A couple of pending projects

Announcing one of my next knitting projects:

Because here is my other project:


I'm sure that you were all dying to know what the inside of my uterus looks like. So there it is folks. 6 weeks, 1 day today. Due March 23. We're calling it "Itty Bitty". Catie calls it "Doggie".

Let the puking begin.

One Local Summer, sans photo

Tonight we had our "eat local" meal of the week. In all honesty, we eat something local a few times a week, though usually not an entire meal. Tonight we had quite the feast, though unfortunately I wasn't thinking about a photo before I sat down and ate. So you'll just have to close your eyes and imagine:

Steak (homegrown)
Grilled zucchini (farmers market) and eggplant (not local, but organic from the Boise Coop--I had a serious hankering for eggplant and its not ready here yet. Sorry)
Oven roasted red and Yukon gold potatoes (farmers market)
Stir fried zuchinni, onions (farmers' market again) and mushrooms (local grower).

I'm on a zucchini kick right now, if you hadn't noticed. One of my favorite vegetables, hands down. I think the challenge is going to start getting a whole lot easier, as more and more fruits and veggies become available. This whole thing has definitely got me thinking a lot more about where my food comes from, which is the whole point, right?

On a non-food note, head over to The Amazing Lace and vote. My latest entry (Santa's beard) made the finals!!

Brief update below

My laptop is on the fritz. I have no clue what I did to it. But it's quite ill. So posting has been limited. I've been knitting away the past few days. Birch (take 2) now has a whopping 3 pattern repeats done. God knows how many left to go. The Jaywalker sock is progressing along. The heel is turned, stitches picked up, and I'm working on the decreases. This is a seriously fun pattern. I'm well aware this is NOT news to the vast majority of you out there, as I think I'm the last person in the knitting world to have not yet knitted a pair. Always a step or two behind, that's me.

Not much else to write about for now. I'm trying to fight the urge to start a new project. Don't you think Catie would like cute in this? 2 weeks until vacation. We're going on a long roadtrip to Montana, so I'm envisioning LOTS of knitting time. Maybe by then I can start on the new sweater. Let the countdown begin.

Amazing Lace #4

So the current Amazing Lace challenge is to show what our projects were to be if they were bound off right now. I just have to thank G for at least consenting to have his picture taken, though I don't think he looks too thrilled.


Oh lookie, Santa's beard!!

Eating Locally And More

I've been a bad blogger of late. I guess the days are flying by, because here it is the 16th of July, and I haven't posted for 2 whole weeks. I thought it had been a week. Weird. So obviously there's a few things to catch you up on. I've been reading a few books for my summer reading challenges, which hopefully I'll catch up on THOSE posts tomorrow. I've been working on Birch and some Jaywalkers (I like that pattern so much more than the Chevron socks I had been trying to get into). I've been spinning some. I've been cooking more. Haven't been exercising much, but definitely have been eating more healthy.

So now, on to the pics. I didn't post a pic for the One Local Summer challenge last week (obviously, due to my lack of recent posts). But here's this week's meal:
Eggs, zucchini, and onions all bought at the farmers' market. Tortilla from a local tortilla factory. Only the salsa isn't local, but needs to be used up. Pretty tasty, if I do say so myself.

One Local Summer

Two posts in one day. I don't think that's ever happened before. And odds are, it'll be awhile before it does again. At any rate, Liz over at Pocket Farm has challenged people to eat one meal a week made from local foods. I've been stalking the Eat Local Challenge blog and links related to that. I've been trying to buy more food at farmers' markets and the local coop (see links along the side). So along came this challenge and I thought this'd be the way to get us eating more locally (and hopefully more healthy too).

So tonight was our first night.

Potatoes: Yukon Golds from the Nampa Farmers' Market

Greens: Mixed greens from the Nampa Farmers' Market

Meat: Can't get much more local than this. Home grown beef from our own back pasture.

Overall, the meal turned out well. The greens were a bit bitter for me, but the stir fry sauce was good. My only non-local contributions were the onions and garlic in the stir fry. I had both already in the fridge that needed to be used up. What to try for next week?

Amazing Lace Poem

I've been trying to knit Birch for Amazing Lace this summer. We've hit a bit of a roadblock though. I know my poetry is simply the most incredible and moving thing you've all ever read, but try to hold back the tears.



Ode to Birch

A white could of silk and mohair
Who knew it could be such a bear?

Such delicate fine thread
But, oh, how it does shed

Worked on in fits and starts
It's breaking its knitter's heart

Lifelines are for sissies, she declared.
Alas, now she's running scared.

Thou shalt not knit lace and chat.
She seemed to forget that.

A whole pattern repeat gone bad.
Has made her very sad.

So last week, she tried to tink
But it nearly drove her to the brink.

So frog away she did.
While her shame, she hid.

So now dear Birch has been started anew
Just how much more trouble can she brew?