It's been a quiet week in the Stuart household....
I lied. It has been the usual craziness. We have had some quiet moments, though. Besides lounging on the cushion that has become a dog bed with his brother, Sandy has taken to snoozing in the rocking chair, the way Rocky used to do. He likes to store up energy for another go at the zoomies.
A neighbor brought her little boy over to play with the dogs. They were here for more than and hour, and the dogs loved it. Colin is allergic to dogs, and the family had planned to get a golden doodle puppy this month, but when they went to meet the puppy that was supposed to have the right genetic background to be hypoallergenic (from the poodle) he was clearly allergic to it. Mom wanted to see if a pure poodle would work. I haven't heard, but he had no problems while he was here. (People who are allergic to dog saliva, rather than to the dander, can still be allergic to poodle saliva, although, according our breeder, allergy shots now can take care of that.)
Sandy turned 13 months old yesterday. He is now over 24 lbs., more than a pound more than a months ago, so he's still growing, if more slowly. We try to walk with the dogs when the weather is nice enough. It has been getting pretty cold, but then it warms up, so when it snows, the snow usually doesn't stick around for long. Mud season lasts a lot longer here than it did in Summit Park. The trail isn't usually too muddy, though.
I managed to get some knitting in. I finished Clue #3 for the Rose City Yarn Crawl on February 2, so I needed something to work on. I have put the Milk Thistle kit aside for now. I want to go to the shop that has the sample and see (maybe take photos) of where the herringbone stitch section meets the I-cord. The designer has a video, but I couldn't see the stitch she picked up to make the increases. My new character, Pam, needs clothes, so I cast on the Everyday Play dress in the size that fits Little Kidz.
It's a pretty easy and straightforward knit, so it's great for mindless knitting. I've already joined the two ends below the button placket and have been knitting in the round.
Clue #4 for the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery KAL was available when I got up on Wednesday morning. I put my stitch markers back in, because I could see they would be useful for this section.
There's a cable in this clue. The beads are added, some on the front and some on the back, depending on whether the stitch with the bead is a knit or a purl. I love how where the cables come together looks with the beads.
On Saturday, I was just working the wrong-side row before the next cable and bead row, when Sandy came and put his paws in my lap. When he got down again, he accidentally pulled the needle cable out of one of the needles. Fortunately, it was the stitches I had just finished on that side. Some of the stitches raveled making a run/ladder, and those needed to be salvaged when I got all the stitches back on the needle. I was able to get them all straightened out, but it took some time.
I was very thankful that it was the row before the cable/bead row and not that row or the one after it. I might not have found the beads in the carpet. As it was, I had to get down on the floor and look around for my markers. It's a good thing Sandy is cute! It was an accident, though, and he has gotten very good at leaving my knitting alone. However, he took my reading glasses out to the backyard again and removed a lens. Good thing I have spare pair. (We found the missing lens, but the frames are toast.
I finished Clue #4 Sunday night. I still have beads left in the first vial.
Sometime during the week I printed off and copied the pattern for doll pants for Zachary's new doll, Alex. I like to use the Liberty Jane Boot Cut Jeans pattern for the front and follow the tutorial that came with the pattern. I printed it at 80%, because it's designed for American Girl dolls, which are much bigger. I have my own special pants-back piece that I use when making pants for the Happy Kidz, and I printed that at 80% as well. I have the pieces all cut out and ready to sew up.
On Saturday a T-shirt I ordered from an Etsy shop, Mabe la Creativ arrived.
I have a good supply of regular brown lentils I need to use. Why, you might ask, do I have so many brown lentils? Well, I put red lentils on the grocery list. Charlie does most of the grocery shopping, and red lentils are rather difficult to find. He came home with three different brands of brown lentils, so besides the lentils I already had in the jar, I now had three pounds more. I decided to make French Lentil Soup, to try to reduce the supply a bit.
Here's the recipe if you want to try it; I took a screen shot from my Recipe Box app, but not all the ingredients showed up, so I just copied the text:
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions, celery, carrots, and garlic; sauté until vegetables begin to brown, about 15 minutes.
Add to slow cooker with 4 cups water, bouillon cubes, lentils, tomatoes and bay leaf, and start slow cooker on low.
When the slow-cooker is done (6 hours or so) remove about 2 cups of soup to another container and mix with an immersion blender. Return to pot. Add greens.
Season with salt, pepper, and a splash of Balsamic vinegar.
Ladle soup into bowls. Top with parmesan cheese.
Besides the lentil soup and a lot of Dutch oven bread, I pulled out some frozen corn and made my Easy Corn Salad, which uses frozen corn. You don't have to cook the corn or anything; just chop up the other things, make the dressing and mix it all up. It keeps in the fridge for several days. (It gets some feta cheese tossed on for serving.)
Here's the recipe, a screen shot from my Recipe Box app.
You can substitute other ingredients or leave out some, depending on what you have on hand. You need the frozen corn, though, or it isn't corn salad.
And then there was the Super Bowl.
On the grandchild front, Soren is learning to play basketball. This is an inclusive program, and he's loving it!
Kids and puppies. Wear 'em out, and they're much easier to get along with!
What's in The Doll's Storybook: A Field Trip to the Dentist. If you know of a child who is about to make their first trip to the dentist, this story will give them an idea of what it's about and what the dentist's office is like...before they go.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: xx
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