WEEK 22

 

The above picture would make you think this past week was full of fun, frolic and crafting.  It was a fun week, just a tiny bit of frolicking and an even smaller amount of crafting.

I did finish the RCR bedsocks and got them mailed out on Monday.

They were such a fun and fast knit.  Hopefully they will keep the recipients tootsies nice and warm this winter.

There was a new cast on this week too.

Eventually this will become Vixynn.  I purchased the pattern from Knit Picks a couple of weeks ago.  The yarn is also from Knit Picks and is Comfy Mist in the colorway Ditto.  It is a cotton/acrylic blend and oh so soft.  The pattern is done much differently than any other top down sweater I have done.  You do the back and then pick up stitches from the cast on edge of that, to do the front.  It has a boat neck so I can see why she made it this way.  Also, I will be able to make the neck opening to my preferences this way too.

Here is a shocker for you.................I actually did a swatch for this sweater!  I had to go up one needle size and also one pattern size to get the positive ease I wanted.  Since I will not be blocking this sweater each time I wash it I needed to adjust all the above to accommodate.  The designer helped me figure it out too.  She was super speedy in replying to all my questions.   

That is all the crafting I did this week. 

Hubby and I took Tuesday and did a bit of shopping.  Each year our church puts up Angel trees.  On the trees are angel cut outs with the age of a child and what they would like to receive for Christmas.   I choose both a boy (1 yr old) and girl (5 yrs old) and purchased their requested gift.  Both children wanted clothes.  The girl wanted a dress and the boy a shirt and pants.  I love shopping for little children clothing!  The items were purchased and have been returned to the church where they will be wrapped and given to the families who requested the items.  

Since it was Thanksgiving week here in the states, I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen getting things ready for the BIG day.  My job, this year, was to make the bread for the feast.  I decided to make dinner rolls as well as a requested loaf of sourdough bread.

Here is the recipe for the dinner rolls I made.....Sue's Favorite Potato Rolls.  I did not use the bread machine to make these.  Nope, I did them using my Kitchen Aid mixer.  A test batch was made on Monday to make sure these would be good enough for Thanksgiving.  For the test batch I halved the recipe.  Doing that, I learned how to use 1/2 of an egg.  (Thank goodness for my digital kitchen scale)  For the sourdough loaf I used this recipe...........Sourdough Sandwich Bread.  I made the sourdough on Wednesday and made the full batch of rolls on Thursday morning.  Both recipes were enjoyed by the family.  

Friday, hubby put the outdoor Christmas lights up.  It was my day to do grocery shopping to fill in the fresh foods we would need for the week as well as get the supplies for my holiday baking.  Things did not go as planned.  I ended up going to 5 grocery stores in order to get all the supplies I needed.  (Who knew candied fruit for fruitcake would only be at 1 store in the entire city!)  While I was on my quest, hubby also decided to surprise me and  put up our brand new, fresh out of the box, Christmas tree.................only to discover the lights in the middle section of the tree do not light up!  So, he spent copious amounts of time corresponding with the manufacturing company trying to get that section of the tree replaced ASAP!  We did manage to arrange the branches of the tree so it is not very noticable and I plan on going ahead and decorating it today anyway.  By the time I am done, no one will be able to tell............trust me LOL.

After my 3 hour grocery shopping trip, I made my moms famous fruitcake.  The reason it is famous is because, everyone that has tried it has loved it.  It is not like those store bought cakes that can be used for a door stop.  Nope, this one is moist and loaded with lots of flavor.  Most of the flavor comes from the marinating that is done on it each week.  Mom always used Brandy for her marinade.  I have used  brandy and rum in the past.  This year, I am using Fireball.  Each week, for 4 weeks, the fruitcake is removed from the fridge and the 'marinade' is poured over it (not a lot just enough to keep it moist) and then rewrapped in aluminum foil (tightly) and put back in the fridge.  That, my friends, is the secret to making a fruitcake edible!

Saturday, I woke up to a wonderful RA flare.  Luckily I always have meds on had to treat it when it happens.  The meds took about 6 hours to finally kick in full force.  Hubby and I were able to go to Mass.  Afterwards, we went to visit some friends of ours.  The husband has cancer and just started chemo.  It has made him quite ill.  We thought visiting with them would help take their mind off of all the illness for a little while.  We had quite a few laughs and enjoyed being with them.

Today, my flare has gone away and I am gearing up to do some more holiday cooking.  I do believe today will be Chex Mix baking day.  Since I learned how to do it in the air fryer last year, I do not dread making it.  There might be some cookie baking too.  And if I still have any energy left, fudge is on the list of 'to dos'.  Last year I hardly made any goodies.  It kind of made me sad too.  With Covid, we knew we would not be having lots of visitors like we normally do.  So, why go to the trouble?  This year, we already know all our friends and family are going to be passing by throughout the next 2-3 months.  I want to make sure they always have something special to snack on when they drop by.

Golly..........................When I started typing this (an hour ago), I didn't think I had much to say.  WOW!  Wonder where this all came from.

If you have made it to the end................congratulations and thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read this.

Until Next Time...................................Happy Crafting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!