Favorite Product -- Breville Countertop Oven

Well, it's been awhile since we replaced our crummy toaster oven with a countertop oven, and we've put it through its paces enough to be able to heartily recommend it.

In fact, it's really become one of our very best purchases.

This is a photo of it in our kitchen, on top of an old microwave cart that holds all my cookbooks.

While toaster ovens are good for, well, toast, a countertop oven functions much like your regular oven.  But it does so without heating up your whole kitchen and with a much shorter pre-heating time.

Sure it's been great for pizzas, cookies, or our favorite, Crispy Crowns from Ore-Ida, but they're also great for baking chicken breasts, an 8X8" cake or whatever.

(It doesn't hurt having two ovens for the holidays, either!)

It's so nice to be able to bake without heating up the big oven, especially now that it's summer.  I don't hesitate to use the oven now, ya know?  Plus our wall oven runs a fan for, like, forever after we use it, and I don't miss hearing that at all.  LOL

We splurged and got the nicest one we could find:  the Breville Smart Oven, the top of the line with the light inside.  (From Amazon, of course.)  There are other models and other brands available, like KitchenAid.  But it should say it's a countertop oven, not a toaster oven.

I just thought I would share it with you in case you hadn't heard of it before, 'cause it was new to us and now we love it.

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥

p.s.  It also makes great toast!  LOL

Yarn Stash

XOXO

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Happy Memorial Day!

With gratitude.

XOXO

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Life in Tornado Alley

Yikes, that's a lot of red!

Red means severe weather!

I don't ever remember

seeing that many days in a row

with chances for severe weather!

We're halfway through...

As my favorite comedian says,

"Buckle up!"

May God give us calm winds

and gentle rains...

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

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Truth!

XOXO

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Quote of the Day

"Prayer should be your steering wheel,

not your spare tire."

XOXO

♥

Fragile Heart Shawl FO

In the knitting world, "FO" is short for "Finished Object".

Yes, I finally blocked and finished my Fragile Heart Shawl.  (pattern by Boo Knits)  I don't have a mannequin to pose it on, so this is the best I could do with what I have!

I knitted it with Cascade Kid Seta, in the color Imperial Purple.  It was a discontinued, therefore on sale, yarn that is what I call a Kidsilk Haze-clone:  a lace weight silk and mohair blend.

My favorite lace weight yarn has always been Rowan Kidsilk Haze, although Shibui's Silk Cloud is running a close second these days.  It is prettier in the skein, and knits up with less mohair halo.  (less fuzzy)  I just wish it came in more colors!

I finished knitted this shawl awhile back, but just now got to the task of blocking it.  <sigh>  I don't know why it seems like such a necessary evil..  Well, it is a chore, getting down on my hands and knees and pinning it all out!   But the magic is in the blocking, so you would think that would be enough motivation for me!  LOL

This is the second time that I've knitted this pattern.  I knitted it according to the pattern the first time, adding beads, and was sadly a bit disappointed that it was so small.  It ended up being a "shawlette", more of a neck-kerchief size.  I had wanted a shawl.

So I set about to remedy that.  I chose to knit the all-lace version this time (without beads), and when I came to the end of the pattern repeats, and just before you start the lace border, I tried it on.  Phooey, still not long enough.

So I knit another pattern repeat, tried it on, and so forth, until it hung right where I wanted it to be, imagining another 3 or so inches for the lace border.

And I really love it.  I wouldn't mind having one in every color of the rainbow!!  Why is life so short??  hahaha

It's the only pattern that I have knitted by Boo Knits, and there are so many to choose from, that I don't know if I will knit a 3^rd Fragile Heart.  But, who knows…?

Gosh, I love knitting lace!

XOXO,

Lucky Dog

♥