Rose City Yarn Crawl is Coming

I know it sounds like a scary movie...or a book to curl up with beside a warm cozy fire. . . but it's not. It's an event for all crafters, knitters, crocheters, or anyone who wants to use some fancy smancy yarns to make something special.

Plus it's a fun event.

If you're interested, pop over here and read all about it!

It begins February 27th so mark your calendars and pull out your knitting projects and get ready.

Hope to see you at some of the yarn shops here in the Rose City.

THE GREAT CRITIQUE - THIS SATURDAY

START THE NEW YEAR “WRITE”!

WITH ANOTHER GREAT CRITIQUE

Another chance for writers to be mentored and critiqued by a professional and their peers. 

We’ve done this before and it was so successful that attendees asked for a repeat, so here it is!

When:        January 11, 2014 from 9:30 to Noon

Location:   The Dining Room, TaborSpace, 5441 SE Belmont St, Portland, OR 97215

Time:         9:30 to noon. First half hour networking, with coffee and donuts, and then from 10:00 to 12:00 critique session.

Never been in a critique group? Wish you could be critiqued by someone who is ahead of you in the publishing game? Want to strengthen your work? Need a fresh set of eyes and ears on that oft-revised piece? Want to have your manuscript ready for the May conference? This is your chance. A published writer will lead each small group and critique your manuscript. You'll also hear others' work and get feedback from those writers too. Plus you'll learn from the comments by the critique leader about the work of others.

Cost:

SCBWI members - $10.00 (That's less than the price of a Friday night movie!)

Nonmembers - $15.00 (If you bought any refreshments, your movie night would cost way more!)

WORD FOR WEDNESDAY

WORD OF THE DAY: SWAGGER

Do you know what it means?

Do you have it?

Do you want it?

Well maybe part of it...

A swagger is an air of confidence but then there's a catch...

the bad part...

it is to walk or strut with a defiant or insolent air.

As people say the good and bad, blend together 

If you want to read more about the word, check it out here.  

Knitting - the American Way

Did you know there's an American way to knit? No, neither did I. Not until my mother-in-law tried to help me with a stitch I dropped. Then she took my needles and started to work the yarn but I was like, "what are you doing?"

She said, "I'm fixing it for you." But it looked so strange the way she was holding the needles. And then my son's gfriend said, "that's because you knit the American way."

"Huh?"

Then they both tried to explain to me (they both being from a different country originally...Denmark and Germany) said, "You knit backwards."

"Huh?" I said again.

Then they showed me. There is a Continental way to knit and an American way.

Yep it's true. And if you don't believe me, just google it and check out a few youtube videos.

But that's the way I've always knitted and now I'm wondering if there's an American way to crochet... ;D

OMENS

I have cooked all my life with cast iron pots and pans. I have had them passed down from my great grandmother, to my grandmother, to my mother, to me...and I have never seen one crack before...

UNTIL NOW...

I'm hoping it's not a bad omen of the things that will be cooking in 2014 ;D

I don't think I would have thought this except for on New Year's Day we woke up to a COLD house. Our furnace had gone on the fritz...and it's not an old furnace, plus I had just had it serviced to be cleaned and inspected in October...and then my daughter got in an auto accident. She was rearended on Saturday night...

I'm not usually superstitious but I'm just saying . . .

First Friday of the New Year

It's always a little sad when the New Year comes because it means that the old year has been laid to rest. Now, it's time to take down the tree and put away all the decorations from the holiday and tuck 2013 back into our boxes filled with memories and ornaments.

And, hopefully we will begin to make some new traditions and set some new goals for 2014!

Pasta Salad Challenge of 2014

Some people know that in my family we like to eat and a lot of us like to bake, cook, and bbq. So over time there have been challenges laid down and victories claimed.

New Year's Day 2014 we had a Pasta Salad Challenge. There were 8 entries and here are the winners:

Nikki Elmore took first place, Beth Lillie took second place and Liz Womack took third place.

It was a lot of fun with family, friends and good food.

A couple of the recipes were very similar...Tammy's, Nikki's and mine - thanks to my Mom - guess we all followed in her footsteps...

Nikki tweaked Mom's recipe with a few more spices, Tammy tried adding quinoa and I kept mine simple. Next time, I guess I'll remember that I need to spice things up nowadays.