Elephant Grass

Hey look! Another blog post-told you I'd be back!!

Big Basket!

Today was my official launching of the holiday season with my annual trek to the Showcase of Arts and Crafts. I usually end up with a bunch of soup, dip and/or jams (I'm a sucker for all the samples). Today I showed remarkable restraint! My favorite purchases were the 2 elephant grass baskets! I'd been wanting baskets like these for quite awhile and was surprised to see them at the show! I bought a big one (for yarn and W.I.P.'s) and a small one (for this and that) at school.

Little Basket

I also bought the best pot scrubbers ever! They are crocheted with netting and can be found really cheap! I usually stock up every November.

Foodwise I bought some kettle corn and a jar of peach preserves!

The peach preserves taste great over cream cheese with crackers-Yum!!

Although there didn't seem to be quite as many vendors it was still so much fun and my favorite way to start Thanksgiving vacation!

Twinkle Lights

Tap Tap Tap..anyone still here?

I can't believe it's been a year since I last posted. Although I've hopped on the FB train, there are still some things that are more suitable for a blog and I missed blogging!

Lots to catch up on, but for today I will showcase my latest yarn purchase via Etsy:

Twinkle Lights Sock Yarn from Play at Life Fiber Arts

I fell in love the moment I saw it! One of my favorite things this time of year are all the lights! I just need to decide what to make-fingerless mitts or socks? I'm going to knit a swatch and hopefully decide from there.

I've started a blog topic list so I know I've got some entries ready to go! Stay tuned!

Six Questions, Four Answers

I'm exhausted so I'll post my answers to an email that's been floating around my family and call it an entry.

1. Four places that I go to over and over:
Work, Grocery store, Internet, Crazy-LOL

2. Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
Mom, Bonnie, Knitting Group, SPAM,

3. Four favorite smells:
Coffee, Fresh cut grass, Lilacs, Clean sheets

4. Four places I would rather be right now:
On a beach, In front of a fireplace with snow falling outside, Traveling in Europe, Snuggled with my hubby

5. Four people I think will respond:
nobody responds, but I bet they read it!

6. Four current TV shows I watch:
The Office, Project Runway, Top chef, Gilmore Girls reruns

Dueling Cups

My caffeine fix gets addressed in a variety of ways, sometimes I make my coffee at home, sometimes I'll splurge and go to Starbucks, and sometimes I'll stop at McDonald's. This morning was a McDonalds coffee morning and I had to giggle when I received my coffee in one of their snazzy holiday cups.
Evidentally Starbucks isn't the only one coming out with seasonal red cups.

Have they always had their own red-holiday cups? Now I can get my festive cup at 2 places! Maybe I should buy a red mug to stay with the theme for my coffee at home! Pretty soon McD's will come out with seasonal drinks too! I guess imitation is the best form of flattery.

Knitting Content!

I figured since this is supposed to be a knitting blog, I'd better post some knitting content. I'm currently working on a second Sister Scarf using Alp Premier Novelty yarn. I made one for my younger sister and gave it to her last year and when my older sister saw it declared repeatedly she wanted one too. I'm slowly but surely finishing a second scarf. Luckily she doesn't know I'm making it for her so time isn't much of an issue although I'm ready to be done with it.

I also recently received the latest yarn club shipment from Scout's Swag and love it! It's called Mums Lite and I think it might want to become some Nutkin socks.



Finally, I've been going through a gray phase and couldn't resist buying some Frosted Ice wool from Giffordables. I really need to get back to spindling one of these days!

Return of my Scarf!

Last year (end of September 2008), I decided to join in on a Traveling Scarf project on Ravelry. The basics were to start a scarf in a fiber of your choice and pass it around a "circle" with each person in the group adding 3 - 4 inches in a yarn/stitch of their choice until it comes back to you (in about 5-6 months). Our group had 14 teachers in it from all over the country with a two week "turn around" time frame.

This was my starter section:

About 13 months (and some group drama) later my scarf finally made its way home to me.
I love it! And to know it was worked on by fellow knitters who teach makes it even better!

A closer look at the different sections:

Shopping Green

Today I decided to check out a new grocery store, Green Fields Market. DH and I watched King Corn a few days ago and I have to admit that several of the messages the movie made still haunt me. I was determined to look for/buy grass-fed beef and sodas not sweetened with high fructose corn syrup at least for 1 week.

Pros:

• Clean/Open set up
• Small (great for folks who don't want to navigate through 40 aisles to buy milk)
• Friendly, Knowledgeable staff-Great service!!
  
• Great bin collection (coffee, grains, candy, etc)
  
• Great collection of organic, Texas/USA products
• Environmentally friendly from the lighting to the lack of plastic bags; there is a definite effort to be as Green as possible.
  

Cons:

• Location (its a bit far for me to make part of my normal routine; I'd go back if I were in the area though)
• Small (not much of a selection compared to the stores I normally shop, although I was able to take care of my grocery shopping for the week).
• I spent a bit more than I normally would for groceries for the week (It was worth it to check it out and support them, but not on a regular basis-which is my reality)
• As much as I loved seeing the huge barrels of coffee beans, is it good for them to be so exposed to the light, air and other peoples hands?
  

I wish:

• Bigger bakery area-more items
• More ready to eat/heat type items (deli-type area: sandwiches, salads, soups, entrees)
• Coffee/Beverage bar-I was really thirsty and would have bought something to drink
  

It was a positive experience but not one with my current lifestyle I'd make as my Go To grocery store. DH and I will definitely enjoy our grass-fed beef (including an Akaushi beef steak), organic fruits and veggies along with our sodas sans high fructose corn syrup. I will go back and spend more time checking out all the goodies in their bins though-perhaps over Thanksgiving or Christmas vacation!