A "Comfort"-able Saturday

My Mother informed me I hadn't updated my blog in awhile and I had a few moments before heading out for the day so thought I'd write about my adventures yesterday!


First off though is my contribution to Bezzie's request to flash your library card:

I'm fortunate in that I teach right next door to a public library which I use quite frequently during the school year. I included my tattered and torn key chain card which is my card choice.

Back to yesterday....

A few of my knitting friends and I headed to Comfort, TX to visit The Tinsmith's Wife yarn shop. The day was fantastic from start to finish. We all met up at a local Starbucks, piled into Kim's car, and then headed west to the Stars Hollow like town (for the Gilmore Girls fans out there) of Comfort.

Most went with with a list of what to buy, I didn't..and that can be dangerous! I ended up purchasing:

An eggplant colored Cali Zuma bag and matching Mini Cozy. I'd been wanting a "nice" knitting bag for awhile now and was thrilled to find one in my favorite color!



I also bought some beautiful Spud & Chloe sock yarn (color: anemone) and that was suppose to be it...until I saw the Lorna's Laces.


and some Bullfrogs and Butterflies yarn (color: Lakeview) also made it into my pile to buy.

At that point I hurried to check out before I was seduced by any other yarn.

I made my way to the couch to knit while the others finished their shopping and made a new friend with Noro the cat.

Once we all finished with our shopping we had the best burger in the state of Texas at 814, A Texas Bistro and got dessert to go from Sweet Comfort, the candy store across the street!

I think this was my favorite day of summer vacation so far!

Tangling with Tarn

Yikes! It sure has been hot...even by Texas standards! Out of the 28 days of June so far, we've had 11 days of 100+ temps and 7 days with temps 97-99....that's hot!!

Because it's been so hot, the afternoons have been spent catching up on movies/tv shows, reading and knitting. I recently finished my rug:


Yarn: t-shirts/sheets turned into yarn (tarn)
Needle: US 15
Pattern: CO 41 sts, work in seed stitch pattern. Final dimensions: approx. 34" X 21"
Notes:

• This was originally to be made for DH's bathroom or a mat for Sophie, but I love it! It hasn't left my home office area.
• The "tarn" was great to work with other than being a bit bulky/heavy towards the end. It actually felt good knitting in locations that were warm.
  
• The seed stitch creates a great texture for your toes!
• I have enough leftover tarn for another small rug, but other than that, don't think I'll need to knit with it again. I just wanted to experiment with it but know there are lots of neat projects out there!
  

Sweet Saturday

Yesterday, in a flurry of domesticity not only did I make some Baked Lemon Pasta, I also decided to make these Kit Kat bars. The recipe comes from a Betty's Pies recipe book which is filled with page after page of delicious recipes. Betty's Pies is a favorite roadside stop along the North Shore so when I spotted the cookbook in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport last Fall, I had to pick it up!

These are non-bake which makes them perfect for a hot summer day when you don't want to use the oven.

Kit Kat Bars

• Club Crackers (at least 1/2 box)
• 2 cups crushed Graham Crackers
• 2 sticks butter
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup milk

Frosting

• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
• 2/3 cup peanut butter

Grease a 9X13 inch pan and line with club crackers (lay crackers in one direction). Set aside.

Bring the butter, crushed graham crackers, sugars and milk to a boil and cook over low heat for 3-5 minutes.

Spread half of the cooked mixture over the crackers. Lay another layer of the club crackers on top and cover with the balance of the cooked mixture. Top with another layer of club crackers. Make sure the crackers all lay in the same direction.

Melt frosting ingredients in a double boiler (I used the microwave). Spread over the top and refrigerate a few hours. Once set, separate into cracker-sized bars. Keep in the refrigerator.

Notes:

• I actually goofed when I made mine and left out the last layer of club crackers. They're still good-but rich! I think I got distracted when DH came home and put the frosting on before the last layer of crackers.
  

• Rather than use a double boiler, I just melted the frosting ingredients in the microwave for a few minutes until all melted.

• These are really good and go perfect with a cup of coffee/tea!
  

A Quiet Monday

Monday mornings during the school year are so filled with stress and anxiety, I go out of my way to make Summer Mondays quiet and peaceful. Today started with a cup of coffee in my new favorite mug:

It was a mug I spotted a few months ago that someone else received in a coffee swap and fell in love with the flying sheep and swirls. I had to have one of my own! I emailed Robbi from Maple lane Pottery and had one sent to me. I love the handle and is a great size for coffee, hot choco or soup!

Last week was a busy Week 1 of vacation filled with cleaning, shopping, eating out, SnB's and even took in a play-Wicked! This week will be much more subdued. I need to finish my "deep" cleaning (think Spring Cleaning in June) so that it won't be such a chore when we have out of town visitors coming. Today I need to make my various shopping lists and plan out our meals so we're not eating out everyday like last week.

On the knitting front, I'm making a rug out of t-shirt/sheet yarn-"tarn" I think they call it. In one of the Phat Fiber boxes I scored a month or so ago was a sample of "tarn" and I decided I wanted to knit something with it. I wasn't interested in making my own "tarn" so bought some on Etsy and have started this:

It looks huge in the picture but really isn't that big. It's going to be a bathroom rug in DH's bathroom. I overestimated the amount of tarn I'd need so I actually have enough for 2 rugs. I should be finished with it in the next few days and will post more about it then. Here's the link for the Rav group which has several links for how to make your own tarn and patterns!

Because a knitter can't live on tarn alone...I caked up these goodies (Pigeon Roof Studios, Madeleine Tosh, Casbah) and plan on starting something with each of them soon!

Finished!

This past week I not only finished the schoolyear-but also a great book, and my Clapotis!

There's something bittersweet about packing up a room for the summer. It seems so empty and quiet compared to the normal hustle and bustle of the school day.


A few weeks ago I stumbled across the book The Fiction Class on my local library's "New Book" list. I decided to check it out and really enjoyed this book! I don't know if it was the teacher aspect, the writing angle or the fact it was a book that I read without expectation-it's been one of my favorite reads this year. It would be a great book for a book club!

My favorite part of the book is that every chapter or so, the author gives the reader a writing topic (same as the main character gives her writing class). The first writing topic was to list five obsessions and then write a few paragraphs about one of them). Here are my five:

• Fiber -I've decided I want to learn to spin this summer and have been stockpiling fiber.
• Books-just can't get enough of them!
• Cleaning-I've been the crazy cleaning lady the last few days so I can enjoy a life of leisure the rest of the summer.
• Weather-I'm always obsessed with the weather (not just mine but wherever there are storms) and could have the weather channel on all the time.
• Knitting-enough said....

Speaking of knitting.....

I finally finished my Clapotis!


It's huge-but I love it!!! Both my computer chair and favorite seat in the living room are located beneath a vent. I freeze when the AC comes on so this is perfect!! I had a hard time taking it off long enough to weave in the ends. This will be my "workhorse" Clapotis and am already planning on making another one for dressier occasions with a fancier yarn.

Pattern: Clapotis
Yarn: Katie Jamaica-just shy of 5 balls/skeins
Needle: Denise size 7
Final size: approx. 18" X 84"
Notes:

• I'd definitely make the next one shorter in length!
  

At War with Squirrels

It was bound to happen....just a matter of time...the squirrels finally discovered our tomato plants....SIGH...... It started innocently enough, last weekend I noticed a green tomato sitting on the railing of our deck, I questioned DH and he hadn't put it there. Went down to check and found it had moved, and not much of it left.....SQUIRRELS!

After some online research, it seemed there was an almost overwhelming list of things to try....

1. Dog/dog hair-obviously that didn't work

2. Dried coyote urine or something like that. Looks like white snow.

3. Sprinkling of cayenne pepper. Think the squirrels just thought it was added seasoning based on this photo. If you look closely you can see the cayenne on the deck railing.


4. By this time it was WAR....DH was on a mission. Before I knew it, the vinegar soaked rags came out. Our deck smelled like italian dressing.


We've also tried...5. moth balls, 6. coffee grounds (found a squirrel in the pot with the coffee grounds), but I knew DH had finally lost his mind when he started collecting shiny things. Evidently he read somewhere the squirrels are repelled by shiny things. Now our tomato plants look like a disco.

If you click to make bigger you'll see the hanging strands of foil, ribbon, and wind chimes. Somewhere in the trees I imagine the squirrels are having quite a chuckle at my husband's antics.

I have made a note to myself to not plant tomatoes next year and just buy them at the local farmer's market.

I must go.....I just heard him mumbling something about hanging the shiny Christmas ornaments on the plants!!!

First Tomato

DH harvested our first tomato of the season!

Actually we have been snacking on our grape tomatoes that have also started to ripen, but this is our first regular sized one. Many more to come if we can keep the birds/squirrels from enjoying too many of them! Off to gather some recipes since I have a feeling that all of a sudden we're going to have a BUNCH of ripe tomatoes.

Anyone have a favorite tomato friendly recipe?