Knitting Today: Corgi (dog)

 A little friend wants a knitted dog.  Here it is:

Here is the book where I found the pattern:

This was a fun project and took less than 8 hours.

Knitting Today: Harbin Sweater Again

 Progress is being made, but still think the deadline will come and go before it is finished!

The yoke is finished!  Hallelujah!

Roots Tech 2023!

 At Roots Tech every year (the biggest genealogy conference in the world every year, and one I have yet to have attended in person!  Fortunately they have the option to attend virtually so I do!) new things come out.

This year the My Heritage company had the option to sign in to your account, upload 10 or more photos of yourself, then receive some photos that have been doctored up in a timeline.  Here are a couple of the ones that came back for me.  

Here is the Biblical Woman photo:

This one is the Saxon woman:

Kind of fun...More in the future.

Spring Florals: Wisteria

 One thing I never saw until we arrived in the south: wisteria!  It is beautiful.

It literally drips off the trees.

Last week I stopped in a park beside several trees dripping wisteria vines. I avoided getting run over and crossed the road for a close up picture.  I did not know this either: wisteria has a lovely light fragrance!

Also, I think it may kill the trees it grows on.  Bummer.

Knitting Today: Harbin Sweater Test Knit

Lately I have knitted up several pairs of socks as test knits for a couple of different knit designers.  Since I have been thinking about knitting a sweater, but knowing I do not need a wool sweater here, when I saw a colorwork yoke pattern I decided to do it but do it in lightweight cotton.

 Here is the yoke with the colorwork about half done. I am going to have to speed up if I am going to get the knitting done by the deadline!

Spring Florals

 One of the things I like about Spring is the beautiful flowering trees and bushes and other plants.  We have taken a few pictures of them!

The trees have been fabulous this spring BUT the weather has been extra warm and the blossoms quickly turned to leaves.

Here is a tree halfway between blossoms and leaves...

One thing I DO NOT like about the glorious blossoms is POLLEN!  Until five or six years ago  it was not a problem.  Now it is.  Driving all over the sapworks for church and other business makes my eyes  itch and weep.  Even my skin is itchy.

GOOD NEWS!  When I was at the Dorr Farms store purchasing some fresh vegetables we were chatting.  I was complaining a little about the itchy eyes. The Mrs. said I need to eat a spoonful of honey at bedtime to help things. IT DOES!  Local raw honey so it is the same honey that has that particular pollen.  It also helps with sleep.  Win-win!

Munchie Monday: Easy Alfredo Sauce

 Because red sauce is giving me fits lately I decided to try some Alfredo sauce with pasta a little while ago.  I knew our daughter has made Alfredo sauce so I asked for her recipe. It is easy!

It is basically the same recipe as homemade macaroni and cheese with a few little changes.

Start with a white sauce, add cheese, pour onto cooked pasta. Done!

For the white sauce:

In a large saucepan melt 4 Tablespoons of butter with several chopped or sliced garlic cloves.  When the garlic is ready add 6 Tablespoons flour and stir until it is cooked.  Add 4 cups milk and stir well until sauce starts to cook.  Add 2 cups heavy cream then add 4-6 ounces freshly grated parmesan cheese.  Add 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.  Stir well.  Taste to see if you need to add anything else.  There is probably enough salt from the cheese, but maybe you want more.

In the meantime, cook your favorite pasta.  We used Tri-Color Rotini so the sauce would stick to it.

It turned out to taste pretty good.

This was good enough that we ate it (we had company that day) before it was photographed.  Oh well.  Next time...