Cmon Irene

Yeah, I know the song is Come on Eileen, but hey, it fits. I had to share this video because this hits the mass hysteria media whips people into nowadays. Its good to be informed and prepared, and I'm glad to see officials learned SOMETHING from Katrina, but really? This
was hyped for over a week. Whenever we in the Northeast turned on any news station, it was all about Irene. And then it slammed Vermont, not even taking the track through Maine it was forecasted to take. Keeping
my friends & family in the path of devistation in my thoughts for a speedy clean-up.

Anywho, while the "tropical storm" dumped rain on us, we enjoyed our first tomato from the garden. DH made a wonderful snack.
Simple Bruschetta:
1 lg heirloom tomato
1 pkg mozzarella cheese
2-3 tsp olive oil
2-3 tsp balsamic vinegar
Crushed red pepper
Black pepper
Oregano
Salt
Pesto (or fresh basil, chopped and fresh crushed garlic)
Kalameta olives (we didn't have any this time, but they would have
been yummo on this)

Toast points, crackers, or anything else you may want to stack the
tomato and cheese on.

Slice the tomato, cut the cheese into pieces the same size or smaller than the tomato. Place tomato and cheese on a plate, sprinkle the dry ingredients over the top. Pour balsamic vinegar and olive oil on top. You may need more or less of them, depending on how much tomato and cheese you have. Allow to sit as long as you can, it lets the flavors blend nicely. Also, if you include any type of italian ham or danish ham, it can be considered an antipasto appetizer.
Enjoy!
ETA: For some reason, I can't get the video to load. I'll work on it more, but may just need to share the link when I find out where it's posted. I got it via a friend on Facebook.

Lucky

Now a days, a little luck on your side is a good thing. And, as we're having a bad day at work or with the kids, it's always good to remind ourselves there's a lot to be positive about.

My DH is a hard working guy who loves his family and our gardens. He's a painter and a musician, and has been very supportive of my blossoming knitting career. As a matter of fact, he gave me the gentle push into knitting that hasn led to this point. I'd been a crocheter, and admiring his mother's knitting. I'd dabbled in it some, but never felt that it fit. For Christmas 2002, he gave me a gift certificate to buy some good yarn (the $9.00 per skein kind) to do a sweater I'd been admiring in a Berroco pattern book. Plain stockinette stitch with garter edges, an oversized sweater done on size 13 needles. And when I got lost on the sleeve shaping, I called Berroco, and the designer herself called me back to walk me through it. And I haven't looked back since.

Fast forward a few years. SWTC put out a call for knitters that knew how to do toe-up socks on their Ravelry forum. I replied, and was sent yarn and the pattern. 4 more socks followed, all for the gallery in Socks A La Carte 2, and I've chronicled other items I've done for them in this blog. Last spring, Jonelle emailed me about some colorwork sock ideas, and the collaberation that became Socks A La Carte 3 was begun. And this book has finally made it to bookshelves, and I've included pix of some of the socks I knit for the book. The fair isle braid is my own design, and Persimmon I did in collaboration with Jonelle. Dad was able to see 3 of the socks for the book, Skullie, Steppin' Up, and Persimmon as I designed them. As much as I wish he had lived to see this finished, he did see my name in Socks 2, and he was so very proud.
I've also designed other patterns for them, and so far have been published in Knit 'N Style, with another design coming soon.

Why am I telling you this? I was lucky enough to be married to a man that indulged me and began me on the road to one of my passions. He also started me spinning, but thats for a later date.

I was lucky to be chosen by Jonelle, and to have kept her confidence in me. She's allowed me to spread my designer wings, much like a mother bird, watching and giving wonderful advice along the way.

And I'm lucky to have friends that know knitting isn't just for grandmothers anymore.