My Thanksgiving Meme

I found this at http://caroleknits.knitblog.com/ this morning - here are my answers:

1. Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? I like cooking here, but it’s a nice break to just make a few things to bring.

2. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? Haven’t done a fresh bird before, but I’m sure once I try it, I’ll be hooked.

3. What kind of stuffing? Pepperidge Farm with sausage and maybe some apples.

4. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? Pumpkin pie. (usually Pumpkin Cheesecake, but not this year - maybe for Christmas)

5. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? Not until they fill up the freezer. Whenever I don't do Thanksgiving myself I kinda miss having them here.

6. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? Green Bean Casserole.

7. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? Yes, I save the carcass and make soup. Turkey soup is one of the best soups ever.

8. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? An extra fridge – I like to cook a lot ahead of time and then reheat.

9. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? Crack of dawn – and then we still end up eating a bit later.

10. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring? Pumpkin Cheesecake.

11. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn't bring to your house? Can’t think of anything – guess I just wish they wouldn’t bring any negativity with them – check it at the door!

12. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you're happy to see? Well, not too much drama – we’re all Yankees so we keep it all inside.

13. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu? Stuffing and gravy and cranberry sauce – both fresh and jellied.

14. What are you thankful for this year? I’m thankful that my sister-in-law and her family are safe after the chemical fire in Danvers yesterday. They live in the effected neighborhood (Riverside Street) and we don't know when they will be able to get back into their home.

Knitting? Oh, yeah...

Here are some things I have recently finished:

FINALLY - my Stormy Socks that I started back at the race track in September - finished them on the plane to Ireland. Also, I had picked up a skein of Manos Wildflowers as soon as I ordered my olive rain jacket - scarf was finished in Killarney - good thing too, I needed it up on the Cliffs!















And my first knit from one of my handspuns! YEAH - it was a great feeling to get this done. Multidirectional Lime & Violet Scarf - not the best picture, but here it is. Still don't know if I'll block it or not:




















Couple of non-knitting things - Saturday Sky (see, I do live in the city!) - so nice to see that bright round thing up there again!
















And for dinner - in the crock pot - Guiness Beef Stew:
















Off to http://www.joystreetstudios.com/ later today for my SIL's open studios - should be a good time.

Finally - Ireland!

It was a whirlwind tour of the west - Shannon, Blarney, Kilarney, Ennis, Galway, Dingle - but it was amazing!

Here is our Saturday Sky on the way back from Dingle:

















The windiest place we were was at the Cliffs of Moher:



















We saw cows, sheep, more cows and alot more sheep... but what I really liked were the Connemara Ponies we saw on the side of the road:


















When we go back (and we will!) we'll definitely be staying in Galway for a few days. I ended up getting my long- awaited Claddagh Ring there - from the "original" goldsmith, Thomas Dillon, who have been making them continually since 1750. http://www.claddaghring.ie

Mmmm... Lime & Violet Yarn... Yummy!

So, I jumped on the http://limenviolet.blogspot.com/ bandwagon and was able to order some Lisa Souza Lime & Violet BFL www.lisaknit.com and wasted no time spinning it up - this was fun! Here is my final product - I'll leave it as a single.

I just can't wait to play with it. Not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but YUMMY!




Just to leave you with a little kitty - yes, Morticia likes the new sheepskin...

See ya when we get back!

(BTW, the name was decided on Monday before they left the hospital - it is Mae Pearl - Auntie Amy approves!)

It fits!

Yeah! Still no name yet (at least I haven't heard one), but the hat fits this beautiful, perfect little girl!

What a cutie! Not even 12 hours old here but oh so sweet!

Lots doin' here - getting ready for the big trip means that you have to clean your house for 2 reasons: 1. when your friends come by to feed the cats, they won't think you're a slob (although the friends that are willing to come and feed all 4 crazy kitties know that you are one!), 2. when you come home from your trip, it's so nice to walk into a clean house! OK, so the hubby is a really great cleaner - much better than me FOR SURE! - but, I'm talking about my stuff - my room, the kitchen (where a pot of chicken and barley soup is on the stove as I type) and then that mess in the dining room... I did already start Christmas shopping - before Thanksgiving and that's a record for me in the last few years!

That leads to another thing - my WIP list - it is up to 9 at the moment, 2 things that really need to get finished by the time we leave (esp. my socks that I started at the Demo Derby in September)... then there is that skein of Manos - Wildflowers that I picked up yesterday because it will go perfectly with my new raincoat... that isn't on the needles yet. How does this happen?

The other WIP list includes all of my lovely new fiber to spin - including 8 oz of Lisa Souza www.lisaknit.com Lime and Violet BFL. YUMMY! I started to spin it when I was waiting for the hubby to get ready to go to our anniversary dinner Friday night... and I want to do more now! But alas, it's time to clean. That will be my reward for the day!

Change of Plans

I'm an "Auntie" again! She wasn't due to arrive until we were in Ireland next week, but little yet-to-be-named Baby A. W. arrived at 2:11 this morning. My plan had been to swing by the house this morning to drop off this for her:
Notice the lack of PINK? Yes, I did that for Dad... I think he was in shock over the amount of PINK there was at the baby shower. I did this in Plymouth Jelly Bean. Quick & simple.

6 lbs. 6 oz. 18 inches - just the right size! Well, I'm off to the hospital to go say hi to my new little "niece". Hopefully they'll believe me when I say I'm Mom's sister if I get there outside of regular visiting hours! (we have been mistaken for that before...)