That’s a pretty good combination, isn’t it? First the cashmere show and tell. Elf Roberta knit up this beautiful scarf for her sister-in-law out of Sweet Georgia’s CashSilk Lace in the Summer Skin color. The pattern is Felicia’s CashSilk Fern Lace Scarf, which is free on Ravelry. It uses just one skein. I can tell you, it turns into a beautiful, lightweight luxurious scarf. I think that pattern would also look beautiful done up in fingering weight yarn – something like Madelinetosh Sock or Three Irish Glenhaven Cashmerino Fingering.
We tried a new dessert recipe at our house last week. It’s similar to this one (in a rather anemic looking photo) that I’ve shared with you before, but with the addition of peanut butter. YUM.
Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle
1 brownie mix (for 9 x 13 pan) + eggs, oil, water
1 large containter Cool Whip
2 large boxes of instant chocolate pudding
(prepare each box as directed, as you assemble)
1 bag of peanut butter cups, chopped
3/4 cup of smooth peanut butter
1 (8 oz) pck. cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Bake the brownies as directed and let cool. When cool, cute them into bite-sized pieces.
Put the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and add the peanut butter and powdered sugar. Beat until well mixed and smooth. Fold in 1 cup of Cool whip.
Assemble the layers:
1/2 of the brownies
1 box of the pudding prepared as directed and not yet set
1 cup of chopped peanut butter cups
peanut butter/cream cheese/Cool Whip mixture (use the whole thing on this layer)
1/2 of the brownies
1 box of the pudding prepared as directed and not yet set
Frost with the rest of the plain Cool Whip
Top with remaining chopped peanut butter cups
Let set for a few hours (or overnight) and enjoy.
It was fun to read all of your comments on last Friday’s blog post. We’re so glad to have you all here with us on our Sixth Anniversary! I used the Random Number Generator to pick a winner from last week’s comments. The skein of Wollmeise Lace goes to Kimberly in Mt. Pleasant, SC. Congratulations, Kim!
We have another contest this week (since it’s our anniversary month, you know). This week’s question: What’s the best book you’ve read or movie you’ve seen this summer? (I’m looking to add to my book and movie lineup as we move into the fall.) Since this is our second contest of the month, we’ll be giving away two prizes – two of our Sixth Anniversary Kits, which will be making their debut next week. Leave your answers in the comments below and we’ll draw the winners next week!
Sheri goodgrief.OperaonthePandorastation.AbitmuchforFridayAfternoon.
as i moved clear cross country from new england to arizona… no books were read. Actually I only 1/2 moved. I flew out with barely anything (some clothing, one single interchangable knitting needle set and very little of my knitting stash š ) so the rest of my items are still in NH. I need to close on a house before the family (and stash! š ) move here…
so i went to a few movies with my oldest (14) daughter who joined me a month ago. The best thing we saw so far was the newest batman movie – which isn’t saying a lot -it wasn’t my favorite of all of the batman movies… but we saw it in d-box so the seats move with the movie, which was cool.
we’ve seen i think 6-7 movies…. including spiderman, total recall (total garbage!), MIB3… it was the summer of what was supposed to be just fun movies… trying to get over what feels like a foreign land.
i’d love to win. I need to knit and its another month or so until this closing (as the first 5 bids for houses fell through for one reason or another! Please let this one go through!) and so i’m stashless and although i can buy anything at LYS, i can’t really get much online because i’m at an extended stay hotel and i’d feel guilty ordering a full new stash if i can’t organize it!
I have been happily reading my way through Terry Pratchett and so far my favorite is probably Reaper Man, but maybe it is Guards! Guards! or whatever the next one I get is… These are kind of hard to knit to, tho, unless I have a large stretch of plain knitting. Now I’m looking for more Brit humor writers, so who else have you got?
Best Book – Oldie but goodie – Animal Dreams – Kingsolver
Best Movie – Oldie Again – My Fair LAdy
I listen to audiobooks while I knit and I’ve listened to several good ones this summer…Janet Evanovich (14 and 15) and Anne Perry (Death in the Devil’s Acre and Cardington Crescent). We haven’t been to any movies this summer so I can’t answer that one.
it’s hard to pick one but my favourite is the shopaholic series by sophia kinsella. I love all of her books.
Haven’t seen any new movies but a couple of my favourites are “Sliding Doors” and “Kate and Leopold”.
My favorite movie of the summer was Moonrise Kingdom, just wonderful!
I would say that I am really digging the Piano Teacher. Happy Anniversary!
My favorite book of the summer was Gone Girl-it really kept me guessing.
I’ve really enjoyed watching Mirror Mirror this summer and my kids like it too.
My favorite book so far this summer has been The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It’s hard not to get caught up in the fantasy of it all while reading it.
I haven’t read many novels this year. The best book I’ve read would have to be Carly’s Voice by Arthur Fleishmann and Carly Fleishmann. Very inspiring!
This summer I read A Good American by Alex George. If you like mysteries, John Lescroart novels are adequate. Anything by Philip Gulley, a Quaker minister, are funny! Jan Karon’s series, the Mitford series, you’ll get a whole bunch of great reads. Agree….Major Petigrew’s Last Stand was a good one!
Sheri I really don’t read anymore now that Harry Potter series is over. I watch movies non-stop and my favs are Fargo, Ice Harvest, Gross Pointe Blank, Undertaking Betty, Saving Grace. There is an interesting one that was on cable that I saved to my dvr. It’s with Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman called Barney’s Version. This is the cable synopsis: [2010, in this poignant comedy-drama, Barny Panofsky (Giamatti) goes thru 3 different marriages over the course of 30 yrs, even falling in love with his 3rd wife on his second wedding day!] also a quirky one with Rupert Grint and Julie Walters called Driving Lessons. Has Laura Linney in it too!
Best book this summer. It is an old book from the ’30s “How to Win Friends & Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. Wonderful book and just as pertinent now as it was back then.
The best books I read this summer are The hunger game trilogy and the best movie so far has been Just Go With It.
I have been reading a lot this summer and most of what I have read is books I am rereading. I love the Twilight series for some reason. Call me crazy I guess. As for movies the kiddos and I had a Pirates weekend. I had never seen them before as someone told me they would be too scary for the kiddos when they were little so I saved them up and we have a great time watching them together. Love spending time with the family!
I am listeningto clockwork prince, by Cassandra Clare, and am enjoying it. It’s the second book in a series (the first was clockwork angel, also enjoyed). I really enjoyed the dark knight rises- went with friends on my birthday. I also read the immortal life of Henrietta lacks this past spring, and would highly commend it for non-fiction.
thirding or fourthing the don’t-read-50-Shades-of-Grey suggestion. I couldn’t make it through the second chapter.
I’m reading Civil War books – since Gore Vidal recently passed away, I’ve started to re-read ‘Lincoln’. What a wonderful writer he was.
I am rereading Back Roads by Tawni O’Dell. I find it interesting how a book changes for you and is colored by the stage in your life in which it is read. I am glad to experience this marked difference ten years later. On a side note, Back Roads has been adapted into a movie and is in pre-production now.
I think the best thing I’ve read this summer is “In the Garden of the Beast” by Erik Larson. Happy Anniversary!
Don’t mean to enter twice but can’t recall if I already left a comment. You guys are awesome!
I’ve had an easy-read summer for a change. When they started the “Longmire” series on A&E, I started reading the books. Great entertainment ( let’s call them mystery/westerns).
Fun to read the books and put the TV faces to the characters.
The best movie (I can’t believe I’m saying this) I saw this summer was The Trhree Stooges. The Stooges were very popular back in the 60’s and 70’s but I didn’t really care for them. My husband, however was hooked on them. My grandson convinced me to buy the movie and surprise him. We all sat and watched it and I must admit it was hesterically funny.
I have read a few really good books this summer – two favorites
The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaantje – equisite prose, great story
The Leisure Seeker by Michael Zadoorian – funny, sad
Great minds think, read, watch movies and knit alike? I read ‘Secret Daughter’ this summer and found it thought-provoking. The courage of the Indian woman’s determination to give her daughter life and the courage of her sister to guide her where she could do that made me think about my choices and my sisters. I saw The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel with an old friend from military days and we laughed and definitly related to the hotel and people. We stayed in places like that and met people like that…
Best Movie is definitely Marvels-The Avengers. Have seen it twice, and an contemplatiing seeing it again at the Cinema Savers. Can’t beat a $3 movie.
Best book is really a tie between 2 series. The Lupi Series by EIleen Wilks, and the Tinker Series by Wen Spencer. When the 3rd book (Elfhome) came out this summer, I had to reread the first two, and fell in love with her world building again. That made me read everything I have by Wen Spencer. Replacing all my paper copies with e-copies is a slow process, but totally worth it.
The best book I read this summer is Kite Runner. So many people had said it was good, but I didn’t jump on it then…you know…sometimes it takes a while…finally got to it…WONDERFUL!!!
I’ve been reading Legacy by Mary Stewart. It is the four book bundle of a story about Merlin from the time he was a child. I got sucked right in and can’t stop reading!
Shadese of Grey series. fast read and lets say erotic
I am reading The Game of Thrones. I just finished book 1 and watched the first 2 seasons of the HBO series. I am now on book 2. I loved reading and listening to The Help. The audio book is excellent!!! The movie was very well done.
I have been thoroughly enjoying the Fifty Shades books this summer (blush), but im also listening to Game of Thrones and I love that, too!
The best book I’ve read this summer was definitely The Zombie Autopsies- such an interesting take on the genre!
I haven’t seen too many new movies, but I did rather enjoy Prometheus:)
Best book? Definitely “Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn. I love that she’s from Kansas City – she’s set all three of her novels in the Kansas/Missouri area, too!
Movie would have to be …hee – Magic Mike! It was just so campy & fun and a great girlfriends movie night out… I think I’ll “need” the DVD as I hear the full dance scenes are gonna be on it. š
The best books ever. L.A. Meyer’s. jackie Faber series. There 9 of them and the reader is outstanding. A happy anniversary
“The Elegence of the Hedgehog” is a beautifully written and a wonderful read. It is universal in appeal and I think everyone will like it.
3 VERY good books I’ve read this summer
Defending Jacob
The Language of Flowers
The Shoemaker’s Wife
Two books that I really liked were The Age of Wonder, by Karen Thompson Walker and Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. Although I’ve seen it before, and it’s not a new movie, I watched the movie Chicago last night and I’ve been humming the songs all day.
The best book I’ve read is Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote
Thanks for the chance to win one of the beautiful anniversary kits!
Finally got around to reading The Passage by Justin Cronin. Definite post apocalyptic, vampire science fiction, and long to boot. But I really enjoyed it.
Movies ” The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” and “Avengers”. Hulk… smash….
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Best book in a long time! Listen to it if you can. The language! The characters! The plot! All fabulous.
I read Drift by Rachel Maddow and it was very enlightening.
Holy cats! What a great list of books! I need to come back and make notes!
In the summer I love to read trashy mysteries and I rarely even remember the titles. I did finish Cradle and All but can’t remember the author. For my holiday next week I want to read a really good book, so I’ve got Tigers in Red Weather by Ruth Padel, and I might reread Julian Barnes’ Sense of an Ending
I won a Kindle Fire a few weeks back & it works great for reading while knitting. I read a set of four books by Kathleen Morgan, excellent series The Brides of Culdee Creek.
Daughter of Joy
Woman of Grace
Lady of Light
Child of Promise
They are historical fiction, with Scottish heritage, & a Christian ethics value. I really was sad to read the last one, wish there had been more.
With all the wild fires going on out here in the west, it has been good summer to stay indoors and read/knit/read/knit. Thanks for expanding my reading list! Best book of the summer for me has been “Wild Goose Chase” by Mark Batterson.
Well my book group is reading Why We Get Fat by Taub. We’re in a mostly nonfiction stage these days!
We went as a family to see the re-release of Singing in the Rain in theaters. We’ve seen this movie many times but it was so much fun to share it was a whole theater full of people. Listening to the kids laugh to the Make ’em Laugh number was wonderful! I think it was so successful that they’re going to do it again. Enjoy!
I’ve been reading a lot of “young adult” books this summer: The Hunger Games, A series by Phillip Pullman, and another by Patrick Ness, and a more adult book called A Discovery of Witches ( if you like witches and vampires).
Since I’m dealing with a back injury movies are off the list. I have been mesmerized by the ken burns PBS series on WW2. Happy anniversary.