When experimentation pays off

Ok so there are times I can be a snob. I admit it! There are some things I am just willing to spend the money on. One of those things I purchased last weekend. I bought an All Clad Slow Cooker. Very pricey but highly rated by consumer reports and my Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker, while less than a year old was starting to burn things.
Well once purchasing my new beauty I had to test it out of course. So looking at what I had on hand I decided to try some pork chops. This is what I did. I had 4-2inch thick pork chops and put them in the cooker, covered them with 1 sliced onion and 2 garlic cloves minced. I then added fresh ground black pepper and covered with about 1 1/2 cups of sauerkraut then 12 oz of apple juice. This I cooked on low for 6 hrs. Let me just say that these pork chops were absolutely delicious. Mike loved them. He wanted me to document this recipe as I never follow one when cooking and he is afraid I won't be able to recreate it. So there you have it. They really are good. These and some freshly steamed asparagus-doesn't get much better.

Out of the mouths of babes!

My Ashley is a very precocious child! The way her mind works I can't help but think she has been on this earth before. She definitely is an old soul. No 5 yr old should be able to reason the way she does. But I digress. My sweet girl was sick most of this week with a stomach flu. She had the usual problems one suffers with that type of bug, nausea/vomiting and dehydration. About 48 hrs after it started she was lying in her bed an wanted something to drink. Her mom brought her a small amount of ginger ale as prescribed by Ashley's pediatrician. Her mother explained to her that she needed to drink small sips and that if she vomited again she would need to have a Phenergan suppository. Ashley stated she wasn't sipping anything, she wanted a large glass of water. Her mother told her she needed to sip the ginger ale and left it in Ash's room. A few minutes later Ash called for her Dad. When her Dad went to her room Ash stated she wanted a big glass of water. Her Dad told her she had the ginger ale and she needed to sip it or she would need to get the suppository "up her butt." Here is where it gets real funny. My beautiful perfect princess of a granddaughter said to her father " I don't think so mister, the only thing going up anybody's butt is my foot up yours now get out!" Where does this come from?

Well thankfully she is feeling better and she called me today to thank me for the Valentine I had sent her. We talked for a few minutes and I was getting ready to leave. Now Ash likes to talk on the phone and she doesn't like to hang up. One of the ways we get her to hang up the phone is we tell her we are driving and can't talk on the phone when we drive. So today my precocious baby says "Who's driving?" And I immediately answer that Papa will be driving us to the store. And she says well since Papa is driving then I can talk with you as long as I want." Oh oh, now how am I going to get her to hang up? What will it be like when she goes to Kindergarten?

Zen and the art of knitting

I knit. Some might say I knit a lot. I have a walk in closet full of yarn with some spilling out into 2 large cabinets in my craft room and a three tiered basket in my living room.

I knit whenever I can. Riding in the car or on a plane. Waiting in doctor's offices and sometimes even in restaurants.

My knitting habits serves two purposes. 1. It helps me relax and keeps me sane. 2. My finished projects make great gifts or garments for myself.

Posted her are a beautiful pair of mittens I made for a co-workers teenaged daughter. The mittens are based on the ones worn by Bella in the movie Twilight. My friends daughter loves all things from Twilight.

Another recent project is a pair of fingerless gloves I made from a free pattern I found at knitty.com. These are the red ones. They are so soft. The hat above was inspired by a hat knit by a friend of mine that was on display at the new Green Mt Fibers in Rutland. I purchased the yarn on my last trip home.

I am now working on a sweater for Jennifer, a pair of socks and a Jacket for me. That is in addition to the sewing I want to do. I don't have enough time for my hobbies. I need to win the lottery or come into money some other way so I can spend more time doing what I love.

Other than that not much is new in my life. We are surviving the winter much like everybody else. I am very optimistic that soon the economy will turn around and people will stop losing their jobs. Lets hope our new president delivers on his promises. I would like to hear from all of you so drop me a line or a note. Call me, collect if need be. Love ya!