Life is like a ball of yarn

sophie. an update

2012-01-30T19:28:00.000-05:00

sophie is now 17 weeks old and was 27 pounds at her vet visit last week. she can now handle the soccer ball with ease-she loves to run, play keep away, tug-0-war, and fetch. today she got her head stuck in the treat box i had thrown away, but she got it off her head before i could get a photo-it was hysterical!
Jan. 29

here's the picture i posted on dec. 9. i couldn't come up with a sophism for this one-any suggestions?

saturday strolling. hello sunshine

2012-01-28T13:03:00.000-05:00

new orleans-a review

2012-01-25T19:55:00.000-05:00

i really enjoyed visiting new orleans-the food and continuous live music is something you don't find everywhere. the weather was perfect for walking around. the accommodations, while not sumputous, were very spacious, close to everything, and in a quiet neighborhood in the french quarter. i wish we had spent more time walking along esplanade avenue. i highly recommend reading barbara hamby's books on new orleans-gives you a glimpse of the city back in the day. the rest of the photos are here.
some of the things we did:
~visited the st louis cemetary 1-one of the most unusual cemetaries i've ever visited.
~we did a culinary walking tour where we toured and sampled food from different restaurants-our tour guide was very informative and the food was excellent. not many people get to walk into the kitchen at antoine's i'm sure.
~on our own we ate at the crescent city brewhouse, eat (nola), melanege, and cafe du monde
~we bought regional cookbooks, rootbeer extract, and in-house blended spices, and a really cool wisk for making roux
~listened to live music in the french market and dueling pianos at the howl at the moon. music was everywhere
~i tried on a hat at this shop
~bought a dipping pen and writing paper at this shop
~people watched on bourbon street and at the french market
~walked along the mississippi river, and walked some more
~watched football (we were between mealtimes-and it was a compromise since i dragged hubby into some of "my" shops.
~visited 2 galleries featuring works by local artists
~and yes, at bourbon cowboy i rode the mechanical bull-shocking i know-dont' tell the kids.
we'll definitely be going back again.

10 things to do if it's too cold outside.

2012-01-17T08:51:00.002-05:00

around here it's usually not too cold to go outside-we may be under several inches of ice making it impossible to go anywhere, so in case that happens here's what i'd do-of course i'll dove tail on mary's list-i'd do all 10 on her list provided we have power, and i'd only do laundry if i had nothing else left, and i'd definitely be wearing my loung-y clothes. so in addition i'd-
1. read
2. sew
3. take photos of the outside
4. entertain sophie
5. puruse pinterest
6. test the durability and value of my hunter boots
7. clean the house (if it's close to my usual house cleaning day)
8. tidy, organize and purge stuff
9. plan meals
10. bake bread

of course, i'd love to just spend the time knitting and watching tv, but unless we get another snow-cropolos i don't think it's going to be too cold to go outside this year-especially with the off and on warm weather we've had lately.

friday focus.

2012-01-13T10:24:00.000-05:00

so i'm 2 for 2 so far. last week was about my ravelry queue which i have to say has NOT grown at all. i also have not done much knitting this week, but plan to make up for it tomorrow when mary and karen and i get together. with a long weekend coming up i hope to focus on getting my 2011 photos edited and ready for uploading to blurb for photobooks. the photo shows a "contact" sheet of the photos from rosemary beach. i had gotten started on cropping the photos, but somethign happened and i lost track of what i'd edited, so now i have to figure out my duplicates. that's a project i hope to knock out this weekend. i need to do the same with the photos from paris and my 2011 photos in general. also on my "to do" list are printing certain photos, i have a photo printer so it needs to be used right? i've moved my laptop back downstairs on my desk hoping that it'll force me to focus on the task at hand, so we'll see.

10 favorite soups

2012-01-10T20:08:00.000-05:00

this week's 10 on Tuesday is a list of one of my favorite "foods" in general, and my family really likes soup.

1. chicken noodle soup-with big chunks of carrot and celery (kept crunchy)

2. white chicken chili-lots of chicken and hearty broth.

3. kielbasa, spinach, white bean and tortelini-love that i can make this with turkey kielbasa and all the other stuff is healthy and good for you.

4. andrew's egg drop soup (photo above)-just a bit of egg and lots of broth and veggies. if i was making it i'd add a handful of spinach as well.

5. gumbo-yes please-found a super easy and tasty recipe in a southern living magazine last year.

6. zuppa de pesce-really any seafood added to a flavorful tomato base is a winner for me.

7. split pea soup-suprisingly everyone in our house loves this AND it's so easy to make.

8. wild rice and mushroom-i have a recipe from a cooks illustrated magazine which i LOVE, i substitute the bacon with just a bit of proscuitto, and nix the cream.

9. vegetable soup-tomato based with lots of carrots, corn, etc and sometimes beans added for some protein and fiber.

10. french onion soup-have started serving this with gruyere cheese "toasts" rather than adding the bread and cheese to the soup.

one of the great things about soups is that once you have the broth, you can add whatever you might have in the fridge or pantry. a great way to use up leftovers.

Today I

2012-01-09T21:22:00.000-05:00

i thought it would be fun to take a photo at 1hour intervals starting at 5:30 am- 8:30 pm, here are a few and the rest are here.

a wet soggy drive into work (6:30)

doing a little work (9:30)

enjoying a cup of coffee in my newest mug (10:30)

a visit to the eye doctor (4:30) i sooo want a pair of tiffany and co frames (not the ones in the poster)

as the day began with tending to sophie, the last photo is of her-she was trying to catch her ice cube as it was tumbling down the steps. that was my monday- how was yours.

F=F+F+F(K+S)

2012-01-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

for 2012 my "one little word" will be focus. i'm adopting this one from mary, and this year plan to join ali's class so that i'll have some guidance on documenting the journey. so i created the formula in the heading which is Focus will be on Faith, Family and Friendship (knitting and sewing). These are 3 areas that i want to give my attention to not just for 2012, but going forward. i know based on past experiences that my friendships will be enriched through my knitting and sewing groups. i know that these friendships will also help me meet my goals in improving my skills in both, as well as, other areas of my life (a win-win in my book). i may try to do a focus friday update, but am not holding myself to anything just yet. my first step in focusing on my knitting was to quell down my ravelry queue which grew to over 120 projects-yikes!

now it is to a more manageable 15

the thought behind this is that these are projects that i've either already have the yarn for, or are certainly doable over the next year (or 18 months!)-i want to keep my queue cleaner than i have in the past, and will probably begin to use my favorites for those dream projects. i'll keep the 9 page print out so that i'll know what i had queued in case if i want to pull from those at some point. i want to focus on quality knitting no quantity. Also 2012 will be the year of cables, i'm pretty psyched about this one after working on baby cocktails-dark and stormy. there's just enough cabling to keep it interesting without overwhelming.

10 things for 2012

2012-01-03T10:49:00.002-05:00

had to think a bit about this ten on tuesday-taking a few items from mary's list along with my list below:

1. exercise daily and establish and maintain an even more healthy diet
2. help andrew find a college that's the perfect fit.
3. blog more
4. focus- my 2012 word, so it'll take extra effort to stay on that path
5. read through all the books that i've borrowed or have been given to me-hopefully get to those i've bought and haven't touched yet.
6. improve my sewing skills
7. teach sophie how to catch frisbees (this is more for steve-think it'll be fun anyway)
8. successfully grow tomatoes and cucumbers this summer
9. work on using up "stuff" and purging those things that i don't really need
10. try NOT to acquire more stuff in order to make #9 more doable.

am really looking foward to what 2012 has in store.

2011 wrap up

2011-12-31T13:51:00.000-05:00

have not had anything interesting to post by way of photos, i had the entire week following Christmas off from work, and it pretty much entailed walking (tending to) sophie, packing up and organizing Christmas decorations (photo below), boxes are labeled and now put away. the 2 trees are still up waiting for steve to have a chance to take them down. am leaving poinsettas on the front porch and in the foyer just to brighten the place up. have set aside a box for each of the boys for their ornaments, and plan to add again next year. this was one big project that i really wanted to get done. the weather has been rather nice, a couple cold wet days, but overall plenty of sunshine. looking forward to 2012 and what it entails-whether good or bad, but hoping and praying for LOTS of good, and strength in case of any bad. am also thinking of signing up for a couple year long photo projects suggested by ali edwards. really don't want to overwhelm myself in 2012-i believe that FOCUS will be my word for 2012. so many areas i can apply this to-we'll see.

today's saturday strolling- just me-needed a power walk so sophie stayed home with christopher (my sometimes son-actually the son of our pastor who hangs out with us). this is an area on jim owens that was pretty much underwater during the floods of 2009. i loved how the mist was rising above the grass in the distance-earlier this week after we'd had some rain this creek was really flowing-such a lovely sight AND i saw a heron who flew off before i could get a photo.

here's to wishing everyone a very happy, prosperous and richly blessed 2012

dec 26. a time of quiet

2011-12-26T15:04:00.001-05:00

can't believe christmas is all over. enjoying some quiet time while sophie plays, while everyone else is asleep. love this time of the morning. looking forward to mexican with karen and ron later today. while the rain has gone, it's a little chilly. the weather is much different from last year!

today- 49 degrees

2010-probably 34 degrees

dec. 25. santa visits

2011-12-26T14:58:00.000-05:00

i can't believe i didn't get better photos on christmas day. could be because we did things differently yesterday and we opened gifts before the candelight service at church. christmas day we attended church again, and i'm glad i didn't miss it-what a blessing. the day was rainy and dreary-could be why there are no photos. sophie had a great time-santa was good, she got some awesome toys that she LOVES and money to buy some more. it was a great day of just hanging out, watching tv. looking forward to a whole week off-MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!

sophie gets the paper.

2011-12-24T10:18:00.000-05:00

what a smart girl.

saturday strolling.

2011-12-24T09:52:00.000-05:00

i see a theme emerging-today steve and i both walked sophie. a nice long walk-not my normal saturday pace (they're a bit slow!) it was a great morning to be out. sunny-cold and DRY! i happened to look up and see something very cool in the tree-can you guess?

how about now?

dec. 23.sophie-ism #2

2011-12-24T07:29:00.001-05:00

until we got sophie, i didn't venture out to the back yard much during the winter-the first day we had her i spotted this bird nest in the shrubs, i spotted another today not far from this one as well-SO the lesson is take the time to look around you and be amazed by what you discover.

i had to officially post this picutre-probably the best one i've gotten of sophie that shows her face-ahhhhhh!
also, we've discovered that having a puppy in the house (like all the time) is much like having a 2 year old! here's one way that we've "sophie-proofed" the house. she loves the boys shoes (why i do not know).

am looking forward to our traditional christmas eve dinner, candlelight service and one service on christmas day, along with our traditional christmas day brunch and spending time with the boys-interesting how my favorite things center around food! i'm also pretty excited about the major clean up, organizing, refreshing, updating, etc of the house and computer i have planned during my stay-cation. weird i know, but it feels like starting the new year with a very fresh start.

dec. 22. christmas music

2011-12-23T08:15:00.000-05:00

the fish radio station plays christmas music beginning the day after thanksgiving through christmas day. this year they've played some of the best music i've heard in a while. i began a couple weeks ago making a list of songs i wanted to add to my collection. christmas music is speaking to me in a different way this year, and i'm really listening to it rather than just hearing it. i was going to pick and choose from i-tunes until i discovered that the majority of what i was looking for was found on this year's WOW Christmas CD. i searched the barnes and noble website and found ONE store in atlanta that still had a copy in stock-so armed with a 25% off coupon and a gift card to barnes and noble (and an umbrella) off i went. i listen to it on the way home while driving through torrential rain-it was awesome. i'm also going to add jim brickman's the hymns and carols of christmas and a couple other singles over the next couple days. now i just need to update my video collection!

dec 21. 1st day of winter?

2011-12-22T09:15:00.001-05:00

to bad my car doesn't come with a calendar. first day of winter in atlanta and it's 68! no bing crosby, it's not looking much like christmas. i really shouldn't complain cause the evening walks with sophie are quite pleasant right now, but a little nip in the air would make it feel a little more christmas-y right? i'm sure it's around the corner waiting to pounce-and when it does i'll have woolies and my rain boots at the ready.

dec. 20-the PERFECT gift

2011-12-20T11:19:00.000-05:00

i LOVE getting gift cards and certificates. steve on the other hand does not-he thinks it's impersonal and like giving cash (like that's a bad thing)-i so disagree. when someone gives me one of these it tells me that they know enough about me to know what i like (or stores where i love to shop), and they want to give me something i'll REALLY enjoy. clark griswold gets the jelly of the month club, but for me-this is "the gift that keeps on giving the whole year long". thanks skip for the generous gift.

dec. 17, 18 & 19-routines, no bows please and simplicity.

2011-12-19T14:36:00.000-05:00

i like routines, i know what to expect and if i stick pretty close to my schedule, the bumps can be handled with ease (sometimes). i love saturdays and try not to plan anything where i have to be showered, shampooed and dressed before 10:00. now with sophie i have added let the dog out, feed the dog, walk the dog then drink coffee. there is more walk and feeding the dog later on. i make a final check through the week's emails to make sure i've not forgotten something. i keep emails that still require action in my "inbox", then it's either filed or deleted-i'm very visual so it helps me remember. i also go through mail, and any other papers that i might not have had a chance to sort through. i got lots done this week including baking 5 kinds of cookies and grilling burgers for dinner (yummm). of course, even though it's a week before christmas, i've been able stick to my routine, and balance the additional stuff without too much stress :-)

sunday was our family gift exchange-i should have gotten a photo since all 6 grandkids were in one spot, but there was too much going on. we had a great time, as always, and plenty of yummy food. i had hoped that sophie would be as willing to wear a red bow on her collar as she was to wear a jing-ly color, but ALAS no, she was having none of that, but i was able to get a photo anyway-maybe next year when she grows up?!

another house i pass on my lunchtime walk is this one

i love the simple string of lights, and i think it is in keeping with the time period of the house as i think most of the homes in this area are from the late 1930s or 1940s. Bonus is the location-right across from piedmont park.

dec. 16-twinkling lights

2011-12-16T09:00:00.000-05:00

i took this photo on the way to work this morning, and it only show a small part of the yard decorations at this house. while i really love the lights in the trees and in the shrubs, i'm not so sure about all the rest. it's almost a clark griswold yard. they've been doing this for years, but i think last year was skipped for some reason. it definitely lights up the late night/early morning sky.

dec. 15-party time

2011-12-16T08:56:00.000-05:00

today was the annual christmas lunch at my office. this year we deep fried our turkeys on sight and the smell was AMAZING. i didn't sit down between 8 am and 3:30 pm until i was driving home. i managed to carve 3 turkeys and a ham, as well as, coordinate getting the food onto the table and ready to serve at noon. i had set fire to something in the microwave so airing out the office was something i did not have planned, but it was all good in the end. i was totally exhausted by the end of the day, but it was worth it to have so many people come together to share a meal. of course, sophie needed her daily walk, and because the weather was so amzing we played outside for about 10 minutes. it was so much fun watching her pounch and retrieve her toy. too bad it was too dark for photos-but here's one of a turkey

dec. 14 -it's the thought that counts

2011-12-16T08:54:00.000-05:00

silly me thought i could actually get sophie to "pose" for a photo. i thought the front door would make a perfect back drop for a christmas photo. sophie thought different-off the steps she bounds

dec. 13-merry and bright (sunshine)

2011-12-13T14:27:00.000-05:00

a beautiful day to be out at lunchtime, am loving the warm temperature. yesterday on my walk i notice a new color scheme for the gate and porch decorations of this house-here's the photo from last year. i'm thinking they probably hired someone to take care of their decorations, or else they are interior decorators. i'd love to be able to change out my entire home decor each year. i love the different color combinations that people come up with-

the next few days are going to be C-R-A-Z-Y, and if i make it to monday morning without pulling my hair out i think i'll be okay. my "to do" list includes:

~purchase (today) and wrap 1 more gift to give on friday evening

~inject and prep one turkey by wednesday night for deep frying at our office thursday morning

~purchase (today) additional items for our christmas lunch on thursday

~measure out 4 kinds of cookies to be cooked on saturday-this year there will be spritz! i caved and bought a cookie press

~figure out what we're having for dinner on thursday and saturday that requires no cooking

~decide if i'm going to knit or sew at quilt club friday night

~make bark, rosemary cashews and brittle for gift giving

~make cookies mentioned above

~prepare for family gift exchange (as in figure out the food thing)

~ walk sophie a gazillion times between now and then

~ who knows what else!!!!, but i think that's enough right now

i had to include this photo-i got a bottle of wine today from one of my bosses, i love how he used a sheet of christmas paper as gift wrap-genius!

dec. 11 and 12. window shopping

2011-12-12T15:13:00.000-05:00

no photo for sunday, it was a busy day, mostly filled with walking sophie. maybe i'll post a video next time. i got in a brisk walk between church, lunch, and the youth christmas party. all but one gift that's been purchased has been wrapped, but all the packages need tags and bows-hopefully tonight that'll be checked off. i've begun my lunchtime walking again around midtown-the stationary bike isn't doing it for me anymore, and well, sophie wants to play while i'm trying to get my workout done! So, today i snapped this photo outside en paris which always displays their cool wares at the window. when i made it to the starbucks at 7th and p'tree i was too stunned by the lack of holiday cheer to snap a photo-maybe tomorrow. seriously?! they always have something holiday-ish on the windows- can you say-bah humbug?! anyway, i'm about halfway through a christmas gift hat for emmanuel, and will be starting my last christmas knitting gift by week's end. i'd just wished i could have gotten my package to the podaire's before christmas, but that's just not going to happen.

dec. 10. the grinch

2011-12-10T17:58:00.002-05:00

mom and i ventured into roswell today, it was fun to try and remember the places that were on canton street when i was a kid-we love that all the old buildings are still there, just the shops have changed. we happened upon the grinch on our way to pastis for lunch-the ann jackson gallery was featuing some dr seuss artwork. we didn't have time to venture in and see what that was all about. we did find don tolbert's "bench" he and his family owned many businesses in roswell when i was growing up. one of our memories is that he told me i couldn't wear cowboy boots because of my feet-well if he could see me now! i did pitch a fit cause i really wanted those boots.

couldn't resist the beautiful store front-canton street certainly felt christmas-y. it was cool, but a beautiful day to be out shopping.

dec 9. sophisms

2011-12-10T17:39:00.001-05:00

i hope to capture more moments like this-

dec 8. lists.

2011-12-08T10:08:00.000-05:00

i think i have more lists than santa! i'm a list maker anyway, but when the holidays come around-they seem to get a bit out of control. i've got a list for sophie's vet visit, a list for our office party, 2 shopping lists, thing to do, a list of what i need/want to do during my staycation after christmas. i'm on the verge of needing a list for my lists-i'll use my iphone for that one-which also has a list of yarn i need to get today!

what's on your list?

dec 6 & 7. dashing

2011-12-08T08:36:00.000-05:00

on tuesday i had to go to lenox square mall for a christmas gift. i drove there-got my gift-got a cookie-snapped this photo-drove back to my office in 68 minutes-whew!-no speeding at all i swear!

on wednesday i was still dashing-the morning rain, walking sophie, and having to make a stop at publix before work made for more dashing,and i never took the time to take a photo. i managed to run some errands after work, wrap some gifts, and play with sophie. maybe i'll come back and post a photo of the wrapped gifts-am sure that'll be totally okay. what has you dashing?

dec. 5-play date

2011-12-06T09:10:00.001-05:00

sophie had her first play date with anna. silly me thought i'd get some great photos, except i forgot that at 7 pm it's dark! we met at swift-cantrell park, and did 2 miles-quite a bit for a puppy. she did great and enjoyed greeting strangers and playing with anna. she was a very tired girl when we got home. it's amazing
how quickly she's gotten used to being in a harness and using a leash.

we can learn a lot from dogs-take time to greet strangers-enjoy the smells and sights around us-and spend time with friends-no matter how busy.

you know that decorating elf didn't show up like i'd hoped-

Dec 3 & 4. celebrations and additions

2011-12-05T09:47:00.000-05:00

i'm already playing catch up with the December daily in the first week!, but that's totally okay. one of our favorite traditions is to celebrate the adult family member's birthday with a late lunch at a local mexican restaurant. lots of laughs and good food-ALWAYS. saturday we celebrated ron and mary's birthday AND we also got to celebrate katie and rob's engagement-this could explain mary's big smile (then again, she always has a big smile!).

on sunday, we added a furry member to our family- sophie simone louisette-she's such a love-she's 13 pounds and about 12" from shoulder to the floor, and has very big paws. standard poodles typically range in weight +/- 45-55 pounds and 21-27" at the shoulder-she's gonna be a big girl! her name is a compromise-steve and andrew thought simone was too long. since poodles are #2 on the smart dog list andrew thought sophie was appropriate as it's greek for wisdom, a co-worker's last name is simone and it sounded like a good girl name that wasn't priss-y and not too french-y, louisette is the name of one of julia child's co-authors of her first book and just seemed to fit with simone, so there you go. she had a bath last night and her fur is so curly-swirly and soft. she's adjusting well to our home and loves company. i can't wait for the rest of the family-including holly to meet her on the 18th.

it was a wonderful weekend, celebrating birthdays and engagements AND adding a nephew in-law (sometime soon) and a furry friend. although my house is still a mess with sorting christmas decorations-anyone know a decorating elf who's not too busy right now?!

Dec. 2-decking the halls

2011-12-02T21:30:00.001-05:00

i had hoped to do more today than i did, but at least the boxes are at the ready. we have one large and one small tree decorated, and the nativity set up. hope to do more tomorrow. . .

Dec. 1-sunshine

2011-12-01T13:04:00.000-05:00

yep! first day of december and it's a gorgeous 55 degrees. a rare lunch out and a chance to soak up some sunshine. still not quite in the christmas spirit. trying to look forward to all that will be going on without feeling overwhelmed. i hope to blog each of the daily december entries, but we shall see!

happy thanksgiving

2011-11-24T11:50:00.000-05:00

most of the cooking done, table is set, and watching some of the macy's thanksgiving day parade. i so want to see that live someday. in the meantime, lurkey says "happy thanksgiving everyone!"

before holiday madness descends.

2011-11-21T10:15:00.002-05:00

i was glad to have a few stress-free days to just focus on the moment. on friday, sara and i had dinner plans. i had quite a bit of time on my hands before dinner, so i checked out a boutique near my office- en paris-a very cute place, and bought a file tote, which also makes a great knitting tote! i'm sure it'll appear in future blog posts. then i headed to starbucks for a coffee and knitting time. i was at the communal table until a spot in a comfy chair was available. loved the view, knitting on my cardigan (which is now finished!), watching the cars and people go by. the dinner and company were very good.

on saturday, brunch was on the menu-it's bowling night for steve and andrew, so a hearty mid-day meal beckoned. andrew wanted to make eggs benedict-with homemade hollandaise sauce (of course)-i was in charge of the potatoes and i made orange cranberry scones. it was wonderful.

AND we had a couple extra guests-pj was spending a few days with christopher so they joined us, and we had a good time catching up with the college boys.

since dinner was just mom and i-i re-heated leftover pork loin chops, made some asparagus, and mushroom risotto-i think i could live on risotto-such a versatile dish.

on sunday, we had baked penne and i wanted a special dessert to celebrate pj being home-he loves coconut, so we had toasted poundcake (i love homemade poundcake), coconut ice cream and pineapple salsa. not only was it delicious, but watching pj's face light up and his high praise on a delicious meal made the calories so worthwhile. we had a lot of laughs-especially talking with "siri" on my i-phone.
the weekend wrapped up with a lovely call-if not spotty- from mary recapping a surprise b.day party, what's on and off our knitting needles and our upcoming family get togethers. now i think i'm ready for the holidays (at least thanksgiving) cooking timelines and menus planned, grocery lists made. hopefully there will be many blog posts to capture the moments.

right now.

2011-11-07T12:48:00.001-05:00

guess it's time to stop the crickets-didn't realize i hadn't done a blog post in a full month! not intentional. i've taken the odd photo here and there intending to share thoughts and ideas, but i guess with the extraordinary weather we've been having and the knitting i guess i got a little distracted-evident by the photo. i took this yesterday on my way to cast on cottage and it's the view from the sunroof which i refuse to keep closed when the weather is as lovely as it was yesterday. so aside from enjoying the weather- right now i'm:

enjoying fun knitting patterns, am currently doing this hat for unknown/unmet friend, this cardigan from stash yarn, this shawlette for a gift, and am waiting to cast on this sweater. i'll have 3 sweaters worth of yarn in my stash along with pattern ideas. my plan is to finish these before i buy more yarn, and of course, i've already chosen the patterns for yarn not yet purchased! such is the way with knitters. since the last post i've finished 2 sweaters and a man scarf.

cooking with andrew-he looks so cute in his chef's coat-his skills are excelling, i'm glad he has found something he really loves.

STILL loving the Bible study i've been doing with mary and virginia-hard to believe we are almost done-what a journey.

making plans for a trip to new orleans in january-have always wanted to visit, steve and i found a great deal on airline tickets. this of course means i need to get the two cardigans mentioned above finished!

looking forward to birthday dinner with sara, the many family get togethers planned for november and december. especially looking forward to PJ being home for thanksgiving-have handled not seeing him every day pretty well, we use texting, facebook, emails, skype, and phone calls to keep in touch, even if it's just to say hi.

reflecting on what 2012 will hold-college plans for andrew-college "stuff" for PJ-traveling, knitting, quilting, Bible studies, growing and learning, etc.

but right now- am also enjoying the odd lazy saturday where i can sit and enjoy my morning coffee, get caught up on emails, paperwork etc, and relish in the knowledge that i have nowhere i need to be (until the holidays get here! yikes.)

bucket lists.

2011-10-08T13:48:00.000-04:00

near our subdivision we have several "farms" with horses, cows and goats. it's really quite nice, and on one of my saturday morning walks i was able to get a couple shots of horses that were just let out to exercise and graze. this lovely chestnut came running towards the fence before settling in to graze. what do you think she's thinging? she is beautiful. learning to ride a horse is in my bucket list of thing i want to do, i've always wanted to learn to ride a horse, really ride, no holding on to the mane-no trail riding, but sitting straight up in the saddle ridding western style-but no roping cattle-i do have my limits. being one with the horse and riding like the wind, of course, i'd need a cool new pair of cowboy boots before i make this happen. :-) how you like the goats? naaaaaaaaa. what's on your bucket list?

what i like right now..skype

2011-10-07T18:37:00.000-04:00

it's been a while since i've done one of these-i finally got onto skype so i could video chat with pj, and it's AWESOME, it's one thing to talk on the phone, but to be able to see who you are talking with is even better. having the web cam on my laptop i was able to "take" pj around the house to visit with his nana, brother and dad. look forward to doing more of this.

food truck thursday.

2011-10-06T13:17:00.001-04:00

i've been wanting to try the food trucks in midtown for a while. it was too hot during the summer and they were further away from my office. they don't call it "hot"lanta for nothing. anyway, today was the perfect day to venture out and try some "street" food.

others certainly had the same idea i did, some of the options included-sliders, bbq, tamales/tacos, cajun po boys, sausages, pizza, gelato, cupcakes (i'll try these next time, they come highly recommended), paninis, i'm sure there were more that i missed.

today i tried a chicken taco, and a spicy pork tamale at the tamale queen atl truck, yum! for dessert i stopped at the king of pops cart. my boss introduced me to these last year, and they are sooo good. they are actually called paletas; which is a south american popsicle. they are made with fresh juice and you can see from the sign some really cool extras. i highly recommend the chocolate sea salt, and today i had the blackberry mojito-mmmmm.

a bit of exercise, some glorious weather, and really really good "junk" food. can't wait for next week.

Life Lessons from Gilligan

2011-09-29T17:59:00.000-04:00

Gilligan is probably the most challenging sweater I’ve done in quite a while. I started out with using the wrong type of yarn, ripping out and starting over cause I twisted my work when I joined it, starting over cause I just wasn’t paying attention. After consultation with mary I was on the right track with some lovely yarn that was great to use. I encountered many frustrating moments as I attempted to increase in lace, and maintain pattern, interpret instructions that were a bit confusing at times. I wanted to give up on this project many times along with way, but kept with it. I had to ask Mary to hold my hand more than once which she was willing to do, and even shared in my delight when I finished and declared that it FIT. Of course, I became a bit deflated when I blocked the sweater and worried that I had stretched it out of shape and I’d have to re-do my blocking. Fortunately most yarn is very forgiving and you get multiple re-dos. Is this the most perfect sweater, well no, I can see stitches that are not quite as tidy as I’d like, something is a bit off on another part. However, it fits pretty good (this is not a flattering shot!), and above all I stayed the course and completed the project. Here’s where the life lessons comes in-I’ve had some real challenges lately, made mistakes along the way, had to re-start a lot, get advise and encouragement from friends, including a little hand holding along the way. I've tried to equip myself with the tools I need to get the job done (in life) prayer, devotion and surrounding myself with good-vibe people (in knitting) good yarn, needles that won’t cause me to injure myself, stitch markers to help me along the way, row counters, etc. With both Gilligan and life, I can look in the mirror and see the flaws, but also see my successes. I also realize that unlike THIS sweater I’m still a work in progress, and if you look at my queue on ravelry, I’ll never really be finished knitting sweaters, but I hope that most of them will be a little easy on me. oh-and life-you can go a little easy on for a while too. thanks!

i'm either very "pretty", a magician or a genius mathematician

2011-09-23T11:04:00.000-04:00

somehow despite reading the label SEVERAL times and reading the pattern shopping list SEVERAL times. i somehow expect 660 yards of yarn to be enough for a sweater that requires 800 yards!!! SO, if i'm a magician-i'll be heading to vegas, so move over david copperfield and chris angel. then again, maybe i should write a math textbook, you know they told me in high school that algebra was "new math" (hm-um yea). how about we just call me very pretty, and i'll go buy another ball of yarn tomorrow-K?
rosemary pictorial update coming soon-i promise! happy friday.

salad anyone?

2011-09-19T08:43:00.000-04:00

i was inspired by the recent southern living magazine to plant some lettuces, so when i was trying to figure out what i wanted to do in the front bed outside the dining room window, i added them to my list of plants to get from pikes. my gardening mojo left me last fall, and i have avoided this patch for a while. weekend plans included pulling weeds and triming back bushes to get it fall ready. it turned out to be a very quick and easy task, so i set off to get my plants saturday afternoon, and spent sunday putting everything into the ground. here are the romaine plants, and the sage-y green plants are brussels sprouts (i do love them so), so hopefully we'll have some lovely lettuce and sprouts this fall.

also i planted some herbs for vinegarettes and cooking-added english thyme, oregano, parsley, and a new batch of rosemary. i do love fresh herbs, and hope to include a tarragon once i find one.

other plantings included iris and hyacinth bulbs, and a flat of pansies near the drive way. 2 rose bushes and new plants in the urn (also located in this same patch). next on my list is to figure out an adequate watering set-up so i don't have to stand outside with the waterhose keeping things hydrated, and add some pinestraw.

monday moment. "labor" day

2011-09-05T17:19:00.000-04:00

yes, it was grueling

trying to complete the back of gilligan, had a snag with the front, so will be ~~begging~~ asking for help later this week, oatmeal cranberry cookies, and banana bread muffins. also, andrew's grilling skirt steak for fajitas, and we've got the sheffield "old" fashioned cheese dip for dinner. how was your labor day. am VERY grateful for the rain-

what i like right now. . . .

2011-08-28T17:57:00.000-04:00

my newly acquired mr. bubbles beach towel to take on my trip with "the girls". isn't it cute!!!????

operation move-in

2011-08-24T14:39:00.000-04:00

after spending about an hour on the highway waiting to get to the RAC center to get keys, we finally made it to PJs dorm room to unload-we really didn't have much and am guessing that's a good thing?

the kitchenette-not too bad-plenty of space-to the left of the counter is PJ's roommates bedroom-right across from the kitchenette is where the double sink/mirror is located and then the bathroom. PJ's room is next to the bathroom.

PJ's dorm room-these rooms currently are 1 person per bedroom, but the beds are designed to convert to bunks if dorm space becomes scarce-clever-huh?

outside their room is a cute little welcome sign of sorts-right across from their room is a conference room-study area-nice that it's a room rather than an open space so that you could study without being disturbed-yes these are the only photos i got, and no-that was not my intention. however, PJ's loving GaSo so far-so that makes mom very happy indeed-so all's good.

birthday treats

2011-08-15T12:20:00.000-04:00

Andrew did a great job with the birthday cupcakes-even though he was just getting to them at 11:50 pm on friday. his deadline was noon on saturday-which he just barely made it. he used martha stewarts devil's food cupcakes and a frankenstein'd buttercream frosting with crushed strawberries flambee'd (with grand marnier)

isn't the strawberry cute-he was quite befuddled that we didn't have a fresh mint sping to use as garnish-and the cupcake would NOT be complete without something extra on top (aside from the candle!). they were yummy! thank you andrew!

getting ready.

2011-08-13T11:20:00.000-04:00

feeling sad and glad at the same time-pj has almost everything he needs for his move down to statesboro next week. i'm so very proud of him.

"some" rain.

2011-08-04T15:40:00.000-04:00

we have certainly had our share of rain this summer unlike summers past where we were praying for rain. this morning i awoke to thunder, lightening and lots of rain. in fact while driving down the interstate at o'dark thirty, i saw lightening that was sideways! i took this photo from my window, the "cloudiness" is actually rain being blown across the road. of course this means that the afternoon communte is going to be an absolute mess!

a "little" knitting

2011-07-29T13:21:00.000-04:00

just a few things i'm working on-(l-r) cherry (just completed, need to sew on buttons), gilligan (maybe getting frogged, so on hold right now), summer splendor shawlette (peeking out of the cowboy bag, am re-doing the edge), one leaves of whimsy sock (completed), and paulie is in my lap-have separated the sleeves and body so this should start going real fast. waiting to be photographed espresso runched yoke tee and flower basket shawlette. waiting to be swatched is lavaliere. couldn't resist lunch outside a cool breeze and 87 with very low humidity for a july! happy friday ya'll-looking forward to seeing PJ tonight along with snacks and margaritas for dinner, and then hanging out with family tomorrow.

what i like right now-adult snacks

2011-07-27T15:02:00.000-04:00

enjoying a small snack of cashews, dried cranberries and a very small broken square of 85% cacoa-mmmm very grown up. so different from the candy bars of my "youth". the only thing missing is a glass of wine, then again I AM at work! how about you?

monday moment: rewind to saturday.

2011-07-25T10:48:00.000-04:00

thinking back on saturday-so enjoyed not having anywhere i had to be. time to take in some morning sunshine, and listen to the bugs (not sure what they were but they were noisy!)

being able to enjoy devotion time, coffee and knitting after my morning exercise completed, and a load of wash going-also accomplished some knitting, sleeve setting-in, weaving in of a gazillion ends, sewing a project bag, and a couple new recipes. love these moments

Traveler's Tips for the Business Traveler Going to Maryland

2011-07-16T14:46:00.004-04:00

a few travel trips if you happen to go to themiddleofnowhere, maryland. i was in either adelphi and hyattsville-take your pick. be able to speak spanish, in case you need directions-LOTS of latin bakeries, if that's your thing. if you go to franklin's DO have the roasted mediterranean flatbread-DON'T have the bread pudding (great flavors, but a huge portion and the bread was not substantial enough). DO stop at a tangled skein-love that they had claudia's hand painted sock yarn and some pretty stitch markers. i do like to help the LYS when i can. however, it made me really appreciate cast on cottage's selection and ambiance. this was a nice store with very nice people ( a lively bunch for the weekly knit night), but it was also very small and not well lite. if you rent a car DO utilize the map they give you and check your google directions against the map, or rent a GPS to prevent your from going to a different state to get to the airport. i'm glad i had plenty of time to get lost, more than once.DO remember maryland does not tolerate aggressive drivers or speeders-road signs clearly indicate this. DO plan to make multiple u-turns as you get no notice of upcoming junctions, and the right hand lane will cease to exist without warning. renting a car on this trip reaffirmed why i like to go to a big city with a transit system, or is very pedestrian friendly. if you want an adult beverage to enjoy in your room, but don't want to go to the bar-find a liquor store as the grocery stores do not sell beer or wine OR you can enjoy a peach cosmo in the hotel bar-a very frothy treat! DO find a place that does crabcakes the right way, i had the MD crabcake sliders at the garden restaurant that was attached to our hotel-delish and the perfect size-all crabmeat! also, the homemade ships were awesome-DO refrain from eating the entire bowl of onion dip too! DO get out for a walk to see the area-the campus really was lovely, and DO look in the closet for the coffee pot-i know i thought the same thing (it was supposed to be in the cabinet under the tv that was clearly marked-ice bucket and coffee maker). all in all a great trip, good food to be had, i completed the leg of a sock, loved the citrus water they had in the lobby-will be stealing this idea myself- worked on my gilligan sweater, and enjoyed some quiet time.
clarification for some photos- the gold & white spires "thing" is the Latter Day Saints Temple in DC, spotted this on I-495, oh and the license plate says "taxation without representation" which i find hilarious.

fabric, firearms, flambee and cake

2011-07-11T09:42:00.000-04:00

The Dixie stars crossed 3 states to visit maryjo’s in Gastonia nc, this place is massive, but we used a divide and conquer approach with great success. No photos on the quilting front or at lunch, but we had a great time. Kathy has this really cool app on her phone that uses a gps to give you a list of quilt shops in the area. We went to the quilted thimble cottage which is a lovely place that until recently had only provided quilting service, but has begun to carry fabrics. The people there were super nice, so if you are in Belmont, NC, look them up. Here’s what I got at maryjo’s and the quilt shop-I have plans for project bags for a lot of what I got, and was thrilled to get a piece of backing for a queen size quilt top I made, and I won’t have to piece it together (yea!).

The quilt shop in Belmont was located on a 2nd floor of an old building in the downtown area, and this sign was posted on the door next to the entrance. totally random i know, but I couldn’t resist, and since we had no idea what this “place”

The awesome thing about having someone else who likes to cook in the house is that Andrew had dinner well in hand and I didn’t have to do anything but sit down and eat when we got back at 6:45 pm (we departed Acworth at 6 am!) he did a great job grilling chicken-AND since I like to get a jump on Sunday lunch, we seared pork loin chops and decided to throw in some fresh peaches and garlic-Andrew has this “thing” with fire and he wanted to flambee the dish, so we added bourbon and fire-I should have captured the photo earlier cause it burned a little longer than I thought. The chops were very good BTW.

Since we had some raspberries that needed to be used, I had Andrew make a cake from the recent bon appétit blackberry buttermilk cake-very tasty-and I’d say a pretty good Saturday-how was yours?

monday moment-they said it was a 10K

2011-07-05T09:39:00.000-04:00

kathy and i are road race ready-weather was great, there was a breeze every now and then. kathy wore a piedometer, and it registered that we really walked 12.98 miles! wow REALLY? it was great fun and we're definitely both in for another one next year.

food adventure

2011-07-02T12:33:00.000-04:00

last week andrew and i went on an excursion to buford highway which is known in atlanta as THE place for ethnic food. we had tacos at taco veloz-yum very simple (andrew had a beef tongue taco-i couldn't watch) we also shared a bowl of noodles at chef liu and dumplings very tasty. prior to that we wandered the isles of the buford highway farmers market-what a place-well worth the drive

andrew checks out the hot sauce section-LOTS to chose from

an aloe leaf

chayote thorn-no idea what this is, was in the fruit section

dorian fruit-was an ingredient on chopped once

jack fruit-probably should have used a hand to give an idea of scale-these are larger than a cantaloupe, but smaller than a watermelon

the mushroom selection was amazing-too bad andrew doesn't like the fun-gi (guy)

a very pretty parrot fish-the seafood section was pretty impressive-lots of fish i'd never heard of

what we bought-loved finding a very small can of coconut milk-not sure what i'll do with it yet- there were some very good prices on a lot of things here. if you are looking for asian ingredients this is definitely the place. our day wrapped up with a quick stop at cast on cottage to get some yarn for 2 sweaters (thank to mary for her help!) it was fun seeing the other ladies too. i took andrew on a quick tour of the area of roswell where i grew up-then home for shrimp enchiladas- look forward to more of these this summer.

what i like right now-a summer breeze

2011-07-01T07:39:00.000-04:00

enjoyed lunch outside yesterday with my knitting, and a fresh peach!-love that there is a slight breeze on a very warm summer afternoon.

hopefully the photo relays this. i really tried to get a photo with me smiling-i'll keep working on this.

bubbles anyone?

2011-06-30T09:08:00.000-04:00

i think someone added a little something to the water-

photo taken at fountain on peachtree street near the spring street merge

what i like right now: cupcakes

2011-06-21T13:23:00.000-04:00

those who know me, will attest that i have had a long standing affair with these tiny cakes. today i went to gigi's cupcakes in buckhead to redeem my living social coupon. today i chose Birthday Surprise, Chocolate Cream Pie, Hunka Chunka Banana Love, Kentucky Bourbon Pie, Lemon Dream Supreme, and Texas Milk Chocolate. the only problem i have with cupcakes from bakeries is that i really don't like all that icing, i love the cake with just a tad, so i'll be scrapping most of the topping off, which is a sad waste. i've already had the birthday surpise which was yummy good. pictured l-r: hunka chunka banana love, birthday surprise, kentucky bourbon pie, lemon dream supreme, texas milk chocolate, and chocolate cream pie.

what i like right now-croissants

2011-06-15T10:59:00.000-04:00

on the friday we left for our annual family gathering at dillard, i stopped in at bakeshop for a snack while i was waiting for steve. i love this place-buttery flaky croissants with local strawberry jam, self serve of coffee and the farm table styled seating. i usually sit at the counter that faces the street so i can people watch. have to be careful not to eat to many of these (or of andrew's yummy biscuits)

monday moment. #7

2011-06-13T19:20:00.002-04:00

kathy and i both got our numbers today, and we're in the same start group-she'll have #693400. this will be #7 for me and #1 for kathy-watch for us

what i like right now-pizza

2011-06-11T17:03:00.000-04:00

other than "cheap" mexican, pizza is my favorite "junk" food-but not your elementary school pizza, i like mine with adult toppings. between andrew and i we try to make our own dough, but i always make my own sauce. friday nights are scheduled as pizza night, but this week we changed things up and had pizza for saturday's dinner. i made a caprese pizza (fresh basil from our patio garden), proscuitto and mushroom (pictured) and for the "boys", there was a pepperoni and a sausage. as long as i have yeast, flour, salt and cheese, and canned tomatoes, i'll always have something to eat. what do you like on YOUR pizza?

the merry merry month of may

2011-06-09T19:30:00.000-04:00

a long over due photo post of may madness. . .

PJ turn 18-'sup? complete with brownies with cream cheese frosting (thank you little bro)

celebrating 20 years-well sorta-it always gets smushed up in there somewhere, but lovely cards nonetheless

Mother's day-see the anniversary notation-always nice to get the lovely cards.

Andrew got his braces off-finally!

Andrew celebrates "sweet"16-he used to really smile for the camera-back in the day, guess i'm glad i took photos when i did-celebrated with hot wings and pecan caramel bourbon chocolate souffle cake-omg-soooo good.

we also went bowling to celebrate.

graduation party for the seniors of our church- an eagle for Ga Southern, and GSU hat, Woody ( a childhood favorite) Lion King (PJ's favorite movie from when he was 2)-scrapbook of photos, certificates and awards, cross country shirt, baseball gove and shirt from little league, and GSU fabric for a future quilt for pj and project bag for me (how cool is that to have college fabric?!) we had 11 kids graduating from our church and 2 from college.

jean celebrates a birthday and receives lovely flowers from a friend that moved last year (we do miss lynette and charlie bunches)

this year i did something different, everyone got a balloon put on the mailbox on the day of their birthday, also added are a mother's day balloon i got from one of my bosses, and a graduation balloon for PJ. the graduation balloon has the high school logo on it which is an A with a sabre.

andrew gets his license

pj graduates from high school (this hasn't really sunk in yet)

may wrapped up with a lovely weekend, and long standing tradition at Dillard (and formerly callaway gardens), we had a party for pj, drank wine, sangria, ate great food, walked, did some knitting, played games, watched tv, and most importantly of all had a chocolate mousse throw down, i think roy was quite pleased with the dishes, and each had a special category.

Karen, Andrew, Sara and Roy (the judge)

even though the month of may is (and has always been) very hectic, i try to cherish each special day as it's own special memory. here's to getting back to a normal routine (finally!)

friday finish up.

2011-05-27T09:25:00.001-04:00

my may is like most people's december, full of activities and "stuff to do". i will be doing a post recapping what i affectionately refer to as "may madness". for now, here is the last project in my knitting bag-the completed clapotis in lace. i wanted to finish it before our family gathering this weekend, and i'll complete the antique block challenge on the drive up (just a smidge to do on it). my knitting bag is now full of perspective projects- 2 sweaters and 2 shawls and yarn to swatch a 3rd sweater. hope to make lots of headway on the sweaters since i'll have a lot of knitting time, and with freshman orientation coming up the goal (loafty as it may be) will be to have 2 of the sweateres finished by mid-June. other goals for june include-cleaning up, putting away and organizing my craft area, organizing the stamp accouterments, seeing what i can get rid of in the "storage warehouse", straightening the office, some gardening, help danielle with parking, help kathy set up a blog for her preschool class, and best of all spending some time with family and friends. love ending the month of may with so many things accomplished-happy memorial day weekend and many thanks to those who sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for our freedom.

another special day and a special guy

2011-05-13T13:08:00.002-04:00

you are such an awesome guy, i can't wait to see what the future holds for you. much love on your special day. xoxo mom.

monday moment: a very special day.

2011-05-02T07:38:00.000-04:00

you have always been a delight in my life-much love to you on this special day, and as you embark on new adventures. xoxo mom.

what i'm liking right now-whoopie pies

2011-04-27T15:18:00.000-04:00

for administrative assistant's day, my boss gave me these red velvet whoopie pies-he knows me so well. these tasty little cakes are a close 2nd to my love fo cupcakes- real close-what are you liking right now?

10 on Tuesday-saving at the grocery store

2011-04-26T08:07:00.000-04:00

carole didn't actually say what was "saved" at the grocery store, so i'm using a bit of artistic license-most of my list consists of stuff that saves me money.
1. time-i go with a list that i've made based on dinners for the next week-my family has learned that if we're running low on something, or they want something special from the store if it's not on the list it doesn't get bought.
2. buy one-get one: loves these and use this as a chance to stock up on pasta, crackers, bagels and nuts
3. watch for sales: certain items run on a cycle like boneless/skinless chicken breast (which i use a lot of), starbucks coffee, cereal, etc.
4. compare prices: i pretty much just shop at costco and publix i'm learning their system and stock up when prices are good.
5. waste-i take my own bags-they are not only better for the environment, but they are much sturdier-i've acquired quite the collection and never come home with plastic bags
6. recycle-on occasion i'm able to reuse the produce bags (see #5)
7. freezer-i freeze a lot of stuff especially when #2, #3 and #4 occur- i have a food saver which i love
8. buy in bulk-this takes some planning and consideration 'cause buying large quantities doesn't always make sense.
9. aggravation-i shop after work on wednesdays and almost NEVER on the weekends unless i have to get something fresh. this saves me time and aggravation especially at the deli counter where everyone has to have a sample, and they are getting like 8 different things.
10. costco rotisserie chicken- at $4.99 each-what a deal, i can't buy a raw bird this cheap, not to mention the time and utilities to cook it.

monday moment.really?

2011-04-25T17:52:00.000-04:00

am wondering if i should cry now or not! can't believe that pj is getting ready to graduate-sigh.

10 on Tuesday. snacks

2011-04-12T09:12:00.000-04:00

i do like to snack which can be a bit of a problem since some snacks can be LOADED with fat and calories. having tapas is one of my favorite ways to eat out. my goal is to eat natural snacks, and i'm about 90% of the time successful, and i really like homemade snacks. so here's my list
1. cheese with crackers, bread, or fruit
2. peanut butter with apples, carrots, on oatmeal raisin cookies, or crackers
3. hummus and veggies
4. oatmeal as an afternoon snack-i like it better then rather than for breakfast
5. fruit-apples, pears, grapes, cherries, strawberries, etc.
6. popcorn-no butter and very lightly salted
7. granola
8. trail mix-especially with dried fruit, m&m's and something salty
9. nuts-preferrably cashews or almonds
10. pretzels

multi-tasking

2011-04-11T19:32:00.000-04:00

one of the things i love about my new laptop is how the opened documents, web pages, etc magically appear across the bottom so if i need to shuffle through things i get these cute snapshots of what's open. so here, i'm uploading photos to flicker, reading blog posts, and making comments-this takes multi-tasking to a whole new level. of course, there are other nifty things this little toshiba does that i haven't been able to figure out yet, but in due time i'm sure i will.

Paris and the French.

2011-04-10T15:02:00.000-04:00

finally a review of our trip to France. needless to say it was amazing, there are 500 + pictures here, that i'm still reviewing and adding descriptions. so i'll give you a cliff notes version of our trip. the group shot above is myself and PJ, along with Alaine, Maryline and Emmanuel Podaire. Emmanuel was our exchange student from last summer and his parents hosted us for a few days in Toulouse. a truly wonderful and charming family whom we hope to be able to continue the friendship through correspondence, and who knows another trip in the not too distant future. now the review-

~the weather was awesome. jeans, t-shirt, and a jacket (in the morning) was all that was required, and the french were easy to identify since they still had on their jackets and scarfs even when it hit 77 in Paris.
~the food-AMAZING-bread, macarons, cheese, etc. i tried duck breast and duck terrine for the first time (i'm shamefully addicted), i had foi gras at a restaurant which i've had before, but am glad that i tried it in france to have an authentic point of reference. i also had country terrine when PJ and I had our meat and cheese dinner which was made from pork, that's all i'll say about that except that it was good-you don't need more details.
~new love-crepes! both savory and sweet-i so want a crepe pan now
~all the french wear wristwatches-men and women-i've gotten so used to using my phone as a watch i found this strangely amusing.
~scarfs-men and women both wear these with flourish
~french women wear very fashionable shoes-although they look painfully uncomfortable, but i learned in france as far as fashion, anything goes, as long as it fits. that seems to be the really fashion miss among many americans.
~french men are gorgeous and know how to dress
~the french were very friendly-always willing to help out, and there were only a couple snotty folks.
~flowers-while it was a bit early for the gardens to be in full bloom there were a few colorful parcs. the french love their flowers, and i was surprised to see how many plants in france are also in the us such as-hydrangeas, azaleas, pansies, and coneflowers.
~the city sites-there is so much to see in Paris, and since the weather was so good, we did a LOT of walking. we visited- the louvre, musee d'orsay, musee caranvalet, the eiffel tower (day and night), the arch d'triumph, pere lachaise, sacre coure, champs elysee, used the batobus to get around on the seine, notre dame cathedral, st. germain des pres, and MANY other churches. paris is truly a beautiful city
~the architecture is so awesome to look at, i couldn't get over the iron work and the buildings.
my only question is when do i get to go back?

10 on Tueday-the library

2011-03-29T08:14:00.000-04:00

this is definitely an interesting "10" so here goes

1. it's free! to borrow and join

2. an amazing selection of media: magazines, books, movies, audio books, newspapers, computers & internet

3. they carry the latest and greatest for-see #1

4. i've requested books on numerous occasions that were not in the library catalog and they've always have come through.

5. inter-system loaning makes requesting books that are at a different branch so much easier

6. on-line searching and renewing on-line (what a time saver)

7. programs for children, libraries are an excellent education resource.

8. it's quiet, although i have to say it seems like that's changing.

9. curb-side drop off

10. very fond childhood memories that center around the library in roswell (norcross and alpharetta highway, the building is still there, but the library has moved), and the school library. the school librarian at roswell elementary, mrs. lunseford was a wonderful woman who had a passion for learning and books. someone i really looked up to, and i can't tell you how many books i picked up on my way home from school.

monday moment: paris & overwhelmed.

2011-03-28T09:59:00.001-04:00

i am so excited about our upcoming trip that i am beginning to feel overwhelmed by all that i want to see and do. am thinking i just need to have a glass of wine (or 2) and relax.

sam.

2011-03-23T18:09:00.000-04:00

meet sam the samsung front load washer. he's working like a charm so far-really clean clothes and he hums a little tune when he's finished. he'll start humming again if you don't attend to the finished clothes! fortunately when he was delivered we began to do wash using the various cycles. turns out after i washed the quilt i made to take to the podair's next week (on what i thought was delicate/handwash cold/cold)the hoses were not connected to the right spikot- so i was washing it in hot/hot!!!! no shrinkage or color running-whew. but glad we discovered this sooner rather than later.

what i like right now-cherry blossoms

2011-03-23T09:22:00.000-04:00

just a few small "branches" from the cherry trees on the mantle in the kitchen. love bringing the outside-in, and need to do it more often. i was going to do a photo to show a better perspective, but you miss seeing how pretty the flowers are-am thinking a really good camera is in my future-maybe for christmas?! your turn.

monday moment.perfect (day)

2011-03-21T19:23:00.001-04:00

our washing machine was delivered today, so i left work early, and certainly made the most of my afternoon off. i got a head start on today's dinner and wednesday's, baked break for tomorrow, took andrew for clothes shopping, and spent some time on the deck working on the october leaves mitts (almost done with #1), wasn't the weather PERFECT today?!

in this house.

2011-03-17T08:02:00.001-04:00

this house is to the right (if you're looking out my window) of this apartment building that i normally blog about-found out last week they are filming a movie inside. one of my bosses's window looks right into the front door-i guess all the junk on the porch is because they are having to do a bit of renovation first. i've been checking out this website for details on the movie, and i sent in a tip. have not heard from my source. it's going to be an interesting 3 months. happy thursday-it's gonna be gorgeous-get out there and enjoy the sunshine, i know i will!

what i like right now-greek yogurt

2011-03-16T08:05:00.000-04:00

this has been my breakfast for the last couple weeks. i love the thick creamy texture of greek yogurt-it feels so decadent, but it's fat free and loaded with protein and calcium. since i have 4 quarts of strawberries my ratio of fruit to yogurt is a bit off compared to what i normally eat. i like to add fruit, and sometimes a bit of agave nectar for sweetness. i'd buy the yogurt with the fruit already in it, but there is a lot of sugar in those containers. i'd rather have the fresh fruit anyway. i've used the yogurt on potatoes and in my apple salad. yummmm. your turn-

10 favorite pies

2011-03-15T10:06:00.000-04:00

1. most definitely my #1 favorite pie is pizza (hopethis counts)

2. peach

3. apple

4. tomato and cheese

5. quiche (it uses a pie crust)

6.   shepherds (cottage) pie

7.   chicken pot pie (especially mine!)

8.   pecan (if it's not too sweet)

9.   cherry (ditto above)

10. buttermilk pie (had this once in destin and have never been able to find another one like it)

photo from this website: http://ecosalon.com/filling-high-protein-vegetarian-meal-recipes/

monday moment: bread

2011-03-14T15:19:00.000-04:00

actually this was taken on sunday, that's okay right?! am doing lots of practice with baking bread from this book. i think i've perfected the baguette-this doesn't have the super crispy crust which is fine as that type of crust can be difficult for some people to eat. this batch had a chewy crust and soft center. i like the recipe for the baguette as it only takes 20 minutes for the second rise and 25 minutes to cook. others in the book require a 45-60 minute rise time. with the weather being warm, but mild, i've been letting the bread cool on the deck, and then it'll be ready for slicing. we really love fresh bread at our house and i've been buying lots of flour these days between the bread baking, pizza dough, and Andrew's quest for the perfect biscuit.

what i like right now-my beret

2011-03-09T17:59:00.000-05:00

springtime in philadelphia i finished this beret on saturday-definite "potato chip" knitting, i couldn't put it down, and it was so easy. this hat is very soft and squishy and i can't wait to wear it to paris. what do you like right now?

10 favorite smells

2011-03-08T10:06:00.000-05:00

this is an easy one, and i'm going to cheat a little bit by claiming some of mary's favorites- #'s 1,2,4,7 & 8

i also like:
1. tuscany per dona-current perfume
2. freshly washed hair
3. lavender (especially eucalan wash)
4. fresh herbs (all of them basil, tarragon, thyme, etc.)
5. bread baking
6. cinnamon, apples and cloves
7. orange & ginger
8. babies after a bath
9. tomatoes right after they've been picked
10. burgers on the grill
still don't know what's up with the photo thing-i've never had this trouble with using my i-phone for picures. grrrr.

monday moment: tea and cake.

2011-03-07T14:38:00.000-05:00

so not sure why the picture is sideways, it's right side up on my desk top?! it's okay here-but a great way to "celebrate" a monday afternoon-tea and banana cake (made by andrew)

what i'm liking. color

2011-03-02T08:16:00.000-05:00

the first ad in the recent vogue knitting magazine-purl soho.com, no less. something about this makes me want to go make something-i'm drawn to this type of photo layout no matter what the subject matter is-if it was cookies or even photos or objects that caputure a common element i'd still be inspired-what are you liking right now?

what i love about march

2011-03-01T17:27:00.001-05:00

this week's 10 for Tuesday required a little more creativity, here's what i like about the month of march

1. warmer weather-even if sporatic
2. wearing flats without socks or stockings
3. getting to wear cardigans-especially my favorite hand knit ones
4. spring flowers that are beginning to peak out of the ground-have seen daffodils and crocus already
5. winter flowers that are still thriving- pansies and ornamental cabbage (kale or whatever it is!)
6. driving with the sunroof open-most days
7. sitting on the deck in jeans and a t-shirt-and it's not too hot
8. there are usually no mosquitos which makes #7 more enjoyable
9. wearing jeans and a t-shirt as my casual ensenmble
10. being Irish for a day-and having fun with the ides of march beware thing

monday moment: difference of 32 degrees.

2011-02-28T10:11:00.001-05:00

i blogged a similar photo in december-at 64 degrees this morning the fountain is flowing and the pansies are beautiful--even at 6:00 in the morning. i also love how the very modern building behind 1st church of christian science (located at 15th and peachtree). not only do i prefer walking first thing in the morning to get it over with, but i enjoy the early morning downtown streets and the way the buildings are lit up.

thai.

2011-02-27T17:01:00.000-05:00

andrew got a cooking lesson for a christmas gift and today we went to Thai Peppers/Mt. Fuji steakhouse in marietta to redeem it. i got to sit with a glass of wine and my knitting and observe. the teacher was very friendly and andrew's only classmate ida was delightful to talk to. i also got to sample the dishes and they were really good. there are plans to take another class at some point, maybe to make sushi-am thinking i probably won't be trying any of THAT. it was a great way to spend a sunday afternoon.

spring rolls with hoison/peanut dipping sauce

chicken coconut soup (very spicey, but tasty)

2 kinds of curry-just the right amount of spicy LOTS of flavor

photos is the greatest of the dish since we were inside, but it was very good.

culinary creativity

2011-02-20T08:11:00.000-05:00

andrew and i splurged on a new cookbook crazy about cookies, we rationalize this purchase by deciding that it wasn't a cookbook cookbook (of which we have plenty), but a cookie cookbook of which we have none! so of course, andrew wanted to try a recipe immediately and decided on the peanut butter cookies. we were worried that we'd be short on the shortening (haha get it?), however the REAL crisis was when we realized we were about a full cup short of PEANUT BUTTER. we had a couple options 1) wait and make them sunday after we'd bought more peanut butter (we'd already measured the dry ingredients), 2) check with steve to see if the huge jar of peanut butter we sent to work with him during snowcropolis was still in his car (negative on that one), 3) see if we still had that jar of nutella in the pantry (a negative on that one too), however what we did have was a jar of dry roasted-lightly salted peanuts- well when life hands you peanuts-you make.....

peanut butter-throw in the nuts, put it on high speed, and once everything is really smushed, add just a drizzle of canola oil so that you don't lose the consistency needed for the cookies. then you get some pretty awesome cookies, we also threw in a handful of chocolate chips just for kicks and giggles.

10 favorite non-knitting blogs

2011-02-15T11:33:00.000-05:00

most of my blogs are those recommended by mary-which include several knitting, but a few others. i totally love google reader (another mary recommendation) which keeps me up to date on the updates, and all my favorites in one location. i was worried that i might not have 10 non-knitting related blogs-turns out that's NOT a problem, and these are in no special order- so here's my list and there are some duplicates from mary's list (as usual)

1. Lysa Terkeurst-very inspirational-almost every post has something to "say" to me
2. Little Brown Pen-photography in paris
3. Post in Paris-the how to's for an american living (or visiting) Paris
4. Culinary Memoirs of a Soulful College Girl-a great way to be inspired by food and i love sara's writing style-
5. Leite's Culinaira-food inspiration and awesome giveaways-i'm hoping to win several things-the pasta machine would be REALLY great.
6. 6th Borougher-katie's blog-easy way to keep in touch with what she's up to
7. Ann Mah-a foodie living in paris
8. Bits & Pieces-digital scrap booking inspiration
9. Ali Edwards- ditto of above
10. What I wore today-this blog is authored by my cousin's daughter who lives in london and is all about the latest fashion craze and happenings there. she has developed quite the following since beginning the blog a year ago.

monday moment: promise of spring

2011-02-14T14:45:00.000-05:00

have passed this shrub on my walks at lunch-last week there were just buds-today one had burst forth-am thinking it's a camelia? so pretty.

san antonio-a review

2011-02-13T20:12:00.000-05:00

san antonio is definitely a place i'd like to visit again. the photo shows what i really LOVED about my trip. i can't wait to get another pair (soon I hope), i wore these home cause they wouldn't fit in my suitecase, and they really were comfortable, so they might be going with me to Paris. the rest of the photos are on flickr. i also took some video at the rodeo, but am not sure if they're going to upload, so we'll see. anyway here's my thoughts on SA,T:
~the city is VERY clean
~you can walk wherever you want to go, or take a very short cab ride (or use the bus)
~the food-that was a mixed bag- casa rio-was good, cafe ole'-just okay, "Q"-was awesome, i had for lunch beef brisket tacos, and a mixed green salad with citrus vinegarette and skirt steak. i went back for dinner, and had the chicken quesadilla and banana pudding w/brittle. the dessert was just okay, a too big portion and not well presented, but the rest was awesome. also we had lunch at schilo's which is a german delicatessean that dates back to 1917.
~a learning experience-i learned that there has been a large number of germans who have been in the area for several decades (late 1880s)- hence the deli, and of course the alamo is nearby,and i'm glad i paid a visit, it was interesting and well preserved, then there is la villita was once san antonios first neighborhoods-and is now an cluster of shops that have art work by local artist, a lot of it quite good-too bad i was flying home!
~a cultural experience for sure-the rodeo was the most fun i've had in awhile. it was cool seeing the animals, and watching the rodeo events, i really got a feel for the heart of the american west. raising livestock and playing the rodeo circuit is something these folks take serious-still.
another "cultural" experience as the Hotel Havana-i had to change hotels for a night, i still don't know what to make of this place, it seemed cheesey, quaint, full of character, and unique all rolled into one. it's the first hotel i've been too that had a front porch where i spent a few hours knitting and enjoying the bottle of wine i had bought on tuesday. it was a very clean hotel, just kinda quirky, i'd go back to it if i had a chance.
i didn't include any links, but if any clarification is needed, i'm sure my "readers" will not hestitate to ask. the only other thing i could say is that if you have a chance to go-then go!
i'm glad i had a chance to combine work with a mini-vacation.

howdy.

2011-02-09T07:55:00.000-05:00

Oscar Favorites.

2011-02-08T17:10:00.000-05:00

this weeks 10 for Tuesday brings back fond memories. i think today's films areoften lacking in real star quality. there are actor/actresses that i always enjoy seeing, but many movies aren't worth the cost of the ticket. even the special effects can get a bit unrealistic and -eeh. anyway, here's my list-i could add many many more-especially some of the "oldies".

#1-Rocky-my ALL time favorite-this the first movie i remember seeing at the theatre, and i also go the soundtrack for my birthday. when i was in philadelphia a couple years ago i ran up the museum steps-something i have always wanted to do.
#2 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
#3 Arthur
#4 The Godfather
#5 Forest Gump
#6 Gone with the Wind
#7 Goldfinger
#8 Dirty Dancing
#9 Untouchables
#10 The Wizard of Oz

photo found at this website: http://manvsdebt.com/rocky-balboas-guide-to-kickin-ass/

Monday moment.packing (important stuff)

2011-02-07T18:52:00.000-05:00

okay, so not the best photo-am getting my stuff together for san antonio-thanks to ravelry, i think i'll finally get chart 3 of the orchid thief shawlette figured out. this will be my hotel room knitting, i've got a sock-zigzag socks from the ultimate sock knitting book-to work on while i'm at the conference-and the linen stitch scarf for my airport/plane knitting. of course, the kindle is going along for the plane ride as well. i plan to report how much i actually get accomplished. am looking forward to visiting a new city and eating LOTS of tex-mex.

les macarons

2011-02-06T17:58:00.000-05:00

bon appetit declared that the macaroon and the whoopie pie were over taking the allure of the cupcake. while i love cupcakes dearly-i do enjoy a good whoopie pie. since bon appetit provided a macaroon recipe to substantiate this claim i decided to put whisk to bowl and give them a try. they are interesting to say the least. while these are not hard to make, they do require extra equipment and time. i'm looking forward to trying the real thing so i'll have something to compare these too. i love how the cream filling is firm and the blackberry filling compliments the almond flavor of the cookie. i do plan to try the whoopie pie recipe which is a chocolate "pie" with mint filling (i LOVE this combination!) expect a full report on those!

homemade.

2011-02-05T14:36:00.000-05:00

since i had the ingredients, time and an empty cookie jar i decided we needed homemade cookies-thursday i made a batch of chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies using the recipe from the ghiradelli chocolate chip bag and they were (are) yummy-crispy edges and soft center. the family was VERY happy with these.

another home made item-i finally finished sewing down the hems for the trina-i LOVE the yarn, malabrigo twist very warm and gives me the jacket-y feel i was wanting, however; the pattern is just "okay"-easy to knit, but not spectacular. am a bit disappointed with how the decreases on the back looked "pulled" even though the knitting has an even look, it's a good fit and i made the body just a bit longer than the pattern stated. i plan to forgo the buttons which are more for decoration as the designer uses snaps to close the jacket. i like how the shawl pen looks for keeping it closed, and if i can also wear the collar open and folded down.

10 for Tuesday-nightstand and a thing for books.

2011-02-01T07:54:00.000-05:00

10 for Tuesday prompt- so right now on my night stand i've got:

1- alarm clock- an absolute must
2- ear plugs-i can't fall asleep without them
3- eye glasses-for those rare times when i might be watching tv before bed after the contacts have come out.
4- quilted coaster-made by my wonderful friend Kathy
5- stack of notes and pen-for those middle of the night ideas that MUST be written down
6- box of kleenex
7- telephone-i don't keep my cell phone by my bed cause i know i'll leave it at home when i leave for work
8- books and magazines to help plan for our trip to paris
9- lamp-this was once a seafoam green lamp that i spray painted antique gold-i do love it.
10-kindle and more books-in the middle of reading- Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury, Nevada Barr's Winter Study, Diane Gabaldon's Echo in the Bone, and Alexander McCall Smith's The Charming Quirks of Others. Waiting to read-Julie Hyzy-State of the Onion, Alexander McCall Smith's Courduroy Mansion.

monday moment.progress

2011-01-31T18:49:00.000-05:00

the final cabinet phase for my craft area has been completed. i'm still trying to figure out how i want to store my yarn and fabric. steve and i are really pleased with the results, and officially LOVE ikea. and yes, that is a wine rack on the right-room for a whole case!

monday moment: blue sky

2011-01-24T17:36:00.000-05:00

another beautiful day, even if it was a tad chilly on my lunchtime walk. i've really begun to enjoy this time of day.

10 favorite games from your childhood

2011-01-18T20:56:00.000-05:00

my list is very similar to mary's and beth's-np photo this time-i'm being a total slacker!

1. Candy land
2. Clue-really loved this game-maybe that's why i also love mystery novels?!
3. Yahtzee
4. Rummy
5. Uno
6. Hi-Ho Cherry-o
7. Parchesi
8. Sorry-i think sorry and parchesi had the same kind of strategy
9. Trouble
10. Trivial Pursuit-totally loved this game as a teenager

monday moment: quiet

2011-01-18T20:47:00.000-05:00

i'm going into week 3 of the Bible study i'm doing with mary and virginia. i love starting the day with this devotional time. a rare monday morning when i don't have to be on the road at o'dark 30 is a very nice change.