be still my heart

The yarn store trip was good. First up is this

It is Berroco Alpaca. 50% Alpaca 50% wool. A silver grey with heathers of violet. It will become Dashing. At only $9.00 for the skein I could have gotten out of there with a project and change for a ten. But no....Then there is this

Mountain Colors. I have no idea what this will become. First time in my life I have ever bought a skein of yarn without a plan. This baby was a bit more expensive at $22.00 for 350 yards. Still a light yarn store purchase. And then there was this....

Oh my. It was hard to breath while looking at all of the glorious colors. The blogs are full of Fleece Artist goodness, but I had not seen it in person. It is worth every penny of the $27.00. 70% merino and 30% seacell. It is soft as butter, has a glorious sheen and makes me weak in the knees.



There is even a sock pattern on the ball band. What more could you ask for?

dashing

OK, time to pick the next project. I have ripped out more socks than I care mention over the past month and think that something else may be in order. Something small and fairly simple that does not use sock yarn. Dashing.

There is only one small obstacle in this plan. I do not have the yarn. Now I am aware that some of you may have more stash than you can talk about in polite company. That is not me. I have a small basket of sock yarn for maybe 1/2 dozen projects and that is it. I know, I know, how can I call myself a knitter?

Breakfast, another coat of paint on the bookcases and then it is off to the yarn store.

tighter than a lug nut

I seem to be doing just as much ripping out as knitting. My gauge has changed. Yarn I have used before is knitting up small. Last night I had to rip out Husband's socks. I have used the same yarn, same pattern, same size needles to make this pair before. Now, too tight. Could it be stress? That is the best guess right now. It makes me worried to cast on anything new. While I do not mind frogging, this is the third sock I have had to take out and I am getting a bit tired of spinning my wheels.

Then this arrived from Tan. MMMM Behold its lovely Lime and Purpleness. This stuff is gorgeous and I want to wind it and get started right now. Husband is still waiting patiently for his new socks. I keep having him try on socks only to have him watch me rip it out. This is not his color. Maybe I will let this skein live on my desk and pat it from time to time to remind me to loosen up.

delightful

A really great Passover Sedar. Worth every minute of research and doubt and worry. It just now occurred to me that I did not take a single picture. I guess I am not yet a real blogger.

Mousie smells more than ever. I had a very helpful comment from the last post. She had a similar situation and the smell lasted only a number of days. A week or so I can handle. I had a spicy water mixture simmering on the stove all day and it did a great job of masking the odor. It should be warm enough to keep the doors open tomorrow. I really do not want to start poking holes in the wall trying to find it. I will take it one day at a time.

Tomorrow morning I will head over to the Tree of Life Purim and Passover sale. I would like to pick up some more music and another sedar plate or two. It would be nice to have them spread out along the tables.

A really great night.

do you smell something?

Yesterday I took the time to knit a bit. This is the Retro Rib Sock from Favorite Socks. It is the 3rd pair I have knit with this pattern. The pattern is easy enough for baseball knitting and looks great. This particular pair is for Husband, to replace his old pair that is about to bust through the foot.



Louet Gems yarn, size 1 Knit Pick DP's.


The needles are new. I have not bought yarn from Knit Picks is quite some time. I know some people swear by them, but I have not been impressed. I did however want to give the Options Needles a try. I bought 3 sizes of tips and a couple of lengths. They have not yet been out of the package to play. The metal DP's are very different from my regular Crystal Palace Bamboo. Right off they are heavy. They are also pointy, which I really like, and because they are so smooth they make me knit slower and more loosely. Slow and loose is what is needed at this point in time.


Tan, blogger extraordinaire and peach of a gal, has some good Pomatomus tips on a recent post. If this sock is on your to do list ( isn't it on everyone's?) be sure to check it out.

Mousie update:

I think it died in the wall, in the kitchen, right next to my desk. The smell is not too bad, but it is noticeable when you are in that half of the room. Did I mention that I have 12 people coming for dinner this evening? If the smells from the oven do not mask the odor then some strategically placed candles will be in in order. Damn cat.

a little stress is not a good thing

OK, so maybe it is more than a little stress. Last night I was lying in bed, trying hard to sleep. I knew I had to get up early and get some work done. My heart was beating so hard and my breath was not at all relaxed. How did this happen?


Oldest daughter began a new quarter at college today. This afternoon we get a call to tell us her Anthropology class has been cancelled. Excuse me? You could not have called last week? This should be easy, just pick another class. Only she is officially a High School student, so all college classes have to be signed off by her HS Counselor. It is spring break for the HS!!!


This is the news that awaited me as I walked in the door this afternoon. So we had to head off to the college to try and figure it all out. Why yes, I did have other plans this afternoon. Could I move them? No. Just add it all in and begin a wish to make it all stop.


I just have to make it through the week. Things will be calmer next week. Where have I heard that before? Maybe it is time for a glass of wine.

Glass of wine finished, another begun....

Tonight's meeting went well. Many fewer people than usual. That was fine with me, done by 8:30. Only one snide comment. This person was sitting all the way at the other end of the room, but she made sure she said her comment loud enough so that I could hear, twice. Living well will be the best revenge.


No knitting news. Did not knit a stitch today. No noshing news, cooking begins tomorrow. This is what I picked up for the Afikomen prize. Did you know they made party packs of the plagues? I did not. I did run into a set of plague finger puppets. I did not pick them up at the time, but if they still have them Thursday morning during the clearance sale I just may.

How can something so cute be a plague?

I was planning on giving cash. that is what I received when I was a kid. Youngest Son talked to me about how he thought it would be unfair for one person to get a gift and no one else. Yes, he is that sweet. This way the finder can pass out the prizes to everyone. There are plenty of frogs to go around.

Sleep is coming on. Wahoo!

Lots of Knitting talk lately, time for some Noshing. Here is the menu for Passover. The people who are Kosher are vegetarians, the carnivores do not care about Kosher. That is why there is meat and dairy on the same menu.

Roasted Chicken and Root Vegtables - heirloom potatoes and parsnips and onions and a bunch
of braising greens
Potato Kugel – the real kind, with eggs and butter and cream. No low fat going on here.
Roasted Asparagus with a garlic sauce
Green Salad

Chocolate Macaroons
Passover candy
Hazelnut Torte

To snack on during the Haggadah reading:

Matzo crackers and salsa, - regular and mango
Nuts
Veggies & dip
Fruit & dip
Smoked Salmon spread

Because we go through so much wine (4 cups for each adult) I am asking 2 people to bring wine. I will also have a few bottles on hand, just in case. I am also asking for the Green Salad and the Hazelnut Torte to be potlucked. The rest I can handle without going crazy. I will need to spend most of that day scrubbing the house. I am always so nervous about the house. Why? Who knows. Maybe because we bought a fixer and it is still being fixed and nothing is how we would like it to be.

Husband requested Matzo Ball Soup. That is just too hard to serve to a small crowd so I think I will make that the day before. The Oldest Son requested a Pot Roast. None of the guests eat red meat, so that will need to wait until maybe the day after.

I have tried and true recipes for all of the above. If you are interested let me know and I will post them.