New Foods

Saw a recipe on the New York Times, had to try it. Roasted apple, shallot, blue cheese tart. It's supposed to be an appetizer, very delicious and rich. The crust is made from white and whole wheat flour plus corn meal. I just love the creaminess of the apples and shallots with the punch to your taste buds from the blue cheese. YUM!

Snow?

Being half St. Bernard & half German Shorthair Pointer (GSP), it goes without saying, Pancho LOVES the snow. Here he is with his sad puppy dog eyes wondering if he can come in.

Sure you can come in, it's not dandruff and we're good with that wet dog smell.

Prints in the Snow

I love the snow! Not so fun to drive in but great exercise when you have to shovel. Love going out and finding critter prints in the snow. Guess who made these?

 Hey - they slip in the snow too. Yes, it gets icy and slipper.

 These are all deer prints - they look a bit like hearts.

They came through the yard to get some food. I can't really be mad at them for eating my greens, its so darn cold, you wonder how on earth they survive through winter..... simply amazing.



Craft Party II

 TWinter break is at an end and so is my vacation time.... it's back to work and updating my blog.  his lady here (a.k.a. Melanie or the awesome crochet instructor) has created a monster..... me; all I want to do is crochet.

 And its a lot more fun with friends, munchies and chocolate wine. I mean, let's get real, it's about being crafty, social and relaxing all at the same time. And this lovely gal (Jasmine) is my partner in crime at work. I'm so lucky because I get to see her more often now that she landed a part-time job in the same office!

I started to crochet an infinity scarf.... but this was just practice on the cheaper yarn.

Vet Appointment

Misty on the scale / examining table. She loves the vet because she gets attention and liver treats.

Pancho on the other hand, he tolerates the vet but doesn't like it.

Family Visit

Mom and Dad drove over one weekend to visit. Here we are chatting in the living room, enjoying the fire and cup of coffee on a cold winter day.

More Practice

 It goes without saying...... I need more practice.

Started another dish cloth but it wasn't going so well, so I took it apart. The nice thing about crochet is that you can easily "un-do" little ooops. That's why the yarn looks curly in this one - had a "do over."

 This one looks different becuase I did a double crochet stitch instead of single.



Dish Cloth.... maybe?

Completed my first crochet project - a dish cloth. I know, it's not symmetrical, but it's my first attempt and I dont think it's too bad. Since I'm still learning, my fingers were a little sore after 2.5 hours, but I finished it. I like to think my Grandma Urata is having a good little chuckle over this one. I finally did it grams, I'm learning to crochet, though I'll never be as awesome as she was!

New Hobby

 Finally........ I've been wanting to learn how to crochet for YEARS, literally. I am so fortunate to have inherited my Grandmother's needles and a cool "how to" book. However, I learn a lot better if someone shows me. Here's the first couple rows......

 Making progress.........

 

 Had a blast with these two lovely ladies, Jasmine & Melanie. So lucky to have fun, smart and crafty colleagues.

We had a great time because we had the company of Arcee the corgi and.............

a crafting session would not be complete without some baked goodies.

Student Fun

Love my international students. Here's Amber (left) and Alexsandra, packing their left overs.  I took them to that new Thai restaurant I love and they liked it too - hey, it's not hard to beat the food in the residence hall cafeteria. Amber is from China and hopes to complete her degree in Accounting. Alexsandra is from Serbia, a Math major who is here for one year.