A Great Weekend, Followed by Media Monday #7

Friday

 

After a brutally cold, wet and dismal few days (did you know you could have snow flurries with thunder and lightining at the same time???), the sunnier and warmer weekend started off with Dinner and a Movie with my DS.

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Despicable Me-atloaf

Vector Veggies

Moon Mashed Potatoes

Cinna-Minion Apples

Saturday

We attended Lady Lions Alumni Day at SLU and the ceremony retiring the jersey number of Robin Roberts.  She is just as wonderfully warm in person as she is on "Good Morning America".  Robin's family was there for the big event.  Her sister Sally Ann is a longtime anchor for New Orleans WWL-TV and lead everyone in singing "Happy Birthday" to their mother who made 87 that day.  I watched the clips on GMA this morning.  DS wanted me to let you know you can catch a glimpse of us as the camera pans across the crowd.

Sunday

I finished my Mardi Gras scarf before going to Mass and just in time for the first parade of the season.  The high temps just reached 60 and there was hardly a cloud in the sky.  We get another cool front tomorrow returning high temperatures to the 40s with another warm up for next weekend's parades.

We came home to some wonderful slow cooker BBQ pork sandwiches with beans and cole slaw on the side topped off with a slice of king cake I picked up from Nonna Randazzo's Italian Bakery and Cafe.  Though they do not use the traditional purple, green and gold decorations, their cake is yummy with maybe a little citrus peel (?) in the light, sweet dough.

On the Stitching Front

I have a huge project on my plate for the next 3 weeks, but I plan to set aside time each day to do a little stitching on my WIPs for the Flippin' January Challenge, so check back for and update.  I am going to kit up some knitting for a take along project (school pick-up, etc.) so I can have them all done by Thanksgiving for Christmas presents.

Media Monday #7

Here is a little of what I have been reading, watching and listening to:

 Sherlock - Season 1 - * * *

What would it be like if Sherlock Holmes lived in the 21st century instead of the 19th?  It is a fresh take on Conan Doyle's most famous character.

The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler  - * * * * *

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, thousands of Jews were kept in ghettos, Irene and her collaborators placed Jewish children with Polish families.  She saved 2,500 children before she was turned in to the Gestapo.

Dr. Who - Season 1 - * * *

A quirky (and sometimes creepy) sci-fi trip through time and space.

I also finished The Sandbagger's series by watching Seasons 4 and 5 (I hate cliff hanger endings at the end of a series) and I have been reading cookbooks like novels - something about the cold weather just makes me want to read about food.

Stay warm and keep stitching!

Scarves

I have not done any cross stitching in about 4 weeks, but I did do some knitting before Christmas.  As I promised a few weeks ago, here are the photos of the scarves I knitted.  I have to say they are not too bad for a beginner.  I am missing a photo of my favorite scarf, it was a wonderfully rich dark red color and soooo soft and it had a wonderful weight/thickness and felt so warm and cuddly - but I gave it away before taking a photo.  It was part of a box of goodies we brought for a pre-Christmas visit to a local nursing home.

Here are the photos of that I did remember to take . . .

Wonderfully cozy in shades of red and pink.

Gotta love a tweedy gray

A vivid blend of purple, teal and blue

This is actually a beautiful icy blue.

This is a dark apple green in real life

True blue

A sneak peek of two future scarves

A k-new finish

My first attempt at knitting!

It is not perfect, I did have some trouble with the brim stitches and I actually think I have the hat upside down because I closed the wrong end, but I really enjoyed doing it.  I used one of those round looms and it came together really quickly.  It only took one episode of Miss Marple and about 15 minutes this morning to finish it off.  After seeing the stitches come together on the loom, I think I will have a better grasp of needle knitting/crocheting.  I hope to try my hand at those in the future.  My goal is to make a few hats and scarves so the round loom will work great for now.

I am so full of ideas for projects at the moment -

thanks to all you crafty bloggers who have provided the inspiration!

I have gone through all my crafting materials and thrown out the dried out paints and markers, passed on the materials I do plan to use and organized what is left.  I gave my sewing machine and Cricut semi-permanent homes so I can use them more easily.

DS has picked a few projects he would like to do and will be

making handmade Christmas gifts for all his grandparents.

I have also been doing some sewing,

no finishes to show yet, but soon!

I am hoping to finish CCN's "Season of Love" by the end of the week.

I like the flat finish and have some cording to use on the edge,

but I cannot cut a straight line on cardboard or foam-core. 

Any one have any tips? or suggestions for another type of finish?

It is the first week of school here so I will have some stitching time

during afternoon pick-up and should be getting back into a regular routine

(which totally fell to the wayside this summer).

WEIRD or WONDERFUL??

The fluorescent tube lights in the kitchen have burned out.

They have been in use for 10 years!

Is that normal?

Hope you are enjoying the rest of your summer!