• It's been hectic here, last minute knitting, excited children, colorful lights and shopping! Here's something to warm the tummy and give a bit of comfort!
• BEEF VEGETABLE BARLEY SOUP
• 1/4 tsp. thyme 1 beef soup bone 1 lb. lean beef stew meat, cut in sm. pieces
• 1 to 2 tbsp. cooking oil
• 1 med. onion, chopped
• 1 c. carrots, chopped 1 c. celery, chopped (include some leaves)
• 1/4 tsp. marjoram
• 1 (1 lb.) can tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. dried parsley flakes
• 1 tbsp. salt
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 peppercorns
• 3/4 c. pearl barley
• Brown beef (cut up in small pieces) in oil in a large kettle or Dutch oven. Add water, soup bone, and herbs and spices and bring to a boil. Simmer 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Remove bone, skim fat from top of soup. Add vegetables, cook about 30 minutes. Add barley. Cook about 10 more minutes until barley is done and vegetables are tender. Makes6 to 8 servings. Freezes well. Tastes best on second and subsequent days

Just as I was online drooling thru a wishlist of knitting books, Mom called to let me know she had ordered two of the same book. Talk about happy...oh yes! This (Knitting Beyond the Edge, by Nicky Epstein) was one of the top of my list! I love it! You can fancy up a bought sweater if you don't have time to knit and make it special, or add that magic to something handmade. Heaven knows what might end up decorating the baby sweater I'm currently making. I hadn't decided yet how to dress it up for a girl, since it's green and yellow, somewhat plain so far. (I like green and yellow, I'm sick of knitting babypink.)

I taught Mom to knit last summer, then she put it away in favor of crochet. She has a pink confection of baby blanket that is now big enough to tent the stadium. I can understand how that happens.
Last night I had about 9 inches of surplus length on the baby sweater front to ravel back to the right size. I blame that on the phone....

Last week our daughter's best friend was clearing out her mother's stash of crafts, long un-used and stored in boxes. So when T. suggested I take some of the yarn, I of course said "sure..I'd love a bit of extra yarn.."
H. kindly delivered the yarn to my back deck. It wasn't just a skein or two, or even a half dozen skeins. It was over 200 skeins of ragg wool. 85% wool, 15% nylon, and Google turned up the wonderful uses for it...outdoorsy types with warm, dry, woolen feet...endless snuggly afghans..this stuff is really useful!
I sent half of the mountain to our younger daughter who is now addicted to knitting too. I then spent 4 days trying to remove a ghastly odor from the wool. Keep in mind, this wool normally has a bit of natural lanolin in it, not enough to feel oily, just a teeny odor of it. Also keep in mind this wool has been stored in plastic, in cardboard boxes for apparently quite a few years. Generations of mice have potty trained their young on the plastic...the wool never had a chance to breath inside it...(can lanolin become rancid?) Other than the odor, the wool is in perfect condition.
I took out 6 skeins to experiment on the cleaning and deoderizing of it...and 4 days later, can attest that it is soap-proof, eucalan-proof, bleach-proof, Dawn-proof, fabric softener-proof, 3-minute miracle-proof and that no amount of soaking and drying has done anything to improve it. (If you ever decide to wash skeins of wool, try a bit of the Aussie 3-minute Miracle rinse on it, it makes it so nice!)
Our daugher, A. is enjoying this whole thing immensely! She piled her stash into a wooden box and threw in one of those air fresheners with its own fan.
The 6 skeins I've subjected to every punishment I can think of does smell "better"..but only in comparison. They smell like dirty socks now.
109 skeins to go and I'm not quite ready to give up, but honestly, I'm getting to that point. It just annoys my thrifty streak to toss it. It would've been wonderful to dye in deep, plush colors for afghans, and absolutely grand for warm woolen socks.
I think today, I will put another 6 skeins out in the sun and try this again. It's 109 skeins of wool, for pete's sake...and sheep do not smell like little flowers, but somehow, the wool is made nice. I can do this....it might require a PHD in Chemistry, but I know I can do this...