Knitting projects

A SIMPLE BABY PULLOVER free project sheet that I picked up at AC Moore -shhhhh don't tell anyone I knnow that I went there. LOL!



A dish towel in a waffle stitch which I found as a link on Down To Earths Blog.



And a baby blanket that I started knitting. I got the pattern from Jo-Ann.com; BABY LOVE DIAGONAL BLANKET. Super easy and turning out so lovely.

Small Joys

I need to take the time to appreciate the small joys in my life... time spent knitting, sewing, quilting, gardening.... everything that used to fill my days. That includes housework, cooking and laundry too. I'm still in search of a balance.

I'm teaching myself to knit and right now I have 3 projects in the works - a baby sweater - that I have to rip out and start over as I dropped a stitch and now it has a hole there; a baby blanket that is working up quickly and a dishcloth. As usual I'm setting up to do a LOT on my day off - no rest really.

Last night went so much better than the night before. The night before I was awoke with the worst cramp in my left calf. I was crying out it hurt so bad. Scott was able to massage it some and get it to stop but oh my it hurt so bad. Then all day yesterday it was a dull ache that was nearly distracting. Thankfully it is feeling a bit better today.

Today and tomorrow are working days and then I'm OFF Tuesday and so looking forward to that.

Rainy Ride home from work

Today was cloudy followed by a very rainy ride home this afternoon. Tomorrow will be a BUSY day... and it will start early!

It's only 7:23 PM but I am exhausted! I'm going to call it an early night tonight.

RAIN and MORE RAIN!

OK... we needed some rain but now it's just getting depressing! I've been working on a batch of Chow Chow and am learning to use the pressure canner that I just bought at Walmart for $52 - YES I was in Walmart with my Mom. We rarely shop there at all but Mom said they would have the canning jars that I needed but they were out. Finally found some at Bi-Lo. The Chow-Chow smells delicious; I'm hoping it taste that good as well.... IT DOES! I had one 1/2 pint jar left over in the pot so we taste tested some... YUMMY!


Uncle Lenny's check up in Charleston went well. And they were back by 1 this afternoon. Mom stayed with me until they got back. We noticed she had a tire quite low so we went to Kershaw Tire and had them check the air pressure - turned out they were all low; less than 25 pounds of pressure in each one - kinda scary in this rainy weather. Then they told her that her brakes were nearly shot and not really safe for the road so she had them replace those. I felt better about their trip back.

I over bought on the canning jars but will hold them until we can find something else to make - and then we will probably have to buy more. I'm thinking yard sales and Free-cycle need to be hit up for some as they cost about $8.50 a case in the store.

Greg has a job interview and we are hoping that he gets it as he REALLY needs a job. His Insurance will be coming due soon and he needs to have spending money for gas and "girls". LOL!

Scott has a phone Interview this week... here's hoping they both get employment this week!

Not going there....

I could so rant about yesterday but am going to just leave it alone and move on.

I'm up a lot earlier than I had planned to be; just couldn't sleep anymore - or toss and turn. It's a wonderfully brisk morning here and the air is so fresh and clear. I am looking forward to spending part of the day tomorrow with my Mom. She is driving down here with Uncle Lenny and then Scott is taking him on down to Charleston to see the Cardiologist down there and Mom will stay with me. We may go out to the State Fair as it is opening day but a lot will depend on how tired we both are. We may just stick around here and do a little sewing. I almost NEED a quiet day at home right now.

Columbus Day!

What a rainy day for the last day of the Columbus Day sale - didn't slow people down a bit. We were busy is putting it mildly. I'm going to keep working hard and try to rest as much as I can when I'm off. The next couple weeks will be 6 day workweeks for me but I'll get through them. only 2 1/2 months until I can take a REAL break and am hoping that everyone will be able to keep things up and running so that I can take some time off.

Fall Cooking

There is just enough coolness to the air to make me get into a baking mood. We are to go to Scott's Moms' at 1 today for dinner and she is baking a ham so I thought pumpkin bread would make a nice add on that I could take. I just popped a loaf into the oven. We will be a few minutes late as it isn't supposed to be done until 5 minutes after 1 but we live less than a mile from her so hopefully we will get there by 10 after one. Here is the recipe that I used:

It's out of the Country Roads - A Collection of Recipes cookbook
page 100

PUMPKIN BREAD

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup solid packed pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup chopped pecans (I used walnuts)

Preheat oven to 350*F. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside.

Combine pumpkin, sugar, milk and eggs in a bowl. Add dry ingredients and butter; mix only until flour is moistened. Stir in nuts. Bake in a well-greased loaf pan for 65 minutes or until done. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan.

Recipe by Nancy Browder (Mrs. Bryan)

This is a wonderful little spiral bound cookbook put out by the Chapin Elementary School Parent Teachers Organization, 1983.