Good news!

My first spindle from Yarn 2 Spin has arrived! It came with 2 oz of Coopworth roving and instructions. Now if only I could take a leave of absence from my job to work on my new passion…

My Mmm Mmm Chili

This is a very simple recipe that you can change around to your liking. That’s what I did because I found the original was lacking in flavor and hotness. We like the hot. Yes, we do. Next time I’m adding hot peppers.

1/2 cup sundried tomato and oregano salad dressing (you can make your own or buy a bottle)

1lb lean g round beef

1/2 red onion, chopped finely

1 red pepper, chopped finely

1 yellow pepper, chopped finely

2 tsp chili powder (more if you like xxx hotness like i do)

2 cans (or fresh) red kidney beans, rinsed

1 large can of diced tomatoes, do not drain

1/2 cup salsa + more to your liking

Sour cream,  grated cheese and green onions for garnish at serving.

Frank’s Red Hot sauce to your liking.

1. Heat the salad dressing in a large pot on medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions and let cook for 2 minutes. Add meat and chili powder and cook for 10 minutes or until meat is cooked.Stir frequently.

2. Add the tomatoes, the beans and salsa and mix well. Bring to a boil and cover. Add hot sauce to taste. Let simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I leave it on low heat until ready to eat.

Serve in bowl, topped with cheese, sour cream and green onions.

 

 

Dishcloth Mania

Corrugated Dishcloth

Anna & Heidi Pickles’ Easy Peasy Dishcloth

Fridays Were Made for Knitting (or at least Friday Night)

Friday nights are not nearly long enough. That’s why I’m pouring caffeine into my system so I can try to finish a bunch of dishcloths for people, finish a scarf and start a tuque for a friend at work, finish a book to send off to a friend, catch up on Ravelry happenings and maybe watch Fresh.

Have you seen this Chipotle ad? Love it. I get teary-eyed over the strangest things. It also makes me want to change things.

I’m also in love with this:

Things that I said I wouldn’t do, I did ‘em
Secrets below the surface of truth I hid ‘em

and this:

100 things about me 31-40

31. I was vegetarian for 5 years. Vegan for a day.

32. I’m considering doing a 30-Day Vegan Challenge or a 30-Day Raw Food Challenge and writing about it every detail of it.

33. It’s usually pretty easy for people to know what I think about them within minutes. I’m not exactly known for subtly. Or hypocrisy. My boyfriend says this is one of the things he loves most about me. He also says it’s one of the things he hates about me. Go figure.

34. I subscribe to 6 magazines monthly. Most of them are fashion magazines.

36. October is my favorite month. And not just because it’s my birthday month.

37. Yoga is good.

38. I will never understand fake tanning. It is gross and disgusting.

39. I find knuckle tattoos extremely hot. Especially on women!

40. I admit when I’m wrong. But don’t ever accuse me of something I didn’t do and expect me to sit back. Payback might not be immediate but trust me, it’s coming.

Knitty Web Tuesday

A look around the knittier side of the interwebs.

Source: one sheepish girl

Let Them Eat Fish With Guts from This domestic Life.

After seeing Andi’s and Iz‘s photos from A Month of Craft Photos, I may be inspired enough to join in next month. Please remind around the 1st of March, just in case.

A Week of Colorful Sweaters by one sheepish gir

If you need proof that knitters are beautiful people, check out Knitted Bliss, Knit and Bake, Eleven Stitches,

One day I will be able to make this  beautiful sweater.

This Anatomical Knit-Hood Series is kind of weird…yet awesome

From the Guardian archives, 1961…

“The urge to knit is surely the most moral force in the world. Knitting is industrious, economical, virtuous, therapeutic, mildly creative and above all tranquillising. Research would show that knitting wives never become nervous wrecks and that it is never knitting girls who break up happy homes. Conversely it would be found that the Other Woman never knits. 

Full article here. Ah, the 60′s and it’s wonderful simplicity.

Knit owl hats on the runway!

100 things about me 21-30

21. I’ve worked as a librarian, an artist’s model, a secretary, a butcher, and a greenhouse worker and various other jobs not worth mentioning. My favorite? Artist’s model.

22. I hate talking on the phone.

23. Without my glasses I’m pretty much blind. Johnny Depp could walk by me naked and I probably wouldn’t notice.

24. I rarely  drink alcohol anymore. I’ll take a coffee, please.

25. Most people think I’m shy, but mostly I’m just not interested in talking. I hate small talk just to make conversation with someone you otherwise wouldn’t be speaking to. (Example: co-workers you know you have nothing to say to. Let’s not pretend to be thrilled about talking about the lack of snow, K? Thanks.)

26. I recycle. I also compost.

27. I can type 70+ WPM.

28. I have a lot of nail polish.

29. I have a girl crush on Winona Ryder and Janeane Garofalo.

30. I try to support local businesses and locally grown products before giving money to greedy corporations.

100 things about me 11-20

11. My best friend died on December 21st, 2011. I miss him.

12. I’ve always had a pet, except for a brief moment when I came back to Canada and was doing the couch-surfing thing. And even then I ended up taking care of other people’s dogs. A life without animals is not a  life worth living for me.

13. I read anything and everything but right now I’m stuck on those goddamn romance novels.

14. I’m itching for  more tattoos. I just have one and it’s Arabic script. I  hate when people ask me what it means. Not many people would enjoy the meaning if they knew.

15. Videogames are good. My favorite? The Metal Gear Solid series. Followed closely by Call of Duty MW2 and Black Ops, WoW, and Dragon Age Origins. Oh, Alistair.

13. I have an unhealthy and serious phobia of butterflies. People don’t believe me, until they see it for themselves. Then they just find it funny. I do not.

14. My favorite writer is Henry Miller and my favorite book is Tropic of Capricorn. It changed my life. I also love Ernest Hemingway, Arthur Rimbaud, Dave Eggers and Jean Genet.

15. I’ll eat pretty much anything, including innards, hearts, and other bits most people toss aside.

16. Anthony Bourdain is my idol.

17. I spean English, French, Franglais with a twist of valley girl and a side of hillbilly. I say “eh” often.

18. When I was younger I wanted to be a supermodel, a lawyer, a teacher and a criminologist. I was very enthusiastic. Not sure what happened.

19. I love to knit. I’m just starting off so I can’t do anything spectacular but I love it.

20. I’ve had a web site in some form since 1997. You know, back when AOL 2.0 and Compuserve were around. Those were the days.

100 things about me 1-10

I’m supposed to be doing something productive in between waiting for pies to bake. I’m pretty sure this counts, no?

1. I love to laugh but I don’t laugh unnecessarily. If something isn’t funny, I won’t laugh. Some people don’t like this. There’s already enough fake in the world.

2. I love the colors turquoise, grey, purple, and red. But I wear a lot of black. My favorite color combos are turquoise and black and grey and pink. And brown and pink. And brown and turquoise. You get the picture.

3. I was born in a small french town you have never heard of.

4. I’ve moved over twelve times. More than half of those times were in the last six years.

5. I’ve lived in Hawaii and Arizona. Yes, Hawaii is nice. Yes, Arizona is hot.

6. I came back to Canada in 2006. I was supposed to go to the Yukon but I came back to Quebec instead. Stupid mistake.

7. I love coffee. Lots of milk. No sugar. I’m sweet enough.

8. People always think I’m 18 years old. The truth?  I’m 29.

9. I’m a typical Scorpio. If you don’t know the character traits, look it up. My picture is probably there.

10. Blood is not thicker than water. True friendships are though.

The Pie Baker Playlist