It's September again!

A kind and generous friend sent me a September Phatfiber box!!! Whoo-hoo!!! What fun...


I have never spun fiber before. In fact, I've barely even laid hands on some before. This is some gorgeous gorgeous stuff! I can't wait to learn and give it a try now! What fun! Thank you!!!

In search of a new comfort food.

My favorite food has to be pizza, but if I've had a bad day, or especially when I am sick... I want those comfort foods - you know what I mean.
Mine are Cream of Wheat; soft boiled eggs with saltines and butter; my mom's broccoli cheese noodle soup (which I don't make often because my husband doesn't like it.); and my macaroni and cheese.

We had Cream of Wheat, made with milk, no lumps, with a little sugar, and a piece of toast, when we were kids. The soup was something we loved as kids, too, and Mom makes it for us whenever we need a hand (having a baby, recovering from surgery...)

My grandmother made us soft boiled eggs for breakfast a lot when we used to sleep over her house. Honestly, when I have that, I feel like I'm in her kitchen with her. She and the kitchen are both gone now. I love having soft boiled eggs.

Macaroni and cheese, I just like a lot! I have made every recipe of it I have seen over the years, and have melded all that I learned into the best macaroni and cheese ever:
12 oz. elbow macaroni (or, if Ben is the one needing the comfort, one bag of Wacky Mac.)
3 tbsp. butter
1/3 c. onion, diced
1/4 c. flour
3 cups milk
1 bay leaf
8 oz. velveeta, cut up
8 oz. sharp cheddar, shredded
1 tsp. salt
pepper
Make a roux with the butter, onion, and flour. add milk and bay leaf and bring to a boil over medium heat. lower the heat, remove bay leaf, and add cheeses. mix until cheese is melted and add seasonings. add to cooked macaroni, and turn into pan. sprinkle some shredded cheese on top, and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or so.

Unfortunately, I have just learned that I need to significantly cut back on fatty and greasy food. SO! What in the world am I going to do?! ;) Hope someone out there enjoys the mac and cheese!

hey wait a minute... colorwork is fun!

Above are my first attempts at colorwork, aside from the sad stripes I put in last year's hat and mittens for Ben. I have always been very afraid of it - it looks so daunting and difficult. I wouldn't even change color in a sock, where in the pattern it would say, "heel cute worked in contrasting color." Yeah, there would be no cute heels. Well, I conquered the sock heel monster, and put a contrast color in the heel and toe of my husband's lone sock. Hey, not that bad. So I took on these snowflake hats. One for my niece, and one for Ben.

Guess what? Colorwork is fun! Because you are constantly counting and changing yarn, you are moving slower than regular knitting, but because it is so exciting to see how the picture is coming out, you just keep knitting around and around. It is fun. I have recognized that I am ready for more interesting knitting challenges, and this is where I've begun. (Don't get excited for fancy projects abounding... I work slow, and take baby steps: you will notice that these are hats, not sweaters; and that it is a simple pattern, not complex color changes in every row...)

Tonight I will finish the hat on the right for Ben. Hope it fits him as well as it fit me. ;)

a story of a sock

Still plugging away at the sock for my sister. I started it on magic loop, two at a time - that didn't last - and I continued on one sock. Halfway through the leg, I switched to a 9 inch circular, and learned the heel method for those needles (easy.) I have learned to rip back rows (and still have all my stitches,) and repair a dropped stitch (more than once,) all on this sock! I have knit on them in hospital recovery rooms twice now (once during my own recovery - hence the dropped stitch!) I am only making the one until my sister can try them on, because I am afraid they might be too big. *sigh*
Her sock tells quite a story. I have been distracted from it by countless baby gifts and birthday presents that I have knitted since I began knitting the sock.

Most recently, these - simple garter stitch slippers for my baby with her chillllly feet! When I started the very easy pattern, I couldn't figure out how they would fit, until I put one on her, then it was revealed! Fun, and I finished them this morning. When she wakes up from her nap, I will test them out on her (I hope she'll keep them on...)

I've got the toe still to do on my sister's sock, and she will be visiting early next month - plenty of time...

What stories do your projects tell?

The cobbler's children have holes in their shoes...

All these knitted gifts I am working on... the things I want to make for my kids never get done.
The two times I have made a sock for Lora, it didn't fit her by the time I got to finishing it!
I dug out some stash yarn yesterday and started the hat (with mittens to follow) for Ben, who will get them on his birthday (hopefully...)
Lora needs a hat, and I had hoped, a jumper, but we'll see. Hats are pretty much a cinch to whip out, but my dream of that jumper for her may not come to be this year. There is just so much to do.Ironic, then, that my wonderful kids are a large part of the reason I do not have much time to knit... They are quite inspirational little joys though. :)

Ben's "Drill" Noodles/Pasta Primavera

Ben overheard his friend's mother tell her she could have noodles for supper. I am certain that is how this all got started.

I didn't have any grand plans for supper tonight; we were just having leftovers. Ben said he wanted noodles, did I have any noodles... Well, technically yes, but I wasn't planning on cooking. However, I knew that the leftovers I would be serving Ben didn't enjoy the first time around, so...

He kept on with his "I want noodles," and periodically checking on me to see if I was making noodles. I couldn't just give him plain noodles, and he doesn't like butter, so I threw some things together, and made this. He thoroughly enjoyed it (which was great) and I told him I would call this dish Ben's Noodles.
He disagreed with my name for it.
I asked, "What do you think we should call it? What does it look like to you?"
"Drills," he said with his mouth half-full of it.
Okay.
Here he is holding up a drill noodle:
Drill Noodles
(makes one serving)

2 oz. cooked and drained egg noodles
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small clove garlic
1/2 cup cooked frozen mixed vegetables with lima beans (Ben's favorite.)
2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Saute garlic in oil; add noodles and toss to coat. Add vegetables, toss and heat through. Turn into serving bowl and mix in parmesan cheese. Yum!

I let the pasta hang out in the colander and used the same pan to finish up. (I hate having to use too many pots; then there are too many dishes to do!)

Ben the helminthologist

Ben loves worms. There is no question about it. Today: "But I like worms. I no like spiders or bugs; I like worms." He carries them into the house in various buckets to show me all the time. We had made a worm home once recently and he was so proud, everytime he found a worm, to "put him in him's worm home; he be so happy."

But, alas, Mumma does not know how to make a worm home, and, much to Ben's dismay, we ended up with a lot of dead worms.

So today we found out how to make a proper worm home. They are outside hard at work on it right now. Hopefully it will be a success. After all, Ben's friends really do need a better life, and a happier fate, than suffering at his innocent unknowing hands.

The completed project. It has a paper bag cover so the light won't get in. It has six occupants. We have to feed them grass, leaves, and leftover vegetables; we have to keep the sponge cover wet. You are supposed to move them to your compost bin after two weeks.... oh no, now we are going to have to make one of those...