Beauty in full sun...

Here she is in all her glory, the full sun shot. I just couldn't resist.

Beautiful Lass? or...



Incredibly handsome Lad? or...



Just one really stunning tree in Autumn Frock.

The Beauty living down the street...

Really don't have tons to say, I've enjoyed reading a great many blogs out there this week, folks who had the good fortune to go to Rhinebeck, or as Kate put it, Yarnbeck, Kate I love that and have been referring to it as such. All the goodies put my drool glands in overdrive, couldn't go cruising without a towel close by for mopping purposes.

But.....this tree lives down the street from me.


Gracie and I went out for a bit of a walk, grabbed the camera to specifically get a photo of this tree, he/she's just the loveliest.


I was listening to the news the evening before, the weatherman was commenting on the weather that day, the temperature being very mild, nearly balmy really, but misting, sometimes heavy, mostly lightly, his words....."not too bad a day except for the annoying mist." I was absolutely shocked. Mist is beautiful. It was just a wonderful, beautiful day! It was actually misting a bit when Gracie and I had our walk, you'll see the evidence in the photos, sorry.



Still knitting away, still have not taken any photos, just very dark outside, perhaps now is the time to work on taking photos indoors........yeah, as in some other day.

Back to my knitting, and good knitting to all and please, make good time.

Joining in on a Comfort Swap...

I don't know about all you folks out there in blogland but the holidays are coming up fast, well, seems to me they're coming up fast...and what I'm trying to accomplish this year...socks for the folks I love, especially the ones who haven't received socks from me, say, on their birthdays or any other day, they'll likely get something else, but knitted all the same. I have a great many pair of socks to make, so many I don't even like to think of the number, in fact, I avoid thinking about the number, it doesn't necessarily stress me out...only when I think about the number, right? I just grab yarn, think about the cuff pattern and knit.....the rest of the sock is just standard and I do have a list of measurements for everyone....but I just keep knitting when I can.

Ms. Knitingale has gotten a "Comfort Swap" organized and I decided to join in, she posted the list of questions so here it is.......well, first let me tell you, this is my very first question list, this is my first swap (of this nature), and that I am an idiot because try as hard as I might, I could not manage to copy and paste from Ms.K's post, yeah, I did the 'copy' part but as soon as I switched to the blog and right clicked to paste, it wasn't an option.......WTF. Would someone out there care to enlighten the idiot over here?

1. Favourite colour? I love so many colours, the muted earth tones as in sage greens, muted blues, that purpley brown, and the neutrals...
   
2. Is there any colour you really dislike? Pea poo green, the kind that has a lot of gold in it, same goes for the acidy goldy yellow...
3. Do you have pets? What kind? Well, little Sam (cat) seems to stay and visit with me a great deal of the time, she does sleep out in the shed, day or night. I also lay a bit of claim to two large dogs who live with my daughter (long story) Babe and Mochajoe and they are THE.BEST.DOG-FACED.FOLKS.EVER.
4. Is there any knitting related item you would love to have? Some home-made stitch markers made by you.
5. Are you a sock knitter? (sigh) YES, most definitely, and I use dpns US sizes 1,2, or 3 to knit them up with...
6. Do you have any on-line wish lists? Yes, Amazon.com, listed under Marianne R. Pool.
7. Do you collect anything? Yes, I do. Rocks. Yep, rocks. I know the Sweet Harlot (I'm not even going to bother linking her, ok? we all know where to find her) refers to collecting rocks as some kind of joke, and I just have to giggle a bit madly whenever she does this but the truth is....I.love.rocks.
   
8. What would make you smile or giggle with delight if you found it in your care package? A rock, of course. A nice rock, not too big (mind your postage) an interesting rock, maybe with a fossil? unique colour/s, found from around where you live or from a place that is special to you. You'd need to write on a note the details, where, what (if you know) and why.
9. What would make you cringe if you found it in your care package? Oh gee, I don't know....a Care Bear? My little Pony? basically I am a somewhat sensitive earth momma/grandma, old hippie woman, I love the magic in this universe, the old legends and myths.........fun fur would list up with the care bear and Barbie... that sort of thing would not only make me cringe but would probably produce a bit of vomit...not that any of you would send someone something like that...(cut me a little slack, I already told you this is my first Q & A, and I wouldn't be a bit surprised if some of you are thinking it may well be my last also, I'd understand)
10. What sort of edible treat do you love? Dark, black chocolate, plain is fine, with dried fruits and nuts is fine also.
11. Coffee, tea, cocoa, or.....? I love it all, I did quit drinking coffee and only rarely indulge in a cup here and there, I do love it, it's more a treat now.
12. Any dietary restrictions? Yes, but what the hell, this is a CARE package...seriously, nothing I can think of that would outright kill me in the short run of things, meaning I'm not diabetic or have any severe allergies to anything I can think of.
    
13. Do you celebrate Christmas or other winter holiday? Do you like holiday themed stuff? Nowadays I quietly celebrate Winter Solstice/Midwinter....so anything relating to that would need to be on the pure end of the spectrum, I know there are those out there who know what I mean....very simple things....a sprig of evergreen.....

Whew! Hopefully (again, if I'm ever 'allowed' to join in again) these Q & A lists get easier on a soul, at this particular point in time it just feels like I've been in some kind of hot seat. Silly, I know.

I'd like to take a few to welcome Baby girl Faith to the world, she is Wanda and Ed's (of Jenkinswoodworking...makes those beautiful Turkish spindles) very first Granddaughter, she is beautiful and so very blessed. Wanda, I know I wrote in my comment...referring to birthing as a tender thing, I am, in fact, very aware that the actual 'birthing' is not tender, I was referring to the time after the birthing.....as far as the actual birthing...I just have to say...women are in a definite state of grace throughout.......

Good knitting to all, and continue making good time.

A Sweet Wee Lass

A couple of days ago a wee beastie came a calling, she just showed up on my front porch, I said "Hello", she jumped up in my lap and immediately made herself comfortable. We had a lovely visit, although, she is a bit mouthy, had all sorts of stories to tell me, I sat there completely smitten and listened. Well, I had seen her before, across the street for a few days but she's been hanging out on our front porch mostly.



The neighbor lady noticed....she came over with the lass, and asked me, "Is this your cat?", to which I replied, "Well, no, I figured it was your cat" She then told me the kitty showed up over there, that she can't have it living in their house, that she would be an outside cat, but she had taken her in for 'tidying up' (my words) so she won't have to fret over having kittens, and was getting her shots in order, which I thought was highly commendable of the woman, (we've not had the best of neighborly relations with her and her husband and not a tale to be told here at all)(trust me on that one) and I did let her know how I felt about it all, that what she did was a good thing, and it IS.

The woman and I chatted for a bit, she doesn't mind at all that 'Dakota' comes over and visits with me, nice of her don't you think? Her husband even went so far as building a box of a shelter except...the weather is not that bad, not really what you'd call cold, but he had put a blinding light bulb in the house, I told her 'Dakota' would not want to go in...although I understood why he did it I explained to her the differences of a cat's eye to say...a puppy's eyes (which is all the experience he's had) and she nodded her head as if she understood, which I guess she did because the light came out.

Anyway, yesterday morning Gracie and I went to the front porch to visit with kitty, which, by the way, I cannot bring myself to call her Dakota, I've been playing around with names and up until today none of them had felt right. Today though, she and I were cuddling and it hit me, Sam. That said, as I was saying Gracie and I went to visit with Sam and I was showing her the blankies I had put out for her to nestle in and whoa! well, look there, a dead....people, this was too big to be a mouse..so I'm going with a smallish young rat, so while Sam was occupied with Gracie and Aardron on the other side of the house I disposed of dead rodent...and all was well. I must say, we were all quite impressed with the wee huntress.

I did manage to get some photos of her this morning. She's really quite young, I'm saying maybe 6 months old and it was hard to get her to be still for just a moment, but I did my best.



The flash has been going off on most of these shots, here's one where it didn't and this is really more what her colours look like. (oh, and don't you just love the composition on this photo? ack!)



In the meantime she has discovered the tool shed in the back yard and found it to be satisfactory for getting away from all the racket of people working on the house next door, and it will be a dandy spot for her when it rains, I've even pulled out the old kitty bed, washed it up and put it out there in a nice sheltered area, she snuggled up in it immediately.


I know, she 'belongs' to the people across the street, but I also know this, she and I? We've got this 'thing' and we both know it.


Howdy Sam!





I have been knitting, holiday knitting, I'd have photos but really, it's a bit of a dark, gloomy day and I don't care much for the photos when the flash goes off. You'll see some knitting soon......

It's a mental block sort of issue.....

The thing is...I have a block about writing...I choke...I freeze...

I am so incredibly keen about the likes of Ms. Knitingale and Jo, the words just flow from their amazing minds down through their knitterly fingers and they WRITE, for everyone's enjoyment. You know what I'm talking about. I know if I could do what they do, well, there would be much more frequent posts on this blog, as it is, come time to post a new entry I start pacing around the house, oh look, there's a light bulb needs replacing (never mind the bulb has been out for days) and I quickly replace the bulb, more pacing, sitting down at the desk to start in, well, I think I'll just check out some different yarns, or, gee, wonder what's going on out there in my little corner of blogland. Hmmmmm, wonder if Kate has returned from her holiday in New Hampshire? Well, yes she has and my goodness, aren't those some lovely photos? Speaking of Kate, she had a very interesting post about yarn and pricing of yarns (yes, check it out, she even made it in Yarnival!...again!) which led me to Sarah's Yarns and on to her on-line store. Don't you love how all this works? We.Are.All.Tied.Together. in a very knitterly fashion and I do just love it.

So,hmmmm, more pacing, today is bread baking day so tending to that also, it truly is sad, this pacing around the house, walking outside...listening to the children playing in the schoolyard across the street...enjoying the weather, it has finally cooled off, can't thank you enough, dear Canada.

Oh, alright, enough of this torture...

A spot of colour, these really are so pretty right now, too bad the photographer isn't better at this photo taking business. (I want to add in here that you can click on any of my photos and get a larger one to view)



My daughter Havala, has a sweetie, and let me tell you, he is a major sweetheart and yesterday was his birthday, he is now 30 years old. I've been quite busy with the holiday knitting and although I didn't forget his birthday was coming up I still had not decided what to do about it, giftwise...and then it hit me. So saturday I started on this...


and finished it monday afternoon, washed and blocked it, see the insides?


I really did wing it on this, in that....the pattern calls for sport weight yarn and using size 3 US needles...I had some worsted weight wool, so in keeping with how much I love to flirt with disaster, not to mention the wrath of the Knitting Faeries.....I went with size 7 US dpns and cast on 96 stitches, making it a three panel instead of 4...and get this....no swatch.

This is how it turned out.....




He loves it,... my daughter loves it and he's got a proper job on his hands protecting his hat from her...yes, she really does need her own...
They even came down to the library where the good women of Knitnight at the Library and I were busy knitting away...to get his birthday goods.

Now, here's a couple of photos we can all enjoy (oh, come on, she's a nice girl and just admit, she's easy on the eye) but these are especially for someone very dear to us....




I think you know who you are.

Besides the nice looking 30 year old dude pictured above, it is indeed a week of many birthdays around here....today is my FIL's birthday, he's not in town but will be heading this way in a few days....HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB! We love you!

Tomorrow is the birthday of a very old and dear friend of mine, we've known each other...well, outside of forever...in this life time since we were mere teenagers. He took me to see Fiddler on the Roof when it first came out, it was quite a big deal actually, and I won't go into my behavior at the time...going to a musical...if he reads this he'll get a laugh (he remembers) but we'll just say that I absolutely loved it, seriously, and right then and there decided that if ever I were to have a daughter...her name would be Havala...which is actually spelled the way it sounds and not the proper spelling at all, which is Chava..and the little 'ala' is the 'term of affection' thing. Those 'a's are soft ones, as in 'ahh'. Bob is also an incredibly gifted and talented artist, as well as, and most importantly one of the most beautiful and outstanding human beings I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. Happy Birthday to you, dear Bob. Check out his stuff here, Wilson Custom Tile.


Alright, enough? If you'd like to get in on a goodie swap go to Ms. Knitingale's, her link is up there at the beginning of the post, there's already a few folks signed up and it's looking like a fabulous group.


Happy knitting to all!

Do you like dates?

I love dates, you know, the kind you can eat? When I was a kid a favourite goodie was a date square, so much goodness for the senses. We had just a teaser of cooler weather a few days ago and I decided to make some. Since then the weather has once again gotten warm, and people, I'm talking quite warm, it's supposed to be in the 90's this week, the 90's, with full sun.

Anyway, I did take photos and thought I'd share the recipe, there's two versions here, the original and the version I make which is just a tad healthier, easier on the system.

I also had my own personal helper that day.....she's really good at this mixing, and baking, or as she likes to say " whip up something good to eat".



What you'll need....a 13x9 baking dish, lightly sprayed with canola....or butter it up.



For the filling:

I get two bags of dates...DO NOT get the kind that are already chopped, please, just trust me on this one, bite the bullet and chop them up yourself, IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
1 cup (8 oz ) water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 unbleached all-purpose flour OR 1 1/2 cups whole spelt flour
1 cup brown supar, packed OR 1 cup sucanat or organic brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons butter,melted OR 12 tablespoon Smart Balance, melted (if you have issues with soy products go with the butter or something else...nonhydrogenated.
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan combine the chopped dates, water, lemon juice, and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer about 4 minutes until the water is absorbed and it gets thick. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla, set this aside to cool while you make the crust.

In a medium sized bowl mix the oats, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt, then stir in the melted butter (or whatever you decide to use).

Press 2 1/2 cups of the crust mix into your baking dish, smooth it out so there are no gaps, spread the date filling on top of the crust. Add the walnuts to the remaining crust mix and sprinkle it over the filling.

Bake this for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown, take them out of the oven and let them cool before cutting.

If you like dates, you're gonna love these.




Would you just look at that little plate? I'm telling you, I am going to be spinning, don't know when, but it IS going to happen.

OK, I just can't resist 'reporting' on the small corner of blogland I visit....so here goes.

Ms. Knitingale's saturday post is so funny I hurt myself with a couple of snorts that exploded out of me, go read.seriously. Then Rabbitch has a new obsession, can you believe it? It may be a wee bit of an obsession for myself. Here's a really silly question, but do you like seeing a man in a kilt? Yeah, well, I do. That lovely, talented crazy.knitting.lady was kind enough to answer a yarn question I asked, she in turn asked the question in her post, she is one very sweet, thoughtful woman! Jo and Richard have been in British Columbia all week, of course, Jo has been on a yarn mission and it's been a real treat to read about and see the photos. Jason has also been up to some great fun with fibre and colours.......yeah, go check it all out.


That's about it for now, and yes, I have been knitting....but shamefully not enough to take photos of and post...

Happy Knitting to All