Amazingly Kim's 8 year old son is reciting this from memory! Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's, Christmas Bells.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till, ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The Carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said;
‘For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!’

Snow in December!

Snow doesn't occur here even every year and rare in December and even more rare the 15 inches we got Friday night and all morning Saturday. I think people being stranded at home this time of year is a good thing! A few pictures from my front and back porch. My VW Beetle is almost unseen! Our street has steep hills at both ends so this morning with the temps in the 20's last night we are unable to get out. It also hasn't been plowed which is good because the moron that plows puts all the snow against our cars. We have no homes across the street only a stone wall running the length of the street. Wouldn't it make sense to plow the snow against that instead of blocking all the cars? The guy just doesn't think. A flip of a lever would switch the plow the opposite direction. I hope they don't come.

From my hometown!
Norfolk, VA

The trouble with setting knitting aside and coming back to it months later is that if you're like me you might forget how you something. I have just ripped out the toe because it doesn't match. I must have changed the directions and of course neglected to write it down. The picture looks finished but you might see the tip of the DPN near the toe of the right foot. After this post today it is my frustrating goal to make my toes match!!!
This is a Drops Design from Garnstudio pattern 110-42 socks with star pattern and knit in their KARISMA merino superwash. I love their site with tons of patterns and many free.

A pair of 'Fetchings' for my other daughter-in-law. I knit them a bit longer on the wrist than written in the pattern. Paton's Wool. Pattern is at Knitty.com and from Summer 2006.

The reversible chevron scarf is finished. My son chose the colors for his wife. I think she will be pleased!

She Has Way to Much Freedom!

Esther

My Husband's New Business

Approaching retirement age why not finally do something you really enjoy? He's a big outdoor cook that started through leadership in Boy Scouts which he still does. Now he's got his own little outdoor restaurant serving Nathan's Hot Dogs and sometimes BBQ which is smoked all night in an outdoor grill. He sets up at different Roanoke, VA locations with permission from private business owners. They are now calling him to come to their places! We are waiting for Roanoke City to change ordinances/zoning to accommodate all area outdoor vendors in January.

The Starmore "Kinsale" is finished!

More that a few years in the making because of course I have knit many other things. I finally met a goal that I set to wear it on Thanksgiving. Wednesday night I was sewing seams. Just before putting it on I steamed the seams and I don't plan on doing any other blocking. I love it! The changes I made were picking up stitches for the sleeves. I did not want to sew in sleeves! Also, it was knit a little shorter. I didn't want the tunic length.
Now, for another Starmore pattern! And for those that hadn't read about this on my blog before it's called the "Kinsale" by Alice Starmore and can be found in her book, "Fisherman's Sweaters".

Can't go wrong with Koigu!

This is for my daughter-in-law for Christmas. It's a reversible kind of chevron pattern. I've posted about the pattern before when I made one for my sister with left over Koigu I had used to knit my Koigu Keepsake Shawl. The melon or salmon color isn't quite so dark as it shows here. My son/her husband chose the skeins.
Ravelry link to the project page and pattern.

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas when you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7

This wonderful quote was in an email entitled 'What is Love?' with answers from 4-8 year olds. Who knows but I think it's quite good and full of truth.

A hidden gold mine!!

A few days ago my dryer broke. It would run but not get hot. Since it's about 30+ years old I didn't think I should bother with repairing it. Checked Craigs list and saw one for $200 but a new one at Sears was $303. A local appliance store had used ones from $100. I had to think on all that. Then yesterday a friend called and she knew someone needing to get rid of one setting in an empty house. He'd sell it for $15! That's my kid of deal and it had to be newer than the current one in the harvest gold color!! What 1960's or 70's you think?

So .... my $15 dryer was delivered today. Delivered! White, clean and my favorite a Kenmore. I didn't even have to make arrangements for one of my sons to get it with their truck. I gave the guy $20 and still felt bad but we're currently strapped financially. Here's the fun part. When moving the old one we heard a very loud noise and thought it was rocks inside. We took the back cover off and found some pocket change. Gave it another shake and out comes more change. Turned it another way and here comes more!! After several shakes we ended up with $14.35. What a fun memory. All 5 of us standing around the dryer wondering how much would fall out next. You might want to go check your dryer!

A First!

After 4 years the persistent love of a Siamese has won. Nellie the greyhound has always tolerated her 2 cat siblings. Rosie the cat even follows her dutifully when we go for a walk on our street but Nellie generally ignores her. Now, things have changed!

This is a sweater I knit a couple years ago but had never taken any decent pictures. I have it in my projects on Ravelry but the lying on a table pic did it no justice. It's knit with Rowanspun Chunky. It's a very old pattern probably from the 70's-80's. It was shown just above knee length and worn with tights!! Yikes! I had a vision though and changed it up a bit. The buttons were a lucky find at the Goodwill on a worn out cotton sweater. I knew they would be perfect. It's one of those you want to wear all the time and I do.

The lyrics are simple and profound ..... listen!

Today's thrifting

I wouldn't normally think I needed this if I saw it in the store. But at a thrift store for $1.50 I needed it and it's never been used!! I knew what I'd do with it before I got it home too. It's not old of course and seems well made and sturdy. My KOIGU yarn will rest nicely in there.

Better than before....

I had to make another .... Apple Pie of course. This one better than the last. Taste is essentially the same but the first one was 'soupy'. I followed the recipe but the flour content of 2 TB. was not enough. My friend Jody at Gumbo Lilly advised me to increase the flour to 1/2 cup. Perfect! My lattice top might be prettier on the first one though.

ETA: Uh Oh! It was supposed to be 1/4 cup flour!! Well, it turned out anyway! I did stack it pretty high with apples and juices spilled in the oven. And it's making an awfully good breakfast this morning!

Wore my Paton's 'Must Have Cardigan for the first time today. I do love this sweater! This time of year it's cooler in the house than it is outside sometimes. It kept me warm all day! I'm glad I went with the two toned yarns. I love the 'rag' look. My changes to the sleeves and back seem to make the yarns work well together.

Tis the Season for Apple Pie

The Better Homes New Cookbook was my grandmothers and has sure come in handy for me many times. It's in a binder form which is really great when you're reading a recipe as you cook. I picked apples last Saturday. First Saturday in October is 'Stayman Day'. This is the first pie of a few I hope to bake this Fall. Not bad looking huh? Pastries are not my thing but I think I can handle a pie!

Salsa for Winter...

I had the afternoon to myself so I decided to be a bit constructive and can some salsa. This is a wonderful recipe for Smoked Pepper Salsa. I don't remember where I got it. I used to make it often. We love salsa!

12 or more chipotle peppers
6 lbs. canned diced tomatoes
whole bulb garlic
2 med onions
half bunch green onions
3 fresh jalapenos
4 tablespoons cumin
6 teaspoons oregano
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 cups white vinegar

Soak chile's in boiling water till soft, chop. (I used almost a whole 7oz. can of La Costena Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce because I couldn't find dried peppers today). Saute vegetables, add spices and tomatoes that have been chopped in a food processor. I left a couple cans as is when opened so it would be a bit chunky. Simmer 1 hour. Add vinegar. Simmer another hour. Can per directions for tomato products. (Water bath for 10 minutes)
I had a some tonight on a Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burger and some tortilla chips. Excellent!

Back to the ole Gansey....

Making some headway with my 'Kinsale'. An Alice Starmore Gansey. I didn't want to set in the sleeves so I did the math to pick up stitches at the shoulder. With a size 2 needle no matter how much I work on this it seems to take a long time to see some knitting done. It's knit with Rowan Wool/Cotton.
I WILL wear it this winter!

Bread Wrap

If you're a bread baker you just might need a nice Bread Basket Liner for your bread. It's a great pattern by Kellelynne Hedberg Riley, (Ravelry links) easy and fun to knit too. It's knit with Elann's cotton/linen yarn called Callista. It's shown here keeping cozy a homemade loaf of wheat/flax bread.

So much better than meat and potatoes!

Some nights the family just fends for themselves for dinner. Unfortunately they wouldn't eat this anyway! My dinner was red lentils with Israeli Couscous with cabbage and fresh from the garden chopped tomatoes. I seasoned it with curry, onion, garlic, kosher coarse salt and pepper. Homemade wheat bread, a little real butter and a slice of tomato. Very good and good for you.

Just finished this 'Lace Prairie Shawl' for my sister-in-law that is dealing with cancer treatments for the third time. I am hoping it sparks a bit of comfort. The pattern is in the book, Folk Shawls by Cheryl Oberle. It's knit in KnitPicks Shine Sport. I've knit it wool and the cotton is great too.

New/Old Lamp

I've been looking for a specific old milk glass lamp. Even though this is not the one I love it just the same. Even the shade is glass. I purchased it recently at an antique shop outside of Lynchburg, VA. This place was floor to ceiling and only paths to walk through and even sometimes turned sideways! One of those nice 'hole-in-the-wall' places. $25 less 20%

Not a good photo but a really fun thrift find. This is an old Avon perfume bottle. I had one when I was younger. Cats and yarn just go together don't they? I thought it suited me now and even better that it's empty! $.79

Happy Independence Day!

Another thrifty find....

Don't you love those 'hole-in-the-wall' type thrift stores along the side of a highway? My sister and I stopped at one last weekend. I've been looking for older Pyrex and found these. I imagine it was a 'nesting' set so I am missing the medium sized bowl. All washed up they look new! The large one was on a bottom shelf full of dirt and spider webs. The smaller one found in another section of the shop both were $6.50. ! The pattern is called "Butterfly Gold". Check here Pyrex Vintage Patterns and get hooked yourself!

Patiently waiting for a CD!!!

Better Pics of the sweater below....