Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you're having a Happy Valentine's Day. We've had one.
RL surprised me by only working half a day - that was real treat! He brought me three yellow roses - my favorite - and a Snoopy card. We both love Snoopy, so it was perfect. R decided to make some cream biscuits. I had never had them before. They were pretty good.

Of course, I didn't taste much of the biscuit because it was smothered with whipped cream and strawberries! The breakfast of champions!
I finally had a nice day to take pictures of the socks I knit in January. The yarn was really kind of funky. Same dye lot, bought at the same time, started from the same place (roughly), same size needles, same pattern - totally different striping pattern. What's up with that????? Oh well - I don't think I've ever cared if my socks matched perfectly, so no big deal.

Stressed

I must remember that 'stressed backwards is desserts.' Unfortunately my waistline knows it! Maybe a diet isn't a good idea with Valentine's coming up....and having a great baker or two in the house doesn't help matters. However Stress has become my middle name and eating has become my latest past time. I'm trying to ignore the growling while I knit or read and try desperately to keep my mind on other things besides sweets.

I finally, finally, finally got around to taking some pictures of some sweet gifts. Luann made the cutest pins for R and me and sent them at Christmas time. I've been waiting for sunny days to take pictures and then I forget to take them! The sun has been quite rare lately so I'm going to use that as my excuse! I have no idea how on earth she knit these on toothpicks. Yes, she did knit them on the toothpicks. I would have cheated and used needles and then transferred them. This is one dedicated knitter. Thank you Luann! We both love them and appreciate your thoughtfulness.

These are my new sock blockers. I bought a great set of sock blockers from Loopy Ewe a few years ago. I love the crazy little designs on them and the bright red. Well, they got thrown around a little too much and they just broke. So taking pictures of new socks has been a little difficult. Hearing my whining once too often, Santa's elves took pity on me and got me a new set this past Christmas. Before I put socks on them, I HAD to share the way they were decorated. Aren't they cute? I've got a pair of socks waiting to try them out.

New Yarn, Laziness and Shortbread

I'm not sure that our computer woes are behind us, so I have been laying low. We've been busy keeping ourselves entertained with other things so we won't rely on this blankity-blank-blank computer so much. Thank goodness for the Nook I got for Christmas! I get my electronics fix and get to read some really good books at the same time! R and I went to the yarn store after Christmas and found some fibery goodness. I bought this beautiful Malabrigo. I'm not so wild about it now that it is knit up, but I hope it will grow on me. I made a Nook cozy out of it. I'll have to get some pictures soon so I can share. That is, if I decide I like it. If not, I might have some crinkled yarn to knit with after I rip it out!

This cold weather has made Ginger become fast friends with any warm body she can find. The other day we caught her cuddling up to L. She is normally on the couch, sitting on her fleece blanket with the heating pad set to low under her. For a cool kitty, she know how to stay warm.
The new recipes have been flying in and out of the kitchen. R decided she needs to try a new recipe every week. This particular week we had shortbread. The little dots are where she poked holes in it and put lemon curd and raspberry jam. I don't know about you, but that combination sounded pretty bad to me. I don't care for raspberries and I had never tried lemon curd. However, this was really, really good! I rule this recipe a keeper!

I hope everybody had a nice Chinese New Year. The kids made beef and broccoli on noodles and egg rolls. It was such a great dinner! L even cleaned up the kitchen! WOW! The kids wanted us to try eating with chopsticks. They are pros, so that wasn't even an issue with them. RL was too hungry and ate his dinner with a fork. Mom and I opted for beginners chopsticks. I call them chopsticks with training wheels! They are actually plastic and connected at the top so they are easier to maneuver. All was going well until Mom started laughing like crazy. I looked up and noticed that she had apparently squeezed a piece of broccoli a little too hard and it flew across the room. If I had been a couple of feet closer I would have taken a piece of broccoli to the forehead! It's a fork for her from now on!