The Meat Heart

I Love meatloaf, I mean I really love meatloaf, I always asked for it for my birthday dinner. Imagine my surprise as a newly married woman, when my husband told me that he Hated meatloaf and that he would appreciate it if I didn't make it for dinner! As every loving, newly married, stuck in the 50's kinda gal, I never made meatloaf for my family. That is, until 2005 when I really needed it. I decided that I had 3 children that may like meatloaf and I love it, so that would be 4 out of 5 liking the dinner (that is great odds in this house). That day, I went to the butcher to get the best meat and spent my time making the loaf. All of a sudden it hit me! Who really would want to eat something made out of meat that was named loaf? That sounds really gross to me, so that night I shaped my loaf into a heart.

Mr. Fantastic comes home and even comments on how good the house smells. I'm introducing something new I tell him. The anticipation was mounting as dinner draws near..... "What are we having Mom???" I tell them all, "It's new and it's good!" The meat heart was covered in foil waiting to be unveiled.

At the dinner table we all sit down, I am as excited as a girl finding a sweaters worth of cashmere yarn on sale. After saying Grace, I stand up (everyone is really giddy at this point - smiles everywhere) and announce: "Fantastic family..... I give you The Meat Heart!!!"

Mr. Fantastic was not amused, I think he went to bed hungry that night. The Fantastic children loved it, and it now is in my rotation. It comes out about once every 3 weeks or so, a compromise my beloved has made in our marriage (I always called him and tell him to load up on lunch on meatloaf nights). The meat heart has taken lots of shapes and forms over the last few years: footballs with ketchup laces for the beginning of football season, Easter egg decorated with different patterns in ketchup, a witches hat, Christmas tree with ketchup garland.... this St. Patrick's Day takes the cake!!

The pot of gold with carrot coins..... and to toot my own horn, my ketchup writing skills are sweet!

February Lady in March

Well, it's beginning to look like Spring around here! Here are the crocus that popped up over the weekend.... they are so beautiful. I am done with the gray and I am ready for some sun and Springtime weather. 

To get ready for Spring, I have joined in with the thousands of people on Ravelry and I made myself a February Lady sweater. I had such a wonderful time making this sweater in the most luscious of yarns! The yarn is Fibre company's Terra and it is the loveliest stuff to touch!! I made the sweater in 6 days (my hands did start to cramp after all of that knitting on the 5th day) but the results are totally worth the pain! I am going to be wearing this a lot (and I bought enough yarn to make a matchy matchy one for Dumplin'!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mother's birthday! She is sunnin' and funnin' with my Father in Florida..... I'm sure she is rockin' a serious tan by now! It is so great that my parents go to Florida in March (the entire month), but it is a little sad for me that I don't get to spend her birthday with her. When I told her that this Fall, she told me that she changed her birthday.... "You know how you get all those coupons in the mail when it is your birthday?" she said to me over lunch at Charlie Browns. "Well, I never get to use them because I am always in Florida, so I just tell everyone my birthday is May 13th. That way, I get to use all the great coupons and I am home." 

Yep. That's my Mom.

She is funny, pretty, funny, caring, funny, a serious planner, funny and smells real good.

Here she is on her last visit learning how to make, um flatulence noises from her armpit using a straw. Thanks to my boys, she got it after a few (and really funny) tries.

Yep. That's my Mom. I love my Mom!

Dear Teeth

Dear Teeth-

After all these years, I think it is about time I sent you a little thank you.  I feel like perhaps the two of us have been at odds with each other for a little while and I just wanted you to know how much I appreciated all of the hard work that you do for me every day.

I know it must have been hard all those years ago, when you were covered up for FOUR YEARS with all of that metal, I know you hated it..... believe me so did I! I am so sorry for not wearing my rubber bands as I should have - I now know your time behind wires would have been greatly reduced. No hard feelings though, right?

We've been having a little problem lately, I know we have;  I just want you to know that it's OK your sick of that temporary crown, I know it's not pretty I wouldn't want it either. I am getting that permanent crown just as soon as they can pour the gazillion dollar porcelain into the mold. It will be beautiful, you will look fantastic dear molar. I do think that the fear of the root canal was a little more than I could handle, dear friend. I would appreciate you being a little more tolerant of the cost of such beautiful crown.... I will promise to brush more, and I will even floss (and not just before I go to the dentist either!).

I feel better, I am glad we had this little chat..... Thanks again for all of your hard work!

Kimberly

PS Dr. Dill, I'm sorry that when you told me I didn't need a root canal that I told you I was going to kiss you on the mouth.... I didn't really mean it!

New Coat Design

Last summer when I went to Manchester, NH to the crochet conference I met a lot of people. It was so refreshing to be around people that get the whole fiber thing. While at the market I walked into a booth and I honestly felt like I walked into my parents house. There were antique benches and large wooden troughs filled with yarns and these adorable needle felted crafts all over the place. I instantly felt at home and bought felting kits (I had never done that before). I left my card and I had some conversations with the ladies of Decadent Fibers hoping that some day I could design for them.

Last week this arrived from Pat and Christine of Decadent Fibers!!!! I will be designing a coat for them and I can't wait to get started!!!! 

Airdrie

This weekend the Yarnharlot suggests in her tear away calendar that you air out your stash and take stock of what you have. I have several locations in my house where the stash is located, but this weekend I cleaned out the cabinet in my knitting room. It was so wonderful to see what I have, projects I wish to complete and wonderful yarn that will be making it's way to our local assisted living facility (I donate all of my unused stash to them).

While going through everything, I noticed that I have certain skeins of yarn that I just can't part with. They represent a time in my life or a total luxury buy..... places I have visited and so on. In 2003 Mr. Fantastic and I went on a trip to Scotland to visit our nephew who was attending the University of Edinburgh for a semester. It was such a wonderful trip and I have such great memories of being there with other members of our family. Mr. Fantastic's father was born in Scotland and came over here when he was young. While on our trip, we visited with cousins of my father in-law, saw the town where he was born, Airdrie, and even visited the street where the house stood (it is gone now). While in Airdrie,  I was fortunate enough to see a yarn shop and my sister in-law and niece and I went into it. I bought some yarn and a pattern with the intention to knit a vest for my beloved Father In-law. 

I never finished it.... and now he is gone. I know it would have made me feel so proud to have given him a vest made out of yarn from his home town, and I have learned a very valuable lesson in procrastination. My Airdrie yarn has had a special place in my stash for a few years now, I never knew what I would do with it..... until a visit from our wonderful Kelly. 

Kelly is the daughter every woman would want. She is kind, beautiful, patient, sweet, smart, caring and did I say beautiful? She is the daughter of Mr. Fantastic's oldest brother and she was on the trip to Scotland (her oldest brother was attending the college) and was with me when we bought the yarn. She picked out the pattern she wanted from one of my books  (a new favorite I might add) and I set out to work. I had the best time making this sweater/dress. I thought of our wonderful trip, our sweet Kelly, my father in-law that I loved fiercely, and the bittersweet act of giving up something I love. I was so happy during the making of this that I didn't want it to end....

I can't think of anyone else I would rather give this very special yarn to.....I am just as proud to give it to you Kelly, as I would have been if I'd given it to Papa Steve. 

A Note To A Fan, OK My Sister!

Dear Katherine-

How are you? I am doing OK, not as good as yesterday when we spoke on the phone. I hope you are having a good day at work, here is the latest since we spoke (yesterday afternoon, when you asked me to update my blog)

Dinner was fantastic! I made soft tacos for the family and I made myself chicken chili with tomatilloes and it was sooooo good. I will send you the recipe for the chicken chili if you want (it takes about 1/2 hour to make from start to finish - easy)

After dinner I made myself a decaf latte in my rockin' new (well Christmas) espresso machine. We were getting ready to watch American Idol and I was looking forward to spending some crochet time on the couch when Son #2 informed me that he wasn't feeling well. We (that would be Son#2 and me) spent the next hour listening to American Idol while he was throwing up the tacos (not a good smell). I then started to relax as he fell asleep on the couch everyone was asleep at Chez Fantastic and I started a crochet shawl for my friend. I almost went to sleep; I was finishing that last row, when my poor little guy got sick again - this time in his sleep, all over the couch the blankets and himself. Fast forward 3 more hours 2 loads of laundry 4 very long crochet rows.... I finally hit the sheets.

I am tired, I am cranky and I cannot think of anything funny, witty, or clever to say. All I can say is I am so glad I got to go to my LYS and got some Fiber Love yesterday afternoon! Here is what I bought.

It is such a great yarn and I am going to make this. (Ravelry link) I bought enough so I can make a matching one for Dumplin'. I am going to take a nap now!

Love You, talk to you later this afternoon-

Kimberly

PS In the back of the first picture you can see that I am almost finished with Kelly's Dress..... it is going to ROCK! I will post pictures after it is blocked.