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September 28, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

Dale brought me two dozen roses on my birthday. I love all the different colors!

Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (36)

September 27, 2007

Things That Make Me Go Hmmm

Here's some random goodies for a Thursday.

~I am having major laptop issues. It's fine while in the docking station at work but at home - oy. The laptop isn't recognizing the wireless network, it freezes at random moments, sometimes it reboots and sometimes it doesn't. Luckily, the library trustees authorized me to order a new laptop a few weeks ago. Now if it would only arrive!

~Do you watch Big Love? I do and I love it. It's eerie how much it mimics some real life situations out there in Utah and I have to admit to a sick sort of fascination with polygamy. It's like a car wreck - I know I shouldn't look but I can't help myself. So, when I visited Margene last week and she offered to drive me past the old Warren Jeffs compound I jumped at the chance.

Of course, now he's been convicted of the charges brought against him. Score one for the good guys.

~Weight Watchers continues but slowly. I actually lost a pound while on vacation but had a hard time getting back into the swing of things when I got home. Slow and steady, though. This weight didn't come on in a month and it won't come off that quickly, either.

~Yesterday I heard someone say they were "happy as a clam" and I got to thinking. What makes a clam happy anyway?

~While at the Great Basin Fiber Fair we took a class in dyeing roving for striped socks. The class itself was lame and we got no real information on how to actually do anything. But we managed to muddle through together and wound up with some roving that doesn't really look too bad.

~This one is especially for Norma: fry sauce is good.

The end.

Posted by Carole at 6:45 AM | Comments (49)

September 26, 2007

Walk With Us Wednesday

This past Sunday was the Race for the Cure and Team Spun and Run was well represented. The race was much bigger than I expected, having never done anything like this before. It was actually pretty easy to get caught up in the excitement of the event - speeches and testimonies and free give aways - were the order of the day.

There was the money raised, too. And our team raised nearly $2500! Woot!

Of course, there was also the walk. 5K isn't much but I sure was tired afterwards! Thank goodness for BBQ with friends.

Posted by Carole at 6:46 AM | Comments (23)

September 25, 2007

Cool Waulkings

I got to do some really cool things while I was in Salt Lake City. I had sushi. I had Chateaubriand. And fry sauce. I had huevos rancheros. And I even had a martini or two. But surprisingly, the coolest thing I did had nothing to do with food. Those of you who know me may need a moment or two to absorb that statement. It's true, though. The coolest thing I did was to participate in a waulking.

You can read all about waulking wool at House of Scotland. And yes, that's the same site Margene linked to last week. Honestly, it's the most information I found about waulking on the internets. And I love all those photos.

My photos are perhaps a bit less serious but I think they are remarkably similar in feel to the ones at House of Scotland. Wanna see?

We laughed and laughed - it was just so much fun and also so cool to participate in such an ancient ritual for finishing woven fabric. Should you ever be invited to a help at a waulking, I strongly suggest that you participate. You might get a little wet and soapy but you'll have a blast, I promise.

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

September 24, 2007

Utah '07

As I'm sure you've figured out, my trip to Utah was wonderful. There was time for everything, it seemed. Eating and drinking, knitting and spinning, talking and laughing. It seemed to go on for days. And then, all too soon, it was over and I was headed home. But I took a lot of pictures and I'd like to share a handful of them with you.

A wonderful group shot of us at the fiber fair.

The setting for the fair was beautiful. The weather was perfect and the days were warm and sunny. And everywhere you looked there were the mountains.

I just love this photo of Kim up at Silver Lake.

I got to meet Kim! And had more time with Susan than the last time I visited. Of course, I'm going to have even more time with Susan next month. Yay.

Temple Square is not to be missed.

And, of course, no trip to Salt Lake City is complete without the Margene Treatment - a meal at Silver Fork Lodge and a walk around Silver Lake.

The scenery is gorgeous, the friends are genuine, the Stitch 'n Bitch group is terrific, and I can't wait to go back.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (37)

September 21, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

You knew it would be a mountain, right? I do love me a mountain. And, while my birthday posts in the past have been of a more personal nature, this one suits me just fine, too.

Happy birthday to me, Happy weekend to you.

Posted by Carole at 6:42 AM | Comments (103)

September 20, 2007

Returning Home

I am home. And it was a wonderful trip. I know you're all anxious to hear about it (because you have nothing better to do, right?) but I need some time to process it all before I post. So, tomorrow I will have an Eye Candy Friday photo and Monday I will tell you all about the trip. 'Kay?

In the meantime, I am missing this:

Margene. And the mountains.

Posted by Carole at 10:25 AM | Comments (28)

September 14, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

See my new Converse sneakers? Are they perfect for sheep and wool festivals or what? You can bet I'll be wearing them while attending the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair this weekend.

I'll be at Margene's until Wednesday if you're looking for me. I'll talk to you all again on Thursday. Bye!

Posted by Carole at 4:08 AM | Comments (46)

September 13, 2007

Loksins!

I finished my Locksins! just in time for my trip west.

Aren't they purty?

The pattern, of course, is Cassie's and the yarn is Judy's Ball and Skein.

I can't even tell you how tickled I am to have socks made with one friend's pattern and another friend's yarn. Particularly when the pattern and yarn are such a great match.

They are absolute perfect and I love 'em!

Posted by Carole at 6:00 AM | Comments (47)

September 12, 2007

Monday Is The New Sunday

I don't know what your schedule is like but I bet it is a lot like mine. And that means that days and nights and whole weeks go by without getting a chance to spend some quality time with the people you love. Dale and I had such a fabulous time on vacation this summer with Hannah, our stepdaughter Jessica and her son, Patrick, that we decided we need to set aside a specific time each week to spend with them and not just wait until vacation time. You know - like Sunday dinner. Except no one is available on Sundays.

It seems like there's something going on every night of the week but we finally agreed to set aside Mondays as family dinner night that includes the extended family, not just Dale, Hannah and I. Because, don't misunderstand me, Dale, Hannah and I eat dinner together as a family most weeknights. But we wanted to start something special and include Jess and Patrick once a week. So, Dale is now picking up Patrick from his after school program on Monday afternoons. He's bringing him back to our house so that Patrick can hang out with us until his mom arrives. And then we are all going to have dinner together. It probably doesn't sound like much but I think it's going to be a really good thing for all of us.

While the kids do homework

I cook dinner - which we actually ate in the dining room.

Dale said it felt like Thanksgiving. I agreed - except, of course, that we didn't have turkey, gravy, stuffing or mashed potatoes. But there was food in the dining room and two vegetables. And it did sort of feel like a holiday since we were all together.

Of course, next Monday, I'll be away and Dale will be in charge of dinner. I bet there won't be any vegetables that night. Kraft Dinner, anyone?

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (45)

September 11, 2007

More Tales from the Tailgating

I have a few more random things to tell you about the Jimmy Buffett concert but before I do I want to ask you to go wish Kim a happy birthday today. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Are you back? Good. And thanks for doing that. It can't be easy having a September 11th birthday and I know Kim will love the love. Anyway, back to Jimmy Buffett. Hope you don't mind. Even if you do, stick around because I'm going to share a great recipe at the end of this post.

~I do believe that One Particular Harbor is my new favorite Jimmy Buffett song. When he introduced it at the show he said, "All you people who wore grass skirts tonight get ready to wiggle." I wasn't wearing a grass skirt but I did my share of wiggling.

~Many of the people tailgating were playing games. We saw bean bag tosses and card games but my favorite was the limbo. No, I did not participate.

~There were many, many canopies and chairs and tables and grills set up throughout the parking lot. I commented to Dale that one row in particular was especially hard to maneuver. It was like a friggin' field sobriety test, if you know what I mean.

~There is something truly pleasurable about watching 55,000 people swaying to "fins to the left, fins to the right and you're the only bait in town."

~The best part of our tailgate picnic was the pickled shrimp. The recipe came from Sean way back from our picnic at New Hampshire Sheep & Wool in 2006. I don't think he'll mind me sharing the recipe. I don't have a photo but trust me, it's fabulous.

Pickled Shrimp

2 lbs cooked shrimp
Marinade:
1 cup veg oil
3/4 cup cider vinegar
2 large-ish onions thinly sliced
1/2 cup pitted, chopped black olives
2 T Worcestershire Sauce
Juice from one lemon
a clove or two of fresh, minced garlic
salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
Tbs or two of sugar (to taste)
1/2 bottle of capers with the juice

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together and pour over two pounds of cooked shrimp. Chill overnight and serve with sliced baguette.

Eat.

Smile.

Posted by Carole at 6:00 AM | Comments (32)

September 10, 2007

Jimmy Buffett!

Saturday night Dale and I went to the Jimmy Buffett concert at Gillette Stadium. It was our first ever Jimmy Buffett concert and we'd heard all kinds of tales about tailgating and costumes and outrageous behavior.

So we packed a cooler with sandwiches and beer and margaritas and off we went. I thought we were well prepared but you know what? We were babes in the woods at this concert.

The tailgating was over-the-top in a fabulously fun way. Everyone was extremely friendly and generous - offering us hot dogs and drinks and snacks. Well, except for those people with the steak and lobsters. They didn't offer to share. Hmmmph.

I'm so glad that we got there early enough to really enjoy the pre-concert festivities. And I wish I had taken more photos. There were beach set ups and bar set ups and one group even had karaoke going. I saw the best t-shirt, too. It had a picture of a parrot on it and it said, "Screw the cracker . . . Polly wants a cocktail."

The concert itself was wonderful although the acoustics up in the nose bleed section were slightly less than perfect. But he played all my favorites and really put on a very entertaining show. And I was very impressed that he opened the show with Luciano Pavarotti singing "La Donna E Mobile" from Rigoletto and he closed the show with his own "Defying Gravity," which he dedicated to Pavarotti. Now that's class.

You'll probably find this hard to believe but I didn't knit a stitch. And I still had a great time.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (46)

September 7, 2007

Eye Candy Friday

Today's Eye Candy Friday post is brought to you by Dale. He picked a huge bouquet of sunflowers for me when he went to get the vegetables from the CSA this week.

And now you get to enjoy them, too.

Posted by Carole at 6:43 AM | Comments (26)

September 6, 2007

Baby Knits

Today's post has nothing, I repeat, nothing to do with Hannah. If I talked about her again I was going to have consider changing the name of this blog to Hannah Knits. Except that she doesn't. Knit, that is. But I do and today I even have proof.

A finished baby sweater.

The pattern is The Babies Neck Down Cardigan #982 from Knitting Pure and Simple.

The yarn is Cascade 220 Heathers.

The buttons are sheep. And they really couldn't be any cuter.

It's now winging it's way to my friend, who is due in just a few weeks. I can't tell you who she is because she reads this blog and I want her to be surprised. Although, I think this pregnancy surprised her to the point that she may never be truly surprised again.

That, my friends, is a gigantic hint.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (39)

September 5, 2007

Shetland Triangle Shawl Photos

Hannah was in such a good mood on her birthday that I was able to get her to agree to pose with my finished and (finally!) blocked Shetland Triangle Shawl.

The yarn is my handspun and it's not as light and airy as I was hoping it would be.

And it's a tad on the small side.

But I'm happy with it, overall. I love the color.

And the pattern is wonderful.

The model isn't half bad, either.

Posted by Carole at 6:00 AM | Comments (53)

September 4, 2007

Birthday Results

Hannah was thrilled with all your birthday wishes yesterday. Thank you all so much for taking the time to leave comments, offer advice and extend a happy birthday to my girl. It means a lot to both of us.

And you know, your comments were truly just the tip of the iceberg for making Hannah's birthday a happy one. You see, it has become a family tradition to receive hand knit socks and yesterday I gifted Hannah with these new ones.

The yarn is Claudia's Handpaint and yes, they are from two different dye lots. That's a long boring story and I'm not going into it here but it was totally my fault.

I actually thought they'd look a lot different than they do - one is clearly darker than the other. But Hannah says she doesn't mind and I hope she wears them well.

There was one other thing that really made Hannah's day. Tori Amos tickets. Hannah had asked me quite some time ago if she and Jessica (my stepdaughter) could go to this concert together. I told her no and said I didn't think it would be good for she and Jess to go into Boston on their own. Man alive was she mad at me! She complained to Jess and Dale and her friends. It went on for days and it wasn't pretty.

Secretly, though, I had planned all along to get her these tickets. And while I still don't think it's a good idea to send my two daughters into the city alone, I'm planning on remedying that by going in with them. Dale and I will drop them at the show and then go have dinner and hang out and pick them up afterwards. Simple solution.

And a fabulous surprise.

Posted by Carole at 7:00 AM | Comments (60)

September 3, 2007

Happy Birthday, Hannah

This is Hannah at age 15. New haircut, new glasses, new school clothes.

You know what's not new? Her sweetness, her friendliness, her gullibility, her sense of humor and her love for her family. Her personality hasn't changed much over the years and I'm quite glad about that.

Won't you all join me in wishing my baby a happy birthday? Thanks!

Posted by Carole at 8:10 AM | Comments (81)