Haircut

I think it was temporary insanity. I'd been contemplating cutting Emma's hair for a while because it was looking so scraggly when it wasn't put in pigtails, but yesterday morning it happened. I was trimming my bangs and Emma was sitting on the counter next to me, hair wet, playing with some hairbands. Next thing I knew, I'd made the first cut.

Suddenly I thought, "Oh crap, I've done it and I can't stop now or she'll look really funny."

And when her hair dried it (of course) shrank up and ended up being a bit shorter than I intended. *sigh* I feel like a git but at the same time, the more I see it on her the more I like her new haircut. She's just so darn cute she'd probably look adorable even if you shaved her head. What do y'all think about Miss Emma's new do?

(Sorry for the poor picture but it's so hard to get little one to hold still for more than 3 seconds.)

Leaves & Snow

Fall is one of the few times every year that you can play in the leaves one morning and in the snow the next morning. Saturday was a day of changing weather so Morgan went out to rake leaves and mow before the cold front came in. Emma thought Daddy needed some help so she kindly lent a hand.



The next morning there was snow and Emma has decided she loves snow. I helped her pick a wee pumpkin from the (nearly dead) garden and then Daddy helped her make a snowman just her size. Too cute!! That lucky stiff even got a kiss.

Catching Up

I am sooo bad. I read everyone else's knitting/life/sewing blogs on a daily basis and I get so impatient waiting for them to post again and here I go not blogging for 10 days. tsk tsk tsk

Anyway, we've been busy at least. There was more canning, this time apple butter and flavored applesauces. I must say, they came out very well and I'm pleased with my results but definitely done canning for this year. It's so much prep work and clean up.

Next came the Lil' Devil Hat for Emma's Halloween costume. So cute and so on the mark at times.

Pattern: Lil' Devil Baby Hat
Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style in Maple Leaf

I knit the hat in two days but the horns were a bit trickier to figure out the placement of so the project as a whole took me almost a week to finish. Love it!

Also, we had a Pumpkin Party at our house for our meetup.com group. All the wee ones painted pumpkins and I was really surprised at how well Emma did. She held her paintbrush tightly, only painted on the pumpkin, dipped her brush into the colors on the tray and did a lovely job. I'm so proud of her!



And to round out the flurry of activity, my step-mom came to visit. It was so nice to talk with her about my Dad, whom we miss very much and Emma loved seeing her Grandma. It had been a while since we last got together and I was a bit nervous about how Emma would react but she went to Bea like a fish to water. With her she brought some boxes and I now have some old things of his including his wallet, some beer steins he collected from when we lived in Germany and his old military uniform. It's the smallest things that hold the most memories for me and I am glad to have them. His wallet was always with him and I remember seeing it so often that it was like an extension of him to me, this little thing he carried every day of his life. His military uniform is a symbol of his career he was so proud of, and it warms my heart to see it again.

Ok, no sniffing or tearing up. Now look at another cute picture of Emma. Toodles!

Daily Dish

Today I had the hankering to cook, probably because I didn't cook at all yesterday. On the menu, Crustless Spinach Quiche and Tomato Basil soup. The quiche I've done before and lately I've been craving tomato basil soup. Not that canned garbage from the store but the real deal. The recipe came from Olive Garden's website a while ago (while trying to find the elusive nutritional breakdown of their dishes) but today it just called to me.


If you try it I recommend substituting chicken broth for the wine (unless you happen to be stock full of dry white wines and you just can't resist cracking one open to make soup) and I used 1% milk instead of the heavy cream. Be warned, this soup is very filling and thick so it doesn't need much more than a salad or small nibble to go with it.

The verdict: Excellent! Go make yourself a batch! :)

Sweet Success!

As I bask in the glow of finishing another project, I happily have nothing left to show for it. This weekend I got to dying more yarn in some lovely colors and I finished putting the last skein into hanks tonight just before Knit Night. I took all my hand-dyed yarn with me and Patty was so enamored with it she bought my two new skeins and Strawberry Patch on the spot. I was so flattered, she said they looked like Lorna's Laces. *blush*

To date I've now sold 5 skeins of multi-colored yarn and I think I just might keep this up. Who knows, maybe this will be my small source of income to help us out. :) Now wouldn't that be something?

We be cannin'

That's right, today my friend and I decided to venture into the wild unknown of home canning. I must say, I think it was a success. So far we have 12, 1 quart jars of home-made apple pie filling. Be warned, most of it is going to be issued as Christmas gifts so remember to feel properly awed and special when you get one...if you should be so lucky. It took about 6 hours of washing, peeling, slicing, stewing and boiling to make these beauties. I even added a "special" ingredient to these that will, shall we say, "Help spread some holiday cheer." Hehehehehehe