Monday, December 31, 2007
First Campanula FO
On to second sock...
2007 FO's
The Weekend was a blurr
...but first - there was a waterpark party to make sure everyone was good and tired before we even got to the game...
...The Man-Cub loved this vortex - me - not so much...
... the lighter you are....
...the more times you go around...
...and around...
...and around...
...whoops almost went in that time... Whew...
...one more time around - if that's your goal - and for the Man-Cub it is...
and then finally - down the chute...
and out the other side...
This was our hut...
the Man-Cub - left front row - waiting for the huge deluge of water to come pouring down from the top...
He's sitting in the middle now as the water falls...
...Shooting the water cannons - they shoot a long way and many an unspecting passerby was 'hit'...
Then we went to the game room to waste some money...
....and 'buy' some 'junk' with our 504 tickets...
Then on to the hockey game...
...the first goal of the evening - UND led for most of the game but lost in the third period after trying what I thought was a strange tactic - they kept the goalie off the ice so they could field an extra player and lost two points as UNH immediately scored on the undefended goal - weird...
...zamboni machines - with cub scouts riding...
game over - final score - UND=4 UNH=7
Then after listening to a lecture about what we could and couldn't do - we skated for 1 1/2 hours on the olympic ice.
This is the blind leading the blind as one of our cubs asked me to 'teach' him to skate - this is really funny because I can barely skate myself...
The Man-Cub however - flies across the ice...
After another 1 and 1/2 hours of skating on the hockey arena ice with movies playing overhead - they sounded the bell at 1:45 AM for us to find our campsites - our assigned space was behind the bleachers...
....there are about 1000 scouts spread out across the floor...
Friday, December 28, 2007
Teeny Tiny Dobok Pattern
Cast on 13 stitches on US#4 needles.
Work in Stockinette Stitch (Knit one row - purl one row) for 18 rows.
Row 19 - Knit 6 stitches and turn work.
Row 20 - Purl 2 together and purl to end.
Row 21 - Knit 5 stitches and turn work.
Row 22 - Purl 2 together and purl to end.
Row 23 - Knit 4 stitches and turn work.
Row 24 - Purl 2 together and purl to end.
Row 25 - Knit 3 stitches and cut yarn.
for the other side of the V-neck:
Row 19 - Attach yarn to the remaining stitches and knit 2 together and knit to end.
Row 20 - Purl to last 2 stitches and purl 2 together and turn work.
Row 21 - knit to end and turn work.
Row 22 - Purl to last 2 stitches and purl 2 together and turn work.
Row 23 - knit to end and turn work.
Row 24 - Purl to last 2 stitches and purl 2 together and turn work.
Row 25 - knit to end and turn work.
for the back:
Purl across 3 stitches then cast on 7 stitches using a single yarn cast-on technique - then purl across the three stitches for the other side - you should now have 13 stitches again.
Continue in stockinette stitch for 25 rows for the back and cast off.
for the sleeve:
Fold the dobok in half lengthwise and find the center. With right side facing pick up and knit 13 stitches centered on this side. Work in Stockinette stitch for 22 rows and cast off.
Repeat this process on the other side.
Finishing:
Fold the dobok in half at the shoulder and stitch from the end of the sleeve to 3 rows above the bottom. Repeat for the other side. Weave in all loose threads and turn the dobok right side out.
For a Black Belt Dobok:
Using black yarn single crochet around the neck opening.
For all lower Belts:
Using white yarn single crochet around the neck opening.
For the Belt:
Make a chain of about 50 loops using the color of the belt you wish to replicate and attach it with one stitch to the front center of the dobok - then take the ends to the back and back to the front where they cross over the belt and get tied with an 'arrow' pointing right.
For the purple trim belt (purple with white) Chain 50 then with white yarn backstitch through the centers of the chains.
In our Association - there are several solid color belts - White - Orange - Yellow - Green - Blue - and Purple
then Purple Trim - which is purple and white
Then Brown and Brown trim - which is brown and white
Then Red and Red Trim - which is of course red and white
Then Black and there are 4 degrees of Black belt - each signified by a gold bar - to Master.
Other associations use different colors and some of the trim belts have black instead of white - some even use a Camouflaged - not sure what that one stands for as all of the colors have 'meaning'.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Microwave Potato Chips
It makes me a little bit nervous to watch him use a mandoline - even this picture...
We used the thinest insert to slice a potato paper thin - like real potato chips - but I think the middle one might make a thicker tastier chip - we'll try that soon...
We just followed the directions here http://www.recipezaar.com/47195 for Uncle Bill's Microwave Potato Chips except that it didn't take anywhere near 7 - 8 minutes - it was like 2 1/2 minutes in our micro...
We only added a bit of salt - but we're comtemplating many other combinations - BBQ - a thin soak in some vegan ranch dressing...
These were so yummy - go try some now - it only takes a couple of minutes - really.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Tabouleh
1 cup of french couscous
2 cups of hot water
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup lemon juice
20 shakes each of salt pepper cumin and parsley
1 onion diced small
1 tomato diced
1 can of black olives drained
Way back then (about 1985 or 86) this was served with plain yogurt and raspberries. I've tried lots of tabouleh recipes but this simple one is still my favorite.
A Perfect Christmas
Then, it would be time to bundle up and play in the snow - more pictures would be taken and then we'd warm up and drink soy cocoa laced with peppermint and talk on the phone to family members far away...then we'd bundle up again and head to the snow hill and there'd be lots of people there trying out new sleds and snowboards...and a friend for the Man-Cub to sled/race with...then we'd come home for a warm bath and the 'Roast Beast' would be baking away in the oven beside the sweet potato casserole and the Angel Biscuits would be rising on the back of the stove and the whole house would smell all yummy and warm...the Man would watch an old Clint Eastwood movie and the Man-Cub and I would play a new computer game...then a pretty table would be set with the old blue and white dishes out of the china cabinet and we'd open a bottle of sparkling cider and toast a perfect Christmas and then we'd stuff ourselves full of good food and then stand in a row at the sink with the Man-Cub on a chair washing rinsing and drying the good dishes and putting them back in the China cabinet...then the Man-Cub would don new pajamas and slippers and sit in between his mama and papa on the sofa to watch Mary Poppins in the glowing light of a tree now bare underneath...then we'd all sigh a contented sigh and take our sleepy selves to bed...
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Bathroom and Laundry Room Knitting
I repeated this scenario a few of times today - because I really wouldn't know it was Christmas Eve if I didn't stay up until the middle of the night finishing some present...
The second teeny tiny dobok ornament is finished - I'm not really happy with the purple trim belt - but I'll rework that later.
and I really will post a pattern for this soon - it's a pretty quick little knit - if you have a martial artist in the family.
I also painted this little guy in the Laundry Room.
The Man-Cub is always looking at the little dog ornaments and tags and stickers and they never have any Parson Russell Terriers (or Jack Russells as they are known in the UK), but his ever resourceful Mom (me) managed to find a little resin Jack...
This is what it looked like when I started (not my picture - I had not sneaked my camera into the laundry room with me)
I had to paint over some of the black with white - and then paint Jack's little brown mask and the inside of his ears then paint the spots black (Jack's very spotted) and then go back and paint over that lightly with white - he's sort of like a roan...
I'm really happy with how it turned out and I think the Man-Cub will be tickled...
Monday, December 24, 2007
Gingerbread House
This is the mold - from Williams Sonoma - about as old as the Man-Cub - maybe 9 or 10 Christmases...
I use my handy dandy little roller thingy to mash the dough into the mold...
You bake 2 sets of this side...
...and one set of this side...
The Man-Cub is getting to be quite good at the little icing squirter thingy and decided that a dusting of 'snow' was the only thing our house needed.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Last Minute Hand-made gifts - and knitting in secret...
Just add an Army surplus t-shirt and you've got a pair of pajamas...
...but what's a new pair of pajamas without a new pair of slippers - the fact that it's 3 days 'til Christmas won't keep me from starting a new project. I remember seeing something like a folded up triangle slipper way back in the 70s (yes I'm that old...)
...and the fact that I don't have a pattern won't keep from starting a new project either...
The Man-Cub and I went to see the Chipmunk movie today and I sat right beside him and worked on slippers to match his camo PJs. I started out knitting a white dishcloth - just like I always do at the theatre - then after the movie started and it was all nice and dark - I surreptitiously switched to the camo yarn and the slippers. These are super easy peasy lemon squeasy - and I will write out a pattern for them too. They are just a stockinette stitch square folded into a triangle and seamed up one side and about 2 inches up the other - then just fold over the top to make a little bootie.
Then after the movie we went ice-skating for the first time this season. They finally filled the outdoor rink at the park - and it was a balmy 5 degrees above zero - so we came home from the movie and bundled up (really well) strapped on our skates in the warming house and hit the ice. I was quite a bit more unsteady than the Man-Cub - who hit the ice running - literally. But, I stayed upright and he did not (he's a still lot closer to the ground than I am and I was carrying a camera so I was being very careful).
I'm wearing my Panta headband and new wristwarmers - I'll post a pattern for those soon too. (whew - I've got a lot of pattern writing to do...)
Friday, December 21, 2007
Teeny Tiny Dobok
I just winged it - but I'm going to write out a pattern - I still have plans of making a solid white one for the Man-Cub - then I'll make a purple trim belt and he can change the belt to a red one (probably) for next Christmas and then it will be black after that...
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Lollipop - Lollipop - Ooooh - Lolli-lollipop
We always make Christmas Lollipops - the Man-Cub likes making them more than eating them...
Our molds came from Williams Sonoma - and they are about as old as the Man-Cub...
Just give them a spritz of oil...
...rubber band them together...
...mix up your sugary stuff...
...and fill the molds - after they've cooled enough to touch - pry them apart - a screwdriver works well for this - then pop them out and let them cool completely...
Aren't they pretty...