Happy Halloween!

We're home now, after a fun night of trick-or-treating. Took my youngest out with his cousins. My oldest went to a friend's house to watch movies and my middle stayed home to pass out candy. By the time my kids have kids I wonder if anyone will trick-or-treat anymore. It has changed so much from the time I was young. Used to be we were dropped off and a bunch of us went out without any parents. Now I wouldn't dream of letting them go alone at the age I went. I love seeing all the fall/Halloween decorations out, and I especially love the people who answer their door and make a big to-do over the kids' costumes. I will remember that, and I think my son will, too. Tonight he said he got so much candy because of his costume, so I'm sure he was thinking of the people who mentioned who he was dressed up as - Jengo Fett from Star Wars. Tonight I will go to bed thinking of the memories that have been made with each of my children. I always want to be with all of them on holidays, but as they grow up I know I can't. I miss that. Maybe that's why I take so many pictures, to try to capture those memories on film. When all my children have grown and left, I will still have the photos to remember these times by. I can wait for that day.

Life is Good

There's nothing like getting Boo'd to get you into the Halloween spirit. On Monday night we found a bag of goodies left on our doorstep with a note that said "You've been Boo'd." It was so much fun to go through the goodies, and it's so nice to know that someone thought of you to deliver the goodies to. Tonight - hopefully - we are going to drop off two BOO bags to friends and neighbors. My kids have a great time with this - the only time other than Christmas that I give them the go ahead to doorbell ditch.

I have really been in a crafty mood this month! This is a good thing, but also a not so good thing. It's a good thing because I get things done. It's a not so good thing because I usually want to try out NEW crafts to do, which means I spend money at the craft stores. My newest venture is making stitch markers. I'm the kind of person who sees something cute and thinks, I can make this myself. Sure, I can make this myself, but at what price? Let me tell ya, I have certainly spent more money on supplies making these stitch markers than I would have had I just bought some on etsy. But I had fun making them, and I think they turned out ok. The larger markers fit on my size 13 needles for the bags I've been knitting from she-knits. What do you think?

On my needles I have a scarf I am making for E as a Christmas present. It's the skull scarf from knitty.com. It is knit in two parts and is felted. I have one part made, and about halfway through the other part. Yes, another Christmas present almost done!

As the weather turns cooler and the days get longer, one of my favorite things to do is get up early when everyone else is sleeping, fix myself something warm to drink, and browse through my Christmas craft books. I have a collection that I started buying back before I was even married. Some crafts/recipes I have tried, more others I have not. The books are older, but they always bring back memories for me. I am posting a recipe for a spiced tea. You can make it as is, or omit the tea for a hot drink that is still great. You can even grate a little fresh nutmet or sprinkle a little cinnamon on top. Enjoy!

Spiced Tea

2 c. Tang

2 c. sugar

1/2-1 c. instant tea

1 large pkg. powdered lemonade

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

Combine all ingredients and store in airtight container. When ready to use, put 2 tsp. or more to 1 c. boiling water.

Today is my wedding anniversary. 20 years! When I was younger I always thought that people who were married 20 years were sooooo old. Now I am one of those "old" people! We celebrated our anniversary last weekend by taking a little out of town trip. We drove to Sacramento for the weekend. We didn't really do much in the way of going places, but it was so nice to relax and spend time just the two of us. I don't think we do that often enough,

I did get to go to a yarn shop. Filati Yarns, in Rocklin. Here locally I've only been to one store that is on the small side, which made the yarn store in Rocklin seem oh so huge to me. I kept my purchases to a minimum, but I want to come back soon, this time with my daughter who also knits. I stayed away from sock yarn because I have enough now to make several pairs of socks. They carry Koigu and Lorna's Laces, both of which I want, want, want! I bought some yarn to make another purse, and a scarf for my daughter.
I finally finished one of the Diamante socks. I had such a hard time with this pattern that I'm afraid my friend will only receive one socks for Christmas. I don't know what it was because the pattern is not that difficult, but I had a heck of a time with it. I was never so glad to finish a sock. I really want to start another sock in another pattern, but I need to force myself to finish the second one. Maybe I'll put both on hold and go on to making my next purse. I love those purses, they knit up in such a short time. Instant gratification, that's what it's all about. She-knits had a good podcast recently. It was about knitting only what you love. I guess I can apply it to my housework, too. Must be why I am on the computer right now instead of working on the ginormous pile of laundry I have. Hey, I'm doing what I enjoy, right?!
Speaking of enjoying, I LOVE Ravelry. If you're on Ravelry, look me up - I'm stitchnscrap. Like I said before, I could easily spend way too much time on the computer.
Until next time . . .knit on!