The BEST cookie ever made

You HAVE to make these.  I think they are the best cookie I have ever made.

They are called Caramelitas from the Cookies and Cups blog. (click back there for the link to the recipe)  Basically, they are an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie with a Rolo inside.  You would not believe how well the oats, chocolate and buttery caramel go together.  LOVE. IT.

While they are a tiny bit time consuming - you need to chill the dough and freeze the Rolos, then completely wrap the Rolo with the dough, so things won't get messy - it is well worth it.

Example of things getting a little messy --
oozing Rolo.

I brought them to the knit-a-long at The Spinning Room today and they were a big hit with lots of requests for the recipe. (So, here's the recipe ladies! Click up there on Caramelitas...)

Speaking of knitting... it's been knit-a-palooza around here.  I told you about Knit-a-long the First in the last post.  Soon I will be starting the second mitt to catch up to where I am on the first, before the next clue comes out tomorrow.  I hope. (read on...)

Knit-a-long the Second - the Mystery Sock V "April Showers" with The Knitter's Brewing Company - started yesterday.

And now I have both toes started.....

It's hard to see but those are the beginning of little flowers that will be on on the top of the foot.  I used Judy's Magic Cast On for the toes, which is quite fiddley especially when trying it for the first time (and sometimes the twenty first time in my case) but an excellent cast on since it makes for a seamless toe! Still a ways to go for this clue, and I need to be done with it by next Friday.  Seems do-able.  For now. (read on...)

Knit-a-long the Third - The Great American Afghan started today at The Spinning Room, hence my bringing the awesomely delicious goodies  to share -- that's another link to the recipe in case you missed the other one.  We are starting with square three and despite everyone having some trouble on row 5 of the chart - cables, a bobble and more cables - it seems to be fairly easy and those troubles will work themselves out quickly as we get used to the pattern.  Here's mine so far:

Just finished row 5 - bobble smack dab in
the middle of the row up there on top.

This knit-a-long is a little less rigid, so I can take my time with it.  Which is good since I've got deadlines for the other two!  That's a crazypants lot of knitting and I still want to get back to my unfinished Harumi Cardigan since I'm supposed to be working on those unfinished ones.

Ok, but here are some finished things to show you.  Here is a picture of the finished Gelsomina wrist warmers being worn:

This is still a terrible picture.  But I do like how they came out - very pretty cables and a nice accessory.

I also finished the Ravine hat!

(Caramelitas cooling in the background... that's
another link to the recipe)

I don't think it's really my style - not even sure I have it on the right way - but I brought it to the shop and it looked great on the owner of the shop, Deirdre.  (der.  should have gotten a picture of her...)

While I was frolicking at the yarn shop today, Paul was making this mess:

Then when I got home I had to help him clean it up by getting the white car ("my" car, with no motor and a stuck brake) back into the garage.  This involved using the ATV because of the aforementioned no motor and stuck brake.  I was in charge of driving the ATV to push/pull the car so Paul could "steer" (using that term loosely because of the aforementioned no motor and stuck brake). And, as usual, my use of the mechanical devices usually ends up with some sort of destruction:

Didn't quite clear the doorway...

But, on the bright side, Paul showed me the veritable treasure trove of parts he located in the garage attic that happen to be perfect for "my" car....

I know - I was speechless too.

Next post:  a book review! (finally.... and I think I'm already behind on my 2013 reading goal....)

Knitting Coordination

Check out this picture:

Notice anything?  The other day, after I had lined up my knit-a-long projects, Paul asked if I was trying to match my yarn to our plates.  I had no idea what he was talking about and then he pointed to the dining room.  Ha.  Guess I like those colors.

Have I ever told you about this most incredibly awesome kitchen gadget ever made?:

My pineapple corer-slicer

I. Love. This.  LOVE!  It's the OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Ratcheting Pineapple Slicer (click there to get it on Amazon)  It makes the totally annoying task of preparing a pineapple so fast and easy.  Here's a closeup of the end that goes on the top of the pineapple:

Then you just twist it until it comes out the other end.

Then, while it's still on the thingamagig, I slice it from top to bottom all the way around, then dump it into a bowl and wa-la, perfect bite sized pieces.  Did I say... LOVE?!

In Knitting News:
So, I did get to finish one unfinished project.

Full disclosure: I had already counted it as done - back in April -when it wasn't quite done.  Why? Because of the "finishing" bit of sewing that needed to be done of course.  Took me 15 minutes to sew up the spiral.  Seems I'll never learn that some finishing just isn't that bad.  But buttons always will be.

I finished my Gelsomina wrist warmers:

Currently drying next to the fire.  Once it's done, I'll take a picture of it on my wrist.  They are very pretty and I like them.  However, they are slightly snug for my wrists.  I have stretched blocked them as much as I could and they are still snug on me.  They could be made a little bigger, but then the pattern wouldn't match up at the seam.  Some people would be bothered by that.  I wouldn't.  But I'm not making them again.

Knit-a-Long the first - the Downton Abbey one - started this past Sunday.  The first episode of season three was excellent.  love, Love, LOVE Violet the Dowager Countess.  She's got some real zingers.   We now know the project will be some fingerless gloves, based on the ones Violet wears to dinner parties.  Here is my first glove so far:

Provisional cast on and a rosebud lace pattern.  They apparently will go halfway to the elbow.  They also have an eyelet section on the backside the will have yarn run through so you can cinch them up and make ruching (gathers).  Not sure if they will be my style but it's fun anyway!  Each clue will come out on Sundays before the next episode.

In Book News:
Upped my 2013 Reading Challenge goal to 45 books.  At lunch with Paul I was telling him that I was shocked that I had read 13 in 4 months and he looked at me like I was nuts.  He said, "You are ALWAYS reading."  But all of a sudden I feel like the book I'm reading is taking me forever to get through!  Hopefully by my next post, I'll have a review of it for you....

Back to Normal

Ha!  I should have written "Normal" (in quotes) since it's all relative right?  The crazy awful pre-holiday and holiday weeks are over and we're getting back to our somewhat regular routine.  Whew!

We went to my sister's last weekend to finally celebrate Christmas with them.  Despite driving through a frickin' snowstorm in the Berkshires - of course, because it's always snowing there when it isn't snowing anywhere else - we had a nice time.  Knitted presents were loved!

Socks for my nephews and my sister

Here'e a not-as-blurry close-up:

My dad's slippers:

He didn't want to put them on again by the time
I got my camera out!

And I forgot to take a picture of my mom with her present, but here it is:

A cotton face cloth that I gave her with
some Burt's Bees face soap.

Ooh!  And check out my mom's creative packaging in the face of having no tape:

Duct tape!  I love it!

Our drive home that day was uneventful and even kind of pretty:

In Knitting News:
So, now I'm knitting like crazy - bet you thought I was done with that after the holidays - for upcoming classes to teach.

I made the Pretty Thing cowl by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka The Yarn Harlot - click there for her blog):

And the Winter Leaves Scarf for a basic lace knitting class:

Now I'm working on, and hoping to finish at least one by today, the Gelsomina wrist warmers:

After the wristers I've got one more project, the Ravine hat, and then I'll move on to my next projects.  One of them is the Great American Afghan knit-a-long at The Spinning Room.  Here is a sneak peak at 2 of the 5 (or so) colors:

That lighter color is actually more of a blue/green
and is really pretty.  The darker color is
actually lighter.  Ugh, will try for a better pic...

Oh, and next week starts the Mystery Sock V:April Showers sock knit-a-long!  Remember that?:

And then, I'm going to get back on track with finishing my unfinished projects.  Seriously, I am.  No more procrastinating.  No getting distracted by other cool new patterns........  Like this mystery knit-a-long to go along with season 3 of Masterpiece Classic: Downton Abbey starting this Sunday!

In Book News:
Yay!  Lots of Barnes and Noble gift cards for Christmas!!! So excited since I have a long list of books that I want to get.

I finished Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. Wow.  What a great book.  It starts in 1942 Paris with the "roundup" of Jewish residents to later be brought to Auschwitz.  When the police come to her house, a young girl named Sarah hides her brother in their secret cabinet, takes the key, and tells him she will come back for him.  She has no idea that she and her family are being taken away from their home for good.  The story then fluctuates back and forth from her story to a present day journalist who is researching the roundup, and how their stories end up intertwining.  Very engaging and the author does a great job of relaying the story while going back and forth in each chapter.  Highly, highly recommend!  Here is a link to Amazon:


I just started another GREAT book that I'll tell you about next time....

That's it for now.  Except for one last picture of Mandy that I took several weeks ago, since she was, again, creatively using her pillow: