my weekender

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So, I'm in Chesterton, Indiana with my Andrew for a golf tournament and for some reason I was reminded of my Weekender sweater.  You see, I have had some issues with it.
For those of you not familiar with the Weekender sweater, this is what it should look like.  The slipped stitch seam down the center of the front and the back is what is particularly appealing to most.  And, quite honestly, what makes this sweater special.
The sweater is worn on the purl side, but is knit on the knit side.  Andrea did this because most of us prefer the knit stitch over the purl stitch.  (Yes, definitely me!) So, when you are finished knitting, you just flip it purl side out.  However, when I was knitting mine, I alternated the balls of yarn to prevent pooling.  (Turns out that was unnecessary as there wasn't any pooling.)  And I ran my yarn inside (on the purl side) and that was the RIGHT side of the sweater.  🤦‍♀️ I didn't realize this until I was separating for the sleeves.  I decided to just leave it and wear this one so that the knit stitch would be the right side of the sweater.  (Confused yet?)
So here it is before I blocked it. (Knit side out.) I was pretty happy at this point.  I tried it on, it fit nicely.  I decided it would be one of those sweaters I can wear a lot.  I have been wanting a navy sweater so the color is pretty much perfect.
Last week while visiting my sweet mom, I had some time to block it.  I thought drying it in the Florida sunshine would be nice.  Well, Malibrigo Rios is superwash.  And superwash yarn grows.  So, from the washing machine to the dryer it went.  It was reverted to the original size and all was well.  However, it wasn't.  Because, a hole was found in the front of the sweater where the yarn broke somewhere in the process. 😫 I have never had this happen before.   It's currently sitting in time out until I decide what to do. (Chances are I will probably see if I can mend the hole.But I may consider ripping it out. )
In the meantime... I"ll work on a pair of socks.  ☺️

homemade granola

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Hiya friends!
Well, I finally perfected my favorite kind of granola, and I want to share it with you.
You see, I like chunky, yet a little flaky, granola.  You know the kind.  The kind where you don't make a mess when you go to shove a big handful into your mouth. The kind where you can grab a chunk and shove that into your mouth instead!   I've been working on this for years.  Years I tell you!  And, the magical day I made a batch that was just the right consistency, I said OHYA!  Write this one down girl!
{the dry ingredients}
But, here's the thing.  I use all ingredients from Trader Joes.  Which is great for those of you that have one near you. It's also great, because the only thing you will need to measure will be the coconut oil and the honey.  But for those that don't have a Trader Joes near you, I will tell you the amount in each bag.  Oh!  The only other possible bummer may be that this recipe makes A LOT.  However, we have found that it freezes beautifully.  The other great thing is that you will have enough to give to your friends you knit with!  Or heck, those non knitters are worthy too.  ☺️
{tthe liquid ingredients}
Okay.  You are gonna need a big roaster for this amount.  You know the one you use for your turkey? Yep.  That's the one.  If you don't have one, I"m sure a friend does!
So, dump all of the dry ingredients into the roasting pan.  And give it a quick stir with your clean hands.  Easy peasy.
Next, mix the melted coconut oil together with the honey and pour it over the mixture.
And you guessed it.  Mix it with your hands.  This part is a little messy.  And sticky.  But don't be scared.  It washes off rather well.
Next you are going to bake in a 350˚ preheated oven.  It's gonna take about an hour.  So leave yourself enough time.  Here's the important part.  You are gonna need to stir every 15 minutes to get it evenly browned.  So get your knitting ready, pour yourself a cup of tea, and set your alarm for 15 minute intervals.  At the hour mark  (your 4th time stirring) I start stirring every 3 minutes or so.  Just to get it that right golden color.
My favorite way to eat this these days is on açaí bowls or any smoothie bowl.  (Do you know how to make those?  Super easy.  Let me know if you need help with those.  Maybe I should do a blog post on the how to's for a bowl.)  But you can eat it in a bowl with your favorite milk, over yogurt or ice cream.  And there is always the just grab a big handful.  The skies the limit!

Ingredients:
1 bag Rolled Oats (Gluten Free) 10 cups
1 bag unsalted, dry toasted Pecan Pieces / 2 cups
1 bag unsalted dry toasted Sliced Almonds / 2 cups
1 bag organic unsweetened flake coconut / 1 3/4 cups
1 bag organic unsweetened coconut chips / 1 3/4 cups
1/2 bag 50% less salt roast & salted cashews / 2 cups
1 bag dried cranberries (or your favorite dried fruit)  /  2 cups
Liquid Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups triple filtered coconut oil
1 3/4 cup honey

Directions:
Combine all bags of ingredients except for the cranberries into a roasting pan.  Add 1/2 bag of cashews.  Mix with your hands.  
Melt coconut oil in the microwave.  Add honey.  Stir to blend as well as possible.  Pour mixture over dry ingredients.  Stir well with your hands. 

Bake at 350˚ for an hour stirring every 15 minutes with a wooden spoon.  Remove from oven and add the bag of cranberries.  Stir to combine.  Bake an additional 3 minutes or so (depending on your oven) until your granola is evenly browned to that golden color.  Watch carefully as to not burn.

Remove from oven.  Press down granola firmly into pan.  Let cool.  

After cool, break apart pieces.  Store in an airtight container.  You can use freezer bags to store in smaller portions. 

Enjoy!  

hiya friends!

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Well, hello there, sweet friends!  Happy July!
{My current obsession... Potato skin filled with avacodo.  My version of avocado toast.}

For me, July seems like the beginning of summer.  Maybe it was because we were away so much in June.  I literally spent the night in my bed 4 nights all month.  Crazy, but good.  I was in Florida visiting my sweet mama for the first week.  The second half of the month was spent in Boulder, CO visiting Libby and then Steve and I grabbed her and headed to Lake Tahoe for a couple of weeks.  Five out of our six kids were there.  It was FUN!  Steve and I finished the month in Calistoga, Ca  with a little (A LOT) of wine tasting.

Now I am home... for a bit.  Libby is home for a quick minute, and that has been special.  Andrew is home for the summer and it has been great.  A lot of golf for him.  And of course, I try to get Charlie to come home whenever he can.  Always bribing him with food.

But the big news is... I got a new computer! 😍  I haven't spent much time on my computer lately because I literally ran out of space.  With the amount of photos I have taken through the years, it literally took up all of my space. (50,000+)   I know, I know,  delete them or put them on a hard drive.  But, that just doesn't work for me because the chances of me plugging in the external hard drive to into my computer to find the one photo I am looking for just was never going to work for me.  SO, I would spend hours deleting 500 photos so that I could upload 10 photos.  Ack.  It was driving me crazy.

SO... I'm back with my computer and my camera and I plan on visiting this space a lot more often.

Hope knitting is happening a lot in your lives.  Just wait till you see my Weekender.  🙄