Orcas Island

Yes, it's that pretty and relaxing.

Off to Orcas Island!

The hubby and I are leaving for a quick weekend getaway to Orcas Island in the San Juans! I've never been there before so I'm excited to see it.

There will plenty of pictures to be posted when I get back. I've been a slacker (or really busy....I seem to run in two modes these days...superbusy/stressed to slacker/lazy as I try to recover) so I'll post pics for sure.

(It was another chaotic day and I don't think that last sentence makes sense but I honestly don't really care.)

Surviving September

About mid-August I took a look ahead at my work to-do list for the month of September. It scared me. Like really scared me. My job isn't your normal 9-5 gig so sometimes the workload varies depending on the day and story. But this month wasn't pretty. I decided instead of stressing over it, I was mearly going to embrace the challenges ahead and run with it. At least that's what I kept telling myself.

Throw in a few busy weekend (a trip to Boise to see the family and a visit from the in-laws to see our new house) it all just kind of made for some really exhausting days. And nights. Hence the few and far between blog posts. And the even fewer and farther between knitting projects. And my sewing machine? Yeah, there's a layer of dust on it. Which is really too sad because while I was home my mom hooked me up with some very cute sewing projects!

But luckily for me, the knitting waits, the sewing maching is oh-so patient with me (even when I'm not patient with it) and my friends and family are supportive of my seemingly constant complaining about my work load. When the truth be told, I'm lucky to do what I do, and even luckier to have a job (unlike a few of my coworkers who didn't quite survive September and our surprise layoffs that came a few weeks ago.)

So here's to October! Here's to a new month full of possibilities, new projects and most importantly - so freaking time to just relax!

Julie, Julia & Meg

This summer I read Julie & Julia and My Life in France. They both made me laugh. They both made me hungry. And they both made me want to cook.

But with record high temps outside and in my kitchen (there were several days where it was at least 84 degrees or higher in my kitchen) and that pretty much wiped out my desire to cook.

But it's cooler now and I'm ready to tap into that inspiration. I think it has something to do with fall. The cooler temps and colored leaves make me want to bake and make soups.

I got a little creative with the mass amounts of tomatoes I got from the garden. I decided I was going to whip up a sauce for our pasta. So with a couple of handfuls of tomatoes, some green onions from the garden and chives from the herb pot, I tossed them into the pan and cooked them down to a delightful topping.

And then I heard the peaches calling my name from the farmers market. So I whiped a tart from an old receipe (that I've saved forever but never actually made). It's from Real Simple. It calls for a pre-made pie crust, and while I do love baking, sometimes, you just need to fake it and use a pre-made pie crust, know what I mean? I also didn't have enough peaches so I improvised with a handfull or two (don't you like my great measuring systems?) of fresh raspberries.

I have to say, both dishes were quite divine. I think the ladies would be proud.

Here's to a return to the kitchen.

Bringing in the heavy artillery

I know spiders are a good thing. I just can’t wrap my mind around that fact when they seem so confident strutting through my TV room. Or bedroom. Or bathroom.

They are really big ones too. Seriously freakishly big. And I’m done with them. Tomorrow, the exterminator arrives to help me rid the house of these unwanted arachnids.

And they really have no one to blame but themselves. The other night, as I was getting ready for bed, you know where this is going right? Right, as I was getting ready for bed, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. It was brown and moving and on my bed. I screamed and grabbed the comforter and flipped it off the bed. Of course, in doing that, I also flipped the spider. But I couldn’t ever find the spider. And we looked. And looked. And shook out the bedding. No luck. It was after 11 and the hubby was tired of indulging me and went to bed.

And so did I. The next morning I found – what I’m telling myself – is the same spider in the bathroom, and squashed him and flushed him. I killed three others just like him that same day. Seriously, this is stopping.

To illustrate this post, I thought I’d share a few photos of some of the spiders that have taken up residence outside. While they’ve never made it in the house (yet) their friends have entered, only to never be heard from again…..

The latest crop

The first carrots of the season are here.

Too bad my fabulous lettuce crop as decided to stop producing. There go my dreams of a totally home grown salad.

Figures.

When a yarn store shuts down

It's always a sad thing when a yarn store closes their doors.
It means no place to go for help with a project.
No place to sit and visit with fellow women who you may not know when you walk in, but are friends when you leave.
It means no place to just stroll and look and touch the pretty, pretty things.


But....


It also means a SALE!!! The store in question is my mom's favorite yarn store in Eagle, Idaho: Handmade. It's a fabulous store in a beautiful custom made log cabin house with over stuffed chairs, couches and shelfs filled to the rafters with yarn.

Thier sale: 50% off everything. EVERYTHING! Unfortunately, I didn't know about this sale before I came for a long weekend visit. I would have better prepared myself for upcoming projects. Instead I just grabbed some pretty yarn that I'm rather fond of.


I purchased 5 skeins of Dream in Color Classy in Worsted Weight. One skein of Some Summer Sky (which will become a Foliage Hat for my sister for Christmas); 2 skeins of Cloud Jungle (to become a hat for the hubby); 1 skein of Butter Peeps just because I love the color. They were all sold out of the Dream in Color sock yarn but this is still quite the steal!


If you're in the vicinty of Boise, Idaho, I HIGHLY recommend a side trip to Eagle for this fabulous sale!

Whew!

I'm trying to catch my breath here.

For the past few weeks, work has been totally crazy. Like insane crazy busy.

Between work stress and a busy vacation to N. Idaho, I haven't had time to catch up with knitting, blogging, reading, and sometimes life.

This weekend I'm off again, now to Boise to visit my family and see from friends and get some r & r! Well, the r & r is in the plan but we'll see how that goes too!

A blog update to come complete will all vacation pics and hopefully a few more knitting projects finished!

Lucky Winner!

I was a lucky winner for one of the Blue Book Guide to Canning from the blog Canning Across America. It'a great blog founded by very talented cooks, writers, canners and many others from right here in Seattle. It's full of great culinary stories, tips and links! Check it out, then start planning your next canning party. That's what I'm doing!

Lovey Dovey

Pattern: Lovey Dovey Top by Spud & Chloe

Yarn: Spud & Chloe in Watermelon & Firefly Sweater

For: a sweet little baby beach girl

Garden Knitting

Project: Strawberry Hat

Designer: Ann Norling

Yarn: Lamb's Pride Worsted

Gift: For a new mom-to-be

Book Report: Farm City

Book: Farm City - The Education of an Urban Farmer

Author: Novella Carpenter

Farm City is the story of a woman (Novella Carpenter) and her experience as a squater when it comes to urban farming. Yes, squater. In a very bad part of Oakland, CA of all places.

I found this book incredibly charming on several levels.

1. We're both from Idaho

2. We're both journalists

3. We both live (or in her case lived) in Seattle

4. We're both slightly obsessed with our new gardens

She however takes her obsession to a level my hubby would probably not really want me to go to.

(Right now he only shakes his head when I tell him my plans for the chicken coop.)

If you enjoy gardening, this book is for you. If you enjoy growing your own food, harvesting it, finding the perfect recipe and sharing it with your friends, this book is for you. If you've ever looked out your window onto your garden and thought, yeah, I could raise chicken, geese, ducks, turkeys, rabbits, pigs and then slaughter them yourself, then this book is for you.

Ok, even if you don't go that far, this book is still a delightful, charming read that will have you laughing out loud and contemplating your role in our food/consumer relationship. Oh, and it'll make you hungry. After reading her chapters on pigs and what they will mean to her (nurishment wise, not emotionally attached to them - although that does happen), I actually ordered bacon the other day. And I ate one piece. That's a big step. For me anyway. The hubby gladly took care of the other two slices.

And after reading about her garden, I just wanted to share some of my garden pics!

One of these things is not like the others...

There's been a lot going on around the Knitting Knot this summer, but sadly, there hasn't been a lot of knitting.

That's about to change!

I've got two baby projects on the needles (They are gifts, not for me people!)

Lovey Dovey from Spud and Chloe is coming along.

And soon I'll be working on another little baby gift for a shower in a few days. Picture to come (hopefully) before the shower! Must go and knit now!

Sew Cute

I decided I needed to know how to sew in a zipper so I found this cute little zip pouch purse in Bend the Rules Sewing.

It was pretty quick to whip up, although my hand stitching of the lining needs a little work.

I see more of these fun, pretty bags in my future!

Go Local Challenge: Homemade Bread

What's better than sliced bread I ask?
How about some homemade wheat bread!

While the ingredients used aren't exactly local, instead of buying a loaf of bread this week at the store, I made two loafs myself! I used my brand new KitchenAid and it's fabulous! The recipe takes a while, but it's super easy and it's so tasty!

The hubby couldn't wait to cut of a slice and try it. I enjoyed my warm slice with some homemade raspberry jam! Quite tasty! I'll be making this recipe again!

*There would have been more pictures of this process, but I was mostly through the mixing when I remembered to grab the camera. And when I did, the battery was dead. But it charged while the bread baked! I'll have more pictures next time.

Go Local Challenge: Finally a local meal!

I'll admit that I haven't been doing too well at the cooking locally. But the other night, I feel like I've rebounded.

Dinner:

• Locally raised chicken marinated in balsamic vinegar (not local) and seasoned with Herb's De Provence (not really local, but I'm counting it as local since I bought them in the Provence region of France and brought them home.)


• Steamed green beans from the Full Circle Farm.


• Potatoes from another local farm that I can't remember cooked Hobo Style*
  

*Hobo style:

If you like eating potatoes in the summer, but hate cooking them on the stove because it's too damn hot, this is best way - ever.

Chop up potatoes - I like Yukon Golds - into medium sized bites. Chop up a medium sized yellow onion. Mix onion and potatoes with olive oil, garlic salt, rosemary, chives or whatever you have growing in your herb garden, in a bowl.

Toss everything onto a sheet of tin foil and wrap it up tight. Toss it onto the grill. Heat until the potatoes are soft. Let cool a bit. Enjoy!

The obsession deepens...

I have theory. I believe lettuce is a gateway drug. For the gardening world that is. Some may argue it's cherry tomatoes, but here in the Pacific Northwest, I say it's lettuce.

In fact, since my lettuce crop is going so well this summer, I decided it's time to expand for fall veggies. Another trip down to my favorite local garden center, and I've now got broccoli, leeks and spinach in the garden.

My gardening obsession is getting a bit out of control. As I've been going on my runs (or these days walks) only as I past yards with lush green gardens, my pace slows and I pretty much turn into a gawker. One of the neat thing about Seattle is that people have a tendency to garden in their front yards. That's how much people love to garden and grow their own food. If they don't have much of back yard, no worries, there's the front. If the front's no good, there's the parking strip (a common garden spot). So I've got a nice clear view of everyone's garden spot.

In fact, on Friday, as I walked home from the bus stop, I couldn't help gawking at this one particular yard. I'm sure I was a sight to be seen for myself. If the owners had seen me from their house this would have been their view: me: in a suit, heels, hiking up a hill with a green striped gym bag and a pink yoga mat on one shoulder and an oversized worked bag on the others. And I was stopped on the sidewalk staring blatenly at their lovely chicken coop. In their front yard. It looked lovely. As did the rest of their garden. And as I strolled the rest of way home, my mind wandered on what could be the next stage of my obession...

In the meantime, I do love my little raspberries!

Family Fun in Nebraska City

The other weekend we traveled to Nebraska City, Nebraska for the hubby's annual family reunion. His family hails from Guide Rock, NE where his dad grew up on the family farm with his three younger brothers. They have the big reunion every two years at the Arbor Day Farm and Lied Lodge & Convention Center.

Did you know that Arbor Day originated in Nebraska City? By the Morton Salt guy? Yeah, me neither. The things you learn in Nebraska.

For example, the Arbor Day Farm and Lied Lodge was built to be an eco-friendly, sustainable resort before that was even trendy or the in-thing. The building uses no CFL's for their A/C (which is good thing because it was very hot in Nebraska in July!) There is also recycling in all rooms. Plus they use green laundry detergents and encourage guests to reuse towels and linens.

(Here's a pic of the beautiful Leid Lobby, pic from the Lied Lodge & Conference Center site)

There's plenty to do at the farm. We took the Tree Adventure tour which leads guests through the forest and provides all sorts of educational and fun information for kids and adults alike. Plus they had a fabulous art exhibit throughout the trail that incorporates art with nature.

Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera for this trip. However, the following pics are courtesy of Cousin Mike who had his nice new camera with him! Um, Cousin Mike, is it OK if I use your pics pretty please?

Some pics of the art exhibits:

Here we are with Cousin Mike (far left) enjoying the art exhibit. Looks like I've got the chair that's just right.

If you visit this farm and take this fabulous walk, may I suggest a visit to their Pie Garden for "The Works:" homemade apple pie from their apple orchard with vanilla ice cream and carmel sauce. It's the perfect sweet treat for fabulous place!

Birthday Delight!

I'm a lucky girl.

I got to spend my birthday with my hubby having my favorite cocktail (ice cold margaritas) and a fabulous meal at El Gaucho.

Friends and family gave me pretty things.

Soft things.And tasty treats!

Then, the fun continued the day after my birthday as two dear friends and I went to see Jewel at an outdoor concert complete with picnic and cooler temps of 98 degrees (compared to the record breaking 103 degree heat on my birthday!)

I have a feeling it'll be another great year!

Seattle Purly Girls: yeah, we rock!

I've always known how great the Seattle Purly Girls are, and now so does the rest of Seattle.


Our knitting group was ranked in the Seattle Weekly's Best of 2009 as the Best Reason to learn the Slip Slip Knit. Check out the blurb written by the politically savvy and fiber friendly lovely Laura.

Go Local Challenge: Heat Wave

While I - along with most of the Pacific Northwest - was melting last week in this heat wave, a funny thing happened in the garden. It exploded! It exploded with greenery!

The tomatoes doubled in size. And the tomato plant I thought was a goner even doubled in size!

(There are some red ones peeking out of there)

The corn is finally growing.

And my squash looks like it might actually produce something too!

Plus, I harvested another two gallon size bags full of lettuce (on top of the one gallon bag from earlier in the month!)

The radishes are popping up like crazy! (Don't know why the pic is blurry. Obviously I'm so excited about the garden I can't focus!)

And I can watch my garden grow from my new favorite room!

Urban Craft Uprising!

Sunday I convinced Rebecca to go the Urban Craft Uprising show. Really, it didn't require any convincing at all. In fact, we've already decided go to their Christmas show in order to get some gifts for the good little girls and boys on our lists.

If you haven't been to an Urban Craft Uprising show, you must find one. It's basically like Etsy just popped up in a building in real life. As Rebecca said, these are our people.

Today however, we were just looking for ourselves! And we did find quite a few little treats for ourselves.

Plus, and most importantly, it sparked some creativity in me! Now it's time to get to work!

A birthday for the record books

Today is my birthday. I love having a birthday in July. As a kid, it always meant swimming parties and sleep overs under the stars.

As an adult it means margaritas with loved ones on a lovely patio somewhere.

But today, it means finding air conditioning. Because today is a record breaking day here in Seattle, quite literally. It's 4:20 pm and it's 102 at Sea Tac Airport. That may be not that bad to some people, but here in the Pacific Northwest where many (including yours truly) don't have air conditioning, well, it's f*%$&^% hot!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to find a happy hour in a lovely air conditioned bar before meeting the hubby for my dinner date tonight.

Stay cool people. Stay cool.

Go Local Challenge: Go Green; Go Vote

I'm a guest blogger again this week over at Living Senses for the Go Local Challenge. Instead of writing about my local veggies, this week I decided to step onto the soapbox with another one of my favorite topics: voting.

If you live in Seattle, you are very lucky to have several green politicians in office, or running for office. But the thing about politics is that you have to do a little research to find out which candidates have the same values that you do, and a political agenda that you feels works best for your family and community.

The upcoming August 18 Primary Election is a very important one. There are several candidates running for Mayor, City Council and King County Executive. The top two vote getters will advance to the General Election in November. Many people say they don't vote in primaries, because they aren't important, but that's just not the case. Not to mention Seattle's green bag fee is also up for a vote.

If you need to learn more about the candidates, you can learn more here.

If you need to register to vote, you can do so here.

Whatever you do, get your green on and go vote!

About ready to throw up the white flag

Remember my first post about the new house? Remember how I mentioned there seemed to be a lot of spiders? I didn't want to spray any type of chemicals in my new house so we opted for another measure. We bought these Black & Decker things that you plug into the wall and they "emit" a high pitch noise that only spiders can hear. It's supposed to run them off. We've got them placed in the TV room, our bedroom and the kitchen.

It seems to be working. I think. Or so I thought. Now, I'm not so sure. I think the spiders may be mocking me.



I went to grab my favorite water bottle to refill it last night. I left it out on the counter to dry out from Tuesday's workout. I had just pulled off the top, which was just leaning on the rim, when I discovered it: there, in my favorite water bottle was a spider! One that had been in it long enough to spin a web. Seriously, these little buggers work quickly! As I started yelling (OK, swearing) the damn thing started crawling up the web as if to attack me. So I drowned the sucker. It was purely a defensive move.



If anyone has any other ideas on how to deal with spiders that don't contain lots of chemicals (although I'm willing to compromise here), I'm eager to hear them.

Go Local Challenge: Loads of lettuce

The garden is still coming along, however there is one star player: the lettuce. It's growing like weeds.

We've got red lettuce, butter lettuce, some other kind of lettuce and I can't think of the name right now and some chard thrown in for good measure.

What's one to do with this bounty? Make my favorite summer salad!

Chicken & Fruit summer salad:

- lots of greens

- a handful of your favorite veggies (I used carrots, local grown tomatoes as mine are about a week out, and there would have been our own grown radishes, but the hubby ate them before I could chop them up)

- fresh fruit (I used blueberries from a local farmer)

- grilled chicken, cooled a bit

- feta cheese

Throw in a yummy whole wheat roll and a glass of local wine and you've got a fabulous summer meal!

Baby project update

When you don't have the Internet to distract you, you seem to get a lot of other things accomplished. That's what I'm discovering as the days seem to tick by with no Internet luck at the new house. (Fingers crossed for Plan B which will hopefully be implemented in the next day or two!)

So, here's my recent FO:

The Eiji Jacket

Shibuki Knits in Malabrigo (it's really quite purple but the light make it look bluish)

Size 0-3 mo.

And next for the needles:

the Lovey Dovey Top from Spud & Chloe