My new Wheels

So, my new-to-me van & I have been getting to know each other this past week. Oh, I've had to fix a few things but you ALWAYS have to fix a few things when you get someone else's old car. It came with almost no rubber on the wipers - no wonder they made that strange noise when I used them!!! And there was this great Black Hole in the dash at night - someone put in a new instrument module & mickey moused the wiring. So I got the wiring fixed. The worn out fan/water pump/air belt that started to squeal was also replaced. And I learned that I have a factory Alarm/Disabler in there. I also learned how to use it without a FOB. Nice of the former owner & mechanic to tell me about it. NOT! There's nothing like sitting in a screaming van in front of a bank with no idea how to make it stop. But I learned. Like any new relationship, you enter with shining eyes & open heart forgetting about the bumps along the way. Van's pretty easy to get along with & doesn't have a lot of baggage from former relationships. His heater's hot, he has good bones, he's in pretty fair mechanical condition, his body's in good shape for a van his age & so far, he always starts when cold.

With all the damp weather we've had lately, I haven't accomplished much in the way of knitting or spinning. Although I'm casting on for some fingerless gloves to keep my hands warm - I made Spirogyra from Knitty.com twice - I'm going to try another pattern this time. My hands & fingers hurt. I'm so stiff in the mornings that whatever falls to the floor, stays on the floor till much later in the day. And I tend to wash dishes a little at a time all day so I can soak my hands in the hot water - why waste water??

Soup is back on the menu again jsut because the weather is cool & damp! I cleaned all the chicken & turkey carcasses out of the freezer & made a huge pot of soup! I'd saved all the drippings from cooking a turkey last month & added them. It was wonderful!!! I added barley & bow tie pasta before adding back the meat picked off the bones & a couple of cups of baby peas at the very end. I ate it for three days & gave some away!!! It was the best turkey soup I've made in ages!!
Today, I'm making Soup with hot Italian sausage. I cook it in chunks in the pot. I add water, a can of diced tomatoes, a package of Onion Soup, a can of small white beans or any beans you have & tiny bead pasta. 4 cups of cubed zucchini are added at the end. Sometimes I chop spinach or bok choy leaves if I don't have zucchini. And I've actually thrown in a cup of pureed yam a time or two. The Italian sausage really gives it that bite of flavor!