Yummy Yarn

Today I went to a yarn tasting at the 'local' yarn shop, Yarn Lady. A yarn tasing is like a wine tasing, only with yarn. I've been to one once before and tried to make a scarf with the yarn I was 'tasting' but it didn't quite work. I just couldn't keep the sides even with the different weights of yarn I was using. So I decided to try something different this time. I started out trying my hand at a little freeform crochet, but I couldn't remember enough interesting stitches to make it work. I had made a circle with some yarn intending to incorporate it into something freeform, but I added another yarn around the edge and it worked so well I just kept going. It turned into a nice little hat! It's really cute, but sadly it is too small for anyone here because I didn't have a head handy to try it on. But I will definitely be ready for next yarn tasting! I'll post a pic of it here soon!

Wondering what side dish goes with yarn,
Alberta

The Spice of Life

I'm starting this post without anything in mind to blog about. Well, maybe one thing. I have discovered a new spice that I love! I bought it around Thanksgiving time because it was included in a pecan pie recipe that I was going to try. The pie was great! And this new spice, Chinese Five Spice, was the reason. It's a blend of five spices (obviously). The blend I found has cinnamon, anise seed, cloves, ginger, and fennel seed though there are different blends out there. I use it in any dish that calls for cinnamon, just in addition to the cinnamon, not to replace it; 5 spice is very powerful. The scent is quite exotic and adds that little extra kick without extra effort. Mmmmmm... (Google Search on five spice)

I finally got my grow light set up! It's a 4' shop light with 2 fluorescent bulbs (one cool and one warm to get the full light spectrum) suspended by chains from a PVC stand so I can raise and lower it. Plus I've got a seed starting warming mat to speed germination and a timer so I can be sure the seeds get 18 hours of light. Plus I have 2 miniature green house seed starter kits. So I'm set! I've started some black pearl tomato seeds. Hopefully they'll grow! It's funny how with all that preparation, I still can't be sure that the seeds with sprout or grow properly or at all. That's the mystery of creation, I guess.

Hoping to see a green tinge on my thumb,
Alberta

Potter Musings

I'm currently re-reading "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and I've noticed a few things that I find curiously coincidental.

First, there are only 12 members of the Order of the Phoenix (besides Dumbledore) mentioned in the book: Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, Kingsley, Mr. Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, Bill Weasley, Snape, Sturgis, Mundungus, and McGonagall. (Now I may have missed someone, so just let me know if I'm off in left field.) Remind you of any other group of people? Maybe from the New Testament? Who's leader died? Would that make Snape Judas? Is is proof that Dumbledore is coming back? Hmmmmm.

The other thing I've noticed rereading the series is that all Trelawney's spoken prophecies come true! Not the ones related second hand, and not just the ones she gives in her wired voice. For example, in "Goblet of Fire" she says (paraphrasing) death is hanging over the school. Harry selfabsorbedly assumes she means he will die, but if you look at the actually wording of the prediction, he isn't mentioned. It's Cedric who dies. In OotP she tells Umbridge she is in 'grave danger'. It's a little far fetched, but Umbridge does get hauled off by centaurs. And in "the Half Blood Prince" she mumbles something about towers on fire and the dark mark appears over Hogwarts. I haven't done any extensive checking on this (ie. finding all the spoken predictions and comparing the results) so I could be totally wrong. Feel free to point out my mistake!

Expelliarmus!
Alberta

Tempest Tossed

Here's an article about 30-somethings in debt. This kind of hits home since I just turned 30! But thankfully, I am not in the the same situation as most 30-somthings, according to the article. I managed to graduate with my undergraduate degree and NO debt. Now a lot of that can be attributed to luck; I got a full tuition scholarship from my alma mater and my parents made enough money for me to qualify for lots of grants. (Yes, my scholarship was due more to luck than hard work. I had a friend who had the same GPA and ACT as I did who did not get a scholarship.) Oh, and I lived in my grandparents basement rent free. But graduating with no credit card debt I can attribute to parents who taught me to be thrifty and following the advice from the church to stay out of debt. How thankful I am for that. That is not to say I didn't have financial troubles. I bounced some checks and missed some credit card payments, but these mistakes amounted to under $100 since I wasn't spending much in the first place. My dh also managed to get his BA without any debt. Because of this, I can stay home with our kids while my husband goes to grad school full time. Yes, we're going into debt for it, but without undergrad debt and still no credit card debt, it is definitely an acceptable level of debt, nowhere near what was described in the article. Just another example of the blessings that come from following the prophets council.

Counting my blessings,
Alberta