by Kat | Mar 18, 2019 | General, In This Moment, Uncategorized
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The Happiest of Hours
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Sewing
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Baking
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Beautiful baking!
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Corned Beef Cooking
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Really delicious baking!
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More sewing
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New knitting!
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and lots of reading!
Notes on a weekend: I do not consider myself a pie baker, but this recipe intrigued me and 8 cups of frozen raspberries from our garden that I had done absolutely nothing with glaring at me every time I opened the freezer. So, out came the raspberries to thaw a bit while I put mixed the pie crust ingredients together on Sunday morning. My raspberry modifications: 4 C raspberries – slightly thawed. 3 Tbsp corn starch (next time I will only use 2 Tbsp), 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla paste, the juice and zest of one lemon. I needed to bake it about 8 minutes longer than the recipe called for.
Oh, and that corned beef… omgosh, it was hands down the best corned beef I have ever made – or eaten! If you have always felt sort of ho-hum about corned beef… try Andrew Z’s recipe. It will turn you into a corned beef fan!!
My quilt top is almost done! As is the back of Deschain – so you know that means I simply had to cast on a new project, lol. This will be the shawl I am donating to and Close to You won the great pattern debate. I wound the yarn while I watched the NCAA selection show (there were cheers for Michigan pulling a #2 seed despite losing the Big Ten Tournament to Michigan State) and the winding continued while we watched the Circus. But, cast on was achieved before I finally turned off the lights and headed to bed.
And, with that – the weekend is just a warm memory and the mundanity of Monday awaits me! How about you? How was your weekend?
by Kat | Mar 15, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Welcome to the “Beware the ides of March” edition of TGIF!
It has been a week and a half (or at least it certainly feels that way to me!) I guess a week with meetings, vet appointments, and an inordinate amount of phone calls will do that for you! But it is finally Friday and even though we had a huge slice of spring yesterday – we have that four-letter word in the forecast for this weekend. I am desperately hoping the weather persons are all wrong!
But, enough with the weather and way-to-long weeks… lets get this weekend started already!
Terrific, tremendous, and terribly wonderful!!
I have the front of Deschain completed! I love how it looks and I will get the back cast on this morning. I did one extra repeat of the pattern and I am very happy with the length. The only fiddly part of the back will be the short rows. I do have one question for you, Gentle Readers, what would you use to seam this up?
Game on –
The Madness begins on Sunday and I am really excited for this year’s tournaments. I will be filling out my brackets on Monday and spending some quality television time over the next couple of weeks! This also means quality knitting time!! The “First Four” games start on the 19th and the full tournament tips off on Thursday.
Ireland Forever (or Éirinn go Brách) –
That’s right, Sunday is also St. Paddy’s Day and my corned beef is all set to go! I am trying Andrew Zimmern’s recipe this year and, honestly?? My mouth is watering thinking about it! Steve has also been sending me links of things to make with the leftovers. Look for these Irish Nachos or these Brisket Nachos to occur sometime next week! We have plenty of Guinness on hand which will help me forget the predicted cold weather.
Fotography Friday –
Yes, I am joining kmkatt for her Friday Fun. The photo I have chosen is courtesy of timehop. I cannot believe that 10 years have passed since this photo was taken because in my mind it really seems like it was yesterday. It was a rare glorious March day which made it perfect to visit Lake Michigan! It was equally perfect and so amazing to meet the woman in the photo again. This woman holds a very special place in my heart and seeing her all grown up was truly a lovely gift.
That is all I have for this week! Have a great weekend and I will see you all back here on Monday!
by Kat | Mar 14, 2019 | General, In This Moment
I am joining with Carole to share some right now things!
Happy Pi(e) Day. Sadly, no pie baking here today. But that does not mean there is a shortage of good things!
Thing One:
All.Of.This.
Thing Two:
Because of Thing One, I am reminded that I am in dire need of a pedicure. And, no – no photo of just how dire the need is. But, trust me – it’s very dire!
Thing Three:
The puzzle process begins! Yes, all the squares for my quilt top are completed and now I just need to lay them out and sew the rows together. I am so excited!!
Those are my things! What about you? Any special thing in your world today?
by Kat | Mar 11, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Begin with Words of Now and hot coffee:
Lenten devotions. Meditation. Sherman snuggles. Stuffy nose. Journaling. Monday list making. Clear skies. Bird cacophonies. Audio-listening. Bed stripping. Laundry. Square cutting. Grocery list making. Meeting preparation. Pilates. Trip planning. Texting. Laughing. Warm weather sweater knitting.
I hope your Monday words are full of all sorts of good things – and thank you Michelle for this inspiration!
by Kat | Mar 8, 2019 | General, In This Moment
Happy Friday all – and yes, Happy indeed. It was a full week and Steve has an off site meeting this morning and then he is off for the remainder of the day – so a day off, without having to take a day off! That is a nice bonus! My plans for the day include heading off to the outlet for some new Nike’s® for walking.
Thinking about:
The glaring inequities of our justice system. Really. If ever you needed a clearer cut example, we had one last night. Judge Ellis (i.e. old white guy) gave poor Manafort (i.e. old white criminal), who “has lived an otherwise blameless life,” 47 months in prison. Yes, just 47 months with credit for time served, which means he will be out before Cohen will be! I am not sure how “otherwise blameless” Mr. Manafort was, because he admitted guilt to all the crimes he was charged with. But you know… he is a white male. If he had been a black male, his sentence would have been longer. AND… if he had been a POC who had an ounce of marijuana in their possession, he would have gotten the maximum sentencing allowed. The woman who mistakenly voted when she shouldn’t have got more time than Manafort. And, yes – she was a person of color.
Yes, this has made me more than a little angry. I am holding out hope that Manafort’s sentencing in DC next week will be much different – and run concurrently with his 47-month sentence.
Good riddance to:
The blending in process of coloring my hair to growing it out naturally! Yes – yesterday was my last day of foils! The grey’s they are increasing – and I have some really interesting streaks of grey. If I knew how hard it would be to get rid of the red from all those years of coloring, I might have done things differently. But I have finally achieved what I have been working towards for the last couple of years. I am so happy. Steve, on the other hand, is taking longer to come around to this au natural haired version of me. However, he sure didn’t like the amount of $$ having that hair cost – so I am confident he will eventually warm to the idea. And, if not – I have just given him something new to complain about, lol.
Inspired by:
My sewing this week! Yes – I have a nice stack of blocks and have rediscovered that the process of cutting out all the pieces and then seaming them together a wonderful activity! I am enjoying it so much that I began to look at the project, particularly the size of the project – and where would I put this quilt?! So… I did some math and some more cutting and got a little more fabric and the result will be a new summer quilt for our bed! And, yes – I think it is entirely appropriate to sleep under snowflakes in the summer.
All this work has taken me down a memory lane I have not walked on in a very long time. A million years ago, I was part of a very active quilting group. Okay, maybe not quite that long – but we are talking pre-children time here, so almost! Anyways, there were 10 of us and we met weekly. We made one quilt together a year – entirely by hand. Hand seaming, hand applique, hand quilting – which was really the best part. The 10 of us sitting around the quilting frame talking, laughing, planning, and sharing. Those were the best times ever and I learned so much! I am thinking about how best to incorporate that back into my life.
Fun, fun, fun!
It’s FriYAY and that means Happy Hour™ and tonight we are doing something different! Happy Hour Movie, FTW! I am not sure what we will watch, but I am really looking forward to it!
That is all I have for this week! Have a great Friday and an even better weekend! See you all back here next week!
by Kat | Mar 7, 2019 | General, In This Moment
I am joining Carole today to share some things from my world this week!
Sometimes it feels like the world is listening and places in your pathway the things you are seeking! This was one of those weeks!
Thing One:
I have been pondering what to do with all my digital photos, especially since I made the decision to part ways with Flickr. And, while I am still working out how best to store and view my digital photo library, Courtney’s latest post was most timely and full of ideas.
Thing Two:
I finished Maria Shriver’s little devotional book this morning which was full of such timely advice – but the closing was most timely indeed: There comes a time in all of our lives when it’s time to take stock of what was, what is, and what can be. Don’t hold on to stuff that prevents you from becoming who you can be. Yes! Exactly – and as I continue to contemplate focus – this advice is exactly what I am trying to do. I have written this quote in my journal and will be referring back to it frequently!
Thing Three:
Finally, and this might have been the most welcome of all the things, was Robin’s back to the mat challenge this week! I am on Day 4 and loving every minute (and yes, I might be the tiniest bit sore, but it is such a good feeling!!) This jump start comes at the perfect time for me – the holidays, pneumonia, and general laziness had pushed Pilates off my radar and this little jump start is just what I needed to get back on track!
Those are my things! What about you? What things have wandered onto your pathway this week?
