Happy Fourth!

I spent my day off knitting socks, shopping for a new pillow, looking at the mall for the camera I am considering and not finding it, baking another batch of oatmeal bars, baking bread and making pizza dough to store in the freezer.

I should have finished this pair almost a week ago now. I just couldn't make myself knit the toe.



Pattern: k4 p2 rib, plain heel flap
Yarn: Tofutsies #722
Needles: KP 2.25mm

I started Bellatrix(Ravelry) in STR Carbon



I am completely loving these socks. I started making Charade with this yarn, but it was not too pretty. I am using my smallest set of needles and didn't adjust the pattern at all; they will fit unlike my first attempt.

Tomorrow is packing day. Josh is moving with most of our stuff in a week so we need to finish packing all but what will be left with me, which hopefully will not be much.

Well I am going to go back to my beer and my sock. I think I need a movie to go along with them.

New sock! I should really finish the toe on the second sock of another pair so they are done, but this one is too addictive.


Josh is finally willing to get rid of his beloved couch. I have not made a big deal about it because I don't want to upset him, but I am soo happy. We even looked last weekend after we dropped our first load of stuff at the new place for a new one. Also, I think I have found a new camera. The reviews are excellent, the price is good and it is small. I plan to go to Best Buy tomorrow to check it out.

I hope you all get tomorrow off like me!

I finally finished a sock! Initially, I stopped working on it because I wasn't sure I liked the fit, but I needed a sock to knit yesterday, on dpns for some reason, and I decided I did like it.



This the first of a pair of Pomatomous in Dream in Color Smooshy in Gothic Rose. Despite my previous doubts, I love this sock and must start on the second one after I finish this post.

I decided Josh and I needed some more fruit in our diet so I made a blueberry crisp.



I combined a couple recipes which worked pretty well.

For the fruit:

2 lbs frozen blueberries,feel free to use fresh but halve the amt of cornstarch)
2 tbl corn starch
1/2c sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until the fruit gives off some juice.

For the topping:

1c old fashioned oats (I like them better than quick oats)
1/3c flour
2/3c brown sugar
pinch of salt
cinnamon, cloves, ginger or whatever you want
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 c) unsalted butter cut into small cubes
I also added some pecans

combine all ingredients and use your fingers to mush it all together until you get course crumbs.

When fruit has baked for at least 30 minutes, add topping and bake for another 40-50 minutes until top is golden and crispy unless you like it softer than bake it until then.

I also made this and put it into the refrigerator to grow overnight.

Any guesses what it is going to become for dinner tonight?

I don't really remember the floods of '93 since they didn't really affect me in any significant way, and I was 10, so didn't really care about that kind of stuff. The floods now, though they aren't really affecting me other than more traffic on my bus' route to work, I am definitely going to remember this. I can see the river from my apartment so I been watching it rise.

I plan to help with the sandbagging this afternoon if they are still in need of more sandbags in an area I can get to. Josh helped yesterday when they asked for volunteers at Lowe's. Amanda found his picture on the local paper's website in the flood pics from yesterday. They are placing sandbags near the dog park I run around in the mornings.

I took some pictures of the clouds (the ones I wanted to see when I stepped on random sharp piece of plastic) from the thunderstorms on Sunday and Monday and have them on my Flickr page if you care to look. You can also see my toe, which doesn't show much or the bloody mess I made on the floor while trying to get to a paper towel.

Though I have been distracted by storms I did make a bit of progress on Elijah.


I have also been distracted by new yarn. See, blurry picture due to excitement.

It was a really nice weekend. I experimented a bit on my oatmeal bar recipe with good results and made two fabulous appetizers which are new to my repertoire. I got to play with a yeast dough (always fun) then turned it into a tasty pizza with extra dough stashed in the freezer. Josh and I saw Kung Fu Panda, which was excellent. I bought an iPod Shuffle (because the price of an armband for my iPod Nano is almost as much), went on a run, and got some knitting and crocheting done.

I also stepped on a weird piece of plastic which ended up embedded in the ball of my left foot near my big toe about half an inch while I was trying to go out onto my balcony to take a picture of the nasty looking wall cloud. I then made a bloody mess on my kitchen floor while I yelled for Josh that I was getting blood all over the floor. At least I think it was plastic because Josh broke it and threw it away before I could examine it more closely. My foot feels bruised and tender and still oozes a bit. Lovely, I know. I am a bit worried about it getting infected since the piece of mystery plastic was on the floor and made it quite a ways into my foot (not that our floor is dirty it's just a floor). It kinda ruins my workout plans for the next few days due to it's location. I am surprised I have gotten any running in with my sore knee, chest cold with cough, pulled hamstring and now puncture wound to bottom of foot which prohibits even normal walking. I am trying to get into a running routine, but it's not going so well.

ETA: This sounds like a really neat way to power your home using solar panels.

Definitely make these if you aren't near a campfire.

Destashing and a new elephant

Some of you know Josh and I will be moving sometime in July. We haven't really worked that part out yet. My goal is to clean out and get rid of stuff so we have less to move. This is good for you because I need to decrease the amount of yarn. Head over to my Destash set on Flickr to see what is currently on there. More may be added as I get more desperate to fit all my yarn into 2 tubs. I have a lot of sock yarn, so that is mostly what it will be. I will probably be going through it all again this weekend so check back if you see something on my Stash pages that might interest you. You can also check it out on Ravelry if you so desire. I prefer PayPal for payments.

The new elephant is Elijah.

I think the best part of the pattern besides the cuteness is there is no seaming. Stitches are picked up for each part. The only that that I am a bit worried about is embroidering on the eyes because I am really bad at that.

I am working on a peanut butter version of the oatmeal bars I posted about the other day. I will let you know when I have a recipe that works. My first attempt last night was a bit too dry due to poor math on my part.

My jeans are soaked! See that blob of orange and red in the middle of all that green? That's what I was in while waiting for the bus. Orange and red mean lots of rain.

The fact that the street outside my apartment was full of about 3" of water when a car drove by just helped me get wetter. Not that I needed it. Luckily I am wearing sandals designed for water sports, since walking through the raging river of our parking lot could be considered a water sport today. I went for a run this morning and the rain started while I was doing my stretching and sit-ups after my run. I actually would have enjoyed running in the rain until it became a torrential downpour that felt more like going through a car wash. I do love a good thunderstorm as long as I am not waiting for the bus in it. The sky still looks like it is about 9pm rather than 9am.


There has been progress on Ornette, though it has been slow. I love the pattern, but it makes my left wrist tired so I have to take a break every so often. I started Elijah using this yarn in turquoise this morning while watching the rain. He will be a gift for my former neighbor's baby. Since I couldn't decide on clothing for the kid, he or she is getting a toy and granny square blanket in Hawkeye colors since the dad is a big Hawks fan.

I made bars from this recipe (via Cookie Madness) last night with a few mods. I decreased the butter to one stick, added some apple sauce for more liquid and also a 1/4 cup of ground flax; since I didn't have raisins I used chocolate chips. I think Josh had three bars after dinner. He seems to like them. I will make them again, but I think with even less butter and more flax and apple sauce.

Look what the from and lady bug are doing on my iGoogle!

I rarely have trouble picking yarn to become a sock. Lately that has not been the case. First there was the Ornette troubles, minor as the were and quickly remedied. Now I am having trouble with Bellatrix and the Yarn Pirate Kalamata not working out. I can't decide what pattern to use with my new yarn from Lotus Yarns sock club, and I just can't decide what to start.

I finished my sample knitting on Monday, which was a simple knit. I want something along the same lines difficulty-wise so I can knit while on the bus or watching TV without having to worry about it much. Ornette isn't bad for TV knitting, but takes a bit more concentration than I can always spare, though I do love the pattern so far(I am almost to the heel!). I am kinda leaning towards some Sidewinders, but not a redo of the Hawkeye yarn (that could become Aquaphobia), which looking back now that I know more about fit, probably did fit me fine and weren't too tight as I thought.

Any suggestions?

I hate this feeling of indecision. At least I know what I want to bake this weekend. There is definitely something involving yeast, maybe this, and another cobbler, possibly cherry, depends on what Josh gets at the store.

I just took the ecological footprint quiz on this site and am quite dismayed with myself. I like to think I have a low ecological footprint, but I don't. I thought I was even below average, but I am not. It's hard to figure out what else I can do. It's frustrating and eye opening, but also very discouraging. A lot of things I can't change, such as where the electricity that gets pumped into my apartment comes from and what appliances are in my apartment.

On to less depressing topics, I finished my super secret socks, though I still can't share them with you. I know you are all waiting anxiously for the reveal. Right? Since I finished a pair, I decided to start a new pair, which only makes sense. Actually working on another project would make more sense, but I will ignore logic in this case since I have wanted to make this pair for ages. Bellatrix (Ravelry)is a pattern designed by a lovely woman who recently passed away. She designed a bunch of free patterns, but due to copyright issues when her site was taken down, they haven't been available for several months. Her husband as generously taken the time to upload them all to Ravelry so we can once again use them.

Here's a picture of the ball of yarn I am using since the pictures I have taken of the start of this sock aren't interesting in the least.


The yarn in Yarn Pirate in Kalamata from the Booty Club and has short repeats of chocolate brown, a dark purple, light brown and a my favorite shade of green. I think it will be perfect for this pattern. By the way, after the first repeat, I was totally hooked. Hopefully Ornette won't get too lonely.

Attack of the Giant Chocolate with Vanilla Frosting Cupcakes!!!!


Made using this pan and this recipe cut in half. I can only eat half of one of these at a time.

I don't understand people's obsession with big vehicles. Most parking lots are now dominated with SUVs. Especially with gas prices going up and global warming taking center stage in the news, I don't see how people can even think about driving around in their large cars. I do understand that large families and some jobs require a truck with a large engine or van, but for the most part they are unnecessary. It looks like more people are starting to think the same way I do.

I love my little car. It gets 30-40 miles per gallon depending on the type of driving we do. I can squeeze into parking spaces surrounded by large trucks and SUVs, though finding it later is a bit tough. Granted Josh and I are a bit cramped when we drive, but not uncomfortably so. It's also a manual, which I adore unless I am in stop-and-go traffic, then my adoration wanes a bit. I hope my car lasts me for a few more years until they can make more hybrids with the same gas mileage as my car.

ETA: Since Amanda mentioned it in the coments :P, Josh does have a small truck. We drive it about 2 or 3 times a month to run errands, take our recyclables to the recycling place or if we are going to two different places. It is usually filled, at least partially, with E85, and it is rather small and gets better gas mileage than most SUVs. As far a trucks go, it's relatively harmless. I think my taking of public transportation and Josh using my car or the motorcycle when it's nice make up for the convenience of having a truck to haul our recycling and large things that don't fit in my small car.

Ok, moving on...

Ornette progress!


Shiny and tiny new iPod, though the screen is bigger.


Frog Prince!

I think a three day weekend should be standard. Anyone with me?

This weekend, though busy, was good. Josh did really well at his testing. His techniques and forms looked really good, and he broke both of his boards on the first attempt while thoroughly impressing everyone with his board breaking prowess. I admit, he was rather impressive, and he didn't kick me. I held the board for his jump spin hook kick (not Josh, just a video). I failed to fall correctly when he threw me during his one steps and my head bounced against the mat, which led to a headache for the rest of the night.

I worked on my second attempt at Ornette. I switched to some Fearless Fibers from my stash which shows the cables much better.

I am actually a bit farther (further?) than in this picture. I also worked on a super secret knitting knitting project which I can't share at all until much, much later, but I will tell you they are socks. There were perfect for entertaining me during my sister's graduation.

I need some coffee.

Thanks to The Pioneer Woman, I now have clean dishes! She mentioned Lemi Shine on her home and garden blog a last week so I decided to track it down and try it out.

ETA: Since itt's been asked twice now, I found it at Hy-Vee and Target in town. I didn't look anywhere else.


I found my very own, slightly different from her's, bottle of Lemi Shine for about $3.75. I didn't expect much because we have tried other things in the past with little success. I added about a tablespoon along with my regular dishwasher detergent.

Can you see the difference? The glass on the left has been washed with Lemi Shine and the one on the right has not. It's a crappy pic. The dirty cutting board behind them isn't improving their looks much, I might add.

And one of the best things about this stuff other than it's remarkable ability to make all my dishes, even the plastic ones I had in the dorms, look better is this...

It's phosphate free, which is good for the environment. Dang, I sound like an advertisement, but I am rather excited about having clean dishes again.

Ok, moving on. I have knitted stuff. I have started several small toys, which I am sure is a surprise to you all. So far I have a frog, Trogdor, Sausage Dog and a snail.


Hopefully they will all be done by this weekend so I can knit socks.

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.

I am eagerly anticipating my federal refund to magically appear in my bank account. Ok, so it's not all that magical, but it certainly feels that way when that number is suddenly bigger. Anyway, I am eagerly anticipating it not because I have a fun purchase planned, but because I want to save it. I just love watching my savings account grow. Actually it is being saved for a house and with my refund, the possibility of a federal rebate check, and my health care spending account claims I will have a decent chunk of money to put in my savings account during the next month, which makes me so happy and excited.

Since I am not making any big purchases I went for a small one. I bought a bit of yarn to try out from Knit Picks. I got some Comfy, Shine Sport, Cotlin and a couple Felici colorways for some ankle socks to change things up.

I picked up my Jaywalkers (Ravelry) again. With one sock done I decided it was time to finish the other. I have no idea what drew me to them yesterday, but I almost finished the leg between 4pm and 9pm last night with dinner in there somewhere. Actually let me check, I might be done with it...Ok, so I just did a quick comparison and I need about 5 more rows before starting the heel. Go me! I love quick knits.

This sock makes me want to knit some more Monkeys(maybe no purls?) and River Rapids(pdf) as they were also extremely fast socks to knit. I have switched back to carrying the yarn in my right hand for these as that is how I knit the first and also my left wrist is sore again so this gives it a bit of rest. I think my crochet habit may have caused the tendinitis to plague my poor wrist again. It's either that or how tense I tend to be when I knit the Jacobean socks, which I have no explanation for. I don't enjoy them; I guess that could be the problem.

Someone remind me to schedule a hair cut. It has been almost a year, which is rather pathetic.

Whatever ick I have isn't too bad, but still brought on the annoying scratchy throat and coughing as well as wearing me out. I slept hard last night and am still tired (coffee snuck into the lab is helping a bit with that), so no workout this morning as I had planned. My plan to workout tomorrow morning just got nixed due to a new work obligation which will carry over through this weekend. I have to be in before 7:30am tomorrow and since my gym doesn't open until 6am there is no way to get a workout in before work. I think I may have to stay late as well. Is it funny that I had to go back and read one of the papers I am an author on to get some info for this experiment? I think it is, but that could be the tiredness talking.

Anyway, I have some new recruits who just got their wings and beaks.



I have a feeling this is a never ending project for all those bits of DK and worsted yarn I will have laying around.

Joining their ranks shortly is Mr. Froggy or whatever I decide to call him later.



I should really be working on socks instead. I am such a bad person.

Eating, shopping, baking, Wii-ing, jogging, crocheting, picture taking, and grilling; not a bad Saturday.

First up are bird parts.

I have started three more birds for my army to bring the total to 9. I purchased the red yarn and two F hooks at our new Micheals. Not the greatest yarn selection but now I can get Cotton-Ease locally.

Next is the first of my ribbed socks made from TOFUtsies yarn.


Last night after tae kwon do, I helped Josh with his one steps. In one of them he does a leg sweep as I do a round house kick therefor landing on my back. I landed wrong the first time because I forgot what exactly was going to happen. I landed rather hard; I am pretty sure I am going to have a very lovely bruise in a few days. Luckily it didn't hurt while I was doing my workout today. It didn't hurt too much while I tried out a bunch of things on Wii Sports that I hadn't tried before.

Ok, now for some cake!

Small changes

I have been trying to make small changes that not only save money but are lest wasteful and less horrible for the environment. So far I have become a little fanatical about what gets recycled at our place, replaced our laundry detergent with some homemade phosphate-free detergent, replaced the kitchen cleaner with some homemade (and cheap!) cleaner, take public transportation to and from work, bring reusable bags to the grocery store and mall(when I remember) and now I am working on replacing paper towels with microfiber towels and other reusable towels after reading this article. Not only will it save money but it's less wasteful.

When Josh and I get our house we are going to try to make it as energy efficient as we can afford. Since Josh works at Lowe's (is there an apostrophe in Lowe's? I should know this), he is fairly informed about appliances and can get good deals sometimes. I am also going to look into fume-free paints. Can you tell I am a little excited about owning a home? We have been spending way more time talking about buying a house than planning a wedding.

I really wanted to finish the Zombies yesterday, well actually Monday, but realized quickly that was not going to happen. I have a couple more rows before the gusset is done, which will be a relief. I can get rid of the dpns I am using to hold the extra stitches!

Any ideas what I should have for dinner tonight? We kind of indulged during our long weekend so I am thinking something healthy, but I have some fingerling potatoes I really want to slice, roast and cover in parmesan. Mmmm.... I made beef stew and soda bread this weekend as well as pancakes and oatmeal scones, so we have had our share of hearty food. Salads would probably be a good choice. I guess the parmesan covered potatoes can wait.

Josh and I took both today and yesterday off so we could enjoy a long weekend together. It has been so nice. We haven't done a lot, but I feel we have been productive anyway. Well, sorta...We didn't get the laundry done.

On Saturday Josh and his dad fixed my car! I spent about $100 on parts and a meal. I still need to send a card with some cookies. My brake pads were worn down to almost nothing and the right rotor was really rough. I helped a little. I removed the lug nuts from the left front wheel. Josh failed to tell me the impact wrench was as heavy as it was so when he handed it to me I almost dropped it. It isn't really that heavy, I just wasn't expecting how heavy it was.

I also finally started the Zombie socks for SM2. I am knitting the socks two-at-a-time. I started using magic-loop but have switched to two circs to make the gusset a bit easier.

Today we talked to a mortgage lender and got pre-approved for a loan. It looks like the price range we were aiming for was what they are willing to loan us so we are good to go! Yay house!

I came home from tae kwon do with all sorts of goodies last night. I got a sweatshirt for $10, my new uniform, a blister the size of a dime on my right big toe and a blister slightly smaller than a dime on my left big toe. I also have a few sore arm muscles.

Now for some pictures. First is the pizza I mentioned in a previous post. It turned out rather well, except for the thin crust I was going for didn't really happen. The not-so-thin crust is topped with some light alfredo sauce I made, mozzarella, green peppers and chicken. The sauce seemed to be absorbed by the crust during baking. I will have to work on that.


Next up is the first sock of SKP2008. It now has an owner yet still needs a partner.


Third is the first of the Ribbed Tofutsie socks. About one more inch then the toe!


Last but not least is my favorite breakfast: steel-cut oatmeal with dried cranberries, Greek yogurt, pecans and honey.


I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures. I haven't had ideal light conditions at an opportune time when a picture needs to be taken, and I refuse to use the flash because it ruins pictures for the most part.

I am feeling better than I was most of this weekend. The sinus headaches are gone for the most part, and I was able to sleep most of last night without waking myself up with coughing. I call that improvement!

Saturday was exhausting. I didn't sleep much the night before and we had 8 people coming over to watch another UFC fight. We fondued again but added a chocolate fondue for dessert. We made rice krispie treats, cheesecake and pound cake to slather with chocolate and also had marshmallows and strawberries to dip in it. Everything went well until we tried to melt the chocolate. I have made ganache in the past without a problem and assumed this would be the same. I was wrong. The chocolate separated and got rather chunky and not good for dipping. We tossed it and I melted some more chocolate with cream on the stove top, but the same thing happened. I am guessing it was because I used chocolate chips rather than a bar. Extra stuff is added to chocolate chips that isn't usually in bar chocolate. I am guessing this was the problem, but I will have to do some more experimentation. I have most likely used bar chocolate for ganache in the past.

I started my first SKP2008 sock. I am not a fan of the pattern so I picked yarn accordingly. The color is not really to my liking so I thought it and a pattern I don't like well either would go quite well together. At least the sock is a fast knit. I finished most of the leg Sunday morning and started turning the heel last night. I can hopefully finish them rather quickly. I am not going to place very high, but I didn't figure I would no matter what the pattern. Several people were done the day the pattern was released!