Just In Time For Thanksgiving

First off is a recipe for lovers of coconut and almond. A girl at work made it and I asked for the recipe. I don't know where it came from but here is the copy she sent me:

It's very easy to make and even easier to eat! We didn't add the garnish. But I'm betting it would be really good with a light drizzle of melted chocolate over the top too. Next time...

And also just in time for Thanksgiving...  Our oven door broke.  This is the third time since we've lived here that the door broke. It starts off with the spring breaking and the door not closing properly. We have to put a wedge in the door to keep it shut while we bake something. Last night however, Hubby was trying to shut the door, the front glass came loose and was dangling. While trying to reattach that the entire door came out on the one side and we couldn't get it back in. 

To make matters worse, this is a microwave/wall oven combination. The microwave still works fine but if we were to replace the oven that means we'd have to put another combo in. We can't take the oven out without taking the microwave out.

I'm kind of at a loss here as to what to do.  We had wanted to remodel the kitchen eventually but can't afford to do it right now. I really don't want to buy another door that I know will just break again in a few months. But I'm not really wanting to buy a new oven if we are going to eventually remodel because I don't know if we'll be reconfiguring any of the spaces (I really want a 36" gas stove top which will definitely mean moving things around). 

Any suggestions?

UPDATE  We managed to get the door back on and though the spring is still sprung we have an idea on how to keep the door closed. I'll post pics on that later. Meanwhile off to the store for Command Hooks.

UPDATE 2:  Went to ACE and got a new bungee cord and Command Hooks.

You can see here that our simple solution works like a charm!

Thanksgiving is saved!  

Wide Load

One of Ollie's favorite spots:  spread out over the arm of the sofa under the lamp.

2013 Wood Pile

Just under 10 hours of wood splitting and a few hours of stacking and our wood pile for the year is done.

We definitely have more than last year. Last year we didn't have enough to last the winter.

I hope it's enough this year! 

Giant Mistake

Last night I was happily going around and around on my latest afghan project. At one point I thought I'd lay it out to see how big it was getting, plus it seemed to be taking just a little too long to get to the next corner. Hmmm.

I laid it across the back of the sofa and... Uh oh!  How in the world did that happen???? I totally missed a corner. Way back. Way, way, WAAAAY back!!

Well there was no ignoring the mistake and no getting around it. It meant one thing. I was going to have to rip it all back. 

I think I counted at least 18 rounds that had to be undone. Not just rows, but since this is crocheted around and around it meant 18 rounds. Ugh. It took me about 2 1/2 hours to take it back because of the fuzziness of the yarn made it snag up every so often. I had to carefully unsnarl the mini tangles in order to not have to break the yarn and retie and make extra knots.

This is what the corner is supposed to look like.

This is what it looked like. I can't believe I didn't notice this sooner!

All ripped back and ready to start over. Only one break in the yarn. ;-) 

Well, I guess this will keep me busy a little longer than I thought, though not in the way I had hoped!

Cheers!

Painting Again

I decided it was time to get started on the painting again. Here I am up in the corner doing the edging.

Originally I was just going to free-hand the edging but to my surprise Hubby offered to tape everything. That sure made things easier for me! I don't mind the painting so much as the prepping/taping off.

One wall done. It's a beigey sort of color and we didn't use primer. We had wanted a paler shade of gray than what's currently on the wall and it turned out how just how we had hoped.

You can kind of see the difference in the corner and in the second picture.

The next sections should be fairly easy because they are mostly windows. But that will have to wait a few days. I'm back at work for the day and Hubby and son will be splitting wood this weekend. I'm off Sunday and Monday and will probably be stacking the newly split wood on Sunday, so maybe I'll be back to painting on Monday.

She's A Doll

The new Jo-Ann's in Redmond opened and I was able to pick up the little fake eyes for the amigurumi doll I was working on. It looks better than if I had tried to make yarn eyes, I think.

When I went to start back up and finish her I realized I forgot what size crochet hook I had been using! Oopsie.

So consequently as you can see her head is a little large for her body. Plus I think I may have stuffed her head a little too much. Oh well. (Click here to see what it's supposed to look like.) I did manage to make her a little dress too.

This one will join the Fat Pony at Christmas!

Meanwhile the yarn I ordered arrived and I'm busy using it up on the afghan I started before the amigurumi projects.

On The Mountain Top

The boys went hunting the other day over by the Prineville Reservoir. While they were unsuccessful in the coyote hunting venture they brought back some great pictures.

This is the dam.

Looking the other way.

On top of the world!

Found beaver skull on the top! Obviously brought up there by a golden or bald eagle.

So no coyotes but they brought the beaver skull home to add to the collection!

The Fat Pony And The Cactus

So I started a new crocheted yarn eater afghan using two leftover balls of the expensive but beautiful Red Heart Boutique Treasure yarn. I went through them pretty quickly and bought two more skeins from Michaels. Those two went fast too, so I went back to Michaels and bought more. Then I had to go back again and finally bought the last two skeins on the shelf. The cashier said there were more on order but didn't know when they would be in the store. 

The afghan is only about 2 1/2 feet square so I had to have more! I checked on line and it turns out both Wal-Mart and Jo-Ann carry the right brand and style in the store, but NOT THE COLOR. Not again! So I did a little more research and found the cheapest price and ordered 10 skeins. They should be here by Friday.

Meanwhile I had to have something to do while waiting for the yarn to arrive so I was cruising around on the internet for easy crochet projects and found something called "amigurumi". Basically it is the Japanese word for the art of making small crocheted animals/dolls. I started making a doll I saw on the Michaels website but had to stop because I didn't have the little fake "safety eyes". Apparently they are available at Jo-Ann's but the Bend store is on the south side of town while my work is on the north side. I didn't feel like driving that far just for a $2 item. Instead I decided to wait for the Redmond Jo-Ann's to open (it's a new store slated to open November 8) so I can hit it on the way home.

So that meant I had to start another new project. I found a cute pony and got to work. I got as far as I could and had to stop again because I didn't have the stuffing material. I went ahead and started yet another design, a cactus. I got as far as I could without the stuffing and put my crochet needle down for the night. I was actually looking forward to going to work the next day because it was an early shift. I would get off at 2:30 so I had time to go to the stores to find the stuff I needed.

I was a little shocked to see the Michaels (conveniently right next door to work) did not have the eyes I wanted or the polyfill material. I went on to the Fred Meyer since I had to get a few groceries anyway and found the polyfill and the pot for the cactus (I forgot to get it at work!). 

Well, long story short I finally got the parts filled and stuffed and sewed together and here they are: The Fat Pony and The Cactus.

Still waiting for the Redmond Jo-Ann's to open to get the special eyes to finish the doll. I think I may have found a new obsession.

Wil's New Toy

Wil got himself a new toy on his last pay day.  He bought a chainsaw.  

Hubby had cut a large juniper down and dragged it to the burn area. It was the perfect thing to practice the first cuttings on. Here Wil is getting a little instruction.

Along with close supervision, he's limbing the juniper.

I think he's a natural.

Almost done.

Trimming a few of the larger branches into firewood.

I'm seeing a warm winter in our future!  ☺