Category: Fun

A Sunday Stroll in Brooklyn

Marie Haigh5 Comments
Thanks to our first real snow storm on Friday, I spent most of the day relaxing and knitting. Poor Jake didn’t even get his morning walk. Surprisingly, he wasn’t upset at all. Rolling, sliding and romping in four inches of freshly fallen snow is just as good – maybe better.

The relaxation did me good. Not only did I made good progress on my 3rd tie, but I was finally able to kick the cold I had and enjoy a weekend out on the town. Saturday was spent celebrating my godson’s 3rd birthday. I’m sorry to say that Dan and I are lousy godparents. We didn’t take one picture while we were there. Hopefully, his mother will share the 5 million pictures she took soon.
Then, on Sunday, Dan and I spent the day in Brooklyn with my SIL. More accurately, we spent over seven hours traveling to and fro Brooklyn and about the same amount of time in Brooklyn, but who’s counting?

Once we arrived, we got to check out my SIL’s studio apartment. It’s small, but the huge bay window overlooking Brooklyn and the large kitchen off the main room more than make up for the lack of space. Afterwards, we had lunch. Well, they had lunch; I had blueberry pancakes made the correct way with the blueberries mixed into the batter and cooked together. Any other way is just plain wrong. Then, we strolled the streets of Brooklyn, making our way towards The Brazen Head. The Brazen Head was hosting their tri-annual real ale festival. (Real ale to a Brit is a cask conditioned ale to an American.) My SIL has learned how to woo us into agreeing to a 7 hour round trip to visit her: good beer. It works almost every time.

I asked before we headed out if we could shop along the way. Dan insisted that we keep the prize (good beer) in mind and not dally too long. I was persuaded by his gentle nudging until we came across a little store named Zoes Papers filled with beautiful papers, cards, stationery, and pens. No way was I passing this store up. My SIL and I both came away with goody bags.

It’s supposed to be wrapping paper. The clerk and I decided that it was absurd to use such pretty paper to wrap a present only to have it torn and ripped into shreds in a matter of seconds. Instead, I plan to make birthday cards out of it.

I spent the rest of the night showing off my pretty paper to Dan.

You Make My Day and other blogs

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Mr. Puffy with the help of his owner nominated me for a You Make My Day award.

I’m thrilled to be given such an award (Thank you, Mr. Puffy!), despite my lolly gagging to announce it on my blog. I just didn’t know who to pass the award onto. I read so many great blogs these days (59 if they all posted on the same day – thankfully, they don’t). Can you tell I am in desperate need of updating my blog roll? So, with this award, I am going to shine a light on some of the new blogs I recently found and now love to read.

1. I don’t think it’s kosher to nominate the same blog that just nominated you, but I’m not great about following rules. So, I’m listing Mr. Puffy. It’s true; I think Jake is the best dog in the world. Mr. Puffy and his love of tea, willingness to try on various knitted items and encouragement to buy the best yarn on the market puts him in at a close 2nd.

2. Nannybird. You are just in time to learn how she was bestowed with such a nickname. Funny stories aside – of which she has many – she is an avid crafter and knitter. I am always fascinated by what she is doing next. I stumbled across her blog when she was hosting a Recycled Craft Contest.

3. Yarn~Knit~Read~Lit. She started me reading again! I had been stuck on a diet of strictly knitting books. It was good to take a break and read some fiction books. Plus, she has two great dogs. You don’t notice any trend in my blog reading, do you?

4. Yarn for Brains. Great title, isn’t it? Just to prove her point, she lost a pair of knitted socks last week and sent up a cry for help. I’m not sure how much the cry helped, since we can’t rightly go rooting through her house looking for the missing socks, but she found them all the same.

OK, that’s enough of knitting blogs. Onto other blogs.

5. EtsyGreetings. I have to have at least one blog to help temper my insatiable desire for cards, cards and more cards! This blog features the many greeting card sellers which make up the EtsyGreetings Street Team. Right now, they are running a contest. I love contests!

6. Smitten Kitchen. I know. It’s on my blog roll. But, I really love this blog. There are always pictures of yummy food and excellent recipes. I’ve even tried my hand at a few.

7. The rantings of a Mad Hatter wannabe. Glorious Hats turned me onto her. Now, true, I have no idea what she is making right now … I’m a bit too shy to ask for fear it might be rude. But, I am enamored all the same. I love me some hats.

8. Sherri Crochets. Sherri crochets and knits. So, I could have put her up above with the strictly knitting blogs, but, well, this is my blog post and I’ll put them in the order I want! =) From sock monkeys to knitted trolls to crocheted gnomes, she is always making something fun and cute.

9. Knitting Dragonflies. Sounds like another knitting blog, right? Well, right and wrong. She’s a woman after my own heart. She loves to make quilts too.

10. Insert your blog name here. If I commented on your blog, it means I loved reading it. Thank you for making my day!

And speaking of blogs, I volunteered to be the author of a new blog, EtsyKnitters. It is the blog for the EtsyKnitters Street Team and Yahoo Group. I feel so alone in Pottstown some days without a yarn store to stop by at. This is my virtual knitting circle.

Knitting news: I finished my Log Cabin Block. I already have an idea for my final block, but I’m not going to share with you its name. I want it to be a surprise.

Reading Again

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I haven’t read a book in almost a year. About a week and a half ago, I started reading a blog (I suppose blogs don’t count as books; a shame, really, because I read a LOT of blogs) titled Yarn~Knit~Read~Lit. It inspired me to pick up a book.

So, what am I reading? An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott. It is about a country girl named Polly who comes to visit a rich family in the city. I am about halfway through the book. Thus far, I’ve seen Polly grow into a woman, move into the city (but not with the rich family) and start a music teaching career. Louisa May Alcott is a famous and well-written author, yet Jane Austen remains my favorite.

In knitting news, I have started on Block #7 for the International Fiber Collaborative panel. The block will be titled Spiral Applique Block, assuming no major changes are made to the design.

I Love Cards

Marie Haigh5 Comments

I love cards.

I love to send cards. I love to receive cards. Most people would agree with me on this level.

Yet, I think I’m falling into the extreme category. My dear sister bought me cards for Christmas – two sets of 12. I bought 35 more cards for myself this month, but most of these don’t count since they are for for Christmas 2008. I made an additional 10 cards by hand. (One doesn’t count; it’s for Christmas!)

Yesterday, I went searching for the perfect card to send my friend as a “Welcome Back from India” and decided that I didn’t have any cards. None. Well, none that I’m willing to give her. Some cards aren’t for giving. They are for keeping and framing.

So, I sat down and made another 9 cards.

Some of these don’t count. Two are for Christmas and three are for Valentine’s Day.


This is my favorite. The pic is from a 1956 encyclopedia. It shows a line of ladies working at Grand Central Station. Isn’t that neat?


I don’t have a problem. Do I?

The Christmas Whirlwind

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A part of me is sad that Christmas is gone. The rest of me is grateful for the rest and relaxation. I can’t remember the last time I cooked so much. The final week leading up to Christmas involved waking up at 7am, taking Jake for a walk, and spending the rest of the day in the kitchen. I have no complaints, minus the sore feet. I truly do love to cook.

Not everything on my list got done though despite the marathon cooking episodes. I never did make my molasses cookies or dinner rolls. Goodness knows that we will still have Christmas cookies by Groundhog Day, so perhaps it’s a good thing I never made them.

The 3 cookies in front are my family’s look-alikes. From the left is me (in my apron), then Jake (with his collar on), and lastly Dan (with his beard).

Since you have to have dinner rolls, I cheated and bought them from the bakery. They were still homemade – just not by me. The rest of the Christmas Eve dinner came out lovely. Dan’s sister enjoyed the veggie dishes I made up and Dan’s SIL isn’t nearly as picky as my own sister!

The giving of Christmas presents was so much fun. Aunt Bette loved her Marjorie Mohair Stole. My sister plans to hang her Chili Pepper Quilt in her kitchen. Dan was thrilled to have a copy of Muppet Family Christmas, a movie they grew up watching every Christmas. What did Dan get me?

Isn’t it wonderful? It’s a rice cooker.

I tried it out last night with some chicken curry over top of it. The rice was delicious. No more Minute Rice for me. No, Sir! I’m converted.

Plus, Dan got me some chocolate, since my supply was running low. He’s so well trained now. It only took me 7 years to get him this way.

Starting to Panic

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I have so much left to bake and only 4 days to do it in. No, my math isn’t wrong. Yes, there are still 7 more days till Christmas, but since we are busy running around from the 22nd through the 25th, all baking must be finished by the night of the 21st. This, of course, does not include the cooking that must commence on the 24th for the Christmas Eve dinner.

Baking List:
Sugar cookies (old version) – DONE
Sugar cookies (new version) – DONE
Gingerbread cookies – (Dough chilled; waiting to be rolled out)
Shortbread cookies
Springerle cookies
Molasses cookies
Baps
Chocolate cake
Pecan pie * 2

Christmas Eve Dinner:
Potato soup
California salad (stolen from The Melting Pot)
Ratatouille or Penne (still deciding)
Ham
Roasted Chicken
Yams
Mashed potatoes
Corn
Chicken Fingers (from a box!)

Most of the dinner can wait till the morning of Christmas Eve. Yet, I would like to have the soup made in advance. I must admit that for the veggie dish I am leaning towards the Ratatouille because it can also be made in advance and left to steep in the fridge.

So, surely, I must have accomplished something yesterday. No, nothing. Nothing happened in the kitchen anyway. But, the house is clean and we now have enough laundry to see us through till Christmas. Plus, I bought the ham. I could have waited another day or two before I picked up the ham, but I had a dream that I went to get it out of the fridge on Christmas Eve and it wasn’t there. I had forgotten to buy it. I started to cry and then I woke up. I was sure my dream was an omen. So, the ham couldn’t wait another day.

On a side note, never share your dreams with your husband. It just gives them an opportunity to laugh at you … and think you are crazy. As if nobody else dreams about their Christmas ham?!

Cartman, the Pine Tree

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The reason his name is Cartman is, well, because he is fat around the middle. During our first attempt to decorate him two years ago, we wrapped the C9 strands around his girth. Despite having two strands linked together, we could only circle him 1.5 times. Dan cursed him for being too fat and thus the name was born. We have since learned that when decorating him with lights, they should only be put onto his front side.

Outdoor (shatterproof) ornament balls complete the look.

I noticed when decorating him that he was getting a little scraggly around the top. It is a pet peeve of our neighbors. The family that lived here before us kept all the trees and bushes in nice, neat shapes of cones or round balls. I prefer my trees and bushes to have a more natural look. Plus, I tend to get more flowers and foliage on them if I just prune them once in the Spring and then leave them alone. Still my neighbors have informed me that they wish I would keep to the clean lines. I just smile and nod.

Oh, and here is Jake supervising the picture taking. He’s such a big help. I don’t know how I would take pictures without him.

Decorating the Real Tree

Marie Haigh4 Comments
We bought a Douglass Fir tree this year. When it was outside at the tree farm, it didn’t look as fat around the middle until we got it home. There will be no fires in the fireplace until after January 6th (when the tree is taken down).

The trimming of the real tree is much more involved than the decorating of the artificial tree or the two outside Christmas trees. (Pictures of Cartman coming soon! … Cartman is the fat pine tree in front of our house). It took us all day to decorate this tree with several breaks included. It took two sets of lights, three strands of red beads and too many decorations to count.
The Before picture.

The After pictures.

Jake wanting to help.

More After pictures

Hope you are enjoying the Christmas season!

The First Snow

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Pictures of our 1st real snow:

In the center is outdoor Christmas tree (a Colorado Blue Spruce).

Jake grazing.

Unlike most dogs who just eat grass when they have an upset stomach, Jake LOVES grass. He eats a little every morning. He also eats it when he has the hiccups, when he’s nervous, when he’s excited, and in Spring when new grass has sprouted.

On this day, I finished my new fleece duvet. It fits perfectly over my goose down comforter. It is so incredibly warm! Dan put the old flannel duvet onto his goose down comforter. Why don’t we share our comforters? Because the key to a happy marriage is separate blankets. No need to argue over who had the lion’s share of the blankets the night before. No need to steal back the blankets in the middle of the night. Everyone stays warm and happy.


Dan thought I should share this picture with you.

It is a pic of my new tea, a flowering tea from Primula.

22 Days till Christmas

Marie Haigh6 Comments
This year I won’t be up till midnight on Christmas Eve either knitting or sewing. All the presents are wrapped save two. The last two will be purchased from Shangy’s beer store, the best beer distributor in Pennsylvania.

Please don’t hate me. If it makes you feel any better, there is much that is left to be done.

We’re missing a tree. Apparently, you can’t buy a real tree already lit and decorated with your own ornaments. Sure would be nice, wouldn’t it?

There are no lights on our house. Plus, Cartman (our fat pine tree) isn’t sporting his outdoor ornaments.

The cookies haven’t been baked yet. Heck, the cookie dough hasn’t even been mixed up yet. Normally, by now it would be sitting on the attic stairs chilling. I plan to make 5 different kinds of cookies this year:

  1. Sugar cookies (these are the traditional one)
  2. Pumpkin cookies
  3. Scottish shortbread cookies with chopped pecans
  4. Gingerbread cookies
  5. Springerle cookies
  6. Molasses cookies (if time permits)

Two of the Christmas gifts are actually baked goods, which haven’t been made either. I am giving Scottish baps to my uncle and a chocolate cake to my sister-in-law. The baps can be made in advance and frozen until the day before Christmas. The cake I can’t make until the day before Christmas Eve. (I feel I should mention here that, no, I’m not Scottish. Well, I have a smidgen, but it’s hardly a drop in the bucket. I cook Scottish food because I love the simple recipes and the rich [fatty] outcomes).

The Christmas Eve dinner hasn’t been planned yet. Which is a nice way of saying, I have no frickin idea what I plan to serve these people! I have one picky eater who only likes to eat chicken Parmesan, a child who is pickier than her mother (hard to believe), a vegetarian who won’t even eat vegetable soup if its made from a meat stock, and 2 devoted carnivores who think vegetables are icky. Short of making personal, individualized dishes, I don’t know what to do. The idea of just cooking what I want to cook and telling everybody to either eat what is on the table or starve sounds really tempting. Do you have a better idea?