Out of Hibernation

This past Thursday I decided I MUST join the outside world again.  I came slithering out from under the rock and was met with a wonderful warm day in the high 60's,  How delightful!

Zip has music lessons on Thursday in Hagerstown and occasionally I ride along and he drops me off at my friend Marian's.  Her house is conveniently located en route.  We had been working on a rug design together and wanted to do a little more tweaking before committing it to backing.

But just for fun we also visited the Asian Market in Halfway, MD. 

I had noticed the sign while Zip and I were traveling through and have wanted to see what they had to offer.  It is a small market, but had all the ingredients I had been looking for to make a batch of spring rolls plus the wonderful sweet hot chili sauce for dipping.  In their freezer section I found not only the spring roll wrappers but a package of about two dozen spring rolls already made up.  If only I had taken a cooler. 

Check out all those noodles!

They had some bright golden yellow mangoes that were about half the size of those in the regular grocery.  I bought one of them and that little darling was yummy!  The Japanese eggplants looked nice and fresh, but I didn't get any this time. 

This pastry is made of a delicious soft Phillipine sweet roll dough and contained long strips of sugar-soaked coconut called 'coconut strings'.  Zip and I both loved it.

Then on the way back to Marian's we stopped at the Dutch Market, which features Amish vendors selling their produce, baked, goods, meat, cheese and candies.  I was so thrilled with the variety and clean, beautiful arrangements that I forgot to take pictures.  Please believe me, it was an excellent market.  Another 'bring-the-cooler' venue!  Everything looked so temptingly good that you just wanted to BUY!

Good thing I didn't indulge too heavily because later we were invited by Willa to join her at the Lions Club spaghetti dinner in Shippensburg. 

Her husband, Chuck is a generous supporter of local charitable and civic organizations and he kindly bought our tickets.  Thank You, Chuck!  unfortunately he had to work so could not join us.

On Saturday Zip and I traveled to Ligonier PA which is about a two and a quarter hour drive to the west.  I wish I could show pictures of lovely countryside along the way, but the weather was atrocious.  Gray clouds, fog and periods of rain prevailed.

 
Ligonier is a pretty little town.  As we arrived they were having a wedding in the gazebo on the square. 

Fort Ligonier was built in the time of the French and Indian war (mid 1700's) as a staging point for driving the French out of the western part of PA.  It opened the area for further exploration, making it possible for the settling of Pittsburg.  Amazing that they had chain-link fence at that time.  LOL!

But you may ask, why did we go there??? 

Because I joined an on-line knitting group through the Knitting at Large blog by Julie Matthews.  I've shown pictures of my sweater in progress and now the participants who lived within a reasonable distance were getting together for a meet and greet day for showing sweaters and generally having fun.

Sweater parts for show and tell.  Kathy, who came from Brookville PA brought the delicious Easter eggs made by a candy company in her town.  To die for!!!

 

We met at Kathy's Kreations, a lovely knitting shop owned by Kathy Zimmerman, the designer of the Waltham sweater we are all working on.  I had not met Julie, Dottie and Kathy until now but had commented back and forth on her blog and Ravelry.  Kathy Z. was kind enough to sit down with us and have a discussion about what plus-sized women wanted and needed in knitwear patterns.  So many designers and pattern publishers only offer their patterns in S-M-L and are missing a huge (pun intended!) market by not offering plus sizes.

I was so busy talking and shopping and eating that I didn't take time to get out the camera.  I only got a few shots of the shop.  I will be returning and will do better the next time! 

And since I mentioned food, there is a delightful little deli next door where we had lunch.  The panini sandwiches were excellent.  They were so satisfying that we didn't even sample the gelatti!  For once, no pictures of the food!

All in all, it was a fun day.  I hope when we finish our sweaters we can get together again and model the sweaters.  By that time I will have decided which of my new patterns I would like to try next and will be ready to buy YARN!

The new patterns and books.  I'm doing my part to support the plus-size pattern industry by voting with my dollars!

Monday I spent most of the day sewing with Brad and Kami.  When I arrived home it was in the high 70's outside and Zip had opened several windows in the house.  The kitties were in HEAVEN!  Aaaah, smell that air!!!  I didn't get any pictures, but Penny's eyes were even bigger than usual and she had her little pink nose pressed right against the window screen. 

Deiter wasn't really impressed with the great outdoors.  He would rather lay on my shawl and sniff where I had been lately.

One of the signs of warmer days.  FLIES!!!  Izzy will protect us!

Today it's back to cool and dreary with rain.  The winter was dominated by cold.  Now spring seems to be dominated by rain!  But last week when I posted, the buds on the maple trees were only showing green tips.  Now they are blooming!

I'm going to try really hard to stay out from under the rock.

Can You See the Green???

These buds are on the maple tree right outside the kitchen window.

The rain is over (temporarily) and the sun is shining.  I hate to mention that this has seemed like the longest winter of my life.  It really put me in a funk!  I'm hoping it's over.

Another thing that has put me into a funk and almost put an end to my interest in rug hooking is my Grandmother's Trunk challenge rug for Rug Hooking Daily.  When I signed up for this challenge I loved the idea of commemorating my grandmothers who were the inspiration for my childhood needlework.  I still love the IDEA, it's my DESIGN that I Do Not Like!  And I can't come up with anything better right now.

I kept dragging my feet, not wanting to put it on the linen.

Then I dug out some wool.  This has all happened over many weeks of procrastinating!

I finally started pulling a few loops.
Then Deiter sat on it and everything came to a halt.

Petting the cat was way more fun than working on a rug that I didn't like anyhow!

Aaaaah!  The joys of bonding!  These are the best moments of our day.

So give it up, Mom!  Forget this rug, it's not your best work!  And I'm gonna be here for a while....

The only part of the rug that I like so far is this yarn ball!

I just think the design sucks!  It is going to be ripped out and I'll draw something else on the back and go on with life.  I can't have this blocking my love for hooking!

I decided to quit the challenge with a great sigh of relief!

The only thing that has kept me sane (I guess that's debatable!) through this long crappy winter has been the cats.  Every day they make me laugh and amaze me with their intelligence and imagination.

We have a ladderback chair with a soft pillow on it in front of our phone desk.  This is Tipper's favorite sleeping spot.  Last weekend the complaints started.  First she began jumping up, sniffing around, looking meaningfully at me and then would finally settle.  Then she didn't want to jump up.  More meaningful looks.  Yes, there the pillow cover was looking a bit grungy and there was cat hair on it.  Her Hair!

The verbal complaints began.  She was downright GRUMPY!

So Zip and I collected up all the cushion covers, kitty blankets, and washable cat beds and did Cat Laundry.
We replaced everything with clean covers.  Is this appreciation???  They were sooo happy!

Deiter took Tippy's favorite spot.  We put the little fleece bed on top of the desk and Izzy and Penny climbed in.

Then Penny took Tippy's chair and Reggie used the fleece bed.

Deiter back on the chair and Penny in the bed.  Tippy was forced to use the wing chair.

Who would have imagined that clean laundry could be so inspiring! 

Hope the sun is shining on your life today!
Thanks for stopping by!

P.S.  Deiter would like to welcome Kelly and the women from the Creative Catalyst blog.
He approves of any blog that has a Cat as a logo and the word Cat in it's header and appreciates having humans who enjoy pictures of him.

Happy Spring Equinox!

This is one of my favorite days of the year.
The First Day of Spring!!! 
From here until fall the days are longer than the nights.  For a person who enjoys light, this is a significant milestone.  Yes, we'll still have some below freezing weather occasionally, but this means warmth will prevail!

I've been neglecting my blog lately because I haven't had much for show and tell.  No rug hooking is happening.  I've been knitting and cooking.  The search for the 'perfect' loaf of bread goes on.

This one is getting close.

This week Weis market had cod on sale for a very good price.  Last evening I made fish chowder which we ate with the homemade bread.  Pretty yummy!

Fish Chowder

3 medium potatoes
1 medium sweet onion
2 ribs of celery
1 can of corn
1 1/2 lbs. fish of your choice (cod, catfish, talapia)
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon parsley
salt, pepper and cayenne, pinch of each
1 can chicken broth
about 1/4 cup flour
milk

Cut potatoes into bite sized pieces, leave the skins on.  Chop celery and onion.  Put veggies in a soup pot, add corn (do not drain) and chicken broth, and spices.  Cook for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are almost done.  Add fish and cook until it flakes easily.  Sprinkle the flour lightly over the veggies and fish while stirring the mixture.  Add some milk and cook a few minutes longer till soup thickens slightly.
Fast and Easy!

My knitting is progressing.  I haven't done much knitting in recent years because it's soooo slooooow!  That's why I don't have much to show for the past two weeks of work.

The sleeves are done but not blocked yet.  They are done in a ribbing pattern.



   I had planned on taking a little break after the sleeves and do some hooking, but the lure of the cables was too much for me.  I had to start the back!  Just to see if I could do it without too much problem.

A closeup of my first little cables.  Aren't they cute!

Since I took these pictures, I've gotten another three inches done.  The cables take some thought but are not difficult.  But I was lying in bed this morning thinking, 'why am I spending all this time on a sweater that I won't be wearing until next fall?'  Good question!  No answer...

The kitties are enjoying the return of the birds and squirrels outside in the yard.  They also keep a watch on the neighborhoods cats who roam through.  Next month the girls will be a year old.  They no longer look like kittens!  They are becoming more settled and willing to sit and be companionable.

Maybe too companionable!  This is Zip's fly tying desk in the evening.  They LOVE Daddy!!!

Deiter, Isabell and Reggie



I don't know what Penny was thinking about, but those eyes just make me smile!

Hope all of you are having a good weekend.

Happy First Day of Spring!!!

The Shades of Gray

  Dreary, damp, sloppy wet, cold...you get the picture!

We have been inundated by the wet stuff this weekend.  It's not over yet.  The creeks are beginning to overflow their banks.  It's a miserable time to travel.

But travel we did.  Not that far in miles, but a cultural world away.  Our friends Chuck and Willa went with us to Harrisburg, PA to the Asia Mall.  This is a small strip mall featuring all Asian businesses, including several restaurants, a gift shop, a video store, a nail and beauty supply store and a large Asian grocery.

We had a lovely lunch at the Thai restaurant.
Chuck and Willa are studying the menu trying to make some serious decisions.

For appetizers they chose a chicken satay with peanut sauce and some spring rolls.

I chose several appetizers instead of getting an entree.  The spring rolls were delicious.  The little round dumplings that look like pot stickers were quite yummy.  The tofu would have been rather bland without the peanutty sauce.

Zip ordered chicken with vegetables in a sweet and sour sauce.

I thought Willa's eggplant dish was the best!  And look at the colors!  Love that purple eggplant with the green and orange and the sauce was to die for.

We decided to pass on the dessert and go to the bakery for take-home treats.
I've had the fruit turnovers on a previous visit.  They are wonderful!  I like to live dangerously and get some totally unfamiliar pastries like the yucca dessert that looks like custard pie.  They also have some savory meat and rice pies that are wrapped in banana (or plantain) leaves.  All are interesting and good.

The grocery is one of the largest Asian food stores in the area.  It's one of my favorite places to stock up on cooking supplies.

They have a huge selection of canned goods, sauces of every kind, candies, cookies, teas, fresh vegetables and noodles.  Oodles of noodles!

And there's fish.  Dried, frozen, pickled and fresh fish swimming around in large tanks.  They will butcher them right on the spot to your specifications.

We managed to make a dreary day into an enjoyable outing!

Now we are home with the woodstove warming our chilly bones. 
Zip is strumming away on the guitar and I am planning to do some knitting.  I have one sleeve on my sweater almost dome.  This is the cardigan that I'm doing with some other ladies from the Knitting at Large blog.

  So far it's been fun and fairly easy.  I wonder if I have the skills to manipulate those intricate cables.

The book is called Knitting Plus (by Lisa Shroyer) and is an excellent collection of sweaters especially designed for the larger woman.

The pattern we are knitting is by Kathy Zimmerman who is a designer who has a shop in Ligonier, PA.  I hope one of these days to get out there.  I hear it's a fantastic place.  It will be a lovely drive when the warmer weather arrives.

It's Baaaa-aaack!

Last week we had a few warm days in the 50's and once even up to 60 degrees.  The snow had melted and there was a green tint in the dry brown grass.  Spring is coming!

Well, here we are with snow.  AGAIN!  And temps down into the single digits at night.  I guess the good news is that it is supposed to get gradually warmer through the end of the week.  Maybe this white stuff won't last long.

Meanwhile I've been waiting very impatiently for yarn and books to come in the mail. 

I'm not sure what has possessed me.  I signed up for an online rug hooking challenge on Rug Hooking Daily in January and have the idea drawn on paper with it almost the way I want it, but am not moving along too fast on that.  Then I joined a sweater knitting group on Ravelry that was initiated by Julie on the Knitting at Large blog.  It's a really lovely cardigan that can be seen by accessing the blog on my sidebar.

Plus I have lots of sewing to do for Brad and Kami.

I'm not sure why I'm piling up so many 'to do' projects.  Sounds like a good formula for lots of UFO's!  And I doubt if I'll have time for housework.  Since I have all this fun stay-at-home stuff lined up, I needed audio books to listen to (and drown out the constant strumming on the guitar!) so I can concentrate.  I've been wanting for a long time to show pictures of our local library.  I love this place!  Shippensburg is so lucky to have this lovely old building for it's library. 

For me, a new modern library just would not have the same appeal.  This is the side entrance hall leading to the desk.

 
The main reading room, with computers available for public use.

It's so comforting to sit and read by the fireplace.  A friend of mine holds her Thursday evening knitting group in this room.

Cumberland County has an excellent library system with a user-friendly online system for ordering books from anywhere in the area.  If the local library doesn't have what you need, you can order from any library in the county and have it delivered to your local one.  They encourage educational programs for both adults and children.  The South Cumberland Fiber Guild meets here for their spinning and fiber-related meetings.  Most days the parking lot is full.
For a small-town library, this one is very well used!

Plans are being made to expand the library (and hopefully the parking lot!).  I just hope they don't build on too much of this lovely area behind the building. 

It doesn't show on the picture, but there is a stone patio with seating available in summer for outdoor reading.  The lovely little Branch Creek runs alongside the building.

OK, that's the mini-tour!

My box of yarn has arrived.  Time to knit up a swatch to see if I can get the correct gauge for the sweater.

Hmmmm!  Did I mention that my yarn is the same color as a cardboard box?  LOL! 

Meanwhile the kitties have a few yarn projects of their own.

That blur at the top left is Reggie, wrestling a ball of yarn into submission.  He must have been measuring something, because there's my tape measure!  They love twisting the yarn around the legs of the chair and ironing board.  It's that much more exciting!  Check the tops of the chair legs- that is the Official Scratching Chair.  They don't have a scratching post like most cats.  About ten years ago, someone started using the chair and it has been the scratching place ever since.  Cats make their own decisions!

Guess I better start knitting.
Have a great weekend!