February 2012
25 posts
A Picture a Day - Feb 24, 2012
Fluffy Snow
A Picture a Day - Feb 23, 2012
Have we talked about the crockpot?
I kind of have a love/ambivalent relationship with my crockpot. It runs hot, so I have to adjust recipes, and that can be tricky. There are no “put it in and leave it for eight hours” recipes for this bad boy. Chicken gets dry and meats get tough. Pasta dries out. Ann cries. Girls scatter. Mark attempts to claim the food still tastes good, if...
A Picture a Day - Feb 22, 2012
It’s Ash Wednesday! And that means one thing.
Time for all the Fish Fry Buffets to pop up!
A Picture a Day - Feb 21, 2012
We had some leftover rice from Chinese takeout the other night. So I decided to make chicken with rice soup.
I love this kind of thing. Makes me feel thrifty, or at least thrifty enough to off-put the fact we ordered take out for dinner. I used homemade broth and chicken from the freezer. Had a bowl for lunch and it was delish. Yay!
A Picture a Day - Feb 20, 2012
Riverside Dairy Queen
A Picture a Day - Feb 19, 2012
Although I finished this on Friday, I could not gift it until today, so I’m calling this:
The Twelfth Finished Object of 2012
Pattern: Honey Cowl
Yarn: Sublime Yarns Baby Cashmere Silk Merino
Needle: 8
For: Ellen
Ravelry Page
A Picture a Day - Feb 18, 2012
And also, the eleventh finished object of 2012:
Pattern: Muckle Mitts
Yarn: Cascade 220
Needle: 5
For: Me
Ravelry Page
Not much to say here, although I love the tutorials on the pattern page, and also, I would have knit the cuffs and tops in a smaller needle if I were to do it again.
A Picture a Day - Feb 17, 2012
Gifts from the dentist:
Note they were out of toothpaste.
I have bad teeth. I have to see the dentist every three months. If you have bad teeth, you should see the dentist every three months. I don’t regret it.
A Picture a Day - Feb 16, 2012
French Toast for breakfast:
A Picture a Day - Feb 15, 2012
Not my best day for writing.
Bound Off Short Story Podcast: Issue 73 Released...
A Picture a Day - Feb 14, 2012
A cupcake from my friend Karen!
A Happy Valentine’s Day, indeed! :)
A Picture a Day - Feb 13, 2012
Lone bird at the feeder:
A Picture a Day - Feb 12, 2012
The view from the back of our house:
Night sky.
A Picture a Day - Feb 11, 2012
Saturday night hot plans.
A Picture a Day - Feb 10, 2012
Remember my post about the mittens?
Well, they’re done!
And are currently being blocked.
The smallest needles worked. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but it appears as if I needed to go down a size and a half to make gauge on the second mitten.
There’s a sense of accomplishment here, one I cannot deny.
So, with this, may I present:
The Tenth Finished Object...
A Picture a Day - Feb 9, 2012
Too cruel, almost beyond words, is this:
A Daylight Donut.
Once a week my daughter has an appointment across the street from a Daylight Donut shop. Since the appointments are usually in the morning, we stop by and pick up a donut for her to enjoy before her meeting.
Why? Why did I start this habit? I’ve been on a diet made a lifestyle change since last summer and have so far...
A Picture a Day - Feb 8, 2012
Well, this is a little unsettling.
This is from a handout sent home from my daughter’s school. It comes directly from the company that provides materials for the unit.
I mean, I can understand human error and all, but come on.
Of course, the best part is that my daughter noticed it immediately and circled it to show me. I suppose I can chalk it up to a bonding experience.
A Picture a Day - Feb 7, 2012
A Tale of Two Mittens
(I can’t believe I used that title. And I call myself a writer.)
So. Last fall I taught a class on Fair Isle knitting and used this pattern as an example. It’s knit with fingering weight, and I used a size 2.5mm needle. For all you non-knitters out there, this proves that I have the skillz, baby.
I finished one, put the whole kit and kaboodle into a bag and...
A Picture a Day - Feb 6, 2012
No one ever wants to see this in the bottom of the Clementine box, do they?
Sorry for the blurriness of the photo. I just wanted to take the picture as quickly as I could and then toss the m-fer. Ugh.
A Picture a Day - Feb 5, 2012
Ninth Finished Object of 2012
Pattern: Scalloped Shawl
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden Sock and Noro Kureyon Sock
Needle: 7
For: Me
Ravelry Page
I’m pretty happy with the results, although I fretted about it the whole time I made it.
In other news, Go Patriots!
A Picture a Day - Feb 4, 2012
Yarn. What my day was all about.
A Picture a Day - Feb 3, 2012
Today’s errand running included a trip to:
There are a lot of pluses regarding our library. Pretty good selection for the size, helpful librarians, and a limited amount of smelly homeless guys asking for money. Parking is horrible, however, and although smoking outside the doors has been banned no one enforces it. Add a smelly homeless dude asking for money? I can’t say I love...
A Picture a Day - Feb 2, 2012
Today’s loathsome chore:
Someday maybe possibly I hope beyond hope I can afford to pay someone to do this kind of thing for me.
A Picture a Day - Feb 1, 2012
Fog
January 2012
27 posts
A Picture a Day - Jan 31, 2012
Ugh.
Thank God for this:
A Picture a Day - Jan 30, 2012
Old School, Rushton-Style.
A Picture a Day - Jan 29, 2012
Sunday Morning
A Picture a Day - Jan 28, 2012
Thought I would share my usual breakfast:
Sometimes I throw fruit in with my cereal, but not very often. Not a fan of fruit in the cereal, to be honest.
I like this breakfast because a)tastes awesome with Almond Breeze, which is much lower in calories than even skim milk and b) oat cereal purportedly aids in lowering cholesterol. And my cholesterol did become lower as I continued to make a...
A Picture a Day - Jan 27, 2012
Today’s picture is a total WIN.
Found these at Target this morning and immediately snatched them up. Then another woman right next to me did the same thing. These bad boys will be gone before February 1st, I bet. Smart mothers shop early.
Plus, don’t you love the marketing brilliance here? Three extra tattoos! I may have to sport one of those myself. (Not a pig. I don’t...
The Sixth Finished Object of 2012:
Pattern: Peekaboo Mitts
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran
Needle: 7
For: Mark Rushton
Ravelry Page
I’ve promised to make Mark mitts forever. He loves these. Happy thoughts on a chilly day.
A Picture a Day - Jan 26, 2012
We call this Kitty TV.
Pippa likes to hang out and watch the birds at the feeder. When it was warmer last month and earlier this month, we’d go days before we’d have to fill it. But now that it’s cold, I’m out there every day, spilling half of it on the walkway. But that’s okay—makes the squirrels happy too, I guess.
And Pippa.
A Picture a Day - Jan 25, 2012
A baby blanket. As modeled by Pip.
This is also:
The fifth finished item of 2012.
Pattern: Round Ripple Afghan
Yarn: I Love This Yarn (I hate this name)
Needle: G
For: A baby I know
Ravelry Page
A Picture a Day - Jan 24, 2012
Today is all about revisions…as in, it’s time to revise. Again.
A Picture a Day - Jan 23, 2012
We woke to icy roads and sidewalks, so I pulled these out of the closet:
Yak Trax on an old pair of running shoes.
A couple of years ago I slipped on the ice, fell backwards and totally whacked my head on the pavement. It was a horrible moment, one that I don’t ever want to repeat. So I immediately went out and bought these. Money spent wisely—I use them several times a winter.
A Picture a Day - Jan 22, 2012
The perfect antidote to a icy and blustery day. Thanks, Laurie Colwin.
A Picture a Day - Jan 21, 2012
Fourth finished Item of 2012
Pattern: Dane Shawl
Yarn: Some mill end I got at School Products in New York
Needle: 6
For: Me
Ravelry Page
Grr..the picture makes it look like the center stitch is wonky. It is not. Just the way the carpet looks. Too lazy to figure how to photograph better. I should change the titles of my pictures to “A Bad Picture a Day.”
In other news, almost...
A Picture a Day - Jan 20, 2012
It’s snowing!
Barely. I mean, you can’t even see the snowfall in the picture.
However, when it snows I always have a hankering for Homemade Cinnamon Bread.
So that’s what I’m making. Right now.
Third finished object of 2012
Pattern: Basic Sock Pattern
Yarn: Berroco Sox Metallic
Needle: 1 (knit on bamboo dpns)
For: Janet
Ravelry Page
A late Christmas present for a friend.
A Picture a Day - Jan 19, 2012
Happy Birthday to my dad, who turns 78 today!
A Picture a Day - Jan 18, 2012
A Picture a Day - Jan 17, 2012
The oddest looking baby carrot I’ve ever seen, found in the bag this morning.
A Picture a Day - Jan 16, 2012
Today’s picture was taken on Christmas Day, 2011, in Marion, Iowa.
It’s some sort of art/sculpture thing in the center of a roundabout. It’s pretty goddamned scary to drive upon, if you ask me.
January Bound Off is here and available for your...
A Picture a Day - Jan 15, 2012
Today we ambled down to the Seamans Center for Engineering Arts and Sciences on the University of Iowa’s campus for the Candace Carmichael Elementary Art Exhibit. In particular, we went to see this:
Zoe’s painting!
She’s not particularly interested in art, but for some reason, her work has often been singled out for city-wide elementary school exhibits. It’s pretty...
A Picture a Day - Jan 14, 2012
Today’s picture comes to you from the Iowa River in Coralville.
On my way home from work I stopped by the Iowa River to see if I could spot an eagle or two. This part of the river is a known nesting area, with tall long-limbed trees that line the banks. But, not an eagle in sight. I guess it’s a little early for eagle nesting, so I had to be content with the hundreds of ducks...
A Picture a Day - Jan 13, 2012
Jumping on the picture a day bandwagon. Somedays they will have text, somedays not. Somedays they will be from Instagram. Others not. Etc.
Finished this book the other day. Compelling arguments abound. I’m more apt to agree with his arguments than not, due to my ever-increasing disbelief in a deity/afterlife. I’d say read the book rather than have a discussion with me on the...
Is it too late to do a picture a day thing?
Because yesterday it was 52 degrees and I ran three glorious miles. Today, it’s hovering around 12 degrees and the snow won’t stop. I wish I would have taken a picture of what it was like yesterday.
Oh well, hindsight.
Today I feel like cuddling under my electric blanket with hot coffee by my side and The Sopranos on my HBOGO. But, as...
Second finished object of 2012
Pattern: Summer Garden Granny Square
Yarn: Various Encore DK and others from the stash
Hook: F
For: House
Ravelry Page
I found this blog and became totally obsessed with the idea of filling my house with colorful crochet items. Who can blame me? Who doesn’t want bright and cheerful items hanging around their couches? Screw you if you think...