Mug o' the day. Nice and spring-like,no? Here are some more photos from the crazy shopping experience at www.junglejims.com. Mom is visiting the "Victoria Falls" heehee.

The following are the little side shops that carry the products from that country.

It's fun to poke around in each one to see what's interesting.

Crepes anyone?

How about a nice cuppa Irish breakfast?

Stroop waffles for all.
Here's what you see when coming in/leaving. The man that owns the place likes to buy all kinds of really strange things and then tries to find someplace to put them.

The sharks over the fresh fish tanks.

Cute elephant but blue.

Hope you enjoyed the visit!

The sock that I carry in my purse goes to the mechanic to have an oil change. Actually, the Honda had an oil change and the sock just sat back and watched. At least there was a nice breeze so it was fine to sit outside and knit.Went to Half-Price Bookstores the other day and picked up some treasures. On top of the good prices they were also having a 20% off everything sale. Score! This little cookbook ended up being under $2.50.

Also found a couple of knitting books.

Everyone should have a Lily Chin book.Lookie what came from Patternworks today! My Mini Mochi yarn and a fun free wristlet pattern. I love the color-Intense-I think it will match my crazy socks. I am all finished knitting triangles and seaming them together into diamonds!! Now onto knitting the sleeves. I was going to use my size 3-16" needle but I can't find it anywhere. Now,I keep all my needles in the same place and didn't pull them out to use on anything. I hate when that happens. So I just ordered another pair from KnitPicks and they should be here in a few days. I suppose I could use the 40'' circular I have but the cord is so long and such a pain. I think that I shall cast on for my wristlets....*whistling and looking the other way*.

Here are lots of pictures. These are fancy little chocolate cream cookies that I bought down at the Indian grocery down the street. I like to buy the little treats to try. These are very good (and vegan!); not too sweet but with a nice amount of chocolate cream in between. And you just can't go wrong with anything chocolate! These are pictures from down at the park.The creek getting a little lower since we haven't had any rain for a week but still chuckling merrily away as it runs over the rocks.
At this park there is a historical village with houses and barns and they have programs rather like a living history. Last week was the civil war reenactment there. One of the largest in the area. Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to go but saw some of it on a PBS program about Ohio from last year. We were sitting at the park a few days before it happened and they had schools come so the children could experience it. Unfortunately we didn't know they were going to shoot off the cannons! My needles almost flew out the car window and I jumped about a foot. Geesh!


New yarn acquistions. I went to the lys the other day, just to browse,you understand. I mustv'e blacked out somehow because these came with me. When I walked in, the two employees said "Didn't you just buy some sock yarn the other week?" Well, first of all, it was last month and secondly...I already knitted those socks. And I don't need to 'splain myself to you. No,no, no. I really didn't say that last bit but chuckled to myself as I browsed the yarn. I think they should be talking me INTO buying more yarn, not remembering what I bought the last time....teehee.

The yarn on the left is DiVe and is destined to become a cowl/neck warmer. I used some of this to make one last winter and really like it. Plus, it was on sale. Score!

The yarn below is a lovely baby alpaca lace weight that either will be a small wrap/shawl or a very extravagent pair of socks. I bet they will be sooooooo soft. And I "loves" the color. So rich.

And the obligatory sock yarn. I like the muted colors. It's got some bamboo which makes for very comfortable, soft socks.

Here is lunch from yesterday. A lovely, crusty ciabatta grilled with soy margarine and soy Parmesan until toasty.With radishes, avocado,spinach, and a soy mayo/dijon mustard mix. Very tasty. I really enjoyed it. With a fresh mango on the side. Delish!

Here's a shot of the pretty flowers that sis brought the other day. Just a drop in because I've been remiss about blogging.

On the knitting front....I have finished all the triangles for my celtic poncho and have 2 side ones to do before the sewing together and assembling of the diamonds and then the sleeves. More tomorrow.

Here's what I made with some of my new tasty herbs. It's a lovely herb foccaccia with roasted tomatoes and onions. Why look! A piece is missing. Hmmm. Wonder where it went? Very tasty.Now for dessert. Some mini vegan coconut "cream"pie tarts. My copy of Vegetarian Times came and one of the articles was by a blogger www.veganlunchbox.blogspot.com that I read all the time. And I have her cookbook which is great. So I went ahead and made a few of the recipes and they were delicious! And the tarts are wonderful. Just the correct ratio of pie to crust. Yum.

These are some shots from Jungle Jim's where we went on Mother's Day. They have a great produce department and got alot of wonderful deals.

The store is full of all kinds of wacky items and lots of jungle animals with sounds,etc. You can wander around there for hours and still not see everything. There are all kinds of different sections from India to England and everywhere in between with items from each country. And ever so many teas! Here is one of the things that I've been working on now. It's the Bluebell socks from "101 Designer One-Skein Wonders" and the yarn is Tofutsies. I like the yarn but it's a little splitty so will use a needle with a sharper point next time. I have been working on it mostly when we go to the park so it's taking a little while to finish.

Although...ta dah! Here is the first one finished.

I've been working feverishly on the Celtic poncho. Yes, the very one UFO and I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm off to work on it now while I'm on a roll.

This is what I finished knitting this week. They're for mom and she loves them. The yarn is Berrocco Comfort Socks, which I don't really care for because it's just so soft. I knit the ribbing on a smaller size needle and it seems to have done the trick.

Here are my new herbs. The flowered ones are chives and the flowers are edible. I think a nice salad will be in store for those. Then I bought Candy mint,which has a subtle peppermint smell. Lemon Balm and more basil round them out. They smell soooo good.

For dinner tonight I had ravioli (tofu garden herb) with a butter(soy) sage sauce. Absolutely fabulous! And the pineapple sage is so tasty.
Went to Trader Joe's and here are the flowers they had outside. So pretty. Bought some baby bok choy and some good looking brussel sprouts and can't wait to make them. I love bok choy. Nice and crunchy.

Here is what I made for dinner last night. Spinach tomato pasta bake. Even better the next day. Which is often the way with casseroles.I have been knitting on the never-ending UFO of the Celtic poncho. The end is getting close! I'm going to finish it this month or know why not!

. Loooooooooooong day. But very nice. We had a break in the days of rain so it was time to run out and try and get the lawn mower through all the very thick, wet grass. And then weed whacking which always is a pain. But most things look nice except the ditch where there is standing water. Some of it is from the rain but the majority of it was from all the rushing water from the water main break 2 doors up from here. What a mess! Nasty, muddy dirt and water everywhere.

Here is what I've been doing this week. I am no good at growing plants and things but really love fresh herbs. But don't want to pay the prices! So I decided to go and buy some and try my luck. Aren't they nice?

The one on the right is a mix of 5 different herbs that was already mixed (sounds good and easy to me). They are : sage, thyme, basil, chives, and rosemary (which I really don't care for at all but I'll try it fresh, maybe it's better). The pot on the left (which I planted myself, thank you very much) is dill and this fabulous smelling and tasting spicy globe basil. I can barely restrain from eating the whole plant it's so good.

The pot in the back I just planted today. It's oregano and some wonderful pineapple sage. Oh it smells so tasty. And is tasty as well. I have been putting herbs on just about everything. Just so marvelous. I can't wait for the basil to get some more on it so I can make some pasta.
Went to Traders World today which is a gigantic flea market. Found a very nice purse that looks like a Vera Bradley but not. Nice and roomy in a charming black/white print. And a new non-stick skillet (not Teflon which is very bad for the birds if it overheats) and .... the best treasure of all: a knitting book. "The Art of Fair Isle Knitting" by Ann Feitelson. And it was only $4.00. Woot.
I'm very tired and my little arms are sore from swinging the weed whacker around. So until next time. Have a great, knitty weekend.