Reading This week!!

OK, OK I am still reading 'Night of Many Dreams' by Gail Tsukiyama and IT IS an interesting book.  but I must say I did get a little distracted and read a couple of other books too!!  This book has been sitting in my work bag to read on my breaks at work.

I have a bad habit of reading more than one book at a time. 

I was needing a little something to read that was pure mindless reading and ended up reading a romance "For Kaitlyn's Sake'.  It was a pretty quick mindless read LOL!!  Sorry no picture and Amazon to show you!!

I then had a book that I had posted on one of my bookswap lists quite awhile ago (didn't think it would ever be asked for) that I hadn't read yet get requested.  I am so bad that I can't let a book go through my hands without reading it.  So instead of reading more of 'Night of Many Dreams' I then read "Merlin's Bones' by Fred Saberhagen before I sent it off to its new owner.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked his book.  It is described as an "offbeat Arthurian fantasy".  Liked it enough to list a few more of his books as wants on my bookswap list!!   One of our Dr's commented that he had read some of Saberhagan's books awhile back and had really enjoyed his writing too.

After finishing 'Merlin's Bones' at work I was without a book to read, I had left my bag at home with "Night of Many Dreams'.  So raided my locker which has plenty of books for just such an occasion.  Now I am almost finished reading 'Wife For Hire' by Janet Evanovich.  I really like her styly of writing.  She has a series out about an inept bounty hunter name Stephanie Plum that I have almost read all the books too.  I am sure a new one will be coming out soon.

I am sure afer this read I will be able to sit down and finish 'Night of Many Dreams' as I am about half way through with it!!

Update on Knit-A-Long

Finished the Back this week, even with working most of it!!  It's turning out pretty nice!!  I like the colors!!

Started the Left front!!  Interesting how the pockets are worked in. 

This is turning out to be a pretty kewl project!!

Saturday night potluck at work - again!!

Here it is saturday night at work again - Brenda decided a few years back that if we had to be working on a saturday night we needed to have some fun and started the potluck saturday night thing. 

I decided to make the 'Chicken Tortilla Soup' and found a nice easy recipe at http://www.cdkitchen.com/ lo-fat too!!  I made it like the recipe excpt that I baked the chicken when I got home from work this morning and let it cool while I slept for awhile.  When I woke up around 1'ish this afternoon I threw everything except the cilantro, lime juice and tortillas into the crockpot and let it simmer the rest of the afternoon.  I then made the tortilla strips (coated with olive oil flavored pam and baked) and let them cool.  Right before I unplugged the pot to head to work I added the lime juice, dished up a bowl to take a picture and to taste.  I think I need to stop by the store on the way to work and get a bit of sour cream.  Cause a dollup of cream in the middle would make it perfect!!

Hmmm, hmmm good if I say so myself!!

Here's to another good potluck saturday night -- hopefully it won't be as busy as it was last night and we can enjoy Brenda's 'Pot Stickers' and my 'Chicken Tortilla Soup'.

Off to work I go

Well its the weekend again . . . and my weekend to work!  So off to work I'll be heading in a few.  Tomorrow is our Saturday night potluck at work and not sure what to take . . . Guess we will all discuss it tonight and then make a firm decision.  I was thinking about making a chicken tortilla soup. . . we'll see.

Probably won't be working much on my Knit-A-Long over the next couple of days either, but will take it to work on during my lunch break if ime permits!!

Catch you'all later!!

Update: Yarn for my Knit-A-Long (KAL)

Yahoo!!!  Yarn came in for my Knit-A-Long(KAL) today!! 

Was headed out the door to a staff meeting when I noticed that the mailman had left my package by the door.  I tossed it in the kitchen and hoped that I could get back to it later --- We were really, really busy last night at work and it looked like they were going to need some extra help tonight and I volunteered to be available, I would find out at the staff meeting if I was staying and working or able to head back home and start fingering some yarn.

Well. . . I was able to head back home -- on call that is, but still able to start fingering that box of new yarn!!!

I got home and pulled open that box --- oh what nice bulky, soft yarn!!! 

But I really needed to get a few things done before I started working on that project. . .

I warmed up a bowl of soup and sat down to eat it and do some facebooking, but that box just kept pulling my attention.  I, finally, gave in to it and started my new project --- here's hoping that I finish it too!!!  Thus the reason for joining a Knit-A-Long, incentive to keep me on tract!!

I soon realized that, true to their word, it does work up fast since you use pretty large needles and a bulky yarn.  Within in a couple of hours I had a nice piece of the back done.  At this rate I should be able to catch up with the rest of the knitters pretty quick!!

Just a Pinch Kitchen Sister Swap!!

I belong to the Just-A-Pinch cooking site and joined a group called Kitchen Sisters -- A group of women (hmmm might be some men in there too, not sure) that share recipes and good times, just like you would with your neighbors around the kitchen table, but through the internet instead.

They started a monthly themed swap this year and I signed up for the February one!!  Was racking my brain trying to figure out what to get my new Kitchen Sister. . .not sure how many stores I browsed through looking at Valentine goodies, but nothing out there seemed to catch my interest.

 After making the first few Co-worker washcloths I decided that a wash/dishcloth was just the thing!!! I found a BRIGHT varigated yarn and whipped up another cloth -- pulled out some of the heart shaped lavender soap that I made last year, found a box of bath rose petals and some lotion . . .

 

 

. . .Viola!! The perfect Valentine Swap gift for my new kitchen sister in Florida!!

Co-worker Christmas project!!

I have, for the past three years, been saying that I was going to knit washcloths for each of my co-workers for Christmas. 

Well. . . .this year I, actually, started them.  Couldn't sleep the other night (side effects of working night shifts- can't sleep on your nights off!!) So I pulled out the cotton yarn that I bought a few years back and turned the TV on.

Can you believe it? I finished two that night!!  Yahoo!!

Made a varigated one and a purple heart one!!

Two down and upteen more to go!!  Guess I need to figure out how many women I work with.

What are you reading?

OK - I am going to watch 'House' at 8pm tonight.  In the meantime I think I'm going to take a warm bubble bath and read for awhile. 

Which brings me to my question - What are you reading right now?  I love to read, along with many other things. . . At the moment I am reading 'Night of Many Dreams' by Gail Tsukiyama.  This is the second Gail Tsukimama book for me.  I really enjoyed reading the first one and put all her books on my swap list.  This book arrived about two weeks ago and I'm finally getting to read it.  So far, I'm not disappointed.

I'd really like to know what other people out there are reading. 

So. . .What are you reading right now?

Who Loves 'House'?

Gonna watch the new episode of 'House' tonight.  Who else loves 'House' and is going to watch it tonight??

WOW!!  I have no life!!  Hahahaha

Gonna have to 'follow' it on facebook.

Red Wine Cozy

Sitting home alone. . .Again.


Decided to work on a knitting project that I started a couple of days ago. Its a pattern that I found at http://taras-knits.blogspot.com/ as I wait for my yarn for the Lion Brand Knit-Along Hoodie to come in, hopefully later this week.

I was able to finish the Wine Cozy, and if I may say so myself, did a pretty good job. Although my mind must have been elsewhere as I kept having to redo a number of the rows or it would have been done yesterday.

Decided to send it to a new friend for Valentine's Day - I hope it is liked as it comes from my heart and with a wonderful bottle of Jaxon Keyes Farmhouse Red

I guess I'd better get it in the mail if it'sgoing to make it there in time!!

Hoping everyone is planning on a wonderful Valentine's Day with the one they love - as for me: I will be working, and the one I love is far away - I hope he thinks of me as much as I think of him.
http://www.jaxonkeys.com/



Still Waiting on yarn for the Knit-Along

Recieved an email that my yarn had shipped!! Yahoo!!  Should be here by thursday!!

Just have to find other things to keep me busy till then.

Working on a knitted Wine Bottle Cozy -- should be done soon.  Will post when done!!

Watched the Superbowl with a couple of friends -- Yahoo!! for the Greenbay Packers!!

Blue Slipper socks

Started these for this past Christmas, but didn't get them finished in time!! Finished them last night, guess they will be for next Christmas instead!!!  Found the pattern at http://www.beartoes.com/patterns/tropicalpunch.html 

For my boys I decided to make them in the shorter style.  Another Christmas present done!!

OK -- I'm gonna do it!!!

Pondered over whether to buy the materials for this Knit-Along last night at work. When I got home this morning I searched the internet for decent priced compatable yarns and came up with one at a price I could live with!! The Bernat Chunky yarn in teal, figured that way whomever I decided to give it too would like the color.

What do you think?

It's potluck Saturday night at work!!

I decided to make some homemade cranberry scones for our potluck saturday night tonight at work.  They are so yummy with just a touch of orange zest and pecans!!  And only have half the butter of most recipes that I have found, although they do use cream instead of milk!!

We are gonna enjoy these with Brenda's Navy Bean and leak soup!!

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Thinking of doing this Knit-Along

I love to start projects , but have a hard time actually finishing them. I think I tend to get side-tracked and want to start on the next one before the first one is finished. Small projects seem to be the best for me - but I lovethe results of the larger ones!!

Found this Knit-Along http://blog.lionbrand.com/2011/01/27/saturday-morning-hoodie-knit-along-a-truly-his-hers-hoodie/ where everyone works on the same project and posts progress and helpful info each week. Hmmm I like the 'Hoodie sweater' I'm thinking I might want to actually do this and see if blogging about my progress and following others progress actually helps me finish the project!!

But need to get the yarn first!!

Finished first Christmas present of 2011!!

Looks like I am off to a good start for Christmas this year!!

I finished my first Christmas present already - now to just keep track of where I hide it for safe keeping!!

OMG! I haven't posted in over a year!!

Shame, shame, shame on me!!

Update on Geocahing!! I have found, to date, 258 geocaches. A lot over the past year. Had a few minutes (hour) to spare last weekend and decided to take a walk out to a cache near a friends house. After searching through the bushes and brush (took a bit home with me in my hair) my GPS finally settled down and I realized that the cache was closer to the trail than I was looking. Went back down the side of the hill to the trail and walked right up to it!! Boy did I make that one harder than it should have been. Nice walk though!! Picked up a Travel Bug and left a Travel Bug!! (Might have to describe what these are at another time!!)

Geocache #12

Had noticed that there was a cache very close to where I work, but that during the weekday work hours was a pretty popular place for muggles (non-cachers) and hard to get to for that reason. So I decided to hit it on my way home from work -- granted thats 6:30ish in the morning!! LOL

Site was pretty empty, only noticed one person arriving at a nearby office early, but they didn't pay any attention to me. Found it pretty quick with the clues/hints and my iphone GPS which seems to be pretty accurate.

Nice size cache. Looked like a retired plastic mayo container painted greenish. Tried to take some pictures, but at 6:30ish am in December the sun is barely rising and the light is pretty poor -- yep I needed to pull out the flashlight to even find the cache. Tried to get a picture of the site, but even with the flashlight the picture is pretty poor.

But!!! Another geocache found!!!

Geocahces 10 & 11

As I headed home from work I was still pretty stoked about my find yesterday with my new iphone!! Yep!! You guessed it!! I had to check it out again. Stopped at a couple of caches that I have been to before and unable to find. At the first one, after walking the area a bit and looking my iphone GPS kept bringing me back to the same place where my 'gut' had been telling me the cache was. I sat down on the edge to mull it over. I kept repeating the 'hint' over and over in my head 'rock but no roll' and then started to pick up the rocks one by one in the planter area until I came to a rock I couldn't 'roll' over. You guessed it!! I found it.

This was a pretty nifty cache hide if you ask me. Although it is not water proof -- guess they need to work on that a bit still. In fact, it was so water logged that I was unable to even sign the log that I had been there -- good thing you can 'log' your finds online. I even left a note with my online log mentioning that it was 'water logged'. I then put everything back together and replaced it as found!!

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The second one that I just had to check out again kept taking me to a fire hydrant in the middle of nowhere -- I just couldn't figure out where the cache could be. There didn't seem to be any place to hide it. Although the cache name fit to a tee!!

After tramping all around in the mulch I, finally decided to stoop down and take a closer look!! I couldn't believe it!! Now this, leterally was a cache just hanging around in plain site, but invisible. It is , also, gotta be the smallest cache that I have ever found!!! I must say this one made me chuckle a bit!! It is so much fin to see the measures that people go to to make and hide a 'good' cache!! Can't wait till the next time I find some time to 'find' some more geocaches!!!