater, no……these fingerless gloves!

what will be next? …we shall see!

Ps. Happy B-day, A!

I had an Eclipse party last weekend – the girls got together to go to a hockey game and then watch Eclipse – only we never actually got around to watching Eclipse…..here’s how that happens.
Saturday, I stamped tags for party favors:

Then went to the grocery store, etc. before the party. I never really got around to eating lunch, so when Bonita showed up early and helped me finish getting ready I was deeply grateful. And that was before she fixed me the best roast beef sandwich I’ve ever had (fresh tomato, lettuce, spicey mustard, sour dough bread, deli roast beef). It only tasted that good in part because I was starving. It was really very good on its own.
Everyone else arrived and we hung out and waited for Lisa. When I decided to check my phone to see if she’d texted, we realized she wasn’t coming and left for Hockey. We went to the Stars v. Monsters hockey game. It was really nice of Lake Erie to wear their Twilight outfits (red/black) in honor of my party, but it would have been more nice if they’d let the Stars win (3-1). boo!
We went back to my casa and took the required group photo(s). This is take 3 – black dogs are hard to photograph.

The really cool sign was a Christmas present from my dad – Thanks, dad!!!! Mom, thanks for putting up with his Sat. morning garage saling so I could have this cool sign.

Then, we stood around talking about everything and nothing while Michelle made yummy grilled cheese sandwiches. I learned the valuable lesson that you should not try to make a healthy grilled cheese sandwich. If you’re going to bother, you should go all the way. butter, white bread, full fat slabs of cheddar cheese. It was divine.
We finally popped in a movie and since it was late, settled on Vampire Sucks. It was actually pretty funny if you know to manage your own expectations.

I finished assembling the tomato soup (get it – like blood) and let it simmer for the required amount of time. The group voted that you could not overBasil something, so I put a ton of basil in, but it turned out really well. Bonita’s friend Mary gave me the recipe on Yule.
Even the non-tomato soup likers (including me) liked it.
Here’s the recipe as I made it:
3 lbs. fresh tomatoes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbs sea salt
2 tsp pepper
2 tbs butter
1 qt veggie stock (I used low salt)
1 bunch of fresh basil leaves
1 tube of basil (update: I would use the 3 cups of fresh basil leaves the recipe calls for rather than the tube after I researched what was in a tube of herbs. ick!)
1 onion chopped (courtesy of Meghan whose eyes were already watering from allergies, thanks, Meghan!)
1/4 tube of garlic (update: 5 cloves of garlic chopped)
2 tbsp. fresh thyme
1 28 oz can tomatoes
rub fresh tomatoes with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt, pepper
roast at 400 (on a pizza pan) until soft (30 min.)
in a soup pot, heat the butter and remaining olive oil, throw in the onion and saute until transparentish…toss in the garlic and saute for one hot minute. add roasted tomatoes with all oil from pan, stock, basil, thyme, canned tomatoes.
Turn on low and simmer for an hour.
Serve the tomato broth to guests.
Realize much later that night that you were supposed to put it in the blender and puree. Do that the next day and then put it back in the tupperware. I actually think I liked the broth better than the whole thing mashed up.

After VS was over, Michelle and Karen took off, Meghan went to bed (she had to get up early Sunday). Bonita and I stayed up to watch Forever Knight on DVD. I really liked this show and am in the process of finishing Season 1. It was ahead of its time. Check it out.

The moral of the story is that you should always take your knitting wherever you go, because you never know when you might meet a lovely new person with a delicious soup recipe and the back of a knitting pattern is a great place for her to jot it down.


Ps. Happy B-day, mom!

It is the time of Cedar Fever here in Central Texas. Austinites are shooting sprays up their noses, putting drops in their eyes, taking antihistamines in maximum doses and still wishing they lived in bubbles. I am sufferring with cedar allergies worse this year than any I can remember and have considered whether scratching my eyes out would actually somehow feel better. My nose has been stopped up for a week and counting. And yes, before you ask, I’ve tried a netti pot.

However, today, I have something to smile about. Some kind of large animal (possibly a coyote or two) dug into our large trash can and got out a bag and dispersed the trash evenly all over the back porch. TH got home from work and after noticing the trash, he went to let Sydney out of her crate. A smell hit him as he was walking down the hall to the laundry room. Evidently, the room smelled so bad that he couldn’t stand to be in it. He took her out and shut the door behind him. He picked up all the trash and bathed the dog because she smelled that bad. To him, the room still smelled so bad that he couldn’t stand to go in there and get her food. It seems she worked herself into a tizzy while the animal was on the back porch very close to her. She sweated and seems to have thrown up a bit and who knows what all. I went in the room to clean her cage and had to smile to myself. I can’t smell a thing. really. I expected to be gagging or at least uncomfortable. nope. not bad at all. I can tell there is a smell. that’s it. So, as I scrubbed her cage from top to bottom, I had to kind of giggle to myself. Who am I kidding. I was actually half inside a dog crate scrubbing and laughing to myself. Cedar fever has a positive side after all.