First Ice Cream of 2008

Yesterday was a staggering 80 degrees! It was beautiful outside and I was in no mood to do any chores at home so Bill and I headed up north to Kimball Farm. We played a round of mini-golf and then couldn't help but treat ourselves to some ice cream. I tried the Chocolate Almond, which was delicious, and Bill tried the Buttercrunch (also good). I still think that Richardson's ice cream is the best around. They sell it at the Big Apple in Wrentham but haven't opened up for business yet. The lines for ice cream at Kimballs were long, but it was worth the wait for the first ice cream of 2008!

Now for blankie progress! I think I've finally got this stitch figured out. I had thought that the puff was created by the YO and slipped stitch, but that actually creates the divider. I also changed the needle size from the size 10 suggested to 9. You can see from the picture that the first three (bottom) puffs are looser and less defined than the top three. I'm going to make it in white with a couple of stripes near the ends. Should look nice - I'll post a picture once I'm done!

I have also started a Jean Greenhowe puppy. I haven't gotten very far so I won't bother putting up a picture yet. I couldn't find the same color used in her creation, so mine will be a cute dark tan. I just ordered a lot more Astra yarn for these projects - I'm going to need a house soon just so I can have a room to store my craft supplies.

I haven't done any baking lately but I'm gearing up for some early spring canning. I opened a jar of strawberry rhubarb jam that I canned last May and it was divine. I had a little trouble with the blueberry jam I made (a bit too firm) so I'll have to try to be more careful testing the jams while they cook.