Knitting

Yum

May 23, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

IN THE OVEN

I’ve gotten a little bit out of the habit of blogging my baking adventures, but rest assured, they continue. I’m trying to keep my cooking/baking obsession somewhat under control but so far, I’ve not been very successful. I made a new cinnamon raisin swirl bread the end of last week which I had every intention of taking to Stuttgart and sharing but, naturally, it got left on the counter in the kitchen. So, we’ve been enjoying it ourselves. The only real rub is that Mr. Iknead and I just can’t eat the baked goodies fast enough and sometimes they go stale or even moldy. I think I might start sharing with the neighbors, would that be too weird nowadays? Growing up, we always shared back and forth with neighbors, but that was then and we knew our neighbors well. Now, though, we don’t, really, just mostly to wave when we see them outside. Could this be a sign to break out of my cocoon and reach out? I think it might be just that. I’m thinking of banana bread today, that would be a good start.

Anyway, I wanted to share this recipe I tried last night that was so good – it was comfort food and crazy easy – Slow Cooker Salisbury Steak. Here’s the link. I fixed mashed potatoes to go with it and it was divine! Real potatoes, too. I know what my lunch is going to be!

THE GRANDS

Can you stand a few more pics of the smartest, most beautiful grandbabies in the universe? I thought you could!

The Sprout and Me

That’s the Karma sweater I’m wearing. Turned out well, don’t you think?

The Papoose and a Cupcake

Babydiva in her Tutu – How Cute Is That?

Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind. Samuel Johnson

Knitting

WIPW 05/22/13, Yarn Along

May 22, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

ON THE NEEDLES

No, this isn’t the second Crocus Vernus sock. 😦 In the hustle and bustle of the Papoose’s birthday Saturday afternoon, when it came time to go home, the Crocus project bag was left behind. No problem. Texted Bigmommy, she’d found it and since she was coming to Little Rock Monday, she’d bring it. Still no problem. Got project back. Tiny issue. Looking to make sure that the sock in progress was in the bag, she accidently pulled one of the needles out. Wahhhhh. So, nearly finished Crocus Vernus sock totally frogged and restarted. You can bet I’ll be a lot more careful about getting all my projects in the knitting bag before I leave next time. It’s OK Bigmommy, I know it was an accident.

Still loving the Grrlfriend Market Bag so much I started another.

Still rolling on Granny’s Grab Bag Blanket using my left over sock yarn.

THE GRANDS

Happy birthday, Papoose. You’re three!

Papoose Playhouse

I’m linking up with Tami’s WIPW blog and Ginny’s Yarn Along, so head on over there for more WIPW and book love.

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. Mother Teresa

Knitting

Play On, An Honor and Mad As A Hornet

March 25, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

A PRIVILEGE AND HONOR

I had the privilege of staying with my sweet grand, Babydiva, while her mommy was on a girl’s trip and her daddy was, sadly, being there for his best friend and brother of the heart while his father was fighting his final battle with cancer. Having lost my father a year ago in July, I know too well how difficult these final struggles are. Joe, you’ve been such a special person to Jordan, first as a teacher and mentor and then as a colleague over the years. Thank you for your guidance, caring and sharing. It’s been an honor.

Play On, Joe. We’ll Miss You!

Jordan and Joe

Teacher, Friend, Mentor, Colleague

THE GRANDS

The Papoose and the Sprout

I couldn’t resist sharing this. The Papoose’s smile makes me wonder what’s going on with her other hand, could there be a pinch involved somewhere?? Really, though, I think it’s just the Sprout’s temper showing. Still…..

Age is no guarantee of maturity. Lawana Blackwell

Knitting

Late Start

March 8, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

WHAT’S UP

I’m getting a late start on blogging/computer housekeeping today, usually by this time I’ve blogged, cleaned out my inbox, answered e-mail, peeked in on what what’s going on with Rav, oohed and ahhed over the Friday FOs and moved on to thinking about dinner, maybe baking a little, knitting and reading and doing the straightening up that never seems to be quite finished around our house. Not today. Thinking about dinner has been accomplished, with chicken thawing, a couple of loads of laundry is in process and I just measured my newest on the needles project at a good, honest (no stretching allowed) 12 inches, a good start on a pattern that starts out with 16 inches of knitting in pattern.

GETTING BETTER ALL THE TIME

I’m now 17 days out from my surgery and continue to feel a little better every day. I’d been missing my daily walks with Josie and decided to start back yesterday morning. We (Josie and I) walked to the post office, probably about a half mile round trip and probably since my speed is a lot slower than usual, I spotted some springy goodness along the way. Can spring be too far off?

I have an appointment Monday morning with my surgeon and am very hopeful he’ll release me to drive then. I’m beginning to get a little stir crazy here at home, even a trip to the grocery store sounds fun and exciting. Yeah, it’s that bad.

THE GRANDS

The Sprout – Just Happy to be Here!

Babydiva at Her Most Charming

and last, but certainly not least –

The Papoose Rocking the Shades

Cutest, sweetest, smartest, most beautiful and all other superlatives grands ever. I promise.

Real love stories never have endings. Richard Bach

Knitting

Tiny Dancer, Pacy Covet and New Project Excitement

March 5, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

IF YOU’VE MISSED OUT

on seeing a naked two and a half year old ballerina stopping mid pirouette to potty, you’ve truly missed out on the highest form of funny cuteness. That’s right friends, the Papoose is in the midst of potty training and I think it might have clicked yesterday. Then, just when our giggles were starting to slow, she ran into the bathroom to flush – her potty chair is in the den, getting us going all over again. Thanks to the wonders of the digital age, it’s all on video. If you’re wondering why her potty’s in the den, you need to know that potty training at this stage is more about timing and convenience and less about location. What’s true in real estate, location, location, location ain’t necessarily so in potty training.

BY THE BOOK

Way way invested in Robert Massie‘s biography, Catherine the Great. I’m just right at her arranged marriage to 17 year old Peter of Holstein. I’ve mentioned my fascination with the Russian imperial family before and finished Nicholas and Alexandra a little bit ago. Loved it and am loving CTG just as much.

BUSTING TO BE

on the needles is Olivia Petit, a sweater I blogged about in How Come. I got the yarn ordered this morning (13 skeins) and am anxious to see it in person and start gauging. After a little more thought over the past few days, I think I’m going to scale back my grand plans just a little and just go for a Easter sweater for the Sprout, I’ve not knitted anything for this poor babe. I guess that comes from being #3 in the grandbaby line up, so I’m giving her first dibs. Check my blog post How Come? to see the project picture. It’s the cutest thing!

KEEP YOUR EYE ON

the much coveted monkey pacifier that the Sprout got as a baby gift. It is really, really cute, a pacifier with a soft, floppy monkey (think Beanie Baby) attached, making it easy for little hands to hang on to. Well, let me tell you, this monkey pacy is much admired and coveted within the Coleman/Vaughan circle of grands and is fair game if it gets dropped or somehow laid aside and forgotten. See what I mean?

From the Sprout

To Babydiva

and finally

Back to the Sprout via Babydaddy

A word to the wise – if you come across one of these pacies, buy multiples!

You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith. Mary Morrissey

Knitting

FO Friday 03/01/13, A Stash Tour

March 1, 2013March 4, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

OFF THE NEEDLES

It’s finished and is all I’d hoped for and more! Introducing –

Etched Rio Wrap! TA DA!

I love it – it’s the perfect weight (not too hot, not too cool), the perfect color (love caramel), it stays put (not falling off one of my narrow to the point of almost nonexistent shoulders or the other) and the drape (OMG). After some initial misbehavior on the yarn’s part, we came to an understanding and this project truly became a labor of love.

STEP UP, STEP RIGHT UP

After reading a post on uknit2, I decided to document my stash status and share a little of it here. At the moment, it’s relatively neat and more or less organized, sock yarn, sport weight, lace weight, bulky, you get it, you’re a knitter but the more I looked the more odd I thought part of my stash was. Here, you be the judge.

Sock Yarn

Sport Weight

Odds and Ends

Here’s what I think is sort of odd

A Ziploc/Shopping Bag Stash

Actually, come to think of it, it’s not odd at all that I hoard ziplocs and shopping bags. After all, fiberphiles use more ziplocs than anyone else on the planet and for your safety, don’t get between me and a nice, heavy, handled shopping bag. I won’t pretend to speak for other crafty types, I’m trying to stick with what I know – but no, it’s not odd at all, it’s more than a little smart, green and best of all, frees up more bucks for my fiber fixation. So, strike the odd. Smarter than the average bear, us fiberphiles. I rest my totally turned around case.

IN THE OVEN

Not yet, kneading takes more than a little energy and I’m still promising Mr. Iknead to take it easy, but soon, very soon there will be fresh bread. I knead it (get it?)! I know, I love a corny play on words.

Fly by Tami Amis for more FO Friday treats – you’ll be glad you did!

Live so that you wouldn’t be ashamed to sell the family parrot to the town gossip. Will Rogers

FLASH – Bigmommy and the babies are in town and are headed over!! Pics and report tomorrow! Yay, getting a little lonesome!

Knitting

Inevitable

February 11, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

THE GRANDS

As of yesterday, all three grands have the sniffles and little fevers. The Papoose and the Sprout came to visit on Friday so, of course, Babydiva and her mommy joined us for lunch and a nice, long afternoon of play. The Papoose had a little runny nose, but that was all. None of us is particularly germ conscious; there were perhaps more sneezes than usual, but everyone felt well and like I said, played nice. I did catch Babydiva and Papoose swapping paccies back and forth, but that’s pretty par for the course with a two year old and an 11 month old, it’s going to happen, no big deal. Now all three grands have the sniffles and sneezes, along with me and Mr. Iknead. I, for one, caught a couple of sneezes full in the face but that’s the price you sometimes pay for two year old kisses and hugs. Totally, totally worth it. The Papoose did progress to croup and wheezing and got a tour of the Stuttgart ER Friday evening, but after a breathing treatment and some cough syrup, went home and resumed normal two year old activities.

BY THE BOOK

I started The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society yesterday and am totally enthralled. The setting is Guernsey (duh), a channel island off the coast of England, during World War II. The letters sent back and forth between these friends are sometimes funny, sometimes poignant and always interesting. Remember when you actually had to compose a letter, stamp it and take it to the post office to send it? Remember the anticipation of getting a letter in return and then doing it all over again? I still love getting and reading real letters, on paper, with pen and ink. The mailbox is so much more exciting than my inbox, I think.

ON THE NEEDLES

I finally got the Metalico yarn sorted out and rewound. With encouragement from vocalizard, I decided to salvage it and keep using it for my project and I have to admit, it looks a lot better than I thought it would; maybe a little fuzzy in spots, but that’s about it. Here’s a look at the one of the fuzzy spots. I don’t think it’s too terribly noticeable, do you?

I’m dying to start a new pair of socks with the lost then found Parakeet yarn but just can’t seem to settle on one pattern. The yarn here is the star, not really the pattern, so I want it to be fairly straightforward, so the yarn can shine on its own, but fancy enough to catch the attention of admirers. Does this make any sense? I’m always in search of the perfect pattern for the perfect yarn for the perfect sock. Must be a knitter thing. Suggestions?

Question: When’s the last time you sent a real pen and ink letter? Mine was to an aunt a few weeks ago, along with some old photos I found and thought she’d enjoy.

Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before. Mae West

Knitting

Happiness is

January 14, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

watching Finding Nemo with the Papoose, drinking a cup of fancy coffee, while it’s so cold out that I don’t even feel guilty for not taking a walk. Just in case you’re curious, it’s 27 degrees F and sleeting here in the duck and rice capitol of the world. Stuttgart, Arkansas for the still curious. Babysis is sleeping in her swing and has been for the last hour or so, Bigmommy is taking advantage of my extra pair of hands and is taking a well deserved nap and as I already mentioned, the Papoose and I are watching Finding Nemo and sharing a piece of cake. Does it get better than this? Not in my world or probably yours either.

BABYSIS

Annabelle aka Babysis was baptized yesterday and charmed Rev. Arnold by grinning at him the whole time. Needless to say, he joined the rest of us who are under her spell. She wore the family christening gown and by my count is #5. The first being her mommy, Lindsey aka Bigmommy.

Before church, hanging out with Papa aka Mr. Iknead

Life is good.

Familiar acts are beautiful through love. Percy Bysshe Shelley

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Knitting

Slow Day

January 8, 2013 mud&stringLeave a comment

WHAT’S UP

Nothing, absolutely nothing. Sitting here, waiting for the electricians to arrive to finish work so I decided to use the time constructively, blogging. Today is Old People Day at the grocery store, so at some point I’m going for groceries when I can get the Old Person Discount. Jeez, that’s something I never thought I’d say. I guess I thought that when I reached a certain age (never determined), time would stop and I’d be that never determined age forever. However, it hasn’t stopped and I haven’t stopped either, 55 years old at last check. Young at heart, that would be me.

ON THE NEEDLES

I started a new project yesterday, from a book I received as a gift last year, which I’d misplaced a couple of months ago. The book is Boutique Knits 20+ Must-Have Accessories. I started the Sideways Grande Hat, using yarn that I repurposed from an infinity scarf which was much, much too long and heavy. I think it’s Cascade 220 but I’m not sure. I just love the mauvey, heathery color and its softness.

It’s a little more on the pink side in real life.

THE GRANDS

Annabelle aka Babysis is set to be baptized next Sunday, 01/13/13 and I’m planning to stay an extra couple of days. Looking forward to giving Bigmommy a hand for a while. Babysis isn’t a great sleeper, so she and Bigdaddy aren’t getting as much sleep as they would like. Poor Babysis being compared to the Papoose, who slept through the night at six weeks and is still a great sleeper. Babysis is only three months old, so I expect that here pretty soon she’ll start sleeping longer and longer through the night and everyone’s attitude will get better. At least she’s not colicky!

The reason grandparents and grandchildren get along so well is that they have a common enemy. Sam Levenson (1911-1980)

Knitting

Winding Down/Looking Back/Moving Forward

December 31, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

AS PROMISED

Here are the promised photos of the grands. I hadn’t forgotten to post, in fact, I thought about it a lot, several times a day but was just too freakin’ lazy to put down my knitting, get up out of my comfy, warm by the fire chair and log on. I kept telling myself that “no I’m not procrastinating, I’m building anticipation”. See, I can rationalize anything.

CHRISTMAS WITH THE GRANDS

Babymama, Babydaddy, Bigmommy and Bigdaddy conspired, booked a photographer and surprised Mr. Iknead and me with a words fail me photo collage of the grands. Here are just a few of the pics. Get ready, you might not be able to handle the sweetness –

Left to Right – Annabelle, Susannah and Harper

Harper in Charge

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Every Day Should Be Christmas

And one more just because I love the excitement and innocence captured. They look like they’ve seen Santa!

Do You See What I See???

Told ya they were amazing, beautiful and sweet.

ON THE NEEDLES

The Zigzag Lace socks are toast. Finished the first sock, decided I didn’t like it and that life’s too short to knit something that I didn’t love, frogged it and started over with the Catnip Sock pattern. Much, much better. No documentation yet, probably for WIP Wednesday. Second first sock completed, first second sock started.

RESOLUTIONS?

I have a couple, one of which is to deliberately set aside 30 minutes a couple of mornings a week for blog housekeeping and updating and Ravelry following. Funny, I thought when I retired, I’d be doing a lot more of each but I’ve found that not to be the case, probably because I’m not sitting at a computer all day. I have a few more possible resolutions, I’ll share after I put the finishing touches on them. Maybe I should call the goals instead of resolutions. Hmmmm.

What are your goals/resolutions?

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, And the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha

Knitting

OK, OK, I’m blogging already!

December 21, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

WHAT’S UP

I been neglecting my blog the past week or so, I’ve been so busy, wrapping up Christmas stuff, attending the grands’ Christmas pageant (more about that in a second) and just acclimating myself to real retirement. It’s a big change, believe me, but I’m getting into the swing of things. Even though I can’t seem to sleep past about 6:30 a.m., just taking my time with the newspaper and coffee is a continuing happy. I’m busy, don’t think I’m sitting around watching soaps and eating bon-bons. I’m baking (which is different from cooking), cooking, visiting my mom, knitting (lots of it) and reading. I love retirement – I think more people should try it! ; )

THE GRANDS’ PAGEANT

The Papoose and Babysis were in their first Christmas pageant on Wednesday evening. The Papoose was an angel (no surprise there) and Babysis stepped up as the Baby Jesus. The sweetest things ever! We did have a tiny bump in the performance when Angel Papoose turned around, saw the audience and immediately had a small meltdown, crying very pitiously until Bigmommy took her down from the stage and she came to sit (on the front row of course) with Grandmary, Pops, Pawpaw and me. Best. Angel. Ever.

Two seconds and counting down pre-meltdown!

In the green room before her big entrance

Babysis rocked it out as the Baby Jesus, sleeping through the whole thing and being all the more precious because of it.

Showing off her new smile with Bebe (that’s me)

FUNNY THING ABOUT TIME

It flies. The holidays are nearly upon us and it feels (at least to me) like we just wrapped up Christmas 2011 a week or so ago, relaxing and telling each other that “this was the best Christmas ever”. We’ll say it again in about a week, vowing that nothing could top Christmas 2012, what with two babies on their first Christmas and one who’s just getting the hang of presents and Santa. The wonder never leaves me, I’m blessed.

Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens. Carl Jung

Knitting

It’s so quiet!

October 29, 2012 mud&stringLeave a comment

THE GRANDS

We had the Papoose from Friday morning until Sunday evening this past weekend and now that it’s just us again, it’s so quiet, it’s “I can hear Josie snoring two rooms away” quiet. As always, Susannah was a joy, happy, a great napper/sleeper, a good eater and ready for anything. She kept us on our toes sure enough and I laughed myself into a set of sore ribs. What’s better than that? She got a mani-pedi –

and Papa brushed up on his coloring skills –

What’s not to like? Right? Papa does have an odd fixation about staying inside the lines, but Susie and I are working on that and he’s coming along nicely.

IN THE OVEN

Cooler temps over the weekend meant doing some real cooking – I made a beef stew on Friday and Crockpot Burritos on Saturday. The burritos especially were a winner. Babydiva, Babydaddy and Babymama came over Sunday after church and helped us eat the leftovers. Even better then second day! I’d hoped to bake bread over the weekend but that clearly was a little overly optimistic timewise. Maybe next weekend. It’s on the list.

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. Helen Keller