I'm making socks. With both these colors, not at the same time, but two pair. This yarn is soooooooooooo soft!!! It's 100% Alpaca fur. It's absolutely delicious. I just started on my first pair...Though I am crocheting them because I can't seem to get a decent knitting pattern that I actually understand. (Though I think I found a nice lady to help me with a REALLY cute pair she's making) I only know the basic knitting terms and a few other ones as well that are a bit more difficult. I'm learning!

I only just started at the toe with the purplish color....it's going ok, though I'd rather be knitting.

I bought this at a shop here in Göteborg, Sweden called Broderi & Garn (Embroidery & Yarn)
It's made in Oslo,Norway though.....Garnstudio is the maker. It doesn't really have a color name on them, just the dye lot and so on, so I will name them Lucious Lavender and Mauvatious Mauve.

I could of come up with better but, you know! I am also trying to be a member of a site called Ravelry.com..however I am on a waiting list...ho-hum
I can wait a few days!

Dpn's,sc, skip 1 st.....and so on.

I am going to try to be more 'universal' with my blogging.

What I mean by that is post about other things that I am interested in.

Like knitting for example.

I like to knit and I like to crochet.

I'm not 80 and I am not 50, but who says you have to be older to like such things?

I am finding out that there are many younger people, younger then my 32 years, who love knitting and such.

I found that here on blogger there are many knitting blogs and I am going crazy for a pattern for socks. I have crocheted socks, but never knit them befre. I think there is something beautiful in the way they look with the different angles and patterns that can be made with a set of needles, or in the case of socks.....circular needles.

I have a problem where I start something and then start something else meanwhile, and then again another project, to where I have maybe 4 things going at once, like now. I have started to crochet a blanket with 'american' colors. It's almost done I am proud to say. I have a nice doily that I started onl to pass the time until I got paid so I could buy more yarn for the blanket. It to is waiting to be finished. Months ago I started a pair of socks, and apparently I am not the only person out there who is described as a 'one sock knitter' I have one, the other I haven't even begun.

I also have a hat I am trying to knit. Well sort of. I hate using double pointed needles. It's a first for me to use anything of the sort, but I hate them. How can you knit on one needle when you have 3 others in the way? I know the answer to that, but still, it's annoying. It's possible here ad there I will add little photos of things I am working on. Yeah. I think i'll do that.

I read too, but you know I have read almost every single book Anita Shreve has ever written. I have 3 more to go!!! I just have one here at home and two more to buy. I've been so wrapped up in my projects that I haven't had time to start another book. Ok I have tried, but I haven't gotten past the first chapter. Might be awhile!

Anyways, here is that blanket I am almost done with in 'american' colors.

Saturday evening

And so it is that I worked today.
I work all weekend in fact, and Monday too so I won't be making this a very big post or anything. It's busy because of the film festival. Whoopi. It ony makes my job harder, seeing as the festival is being held half way down the street.
I am just going to sit back, enjoy my nice glass of red wine and try to figure out this knitting pattern I have.

I have off work tuesday so maybe I will post something at that time. Until then....Hej då

Det Snöar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kolla!

This just started about 8 or 9 minutes ago. It's just a dusting, but it's still comming down pretty good. Give it time and we might actually have something to play in!!!!


Så...Jag har gjört äpple-kanel-kardemumma muffins idag. Jag tror de smaka jätte-jätte gott! Bättre än kokosmuffins!
De har mandel blandad med honung på toppen.

It stopped snowing. Crap! It's all melted thanks to the rain. Making these delicious apple muffins helped pass the time and warm the tummy.

Så där...

Jag skulle, kunna, vill har...

ok that makes no sense. I am having my 'weekend' wednesday and thursday coz I have to work fredag, lördag and söndag.

Not sure what to do tomorrow besides sleep in.
I know I am baking though...

Mera muffins!
Äpple, kardemumma, kanel, kanske med lite russin också.... med mandel på toppen!!!
Yummy freaking yummy!

I have no apples so I might have to wait for min lön (paycheck)...det kommer fredag.

So, I have decided to do my blog half in english and half in swedish....svengelska.
I used to have a swedish blog but I deleted it coz I was too lazy.

UUhhmm...Sad to say but I can't remember what I did the past hour besides eat toast...drink tea and uhm...jag är dum I huvudet. I think I need to sleep soon. It's been a long past few days.

My stupid disclaimer....
If you don't understand my mix between english and swedish then I'm sorry.
Om du kan inte forstår min svenska och engleska tillsammans...tvärr!...jag menar förlåt mig.

nighty night allihop!

Kokosmuffins

I am going to do something that I normally don't do on here. Instead of babbling on about no-nonsense stuff, I'm gunna do a recipe coz I know other women read this blog too, and besides, I thought it would be different.

Svenska instruktioner längre ner.

Coconut muffins with cream cheese-coconut icing.

3 1/2dl vetemjöl** 1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsk bakpulver** 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 tsk salt** 1/4 teaspoon salt
400g kokosflingor** 1 2/3 cups coconut flakes
ca, 1 dl sirop** 1/2 cup syrup
125 g smör rumstempererat** 3/4 cup room temp butter
1 3-4 dl strösocker** 3/4 cup sugar
2 ägg** 2 eggs
2 tsk vaniljsocker** 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1-4 dl mjölk** 1/2 cup milk

Mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl, but not the coconut yet!

In a separate bowl mix the coconut with the syrup.


Put half the coconut mixture in with the flour mixture. Set the rest aside. Add all the wet ingredients in next and mix well. It should look like this afterwards.....


Put the batter in cupcake or muffin forms and bake at 175 celcius or 350 farenheight for approximately 25-30 minutes. Let cool to room temp before icing them. My muffins however took on a different shape because I used the forms but didn't use a cupcake pan to set them in so they kinda came out weird shaped. And I'm a chef?????


Glasyr: Icing:
100g Philadelphia ost** 1/2 cup philadelphia cheese
350g florsocker** 1 1/2 cups powder sugar
4 msk smör** 4 tablespoons butter

Put all ingredients for icing in a bowl like this....


Then mix well until smooth and creamy....


When muffins have cooled, spread the icing evenly on top then use the rest of the coconut-syrup mixture to top the muffins with. You can top them lightly or heavily as I did because this family loves coconut. I decided to take it upon myself to top it with a pecan even though it's not on the recipe.


They turned out alright I think!


Instruktion på Svenska.........................

Blanda de torra ingredienserna I en stor skål. Fukta kokosflingorna med siropen och blanda hälften av dem tillsammans med de torra ingredienserna. Spara resten till garnering. Vispa smöret mjukt med en elvisp och rör sedan I sockret. Tillsätt äggen, ett I taget, och vispa tills blandningen är luftig. Rör ner mjölken I äggblandingen tillsammans med vaniljen och de torra ingredienserna. Fördela smeten I pappersklädda formar nästan upp ill formkanten och grädda 25-30 minuter I 175c grader för stora muffins eller något kortare tid för mindre.

Watchin' a movie.

Well I watched a movie that I had put off for quite some time now. It was called Brokeback Mountain. I know everyone in the world has heard of this movie. I put it off for obvious reasons. Well I got curious and finally watched it this evening. At first it was hard for me not to say "Oh god gross!!!!" at first, however after awhile you don't think about them kissing. You see the deeper emotions of the movie.

I'll admit I cried. It was really sad and makes you wonder if that's what it's really like for those who choose that lifestyle. I have gay friends...well ok one gay friend, and at first when he told me, I was shocked. I got over it and after watching this movie...I don't know, just really makes you think what it's got to be like having to hide your feelings for someone regardless what lifestyle you choose for yourself.

I have a possible other gay friend, but he kinda tries to hide it even though it's so freaking obvious. Maybe he's just very feminine..dunno. Doesn't matter.

Another day...

Well...
My dad may come home from the hospital tomorrow afternoon. I hope so!
Between my mom having cancer and chemo treatments and my dad having an anurism in his brain...they make a great couple.

I wish I were there to help, but I know it's impossible from here. All I can do is hope and pray everything will be alright.

On a slightly lighter side of things, this is a girl I was working with last sunday. She thought it was comfy to sit inside a box thats going out to the trash and talk on the phone. She is silly!

Crimson Tide Nordic Mittens

PATTERN CHART TO BE UPLOADED SOON!!!

This pattern is pretty simple and easy to make.
Have any problems, please email me. The link for my email is in my profile, or message me on Ravelry (mrscecrux)

Crimson Tide Nordic Mittens



Craft: Knitting
Size: Women's medium
Needles :US 7 Dpn's or 4.5 mm
1 skein worsted weight yarn MC 50g-130m
1 skein worsted weight yarn CC 50g-130m

Cast on with 48sts, do 2" of ribbing in k1,p1: about 11 rows

Knit the chart. Knit in scrap yarn at the line for thumb placement. Then go back after the mitten is finished, place thumb sts on needles, knit them up. Flip thumb placement for second mitten.

Yeah I'm strange.....

So I have something a bit stange maybe to talk about. It's got to do with favourite things and I was actually wondering about this earlier today while in the bathroom. Strange place, but you know, sometimes inspiration hits you in the weirdest of places. So what I mean to say is you know when you have a favourite towel that you may use for years, or maybe a certain cup you drink out of and refuse to use another instead? You wash this cup and use it repeatedly, and the one day it breaks, your actually heart-broken, and sad now that you HAVE to use another cup or thirst to death. I haven't had this particular thing happen to me but just so you get my drift.

I wonder why we do this? My mother has a favourite towel I think. It's pretty old now and quite thin. She uses it to dry her hair when she is out of the shower. How it dries anthing I will never know..lol

Paul had a favourite mug with santa on it until the handle broke off.

Me? Well I change. But I am a strange person to begin with so, you never know what your gunna get with me. Right now I have to say that I also have a favourite towel. It's in the bathroom, and before I get out of the shower every morning, I lay it on the floor to soak up the water, I step on it so my feet aren't dragging water either. You know how you get wet footprints on the floor? I hate that!

But then again I have to have things a certain way or they make me crazy. Before I moved here to Sweden, I had a place of my own. I lived alone and my living room was never used. I worked too much to be home. I came home, went to bed and started work again the next day. Who has time to use the living room when you can watch tv in bed anyways? So I had these pillows on my couch. One on each side. They were the same. They were symetrical on the couch. Everything was symetrical. Pictures..everything. I'm a freak. Am I OCD? Maybe.

Back to the subject at hand.....
This towel is white with just a tiny blue thread on the edges. I like it. If I had to change this towel for another, I wouldn't be happy. I have other favourite things too but I change. For instance, Maybe if I put a certain bedset on the bed it might be my fave, and I think that I can wash it a thousand times and not care if it gets worn out. I wanna use it. However, maybe i'll buy a new set and THAT tends to be my fave, so my other set just gets tossed aside and is no longer my fave anymore. I have a new one. I'm strange that way.

So I have a question. Do YOU have something that is a favourite, or do you change too with some things but not others? If so what are they? Are you weird like me?

Well I was at work today of course and I was cooking, turned around and seen my good friend Anmar! I missed him. I didn't know what happened to him because after the one semester of school that ended in July, he kind of dissapeared. He was the first person that I ever knew from Baghdad. He changed my thoughts completely of Iraqi's. Being an American I wasn't exactly used to being around anyone from the middle east. I only ever knew one person in my life remotely close to that area and he was from Egypt. And thats in Africa..lol...he was my sons babysitters' husband....anyways, on with it...

He was funny and so different then what I had expected or ever knew. We became pretty good friends in school and we always hung out together when it wasn't class time. He even confided some things in me which I thought was nice. Thats what friends do! Anyways when I seen him today I was so happy, and he just accidently came in there today and he said he was happy to see me too. He had some friends with him and I took care of their lunch for them.

So I told him how another class mate of ours will be back from Spain soon and Anmar was happy to hear that. He said that all of us need to hook up for coffee. Deffinately!

Other then that not much happened. Was a long day at work. Tired. I brought some muffins home that I baked this morning at work. They turned out pretty good. I made blueberry ones with some thinly sliced almonds on top and then I made some apple ones with cinnamon and a little cardamom in it too. Those are my favourite ones. I ate one with my supper..hehe

What else? On the way home I sat on the spårvagn and dazed into space listening to my Leona Lewis mp3's and tried to juggle my purse, the muffins, a bag of work clothes and also the umbrella. Somehow I managed to actually not think of anything, not food, even though I was starving, not the dog, nothing. My brain went blank soon as I walked out of that place. If the ipod wasn't playing then maybe I would of had some sort of brain activity. Alas there was none. Sometimes I wonder where the time goes when I am on my way home.

How long did it take? Did I miss something, afterall I was looking out the window but managed to not see a thing. Is it normal for one's brain to click off when out the door of work? I haven't really noticed this before. Maybe it's age.

Speaking of mp3's, I really reccommend dowloading Leona Lewis' new Cd Bleeding Love. I heard that particular song a million times but the other songs are crazy the way she sings. I haven't heard anyone with a voice like hers in a long long time. She sang Whitney Houstons ( I will always love you) song on X-factor, the show that made her famous and I have to say nobody ever has sang that song like Whitney like Leona, She's that good.

Either way I'll stop babbling. I have to say though that blogging from the comfort of my bed is freakin' niiiiiiiice!!!

And so we begin....

Well for starters THIS

is my new laptop I got today that I am writing from comfortably from the couch..yay! It is my very first one, yes I was slow in comming around to getting one, but I took the leap and got it...quality of the pic is crap coz I sat here in murky dark Sweden and took it with my mobil so there you have it, a dark and murky picture, just like Sweden itself.

I was reading a blog today that I have been following for a few years. Somewhere along the way I had lost this womans link and found it just this morning yet again. She used to live in Baghdad smack in the middle of the war. I read stories that I don't think I will ever forget. Stories of hearing the bombs go off and having to protect yourself, no water or elecricity and so on. Well she doesn't post often but her latest post is sad, yet wonderful as she made the escape from a war-torn country to a more peaceful one. If you would like to read, click HERE

I love my dog

He's so cute I can't stand it!!

My Laziness.....

So as I read all these blogs from guys about relationships and stuff I get pushed into doing one too. My laziness sometimes excedes me and I can't be bothered to do much. That's what it's like being an American. Lazy. It's all we know.

Aside from my sarcastic remarks I actually want to say some things that were brought to my attention. Well maybe not really, because if I haven't noticed that I am in an inter-cultural marriage then I really am stupid, but seriously...

Well I don't think about the cultural difference really and I don't notice (until this second) that I am the only caucasion person in this house. I might believe I am phillipino like the rest for the most part. Really! When I first came here everything was a blur and it was strange to hear this new language, Swedish, and on top of it, Tagalog. I almost felt alone, with the exception of my husband. He was the only person who I could speak my mind to and be 100% understood. Now however, I can speak to anyone and I don't even notice the Tagalog mostly. Their English has improved too..it's funny.

Sometimes I actually start to understand what they are talking about, partially because of some of the spanish words and very minimally because I have learned a few Tagalog words along the way. Not enough but good enough for a start. The family here is catholic as many pinoys are. The family values are held high. To the extreme really, something even 'P' will agree with me upon. he says this is the mob family. It quite possibly is true.

I see relationships as serious, but I take a lot of things lightly. Most of it due to my cultural upbringing and what I have been through in my life and the people I have surrounded myself with for 32 years. Crap I'm old!

I'm not saying I flip everything off, because now that I read that I can see how someone can take it that way. What I mean by that is that when you say something to me, I take it literally if you say you mean it that way, and I move on. I don't press because I don't feel there is a need if what you say is true. I want to move on. Sometimes that gets me in trouble..lol

However.. I was going to say something else and forgot....doesn't matter. It's late. uhmm... I've watched almost a whole season of 'The Bachelor' and it's time to go read Hairy's blog now.

Oh yeah the love thing and infatuation stuff I just read on Mogli's blog.... There is no love at first sight. You may look at someone and cream yourself literally..but thats not love honey...thats lust!

I think somewhere along the way I avoided saying what I thought about relationships. I didn't mean too, but I am going to bed and not about to start this blog over again..hehe

So we played in the snow.....

Tyson HATES snowmen, so we made him sit in front of one..hehe


Me and Ty last night when the snow started.


Waiting on the balcony for us to throw snowballs for him.


Waiting for Paul to throw a snowball...


Tyson and Paul

Finally!

It feels like I am here in Sweden for the first time.
Blistering cold wind....
It's so cold I don't know how the sea is not frozen...
maybe it is but I cannot see it from here.
However it is a freaking freezing -11c or those of you back home....12 farenheight...eekks!

Feels like my bones will freeze and break when the wind blows.

We are gunna get snow all this week...waahoo!

Darth the Scientist

So Tyson wanted to wear these glasses, safety glasses. You get them when you purchase fireworks. He begged us to put them on him, and so we did! He told us his New Years Resolution was to become a scientist and by having these spiffy glasses on, he was able to do so, along with the name change from Tyson to Darth.

And so we have it. New Years was a blast and yet again I have pictures on my photo's page HERE.