...Keeping warm...

...it's been pretty cold here - it was 16 below zero yesterday (-27 C) and it just keeps snowing - just a little bit - but it adds up to at least an inch a day...
...this was my Christmas present from the Man......he knows that I'm usually chilly in the winter - and as he's not usually chilly - we compromise with the thermostat set lower than I'd like - so in addition to my shawls and slippers and the knitting on my lap keeping me warm - he got me a little something else to keep me warm...

...it's really just a little electric space heater that looks like a little woodstove - the glass door even opens...it's so cozy to sit and knit in front of it, and needless to say, Jack loves it...

...Oh...I just watched the video and realized that you can't see the flames very well - I'll try to do another little video of the 'fire' at night so you can see the pretty flames...(holographic or something)...

2 Needle Mittens finished...

...well - I had a dentist appointment and Scout had Karate so I finished the 2 needle mittens...

...they turned out nicely in spite of my differences with the yarn...

...my sad attempt at a photo of the mittens on my hands...

...and ya know what?...my dental hygenist has asked me to make her a pair as well...and she loved the blue yarn - so I'm on a quest for another (easier to work with than Homespun) yarn in similar hue...any ideas?...

Amazon Gift Card

I just got this in my email and thought I'd share it with y'all...

...you can buy a $20 Amazon gift card for $10...just Click Here!
...$20 for $10 - how awesome is that?!...

Super Simple Small Batch Chocolate Chip Cookies

...this is a post from before Christmas that must have gotten lost in the Holiday shuffle...

...Since we're a family of three and we like our Chocolate Chip Cookies hot and fresh, a big batch is just too much for us...this recipe makes about 1 dozen fresh hot gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies...of course you can double or triple the recipe if you want...

1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/8 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 T Applesauce
2 T Earth Balance
1 T Corn Syrup
1/4 tsp Vanilla
1/4 cup Vegan Chocolate Chips


...add Earth Balance to Brown Sugar...

...Add Vanilla...

...and Applesauce...

...and Corn Syrup...

...mix well...

...in another bowl - Mix Flour...

...Baking Soda...and salt...

....and stir to combine well...

...add the flour mixture to the Sugar/EB mixture...

...and stir to combine...

...you could use a mixer but I like to just do it with a wooden spoon...

...when it's well blended...

...stir in the Chocolate Chips...

...mmmmm...and since it's vegan - you can eat all the dough you want...

...line a baking sheet with parchment...

...and drop cookies by rounded spoonful onto the parchment...

...Bake at 350 about 10-12 minutes or until golden but still chewy...

...allow to cool a few minutes...then remove to a plate...

...and enjoy...

LWR Quilt #5

...It's time to get back into my quilting groove - May will be here before we know it - and the quilts will need to be ready to go...

...again using donated material - the tan calico was quite nice - I so much prefer using the natural fiber materials to the polyester - my machine likes it better too - for some reason my old Kenmore (Kimmie - of course she has a name) doesn't like to sew polyester and I'm always having to fiddle with the tension...oh well - I'm sure it makes a very long-wearing quilt...

...and I thought you might like to see what the LWR Quilts look like finished (tied and bound) - This is LWR Quilt #3...

More about Lutheran World Relief Quilts here!

...a Weekend Guest...

...Scout has a friend staying for the long holiday weekend...

...his parents have escaped our frozen wonderland and are cruising in the Caribbean...

...so we've been busy doing boy stuff...we went to the local water park and were surprised to find that they've redecorated - this Grizzly was a Polar Bear the last time we were here...the boys use the kiddie pool/slide to warm up as it's warmer than the big pool...

...and the last time we were there the water/pool was the 'normal' blue colour...(you can see the frosty white/blue polar bear in the background too)...

...but they've painted the entire pool area yellow - and with the blue water - that makes green...swampy green...

...this new yellow/green thing is not a good look in my opinion - it felt like we were swimming in a swamp - or in one of the amusement park lagoons - if you know what I mean...funny how we associate chlorinated blue water with clean...

...anywhooo...after our swim...and lunch at Subway...we headed to our guest's intramural basketball game...that was fun and they won - still undefeated after two games - YAY!...

...after Church yesterday was spent tunnelling into the snowbanks...

...it was about 9 below zero (-23 C) and the wind chill was 30 below...

...but once you're in the tunnel you're safe from the wind anyway...and I checked them for frostbite every half hour or so...

...and inside there was lots of Wii - Computer - Nerf - snacks - sleeping bags and just plain fun...

...Fun Times...

...that coyote...

...that coyote has been scaring the deer...the whole herd comes out of the brush and stands at attention - even the buck - the Man says he's a big 5 x 3 (whatever that means - I think it means he has a lot of antlers)...

...so now I guess I'd better start feeding that coyote...

My first coyote photo...

...as I was sipping my tea this morning and gazing out the window at the ever lightly falling snow I spied a coyote - we hear them yipping all the time - sometimes at night I wake up and listen to them...so eerie...

...anywhoo - I ran and grabbed my camera and tried to get a decent photo - but I only managed one before he disappeared into the brush...still...amazing...

...uninterrupted knitting...

...I rarely have any stretch of time for uninterrupted knitting - most of my knitting (and most things in general) are accomplished a few minutes at a time...

...so the trip to the Orthodontist with the Man driving gave me about 3 hours of knitting time - and a little bit more in the Orthodontist office as well...

...so I completed one mitten and started the second one...I'll be happy when this little project is over - this yarn is really difficult to work with on smallish needles - maybe it's OK on larger ones...it is really pretty and soft though...

...do you prefer to knit when you have a chunk of time or do you mostly knit a few stitches here and there?...

Ortho again...

...we've been to the orthodontist again - 90 miles away - the Man drove - the snow was bad - but I still got a lot of knitting done...

...the appliance is OUT - Scout is thrilled - he has a 6 week or so respite before the actual braces go on...but I don't think the braces are going to be as bad as that bar across the roof of his mouth...

Commissioned Knitting...

I'm always surprised when someone asks me to knit something for them...

...a lady at church said a friend had given her a scarf for Christmas and she wanted some mittens to go with it and asked if I would knit them for her...

...y'all know that I have a problem saying no - so of course I said yes...

...she brought me the yarn that matches her scarf - it's Lion Brand Homespun in colourway Lagoon - It's pretty but kind of hard to work with - the little curls keep bunching up...

...I'm using the Basic Two Needle Mitten Pattern here or on Ravelry...

Dear Deer...

I worry so much about you as the temperature drops well below zero...so I put some corn out for you to munch on...hoping you can find a warm place to rest...

...sweet dreams...dear deer...

Knitting News...

...well sort of...

...I finally finished the Karate Socks that were started way back in July at Camp Wilderness - that may be a record for me for the longest time spent on a single pair of socks - but the months from October to January are pretty packed...

...They're made with 2 strands of Aunt Lydia's Bamboo and they have a 'princess sole' - you just purl all of the sole stitches so that the smooth part of the stitch is near your foot - I think I'm going to do all of my socks that way from now on - so comfy...

...have you ever knit a 'princess sole' or are your feet tough enough to take the knit side bumps?...

...Snowbusters...

Remember the 80's movie the Ghostbusters (which was a pretty awesome movie)...

...well - our Church has the Snowbusters - in the fall when they are trying to recruit new members they get up during the announcements and do a little Ghostbuster routine (I wish that I had taped it) with a catchy Who Ya Gonna Call rhyme - and they have toboggans with the Snowbuster logo on them too...so cute...

...y'all know we've been swamped with snow and have feet of 'snow on snow'(a quote from one of my favorite hymns - do you know it?)...

...anywhooo - cleaning the sidewalks got to be too much even for the snowblower...so one of the Snowbusters showed up with a super snowblower and front end loader to get the job done...

...then several Snowbusters attacked the feet of snow on the Church roof - everyone is so worried about the weight of 4-5 feet of snow - luckily most of it has blown off of our roof - but a lot of that has to do with the orientation of your house - and we've seen several people around town up on their roof shoveling snow...

...so that's how we manage to get the sidewalks clear for Church each Sunday...we call the Snowbusters!...

...Knitting needles as weapons...hmmmmmnn...

[[[SPOILER ALERT]]]

Scout and I were watching the movie Dragon Hunters...and the now grown up dragon hunter has a flashback to the time when the dragon called the World Gobbler destroyed his home and killed his parents...

...as a frightened child he pulls out his mother's knitting needles...

...draws a picture of the dragon and stabs it in the eyes with the needles...

...then back to the 'present' where he is a grown up dragon hunter - he pulls the needles from his pack...

...and uses them to slay the dragon...

...anywhooo - a pretty good movie which was apparently much more popular in Europe than it was in the US...I wonder why...

...Vegan 7 Layer Taco Dip...

We went to our very last Christmas Party - the Christmas Season ends with Epiphany on January 6th...

...and I took an appetizer - it's the 7 Layer Taco Salad - a vegan version of course...

...First I made the Taco Seasoning - I used this recipe...

...First minced onion - I hope that's what they meant by instant - I'd never heard it described as instant...

...then all the other spices - I'm still loving my reorganized spice drawer...

...mix that all up and store in a jar...

...you'll only need 2 Tablespoons of the mix for this recipe...

...mix that into some vegan refried beans...I used canned but I'm sure it would be better with homemade ones...

...gather your other ingredients...or not if you're not a mise en place type person...

...spread the bean mixture on a platter...

...mix some tofutti sour cream and cream cheese and DON'T do like I did and microwave it to make it easier - it makes it too runny...

...then layer chopped lettuce...

...chopped fresh tomato...

...a layer of salsa - but this one must be combined with the tomato layer - else you'd have 8 layers...hehehe...

...a layer of daiya cheddar cheese...

...chopped green onions...

...and finally a layer of sliced black olives...

...isn't that pretty - and it was the hit of the party - Scout especially loved it...

...so the 7 Layers are:

1. Refried Beans
2. Tofutti Sour Cream mixed with Tofutti Cream Cheese
3. Chopped Lettuce
4. Fresh chopped tomatoes and Salsa
5. Daiya Cheddar Cheese
6. Chopped Green Onion
7. Sliced Black Olives

...and I'm not sure anyone even knew it was VEGAN!...