What I did on my winter vacation...

I took a lot of naps.



I knit a few lovelies.





I made marshmallows.



I said good-bye to someone I love dearly.



I watched the rain come. come. come.

Weekend Musings

1. I love my neti-pot. I really, really do. It's like an oil change for your nose!

2. Finished the super-easy cowl I have been knitting.

3. We ain't in New Orleans- had to go to three supermarkets to find file powder. Three!

4. In between reading dog training books, I have been reading Mark Bittman's new book, Food Matters. It's a good read that is definitely moving me towards eating more healthy and local foods.

5. Had this song stuck in my head all day:

Weekend musings

1. we love this bar.
   
2. Worked on a green cowl I've been knitting. Trying to get through my stash yarn and refrain from buying any new stuff is really hard.
3. Watched "The Strangers" on dvd- fortunately it was not based on a true story. Slept much better knowing this fact.
4. Began planting for my spring garden. Started some seeds of bell pepper and early jalapeno.
5. Picked up Martha Stewart's new cookbook, Cooking School. It's awesome and I heart it.
6. Got craving for sandwich with cream cheese, sprouts and avocado. Made sandwich.
7. Discovered onion sprouts at the farmer's market. Holy shit. Used in sandwich discussed in musing #3.
8. Picked up some grass fed beef at framers market. Looking forward to trying it out.
9. Cats like celery. Cut off a piece and watched cats have UFC battle over it.
   
10. I'm getting better about slamming my front door on solicitors. Weekend total: 3; 2 fake teenagers selling magazines and 1 jehovah's witness.
    
11. Who knew 5 ingredients could be so awesome together?

Handmade holidays

This year's recession-slash-general doom and gloom that everyone thinks is going to stay through 2009, prompted the husband and I to opt out of the gift giving part of this holiday season. While neither one of us (that we know of) is heading towards job loss or anything concerning, but we just decided that with the purchase of a house, a wedding and a lot in between, that is seemed totally unnecessary to go out and buy each other a bunch of crap.



It made things easier and a hell of a lot less stressful. We had a great thanksgiving dinner, followed by a relaxing day hanging out at home (no malls!). Tomorrow, we will have a nice Christmas dinner and spend the evening relaxing around a fire and most likely watching a classic holiday flick. This whole financial malaise has really got me thinking about consumerism, our excesses, the loss of personal-ness in everything we seem to care for. And it really motivated me to decide that from now on, I am really going to try and only give out homemade gifts. Yeah, it's easy to say now because I don't have to think about christmas again for 11 months, but I'm really going to try. Not only for the holidays, but for birthdays, house warmings, anniversaries, etc...

Just looking around the internet I have already compiled a list of possible gifts that can be easily made at home. Of course, knitting gifts will always top that list, but I have some other hand-made gift ideas too...

A succulent arranged in a pretty pot;

Something yummy, like madelines, spiced nuts or fancy cookies in a chinese take-out box;

Bath salts in a pretty jar;

The possibilities are endless, if you are a crafting junkie like myself! I better start planning now...

Works in progress

Here are a few things I have been working on...

A few projects

Here are a few knits I've recently finished:

Feather and Fan Cowl, loosely adapted from, Lets Knit Together. Yarn- Noro Kouryeon (not sure what colorway)




Pattern, Entrelac Scarf, in Patons Soy Wool Stripes, Natural colorway