Will Enter Contests for Yarn

(image from the Telegraph UK, cause i'm an invalid right now)

so my friend Ali (hello Lady!) over at skeinsherway is having a recipe contest in honor of Thanksgiving. The prize is Blue Sky Alpacas yarn. uh, YAH, sign me up! Go on over and check it out after you've checked out my entry.

Cranberry Amaretto Sauce (i know, seriously)
Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients: 1/4 cup butter or margarine

1 (12 ounces) package fresh cranberries

2 cup granulated sugar

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup amaretto

2 Tablespoons orange marmalade

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

Preparation:Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add cranberries, sugar, and lemon juice; stir well to combine. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes or until cranberries begin to pop. Remove from heat; stir in amaretto, marmalade, and lemon rind. Serve with pork or turkey.

Just for Fun:
and IF I ate sweet potatoes, I would try making them like this:
3-4 fresh sweet potatoes-sliced lengthwise
1/2 stick of butter-real
2-3 generous splashes of olive oil
S&P-light sprinkle salt, a bit more pepper
1-2 cloves of garlic-fresh; crush then mince or chop
1-2 dashes of clove-ground
1-2 dashes nutmeg-ground
(you could use fresh chopped/grated ginger instead of nutmeg)

Toss ingredients in a large bowl. Spoon complete mixture into baking dish w/lid (or, if you must-tinfoil). Bake @ 375/400 degrees for about an hour or so. Check them for preferred tenderness(or mushiness). Bake longer if necessary. In the last 15 minutes, uncover and place back in oven. Bring to table and serve. You could also coat w/mixture and lay them out on a baking stone to bake like fries.

Can you tell I'm very experimental when I cook? I do use recipes. Usually when I'm baking. You need a bit more accuracy with baking. I really enjoy making things up on the fly and testing them out and seeing what works. I'm also trying to learn more about foods, spices, etc so I can be a bit more accurate in complimentary flavorings. Combining opposites is always fun too. I like to awaken the taste buds and confuse them a bit. I'm very much an 'outside of the box' person. Not out of rebellion, but out of sincere curiosity. See, now I'm curious as to what my recipe would tast like. hmmmm, I sense a trip to the grocery store coming on...

Good Things Come...

to those who wait right? you see, I received my new toy yesterday, but on Tuesday night, I fell off a step stool at work and landed on my tailbone/lower back. It was a cement floor, I was on the second rung, I stepped down and missed the first one and went for a ride on the excrutiatingly painful express (still gripping the aluminum ladder). I'm sure it was quite comical to see. Most falls are. Although, I do hope it's not YouTube worthy...

As time went on the pain intensified. I was able to get to the chiropractor and after a painful massage, he went to work. The adjustment was quite painful even though I can take a lot. My clavicals needed adjustment~ouch! I highly recommend being nice to your collar bones.

ETA: It's Monday now and I've been mostly a very sore invalid. As you can see, I'm just getting to posting this. I am going in again today for an adjustment and hope it will last longer. Please say a prayer for me? thanks.

ttfn,
traci

Goody Goody Gumdrops!!

i am SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited! really! but first, we should go back to the beginning of the story...*(queue funky flashback music a la Wayne's World: deedle-e doo, deedle-e doo)*

awhile ago, in a small, bustling town not far from the Mississippi River, a *thirty-something that looks like a twenty-something* girl sat at her desk working on her computer. (now, when i say 'sat' i mean to imply 'with pain'. you see, her desk chair is really cool looking but has no cushion. well, that is to say it has a cushion but the cushion wasn't working very well-at all.) oh how she longed for a comfortable place to put her ample bottom!
it was common to find her staring off somewhere, visualising what a wonderful sensation it would be to have a soft place for her derriere. all too quickly, however, she would be jolted back to reality by pains that shot up her back and the popping sounds of her joints going back into place as she repositioned herself.
now, here i should mention the previous discription is only *slightly* embellished to give the reader a keener sense of the agony our heroine was suffering. after all, one must properly give adequate detail to form a deep relation and compassion between the reader and the one being read about so as to keep the proper amount of attention. let's move on, shall we?
as i was saying, there i was with a pain in my bum due to the junky cushion i was sitting on when i worked on the computer. it was giving me serious back problems. so i asked my hubby about getting a laptop so i could at least sit on the couch. well, gas was 40$/gallon, milk 12$/gal and don't get me started on that tangent...in a nutshell, it wasn't budget busting worthy. drat!

*(fast forward to this week: schoomp)*
gas: $1.75/gal (WoO hOo!!)
milk: $3.50/gal
nutshells: unknown

our budget is back on track so my sweet, adorable honey says, "I think we can afford to get a laptop. We should order one."
*(pan across room to see theblondeknitter's reaction)*
*(husband rushes over to administer CPR to passed out theblondeknitter)*
*(theblondeknitter comes to and sweetly replies)* : sure.

ok, ok, i guess i should mention that in between there was a fair amount of begging, bargaining, complaining, grumbling, and the like to get my own way. BUT, i always stopped when honey said 'no'. sometimes he just waited longer to say it. and sometimes, it took longer to hear it.

so, all that to say, i'm getting a laptop and it will be here soon, and i will definitely post pics to show her off!!

p.s. i LoVe my wonderful, generous, sweet, kind, handsome, gentle, thoughtful, fabulous, stupendous, loving, tall, intillegent, i'm sure there's more husband!

For You Stash Voyeurs

Q: Isn't it nice when others share photos of their stash with people who will really appreciate it?
A: YES! so I am. or is it so am I? hmmmm...

these are the latest additions to my ever-growing stash pile (cheshire cat-like grin). meet my BSA worsted *NKOTB in green, purple, cranberry, chocolate, rusty and red. these colors are just fabulous. i had a hard time getting the color just right and i can tell they're still not perfect. they're very vibrant and man is this yarn soft! i have big plans for you, my new pretties...big plans...

*extra points if you read this and got it without thinking about it or needing to reread it!

Finished Fetchings

Blue Sky Alpacas recently came out with their Skinny Cotton so of course, I NEEDED some. I had been wanting to make a pair of fingerless gloves and cable work had already begun lulling me to her, so I figured Fetching by Cheryl Niamath would be a good place to jump in.

I cast on for the first and fell in very deep like. Easy cables, great yarn, perfect cherry red color...what more could a girl want? I admit, I got distracted (again) so these could have been done sooner. Life just seems to blow in and take over and alas, knitting seems to be a casualty.

I dare say I'll make another. I've received a lot of compliments on them already and my boss has even commissioned me for a pair~of course I'll oblige. In the meantime, I'll be working on a few other little goodies as the weather cools off more and more. brrrr...At least I'll know my close rellies will be warm this year!

Peek-A-Blue

I see you!

my last post reminded me of these pics I took of a one Mr. Bluejay who decided to come over and play. he was a bit shy at first, as you can see, but it didn't take long for him to get over that. he dove into the piles of leaves making crunching noises as he went. i'm pretty sure he had a good time, even if he's not showing it readily!

even though we live 'in town' we still get our fair share of 'wildlife' (other than the neighbors). as much as we want to get some land some day, I must admit I am having a great time while we're here!