Acorn to Oak

Happy Birthday, Part II

2012-01-24T15:22:00.000-08:00

My 50th birthday celebration got a little bigger. It started out last week with a wonderful day of skiing with my husband and daughter. We continued the party on Sunday by spending a day in San Diego. We did a little shopping, dining, and even enjoyed a concert.

It was a sunny day and I enjoyed the hour drive down there and the chance to relax and crochet the whole way. We grabbed some yummy coffee drinks and spent a couple of hours at Ikea looking at their great stuff and being inspired. I love Ikea! We stayed for lunch and enjoyed their delicious Swedish meatball platters. Yum!

Next, we went to a bead and jewelery store/outlet that I heard about years ago and had been wanting to check out. They had so much stuff that it was a little overwhelming. But, I did find a little something that I wanted. A beautiful silver rose. It's about 2 1/4" wide with a pin on the back that works great as a shawl pin (I wore it with one of my shawls right after we left the store). It also has a loop that I plan to string a ribbon through and wear as a necklace. It's so pretty! I love it!

From there, we drove north to the town of Encinitas. It's one of our favorite places in San Diego and we spend a lot of time there. It's a beautiful little town with gorgeous beaches, beautiful weather and a great vibe. It's hard to explain. We just feel really good when we're there.

We walked around some little shops and had dinner at a fancy little Italian restaurant (I didn't notice the name). It was good! I had potato dumplings filled with spinach and ricotta and it was covered with a sage cream sauce. Yum! Hubby had butternut squash gnoccis with scallops, shrimp and some kind of tomato/cream sauce. It was really tasty! My daughter had penne with artichoke hearts and prosciutto. We enjoyed some delicious wines as well. It was a small, pretty restaurant with dim lighting and a comfortable feel. There was even a doggy laying on the floor next to one of the customers with his own little bowl of food. So cute.

One of the little treasures in town is the La Paloma Theatre. It's been around since 1928 and keeps on going. That's pretty special these days. It doesn't seem to have been remodeled or modernized. How it looks now seems to be how it's always been. It's like stepping back in time. It's a bit magical. We love to see shows there!

For years we've seen on the marque that George Winston performs there every January. We've talked about going but never got around to checking into it. This year, my husband surprised me with tickets. He bought them in November for my birthday. What a sweetheart! We were pretty lucky to get tickets because we heard it sold out pretty quickly.

We have some George Winston CD's that I love. I especially love listening to them when we go camping. His music is so happy, relaxing, and uplifting all at the same time. We were excited to see the man behind the sound. It turns out that he's a VERY quiet man...a man of very few words. But, he sure is talented. He even plays the guitar and the harmonica...verrry well!

We all had a very nice day! Turning 50 has been a little emotional but it's actually starting out pretty well! :-)

Souper Soup

2012-01-20T08:06:00.000-08:00

I made some soup last night that was super flavorful and delicious and surprisingly easy to make. I definitely want to make it again. So, I need to note what I used and how I did it. I'll do that here so I can share the recipe and easily pull it up whenever I want to use it. The inspiration came from a recipe my husband found online. I wrote down the ingredients I didn't have and went shopping. I found some of the ingredients but had to substitute others. When it came time to make it, I couldn't find where he'd saved the recipe. So, I winged it. Here's what I used and how I made it...

Ingredients

1-2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/2 small to medium onion finely chopped
olive oil
1 49 1/2 ounce can of chicken stock
1 28 ounce can of stewed tomatoes broken up (don't use the juice)
1 15 ounce can of kidney beans drained and rinsed (the original recipe called for canellini but I couldn't find any)
2 medium zucchini quartered lengthwise and sliced into pieces
1 bunch of Swiss chard sliced lengthwise and then into strips (the recipe called for
collards but I couldn't find these either)
Fresh Basil finely chopped (I used a frozen cube of it I had made from my summer basil plants)
Parmesan Cheese finely grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat a large pan on medium high, add few tablespoons of olive oil and the onion and cook until almost caramelized, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and cook for a minute or so for the flavors to bloom and mellow but don't let it brown. Stir in the chicken stock. Add and stir in the tomatoes, kidney beans, zucchini, Swiss chard, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle and stir in some Parmesan cheese, a little at a time so it doesn't clump, maybe a quarter cup or more. Serve hot with freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top. Enjoy!

I'm not sure if I used all the ingredients that were in the original recipe, how many things I changed or how different my amounts were. I know the original called for prosciutto but I left that out. We were amazed at how flavorful and delicious this soup was. I wanted to just keep eating and eating but it was very filling. I'll definitely make it again and probably soon. If you try it, let me know what you think or what changes you make. Enjoy!

Kool Kolors

2012-01-19T16:30:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter and I decided to play around with some Kool Aid and yarn. We divided an eight ounce skein of Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool yarn into two skeins and got started.

I wanted a solid blue yarn. My daughter decided to go for multi colored yarn. She mixed colors in three different jars, yellow, green and blue/green and set them into a large pot of water. Each color was customized by mixing various flavors. She carefully placed sections of the yarn into the jars. She dipped the in-between sections into color for short periods of time and moved it around to give gradual change to the colors and avoid white sections.

We cooked our yarn until all the color was gone and then a little longer to set it. We then turned the stove off and let our yarn skeins cool before washing and rinsing them. Sudden temperature changes could lead to felting and we wanted to avoid that. It's so cool how all the color gets absorbed into the yarn. I'm not sure why the water becomes white/milky though.

I had planned to make a darker, more denim type of blue but wasn't able to find the flavor I needed. This turquoise is very pretty though.

My daughter's yarn turned out gorgeous! She had so much fun and was so excited to see that it turned out exactly as she had hoped.

Such pretty colors...

We just couldn't stop taking pictures of it...

Even Duchess likes it...well...maybe not the colors, but she liked how it moved as we wound it into a ball.

Gorgeous!

We can see how dying yarn could be addicting! We're already thinking of more colors and combinations we want to try. Kool!

Ups, Downs and Moving Forward

2012-01-19T14:56:00.000-08:00

Life was so crazy last year! I don't know how to describe it except for full, busy, big celebrations, changes, lots of family gatherings, and loss. A lot of loss. I was so ready for the new year and a fresh start. One of my biggest hopes was for everyone to stay healthy and that we would see no more loss in my family for a long time.

I lost three uncles and a cousin in about a year. That was too much. Then, my uncle Jim went into the hospital just after Thanksgiving. It was such a roller coaster of almost losing him several times and improvement and then back downhill. I spent many hours on the phone trying to keep relatives informed of his progress and changes that were taking place on a daily basis. Christmas came and went and then we entered the new year. He seemed to be doing better. In fact, he had moved to a nursing home and was sitting up, eating and even had a haircut just hours before his body shut down and he passed away.

So much sadness. But, in sadness there are always blessings and I've been trying to keep my mind on those. Like, the opportunity to spend more time with cousins I so rarely saw for many years while we raised our families. Getting to know them and their kids more has been wonderful. We're hoping that the next time we all get together it will be under MUCH happier circumstances.

Christmas was squeezed in there somehow and we made it through. Whew! Weirdest one yet! We never even decorated the Christmas tree. My husband and daughter put it up. Hubby put the lights on it. One strand of lights went out and my daughter fixed it. But, it never got decorated. Well...until a day or so before Christmas when I decided to set the Christmas cards in the branches. Not bad! It actually looked kind of nice. Few decorations sure made for easy clean up!

Then, my birthday was coming up. And, not any birthday. It was the big 50! Yikes! I've been emotional and grumpy and feeling the need to make lots of changes. Maybe it's that mid life crisis thing I've heard about. I've been thinking of things I've done, things I haven't, things I want to do or should do, changes I want to make, and where I want to go from here.

My husband and I talked for many months about doing something big for my birthday. We had thought about going to Utah, Mammoth, Tahoe, Wyoming...somewhere new, far and fun for a ski vacation. But, we never decided on anything. It's a good thing because many ski resorts don't have much snow right now. So, we went to our local mountains to ski at Snow Summit in Big Bear. It turned out to be a great day! Snow Summit actually has some of the better conditions of many resorts right now and the day couldn't have been more perfect. The weather was clear, sunny and in the 40's. The snow was great! And, there was hardly anyone there that day. We had a great time. It was not only thrilling to be skiing at 50 (gee, that sounds weird!) but, also, to be skiing better than ever. Yee Haa! My hope is that I'll still be doing this at 80...and beyond!

Even though skiing on my birthday was great and I spent it with my two favorite people in the world, hubby and daughter, I was teary eyed at the end of the day. I think I had built up my expectations of this big day to something that I'm not even sure what it would have looked like. I just know that a normal ski day and the lousy restaurant we ate at wasn't it.

Maybe I was just emotional over the number. I still feel so young and even though I want to grow old, very old, I'm not ready for these bigger numbers. I wasn't prepared to see the wrinkles on my face the day before my birthday that I'd never seen before. I keep reminding myself of all the people I've seen on Oprah over the years who said life just keeps getting better and better. They're right, it does. It's just so much that comes with it that I want to do without. Seeing my aging relatives and what they're going through is hard. Losing them is hard. Knowing that someday this amazing life will end is hard. It brings tears to my eyes to think about the little girl I was is now 50. I'm hoping I'll start feeling better about this number and soon!

Maybe I'll just tell myself that 50 is the new 30...is that how it would go? I won't stand too close to the mirror...that way I won't see the wrinkles. I'll keep a smile on my face, my feet moving, my mind dreaming, and keep moving forward. Everyone seems to be healthy right now and we'll hope it stays that way for a long time. Because....I'm ready for a fabulous 2012!!!

I've been cleaning out cupboards and closets, rearranging, getting ready to redecorate parts of the house, and planning new projects. Trying to look at things from different angles and in different ways. I've even applied to go back to school! Yikes! I'm not even totally sure what I want to be when I grow up! I've been so many things but haven't found "it". But, I'll keep looking and trying new things. I just don't want to get to the end of my life and regret anything. I want to live my life to the fullest!

Here's to life, a great year, great health, dreams and moving forward!

P.S. Ok...everyone's entitled to a little wine now and then...mine's just spelled a little different in this post..."whine". If you made it through the whole post...thanks for stopping by, staying a while, and for your support. Everyone needs friends...even in blogland. Cheers! :-) I promise that the next post will be a LOT more fun!

Cursed

2012-01-04T15:53:00.000-08:00

I'm so frustrated right now. I've been trying to finish a vest that I started a year and a half ago. The pattern is cute and is suppose to be easy. It started off great. I knitted the front, the back, seamed the shoulders, picked up stitches for ribbing on the v-neck and was almost finished with that when I noticed a little hole at each shoulder. Wanting to know what I had done wrong so I could fix it or, at least, not make the same mistake on the next one, I asked some sweater knitters at a yarn shop for advice. They told me not to worry about it and to just make a little stitch on the inside to close up each of the two little holes. Not satisfied, because I really wanted to learn how to do it right, I set out to fix it myself. I ended up making it worse...a lot worse. I put it in time-out!

The next time I worked on it, I ripped out the ribbing, part of the back and one shoulder, knitted back up, seamed the shoulder back and started working on the v-neck ribbing again. This time, the ribbing at the bottom of the "V" wasn't working out. I tinked back trying to fix it when part of the front started raveling out near the "V" and made a big hole. It was ravelling out where I had added new yarn to knit that side but failed to tie it off to prevent this kind of problem. I learned my lesson on that but I had no idea how to fix it other than ripping AGAIN! Ugh! Frustrated, I put it in time-out, again.

Now, as I'm trying to get it back to the point of seaming the shoulder again so I can do the ribbing, it's so messed up that I don't even know what to do. It seems like I may have made a mistake on the armhole of the other side. Plus, it's turning out too long before I decrease to the 18 stitches I'm suppose to have. Does all of this sound confusing? That's probably because I'm really confused at this point.

I could just rip the front out again, down to the "V" and try one more time. I'm just afraid that I could do all that only to have problems with the ribbing again. Maybe this project is just cursed or not meant to be and the best thing to do is to rip it all out, wind the yarn into balls, and choose another project. I feel like crying! I really wanted this vest!

To rip or not to rip...that is the question. What should I do?

Delightful Doilies

2012-01-02T09:00:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to share that all of the gifts I made and gave this Christmas were hits. Everyone seems to love them. That always feels great! I enjoyed making them and I like that some of them helped me do a little de-stashing of fabric and yarn.

These three doilies were no exception. I used yarn from my stash for all of them.

I used patterns from booklets I had for thread crochet doilies. They worked great with larger yarn and larger hooks. I made a few modifications to this one to eliminate some of the bulky texture of clusters and to make it so I could complete it with one, 120 yard ball of yarn. If I make this one again, I'll use an "H" hook instead of an "I" so it will be a little tighter. But, it turned out pretty. Not sure what happened to this photo. It looks a little squashed. I don't remember it looking like that. Maybe I goofed a little in my blocking. Ooops! But, the recipient loved it and had plans right away of where she was going to put it.

I forgot to measure them but I think they all turned out to be about 12"-14" wide/across. I like the pattern I used on the next two. It's a little more frilly and didn't need much modification. This white one was made with about 107 yards of KoolSpun Cotton. I liked working with this yarn. It was softer than Sugar N Cream.

This red one was made with a 120 yard ball of Sugar N Cream. The person I'm giving this one to hasn't gotten it yet. But, I have a feeling she'll love it because red is her favorite color. I can picture it in her kitchen that has so many other red things in it.

That makes three happy people...plus me. And, that's three less balls of yarn in my stash.

Coral Cables

2011-12-31T16:15:00.000-08:00

I knitted a pair of leg warmers a few weeks ago and I love them! They've been keeping my legs toasty warm. They only took half the skein of yarn I hand dyed with Kool Aid. That left plenty for another pair and I quickly got started. I worked on them just about every chance I could, in between making Christmas gifts, the holiday activities, and busy-ness of life. I finished them yesterday morning.

I found the pattern on Ravelry and it's free. It's called "Waterlily Leg Warmers". It calls for the use of three different sizes of double point needles, 7, 8 and 9. However, I knitted the last pair with fives and they fit my skinny legs perfectly. So, I read through the project notes of other Ravelers and decided to stick with fives on this pair too. They're a little snug compared to the last pair but not tight. That should prevent them from slipping down.

The pattern was simple, easy to memorize and fun to knit.

I really enjoyed knitting with yarn I had dyed myself. I really like the variation in color. It's so pretty! The Lyon Brand Fisherman's Wool is a little itchy but it's perfect for this project because I wear them over knee socks to prevent that. It's not super wash but I tend to hand wash a lot of my handmade items. I'll just be a little extra gentle on these.

Needle Cozy

2011-12-30T16:04:00.000-08:00

A very good friend of mine started learning to knit and weave a couple of years ago. She's doing great at both. Well, as all knitters know, the ever growing collection of needles eventually need a place to stay where they can be all together, organized, and safe. Yarn shops don't always carry needle cases. When they do, they tend to be a little pricey and usually not very pretty. I made one for myself a few years ago and I love it! So, I thought, what better gift this Christmas than to make a needle case for her.

An added bonus to this project was that I did a little de-stashing from those bulging fabric bins. I only had to buy one extra fat quarter and was lucky enough to find the right one. I used a total of four fat quarters, left over black fabric and some left over fleece as the batting inside. I even had thread to match. I love these colors and prints.

I used the fat quarters as my guide for how large I was going to make it. I just trimmed them up to square off the edges. I used one fat quarter for the outside; one for the inside; one the two levels of pockets with black fabric inside the pockets to make it so I didn't need another fat quarter; fleece on the inside; and one more fat quarter for the binding.

The stripes made it easy to keep my seams straight for the pockets. I alternated the top row pockets with the bottom row to help the needles fit better when the case is all rolled up. The case is a perfect fit for 9" and 10" needles with a flap that folds over to secure them when the case is rolled up. However, 14" needles can also be stored in it. The top flap just won't fold over quite as far. It even holds her circulars! Yay!

Flap down...

Rolled up and tied...

All her needles are safe and sound and all in one place.

And, she loved it! :-)

Simple Things Mean So Much

2011-12-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

I gave my mom the quilt today and she loved it! She even got a little choked up. I didn't expect that. But, we've had a tough year with the loss of three uncles, a cousin (her nephew,) and her brother has been in the hospital for weeks. When things like that happen, we tend to look at life a little differently, family means more and so do the little things...like a kitty quilt. My dad's eyes watered up when he opened the gift I gave to him. It was a picture frame with three pictures from a recent visit from his sister which I just found last year after losing contact for decades. It was a good Christmas!

Kitty Quilt

2011-12-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, my parents decided to give up the RV lifestyle they'd lived for over 10 years and move back into a house. They needed to furnish their new home and I helped out by giving them an antique bedroom set that I had leftover from transforming our guest room into a craft studio. That meant I needed to empty out a dresser full of fabric. I loaded it all into plastic storage bins and was determined to keep it to three. But, they were a little bulgy...

There wasn't anything I wanted to get rid of. So, I needed to do some stash busting. The bulgy bins were just what I needed to finally get the inspiration to do something with some quilt squares my mom had made and given to me years ago. Since she had put time and effort into making them, she must have liked them. So, what about using them to make her a Christmas gift? Seemed like a good idea to me. There were 16 cat blocks, a little pattern book and a bag of buttons for eyes.

I went through my stash to try and find coordinating fabrics to finish it but had no luck. The fabrics were from the 80's and that made it challenging to find colors that worked. I ended up buying a solid blue that matched a blue in most of the cats. I used it to outline the blocks. I also bought some cute green print fabric from a local quilt shop that I had planned to use for a border. But, by the time I had put all the blocks together, it was so large that I didn't need a border. It would have looked adorable on the back with the leftover kitty block in the center but I didn't buy enough.

I found a thick, furry fabric that I used for the backing and batting all in one. It was wide enough that I didn't even need to piece it! I tied the layers together with white crochet cotton and bound the quilt with more blue fabric. The furry fabric feels really nice and it looks good too. I think this quilt will be nice for her to curl up with on the sofa in chilly weather. It's soft and cozy.

It's all folded up and ready for wrapping. I hope she likes it!

My fabric stash didn't go down with this project because the cat blocks were replaced with green print fabric and a little leftover fur. But, hey, I tried. And, I'm not giving up just yet. I have fabric for a couple of quilts and some garments that I'm anxious to get started on. I wonder if finishing those will lessen the stash enough to close those bins? At least, those kitties won't be staring at me anymore when I look through my stash!

Warm and Toasty

2011-12-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

I just finished up the leg warmers that I talked about in my last post. Yay! It's been cold here lately. I think they're going to get a lot of use.

I used less than half the ball of Fishermen's Wool. So, that means it took less than 230 yards to make these. I still have a little bit of yarn on the one ball I used to knit these. And, I'm happy to report that my pull skein worked fabulously! :-)

Ball Winding for a Toasty Project

2011-12-07T07:00:00.000-08:00

Whenever I pack to go on a trip, yarn projects are high on the list of importance. I take projects in progress; spend hours looking through patterns on Ravelry and in the patterns I have in books and notebooks; dig through my stash; and always, always, bring way more than I could possibly finish or even work on. It's almost like I think vacation will give me endless time and super fast ability to accomplish way more than is humanly possible in a very short amount of time. It's a nice dream!

This vacation was no exception. I took my troublesome vest project that I started on a couple years ago, put in time out over and over, and have been trying hard to finish the past couple weeks but keeps giving me trouble. I took a sock project I started a couple of months ago. I took a few small leftover balls of yarn, needles and the pattern for ruffled wine bottle cozies. I took an old shawl project. And, I threw in the yarn I dyed earlier this year, along with needles and patterns for leg warmers. There may have been more, but that's what I remember packing. This was only a five day trip!

The night before we left, I did some quick searches and video watching on how to wind center-pull balls of yarn by hand. Many of the videos used a nostepinne but others said I didn't really need one. It seemed that wooden spoons, cardboard toilet paper rolls, and other things would also work just fine. I have some fat knitting needles and figured one of those would work. So, I threw it in too.

Halfway through our drive to Utah, in the middle of the afternoon and the middle of the desert, I got started. I untwisted one skein of my hand dyed yarn and draped it over my knees, got out my big, fat knitting needle, and got started. Please excuse the poor quality photos. Many of them were taken with my cell phone.

It wasn't a "cake" shaped ball like I would get from my hand-crank ball winder but it was turning out just fine and I was having fun.

When I was all done winding, I slid it off the needle and...Ta Da....I did it! A pull skein!

On the way home, I started winding the second skein of yarn. Looking good!

However, this perfect look was verrrry time consuming. So, when I got home, I watched another video and started over. The next try was turning out well but equally time consuming. I ended up just winding a round ball because it's faster.

Here it is. Not as pretty, but it should (hopefully) work just as well.

That big bag of projects?...the only things I did was wind balls, and start on a pair of leg warmers. But, I had a lot of fun.

Here's the first leg warmer...

I'm using a free pattern from Ravelry called, "Les Cables de Faux" and size 5 double point needles. I started out making the small size but it was huge! So, I re-cast on with 50 stitches and it turned out perfect. It stays up and doesn't slip down. They can be made larger or smaller in multiples of 5. They're pretty easy. I just have to keep track of which row I'm on in the eight row repeat.

I took the advice of another Raveler and changed row 7 to: P2, K1, YO, K2TogTBL. Basically, the only difference is the last stitch. The K2TogTBL replaces SL1, K1, PSSO. It's much easier, quicker, and more fun but it yields the same results.

When I tried on the first one, it was toasty warm. I'm anxious to finish the second one so I can wear them. The weather has been quite chilly lately.

Salsa Dancing in the Leaves

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving trip to Zion included my whole family...my hubby, my daughter and...yes...our dog, Salsa, and cat, Duchess. They love to go bye-bye as much as we do. The cat enjoys lounging in the backseat with my daughter as we travel. After arrival, Duchess lounges around under cozy blankets and takes in the view through the trailer windows. Salsa is happy to go anywhere. We just say "wanna go bye-bye?" and she's up and ready to go. Even when it's the vet! Lucky for her, this was a much better trip. It included lots of extra time with us and more walks than usual. She was an extra happy girl!

Zion had something she loves....LEAVES! She likes it when we kick them or toss them up in the air. Yippee!

Dance for joy!

Leap into the air and catch the leaves! Wooohooo!

She got to wear her new little red coat for those chilly morning walks. Hubby puts up with the coat. At least it's not a frilly pink dress or something! I like that she seems to enjoy wearing it and it keeps her warm. We kept her long and shaggy for this trip so she could stay warmer. But, she quickly went to the doggy groomer for a haircut when we got back. She's now back to her trim, stylish and beautiful self. I should have taken a picture of her new "do" but we've been so busy snuggling with her clean and velvety soft self and we haven't taken the time. What a cutie and sweetheart she is! We love our Salsa! :-D

Fall in Zion

2011-12-05T09:27:00.000-08:00

The vibrant colors in Zion National Park during Thanksgiving week were incredible and one of the highlights of our visit. We weren't sure if we were going to miss the colors since we were going so late in the Autumn season. So, imagine our surprise and delight after our night time arrival and waking up in the morning to colors like these...

As the breezes blew, the trees whispered those peaceful whoooshing sounds and leaves gently fell to the ground like giant snowflakes. They decorated the landscape, in the trees and on the ground. Zion was even more beautiful with all the extra color and magic of the leaves.

The bright yellows were so pretty with splashes of other colors...like orange! I love this scene at the visitor center with the colorful trees and the American Flag...

Breathtakingly, vibrant and beautiful color! I love, love, love it!

We just couldn't stop taking photos. I took over 550 and I think my daughter took at least that many.

A lemony yellow tree with a black, water stained, sandstone wall behind it...

Intense oranges...

Even the lichen was getting in on the fun...

Every step along the trails was filled with color and beauty. Check out the pinks...

How about some yellow lace?!...

The color combinations were fun to see and I imagined them in yarn! The greens, golds and tans on this part of the trail were pretty...

Oooohh....more red!...

Soo pretty!...

The colors weren't the only star of the show. The textures and shapes are beautiful too! Like these oak leaves on super fine, soft sand...

There were even a few flowers here and there. I saw some tiny purple ones and these little yellow ones...

There was even a little greenery like these ferns tucked into moist little crevices of the rocks...

Living in Southern California doesn't provide the huge amount of Fall color that Zion and other parts of the country usually see. So, this was a real treat. We have more color this Fall than usual but nothing like what we saw in Zion.

I think it's interesting that as much of the country's leaves are turning colors, dropping off and the landscapes are turning brown...and white with snow, my part of the country is turning green as the rains water the brown landscape and seeds begin to sprout. In the Spring, as our green landscape will die back to brown, much of the country will turn from brown to green. I love how nature gives us constantly changing beauty and such wonderful surprises when we take the time to look. Nature is AWESOME!

Just Curious

2011-12-05T08:59:00.000-08:00

The number of hits to my blog are at an all time high. And, I have more followers. I love that! But, the amount of comments I recieve seems to down. I'm not quite sure why that is. Something that really has me curious is a regular visitor from Mountain View, California. They visit often and seem to only visit my old posts. I'm not sure if they've ever left a comment. I'd sure like to hear from them and about what keeps bringing them back so often...sometimes daily and sometimes more than once a day. I love blogging, but, to be honest, if it weren't for comments, I'd probably stop doing it. They mean a lot. Even though I'm getting lots of hits, the comments show me that I'm not just talking to myself. I love hearing what readers think of what I say and pictures I post. I love getting feedback. And, I just plain love hearing from you. Thanks for visiting! :-)

Hiking Upper Zion

2011-12-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

One of the things we looked forward to most on our Thanksgiving trip to Zion was hiking. We hiked every day that we were there. A lot of it was done in the upper areas of the park. We drove up to and through the Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel to the higher elevations. From there, we followed directions we'd found on the internet for various hikes.

The weather was perfect...sunny, cool but warm enough to wear short sleeves and sometimes a light jacket, and the sky was always changing. Sometimes whispy clouds would pass through, making beautiful patterns in the sky...

At other times, the sky was so incredibly blue that it was almost neon!...

The ever changing landscape and views were incredibly HUGE...

And, beautiful...

We hiked over solid rock hills and big boulders...

And, through fine, super soft, beautiful, amazing feeling sand.

We saw some weird rocks like this one with dips, lines and bumps...

And, this imprint-like spot that looked like something on the rock but it was actually part of the rock. We couldn't figure it out...

Our favorite hike of this whole trip was called "Many Pools". When I saw pictures of it online, I was fascinated and wanted to go. It didn't disappoint! It was fun, amazing, and beautiful!

The trail was almost totally on solid sandstone rock which provides a nice grippy surface, making it easy to walk on, and to go up steep surfaces. The trail followed the path water takes when it drains over and down the sandstone mountain. It's dotted with pools of water like this...

The pools were in all sorts of shapes.

Most were small...

Some were large. This one was like a bathtub...but dry...

Every few steps and every turn had new, beautiful and amazing sites. We took sooo many pictures!

I love the reflection in this one...

Some were deep...

Or, sprinkled with tiny golden leaves...

This one was larger and had an interesting texture on the bottom. It looked deep and the water color was different than the rest...

We kept imagining what the area would look like during or after heavy rains. It would be fun to see all the pools full. Of course, we wouldn't actually dive into one, they're too small, but my daughter thought it would make for a funny photo...

We later realized that if we had gone just a little further, we would have gotten a view of the main part of Zion Canyon from the top. Oh well, next time! But, where we decided to turn around was gorgeous...

We spent some time there just soaking in the views, the silence, and the peacefullness. In this picture, my husband and I are lounging on the rock. Ahhhh...

The views going down were just as spectacular...

At the bottom, we found the bridge/tunnel we were supposed to cross through at the start...

It was built in the 1930's and made out of Sandstone from the area.

The other side opened up to beautiful fall colors...

While we were at the top, we hiked the short Canyon Overlook trail that looked down into the canyon where the Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel takes off from. There were steep sections; railing in some parts where it dropped off to sheer cliffs; and even a little walkway that took us around a rock, under an overhanging rock, and over a deep ravine...

It probably wasn't the best time of day for pictures but the views were spectacular...

We did the overlook hike on Thanksgiving afternoon. We brought hiking snacks appropriate for the day. We had pumpkin pie Cliff Bars and dried cranberries. We had planned to get some turkey jerkey but forgot when we were at the store. It was a fun idea but the pumpkin energy bars weren't very good and didn't taste anything like pumpkin pie.

At the end of our hike, we went back through the tunnel. Here's a view of it from just above the road...

From the other side, down inside the canyon, you can look up to see the vents/windows in the tunnel that we drove by when we were inside. There's one in this photo, it's the dark arch near the bottom. It's incredible that they were able to do this. And, that they built it in the 1920's or so.

Above this arch and on the top right of the rock is where we were standing when we looked down into the canyon...

The size of the rocks is incredible. And, even though we were looking at them everyday that we were there, and could compare them to the size of large trees and other things around, it's still hard to totally comprehend their immenseness.

If you look carefully near the bottom of this photo (you can click on it to make it larger), you can see a small blue dot. That's a man climbing!

The views in Zion are constantly changing as the sun moves across the sky. The orange glow in the late afternoon is especially pretty and drew small crowds of visitors every afternoon in some of the best sunset viewing locations. It made for an extra pretty drive back down the canyon...

What a wonderful day we had! The scenery was incredible, the wildlife (BigHorn Sheep...see the previous post) was so cool, and the time with my husband and daughter, priceless!

At the end of the day, we went back for showers, clean clothes, cooked a yummy Thanksgiving dinner, and enjoyed a relaxing night in our cozy warm trailer.

More photos and stories coming soon from our Thanksgiving, Zion adventure. I hope you'll come back. :-)

Thanks for stopping by. Be sure to say "hi" and leave a comment before you leave. They are always so appreciated. :-)

Wildlife in Zion

2011-11-29T15:55:00.000-08:00

As we neared Zion National Park last week, at night, I mentioned to my husband that we should probably watch for deer. He was thinking the same thing. A couple of curves in the road later, there was a deer with huge antlers standing on the side of the road. We carefully, and slowly tried to drive past him. But, he decided to run alongside us instead. As he did, we kept wondering what he was going to do next...dart in front of us, or ? Luckily, he eventually decided to head back into the woods. That was just the beginning of a "wild" week.

We saw more deer last week than we've ever seen anywhere. It was amazing! They were crossing the roads...

Walking alongside roads...

They were walking along trails, and they were getting lots of lots of photos taken of them. Click on this picture to get a better view of this deer's antlers!...

We even saw some of them snorting and fighting in the woods. This one ran right toward me and then quickly made a left turn back into the woods. Whew!

They looked very healthy. Their fur looked great and they looked like they've been eating very well...

And, some were very fluffy. Click on this photo to enlarge it and see how fluffy their ears are...So cute!

We even saw deer tracks on our hikes...

There were two days that we went through the Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel to hike in some of the higher elevations of Zion. Up there, we were lucky enough to see Bighorn Sheep. They were hanging out near the first two parking areas on both days. Another Zion visitor told us that he had talked with a ranger that week who told him the Bighorn Sheep were recently re-introduced to the area and that there are very few in the park. So, the ones we were watching were very rare and could have been the only ones in the park.

On the first day, there was a small herd that wanted to cross the road. Unfortunately, for them, there were people standing around watching and taking their pictures. That made it a little scary for them. But, it sure was great for all of us to be able to see them.

Eventually, they all decided to make a run for it but only one was brave enough to cross all the way...

The others ran back up on the rocks and kept looking at us, the road, and the other side.

And, they stared across the road at the brave one who made it...

Here he is, staring back at them and probably wondering why he's on that side and they aren't...

They wandered around for a while and eventually seemed to relax a little.

They grabbed some snacks along the way...

They're looking pretty healthy too!

This one settled down on a rock above the parking area and chewed. If you click to enlarge the picture, you can see the lump of food in it's cheek...

At the end of both afternoons that we saw them, they stood at the top of a rock hill with the light behind them. That made for some great silhouettes...

Late afternoon and evening brought out another kind of wildlife in the park...Turkeys! They were eating alongside the road. There were about 14 in this group. They all looked like hens until we got a little closer and one puffed up his feathers. It's Tom! I guess he did that to look big and scary to protect his girls. It worked...I wasn't about to go near him. He was huge!

The hens were kind of pretty.

Tom, on the other hand, has beautiful feathers but he sure lacks good looks on his head! Eeeek!

It sure was cool to see them. I had just seen a wild Tom Turkey on another blog the week before our trip and was amazed. Now, I've seen some in real life.

The only other wildlife we saw was a few birds, a couple of bees, and some tiny fish. We think most of the birds must have left for the Winter. The lizards, snakes, squirrels and all the rest must have started hibernating.

Come back tomorrow for more pictures and stories from our Thanksgiving week in Zion.

Thanksgiving in Zion

2011-11-29T08:47:00.000-08:00

We did it! We finally got away over Thanksgiving weekend! We've been thinking of doing that for years and finally made it happen. We were lucky enough to find an available campsite to reserve in Zion National Park. It even had electric hook-ups. We packed our trailer, hitched up, and headed out early Tuesday morning for our five night/six day Utah adventure! Woo hoo!

We arrived just before 9:00 p.m. and set up in the dark. What a beautiful night! It was crispy cold, there were zillions of stars, and the Autumn leaves were gently falling like snow. So pretty! But...that was just the start. The next morning, we opened the window shade by our bed and saw this...

What an awesome view into Zion Canyon and the trees were bright yellow. So pretty!

What a great campsite! Those towering rocks and beautiful Fall colors were all around us and the ground was covered in leaves. Wonderful!

We went for morning walks and soaked up the beauty all around us.

The Virgin River flowed alongside the campground. The sound of the water with the leaves blowing in the breeze was soothing and peaceful. On the other side of the river were a few cottages and inns. Behind one of them was a chair, sitting next to the water. What a wonderful place to sit! I can imagine spending hours and hours there relaxing and knitting.

The night time temperatures were pretty cold. We were very glad we had electric hook ups so we could use the heater in our trailer to stay toasty warm. A couple of mornings were frosty. We get frost at home but we don't have leaves on the ground. The combination was so pretty...even magical!

This is frost on a fence along the river. The crystals are so big!

It looks fuzzy.

The night time temps got down into the teens. However, the daytime temps were pretty nice, 50's to 60's. It was sunny most of the week with just a few clouds floating through. It was perfect for hiking. One of the afternoons was in the mid 60's and perfect for sitting outside, relaxing, reading, and knitting.

Then, there were the incredible sunsets that I love so much in Zion.

The colors are so intense and amazing!

Zion is one of my favorite places to visit. Up until now, I had only been there in the summer...which is incredibly fun!...but, combined with the fall colors, lots of wildlife, and temps that allowed for hikes we can't do during the summer, it made for a totally different experience. To say that it was amazing and beautiful would be an understatement. I took over 500 photos and couldn't capture it. But, I did my best. I've been sorting through them and plan to share more over the next few days. I hope you'll come back. :-)

Color!

2011-11-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

I finished my shawl! My doggy, Salsa, approves.

My husband and I escaped to the beach in Carlsbad (San Diego) for the weekend. I finished it while we were there and spread it out on our RV sofa to get a good look at it and take a couple of pictures. Salsa has her new jacket on because it was pretty chilly that day.

I found the pattern on Ravelry. It's called "Country Cotton Shawl". It's free from Lion Brand. I used a size "H" crochet hook and five skeins of "Serenity Garden" yarn to make it. It turned out really big, just as I had hoped.

The yarn is synthetic but it feels really soft...kind of like bamboo and/or cotton. The shawl drapes really well and it has a nice weight to it. I really like it.

It's one more shawl for my growing collection. This one will go with so many things because of all the colors in it.

I like to wear my shawls in different ways, depending on how I feel, the weather, and what I'm wearing it with. Sometimes I even use a shawl pin.

The shell edges in the pattern were a little flat. So, I made some adjustments to give mine a little more shape. Instead of five double crochets, I did three double crochets, a treble, and three double crochets, for a total of seven stitches in each one. This made them fuller and taller/more round. This is the first time I've crocheted an edge all the way around a shawl. Usually, I just do the bottom two sides. It wasn't fun figuring out the spacing on the top edge, but I do love having that cute little scallop all the way around.

I enjoyed every inch of color that slipped through my fingers as I stitched this shawl. Color makes me happy!

The beach makes me happy too. Although, it was a bit chilly and stormy when we got there.

But, Saturday was beautiful! The sun was shining most of the day and we even had a beautiful sunset. More color!

P.S. Thank you to everyone who left such nice comments on my last post about being happy. I truly appreciate every one of them. It means a lot to me and helps to cheer me up. If I didn't write back to you with an email, it was because there was a "no reply" on your comment and no email address to write back. But, please know that I really appreciate you taking time to leave me a message and for your kind words and thoughts. :-)

Happy

2011-10-31T15:01:00.000-07:00

That's what I'm striving for right now...happy. Life's been crazy busy this year and it's mostly been good. But, after the passing of one of my uncles a couple weeks ago...which makes three uncles in one year...I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I'm generally an upbeat, happy person. But, I'm feeling a bit blue and trying hard to beat it. We have a couple of get-aways planned. I'm looking forward to that. I've also been working out and doing yoga at a gym we joined a few weeks ago. That's helpful. And, I'm playing with some bright, happy colors that I purchased a couple of weeks ago...

Just watching the gorgeous, rich colors pass through my fingers and past my eyes as I work on this project is therapy in itself.

I saw this Deborah Norville, "Serenity Garden" yarn about a year ago and instantly fell in love with it. The colors are gorgeous and it feels really nice. I kept putting off buying some because I was trying to work through my stash. I realized that might have been a mistake when I didn't see it in the stores anymore. Uh oh! Luckily, it came back...and it was on sale! Two skeins for only $5! It's synthetic but it's lovely, easy care, and there's 185 yards in a skein. I bought five skeins for this shawl project, a couple of skeins (all that was left) of a beautiful, variegated blue for weaving, and some other gorgeous yarns. I hit the yarn jackpot that day! It didn't help with de-stashing but the color, relaxation, and the finished projects might just help with the happy.

Fiber Fiesta

2011-10-18T08:59:00.000-07:00

I love living in Southern California and I love fiber arts. However, fiber events seem to be scarce here. In the rare event that we do have a fiber event and I find out about it, I try to go. One of those rare fiber events occurred about a week ago at the Antique Gas and Steam Engine Museum in Vista, California. It was called the Vista Fiber Arts Fiesta and admission and parking were free.

The event was small but there was a variety of things available for sale...fiber and roving, yarn, tools, jewelry, clothing, bags, etc.

The weather was sunny and quite warm. It was a good thing most of the vendors had shade covers.

Unfortunately, this vendor didn't have a shade cover and they got pretty hot and sun burned. But, the yarns did look pretty in the sun.

These caught my eye. They hold scraps of yarn that birds can use to build their nests.

This was my favorite booth. They had wood tools and triangle looms. I've been fascinated with triangle looms for a while and it was a lot of fun to finally see how they work. I just couldn't justify spending a couple hundred dollars on one though because I reallllly don't need more shawls and I'm not sure I'd like to wear or even give away the style you make with these. But, they sure look fun to weave!

This booth would have been hard to miss. The vibrant color of these silk cocoons really stood out.

Aren't they gorgeous?! I think the vendor said she dyes them herself.

She even showed me some silk worms. I thought this was fascinating. She was so nice to answer my questions...like...what do they eat? She said they like mulberry leaves but since she doesn't have any, she gets them "mulberry chow". Who knew there was such a thing?!

Here they are a little closer.

There were a few alpacas. So cute!

There is a "Weavers Barn" on the property with over 50 looms that weavers use on a regular basis.

It was interesting to see the many kinds of looms they have.

This sure is a long loop of pattern bars on this dobby loom!

Here's a peek, looking up and inside the same dobby loom.

I was amazed at how many looms they have. This is looking from the back of the barn looking toward the front.

They even have a collection of spinning wheels perched above some colorful handwoven items on display.

Many of the looms were warped and had projects on them. I really like this one...

They even had looms outside!

There was an area to gather for spinning. I even brought my wheel. Unfortunately, the spinning area was mostly in the sun and it was quite hot. So, I passed on that.

I'm not sure if they had any food or drinks available but it sure would have been nice. They had live music...

It was pretty hot that day and I didn't stay very long. But, I did wander around a bit to see some of the other things at the museum before I left. They have a lot of old and interesting steam engines...

Tractors...

Buildings and little gardens...

Old signs...

A big windmill...so pretty against the blue sky.

There was even a gem and rock event going on in another building. It was also free.

Of course, since this was a fiber event, I had to wear my sheep shoes!

Lil' Honey Bee

2011-10-11T08:07:00.001-07:00

My daughter has a blog and has posted some of the cool stuff she's made. Check it out. It's called "Lil Honey Bee". Be sure to scroll down to see the red dress she sewed and the leather wallet she made. Don't forget to leave a comment. They always mean so much to us bloggers. :-)

Pebble Pouch

2011-10-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday afternoon was spent by the sea. Ahhh...one of my favorite places to be. We dropped my in-laws off at the port in San Diego for their two week Hawaiian cruise. Then, we headed north along the coast to Cardiff for a wonderful lunch right across the highway from the ocean at Los Olas restaurant. It was one of those meals that everything was perfect...the company of my husband and daughter, the weather was sunny and warm but not hot, the breeze was just right, we had a table on the patio that we could look at the ocean while we ate, and the food was out-of-this-world delicious! After we ate, we drove a little farther north to Moonlight Beach (our favorite) and enjoyed a leisurely, late afternoon walk along the sea.

Whenever I walk along the beach, I'm always on the lookout for pretty shells or stones and I almost always bring something home. This time was no exception. I found a smooth, very black, beautiful little stone. I knew immediately that I wanted to bring it home and make a little pouch to hang around my neck so I could carry a piece of the ocean and my favorite beach around with me whenever I want.

Here's what I came up with...

I used some left over Berroco Comfort Sock yarn and a size "C" crochet hook. It turned out really cute. I like how the colors worked out with the single crochet stitches. Especially, on the strings where they are green on one side and blue on the other. The blue, green, and tan...like water and sand, are so pretty and fitting for my little beach pebble pouch.

I tied a knot in the end and it makes a fun little necklace/pendant to wear. It goes with a lot of things in my wardrobe because I have a lot things that are blue and/or green.

I love little projects like this. It was fast and fun and free...no pattern, just creativity. Oh yeah...and free, like no cost. :-)

Refrigerator Pickle Update

2011-10-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Today was the day...we tried the refrigerator pickles I made a couple days ago and they really good! Yay! They're super crispy and tasty! I can't believe how easy they were to make and how well they turned out. It kind of makes me wonder why we ever buy factory made pickles.

I'll definitely do this again. I'll make some changes with the spices though. The spice mix I bought had cloves and that flavor is very noticible. I think the pickles would taste better without it.

An interesting note about the garlic...it has a bluish tinge to it. I looked it up and that's totally normal. It has something to do with the sulfer in the garlic mixing with the acid in the vinegar. I bet the factory ones add some kind of chemical to keep it from doing that. I'd rather not eat that chemical! Homemade is better!

Creativity vs. Distraction

2011-10-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

I love being creative. I always have. It's something I want spend more of my time doing. I even created a beautiful space to create in. And, I have time. But...I keep getting distracted. There's always laundry, groceries, cooking, errands, people to help, and places to go. I keep thinking that I could treat it like a job and go into my studio every morning at 10. I know that once I get started on something, I'll be in there for a while and it'll be fun and rewarding. But, I keep getting distracted.

I spent time in there a couple mornings last week. I wasn't completely sure what I was going to work on. The list of things I want to do is so long that it's hard to decide where to start. I pulled out some paper, watercolors, brushes and pens, and played around. I ended up spending a couple of hours doodling on these...

I was inspired by a tutorial on the "Peony and Parakeet" Blog. It would have been nice to add some white paint and some metallic highlights but I was using what I had. They're not really what I was aiming for. But, I feel good that I actually sat down to be creative.

I played around with some acrylic paints and brushes another day. This is all I did though. I felt stuck! Ugh!

I love fiber arts and I want to spend much more time on that. But, I really want to work with some other materials for a change...like I used to years ago.

I would love to know how really creative people do it. How to create and create without letting distractions of everyday life get in the way. Any tips, advice or encouragement would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :-)

Tea Time for Tammi

2011-10-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

One of my long time friends, Tammi, had a birthday recently and I wanted to send a little something to her. I'd been thinking about it for a while and decided to send her some tea and maybe a teapot. Deciding on some yummy tea was easy but I never found just the right teapot. So, I decided to make a little something. I went through some patterns and pulled one of my favorite kinds of yarn from my stash, Sugar N Cream, and got started.

I made two doilies. One is big enough for a teapot and the other is coaster size for her teacup.

I started with the larger one and used the "8. Vanity Fair" pattern I used about a year ago as inspiration for another doily. I altered it a bit more on this one because I had less yarn and wanted to be sure I had enough.

I ended up with enough yarn left over to make a coaster. I used the "Kimberly's Flower Coaster" pattern that I've used in the past but I modified it so it would go with the larger one. I love the little points on both of them. And, I love their chunkiness.

I also sent her a little scrubber that I had made. It even matched the tea boxes! Maybe she'll use it to wash her teacups.

It wasn't a lot but it was made and sent with love. She called after she recieved it and said she really liked it. She lives a few states away and we've been talking about having tea together over some of our phone conversations. Oh...and, since her doilies are green, they'll also work for Christmas (they're a prettier, sage kind of green in person)! :-)

Pickle Time

2011-10-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

I've been watching more cooking programs lately in an attempt to get inspired and find new things to spice up the menu around here. In doing so, I've seen various versions of refrigerator pickles and thought they'd be fun to try.

I searched through online recipes to find one that I liked both the method and ingredients. Unable to find exactly what I wanted, I winged it...like I often do. I sliced and layered cucumbers, sliced onions, and roughly chopped garlic into a jar. While I was doing that, I had a pan heating on the stove with the vinegar, garlic, salt, sugar and spices.

The cucumbers, onions, and garlic filled the jar to the top. But, when I added the liquid, they floated up and left some space at the bottom. If this works out, I'll pack it all in tighter next time. After I poured the liquid in, I put the cap on and left the jar to sit on the counter for a few hours before placing it in the fridge.

In a couple of days we get to try them. I can't wait! I hope they're as yummy as they look!

Have you ever tried making refrigerator pickles? How did it go? I'd love to hear about it. :-)

Cruisin' Kitty

2011-10-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning, as my husband, daughter and I got ready to go out for a little cruise on our bikes, my daughter set our kitty, Duchess, in my bike basket. Whenever we've tried this in the past, she stiffened her legs and stuck them out to prevent it from happening. She was NOT going in! But, this time, she didn't seem to mind. In fact, I think she kind of liked the idea. She curled up and made herself comfortable. So cute! Of course, I had to get some pictures...

I know she never would want to be in the basket when the bike is actually moving. So, we took her out before we left. I wonder if she'll ever crawl in there on her own?

Sugar Addiction

2011-09-26T13:38:00.000-07:00

To Sugar N Cream yarn, that is. I think the Lily yarn company is wonderful and genius. Really! They create a yarn that is made from cotton, a wonderful, non-itchy, earth friendly, natural fiber. They dye it in gorgeous, irresistible colors or leave it beautifully natural. Then, they sell it in little balls for .99 cents to a couple dollars. Who could resist? Beautiful and so cheap that I can buy it guilt free! And, I do...over and over and over! I've bought a lot of balls just because they were pretty and cheap. I have over a dozen in my stash. However, I prefer to buy it with a project in mind and most of the time I do. I've gone through dozens of balls of Sugar N Cream yarn to make dish cloths, wash cloths, shower puffs, placemats, doilies, coasters, bags and more.

I love Sugar N Cream so much that I'm always trying to find new projects to use it for. A few weeks ago I was playing around with some crocheted motifs. Then, a couple of weeks ago, I found a pattern called, "Double Bump Dishcloth" and quickly got started on it. What fun!

This turquoise yarn was in my stash. I love the color!

The texture of this pattern is really nice and the pattern was fun to do. However, I decided it's a bit too stretchy for my taste as a wash or dish cloth. So, I used the other half of the ball to make a plain dish cloth, like the many I made a few years ago for gifts. The pattern is also used for a scarf. I think it would work great for that and I might make one someday.

Right after I got started on the "Double Bump Dishcloth", I stopped in at a local Michael's store and saw a new color of Sugar N Cream that I couldn't resist. The color is "Earth Ombre". It's so pretty!

I couldn't wait to use it! So, after I finished the two turquoise dish cloths, I quickly found another pattern I liked and got started. This pattern is called, "Basket Rib Hand Towel". The texture is similar to the dish cloth I had just finished.

I'm using size 5 needles and I love how it's turning out. The texture is nice to look at and it's soft and thick for a hand towel. It's knitted with a four row repeat that is easy to memorize and fun to knit. I originally bought one ball but went back for another so I'll have enough to make a towel.

I've been working on this when I'm not working on my Maia Shawl. It's a nice break for my hands to switch back and forth between knit and crochet.

Crossing the Border

2011-09-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

I've been slowly working on my Maia Shawl and I've reached the part of the pattern where I'll cross into the border section. It might not seem big enough to start the border but the border is pretty wide. And, the shawl will be a lot larger after it's blocked.

This crochet shawl is very different than any of the others I've made. And, it's going a lot slower because of all the detail and the single crochet rows that are very short. The pattern is written very well and is easy to understand and follow. It's a lot of fun and I love how it looks.

The flower rows are my favorite to do and they're so cute.

I'm using a size "G" hook and Madelinetosh Lace yarn in the color, "Baltic".

Over the border I go! :-)

Success

2011-09-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

Someone posted a quote on Facebook this weekend that I absolutely love. It immediately became one of my favorite quotes. It's awesome and I thought I'd share it...along with a photo from my visit to Yosemite a few weeks ago and one of my favorite spots in the park. Enjoy...

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and to endure the betrayal of false friends. To appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

By Ralph Waldo Emerson

Beautiful Butterflies

2011-09-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

How about a "Floral Friday" type of post and some beautiful butterflies? I saw these beauties a few weeks ago in San Diego in the Zoro Garden at Balboa Park. There were dozens of them. They flit and fly around so much that they're hard to get pictures of. But, with a little patience, I got some...

Happy Labor Day! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Colorful Cotton Calling

2011-08-31T20:00:00.000-07:00

I have a growing collection of cotton yarn in beautiful colors. It calls to me whenever I go into my studio. I even think about it when I'm not in there. I've been waiting for months for just the right inspiration and project to use it for. I keep going back to the African Flower Hexagon pattern and admiring the gorgeous projects people have made with it.

Last week, I decided to just go for it and try the African Flowers. Two of the colors I have are this pretty pink and green. I thought they would look great together...

I was wrong! In person, the green glows and looks really bad in this flower.

I made another one without the green and it looked much better. I also made one with orange and another with red.

However, I'm not sold on this project. The motifs are much larger (5") and open than I thought and I'm just not thrilled with them. I tried a couple different sizes of hooks but "G" worked the best. Smaller hook sizes made it hard to work with this thickness of yarn. I think I'll send all my cotton yarns back to the stash until I find something better for them. It was fun trying though. :-)

Cozy Cowl

2011-08-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

We went on a week long camping vacation a few weeks ago. And, as usual, I packed lots of knitting and crochet projects. I don't know why, but whenever I go somewhere I pack tons yarny stuff...as if I was going to be able to knit or crochet at speeds way beyond what I could normally do. It never seems to happen but it's fun to dream. And, it's nice to have lots of options while I'm gone.

On this vacation, I made progress on my Maia Shawl. It's slow but the detail and beauty of it is amazing. I still have a long way to go on that one. I also worked on a sock that seems to be going slower than any sock ever has. I remember them always going fast. I'm not sure what's up with this one. Ugh! And, I finished a project that's been traveling in my bag for months that I've worked on here and there, when I wanted to do a little mindless knitting. It's a cozy cowl made with some TLC Amore yarn I had in my stash for a years, just waiting for inspiration and the perfect project.

The yarn is loopy and reminds me of terry cloth and the colors are so pretty! It's sooo soft.

It's always fun to finish a project. And, this one is done in plenty of time for the upcoming winter.

I used size 7, circular needles, cast on 80 stitches, did a 2x2 rib for about 8 rows, knitted until I felt it was long enough, ended it with 8 more rows of ribbing and bound off loosely. The finished size is about 9" x 12".

I'm excited to wear it. The fit, color and softness are wonderful!

Tuscan Salad

2011-08-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, I made a salad that was so delicious I just have share it. It started out with some inspiration from the "Everyday Italian" cooking show, Giada De Laurentiis, and the "Artichoke and Tomato Panzanella" that she made. It looked so delicious and fun that I had to make something like it.

I rarely follow a recipe. If I do, it's often a jumping off point of inspiration and I end up doing my own thing. That's pretty much what I did with this. Her version has olives which I don't like and I'm allergic to. Also, there were some things I wanted to incorporate into the salad that she didn't use. Here's my version...

1 pound of fresh mushrooms (I used half Crimini and half White Button)
1 bag of frozen, sliced artichoke hearts from Trader Joe's
1 Eggplant
1 container of tiny, multi-colored tomatoes from Trader Joe's (red, purple, orange and yellow but cherry or any other type of tomato would work fine)
1 package of Prosciutto from Trader Joe's
5 slices of Tuscan Pane bread from Trader Joe's or a hearty sourdough, French or other artisanal bread
6-8 Fresh Basil Leaves (use more or less depending on your taste)
Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar (or white wine vinegar...I used what I had)
Kosher Salt
Ground Black Pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Thaw the artichoke hearts ahead of time. Or, rinse and drain frozen ones and place them in a baking dish. Cover them and thaw but don't heat or cook them in the microwave. Remove the lid and drizzle them with olive oil, toss and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Slice mushrooms into quarters or sixths (depending on how large they are) and place them in a baking dish large enough to spread them in a single layer on the bottom. Drizzle with olive oil, toss and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Peel and cut eggplant into slices about 1/2 inch thick and then cut the slices into cubes. Place them into a cake pan, baking dish or onto a cookie sheet that is large enough to spread them evenly in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, toss, sprinkle with salt and set them aside.

Place the three dishes/pans of eggplant, mushrooms and artichokes into a preheated, 400 degree oven and set the timer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, check the veggies and toss with a spoon to turn them. Remove them when they are roasted and tender but not mushy. They will likely finish at different times. Just keep setting the timer and checking them in 5-10 minute intervals. It shouldn't take much longer than 30 minutes, total.

Meanwhile, cut the bread into cubes, drizzle with olive oil and grill them in a large non-stick skillet or griddle, turning as needed, until they are golden and lightly crispy. Set them aside.

While the vegetables are roasting in the oven, rinse, drain, and slice the tiny tomatoes in halves and place them in a large bowl. Stack at least 6-8 average sized basil leaves (more or less depending on how much you like basil), roll them tightly and cut across the roll to create ribbons. This is a great way to cut up a variety of different herbs and it has a fun name, chiffonade. Sprinkle the basil ribbons over the sliced tomatoes. Set aside.

Tear prosciutto into bite sized pieces and set aside.

Whisk together approximately 1/3-1/2 cup olive oil and about 1/4 cup of vinegar, seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper.

Transfer all of the roasted vegetables and bread into the bowl with the tomatoes and basil and toss the ingredients together. Drizzle some of the dressing, toss and repeat until the salad is coated with the amount of dressing that you prefer.

Serve salad in bowls with a small pile of prosciutto on the top of each one. Enjoy!

"Tuscan Salad" seems like the perfect name for this. It reminds me of food that I've seen from that area. And, after a little research, I found that it matches descriptions of that type of food perfectly...bread is the pillar of their diet; meat, like prosciutto is popular; and, they love using fresh vegetables like mushrooms, artichokes, squash, tomatoes, and herbs.

My family loved it! It's full of flavor with the different vegetables, herbs and dressing. It's has wonderful textures with the juicy tomatoes, firm and juicy mushrooms, crispy bread, and creamy prosciutto. And, it's gorgeous with the beautiful colors of veggies...like the many colors of tomatoes and the pops of bright green basil. It was perfect with a glass of wine. Mmmmm!

I can't wait to eat this again! And, I'm already thinking of ways to change it up by adding things like roasted garlic; replacing the frozen artichoke hearts with the delicious marinated ones you can get at Costco; and using a heartier bread. Let me know if you try this, how you like it, and any changes you try. Buon Appetito!

Clever FO

2011-08-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

Way back in April I started knitting "Carol's Clever Little Shawl". It's adorable and the pattern is pretty easy. In fact, it got a little boring. That's probably why it took me so long to finish it. It's done in short rows back and forth, from top to bottom. So, the rows are quick. But, it's a lot of the same thing and lots of mindless garter stitch knitting...which definitely has it's place...like in group/social knitting situations. When I finally finished it in July, I got so busy that I didn't get around to blocking it until now. No hurry since I may not be able to wear it for a while...it's 104 degrees out today!

It would look much nicer on a person...with arms...but it's kind of hot to be modeling it. So, here it is on my dress form. I think I'm really going to enjoy how it connects in the front. It should stay on nicely.

The points are a nice touch and blocked out nicely.

I used filatura Lanarota Puno, alpaca yarn that I had. I think it took four skeins (less than 400 yards). For needles, I used size 7 for the points and body of the shawl and size 5 for the ribbed pockets that the points slide through.

Here's the shape of it. This is before blocking.

Here's another picture of it before blocking. The points were a bit curly.

My mom recently finished one with an acrylic yarn from the craft store and it looks beautiful! I'd love to make more of these because they're so cute and clever. But, I'll have to wait until I'm ready to start another mindless project.

My New Bike

2011-08-18T08:47:00.000-07:00

I finally did it! I bought the bike I've been dreaming of for years. It's an Electra Gypsy and it's ohhh soooo cute!

I first saw one in Grand Junction, Colorado years ago. It was parked outside of a little cafe. It was love at first sight and I haven't been able to get it out of my mind ever since. I would look at it every time I went to a bike shop. I talked about wanting one...at least once a week. And, I dreamt of riding it around. My dream came true. Isn't it pretty?!

The graphics are so cute!

And the colors too...

I love the little basket and it's adorable fabric lining. It's so much fun to throw my stuff in the basket and go for a ride.

The bell is big, shiney and it sounds like a door bell. So fun!

The look, the colors, the design of this bike is sooo me!

Even the seat is cute!

I can't believe I have a Gypsy bike of my very own! I still love my mountain bike and plan to continue riding it but it's so much fun to just throw my stuff in the basket, hop on, and go for a ride without having to gather up all my riding gear (bike shorts, jersey, water pack, special shoes, helmet, etc.). And, being able to sit upright to look around and just cruise is oh so fun! It has only three gears but it seems to be working out perfect for riding around town. I've even been enjoying it at night, when the summer heat calms down and the roads are quiet. :-)

Balboa Park - Part III

2011-08-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

Our recent visit to San Diego's Balboa Park was surprising. There were more buildings and museums than I had ever imagined and they were incredibly ornate. Here's a sampling of what I saw...

We entered the park from the East side, near the science center. It was great to see all the people enjoying themselves in and around one of the fountains.

Even doggies were enjoying it...

This is one of the first really ornate buildings we saw. The street was so narrow and the building so big that I wasn't able to get it all in one picture...

The fine details at the top of this one are amazing!...

The top of this one has faces and nude women holding up the roof (click on the picture to enlarge it)...

Here's a larger view of the building. I think this is the building that we ate lunch in. It was a nice surprise to find really good and affordable food at a touristy place.

One of the things I was anxious to see is the famous organ pavillion. I've heard so much about it. It has one of the largest pipe organs in the world and has been in use since about 1917. It has over 4,500 pipes and it's really loud! They have free concerts during the summer and we were able experience one.

The details on this were just as amazing as other buildings in the park.

While enjoying the concert, I noticed that there are lights built into the ornamentation. You can click on the picture to enlarge it. Notice the lights in the twisty arch sections and along the straight part at the bottom of the photo. There are tiny faces hidden in the details as well...

The organ pavillion was a lot larger than I had expected.

There are covered walkways on each side of the main section. The end of each walkway has a beautiful gazebo type structure. Here's the one on the right...

This one was on the left. Visitors enjoyed listening to the concert in the shade of the gazebo and walkways. There was even a doggy enjoying the show...

Many of the buildings in the park are museums. The Museum of Man has one of the most ornate and fascinating facades...

It's very tall and hard to see the details in one photo. Here's a close up of one side, looking up...

As we stood and looked at it, we noticed more and more faces. This one has a hole in the mouth and I'm wondering if it might be a drain for the roof...

Here's another one...

These were on the huge front doors...

There were several towers in the park and at least one dome...

I think this one was on or next to the Museum of Man...

This dome was behind the Museum of Man and near another concert area...

This bridge was on the west side of the park. The road that goes through it goes over a huge and beautiful bridge that crosses the 163 freeway...

This is a view from the center of the park, looking west toward the dome and at another fountain...

Balboa Park is so large and we didn't see the whole park that day. We hope to go back soon to see more, ride our bikes on the trails and paths, and take more photos. What an incredible treasure!

Balboa Park - Part II

2011-08-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

Our recent visit to Balboa Park in San Diego was full of surprises. The park is huge, the flowers and gardens are beautiful, and the architecture is amazing. One thing I was excited to see was the arboretum. There are ponds of water lilies leading up to it. It's open to the outside with graceful arches to enter...

The roof is magnificent, tall and open to the outside air with slits between the wood. This is looking up at the center from the inside...

It's filled with tropical plants and some sections are like a mini jungle...

There's a section with plants that catch bugs like this pitcher plant...

This plant would be hard to miss. The color is incredible!

I love the swirls in this one...

These flowers are so tiny that they were hard to photograph. When I had my camera in manual mode, I had a hard time seeing if it was focused well. In auto mode, my camera couldn't figure out where to focus. They're so cute!

I'm not sure what kind of plant this was before it was cut down but the pattern in it was interesting...

More tiny flowers. So pretty...

There were a lot of different kinds of orchids. I'm constantly surprised at stores and at this arboretum by varieties I've never seen. I wonder how many varieties there are? It's pretty incredible. Here's a sampling of what I saw that day...

There were little surprises tucked in here and there among the plants like this stringy, orange puff ball flower...

These leaves look like they were splattered with bleech...

There were lots of ferns. I thought this one was especially pretty with two colors of green...

There were a bunch of plants hanging on the walls at one end of the arboretum.
This one was HUGE! I thought it was called an Elk's Head Bromeliad but I just Googled that and I think I had it wrong. Oh well. It's pretty cool to see...

They had a coffee plant! I had to get a picture of that!

Then, it was back outside to the lovely ponds and lilies.

And, more beautiful flowers.

I love this one!

Thanks for stopping by! My next post will be a sampling of the amazing architecture at Balboa Park. I hope you'll come back. :-)

Beautiful Balboa Park - Part I

2011-08-16T15:39:00.000-07:00

We recently spent a day at beautiful Balboa Park in San Diego with family visiting from Texas. The weather was perfect that week. It was so refreshing for them to come from temps around 100 and high humidity to temps in the 70's and 80's and low humidity. Even though I live fairly close to Balboa Park and have wanted to go for years, this was my first time there. It will definitely not be my last. The park is spectacular. It's filled with amazing architecture, museums, beautiful gardens, entertainment, trails, and the San Diego Zoo.

Here's a sample of some of the beautiful flowers growing in and around the park...

Aren't these Passion Flowers gorgeous?! I've never seen them in red before...

Here's a bud of a Passion Flower...

This is the color of Passion Flower I'm used to seeing...

Such perfect, yellow flowers with such dark centers. So cute!

The colors in this bush are so pretty with green on one side of the leaves and purple on the other...

Such a gogeous pink...

These flowers with their delicate looking petals caught my eye. I reached out to lift the flower to get a better look but...OUCH! It's covered in tiny little thorns that feel like being stung by a bug or bee. Yikes!

Hubby held it up with a cup so I could get a picture...

I had no idea that water lilies came in so many colors. So pretty!

This one even has colorful leaves...

I love this peachy, pink color!

It would be hard to pick a favorite but this might be it. I love the pink tips on the petals. And, check out the pod in the center. So pretty!

I plan to post some of the gorgeous tropical plants and flowers from the arboretum and some samples of the amazing architecture. I hope you'll come back.

Idle Hours

2011-08-03T04:30:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we managed to escape to the local mountains and spend the day in Idyllwild. My husband, daughter, and her boyfriend went mountain biking. Me? I spent a few idle hours relaxing at the Hurkey Creek campground.

I spread a sleeping bag on the grass, set up my little chair, and grabbed my knitting bag. The weather was absolutely perfect. It was warm in the sun and cool in the shade. The sky was blue and crystal clear. The scenery and views were wonderful.

I alternated between knitting, reading, taking in the views, and stretching out on the sleeping bag. I felt like I had the place to myself.

I enjoyed the shade of this beautiful tree.

I enjoyed looking up through it, at the sky, and watching birds flit around high above me.

The creek would normally be dry at this time of year but it's still running strong. And, wildflowers are still blooming. They're such a treat to see.

This one is like a little bouquet.

The colors really pop when they're in the sun.

This flowery bush is several feet high.

The flowers are big and so beautiful.

I like the little pops of red on the stems.

The petals look so delicate and graceful.

The wild roses are in full bloom. They're about an inch or so across and so cute.

This flower has freckles.

The park has a few houses that rangers live in. The setting is so perfect and I always enjoy looking at this one and dreaming of how wonderful it must be to live here.

Days like this are such a treat and make life extra sweet. Ahhhhh!

My Maia

2011-08-01T15:41:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to have time to play with yarn again! In the past week, I not only started a pair of socks and made a mini sock but I also finished my "Clever Little Shawl". I just need to block it before I post about it. And, since I finished a project, I finally felt good about starting another one that's been waiting for me for a while. It's the "Maia Shawl". I'm using Madeline Tosh Lace yarn that I bought earlier this year specifically for a crochet lace shawl. I'm so excited about this pattern and this yarn. They're both beautiful.

I'm about 12 rows into the pattern. It doesn't have a chart but it's written very well. It's easy to understand and follow. However, it takes more concentration than any other crochet lace shawl I've made so far because it's so different and intricate. I've had to work on it when I know there won't be any noise or distractions. I'm getting the hang of how it works though and I have a feeling that I'll be able to work on it with less focus as I get further into the project. I'm using a size G hook and I think I'm happy with how it looks. It should open up nicely when it's blocked without looking too loose and loopy. Although, if I decide to go with a larger hook, I should probably do that soon so I won't have to rip out quite so much. I can't wait to see how this turns out!

Pretty New Socks

2011-07-31T18:27:00.000-07:00

One of the yarny things I did this weekend was to start a new pair of socks. I'm using Trekking XXL sock yarn (colour 50) that I've had for a while. I bought it to crochet a shawl but the pooling of colors when I crocheted with it was ugly. In fact, it looked so bad that I doubted if I would ever use this yarn for anything. But, for some reason, it spoke to me this weekend as I looked through my stash and I decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did because it's knitting up really pretty. I love the colors now and I'm excited about these socks. It's so wonderful to have time to knit and play with yarn again. :-D

Itty Bitty Sock

2011-07-31T18:16:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to have some time to play with yarn again and I've been playing all weekend! Woo hoo! :-) One of the things I did was to knit up another itty bitty sock for my key chain sock blocker. I knitted a little turquoise sock a couple of years ago but I lost it a week or so ago. I used a pattern that came with the sock blocker but you can find the pattern HERE on Ravelry too. It's a fun little project that goes quickly and uses up a little bit of leftover sock yarn.

Birthday Fun

2011-07-26T15:08:00.000-07:00

My daughter turned 20! That calls for a party and that's just what we did. We planned an old fashioned backyard party complete with games, dancing, a barbeque dinner, and lots of fun.

We strung lights above the grass for dancing in the evening. She and her boyfriend wove streamers through the lights for color, added ambiance and fun. Our dog, Salsa, even tried to help...

There was a croquet game to set up...

We got colorful flowers that matched the plates, napkins, silverware and cups (I forgot to take a picture of those)...

We divided them up into canning jars for an old fashioned look...

There were four tables dressed to match and each centerpiece had a bandanna cloth, flowers, snacks, bubbles and a basket full of games...

Each table cloth and bandana were different but they all tied in with the color scheme...

The old fashioned sodas (in glass bottles) were kept cold in an old wash tub filled with ice. We even had a bale of hay covered in denim for a little extra seating...

At one end of the yard, we had a lounger draped with a plaid, patchwork quilt that looked great with theme and colors...

The lounger turned out to be a popular place to sit...

The party goers enjoyed playing croquet...

The table games were a big hit...

The lights looked great when the sun went down. Here's a view from an upstairs window, looking down...

They created a great ambiance for the old fashioned folk dancing that they did...

I missed taking pictures when everyone was out there dancing. But, I managed to get a couple of shots while some of them were still out there. A little blurry but fun...

The weather was perfect that day. The afternoon was warm but not hot and evening was cool. The party went really well and everyone seemed to have a great time. I'm so proud of my daughter and so happy to have had this special day to celebrate her! :-D

Wonderfully Busy

2011-07-26T08:53:00.001-07:00

This seems to be my busiest summer ever. So much has been going on for months. We had a family reunion. We had a party to celebrate my daughter's 20th birthday. We had family visiting from Texas. We had another family get-together at our house last weekend. We're house sitting/watering for my in-laws. We're making plans for a 70th anniversary party for my husband's grandparents in about a month. There will be another party for my in-laws 50th anniversary in a couple of months. And, lots of other stuff has been sprinkled in between. It's all been great but...whew!

The busy-ness seems to be slowing and I think I'm going to have some time to start crafting a little more. I'm really looking forward to that. Oh...and doing a little more blogging. I'm going to put some posts together this week about some of the things we've been so busy with. How's your summer going?

Espresso-ly Good

2011-07-12T09:30:00.000-07:00

Martinis come in many flavors that sound yummy. However, I'm usually not crazy about the taste when I try them because alcohol is often the strongest flavor. I'm not opposed to alcohol...a nice shot of tequilla or whiskey is good on occassion but I'm not big on foofoo drinks either. I just haven't found a martini that I really like...until now.

Hubby took me out to dinner last Friday where a martini being served at another table caught my eye. It turned out to be an Espresso Martini. It looked so good that I ordered one for dessert. I'm glad I did. It was the best martini I've ever had.

It was so good that we wanted to re-create it. So, we went to the store to gather the ingredients: vanilla vodka, Kahlua, espresso simple syrup, and half-and-half cream. We were successful with everything but the espresso syrup. So, I came home and made some. I put a half cup of water into a small sauce pan, heated it, added about two teaspoons of espresso powder and stirred until it was disolved. Next, I added one cup of sugar and stirred until it was disolved. I poured the syrup into a jar to cool.

Later, I poured the following into a shaker of ice:

1 ounce vanilla vodka (we used Stoli Vanil...It's very good)
2 ounces Kahlua
1 ounce of half-and-half
1/2 to 3/4 ounce of espresso syrup - We tried about 3/4 ounce in one drink and 1/2 ounce in another and they were both good. So, add what tastes best. It can be left out but it will have a stronger alcohol flavor.

I shook it a few seconds to chill it and strained it into a glass. It looked fabulous...

And, it tasted even better! Yum!!!

These are so good they're hard to just sip!

Lil' Hummers Update

2011-07-11T16:07:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to report that the little hummgingbirds I blogged about last week are doing great! Their little nest stayed where I put it, a little tilted, but fine. By the weekend they had grown and changed and were blinking their little eyes and looking at me when I checked on them...

They started venturing out today. Must be nice to get out of that cramped little nest. They're so cute with their little beaks crossed...

This afternoon they started venturing out even further. I bet they'll be trying out their wings very soon.

I wonder how hummingbirds learn to fly?! Most birds can at least spread their wings and glide a little while they figure out the whole flapping thing. This seems a bit more challening. Good luck little ones!

Poof!

2011-07-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

It's so much fun to make a little project that uses stash yarn and can be whipped up in no time. That's just what these are. They're shower poofs.

I saw one a few weeks ago that someone in a local stitch group had made. I instantly knew it was a pattern I had to find and make. The pattern calls for a two ounce ball of worsted weight cotton yarn and a size "I" hook. Even though the pattern says it only needs two ounces, it wasn't enough in either of two brands that I used. I had to modify the pattern to make it work with the two ounces. I actually like my version better. The poof is rufflier, tighter and holds it's shape better. I think that will make it more usable and nicer to use.

The changes I made are as follows...Start out with chaining 8 instead of 10. I did 36 loops in that ring instead of 40. I made the hanging loop with 25 chains instead of 30. On the final row, I started the top of each loop section with a slip stitch in the first chain space, chain one, *sc, ch 2 in each chain space across to the next to last chain space in the loop section, sc, chain one, slip stitch in the last chain space and I’d leave out chains between the loop sections and repeat that sequence to the end of all the loop sections.

The purple and green one is Sugar N Cream in the color "Country Side". The cream, red, green and bluish/purple one is Peaches & Cream in the color "Floral Fantasy". I'm anxious to give one a try. And, I'm excited to make more...they're a lot of fun, a great stash buster, and they would make a great gift in a basket with some body wash, soap and other nice bath accessories.

Feathered Friend

2011-07-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

Pigeons may be cute at the park but NOT in the neighborhood. They're destructive and messy. We haven't found a way to make them go away and we've had to do a lot of things to prevent damage and clean up their messes.

Luckily, there's another kind of bird that's willing and able to help. Hawks! They've been very busy the past few weeks as evidenced by feathers in various yards where they have feasted. A hawk chose our yard to dine in yesterday.

We were just about to open the front door and go to the store when we noticed what was happening. We watched for a while and then tried to sneak out the back and around the side of the house as not to disturb it's meal.

Click on the picture to see it larger. We were amazed at the hawks long legs and thought it's fluffy striped "pants" were really cute. :-)

Ooops!

2011-07-05T15:35:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise and warm cloudy weather. It was a perfect morning to spend in my garden clipping old roses off so they can keep on blooming. And, that's just what I did. One of my rose bushes has been very ambitious this year and had stems that had grown to seven or eight feet high, at least. I clipped and dropped them into a pile, carried them over to the trash can, dropped them on the ground, started clipping them into pieces and throwing them away. Uh oh...I noticed a little nest on one of the long stems. It had white on it like spider webs. Was it from a spider or bug? Nope. I noticed a tiny little gray thing hanging out of it but it wasn't moving. I gently touched it with my clippers (to avoid getting human scent on it). It was soft and seemed to be alive. Ooops! I'd cut a stem that had a hummingbird nest attached to it with two tiny babies inside.

I clipped the stem to about a foot long and carried it back to the rose bush to figure out what to do. I propped it in between some other stems and the thorns helped to hold it in place. I later propped a stem of rose leaves above them to give them shade. They're so tiny and cute!

I kept an eye out to see if the mommy would find them. Sure enough...she did! Whew!

She quickly got back to feeding and carrying for her little children.

I'm so glad I noticed them before I tossed that stem into the trash! What a wild ride that must have been for them. I wonder if mom was watching me the whole time, worrying about her babies. So far, they seem to be doing okay. They have feathers on their wings and I bet they'll soon be ready to fly.

Simply Beautiful

2011-06-29T15:45:00.000-07:00

Ahhh...warm, sunny days of summer...fresh cut roses from my garden...in a vase I made myself...simply beautiful!

Checks and Lace

2011-06-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was looking through my fabric stash and ran across some red and white check fabric that had been given to me. About a week later, I was eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant in San Diego and was inspired by the little fabric squares with crocheted edging that lined the tortilla baskets. What a great idea! I soon pulled out that checked fabric to make a tablecloth; trimmed it; folded, pressed, and sewed the edges; and added blanket stitching so I could crochet a lacy edging.

I love blanket stitching! It's so cute and fun to sew. It's a good thing I enjoy sewing it because it took quite a while to get around the edges of the tablecloth.

The next step was to single crochet onto the blanket stitches.

Each step looked so cute...the sewing, then the blanket stitching, and the single crochet edge...that I could have stopped after any one of them and it would have looked good. However, I was excited to keep going and make it a little more special. I looked through some edging patterns and tried a few but ended up making up something on my own. The little triangles are simple but they tie into the little diamonds in the fabric. They are basically shells with three double crochets, two trebles, and three more doubles. I spaced them out with a single crochet between each one.

I'm not sure yet if I'll embellish on the triangles. I'll probably decide on that after I make it all the way around the tablecloth.

I originally wanted to make a red lace edge but couldn't find red thread that matched the fabric. In fact, I even had trouble finding white crochet cotton. It used to be a staple in the yarn world. I remember it being sold even in drug and grocery stores. This time, I couldn't find any at Michael's, Walmart (they didn't have white), and JoAnn only had the two balls of white that I bought (no other colors). That was surprising to me. I'm glad I found some though while I was inspired and ready to go.

It's always satisfying to make something wonderful with things I have on hand or that cost very little. With the thread that I bought, this tablecloth will cost me less than $5. How awesome is that?! I'm also enjoying the simple pleasure of sitting with the fabric on my lap, stitching with a needle and thread, and doing some simple crochet.

It's the perfect time to make a red and white checked tablecloth...just before the Fourth of July!

Inspirational Speed Bumps

2011-06-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

I'm still here and I've been very busy. I just don't have anything to show for it. Amongst day-to-day busy-ness there has been a family reunion, hiking trips, some knitting, and lots and lots of project planning. I've been feeling inspired to do lots of crafty things lately but I keep running into speed bumps that keep me from moving ahead as quickly as I'd like to.

The biggest problem I'm having has to do with sewing. I want to start sewing clothing for everyday wear...not just costumes or special events. My daughter and I are frustrated with ready-made clothing choices. We can spend hours, even days, shopping to find casual, everyday clothing and come home with nothing. We go with an open mind but so many of the clothes available now are ugly, made of super thin fabric, and overpriced for the poor quality that they are. When we do find something we like, the fit is often very bad and/or they don't have it in our size. We figure that sewing our own clothing would be a good solution. However, we've been searching through pattern books and finding some of the same problems...styles we don't like, not many options, and, when we find one we like, the store often doesn't have the pattern or they don't have it in our size. I've had a bit of luck online with vintage and historical styles. I'm going to start searching for everyday styles of patterns online and hope for similar luck.

When we do find a pattern, we're often running into the problem of not finding fabrics we like to go with them or enough yardage of what we do like. Selection seems to be limited in fabric too. We're currently on the search for fabric stores outside of our area that aren't chain stores. We plan to make a few day trips and hoping for some good luck. In the meantime, I'll be wearing the same few pieces of warm weather clothing that I have. Ugh!

I'm happy to report that my knitting, crochet, yarny mojo that has been on vacation for a while has finally returned. Yay! I've been looking through patterns and my stash with great excitement and I have so many projects lined up that I don't know where to start! I'm trying to finish my "Clever Little Shawl" before I start something new but I have a feeling that I might not be able to wait. ;-)

This tends to be a very crafty-inspired time of year for me. I'm not sure why but I remember being extra crafty at this time of year even when I was a child. It must be all the sunshine! That's what happens to solar powered people! Now, I hope can clear the speed bumps so I can start speeding along to to the finish line with a lot of these projects while the inspiration is here!

Mount Palomar

2011-06-08T20:11:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago, my husband and I went for a drive up Mount Palomar. It's a 6,142 foot mountain at the north end of San Diego County. I can see it from my town and it's literally minutes away. We see it just about every day but we've never taken the time to drive up it. We decided it was long past time to do so and finally went.

It was a pretty drive with winding roads, lots of motorcycles and bicyclists enjoying the curvy roads, and the weather was beautiful. There were beautiful flowers along the roadsides, in many colors...purple, pink, yellow, white, red...but turnouts were rarely where the best or most flowers grew. I did manage to get some pictures.

The fuzzy pods on this one remind me of edamame...

Here's a close up of it's beautiful white flowers...

This yellow one reminds me of Snapdragons...

I love the fuzzy, soft look of this one. It reminds me of the herb, Lamb's Ear...

There were even ferns up there! I never would have imagined that they grew on this mountain that sits right next to the desert and so close to my home. So pretty!

There were many more homes on the mountain than I would have imagined. There's history up there too. We stopped at an old barn/general store/antique shop that was built in the 1880's. There weren't very many businesses up there though. There was a small store that sold trinkets and a few snacks. There was a vegetarian restaurant that seemed to be popular with the bicyclists. There were quite a few cyclists riding up and down the mountain. This was one of the stages of the Tour of California bike race a couple of years ago. It's a great road for cyclists to train on. The only other business we saw was a post office and it's one of the smallest ones I've ever seen...

We saw three campgrounds up there. One is a state park. I had no idea they were up there! The ones we drove through were most suitable for tent camping and don't have any or much room for RV's.

The scenery was beautiful...lots of trees, flowers, and rolling hills...

At the top of the mountain is the Palomar Observatory. It was built in the 1930's and, at one time, it's 200" telescope was the largest in the world. The grounds and views are beautiful. We brought a picnic lunch and ate at a little park there. Afterwards, we walked up a path to see the observatory. There were a couple of huge and interesting trees alongside the path. Here's the bottom of the biggest one...

The observatory is pretty big but I'm still amazed at how we can see it from miles and miles away...

It's so pretty against the blue sky...

I took a picture of hubby standing next to the observatory to show how big it is...

It was built in an Art Deco style. I like the bell shaped bottom...

There are stairs on one side of the observatory that lead to restrooms and up into an observation area to view the massive telescopes and equipment inside. The Art Deco tile and details were beautiful but hard to photograph as it was pretty dark inside and I didn't feel comfortable taking pictures of tile in the restroom.

I did manage to get some photos from the observation area by putting my lense up against the glass and leaning on it to hold very still while the shutter stayed open. They turned out a bit yellow but the view of the telescopes and equipment is pretty good...

This one is looking up through glass at the ceiling of the dome...

There was a little window on one side that showed one of the wheels that the dome top turns on...

There was a little museum nearby with models of the observatory and telescopes, pictures of space and displays of what has been learned about space from this and other observatories, and a little shop.

Along the path back to the car there are some bushes covered in white blooms. So pretty!...

Here's a close up of one of some of the flowers...

We took Highway 76 and the South Grade road up to the top and the observatory. On our way home, we took the East Grade road which dropped down toward Warner Springs and Lake Henshaw. The lake has obviously grown a lot from all the rain we had this year. There are a lot of trees in the water and far from the shore...

I'm glad we finally went up to explore this mountain that we've been looking at all these years. We always like to explore areas nearby and be tourists in our own backyard. There's so much to see. I'm not sure why it took us so long to visit Mount Palomar. Hmmm...I wonder what else is nearby that we haven't seen?

Tahquitz

2011-06-07T15:09:00.000-07:00

I love hiking and being in the great outdoors. There's something about being out in nature that refreshes my mind, body, and soul. Now that the weather is improving, we're trying to get out more regularly to explore.

Our adventure for this last Sunday was a hike to Tahquitz Peak in Idyllwild, California. We loaded our day packs with provisions and drove up to Idyllwild. We stopped at the ranger station to get our permit to hike the South Ridge Trail and took our 4x4 up a short but rutty dirt road to the trailhead.

We saw this sign on the way to Idyllwild...the Sasquatch is actually made of fake fur. I thought it was so funny that we had to stop and get a picture of it later that day...

The weather was warm and sunny...Ahhhhh! There were flowers along the bottom portions of the trail. Many of them were very small...

We saw several of these. I'm not sure what they are but I'm thinking they're some kind of fungus like mushrooms. They're amazingly strong too as we saw one that had pushed it's way up through a crumbling piece of granite. The color definitely stands out in the forest...

The manzanita are always so pretty with their smooth, reddish trunks but right now they are in full bloom and loaded with tiny pink blossoms. Some are a pretty pale pink...

And, some are darker pink. So cute!...

I haven't found the name of these yet but they're blooming like crazy in the hills and mountains around Southern California right now. I love the periwinkle blue color...

This golden yellow always catches my eye. I love it!...

This was surprising to see in our normally dry mountains...moss...and lots of it! Evidence of our long winter and all the rain we've gotten this year...

The sky was so blue and the scenery was gorgeous...

There were a lot of things to see along the way...like this huge rock jutting out of the side of the mountain...

Tahquitz Peak is located on the San Jacinto Mountain as is Lily Rock, a huge white granite rock that can be seen from many miles away. I thought Tahquitz and Lily Rock were one and the same. After seeing Lily Rock all these years, I was excited about hiking up and touching it. It's amazing! Well, it turns out that they are two totally different things. Lily Rock is located below Tahquitz Peak. So, touching Lily Rock will be a totally different hike. But, I think we passed by it on this hike and this might be part of it...

We passed this much smaller rock along the trail. Look...I can hold it up...lol...

The rocks formed a picture frame for a tree and a view to the North...

This was not an easy hike! It took us about three and a half hours to get to the top and that included over 2,000 feet of climbing. It was quite steep in some sections. We definitely felt that in our legs and it was very evident in how quickly the view would change. At one point, we looked up at a rocky, jagged ridge and a couple of switchbacks later, we were looking over the top of it and could see the valley below on the other side of it. Whew! We kept thinking that we were getting close to the top but the trail kept going and going as it got steeper and steeper. It was quite a workout but we made it. The peak elevation is 8,828 feet and there's a fire lookout at the top...

The lookout was built in 1937. I can't imagine carrying all the materials up that steep trail to build this. Not to mention, the bed, stove, etc. that they carried up. And, all the water and supplies each time someone comes up to work there. Wow! Here's a peek of what's inside that I shot through the windows...

The views were amazing! To the North was San Jacinto Peak at 10,834 feet. To the East and Northeast we could see over the Palm Springs area and 29 Palms. To the Southeast we could see part of the Salton Sea, Coachella Valley, and the 10 freeway that heads East to Arizona. To the South we could see into San Diego County, And, to the West we could see the whole valley that surrounds where we live. It was pretty clear that morning but a storm was moving in and it became hazy as the day went on. Otherwise, I bet we could have seen the ocean!

Here's hubby soaking in the views...

He caught me doing the same...

We hiked almost eight miles that day. The steepness of the trail took us three and a half hours to reach the top, with a short lunch break. But, it only took us about an hour and 40 minutes to get down. Our legs were so 'done' when we got back to the car and so sore the next day that it was hard to walk. It was so worth it though.

Now that I'm able to walk again...lol...I'm looking forward to our next outdoor adventure! :-)

Having Fun and Letting Go

2011-05-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

I've always been a perfectionist. I think that's a good thing in a lot of ways. It helps me keep high standards for myself in what I do and what I create. It's also been a tough thing to deal with at times. Tough when something is as good as it's going to get and perfect is not an option. Tough when there's no such thing as perfect. Tough when I worry that I'll be judged based on perfection and I won't let less than perfect be okay. Tough when just having fun would be the perfect thing.

Over the years, I've noticed myself slowly letting the perfection thing loosen a bit. I'm learning that there's no such thing as perfect in some things. I'm learning that my idea of perfection may not be other people's idea of perfection. I'm learning that others may not judge me or like me based on perfection or lack of. In fact, they might like me better if I just relax a bit. I'm also learning to let go of it sometimes and just enjoy the process of doing. The ceramics class I took with my daughter this semester was a perfect exercise in letting go of perfection.

I learned pretty early in the semester that clay can't always be told what to do. It can be manipulated but I have to learn to let it speak and go with that too. The type of clay, the thickness, wetness or dryness of it, the weather and my skill or lack of have huge roles in what the clay will or will not become. Then, the glazes seem to have a mind of their own. They don't always turn out the exact color that was hoped for. The thickness or thinness of it's application and the way the piece was fired prior to glazing and other forces affect it. So...it's best to let go and enjoy the ride.

The semester just ended and all of my pieces are done. Here are some of my projects and how my ride turned out...

One of the first assignments was to roll out clay into slabs and create three plates. I cut out a circle and placed a rolled piece of clay underneath the edge to create a raised edge and hold it up while it dried. I decorated this one with handmade leaves and berries. The plate projects were painted with colored slip (wet, soupy clay colored with minerals) and covered in a clear glaze to make them shiney. The colors didn't always come out as planned. The white on this plate, in spite of many coats, came out blotchy. And, the berries that were supposed to be red/pink, came out blue. But, I like it. This one is 9" across...

I decorated this plate with a free-form daisy and vine that I painted on. The background was yellow but turned gray during firing. This one is also 9" across...

I went beyond a circle to create my third slab plate. It's a tropical leaf that is 6" wide and 18" long. I made the small end thick and strong but it somehow ended up breaking during the first firing. I never glazed it and fired it again because I didn't really want a platter that was glued together. It sure would have been a great piece though.

The next project was also constructed with slabs of rolled clay. We were to build a birdhouse inspired by some kind of architecture. I originally thought of doing a Southwest style house but in the end created one with more of a cottage feel. I hand carved all the little tiles/shingles on the roof and the wood grain in the shutters, hand sculpted every little leaf, and the vines were extruded through a little die/press. I loved how it looked when I was finished constructing it. As I glazed it, I had a vision of yellowy walls, a brown roof and shutters, and green vines. The glazes had a different idea...yellow, rust and brown. Oh well. I like it anyway. It's 5" wide by 7 1/2" tall.

Our next project was to be constructed with a coil of clay, twirled around and stacked on itself and then smoothed. It was supposed to be inspired by Native American pottery. Somehow, mine took on a shape totally different than I had envisioned. I'm not really sure how that happened but I really like it. I'm happy with how smooth I was able to make it. People kept asking if I had thrown it on the wheel because it was so smooth. That's cool! The next step was to let it dry a bit and then burnish the surface by rubbing a smooth stone on every inch of the outside surface...for a long time. That pushed all the bigger grains of clay down and left it very smooth like polished stone. It was then fired for about an hour until it was super hot and glowing orange. At that time, I removed it with gloves and long tongs and carefully placed horse hairs on it. The hair would sizzle, curl and twist as it burned and left really cool designs on my vase. After it was cooled and cleaned, wax was applied to the surface and polished. I love this one! I've seen pots like this in Native American shops but never realized what those lines were. Now I know, and I love and appreciate them much more. This is 6" wide x 8" tall.

For some reason, I always thought I'd get the whole throwing pottery on a wheel thing down pretty easy. It didn't look hard. Well, I learned a lesson on that! I didn't do too bad for my first semester but there's a lot to it and I have a lot of practicing and learning to do. Here's my first bowl. It doesn't show in this picture but it has a big hole in the bottom. I'm not sure what I'll do with a holey bowl but, I'm proud of it none the less. It's 5" across by 2 3/4" tall.

I kept at the wheel, practicing and practicing. I wasted some clay in the process. And, I made bowls of many sizes and shapes. One of our projects was to create a "set" of bowls. These don't really match in shape or size and they don't even fit together to be nesting bowls. But...they are all bowls and I made them! They range in size from 4 3/4" across x 2 1/4" tall to 6" x 3 3/4".

Considering how challenging it is to not only create a nice bowl on the wheel but to try and repeat a shape, I'm pretty happy with them. I'm especially happy with the shape of the big white one. I glazed them in colors that I thought might look good together. Most of the colors turned out how I planned. This is my set and I'm sticking to it!

This project started out to be a bowl but when it threatened to colapse on the wheel, I did my best to save it and turned it into a squat little vase. I think it will look beautiful with big rose blossoms piled into it. It's one of my favorite projects. I love how it looks in it's blue/green celadon glaze. It's 5"3/4" wide by 3" tall.

The body of this pumpkin was created by a talented student who loves to make pumpkins. She made a hollow ball on the wheel (amazing!) and showed me how to create the pumpkin shape by gently karate chopping the little grooves. I later added a stem and leaf. The glaze colors turned out great on this. I love it! Thanks, Tanya! :-)

One of our assignments was to create a set of four mugs or cups with handles. I tried to do it with slab construction but frustration with that sent me to the wheel. That went a lot better and gave me more practice at throwing. They're not exactly the same but they're close. I decorated each one with handmade oak leaves and acorns...some of my favorite things!

The colors were supposed to be yellow with little rusty speckles on the body of the mugs and handles and the leaves were to be a rusty color. They came out close. I'm pretty happy with them. I ended up with five mugs that are all about 3 1/2" wide (5" with the handles) x 3 1/2" tall.

I really wanted to make a pitcher on the wheel and thanks to the help of a patient and talented student, I did it! Yay! Thanks, Frank! I applied the handle later and glazed the whole thing in "Stoneware Blue". I glazed it a little thick though and another firing will be needed to allow little gas bubble spots to finish glazing over. It's 6" (8" with the handle) wide by 6 3/4" tall.

I was a little frustrated sometimes through this semester but more and more I gave into just enjoying the process and being excited to see how things were going to turn out. It was a great opportunity to practice letting go, letting be, and having fun. I think it went pretty well because I'm planning to take another semester of this fun next Fall. And, I now have a much greater appreciation for this art form. The best part is that I took the class with my daughter. We got to spend a lot of time together being creative, supportive and having fun. How great is that?!!! :-D

Vintage Lace

2011-05-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

My daughter and I went on a vintage home tour a couple of weeks ago. There were six old, restored homes on the tour and a Restoration Faire. The homes were lovely and interesting. The most beautiful home seemed to be haunted. We got a reallllly creepy feeling when we were upstairs and in the back of the home. It was even creepier to find out later that other people had the same feeling in the same parts of the house. My daughter was creeped out so much that she not only wanted out of the house ASAP, she wanted to get off the property. I've had uneasy feelings in some old homes in the past but nothing like that. Yikes!

The Restoration Faire was the best part of the day. We found wonderful things. My daughter bought three beautiful old books for her growing collection. We also found some beautiful lace collars. There were quite a few and some even had matching cuffs. We settled on two collars. I bought this one...

My daughter fell in love with this...

They're so pretty! We don't have an immediate use for them but we're hoping they'll work great on some future vintage style dress projects.

We're not sure what this crochet lace would be best for but my daughter had to have them. They're so pretty.

I love antique shopping and searching for special little treasures. Finding them is such a thrill! :-)

Pretty Pink Posies

2011-05-12T09:11:00.000-07:00

Precursory pink posts permit posting pretty pink posies...

This beautiful bouquet came from my garden and was a gift to my mom for Mother's Day.

I've been posting pink this week and thought it would be perfectly permissible to post one more...with a little alliteration, of course. I thought about posting it for Floral Friday but I have some very busy days ahead. Best wishes for a beautiful weekend! :-)

Tickled Pink

2011-05-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law loves all things pink. She also loves life and knows how to have fun. One of the things she enjoys is riding her bike. In fact, she has a yearly tradition of meeting up once a year with several other ladies in another state and spending five days riding their bikes and staying at bed and breakfasts and inns along the way. They rode the Katy Trail in Missouri the past two years, different sections each year. They're heading to a new destination this year, somewhere in Minnesota, I think.

When she bikes, she likes to wear pink and she likes to put pink things on her bike. It can be bells, streamers from her handlebars, little stuffed animals, etc. She doesn't put a lot of stuff on it, just enough to add a touch of fun and whimsey. We decided to help her out on that this year.

My husband and I were shopping at Home Depot on Saturday and found this in the garden section...

We knew immediately that we wanted to get it for her. It's meant to go in the garden...another place that she like to add little touches of fun and whimsey. However, my husband had a different idea! He took the bird off it's wire stick and attached it to a bike bell mount. Ta da....a bike gizmo that mounts on the handlebars!...

I like how the wings and feet wiggle with little bumps and will probably flap in the breeze. Isn't it cute?!

I can't imagine looking at this and not smiling!

The best thing...she loves it! I guess we could say she was "tickled pink"! And, so were we that she liked it. :-)

Pretty in Pink

2011-05-10T17:00:00.000-07:00

Now that Mother's Day has come and gone I can finally post another shawl that I made. I've been keeping it under wraps until I gave it to my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. It's another South Bay Shawlette...the eighth one that I've made. Can you tell that I love this pattern?!

I crocheted it with a size "I" hook and used one skein of Knit Picks Stroll Tonal yarn that I bought before Christmas. The colorway is "Blossom". It's perfect for my mother-in-law who loves everything pink. It's even prettier in person.

I like the different shapes that show up in this pattern...depending on whether you focus on the holes and see flowers or the shells and groups of three that look like little huts...

Here it is blocking...

The finished size is 50" wide at the top by 29" long from the center top to the bottom, center point.

I took a risk with this gift. When my mother-in-law knew I was thinking of making these for other family members for Christmas and she asked me not to make one for her. She wasn't accustomed to wearing things like this and wasn't sure how to do so. So, I made her a cowl for Christmas instead. When I gave it to her on Sunday she loved it. She was excited and happy to recieve it and shared with me that when she saw others recieve them at Christmas, she was a little sorry she'd asked me not to make one for her because she thought they were so beautiful. I'm so glad I took the chance and I'm so happy she loves it.

She's going on a Hawaiian cruise next Fall for her 50th wedding anniversary and already has plans to take her new shawl along. I think it would look great over an all white or all black outfit at dinner or anytime. The color and flowery pattern look very tropical too. :-)

Drummin'

2011-05-05T14:56:00.000-07:00

I've always been a person who doesn't like going with the flow of "normal". That doesn't appeal to me at all. It seems so boring! I like to do things differently and do different things. What I like and my interests just happen to go that way. One of my newest interests is a bit out of the norm as well. The Bodhran...

It's an Irish drum. I'm not sure if I have any Irish in me. But that's okay. A good friend of my daughter brought his Bodhran over a month or so ago and I was fascinated. About a week later he let me borrow it. I quickly went to YouTube, pulled up some instructional videos and started learning to play. I spent hours that evening beating away at the drum. It was so fun and, believe it or not, relaxing.

I soon bought my own Bodhran. I've been practicing just about every day since and working my way through a series of lessons on YouTube called Bodhran Master Class. The instructor, Michelle Stewart, breaks it down and makes it simple and fun to learn. You can see and hear her playing in this VIDEO.

I played the clarinet for about three years when I was a kid but sadly gave it up in eigth grade. In my 20's I took piano and voice lessons but then life got busy. I tried the piano again a few years ago but I can't seem to get the notes to stick in my head. I really want to play an instrument and I'm fascinated with so many of them. I love this one because I don't have to read music. It's fun and, so far, I'm sticking with it. Who knows, maybe it'll give me some knowledge and confidence to try out some other instruments and actually get the whole reading music thing to stick. I can only hope. In the meantime, I'll keep playing my drum and enjoying every beat.

Clever Little Shawl

2011-05-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a fun little project...

The pattern is "Carol's Clever Little Shawl". I found it on Ravelry when I was doing a search for Civil War era and other historical patterns. The pattern creator studied a historical 1800's shawl and created the pattern based on that. I think the shape is interesting. The results posted by other Ravelors are wonderful and they had great things to say about the pattern. I wasn't sure how hard the points would be but I decided to give it a go. It turns out that the points are really easy. I've pinned them down to see them better. The shawl is knitted back and forth in short little rows, building from one side/end to the other.

The ends have a point/leaf shape. I love this feature but after knitting one I agree with some other Ravelers that it might look better if it was a little smaller. It's a little large compared to the points. A smaller one would be better proportioned. I don't really want to rip it out at this point. If I make another one, I'll definitely make them smaller.

Another feature of this shawl that I really love is the little pocket by each end point. The shawl is wrapped around the back with the points meeting in the front and one point slips through a pocket to hold the shawl on. No more falling off! I love that! It really is clever!

I'm using a size 7 circular needle and I used size 5 douple point needles for the pocket sections. I'm knitting this with some Filatura Lanarota Puno alpaca yarn that I had on hand. I love this blue color. I think this is going to look great with my western boots, a pair of jeans and a nice white shirt. I can't wait to wear it!....Next Fall or Winter of course...after I have some time to thaw out and enjoy warmer temps for a while. ;-)

Exploring Borrego, Part 3 - Wildflowers

2011-04-28T09:21:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has read my blog for a while will know that I love taking pictures of flowers. Our day in Borrego was no exception. And, besides, it is wildflower season in the desert!

There were a lot of "ooohs" and "aahhhs" on the drive out there. The Southern California landscape is painted in yellows, greens, oranges, reds and even purples right now. It's such a pretty time of year. The brown desert had colorful surprises of it's own. This pretty purple flower was growing on a ledge inside a slot canyon...

So pretty! Here's a close up of it...

Another kind of purple flower on the floor of the canyon...

These pods grew on the tops of the canyon walls, fell into the canyons, and gathered in little recesses. Some were only about six to eight inches tall. Other's were close to two feet. The stems at the top act like little parachutes which allow them to float gently down. It's fun to climb up and drop them to see them float...

This plant has some pod plants tangled in it...

Here's a closer look at the plant...

And, an even closer look at the flower. I like the little orange lines...

The Ocotillo trees lie dormant much of the time. However, with enough water or after a rain, they sprout leaves within hours to days. They've had plenty of water lately because they're all very green and the tops are blazing in red blooms. So, pretty!...

But, watch out for those thorns!...

I love the intense, gorgeous colors in the picture...

The cholla (pronounced choy uh) seem to have liked all the rain we got this year too. They look greener and healthier than usual. I've always been very careful around these because of stories I've heard about pieces of the plant "jumping" off. I'm not sure I believe that but I've never been one to take a chance. Those thorns looks pretty wicked. I'm usually very careful not to step on all the pieces that lie on the ground near the plants. But, I was so excited about taking pictures that I must have stopped paying attention. When I got back to the truck, I looked down at my shoes and the bottoms were covered in green goo and thorns. Luckily, hubby had some pliers and pulled the thorns out...all that he could, anyway. These shoes may never be the same! lol

Wow!...

Can you say "YELLOW"?! The color is so intense and so pretty!...

This has tiny white flowers and the plant itself doesn't really look like a desert plant. I'm thinking that it usually isn't but it was nestled near the oasis with plenty of water. When the water is gone, I bet the plant will be too. Such a treat to see while it's here though...

I spy red!...

These bushes were in Palm Canyon and they were taller than us!...

They were loaded with fuzzy little fringy things...

So cute!...

I really haven't done my homework on all the flowers I saw that day and don't know the names of most of them. I'm just enjoying them simply...for their color and beauty.

I'm not sure if I'd ever seen a green cactus flower before...

I love the color in this one...

Desert daisies...

The center looks like it's covered in teeny tiny yellow flowers. So cute!

Glowing blue...

These make me think of strawberry blossoms...

I love the red and yellow centers...

There were a bunch of these trees planted in town near the restaurant we stopped at for dinner...

They were covered in pretty yellow flowers...

The desert lavender bushes were covered in blooms but I was so busy enjoying their scent that I forgot to take a picture.

What a terrific day we had! It was filled with fun and adventure, new sights and learning, and...most of all...spending time together and making memories. :-)

Exploring Borrego, Part 2 - Desert Oasis

2011-04-27T10:00:00.000-07:00

Our day of exploring in Borrego was off to a great start with finding those caves. The next thing we wanted to explore was an area of round boulders called the "Pumpkin Patch". We followed the directions we'd found on the internet but we weren't able to find it. We'll get more detailed directions and try it again someday. You can click HERE to see pictures of what we would have seen.

Next, we headed over to Palm Canyon for a hike. I love this place and I've hiked it since I was a kid. I even blogged about it a couple of years ago. It may be the same hike but we always discover new things and it's a lot of fun. One thing that was different this time is that there was more water up there than I think I've ever seen in that canyon...at least, since I was a kid. We're always so amazed and excited to find water in the middle of the dry desert. Here's the first bit of water we came upon that day...

Further up the canyon was this little oasis...

There were even little frogs. So cute!...

And...waterfalls!...

Water!...

We had to get our feet wet!...

After playing in the water for a bit, we hiked further up the canyon. Here's a view of the creek just above where it fell into those waterfalls...

Amazing!

Wow!

Hidden treasures in the desert. Water for the wildlife, the plants, and fun for us!

Here's the view going back down the canyon. It's interesting that a broad view like this seems like there's really nothing there. A closer look reveals so much more.

You can see my daughter and her friend near the bottom right corner...

What a wonderful way to end the day. The sun was going down and the light was beautiful. The temperature was warm and the breeze felt great. The sound of the waterfalls and the birds singing didn't sound like something we would expect to hear in the desert but it was fantastic!

Since it's spring time, there were flowers blooming. You know me...I can't resist taking photos of those. I'll share some in my next post. I hope you come on back. :-)

Exploring Borrego, Part 1 - Cave Adventures

2011-04-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

We like to hike but when it includes new and unusual things to see and a little adventure...we LOVE it! Our hikes last Friday included all of that and more! My husband and I and my daughter and her good friend loaded up early last Friday morning and headed out to the desert near Borrego Springs in search of mud caves. We followed somewhat vague directions we'd found on the internet, out a few highways to a mile marker, turned up a wash, out another wash, over sand and rocks, toward some (dried) mud hills, looking for caves...

Our first stop took us up a slot canyon and we got to make the first tracks of the day...

The weather was quite warm but felt oh so good after this long cold winter. There was some shade to keep us from getting really hot.

There were a few arches along the way...

It may be mostly dirt, sand and rocks but there's so much to see! This spot had some crumbly, cracked ground...

There was obviously water in here over the winter...

It looks soft but it's actually quite hard...almost like rock...

The texture on the walls of the slot canyon were constantly changing...

Drip!...

This looks like a vein of rock/mineral...

I like this one...

Interesting! I wonder how this one was formed?...

We didn't find any caves in that canyon. So, we hopped back into the SUV and headed further up the wash. We found this on our next stop...the entrance to a cave!...

We went in with our packs of water, food and flashlights. It wound around and back and forth. We could stand upright through most of it but had to duck under a few ledges. It was pretty long...maybe a quarter of a mile. Since it was made of dried mud, it didn't echo like it would if it was rock. The temperature inside was nice...about 70, I think.

There was light at the end of the tunnel! It was a hole to the outside. My husband and my daughter's friend climbed out to take a look. This is a shot of my hubby standing in the exit of the cave we were in...

As we stood at the end of the cave, we saw a bat fly by and then noticed a small cave underneath where we were standing. My daughter's friend decided to go in and check it out...

There he goes...

Back out! It was short and only lead to a hole where he could look out and see us. But, he found a Chargers hat in there!

We turned around and headed back toward the main entrance. Just before we got there, we noticed something. Hmmmm? What's down there?...

Another offshoot?

Hubby decided to check it out. Going down...

Down...

Down.

This is my daughter and her friend looking out at the entrance/exit...

Wow! That was fun! Here we are sitting just outside the entrance...

On the way back to the SUV, hubby took a little detour, on a tiny little trail, up the side of the mud mountain we had just been inside of. Going up!...

The next cave we found didn't look like much from the outside. In fact, we weren't sure it went much farther than this hole. But, just inside and to the right there was indeed a cave. We followed it in and found a great surprise. There was a big room that was about four stories tall with a little light coming in from the top. There were remains of campfires in the center and it was pretty big. We decided it would be the perfect spot for lunch. So, we went back to the SUV, grabbed our food and hiked back in. The guys set their flashlights up onto the walls of the cave and as our eyes adjusted we could see really well. It was a truly unique and fun dining experience! I didn't get any pictures though. It was pretty dark in there but I probably should have tried to take some.

We saw very few people while we were hiking the caves and this part of the desert. We didn't see much wildlife either. Just some birds and a few bugs...

And, a few lizards. They were pretty...

Part way up one of the washes that we drove in, there was a street sign...in the middle of no where! It said, "Hollywood" and "Vine"...

We were having so much fun together and the day was only half over. After lunch, we packed up and headed north to Borrego Springs for more adventure. That will be in my next post. :-)

Spring Beauties

2011-04-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

Spring is finally starting to pop around here. Wildflowers are starting to bloom and we're even getting some warm, sunshiney days. My daughter and I took our cameras with us yesterday and went to see if the poppy field we found a couple years ago was blooming. It is...

We enjoyed the view for a while and took lots of pictures. I got some great ones of my daughter. Here's one of them...

We also found a golden yellow field. It's covered in tiny yellow daisies that are very fragrant...

Parts of the field are covered in bigger yellow flowers...

Here's a close up. I love the frilly white edges...

We're still on the hunt for a field of lupines. So far, we've only seen large amounts of them along the highway. But, we'll keep searching!

Civil War Dance Preparations: Sewing, Crocheting, Shopping and Fun!

2011-04-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Just over a week ago, my daughter was invited to a Civil War dance that took place this last Saturday. Exciting! However, she didn't have anything to wear...yet. Excited and determined to go, she got some helpful advice from the friend who's taking her and his family. Then, she did some research on the internet where she found a tutorial on how to make a skirt and a blouse. She and her friend went shopping for fabric and she quickly got started.

The skirt went great! The blouse, not so much. We ended up buying a pattern and more fabric for the blouse. That worked out much better. She made a black sash to finish it off. I'm so impressed that she pulled this off in one week and she is too. It was very exciting when she tried it on for the first time...

Here's a close up of the sash tied into a bow on the back. Isn't it pretty?...

After she brought this beautiful wine/red colored fabric home, I got an idea. I had two balls of "Garnet Heather" (red/black) Knit Picks Palette yarn I had purchased last November. I thought it would make a perfect shawl for this outfit and my daughter loved the idea. We immediately decided on the "Tea Wrap" pattern. It's her favorite and she's been wanting one. While she sewed, I crocheted like crazy to make the shawl in time to block it and have it ready by the end of the week. My hands were very tired but I did it! Here it is before blocking...

I love the texture of this and the ruffly bottom before it's blocked...

Blocking this shape of shawl and making sure both sides are the same can be challenging. It requires patience and lots of measuring. But, luckily, I figured out a way to do it on one of my first shawls that works really well. It's quicker, easier and much more fun. I washed, rinsed and rolled the shawl in a towel to get out the excess water; wove a blocking wire down the center back of the shawl; layed it out on a sheet spread on the floor; pinned the wire down; stretched and adjusted the bottom layer and pinned it; layed the other side down and stretched it out to match the bottom layer, and gently and pinned it in place. Luckily, my trusty little helper was there to supervise the whole process...

I bent the wire out a little on the bottom of the shawl in an attempt to make that part bigger/wider and keep those pretty ruffles...

Duchess layed next to the shawl on and off all day to be sure everything went just right. After all, this is for her favorite gal! What a cutie!...

It's done and it's beautiful!

The best part of this project was when it was upinned from blocking and my daughter lifted up. She gasped and said, "it's beautiful!...I love it!" Wow! That feels so good!

This shawl turned out small as I only had two balls of yarn (this was from that glitched Knit Picks order from last November where I got two red and one green instead of three red. Ugh!). However, for this shawl it turned out to be the perfect amount. It's short enough to allow her pretty sash bow to peek out. And, it's a wonderful splash of color, texture and pretty for her Civil War outfit.

She looked beautiful in her new outfit and shawl that night and she had so much fun!

She, my husband, and I have been interested in going to a Civil War reinactment event for a while. Now, that she's getting involved, we're getting even more interested and excited about it. So much so that I sewed a skirt for myself a couple days ago and almost have an entire outfit ready. Over the weekend, my husband and I went shopping and started getting clothing for him. We're already having fun and making memories with the preparations...researching, sewing, crocheting, shopping...and we're not even there yet!

I'm excited about going to one of these events and seeing what it's like. Although, I am little nervous because we've never done this and we're a little on the shy side...especially my hubby...but, it looks like a lot of fun. It sounds like it will be a great learning experience too...about history, people and old fashioned dancing. :-D