Out with the old and in with the new

stash down 2012!

I am quite happy to see 2011 in the rearview mirror.  It wasn't the worst possible year but it was a pretty difficult one for us, at least the first half with the whole unemployment/no money thing.  Here's to hoping 2012 brings much better things for us (steady employment would be huge)!  At least it was a very productive year for my crafting habit.

First, a recap of my goals for 2011, I have had them posted in my sidebar all year and have been checking items off as I did them.  So what did I manage to accomplish this past year?  Well, I did knit at least 6 pairs of socks in the year, as a matter of fact I finished 8 pairs and have had a ninth pair languishing on the needles for the past 2 months (it's a pair for Destucto boy and for some reason I just do not want to work on them).  Going along with the sock theme I also learned to do 2 at a time knitting, in fact it is my preferred method of knitting now, less counting!  I did a pair of toe up socks but prefer top down to ensure proper fit for my incredibly high arches.

I have been swatching for everything, although sometimes that still doesn't work out that well, frogging is my friend!  I did manage to knit at least one pattern from each of the books I owned at the beginning of the year, I have now added 2 more books to my collection and have a stack on magazines also that I need to knit something from.  I definitely worked on holiday knitting all year, starting in January and still finishing up today.

I kind of failed on the whole keeping current with scrapbooks, updating the blog every week, and losing some weight.  You win some, you lose some!

For the coming year I think I want to accomplish the following: make a quilt for Lil' Miss, make a quilt for my bed, make at least one holiday themed wall quilt (I want to make one for each month of the year to switch out on our family room wall), finish up the 2011 scrapbook, finish up Destructo boy's birthday book from 2011, learn to steek (yikes!), make sweaters with my sweater quantities of yarn before purchasing more (4 right now), and make socks/shawls/anything to use it up with all my sock yarns before buying more since the box won't close (11 colorways right now!).

So, do you have any goals for the new year?  Whether you do or not I hope the new year finds you happy and healthy and 2012 brings lots of love and happiness to us all!

A different kind of Christmas village

I have been debating starting one of those ceramic house village collections for quite awhile now.  The ones by Lemax at the local Michaels always seemed kind of, well, a little cheesy to me and roughly made.  However they are affordable which can't really be easily said about what I was really considering, Dept. 56 houses.  There was even a store of theirs locally where we could go and look at all the different villages they carried.  I think we ended up in there every Christmastime looking and wishing we could afford to start a village.

Now that Mister Vonkysmeed's employment status is more stable I decided to definitely start a collection this year and had even researched a local store that carries Dept. 56 villages for me to go look again.  Then I ended up on the LEGO website to request a free magazine subscription for Lil' Miss and one thing led to another until I discovered this,

LEGO Winter Village Bakery, 10216

Yup, LEGO has gotten into the Christmas village business and they have a new customer in me!  This is the third year they have produced a new building and with Mister Vonkysmeed's blessing I have ordered all three buildings to get us started.

With these buildings we get the additional fun of assembling them together as a family, always a good thing in my book!  Additionally they are not made out of fragile porcelain as the other villages are, always a bonus in this family with young kids and a 'bull in a china shop' kind of hubby!

8 Years Ago Today...

This day

I will marry my friend,

the one I laugh with, live for,

dream with, love

Happy 4th of July!

I hope everyone has a wonderful day today having barbeques, making ice cream, and watching fireworks.  I always get a little choked up every year thinking of how proud I am of the nation I was lucky enough to be born in.  Sure, we have a host of problems, but I am a patriot and love my country nonetheless.

I am reminded of a blog post I read a year ago regarding the Declaration of Independence (although for the life of me I can't remember who or where I read it), in it the author cited a tradition that has fallen to the wayside, a public reading of the Declaration of Independence that would occur at every celebration.  Try as I could, I cannot locate anything to verify this as truth.  Oh, I found a number of blog posts and articles on the internet that assert much the same thing, that it is an old tradition that should be revived, but I could not locate anything that cited any actual references.  Well, I have my own reference that I am sure will amuse the heck out of all you reading, Laura Ingalls Wilder.  Lil' Miss and I have been working our way slowly through the series and in her book Little Town on the Prairie she talks about going into town to celebrate the 4th of July, the first celebration of it in the new town.  She specifically recalls a man reading aloud the Declaration as one of the big events of the day, so I can say pretty surely that in the late 1800's at least in South Dakota it was being read aloud.

With two fairly young kids I don't know how far I will get through the Declaration, but I will certainly try to read at least some of it to them.  It is the document which announced the beginnings of our country and thus is vitally important, they should be aware of it from an early age.  How about you?  Will you at least read the Declaration to yourself if not aloud?

It's my birthday, let's go buy yarn!

Just like the title says, I convinced Chatty-Cathy and Crafty Auntie (who is to blame, since she taught me to knit in the first place!) to meet up at my place and go to a couple of local yarn shops with me.  I may do a lot of shopping online but I need to support my local merchants too!

First up was Knit Schtick, a very cute shop that just happens to be located a few doors down from where I bought my wedding gown (so, immediate happiness when going there beyond the whole I get to buy yarn thing).  Not only is a great little store but they also have a great online presence and send regular emails informing their customers of upcoming workshops, knitting gatherings and new product arrivals. Unfortunately I didn't double check their hours before we left, whoops!  We drove into the parking lot and I said 'Oh no, why are there white blinds drawn over the windows?!'  Yup, they were closed, bad on me.

Next up was The Sheared Sheep, a bit difficult to find but worth the search.  They don't have quite the grasp of new technology as the other shop but nice to go feel and buy the yarn regardless.  Since shop #1 turned out to be closed we drove over to make sure this one would be open and it would be, in about 40 minutes.  So we went off to a bookstore to kill some time before coming back to the yarn store.  When we did return they were happily open with a group of ladies gathering around the table for a knitting class.  It was a rather small selection of yarn, but it is always great to go pet the lovelies instead of just buying online and hoping it'll work.  They had some Rowan Kidsilk Haze knitted up and I must say, that stuff is gorgeous!  However, I just don't know what I would do with it, so none of it came home with me.  I ended up getting a nice palmwood crochet hook by Brysun and a skein of Cascade Venezia in turquoise (it will become a Brambles beret, so pretty!).

Then my dear friends took me out to lunch at Todai all you can eat sushi and seafood, yummy!  We had a nice leisurely lunch, although Chatty Cathy was saddened to discover the crab legs are only available on the weekend and not during the week.  The sashimi style sushi was the best, some of the rolls had some really weird stuff in them.  Maybe it is just me but raw fish does not go well will cream cheese!  The desserts were delectable and served in bite sizes so one could easily try several guilt free.

After lunch we went back to my place to sit, talk and craft for the afternoon.  Since Chatty Cathy hadn't gotten anything for me at the yarn store we pulled up Knit Picks and she bought me some Comfy worsted in seafoam that is destined to become a Lilas cardigan to wear this summer.  Doesn't that look wonderful!  They even helped me decide on some colors of Elsebeth Lavold silky wool (I got the persimmon to make a Dark & Stormy cardigan) and Classic Elite classic silk (the princess pink for a Nantucket Red cardigan, I certainly hope it's not too 'princessy'!) that I was having trouble deciding on.  Then I horrified Chatty Cathy by ordering some madelinetosh sock yarn, she really couldn't quite believe I was spending $26 on yarn to make socks, I just told her it was my birthday and the yarn was pretty and I wanted it, so there!  With all the online ordering my birthday will continue for the next week or so as the boxes begin to arrive, hooray!

Happy Evil Red Holiday!

It's a long story, but a culmination of various different negative experiences led me to rename Valetines Day to The Evil Red Holiday quite a few years ago.  Happily Mister Vonkysmeed has made it not so evil now, but it has become a little joke between us, so The Evil Red Holiday it remains.  I hope everyone reading this post has a lovely day with those they love and hold dear, enjoy what you have and don't regret what is past.

Merry Christmas!

If only I had an army of elves to help me!

I know not to start a letter with an apology, but still, I am sorry to have neglected you all but I have been unbelievably busy getting everything done for Christmas.  From last minute gifts, finishing up those that were already started and of course the "oh, crap!" when I realized that I forgot to make something for a special someone the crafting side has been pretty busy.  Then of course there is the baking...   the still to be made homemade rolls and pound cake for Christmas Day, the cheesecake for Christmas Eve, it never seems to end this time of year.  I had trouble paring down my list of cookies and this year made a whopping ten different varieties.  Mister Vonkysmeed thinks that something is seriously wrong with me, I think he may be right! 

I promise to come back with a recap of my holiday crafting and of course more observations on the stunts of my two little ankle biters in the New Year.  Until then Merry Christmas, belated Happy Chanukah, Joyful Kwanzaa, Jolly Yule, and a very Happy New Year!

Giving Thanks

Love me some Norman Rockwell!

Tomorrow is one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving.  Why?  It is a whole holiday about being with family and remembering what in our lives is good.  Plus there is a whole lot of really yummy food around!  Turkey roasting all day, stuffing, The 6 Fingered Man's yams (yes, I really do have an Uncle with six fingers-only on one hand the other got amputated-it's murder on little kids just learning to count!), mashed potatoes with gravy, and oh the desserts!  We get to smell this yumminess all day while hanging out with the family, usually watching football and talking and laughing together, pretty relaxing.  That said, Christmas is a close second with all the presents thrown in too, but on turkey day the focus is on togetherness and gratitude, not a huge haul.

So today on the day before our feast I wanted to take  minute to thank you first of all for reading this, but there is so much I have to be thankful for in spite of the hardships my family has gone through this past year.  I am hugely thankful for Mister Vonkysmeed, without him my life just wouldn't be complete, I mean who amongst us is lucky enough to marry their best friend?  Yes, that would be me!  Then of course I am thankful for my two little blessings, Lil' Miss and Destructo-boy, in spite of driving me crazy on a regular basis I cannot imagine life without these two in it.  Then of course I am so very thankful for the extended family, they are all so loving and supportive and I can say we are lucky enough to be one of those rare families with very little drama, makes the holidays so much easier!

Then of course I am thankful for the roof over my head the food on my table and the support from a certain someone who is ensuring we are taken care of.  With this year of unemployment there is no way we could have survived without that assistance, we are so very lucky for that in a time when so many others are losing so much. 

And on a less serious note, I am so thankful that KTLA 5 has brought back the Twilight Zone marathon, I have missed my day of black and white tv goodness.  I don't get to enjoy it at my aunt's house where we all gather (they like their football, so I bring my knitting!) but in the morning at home, you know what I will be watching!  I wish it were on today too while I do some baking for tomorrow, I am making my very first pumpkin pie (mmmm, pie!) and am making a Cheese Ball with Everything for the big day tomorrow.  I might even bake some dinner rolls from scratch!

So, what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving Eve?

Costumes for Halloween

 Why oh why did I decide to make them myself rather than just buying them?!  Hmm, maybe because I am an idiot?  Or maybe because I'd feel guilty being a stay at home mom if I didn't?  Regardless of why, I decided to do it and boy am I sorry!  It has probably ended up costing about the same to sew the costumes for the kids as it would to simply purchase them already done.  Then besides the money spent is the vast amount of time involved, it takes quite a bit of time to cut out the fabric, sew it, press it, finish it...  Although, the kids get something really personalized out of the deal.

Lil' Miss has decided she wants to be Super Girl for Halloween, now before you get all excited this is not the Super Girl of Superman fame, she came up with this idea independently.  Here's the best part, when I asked her what her superpower was (because most heroes have special powers dont'cha know!) she informed me that Super Girl brings rainbows to people.  Yes, rainbows.  And what is special about that exactly, well it keeps changing.  At first she brought rainbows to teach people their colors, but now it has morphed into being a kind of replicator (where the food comes from in Star Trek for you non-geeks) that pops out fruits and veggies with special rainbow dots on them.  Does my kid have an imagination or what?!

Since every hero needs a nemesis (now imagine that word being used correctly by a 5 year old playing with her My Little Ponies and you have some insight into my world!) Super Girl is faced with the catastrophic powers of Destructo-boy!  Yes, we the parental units are really imaginative, aren't we.  Seriously, with a nickname like that how could he be called anything else?  With the window rapidly closing on how many years we get to dress them in coordinating outfits I like to take advantage of it as I can.

Sadly, we the adults don't really get to play along this year as we have in years past.  Lil' Miss has always had an entourage with her, Mister Vonkysmeed and I, Grumpy, Chatty-Cathy, and Kako Grikor all tag along with her on the special day, and after the first year we have all dressed up right along with her.  I think her Alice in Wonderland year was a favorite of the neighborhood, I was the Cheshire Cat, The guys were all cards, and Chatty-Cathy dressed up as the Red Queen.  I guess we'll all just be mild-mannered citizens according to Mister Vonkysmeed, at least the kids are happy, isn't that what really matters?

Well color me happy!

I am so honored and humbled to have been nominated for a Beautiful Blogger Award by Beccah at Nutmeg Knitter.  I am just tickled pink that she felt like nominating little ole me.  Seems like I must be doing an okay job of designing and writing this here blog if someone went out of their way to mention it!  Thank you so much Beccah!  From what I understand the rules are that I have to list 10 things about myself that you don't know and then nominate 10 other bloggers that I enjoy.  So here goes with my list of 10 little known facts:

1. I can't stand mayonnaise.  The smell, the taste, the look of it, just makes me want to gag and I often do.  I am not sure why, but I think it may have had something to do with me finding out you could get food poisoning from if it was left out to long when I was a kid.
2. I love horror movies in spite of the fact that I have very vivid and memorable nightmares.  When I saw Poltergeist for the first time I slept in my parents room for a week.  And when I saw The Ring I had nightmares for days and was convinced the creepy little girl was standing in front of me in the shower one time.  I never learn do I?
3. The first concert I ever saw was Steppenwolf at the local county fair when I was in high school.  It was free with admission and I went with two of my best friends at the time.
4. I have an alter ego, Kisa Vanyusha, you see I have been dancing as a gypsy at local Renaissance Faires with Tribe Roman Morga for 18 years now.  Makes that button on the left sidebar make more sense now doesn't it?
5. I was born with hip dysplasia.  No, I am not part German Shepherd!  At birth my toes pointed in by 90 degrees as a result of this and I wore a variety of orthopedic shoes until I was 4.
6. For some reason I am deathly afraid of deep, dark water.  Don't know why but I am.
7. I am addicted to Coca-Cola, not the diet crap and most certainly not the P word, tastes like lemon to me (blech!), but the beautemous red can stuff is my hearts desire.
8. I have competed in a rodeo.  It was during one of the summers I spent at my Aunt's house in Tehachapi and I competed in Horsemanship.  I would have won but I kept looking down to keep my hat from blowing off so ended up with a third place ribbon.
9. I LOVE to read.  Unfortunately I don't get to read as often as I used to but I try to get in a little bit every day, usually at lunchtime.
10. I am terrified to put my hand into the garbage disposal.  I always think of a certain New Twilight Zone episode where a very rotten kid starts to turn the disposal on while his fathers hand is stuck.  For some reason I am convinced the thing will tun itself on a la Stephen King while my hand is in there.
    

And here are my nominations for A Beautiful Blogger Award of their own, each one not only inspires with the authors writing/patterns/tutorials but the photography and design are lovely on each one:

1. Marigold of Hideous, Dreadful, Stinky!
2. Thea of Baby Cocktails
3. Charity of Indietutes
4. Hilary at The Yarniad 
5. Ashley at Make It and Love It
6. Kate at Tot Toppers
7. Natalie at Daily Dose of Deuce
8. Lisa at U-handbag
9. Kelly at Drago[knit]fly
10. Sew Much Ado

As a sidenote (and to toot my own horn a little bit more), I am also pleased to say my Liesel scarf won an Honorable Mention at this years county fair as I discovered on our trip there this weekend.  Maybe next year I'll do better, I am currently working on a beaded shawl that may just blow the judges away in 2011!

The unofficial, official birthday baker

Yes, that would be me, as long as I am invited to the party I am almost always willing to make the cake (barring sickness, pregnancy, or general bitchyness).  I really do enjoy baking and birthdays are especially fun to prepare for.  Now I will admit, my cakes and cupcakes are pretty damn homely won't win any awards for beauty, there are many others out there who can make them much prettier than I can but mine taste dang good if I do say so myself!  To me the flavor is much more important than having 'decorator' finishing touches (although I am trying to improve my finishing techniques, without much success admittedly).

My kids get the biggest benefit of my enjoyment for baking as they get a different homemade cake or cupcake each year.  Over the last few years they have had: carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, the now infamous and often requested Chocolate Lover's cake, white cake (box mix, I was pregnant at the time and not feeling great) with my first attempt at buttercream frosting, a rich chocolate cake made from scratch with orange cream cheese frosting (it tasted just like a chocolate orange that you get around Christmas and whack to separate the segments), and vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting.

The Chocolate Lover's cake is the most often requested when I am ordered offer to bake, especially when I make chocolate ganache to pour on top.  The ganache started as an attempt to fix a botched cake for a birthday of Grumpy's.  It's a bundt cake and I apparently had not greased the pan well enough so some of the chocolatey goodness got left behind.  I tried to cover it up fixed it by shoving the broken piece back on top of the cake and then pouring the ganache on top, didn't really work as it was still pretty obvious what had happened, but no one cared as they kept raving about how great the ganache was on top of the already rich chocolate cake.  For one of Mister Vonkysmeed's birthdays I upped the ante by not only doing the ganache, but also making some homemade vanilla ice cream, oh, was it good!

Last month I made a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting for Big Pops, per his request, and although the cake was great, the frosting was a tad on the sicky-sweet side for me.  I also made a sour cream lemon pound cake for Pops in Law that was delish, that one will most definitely get made again!  For Lil' Misses' recent birthday we had vanilla cupcakes with strawberry cream cheese frosting, the extra frosting was fantastic for dipping animal crackers in.  I was hovering on the opposite side of the table dipping away for a good 10 minutes before I forced myself to back away from the table (damn that scale!).

Next up will be Mister Vonkysmeed's birthday the following month, hmm, maybe combine chocolate and coffee somehow in cake form, with some homemade ice cream too?  I make a mean coffee & cookies ice cream, yummy!

Huntin' Easter eggs

It never changes, every Easter that dang rabbit comes hopping around leaving eggs everywhere.  Why couldn't he just leave the basket of goodies next to my bed but no, he had to leave an egg with a hint leading to another egg, which would lead to another and so on.  Oh, I guess it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun without the hunting part would it?  Oh all right, it would have been kind of boring to not have to hunt around for it.

The Momster (yes, I now know it was her and not some demented furry creature) would spend hours working out clues for me and older brother Grumpy to track down Easter morning.  After our 5 minutes of racing around the house from egg to egg she would complain about how quickly we went through the egg-clues and got to our baskets.  Granted, we worked it out pretty quickly, but do you think maybe there are more hiding places for an Easter basket than the dishwasher, the clothes dryer, or the tv cabinet?  We cottoned onto that ploy pretty quickly so there were several times we actually discovered the basket before we were supposed to by 'mis-interpreting' a clue.