Score!

So I was at the department store today picking up my Lancome free gift. At the counter I met a lovely woman doing the exact same thing. After we were done, we met again in the shoe department. There was a great sale and she was finding all kinds of cool shoes. As usual, I was not. I have a 5.5 medium foot and rarely do I find a pair that fits in ANY store. I mentioned my dilemma, and she told me that the local salvage center had just gotten a shipment in from Macy's and there were a bunch of shoes in my size. I was skeptical, but I decided to drive across town and check it out. Boy, am I glad I did!

I found 4, yes FOUR pairs of great shoes:

Michael Kors Pumps:



Merrell Loafers:


Naturalizer Mary Janes:



Cute Red Style & Co.:



I can't tell you which are my favorites because I LOVE them all so much. The Merrells feel like I'm walking on clouds and the Michael Kors are easy to walk in for the height. I love the Mary Janes and the red shoes are just so cute. I'm in shoe heaven! And each pair was 60% off the original price. I know it may seem tacky to talk price, but I got all 4 pairs for $139.00 US. I saw a pair of Merrells at the department store for $100.00. I got 4 pairs of shoes for just under what 1 pair would have cost in the department store. I'm just so happy.....

Happy Hallo-Wing!

(Title courtesy of #1)

I promised to make cookies for #1's school party and when my friend Freefader showed me this website, I had to give them a shot. The cookies are chocolate and it was my first time using royal icing. I used pasteurized egg whites so hopefully no 2nd graders will be getting salmonella. You have a belly ache, Little Timmy? It must be all the Halloween candy! Wasn't those cookies Ms. Zoysia gave you, was it?





These were fun to make, and the more I used the icing, the more I got the hang of it.

I'll probably edit this post later in the day when pumpkins are lit and boys are costumed, but till then, have a lovely day and a spooky evening!

Enjoy Every Sandwich

In regards to my last post: Whilst looking on Youtube for a Warren Zevon version of Poor, Poor Pitiful Me, I came across his last interview with Letterman, which really worked me over good, and got me to thinking about how precious everything we experience really is. So, while I do not have a great photo of a sandwich to show off, here's Letterman and Zevon both showing what they are made of. This is the first part of 4 available on Youtube, if you care to watch the whole thing.



And here's what kind of flower I am at this point in my life:

I am a Canna What Flower Are You?

So, I'm over this self pity and happy to be here. I've restarted the February Sweater and harvested my basil, zinnia, and marigold seeds. I hope everyone is having a lovely Autumn.

Smooches.

PS: It's completely ironic that cannas have always grossed me out. Their flowers turn to slime when they're done, but so be it!

Grumpification

I've been feeling pretty shitty lately. There's been family drama, Hank stress, and general dissatisfaction. Part of it is hormonal, too. You know. But even though I know all this will fade and pass, I'm wallowing in it right now.

Even knitting is grumping me out. I had gotten past the 3rd button hole on the February sweater and decided to count my stitches to see how much farther I had to go before the next step. I was over the stitch count I needed, but not over in a way that would suggest I had done too many increase rows. I started counting sections and it turns out one of the front sections was 9 stitches over. I'm not sure what I did, but I think it had to do with the button holes. So guess what I did. I ripped that sucker to within the original first 3 rows. There was no fudge room. It was 9 stitches. How disheartening. But I'm not one to accept a crappy result, especially when the yarn is so expensive. I'll just chalk it up to experience and remember to check my stitch count more often.

I don't feel like messing with it any more today. I'll come back to it when I'm feeling less pissy.

To add to my feeling of doom and gloom, I watched The Other Boleyn Girl several nights ago. I read the book quite some time ago and enjoyed it. I have always been intrigued with the story of Anne, Henry & Elizabeth. It's so tragic. For some reason, I always get caught up in the story and am a little surprised by the ending. Not like I didn't know it was coming, but surprised that it actually happened. I don't know how to explain it, but it breaks my heart every time. Anyway, probably not the best movie for someone wallowing in pseudo-depression.

Poor, Anne, poor Marie Antoinette, poor Marilyn.



EDIT: I've added pics of garlic rosemary salmon with roasted new potatoes & chocolate star cupcakes, cuz carbs always make me feel better.

Hank Woes

Can a dog attempt to off himself? Is life with us so bad? Here's how it went.

Hank stays in the kitchen or outside, because he's just too crazy to let run around the house. We've been trying to acclimate him to the rest of the house, but it's slow going. He looses all sanity and runs amok. He's never alone in the kitchen very long, because, I spend most of my time in there.

About an hour ago, I was trying to get things ready for #1's soccer practice, so I was moving around the house looking for shin guards, soccer shorts, etc. I was in and out of the kitchen, and on one pass, I heard a hissing sound. I started looking around trying to find the source, and lo and behold, one of the knobs on the range had been turned. The spark that starts the burner hadn't been ignited, so the gas was just streaming out.

I quickly turned the knob to off, got Hank out of there and started the vent fan. I found a floor fan and pointed it out the door to ventilate the kitchen. Right now, I can't smell gas any longer and I've taken the knobs off the stove. I was completely freaked out. Thank God I didn't have a candle burning in the house. Not that I usually do, but sometime I get a wild hair.

What am I going to do with this lug of a dog? He's smart and funny, but he's out of his mind. I think he really wants to be an outside dog, with kitchen sleeping privileges, but I had imagined he'd be one of the family, watching TV at night with us, sleeping by the fireplace in the winter. Oh, well. I guess he's still a puppy and eventually he'll chill out, but for now, he's driving me to drink! (Not that I need a reason...I'm going out with the girls tonight for some knitting and wine._

Wish me luck with this incorrigible pup!

Fallish

Hello everyone! I have been a poor blogger indeed! But things have cooled off here in the muggy South, and I'm feeling like a little knitting. I started the February Lady Sweater, by Pamela Wynne using Cascade Venezia in a light blueish gray color. I completely love this yarn, and so far the pattern is going well. I haven't gotten past the yoke yet, and this is my first top down raglan, so we'll see. It's pretty easy going right now, mindless garter stitch, with increases every other row.


I did get some sewing done this summer. I made an apron, a dress, and 2 bags. Right now I only have a picture of one of the bags. It's a Simplicity pattern, and it was a lot of work for little pay off. It has a zipper and pockets around the bottom. It's kind of formless, and I think if I made it again, I'd purchase straps instead of sewing them. They are a little insubstantial.


Hank is getting big and sassy. Yesterday he graduated from his puppy training at Petsmart. He wouldn't wear the mortar board for a class picture, but he learned an awful lot. He can sit, stay, lay down, leave it, roll over, wait, shake, and he's getting better at loose leash walking. Now if he could only learn not to jump on and nip at the boys, we'd be all set. I've found if he has 2 very brisk walks a day, he's much less likely to jump all over people. Here he is right after our walk/run this morning. If we can trust the birthdate on the papers from the shelter, then yesterday he turned 5 months.


Last night around 1:30, I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, so I started channel surfing. I came across The Spirit of the Beehive, a critically acclaimed Spanish movie from 1973. I was mesmerized by the 7 year old lead, Ana Torrent. Her performance was amazing and the movie was very good. It's subtitled, but even if you don't speak Spanish, or like to read subtitles, it's visually stunning. If any of you have seen it, I'd love to hear your response.

We're all back in school. #1 is doing great in all his subjects. He has quite the vocabulary and is a delightful conversationalist. #2 is doing great in his subjects as well, but he is rather shy and doesn't like to speak up in class. He has determined that he wants to be an artist when he grows up. He is visually talented and I try to encourage his creativity. My classes are going well. I'm enjoying teaching drawing. It's been several semesters since I've taught it, and I am trying to come up with new assignments and techniques. All in all, things are going well.

I hope everyone is doing well. I'm going to try to be more consistent with my posting and commenting. Trying to get back into the groove!

Gustav

3 years ago today, Katrina barreled into the gulf coast. If you don't live near a hurricane prone area, there is just no explaining how far reaching its effects were and still are. I knew it would be bad, but I had no idea how truly awful.

Now this new storm is headed for the Gulf Coast, and while nobody knows where it will make landfall, people on the coast and in New Orleans are gun shy. My town is 60 miles inland, with 1 major highway and 1 interstate that are evacuation routes. Already, the hotels are full, the grocery stores are selling out of crucial supplies, and gas prices jumped 30 cents in 24 hours. Luckily, I filled my tank on Monday night, before the prices soared, and got my shopping done on Wednesday, before people started going crazy. We're ready for this thing where ever it lands.

Some of the models are pointing it right at us, and some of them are predicting it will head towards Texas. It doesn't really matter to those of us who experienced Katrina. We aren't taking any chances. I have plenty of water, dried goods, batteries, toilet paper, and wine. If needs be, we'll cruise north on Monday, but I'm hoping we won't have to.