Indian Summer

How wonderful are those rare days of Indian summer? The warmth of the sun, the rustle of the leaves blowing in the wind, and the glow of the autumn colors all around us.


I have been sick with some awful something that has knocked me on my butt for the last several days. Those lingering rays of the autumn sun drew me to an outside respite for the afternoon. Although I actually did more sleeping than knitting, I did make some progress on my latest project.


I am so excited to finally be getting this bulky wrap/scarf on my needles. (I posted about this project earlier.) I have definitely taken on a challenge with this pattern! Stay tuned for more details about this later - (like how I had to practically rewrite the graph because it had so many mistakes!)

The leaf and vine pattern is stunning. I have enjoyed watching it progress. (But not so much today - as there was way more sleeping than knitting!)

I will miss the warmth of the sun in the weeks and months ahead. Today was a blessed opportunity to enjoy this Indian summer.

and the winner of the "Cutest Baby in a Red Sweater" award is----

Mason!

We stopped by Atlanta to see our sweet grandbaby on our way to Florida (for our cruise) a few weeks ago. This gb was so excited to finally get to try that little sweater on Mason. Hurray! It was a perfect fit! Nothing makes a knitter more excited than to see a project fit perfectly - and for babies that is huge. They can be pretty tricky (they have that big head you know!)

This was just the cutest sweater ever on this baby. I am thinking that I will make a vest out of this same pattern - maybe in blue to match his little blue jeans.

The hardest thing about taking pictures of a baby - they never stop moving! Just when you get ready to snap the picture - they move. So pardon some of the blurry images - he is a doll anyway!

A Walk with Maddy

This post was supposed to be all about my new hat - but who could care about a silly little hat when these pictures of Maddy are so adorable!


Maddy and her Auntie Vicki went for a little walk outside so that she could look at all the leaves on the ground. She loves to be outside and when you say "lets go outside" she starts to wiggle and smiles and holds her hands up for me to pick her up!



OK - now look at my new hat! I knitted this little hat (so easy) while we were on our two week cruise to the Caribbean. Seemed so silly to be knitting a winter hat while sitting in the sun on the top deck of the cruise ship - but sure felt good to be wearing it today!


This little slouch hat was so fun and easy to make. It uses two skeins of Lion Brand Thick and Quick or about 150 yards of your yarn of choice. It uses basic straight knitting stitches on size 11 needles. Easy!

When you are done - you just gather up the top and then seam up the sides. I am definitely making more of these - in fact there is another one on my needles now.

Enough of the hat - isn't Maddy adorable! She has grown a bunch in the two weeks that I have been gone!

Auntie Vicki will have to make a slouch hat for Maddy girl--

She is just too cute ! Thanks to Maddy's MeMe for taking these great pictures!

Fun at the Flea!

Just back from our semi - annual trip (spring and fall) to the Springfield flea market extravaganza. We had the most wonderful day - weather was spectacular - found lots of treasures - and walked our little legs off!

My flea market buddies, Hubert and Kim, were with me on this great trip. We have done this so many times - we have our own little routine about how we cover the flea market. Kim and I let Hubert "be the boss" on flea market day and he guides us in an orderly fashion around the fairgrounds.

So many treasures to be had - so little space in our car! Sometimes when we come back from the flea - you cannot even see out of the back of the car!

Stop - shop- walk - stop - shop- walk---

Kimmie loves Blue Ridge pottery - you should see her own collection---

My day at the flea was spent looking for special treasures to use in my upcoming project - "the next big thing". Here is a sampling of my trinkets that I purchased.

The project is still a tightly guarded secret - so stay tuned for pictures and clues---

Chicken Tortilla Soup - (perfect for our cool weather!)

Fall is in the air here - and this is how I know - the Gardener asks me to make this soup! Definitely one of our favorites for sure! This is the easiest soup to make - I call it a "dumper" - because you just cook a little and then dump everything else in!


The zucchini is not one of the original ingredients, but a friend told me that she always added it - and I love zucchini - so now it is standard for this recipe whenever I make it.


This recipe calls for shredded cooked chicken - and I almost always use a can of the white meat shredded chicken. That is what makes this recipe so easy and why you can just almost dump everything into the pot. For the soup I made today - I used 2 large chicken breasts that I prepared on the rotisserie yesterday.



The Mexican tomatoes that are used in this soup are kind of hard to find - (at least in this one horse town!) Whenever I find them I usually buy several cans. Also - coming straight from the can they are in pretty big chunks - so I always cut them up before adding to the soup.

If you are counting calories (and who isn't!) - this is a great soup for your calorie budget. One cup equals 150 calories - or 3 weight watcher points. That does not include the tortilla chips that you add on top - we usually use the baked tortilla chips, so the damage is not too bad.

Chicken-Tortilla Soup ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 medium zucchini chopped

1 tsp minced garlic

2 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 cup whole kernel corn - (I use a can of corn)

1/4 cup dry white wine -( cooking wine is fine - or you can use the good stuff!)

2 cans mild green chiles

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp chili powder (I admit to being a little more generous)

2 cans chicken broth

2 cans Del Monte Mexican tomatoes

1 can low fat tomato soup - (I use Campbell's Healthy Request)

crushed tortilla chips

Saute the onion, zucchini, and garlic in the olive oil until tender. Add remaining ingredients and place in a dutch oven size pot. Simmer until hot through out - about 20 minutes. You're done. Add the crushed tortilla chips when you serve the soup.

This will not be the last time you make this soup!

Just off my needles - Mason's Christmas sweater

Finally finished the little project that I started on the beach in St. Martin - a Christmas sweater for Baby Mason. I am pretty darn pleased with it - totally love the yarn and the pattern was a breeze. Now - I am ready to start on some other things on my list - like the blue cabled wrap/scarf that I posted about earlier. Also plan to start on another little project that I am just calling for now - The Next Big Thing. Keep watching---


Bought the yarn at my favorite yarn store - the Hobby Lobby!



I can't post the pattern because I bought it on line - but, I will gladly share it with anyone who wants it - just let me know.

Our St. Martin Escape

Our vacation to the beautiful beaches of St. Martin was magnificent! So wonderful that we have already made plans to return! This slideshow moves quickly and takes about 20 minutes to view - a perfect thing to do when you have that first cup of coffee in the mornings! (Be sure to turn the music to the playlist off first - so that you can enjoy the slideshow music.) WARNING - these pictures will make you want to be there!

Make a Smilebox slideshow