A Little Thanksgiving Recipe Contest

I got to thinking all things cranberry when it occurred to me that Blue Sky Alpacas has some yummy tasting, I mean sounding, yarns. More specifically, one named Cranberry! Then I got to thinking that it might be fun to have a little contest, and because I have a connection with BSA, I have managed to wrangle up 2 hanks of their wonderful Worsted in Cranberry (with a copy of their Reversible Hat Set pattern, I do believe) and, for a second prize, 1 hank of their Brushed Suri in Sweet Potato Pie (perfect for the free Keyhole Scarf pattern on their website!) Don't they sound like perfect additions to holiday meals?

This will be easy (especially for you foodies), just post a favorite recipe with cranberries or sweet potatoes on your blog, with a link back here (don't forget to stop back here to let me know about your post), by midnight Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) and I'll either pick 2 random winners, or I'll pick by the best sounding recipe- I haven't decided yet! (Winners to be announced the following Monday.) Now bring on the recipes, I'm needing some culinary inspiration...

Happy knitting-

ali

eta: the blogless can leave a recipe (or link) right here!

PS- On a sad side note, we lost our dog Thursday night. It broke my heart to see how devastated the kids were. I never really considered myself a dog person, but I do believe I will miss her just as much as the kids. Abby was part Newfoundland and part Husky, which made for a large and lovely mix. I think she got her beautiful face from her Husky side and her bear-like size from her 'Newfie' side. She was huge, she ate a lot, she shed a lot, and occasionally knocked over small children, but we loved her, and we'll all miss her, a lot.

4 Weeks Can Sure Fly By

Hours turn into days, days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months, months turn into years, and the years keep getting faster and faster...

Enough with the deep thoughts, who has time to contemplate the passing of time? (grin) New babies force me to slow down, and I don't always appreciate that like I should. By nature I'm a very lazy person. Seriously, if I had no children (and no job) I'm not sure what time I'd be out of bed in the morning, but I can pretty much assure you it wouldn't be before 8, especially considering the fact that I can assure you I'd rarely go to bed before 1 or 2 am... After getting out of bed, I'd lounge around, watch a movie, read a book, drool and sigh over gardening and decorating magazines, and then maybe try out some pseudo gourmet type cooking. I might get wrapped up in a sewing project that takes the entire day and my poor husband would come home to find thread and fabric scraps all over the place... (Okay, that has happened, more than once.) I might gain a lot of weight, as you don't usually burn too many calories sitting on the couch all day... I might lose an entire day to internet 'window shopping', rather than the occasional afternoon I lose to that sport these days...

None of that matters. I'm not young and childless, nor am I older with an empty nest. I am a busy mom. My days are already packed before I ever even glance at the calendar or plan an activity, and I wouldn't have it any other way at this point in my life. It's a busy I've gotten used to. It's a busy I've grown to love, so much so that a month of so much down time has been quite a change for me. Well, it might not seem like down time to most people, but spending large chunks of time each day on the couch nursing and holding a baby, takes that time from whatever else I would find to be doing, oh, say, a few short weeks ago.

-I haven't knit much these past 4 weeks, though I am definitely getting my knitting groove back on, much to my sister's delight, I do believe.

-I haven't sewn a single stitch, therefore I am behind on my quilt block of the month.
-I haven't crafted a thing, well, not a complete thing, yet.

I have managed to mostly surface clean my house and have 23 relatives over (add that to our family of nine) for our annual Fall Soup Party, which we combined with a couple baby showers, supplying my and my cousin's babies (both boys) with many soft and cuddly outfits, most bearing tractors, trucks, bears, lions, etc... (cute!) I wonder if anyone noticed that I didn't actually make any soup this year...? I just let them bring the soup to me! Crockpot after crockpot of soup, glorious soup. I have 2 recipe books entirely devoted to soups...

I have managed to do some knitting and swatching with a yarn I can't blog about, yet... Did I pique your interest? I think you're going to love it, I really, really, do. That's all I can say...

I did also manage to finish one birthday hat, one more to make this month and then we're good around here until February. (Still need to get pics of Little M's hat, preferably on her cute little, or dare I say, not so little, head.)

Oh, and I've managed to take pics of baby every day and hope to put together a 1st Thirty Days mosaic sometime before he turns 21.

I now have Thanksgiving on the mind- It's time for cranberry this and cranberry that. Yes, in addition to a good dose of cinnamon, I have always loved just about anything with a cranberry in it!

Favorite cranberry recipe, anyone?

Happy knitting-
ali

Two Weeks and Counting

(this pic just cracks me up!)

I think the days fly by faster when one is sleep deprived, or it may be that I know just how fleeting these new baby days are, or maybe it has something to do with the sudden season change and the way that whole daylight savings thing crept up on me.

A little knitting has been done... I'm already working on my knitting while nursing and my knitting with sleeping baby on lap techniques, but I don't have any finished products to show this week, yet, so on with the baby pics and good eats-

My long time favorite (I've mentioned I'm a cinnamon fan)-

Snickerdoodles

1 cup soft butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp cinnamon

Heat oven to 350. Mix butter, sugar, and eggs. Blend all dry ingredients except cinnamon and sugar and stir in. Roll into balls. Roll balls in cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes. Enjoy.

I like easy cookies. These are easy, though they do take a few minutes to shape and coat, but many hands make light work and kids love to help with that part, at least mine do.

One thing that I am trying to finish (though it's not looking very probable at this point) is a November Birthday Hat for my little M, who will be a big 2 years old on Friday. We've got snow moving in for the weekend, so the timing is right, though being almost 2, she probably won't notice if it isn't done until this weekend, or worse, Monday... We'll see what happens with this one. Then there's another birthday hat to be made for my almost 6 year old later this month- 'tis the season!

Off to cuddle, nurse, and head to baby's 2 week check-up.

Happy knitting-

ali