Remember when you could take more than one piece of luggage on a plane, sans fee, prior to the degeneration of policies that limits you to one checked piece totalling 50 pounds for $25? If you fly Allegient, the used-to-be cheap West Coast airline to sunny climes, you now pay $35 for even carry on.…

It's all about the tools, right knitters and home improvement people? With the right tools you can do anything. Zucchini spaghetti – I've tried every gadget on the market and this one wins:   Try it you'll like it. If you like zucchini…  

A perfect end to the birthday weekend. Bloglesss Marsha, D, C and I considered going to one of those bars where, for a flat rate, you get all the supplies necessary to paint a picture with added inspiration provided by good wine and food. Wait! said C. We have wine, we have food, we have…

Immediately after my father died when I was 16, I remember thinking about things that I wanted to tell him, things that made no sense at all. For example, wanting to share with him details of his funeral that he would have liked. Cold, hard reality snapped in and my teenage mind realized that of…

Back in my midwest days, long before I lived in a rain forest, I learned the self-explanatory expression "You can't win for losing." It makes sense except for this: sweet Audioknits sent me a prize for losing her blog contest: There's some yummy Jaggerspun Zephyr laceweight, baby yarn and my first taste of Dalegarn Heilo.…

Have I really knit five of these? Let me check my archives. #4 was the narrower silk garden variety. I recently considered frogging #3 to use the yarn in weaving, as the rayon metallic has proved too drapey for the clap. It hangs like a limp rag around my neck. #2 was a gift, not…

In continuation of the last post, it got me thinking. When did you consider yourself a good knitter? I think for me it was after I finished my first Charlotte's Web shawl. Is it when someone asks you to make something for them? Or when you're approached to teach others a specific technique? I know one…

UFO : knitting : : incomplete : painting assignment Analogies, do you remember them? Readers from the US will recall SAT's and GRE's. Those from Canada, the anti-standardized test country, might have learned about them in English class. I get to sit on the fence as very soon, I'll have lived in Canada for as…

Realized that in the commotion of the holidays, C's detached retina, grant deadline month at work, I forgot to post a finished project: You can tell it's been awhile because of the sun. Remember? I live in a rain forest. Pattern: Pretty Thing by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. adding repeats for more length. Yarn: Design Club Duo Silk…

Mr C is keeping his record up – four emergency surgeries in eight years. To date the detached retinas are winning. Better that than that open heart surgery I suppose. Perhaps we should consider getting off of this train. But how? Time for some comfort food. How about homemade pizza? Let's look on the bright side.…