5 And A Beagle

Someone in the NV District Road Signage Department has a sense of humour. Whereas this used to be the standard warning sign that wildlife, specifically deer, can occasionally cross your path....
Here are a couple of the new signs designed to catch your attention...

There was another one with the silhouette of a rhino, but that sign was stolen before I could snap a picture of it.

(Check out the background - blue sky, snow free, dry roadways. Don't you wish you lived on the west coast? That is unless you actually do live on the west coast, in which case if you're like me, you wish you lived on the snowy northeast coast. Ah, the grass is always greener....)

No pictures of knitting (work in progress...sock number 5 for #5) because I'm just too lazy to take a picture and download it. Blame it on too much to eat over the last few days and too little energy. Perfect time to think up some new year's resolutions!

Look who made the front page of the local newspaper.
#5 and her friends, 'F' and 'J' out enjoying the lights and carols at the local gardens.

Last minute Holiday baking anyone? Go to Aunt Mary's Recipes for all of the recipes

Salami Dolce - Easy Peasy but check out the ingredients - why not just slap the butter right onto the thighs.

Rum Balls - The longer they sit, the better they taste.

Mince Tarts - Not a fan of mincemeat? Try these out. Especially tasty with homemade tart shells.

Cappuccino Shortbread - melt in your mouth goodies

Candied Pecans - Super easy peasy.

Merry Christmas everyone, and wishes for the year ahead to be full of good health and happiness.

I was tagged by Li of Life's a Stitch so here, for your viewing pleasure, is a picture of the spot where I do most of my knitting.


However, there are times when I can be found knitting in my office during lunch, knitting in the car while waiting for the light to change, (only at really busy intersections when I'm guaranteed to wait through 2 lights - don't report me as a dangerous driver) , or in the kitchen while listening to a podcast.

The sock in progress is now a complete sock anxiously waiting to see if it's partner can be made in the next 48 hours.

I was checking my sitemeter stats recently and thought maybe I'd missed some sad news about Julie Andrews. A quarter of all the recent visitors to this silly old blog have come upon it because of a google search for Mary Poppins/Julie Andrews. It seems if you do an images search for MaryPoppins felted bag, my post from September 18th comes up.

And since Julie Andrews is thankfully still alive and kicking, I can only guess people have been curious about a felted Mary Poppins bag.

So here for the curious, is the picture of the overly large felted tote that was written about back in September. (when the prospect of starting and finishing Christmas presents was a possible accomplishment)

After midnight and I've just come back from the local department store and the 'scratch and save' weekend. Can't beat 50% and 60% off. All presents are now bought and waiting to be wrapped. Well, almost all presents - there's still a few little things to pick up. Not to mention the socks to be knit.

I've lowered my expectations from 5 finished to a mere 2. Here's the first finished pair. Posing with our west coast snowmen. How I envy not only the beautiful knitting of Marina at Woolyewe, but also the backdrop for her photos.

The heal has been turned on the first sock of the second pair and I've taken to bringing it with me pretty much anywhere. I'm beginning to find value time in the seconds spent at stop lights.

I figure if I get the remaining socks done for Valentine's Day. After all, what says love more than a pair of handknit socks?? Not to mention it buys me almost 2 more months of knitting time.

Last Sunday I was out shopping with #5, filling any gaps in what she would need to pack for her 5 day trip to outdoor school. How can a girl who is about to embark on a trip to outdoor school be so concerned about whether her gloves match her jacket, whether her toque is pompom free and whether her boots match the gloves and toque? Her brother and sister, who have experienced outdoor school 6 and 3 years prior, keep telling her it's not about fashion it's about being warm and dry. But to #5, it's always about fashion.

We get back from the mall just in time to say hello/goodbye to #3 and his friend. As they head off down the driveway, #3 remarks on the fact that the shower downstairs seems to be having problems draining. I'm thinking I should take a look at it, but I get distracted as soon as I get in the door by the fact that #2 and #4 are busily cleaning the frontroom so that we can start on the decorations.

Thoughts of the shower drain went to the dark recesses of my holiday addled brain while I got out the pastry dough and started in on another batch of mince tarts. It wasn't until a few hours later, that #4 went downstairs and noticed the problem was bigger than just a slow drain.

The toilet was filled to overflowing as was the shower stall with the most disgusting sewer water. The tree, the tarts, everything was forgotten about as the air around the bathroom turned a shade of blue! What the ______!

Picture this, there I am plunging furiously to unclog what I think is a blockage in the toilet only to discover old faithful erupting in the shower stall beside the toilet. Then I run and grab a bucket and old cup and start bailing the disgusting water out of the shower stall and dump it down the laundry basin only to discover old faithful is still erupting. I throw towels on the bathroom floor to mop up the mess then throw the towels and bathmats into the washer only to discover that when the cycle goes to drain, the geyser in the shower stall erupts again. I think it was at about that time that I finally realized the connection between every blasted drain in the basement.

I turn off the washing machine and holler for my husband. (I was about to write that I hollered for #2, but really - I was surrounded by #2 if you get my drift) After much time spent bailing, plunging and mopping, we get the shower and toilet drained. At this time, the main concern for #5 is will she be able to have a shower before she has to leave in the morning. By that time I was quite willing to suggest she go outside and I would hose her down and she could consider that her pre-trip shower. It was nice to see though, that the other 2 kids banded together to look after the forgotten mince tarts and complete making the dinner.

A plumber was called in and with his trusty auger, it was discovered that the culprit was this a blasted root ball had formed and blocked the main drain to the sewer line.

It was only after #5 was assured that she could indeed have a hot shower, I was assured that I could finish the laundry and we were $192 lighter in the wallet, that we could joke about yule logs and root balls.

I had originally planned to take pictures of the mince tarts and post the recipe and #4 joked that perhaps I'd like to post recipes for Christmas Yule Logs and Rum Balls.

Finally, the camera my son has returned.

A picture of two socks knit with the yarn received from Bertha.

The left is the Lacy Scallop Sock from this site. I like the pattern, especially the tricot edge (which you can't see) that at one time meant having 9 needles on the go. But I think the combination of scalloping and patterning yarn is just too busy and one gets lost because of the other. Of course once starting the sock, I couldn't bail and rip it out. I had to finish it just to see if I might change my mind.

I didn't, therefore I didn't knit sock #2 using that pattern. The one thing I really liked about this sock however was the heel. It's a slip 1 knit 1 pattern that produced a nice thick comfy feel. So I decided to make a second sock entirely in this S1 K1 pattern.
So now it is decision time. Rip out the left sock or rip out the right.
Or wear two different socks.

As for the socks that are to be made in time for Christmas...one pair down, 4 pair to go.

There was a bit of a diversion this past Sunday. Stay tuned for Friday's post when I tell the tale of the Yule Log and the Root Ball (and no, it's got nothing to do with Christmas baking!)

I'm at a loss without a camera to document productivity, so here is what I've resorted to - finding my elf name


Sparkly Toes...I wonder if it has anything to do with my feverishly knitting socks. Obviously not so feverishly though, because I've only 1 and 1/2 socks completed out of 10. Definitely off track for the pair every 5 days. I've found it difficult to knit and bake at the same time.

3 dozen mince tarts - Check
8 dozen cappucino shortbread (recipe in June post) - Check
4 dozen chocolate pecan crisps - Check
Good hiding spot to keep baking away from hungry family members - No!!!
Looks like I'll be making a couple more batches of everything between now and Christmas.

#5's solution to the problem of everyone nibbling on devouring the baking is to make these goodies on a regular basis. That way when Christmas comes, they'll be tired of them and leave them alone. I don't think that would work for me, because after 12 months of baking some of these things, my hips would be twice the size they are now.

Somebody's turning 5 today.
Doesn't he look like he's had just a little too much champagne in the water dish?

On a knitting note...three quarters of the way through the first of ten socks. Yeeha!