New Photos

Got some new photos to share - recent stuff - These are our three kids. Aren't they gorgeous? So much fun to have them all home at once. What a great weekend. Thanksgiving was wonderful and we just laughed and laughed and ate and ate. phew. A lot of work. But worth it. I tried new recipes including Maple Glazed Turkey from Gourmet Magazine (Tyler Florence - that really cute chef on Food Network) and it WORKED! Big time. It was so moist and full of flavour - put thyme and chopped sage and rosemary in between the skin and the meat (just separate the skin with your fingers to put the chopped herbs in between) and REAL maple syrup basting the turkey. Really really nice.

Of course there was homemade cranberry sauce (just boil some sugar and water and then add the cranberries and simmer on low heat until done - very simple) and I added cinnamon and some lemon juice - really nice. Homemade dressing with apples and celery, some candied yams (sweet potatoes with maple syrup sliced up) and mashed yams with baby marshmallows on top (under broiler for a minute to brown the marshmallows) and peas, mashed potatoes with cream cheese and sour cream and melted cheese on top, and homemade (for the first time I made homemade pumpkin pie instead of going to the local bakery) pumpkin pie - Caramel pumpkin pie, again from Gourmet magazine - a bit of an effort and next time I think I'll just do "normal" pumpkin pie, as we top it off with whipped cream and melted honey so it's already sweet enough. What a meal. What an effort. I was so exhausted. But it was perfect.

Hey Chris - Pretty Bird, Pretty Bird - haha - this is a great photo - (you have to watch "Dumb & Dumber) and you'll get it. We didn't have a centre piece so we used the rooster and chicken and Chris had a bit of a moment here.... hahaha. We all laughed the whole night long.

Overall a wonderful Thanksgiving. Lots of fun and amazing food (the kids ate it all and loved it and Don loved it, so I was happy) and good times.

Hope all my Canadian Friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving too.

Now back to some knitting - I didn't get a lot of knitting done on the weekend. I was baking and cooking and cleaning and busy. But it was great. Loved it. Happy Thanksgiving!

My son's birthday and Perogies, Sauerkraut and Brownies

Wow - My son had his 23rd birthday today!! I phoned him and told him that the day he was born was one of the very best days of my entire life. And I have been blessed with him in my life since then. What a wonderful wonderful son I have. He is a treasure. I missed him today. He is working and living away from home and came home last weekend for Thanksgiving so at least we got to see him last weekend (had a birthday thingy last weekend). But still. But then again. We have to let them go. He had a nice time with the girlfriend and a nice dinner out, and relaxing time, so that's good. Can't believe he's that old. already. whew.
We had a great family get together at Mom and Dads today. Everyone was too busy on Thanksgiving so we all did our own thing and this weekend we decided to do something instead. The weather was cool"ish" but good and we were able to stay outside the whole time. We have all had ENOUGH turkey. So we did hamburgers, sausages, perogies, sauerkraut, salad and the kids made chocolate pie (decorated with smarties and whipped cream - fun) and we had brownies and pumpkin pie for dessert. With the beer and wine (tried the Dan Akroyd VQA wine - Chardonnay - not bad and of course, it's Dan Akroyd. So OF COURSE we will love it...) and the kids were running around and the dogs, it was just great. Owen and Brady put on their "Spidey" costumes and the young ones (not 16 yet) were driving the golf cart all over the place (my food was hopping all over the plate when Sarah was driving - yikes - I don't think those pot holes are supposed to be there when you're whipping around in a golf cart!) but they had a great time. I think Michael even caught a fish (again). Should've brought Alice. She and Cody would've had a nice time. Next time. She needs to meet other doggies. Jaimie had fun. Nice for her to see the others as it's been a while. I love the family thingies. They tease me a lot but it's okay. I love them all. If I can figure out how to make this sweater I'm working on (a jacket really - Noro "Fletcher" moss stitch hooded jacket) then I will make each of them a sweater. Kim (my sister) had a gorgeous cabled cardigan and I really really want to make one like that. Overall a really nice day. I have some SERIOUS knitting to do. It is really getting cooler outside. Finished the two chemo caps and mittens, and a scarf. Need to finish the Feather and Fan scarf for a friend and am working on this Noro sweater jacket. I love the yarn. Noro Iro in earth colours. It is sooo pretty - every time I finish a row I can't wait to work on the next one and see the colours. I am using #6 needles instead of #7 in the pattern to get gauge. Bamboo works better with the Iro - not the Addis. So. Have to work on this back part. Will let you know how it goes. Have never grafted before and have never done a hood. This is a hooded jacket. Have only made baby sweaters. So this is a bit scary and exciting and fun (jumping right in - and may need some help). See what happens. I may have to wear it with three or four extra arms tucked in, or some padding around my neck. haha. I have gauge. And I have the pretty yarn and the good needles and this internet for help. Should be fine. I will pop up some photos soon so you can see progress and the pretty yarn. Really. The whole reason I want the sweater is because of the yarn. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Gonna go knit. I think Desperate Housewives is on tonight. Maybe a good movie to knit along with...

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my fellow Canadians - I have finally made "homemade" pumpkin pie (actually made three of them) last night. With a really nice recipe, a bit more complicated but it should be yummy! It is "Caramel Pumpkin Pie" with the amber coloured carmelized sugar and water added to the pumpkin pie filling. I had fun. Turned up the music in the kitchen and poured the wine and got out all the ingredients and danced around making three pies. Then I finished the hat I've been working on. So two hats made, very slow progress cause I've been on this Ravelry site and on this blog and busy setting it all up. But progress is good, slow or not. Have chosen the sweater/jacket I want to make. Tough decision. But have decided to do the Noro pattern "Fletcher" from 'Simply Noro' by Jane Ellison, pg.34. It's a mid length stocking stitch jacket with a moss stitch hood and sleeves. Really going to be great in the Noro Iro I have (fall colours of browns/greens) and am looking forward to making it and wearing it this fall and winter. Tried it on the 7 mm needles recommended and it was way too big and the stitches were too loose - I want a tighter knit - have gone down to 5 mm needles and it is much better. Will let you know how it goes. I have to go make the cranberry sauce now - homemade with fresh cranberries and sugar and cinammon - and the turkey is thawing. The kids are all going to be home this weekend (as of tomorrow - travel time is tough getting here) so I'd better go get things all ready. HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE and Happy Knitting!

I'm in Ravelry at Last!

Ravelry
WOW - got into Ravelry finally... and am so excited! It's a great site. So many talented crafters and of course I went straight to the knitting section and have joined 50 groups right away. haha. I have to learn how to blog now. Have never done this, but want to be able to communicate with all of these wonderful people and this is the "new" way to do it, I guess. I'm better at letter writing or email. But am always willing to try new things. So here goes... This is my first post and I am THRILLED to be with Ravelry's community. What a great idea. I haven't done much knitting in the past few days though, trying to get all set up and add my projects and details to the site. It takes a bit of time setting it all up. I need to go and knit now. Am working on some hats, experimenting with different yarns right now. Just finished a cabled scarf for a friend and need to make a birthday gift for a girlfriend - any ideas? - within the next week. Happy Knitting everyone...

Welcome to the Knitting Lady's Journal

Hello there - this is my first entry... so welcome to this new blog.
Hope to meet many fellow knitters out there along with other crafty folks and animal lovers. Will add more info here soon.
Just figuring things out.
Happy Knitting!