Winter Weather

Question I was asked at the gas station today "When did we move to Canada?" The Tri-state region of West Virginia; usually a region of moderate temperatures protected from much snowfall by the mountains around us. Well, not today. It started snowing late last night and has not stopped all today, except when it switches to freezing rain, that is.

Right now the entire area is covered with snow and ice and everyone is praying the power doesn't go out. I got up around 1:00 this afternoon, called Taco Bell to see if the paychecks were in (they were) and hauled my but out of bed to go get and cash mine. After a brief stop at the gas station mentioned above, I got on the road. Now I work a good way from where I live, but it usually only takes about 20-30 minutes to get to Taco Bell. Today it took a good hour. Luckily, my credit union is right next door to Taco Bell.

I finally got my check cashed and headed to Walmart to get chili fixings. If this isn't chili weather, I don't know what is. I visited Jon while there (he works in the electronic dept.) and headed home. The roads were a bit clearer, so it didn't take as long. I then started the chili in the crockpot (I love that thing) and started a new loaf of homemade bread. My last attempt at bread fell flat a bit; it was still raw dough in the middle. This one turned out fine, though.

So, my plans for the rest of today and all of tomorrow is simply to veg, knit my February socks and watch my fave TV show, Most Haunted, on Youtube. I finished my Wavy scarf last night and will hopefully post pics tomorrow. I also began my February socks. They will be green and white striped. The cuff, heel and toe of one will be green and the cuff, heel and toe of the other will be white. Beyond it is just two-row stripes. I will probably post pics of it tomorrow also.

New Obsession?

I have created a monster! No, actually I have created bread:

My first loaf of homemade bread! It tastes better than store-bought and is healthier, what with the no preservitives. I used this recipe and it can out good after I called my grandmother a few times for advice. The directions did not say to add water.

Also, my January socks for the Great 2009 Sock Off are finished and feel and look great.

Yah!

For more hours at work. A slight emergency with scheduling gave me am additional 8 hours at my security job. The down side is those 8 hours are attached to the next eight. Translation: I have to work a 16 hour shift, go home and sleep for 12 hour and come back in for another 12. Oh, well, at least I will be able to pay the rent. I really hope we get the stimulus check they are talking about in the next couple months. If I can just get my credit cards paid off, I will be much better off!

Onto fiber related topics. My first pair of socks for the year are going quite good. One is finished and I am about half done with the heel flap of the other. It helps that several people have uploaded episodes of one of my fave TV shows onto YouTube. The show is called Most Haunted, and as the name suggests, they spend the night in haunted locations. It is interesting and can be scary at times. A lot of people believe it is fake, but some stuff is hard to fake.

Random Thoughts

I am very happy because I finished this hat Sunday morning while at work. It was my first time knitting cables, and they came out very well. I started using a cable needle but ended up using a 5in dpn for most of it. I wore it this morning while walking to the post office. Cold or not, I was not going to waste the gas to drive a block!

A few days after Christmas I entered into a trade with a knitter on Ravelry. I traded her some roving I decided I would probably never use for the Yarn Harlot's Never Not Knitting page-a-day calender. We were both beginning to to wonder if it got lost, because she mailed it on Jan 2 and it still had not arrived. She got the roving last week. But there it was this morning, in all it's harloty glory!

I am getting a bit peeved at my landlord. I paid the rent on Jan 3 and the check still has not cleared. If he lost it, I am not writing another one. Once it leaves my hands, it is his responsibility.

Once again I am going to sing the praises of my crock-pot. I don't get paid until tomorrow and the cupboards are bare. So what did I do? Simply dug the leftover chili from where I froze it last week, stuck it in the fridge to thaw and there you go, two meals in one Ziploc bag. After I cash my paycheck, I am planing to make beef stew. All I need is beef, a few potatoes, baby carrots and seasoning.

It feels weird not to be starting class today. I was not eligible for financial aid and was unable to pay the tuition. So, I will have to take a class in the summer and reapply for financial aid after I get my tax info from last year.

You will probably (hopefully) be seeing a lot of socks on this blog this year. On Ravelry, on of the new groups I have joined is the Sock Challenge of 2009. The challenge is to knit 1 pair of socks per month in 09. I thought it sounded cool and I have enough sock yarn to last me about 4 months. I am almost finished with the first socks, the YH basic sock recipe, and have queue the next pair, a cable pattern based off of the basic sock recipe. They will be knit in Cestari sock yarn, colorway Green Heather. I have managed to avoid casting them on until I finish the first pair.

I also cast on a scarf for myself. I realized that I have knit about six scarves, and never kept one for my own use. So, I am knitting the same pattern as Kara's Christmas scarf, but in four colors instead of two. I am using remnants of another finished project. It is Oasis Yarn Aussi Wool.

Late Christmas Post

I can't believe I forgot to post the drama around my boyfriend's scarf. At the October meeting of the River Cities Fiber Guild, one of the guild members, Beth, brought in some remnants of yarn she had sitting around. I liked a skein and ball of a blue/purple/pink variegated yarn and a plain light blue yarn. I had already decided to make a scarf for my boyfriend, Jon, and this yarn was perfect. I am a very lucky knitter, in that Jon loves vibrant colors, mostly in blue and purple.

The only problem was, I didn't know how much of the yarn I had. Of the variegated, there was a good-sized yarn cake and a small hand wound ball. I cast on 28 stitches in garter stitch. I thought at first to use 2x2 rib, but had just finished a 2x2 rib for my aunt, and was about sick of it.

I worked diligently on the scarf, around other projects until December 23. The days preceding this had been unusually warm and rainy, but that night the temperature dropped drastically and the although the rain had stopped, the roads were icy. I was on I-64, having just left my grandmother's, when I became stuck in a massive traffic jam.

It turned out that a cherry-picker truck had overturned on a bridge and was blocking all 4 lanes. I didn't know that then, but after sitting for about 20 minutes, I fished Jon's scarf out of my knitting bag. I figured it would be best because the other projects I was working on all required counting and it was to dark to see well. So, this is what I did:

I ended up stuck in that traffic jam for two hours! Still, I got a lot done. After I finally got home I stretched out the scarf to measure it. I had only about 2 yards of the variegated yarn left and only 40 inches. After an initial bit of panicking and use of language unbecoming a knitter, I figured out what to do. I took the blue yarn I received from Beth and continued on the cast off end for 5 inches. I then undid the cast on edge and added the blue yarn for an additional five inches. I didn't have much time to add the extra inches. I was due to meet Jon and go to my parents for Christmas morning at 9:00. I ended up finishing at 6:30.

I could not believe how good it looked! It looked like I had actually planned that from the beginning. I told Jon about it and he didn't believe it either.

Crock-pot cooking

works for me! I finally got around to cooking something other than chili. I like it, but almost 2 weeks of eating it is enough. So yesterday, I bought a 3.75 roasting chicken and made chicken stock, which is now in the freezer. I am currently using the chicken to cook a slightly modified version of the Crockpot Lady's Brown Sugar Chicken. Except I am making it with the already cooked chicken. Here's hoping it goes well!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today I turn 26 years old. And what do I have planned for myself today? Cleaning my apartment. Two weeks of night shifts from eight at night to eight in the morning means my apt is trashed. I have already cleaned the bathroom and took down the Christmas tree. I am planning to clean and organize my spare room. I have a two bedroom apt, but the front bedroom only contains my stash and the various junk that is not immediately needed after moving.

So, everything is going in boxes and is going to be neatly stacked (I hope). While doing that, I need to wash about three loads of laundry. The laundry facilities are a bit touch and go around here. There is only one washer and dryer and they are shared by all 8 apts in the building. I have an advantage in that I don't work days. So, I tend to wash clothes when most other residents are at work.

Now it is time for the Christmas recap. I had several things on my list that I considered necessities, not just stuff I wanted for the heck of it. One such item was a slow-cooker. I got a 5-quart Rival Crock-pot from my grandmother and have already used it twice. Both times I made my dad's chili. It is easy and very cheap. All you need is 2-5 cans of Luck's Pinto Beans, a 16oz can of tomato sauce, a packet of McCormick chili seasoning and a pound of hamburger.

1. Mix the seasoning in a 1/2 cup of water.
   
2. Add the tomato sauce.
   
3. Open the cans of beans and put in slow-cooker.
   
4. Add the seasoning/tomato sauce mix.
   
5. Brown the hamburger and add to mixture in cooker.

6. Allow to simmer for 1-2 hours.

7. Enjoy.

I decided to make to chili because it was easy. Also, all ingredients totaled about $6.50. I just made a weeks worth of food for the price of one combo at McDonald's! It tasted just like my dad's too. I ended up calling him about 3 times asking for instructions :).

Here is what it looked like in the Crock-pot:

And this is what it looked like in the bowl:

It tasted just like my dads.

Earth to Jenny

Just a quick post so you know I haven't died. My internet connection is somewhat spotty right now, but I intend to have a real post in a few days.