Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Ten on Tuesday

The Ten on Tuesday topic for 4/26 is 10 Ways to Save At the Grocery Store.

1)  Coupons - Sunday paper, online coupons, direct mail from company
2)  Sales Flyers - weekly store flyers
3)  Shop around - same item different store, different price
4)  Store brand - check out the store brands, usually cheaper
5)  Compare package sizes - price per use or price per serving
6)  In season produce - usually cheaper
7)  In season fruits - usually cheaper
8)  Local fruits and vegetables - neighborhood stands, farmers markets
9)  Buy larger packages when the larger sizes are on sale or at the warehouse stores - split with friends or freeze for the future
10)  Stick to your list.

Bonus 11) Try growing some vegetables at home, little original $ output, no pesticides, fun to do.  We grow different types of lettuce, green peppers and tomatoes.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Ten on Tuesday

I'm in the pink.

The Ten on Tuesday topic for 4/19 is 10 Things You Love About Your Family.

1)  The Lake - my parents have a cottage at a lake and as a child (thru high school) I spent every summer hanging out by the water.

2)  VT - I have relatives in VT and also spent lots of time on a dairy farm which was very different than CT.

3)  Puzzles - we used to do puzzles all the time.  For a few years, my sister and I used to give them to each other as gifts and start them right after we got them (as soon as dinner was done and the table was clear, the puzzles came out).  We would spend hours gathered around the table doing puzzles.

4)  They don't mind the animals I tend to collect which now includes 3 cats and a Goldfish.

5)  Weekly dinner - once a week we all gather for dinner, my parents, me, my sister and her two kids who are now 20 and 22.

6)  Supportive - they are there when we need them, whether its an ear to listen to a problem, money to loan when it's needed or to just quietly sit there and not say a word.

7)  They put up with the large yarn and fiber stash and try not to complain too much about the space it takes up.

8)  Holidays - always know where we will be on a holiday, with family and sometimes friends of family members also are welcomed to join in.

9)  Craftiness - my father likes to build things (we describe what type of bookcase, few weeks later we have it), my grandmother made crochet afghans and baby items, my mother knit but mostly now does embroidery.  My sister and I knit.

10)  They are there when I need them.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Ten on Tuesday

The Ten on Tuesday topic for 4/12 is 10 Favorite Snacks.  I don't even have cake on my list but it was the only picture I could find.

I am a snacker and have snacks every day.  Some are at work and are healthy.  The ones at home are sometimes not so much.  These are not a daily thing, well not all of them. 

1)  A Flurry - it comes from Les' which is like a Dairy Queen but a local shop.  My favorite is Chocolate ice cream with Reese's Peanut Butter Cup candy mixed in.  They are open from March to October and I sometimes have one a few times a month.  Then I will forget about them and not have any for a few weeks and then I get hooked again.  I usually get it on a weekend and it is an around 3pm snack.

2)  Schwans Ice Cream Bars - vanilla ice cream with a chocolate coating.

3)  Hershey Kisses - plain milk chocolate ones

4)  Double Chocolate Milano's

5)  Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

6)  Cheerios - I eat them as a snack at night

7)  Smoothies - Have to work on making better ones myself.  I bought a new smoothie maker and have the ingrediants in the freezer, need to test it out one weekend.

8)  Pirates Booty and Veggie Booty - when I am in the mood and have been to Whole Foods where I usually get them.

9)  Vanilla Wafers - sometimes on a weekend, I just crave these.  During the week, I don't.

10)  At work, an apple, a banana, a package of 100 calorie snack chips ahoy cookies.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Annis FO

Here's my Annis from Knitty in some Classic Elite Alpaca Sox in the Viola colorway.  A very fun knit.  It's hard to see the beads on it and was hard to get the color to photograph correctly.  This is close.  These short rows were much easier after doing them when knitting Caireen.

The Monkey Bread Scarf is now blocking.  Lunch knitting will become the matching hat.  I think it is going to be too small so I ordered 2 more skeins and will also make it again with larger needles when this one is done.  The cardigan is slow going, I ended up with just one buttonhole and will save the extra button for something else.  I have been so tired at night that I have only been doing about 2 rows a night. 

I plan to start a childs vest out of some Tahki Safari that I had stashed to make for my niece (I think).  She's now 22 so that won't work out but I do know a 5 year old that will probably like it.  Should be a quick knit.  I searched through some old patterns last week to find it as I knew I had it all stashed away.  It is fun to look through the old books and there are some sweaters that I now need to look at again to see if something in the stash would work.  I also took 2 more yarns out of the stash for near future knitting. 

The spinning wheel is upstairs now in the dining room, I need to dust off the bag it's in and maybe set it up next weekend.

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Ten on Tuesday

The Ten on Tuesday topic for Tuesday 4/5 is 10 Favorite 1 Hit Wonders.  Ok, I had to do a search and then recognized some and played them to come up with my list.  I found the list I used at One Hit Wonder Central.

1)  Tainted Love by Soft Cell
2)  Cars by Gary Numan
3)  I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow
4)  Hooked on a Feeling by Blue Suede
5)  Funkytown by Lipps, Inc.
6)  What's Up by 4 Non Blondes
7)  No Rain by Blind Melon
8)  I Know There's Something Going On by Frida
9)  All Right Now by Free
10)  Just A Friend by Biz Markie

Sunday, April 03, 2011

Strangle Me FO

Here's my Strange Me cowl from the Criminal Minds knitalong group on Ravelry.  The pattern also includes mitts and a hat.  I think I will stop with the cowl, I don't really like my colors.  It will probably get donated next winter along with some other knitted items I have hanging around.

I finished Annis and it is blocking.  Lunch knitting is still the Monkey Bread Scarf.  Today, I started the Monkey Bread hat and Gilet court d`'ete cardigan.  I decided against the orange for the cardigan and instead cast on with some Purple Cascade 220 Heathers.  I just did the beginning rows which included a 3 stitch one row button hole that I kind of did my own way after sitting with a technique book open and trying it twice.  I am going to do two button holes as I bought the last 2 buttons they had at the LYS and they should match perfectly.

I dropped off the Little Girl Shrug to the grandma at the LYS yesterday and grandpa delivered it while I hung out and shopped.  The little girl picked it up and held it up to herself.  She's tiny so it should fit her next summer.  I will probably make her another sweater out of the orange I have left.