We had some gorgeous weather yesterday. It was close to 70 and sunny. Josh and I took a walk across the river in an area I have always meant to explore. There is a dog park, but I could never figure out how people got to the dog park. Now I do and I also learned of a new housing development I didn't know existed. it's actually a bit creepy and seems almost like it should be in a movie. I think that's partly due to it's newness and lack of people at this time. It is eerily quiet and empty.

We watched the latest UFC on Saturday night. It was a great event with several good fights including the main event. We got some Pokey Stix, which I haven't had since I was a student. I think I am going to snack on some before I go teach at the GymNest tonight.

In other news, my sister and her boyfriend are now engaged. I of course knew before she did, which makes me inordinately happy. Congrats!

Let's see, I finished my Jaywalkers (Ravelry).
Yarn: Zitron Trekking colorway #155
Needles: 2.75mm Knit Picks dpns
Started: July 2007
Finished: April 18, 2008
Mods: Unintentional ones only. I did the toe on the second one differently because I decided I didn't need to read the directions. Barely noticeable, so not getting fixed.

I started two more small projects this weekend, well yesterday. Both are more for Josh than me. I started Sausage Dogs and Trogdor (more info on Trogdor). More toys, I know. I can't stop myself. I also made flat chocolate chip cookies because I decided to follow the recipe instead of what I thought and caramel chex mix.

I also got some new shoes! They were $10 and my size and have owls on them.

UFC birthday cake and some knitting

Yesterday was my birthday, so I of course made a cake. Despite some initial problems with the cake not cooperating and falling onto the stove when it wasn't supposed to, it turned out well. I used a chocolate stout cake recipe from Epicurious. The cake was covered with fondant made according to this recipe, and I topped it with a UFC logo since UFC 80 was last night.



The cake is really good, but so rich. I may have a piece for breakfast since I don't seem to have anything else breakfast like around here.

This is the blurry start of Inga. The yarn is Knit Picks Merino Style in Storm, Asparagus, and Vanilla for the stripe. I am carrying the main color in my right hand the the contrast color in my left. So far it is going really well. I realized the Storm color is almost the same as the color I used for Wicked. i am going to try to get some pictures of Wicked today while the sun is out and I am showered and my hair is brushed.

I finished one Monkey and started the second because I am a good little sock knitter. Apparently I am incapable of taking a clear picture, though.

Ok, now for some cake for breakfast since I lack anything else. Don't worry, I will eat the scraps without frosting and have a Clementine.

Huh?!

I am completely baffled. The university has canceled classes due to the weather. The last time this happened was when we had a tornado the night before. I attended or worked at the university since 2001 and and this has never happened. Funny thing is, I am supposed to have a class this afternoon. I am supposed to give a presentation in it. Classes are even canceled on the medical campus, which, since it is associated with the hospital, is even stranger. I just talked to the head of my lab and he says they have only canceled classes one other time in the 20 years he has been here, which I guess would be the tornado.

In knitting news, I have finished two hats and a mitten and have plans to knit a couple scarflets to complete the sets. Since these are all gifts, I am going for small things that require small amounts of yarn and small amounts of time. I have a lot of car time over the next few days so I should be able to complete some stuff. I am on a stitch pattern hunt for the scarflets, so if you have any good ideas let me know. I want something that doesn't curl and looks interesting with minimal work. i want to stay away from cables and lace, but other than that I am open to anything.

If I could knit as fast as this woman I would be golden.

As long as I don't also fall off a cliff.

In other news probably very few who read this blog will care about, my fave UFC ref has retired.

A walk, UFC, chocolate cake, no boots, no socks and a sweater

GuluWalk was fun! My toes were a little numb and my feet a little sore afterwards, but it was a nice walk and the weather couldn't have been better. I think I need some new running shoes or better circulation in my feet. More people participated than I expected and they were a fun group. I am really glad I was able to participate.

We had a few people over on Saturday night to watch the latest UFC. It wasn't a bad one. Not as exciting as the last UFC and a couple disappointing outcomes. I made the chocolate stout cake and it was rich. I didn't have enough pans in the same size to make a a three layer cake, but I think two is plenty. A normal size slice is too much for me even when i dilute it with vanilla ice cream. I think it's partly the ganache I used for frosting it. Maybe next time I will just make it with a chocolate frosting. Josh told me if I keep making stuff like that I need to make sure he has a gym pass.

We went to the outlet mall in hope of finding Josh some new boots. He decided he deserved new shoes since I just purchased some. They didn't have the pair he wanted in his size, but I did get a new silicone covered whisk to use with my enameled Dutch oven. For some reason I keep misspelling "whisk".

I frogged the stripey socks for the second time because now they are too tight. I may just go with toe-up so I have a better idea of fit as I go. I don't really like toe-up though. I have about 12 more rows before I get to the sleeves on Wicked(sorry for the bad pic). I ordered the wrong zipper for my Ribby. Doh! I misread the description so I will be ordering again today. I think I may prefer the collar a little longer anyway, so maybe it isn't so bad. I have back-up zippers for other things. Yeah, that's what they are.

First of all, a big THANK YOU to all that donated to GuluWalk! I really appreciate it. It looks like we are going to have some nice weather on Saturday for our walk.

I started Wicked last night. I wound the 5 skeins into some cakes using a laundry basket as a swift because Josh didn't want to be my human swift. I am in the middle of the second row of the pattern, but I think I am going to frog and do the collar on smaller needles so it is less likely to stretch out and because I want it a little smaller. At least I started it.

I need to get some socks done too! I have three pairs yet to knit for Christmas gifts and one pair should have been done last month. I also have the Sockapalooza socks which I restarted to change to a smaller needle and fewer stitches. They were too big for me and my pal has smaller feet!

The zipper for Ribby should be here tomorrow or Saturday as well as some sock club yarn. I washed and dried Ribby and it didn't fall apart!!! I call that a success. The sleeves are still looser than I like, but at least I will be able to wear it over long sleeves shirts without a problem. I doubt I will get the zipper in until Sunday because I will be tired from a 7km walk and 2 hours of UFC, but you never know!!

FO and new WIP

Pattern: Fawkes
Yarn: Fearless Fibers in Wrath

I love how they turned out. They were a fun pattern that I almost had memorized after awhile. I should start the socks I am test knitting and decide what to make for my mom. I am turning the Anastasia socks into Anklets because the yarn isn't cooperating as taller socks.

Now I am working on a Ribby Cardi in Cotton-Ease Charcoal. This picture shows the tubular cast-on I used. I love the nice round edge it makes. The second picture demonstrates how far one ball of Cotton-Ease can go. That's about 8" of the back.

Yesterday was the IC BrewFest. It was a lot of fun. I got to try some beers I have wanted to try, but didn't want to spend $9+ on a six-pack. I had one that tasted like blueberry muffins! I think my favorites were the Octoberfests. It may be because I am totally ready for fall.

Last night was UFC 76. There were a lot of good fights. I was disappointed in Chuck Liddell's loss, but I think Forrest Griffin's win may have made up for it. We recorded it onto a DVD with our new toy and it worked nicely. We are already making plans to record more favorite TV shows.

I passed!

So did Josh and Amanda. Actually everyone in our class did. This past weekend we took the motorcycle safety course through Kirkwood. Friday was 4 hours in the classroom and Saturday and Sunday was mostly learning how to ride with a little classroom time on Saturday and the driving test and written test on Sunday.

I can't believe how sore I am. I don't remember feeling this way after the last time I took this class, but that was 6 years ago. I know the booklet we received was completely different from my old one and I don't remember doing a lot of the riding drills either. I know the driving test was also a lot different. Now all I need to do is get my license from the DOT by taking their written test and figure out how to ride our bike.

I am really glad I took the class again and that I passed. I felt fairly comfortable most of the time, but there were a few drills I know I will be practicing a lot when our bike is in working order. My favorite parts were going around curves and weaving around cones. I wish we could have gone faster. I must say I am jealous of Amanda's new bike. It's so shiny! I think our bike will be ready in the next couple of weeks. I hope to ride it a little before it gets too cold.

We watched the UFC 74 that Amanda recorded last night. It was good to see Couture win again as well as GSP beating Koscheck.

I received my yarn from Fearless Fibers on Friday. Four skeins of sock yarn and some cute tags to include with finished gift socks. I love the colors. For my socks club skeins, one has some lovely shades of brown and the other is and orange and red that will be perfect for some Fawkes. I ordered two others which Deb kindly shipped with my sock club order. One I bought with the intention of using it for Fawkes, but now I think it has a new purpose in life. Not sure what that is yet.