A HUGE Project in Motion

I apologize for being so absent from my blog as of late. In my defense, there is one HUGE project in motion right now that has been occupying nearly all of my time.



Ta da! We bought our first house! It's a bit of a fixer-upper, but we are enjoying the challenge. We bought the house at the end of April, and as of this past weekend we are living there *almost* full-time. It still feels a bit like camping, but each day we get a little more settled in. Stay tuned, because as soon as I have a bit of down time and an internet connection at the new place I will have posts about my gardening, painting, carpet-removing, and other new-homeowner adventures.

While you wait, I'll leave you with this.

Oliver's new wheels:




Love this little dog. He is just so much fun.

Fun with MS Paint

For your viewing pleasure. :)



The likeness is uncanny, isn't it?

Fall Fun

We are deep into Winter now, so it seems like as good of a time a time as any to do a recap of the Fall. Let's call it "reflection" not "laking in punctuality." The Fall in Oklahoma is lovely. It makes one forget that the summer weather was pretty miserable.



Here are some of the treasures we found while walking the pup in the park. The walk was cut short when Oliver decided to jump/fall/? (the jury's still out) into a creek. It was not quite warm enough to keep walking around with him being all wet.


Many of our Fall activities took place in the kitchen (as they should!) Below is a tasty ricotta skillet bread that the mister baked. The recipe called for fennel, but after the first loaf we realized that the only thing we disliked about it was the fennel. The next couple of times we made it we used rosemary instead. It was delicious and very moist!



I made a beet risotto that was BEAUTIFUL! The color was just amazing, and it was delicious to boot!



This is a yummy Spanish tortilla.



My mom had given us some pumpkins that she had grown. The two bigger ones became jack o'lanterns, two small ones became pies, and the rest were canned and have yet to become tasty treats. I made a pumpkin pie from a Paula Deen recipe. Honestly, Paula Deen scares me a little, but this recipe was amazing. It calls for cream cheese which gives the pie a special taste. It's somewhere between a pumpkin pie and a pumpkin cheese cake. The changes I made to the recipe were using fresh pumpkin and making my own crust.



Using fresh pumpkin can seem pretty intimidating at first, but it is SO EASY. All I did was:

1. Cut the pumpkin in half
2. Remove the stem, seeds, and pulp (I saved the seeds and roasted them later)
3. Place the two halves in a covered microwave-safe casserole dish
4. Add an inch or so of water and microwave for about 10 min
5. If pulp seems soft is easily spooned out, the pumpkin is ready, if not microwave a little longer
6. Scoop pumpkin away from skin with a ice cream scoop or spoon and use as directed by recipe

That's all! It's pretty simple, and a great way to impress your friends by saying you made the pie from a "real pumpkin."







When I was studying abroad in Switzerland I discovered Glühwein. It was served in all of the cafes, pubs, outdoor markets, and parades during the late Fall and Winter months. It's such a warm and comforting drink, like the winter version of a summer sangria. The best part is how it makes the house smell so festive.





My mother decided that Oliver needed a Halloween costume. He actually really liked it. He wore this collar around for days. There was a witch hat to go with it, but he wasn't really a fan.





The mister and Oliver show off our homegrown jack o'lanterns.



Look at our house; isn't it festive? Don't worry, that's not a ghost, it's just the mister.



I think that just about wraps up our Fall fun. Stay tuned to see the excitement of our winter.

I've been knitting a zoo!

Recently, I've had six requests from family and friends to knit them animals to give as baby gifts. So, I've been knitting like mad to finish them. For one, I even pulled an all-nighter in order to finish it just in time for my neighbor to wrap and take to the baby shower! It was kind of invigorating to stay up that late. I felt like I was in solidarity with my friends still in school. However, they are probably cramming for exams, and I was just knitting like a maniac. So far, my zoo count came up to two monkeys, two dragons, a penguin, and a floppy dog.



The penguin was my favorite. He was just so round and huggable! It was are very simple and quick pattern too!



The dragon was cute, but not as cute as I was hoping. I thought the tail was too short and back legs turned out strange. I guess this dragon just has thunder thighs!



Oliver love his new puppy friend! Actually, he probably was just excited that I stayed up all night with him instead of putting him in his kennel and going to bed. On a side note, I know how to fix red-eye in photos, but how does one easily fix green-eye? I think this must be a problem that is unique to animal eyes.

Labor Day Camping Trip

My husband and I spent labor day camping. We had been talking about going for a few weeks, but mostly in passing. We actually made no plans until about an hour before we hit the road. We had found out that Oklahoma state parks do not accept reservations during holiday weekends, so campsites are available only on a first-come-first-served basis. We had little confidence that we'd get a campsite, so we didn't spend much time preparing. We thought, at the very least, we'd just spend the day at the lake and come home in the evening. We left the house at about noon and made a quick stop at my friend's house to borrow a tent.

The drive from Tulsa to the campsite took about an hour and a half. Once we got off the highway, it was a pretty fun drive. The road was windy and the the scenery was beautiful along the Grand River. We were lucky enough to get a campsite and it only cost us $12 for the night. Once we set up the tent, we realized that we probably should have spent a little more time preparing for the trip. I made a run to the gas station (only store in town) and bought us some matches, food, and bug spray.



The weather couldn't have been more perfect. We were neither hot during the day, nor cold at night. We weren't bothered by mosquitoes either. The tent we stayed in was pretty neat. The "roof" was mesh like the "windows" so we could see out of the top. It had a separate rain cover, but we didn't need that. It was such a beautiful night. We could see the sky and the stars as we were lulled to sleep by the music of the frogs and the crickets.




Oliver really loved camping. It has been so hot lately, that he hasn't spent many extended periods of time outside during the day. He spent the first few months of his life on a farm, so I think he enjoyed being out of the house all day again. He was really content being outside chasing bugs in the shade of the trees surrounding our tent. We also took him in the lake to go swimming. He didn't love, but he didn't hate it either. He kept biting at the water. It was pretty funny to watch.

Our little Oliver Twist

We have a puppy. We call him Oliver both because he was an orphan when he came into our lives and because he is a ruddy little troublemaker sometimes. I had always intended to get a dog after I graduated from college. I planned to rescue a shelter dog, since they are so plentiful, but fate had different plans. My grandfather was walking to his truck one day when he heard a terrible racket across the street. He saw a little puppy all alone in the cold. Being the pushover he is, my grandfather brought the puppy inside and inquired whether any of the neighbors knew where this puppy had come from. Returning home empty handed, my grandfather decided to let the puppy stay with him. After hearing this, I asked my grandfather if he could take care of the puppy until I was able to take him. Oliver did not get to stay inside too long though, because my grandfather did not like cleaning up after him. Oliver then went to live on the farm (literally, not figuratively). A few months before he came to live with me, he was allowed to come back into town, where my mom began working with him on housebreaking and basic training. Oliver now resides with my husband and I in our little home. It is a lot of fun having him around.

We think Oliver was born in late February, making him about 6 months old now. He's some sort of terrier mix, possibly predominately Cairn Terrier. He was a pretty goofy-adorable pup, but now his hair is less frizzy and his ears are less floppy. He's still cute, but not as silly looking. Overall, Oliver is a very good pup, but because of his terrier genes, he can be a little wild sometimes. He is especially rambunctious in the morning, when I am least interested in being as alert as he is.

I've been reading a lot about dog training. I am very interested in Cesar's Way. Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, takes a very pragmatic approach to dog, or rather, people training. Cesar's Way is centered around understanding and using the dog's natural instincts and pack tendencies to the advantage of the trainer. It focuses on establishing oneself as the calm and assertive pack leader. It sounds very easy on the surface, but it's sometimes hard to implement when the dog is just so darn cute! Oliver and I are working on controlling his desire to jump all over the place and calming down his manic pulling while we walk. I'm also trying to expose him to as many different situations as possible. He's made two doggie friends, and has taken an interesting trip to Petco. He's a big chicken when it comes to meeting new people or dogs, so I want to continue to expose him to lots of new things so that he's not so unpleasant to guests.

I'm going to try to take some better pictures of Oliver, but despite his cuteness, he's actually a really terrible model. He's quite energetic, and since he is small, I have to get down on the floor to take any good shots. That's a mistake though, because once he sees me, he just wants to play or lick the camera. Perhaps I'll just have to tire him out first.


One last thought: If you ever have a dog, especially a puppy, get a Kong (the little red toy above). They're a little pricey as far as dog toys go, but they are completely worth it. This thing occupies Oliver for hours. It's especially great to give him when he's feeling bitey. I just put some peanut butter inside and stick it in his mouth and it distracts him from biting my fingers. It's a win-win situation.

Hello World!

Welcome to my new blog! I had a travel blog when I was studying abroad in Switzerland, but that kind of fizzled out after awhile. Now that I've graduated from college, I hope to have more time to devote to this. I really enjoy reading knitting and cooking blogs, so I thought I'd start one of my own. Having the brain of an engineer, I find myself needing to have "projects" to do. Some people might call these hobbies, but I think they differ slightly. In my opinion, hobbies are activities you enjoy doing just for the sake of taking part in them. Projects are activities which you do for for the enjoyment that comes with completion. I'm always juggling a few projects at a time, so I will keep this blog pretty general. I will post about training my puppy, reading, knitting, sewing, cooking, gardening, painting, and any other projects which find their way into my life. Enjoy!