Undated Logan Picture!

We finally have an updated picture of the cutie from Guatemala! Here is Logan with his foster mom. He is getting so big even though he is only 2 months old. Stacey and Jon are chomping at the bit to get this little guy home to Florida as are his grandparents in Minnesota! We are still hoping that homecoming will be sometime in January or February. They are waiting on the DNA tests before they are allowed to go and visit him but they hope to spend a week at Christmas with him in Guatemala. I can't wait to get my hands on this little guy! Being a Gramma is so much fun!

I tried out the new aebleskiver pan! It actually worked! You are supposed to turn them with a knitting needle...seriously, that's what the directions say. Well, I am not about to pull out my Addi's or Option needles for cooking so a bamboo skewer had to suffice. I rolled the warm aebleskivers in cinnamon and sugar...they were okay, but next time it's fruit syrup for me. I'd like to try using some fresh blueberries also. I guess I would just push some in before I flip them. They are fun to make and taste sort of like a cross between a pancake and a cake donut. I see lots of aebleskiver experimentation's in my future. Too bad these babies aren't low cal or low fat!

My dear friend Janet is very concerned that I don't get enough "comments" on my blog. What to do, what to do. A few of my favorite blogs, namely Janice's and Maia's, get LOTS of comments. I noticed that they have contests. Maybe I need a contest too! I certainly have enough sock yarn that I could easily part with for prizes. So what kind of contest should I have? How about something like...what is your favorite sock yarn and why do you like it? Or...if you were a yarn, what yarn would you be? Let me think on this a couple days and then I will post "The String-Slingers Sock Yarn Contest"! And the 4 people out there who read this blog can pass on this wonderful and exciting contest to their friends and fellow knitting bloggers so that Janet will mellow out about my lack of comments! Love'ya Janet!

At this time of year I always start to feel "antsy". Right now I am feeling particularly antsy about my house. I do not live with my husband. Although we are married, we have lived apart for the last 3 1/2 years. This was his idea. I have one child left at home, my youngest son Walker. My house has 4 bdrms, 3 baths, a living room and a family room and is really way more room than Walker and I need. Plus, there's the cleaning factor. Cleaning a house this size is way more time-consuming than I like. So I have been looking online at townhouses. No more yard work, no more lawn mowing, no more shoveling snow (remember, I live in Minnesota!) this all sounds good to me. Walker will be 20 years old next month and as much as I hate to think about it, he will leave home some day. My husband and I are good friends, the best. We talk daily and he only lives 2 miles from me. We get together for dinner and movies a couple times a week. In a perfect world he would want to live with me and I would sell my house and move back into the house where we raised our family and he still lives. Will this ever happen, I don't really know. Is this even what I truly want? I don't really know. See why I feel antsy? One thing we both have realized since Brady's suicide is that our kids are the most important thing on earth. We love them so much and want what is best for them. Family is top priority. Always will be.

Knitting. What's that? I have been so busy the last couple weeks that I haven't even touched my needles. Nor have I read any good books. When I get this antsy feeling I tend to not be able to concentrate very well. I know it will pass, it always does. I am determined to get that darn purple cardigan done no matter what! Since I have today off, and have no pressing plans, I will cast on once again and pray that I don't screw it up!

I'm Back and Feeling Good!

Hello! After the hectic and sad last couple weeks, I left town for a few days and feel much better. My good buddy Joyce, took me up to their cabin in northern Minnesota. We had fun! We ate, shopped, ate, gambled at the local casino, ate, read, ate, took walks, and ate. Their cabin is on a beautiful lake so we also did a lot of deck sitting. We went antiquing at one of the local antique malls where I bought an antique wooden box that is divided into 5 compartments and has a handle. Very cute. And very reasonably priced too! We were also fortunate enough to find aebleskiver irons on a clearance rack! What is an aebleskiver iron you ask?! It is a cast iron pan that makes little donut hole type Danish treats. My grandma used to make them and they were delicious. She had an aebleskiver pan that she bought from Denmark but no one seems to know what happened to it :( I have seasoned my pan but have not actually tried making any aebleskiver yet. Maybe today! Thank you Joyce for being such a kind and gracious hostess, it was a nice quiet and peaceful 3 day getaway that I needed. I missed my sons and the wonder greyhound Summer. Sometimes getting away makes us appreciate all we let behind.



Yesterday was my middle sons birthday, he is the young man on the right with his brother Walker. The top photo is 9 years old, so Tyler is 13, and Walker is 11, Summer the greyhound is a little over 2. The second photo is him and his girlfriend Mariah. He no longer has the dreadlocks...thank goodness! Yesterday my Tyler turned 22. He is my 6'5" baby boy and always will be. We had a birthday dinner and I cooked his requested menu. B-B-Qued baby back ribs, augratin potatoes, cole slaw (recipe below), and corn on the cob. I also made him a strawberry jello poke cake! I haven' t made one of those in years and it was really tasty. I frosted it with Cool Whip and fresh sliced strawberries. Yum. We all pitched in and got him an iPod which he has been wanting (whining about) for months. He was shocked and surprised when he opened it. It was a fun night with family and friends. I am blessed to have 3 wonderful sons and a great daughter! Happy Birthday Tyler!

Nothing new on the knitting front...just plugging away on some socks and I'm going to start the purple cardigan for the SIXTH time...yes sixth! I feel like a moron. The first couple times I read the chart as if I was knitting in the round, and I'm not! It is knit flat! DUH! So I restarted, and then I read the cable row wrong...what is my problem!? Not only did I read it wrong once...but twice! So I started again for the fifth time and was busy talking while knitting and I skipped a row! So now I am going to start once more and get it right, I think! You'd never know that I have been knitting for years if you judged me on this dang sweater! Oh well, live and learn. Or should I say...knit and learn.

Next week Joyce, Janet, and I are going on a yarn crawl! They both work for the school system so their summer is coming to an end. Since we all seem to be off work on the same day we decided to use that to our "yarn purchasing" advantage. We are going to figure out a plan for shopping and lunch. Should be a fun way to end the summer and start looking forward to cooler sweater weather! I think my favorite time of year in Minnesota is September through Christmas. I love the cool fall days, the first snowfall, and the holidays! Can't wait!

I want to leave you with a wonderful cole slaw recipe that is easy, tasty, and has a fresh flavor, unlike slaw made with bottled dressings. This is Joyce's recipe that she found in Taste of Home magazine years ago and it is good! For all you cole slaw lovers...enjoy!

Whisk together:
1/4 cup mayonnaise (do not use Miracle Whip)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar

Pour over one 16 oz. package of Dole cole slaw (or use your own shredded cabbage). Toss and season to taste with salt and pepper. The slaw will look dry but after it sits it gets much more moist. Stir before serving. I usually make this a couple hours before we plan on eating it. It is such an easy recipe and so good.

Great Sadness

Minnesota experienced a terrible tragedy with the collapse of the 35W bridge last week. Many citizens are still missing and 6 confirmed dead. It has been a time of sadness and also a time of community togetherness. We all sat with a sad heart and watched the news coverage hoping and praying that no one we knew or loved was on that bridge at the time of collapse. We also prayed and hoped for the well being of the survivors and the families of the missing and those who perished. It has had a profound impact on the Twin Cities and has proven that there still are good people. Regular people, like you and me, jumped in to help with no regard for their own safety. It was a terrible tragedy, but also a triumph of the human spirit that proves the goodness of others.

After the bridge collapse last week I was not prepared to handle any other tragedies, but unfortunately, yesterday turned out to be a sad day that has touched my family and those I love. My son Tyler has been dating a wonderful young woman, Mariah, for almost 3 1/2 years. Someday I suspect she will be my daughter in law, and that pleases me greatly! Mariah's younger brother committed suicide yesterday. He was only 16. I have felt such a burden of sadness and grief for her and her family that at times it is overwhelming. If I feel this heartbroken, I can't even begin to imagine how their family feels. They are wonderful people...kind, great parents who love their children, a strong family full of life. How does something like this happen? Why does something like this happen? They are devastated. I am so sad for them and for their lost son. Please remember them in your prayers.