Kitchen Adventures

I had to make cupcakes today. Just had to. Dessert can't come soon enough...but first dinner:
Chicken Pot Pie for dinner tonight! Here's the filling.

The crust.

The Godzilla. Yeah, I dropped the flour container. Thank God it was only about a third full. The flour made a huge "poof" and as you can imagine...flour got everywhere! Godzilla lives!

Dinner's ready!

Gracie says, "When is daddy coming home?"

Half way to Six Socks in September!

First sock of Pair #1
Ditto, Pair #3

Half way there!!!


I just talked to my friend in San Diego and they have power back. Not sure if it's back for all of that blackout area or not, but good ole La Mesa is back on the grid.
I read that the blame could possibly fall on one person not doing their job right. I feel so sorry for that person, we all screw up on the job once in a while...but most of us, fortunately, don't have that screw up effect 5 million people.

Very Cool...and dry!

I just came in from my morning run. First time out on a weekday morning in a while due to school starting and adjusting schedules and all. What a shock to walk outside (before sunrise) and find it cool and dry. Cool. And dry! Monday's run was very hot and humid, so naturally, I expected more of the same. After all it was only two days ago. I think it was in the mid 60s. It felt like October. I felt like I could run forever. As the sun rose, it broke through the trees and hit me in the face...full brightness and warmth...it was blinding, but it was great!

I'm still knitting away on my socks...I have one from two of the pairs done (half a pair?) and on the third pair, I'm about 1/2 way through the first sock. I just picked up my gusset and am working the decreases. (Beck, these are your socks and do they ever look nice!)

I'm thinking about starting a shawl or socks or something. Getting antsy to start SOMETHING, anyway. I bought the cutest fair isle sweater pattern yesterday. Its called Plum Frost Cardigan by Elinor Brown of Exercise Before Knitting (funny, huh?...I almost never, I mean ALWAYS do this!) I'd like to start it soon, but I need the base color (not enough in stash of the main color). Here's what it looks like:

Sunday Ride

So I'm taking you along on my Sunday ride today. I wish it had been a sunny day, but it's cloudy and overcast in anticipation of some outer bands of rain we're supposed to get this afternoon courtesy of Tropical Storm Lee.

I'm on the Black Creek Trail...strap on your helmet and let's ride!

There are a few other bikers and walkers along the trail. If I got before noon on a Sunday, it's never too crowded (everyone is in church). The serious riders usually go on Hwy 17 which runs parallel to the Black Creek Trail.
A couple of planked walkways, too.

Not too much "vegetation" where I took the photo of this sign, but you'll see in other photos...there is a nice buffer of plants and trees all along the trail. Too bad there's no way to cut out the traffic noise.

Pine needles make a nice cushion.

In Jacksonville they say 'there's a church on every corner'...no joke, there is. And they're equal opportunity as well.

With the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 coming up soon, it was nice to see this sign.

Towards the end of the trail, the path becomes very woodsy. There are some dirt trails like in the photo...even a bench to rest on. This little spot is at the top of a little hill.

Top of the hill, looking down. This part of the trial has those giant lubber grasshoppers all over. They are so gross!! Thankfully, they are also slow moving. Running over one in your bike is a bad idea...nothing like trying to scrape grasshopper guts off your leg while riding your bike. ugh!

Let's race down the hill!! GO!

The trail ends here. There's a little park, a bathroom and parking lot. You can continue toward Black Creek on a dirt trail if you want. In the interest of not being eaten alive by mosquitos, I'm turning around and heading back.

These bring purple berries are all over this time of year. Don't know what they are, but they sure are pretty!

What's a Sunday ride without a picture of a church.

Let's go left and ride through Eagle Harbor, ok? There's lots of water to pass maybe we'll see some wildlife! Look, an egret! (He was still in that same spot on the way back, too. I guess he's taking it easy this Labor Day weekend.)

A nice spot to take a rest and have a drink of water. That's my mountain bike.

The path through Eagle Harbor is really pretty. The only thing bad about is, it's very narrow and people with their ear buds in and music blasting usually don't her my 'on your left' till I'm shouting at them. Luckily, it was pretty empty today.

Another resting spot ahead. I love the reflection of the woods on the water.

A quick stop at Doctor's Lake. This is usually a busy area with folks putting their boats in the water and getting ready to have a grand time on the water. Sounds like fun to me.
If you're a resident, you can use this private dock. Isn't the Spanish Moss pretty.

Hard to believe this setting is in the middle of a huge residential development. It was very well thought out. The long stretch home!

Thanks for coming along with me today.

One down, five to go!

I sewed this fab sewing machine cover yesterday. No more dust! I used scraps in my fabric stash and an old pillow case for lining. I followed the tutorial here, but not completely...just kinda winged it, really. I'm very happy with it!
This is one sock of my Six Socks in September. The pattern is Hayrick...really lovely pattern. I modified it with my standard heel (pattern has a short row heel, not my fav). It's only 54 stitches around (smallest of three sizes given) but it fits my size 8 foot great.

September Challenge #1

I cast on my first sock for the Six Socks in September challenge on Ravelry. I hardly need any motivation to knit socks, but it sounded like fun. So I cast on yesterday and got a few inches in (see lovely sideways photo below). Here's the problem: The pattern is really intended for multicolored yarn, not variegated like I'm using. I think it would be much prettier and show off the pattern much better if it were multicolored. BUT, I'm not gonna rip and re-cast on...I'm under the gun here folks!! Joke!! So I thought about it, and I'm beginning to like these socks...they look kinda "alligator-ish" to me. The pattern is super easy and when I get to the changes on the foot (see how that pattern tapers off to plain stockinette?) it should get interesting.

These are the designer's socks from the pattern page. Aren't they cute?! The socks are offered in three sizes. I'm making the smallest (60 sts). Those diamond shapes are made with just slipping the stitch for a few rows. Very clever!

I'll have to re-make these some day with some wonderful multi yarn...hmmm...maybe Mike found me something to fit the bill in Finland? I could always look for something at the Florida Fiber In in a couple weeks, too. (You might be saying, "Look in your stash, you nut!" Ok, I'll do that, too!)

Oh, the possibilities!

It's in the Bag!

I sewed this little bag this afternoon! A very talented gal in our knit group makes these bags...and mine isn't nearly as nice as hers, but it serves a purpose and that's what I wanted. Thanks Stacey for the inspiration!

I followed Yarnmonster's tutorial and modified the tie to go through the side not the top.

I thought it was going to be too small, but it's just the right size for socks! I cast on the first of my Six Socks in September challenge today, too. If you look closely, you can see the green yarn in the bottom of the bag.