well folks, i've been to South Dakota. it's offical. I can put a thumb tack in the Black Hills area (Silver City to be specific. But we drove around a lot. Deadwood looks a lot better on HBO) on my United States map. we went with some friends, who happen to be the parents of the children i now only care for 20ish hours a week. they have good ol' friends up there with cabins. i like cabins.


we went to Mt. Rushmore ( it was VERY windy). Saw the Presidents. I even smooshed their faces onto a penny. So American.


we also saw the wildlife there. One of Tom's favorite: the Mountain Goat.

Oh, and i rode a bicycle. I know, you just fell out of your chair! but i did it. All 16 miles of the days adventure. and i wasn't totally knackered at the end. While we were in S. Dakota, Tom and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary ( i love that we got married in October, the weather and scenery are alway so bee-u-tiful!). Turns out we had our first real bicycle ride together. It only took three years for the man to get me on bicycle with more than one gear.

(there's my "boyfriend," {all week i heard his sweet little 2 1/2 yr old voice say, "Emwee, come here."} axel on his dad's handle bars. adventure abounds. )

Knitting

I've been working on a Tomten-- a wooley, brown, eco-wool Tomten. really, it's the hood that gets me, and the squishiness of the garter stitch (and i won't kid you, it probably has something to do with Scandinavian folklore. We all know my enthusiasm for all thing Scandinavia last winter.). i'm not sure on the size. some where between baby and toddler size, i guess.

there are lots more South Dakota pictures over at the flickr. get on over. you'll get a more well rounded view.

well hello.
did you think i was in the corner making out with my applesauce, unable to compose a decent post? no, it's not that bad. tho, i did make another 19pints recently. used galas, golden delish., a wee bit of honey and a hint of cinnamon. mmmm. i used my presser cooker to cook the apples... in like 3 minutes. it's been a very happy autumn. i had a kick ass cooking day last sunday: hearty chicken noodle soup a la farmer's market veggies, apple crisp (with maple syrup), moist corn bread and brown-rice pudding made with rice milk. yeah! but, the noodles in the soup turned to mush and i hate mush in my food. the crisp was soo good i want to make another pan pronto! the cornbread was excellent. and the rice pudding was too sweet because i didn't really need to add honey or vanilla to the vanilla rice milk i used. it was a bit of trial and error. that's the thing with recipes: you gotta try 'em and then adjust to your own liking. i like maple syrup!

so in knitting news:


the rusted root is finally done. it had been done once before but it was too long and got bunchy. so i took out rows from the bottom pattern and reknit the rib band. i like it now and it's great for autumn. i wear it over the this b/w striped long sleeved shirt and i think it look rather artistic.


this is my autumn light picture inspired by SouleMama (one of my new favorite blogs. she posts about everyday and i still can't get enough. love her!)


this is the nursing shawl in alpaca i've been working on forever. i don't need it for nursing purposes at this point so it serves as a lovely, warm and soft scarf/shawl/wrap. it's really elegant.


my latest yarn love, er obsession, is Beaverslide Dry Goods McTaggert Tweed. It's so squishy and wooly! I also thoroughly enjoy supporting small farms that make an effort to keep the processing state side or in some cases just north of the border. i'm in love and if i could buy this yarn locally i'd been swimming through it and snuggling up in bed with it. I'm using it to make Tom an old-man style cardigan: shawl-ish collar, pocket and great wood buttons. Oh, i can just imagine the snowflakes flying and the smell of the wood fire.

I've been in a bit of finishing/starting funk lately-- thus the lack of interest to post anything. but i've finally got is squared away. I'm making a baby tomten in cascade eco wool (tho, for the life of me i can't figure out what makes it "eco") and a set of Big Snugs in Cascade 22o and Twisted Alpaca.

it's all good. now, off to that apple crisp!