Busy as a . .

I have been very busy over the last six months and have failed my blog. I am back and have a lot of catching up to do. I have made many things: Socks for Steven - I don't have a finished picture, but I will track down his feet and get one!

I also made a cutie baby sweater. It is a butter yellow, but again, I took this photo with my phone and it doesn't really do it justice. It was a class to learn a particular technique, and I now have the modified adult pattern for this sweater. . . which I plan to begin knitting for myself in the fall. . . . The sweater itself is super soft and I haven't yet given it away. I am saving it for someone special - maybe my own, probably someone else's, but nobody has had a little girl so it is in a drawer, now. I love it, though, because of it's color and the lace pattern - so I sometimes just take it out to stare at it!

Then I made this: Something for myself - and that doesn't happen very often! It is a scarf, made of silk and mohair yarn that I bought in a yarn store near Chicago. It is actually not quite finished, but I will model it when I am done. . . .

Then I started the summer baby gifts. A mystery animal hat for a baby boy, and a bumblebee hat (below) for a baby of unknown gender:

I have also knit matching socks for each hat but don't have photos, currently. Next up, finishing my scarf, maybe beginning a few Christmas knits. . .

Let the Games Begin.

I just like that post title. I intend to use it multiple times.

I have been kept really too busy for blogging as of late. . . even if I do have spare time, when I come home from work, generally the last thing I want to do is park it in front of the computer and type. .

I've had a lot on my brain and have had a difficult time sleeping this week. I think that a couple of nights of decent rest can really help, and I plan to walk Lucie for a long time this evening so that she is tuckered out, too. (and that will result in better sleep for all of us.)

I had such an enjoyable Saturday morning last weekend, I have decided that I should share. With others, I worked for five hours on a farm - called Johnson's Backyard Garden, http://www.johnsonsbackyardgarden.com/ , a 20 acre organic farm just minutes from downtown Austin. The farm is actually a co-op, where members pay a certain dollar amount for a box of vegetables each week.

It was damp and cold and we arrived around 8 am. Our first project was digging up and bundling green garlic. I was hungry by 8:20 because the garlic smelled so amazing. That was a very muddy way to start the day. We moved on to picking broccoli, and later picked collard greens. We picked and bundled spinach and then had to push the farm truck that was stuck in the mud. Once we were too cold to really do any good in the field, we went into the shed where we washed and bagged arugula and mixed salad greens. Finally, we got in an assembly line and put together boxes for that day's delivery. Each box contained about the same things: oranges and grapefruit from an exchange farm, broccoli, garlic, mint, flat-leaf parsley, kale, swiss chard, mustard greens, collard greens, spinach, arugula, salad greens, and beets. There were cats underfoot and roosters crowing. Everyone was so friendly and I felt very invigorated when I left. We have enjoyed new recipes all this week as a result of the assortment of early spring/late winter green leafies that I brought home.

mmmm. cupcakes.

As the legislative session blazes on and my ability to hang out in the kitchen decreases, I begin to look back on recent accomplishments with fond memories and I really look forward to summer again..

My most recent and favorite kitchen experience was the day House committee assignments came out. In a suite of three Republican offices, three members lost out big time. I went home and made this recipe. You can find a much better link on smitten kitchen, http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/car-bomb-cupcakes/ and the cupcake recipe was posted there. They were officially called Whiskey, chocolate, and beer cupcakes and playfully referred to as "irish car bomb" cupcakes. I called them what they were in our office: Bitter cupcakes filled with sad disappointment.

I have to say that disappointment has never tasted so good. I will definitely make these again.

yarn and cars

It is a little frustrating to knit in the car. You feel confined and, if you're like me, a little barfy. I can't look down for too long without a headache or some nausea. . But I am not really talking about knitting while riding.

I was thinking about cars and I was thinking about knitting and that is how we get this whole post title. We went to test drive a Honda Pilot last night. I love it, and when we find one that has what we want, I will be very excited.

I am thinking about knitting. Over the past two weeks, I have knitted up a cutie little sweater and I am happy to have it done. It was super easy and was a nice resting project after the houndstooth terror.

an update on the stuff I make

I haven't been feeling particularly talkative lately, so my blog is lacking in text. . .

I have officially finished the sweater for mom. It fit her perfectly and would never fit me, so I am very pleased with it. As soon as she models it for me, I will post a photo (taken with a real camera and not my phone). . .

In December, I painted some onesies for a new boy named Bodie. His dad is very into microbrews and these were born:

birdwatching at wal-mart

Have you ever seen the flock of wild parrots that we have here in Austin? I have heard they're in Temple, too, but I don't know if it is the same group.

I have seen them a few times, always in the winter. Once, they were in the trees at the CVS on Lake Austin Blvd. Another time, I spied them in the parking lot by Starbucks in Tarrytown.

Most recently, I was walking out of Wal-Mart in North Austin when we saw them in the grass, hanging out with the commoners (grackles). . They are apple green in color.

I tried to snap photos with my phone, but the quality is sub par. . . These photos are sort of like those 'Magic Eye' puzzles that make you look really hard to find the picture in the static.

Itz Chritzmiz.

I just want to post a quick photo of our Christmas tree, because I love the all white room and the silver decorations.

Please ignore the towel I used to swab down the floor when I spilled the tree water. . .and never you mind the ottoman on its side to keep the beast off of our couch.