Epic Ireland Vacation, Part 4

 It was a little windy on the Cliffs of Moher. :)
 Brooding and misty, and gorgeous. I'm talking about the cliffs... :)

 While I wonder what they would have looked like in bright sunshine, we'll take them as they are most of the time, harsh and temperamental and wild and treacherous.

 A quick run in Galway so that I could say that I ran in Ireland :)

 A windy family selfie.

 Jennifer Ryan teaches crochet! That is, after all, why we are here!

Design Process Rambling

Design process rambling...

1. I want to design something to wear to the Knit and Crochet Show... next week.

2. I want it to have great drape

3. Probably needs to be DK weight or lighter

4. I don't want it to look like other designers' styles.

5. I'd like to work top-down

6. I'd like it to be somewhat lacy (Charleston will be hot...)

7. I need to have the yarn on hand to start immediately.

8. I've already started like 3 times and I'm not feeling any of it.

I should play to my strengths, I'd better go stash diving again.

Epic Ireland Vacation, Part 3

 Before the Cliffs of Moher, we went to Rathbaun Farm for a scone making class and a sheep shearing demonstration. A little tour of an authentic Irish farm.

 We were greeted by this lovely puppy who belongs to the neighbor but likes to hang out here.

 Let the scone making begin! While the scones were baking, we went out to talk to the farmer about sheep.

 This sheep looks so serene doesn't she?  It was her first time ever being shorn and she didn't mind a bit! The sheep are shorn for their comfort and not for the wool. It's not cost effective for them to raise the sheep for the wool.

Chickee and Chief were able to bottle-feed a pair of crazy vocal lambs who attacked the bottles with a frenzy.

Here Ted the dog rounds up the sheep. I didn't know sheep could run that fast!

Then the scones were warm out of the oven with apple/citrus jam of some yummy variety.

Knit and Crochet Show 2016

NEXT week! 
Goodness the Knit and Crochet Show is next week already.  I'll be there, will you?

The race is now ON to design and stitch something to wear to the fashion show.... send me good design mojo.

Epic Ireland Vacation Part 2

Most of our 40 people were on the same plane. We arrived in Dublin, met the tour guide and driver and slept on the bus on the way to Galway. In Galway we had to stop and take a photo at the famous Gormley's art gallery. We had heard of it before but I had completely forgotten until we came across it.

 This is downtown Galway.

 We found these crocheted beanies in the stores in Galway. I didn't know we would be finding the same beanies in other towns later in the week. They were all single crochet, pretty tightly woven and lined with a stretchy fleece. They were about $32 American dollars.

We stopped in a gorgeous church in Galway. There was a newer (1950's) church and an old 1500's church and I think this was the newer one because the older one had a wedding going on. 

 My official tour badge. It came with a little pocket-sized booklet with our itinerary, one page for each day. We stayed at the Maldron hotel. Interesting, our key card to enter our hotel room also is the card that turns on the electricity for the room! When you walk in there is another key slot and when you put your key in it, it enables all the switches and electricity to work. We did bring adapters with us since European outlets are not the same as American. (Totally worth the $15 for the 5 adapter set on Amazon. I tried to borrow some from friends but couldn't find anyone who had more than one).

Here Chickee and I get ready for the first night's dinner with the group. For the tour, the booking is based on double occupancy, or two people per room. So Chickee and I were in one room and Tom and Chief were in another. Many people brought a husband/sister/daughter/friend with them on the trip and they shared rooms. Some people came solo and either were matched with a roommate to save costs or they paid an additional fee to get a private room.

Tomorrow, the cliffs of Moher.

Epic Ireland Vacation Part 1

Part one of our Epic Ireland Vacation started with... New York City!

Since we had to come to New York to catch our flight to Ireland, we thought we'd catch a Broadway show. Les Miserables! It was, of course, phenomenal.

It took everything I had not to hum along. The music is just so magnificent.

 Thursday night in Times Square. I can't imagine what it's like on New Year's Eve!

 A quick view from the Empire State Building. Oh Sleepless in Seattle, Oh, An Affair to Remember... what iconic movies have included this awesome landmark.

A little respite in Central Park. Part Two coming soon... Ireland!

Design Binge 2016

I'm ready.

Vacation packing, ALL THE YARN!

The eternal question... how much to pack?
Is one hook enough? What if it gets lost? Is two hooks enough? Which scissors do I think I can get away with on the plane?

1. A knit project
2. A mindless crochet project
3. Yarn for designing .... there's the problem. A notebook, a pen, a hairpin loom, a broomstick needle... worsted? DK? several solid colors for color work? Bring yarn that is in balls and not hanks or spend precious packing time winding hanks into balls...

$1.99 What a bargain!

Marvelous Crochet Motifs is on sale for $1.99!

What a bargain! :)

Crochet! Autumn 2016

Hey there are some great things in the new issue of Crochet!

It's digital as of now and will be on newsstands very soon!

Dinner Rut Revisted

Remember last week when I was talking about getting out of my weeknight dinner rut? Check out the post with the recipe links here.

Tonight we tried the Italian Crusted Cod

With a side of broccoli (covered in melty cheese) and a side of fruit. The fish was pretty good. Healthier than deep fried, which is usually how we eat cod. The cod is from the freezer section at the grocery, this was a nice 1" thick piece. The other piece in the bag was long and thin. The thicker piece definitely cooked longer, I kinda burnt the thin one. Also, I cooked it on the stove top instead of in the oven so I could keep an eye on it.  It splattered something fierce so I was glad I don't have to clean my oven, instead just wipe down the stove top. Tom didn't really notice a difference from our deep fried version and this was healthier. Not bad. Chief didn't like it (as usual) and Chickee wasn't home (as usual) :)

Crochet in the Wild

 Over the weekend, my aunt and uncle celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary with a party at Xavier University. Above and below is a peek at a lovely pale blue motif sweater. The motifs are arranged on the diagonal. Very pretty!

 The anniversary party was a nice chance for me to visit with my brother, Ken, along with my dad and the rest of the family.

Here I am with Tom. The dinner party room overlooked the basketball court at the Cintas Center. Uncle Jerry was a professor at Xavier for many years.

Friday Dinner

Last night we were invited to a neighbor's house for dinner....

I brought a salad with green leaf lettuce from our garden and hard boiled eggs from our chickens and tomatoes from... the grocery. 

Next week, I think I will do a week long tour of my yarn closet.  I'll take out random skeins of yarn from the closet and share with you what I have been hoarding  collecting.

Thursday Dinner

Ok, so I caved. Chickee is away and Chief has been patiently home all week. His school bus driver opened a pizza store and he was anxious to give it a try. So, here is Thursday dinner.

Wednesday dinner

Some how I ended up with the evening to myself, so Chicken Scampi it is! This was the least healthy meal of the options I chose for the week. Dripping in a butter, olive oil, lemon sauce this is just like shrimp scampi but with chicken. I would have been happy with shrimp but I knew my family wouldn't eat it so I chose the chicken version. This recipe was very easy but I thought I had basil in the pantry but did not. So this is chicken scampi without the basil.  Again, one pan, very quick, a great weeknight meal.  I didn't want to bother with spaghetti for just me, so I threw in some leftover cheese tortellini the last few minutes to heat it through.

I miss crochet! I've been too busy to do much stitching. I have a hat on my hook and I still have the Sprinkles Knit Socks KAL on my needles. What are you making? Let me live vicariously through you!

Move a little 4th of July weekend!

You can run or walk from wherever you are!
Here's the link to the virtual race. Scroll down for all the details and facts.

Tuesday Dinner

Remember what I said about my family only eating broccoli if it has cheese on it?

So, in case you are just tuning in, here is the link to the links with the recipes and the details for the week.

So yesterday Chief asks, "What's for dinner" and I say, "Beef and Broccoli" and he says, "That's it? What's the catch?"   Uh, oh, he's catching on to my crazy plan!

He starts asking if we can order pizza. ONE NIGHT... I made it through ONE NEW recipe before he started asking for pizza. Sigh.

Ok, So this recipe was actually super easy and quick and really a busy family's ideal weeknight recipe. It all cooked in one skillet. I just grabbed a bag of frozen white rice that you steam in the microwave in the bag, and ta da! done. Really! You're family will probably love it.

Tom took one look at it and had to ask what was in the sauce. I assured him that there was nothing scary in there (read = onions, sour cream, mayonnaise, mustard, cloves of garlic, etc), there was a tiny bit of minced garlic but no whole visible pieces so I was able to scrape by. Before he even tasted it... he put mozzarella cheese on it... because.... broccoli.   Shaking my head. Seriously? Can't you at least taste it first?

Chief hated it. I asked him does that mean you liked last night's Hawaiian chicken better? "Neither" he says.  Tom said that he liked the chicken better but he would eat the beef and broccoli again.  

Chief: 0-2

Tom: 2-0

Me: I don't know that my vote counts, I'll eat pretty much anything I'm willing to cook ;) I've naturally weeded out lima beans. Stay tuned, life might get in the way of Wednesday's dinner.

On a related note.. Chickee is sending me crazy photos of her trying exotic new dishes like Sushi, squash, carrots, miso soup, fish tacos, etc.  I guess the key to getting your kids to try new things is to send them away with friends?

Monday Dinner

Last night was the Hawaiian Chicken and pineapple kabobs... get the recipe and the links to this week's recipes on THIS post.

Sorry, I keep forgetting to take a photo until after I have started. (ew!)  Anyway, Chief's first comment was, "I've never had warm pineapple before... not very refreshing..."  Tom said it was ok. I don't love pineapple but I ate some and enjoyed the chicken. Chief didn't go back for seconds. Most families would probably love this! Tonight Broccoli and Beef. Stay tuned.

Sunday dinner

Sorry, I dug into dinner before I remembered to take a photo for you... LOL. Sunday dinner didn't count on my recipe week anyway.

Here's a random snapshot of me with Chief, I don't think you've seen  him in a while. This was from last night. He just finished 7th grade. #soproud

And here's Chickee, she just finished her Freshman year. Her pink hair is her summer fun because they don't allow fashion hair at her school, so the day she got out off to the salon we went!  I think it's gorgeous. She's currently on vacation with her BFF.