SIMPLY SUMO...

I was tagged by Caroline and Arleta for a Meme where I am to list 7 or 8 random facts about myself. Since I already played along with this a few months back on this post, I thought I would let Sumo list a few random things about himself.

Sumo Says:

Here are random facts about me that you may not know:

1. I was born at the home of my parents, Mocha and Hershey, on March 3rd 1996. My mom was a yellow Labrador Retriever and my dad was a chocolate Labrador Retriever. Here is a picture of my mom and I a few weeks after I was born.




2. My registered name is Prince Sumo of Lantz. A very fancy name, I think. (I guess the house I was born in was on Lantz street..hence that part of my name!).



3. I have lots of siblings! (I can't remember exactly how many.. I've lost track of most of them). My litter had 4 yellows; 2 blacks and 1 chocolate. None of them were as cute as me!! My sister, Nikko, lives with me and is 9 months older.


4. I once took Second Place in a dog show. I was a little disappointed I didn't get First Place. Oh well. After the show, I went to the vet and got tutored. I hoped I would do better after that, but they never entered me in any more shows!! Go figure!


5. I once cut my chest open on barbed wire and my master, Steve, stitched me up all by himself. I kept thinking "but you're just a people doctor" but they couldn't understand. He actually did a very good job and you can't even see the scar!!


6. I was quite the athlete in my day! I could run and swim like a champ! I'm a little more arthritic these days, but still have some spunk in me! Just last night I chased a cat off our property... and I was really moving!!! Here is a picture of me 7 years ago after a long swim in the lake. Boy, I didn't realize how gray I've gotten....






7. I sleep probably 20 hours a day. It's an art! My favorite places to sleep are: on my landing going upstairs; in my doghouse in the garage or on the tile floor by the front door with the rug over my paw. At night I sleep on the floor at the foot of my masters' bed. (unless I snore and they send me to my landing....)


8. I secretly LOVE being the star of this blog and look for opportunities to model any knitting. Just yesterday I was able to model the hat that Janice finished. (She'll tell you more about it in a minute..) I think the color is good on me...


Well, that is all for now. I will tag any animal blog stars that happen to see this... (Zoe, Casey, Tinker Belle, Max... you know who you are!!)

Thanks for reading!!











Well, that is our Sumo. He has been the greatest dog! I was there the night he was born and have loved him ever since.

Now, about the hat. I was reading on Allison's blog about a knitting event that she and her mom are going to do next month and about the opportunity to knit hats for those undergoing chemo treatments. I thought that sounded like a great idea. I've never knit a hat before, but always wanted to try the Irish Hiking Hat. (This takes you to a Google search... I used the 7th link down PDF pattern) I used Paton's Wool Merino on size 7 needles and it was such a fun easy knit! I can see many more of these in my future. In fact, I hope to cast another one on today!!

Tomorrow is our 24th wedding anniversary! Hard to believe. We will be celebrating by going to Kirstin's graduation and to numerous open houses. We have a trip planned for next January to celebrate our 25th which is only a year away!! :-)

Until Next Time....

THE PREP AND THE PARTY......

It is now Tuesday, and the party is several days past. Oh, and what a party it was! We were blessed to have such a wonderful day (warm and plenty of sunshine); as well as plenty of friends and family to come celebrate with us. Thought I would share a few photos of the prep and the party!

First off, for all of my mom's friends back in Minnesota, here are a few photos of her hard at work!! She was the official 'cracker' of the 30 dozen eggs we scrambled on Friday!!

She tried a few times to get 'fired' (you know, egg shells in with the yolks; cracking the egg into the shells etc..) but she couldn't get off that easy!!












She 'graduated' to the cutting of the bacon to top off the egg dish casserole. With 3 large casseroles, double deep in eggs, that was quite a bit of bacon!! I just kept her coffee cup full and she was happy!!

The egg dish was a huge hit at the Open House. I will share the recipe at the end of the post. It's been our Christmas morning egg dish as long as I can remember and is very delicious. Kirstin is still getting comments from her friends at school and work on how much they loved it!!












Ryan and Mallory were up early Saturday and put together trayfuls of yogurt/fruit parfaits. These were a HUGE hit and were totally gone by the end of the open house! They just layered strawberry and vanilla yogurts with Triple Berry Fruit (from Sam's club); bananas and my homemade granola. Yum.







Kirstin decided against using her school colors for our decorating theme, but went with a gerber daisy theme instead. It was very fun. My good friend from Minnesota brought her this fun cookie bouquet from 'Cookies by Design'. It was a great decoration for the serving table and was immediately gobbled up following the open house!!















We also 'imported' the cake from Minnesota from Retha and Sandy's Sweet Shop. It is by far and away the best cake I have ever had. I ordered extra, just because I needed to ensure leftovers!! Here is the small cake we had for display... It was my personal favorite. White cake with strawberry filling. (The sheet cakes were marble with chocolate cream filling). Once again, right after the open house we cut into this cake and it was gone in record time!! (And no, I will not share how many pieces I ate.....)











Just a few fun people shots:

























And finally, a group shot of her friends and cousins who came from out of state to celebrate with her. It is a FUN group and I love them all dearly...







Here is the recipe, as promised. Eggs don't photograph that well.. so I will just say that it basically looks like scrambled eggs.

Christmas Egg Dish
(Egg/cheese)

18 eggs
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. Half and Half
3 Tbsp. butter
1 10 1/2- ounce can cream of mushroom soup
6 ounce can mushrooms, drained (optional - I don't use)
5 ounces (about 1 1/4 cups) shredded Cheddar cheese
3 to 4 slices bacon, crisply fried and crumbled (I cheat and used the pre-cooked bacon)

1. Combine eggs and Half and Half. Beat.
2. Scramble lightly in butter in large skillet.
3. Put eggs in large, shallow casserole or pan.
4. Mix soup, mushrooms* and cheese. Pour over eggs.
5. Top with bacon.
6. Bake at 250 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes.
(This can be refrigerated before baking. If so, bake 1 1/2 hours.)


Sumo has a surprise for you in my next post, so stay tuned...


Until Next Time.....

Ready to cast on....

I have been adding to my stash in anticipation of some heavy duty knitting time that should be coming my way after this weekend! I can't wait!! This box just came in the mail this week from Little Knits. (They were having a sale.... what can I say??) The book is Ella Rae Bags.. which has 14 bags to knit and felt. Very different styles than what I have done before... I can't wait!! (because as much as I want to branch out in my knitting, I am a bag lady at heart!!)





I also got some Peppermint Mocha Claudia Handpainted from the Loopy Ewe. More socks. I really do need to be a sock lady at heart as well. At this point, I am just a sock lady in my mind.. (I think I can, I think I can, I think I can).. but hopefully it will transfer to the heart!!

















So, what happens this weekend? Well, we are having a graduation Open House for Kirstin. I don't know if Open Houses are big where you live, but around here everyone has them. And it is no little shindig! We will probably have 200-250 people come. So I have been a little busy. I am blessed to have wonderful friends who have come and are still coming to help. In fact, I have several friends from Minnesota and Missouri coming today! I can't wait to have them here! And, my mom and dad are coming from Minnesota as well! Yippee!



I have the house pretty much ready. Have some cooking to do today as well as decorating tables etc.. We are doing a morning open house with breakfast foods. Yum! The main food will be our family egg dish. We'll also have Panera Cinnamon Crunch bagels; frozen fruit cups; yogurt parfaits; juice and coffee; and, of course, imported cake from Minnesota.

Here are just half of the eggs that need to be cracked and scrambled today! What you see is only half of them! (I have over 30 dozen!!)













I have also set up a sort of 'Kirstin Shrine' to display photos; display boards; etc.. My favorite mini-display is this shelf of photos from her modeling days in Japan. (all 3 kids did some modeling when we lived there in the early '90's)
The wedding magazine job was one of the funnest jobs. I can still remember walking back to the train station when we were finished and after every 4-5 steps, Kirstin would stop and ask if the pretty flowers were still in her hair!! (It was quite a ways to the train station.. so it took forever!!) What a dream job for a little girl!!




Well, I better get cracking!! I will leave you with a picture of Sumo guarding my Peppermint Mocha yarn. (I don't know who exactly he is guarding it from... but it is quite sweet of him!).

Until Next Time....

My Life is a Comedy.....

Have you seen the movie "Stranger Than Fiction"? Well, in the movie, the main character is given the assignment of journaling about his life to try and determine if he is living a comedy or a tragedy. Well, based on the events of yesterday, I am definitely living a comedy!!

Yes, that is me. A friend called whose llamas had gotten loose, and after 3 different attempts and 5 1/2 hours, we finally managed to capture them. To give you a little picture of the town I live in, this happened to be the TOP NEWS STORY of our paper today.

Here's a link to the article. Go ahead. Laugh it up. I'd rather be living a comedy than a tragedy.....


Until next time....

Sock Clubs and Such....

My first official Loopy Ewe Sock Club package arrived yesterday! I can't wait to cast them on...and hope to do so right after Kirstin's Open House next weekend. Such a fun package Sheri put together with a fun pattern and the yarn that matches the socks in the pattern!! Chocolate (of course) and a lemon scented sheep and some lemonaide. I feel so fortunate to be a part of this club!!





Getting this fun package in the mail was in addition to the 'Mother's Week' that my hubby has declared. (in lieu of just a 'Mother's Day') Each day he is doing something special for me. Am I a lucky woman, or what??? These flowers arrived one day; lunch out another; a gift bag with a new excercise outfit was on the table one morning and today I opened a beautiful new glass serving tray. (All of my glass serving trays have Christmas Trees on them.... I still use them all year, but it will be nice to have one without a Christmas tree!!)

I wonder what tomorrow will bring????





MYSTERY: How is it that my family cannot seem to get their dishes INTO the dishwasher?? More often than not, I come downstairs to this familiar picture:

That's right. The dirty cereal bowl sitting RIGHT ON TOP of the dishwasher! What is so difficult about opening the door and placing the bowl INSIDE??

Sample Answers:

"I thought the dishwasher was clean"

"Well, if I put it here it 'magically' disappears"

"Love you, mom"

Hmmm... Guess I should stop working my magic!!






And, as a matter of fact, I came down the very next day and caught Kirstin in the act of putting her bowl IN the dishwasher. Yippee!! I was finally getting through!!




But, alas, this very morning there was her bowl once again on the counter. I know, I know, next year I am really going to miss that bowl on the counter after she goes to college. In fact, I'll probably shed a tear or two missing that bowl so much. So, I worked my 'magic' again today and put the bowl away.






Here is a quick and easy pasta salad recipe. It is by far my favorite. The picture isn't that great.. but it is very tasty!

Pasta Salad with Orange Peppers

16 oz spiral noodles
2 orange peppers
1 cucumber, peeled, sliced and seeds removed
A bunch of fresh spinach, well washed
1 tomato, ( or 10 cherry/grape tomatoes)
8 oz. Feta cheese
8 oz. Italian dressing (I like Wishbone Zesty Fat Free)


1. Boil noodles according to package directions.
2. Add cut up pepper and cucumber.
3. Tear spinach and add to noodles.
4. Crumble feta cheese into noodles.
5. Mix refrigerated dressing into noodles shortly before serving.
6. Top with tomatoes.



Well, it is a beautiful day here today. Lots of sunshine and warmth. A perfect day to get a lot accomplished.

Until Next Time....

The Dishcloth Contest...

When I was reading blogs the other day, I ran across a contest on Carrie's blog that I thought would be fun to enter. Here it is:

"So the contest will go along with spring, and starting new things. I'd like everyone who wants to participate to cast on a washcloth - a wild one. One that you feel joyous doing, and in colors that don't match your kitchen. Make it fun!"

I thought.. I can do this. This will be fun. So I chose some fun, bright yarn I had in my stash (that totally does not match my kitchen) and a new pattern (Diamond Drop Lace) I had gotten from the dishcloth KAL that I am a member of, and cast on.

Well, I should have known that my life has been a little TOO stressful lately to try a new pattern that requires concentration and learning new stitches. I cast this dishcloth on not once, not twice but three times. And by the time I starting ripping it out for the third time, I was no longer feeling very joyous!!

So I grabbed another fun yarn that matched and decided to do a ballband dishcloth. But it too had to be ripped out after my first attempt. I perservered, however and cast on once again, determined to succeed!! And so far, so good.







Here is what I have up to this point:

















In other news, Kirstin got a job at Panera. She is pretty excited. She trained in last night making the Crispani's. She said that her years of rolling out Lefse really helped in rolling out the Crispani dough. Best of all, she gets to wear a cool cap...

I'm a little afraid she'll start bringing home samples... I love their baked goods but can't indulge too often!!















I'll close with a couple of fun photos that Kirstin took at the San Diego zoo when they were there a couple of weeks ago. My favorite one is of the baby giraffe. Doesn't it look like he is just puckering up for a kiss??? And the polar bear is just kind of fun.

Until Next Time....

BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT A MOTHER DOES....

Well, today I picked my son up at college. Of course, with his bad back after his 2 surgeries, he was unable to help carry anything down to the car. So I did it. But that's ok. That's what a mother does. Oh, did I mention it was raining at the time? I got soaked. But that's ok. That's what a mother does. To check out of his room, my son was assigned cleaning the toilet of the suite he shared with 3 other guys (A toilet that hadn't been cleaned all year!). But his back...... So I cleaned the toilet. (Which the word gross doesn't even begin to describe....) But that's ok. That's what a mother does. Then we drove home. And as we ate dinner, together again as a family, I smiled. So blessed to be a mom! And the boxes and the rain and the toilet bowl cleaner was all worth the laughter and the love around the table.

Until next time...

SIGNS OF SUMMER

It is a beautiful, sunny day and I am seeing signs of summer all around. It makes me smile. I LOVE to be warm and it seems like warm weather has been a long time coming!! But it is here now and I hope to stay!

Quick update on backs, surgeries etc.. Aaron had his second surgery and is doing much much better this time around. In fact, we took him back to school yesterday where he is hoping to take one of his finals this week and touch base with his other professors to make a plan for completing his other courses soon. So many thanks for all your prayers and concern for him. In the meantime, Steve's dad ended up in the hospital for most of last week as well and ended up having a defibrillator put in. (All while Steve was still in San Diego....) But he is home now and doing well. Yes, I think things are looking up!!

As soon as it starts to head into warmer weather we start thinking 'shearing'. Yep...Llamas need to be sheared so they can handle the heat of our Iowa summers. If we had the time, it would be nice to clean them all up so we could save the wool. (Which we have done in some years past.) But now it is just a matter of getting the wool off the animals to make them comfortable. The animals don't like it at first, but once they settle down, MOST of them do quite well.






This is Squire. He was one of the first llamas to be sheared
this year. I know that it HAS to feel good to have all that wool off of you once the heat sets in!



















This is Sebastian. He is Kirstin's first llama that she owned. His dark wool is especially important to get off. His large midsection suggests he had a bit too much grain this past winter!! On real hot days we put out sprinklers for them and hose them down on occasion.






Another way that they cool themselves off is to roll in a dirt pit. It's not long after you set a llama into a pasture that they start making a dirt pit. This one is in our paddock, not too far from the barn. It holds one large adult llama which can create quite the dust storm when they are rolling around in it!! Never tried it myself. Can't say I've even been tempted!







Another sign of summer is Steve standing at his grill. Love that about this time of year....Easy meal time.





















Of course, Sumo is never far from the grill, licking his lips and hoping for a hand-out!!















Getting the hammock out is another ritual. I love the time spent sitting in the hammock. A group of Ryan's friends stopped by yesterday and piled on! (Yes, it was dangerously low to the ground!!)

But who cares????



Ryan's best friend got married yesterday. A beautiful day for a wedding. I have to say, it was strange seeing Ryan up front in a tux. It won't be long and he will be the groom. I feel as tho we are being slowly drawn into the next season of life. Empty nest; children getting married; grandchildren. How can this possibly be happening??? I feel far too young.....

But I am very excited. I think it will be another fun 'season'!!










Jello. Yes, summer means jello. So, for our Sunday night group I made our favorite jello 'salad'. (Yes, around these parts anything with jello and fruit is called a salad.....). I know, I know that jello is gross and made up of gross things. But it still tastes good once in a while.
So here is my recipe for anyone who wants it! And feel free to treat it as a dessert if you'd like!

Yummy Strawberry Jello

1 pkg (3 oz) strawberry jello
3/4 cup boiling water
1 cup ice cubes
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries (or 5 oz. frozen)

1 pkg (3 oz) strawberry jello
3/4 cup boiling water
1 cup ice cubes
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries (or 5 oz. frozen)
2 cups cool whip (whipped cream)

1. Dissolve 1st pkg. of jello in 3/4 cup water
2. Add ice cubes
3. Stir 3 minutes, until gelatin is slightly thick, remove ice.
4. Stir in fruit. Pour in mold or 8X8 glass dish
5. Place in refrigerator
6. Repeat steps 1-3 with 2nd pkg of jello
7. Stir in fruit and whipped cream.
8. Pour in mold on top of other jello
9. Refrigerate at least one hour.

(A double recipe fits a 9X13 glass pan)


I also made a pan of Caramel Rice Krispie Treats. (Been craving them for some reason). But as if they are not sweet enough already, I dipped them in chocolate. I don't know why I do these things. But they are yummy and I have high hopes the kids will finish them off tonight so that I won't!!

Time to start my walking routine!! (First thing tomorrow!)


Until next time.....

BACK AGAIN.....

Well, much has happened since my last post. The biggest news being that Aaron had to have his second back surgery on Thursday (less than 2 weeks after the first one!) Somehow he had re-herniated his disk and the pain was worse than before. Poor kid! He came home Friday afternoon feeling much better. Praying that this one does the trick and he can spend the summer healing and be back to school next fall ready to go!

As he recovers, I am spending some time reclaiming my house after it was much neglected during tax season. Closets; cupboards; storage rooms are being emptied, cleaned and organized. Feels good.

Steve and Kirstin are out in San Diego (poor things) sea kayaking; shopping; eating at fun restaurants.. When he has time, Steve is taking in some of the conference that he is out there 'attending'......

To keep us company last night, Ryan and Mallory re-scheduled a trip to Ames and showed up with grocery bags full of dinner fixings!! After making us dinner, we all played a game of Phase 10 and then Aaron was ready for bed. (One doesn't get much sleep in the hospital, and he was wiped!).





I did work on my Noro scarf some while up in the hospital. I hope to finish it up today. I guess I am going to have to figure out how to 'block' as I think this scarf will really need it.






I spent a little time trying to read some blogs last night. A big congratulations to Kristin on the birth of her little girl, Laila Ferne!! We've all been anxiously awaiting her arrival!!




Sheri posted a picture of the front of her refrigerator and then, basically accused me of only putting pictures of her family on my refrigerator before they visit!! (Can you even imagine????) So, here is a picture of the front of my fridge (that has not been changed in several months!!). I LOVE having my fridge front covered with faces smiling at me.

What does YOUR fridge front look like??











Before Kirstin left for San Diego, she asked me to look after bear. I have been taking pictures everyday and sending them to her phone of all the fun bear is having while she's gone (at the hospital with Aaron; making dinner with Ryan and Mallory etc..). I have now put Nikko in charge of watching over bear. I know Kirstin will be thrilled to see bear AND Nikko on my blog.....








Off to check on the patient.....

Until Next Time.....

A FINISHED PROJECT!!

Yes, you read correctly, I actually finished a project!! It has been a long time coming! I finished knitting and felted the Vintage Bubble bag that I have been working on for quite some time. I used Paton's gray wool merino with the Noro yarn that I received from my ITEIII partner. This is one of my favorite bags to knit! I want to find a fun fabric to line it with and add a snap. Not sure yet where this purse is headed...I have few ideas!











Thanks to all of you for your prayers and concern for Aaron. He's had a bit of a set-back with increased pain again and difficulty walking. I am going to take him to school tomorrow and see how the day goes trying to get to classes. I'll hang around for the day (knitting, of course) and will either leave him there for the night or bring him back home. Still hoping he can get some of his courses completed before the end of the semester.


Ryan and Mallory have set a date....December 29th!! A Christmas wedding! Lots of fun planning and shopping to do before then!

I'm also working on planning Kirstin's open house for her graduation. The one thing I know that we will have for sure is punch. This is the yummiest punch recipe ever.

Frozen Punch

1 - 48oz can pineapple juice

2 quarts water

2 pkgs lemonaid Kool-aid

2 cups sugar

Mix all together in an empty ice cream bucket. Freeze for 5 hours. Stir. Put back in freezer and freeze completely.

To serve: Take out 4-5 hours ahead. To each batch, add 1 liter of Sprite.

(Just don't let Ryan know you are serving this or he will show up and drink it all!!!!!!)


We had the Sunday night high school group here tonight. I made the spaghetti recipe that my friend Sheri at the Loopy Ewe posted on her website. It was a huge hit. (And boy, did the house smell GREAT all day while it simmered away...)











Sumo is LOVING this weather. He and Nikko go out first thing in the morning and stay outside all day. I love it because it seriously decreases the dog hair in the house. Definitely a win-win!!















Not much else new to report. I hope to cast on some socks tomorrow and will keep you posted on any progress!!


Until Next Time.....

HAPPY EASTER!!

And what a wonderful Easter it has been. So much to be thankful for. We are blessed beyond measure....

First of all, thank you to all for the prayers and well wishes for Aaron. His surgery Friday went extremely well. In fact, they sent him home Friday night!! (Which still has us amazed!!) His pain has already gotten better. The surgical pain is there and he still has a lot of healing to do, but definitely headed in the right direction!!





Ryan and Mallory put on an Easter egg hunt for all of us on Saturday. I didn't do so well.. but mostly because I was so cold!! (And that was even wearing my winter parker and fingerless gloves!!). With much assistance, I did manage to find 8 of the 9 eggs they hid for me.

















I offered Sumo some of the eggs I had found.. but he preferred his rawhide. Go figure. (Next year we will have to put some milkbones in the eggs!!)


















But, the most EXCITING egg hunt came later in the day. Ryan had hid eggs all over town for Mallory, with each egg holding some chocolate and a clue to where the next egg was hiding. The final egg was in his pocket and held... A RING!!! And on one knee, he asked her to be his, and she said YES!! We could not be more thrilled!! Since before our children were born we have been praying for their spouses. Mallory is above and beyond those prayers and hopes.


Ryan had also arranged for Mallory's family to be at our house when they came in to announce it. With a quick hug, we sent Mallory into the living room to 'call her mom'. Instead, of course, there was her mom and dad and sister to get the news in person.

Yes, we are blessed.

Praying you all had a Blessed Easter!!


Until Next Time......

ON STITCH MARKERS AND SURGERY...

Well, this has been an interesting week. It started out Monday morning with an email that told me I had won a set of stitch markers from Shelly. I was very excited. I really never win anything!! And the fun thing is by the time I receive them, tax season will be over and I'll be back to some more concentrated knitting time!!



Not long after that, however, I got a call from Aaron that his back pain was worse and that he could no longer make it to classes. I left work and drove to pick him up. We got him some relief for the pain (i.e. stronger drugs) and scheduled surgery for tomorrow (Friday). We praying for quick relief from the pain and the ability to finish his semester at school. He has strong grades so far, so we are hopeful!!

I've got my knitting bag packed to take to the hospital. Still working on my scarf and Vintage Bubble bag. Itching to cast on some more socks. And now, my friend Sheri has posted her new Loopy Ewe challenge... knitting fingerless gloves for Luba's girls and baby hats for children at a Chinese orphanage. (Meg is adopting a baby from China and taking all the hats with her..how fun is that???) I am SOO excited about the response already that Sheri has received and know that Luba is going to be so encouraged by the knit items!!

Well, short post for today.. will update Sunday.

Until Next Time...