Totally Pastel Bonbons

Lion Brand has these packages of yarn. They are called bonbons and come in pastel or bright. You get 8 with 28 yards each. They are pricey at $10/package but Joanns had them in the clearance isle for $2. After I made my scrappy socks I decided I could get a pair of socks out of each package. So what do you do when it is snowing, knit of course. I just picked up a color and knit til it was done. I had about 16" of yarn left for each sock and got an 8"cuff. The pastel socks are done.

I hate the city more than I hate snow

I live on a small cul-de-sac on a bigger cul-de-sac. I know it is not easy to plow snow and figure out where to pile it up but... This guy was a complete moron, I dont know if you can tell by the pictures but he has all of us plowed in, no one can get out withous some severe shoveling. I hope we dont have an emergency or someone needs to get in because as for now we are house bound. I have shoveled the deck and the front porch and sidewalk leading to the front porch and will start the drive later. Hope none of us has a heart attack shoveling.

I HATE SNOW

We are in a state of emergency due to the snow storm today. Places around the city have had anywhere from 7-11 and it is still snowing. We are in a lull. We already set a record for the most snow on this date and may set another one soon. Part of my deck is empty and you can see the drift out my back door. The wind is howling and it is so dry it is drifting pretty bad. The airport is closed, malls are closed, movie theaters are closed and basically we have been told to stay home but there are always those out there who think they can defeat the bad roads. If you are gonna be stupid I wish you well.

Simply Punkin Pie

The first pair of socks for me has been done but I have been finishing other projects with deadlines and cleaning house. I thought they looked like the filling in a pumpkin pie with the spices mixing in with the pumpkin. They are very soft and very warm.

Pinapple Upside Down Cinn Rolls

The next batch of cinn rolls were these. I would use crushed instead of chunky because you only get a small taste of pineapple and I would not put the pineapple juice in the sauce part because the bottom of the rolls were a tad soggy. They are not real sweet but they are delicious.

Decorah Eagles

Well we aren't gonna be watching any little fuzzballs this season. Mom and dad have decided to use the new nest. We will never know why but no cameras over there so we wont know much. I can only hope after the kids are gone this season we can get a camera over there. Perhaps they did not like the intrustion but... I wish you well and hopefully we won't lose any eaglets this season.

Cardamon Rolls

I made the first batch of cinn rolls out of the cookbook I got for Christmas. It makes 9 and they are a tad large but hey with 2 sticks of butter, you need to clog the arteries really well. I am not a huge cinnamon fan and love cardamon in my cinn rolls, so these are cardamon rolls instead of cinn rolls. It only took 5 hours to make these but they are worth it.

BTw this squirrel is missing his tail, not sure what might have happened to him but he seems fine.

Too Funny

How funny is this? I found this on Facebook from Nobleknits Yarn Shop,it is a Do Ewe Knit photo.

Eagle Day at Smithville Lake

I went to the golf course to listen to a talk about raptors. They had a bald eagle, a golden eagle and some falcons and hawks. They were all birds that could not fly any longer and were used at teaching sessions like this. The place was packed. Later there were scopes set up at the lake but the eagles were so far away you could only see two in a tree and not very well. These pictures are Miss Moose (bald eagle) and Goldy, the golden eagle. The bald eagle was found fallen out of a pine tree at Yellowstone, she had eaten some poison meat that was used to kill coyotes. She broke her wing in 8 places and has arthiritis so bad she can't fly, they figure she is at least 24. The golden eagle ate something with lead bullets and it attacked her brain, she can only fly about 8 feet and then she loses her balance. Please if you are gonna hunt use lead free bullets, as the eagles sometimes eat the meat that has been left and they get lead poisoning from the bullets.

National Bird Day

NATIONAL BIRD DAY - Today January 5th - Let's CELEBRATE! Why National Bird Day? The beauty, songs, and flight of birds have long been sources of human inspiration. Today, nearly 12 percent of the world's 9,800 bird species may face extinction within the next century, including nearly one-third of the world's 330 parrot species. Birds are sentinel species whose plight serves as barometer of ecosystem health and alert system for detecting global environmental ills. Many of the world's parrots and songbirds are threatened with extinction due to pressures from the illegal pet trade, disease, and habitat loss. Public awareness and education about the physical and behavioral needs of birds can go far in improving the welfare of the millions of birds kept in captivity. The survival and well-being of the world's birds depends upon public education and support for conservation. This is the reason for National Bird Day. Join us! http://www.nationalbirdday.com/

Sock Journey

I admit I am a sockaholic, I love to knit socks, they are easy and portable and they make great gifts. I make more for gifts than I do myself and that is about to change. Don't worry mom you and dad will get your socks every year until you tell me to quit, however... I have about 3 dozen sock pattern books and I decided this year to start working my way through them. So to start the journey I am starting with "Socktopus" by Alice Yu. There are 17 pair in this book. The first pattern is Totally Vanilla. A great formula to use for each sock you knit to get that perfect fit. So I have two skeins of Mission Falls 136 Merino Superwash in a brown/orange colorway. I am using size 3 dpns and cast them on this morning. Sit back and let's see how many socks I can get through this year.

2012

The most important thing I did in 2012 was retire. I was more than ready and it was time mentally for me to leave. Things were too ugly in the office and it was divided as much as the country. It is not a healthy environment, all brought on by 3 people who really should be fired for some of the things they have done, but I am done with that and it is time to move on. I keep track of the books I read and the projects I do. I only read 22 books which I try to read at least 2/month, now I have more time to read. I knit 20020 yards of yarn and crocheted 6322 yards of yarn. Maybe this year I can get to 30K yards of yarn. If you figure each stitch takes approximately an inch of yarn that is 720,720 stitches knit and 227,592 stitches crocheted making a total of 948,312 stitches, almost a million stitches. So what did I make with all those stitches and other things: Remote Holder 1, Socks 10, Shawls 16, Cell Phone Cover 4, Afghans/Blankets 5, Bunny 1, Dishcloth 12, Fairy 2, Kindle Cover 1, Sweater 3, Penguin 1, Grocery Bags 11, Toaster Cover 1, Fabric Bowl 9, Poncho 1, Bracelet 1, Coasters 10, Bibs 2, Pillows 5, Tablecloth 2, Calendar 1, Pillowcases 4, Mittens 1, Fingerless Gloves 2, Potholders 5.

Read Before You Eat Another Onion

In 1919 when the flu killed 40 million people there was this Doctor that visited the many farmers to see if he could help them combat the flu... Many of the farmers and their families had contracted it and many died. The doctor came upon this one farmer and to his surprise, everyone was very healthy. When the doctor asked what the farmer was doing that was different the wife replied that she had placed an unpeeled onion in a dish in the rooms of the home, (probably only two rooms back then). The doctor couldn't believe it and asked if he could have one of the onions and place it under the microscope. She gave him one and when he did this, he did find the flu virus in the onion. It obviously absorbed the bacteria, therefore, keeping the family healthy. Now, I heard this story from my hairdresser. She said that several years ago, many of her employees were coming down with the flu, and so were many of her customers. The next year she placed several bowls with onions around in her shop. To her surprise, none of her staff got sick. It must work. Try it and see what happens. We did it last year and we never got the flu. Now there is a P. S. to this for I sent it to a friend in Oregon who regularly contributes material to me on health issues. She replied with this most interesting experience about onions: Thanks for the reminder. I don't know about the farmer's story...but, I do know that I contacted pneumonia, and, needless to say, I was very ill... I came across an article that said to cut both ends off an onion put it into an empty jar, and place the jar next to the sick patient at night. It said the onion would be black in the morning from the germs...sure enough it happened just like that...the onion was a mess and I began to feel better. Another thing I read in the article was that onions and garlic placed around the room saved many from the black plague years ago. They have powerful antibacterial, antiseptic properties. This is the other note. Lots of times when we have stomach problems we don't know what to blame. Maybe it's the onions that are to blame. Onions absorb bacteria is the reason they are so good at preventing us from getting colds and flu and is the very reason we shouldn't eat an onion that has been sitting for a time after it has been cut open. LEFT OVER ONIONS ARE POISONOUS I had the wonderful privilege of touring Mullins Food Products, Makers of mayonnaise. Questions about food poisoning came up, and I wanted to share what I learned from a chemist. Ed, who was our tour guide, is a food chemistry whiz. During the tour, someone asked if we really needed to worry about mayonnaise. People are always worried that mayonnaise will spoil. Ed's answer will surprise you. Ed said that all commercially-made mayo is completely safe. "It doesn't even have to be refrigerated. No harm in refrigerating it, but it's not really necessary." He explained that the pH in mayonnaise is set at a point that bacteria could not survive in that environment. He then talked about the summer picnic, with the bowl of potato salad sitting on the table, and how everyone blames the mayonnaise when someone gets sick. Ed says that, when food poisoning is reported, the first thing the officials look for is when the 'victim' last ate ONIONS and where those onions came from (in the potato salad?). Ed says it's not the mayonnaise (as long as it's not homemade mayo) that spoils in the outdoors. It's probably the ONIONS, and if not the onions, it's the POTATOES. He explained onions are a huge magnet for bacteria, especially uncooked onions. You should never plan to keep a portion of a sliced onion.. He says it's not even safe if you put it in a zip-lock bag and put it in your refrigerator. It's already contaminated enough just by being cut open and out for a bit, that it can be a danger to you (and doubly watch out for those onions you put in your hotdogs at the baseball park!). Ed says if you take the leftover onion and cook it like crazy you'll probably be okay, but if you slice that leftover onion and put on your sandwich, you're asking for trouble. Both the onions and the moist potato in a potato salad, will attract and grow bacteria faster than any commercial mayonnaise will even begin to break down. Also, dogs should never eat onions. Their stomachs cannot metabolize onions. Please remember it is dangerous to cut an onion and try to use it to cook the next day, it becomes highly poisonous for even a single night and creates toxic bacteria which may cause adverse stomach infections because of excess bile secretions and even food poisoning.