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August 31, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

See? I told you the leaves were starting to turn already. Although, thanks to Maryse and NPR at least I know I'm not old.

I'm not ready to say goodbye to summer so I'll be making the most of this long Labor Day weekend. Hope you do, too.

Posted by Carole at 6:23 AM | Comments (29)

August 30, 2007

That Other Weekend Thing

Some of you are pretty clever. You saw my ad selling my Hitchhiker Wheel on the Spin Sales list a day after you saw Adrian's ad selling her Kromski Polonaise and you put two-and-two-together and came up with four. And your math was correct. Bye-bye Hot Lips and Hello Pollyanna.

For those of you who like the details, you can read about her particulars here.

Isn't she lovely? The finish is walnut and she came with a matching stool, too.

She spins like a dream and, while I can't imagine loving any wheel more than I love my Reeves, I think Pollyanna is going to give Rosie a run for her money.

Of course, I didn't need another wheel, but I just couldn't resist this one. And, let's just say that Adrian made me an offer I couldn't refuse. She'd make a good godfather, that Adrian.

Posted by Carole at 6:17 AM | Comments (44)

August 29, 2007

County Fair

Can I milk another blog post out of my weekend? Of course I can, because the other thing I did over the weekend (Thursday night is the weekend, right?) was go to the Marshfield Fair.

We all just love the Marshfield Fair because there's something for everyone.

There are giant pumpkins. That's Hannah and her friend, Gianna, posing so graciously.

And crazy vegetable creations. This corn and cucumber canoe was really clever. Aren't the asparagus oars the coolest?

There's a demolition derby and that's my favorite part of the fair. Well, that and the beer, but they sort of go hand in hand, don't you think?

There are model trains. I think Dale would still be standing there watching the train go 'round if I hadn't enticed him away with promises of more beer.

There are even things for my blog friends.

Swine for Ann.

And an AssWatch of a different sort for Dave.

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you the one other teensytinylittle thing I did last weekend.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (27)

August 28, 2007

Back to School Prep? Check!

Back to school preparations continued on Saturday with the dreaded back-to-school clothes shopping trip. However, thanks to Dave, it wasn't as bad this year. You see, Dave emailed me Saturday morning to ask what I was up to for the day. I told him I had to take Hannah shopping for school clothes and he said, "Can't you just give her $50 and drop her off at the mall?"

The $50 is a pipe dream and dropping her off at the mall isn't very practical since it takes 30 minutes to get to the mall from my house but I was inspired to try something new based on Dave's suggestion. I gave Hannah $100 and told her I was going to sit and knit on one of the couches in the center of the mall while she did her shopping. I gave her some basic guidelines and said if she bought anything inappropriate then it would be returned and she wouldn't be allowed to choose a replacement but that if she chose wisely and bought good things then I would reward her.

So I sat outside Charlotte Russe and American Eagle and worked on my Monkeys. Hannah shopped long enough for me to get to the toe decreases and when she came back she had bought a pair of jeans, 3 shirts, and a bracelet. Everything was appropriate and I rewarded her by taking her back into one of the stores and buying her two more pairs of jeans.

So, where does that leave us?

Haircut? Check!
Shoes? Check!
Clothes? Check!
Monkey socks? Check!

I'd knit these again in a heart beat and now I understand the love of this pattern.

For those wondering, the yarn is Yarn Love Juliet in the colorway Belle from where else but The Loopy Ewe. It's a great match for the pattern and I'm very pleased with these socks. They are for me, of course.

After all that back to school prep, I think I deserve a reward.

Posted by Carole at 6:00 AM | Comments (52)

August 27, 2007

Overheard

On Friday I took Hannah for her back to school haircut. Truthfully, she didn't come out looking all that different than when she went in, but she's happy and in the life of a teenager that's a very big deal. So while I sat and waited for her, I was knitting. And I overheard this conversation between one of the other hairdressers and her client.

Client: Look at my daughter's black eye! The Harry Potter book fell of her bookshelf in the night and hit her in the face.
Hairdresser: Oh my goodness. Looks like Hermione is coming to get you, sweetie. (she hums the Twilight Zone theme at this point.) She wants to take you to Hogwarts with her, I bet.
Client: You know, one of my friends visited Hogwarts.
Hairdresser: It's a real place?
Client: Oh yes! The name is different but it's a castle just like in the books and they teach magic to young witches and wizards.
Hairdresser: I had no idea. Well, my brother actually has copies of all of the Harry Potter books from the 1960s when J.K. Rowling originally wrote them.
Client: Really?!?
Hairdresser: Oh yes! They aren't in book form like we see them now, they are, what's that word? Manuscripts! Yes, manuscripts. He has manuscripts of all seven books from the 60s.
Client: Wow. That's really amazing.

Ummmm. You can imagine the difficulty I had keeping my mouth shut. Hogwarts is a real place? The hoopla over Bridges of Madison County being "real" was bad enough. Now people are claiming that Hogwarts is real? Oy. Copies of the books from the 60s? J.K. Rowling was born in 1965. Is she supposed to have written the books when she was a toddler?

How stupid can people be? Discuss.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (74)

August 24, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

When I picked up our CSA share this week I was told I could pick all the zinnias I wanted. They were so beautiful and I felt like I was being a zinnia hog so I stopped at one bouquet. But now I wish I had picked more!

Have a wonderful weekend.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (28)

August 23, 2007

Eye Candy Thursday

Presenting: Eye Candy Friday - The Thursday Edition. Because, truly, I have nothing for today. Besides, if Kristi can do ECF early then so can I.

I took this photo last week at the Cape. At the beginning of our week we vowed to take a walk every night but between a bit of rain or a bit of company we didn't actually do it every night. The nights we did were wonderful, though.

Posted by Carole at 6:56 AM | Comments (24)

August 22, 2007

Things That Make Me Go Hmmm

Time for a new edition of Things That Make Me Go Hmmm, kids.

~I am very sorry to have missed the Fiber Revival. I'm also sorry to have missed an afternoon in Boston with Dave, Sandy and Norma. Could you all please remember that I go on vacation the second week in August and not plan anything fun while I'm away? Thank you.

~I am participating in Dish Rag Tag and my team's name is Rag Racin'. As Team Captain, I got the box first. I knit a dish rag that night and mailed the box off to the next team member in the morning. Right now we're about half way through the race and most of the teams seem to be in about the same spot in the relay. Wish us luck as we race to dish rag glory!

~Dale's routine colonoscopy screening was yesterday. Everything is A-OK and he doesn't have to go back for another one for 7-10 years. This is a good thing since colonoscopy prep in a one bathroom house is rather challenging. Ahem.

~There is still time to sponsor me in the 2007 Massachusetts Race for the Cure. Several of you have already donated and I thank you - I'm halfway to my goal! And I know there are a lot of worthy causes out there, including Norma's Red Scarf Fund and Cara's Spin Out fund raiser for Heifer International. Nevertheless, if you can spare a few dollars, my teammates and I would greatly appreciate it. You can click on the button in the sidebar to make a donation. Thanks.

~I started Weight Watchers online again. This may or may not be directly related to my commitment to the Race for the Cure. Heh. Anyway, I lost 5 lbs before vacation and didn't gain any while on vacation - something I consider to be a huge accomplishment. I'm taking it one day at a time and so far, so good.

~There are many trees in my area that are already starting to display their fall colors. Ummm. It's August. WTF?

~Tonight will be the first Wednesday night quilt night since Debbie's death. I'm looking forward to seeing my friends but I'm dreading it all at the same time. Think of us, okay?

Posted by Carole at 6:24 AM | Comments (47)

August 21, 2007

Vacation Sock Knitting

In my world, vacation knitting is all about the socks.

So, even though I cast on for a Baby Surprise Jacket at the beginning of the week I quickly abandoned that project for socks.

I got my groove on with plain stockinette in Claudia's Handpaint. These were great for martini drinking, chatting, and knitting.

And I monkeyed around a bit, too. These saw the most attention in the morning while everyone else was sleeping.

But, that's not all. I finished two! yes, two! pairs of socks.

My old standby, feather and fan. The yarn is Cider Moon "Icicle" in the color Sweet Potato Pie. I love this yarn so much. It's squishy and soft and the colors are fabulous.

And a pair of Charade socks, too. The yarn for these was a gift from Hillary and it, too, is wonderful but I don't think it's available online.

I still love summer the best and I don't want to see it end, but at least when the fall arrives I'll have some new socks to wear.

Posted by Carole at 6:10 AM | Comments (45)

August 20, 2007

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

Our vacation on Cape Cod was wonderful. We spent our days at the beach and our nights on the deck of our rental house. We relaxed and laughed and truly enjoyed being together as a family. It was just what I needed.

Please indulge me as a share a few of my favorite photos of our week.

The beach. I love the surf and the sand and the sun. I love packing a lunch and spending the day just hanging out, swimming, body surfing, and soaking up the rays.

Hannah loves it, too. So long as she has her cell phone and her iPod.

Of course, getting to the beach with 5 people, 2 boogie boards, 4 beach chairs, 3 beach bags, and a float - all in a Jeep - can be tricky. But we managed.

When we weren't at the beach we were hanging out on the deck. Doing a little drinking. That's my martini that Jessica is holding. It's the closest I got to any photo. Heh.

And for Dale, a little pipe smoking.

Truly, it was a really wonderful week. Even the traffic on the ride home was okay. Yes, my friends, that's okay traffic. You don't want to know what bad Cape Cod traffic looks like!

Come back tomorrow and I'll show you my vacation knitting.

Posted by Carole at 10:51 AM | Comments (39)

Buried

Eight days of vacation means coming home to 775 emails and 615 unread blogs. Oy.

I'll be back later today or tomorrow with a real entry, I promise.

Posted by Carole at 7:19 AM

August 10, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

We interrupt this Eye Candy Friday post for three extremely important announcements.

1) Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your love, thoughts, prayers and concerns for all of us over the loss of my friend Debbie. I want you to know that every single comment meant the world to me. Your concern and prayers for my family and Debbie's have overwhelmed me with gratitude and given me a real sense of peace. Truly. I have the best readers.

2) You have until tomorrow night to vote for Ryan. If you don't know what I'm talking about you can go here, here or here. Now, please go vote. Five times. Thank you.

3) As of tonight, I am on vacation and heading to Cape Cod with my family. There will be radio silence here at Carole Knits until Monday, August 20th. Sure hope you can bear it.

We now return to our regularly scheduled Eye Candy Friday post.

A bouquet of four pink roses representing Lois, Sharon, Wendy and I, and one lavender rose representing Debbie. The four of us went together to the accident site and left these there in memory of Debbie. I'll admit that I've always considered roadside memorials a bit on the tacky side. But I get it now. You need to leave something to let people know that someone special died there. And Debbie sure was special.

Thanks again for thinking of us. See you on the 20th.

Posted by Carole at 6:42 AM | Comments (46)

August 9, 2007

Goodbye, Dear Friend

Tuesday afternoon I got a phone call - a scary phone call. The kind of phone call that changes your life. What I first heard was that my friend Debbie's husband had been in a motorcycle accident. A bad one. I called Lois and then I called Sharon. And I braced myself for what I thought would be the worst - helping Debbie cope with whatever had happened to Steve. And then the phone rang again and I found out that it was actually Debbie who was in the accident. And she didn't make it.

My dear sweet beautiful friend was coming home from work on her motorcycle and she was hit by a gigantic SUV. She didn't have a chance, according to what we've been told. It wasn't long after getting the final phone call when Sharon and Lois and Wendy and our other friends were gathered on my deck. And then we all went together to Debbie's house to offer what little comfort we could to Steve and the rest of Debbie's family.

I'm trying to be strong but this is a new kind of grieving for me. I've lost both my parents and two brothers - one in a motorcycle accident twenty-four years ago. I've been to countless wakes and funerals over the years but the loss of a friend, a truly wonderful friend, is a new one for me. And she wasn't just my friend, she was a friend to Dale and my whole family, too. We camped together and beached together and ate Chinese food together. She was on the beach with me the day I learned to knit. She read this blog and commented frequently. Debbie and her family came to our home every Christmas Eve and they were included in all of our family gatherings.

And every Wednesday night Debbie, Sharon, Wendy, Lois and I gathered to quilt, knit and chat. The five of us talked about everything - politics, religion, family, kids, work, happy things and sad things and scary things. We even joked about what our husbands would do with our stashes if something were to happen to one of us, not that we ever really considered that something actually would happen. Truly, nothing was off limits on our Wednesday nights and we forged an incredible bond with each other. And now one of us is violently, suddenly, just gone.

I feel like things are never going to be the same again.

Posted by Carole at 6:03 AM | Comments (158)

August 8, 2007

Camp Sweet Camp

Our mini camping trip was really a lot of fun. And it amazes me how quickly we can turn a little patch of dirt and pine needles into Home Sweet Home.

Or is that Tent Sweet Tent?

Despite the work of setting up and packing up the in between time of camping is pure relaxation. It allows for enjoying the finer things in life.

Like reading.

And corn on the cob.

Knitting on the beach.

A wet dog.

And a campfire.

The outdoors can't get much better than that, I tell you.

Posted by Carole at 7:32 AM | Comments (38)

August 7, 2007

Eating Local. Eating Better.

I managed to pull together another local meal the other night for One Local Summer.

The photo isn't great but that's chicken pot pie and stuffed 8-ball zucchini. The pie is from a local poultry farm and it's delicious and a frequent meal at our house. In fact, there's almost always one in the freezer. It's a great dinner for those nights when I forget to plan something. In the winter I usually serve this with mashed potatoes but I decided to lighten things up for a more summery feel to our dinner so I stuffed these adorable 8-ball zucchinis.

I cut off the tops of two zucchini and scooped out the center. I microwaved the whole zucchini for a couple of minutes to soften them up and while they were cooking I sauteed some chopped up zucchini (the center from the rounds ones plus another small regular one), a couple of plum tomatoes and some onion. When the vegetables were soft I added some Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs and then I stuffed the zucchini with this mixture. Put their little covers back on and throw 'em in the oven for about 15 minutes. Serve 'em up when the filling is piping hot. They were fabulous!

We've also been eating loads of local vegetables and eggs. I feel really good about adopting this lifestyle. What have you been eating that's local?

Posted by Carole at 6:44 AM | Comments (33)

August 5, 2007

Camping?

I'm on vacation for the next two weeks - woot! This first week will be spent mostly at home since Dale is still working and then next week we will be at the Cape. While I have a very generous amount of vacation time, this is the only time of year that I take two consecutive weeks. It's wonderful, I tell you.

But perhaps it has gone to my head because I don't know what came over me on Friday morning but I called Dale at work and suggested a mini-camping trip for Sunday/Monday. We haven't camped in years and needed to update our equipment a bit. After scouring the garage and making a trip to the store for a new tent and stove, and stocking up on groceries and packing the knitting and the dog, I think we've got everything we need.

Did I mention we're only going for one night? Go ahead, you can laugh now.

I'll be back on Tuesday. If I survive, that is.

Posted by Carole at 10:00 AM | Comments (39)

August 3, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

The tall phlox in my garden is glorious right now. I love the big white puffy blossoms but I also love the spiky buds, too.
Have a fabulous weekend!

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (22)

August 2, 2007

Pickles!

We had a bumper share of cucumbers from the CSA this week so when I got home from work yesterday I decided to try making refrigerator pickles.

I took my inspiration from a recipe at Coconut & Lime but then I sort of made it my own. I used the jar that I usually make pickled eggs in and quartered up all the cucumbers and threw them into it.

Then I added 8 cloves of sliced garlic, a few handfuls of pickling spice, some salt and lots of fresh dill. I filled the jar halfway with water and then filled it the rest of the way with white vinegar.

Don't they look pretty in the sunlight?

Now they are tucked away in the fridge. These were super easy to make. The hard part is going to be waiting a week until they are ready to eat!

Posted by Carole at 6:46 AM | Comments (37)

August 1, 2007

Knitter Love

Thank you all so much for your kind comments and caring thoughts for my family. Dale and I really appreciate your support and it honestly does help knowing that you are thinking about us right now. Really. It helps a lot.

So, what's a knitter to do when she's going through a difficult time? Thanks to the creativity of dear Wendy, she throws up the Knitter's Signal.

Since I've been kind of distracted lately I wasn't really paying attention to Dale's concert schedule. So, it wasn't until yesterday morning that I realized that he was going to be playing last night in the neighborhood of some of my very dear blogging friends. So I fired off a few emails and rallied the troops. Despite the last minute notice Kathy and Manise rose to the occasion.

They couldn't make it to the concert but Kathy invited us back to her house for drinks and conversation. And it was wonderful. We talked and laughed and shed a few tears. It felt so good to be in the company of people who get me - and not just about knitting and spinning - they get it all and they love me anyway. So, thank you, Kathy. And thank you, Manise. You made an ordinary night a truly special one.

Even if I didn't get home until two in the morning.

Posted by Carole at 8:00 AM | Comments (30)