La La La and Yum August 16, 2007

Last Friday I went into Ravinia to see Nickel Creek with Fiona Apple.

See…

 

Can’t you tell? Well, try squinting. There, that’s better. The concert was great. There were some very innovative versions of Ms. Apple’s music. It was fun to hear it in a bluegrass-y style. She only sang – no piano. The members of Nickel Creek really have flying fingers. Since we had lawn tickets, I only had a few fractured glimpses of the musicians – hence the pictures. An enjoyable evening indeed. I knit for the early part of the concert, but, after a yarn-over or two, I decided it best to abandon the sock for some tree gazing:

 

Last night I went to a new SnB. It was a fun evening and I got a lot of knitting done on my sock. I started the heel of the sock. I hope to finish it this weekend. The folks there were quite nice. There were a couple of people new to knitting and several veterans. I’ll try to go back next week.

 

Tonight I made a yummy dinner. It was easy and quite tasty. Here is the recipe:

 

Spinach Lasagna

1/2 package no-boil lasagna noodles

1 jar marinara sauce (24 oz.)

2 cups ricotta cheese

1 egg

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1 tsp. italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

24-28 oz. frozen spinach, thawed

2-3 cups mozzarella cheese

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the ricotta cheese, egg, seasonings, and parmesan cheese. Add the spinach and combine. Spread 1/2 cup-ish of the sauce in the bottom of a 9×13in pan. Place a layer of noodles down. Layer the spinach mixture, followed by some of the cheese, sauce, noodles, the rest of the spinach mixture, more cheese, sauce, then noodles. After this layer, press the layers down to even it out. Then top it with the rest of the sauce and cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes until the cheese on top is golden brown and bubbly. Let it sit for a few minutes before cutting it. Enjoy!

 

 

I hope to have pictures of a completed pair of socks and perhaps a lizard ridge square by the end of the weekend.

 

 

 

Well… I know my plastic people, I guess August 8, 2007

Here are the results from this week’s quiz on mentalfloss:

 

Fantastic in Plastic

Score: 100% (12 out of 12)

Giggle.

Oo Oo… August 6, 2007

This is what I found when I checked Ravelry today.

 

Found you!

• You signed up on June 9, 2007
• You are #7935 on the list.
• 7 people are ahead of you in line.
• 15267 people are behind you in line.
• 34% of the list has been invited so far

Giggle.

sleepy Sunday August 5, 2007

It’s late afternoon. I’m trying to avoid taking a nap – only because I suspect it might lead to a headache later. I just have that feeling.

Well, here is one of my favorite things about the summertime:

 

Sheldon is enjoying fresh, albeit tiny, tomatoes from my garden. Yummy. There is nothing like popping a sun-warmed tomato in your mouth. Have I cooked with them? No… I keep nibbling them.

 

 

I finished my Fawkes socks yesterday. I love them. They are knit with RubySapphire “Julie” colorway. I did change the heel a bit to accommodate my larger heel. This pattern was quite fun and I loved the pattern repeats (enough to keep me interested and not too hard to memorize – which came in handy the other day when I was stuck in a meeting somehow without my pattern for the sock). Lovely pattern.

And here is what I started working on…

 

They are going to be basic stockinette socks (which I like when the yarn is rather busy). The yarn is a skein that I picked up in New York from the Great Adirondack Yarn Company, Inc. and I think that the colorway is called hopscotch (it’s a little hard to tell from the label, but I think that’s right). I love the blues and greens and yellows. Very fun.

 

Off to dinner…

Oh My! I’m a Spoiled One. August 2, 2007

School started yesterday. The joy that is summer vacation, the true perk of working in a school has ended. Today was the first full day of school.

The word must have gotten out. I was definitely in need of a pick-me-up. Kimberlyn (AMG)’s Bad Day Swap (to ward off and repair thyself from the bad days that get you) package arrived. Twirl. Smile. Cheer.

And, let me just say, I am the most spoiled one ever!! This was no small package. The entire box was filled with goodies.

 

 

Oh my, look at all those vibrant colors. Yippy. I’m still too excited to contain myself.

 

 

 

 

I don’t think that I can open these in a calm fashion. Frenzy approaching. Hmm… maybe I’ll try restraint.

 

 

 

Here we have a cute journal, delectable smelling lavender soap, yummy pineapply chocolate, and a set of handmade earrings and bracelet to cheer my day. That’s enough to brighten anyone’s day. I should stop and wait for another day to open more, right? Hmm… I’m not that disciplined.

 

 

 

 

Here we have three sets of handmade stitch markers. Two are of the orangy goodness variety and the other is a set of margarita and lime wedge markers. (How did AMG know that I kicked off the school year with a margarita? Seriously, this woman’s mind synced with mine!!)

 

 

Okay – I think I fit it all into the photo. We have several handmade items – two drawstring bags, each containing enough sock yarn for a pair of socks, stitch markers, smiley face earrings, a beaded bracelet, and felted coasters. There is some pretty fabric there for me to get crafty with, too. Funny items included the Big Ball of Blame (yup, that’ll come in handy! I’m always looking for someone to blame), the World in a Phrase (full of clever phrases), the History of Farting (!!) and a froggy knitting notions container. The yummies included moose munch, dark chocolate with pineapple bits, and tiramisu chocolate. The whole box was perfumed by the absolutely wonderful smelling lavender soap.

 

 

Okay, even the discarded paper is beautiful – look at those vibrant colors! I’m so happy. And thankful. Thank you soooo much Kimberlyn. You win the prize for the best bad-day-go-away package.