You Can Take the Girl Out of the Country

I've been on a knitcation this week. It has been excellent!!
I've been knitting my way through several TV and movie series - Firefly, Star Wars, Star Trek, Supernatural - and aside from some Back To School laundry & shopping it has been all knitting, all the time!
Today I took 3 hours out of my day to do down 4.5 dozen corn.



Shucked


Blanched


Shocked


Kernels cut off


Cobs after mandolin


Cobs after being scraped clean with a knife


Sweet milky meat below the kernels


Gloved up after the obligatory mandolin injury. Not serious - just sliced lightly through the nail and into the bed. Not very deep or long. And certainly not the worst that I've done to myself.


Vacuum sealing. I can't even describe how much I love this machine!! Even with having to clean out the drip tray after every bag (mmmmm, corn milk!!) it's a tool I can't believe that I waited so long to purchase.


13 bags (most just over 1.5lbs), a meal of corn on the (actual) cob and 16 cobs that I am freezing to try this.
Probably not especially economical, but it's local corn and in the winter when we eat it the taste of late summer will be priceless.

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There and Back Again, a Knitters Tale

If to err is human, I am feeling especially human!!

I was knitting away on Irish Coffee,


feeling pretty good but just a bit hesitant. I don't know why - I had read through the pattern (and it wasn't my first babycocktails pattern so I was comfortable with their format), I'd knit & blocked a swatch, I was set.
I finally figured it out. For whatever reason I had swatched and was knitting at a 5sts/inch gauge not the 4sts/inch called for!! GAH!!! Absolute idjit mistake and I don't know how I messed that up from my brain to the needles but there was nothing for it.



As luck would have it I had Monday & Tuesday off and Lee is still out in BC on work, so it was Mission Knit Fabric.



Mission Accomplished!!

Poor Toby has been missing Lee a lot and he misses the puppies too. Today he dug one of the holes that Petey & Chica had started a bit deeper and had a lay down.



He looked so forlorn, but nothing drags him out of the doldrums like his favourite game!!


After 45 mins it started raining so he conceded to the weather and gave me a break. I swear, Toby would rather collapse from exhaustion that give up playing ball.



As you can see the Chuckit is well loved. If I'm lucky I can eke about 4 months out of the ball. Chuckit needs to either make them sturdier or send us a few freebies!!

I have been kept super busy at work with Back to School in full swing and cleaning up in the back room. I finally had the chance to sort out the ribbon mod, fill it and adjust the counts. A small piece of perfection if I do say so myself!!



Back to the needles - I close tomorrow night so I can knit late tonight. I'm really hoping that the storm clears away so that I can see some of the Perseid meteor shower.


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Bloggable

July was a challenging month.
The weather has not been kind to my head, but I have meds and a drug plan so I shan't complain over much.
Amanda has been struggling. She's had much to deal with the last few years and has kept so much bottled up for so long. And of course being a teenager is not making it easier. But she comes from intelligent and sturdy stock and we are getting through a day at a time.

On the good news front, I have finished one of the mystery projects and am onto Irish Coffee by babycocktails out of Steamer Trunk by Mrs Crosby for Julie.


Top down, that's the v opening on the neck.

I have been remoted (promoted to the job that I previously had; yes, I unvented the word) to Dept Mgr!! I have Crafts & Stationery - I know, perfect for me!! It's not great yarn but it is yarn nonetheless and all the other crafty things!

The puppies are doing very well and Toby is a good big brother to them.









They are such fun - a lot of work, but I get so much pleasure from their antics and company. They have been a good bit of comfort and distraction for Amanda as well and she has been so good helping with their training.
They have such distinct little personalities as well. Chica is a little whirlwind, initiating most of the play and is always the one leading them into trouble. Petey is a chill guy, much more laid back and easy going but so eager to please.
Chica absolutely worships Toby! She pesters him relentlessly and collapses into submission trying to win his approval. Toby is alternately irritated by her then protective when he thinks that Petey is hurting her when they play.

We had a bit of a hail storm the other day!


Some of the pieces were the size of a small marble!!

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