The Serendipitous Pioneer

Yep that has pretty much been as productive as I have been since the last post.  Sad isn't it.  You really can't see the colors but the thicker wool is a wonderful skunky strip with black, whites, and greys.  The sock yarn is red.  We are focussing on this lovely sock because.......well most of the week was a disaster. Let me explain.  First there were electrical issues.  By that I mean it was like half the house was in brown out conditions.  And of course that half wasn't divide in half or even floors so it knocked out my fridge on one side and floor of the house and the boiler on the other side in the basement. So the heat had to be turned off, in winter in Minnesota.  Good thing it was before the clipper.  That was resolved after a very cold night.  So it seemed well and good but then the next morning I am happy to have power and go down to wash clothes.  I realize my socks are suddenly wet and look down over the clothes. the...

Go on admit it, you didn't think I would finish by them did ya?  That's ok.  I was on that boat, too!  Especially after that little virus made me more susceptible to my allergens.  I do a great impression of a white rabbit who has been punched.  So very unattractive and annoying.  But in spite of it all the second sock got done in record time.  Twenty four hours.  Yeah, I am bragging which is also unattractive but I am so chuffed. On a sad note, I killed the sourdough starter.  While I was sick it was too neglected.  I will start it again today.  Depending on how much yeast I have I may also make another batch of bread.  Today feels like a make something day.  I should probably channel that into something like say a wedding dress.  No really.  It is daunting at best but I need to get a mock up made so that the girlie can see if the pattern modifications meet her expectations.  I think making your daugh...

Yet another round of the plague seems to have hit the house.  Or maybe I just can't seem to shake it but the elephants are sitting on my chest again.  And I am achey.  And my eyes are running.  And my nose is red.  Feeling sorry for me yet??  Yeah don't bother I am going to be this way til summer.  It is the joy of living in the Northland.  The plague comes and stays every winter.  LOL!  You had wondered where it wintered didn't you? Yesterday was my birthday!  It was great and I got more yarn.  Yep, I know you are so shocked but really I was down to dishcloth fibre for my knitting needs.  Needs, people! I need to knit to stay sane.  So Stir is getting some socks.  He wants wool Wisconsin socks.  See........... I even got some for me.  Well the worsted weight part I still need the second strand for it so I will show that off later.  Stir's require for me to get cracking as I want him to have ...

So I am still thinking about my resolutions for the year.  I am giving myself a bit to get passed the excitement of the new year so that don't go all willy nilly and make resolutions that are too pie in the sky.  Let's face it they will all fall into the categories of fitness, organization, school or kids school really but I want concrete goals with plans this year. I am a list girl.  I will make a list for everything just so that I can cross something off my list.  I am a complete nutter for lists. This said I have the first resolution/ goal kind of fleshed out now.  drum roll please ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first goal is to be no store bought bread.  For the year. No really quit laughing.  I have learned to make a decent loaf now I just have to do it.  To start with today I made three lovely loaves and these yummy looking rolls.  There were more rolls but the others were used in an experiment.  What experiment?? Oh it is called taste tes...

This lovely lady is Viola with a long I if you please.  She is my most favorite kitchen appliance du jour, an All American pressure canner.  This girl can hold 19 regular mouth pints and 14 regular quarts at a time.  Unbelievable.  I just got her for Christmas and tried her out yesterday.  As she is no small thing it does take a wee bit of finagling on my dinky part but a two step ladder in front of the stove saves me from getting burnt.  For her first time out we canned the all important black beans.  We eat so many I can't believe I was limited to only seven jars at a time before now.  What a charmer.  Then I got lucky and ran into a ground beef sale.  That is when the true fun began. I cooked up the ground beef getting rid of as much fat as possible and the loaded up my sweet Viola.  So far so good but if you know me something has to go awry at some point in what seems like a most productive day.  Well... the seventy fiv...