Now they tell me!

Just when I decide to make a turkey for Thanksgiving this year after 20 years of not, I find THIS.
The recipes sound enticing....but I like having a table with food grown near us (Northeastern US).

What do you think? What are your favorite Thanksgiving side dishes?
Do you include ethnic foods, family favorites?

colors of summer

Yarn delivery to The Spinning Room

4th of July cupcakes made by Crafty Girl

One of the Bocce ball sets we played with on the 4th, with friends.

We had such a great time. If I even were to start talking about Tall Son's girlfriend, I would do nothing but gush...so let me just say that we love her. Beautiful, smart, sweet, funny. Aside from that, she knows how to spin on a drop spindle, and she knits, too...

If you don't hear from me much over here, it's because of this.

I hope you are surrounded by friends and family at least some of the time this summer!

what's new with you?

Over here, we have lovely company for the holiday weekend: Tall Son's girlfriend is visiting, and my sister-in-law is here, too!
I have a few days off from work and dyeing yarn, Knit Night is moved this month to next Thursday. I hope you are all well and knitting away on a project wherever you may be.

Happy Fourth of July weekend!

happy holidays

Yesterday, as we were going over the river and through the woods by New York State thruway, to Syracuse, I kept pondering what I might say to you here, about this holiday. I sat in the back seat with Crafty Girl, Tall Son was driving, DH co-piloted. I was knitting (a gift that still needed to be finished on the way). We were hollering chistmas songs and carols, from "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas" to "Frosty the Snowman" to "Jingle Bells Rock" and "So this is Christmas". (Dear Husband had made this crazy compilation CD.)

I took pictures all day, of snowy roads and my sister-in-law's cozy home. All of us together. None of which I will post right now, except for the one above, because I am getting this feeling that none of them really captured what the day felt like...especially since there was so much sincere gratefulness. It was apparent when some jaws dropped over an unexpected gift; it was obvious when the kids, who are growing up so fast, reached over with open arms and gave hugs of thanks. Food was abundant, as were the cookies.

Kids, grandparents, good food, christmas distilled. I could say it was one of those really good ones, that I want to remember for a long time, and I will. But there is something else I am trying to get at. It wasn't just that we managed to get the right gifts. This past year, we had all gotten together more often than usual, and had celebrated other milestones. My parents had been here (let's not talk about my homesickness at this point); we had a graduation and then a son sent to college; my niece turned 16 right after she got her appendix out - she is well; and a fine young lady. My other sister-in-law lived through a hurricane that blew through Houston. My mother-in-law also had had a little surgery to take care of some things, and she is fine. All this passed and we were there for each other, calling and making sure; getting together when possible. Getting together for this holiday was a coming together and an appreciation of each other.

Maybe it's always been like that, and I am just now waking up to it. Hopefully you had somewhere to be, or you had folks over to your house, and you got that hug, and someone looking at you with sparkle in their eye and saying "Thank you!!"

To all of my family and relatives in Europe, I miss you terribly and I do wish I could be in two places at once.

black friday??

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a dynamic, vibrant person. You aren't afraid to pursue your passions. When you are happiest, you are calm. You appreciate tradition and family. You enjoy feeling cozy. You prefer change to come slowly. You need a long transition period when your life changes. You find abundance to be the most comforting thing in the world. You love shopping and having nice things. Your ideal day is active and full. You like to keep busy with your favorite things, and you appreciate a routine. You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

http://www.blogthings.com/theautumnquiz/">The Autumn Test

Ok I lifted this from a friend's blog, for something silly to do on the so-called Black Friday.

Funny thing is, if I truly were to love shopping like it tells me, I'd be out there, shopping, wouldn't I?? Ha! Instead, I am home, knitting Christmas presents, and visiting blogs while I listen to my kids talking to each other upstairs. My next to most favorite day other than Thanksgiving is the day after, when all the work is done, the house still reasonably clean, and leftovers allow you to cut yourself some slack with the cooking.

I hope you are all able to enjoy the day.

The weather here is nice but cool, and I might be tempted to go for a walk in a little while.

PS: I am really bad with the html and I am not sure where the link went to the autumn quiz.

The blog I found it on is here: Our Wee Farm .

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are celebrating this holiday today. Since living in the United States, it has always been my most favorite holiday: good food, family, friends, warmth, pies, and no gifts! Safe travels to everyone who is out there going from one place to another.

I'll be making an apple pie in a little while. Since we have been vegetarians for the last 20 years, there is no turkey in our oven, which frees the oven up for all kinds of other goodies! Here's our menu:

Stuffing

Mashed Potatoes

Vegetarian Gravy

Baked Sweet Potatoes

Roasted Green Beans with Garlic and Olive Oil

Roasted Butternut Squash with Maple Syrup

Homemade Cranberry Sauce

Corn Casserole

Apple Pie

An abundant table for which we are extremely grateful.

Here's a link to some artwork : food for thought : for you, if you like.

Happy Fourth!

More company came last night. One sister-in-law, and my parents-in-law. We are having a nice relaxing Fourth of July, the cook-out already behind us, now waiting to go to the fireworks.



Tomorrow, we will have more company! Another sister-in-law and her husband and our niece.

We are having a graduation party for Tall Son (High School) and Crafty Girl (Elementary School).

Next week, after all the in-laws have left, I have off from work and will go on a few day trips with my parents. I may not get to blog much.

I hope your summer looks somewhat like this:

TTFN!

Happy Mother's Day!

This year for Mother's Day, I thought I'd send you lots and lots of flowers.
First, some tulips from the 60th Tulip Festival:

From my place to yours:

Enjoy your day, whether you're a mom, or not! (If you've ever made a difference in the life of a child, you deserve recognition.)

if you're interested...

I am not sure. I can't tell, as I have gotten no feedback from any of you...makes be a bit sad...thank you to Ellen for writing.

Here's the link to the blog of the person who had posted the updates about Tibet to ravelry. Her name is Joy.

You may go there and get the updates as you see fit.

My knitting is still on the back burner, though I am this close to finishing the Ski Lodge Scoop. I sure could use it tomorrow, as Easter is so very early in the year. And it's freezing cold out.

Ed.:
Thank you so much for your feedback -- it helps me a lot. Besides, I was truly hoping that the focus not be on me, but on the plight of the Tibetan people. I just read that Nancy Pelosi went and visited with the Dalai Lama in India. That certainly is good news and a step in the right direction.

More knitting news will be forthcoming. Be well!

Epiphany!

Since today is Jan. 6th, Epiphany, I will show you this nativity scene my mother owns. It was made by her aunt, who lives in Scotland.

All the figures, the sheep, even the manger, are handknitted.



I love the Three Magi. Very colorful.

I do not know what pattern was used, in case anyone is interested. But my great-aunt used a lot of Jean Greenhowe patterns, so I am assuming this is one of them.

Christmas Day 2007

In Germany, it is custom to celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, by going to church and exchanging gifts.
On Christmas Day, we were taken out to lunch. Afterwards, we went to see this Catholic church.


Which was surrounded by these lovingly restored buildings from the 16th century.

The year is 1573.

This one, 1570.

Inside the church. There is a nativity scene on the left of the altar, and more shepherds and sheep on the right side.

These guys were completely handmade. They stood about 8 inches tall, the sweaters were about 2 to 3 inches long. I couldn't quite figure out how the sheep was made.

Perfect fit! I keep thinking about who the knitter might have been.

Happy New Year!

We're back!!
After doing 10 loads of laundry yesterday and buying a lot of groceries -- we had eaten the pantry completely bare before we left -- I am taking a minute to say hello and Happy New Year.

I hope your holiday was as wonderful as ours. We were very glad to be able to be there for Christmas, and my dad's birthday.


On the second day of our stay, we needed to run downtown (or rather, to the center of town), to catch the last day of the annual Christmas market.

Of course there was a yarn booth! Complete with ready made socks and scarves.

They were selling lots and lots of sock yarn, all Regia as far as I could tell.

I sure wasn't even going any closer to that booth than this, even to look, or inquire about prices. I am NOT buying any more yarn until I've used up a lot of my stash! I still have "souvenir yarn" from the last couple of trips...:)

More tomorrow.