Emptyknitster

Last February The NorDakPurl Gurl's Relay for Life group decided to have a silent auction as an additional fund raiser. The gals had a fantastic idea because the fundraiser gives everyone in the little NorDak town the opportunity to do a little Valentine's Day shopping for their sweethearts at someplace other than the local Walmart or Penneys. I knit and felted some mittens last year and was very pleased to hear the amount they raised toward the defeat of cancer. (Norwegians love their wives but are a practical lot - AND mittens are a necessity in Nor' Da'ko'ta!!) I knit another pair this year and just finished needle felting them tonight. The weather has been cold and snowy so I'm hoping they will be in demand!!

As promised, here are a couple of my favorite curry recipes that I promised my friend Lisa. Curry Chicken Salad Curry Chicken Salad 2 cups diced chicken 1/2 cup mayonnaise 1 1/2 sticks celery, chopped 1/4 cups chopped walnuts 2 teaspoons curry powder (it asks for 2 tablespoons but start out light and add more to taste) Just add to a bowl and stir! I put a big spoonful in half a pita and enjoy. Another great recipe: Crockpot curry 2 boneless chicken breasts or tenders 16 oz salsa 1 tablespoon curry powder 1/2 onion chopped chopped baby carrots, or sweet potatoes, peas 1/2 cup sour cream Place all ingredients except sour cream and peas in crockpots.  Set crockpots on low to cook and leave for 4 hours or until chicken is cooked and vegetables are tender. Add peas and cook until thawed and add sour cream. Serve over rice.

Sadie Lou Who and the Purl Gurl having a great time skating!  AND the North Dakota newspapers know hockey talent when they see it! A very pleased little girl!

The Pirate in his new specs! January 2011

My good friend sent me this cartoon: Those reflections can really bring you up short....When I was pregnant with The Chick, Hubby bought me a brand new Buick Skylark. I loved that car. It was a sporty 2 door, with a sunroof, and was brand new! The little gurls were never allowed to eat in it and the car got a weekly wash. When I drove it, I always thought we were styling! One afternoon as I was driving down the street in my little Skylark, I looked at a reflection in a store window. Without a second thought I caught myself thinking, "Man its time for that guy to get a new car," I quickly realized that the reflection was me and my sporty little skylark with the sunroof had somehow become dumpy 14 year old car!

When I got home from work today I had some fun mail.... Sadie Lou Who, 7 years old, 2011 The Tiger, 5 years old, 2011

Charity knitting is a good way to pass time when you are unsure just what to knit next. It is also a great way to use up your stash. I decided to knit a wool pullover with some stranded knitting around the body and sleeves. My self imposed challenge is to use left over yarn, yet create a nice finished project.  The charity group needs larger sizes and so I allow myself to buy a skein of the main color but the coordinating stripe or stranded knitting yarn must be from my stash. My goal is to ALWAYS end up with a project that I'd proudly put a grandbaby in. I didn't have any stranded knitting graphs, so I began searching knitter's heaven, ravelry. I found some great people. "blanchn" of Quebec, Canada gave me a great stranded pattern to go on the thope hat and also pointed me to "stoperror" in Germany who has some very nice stranded graphs available on ravelry. I'd been marking time in the knitting world, searching for my next learning experience. Af...

Recently while visiting with the California Gurl, she suggested that I make a 2011 "This Year's To Do List" similar to the list from last summer . I have to say that it's been difficult. In my mind the year is split into two equal parts. Most teachers feel as I do, one half of the year - school ; second half of the year - summer   (I know, I know, mathematically they aren't equal). Not only is it divided that way for most of us but somehow almost everything in a teacher's everyday life goes into suspended animation during the school year except the class they are responsible for. Then we go into overdrive all summer just trying to catch up with family, chores and relaxation! I'm going to try to take a giant leap and the biggest "To Do" Item is not to let school entirely consume my life. So, today's list is for the school half of the year. My summer "To Do List" will come about when it's summer and the spirit moves me because ...