Walking It Off

 After a day of non stop eating on Sunday, The Mister and I decided to get moving yesterday.

 There is a boardwalk near our house that takes us through the wetlands.

 Even this time of year when everything is dead, the water plants put on a show.

 As do the wildlife. You can't really see them but there are some noisy ducks under the docks.

 I didn't have my real camera as I had to haul Old Doggie in the pooch pouch so this is the best the camera on my phone could do. If you look close there is a giant heron on the end of the pier.

 More noisy ducks. Something was going on because they were all honking up a storm.

Finally. Back to where we started. It's a two mile round trip up on that particular boardwalk and that was quite a hike for two old folks and a short legged dog.

Super Sunday

 Somebody really liked the Puppy Bowl yesterday. Not Pup. The Mister. He was really into it all afternoon. Pup could have cared less. She just wanted a lap to sit in and wasn't happy with all the commotion in the kitchen.

 We watched while we chopped and sauteed all the veggies for our Super Bowl Edition Burritos.

 We spent Saturday running around gathering up the ingredients.

 We forgot the beer. The Mister had to make a beer run the morning of.

 I used the internet to knock off all of Chipotle's recipes. Black Beans.

 Cilantro Lime Rice.

 Throw it all on a giant flour tortilla with some guac and salsa and you get a mouthful of heaven.

The Mister also had steamed shrimp. They were hard to come by around here yesterday. Everyone seems to have the same idea on the National Day of Snacking.

Store bought cupcakes finished the night off. I am still stuffed. As for that game....I gave up after Gaga. I'm no football fan but I was rooting for Atlanta.  It seems like I'm always on the wrong side of history these days.

No Fuss Giveaway

 I've got 21 bars of this chocolate soap to rehome. They are the bars made from that strong scented and very dark natural cocoa butter and organic shea butter.

They look a bit rustic. I didn't try to get fancy with them so they come in all shapes and sizes. I didn't bother to clean them up either so they are also a bit rough around the edges.

They have a creamy lather rather than a bubbly one. They do tend to shed color a bit so I wouldn't put them on anything nice between uses. All the new micas I sampled recently seem to shed color. That's not good. I won't be using them again. Having said all those bad things I will say I love this cocolate soap. It's very rich and makes my skin feel amazing-plus the scent is so yummy.

If you would like one, you know the deal. Go to Ravelry and give me your mailing details. I'm going to just drop a bar into a padded mailer. It's competition season and I'll be traveling later this week to Ohio for our first big skating adventure of the year followed by lots of weekends filled with obligations so I don't have time for anything fancy at the moment but I do need to move these off the shelves.

 If chocolate is not your thing, I'll have this Love scented soap that will be ready to go in two weeks. It has a spicy fragrance. It's also a bit spotty and made pink lather when I tested it. Those new mica colors I used are  such a big disappointment in so many ways. Let me know if you would prefer it or.....

 ...maybe this very mild scented Shampure bar is more to your liking? All the bars have colloidal oatmeal in them for a slightly scrubby feel. Winter skin needs some gentle exfoliating, right?

 The Lavender Sage scent is strong. You have to be a real lavender lover to like this one, I think. It would be great for washing out knit socks though. Instant moth protection.

Finally, I've got Dragon Moon which has a very exotic floral scent. All the bars have been tested and since my skin is still on there are no worries there-just cosmetic issues with the colorants. It's non staining so it's just a temporary nuisance that rinses right off.
As I mentioned before, the chocolate soap is ready now. The last four bars will be mailed out in about two weeks when their cure time is up. Help me empty my shelves and adopt a bar please. Groundhog's shadow be darned, spring soap needs to be made!

Oh, Snap!

 That's the saddest sight ever. A wheel without a drive band. I was spinning along happily on the Ashford Traveler the other night when something went terribly wrong. It didn't take long to realize that the old waxed string had broken.

 Spinning Bunny to the rescue!

 I'd already replaced my Ashford Traditional Wheel's band a while ago with this great poly belt.

 It's easy to install. It just pops together after you measure it and then subtract 2 inches for a nice snug fit.

I was back in business in no time. Thanks Spinning Bunny! They even donate a dollar from all their Etsy sales to the ACLU. Sweet.

You've Got to Be Kidding Me

 I just finished the latest lace panel on my Nurmilintu so I took it outside for a photo to mark the progress.

Hmmm.....something is just not right.  My knitting alarm was going off like crazy but it took a while for the problem to sink in. It turned out to be a doozy.

Oh, for carp's sake. Those of you who have made this know what I did. I must have mixed up the edges even though I have them clearly marked. One edge gets double increases, the other does not so the scarf makes a gentle curve in ONE direction. I got this particular section of lace going in the WRONG direction. You know what that means. Rip rip, rip. Two weeks of work down the drain. Hell's bells.....

Like a Boss

 That terribly skinny warp that I've been giving the side-eye to for weeks is finally on the loom.

 There was never a warp that was tied so tightly in so many places. I wasn't letting a strand get away from me.

 I know I am cursing myself by saying it went off without a hitch, but for now I am going to take the victory and run with it.

This is what's up next. That is the threading pattern. That's only one of three sheets. I have never done such a complicated pattern. Now that I look at it, I need to go tweak it some more. I need a better way of keeping track of where I am. Time to get out the highlighters. Color coding, here I come.

February

 My card kit of the month arrived last week.

 It's kinda Valentine's-y. Kind of.

 I've got a little coffee cup die. It's awfully small and awfully fiddly but it's also awfully cute.

 Okay. So far so good but what do I do with these to make them a Valentine?

 I pulled out my pretty paper and some embossing folders and played with lots of ideas but nothings was really ringing my bell.

 This is the best I could do with what I have. This month I am going to have to do some homework. I need some inspiration. More on this later.