Black Dog

Still here, still knitting (precious little crocheting), and still nesting–is it the season? the weather? something else? No matter, it’s wonderful to be able to do what I love and to have a comfortable home.

Sunday brought our first “measurable snowfall” and I snapped some fun pictures out the back door at home, in the yard and across the river.

Looking out towards the small cottage, behind our house. And another, towards the Oakland Avenue bridge, seen here many times before

and still more, showing it “piling up” on the back deck

It came down all day on Sunday, including some refreezing that evening/night, causing dangerous “black ice” conditions. We’ve been told that the city and county won’t be out with salt trucks as much this year due to budget constraints, so it could be an interesting winter. Busby has the right idea, I do believe

yup, that’s him curled up on the couch at the shop, keeping warm with the “Great American Afghan” sample we have. No such thing as “dumb as a dog” in these parts.

The cooking continues (a crockpot full of soup…YUM)

with a little baking tossed in for good measure

with me employing the fantastic Kitchen Aid mixer I received last year as a gift from friends and staff (not that staff aren’t friends…..I’d like to think they are). What’s cookin’, you might ask?

Some of my (self-proclaimed) world-famous Fresh Apple Bread, a standard treat I make every fall using an ANCIENT recipe I inherited from my mother years ago. It never disapoints

as it’s a basic quick bread with layers of apples and spices and sugar. YUM. It served as the homemade treat for our “Santa’s Workshop” evening (this and every Monday, through the end of the year). That means you can come by the shop on Monday evenings and work on your holiday gifts or anything of your choosing, partake in a little Rob-baked goodness, and get some fiber stuff done without the distractions of family (and without their prying eyes…should you need privacy). Come see us on Monday nights……and enjoy a little treat with your knitting/crocheting/spinning/whatever project.

That’s about it for today…I just ripped out AGAIN on a hat pattern I’m working on. This will be the FOURTH incarnation of the hat–first I screwed up the top part by not following the instructions as written (I thought it was wrong, so I started again before realizing it was right), then I used the wrong yarn for the project (don’t ask), and this time (with a proper yarn that works up BEAUTIFULLY) I didn’t increase after the headband (which I didn’t discover until it was time to do the decreases at the top and I didn’t have enough stitches to go around). Fourth time’s a charm, right? I’m outta here……back soon (with a finished hat, I do hope). I’ve also started a richly-cabled design that I can’t wait to show off……

A tip of the hat in thanks to Dave at Sticks & String for his podcast #82, where he discusses budgets, stash, and making educated and responsible purchases. As the owner of one of those small businesses, I appreciate what he said regarding shopping at your local yarn shop. THANKS, DAVE, and great podcasts….I’ve only listened to a couple podcasts EVER (of any type), and I really enjoyed his, especially the solo piano music (I’m a big fan of piano by itself……as evidenced by my extensive collection of Liz Story discs and having seen her multple times live when I lived in Kansas City and while in grad school at Mizzou).

Knitting, Matt, Projects, wool | RSS 2.0 | Comment it , or trackback this post.