Spring Abandonded

This was a bit of a shock to the system.  After being in Florida last week where it was sunny and mid-80s, coming back to Ohio and getting slapped with another round of winter weather is too much.  

BRRRRR!!!!

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Woke up this morning to the sound of a robin.  It wasn't sing.  It actually sounded annoyed.  But it was a lovely sound to me because it meant spring is its way.    There were two other signs when I opened the door to get the paper off the front porch.

My daffodils have started to come up.   I just hope they don't bloom while we are away on our spring break trip.  The other sign of spring is in the next picture.

It's not the beautiful sky or the tiny buds on the trees, it's the 'For Sale' sign in our neighbors lot.  This actually makes us very sad.  The kids have told them they are not allowed to move.    These people have been the best neighbors and we are going to miss them tremendously.

I've made a bit more progress on the Go Live cardi.  The right front panel is done and I'm almost halfway through the left front panel.  This project will go on my trip with me.  Hopefully I'll get the pieces done and then when I get home I can block them and sew it up.



Since knitting monogomy is not something I practice, I have another project in the works.  This is going to be a long term project, the Great American Aran Afghan.  I figure I'll do a block here and there as I need a project to break up the monotony of other projects.  I started with the block designed by the lady from Cincinnati, since that is where I grew up.

And finally, here's a picture of a pizza I made last week.  I recently subscribed to Cooks Illustrated.  I love that magazine because it satisfies two things about me:  my love for food/cooking and the science geek  in me.  The pizza was called St. Louis style pizza.  The crust is made without yeast.  It comes out thin and a little crispy, but not too crispy.  The sauce recipe is very simple, a blend of tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar and some spices.  The magazine recommended pre-cooking the pepperoni in the microwave using paper towels to get rid of some of the oil.  That was a great tip!! It reminded me a little bit like LaRosa's pizza from Cincinnati.  The family absolutely loved it and it was very fast to make.  Win-win all the way around.

Enjoy your weekend and get outside if spring is popping up around you.

Didn't Mean To Be Away So Long

It amazes me how quickly time is passing.  It is mid-February already.  I guess part of the reason time is passing by is that I've seem to have done nothing but work.  It has been absolutely crazy lately and it is making my very cranky.  The company I work for hired a new CIO in December.  This woman is completely restructuring my department.  Two managers were 'encouraged to pursue other opportunities'.  She has totally flattened the organization and now there are literally dozens of teams focused on the type of system they support.  My team is crazy busy trying to fix the issues with the new ERP system we released (prematurely) last fall.  We have been told that we have to work 11 hour days.   We have to choose one of the following shifts:  7am-6pm, 8am-7pm, or 9am-8pm.  I'm a morning person, and since I have a family at home, I prefer the earliest shift.  However, I also go to a trainer at 6am two days a week, which I refuse to give up.  That means on Tuesdays and Thursdays I work until at least 8pm and then I'm back in the office at 7am on Wednesdays and Fridays.  It is exhausting.  No one will tell us how long this schedule is going to be required.  I know I won't be able to keep it up much longer.  I'm finding it very hard to keep a civil tongue by the end of the week.  The filter disappears when I'm exhausted.

All this means that there has been no progress on anything knitting related.  That really bums me out.  I did fall prey to the enticement of the silk hankies that the Yarn Harlot had on her blog a while ago.  I ordered a couple.  I'm still waiting for them to arrive.

Today is a beautiful day outside.  It has been a very long time since I've taken a walk outside, so I'm going to do that.  I also plan to make my family a nice meal tonight.  I'm trying some new recipes.  Tonight's menu has a Greek theme:  pastitsio, pita bread, hummus, and Greek salad.  (Guess what my 'go to' website is for recipes.  ;)  )  Enjoy your day! 

This Week's Progress

I'm up to the armhole shaping on the right front of the Go Live Minimalist Cardi.  It is moving along at a nice pace.  Others might think my progress is slow, but at the rate I finish sweaters, this is light-speed.

My goal is to get this piece finished by tomorrow night.

All of yesterday was spent at a wrestling tournament for Blake.  I took several magazines, a book and the cardi to occupy me.  ADD seems to be a bit of an issue for me at those things.  They are too noise and the bleachers too uncomfortable to do any one thing for a stretch of time.    Blake wrestled 4 times throughout the day.  Unfortunately, he isn't doing very well.  It is a major accomplishment if he can make it all 3 rounds without getting pinned.  After the tournament, I made a pot of chili for him, Ed and me since the girls weren't home.  Later we turned on a movie to relax.  This is how Blake was 10 minutes into the movie.

As I mentioned, the girls weren't home.  The Winter Formal was last night.  Trisha went with her friends, but Kristin opted to skip it this year.  Kristin just hung out at one of her friend's house.  Here's Trisha and one of her best friends.  Two very pretty girls.