This Is A Corny Post

Because we all know I have learned to cook for real in the last couple of years, I wanted to share the my latest and greatest discovery.  Sure it has been discovered before me.  But this is my blog, so I am not going to write some corny history of my groundbreaking way (to me anyway) of making...corn.

Our nutritionist told me I could buy Del Monte canned corn and it is safe from cross contamination.  Good for the boy.  But all the boys love the taste of fresh corn, and two of the boys always have loose teeth now.  So on Thanksgiving morning I went to Whole Foods to buy ALL the ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, I waited until the day of and no it really wasn't stressful.  I was only cooking for us and everyone helped.  Anyway, I bought 12 (!) ears of corn and W. schucked them.  He did a great job even though he didn't like how "gross" the "thready stuff" on the inside felt.  I sauteed onions, threw the corn in with a little oil and salt and it was delicious.  Now my kids only want corn that way.  Easy enough, but sometimes you just don't have those extra 10 minutes.  Oh well, another problem for another day.

If you've read earlier posts, you know I am a food/knitting blogger wanna be.  I've posted a couple of links to show you what real one's look like.  But for now, I think the corn in its original state and then while cooking looked kind of cool.  Such bright yellow.  The colorist in the house agreed.  That's all I needed to hear.

                                BTW, there were 12,875 corn niblets.

The Birth of a Blankie

Yes, another one.  I know the sock yarn blanket looks like it should take up all of my time, but a knitter has to have options.  Sometimes you're up for a challenge, sometimes you need something portable, sometimes you see and buy the most beautiful yarn you've ever seen and must knit with it right away, and sometimes your sister asks for a blanket for her 30th wedding anniversary.  Knowing how long it'll take to knit a blanket - which will probably end up more the size of a throw - I have to start now, so it'll be finished in two years.  Even though I have a few other things going on.  But that's all I am going to knit for now.   Really.

Except for the scarf I promised Steven (to be knit with the most delicious alpaca I bought at a fiber festival recently).  And then that's it for a while.  Really.

Update:  Delicious alpaca going to be made into a throw for master bedroom.  It feels so wonderful.  Now I have to buy more alpaca and buy different yarn for the now abandoned scarf for Steve.

                

Doggie Jail

Fourth Grade Isn't What It Used To Be

Fourth graders are now encouraged to hand in typed work.  They don't even know how to type, but they can create spreadsheets to chart the weather, change format and font to match the tone of their story,  and know all sorts of secrets about the PC that I don't.  Thankfully, I am not in grade school anymore!

9 year old using Word better than I do.

The Monster Blanket

Looks so smooshy, doesn't it?  Not done yet.  It's hibernating for now, while I work on other things.

Photo taking skills

I need to take a digital photography class or two.

Knitting Noro

Finally, some yarn and a few stitches on the blog.  The yarn store near my family carries a kind of yarn I don't have near me.  So I bought some and started knitting immediately upon returning back to my mother's home.  it is hand dyed and creates the most unique striping effect, without having to change yarns (my favorite part). The scarf is more than half done and it will be mine, all mine!

Riley Again

Okay, I know I am going overboard with the dog pics.  But he is really like a stuffed animal.  Such a baby and so cuddly and cute.  He follows Roscoe around and just licks his face.

Yarn or Riley - A Tough Choice

Riley discovered a wee piece of yarn.  Roscoe never cared much for my yarn.  But Ri looks for it!

Ri is very self conscious of how his tears - yes we must beat him - make is fur red and yucky.  He hates it when I photograph him.  The tears come when he is in his crate and Roscoe is not.  Sometimes it just has to happen, until he can let us know....

Fallen Leaves

Our leaves had been blown and gathered for the lawn collection the day before a big rainstorm.  You could see the lawn!  What a difference a day makes.

Okay, don't laugh. This is the amateur version of food blog recipe sharing. I love food blogs. I started looking for allergen free recipes, but then got sidetracked into some professional food blogs. Two of my favorites are http://www.101cookbooks.com/ and http://chocolateandzucchini.com/. Check them out, and you will see gorgeous pictures of food in various stages of preparation and presentation. Sort of like the above. Okay, not. However, I am proud of my re-invention of the rice crispy treat. We just call them marshmallow squares since I rarely us rice puffs. Above I used Cinnamon Life and then added chocolate chips to the top and pushed down. A few hours later, the boy enjoys his homemade treat.

SPOOKY!

Just before trick or treating. Almost over. Thank goodness!

A Talent I Don't Have

Aren't these pretty? They lived in our living room where I grew up for probably more than 30 years. The living room was the room in our house we never went in to. Never thought much about these pillows until my mother said she didn't want them anymore. My sister, who knows my penchant for hanging onto old and/or handmade things, saved them for me. My Great Aunt Ruth made them for my parents. Beautiful handiwork. There is only one problem - my boys saw more flower motif things entering the house and asked where they were going, and were they going to have to use them? Telling the boys that they aren't even allowed to touch them made them only mildly more interested in them. But, they'll stay away. Next two I have to worry about are the dog brothers.

It's Not Even Halloween Yet

Sure enough, Boy 2 needed help going to sleep tonight. Lots of costumes all over the place. At the school parade, on television...commercials are the worst. I don't want to embarrass him but he finally fell asleep in my bed, next to an already snoring Daddy. Mom's and Dad's bed is always the best. Lots and lots of noise coming from a Halloween Party down the street. Keeping me awake. Have I mentioned I don't like Halloween. And then there is tomorrow, the actual day. Ugh!

The Difference Between Dogs and Kids

Dogs and young kids are so much alike. Both have to be told numerous times to do something before it becomes habit. However, when our kids refuse to form a positive habit we would never, ever consider giving them away. But dogs...ah, dogs. Riley, our adorable, sweet, mild tempered little Shih Tzu just doesn't understand he has to make some noise, any noise, when he has to go outside. He is the quietest dog ever. I'm even encouraging him to scratch on the door. We'll solve that problem, if he follows my directions now, later. Riley does his usual business first thing in the morning. We take him outside right out of crate. But then when we bring him back inside, sometime within the next 5 minutes to 2 hours, he's at it again. Food has nothing to do with his timing. Silently, and stealth-like, he knows it is wrong now and will have to deal with the wrath of Mom or Dad. I think I hear Roscoe giggling sometimes. Mornings are no time to have to stare at your dog and figure out if he is about to need to go out again. They are hectic, busy, and often I am not even home. So, I have dreamed about placing an advert in my vet's office:

For Give Away

(or I can pay you)

One Shih Tzu Puppy

Adorable, Sweet, Cuddly

Allows children to toss him about without making a sound

Keeps loving older dogs who want nothing to do with him

Takes an hour to eat anything over a half inch wide

Has IBS

A Near Catastrophe!

My sock yarn blanket almost bit the dust today. Okay, I'm being dramatic, but just barely. Older son was home faking sick today and was asking me about my blanket. I told him it seems to be much wider than I had planned. (I've learned that sometimes despite the most accurate planning, the end result can be quite different than was planned - and there was nothing accurate about the planning of my blanket). Without going into the details that had the blame for what seemed like the demise of my beloved sock yarn blanket bounce back and forth, I finally realized the mistake was mine. I bound off 420 stitches only to turn around and pick up 420 stitches. Give or take. No need to get an exact number here. (Therein is the exact reason why I am a terrible knitter!) Picking up stitches is like picking up toothpicks off the floor, one at a time. Not fun. I apologized to the boy. Only to set an example of what one does when wrong. Quite frankly, I think he should keep his nose out of my knitting. An entire day wasted. 840 stitches and nothing accomplished. But disaster was averted. I don't have a new picture of the blanket, but it is resting comfortably now.

A Special Colorway

The yarn for my sister's blanket. She will see it finished in two years.

An Uncommon Pleasure

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of shopping with my sister. This happens practically never since we haven't lived in the same state since 1992. We went to Home Goods to look around and she helped me decide on this beautiful picture. She steered me away from something more stark to buy this one. I love the blues and browns. I don't know where we'll hang it in our living room. I might have to wait until she visits again.

People think I'm crazy...

Here is an updated photo of the blanket. It is 21 inches long. At this rate, well I haven't done the math, but I think I will be done eventually.

A Rationalization For Everything

When most people are nervous about something, for example, getting endoscopy results for their red headed son, they often use that energy to do something useful and mindless, such as clean out a closet, scrub a floor, or even just generally clean up clutter - books, and papers, etc. that inevitably gather around the house. Not me. I sit, knit and read. If possible, I sleep. Needless to say there are no pictures with this post. I will not post a picture of myself sitting, knitting, reading or sleeping. And would be embarrassed to show the clutter I am not picking up. My mother taught me better.

And to those of you have been paying attention, you guessed it. I still haven't figured out how to download pics onto the PC. You caught me.

Too Much Wet Wool

This is not me driving to Rhinebeck.

I really wanted and expected to go to the Wool and Sheep Festival in Rhinebeck, NY this past weekend. But the 100% chance of rain and storms predicted for both Saturday and Sunday forced me to realize I might not be the dedicated knitter I thought I was. I am clearly a fair weather knitter.

Summer Memories

The ocean waves taking the Little Brother down. He came up smiling, of course.

Here is the sock yarn blanket in it's infancy. But it grows like a dog. I've not done the math, but I think every 7 inches knitted equals a decade.

Skipping stones in the nearby lake. Setting sun, warm air, the soothing sound of the stones skipping, and 8,790 mosquitos.

Okay, I know I said I loved the crisp, cool air that comes with Fall. But we have had several days of rain with that cooler air. So I guess I am a fair weather friend. I started looking through our summer vacation photos and am already thinking about our next summer vacation. This last one was driving distance and near family, so it was especially nice.

Where's the Knitting?

You may be wondering where the knitting is? Well, I need a little help downloading new photos from my camera to the PC. I admit it. I am technically challenged. I could figure it out if we ever saved any of the directions that come with our cute little techie devices. I am knitting, though. Lots, in fact.

My sister visited this week and we talked for hours and hours in the evenings. It was wonderful. I knitted my sock yarn blanket the entire time. Easy garter stitch. The best. However, since there are 420 stitches across, my great accomplishment was an inch. That's okay. More family memories knitted into the blanket.

The One Where He Opens His Crate Door To Enjoy The View

Roscoe is a cocker spaniel/poodle mix. Though, he pretty much thinks he is a person.

Falling into Halloween

This time of year is so beautiful. Leaves are turning, the air is crisp and cool, and the kids are back in school! We also know holiday after holiday after holiday is coming. The first seasonal biggie is Halloween. I know Halloween can be fun. But I happen to despise it!

Call me Scrooge a couple of months early if you will, but Halloween and the weeks leading up to it are always filled with scary images - everywhere you go. As a kid, I never really liked walking around in the dark, but did it because my friends did. By today's standards, advertising was tame. By college, I could happily ignore it. The early professional years were also a cake walk. No trick or treaters even, as I lived in a walk up. Halloween was a non-issue. Just the way I liked it. Then the kids came along in the late 90's.

As everybody knows, kids change everything. For so many years, Halloween costumes and other frightening images were always too much for my kids. All part of growing up, I know. But I'm a pretty selfish gal, and sleep is a rare commodity. I am okay with candy, commercialism, and costumes. But the children's nightmares always stole my sleep, for a bit of September, most of October, and by November each would need help falling asleep before they would wake up with nightmares. Not until the first Santa was seen was the Scream mask forgotten.

The kids are older now and sleep is restored. I'll take the pumpkins, chilly days, colorful leaves, warmer clothes and shorter days, but hold the Halloween, please.

Not A Dog Person

I was not a dog person...until Roscoe was about 2.5 years old.

Riley at 10 weeks. He needed a daily morning wash, until just recently. He was 3 lbs. in the picture.

A rare, rare, rare moment when Roscoe is content to stay near Riley.

Roscoe and Riley

Roscoe (on the left) and Riley (to the right) are my dogs. Roscoe is a 3.5 year Cock-A-Poo and Riley is a 4.5 mos. old Shih Tzu The picture you see was very hard to get. I thought Roscoe really needed a friend to play with in the house. I am there less and less as my kids grow and I feel like he is lonely. He loves playing with all other dogs. So imagine my surprise when we bought Riley home and Roscoe didn't love him at first sight. It has been about 2 months and things are better between them. I see a light at the end of the tunnel. As soon as Ri outgrows his annoying (to Roscoe) puppiness, he'll see playful dog, rather than an annoying younger sibling. Right now they are fun to watch. But I just found Ri eating some of my yarn. This will have to stop. Immediately.

A blog and a blanket

It seems like everyone who knits, cooks or reads has a blog today. So I thought I'd hop on the train. My most interesting project right now is a sock yarn blanket. 420 stitches, sock yarn, good old garter stitch (GOGS) and a size 3 circular needle. It is rather wild looking, and I can't wait to finish it. It is going much faster than I thought it would. I love the simplicity of it.