Saturday is for playing!

Today was suppose to be a rainy day but ended up being sunny although it was chilly. The kids had fun playing outside most of the day. J was invited over to his friend's house for a BBQ and lots of hockey and had a great time. He played hockey for a good 6 hours today. He will sleep well tonight!

This morning S had a friend over for a while and then we went out for lunch for curry - yum! S had her usual grilled cheese and I tried a different kind of curry today. It was good but a bit spicier than the kind I usually get. It is fun to try new things!

When we got back S went back outside to play with her friends and I took the time to do some house cleaning. I got the more public areas of the house clean - the living room/kitchen/dining room as well as the kids' bathroom. While I was doing that the neighbourhood kids were busy bouncing from house to house. They finally ended up all heading home around supper time. It was a fun day for them.

I finally got around to blocking my Outlander shawl. It turned out to be very long and rather skinny. It will make a good neck wrap in the winter.

I also finally finished my Citron shawl. That thing was a royal pain in the arse because of the sheer number of stitches involved. I like how it turned out but I will not be making it again. When it was laying out on the blocking mats J and C both commented on how it reminded them of a slice of watermelon. I think I'll call it my Watermelon Shawl from now on.

I got an email the other day that my yarn for my next Mystery KAL is on it's way to me. I checked the tracking and it cleared customs so it should be here in a few days. I can't wait to see the yarn. I had picked out a colour called The Raven and The Fox. This is what it looks like on the website:

When it arrives I will take a picture of it and compare how it looks. This will be my first time working with lace weight yarn from The Unique Sheep. I'm excited about it. Of course I have to wait until July for the MKAL to start. Booo!

No Love Today

Today the Burger Love people are trying to set a world record for the most freshly served burgers in 24 hours. We decided we'd try to help them set the record by going out for a burger for lunch. Now, we knew it was going to be busy in places that are participating in Burger Love, especially since it's the last weekend and the world record attempt. So we picked a restaurant and went.

We were briefly greeted when we walked in the door and told to pick one of three tables. So we chose one and after a few minutes a man came over and handed us menus. Then we waited...and waited but no one came over to us. When the man handed us menus he didn't offer to bring us drinks. So after waiting for at least 10 minutes without a single server coming over to us we got up and left. We ended up going to another non-Burger Love restaurant and having our favourite curry for lunch. It worked out better over all because S was happy to have a normal grilled cheese for lunch (instead of a fancy one) and the curry was excellent, as usual.

It was disappointing that the service at the first restaurant was poor today. C and I have been there before and it's been fine. I just find it hard to excuse poor service when restaurants know what is in store for them when they choose to participate in Burger Love. This particular restaurant has participated in Porktober (the pork version of Burger Love) so they know how busy it can get, especially on the final weekend. Why they didn't have extra servers on hand, I don't know. But they lost out on 2 burger sales today, and if the world record comes up 2 burgers short, well then you can blame it on the fact that C and I weren't able to order burgers today.

I was able to finish my Solar Flare shawl today! I got all the ends woven in this morning and after a good soaking it is now drying on the blocking pads. It seems to be taking a long time to dry. I hope it will be dry by morning so that C can take some good pictures of it. I have to say, I am so glad this MKAL is over! It was fun but honestly, there would have been no way I could have finished it on time if I had to go to work during the day. It was a very time-intensive pattern and many of the people who began it have given up, which ups the odds that I'll be the first prize winner. I'm considering sending feedback to the designer, just suggesting things like lengthening the time between clues or breaking the pattern up into smaller clues. It was overwhelming at times seeing these huge, time-intensive clues. I do absolutely love how the shawl turned out. The dye job by the Unique Sheep was dead on for a solar flare.

Now I'm going to go work on my poor, neglected Outlander shawl and watch some more episodes of DareDevil. If you haven't seen it, go watch. Excellent show! And I'm happy because there will be a second season. Yay!

Birthday Burger Lunch

Today we went out for lunch for my birthday and of course I had to have another Burger Love burger. Today's burger is called the Moooo Shiner and you can find it at The Old Triangle. It was a fun lunch because the Sunday musicians were there performing live Irish music. The place was jumping today between the music and Burger Love - it made for a good lunch!

The Moooo Shiner was a good burger, but it isn't my top choice. I'm still waiting for a burger to knock the Southern Jack out of first place for me but so far nothing has. What was good about today's burger? Lots! The burger itself was okay - it wasn't as juicy as some of the other burgers I've had. I don't know if it was a little overcooked or the type of beef they used but it was just a little dry.

The name of the burger comes from the fact that there's a lot of moonshine involved in it. The BBQ sauce on the burger is infused with moonshine. The BBQ sauce had a good flavour to it and it was the only type of sauce (no ketchup, mustard, mayo, etc) so it wasn't competing with other sauces. There was more moonshine in the sugar-shine bacon and the shine-pickled onions, both of which were tasty (and I don't like onions).

There was applewood smoked cheddar on the burger although the flavour seemed to get lost under the BBQ sauce. There was also chipotle dusted kettle chips (yup, potato chips) on the burger which added a nice crunch but they didn't add any heat. The bun itself was a brioche bun and I was worried that it wouldn't be able to support the burger since the bottom was cut kind of thin. Since there was only BBQ sauce on the burger and it was on the top bun, the bottom held up well.

And because it seems like Burger Love burgers have to have something crazy on top, this burger had the Flaming Smoked Cheddar Deep Fried Mac n'Cheese Ball. It was larger than a golf ball and yes, it was deep fried. When they bring it to your table, they bring along a spray bottle of...wait for it...moonshine...which they spray on your mac n'cheese ball. They then light it on fire. I tried to get a picture of it on fire but since it was daytime and the server's spray bottle was being difficult I couldn't get a good picture. This was taken after the flames died out:

All in all, it was a good solid middle-of-the-pack burger. I felt like it was one of the bigger burgers I've had although the patty was only 6 oz. I was stuffed by the time I finished it but that could have something to do with the nachos we ate before the burgers arrived. :-)

The weather here was beautiful today so we took a much needed walk this evening before having a very light supper. C and the kids picked out a birthday cake for me and we had it tonight since Monday nights are busy with soccer. It was a tasty chocolate cake topped with whipped cream icing and cherries. I had a little piece because I was still full from our lunch.

Today is GoT night, which makes me happy! It is also Outlander and Once Upon a Time night but I won't watch those shows until tomorrow morning since C isn't really a fan of either one. I'm excited to see what happens with GoT although I hope there isn't any head squishing in the season opener. I expect there will be something gruesome because it is GoT after all. I will be working on my Outlander shawl during the show because it requires less attention to detail than my Solar Flare shawl. Yeah, I have to think about stuff like that - it's the life of a knitter.

A Day for Knitting and Cooking

S was still sick today, so I opted to keep her home from both J's hockey game (they lost their game but the coach was happy with the way they played) and the birthday party she was suppose to go to. I knew she really wasn't feeling well when she didn't put up a fight about not going to the party. She usually will protest about not going but today she just said okay. Yeah, not feeling well.

To keep her occupied, I started teaching her how to make a friendship bracelet. She got a kit for her birthday but I was concerned that the embroidery floss in it would be too hard for her to start learning with so I whipped out some yarn and we started with that. She is getting the hang of it but she got tired/bored after a few rows and said she'd work on it later. I think it is hard for her to concentrate with her nose being so stuffy. At least the medicine I have for her seems to be helping control the cough which is triggered by the runny/stuffy nose. Too bad the stuff only lasts 4-6 hours. It would be nice if it was at least 8 so she could sleep well tonight.

Because I was home today and S was content to just play/watch TV/rest, I was able to get a bunch of knitting done. I finished the first clue for the Outlander MKAL I'm working on. Here's what it looks like through clue 1:

I was reading through the comments on the spoilers thread on Ravelry and a lot of people seem to be having the same thought I've been having - that the yarn and the pattern are competing against each other rather than working together. Also, the photo above made me notice that the yarn is beginning to pool as we knitters call it - the colours are clumping up. I'll have to see how that continues. I looked to see if I had a solid colour to use but I don't have enough of anything in the right weight so I will just keep going and see how it turns out. Worse comes to worse I tear it out when it's done and use the yarn for something else.

I also got work done on my Solar Flare shawl. I made it through the clue for the third skein of yarn. It's hard to get a decent picture because I don't have long enough needles to show it all off but this is one section of it:

I have begun adding in skein 4 which has a lot more red in it and it looks really good. I can't wait to see it all spread out when it's done. The designer is going to release the clue for skein 5 this week so I will be able to keep plugging away at this one. It's definitely taking me longer to do each clue than the Snow Queen did. I think it's because there is less lace work in this one.

I also remembered to take pictures of my recently acquired yarn. Here is the Casterly Rock yarn for the GoT MKAL:

Yup, it totally reminds me of the Lannisters. I'm excited that GoT starts back up again on Sunday. The MKAL won't start until May so it won't be competing with the Outlander MKAL so much. I'm curious to see what we make with this because it definitely is a heavier weight yarn - it calls for size 10 needles. Perhaps a cowl?

This is the yarn my mom sent me for my birthday:

 

The yarn on the left side is 100% mink yarn and the colour is Aegean. I'm not sure what I'm going to use it for but I'm sure I'll find something. The yarn on the right is from a company Simply Socks and it's 600 yarns of my favourite Unique Sheep yarn - Luxe. It came in a really cute zip-top bag which I will take a picture of tomorrow. I've seen a shawlette/scarf pattern that would be perfect for this yarn.

I didn't spend all day knitting - I made supper this evening. I made Feta-topped baked chicken, orzo, and Brussels sprouts. We had hummus and tzatziki sauce with pretzel chips as a snack type side (I dipped my chicken in the tzatziki sauce). For the Brussels sprouts I steamed them until tender but not overcooked and then tossed them with Parmesan cheese and butter. The Feta-topped baked chicken is so easy to make so I'll share the recipe:

Feta-Topped Baked Chicken

Oven 350F.

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I use chicken tenders)

2 Tbsp lemon juice, divided

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp oregano

1 cup Feta cheese

1/4 cup diced red bell pepper

1/4 cup diced fresh parsley

1. Arrange chicken in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

2. Drizzle chicken with 1 Tbsp of lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano.

3. Top chicken with Feta cheese and drizzle with the remaining lemon juice.

4. Bake for 35-40 minutes (25 for chicken tenders) or until the chicken is cooked through.

5. Sprinkle with red pepper and parsley before serving.

I typically forget to buy the red pepper and parsley and it tastes fine without it. When I do remember to buy them I like to throw the red pepper in with the Feta cheese on top of the chicken before baking. I serve this dish over orzo pasta that I've tossed with butter and sometimes extra Feta cheese (yes, we do like Feta cheese around here). It's an easy meal and so tasty. I can even get S to eat the baked chicken although hers can't have any Feta on it. Silly girl does not know what she's missing!

Too Much Going On

Today there is too much going on, but probably not in the way you think. It's actually been a pretty calm day - no after school activities. Here's how there's too much going on...

I started a new knitting project today. It's another mystery KAL (I seem to be into those lately). The theme of this one is Outlander. I like the pattern so far, and I like the yarn, but I'm not so sure I like them together. Here is the yarn:

It's a pretty combination of purples, blues, and grays and it's named Craigh na Dun after the stones that sent Claire back in time. And here it is knit up into the beginnings of the shawl:

I really like the pattern - it has reversible cables which is really cool. I'm just worried that there is too much going on with this yarn and this pattern. I'm afraid that the pattern will get too lost in the colour changes of the yarn. Perhaps as the shawl gets wider the colours will stretch out more and it won't look so busy. I think this pattern would look really lovely on a solid colour yarn. I'll wait until I finish the first clue and then decide if I'm going to tear it out and start again with a solid colour. I bought the yarn specifically for this KAL but if I'm not loving the combination, I won't hesitate to tear it out and use the yarn for something else and grab something from my stash for the KAL.

And speaking of too much going on, we went out for supper tonight and I tried my third Burger Love burger tonight - the Sucker Punch at Phinleys. Here's the picture of it:

Out of the three I've tried so far, I would put this one in third place. The burgers (it has two 4 oz patties) were juicy and not too dense. I would have preferred a single 6 oz burger instead of two patties. The crispy onion tanglers kind of got lost on the burger; I didn't notice any crunch in my burger as I ate it.

I wasn't so sure about the combination of the whipped garlic goat cheese and the cajun chocolate covered bacon. The bacon, well, it's bacon and you can't go wrong with that. It had a subtle chocolate flavour to it but I didn't notice any spiciness from the cajun part of it. The garlic goat cheese tasted out of place to me. Even though there was only a small amount on the burger, it seemed to overpower the other flavours. 

The Sweet & Smokey Cream Sauce and the Chipotle Molasses BBQ Mayo added more flavour to it and they seemed to be competing with each other instead of complementing each other. The Cheddar Jalapeno Kaiser was fresh but like the Dubster, the bottom bun just didn't seem hearty enough to handle all the burger. My bottom bun became soggy with the sauce and mayo combo. It was a messy burger to eat. The burger did come with a bubble gum sucker stuck into it. Since I don't like bubble gum, I will pass it on to J.

I'm glad I tried it because I had been hearing from people about how tasty it was but honestly, it wasn't my taste. There was just too many flavours going on and they all seemed to be competing with each other instead of working together. And honestly, after trying two spicy burgers first, I missed the heat they had. Of course, this is just my opinion and I know a lot of others out there have enjoyed it. I tend to judge the burgers by whether or not I would order them again. And the Sucker Punch goes on the not list. Next time we go to this restaurant, I'll stick with my usual meals.

Book Talk

Today started out a little bit exciting. Nothing like getting woken up at 6:00 by the 5 year old with an upset tummy. I decided to keep her home from school today because no one wants to deal with that at school. The bathroom is down a long hallway from her classroom, so there would have been clothes being changed or a call home for me to come get her. I saved myself the trouble by keeping her home.

Of course, I had planned to go to the doctor today. It is still cold here but at least it doesn't feel like the Arctic winds are going to blow me down the street. I decided to put off the doctor until tomorrow when the hubby decided he was going to work from home today. So I was able to head off to the doctor after all. Of course the other thing I was going to do today was clean out the playroom but that is impossible to do while a child is home. Everything suddenly becomes their favorite toy and nothing gets done. I did manage to get motivated enough yesterday to clean out and organize the 5 year old's room. The 9 year old's room and the playroom will have to wait until Thursday and Friday now. Although there is snow in the forecast for Friday...eep.

I am glad that I took my book with me to the doctor's offices since they told me to be back around 9:15 and I didn't see the doctor until almost 10. And of course once I actually saw the doctor, it was only for about 5 minutes. Once he confirmed that there were no changes to my Rx, he wrote up the new one and sent me on my way. All that waiting for maybe 5 minutes. Pfft. At least I won't have to go back for that for a year now. Maybe by then I'll have a family doctor.

While I was waiting I was reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I watched the series on TV over the summer and decided to read the book because I wanted to find out what happened after the last episode. After watching the TV show I figured that book would have some fairly explicit sex scenes,. I was surprised to find that it wasn't actually the bodice-ripper style story I expected. Just when things between the main characters get going, she pretty much does the book version of 'fade to black' (not always though). This doesn't bother me - it actually wouldn't have bothered me if she had put detailed sex scenes in it either. It just surprised me because it was a more PG-13 version when the TV show would have been an R. Since I'm only on the first book I don't know if she gets more explicit in the other books. I do plan on reading the other books in the series because I want to find out what happens with Claire, Jamie, and Frank. I just hope there is enough variety in the books so I don't lose interest in them.

That happened to me with the Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood books (and TV show). I found the books turned into a lot of silliness with the same basic plot over and over. I was just trying to figure out where I stopped  reading that series and I can't figure it out. And looking at the list of books, I have no desire to go back and finish the series. Maybe one day I will, but for now there are other things I'd like to read first.

When I'm finished with Outlander I will have to decide if I'm going to read the next book in the series or maybe read a book I got an email about  - The Atlantis Gene by A.G. Riddle. It's the first book in The Origin Mystery series. Reading the description intrigued me, I just read that it is being developed into a movie. Since it's in development I probably have time to read both the second Outlander book as well as The Atlantis Gene before the movie comes out.

I would love to spend the rest of the afternoon curled up reading but I have a feeling the 5 year old won't allow me to do that. I expect I will be helping her complete a mosaic picture after she's finished watching one of her favorite TV shows. See you tomorrow!