I hope that everyone has a blessed and merry Christmas! And you all get lots of yarn and "stuff". See you soon. Happy knitting.

Went to the birdstore the other day to pick up some safflower seeds for the parrot and here's the view. The chincillas belong to the owner. Aren't they cute? So soft and I just want to "squeeze" them.

Crazy big bird alert!
Here are the holiday flower bouquets from Trader Joe's.
And the store has some lovely decorations.

I love the smell of the cinnamon pinecones at the front door. Smells like Christmas.

I've been busy getting some of my ufo's finished. And a few fast, bulky knits inbetween as well. Because everyone needs a new hat or headband, right? But I only have 2 ufo's left...yes,yes, one of them is the poncho. But I'm getting to it.

I'm off to finish a hat for a friend so I will be better about posting as soon as I am finished with the gifts.

Here is my favorite hand lotion. I treated myself to some as soon as Williams-Sonoma got it in stock. It smells luscious and feels so good. And lasts quite a long time as well. Quite worth the money as I get alot out of it.

Here's where sis was a week ago. She has a friend that has season tickets to the Bengals' and he invited her along to see the game. Talk about a bird's eye view! But she had a good time and got to tailgate with some of his friends in the parking lot. Mom and I stopped by Burger King the other day for a veggie burger (mmmm. good) and this is their tree. Very nice decorating job,no?

I have finished several projects...woohoo! and happy dancing all around. I made a few speedy things out of super bulky yarn that finished up in an hour or so. First is a speedy cabled cowl ( I found the pattern on Ravelry) and it's lovely and warm. I have worn it several times over the past few days and it's super. Covers the back of my neck that is not covered by my sweater or scarf. And I can layer instead of having a shirt and sweater on all the time. Two thumbs up for this knit!

This is made from the same yarn...Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Chunky in Cranberry. I do hate knitting with needles any bigger than 8's but these were on 13's and 15's. *groan* But knit so fast that it is done before I had alot of time to moan about it.

Sis has a friend in town this week who is also a vegan so today I did some cooking to share with them. I made roasted tofu and veggies (so good) ,a macaroni/tempeh dish cooked in a skillet that is reminiscent of hamburger helper. Also made pumpkin ice cream, cherry almond cookies, papaya and toasted coconut muffins, and pumpkin brownies that are below. I am tired now. Oh, and also some lemon squares. All vegan and pretty tasty as well.

I also finished the sampler vest that I was working on made from Peaches and Cream yarn. Mom liked it so much that I gave it to her. I think it looks better on her anyway. And she seems to be really happy with it. Now I'm going to work on my Ragna sweater and TRY and finish putting together the Celtic poncho. Hahahahaha...no really, I will get it finished. Stop that laughing, I really will get it finished. I promise.

Yah!! I am FINALLY finished with the secret knitting. Did the last bit just a little bit ago! Happy dancing all around. I'm glad the yarn came 'cause I didn't have enough.Whew. Will post tomorrow because I'm just tired.

Saw this on the way home the other day. If you look very closely in the sky you can just make out the Goodyear blimp. I have never seen it in real life...only on the television during an NBA game! Pretty neat. I wish I could've gotten a closer shot but you do what you can with a camera phone. Here are the cute little fir trees they have at Trader Joe's. Which is nice that they have those since they stopped carrying the toothpaste that I always buy! Grrrr. I liked it because it was all natural with no fluoride and it was cheap. What a crock. That's the one thing that I don't like about TJ's. They are always getting rid of things that I really like and then that's it. When I first shopped there they carried this wonderful frozen mushroom "pie/tart" kind of thing that was absolutely fabulous. And it was vegan. If I had known that they were discontinuing it I would have bought all that I could find. I still can taste them. Just so good.
Here's my yarn purchase from a few weeks ago. It's a worsted weight and I thought it would make a nice pair of thick socks.
We are getting are first taste of colder weather this week. On Thanksgiving it's supposed to be cold and rainy/snowy. Time to break out the knitwear!! I made a really cute headband/hat with beaded fringe that I'm looking forward to wearing. It's perfect because it goes right over my ponytail and fits great.

On the knitting front. Well. I am almost finished with the project that can't be named but I'm not sure that I'll have enough yarn. Disaster!! And I can't find it anywhere because it's on backorder. Eeeeep.
I finally found some on the website (Hobby Lobby) and placed an order for 2 more skeins. I thought that I bought an extra skein but I guess I was wrong. They said it takes 1-2 days to process and then 5-7 days for shipping. Talk about cutting it close!
Here is a shot of some brownies I made the other day. Very good and chocolatey. Not overly sweet and they got better after a few days.

And some peanut butter blondies that were wonderful!

Okay. Now I have to go and knit some more. And tomorrow I am cooking for Thanksgiving so I will lose at least part of knitting time. I'm making a Tofurky with onions,potatoes and carrots, maple-glazed squash, bread, pumpkin pie bites and Mexican hot chocolate cupcakes with chocolate mousse icing. Mmmmmm. All vegan of course and, hopefully all great.

Hope everyone has a Happy and Blessed Turkey Day! See you soon.

KNITTING going on!! I will be updating this in a day or two. See ya!

Been doing some cooking this week. Finally found a vegan biscuit recipe that didn't turn out like hockey pucks!! These are delicious and actually taste like biscuits. I have totally missed biscuits. I gobbled 2 of them straight out of the oven with some strawberry jam. Oh so good.Decided to make a Tofurky this week also. Roasted it with onion, carrots and potatoes with some delicious mushroom gravy. Mmmmm. Made the leftovers into a tasty potpie. Who says you can't eat good stuff being a vegan?

Have made progress on the knitting which shall not be named. Yah! for me. So I got myself a treat to celebrate. I had a 40% off coupon at JoAnn's so bought the new knitting calendar. It has some great patterns and have already decided on a few that are in the queue.

Here's my quick finish project that I knit the other day. Took about an hour to make the hat but longer to bead it.

I really like it. It's a headband/hat from the new book "Hattitudes". It has some great patterns and alot are really fast knits. I especially like this one because I have a ponytail and I can just wear this right over it.

The yarn is Patons Classic in the Autumn colorway and it's a nice yarn.

Mom liked it so much that she had me knit one up for her also. But without the beads.
We are having Indian summer these past few days. Today it was in the upper 60*s and just sunny and lovely. Although I am ready to wear my knitted things it sure is nice to have the warm weather. Especially for the heat not having to run.

The sock that I'm knitting for mom had a field trip today to Tire Discounters. As we were turning out of the driveway this afternoon we heard something go "pop''. Thought we ran over a large stick but turned out that it was a screw. How it got in the driveway is anyone's guess.So we went down the street to the tire store because we were afraid that the tire would go flat. And almost 2 hours later we had the tire fixed. At least I had my knitting. And we didn't have to have a new tire. They did fix it though so yah!

On the Christmas knitting front....it's going really well (finally)!

So I'm off to get some more done tonight.

Enjoy the extra hour from the time change. More time to knit!

Lookie here. It's fall! Well, at least it was until we had the gloomy,rainy day all day. But maybe the wind won't blow all the leaves off the trees.But the trees that have turned are gorgeous. Although it's hard to drive when you have to keep looking at the trees!
I love this color...I'd love to have some yarn this color. Although I love the Aspen gold also. Oooooh, I bet a mix would be stunning.
On the knitting front here is what I finished last night. Another shawl. This one is made from Lion Brand's Jiffy (a bulky weight) and is the Easy Triangle shawl. Knit on size 13's (ick!) and used almost 3 skeins. The color is Blush and much lighter than it shows. But nice and warm and it will be used tomorrow. Supposed to have a cold snap and be ...well, rather fall-like. I would like to find a nice pin or something to close the wrap so I will have to keep an eye out.

Since it was non-conducive to being outside today I baked some things. This is actually from last week. They are French Toast doughnuts with maple glaze and cinnamon sugar topping. I couldn't find a mini-doughnut pan so used a mini-bundt pan instead. They are sooooooooooooooo good. Well, they were so good. I put them in the icing when they were still hot and all the glaze absorbed into the doughnut and they got all soft and "sqooshy". I haven't had a doughnut in years and these definately were worth the wait.
Today I made nutty oatmeal raisin cookies and a great cranberry-apple crisp that is very fitting with the fall theme! Had a piece of that with some Cranberry Autumn tea from Harney and Sons and mmmmmm. So good.

This is what I had for breakfast. Looks kinda gross but the picture doesn't do it justice. It's Kale Florentine over toast points. It is just delicious. Sauteed kale in a "cheesy" sauce over a grainy bread with a tomato slice underneath the kale. Baked in the oven until hot and bubbly. It was a superlative breakfast!

Last Sunday I went to the yarn market that is put on by the Middletown Knitters' Guild. Last year it was at the last minute and smaller than the year before but still I found some great yarn at good sale prices. And they had knitters to teach and help; as well as a knitting "doctor". Plus some fun show and tell and an antique sock knitting machine. And the best apple cider that I've had in a long time. And cookies... but nothing for this poor vegan ...lol.

But this year. Bah. I was extremely disappointed. They moved it to Middletown, which was fine, except it was much farther than the directions would lead you to believe. Once we got there and walked in (no sign until you actually were at the door) the woman that was manning the door prize entries was not particularly friendly. I was rather surprised because all the other years everyone was really nice. Maybe she was having an off day. There were only 3 vendors there with very small tables. Didn't find any yarn but did score with a pattern that I have wanted to order for a few years. It's called the Swirl scarf/shawl and was the only one left. Woot! And only $4.00. Which was a way better deal than the $6.00 in the catalog. That also didn't include the $8.00 shipping! For one pattern. It was almost a better deal to buy the kit. But now I have the pattern. I bought yarn for it awhile ago but, duh, it's the wrong weight. Geeze. It is knit with a fingering weight but I bought a lace weight. Do you think I can go down a needle size or two and use that yarn?

Here is the cutest bouquet that was for sale at Trader Joe's. The little pumpkins are real and the colors are just beautiful.

I've been knitting and knitting and knitting and still have 2 1/2" left before I can bind off. Why is it that those last few inches just never get finished.

It was very cold here this week. Rainy and grey and just uncomfortable. Only in the 40*s all week so it was a good week to stay inside and cook some lovely autumn meals.

This is pasta and cannellini beans and Italian-style sauteed broccoli . So good.

An Indian-inspired meal. Spice-stuffed okra and spinach couscous. So good.

I really enjoy when the weather turns cooler and I can wear my cool hand-knit socks and my Birks! Man, these socks are BRIGHT! You can see my feet before you see me...teehee.We've had enough rain that the flowers still look lovely and full.

Been really knitting away on *shhhhh* projects but finished my first shawl. It was a chunky weight yarn on size 13's (yuck....I really don't like knitting on needles bigger than 7's but the knitting sure does fly). Only took me a few days to knit this. I probably could've finished it alot sooner but only worked on it when I was in bed and couldn't sleep.

Here is mom's back while she is the shawl-model! I think it came out quite nicely. She likes it too.

Had a few nice, sunny days but supposed to rain tomorrow and get cooler. I suppose fall is here.

I can't believe that my 30 year high school reunion is this weekend. Some days it seems like just yesterday that I was in high school and then at other times it seems like forever ago. I wonder how many people are coming? I went to a large school and our graduating class had over 750 in it. I bet not that many are going to show!

Well, back to knitting.

Mug o' the day. Nice shot,eh?This is an old mug that I bought years ago at the Disney store. Loves me some tigger.
It makes me laugh when I use it. Today it's filled with Harney and Sons White Christmas tea. Absolutely fabulous. A white tea with almond, cardamom, vanilla and chamomile. I think it's one of my favorite teas. I don't have it very often as it's a little pricey but after such a rainy and gloomy week I deserve a little treat. After 6 straight days of rain and gloomy,overcast skies we actually saw some sunshine! Of course it's supposed to rain again in the next day or two but that's okay. Now I have an idea what it's like to live in Portland or Seattle (without all the cool atmosphere and coffee shops!).

You can't see in the ball but it's the cutest chincilla. They live at the bird store where we were getting some seed for the parrots. They roll around the floor so fast that I really couldn't get a good shot of him but they are a hoot. I really enjoyed watching them and laughing.

Here's what I made yesterday. I love them!! So soft and warm. They are Fetching from www.knitty.com and so fast and easy to knit. I love the yarn. I shouldn't have spent so much on it but I HAD to have it. Even though I wasn't 100% sure what I was going to make with it. It was so soft in the skein that I almost didn't want to wind it into a ball.

But they are lovely and I can't wait to wear them. And they are mine, all mine!! Bwwahhhhahahaha. A-hem... never mind.

I know, I know. I've not been a very good blogger at all. I have no excuse really except haven't really been on the computer much this past week or so. Had a terrible sinus headache yesterday (stupid goldenrod) and just basically sat around and watched "The Big Bang Theory" on dvd. Great show! And good and geeky for Amanda and myself! This is what jumped on my needles to be worked on. I know. Knitting monogamy is just not to be at this knitter's house. But ....I do eventually finish them all.

This is the Textured Patchwork long vest from www.lionbrand.com and it's knit with Peaches and Cream kitchen cotton. I got 2 cones of it and it's coming along fabulously. As are the secret projects! *shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*.
The weather is finally starting to change and in the evenings it's getting nice and cool. My fingers are itching for fingerless gloves and my toes wiggling for some socks. I like when summer ends and school starts. Shopping for school supplies...new, crisp,clean notebooks and pens and a backpack to stuff in everything. This is the time of year when I miss college the most. Looking for textbooks (at least the ones I could afford!) and finding the classrooms. All very nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time.
But as fall proceeds towards the end I get rather melancholy. Everything dries up and dies and the nights are dark by 6:00 pm and I just want to put on my jimjams and curl up with a nice,hot cuppa and some music on the mp3 player and just kind of ....wallow. Rather moody and withdrawn but I've always been that way. *sigh*.
Off for a cuppa and a piece of chocolate.

Flowers for my feet.

My feet are happy in them.

I like to knit socks.

Here's my completed socks! Just your basic Yarn Harlot pattern 'cause I can knit them in the car. I figure the yarn is busy enough that it doesn't need any fancy pattern. The yarn is Opal...something and they are very soft.

The weather is getting a little cooler. Well, not this week but last week it was quite nice. In the 40*s at night. Aaaahhhh. I like the end of the seasons when it's time to start changing clothes from shorts to capris/pants and fall outfits. Doesn't look like anytime soon but it's coming!
Here are my finished Flame wristlets. I really,really like them despite the annoyance of the Mini Mochi. The colors are vibrant and should be nice and warm.
Fraternal but still the same!

A pair of socks that I made for mom. They are Paton's Astra -a sport weight- and she is quite pleased with them. It's an honor to get to knit things for her. She has always encouraged us and told us that we can do anything we set our minds to. Any kind of craft or art that we were interested in, she would buy us whatever we needed to get started and basic tools that were needed. So thanks mom! and enjoy your socks.

Finished sock! I really like the yarn (Aruncia) but not so sure about the pattern (Hedgerow from Knitters Review). By the time I decided I wasn't thrilled with the pattern I was far enough along that I didn't want to rip it out and start again. But still pretty. This color is a little closer to the true color.
The first shot is from the back of sis's car on the way up to Dayton. We hadn't gone on a small road trip in quite awhile and the day was beautiful so off we went. There is a big health food store up there and they have items we don't have down here so it was a fun trip. I did get to run into Wooly Bully but I was a good girl and didn't buy anything (there anyway!).
Been getting lots of knitting done. Finished my lovely wristwarmers made from Mini Mochi yarn. So pretty but not my favorite yarn. Rather "splitty" and thick and thin in spots. But the colors are intense and they made lovely wristlets.
Also working on some unmentionable knitting so pretend you didn't see that! lol.

This is an "omelet" that I made the other day. It's actually tofu with sauteed vegetables. Yum. And I think it actually looks like an omelet. I found the recipe in Vegan Brunch, which is a great cookbook. It's hard to find breakfast/ brunch recipes so I love the cookbook.
And now it's time for me to get something to eat as I am feeling a little peckish.