Pickleskin rug!!!

He does this randomly all around the house. PICKLESKIN RUG!!!!



So as if to prove my techmuhnological impairment, I screwed with my blog and lost all my links (and holy shit you'd think I'd have learned from Nana by now huh?) and all my side bar stuff. I recovered my blog links, but haven't gone through and redone everything else. Maybe I won't. Maybe I'll keep 'er clean. Slackers unite, like tomorrow maybe ok?

I have to say I really do have the cutest terriers in the world. As if to prove it have a look. Hey Moms! We aren't up to anything, nope.. not us!

I LOVE MY GAY DOGS! Or maybe they are just exploring.. I won't judge, just celebrate their love.

Now I took a picture of the slipper on.. it is so comfy! And fast. Did I mention fast? Cause it was sure fast. In fact, it took longer for them to dry than to make them.

Socks of the unknown yarn. I'm calling them ribsy because like they are ok? They don't look like much off, but on, NICE! Just a hair away from being done number one.

I have a bunch of sock yarn I'm DYING to knit up but am forced to wait for my Knitpicks order of super small needles to get here as I am a knitting hussy. LOOSE ok? I also got the Elann update and there is some yarn coming on Oct 16th that is positively calling me. I have a hankering for a sweatshirt gray sweater this fall. Something super soft and snuggly (which seems to be the word of the week yes?) to pull on.

Stay warm kittens, its gonna be a chilly weekend I think.

Whoosh!

And there they are. Finished. I hand felted them in the sink, took about 10 minutes. Now if only they were dry.

Wait .. what?

I am going to shock people I know with this statement. The best cookie I have ever made is a VEGAN recipe. Fall down dead now my bacon loving friends, yes I the lover of all things animal (mmm tasty) have seen the vegan light. Hahahaha.. now don't you worry, I certainly am not changing my ways, just opening up to the possibilities that not everything needs to be made with butter, eggs, cheese or bacon.*

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies Submitted by Isa
prep time: 15 minutes cooking time: 32 minutes makes 4 dozen cookies
These are soft out of the oven, but as they cool they are nice and chewy. They are a serious crowd pleaser, for crowds with taste buds. Note: I use flax seeds because they make the texture a little chewier, but I've made them without and they're still good!
Equipment:

baking sheets

2 mixing bowls

Ingredients

2 cups flour

1 1/3 cups rolled oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 2/3 cups sugar

2/3 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons molasses

1 cup canned pumpkin, or cooked pureed pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla

optional: 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1/2 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Have ready 2 greased baking sheets.Mix together flour, oats, baking soda, salt and spices. In a separate bowl, mix together sugar, oil, molasses, pumpkin and vanilla (and flax seeds if using) until very well combined.

Add dry ingredients to wet in 3 batches, folding to combine. Fold in walnuts and raisins.Drop by tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets. They don't spread very much so they can be placed only an inch apart. Flatten the tops of the cookies with a fork or with your fingers, to press into cookie shape. Bake for 16 minutes at 350.

If you are using two sheets of cookies on 2 levels of your oven, rotate the sheets halfway through for even baking. You'll have enough batter for 4 trays.Remove from oven and get cookies onto a wire rack to cool. These taste best when they've had some time to cool and set. They taste even better the next day

Things I changed (either out of preference or necessity)

I used 2/3 cup of applesauce instead of oil.

I didn't add the flaxseed (didn't have it or I would have).

Used 1/2 sugar, 1/2 splenda granulated (ran out of sugar and hey it saved a buttload of calories) Used 2 tsp of cinnamon and 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice, no nutmeg.

I would add more cinnamon next time, but I am a freak like that.

I also didn't have any nuts on hand so used 1/4 cup of Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips Next time I'll use more in addition to the raisins.

These bad boys run about 43 calories apiece and I got 59 cookies out of this batch. Holy hell they are fantastic.

I found them on this site:

http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=187

It doesn't look like its been updated in ages, but the recipes look GOOD! Go forth and veganise your cookies my friends. Now I am going to try a vegan cupcake recipe for sure. :)

KNITTING KNEWS (oh god I am so sorry) Knit these up yesterday. Will felt in sink today and report back. Again, knit out of necessity as I have no slippers. Used Patons SWS in Natural geranium, and just kinda winged the pattern. Cellphone for size reference and please note my Hello Kitty charm/bell because I love my inner 13 year old girl.

Yesterday we made like babies and headed out to Best Buy to get Halo 3. In fact I'm gonna tell ya'll a little secret, my husband went out the night before at midnight but the lines and the cold dissuaded him from indulging his inner geek.Ah well... anyhoo.. to Best Buy right. He got his game and even a free tshirt and camo headset YEEHAW!! Get home, plug in the most anticipated game ever (I have never know Chris to go on opening day and buy a video game. NEVER) and guess what?

RED RING OF DEATH. (oh noes!)

If you aren't an XBOX 360 slave this will mean nothing. If you are you know. Major boo hoo. Well XBOX is sending us a new unit (thankfully) and I guess the GAME OF THE CENTURY will have to wait. The customer service guy was really lovely, so Chris is just happy that a new one will be here eventually.


Here's some yarn porn for you all.. I'm a sad sad woman huh?




*But realistically most everything is made better with the addition of these ingredients. Like most movies would be made better with zombies in them. Who knows, Armageddon may have been watchable with the addition of zombies. Or not. :/

Less is more.

I am sitting in my kitchen with the heat cranked (the ground was covered in frost this am. Pickles was scared of it HAHA!), on the laptop, just finishing my latte (gingerbread with some cinnamon thanks) thinking about how much I love my little house. Really. I know that there are lots of folks out there who can't understand how three of us (and two terriers of fury) can share such a small space and not kill each other. Hey, sometimes I agree wholeheartedly (and would indeed LOVE just one more toilet in the house) but you know, I am gonna have to say the smaller life suits me just fine. Less house to clean, less house to heat, less space to fill. This is not to say I don't have lots of crap, because oh boy I do, but if I had a bigger place, the possibilities of crap would be overwhelming to say the least.

I think a smaller footprint is what works for us. Its not to say when we are driving out in the burbs I don't sometimes look at the McMansions and think Ï wonder what it would be like to live in a house where I couldn't instantly know where Chris or Jake is? Or have a room that no one else ever goes in, or you know 2 toilets but I digress.. I do wonder this. Then I realise we are driving less (in our little KIA Rio) as we are closer to everything. We are consuming less space, conserving in our small ways. Paying someone to come collect our recycling cut down on our garbage by 75%. Most weeks we have one bag. We have fluorescent bulbs in our fixtures, and use Bio degradable cleaners. I know its not a whole lot but it makes me feel like I am doing a tiny bit.

Well enough proselytising, here's some socks I finished last night. They are super snuggly, as the spiral rib around the ankle is wonderful for chasing away the chill that is Fall around here. I could actually hear the leaves falling off our next door neighbours tree this am. It was like rain.

Colinette Cadenza in Florentina. I think I used a 2.5 mm needle but will have to check on it. Pattern is my own but I think it will be available soon.. (all part of my Master Plan mwaaaa haaaaa!) just keep your eyes on this space.

I have rediscovered my love of cooking this last week. Hearty things and tasty treats. I can't believe I lived without a Kitchen Aid for so long! I made some yummy pumpkin muffins with Ghiradelli chocolate chips, a fabtastic veggie soup, some bitchin' (my Dad loves bitchin' meatloaf) mealoaf and various other yums. Something about the oven being on in the middle of the day is comforting yes? Whats your favorite thing to cook when it gets chilly?

Enhancement

When does Stash Enhancement stop feeling so good? Probably never right. Oh well.. When its hot stuff like this, should I care? The delovely Morgan was pretty damn pleased with the giving of a sweater and rewarded me thusly. MOAR STR! This time in the medium weight. Velvet Moon its called and having just washed my first STR's (in the machine!) they just got softer and slightly fuzzier and OMG YUMMIER.

Now some mystery yarn. There is no tags on it, no idea what the heck it is besides pretty. I reckon I'll have to do some testing to see if its super wash or?? Any ideas on what it is out there?


Mama E's Softee Sock. I have to tell ya'll, this is the nicest feeling Mama E's I have felt. No weird fuzzy, just soft soft soft. Hence the name huh? Durrr..


And finally the Harmony from Zen Strings. Going to Morgans is like going to the bestest yarn shop ever. All different brands for you to touch and ogle. Plus the hostess is hot. And did I mention fun? Goes without saying. :)


I also got a little Koigu action on the side from a sweetheart pal with a pink aversion. Matching skein coming soon from another lovey. I have such fantastic friends.


I did have to do a little enhancing on my own too... Colinette Cadenza that I fell for head over heels at a LYS. I am really losing it here.

Finally you didn't think I'd post without some more socks to show off did you? Knit Picks Tweed from the superfantastique Knitting Grammy! Oh Nana.. purple socks just like Donny Osmond.

We had an exciting weekend full of Vet Trips (GROSS STUFF better not mentioned here. Or anywhere) productivity and exciting-ness. Things are moving so quickly, I have to remember to slow down and take a breath. Like tonight. For UFC FIGHT NIGHT. YAY!!! And there is a PPV this weekend.. that is sure to make me stop for a minute.

New Beginnings and a tail of woe

Poor Pickles has had rough a time of it lately...

First he got fixed, then tattooed (not even cool one by Kat Von D), then micro chipped (no privacy left in this big brother world)! When he got home he had a staple pulling at some skin so he ripped one of them out and had to go back to get RE-STAPLED and how traumatic was that?

Now he has to suffer the indignity of wear a cobbled together onesie (Dr T HATES cones, he thinks they are inhumane and a last choice, and after seeing how well Pickles does with the cobbled together onesie I have to agree, this is a way better alternative!) to stop him from pulling out more staples/licking himself crazy, now he has to see Max laughing at him all the time.


You can totally see the smirk Max is hiding can't you?


But now Max is kissing him all better. In fact they have spent a lot of time kissing this last couple of days. Chris thinks its because they have the stink breath and like it, I prefer to think of it as a sign of affection. I'm sure Chris is right. :)


So on Monday I had some big decisions to make, one of which involved quitting my job. I have some really cool things in the works so think good thoughts for my new endeavours. Exciting times lay ahead...

Get down with the Sickness

Because apparently it is a sickness. This sock thing that is. Oh honestly.. I have it BAD too.. even Pickles thinks so.

Short socks for Chris out of Mission Falls Superwash. Hurray stash buster! These even felt like cheating cause they only took a couple of hours. NICE!


Now socks for me. Shibui sock (my new favorite!) and these only took a few days too.

And oh ho, thanks to the Knitting Grammy I am on to (yet) another pair!

This Knitpicks Tweed is AMAZINGLY soft and yummy to work with. Like WOW! WIPEOUT! Oh Nana.. you rock my (haha!) SOCKS!

So in the pursuit of happiness, this weekend led me and DANA THE ENABLER to hunt out more Shibui. While she was able to resist the siren call I alas. was not so lucky. Or maybe I AM the lucky one...

Like come ON! These are so silly.. OH YEAH!

Those ones up there are destined to be my CrAzY (Loser) socks. As for the beauteous blue ones beneath, Chris will have some more hand knitted goodness.

This morning I took Pickles into the vet to become like all Mars Bars made in Canada.. NUT FREE. haha. Max was none too impressed that Pickles got a car ride without him, but I think he'll understand when he gets back from the vets. And I'm sure will be laughing at him the whole time. Poor Pickle pants! Max is at a bit of a loss without him here, but is enjoying a much deserved rest.

Victory of Da Feet (groan)

Well well well...





So really, how stupid easy was this? Toe up, Turkish cast on (LOVE!) short row heels, and VOILA! You got a sock. Do another. YOU HAVE A PAIR. Who knew? It took a few hours each, (and probably would have been shorter if I hadn't been trying to watch a movie that scared the shit out of me about killer dolls which caused me to drop some random stitches and pick up other random ones. Note to self.. never knit while trying to cover/ing your eyes . Durr. Sorry about the craptacular photos, I now understand the lamentations of sock picture takers eveywhere.




Socks that Rock (and I take back everything I said about this stuff.. and really regret trading away the blue colourway now) heavyweight. in Purple Rain. I have enough for another pair! WOW! 50g a sock is pretty smack on. On the needles now and pair for Chris using up some Mission Falls Superwash in 3 different colours. I've had to rip them out a couple of times (yes you need the foot there to try it on) but I'm so happy about the Turkish cast on, I just DON'T CARE!


Pickles is back from the groomers and I am kinda sorry I clipped his long locks off. Not that he isn't cute, but he looks so grown up. BUT his fur is so ridiculously soft I can't stop petting him. He has had a few slips these past nights and had an accident or 2 in our room, so we will be a little more conscious about when he eats. It had been getting a little slipshod (my fault) and I need to be more aware of it.


He is still our 6.30 am wake up call. Which apparently can really tire a puppy out.