Sunday, January 12, 2014

No Lunch For Me; Don't Want To Spoil Dinner

Sunday mornings are the best part of the week.  I feel like I have the whole world in front of me.  It inspires me (sometimes).  Today was a good Sunday; I was inspired to cook.

Well, cook might be a strong word.  I was motivated enough to go to the grocery store, Publix, because I wanted to make a pot roast.  Let me just stop right here and tell you that Publix is the best grocery store around.  I know they are more expensive than everyone else and I just don't care.  As long as I get twice-a-month paychecks, I'm shopping at Publix.  And also, as an aside, my main focus for going to the grocery was to buy eggs.  Yes, I should have walked out of Publix with a carton of eggs and a penny in change for my $2.00 splurge.  But that's not what happened.  This is Publix we are talking about.  It's just so darn clean and organized and all the displays are practically begging me to buy a week's worth of groceries. And the Buy One, Get One display?  I cannot avoid it.

So before I get the eggs, I had to go look at the roasts in the meat section, and then down to the produce section, where I pick up red potatoes, celery, carrots and onions.  While I'm there, I figure I'll get a few tomatoes and lettuce for a quick salad.  Then I remember we may need coffee creamer and, look, I'm at the yogurt section, where I toss in a few to treat as my dessert later.  I finally grab eggs, and then head over to the deli meats, where I grab some bacon for breakfast, said bacon being BOGO.  And orange juice, I must have it with breakfast.

Yep, I left Publix with seven bags of groceries, $62.00 lighter, and I didn't forget the eggs.

I finished my potato chip scarf.  It is better described as a ruffle scarf.  The name potato chip is because you can't make just one (and this is my second one).  The first time I used a cotton yarn in a nice mild red color, but I felt like the scarf was too flat.  This one was done in an acrylic sparkle yarn I got at Hobby Lobby.  Much better suited for the project.


I'm also working on a baby blanket - the shower is next weekend, but I am very confident that I can finish this in time.  I've made this baby blanket twice before.  This time I'm using a 50/50 cotton and acrylic yarn, held in double, and the blanket feels dense.  I love the feel of this yarn.  It's another Hobby Lobby yarn, Baby Bee Hushabye.  It's a gradient blanket so one color feeds into the next.


So, this Sunday, I've actually accomplished enough to make me feel like a productive member of society.  The slow cooker is on and my pot roast is cooking with all those wonderful vegetables.  The house smells great - dinner will be very good tonight.




Saturday, January 11, 2014

It All Comes Out the Same in the End

I had put off posting anything new because I was finishing the best knit work I have done to this point.  My Missoni inspired lap blanket.



It only took me a few months of evening and weekend knitting to finish.  I gifted it to my brother and sister-in-law because it reminded me of their style.  It's hard to tell firm this photo but the blanket is a pretty decent size.  I forgot to measure before I shipped it.  

I am  working on a baby blanket now.  It's got to be finished by next weekend so I am under a bit of pressure to finish in time.

Our holidays were very busy.  Mr. Grump's family was here with us over several weeks in November and December.  We were ready for them and decided a few weeks before (in September) to purchase new furniture for the living and dining room space.  Our house is an open floor plan and the living/dining/kitchen space all spill into one big space.  And since Mr. Grump sold the pool table, we knew we needed an actual dining table.

We bought a faux leather sectional, a dinning room table with six chairs (that was very uncharacteristically optimistic of me), a recliner for Mr. G., an entertainment center, and a chest of drawers for the bedroom.



We had a garage sale to get rid of our old micro-fiber couch and loveseat and the kitchen table.  I couldn't find a cute bistro set for the kitchen nook area so I went with a couple of chairs and a end table.  The chairs were purchased on Wayfair.com and they can serve as additional seating in the living area (which they did when we had all of our company).  Mr. G. spray painted the end table black and now it looks brand new.


We are holding steady with our three cats, Delilah, Macy and the Monk.  Everyone seems to be getting along as the house and back patio area are big enough for everyone to enjoy their own space without bothering the others.  Monkey does have her kitten moments when she is in everyone's face and the two older ladies just have to deal with her.

Macy

Delilah

Monkey, a/k/a The Monk, a/k/a The Monkatron
Speaking of the feline goddess, I have to go serve my masters by cleaning out the litter boxes.  If I told you how much time I spend researching kitty litter, you would want to slap me.  My favorite brand of litter changed their formula so I'm testing out some new stuff.  My biggest issue is the Monkey cat, who refuses to cover her poop and that sends me scrambling all the time to clean up because, no offense, but shit stinks.


Finding My Treasure

Now that my shawl is complete (yarn purchased during the Orange Blossom Yarn Crawl in March), it is just hanging out in my foyer until I de...