A Lot About Nothing

Christmas sneaked up on me again this year.  I didn’t even get a chance to bake all the yummy cakes and cookies as of yet!  Well there’s still a week left until the new year.  So to all of you out there reading this post: Merry Chrismas and Happy Holidays to you! Best wishes this season and I hope that the wonderful spirit of the holidays fills you all.

I’m a little more than a novice knitter (the only thing I can knit now are scarves since all those patterns for things like sweaters, socks and shawls throw me off).  Although I can “knit” hats, just as long as I have my trusty Knifty Knitter loom. :)  Yesterday I went to Romni Wools, a well-known yarn shop in downtown Toronto.  It was like stepping into a kitters dream.  There were balls and skeins of yarn everywhere, along with knitting accessories, patterns and books.  It may not look like a very large shop when you step inside the front door, but there are so many corners, crevices, back rooms, and a basement all packed with yarn of all colours, materials and weights.  I picked up a bunch of yarn since I’m planning on spending some of my Christmas holiday knitting.

I got about 3 skeins of Berroco Peruvia Quick Wool.  Today when I unwrapped it from it’s package I’m thinking, “What am I supposed to do with this? It’s gonna get tangled if I start knitting this way!”  So I google how to turn skeins of yarn into easily manageable balls and ran across this very informative post on ariadneknits.com that goes through step-by-step of how to wind a skein into a centre-pull ball.  It was very helpful and mine came out pretty darn good (the yarn comes out so easy)!

For my scarf pattern I’m using a German Rib stitch (which is a variation of the Fisherman’s Rib).  It’s a P2 K2 stitch based on an odd number of stitches. The pattern can be found here. I’ll be sure to post a photo of my finished scarf once I’m done.

Here is an excellent deal if you’re planning on travelling between Toronto and Montreal in the next several months: Coach Canada is offering $1 fares between the two cities.  Yes, that’s right.  I said one dollar. So depending on the dates you choose between the beginning of January and the end of March (the new dates were just posted within the last couple of days), you can potentially only spend $2.18 for a round trip ticket including taxes.  Now I call that a deal!

Make sure you don’t hesitate on this offer, the special $1 tickets are selling out quickly. After they’re sold out, the next batch of tickets with a resonable price will be $10, and I’ve seen tickets between Toronto and Montreal go for as high as $60 each way with this Coach Canada promotion.  Other departure/arrival points included in this Toronto-to-Montreal deal are Scarborough, Mississauga, Whitby and Kirkland.

Visit the Coach Canada website to purchase your tickets online.

I love making this dip whenever I have friends over.  It’s easy to make (just pop all the ingredients into a crock-pot a couple of hours before your gathering), and it tastes great with anything (tortilla chips, pita bread, baguettes, even baby carrots).

Yield:
10-12 servings

Ingredients:
1 - 250g package of cream cheese
1 - 175mL jar of marinated artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
1 - 285g package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix the the cream cheese with the sour cream with a wooden spatula until well blended.
2. To the mixture, add in the cheeses, garlic, salt.
3. Fold in the artichokes and spinach.
4. Pour mixture into a pre-heated crock-pot/slow cooker, cover and cook on HIGH for about 2 hours.
5. Serve with slightly toasted sliced baguettes, pita bread, white corn tortilla chips, your favourite veggies or crackers.