Mom and Me Corn Relish

I am so blessed with the time I've been able to spend with my Mom this summer.  What a pleasure she is to have around!

I always like trying new things and getting Mom involved makes it even better!  This visit we made Corn Relish.  Not only did we make it but we did a little research on what "relish" really means.  Is it a dip, a spread, a condiment?  Of course we are most familiar with hot dog relish but surely it must be more than that. The best description we found was that it is something between a sauce and syrup that adds flavor to a dish. It usually has vegetables chopped up but could include fruit as well so it's usually chunky. 

Did you know "relish" is the French word for "salsa".  This relish/salsa was an absolute perfect match with the honey-lime chicken we made together.  Oh my gosh!  Glad we made 7 pints of it! 

I think it's not fair to the publisher to just post the recipe here.  You'll have to either buy the book or call me up! There you go, a good reason to call Bernadine!  Oh, the flowers came from our gardens.  Zinnias and a Teddy Bear Sunflower.  What a summer!

That's my nephew Ben.  He was here too!  He wants to be a meteorologist.  He is great help around the inn especially serving breakfast. 

Master Knitter Wannabe

So of course now that I've heard about the Master Knitters program on my favorite podcast, Knit Misadventures, Ihave to give it a try.


My Spinning Wheel


I ordered the level one course and it showed up in the mail just three days afterwards.  I thought I'd have a month to warm up to the idea more!

So, it feels pretty intimidating but I'm gonna give it my best shot!  So, some accountability would be nice! 
 

Some inspiration

This course is offered by "The Kniters Guild Assocation" (TKGA) if you would like to reserach it for yourself.  I think this progam will help me to fine tune my knitting skills.  I've been knitting, crocheting, tatting, macrameing, rug hooking, etc. since I can remember.  I don't even remember the moment I actually learned to knit but I do enjoy it.  It wasn't fashionable to knit when I started and certainly not in my teens.  There were very few patterns or books at the time.  Most patterns were for babies.  Now, oh my goodness, the variety of books and supplies never ends and it is considered way cool if you knit. 

So, off we go.  I'll get my little notebook together and look through my stash for some yarn that qualifies for the projects and BAM!

Liliana

Ladies and Gentlemen
Drum roll please
Grandma Fabulous proudly presents - Granddaughter #2
Princess Liliana!


Born 7/14/11 - 7'14oz  20" Lots of hair!



Aint She Somethin!  As beautiful as my daughter Becca for sure! 
Becca did a great job delivering her without an epidural.  A strong and mighty and powerful woman she is.  I've never seen her look more beautiful than when she was delivering Liliana. 

Becca, you are my inspiration! I love you so much. You are going to be a fabulous Mom!

Love, Mom

The Dark Side

Oh yes, she has finally gone over to the dark side. Her friends kept insisting that she needed to learn to knit. Crocheting since she was ten is fine but she needs to broaden her horizons, be more creative. She needs to be able to "speak" in knitting terms so she can understand her friends when they talk about knitting two together or passing over a slip stitch or using the million different ways to cast on.

So, she started on a pretty scarf pattern. She cast on, stitched till she was blue in the face and still had to tear it out several times! Did she persevere - yes, because her friends love her and would not steer her wrong - but not with that pattern! She looked over a variety of repeat knit patterns and decided to just do a scarf out of that - a simple lace to make a small scarf. It worked!!! She is actually knitting, the stitches are coming out evenly, she has not had to tear it out and the scarf is looking pretty good!

Does she still favor crochet - of-course! It is easy, fast and has so many options for a variety of fabrics that it will continue to be her top choice. But, now that she can knit a little, she can indeed broaden her horizons and be more creative and enter into knitting conversations with her friends:-) The dark side is not as dim as she thought it would be!