Looking away back – to my first published design, which appeared on the cover of the first issue of Knitting World (succeeded first by Knitting Digest, then Creative Knitting). The sweater is still here somewhere.
Meanwhile, back at home, it looks like spring has finally made it, after several hiccups. Lots of things in bloom, and I’m really wanting to get going on the garden.
Redbud by the house.
Passing through.
And saving the best for last 😉
High speed dog!
Overall, Toby’s not too bad about barking except occasionally when there are other dogs around, or a squirrel …
I’m serious about this!
I know it’s up there … 
and there was one, sitting in a crotch in the very thorny locust tree (ouch!), just above the top of the photo, but it didn’t stick around for a close-up! Good find Toby!
I keep forgetting to mention that I’ve added another pattern on Ravelry: this is Madelaine. I really enjoyed knitting it, and love wearing it! 
The amaryllis is still growing – just under 24″ today 
and look – there’s color! 
I’m pretty sure it will be red when it opens, and it looks like there’s more than 1 bud in there 🙂
Joyknits designs now has its own Facebook page for new patterns, published designs and whatever else seems appropriate. My thanks to everyone who’s read promo copy (which doesn’t come easily to me!) and offered encouragement!
Profile photo for Joyknits designs.
And a small teaser of some coming attractions 
Our weather’s still on the roller coaster – on Tuesday we had snow, which Toby really enjoys. As cold as it looks, he wasn’t in a big hurry to come in. By the weekend, it’s supposed to be around 60, then rain.
Then inside today – only someone who lives with a camera-phobic pet will appreciate how hard this was to get; bribery WAS involved. 😉
With the cooler temperatures and some really nice country-style ribs, I couldn’t resist making a big pot of pozole with the ribs, hominy, black beans, tomatoes and southwestern seasonings – yum! And it only gets better after a couple of days in the fridge.
And finally, an amaryllis update – there’s a lovely chubby bud coming up!
8½” and growing!
and it seems like one of those the faster I go, the behinder I get deals. Does that happen to everyone?
The car is back, it looks wonderful, and they completely cleaned the inside too!!! I was almost as pleased by that as by having it fixed 😉
It’s back!
I also finished a pair of socks for a friend – the yarn is Rachel’s Dyeabolical sock (color: Themyscira) – love that the heels are fraternal twins. They were a big hit!
Dyeabolical socks!
I was in the mood for stir fry the other day, so we had a nice big batch of Ma Po’s Tofu – of course now I’m out of tofu, so will have to get more.
Yum!
The critters continue to be great entertainment – this new box has gotten a lot of attention from both cats, though Amber seems to be more interested that Maggie. The fact that it’s probably bison-scented may come into that.
New cat toy.
The weather’s been a real roller coaster, from highs around freezing or below (more normal) all the way up to around 70 (definitely not normal). We’ve had a little bit of snow, more rain, a few storms, and I think there’s more of the same likely in the next week.
I’ve gotten out to trim bushes and see what’s coming up when it’s been nice; found this great little nest (about 3″ across) over near the mail box. 
Does anyone know what kind of bird builds like this?
ETA: I think it’s most likely an American Goldfinch’s nest – size and location seem to fit, and we have plenty of them around!
We had a great time visiting our daughters and families in Kansas City over Christmas, even though 2 storms caused some revisions at both ends of the trip. First there was snow and ice in KC on the way over, then snow at home when we were coming back – we managed to avoid the worst of both.
Christmas morning.
Daisy (dog) and Holly (spooky cat)
Cat game!
We nearly made it back with no incidents when a deer ran in front of us about 10 miles from home – we were fine, though very startled, but neither the Outback (nor the deer) came out of it quite as well 😦 The front grille completely disappeared, the hood, 1 headlight, and the left fender took most of the impact, but the airbags didn’t go off. We feel very blessed to have come out of it so well! We called the insurance company this morning and the adjustor has already (!) called us back, so that’s in the works. Next step is to get an estimate, we hope on Wednesday.
The trip was fun, but it’s also good to be home. After I picked up the pets, Toby went out in the yard and just kept running lots of loops in the snow. Meanwhile we’re still sorting through all the mail 😉
Bringing in all the mail!
Happy New Year to all – hope you all have a great 2013!
Not as much of the family could make it as last year, but we’ve had a nice day with warmer than usual temperatures for November, so we enjoyed getting outside while it lasts. It’s supposed to get colder overnight.
While the turkey was in the oven, Mary groomed her dogs – I couldn’t believe how well Stella (aka The Great White) just stood to be trimmed.
First Toby & Stella helped Mary load the dishwasher,
then they moved over to the island to help me break down the rest of the turkey, where naturally there were a few small bits of fallout.
Ever hopeful …
After letting dinner settle for a little while, we topped it off with pie.
Chocolate Kahlua Pecan Pie.
Hope your day was good too!
ETA: The pie completely disappeared – it was yummy 😛
Saturday before last, some of our fiber group came to visit and eat and just spend some fun time together. Glen, who taught me to spin a lot of years ago, has a new lady friend – he brought her along, and we told him he’d brought the entertainment.
Toby and Lady.
Toby especially enjoyed the company. She doesn’t “do” steps yet so when he went down the 3 steps off the deck, she stood at the top and scolded him for leaving her behind 😉
I’ve been playing in the garden a lot, and it’s coming along nicely. All the tomatoes and peppers are planted, the new asparagus (finally!) all came up, and the beans are looking good.
Double row of beans.
Beans (up close)
The bluebirds have been very busy lately – both parents have been making pretty constant food runs to the house at the end of the garden.
Going out for more …
I realized I forgot to show you the 2nd rose I ordered. Prairie Sunrise came with several buds on in and they almost all opened – in addition to the lovely color, it has a wonderful fragrance!
Prairie Sunrise rose.
We took our usual Christmas trip to Kansas City to visit our daughters and their families and had a great time. It was wonderful to see everyone, but it was also good to come home and retrieve our own pets, who have all been pretty velcro-ish ever since we got back 😉
Happy New Year, everyone!
Joyknits! 