How to survive a cold spell . . .

Here I am by my lonesome self this weekend. DH went to the beach to help his brother with a home improvement project on their beach house. I've been enjoying the solitude but it has been cold around these parts--record breaking cold! I vowed not to go out this weekend, but I ended up making a run to Joann's to get some notions for a pair of pants I want to make. That was basically it! So--how does one keep comfortable in this cold while being frugal with energy?

First of all--keep the fire going.
Fortunately DH had gotten the fire started before he left early yesterday. I've been keeping it going by throwing the wood on every hour. The cats have been hanging out right in front of the wood stove. I really thought that I'd have at least two of them in bed with me last night. Greg ALWAYS sleeps wedged between DH and me. He never even came upstairs!

Second--keep a warm latte handy at all times.

Third--cook something in the crockpot. This was throwing off some lovely fragrances all day!
I came home from my errand to have this for dinner:
Split Pea with Ham Soup topped with a dollop of sour cream! There's nothing like homemade soup in the winter. I had been craving split pea soup so I indulged myself! I discovered that Hormel has packages of cooked, cubed ham for sale at the grocery store. You get around 2 cups with was perfect! I didn't have a ham bone handy so this worked out well and it was 99% fat free! Good stuff!

Oh--one more thing--actually two--Have some good movies or cable handy along with your favorite knitting project! I have almost finished the body of Silken Scabbard. About an hour this afternoon will take care of that. Tonight will be spent watching the Ravens game then the SNL Presidential Bash! I have to record two other shows--Big Love starts back tonight and the Mentalist is on a special night. I love my DVR! I would like to watch the Inauguration Concert this evening as well.

Things are a buzz around these parts. I'm so glad that my school system decided to close schools on Tuesday. Our Superintendent didn't want to but the BOE voted to do so. We directly border DC and have a lot of metro stations. It will be a zoo. A lot of main roads into DC are being closed and all the bridges from Virginia into DC are closed. Given that many of our employees live in DC and VA, that would have meant that many people would either be hours late to school or not make it! We were closed on Inauguration Day when I was a kid. Given our proximity to DC, this should be a holiday. The funny thing about this Inauguration Day is that many, if not most, of the locals aren't going anywhere near the city! A lot of people have been interviewed on the radio and many of them are going out of town! They are saying that literally millions of people will be on the mall for the festivities. They will have huge jumbotrons set up for the masses to see the swearing in ceremony. That's the best part, if you ask me--especially when your new president is such an incredible speaker. I remember working half day on Clinton's first Inauguration. I drove home like a bat out of hell to hear his speech. He didn't disappoint! Having a leader who communicates well does much to inspire trust in our government. Let's hope that congress doesn't impede his programs. I think that the country is so desperate for change that they will cut him some slack. Here's hoping.

I wore my Surplice Camisole Thursday to school. I didn't think I would ever wear it as I was disappointed with it. I rather like it as a layered piece though.

Now for the last Bushism of the Day:
"So I analyzed that and decided I didn't want to be the president during a depression greater than the Great Depression, or the beginning of a depression greater than the Great Depression." --George W. Bush, Washington D.C., Dec. 18, 2008

Kitty Cam: This is how Mikey is spending his cold winter days:

What goes up . . .

must come down!  After a week of record heat, the mercury has been keeping a low profile!  Our days have been in the low to mid 70's and our nights in the 50's!  It has been totally delightful!  I turned off the AC and opened all the windows.  That is definitely an advantage to living in an old house.  Our house was built in the early 1920's and every room has a lot of windows.  It's very easy to get a nice cross breeze and the big old trees keep much of it shaded.  As you can see, several family members really enjoyed the fresh air!

I've been trying to get stuff done around the house since I've been off.  Today I washed window sashes which had a lot of dirt from the screens.  I also hung the curtain rod in the kitchen.  I will make that curtain tomorrow.  

I have a number of sewing projects that I have to do between now and next weekend.  Ems' graduation from Graham Webb is on Sunday June 29 so I am making her a dress using this pattern and fabric:

I like the violet chiffon over the fuschia lining.  It gives it an iridescent look.  I made a muslin of the bodice for Ems to try on when she stopped by today.  I had to do major alterations but it fit. She wants me to open up the neckline a bit because it is somewhat bunchy.  That's the way the design is.  I've redrafted the neckline to show more of a plunge and expose the collar bone area.  I'll take pictures of the finished product.  I had a helper while I was sewing.
Greg has been following me around since I've been off.  He stays close to me no matter what I'm doing!  Rumor has it that he cries constantly when I go away.  Jeremy said he "cried like a little bitch" last year when I went to Boston!  Poor baby!

 I am also doing a lot of the sewing for her fashion show.  The participants are given a challenge.  This year the challenge is international or fantasy brides.  Ems has to come up with a concept, do the costume, make up and hair.  She is doing a British punk rock bride and a medieval sort of thing.  I am doing the sewing for that.  She came up with the design and chose the fabric.  I'll put it together for her.  I will have to take photos at the fashion show.  The entries are always very impressive!

The tooth fairy visited our house last week. This tooth fairy looked something like this:
Mikey's tooth finally fell out!  It had been hanging down, scraping against his chin.
You can see the tooth hanging down.  Then one morning I noticed it wasn't there and I found this on the couch!

So we put the tooth under Mikey's pillow and the tooth fairy left him a couple pouches of tarter control treats. I guess she's hoping that she won't have to visit us anymore!

On the knitting front--I have been working on Fete. I'm almost done with it, but I started my third skein of yarn and was horrified by the pooling of the colors! This yarn is Handmaiden Double Sea Silk. I've never had issues with this yarn before and the skeins have always matched. I had one skein left over from Gizelle so I bought 2 more for this top. I think this third skein is the leftover one. It is much bluer than the other two. Check this out:

That big chunk of blue is on the upper back and will be hidden by my hair most likely.  However I have to finish the upper front and I fear that I will have the same problem, though so far it doesn't seem quite as bad.  There's really not much I can do.  I don't want to spend another $38 for one more skein of yarn.  I think I will finish then knit a swatch.  I'm thinking that I can heavily dilute some purple dye and see what happens if I paint it on the blue part.  I have nothing to lose except the swatch!  I'll finish this in a day or two then I have to get started on Labyrinth.

Here is another summer recipe that we love around here:

Confetti Pasta Salad

Ingredients:
1 box tri color Rotini
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup black olives, halved
1/2 cup onion diced
1 container Trader Joe's Perlini (Pea sized fresh mozzarella balls), drained (optional)
1 bottle Kraft Italian salad dressing ( I use fat free)

Cook pasta to al dente. Drain and run under cold water. Drain again. Mix pasta, vegetables, Perlini, and 1/2 bottle of salad dressing. Refrigerate for an hour or so. Mix again and add remaining dressing before serving.


This is good stuff! I make a batch and eat it for lunch the whole week!

Bushism of the day:

"In this job you've got a lot on your plate on a regular basis; you don't have much time to sit around and wander, lonely, in the Oval Office, kind of asking different portraits, 'How do you think my standing will be?'" --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 16, 2005

Kitty Cam: Samantha takes some time away from the boys.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Geez--It is the first week in June and the mercury looks like it is the third week or so in August! After our weather excitement last Wednesday, we are being tormented with unseasonable heat! Temps got into the 90's yesterday with high humidity creating a heat index of about 110 degrees! Today's temp. is supposed to hit 98 degrees with more of the same on Monday - Wednesday. Relief is supposed to come on Thursday with temps of 88 degrees! Thousands of people still have no power in the DC area and, boy! do I feel for them! The biggest problem with this type of heat is that we get the awful thunder storms so we just go through this vicious cycle! I ran some errands in the heat yesterday then worked in the house--believe it or not--putting away Easter decorations! Now, don't get me wrong--I didn't have Easter eggs and baskets etc. around the house. I did have spring animals--bunnies, ducks, chicks etc. I figured they looked springy and I just had better things to do. So I've been packing them up and cleaning as I go. I got so into it that I was busy until about 8:30 p.m. yesterday when, as luck would have it, our power went out due to another one of those lovely thunder storms. Fortunately we have two battery powered lanterns and jar candles ready at all times. This did put an end to my dinner plans though. I had barbecue to microwave so we will have that tonight. DH and I headed for Cosi's where we had a nice relaxing, but late, dinner. I guess if the power had to go out, we were lucky it was at night. There was a cool, though very damp, breeze from after the storm so the house was bearable. I put a sheet on the living room couch and slept there as it is right by the porch windows and much cooler. DH slept in the family room. DH woke me up at 7:30 and said that the power had come on around 7 a.m. I got up a little bit later. Different for me! I'm usually in bed until 9:30 or so, but then I'm usually up until about 2 a.m. on Saturday night. I was in bed by 11:30.

All this has me reflecting on our culture of consumption. I was lost yesterday when I discovered that our DVR cable box was fried. I won't have another one until Tuesday. We may bring the upstairs box down to watch TV, but I put music on to entertain me while I work. Imagine what our lives would be like without computers, internet, electronic gadgets etc. Those in my age bracket can remember simpler times when we didn't have these. I dare say, we read more and socialized with our friends face to face more. My kids' generation may remember times like this from their early childhood, but their teenage and adult lives have often revolved around these conveniences.

As I get "nearer the grave than the cradle" I'm seeing the value in participating in activities that get me away from gadgets and involved with people. I watched my parents become isolated in their later years and I don't think that is healthy. I'm also worried about the economy and how energy prices are wreaking havoc on literally everything. I was amused to see that BG&E (our electric company that raised the rates 80% in the last year) is giving its customers a one time $170 credit on our August bill. As if that makes a dent in the increased costs! At least the credit is given during the month that typically has the highest energy usage!

I've been making conscious choices about where and when I drive and trying to cut back. I'm also starting to buy "green" products. I'm finding that the environmentally friendly cleansers are actually more effective! Most of them use citrus oils which really cut through kitchen grime!

Okay--That's my rant.

This week will see very little knitting. It is the last week of school and I have a ton of stuff to do. Next week, I will chill and make a lot of phone calls. I need to deal with insurance, cable, banking etc. etc.--all the stuff I just cannot do when I am in school. This summer will be one of cleaning and getting rid of a lot of crap in the house. I'm debating whether or not to do a yard sale or just to donate stuff. Some will go on Ebay, but most won't!

On a political note--I was impressed with Hilary's speech in which she endorsed Obama. While I was a Hilary supporter, I just don't get those other Hilary supporters who will not vote for Obama. What on earth are they thinking? Their policies were almost identical! Why would anyone who supported Hilary vote for McCain?!

As a reminder of why NOT to vote Republican, here is my
Bushism of the day:
"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda." --George W. Bush, Greece, N.Y., May 24, 2005

Yup! We've had seven and a half years of that! Do you think the American people have caught on yet?

Kitty Cam:
This one is from Ems--Mokey, the fashionista kitty is hiding in a paper bag because he has nothing to wear!

You can't fool Mother Nature!

But she can certainly fool us and is having a ball doing so. Let's see--a recap of this week's weather--Monday was 82 degrees and a fabulous spring day. Tuesday was similar. Pheelya and I went out for manicures and pedicures, wearing our spring tops and flip flops and we sat outside for lunch at Einstein Bagels. It was actually hot in the sun! Wednesday was cloudy with drizzle and in the 60's. Then, bam! The temperature took a dive! Thursday and Friday were in the 40's with talk of, dare I say it? Snow! Now a month or two ago, the "S" word would have been music to my ears! Being a teacher, snow days are the best surprises ever--particularly if you've planned accordingly and have all the fixings for expresso drinks, homemade soup along with digital cable and some UFO's lying around (who doesn't have those!!) But in April, on Easter weekend no less--well that's just not right, so Mother Nature needs to have a serious attitude adjustment. I won't have her personality problems messing up my spring and summer! Got it? No heat waves, hurricanes and that stuff! Clean up your act, girl!

Here's the view from the back door this morning!

Here's the view from the front porch! I had put my annual pot of tulips out and they closed up tighter than a drum! I guess they are trying to keep warm too!
After taking that photo, I found MikeyMo on the back of the couch.

I couldn't resist another photo of him, particularly since it shows off his extra digits. For those who don't know, Mikey is a polydactyl kitty. That means he has extra toes. When Ems found the litter at the restaurant park in May 2001, she brought them home (there were 5 of them) and exclaimed "One of them is polydactyl. Can we keep it?" Who am I to say no to keeping a cat! Of course we ended up keeping Greg too! Mikey is gaining weight which, according to the vet, is a good thing because it shows that his diabetes is getting regulated. However, because he was overweight before he lost weight, it isn't a good thing. I had to temporarily put him on some Purina food due to the pet food recall. His prescription food was recalled. He likes the Purina stuff a little too much and I find him eating too frequently. Fortunately, I was able to pick up another type of prescription food for him today. Hopefully he won't like it so much and will only eat it when he's really hungrey! Mikey has his own web page which is dedicated to his polydactylness (is that even a word?).

I had a lovely day at the hairdresser's yesterday. I decided it was time to go red again. My hair was already auburnish. It had been copper red several years ago. Those who haven't known me long, don't know the transformations I've been through. I like to reinvent myself every so often. 14 years ago --one year before a very major birthday, I decided to do just that. I went to the hairdresser with long, wavy, highlighted blond hair and told her to cut it off and dye it red. I walked out of their looking like Sharon Osborne! My kids' friends used to call me Sharon and I had literally been stopped by strangers with comments like "You know you look just like Ozzy's wife!" Geez, who knew? So the last major birthday, I decided to grow the short hair out and reinvent my personal style by basically dressing like a girl. That means that I traded my clogs for stilleto heels and the "mom" jeans for somewhat low rise bootcut jeans. I also have accumulated a collection of vintage dresses, mostly from the 50's, which I live in during the warmer months. During this time period, my hairdresser decided to take most of the red out of my hair. So this being birthday week (my birthday is on Easter Sunday), I decided to have her red it up a bit!

It's actually a subtle change, but the true test will be when I go back to school on Tuesday. I'll see how long it takes one of the kids to yell out "Did you dye your hair?" You just can't put anything past them!

Other stuff--I really got started on my Sahara sweater for the KAL. The Great Big Sea yarn isn't gauging exactly, but it is close enough. It is stunningly beautiful. I had photographed the skeins in an earlier post. The color gradations are very nice and it just glides on the needles. It has that sheen that only silk can have.


That's it for now. I have to go play Easter bunny!

Midweek Musings

WoW! Another FO! This one was started and finished in 2 days! This is Asminah's Hat from Kody May Knits>


I made a few modifications to the pattern. Instead of adding the crocheted brim, I knit 5 rows of K1, P1 twisted rib. Kody May did 2 1/2 repeats of the pattern and I did 3. I thought the hat should be longer since it is a chemo cap and needs to cover more. It is knit in Berroco Touche which is a 50/50 blend of Cotton / Modal Rayon. This is one of my new favorite yarns! It is extremely soft, has a nice drape and knits like a dream. It is worsted weight and can be used in any pattern calling for worsted weight yarn. I think I may get some for a summer tank. I just love the stuff!

I started swatching my Great Big Sea yarn for the Sahara pattern. It isn't gauging exactly--sort of in between what it should be when done on size 5's and size 6's. I guess I'll go with the 6's since the bust measurement of the pattern is an inch smaller than mine. I think I will have a love/hate relationship with this yarn. It is stunningly beautiful! The silk in it causes it to stick to itself. I found this out when winding a center pull ball. When pulling from the center, it rubs against itself and tangles. I pulled out big wads of yarn. Once I got it untangled, I wound it up and stuffed it back into the center of the ball then decided to use the outside end to unwind the yarn that way. That seemed to alleviate the tangling issue. This stuff is so slick it almost slides off the addi turbos! I'm debating whether or not to use my Bryspun circs instead. I'm assuming that it would swatch the same given that the needles are the same size.

So I'm trying to talk DH into getting a bigger bed. We still have a double. With both of us having a small amount of middle age spread, it's getting a bid crowded. But that's not the main reason we need a bigger bed:

That's the reason! Greg sleeps the entire night on our bed. He does not take cat naps either. He sleeps like a rock! He just sort of bounces around in the middle of the bed whenever one of us moves or pulls the covers. When DH gets up in the morning, Greg gets up next to my shoulders or literally climbs on me and sleeps on my belly! He's not exactly a petite feline either--he weighs 19 pounds! Sometimes Mikey gets at the foot of the bed at night which means that I can't move at all! So a larger bed is in order! A king size bed would certainly allow all the kitties to cuddle with us, but I think that would be just too big!

I have to forgo the pleasures of knitting today to work on taxes. Yuck! I can make up for it tomorrow at my hair appointment. I usually get a fair amount done while waiting for the ol' color to develop!

Other news--We are having winter weather! Here it is 4 days before Easter and they are calling for snow flurries! Even weirder is the fact that it was 80 degrees 2 days ago! Nothing like weather by Sybil!

Practical Joke!

The title of this blog is directed toward Mother Nature. How could she? Here we had a series of lovely 70 degree spring days and then, boom! It all came to a screeching halt! Yesterday, I went off to school with open toed shoes and a cardigan knowing that it was going to cool down that night. However when I walked out of work at 4:00, the temperature had dropped about 20 degrees and by the time I got to my massage at 5:30, it was pouring rain and freezing!

This comes at a most inconvenient time as I am getting sick and cold, wet weather does not help! I'm playing hooky today to rest. I feel like I am getting bronchitis which would not be a good thing since I'm going to Chicago in 6 days! That would just royally suck!

When I got home, I was greeted by the herd.

It's funny how they are. Anyone else walks in the house at dinnertime and they don't react in the slightest. The minute my car door closes, apparently they all come running and they are at the door like little kids! Even funnier is the fact that they don't meow or carry on until I am actually ready to feed them. They seem to know that I have to unload groceries and put stuff away. Once I've done all that, however, the singing and dancing commence! Mikey gets on the barstool to attempt to get in my face!


I didn't get anything done on the pop up paw last night. I crashed in front of the TV and stayed in bed late this morning. This is definitely one of the more unmotivating projects I've done. I need to finish it just to get it out of my hair.

When I came down this morning to fix my latte and crash on the couch, someone had beat me to it!
They certainly know how to spend a cold rainy day!

Spring Has Sprung (or so it seems)!

Everyone who know me, knows I love the snow. As much as I love it, though, I'm ready for spring. Snow helps me make that transition. It is just the natural progression of things. I don't know how people cope in climates that are the same year round. This weekend brought in some nearly spring weather that was delightful. No winter coat--just a heavy cardigan or sweatshirt! The kitties seem to enjoy it as well! I found Bar (Harley in formal speak), lounging in the sun on the dining room table in the construction site!



My friend, Cat came over yesterday for a trip to Savage Mill to get a beaded ID tag holder at ArtCraft. I had my biannual 20% one item coupon and was delighted to find the most gorgeous beaded bracelet. It is a Holly Yashi creation made with gold filled chain and Swarovski crystal beads. It definitely falls in the "why didn't I think of doing that" category. All the bead stringing that I've done and I never thought of putting the beads on wire between chain the way this is done. It is simply stunning! Unfortunately the photos just don't do it justice but it sparkles incredibly! Needless to say I wore it to work today!



I have to go do a mile or so on the treadmill. My metabolism has come to a grinding halt! I tried on some of my spring skirts in an effort to find the right outfit to wear to a reception for new NBCT's at the Board of Ed tomorrow night and everything I own is a little too snug! Bottom line is that I've put on 25 pounds in the last 3 years! I have never had to diet in my life and I eat a really healthy diet--lot's of fresh produce, no red meat, only whole grains and all organic. I hate the thought of dieting because then I actually think about food, which I typically don't do. I lost weight when I walked a brisk couple of miles everyday, so I need to get myself back into that routine!

Next week will be crazy because of all the end of season hockey stuff plus I'm going to Chicago for a conference so I better start tonight! After the treadmill, I can sit and watch 24! I guess I'll get the cuff for the second pop up paw done since I can do that on automatic pilot. Hopefully I can complete it for DH to wear on Saturday!

Cold Spell

Well it seems that the extreme cold spell may be coming to an end. It's been horrifically cold!

I found Harley nestled between the portable radiator and the baseboard heat! He ended up sleeping there 2 nights in a row!

I finally finished Maddy's mitts! I've decided that the Frog Tree Merino was worth the trouble. Of the three pairs of Fetching mitts that I've made, these are by far the softest and the most comfortable. They will probably be the warmest as well. I forgot to bind off using smaller needles, but the picot edge turned out just right!


I do hope Maddy will like them! I wrapped them up with some gummy bears for her Valentine gift and put it with Bird's gift--the Greek hat and gummy bears--on the bed so they'll see them when they get in from College Park. This is assuming, of course, that they are seeing straight after being in College Park. Things tend to get a little crazy over there!

Greg was waiting on the bed all evening for me! He is the only cat I know that, as the saying goes, "sleeps like a dog!" He doesn't wake up! He sleeps like a teenager!

I'm excited to be taking an entrelac class tomorrow! I hope I'll like it! I hear people either love doing it or they hate it, so we will see! I'm also excited to participate in Secret Pal 10 so I'll have to get my questionaire up tomorrow as well! Time for some shut-eye!