Our Internet is back up

and running. Which is a really good thing as I have had important e-mail and Skype stuff I needed to do today. Maybe in a couple of days my life will settle into a new normal. It better continue to have a properly running Internet connection, 'cause my need for it isn't going to change.

It is just like gambling.

Re-posted/edited for spelling

There just enough, off and on, to make you come bake back hoping for more. That would describe our internet connection today, and the last few days.
Posted from Parera Panera Bread's handy, free Wi-Fi.

In the last couple of weeks

since I have been here, life has gone on and stuff has been happening, even though the blog has seen no evidence of it. Or perhaps the lack of blogging proves that life has been happening?
Anyway, Hubband and I had a wonderful time planning and fixing dinner together on the fourth, and then watching our movie together. The next evening, our Christmas socks made their public debut. (Of course Hubband made sure several people noticed our matching socks at his work party.)

 

Another pair of socks have been started, finished, and delivered.
Pattern: Broadripple
Yarn: Cascade Yarns Fixation
Started: Dec. 1 Finished: Dec. 13

 

Sock count: 17/12+2 (I didn't have the right color of yarn for these, so I bought some, thus the +2)

 

Made for: My younger sister, who absolutely loves them and says they fit like a glove.

 

A co-worker of Hubband's had a new baby, so we all know what that means.

 

A couple of coasters were also made and delivered when I got home, another hat was started, and I do believe a pair of socks will be started this weekend.
In addition to knitting, there has been traveling to Idaho (before the blizzard hit here, thank goodness!), visiting with a few friends and my sister (delivery of socks, obviously), some general stuff taken care of there, and traveling back home with my dad in tow. He is here to visit and spend Christmas with us.
Next up comes catching up on getting ready for Christmas, the DTs coming home next week, and general life stuff. Blogging may or may not resume on a regular basis.

I know,

where are the hat pictures? Well, you need wait no longer, here they is! (Nicely modeled by the owner of said hat.)

 

Pretty little intertwined knit cables on a purled background, all on account of reading the pattern correctly (after a bit of a mis-read in Round Three).

 

With the use of a life-line and realization that if you move the beginning row marker over, you have to move all the markers in the row over before you decide you have one too many stitches, beautiful decreases and a star/flower shape happen. Then with continued decreasing, poof! it is all finished and on someone's head.

 

(Unblocked, but that was OK with her. I am not sure she actually took it off for over 24 hours after it was finished. Maybe she took it off to sleep, but if so, she put it right back on as soon as she woke up. It is so nice to have someone who appreciates hand knit items, not every one who knits is so lucky. I am extra lucky to have several people wiling to indulge me.)

Tuesday I got to engage in some cat wrangling and take Oribel in to the vet for a check-up. She weighs in at seven pounds, six ounces and Dr. E was was very impressed with the fact that "She is solid muscle!" and diagnosed her as being "excessively healthy".

Tomorrow's big plans include a couple of errands and house cleaning during the day, but Hubband has agreed to indulge me with letting me pick pick what movie we will watch after dinner. I made sure we had this one show up in the mailbox in time for the big event.
(BTW, blog posts will probably continue to be erratic for the next several weeks. I am heading out next week to bring my dad here for a Christmas visit. I'll be gone for a bit and I think a lot of you know he doesn't have a computer so I only get Internet connection when we go to the cyber-cafe. Of course after we get back I will be finishing up with getting ready for college kids to come home, keeping dad busy helping around here, and the like. I'll try to entertain you at least once a week, and we can always hope for more.)

I only have a couple of minutes

before I need to dash off north to return DTE to school, but I just wanted to give you a quick Happy New Year again, and let you know there will be more recycling soon.
(Oh, and some finished hat pictures!)

Very awesome dinner tonight,

so I figured I would share.

Coconut-curry-ginger-carrot soup
1 TBS oil
1 inch + fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
2 small or 1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp curry powder, more to taste
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
8 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 (14 oz.) can coconut milk, regular or lite
4 cups water, veggie or chicken broth
1 tsp salt, or to taste

Saute ginger in oil in a 6 quart pan until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add onions and cook over med-low heat until onions are almost translucent, stirring often. Add garlic and curry powder and cook briefly. Add the carrots, potatoes, salt, coconut milk, and broth, stir well and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until veggies are soft. Use either an immersible hand blender or regular blender/processor to puree until smooth. Adjust salt (and curry) as needed.
I considered garnishing it with lightly toasted coconut, but that would have meant I was going to have to toast it, and we were hungry.

(You can substitute sweet potatoes for regular potatoes, or add a bit of cayenne pepper with the curry. Or even a dash of cinnamon.)

It has been very busy

over here at Casa Coffee Yarn. Knitting, sewing, cooking, pet wrangling, and a few other things have been going on. Of course, there is more of all that to be done in the near future. Oh, and the traditional recycling time is coming up!

Oribell,

meet your new Best Friend Forever (or at least until you loose or hide it like all the others). Coaster, meet your new owner, tour-guide, and tormentor. She will carry you all around the house, telling you who-really-knows-what-all sort of stuff in the process; she will give you baths in the dogs' water dish; help the fish do some interior decorating with you; and teach you the joys of playing fetch with the humans, I just wish she wouldn't decide to play that game at 4:30 or so in the morning.

 

Ummmm, Miss O, Sadie really doesn't want to take your BFF, she just wants to walk past.

 

 

Oh, and could we please just stick to giving it drinks of water, instead of tea? Though I am really glad it isn't a bat.

(Don't forget today is Whiskers on Wednesday!)

Still no pictures,

but the hat is now growing up properly with no problems. I have made an executive decision to put in a lifeline when it is time to start the decreases. Just to be safe and all, since there have been more than enough operator errors already.

Note to Self:

When knitting a hat (or anything else for that matter) with cables, and you can't see the pattern developing or read your knitting after the first round, double check to make sure you are knitting the knits and purling the purls on all the background knitting.
The score as we enter round 4 of this wrestling boxing match:
Hat: 3
Me: 0
But we all know I only need one knock-out to win.

ETA Obviously there is some kind of brain-function problem going on with that chart reading, I just hope all this doesn't make it worse.

Since I have already distracted you

with pictures of sunshine and a cat, and still don't have any hat pictures to show you; I shall continue to distract you with some dog pictures.

 

(If you need more, I would strongly recommend going here for another dog fix.)

The sun has been shining

around here as of late.

Want to guess what that means?

 

The hat is growing,

but it wasn't done last night and it won't be done today. It takes me about an hour and a half to get through all the stitches and rows for the current section of cable pattern repeat, but it is getting faster and easier each time I go through it. I am sure by the time I get to the fifth repeat, it will be down to an hour or less. Of course, then I start decreasing and the pattern changes, so even though I will have less stitches, it will be back to paying super-close attention, though this pattern requires a lot of that, no matter what.
It isn't really worth trying to show you a picture at this point, as it is hard to see the cables without putting it on something and I don't feel like taking it off the needles just to do that. I think I will be able to be done with a picture by this time next week, maybe sooner. I have some cooking to do as well (today I'm making pita bread), and a few things in the yard while the sun is shining.

Things that are just wrong

1. I am out of my favorite everyday tea.
2. I didn't mail order more in time before I ran out.
3. The store that usually has it when this happens was all out today.
4. I am having to settle for a different, but it just doesn't taste the same.
5. It is really all my fault that these things are wrong.

"In just seven days

I can make you a man" me some socks.
Started: November 1, 2009
Finished: November 7, 2009
Pattern: No Purl Monkeys (as in knit all the purl stitches)
Made for me, to go with these socks from last year. Since these are made with yarn from then, they bring me to 16/12+1.
Next up: A hat that has been worked on today and may well be done by Monday night or Tuesday.

The company was awesome!

Yesterday I got a phone call that had me flapping my arms in excitement (not that there was anyone to see me besides the dogs and cat) and this morning I got a follow-up call that resulted in a drive of about 140 miles round trip for a lunch date. It was totally worth the drive and day away from home.
(My oldest brother is a professional truck driver based out of SLC and and his current trip put him in my "neighborhood".)

I have finished

knitting more socks. (Big surprise, I'm sure.)
Pattern: Thuja (True, not the first time I have knit this sock and certainly not the last.) Started October 7, finished October 25. (I was not working on this project exclusively that whole time.)
I used the wrong needle size (or I knit tighter than I used to, or both) and they are too tight for Hubband, the intended recipient, and almost too tight for me, so I may well wind up re-knitting them on the next size up needle. (I really need to come up with a better storage system than a shoe box for my needles.) So right now these are 14/12+1, but I suppose they have the potential of being number one for next year.

 

Basic toe-up, short row heel, two-at-a-time magic-loop sock, using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off and I have to say I really, really like it. I am sure I will be using it a lot in the future. (Video here in case you are interested.) Started September 21, finished October 29. Due to the fact that I might not have actually measured my gauge before I started the heel originally, these had the heel and leg portions knit twice. After I bound off the first sock I decided that it looked a bit long for what I needed and tried it on. Turned out to be 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch too long for my size ten foot, and the intended recipient is a size nine. So I un-sewed the bind-off and ripped it back past the heel (which had been a different kind of heel to start), measured my gauge, and re-knit the heel and leg. It feels a little short on me at this point; I'll deliver it on Sunday and find out if it needs further adjustments. (AKA 15/12+1).

There is nothing like

standing there, minding your own business, looking out into your yard, and suddenly having something come out of nowhere and smash into the sliding glass door by your feet. Especially when the something turns out to be small, fluffy, and orange. Apparently Oribel noticed that someone who didn't belong there had made their way up onto her deck and it turned into a major issue. The someone turned out to be a very pretty gray tabby, but it was a really good thing the glass door was closed, considering all the noise and fuss that was happening on the inside, and from what I could see on the outside. It didn't take very long for the other cat to leave her deck, but she really wanted me to let her out so she could give it a piece of her mind (and paw, I'm sure) and make sure it had left her yard completely. Since I wasn't willing to accommodate her desires at that point, she spent awhile running back and forth from the door, to the kitchen window, to the front rooms, and to the front door to see where it had gone. There was a lot of looking out the door and talking to me about opening said door.

Since I have a craving

for Thai Food, I think I am going to see if DTE is up to having me pick her up for dinner tomorrow night.

She is still trying,

but they stay at the bottom of the bowl whenever she shows up.

Knitting particulars

Knucks For DTY's birthday. Started September 20, finished September 25. Delivered via US Postal Service before her birthday in early October.

 

A prayer shawl for a friend of Chan's daughter. Started October 5, finished October 7.

 

Dead Simple Lace Socks from Socks From the Toe Up, aka 13/12+1. Started September 15, finished October 13. This yarn was a swap gift and these socks fit me perfectly.

 

Purple Wine scarf, aka a slight variation on Ribbed Mini-Scarf. Started October 9, finished October 15. Made with that yarn, a gift for someone to be determined on October 31, 2009.

Happiness is ...

sunshine,

 

fall colors,

 

an afternoon walk with bassets,

 

and completed projects.

Monday morning's outing

was slowed down by Sunday night's weather.


However, it wasn't canceled.



There wasn't any hot chocolate offered up after the playing outside was finished, unlike the standard snow-play offering to Hubband and the children.

It is the time of year

for the annual fall fish migration. Of course, shortly after the first one I told you about, Miss Oribel came to live with us. Then she would sometimes sit on the edge of the bowl to watch them, and when ever she tried to pet them, it was on the outside of the bowl (I think she may have been trying to keep her foot dry). Sadly, we were never able to get a picture of that.
A few days ago she was hanging out on the end table; I am not sure if she was attempting cambell fladge, like another orange cat (because only one of the two of them would be that silly), or if it was really all about reminding us that the table really belongs to her and she just lets us put stuff on it. (I am guessing the latter in her case.)
(Does this look like a cat trying to hide on a coffee table? Hanging out on the end table looks pretty much the same way.)

 

Anyways, Monday night she did the usual park herself in the middle of me and what I was doing on the couch, and informing me, "You will scratch the ears and chin. Now." When we were she was done with that, she walked across me toward the her end table and came to a standstill, still partly on my shoulder. There was some staring from that vantage point for a moment or two, and then there was up close and personal inspection into what was in and on her space and furniture.

 

Yep, she pretty much stayed like that for the next fifteen plus minutes, only changing the position of her tail and depth of her head.

(Don't forget today is Whiskers on Wednesday.)

Dear Jethro,

I need to tell you how much I have enjoyed all the hours we have spent together in the last month. You have kept me company in the the evening so I wouldn't be alone, usually way past my bedtime, and it has all been worth it. I wanted to let you know that as of tomorrow we won't be able to spend so many hours together every night. I have loved seeing your awesome smile over and over every night, loved spending all those hours together, but my one true love returns home tomorrow afternoon. I am sure you understand, after all you have had your own true love as well. (I am truly sorry you can't have her back and had to live through the pain of loosing her all over again.)
Our time together won't be ending completely, we can still have tonight after all. Plus, my true love, Hubband, told me that he thinks he has met you at least once before and he is willing to get to know you better. I think that could be a really great way to spend an hour or so some evenings, hanging out with Hubband, you, and my knitting. Never fear Jethro, we have several more seasons together. I am looking forward to them.
Me

Being comfortable and up high

while surveying your domain is a good thing.

 

Being disturbed while concentrating on your domain is not.

 

Sometimes you just have to resign yourself to people sharing you with the world. It's a hard job, but has to be done.