Oat Stuffing

I know I do not usually post recipes, but this one has had me stumped for months. I know I have had a great Scottish oat stuffing, but none of the recipies I saw were "it". Here is what I came up with:

3 C steel cut oats toasted with
2 T butter and
1 diced onion
until onion is tender and oats are nut brown to golden brown

mix 3 stalks diced celery, diced carrots and sliced mushrooms of your choice with oat mixture. Pour in 4-5 cups of rich savory stock (I used turkey stock this time) and 1/2 C milk (because it was left-over from breakfast)
Bake at 400 F in a 9x13 baking pan for about 30 then drop to 350. you can bake the whole thing at 350, i just like a crust and crispy edges.

Thanksgiving here and there

We shared a casual thanksgiving meal with the Lanhams. Connie is a great cook and Michael made the most tender and moist turkey I ever recall eating (until I made mine this year. Maybe it is a good year for turkeys ;))

Then a few days later I cooked the turkey I had purchased for our family. One thing lead to another and I somehow ended up cooking an entire meal. Renee' came and worked with Ginger on the MG. We sat down and enjoyed another great meal. We are very thankful for friends and family to share wonderful meals withl.

Kendo Tournament Chapel HIll, NC

William passed his test and is now 4 Kyu. A special thanks to Rogers Gossett who anchored the group through this trip. (and paid for some of his brilliant choices with a pitcher of frozen margaritas) Everyone did well and represented the Dojo with great sportmanship. Next year Rogers doesn't get a vote in the hotel choice though!

Thanks Margo and Peggy!!!

Dear all,
We were incredibly blessed to spend last night with warm, wonderful and gracious Peggy and Margo. Thank you women, wow. A warm, welcoming home. Bouncy dog and cats. The first (micro) snow of the season and hours and hours of easy, casual brain storming, story sharing and (of course) knitting. We are on our way to a Kendo tournament/testing in Chapel Hill, NC. Peggy and Margo shared their experience regarding publishing their Guide to the OTA book. Priceless stuff. And I left a freshly felted pair of knitted slippers for Margo to come home to. Peggy's are on the needles right now.

Welding optional

Glen Fodale, gracious man that he is, not only gifted William with the space to build a forge, but the materials as well. Here are William, Ginger and Glen creating the forge. It weights a ton. It is going to be used to first make tools for future forging.

Midsouth Eclectic Homeschoolers field trip

Thanks to Ron Brister, Director of Collections (I hope I got that right). Ron has been with the Pink Palace family of museums for a few decades and is a fount of information. The MEHS were privileged to get a behind the scenes tour of the Pink with Ron as their guide. When he retires he's interested in resuming some of the programs that the museum hasn't had the staff for, including the Junior Curator program! The Pink also owns Coon Creek which has a full camp facility and I have high hopes it will re-open for summer or seasonal camps before our own children are too old to join in.

Veterans Day Thunder

Aunt Kimmie came to town! A dear friend (she's know us since college, eek!) came to town and while we didn't exactly wine and dine her, we did enjoy having her around and including her in our daily crazy lives. We haven't seen each other for almost 14 years and she laughed and said we hadn't changed at all (while she was listening to us bicker :)) We took her out to Veteran's Day Thunder, a local bike ride fundraiser. Aunt Bev was there and though freshly unemployed, she was in good spirits (it's called shock).
top photo l-r, Ginger, Max, Kimmi, Diane, William
bottom photo Aunt Bev and Max

Thanks again Denise! Another Brown Sheep Sweater FINISHED!

You might recall that I had other plans for this yarn, but I had not consulted the yarns when I made my plans. After sitting and making friends, the yarn conspired against my gauge swatch for Tubey. No amount of fiddling with needles would yield gauge. I pondered and pondered. Drew and scribbled and the yarn spoke. Here is the very simple, knit just-to-fit-my-40-year-old-body sweater. Knit from Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride in the most luscious cocoa imaginable and some super deeply discounted Bingo (Lana Grossa). I used the Handy book of sweater patterns and unvinted this baseball inspired slouchy sweater (or as slouchy as I care go to). I made the sleeves a tad too short and decided to pick the CO out and pick up and knit the opposite direction. Nothing I'm eager to do again, but it solved the problem. I'm hoping that blocking fixes the rolling of the bottom edge, but if it doesn't I'll pick up and knit a few more rows of ribbing. This is the perfect Memphis winter wear-with-jeans-around-the-house-while-homeschooling-the-urchins sweater.

Fuzzy Feet Slippers from Knitty.com

When the eldest "stole" my pair and the youngest "stole" his, I had to CO for another pair! These were intented for me, but had minds of their own. After the initial felting they were a bit too long, but way too big, after the 2nd felting they were actually too small. I wore them all day trying to coax them into submission, but finally gave up that evening. I tossed them in the washer for another quick spin and presented them to my darling bride. They fit her perfectly. I enjoy these quick knit slippers. The problem this time was my memory. I forgot if I knit the others on size 10 or 11 (pattern calls for 10.5, but I do not own that). These were knit with size 11, obviously NOT what I used previously! I have since made a pair on size 10 that felted perfectly and are on my feet. There are more of these on my "To Knit List" Peggy and Margo are getting the next pair when I see them in a few weeks. Renee' and Shelly are getting the next pairs as house-warming gifts. Their new house has hardwood floors, wool slippers are a must. And it appears youngest son will also get another pair as the ones he "stole" from his brother were accidentally washed and now fit his best friend. Perhaps these should be called Fuzzy Traveling Feet?