More Going for the Gold

The Olympics are still going and so am I.  I’ve been dancing with my Works In Progress and going for gold in the Flying Camel Spin event.

Here are my recent Finished Objects.

I’ve mentioned before that I joined the Downton Abbey Mystery Knit Along hosted by Jimmy Beans Wool in January.  This was my first ever mystery knit along AND my first ever shawl.  I’m not typically a shawl person, never having seen a use for one since my style is not usually something that would go well with a shawl (I’m a t-shirt and jeans girl and I just don’t see that working with shawls.)  Anyway, I thought it would be fun to go out of my comfort zone and try something new.  I figured, worse case, that if I didn’t like the finished shawl I could either gift it or sell it.  I still have to try it out myself, so I haven’t decided what will become of it, yet.  I will admit that I have found myself searching the ravelry pattern database for more shawls…I may have created a monster!  lol

All blocked out.

I worked on this shawl every week, following the clues posted every Sunday (aka Downton Day).  There was some drama with a 2nd week clue having a flaw, and while mine didn’t come out as it should have (because of that error) I actually like how it ended up.  This shawl is definitely one of a kind!  I did add an extra repeat of the shell lace pattern at the bottom cause I really liked it and I wanted the shawl to be a bit wider.  I ended up using 833 yrds (approx) of DK weight Patons Superwash wool in Claret.  That is nearly 300 yrds more than called for, but, I learned about how row gauge can really affect yardage.  Next time I make a big project I’ll be sure to I check my row gauge, too.  Click on either of the shawl pictures to see it’s ravelry project page.

As for the Flying Camel Spin, I worked up this gorgeous yarn.  It is made from a mix of Corriedale, Finn and Ramboulette wool, dyed in gorgeous shades of pink, purple, brown and silver.   The roving this was spun from was dyed by Spinner’s Hill in Bainbridge, NY and purchased at Trumpet Hill Fine Yarns in Albany.   As I was plying it, it kept reminding me of berries dipped in chocolate.  Yum!  It is approximately 133 yards, 3.4oz/97g and worsted weight (10wpi).  I started this Wednesday night at the once a month Open Spinning at Trumpet Hill and finished plying it last night around 11 (and washed, spun out and hung to dry) while we were having our game night group over.

I still have one more WIP that I’ve been struggling with…my sock hop sweater.  I was good and picked it back up, sewing the the shoulders and starting the neckline…The only thing is now that I’ve knit several inches I’ve decided I don’t like how the front looks (one side flows well from the ribbed pattern, and the other looks awful.)  I think I might have to frog that portion and start again…I’m not sure I’ll find time to rip it back, knit it again and sew the arms by Sunday…)  Guess we’ll see…At least I’m happy having finished my socks, shawl and spun a yarn.

Food for Friday! 1/14 – 1/27

So once again I got out of the habit of making a grocery list/menu every 2 weeks.  For the past couple months I’ve been scrambling the morning I head to the store to find/print my coupons and put the finishing touches on an only partially functional menu.  I’m going to try to get back on task and start doing a better job of menu planning and house keeping.  Now I just have to keep myself following my menu and each week will go by smoother without me standing in the kitchen trying to decide what I can make with the frozen lump of meat I forgot to thaw…

In the housekeeping department I’m planning to keep up on my kitchen a bit better and put the laundry away rather than let it sit, often times already folded, in the laundry baskets for days.  I’ve already started making the beds each day and trying to get most of my daily chores like laundry done in the morning so I can have more time to knit and spin later.

Here’s the menu for the next couple weeks.  Trying out some new recipes as well as some new family favorites.  I’m also trying to use the meat that I’ve got stored in the freezer rather than buying a ton more.  My grocery list this time around is filled with lots of necessities that I don’t normally buy on a regular basis (things that usually last for a bit like salt, peanut butter, honey and maple syrup…I’m trying to keep the bill down under $250.

Monday – Cheesy Chicken and Rice Skillet
Tuesday – Buffalo Chicken Pasta
Wednesday – Homemade Pepperoni Pizza
Thursday – Pork tenderloin
Friday –  Tacos
Saturday –  Steak-ums
Sunday – Leftovers/fend for yourself

Monday – Homemade Chicken Parmesan served over angel hair pasta.
Tuesday – Spaghetti and homemade sauce
Wednesday –  Cajun Pot Roast
Thursday – London Broil
Friday –  Bacon and Eggs
Saturday – Roast pork chops with cheddar and bacon grits (Paula Deen)
Sunday – leftovers/fend for yourself

Food for Friday! 11/4 – 11/18

I’ve been kinda slacking with keeping up with my menu…half the time I forget to thaw meats and I just haven’t been sticking to what I’ve planned.  Here’s another attempt to keep myself on track.

Monday – Rotisserie Turkey Breast with mashed potatoes, veggies and homemade cranberry sauce.
Tuesday – Mac n cheese with ground beef and mixed veggies
Wednesday – Turkey pot pie topped with biscuits
Thursday – Parmesan crusted london broil, pineapple glazed carrots and rice
Friday – Bacon and eggs
Saturday – Sausages, homemade fries and veggies
Sunday – Pot Roast with carrots and potatoes

Monday – Pork chops, rice and veggies
Tuesday – Spaghetti with homemade sauce
Wednesday – Cheeseburgers on homemade buns, fries and veggies
Thursday – (Game Night) – Rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes and veggies
Friday – Chicken Salad sandwiches, chips, and pickles
Saturday – leftovers
Sunday – Homemade Chicken Cordon Bleu

Food for Friday! 7/16 – 7/29

This Saturday is super busy.  I’ve either got to go to the grocery store tonight or very early tomorrow morning.  Bug has 2 birthday parties (11 and 2)…I’ve got my knitting group at 2 and then at 4:30/5 we have a BBQ to go to with friends and then a park fest with fireworks after that.   And, it’s going to be 90* with possible thunderstorms tomorrow.  I’m kinda dreading the whole day.

At least the menu is done…

Monday – Chicken Curry (Korma) with basamati rice and broccoli
Tuesday – Quiche (probably with bacon and sausage)
Wednesday – Subs, pickles & chips
Thursday – Buffalo wings and fries
Friday – Tacos with homemade seasoning
Saturday – Philly Cheese Steaks
Sunday – Crockpot pork roast with potatoes and baby carrots

Monday – Cheesy Chicken, Rice and Broccoli Skillet
Tuesday – Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and veggies
Wednesday – Breakfast for Dinner – Pancakes
Thursday – (Game Night) – BBQ Ribs with oven roasted potatoes and veggies
Friday – Spaghetti with homemade sauce
Saturday –  Fish
Sunday – Homemade chicken nuggets (using cornflakes & egg) with homemade fries and veggies

Food for Friday! 6/4 – 6/17

Took me all day to come up with a menu, but I finally did it.  Some items are things we had last week, like the enchiladas and the homemade hamburger buns.  The enchiladas were a hit with my youngest and husband.  Oldest didn’t like them because of the suspiciously green “seasoning” that he found (he won’t eat peppers and try as we might just couldn’t fool him.”  I didn’t get to try them because at the last minute, as I’d finished dumping in the can of enchilada sauce, I saw that there was soy in it!  I ended up with leftovers that night and I had been looking forward to them all day!  This time I’ll be making my own enchilada sauce and will be leaving out the chilis this time, too.  The burger buns, on the other hand, I did get to eat and they were fantastic!  So much better than the store made/bought ones!  I highly recommend them!

Monday – Cottage Cheese Chicken Enchiladas with refried beans
Tuesday – Cheeseburgers on homemade buns (these are delicious!  So much better than store bought!), oven roasted potatoes and veggies
Wednesday – Sawmill Gravy, Sausage and Buttermilk biscuits
Thursday – Macaroni and cheese & hot dogs
Friday – Tacos with homemade seasoning
Saturday – Monte Cristos on homemade bread
Sunday – Baked Fried Chicken

Monday – BBQ Spare Ribs
Tuesday – Spaghetti with homemade sauce
Wednesday – Bacon and eggs
Thursday – (Game Night) – buffalo wings, carrots and chips
Friday – Mustard crusted pork chops, broccoli and rice.
Saturday – Fish Fry
Sunday – Father’s Day Dinner – Chicken cordon bleu, couscous and veggies

Food for Friday! 5/21-6/3

Once again Price Chopper is offering triple coupons…I just wish that the stuff they had on sale were things that I normally purchase…It’s mostly prepackaged crap.  At least they do have a couple produce and meat coupons this week and I’m thankful I’ve been finding 75 cent off any milk coupons that PC has been accepting.  That helps with the fact that we go through about 3 gallons of milk in a little over a week!  I’ve been drinking more 1% milk thanks to the fact that I found a European formula Ovaltine that is soy free.  Tastes a little different from the chocolate milk I had been drinking, but adding a little sugar makes it good.

Here’s this editions menu.  I’ve had a hard time  this time around.  Nothing that we need or normally buy is on sale this week and it made it hard to plan for meals.  The thing that bugs me is that my grocery list is huge.  It’s mostly fresh fruits, veggies and meats, which means lots of $$.

Monday – Turkey burgers on homemade buns, oven roasted potatoes and veggies
Tuesday – BLT’s on homemade bread, chips and pickles
Wednesday – Homemade pepperoni pizza
Thursday – Cottage Cheese Chicken Enchiladas with spanish rice
Friday – Tacos with homemade seasoning
Saturday – BBQ Spare Ribs
Sunday – Baked Fried Chicken

Monday – Baked ziti
Tuesday – Homemade Buffalo Wings
Wednesday – Leftovers
Thursday – (Game Night) Skinny Chicken Parm
Friday – Steak, potatoes and veggies
Saturday – Fish
Sunday – Leftovers/FFY

Food for Friday! 5/7 – 5/20

Coupons and sales aren’t great again this week…Might have be decent if I remembered to print out the Price Chopper triple coupons before I deleted the email…

Monday – Rotisserie chicken with couscous and corn on the cob
Tuesday – Pancakes or waffles with fresh whipped cream and strawberries
Wednesday – Chicken Quesedillas
Thursday -Steak with sweet potato fries and veggies
Friday –  Tacos
Saturday – Crescent Chicken – still haven’t gotten to make this yet
Sunday – Happy Mother’s Day!  Chicken cordon bleu, rice and veggies

Monday – Cheesy Shepherds pie (modified from this recipe)
Tuesday – Spaghetti and homemade sauce
Wednesday –  Homemade pizza
Thursday – Game Night –  Mini meatloaves, mashed potatoes and veggies
Friday – pork chops, rice or couscous and veggies
Saturday – Fish, picked up fresh
Sunday – Sausages and fries

Food for Friday! 4/23 – 5/6

Coupons and sales this week kinda suck, so I’m sure I’m going to spend a zillion dollars this time.  At least I have most of the meats for meals on hand in the freezer.  I’ll just have to hope for good sales so I can stock back up at some point.

Monday – Monty Cristo Sandwiches
Tuesday – Baked Ziti
Wednesday – Homemade pepperoni pizza
Thursday –Crescent Chicken – still haven’t gotten to make this yet.
Friday –  Steak with sweet potato fries and veggies
Saturday – Spaghetti with homemade sauce
Sunday – Pork Chops

Monday – Rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies
Tuesday -Chili
Wednesday – Pancakes and sausages
Thursday – Game Night – Chicken Curry with broccoli and rice
Friday – Turkey Burgers
Saturday – Fish, picked up fresh
Sunday – Italian Sausages

Early Edition! Food for Friday! 3/26 – 4/8

I got a super early start on my grocery list/menu this week.  Mostly because I listened to the Coupon Lady on WGNA this morning on my way home from dropping Bug off at school.  I’m still looking for the .75 cents off any gallon of milk coupon she mentioned, though.  She pointed out that Price Chopper is now accepting competitors coupons (like from Target and Walmart) and I went on a search to find coupons for items that I could use this week.  I’m not sure if Price Chopper will allow one competitor’s store coupon and a manufacture’s coupon like they do with their own store coupons, but I’m trying to find out.  According to the Coupon Lady, they do accept both, but the policy written on their website indicated they do not.  I’ll update when I find out.  Update: They do not accept both.  😦  I was really hoping they did cause I’ve got some Target coupons and manufactures coupons for things I’d like to use together!  I’m really trying to stay well under budget this week.  I think so far I’ve got about $20 in coupons and e-coupons, plus whatever advantage savings I get from sale items.

I’m still continuing to make dinners without soy, which, I’m sure I’ve said before, makes my grocery bill higher.  It’s been nearly 2 months that I’ve been off soy and I haven’t had even the slightest twinge of my usual stomach pain and I’ve even found that I wake up in the morning without that queasy feeling I so often had.  There are still the occasional things that I’ll make for the boys or for Darling Hubby that contain soy, but I just avoid them.  I mostly do this since we still have the things in the pantry or the freezer and I want to use them up.

I’m trying some new recipes this time.  A few weeks ago, I made the Skinny Chicken Parm and it was delish!  Definitely a keeper recipe!  The Italian Chicken Bake, on the other hand, left a lot to be desired in my book.  It took longer than necessary to cook and just wasn’t what I was expecting…well, they can’t all be keepers.

This time around I’m trying (and modifying) a Cheesy Pot Pie recipe to be soy free and making it into a shepherd’s pie.  I’m going to make the Velveeta filling with the ground beef and instead of using the canned crescent rolls, I’m going to use mashed potatoes instead.

I’m also trying out a Pinterest recipe called Crescent Chicken which is chunks of chicken and cheese rolled up in a crescent roll.  I’m going to make my own crescent rolls (hopefully I’ll have the recipe down as I’m making several dozen to bring to Easter Dinner this weekend so I know I’ll be able to eat one thing at the family gathering.  lol) and I’ve found an organic cream of chicken soup that is soy free.  And, speaking of making my own bread, I’ve still got to make the homemade hamburger buns.  Fingers crossed they come out well!

Monday – Rotisserie Chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies
Tuesday – Chicken Ceasar Wraps
Wednesday – Spaghetti with homemade sauce
Thursday – Homemade hamburgers with homemade buns, tater tots (for the boys) and sweet potato fries for me and Darling Hubby.
Friday –  Crescent Roll Chicken (made with homemade crescent rolls)
Saturday – Homemade pancakes
Sunday – Steak and potatoes

Monday – Ham, mashed potatoes and veggies
Tuesday – Cheesy Shepherd’s Pie (modified from Cheesy Pot Pie)
Wednesday – Homemade macaroni and cheese with ham
Thursday – Game Night – Bacon and eggs
Friday – Chicken Curry, rice and veggie
Saturday – Fresh Fish (I’ll pick up some fresh when I go shopping this day)
Sunday – Cheeseburger Roll-up

Food for Friday! 3/26 – 4/8

Welcome to the late Saturday edition of Food for Friday.  lol  Trying to come up with a grocery list was kinda tough this week since there was really nothing that we buy on sale.  I hate when that happens…cause I usually end up spending a lot more than normal.  I ended up spending almost $270 when my budget is between $200 and $250.  Before coupons and sale discounts I was up over $300!  Course I did end up buying things that we normally don’t like $33 in flea drops for the dogs and cat, $18 for a huge container of olive oil and $16 for a big container of real maple syrup.

It’s even tougher now that I’m still avoiding soy…I have to make changes to recipes or buy more expensive items.  I’m making due, though.  I’ve been soy free and low fat for over a month now and I haven’t had any stomach pain, which is nice.  I have been branching out and trying a few things with soy lecithin in it and so far that hasn’t bothered me.  I’m convinced it’s an oil thing as some people can handle lecithin and not the oil.  Either way, I’m feeling a lot healthier now that I’m eating more homemade things without preservatives and giving up the junk food.

Monday – Homemade pancakes with fresh strawberries
Tuesday – Cheeseburger Roll-up
Wednesday – Chili
Thursday – Chicken Curry (either mango or korma – depends on my mood) with broccoli and basimati rice
Friday –  Spaghetti with fresh homemade sauce
Saturday – Sausages
Sunday – Leftovers/FFY

Monday – Rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies
Tuesday – Homemade pepperoni pizza
Wednesday – Chicken and dumplings
Thursday – Game Night – Steak and potatoes
Friday – Tacos with homemade taco seasoning
Saturday – Easter dinner with my parents
Sunday – Easter dinner with Darling Hubby’s family