We have a house!!

It's exciting and a bit overwhelming. The place is bigger than we intended to buy, but it has everything we want in a home and more. We already have a few power tools for the garage including a rather large air compressor and a new washer and dryer. We got a great interest rate and our insurance is about a $100 lower than I thought it would be. This all went better than I could have hoped.

It is once again snowing here (as of last night we were already 5" above December's average snowfall), but it is finally supposed to be not bitterly cold today, which will be nice since I plan to do a bit of shoveling at the house today.

My job has been completely frustrating me lately. There is a lack of communication that makes it difficult for me to complete tasks and people get frustrated with me since I didn't know. Then there is the lack of hours. I used to regularly work between 7 and 9 hours a night, but now I am lucky if I can squeak out 5. Also, they gave me a few days off this week which I didn't ask for. I also thought she said I had just Monday and Tuesday off, so I went in as I had planned on Sunday. My boss showed up as I was finishing and asked if I had misunderstood her. I assumed from the question that I had. Apparently I wasn't supposed to work Sunday either. Going from 5 days a week down to two is not what I expected from this job nor was cutting my hours by almost a third.

Since we are in the process of buying a house (less than 2 weeks!) I need a job with regular hours, and since this one is not proving to be that job, I am on the hunt for another. I have an interview for a full-time baker at a local co-op scheduled for tomorrow, which should work for when I start school and should allow for a part-time job if needed. Also, I wouldn't be working nights, which would make me extraordinarily happy.

As I am typing this I am realizing how long my fingernails are. Now where did those nail clippers go?

Also, am slightly addicted to Molehill Empire right now. And with all this free time I have gotten some knitting done.

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!

The temperature in the lab is back to its usual 23C. Still cooler than I would prefer, but I can't complain.

I have a pair of finished socks!



Pattern: Pomatomus
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Gothic Rose
Needles: KP 2.75mm
Mods: None, though one is a bit longer in the cuff than the other. Not sure what's going on there, but I don't care.

Love the yarn and the pattern. They fit me well, so I am not sure where my earlier doubts came from.

I think I left my cell phone charger in MN. I may have to buy a cheap one to get me through the next two weeks.

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.

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!

Cherries!

Last week I bought three pounds of cherries for about $3. We munched on them during the week as dessert, but then I made the gigantic cupcakes and teeny cake and the cherries were ignored for a bit. Well, it was time they were eaten, but several were a bit past their prime. I knew I needed to use them, but I wanted something simple and quick to make. At first I was thinking this cake, but I was lacking ingredients. Then I thought of cobbler. It was not something I can remember eating often if at all. I assumed it was easy since it's just biscuits atop a fruity filling. The only thing was, I had to pit all the cherries, otherwise this would have been a quick and simple dish. As it was I and my counter were rather sticky with cherry juice by the end of pitting 4 cups of cherries, but it was worth it. We had already decided it was left-over night, so I had no other food to prep.

I used a recipe from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, which I love by the way. It has you cook the fruit separately until they start to release their juices then place the biscuits on top. They provide a table with filling recipes for several different fruits. I had sweet cherries and the recipe was for sour, so I had to reduce the sugar, but other than that it worked perfectly.

Josh and I polished it off in two days. He almost bought more cherries for another, but I think I will go for sour cherries from the freezer section for the next batch or possibly strawberry rhubarb; though blueberries would be nice too.




ETA: I forgot to add my sock progress! I am almost back to where I started before I frogged because it was HUGE! Those dropped stitches add a lot of stretchiness.

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.

I am really enjoying my test knitting so far. Well, for the most part. The Ornette pattern is really fun to knit with only 10 stitches of each row being bit fiddly. The result of those stitches is totally worth it though


There is a lovely cable pattern which you can see on Cookie's sock, which is not showing up well on mine. I love this yarn (Dream in Color Smooshy) and really wish it was working out. I think the yarn is just too smooshy for those mini cables. The yarn may not show those cables well but it allows me to show you how I hold my yarn.


I loop it around my pinky, across my ring finger, under the middle finger and over the first knuckle of my index finger. That is my engagement ring on my middle finger. It's just a bit too big for my ring finger. I hope to get that fixed shortly.

I have found some Crocs that I like. I like the chocolate/sienna version. I am really tempted. I could totally see myself wearing these, but...I don't need more shoes. I just really want them for some reason. They would look really nice with my fave pair of kahki colored pants which I plan to wear this weekend.

FO: small snail

Pattern: Snails and Slugs
Yarn: Scraps of Fearless Fibers
Needles: I think 2.5mm dpns, but it may have been 2.25mm
Mods: No eyes as of yet, but I should probably add some

Here are some pics for scale:

First with my favorite lip balm.

He's so tiny! Either that or my lip balm is huge.




Ok, so it was the lip balm. Here it is with a normal sized tube of Dr. Pepper LipSmacker.


Still pretty tiny, though.

Happy May Day! Is anyone else in denial that it is already May?

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.

Baby Snow Dragon

Pattern: Baby Snow Dragon
Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style in Vanilla
Hook: F 3.75mm
Mods: I made the eyelids a bit smaller.

I wish I wasn't giving her away. Josh thought it looked like a massacre had occurred on our coffee table this weekend due to the amount of bird and dragon parts covering it. It looks better now. You can see the new recruits tomorrow when they get their beaks.

March DB Challenge - Dorie's Perfect party Cake

When I saw this month's challenge was a cake I got rather excited. I love baking cakes; I don't need an occasion, though it usually helps. I am just glad Josh and I have friends and coworkers willing to eat my cakes. My family was never big on cakes. We much preferred brownies, which may explain why I prefer baking and decorating cakes to eating them.

I made this cake yesterday since all my plans to get this done on previous weekends failed miserably. Between forgetting to purchase one of the ingredients, weekend guests, car problems and other things it just didn't happen.

This cake required a cooked meringue butter cream, which was totally new to me. For the filling, I used blueberry spread made locally. I flavored the cake and butter cream with lemon, and used whole wheat pastry flour because I didn't realize that is what I had purchased. The cakes didn't rise as well as I had hoped, but still enough to allow me to split them in half for filling with blueberry goodness. I think I could use some new baking powder as evidenced by these cakes and last weekend's flat biscuits.



As for taste, the cake is lovely; so is the blueberry spread. I am definitely having peanut butter and jelly for lunch again. The butter cream is just not for me. Not a fan of frosting, with the exception of those containing cream cheese, I found the butter cream to fluffy and whipped cream like. I am not a fan of whipped cream mostly due to it's texture. I know, I am weird. I don't like ketchup either.



I have posted the recipe here if you want to try it, which I definitely suggest. Don't forget to check out the other, probably prettier variations, my fellow DBer's have made. I should really get a pretty plate for my cakes.