So I fell off the blogging wagon for a while.

It's been that kind of year.  Short version.  Got married in December, husband sent to Colorado Springs by the Army, I picked up an extra class of students at school, then I took a leave of absence for the fourth quarter, moved out to Colorado Springs, baked lots of bread, husband now in Afghanistan for the next year, and I'm back in IL.  Whew.  And I knitted.

And today I planted the veggie garden :-)  I'm not going to be living with my mother in law this year, but she did graciously allow me to take over chunks of her garden with vegetables.

A few comments on veggie shopping:

• Home Depot had 5 (FIVE) different kinds of basil today.  I only picked two, and may go back for the other three soon.  They smelled GOOD.  I got spicy and thai, but I think I need cinnamon basil too . . . 
• The hot peppers were all labelled this year, which will make them both less surprising and somehow less fun.  Last year my "hot pepper" was wonderful, and even though I bought the same kind, it feels less exciting with "serrano" on the pot.
• I have spaced the cucumber and squash farther away from each other this year.  My mother in law had requested that I try to prevent them from climbing the tree, but I think that's overly optimistic.  And there's something cheerful about cucumbers that could fall on your head at any time.
• I bought a tomato called "Mr. Stripey".  I love that Home Depot carries the heirloom kinds now.  And the name . . . "Mr. Stripey" :-)  *giggle*
• I almost bought the lemon tomatoes, but I figured lemon cucumbers were enough unexpectedly yellow vegetables.

Gardens make me happy in a way that having my husband halfway around the world does not.  Hug your family, and dream of vegetables.  I have a Camp Loopy project to work on.

Soup!

It has been REALLY cold here in IL lately.  Today it's up to a balmy 6F.  So, I have made soup.  Specifically, two kinds of soup.  Here are the recipes, for when I want to replicate them later, or if you have a need for good soup where you live.

Lamb-Cous Cous Soup

2 lbs lamb
3 cups dry pearl couscous
1 bunch of celery, chopped fine
6 carrots, chopped fine
1 large onion
1 bunch cilantro
1 sq inch of fresh ginger, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic
12C homemade lamb stock
1 can tomato paste
some olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

I sauteed the garlic, onions, and fresh ginger in the olive oil.  Then I added the lamb and cilantro, and browned the lamb.  I added everything else at that point, and simmered it for about an hour.  It makes a tasty lamb soup, where the couscous melts in your mouth.  It's good.

Frontier Lentil Soup

This one was made from a soup mix, but I modified it heavily.  This is what I added to the lentils and seasonings:
Spicy Italian turkey sausage
3 cloves garlic
1 sq inch fresh ginger, chopped fine
1 bunch of parsley
1 large onion, chopped fine
1 bunch of celery, chopped fine
6 carrots, chopped fine
12C beef stock (made with Penzey's Soup Base)
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes

I sauteed the onions, garlic, and ginger.  Then I browned the sausage.  Once that was done, I added the lentils, seasoning pack, and all other ingredients except the tomatoes.  I simmered it for one hour, then added the tomatoes and simmered it for another 20 min.  This makes a zesty lentil soup.  It has lots of texture and good flavor.  It's a good warming soup.

I hope you're keeping warm and have lots of good food to help.

Decisions for the new year

I am back from my honeymoon in CO.  It was gorgeous, and I'll post pictures soon.  It was a very good, but very intense few weeks.

Now I have some serious decisions to make.  Because K is active duty military and has been informed of his deployment date, it is possible/likely that it will be 18 months before we can spend more than 2 weeks at a time within 1000 miles of each other.  It might be 8 weeks total, but probably less.  The exception to that is if I make some drastic changes to my life.  I am unsure if this is a good idea or not.

I am alternating beating my head against a wall and knitting.  I made it as far as a heel on a new sock (airplanes are good for this).  I swear I'll get some pictures of that too, although it's not terribly exciting.  It's a plain stockinette sock, but it is a self striping yarn in my favorite colors.

I also started a new scarf with some blue heathered wool (on sale!) from a yarn store in Colorado Springs.  The store is called Knitter's Kove, and it seemed wonderful from my one visit.  The scarf has dropped stitches and reminds me of monster eyes.  This too would probably make more sense with pictures.

It's a new year, and there are some wonderful things and huge challenges on the horizon.  Once decisions get made, life has got to get easier.  Maybe I'll even be able to cope with knitting that isn't garter stitch.  Otherwise, I'll just start an afghan.

What I did this past Saturday.

This is a picture of my wedding.

The vows.

No, I'm not happy :-)

We didn't tell the bridesmaids or groomsmen ahead of time about the wedding.  But they got buttons.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Things I am thankful for:

1.  Kevin.  He makes my life better in so many little ways, and I am still burbling with joy to be marrying him.  I love you lots.

2.  The rest of my family, both by blood and by choice.  I could not live without you and your support.  This does not begin to cover the thanks I owe to all of you.

3.  My pets.  Kitties to cuddle, and ferrets to crawl up my sleeves.  Without their love and the laughter they give me, my life would be poorer.

4.  My job.  It's not perfect, and never will be.  However, I love doing it, and it's nice to have something solid and mine in the midst of this crazy year.

5.  Knitting.  I come back to it again and again.  When I'm happy, I knit.  When I'm sad, I knit.  When I'm lonely, I knit.  When I'm bored, I knit.  Without you, my hands would twitch and I would be infinitely less stable.

6.  The material things.  Home, food, heat, water, electric, internet, phone, nice clothes, stash yarn.  Taken for granted every day, but would be sorely missed if I could not have them.

7.  The little comforts that make the days better.  Trader Joe's peppermint Joe-Joes cookies (aka "the crack cookies"), sparkly eyeshadow, excellent loose tea in large quantities.

I hope you are as blessed as I am this Thanksgiving.

Really really really busy.

My life is feeling complicated right now, although mostly in a good way.  Big changes are in the works, but they are not yet internet safe, so I have little to say.

Here are some simple ribbed socks I knit.

Gypsy Knits yarn.  Beautiful stuff!

These were supposed to be for me, but I knit them in best friend size.  She won't mind.  I may have to buy more yarn in this colorway.

I have also started working on another pair of socks for me.

The yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy.  The color is closest to true at the bottom of the picture.

 These are Jaywalkers, except that my printer was being dumb and didn't print the whole pattern.  So sort-of jaywalkers with lots of modifications.  But they fit MY feet, so I'm happy with them.

Still pretty, though.  Lots more blue/green than this shows.

A regularly scheduled blog will return after New Year's.  At that point, I should be able to discuss all the big stuff.  And there will, no doubt, be lots more knitting.

I've been busy.

It's not much of an excuse, even if it is true.

I've been knitting.

It's a scarf in poor light, but you can kind of see the sparkles.

And another scarf out of this:

I swear it's more yellow and less green in real light.  The scarf is pretty and soft.

I finished a pair of socks.

Seriously, the colors are terrible in these photos.  This is a basic sock made out of Panda Cotton.

I've knitted most of another pair of socks too, but those are at school and I don't have a picture.

Oh yes, and one other thing.

I got engaged last weekend :-)

The love of my life Kevin proposed this past weekend.  In case you're wondering, it's a sapphire.  He's a geologist and I quote, "Diamonds are boring.  They're just carbon."

We are stupid happy, and I've been busy.  Happy November :-)