Hyphenation can be Dangerous

I got an email from a friend that made me laugh. Now mind you, I laugh easily! It's been a gorgeous day with the weather in the low 70's, no humidity, sunny and gorgeous. Better yet, I had studio errands to run most of the day so was able to be out in the yummy weather and enjoyed every second. If the truth be told I stopped for lunch (outside of course) and really hated to get back to work. I dawdled irresponsibly and even knit a few lovely rows while waiting for my fish tacos. (They were delicious!)

Regardless, because you just might need a little laugh I'll share these with you. I'm assuming they are the real deal, I mean who could make this stuff up?

I won't include the funny running comments in the email for fear of pushing the envelope. Use your imagination or make up your own!












'nuff said.

Weekend Baking- Blueberry Crumb-Cake

Home from the Farmer's Market with fresh blueberries, the options are nearly endless.

A late go on Saturday for an afternoon wedding with a slower start than most means a bit of time to putter in the kitchen and create something special.

Blueberry Crumb-Cake:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees

Pop the rinsed blueberries into a saucepan with 1/4 cup of water and simmer for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the mixture of sugar and cornstarch and stir well. Turn off the heat and let sit for a couple of minutes while you prepare the cake.

• 1 3/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3/4 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tbs. buttermilk powder (replacing buttermilk in the recipe--- OR add buttermilk for the water in the recipe)
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 cup of cold butter, in small cube
  

stir up the dry ingredients and add the cold butter cubes. Working quickly with your fingers, rub the butter and flour together until it looks like small peas.

Mix:

• 1 egg and 3/4 cup water (or buttermilk).
  

Add to the dry mixture and stir quickly. Batter will look lumpy-- it is okay!

Pour half of the batter into a greased 8x8 pan and smooth out. The blueberry filling goes on the next layer, even it out as well. Plop on the last of the batter by spoonfuls over the top of the cake.

Topping:

• 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup of white sugar with 3 tbs. of cold, cubed butter. Add a smidge of cinnamon and work together with your fingers until it makes a nice crumble.
  

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the cake.

Bake 45 minutes or so. Let it cool if you can and serve.

Delicious!

IG

The beauty, the downright happy dancin' joy bringin upliftin yeah baby knitterly mojo bringin good thing is anything labeled IG. Immediate Gratification. I know that my loooooooong cabled cardi project is enjoying my diverted affections as surely I will return to my old love with new enthusiasm. So are the hopes of the day.

LOVIN' "Nimbus"! Grab and go, fast, cute............ fabulous.

Sitting there all proud and soon to be sassy is the back (gotta love the leopard rug as well!)

And the first front is (now) ready for the armscye decreases and will be done soon. (throwing the knitters equivalent of salt over the shoulders so as not to hex the whole thing. Would that be tossing a stitch marker over my left shoulder?)

The ottoman it is sitting on is a tomato soupy red, you can see the color of the sweater is a winey thing. When viewed closely you see some bits of an orangey shade------ the whole thing is reminiscent of Sangria. (Hence the name I suppose.)

My next weekend bride (who promises NOT to be a b*tch) will be rockin' Nimbus before it comes off the needles for sure!

Run............ do not walk!

So good. 'nuff said.

Happy Blogversary to ME!

The blogversary always sneaks up on me----- this year was no exception. I can't believe it has been TWO years that I have met so many great friends, shared some laughs and some tears, celebrated and lamented projects and kibbitzed over brides good and bad.

Thanks for being here!

Happy Blogversary to me indeed!

All Lincoln, All the Time

Last Weekend (before the flurry of working on projects) was a no wedding weekend. Just about perfect especially as brides have been difficult lately. We took the day off on Friday as well (just splurge I say) and took a Road Trip to nearby S*pringfield I*llinois. Home of A*braham L*incoln, his home, tomb, museum and Presidential Library. Just under 2 hours on the road, a glorious finally sunny day, some knitting in tow and we're off.

Not only is this town all about Abe but as the state capitol is a very nice town. I'm not sure if they'd make as big of a splash without the tourism but it was nice regardless.

The Old Capital looks familiar if you have followed the news in the past year. Our current President gave speeches (acceptance and otherwise) from here.

A life-sized statue of L*incoln in front of the old train station. What a great area with beautiful flowers and lots of interesting things to look at.

These "hats" are all over town featuring different designs. We just loved this one! O*bama and L*incoln all the way around it!

Not enough time to go through the museum today, next time for sure! It was enormous!

There are lots of great life-sized statues around S*pringfield, this one of the family.

When it was time for lunch we walked around looking for something to eat at any number of great looking places. While the sign was amusing, I did not have the Recession Sandwich but opted for the chicken salad which seems to be near cultish in this town for some reason.

The area where the L*incoln home is a short walk from the main area of town. Four blocks that are not open to traffic and where all of the homes are restored to the time of Abe and his family.

That is one of the tour guides in period costume walking through the historic district.

A recognizable shot to history buffs, the family home of A*braham L*incoln, one of the largest in the area and very nice as well as beautifully restored.

I loved the wagon inside the historic area, it really made you feel as if you'd landed back in time.

Hey! I'd know that hat anywhere! Not the "real" stovepipe so they say but looked cool anyway.

The living room was........................... loud and energetic! ;)


The 'valances' were absolutely over the top. Kind of surprised me if the truth be told!


Just when I started thinking that Mr. L*incoln might not be as down to earth as I'd believed there was something that kind of turned my mind around!

LOVED that carpetbag, you could tote some great knitting in there!


The fact that Mrs. L*incoln was a seamstress was all over the house, I loved it! The photo shows some of her sewing supplies next to an actual bonnet she was working on. There were several vignettes of sewing throughout the house and in her bedroom. I rather loved the fact that they had separate bedrooms as well!


The tomb, about 10 minutes drive from the center of town, was AMAZING! I have never seen a presidential burial place quite so wow! All of the family are buried here except a son buried at Arlington. You can go inside the tomb where there are a number of L*incoln statues displayed.

It was a great trip, very enjoyable. I do love the summer road trips! Next time I might knit more than my obligatory 4 rows!

Getting on the Stick

When unfinished projects loom, life buzzes at an alarming rate, and there are more things you want to do than have time for................ well something has got to give.

My new rule to knit 4 rows a day now has me down 18 rows. 'nuff said. I am still knitting on the cabled cardi sleeves but thought that there needed to be something to get me round the bend, on the stick, newly jazzed. Or something like it!

My new jazz for the stick is "Nimbus" by Berroco. Something fast, something cute, something with a little somethin' somethin'................ perfect.


When researching yarn options (it calls for Peruvia Quick) I made the happiest of discoveries. Webs (love me some Webs) had some on closeout---woo hoo------- for a price I could not turn down.

Is there anything more exciting than a virginal box of yarn??? Unless it is a virginal box of fabric maybe?

The color I purchased is Granada:


The pic doesn't do it justice! Think a cross between grape jelly and a delicious Merlot! I'll have it cast on in time to go knit with the girls tomorrow night! A super cute pattern, nice fat yarn in a yummy color---- can't you see it with a really great big vintage button???? Tres chic!

On the other side of the knit front, part of my stickliness was to address the stuff that was hanging about. Hanging without the promise of ever getting finished! That would of course be my Pi Shawl, on the needles with about 11 inches to show for it. The color was an brownish orange, a lovely color when I had my red hair. Since going through the growing out hag phase my hair is not quite lovely and as it is without pigment now that orangey color would look like yak. Nasty yak. Not to be worn yak. I frogged it and happily set it on my shelf, laceweight yarn that might perhaps (PERHAPS) find another use someday. Or not, it doesn't matter. What does matter is the incredibly light and wonderful feeling of getting an albatross off the needles, freeing up cables and tips!

And not to be confused with Chicken on a Stick, it is Chicken OFF the Stick! :) The dreaded kitchenering of 65 stitches (or therabouts) has been accomplished! I am here to tell you, when you have to graft that many stitches you have to devote some serious thunkin. I thunked, it is DONE!


Now that is off the stick perhaps the tail, comb and wattle will soon follow? Now that she is grafted I have to say I'm not crazy about the shape of her. She probably says the same about me. I think I will have to do something to pull up her tail and square her up a little. Perhaps a firmer knitted fabric would have worked better but it was my first knitted cluck after all.



My intention is that Nimbus will be so fast and so fun and so darned cute that it will catapult me into finishing Alexi with a smile on my face.

We watched "B*everly H*ills C*hihuahua" last night----------- little boy dog Prince LOVED the movie! He watched the whole thing and would go to the tv and peer in for a closer look. Too cute!

Here's hoping that productivity and finished projects follow!