Celtic Knot Doily

Here is another doily that I made an edging for. Some friends of ours have Irish heritage, so I thought they might like this one. The edging was a little difficult to make. The knots are created by weaving it in and out. Without anything to really hold them in place, I had to starch it a little to keep the knotting intact. Not exactly even looking but I think it's okay. Thoughts?

Weekend Getaway

We're back from our lovely weekend getaway. Our anniversary is Tuesday, to celebrate we spent a long weekend at the Mast Farm Inn where we were married 2 years ago. It was raining when we got in but the weekend turned out to be glorious. Our stay at the Inn was fantastic and I will post pictures of all that later. For now, here are some of our outdoors pictures.

What a view!

Me being silly.

These are some lovely little falls located right in Valle Crucis. Apparently no one must know about them because we had them all to ourselves Saturday morning.

Quality time.

I just like this picture showing the water swirl.

Found some lovely friends along the way.

He looks cute and fuzzy but don't touch....

And here's a second set of falls that we hiked to that day.

Autumn Leaves Doily

This thread I ordered, called Autumn Leaves, is so pretty. I just had to do something else with it. So I made my mom a doily centerpiece for her dining room table. It's going to look so pretty at Thanksgiving!

From the tip of one edging to the other, this thing is 14 inches in diameter.

David did a scan of it so you could see the true colors and detail.

Zoo Day!

So in my quest to forever procrastinate in doing my graduate work that I loathe, we went to the zoo today. For those of you not from North Carolina, we have a super nice zoo that has a 2 mile loop of exhibits. Most of the exhibits are large and more of a natural environment. It was a little chilly but it was nice and cool for all the walking that we did. Here are a few of the pictures.

The elephants are one of my favorites to sit and watch. They have acres of land to roam but this little guy seemed very interested in his pile of hay. Yum!

There are these bronze statues throughout the grounds, very well done.

I'm not sure what this plant is called but I thought it was pretty and made David take a picture.

It's Chopper Dave! For once, there was not a huge line to get inside their model of a safari copter.

Unfortunately we arrived just after the closed the new boardwalk for viewing and feeding the giraffes. FYI it's only open 10-12. But I still got a decent view of these guys. And no I did not wear my giraffe print handbag, that would be wrong.

Next to the elephants, the birds in the Aviary are my next favorites.

This guy was asleep until David's flash went off. Sorry....

And for my mom, here's a Scarlet Ibis.

Comfort Food

It's been cold and rainy here the past couple of days and it made me crave a dish that my mom made in the winter time when I was growing up. White Lima Soup has to be the easiest soup to make that doesn't come out of the can. Buy a bag of the dried large lima beans. Rinse them and soak them in warm water for about 2 hours or so. When that's done, take a large pot and add ham bits (I don't know exactly what they're called people! It's a pack of chopped/diced ham bits), the beans and cover them with water and some chicken stock. Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for another 1-2 hours until the beans are tender but not mush! Add some S&P and call it a meal! For a little more protein I brown up some turkey Kielbasa sausage. And to make it extra comfort food, I make corn bread muffins. And yes I'm talking the 5o cent Jiffy box mix of corn bread muffins. It's the simple things in life people!

Dinner Tonight 10/14/2009

Chicken Saltimbocca

I have to give it to America's Test Kitchen, they know their stuff! This recipe was great! It calls for chicken cutlets so that they brown and cook evenly in the skillet. You lightly flour the chicken, put some minced sage leaves on top and then lay a slice of prosciutto (just enough to cover) over the whole thing. Amazing! Then a white wine sauce for the top. Can't beat that! Well maybe, how about some Parmesan smashed potatoes?

Slurpees, Dunkin Donuts and Illy Coffee

I'm back! We've been up in CT for a family funeral but now we're back. It really wasn't a bad trip. Jet Blue is a really nice airlines and I would highly recommend them to anyone. Plus their terminal at JFK airport is super sweet. Connecticut is a lot like NC, so nothing new there. But it was nice to meet a lot of David's family. Hopefully next time we'll be able to make it into the city to see our friend. I didn't really take any pictures since it wasn't really my family and I spent a lot of time doing school work (boooo). But I do have one picture to share.

Look at my super cute Domo slurpee cup and straw. Hinted at my my title, it's the simple things in life that make me a happy camper.

Oh, I did get a really cute sweater from the Martin & Osa store (I had never been in one). Stay tuned for a pic.

Need a Hanky?

So in between various school projects I have been working on this Celtic edging. I used this really pretty autumn colored thread. I finally got up the gumption to sew it on to a handkerchief. I hate sewing. But I did it and it doesn't look half bad for a first attempt. And let me just say, rounded-end tapestry needles still hurt like a &*^%# when you poke yourself.

Scent of Grad School

It seems like everywhere smells like old books. Maybe it's just my imagination. But the office definitely does. When you have over 50 library books crammed together around one desk, that tends to happen. Fifty library books people. And that's just a portion of my research and comp exam books. My corner of the office smells like an old library. I hate the way libraries smell. (that should be a clue to never get my PhD). Old books just smell old. And I feel so germy after handling them. Who knows where they've been.

Just thought I'd share. This has been my world for the past week or so. Back and forth to the library coming home with a large tote bag full of books.