Silly Things

We started cleaning out closets upstairs.  And there is A LOT to clean out.  In the midst of having to decide what we need to really keep and what can be thrown away (and trust me - most of it can be thrown away) it's fun to find things you totally forgot you had.

Of course I found a couple skeins of yarn that I had forgot about.  There was some clothes that I had been looking for over the summer and finally found (yeah - that is frustrating).  I found some candles we got on our Yankee Candle pilgrimage last year.  I also found a bag from last years New England Fiber Festival.  Inside I found a bag of hand made soap samples.

So many good smells in there!  I love how it looks in the paper bag.  And I love how I can keep it out for all the guests we are expecting next weekend.

Silly things make me happy.

Yarn Along

Well, I am moving right along with my 50 Shades.  I will probably be done with the second book by the weekend.  I am liking the second one better than the first.  I'm curious to see what the third one is all about.

I haven't knit a stitch in days.  By the time I get to sit on the couch at night I am just, well, tired.  I guess my body is still recovering from whatever that bug was from last week (which we have now spread to the hubby).

We went out yesterday to do some shopping and it became evident that Halloween is upon us.  I had to buy this cool pinwheel pen with the neat Halloween colors.

I know - I'm like a big child.  You wind it up and the pinwheel spins.  Simple things make me happy - what can I tell ya?  So you can imagine my excitement when I saw these this morning.

And then it occurred to me that this year I promised I would knit a pair of  Halloween striped socks for myself.  And time is running out.  So I promptly ordered this

Kinda matches the pinwheel a bit huh?  And can you believe that this is the FIRST sock yarn I have bought all year?  So I'm hoping this will come in from Brazen Stitchery by next week and I can cast on.  In the meantime I will continue on My Hope and Color Affection.

Joining Ginny to see what everyone else has on their needles these days.  How about you?

10 on Tuesday

Sorry guys, I have no inspiring picture for you today, but since pizza is my favorite food on the planet, I had to participate in Carole's 10 on Tuesday.

10 Favorite Pizza Toppings

1.  Barbecue chicken pizza is my favorite.  I make it with some barbecue sauce, grilled chicken, sauteed onions and a bit of mozzarella cheese.  Not a terribly unhealthy pizza, as far as pizza goes.

2.  Pesto sauce.  Hubby takes the Mediterranean flat bread, brushes olive oil on it and adds some pesto.  It's delicious.  No cheese is even necessary.

3.  Eggplant pizza.  When we make our Long Island visit every year we go to our favorite pizza place.  They make the best pizza (now picture this) with diagonal strips of sauce, ricotta cheese, and fried eggplant.  The crust is covered is sesame seeds.  Heaven....

4.  Onions and mushrooms.  Simple, but I like it.

5.  Hawaiian pizza which has ham and pineapple on it.  I thought it was strange at first but it kinda grew on me.

6.  Fresh mozzarella, basil and fresh tomato sauce.

7.  We found a pizza place in Massachusetts where we go tubing that makes this pizza with fresh mozzarella, sausage, basil and pine nuts.  We buy an extra pizza to take home when we go to that place.

8.  Dominos pizza is not one of my favorites, but they have a chicken carbonara pizza made with alfredo sauce, chicken and bacon that is really good.  

9.  White pizza.  Made with ricotta, mozzarella and a bit of olive oil and LOTS of garlic.

10.  My usual.  Plain old cheese!

Weekending

Busy but fun weekend!  I think I was trying to make up for all the down time I had last week.

I wound some yarn for the next project

Which does turn out to be My Hope.

Almost everyone voted for my handspun with pink and green.  I am absolutely in love with that yarn myself.  However, I don't have the perfect pattern picked out yet so I didn't feel right about using it.  I poked around on Ravelry over the weekend to see if something struck me but nothing sparked a flame.  So it will go back into the stash to marinate for a little while longer.  Hitchhiker is done is is awaiting some weaving of the ends and will then get a proper photo shoot.

The rest of the weekend included

cleaning and lots of throwing out of old items

fighting discussing with hubby items that needed to be thrown out

helping mom get ready for the grand opening of her kitchen & bath design studio Friday

watching football

ordering my new iPhone 5

upgrading Nicole to an iPhone since she now has a job to pay for her data plan

watching movies

having the parents over for dinner

removing air conditioners and getting the house ready for fall

How was your weekend?

What's Next

Well I feel like half a human so that is good compared to what I felt like the last few days.  For me to be sick enough to stay home from work for a couple of days - let's just say that it is very out of character for me.

One would think that with all that time at home that I got some knitting done.  That would be wrong.  I was so restless I couldn't even sit for more than 10 minutes.  It was like I had ants in my pants.  I didn't even read.  But we are moving on and as my Hitchhiker is finally coming to an eventual end I am trying to figure out what to cast on next.  I want to use one of these yarns.

Yes, that is my still warped loom sitting empty.  I don't see me weaving on that for a little while.  Sigh.... I am leaning towards this yarn since the colors are so in season right now.

I have about 650 yards.  I was thinking about My Hope which only calls for about 450 yards.  I was thinking I could add another section and make it a bit bigger.  Or maybe something totally different.

I'm open to suggestions.  Any ideas?

We Interrupt This Blog

For sickness.  Kicking.  My.  Butt.  It hit me Monday night and doesn't want to leave.  Today is the first fever-free day (so far).  I hope to have a real post tomorrow.

Back to the couch....

Weekending

The weekend was spent

catching up with cousins at hubby's family reunion

watching the younger cousins laugh and act silly 

eating - lots and lots of food

some of us played football (I was NOT one of us)

the rest of us watched football on Sunday

made plans on our next get-together

was thankful we hit no traffic on the trip there or our return trip

How was your weekend?

Yarn Along

It's a slow go but we are getting there!

The Hitchhiker is growing.

The ball of yarn is shrinking.

I'm still reading the second 50 Shades book and have been doing more reading than knitting lately.

What's on your needles?

Join Ginny and see what others are up to as well!

Last Week and Weekend

Sorry for the silence there last week.  With the storms we have had very spotty cell and internet service.  We did kinda get some rain.

The 55 gallon drums were just floating around the parking lot at work.  Water was up to everyone's bumpers.  It was crazy.  Not as bad as people in Fall River who's cars were completely submerged.  We still have a bit of water in the basement but nothing awful.

As far as the weekending

Somebody celebrated a special 17th birthday (there she is holding her 8 year old cousin)
Celebrations included gathering with friends and family
Arranging for her sweetheart to come home from the Navy base for the night to surprise her (and anything that makes your daughter so happy that she cries is totally worth the effort in my book - I wish the pictures had come out decent so you could see the look on her face when she saw him)
Some shopping
Making lists of things needing to be done around the house before it gets too cold
Stacking 2 cords of wood
A quick trip to Mohegan Sun
Even a bit of reading and some knitting

How was your weekend?

10 On Tuesday

Welcome September!  I'm not too sure where August went to (or July for that matter) but here we are.  And I am joining Carole for 10 Things You Love About September.

1.  Time for apple picking.  We usually go mid month because that seems to be when you can get the best selection at the orchard.

2.  School starts.  For me this means getting back to the normal routine and routine is good.

3.  Cooler weather.  Need I say more?

4.  Fall colors start appearing. The leaves don't really change much until October around here but fall decorations and color can be seen all over as the weeks go on.

5.  Harvest Fairs.  We have so many great ones around here.  Besides the crafts you can find lots of yummy goodies.

6.  Football starts for real!

7.  I get to break out the Fall Yankee Candles.  My favorites are Harvest, Pumpkin Spice, Autumn Wreath, the list goes on....

8.  The Big E.  For anybody around here in New England you all know what a great time this is.  For those who don't, it's like a huge state fair that goes on for weeks.  We will be going this year and that's exciting since we missed the last couple of years.

9.  Starting the wood stove.  At this point we only start it at night for the effect but within a month it will be going strong depending on how kind mother nature is.

10.  Spending more time outside.  I think I spend more time outside knitting and spinning in September than any other month. It's not too hot and I try to enjoy every last minute before the snow and really cold weather arrives!