Growth

Summer check-in. We have worked, planted, traveled, knit, baked, read, laughed, cried, and more. Doodle is saying so many words now I can't possibly list them all. His favorite word is blue.

I have 4 projects that are in my knitting bag. My main priority is a gift so no details. It is a big project and I have a fast approaching deadline. Second up is Insouciant. I still have a bit to do and the short sleeves. Then a shawl called Rushing Tide. It was a project from a class that had the best information about fixing mistakes in lace! And the fourth item is also a gift. It is sad how long it has taken me. Summer time is not a productive knitting time for me. I spend 99% of my time outside. This picture is from a bit ago, I am almost half way through the next lace section. Just trucking along slowly...

So that 99% outside has all been for good. The garden is not looking too shabby. Some of the raspberries, strawberries, snap peas, and lettuce that I have already harvested. Carrots, potatoes, collard, blueberries, aparagus, cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, peppers, onions, pumpkins, and watermelons are all going strong. I cannot wait until we have everything ripe at the same time.

We have traveled north to my stomping grounds twice now. I love getting to visit with my gram and mom. Doodle does pretty good in the car even though it is a long drive. We have enjoyed pork chops, butterscotch malts, huckleberry smoothies, the best chai in the world at the Leaf & Bean, time for all of us at a really fun Children's Museum, and a much needed couple weekends of fun. And nothing beats the view of the Big Sky Mountains as you drive east on I-90 to Bozeman.

The 'hood is having a party this weekend. We decided that a ice cream social was in order. I am hoping to make maple ginger (the best recipe from Kate Zuckerman's The Sweet Life) and a double batch of milk chocolate (from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home) with mini marshmallows. We asked everyone to bring a pint and then we will have everything else. Candy, cookies, sprinkles, caramel, chocolate, everything! I am so excited!

Alan even made me these sweet acrylic cone stands for displaying treats. Totally DIY. $1.56 for a piece of acrylic and just drill holes to fit the cones. Then a heat gun to warm up and bend the edges. Sweet!

Spring flingin'

Hello! Hope you are all as busy as we have been here at the Morris Ranch. We have been flingin' dirt.

The plan for the backyard was expanded upon and we decided to put down pavers for a 10ftX10ft patio. We had to dig way down in the back so that we could add the right amount of gravel and sand to put the pavers on. We even rented a little dumpster to dump the extra dirt in.

Alan did the majority of the work with some assistance from our newest neighbor Paul, digging and more digging. Then he used stakes and ropes and measured, leveled, and measured some more.

Mother's Day was spent working on it. We had to move the gravel (3 bags of it) to the area to spread out. Then we rented a compactor and smashed it down. Doodle played in the sand bag while we shoveled and moved all the gravel. Sand baby, yay!

Dad, don't bother with the manual, this is how it is done!

Then we had to move the sand. So doodle lost his play area but it meant we were closer to being done. After the sand level we were able to start laying down the pavers. It really went fast at this point. We are really glad that we did it and grateful that we had help from our neighbor.

We still have some stuff that we will be digging out, moving around, and planting but nothing compared to the Paver Project of 2013.

Not so secret garden...

This is the year. I am starting asparagus crowns that I will harvest in a year. I am starting raspberry canes and wisteria. I am growing lettuce, beans, peppers, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, and Alan is building me up some fancy boxes to do it. We finished one today when it was freezing out.

That and I finished my first pair of socks. Hear that? Two items that match, done.

Cross that of the to do before 33 list (ha, need to finish that list)! I gifted them to Alan so I could make myself some that are longer in the leg and now I just need to decide... Tosh Vintage in Cove or Water Lily? Pictures of the yarn yum are from google images and I am not sure who to credit...

I am in the middle of another fantastic class at the local shop, Insouciant. I went with a double strand of the Habu Tsumugi Silk in charcoal and light grey. I am slow to knit it up but it should be a good summer top.

I have another knitting project that is quite an undertaking. The recipient could be a silent lurker so no details will be revealed until gifted. I know, such a tease!

I have also fallen behind in my book challenge. 50 for this year. I need suggestions so shout some out. And I am not counting cookbooks in the count. :)

On top of life and knitting, I am hindering helping Shirley help a new neighbor. He needed some suggestions for his house (yep, from paint to lights, tile, etc.) so Pinterest to the rescue. I will have to post some before pics, mood boards, and after pics. Have I told you how much I love painting? I do!

Mardi Gras in March

So in an effort to meet people and make friends, we have tried to hold some neighborhood events. We have set up a couple for the whole street and then we tried a few dinners with specific people. We have had a sushi night, pizza night, soup night, and maybe this month we will have a crepe night.

It has ballooned into a dinner once a month with 14 (ish) people. Kind of crazy but definitely fun. We might try to have dinner with a smaller group sometimes just because it is hard to visit with such a large group. Anyway, we pick a theme and run. March was Mardi Gras, the PG version. We know Mardi Gras wasn't in March this year but that didn't matter to us. We got some beads, feather boas, and figured out the menu.

Muffulettas... oh how I love thee. So we first had one at Caputo's Downtown. I am not a sandwich eater. This sandwich changed that. I think about this sandwich... a lot. We have tried no less than 3 times at the Caputo's on 15 & 15 but it is way too spicy, inedible. Caputo's Downtown is perfect. Granato's makes one too but we tried it and would NOT eat it again. Ever. :(

When we make muffulettas at home we make the olive salad with the pimento stuffed green olives, giardiniera, two kinds of cheese (provolone and swiss is good), salami, and honey ham. We use a good bread that soaks up the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. We eat it cold but that might be personal preference. Come on, sing with me...




Jambalaya... I have never made jambalaya. I cannot even say if I have ever eaten it. One of our neighbors explained that there are 3 main things, gumbo, jambalaya, and étouffée. Gumbo is the soup, which he made and brought to dinner. It was delicious and I would love a bowl on this crummy, rainy day. Jambalaya is the rice dish. Research shows that it is incredible varied and people have strong opinions on consistency of the rice. We made it with smoked sausage, andouille sausage, and shrimp. It turned out pretty good, I will definitely make it again. It is just a matter of frying up the sausage with peppers and onion, add cajun spices and seasoning, broth, rice, and cook! Yum. 

Last but not least, dessert. The tradition is King Cake. Some cake that has a plastic baby baked inside of it. Whoever gets the piece with the baby brings the next cake and they might get special treatment or something. I didn't want to bake plastic IN food so I made cupcakes, cored one, and added a gumball. Paul, the newest neighbor was the lucky recipient. The cupcakes themselves were a recipe from Mini's Cupcakes cookbook. They were alright but not THE chocolate cupcakes. The search for the perfect chocolate cake recipe is still on. 

Vacation, all I ever wanted...

Wow, where does the time go?! I keep thinking I will get to 'that' tomorrow and well, weeks go by...

I have been up to just about everything. Knitting, baking, cooking, parties, visiting, road trippin', and loads of eating!

I started a sock class on Tuesday. It is an easy sock pattern and I decided on Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in the William Morris colorway. As Morris is my last name it only seemed appropriate! This picture does not do the colorway justice, it is a lovely red-brown with notes of lavender and teal. I realized I have been knitting for 10 years and not once have I made socks. Yep, in 2003 I met a nice lady at my first job out of college and she sort of taught me to knit. Knit badly and she didn't know how to 'stop' or bind off as I later learned. I ended up righting myself with books, other classes, and many scarves later. :)

I also took a class on magic loop and it really is magic! I am working on these socks two at a time!!! When I finish one, I will finish the other!!! Sorry, the magics have overwhelmed me.

So the majority of my time as of late has been taken up by my wittle baby sissy coming to visit. She is not like me. She hunts with bow and arrow (not for sport but for actual food), she fishes, and has gun(s). I asked her what she wanted for her birthday one year and she said "a new pistol." I sent her flowers. She is the mother of my wonderful nephews and married to the coolest guy (EB).

They came to Salt Lake all the way from Ranchester, Wyoming and then we all went in one car to St. George. It was a hoot! Hikes, ribs, ice cream, and sun. Then we came back to SL for some more food and fun. Corned beef and cabbage, the zoo, and yogurt. The food was tasty and tiny guy had all his cousins in one place.

Picture bomb now and more on Mardi Gras in March later...

Finally

I'm working hard on my sweater. The class first met last Sunday and we have two weeks to knit the back and two front pieces to the armholes. I've 10" of the back done and I think the measurement to the armholes will be 16.5". The pattern is Cinnamon but with some edits to make it more man-like for Alan. No waist shaping, larger collar, cool buttons, etc. I'm using Cascade Eco + in Summer Sky Heather, Alan liked the color and I'm happy it is light so I can see what I'm doing!

We've decorated for Valentine's Day AND knit night is tonight. Sweet. Before I go though, I have a few things to make for our neighborhood pizza party tomorrow. Should be a hoot!

Meanwhile, we managed to get up our posts on our big Northwest driving trip, start reading here. I think we should do it again this spring!

2013 and Off the Needles

I forgot to wish ya'll a happy new year! We managed to stay up and ring in the new year with hats, noise makers, and neighborhood fireworks. Frankie liked the fireworks but hated the noise makers.

Off the needles... I've finished a couple of fun projects. First is from a class I took at Blazing Needles, the City Creek Cowl. It was fun to work cables, I haven't in a while. I even tried cabling without a cable needle.
The yarn, Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Worsted, is organic, naturally dyed, and super squishy soft.The purple is my attempt to expand my wardrobe colors. It is the perfect accessory for the snow and cold weather we are experiencing.

The second project was just a quick knit to escape from the never ending baby sweater that I've been working on for Frankie. Alan got a new jacket for Christmas so I thought I would knit him a new hat. The Hive Hat looks fun, is quick, and I had yarn that would work in my stash. Plus, who doesn't love a free pattern! I love, love, love this hat and I plan on making one for myself and one for anyone who wants one!

11 months and counting

Tiny guy turned 11 months old a couple days ago. He is almost a year! Wow. He was a bit sick but the doctors are working with us on getting him better. We have another scan this week. We love our pediatrician, she has really been great through all of this. Recovery is slow but sure.

He is definitely a walker. He will hardly crawl any more. He is getting really good at walking around with two toys, usually a floss container and Wii remote (with the floss parts removed and no batteries in the remote).

He loves to play peek-a-boo and squish Ro cat. He even tried to catch her tongue when she was sticking it out (we got it on video). He had an orange balloon that lasted for weeks that he enjoyed walking around the house.

He has been swimming at the pirate pool in Bountiful and loves the water. He likes all kinds of food (except bananas) and even tried a corn dog! He now has 5 teeth. He loves cheese and his maple poofs. He even eats peas (thanks Shirley!).

He has been working on words and he now clearly says 'hi,' 'bye,' and 'yeah.' Sometimes he even adds in a wave to emphasize the hi and bye. He also loves music. He will dance when he hears something he likes. He still likes to tickle the ivories too when he is at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

We had the chance to hang with Scotty recently and the boys managed a couple games of badminton. Tiny loves the racquet! We try to take him to the zoo once a week to see the animals. He loves to ride the carousel and the train. We are sad to see the train go since we just got the membership!

Also, our little cuddler now has a cool tricycle courtesy of a nice woman at a garage sale. Score!

Happy 10 months Smiley!

Frankie turned 10 months old! I cannot believe it. He has been out longer than in now. He is a light weight, the doctor told us to lay on the butter, literally. He eats what we eat for the most part AND then has ice cream after every meal.

He loves grilled cheese sandwiches. He screams for whole milk yogurt (Liberte brand). He noms up Plum Organics baby food (blueberry, pear, and purple carrots is his favorite flavor). He screams for our water bottles and loves drinking out of a straw. He self feeds everything, including avocado. He squishes it in his hands, eyebrows, nose, and sometimes in his mouth!

He loves to eat his maple cinnamon poofs and I think they make him smell like french toast. He enjoys cheerios, just like his dad. He loves pasta noodles with butter. He recognizes a Tillamoo square of cheese. He brushes his teeth (thanks Aunt Chris). He sometimes waves, smiles a lot, points and gestures for things he wants. We are working on clapping. He says a lot of dadadada and other nonsense but no words yet. We are still working on signing with him.

His sleeping is not consistent but neither is mine! He sort of plays ball. He isn't patient enough to get through many books, he wants to skip pages to get to the end. He almost has 4 teeth! He will bounce while standing when music is playing. He loves when dad plays the piano. I'm working on teaching him body parts and animal sounds. He is working on what sounds Ro Cat makes when he pulls on or squishes various body parts.

And as of Friday night, he walks!