fire and ice

when we lived in Dearborn, we had an upright freezer chest and we used to make ice candles in the winter and put them on our porch. I forgot all about them until my friend Sharyn posted pictures of hers, and I knew I wanted to make some. Good timing, considering it's going to be Artic temps around here!

I ruined the first set, trying to remove the plastic bottles I had in the middle. This time I didn't put anything in the center, and dumped the buckets before they were all the way frozen. This method left a hole in the center, which was way easier than my first try.

My ice candles are in my backyard, right next to the back door where I can actually see them. Their  beautiful glow makes me happy.

Tuesday out!

home improvement

home improvement, originally uploaded by dogglips2.

We had a busy weekend taking down every last remnant of Christmas
{ shut up. when you have an artifical tree the urgency to get it down is gone. Don't judge } and generally improving the ol' homestead. Which is saying a lot, because we have been talking improvements for a long time and we never seem to have the resources to complete said projects. Here are some baby steps we took this weekend, preparing for the big momma re-do.

1. Bart removed the kitchen table last month in an effort to confuse everyone who walks through our front door. (not really, but it's a fun side-effect). Until this weekend, the kitchen had a big hole in it. Now we have a little breakfast nook. A gathering place. Totally temporary, but if we like the general nook, we may make a permanant one.
2. Ugly ass bookshelf gone! Replaced with an Expedit bookcase. When we bought it, we intended it to be used lengthwise to mimic the brown sofa at the other end. Who knew we would like it better upright? We may go back and get another to place directly across from this one.
3. Our new table! It's actually old, and Bart has been trying to refinish it forever. He finally was able to do it over the break and now we have a larger, nicer table than we had before. Of course, the chairs don't match. Another problem for another day.
4. This is a long view of the living room. Both 'halves' are fine, but all together it's still a bit off balance. The main problem is the giant brown antique chefrobe (?) in the left rear corner. It's huge and takes up a lot of space and doesn't want to play nice with the table right now.
5. FINALLY we re-hung the 'e's in Emma's room. It only took us 8 months. She also inherited ugly ass bookcase to house all her books and knicknacks. It's conventiently tucked behind her bed and doesn't draw any attention. Hopefullynow she can keep her desktop clean and use it like a desk??? Is that too much to hope for?

All new products are from IKEA (excpt the table, which is old). We got the swedish meatball jones and went there during the massive snowstorm, mind you. I am liking it. Everything feels less cluttered and cramped right now, and that's a good way to start the year off.
Happy Monday!

let it snow! let it snow! let it snow!

It has snowed all day today to the tune of 12" or so. I took these pix this afternoon and we've easily added a few more inches since then. The birds were busily scarfing down birdseed, and our yard was bright with every cardinal in Northville.

Evan, ever the optimist, attempting to sled down the miniscule 'hill' in our yard.

He also dug an igloo and is hoping it will still be there tomorrow.

A little self portrait in the front yard. I believe the snow was going into the tops of my boots at this point and I was getting crazed.  Yeah, that must be why I have a crazy look on my face.

Other than the drone of snowblowers, it is peaceful and lovely and still. The best that winter in Michigan has to offer. Aren't you sad you're missing this, snowbirds?

In other equally fascinating news, I was a big winner at Bunco last night! Or I should say a big LOSER...I had the lowest score and took home the booby prize. But a prize is better than no prize, and I am happy with my chocolate fudge brownie mix and polka dot pot holders.

Later!

FO-Cindy's skinny la Novia scarf

This beauty is finished and on it's way down south as I type this. I love the way it turned out. The pattern from Knitspot is wonderfully written and I loved how fast it flew off the needles.

The yarn Is Berrocco Ultra Alpaca, and I used almost 2 skeins on size 5 needles. The finished scarf is about 6" long. Emma is modeling it wrapped twice around her neck.
Hey there, cute girl!

it's been an altogether weird week for me...having a rough time getting back to my normal routine. For some reason I can't fall asleep, so I have been napping during the day and not getting a thing done. I was so tired last night I thought I would have no problem sleeping, and I still had to take a Tylenol PM and it still took me 2 hours to fall asleep. I hate that. My internal monologue has a lot to say, evidently.

I'm going to play Bunco tonight, and let's hope I finally win something!

The snow has been steadily falling all day and we are supposed to get somewhere in the neighborhood of 6-8". I'll believe it when I see it! It does look pretty though.

Happy Friday!

good stuff

italian wedding soup, originally uploaded by dogglips2.

After the hustle and bustle of yesterday, I didn't get a lot done today. And that's ok...I don't expect everyday to be filled with projects.
I did, however, make some delicious italian wedding soup from scratch. It was good stuff.
More good stuff for the day-
-all new episodes of Nip/Tuck, the Biggest Loser, & Scrubs. three shows! I must be dreaming!!!!!!!
-finishing Cindy's scarf
-putting away Christmas decorations at my own pace
good Tuesday to you all!

WIP's- Clapotis & Cindy's skinny la Novia

It's officially the new year...it's Monday and the kids are in school. All is right with the world. Evan was actively begging not to go to school today, which is funny because he is not that kid. I, being the sympathetic parent that I am, told him to get his back-pack and suck it up.

I am empathetic to your plight, but not enough to let you stay home after 18 days of being home. Too bad, so sad.

It wasn't all party time this morning; I also had to go to the dentist, which ranks in my top five things I hate to do the most. Since my last cleaning (which was embarrasingly long ago) they have come up with new implements of torture! They use a tool to measure the pockets between your teeth and gums (I didn't do well, I'm afraid...) and she cleaned my teeth with a water pik, which was only slightly less annoying than a drill. I need to get a crown, and she suggested that I have a few of my fillings replaced. That sounds like a great time! Maybe I'll schedule it for my birthday.

And now on to some WIP's. I have many more than 2, but these are the 2 I am actively working on.

This is a long & skinny la Novia scarf for my Aunt Cindy. I am using Ultra Alpaca, and it is soft and warm. I figure I'm about halfway done...she wants it really long. The pattern is beautiful and I really enjoy it.

Here's a close-up of the texture. It's nummy. The color is very deep brown; deeper than in the photos.
This is my first ever Clapotis- a scarf knit on a diagonal. I am doing a KAL on Ravelry that started Jan. 1st. I am only working on it a little at a time...it's not a priority right now since it's just for me, but having the group for encouragement and to answer questions is priceless.
I'm using my very first skein of Wollmeise in Indisch Rot. The color is too gorgeous to be believed. It's hard to photograph, it looks different in each shot. It's definitely more red than in this close-up. I love the feel of this yarn and am starting to see what all the fuss is about.
Check out my new needles- they are glass! I got a duplicate ball winder for Christmas, and I exchanged it for these lovely needles in a size 5. I figured a special project called for special needles. They are so smooth and make a satisfying click as I work.

Happy Monday!!

FO-Dad's Dumbledore socks & Bart's Christmas hat

You know that commercial where the Dad is skipping through the store, throwing school supplies into the shopping cart, while the kids walk 10 paces behind with their heads hung low as "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" plays over the loudspeaker?

That's how I feel today.

I love my family. We had a very nice holiday and lots of quality time together, but it's time for everyone to go back to their respective duties. Me included.

Happy 2009! May it be better than 2008, or at least not worse.

(how's that for a ringing endorsement?)

And now I have a few FO's from the holiday that I never got around to posting...

Dad's Dumbledore socks! The minute I heard that Opal was coming out with a line of Harry Potter inspired sock yarns, I knew I would have to make some. My Dad is a huge HP fan, and I hadn't made anything specifically for him yet, so he was the lucky recipient!
They are a basic 2x2 rib sock. I kept the pattern simple becasue the yarn is so colorful.

And this didn't quite get finished in time for Christmas, what with all the 'whisking away to Vegas' that happened, so it was more like the week after. No worries! Evan got duplicate Speed Racer hats and Bart has claimed one for himself. Men.

This is the lacunae hat pattern from Knitspot made in a very nice tweedy and soft yarn. I can see now that it's done where I made a few mistakes, but they are of the 'no one but I will notice them' variety. Next time I make this hat I will slow down and make it perfecto.

I hope you are all enjoying the winter break and the New Year!