Easter Weekend

I’ve been awake for a while. It’s still early. (8:17 a.m.) And it’s raining. It was supposed to rain sometime last week but instead it glossed over us and came a few days late. It started late last evening. Just a few drops here and there. By 11 o’clock last night we had a full on storm raging. It’s a nice change of pace.

Our weekend was bogged down by a lot of errands (mainly to the grocery store because we always manage to forget something). And a little bit of studying (though I admit there wasn’t as much progress on this task as there was distractions to every thing else).

My mom, Shawn and I stayed up late Saturday night. We watched television together, ate dinner (I made Sweet and Sour Chicken special for my mom), and put together two overloaded felt baskets together. Cadbury cream eggs, Robin’s Eggs, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Pixie Sticks, Dove bunnies, Peeps (both pink bunnies and blue chicks), Solid Chocolate bunnies (the first two melted in our hiding spot). There were eggs filled with money. And there were toys! Bubble makers and a special edition box of baseball cards. Yeah, the Easter Bunny was suckered.

He apparently had some influence on Shawn too.

Shawn went a little crazy for me. He bought me the new DVD version of Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland” (one of my faves) with all kinds of candy. Candy, which, I don’t have to share.

As you can see, the kids got their own.

And as a “Easter gift to myself” I bought some fiber goodness last week.

I plan on using it (Berroco Inca Gold) for an Eastlake sweater. I also was finally able to grab a large bottle of SOAK Aquae so I can block my sweater. (The Minimalist Cardigan is done. It simple needs a bath and some blocking.)

And because Easter reminds me of Dalton, I decided on a little memorial piece.

I’m also happy to report that I made my very first (but certainly not last) Bourbon and Orange Pecan Pie. I had to take a picture from the recipe though. That’s how good it was.

And while I’m technically on Spring Break I believe my relaxation period has come to an end and it’s time to get back to normal living. At least the laundry and the dishes are done. So should I hit the books or do some knitting? After all, it’s only 8:32. I have plenty of time.

{rainy day}

Today is a rainy day.

One of those days when you lay in bed and you reminisce about those days when you went off to elementary school, lunchbox in hand. How you ran to your classroom trying not to get your Mary Jane’s wet. How recess was held inside. Games strewn over the double desks. Monopoly, Checkers, Old Maid. How you skipped in and out of the puddles on the way to the lunch room. How you watched the water drip, drip, drip. How there was a sweet scent of children, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and wet rain coats. How the YMCA counselors would open up the auditorium and all the kids would put on fake plays on the stage.

Those days are over, but they are lovely to remember. We hardly get much rain here in Southern California. Especially in the area we live in now. So when the sweet scent of water and asphalt mixed, I knew we were in for an old fashioned rain “storm”. It’s been raining all day today, so Scout and I had a rainy day inside.

I wonder. I wonder when she’s older, will she remember watching Scooby Doo with me on the couch under my comforter? Will she remember how we had “fair food”, (pizza rolls, soft pretzels with cheese, and cupcakes), and how we practiced our spelling out everything we ate? Will she remember the wonder in her eyes when she looked outside and didn’t really know why there was water falling from the sky? Will she remember the way the wind was so powerful that it shut our bedroom doors and bent the tree boughs right by the patio? Will she remember the sounds of the heavy cars splashing water onto the sidewalks? Yes, I wonder.

While side glancing a few episodes of Scooby Doo I finished up the shoulder warmer that I offered to make on Etsy. I’m happy to have it done. It wasn’t tedious. It wasn’t difficult. But it was time consuming and I am so behind on a few projects. I really need to catch up. And it seems like the rain just may allow it.

Ravelry link

Pattern by Crocheteria

Yarn: Vanna’s Choice Solid, (Charcoal Gray), almost two skeins

Needles: US 8’s and Us 9’s for the ribbing

I still have a scarf and a pair of mittens for Etsy customers to make, but I’m nearly finished and I can’t wait. (Patience, anyone?)

In the midst of our rain and knitting, Scout and I stopped to have a little snack: Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting,

and a little bit of reverie, (for me).

Yes. I think all of these memories are what justify my love for the rainy days we have.

Nothing to Say

Some days there just isn’t much to say. We are swinging in the balance, trying to catch up with bills, getting ready for the holidays, taking time to enjoy the seasons changing so abruptly.

Yesterday the purple quilt, (the one I wish to never see again), was finished and packed. I’m glad elated to see it go.

It’s not the quilts fault, (yes it is), but I had trouble from the beginning with it. So now it’s gone and I can breathe a little more deeply.

Last night was spent watching “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer” and drinking hot chocolate. I was able to get some cross stitching done, I’m about 75% finished, (not including back stitching since I have no idea how long that may take), and then I rotated with some knitting.

Then this morning I craved something decadent for breakfast, (and I normally don’t eat breakfast, I know bad girl), so I came up with this concoction:

Bagel, cheese, Roma tomatoes, lettuce and bacon. Mmmm, bacon.

I need to get to the market otherwise I’ll have a heart attack eating these daily.

Simple Tuesday

Even something as simple as an unbaked pie makes life worth living.

Paper, pen and glue

Ever since giving up scrapbooking as a hobby I’ve hyperfocused on everything else.

Knitting. Jewelry Making. Baking. Quilting. Cross Stitch. Sewing.

But every now and again I get out some patterned papers and adhevise. I cut different shapes and different sizes. I trace chipboard to make big, bold lettering. I cut ribbons and use them as page tabs. I age papers with a special walnut ink. My fingers get sticky from the glue sticks. They turn brown from all the distressing. And for a few brief moments I regret giving up scrapbooking. Especially those occasions when we lazily go up and down the different aisles of the local craft store. Scrapbooking has come a long was since I started it in 1999. Styles have changed. Altering is the thing of the future. Funky shaped chipboard books. Single photo layouts. Sewing your pages.

It was fun to do a little creating for a swap partner of mine. Just a little something she can put up in her space. I’m only showing one picture that way it won’t be completely obvious who I’m making this for, (since I’m not sure if she will read this).

Lots of different stuff going on here. You can take another look.

I assure you that I have been knitting though I have no proof to show. I finished the Jaywalker sock and had to frog part of the second. Once I finish both I will share a picture. No point in showing just one, unless you are a peg legged sea captain who favors colorful knit socks!

My weekend didn’t go quite as planned. I’ve been immensely unmotivated though I’ve been trying hard to stay at the task at hand. I’m behind on my Etsy orders so I really need to get going! Bags weren’t made. Quilting never made it to the sewing machine. However, I did finish a sock!  And this altered name banner. So it’s not all bad.

Especially when I was able to quench my crafter’s guilt with a couple of these:

Apple fritters. So good that I had to make them Saturday and Sunday. And maybe even tonight.

Saturdays

The Saturdays where we don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to run errands or go to work we like to sleep in. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while then you know me well enough to know that I covet my sleep. I worship nap time though I so rarely have a chance. More often than not I find myself busy after carefully rubbing Scout’s nose and quietly wrapping her in a blanket and letting her get her beauty rest. I don’t do the much needed vacuuming when she’s asleep but I do try to do the kind of cleaning that doesn’t allow little sticky hands helping.

And on those Saturdays we usually make a grand breakfast where, afterwards, we can unbutton our jeans and get really lazy. Today was an especially sweet Saturday to say the least. You see, yesterday I cleaned and cooked and cooked and cleaned because I had friends over for little pajama party. And being as OCD as I am everything has to be just right. We cleaned the carpets and the couches. I made homemade guacamole and brownies. I washed all the cups. I thickened the apple butter that I made the day before, (somehow it didn’t thicken over night like I thought it would so I had to keep stirring for two hours to get the right consistency). I even made another batch of strawberry jam. I kept busy. But today, no. Today I was lazy.

And I was able to reap the rewards:

I used this crock pot Apple Butter recipe. It’s super simple and super delicious. I was only able to make 2 pints out of this recipe and the way that we were spreading it on pancakes and toast this morning, well I’ll need to make more. Good thing Autumn is here and with it are the good apples. The only thing I “modified” was to use Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider for regular cider.

The rest of the day was spent ironing and cutting fabric for a new quilt. Not a quilt for me. Not a quilt for anyone I know. It’s a special order on Etsy. I’ve decided that once Christmas is over and done with that I won’t be taking any more special orders or bidding on Alchemy. I’ve over extended myself to support all the projects I want to work on for myself, which seems logical. What’s illogical is that I’m so busy working on everyone else’s stuff that I don’t have time to work on mine.

But I did manage to do something for myself, rather Dalton did it for me:

Ah, the cat life.