Sanna's Bag

Getting in touch with my inner recluse

2012-02-02T15:52:00.000-08:00

I have not been getting out and about much. Spending a lot of time with the sewing machine and the audio books. Using up gifts and donations for the Medical Team International I still have to tie this one, but it's the latest from my work bench.

And here's the back. This is the technique/ design /plan I'm going to use for the Piece-a-palooza. You tear the fabric into 6inch strips, sew them end to end, to end, then cut the looooooong strip into pieces as long or as wide as the quilt you want to make, and sew them side by side by side. The randomness dances gleefully through the work, and there's no way to do it wrong.

As for the knitting, I have been taken with double knit. Here's the sample swatch I did to figure out how she is done. It's very important to keep the stranded yarns between the two sides of the fabric. Being able to carry yarn in right and left hand makes it easier, but I'll never be able to do this while watching TV or chatting with someone. It takes eyes, hands, and full attention.

This shows the other side as well Everything that is orange on one side is green on the other side, and the fabric connects where the colors change. This would be great for wool potholders, tea cozies, or really thick hats. A sweater out of double knit would be almost too heavy to wear. The technique could be used rather handily to make a multi-pocketed tote, though - leaving the top sections of the work open. Hmmmm.. .

Sorry for the oh so dark photos. The cell phone isn't the best camera. (yeah - poor workman blames her tools.)

I did get out on an expedition yesterday,though. A first time in my life sort of thing. My niece, who has children in their twenties, is getting married in December. I have been out of touch with her for decades, and we recently re-established contact. So she generously, lovingly invited me to join her on an expedition to find her wedding dress. I have never been wedding dress shopping before, and I was thrilled! Her half-sister came along as well,and we had a ball. We pulled dresses here and there, then she came out and showed us - It was so much fun! She would model one dress and we would say, "That's not bad." and make notes about the good and bad points. Then she'd put on another, and another. Then she stepped out and she was just glowing! The dress was so flattering on her, and she even walked differently - like a princess! She stepped up on the podium and tears came other eyes. You just know when the dress is right. Not only that, but she got a deal on it! Woohoo!

The thing that surprised me, though, is that all - absolutely all of the wedding gowns are strapless. You can buy a little jacket to go over your shoulders if you want, but your wedding gown will have no sleeves, collar or neckline if you buy it this year. On the other hand, the silhouettes are all over the map. Ball gowns, hoop skirts, A-lines, mermaid, empire columns and, for the reception, trains that can be bustled up. Bustles, for cry-sakes! Oh,and how many sequins, beads, artificial pearls and crystals gave their lives for those dresses? Lace, ruched satin, feathers, chiffon, - there was one dress with enough tule to outfit a tribe of bee-keepers. Anyone wearing that would look like the Barbie doll stuck into the top of the cake. Just because I didn't see any, I started wanting cream-colored velvet with long sleeves, a draped neckline, and a simple straight skirt. Maybe a satin belt at the waist.

And after you buy the gown, there's lingerie, (Gotta have a strapless bra and a long petticoat) and - accessories - Oh, the accessories! A tiara, a necklace, matching earrings and bracelet, gloves, and veil. How long should the veil be? How many layers? What sort of edging? Rhinestones, pearls, Spanish lace, swansdown? Tule ruffles?I had no idea! Mom bought my first wedding gown when I was 18, though I didn't get married till I was in my mid 30s. (And I was corseted into that sucker like Scarlet O'Hara.) Then, when I married DH, I made my own hat, (Spray-painted a white hat pink, then sewed dark and light pink roses all around the crown.)The mother of the best man sewed my simple little raglan-sleeve pink silk dress with the elastic neckline. (I could weigh 300 lbs and still be able to get into my wedding dress!) TLB made our cake (divine!) and we had the wedding and reception in our back yard. It was SOOO nice, friendly, happy, celebratory!

So my niece has now to shop for lingerie, shoes, jewelry, and dresses for her four girls. Four completely different body types and personalities. We're thinking any style that suits the individual, and a unifying color.

But it was so wonderful to be an honored relative. My eyes get damp just thinking about it.

Good thing my head is attached

2012-01-31T15:24:00.000-08:00

It's time to renew my driver's license. so I drove to the express renewal office, but when I got there it was gone. Oh yeah. I saw last year where they had to close that office due to budget cuts. So I drove home, and looked up the next closest office on the internet. About twice as far away. I drove out there, got in line, and when I got up to the counter the nice man said, "And you have your passport or birth certificate?"Oh yeah. About two years ago we got that law making it mandatory to prove that you're really an American Citizen before you can get a state identification card (driver's license.) So I drove home, got my passport out of the safe, drove back again, got back into line, twinkled at thence man behind the counter and displayed my passport, then proceeded to have my eyes checked, my documents verified, my picture taken, and my current driver's license punched. The new license will be in the mail in about two weeks. And I need to fill my gas tank.

I could have saved a great deal of time and travel if I had just read the full directions on the renewal notice, but I've been renewing my license for 40 some years now, and I thought I knew how to do it. Things change.

Moreover, I have been listening to the Patrick O'Brian seafaring books. Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin, at sea against Napoleon. Life on board a warship in the king's navy -- fascinating, horrifying, astonishing. Based all on fact, woven in with rich, complex characters, and exciting, engaging story lines. So, when I should have been paying more attention to the task at hand, half my mind was on board a sailing ship on the way to China, wondering how they were going to manage with everyone coming down with scurvy. Talk about a window into a different world! The 15-year-old midshipman gets his arm broken so severely that it might need to be amputated. The captain writes home to the loving parents that the lad has done remarkably well in difficult circumstances, they should be proud of him, and they can take comfort from the fact that not only is the ship's doctor "A capital hand with the saw," but also that it is the young man's left hand, so loss of it will not in any way hamper his career.

Things sure are different now. Imagine sending your 12 year old son off to sea to make his living in the world. I know 12 year olds that won't leave home to take out the garbage!

calling all carnivores

2012-01-29T14:34:00.000-08:00

Do you expect to need your camera in a restaurant? Wish I had taken mine yesterday. We had dinner at the Brazil Grill (1201 SW 12th downtown Portland.) You go through the salad bar, then the servers start coming around with grilled meat on skewers, cutting off slices as you request. Tri-tip beef roast, mouth-watering tender lamb, chicken thighs marinated in cognac, mouthfuls of fillet mignon wrapped in bacon, grilled shrimp, bacon wrapped chicken, linguisa sausages, and cinnamon grilled pineapple that was the nearest my tongue has ever come to heaven. It's an all-you-can-eat establishment - the servers wear mid-calf boots, black shirts, scarlet belts, and wide-legged black pants tucked into the boots. Very dashing - gaucho look. I really wanted to get a shot of the lad carving slices off the lamb. BIG flashing knife and big flashing eyes. Ahh- urge to tango!

Afterwards, we saw Hal Holbrook performing Mark Twain Tonight. He's 85 years old and has been doing this show for fifty some years, off and on. I imagine the makeup is a lot easier now. It was enlightening and entertaining and impressive as hell. He took a nice long rant, in Mark Twain's own words, about the stupidity, cupidity and venality of the members of congress and ended by saying that they should all "be put on the street as a convenience for dogs." Practically got a standing ovation for that.

Unfortunately, DH has this fabulous little cowboy butt, and the auditorium seats require the audience to provide their own padding. He wound up in such pain that we had to leave before the end of the show. Does anyone else have this problem? How do you solve it? He won't allow me to carry a cushion for him.

By the way, that color work object that you are all calling a hat (or two hats) is intended to be a double-sided tea cozy. I don't make a hole for the spout and handle because heat escapes through those holes. I just pluck the cozy off when I pour, then pop it back on to keep the tea hot.

I make these by casting on 100 (or so) and working a few inches of k2,p2 ribbing, then knitting to the shoulder of the pot and decreasing to a close. Then I go back to the bottom, pick up 100 (or so) from the cast-on edge, and work the second half, closing to the top. You wind up with a tube closed at each end. Just tuck the one end inside the other, and pull it over your tea pot. It keeps the tea hot for about two hours.

Did your mom let you have comic books? I remember the first issue of Spiderman. And pounds of Little Lulu, Archie and Veronica, Caspar the Friendly Ghost, Superman, Dr. Strange. We spent summers at the cabin with no electricity, so we got to read anything we liked. And having older brothers - well . . . I was reading Mad Magazine when I was six. (25cents cheap)

cozies

2012-01-28T09:46:00.000-08:00

Tim and Cindy gave me yarn for Christmas- Cascade 220 - in colors that I rarely use. Nothing like something outside the typical palate to inspire a girl. This is the brown side, with some color work in hand-dyed woo I bought becauseI don't use these colors. I made up the patterns with my graph paper and color pencils. It makes me think of vines. In Blues and greys, it would look like waves.

And to my great delight, the hand-dyed yarn shows on the orange side as well, looking even more vine-like. This was a fun, fast project.

It inspired me - for the first time ever in a long knitting career - to think about double knitting. I'm wrassling a practice swatch right now, when I should be knitting short-finger gloves for DH. Bad Roxie. No self-discipline. (She smiles blithely. Nope. No discipline what-so-ever when the muses beckon. La la la! I'm learning and creating and duty will just have to wait.)

I am so enjoying hearing what people read while growing up. I'm wondering if what we read shaped our adult selves, or if we were already shaped and reading what best pleased us. I had older brothers and a literate father, so the boys books were much more readily available. I had Nancy Drew, too, but compared to The Fantastic Island, and She, Nancy Drew was mostly milk-toast. Did anyone else read,The Bobsey Twins? Slice-o-life from upper middle-class America circa 1930. Wonder if the library has copies?

another quilt finished

2012-01-27T06:11:00.000-08:00

MJ and I got together and used some leftovers to make a cheery crib quilt for Medical Team International. We work really well together and design on the fly. Fast and fun - just what I hope for the Piece-a-thon. Getting lots of good responses already. It's going to be a FUN birthday!

Dave asked how long it took to make the Aran sweater. I had it at two different knitter's teas, so that means it took over a month. I lost several good knitting days to second sleeve syndrome. I get so annoyed with having to do exactly the same thing all over again that I just give the whole thing a time out. Since I wasn't knitting, I was picking at my cuticles and chewing my fingernails. When I got down to the quick I realized what was going on, bit the bullet, and finished that silly sleeve. Then I whipped right through a stranded color work tea cozy - double-sided. Now I am inspired to try some double-knitting for another tea cozy. No seconds of anything there. I also have some black sock weight alpaca for short-finger gloves for DH, but at least I have a 40" circular so I can magic loop and knit them both at once. I do best with one project at a time. Well, andI like to have something mindless to knit in the movies. So two projects at a time. I'm thinking of setting up a seed-stitch moebius scarf, but there really aren't any movies I'm dying to see in the near future.

BUT, When John Carter of Mars opens, I want to be there. I read everything Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote when I was in my early teens. He was terrifically prolific. There was Tarzan, of course. There was the John Carter of Mars series. There was a series set on Venus and another series set in a wild hidden country inside the earth's crust (Pellucidar). All with mighty, noble heroes and beautiful, succulent, noble heroines and all strictly PG but just voluptuous with sensory details. A great deal of my sense of How a Story Should Be was shaped by Burroughs, Jules Verne, and Rider Haggard. Ripping tales from the turn of the past century.

Who did you read when you were growing up?

Sweater

2012-01-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

My latest knitting project - cables for the daughter of a friend. I hope it's long enough. It was a pleasure to make. Cascade 220. Mostly knit on size 5s. The collar is knit on 3s, then 5s, then 7s to make it spread over the shoulders. It has four plait cables on the front because the family, mother, father, son and daughter, are a close-knit family. The sleeves have a six plait cable because the son and daughter are old enough to engage additional members.

And here are the buttons. This picture has the most accurate color for the yarn. I shopped for the right buttons for ever so long. And finally, I found these in JoAnnes of all places.

I made afterthought buttonholes. So handy for when you are winging it and don't know how long the button band is going to be.

She's a buxom lass. I hope the placement of the cables is flattering.

Now I'm working a little tea cozy in brown and orange, and I will use the left-overs for a hat. And then I'm on to a pair of alpaca short-fingered gloves for DH. Knitting is such a comfort.

Mark your calendars

2012-01-24T06:27:00.000-08:00

On March 3rd, 2012, you are all invited to a grand stash-busting piece-a-palooza at the Milwaukie Community Center on Rusk Road. I will teach you quick and dirty techniques for piecing quilt tops, and the results of our work will be donated to Medical Teams International. Bring your portable sewing machine if you have one. Come anyway if you don't. We will need planners, pinners, pressers, and sewers. Husbands and children are also welcome. If you have old blankets that we can use for batting, they will be welcome as well. This is a great ending for those tired old mauve paisley sheets you are sick of. We will provide pizza, tea, coffee and cookies. From 10 till 3 - come when you can.

This is my 62nd birthday party. We're gonna have FUN!

I has new boots

2012-01-22T10:08:00.000-08:00

Ever since I was a teenager I have wanted knee high boots, but always found them to be prohibitively expensive. And used to be, large sizes were only basic, boring styles.They didn't even MAKE sexy boots in my size. But girls have been getting bigger, and tall boots have been getting more stylish.

And then, DH and I went for lunch at the deli in the chichi neighborhood. As we were standing in line, waiting for a table to clear, a couple of ladies came in and showed their new purchases to the waitress. (her mom and sis-in-law it turns out) and the boots were cute and OMG cheap and the shop was just down the block. The waitress had called everyone she knew. After lunch, DH and I sauntered on to this tiny shop and wedged our way in and my boots were there! For - can you believe it - $30! I've seen similar boots (in earlier decades) for ten times that. I snapped them up! And I also picked up a pair of shorter boots with buckles and straps on them for $20. I know these aren't made in America. I doubt they're even real leather. (DH says they're ratskin) They probably won't stand up to a year's hard wear. But - but- but - they are a fantasy I've had for fifty years. And don't they look hot? I can totally ROCK these boots! I will look for excuses to wear them. I am jazzed beyond words. I has new boots!

It's all gone now

2012-01-19T17:16:00.000-08:00

DH now has photographic proof that I have been seen confronting snow. He got this picture on Sunday. As you can see, I was not happy about it. I know that there are people who will gleefully frolic in this stuff, who find it serene and ethereally beautiful. Well, bloody good for you! We hates it, we does. Nasssssty sssnowsesss! We're GLAD it's all melted now!

My pajama day was blissful yesterday. My bones no longer ache, and my eyes no longer roll shut whenever I stop moving. Thank you for validating my down time. Used to be, I knew when I was sickening for something. It was so rare to feel less than tiptop that I recognized it instantly. Now, I'm draggin' tush by the end of every day. My inner critic says that there are women in their 80s who have more vim than I, and it's my own fault if I'm not as fit and vital as they are. My inner comforter reminds me that there have always been women with more ______ (vim, strength, success, beauty, intelligence, self-discipline, etc. . ..pick one - or several ) than I have. And there always will be. We have different strengths, and we pay different prices for the things we cherish.

Worser nature

2012-01-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

A quilted tea-cozy, because it's raining on the snow, and I wanted to see something bright and cheery.

I'm glad the snow is going away. I'm glad I'm not going anywhere today. So far this morning, I have lain fallow, done Jack-shit, flopped around in my bathrobe, petted the kitties, and napped. This may wind up being a pajama day, and if DH weren't out working his butt off, there would be many more of the same. I am slothful by nature. I wallow in indolence. I am an Olympic quality layabout. I haven't even turned on the TV yet. I can spend a whole day with no more entertainment than a blanket, a sofa and a window.

Maybe I'm coming down with something. I have been bone-achingly weary the past few days, and though I know I OUGHT to exercise, clean house, run laundry, write, knit, sew, be productive and contribute to society - the siren song of the recliner is so sweet and loud that it's almost impossible to deny. The only thing that might keep me from more sleep is some food. First I'll eat, then I'll nap. You know, sometimes you just gotta give in to your worser nature.

Partay!

2012-01-15T16:29:00.000-08:00

We interrupt this previously scheduled report with some late-breaking news. It's snowing! Eeeeeeeeeeeee! The sabertooth mammoths are going to come down from the glaciers and hunt me down and tread me into the tundra because they're mean bastards. Being extinct will do that to a species. HATE snow!!

OK, back to our previously scheduled report.

We were twenty two at the knitter's tea yesterday. Ten in the dining room, and twelve in the living room and laughter and joy for all. Here's the best part-in-action photo I got.

Individual cheesecakes with cherry topping, and fancy wrappers. When DH saw me assembling the wrappers he asked what they were. I told him they were party dresses for the cheese cakes.

I'm quite chuffed with myself over the tiered plate I made. A round mirror on the bottom, then 3 champagne glasses supporting a glass turntable from an old microwave. Space was at a premium and I needed to stack the food.

From the top down, almond macarons, middle tier: shortbread cookies with marion berry jam filling (YUM!) and peanut butter cookies. Bottom tier: Dark chocolate brownies and milk chocolate brownies with cinnamon.

There were lots of clementines left over. Go figure.

love it

2012-01-14T06:06:00.000-08:00

Rosy-fingered dawn.

Rosy-footed Roxie

It's a cat's life

2012-01-12T15:39:00.000-08:00

Don't you wish your life was this perfect?

As for the Wednesday photo, no, I did not know the fellow. No, I did not ask if I could take his photo. No, he never realized his southern exposure was being memorialized. I never even saw his face. I was just in the right place at the right time with the camera in my pocket.

I have been cleaning and baking today. At last, at last my macarons are perfect! See that line of texture between the top and the bottom? That line means my macaroons have "feet." The egg whites held their fluff and the bubbles expanded in the oven creating a crispy structure to support the almond flour. This little button of delicacy is about an inch in diameter, and the long slanting rays of the sun make it look a bit more golden than it truly is. But I am filled with joy at the success of my macarons!! Happy, happy joy, joy!
And God only knows why everything is coming out underlined. I've tried to fix it, and it thwarts my every effort, making mocking noises and rolling its eyes like a sullen teen. As I struggle with my urge to throw the laptop across the room, it occurs to me that perhaps it really was a good thing thatI never had children. You throw the laptop across the room and curse it, and people think you're immature. You throw the smart-mouth fourteen-year-old across the room, and people lock you up with punks, drunks, junkies, and seriously crazy criminals. Dodged a bullet on that one, Roxie!

Wednesday

2012-01-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

It's ass-watch Wednesday, and the Bad Grannies are at it again!

prepping for the party

2012-01-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

For some reason, January is the month when everyone is able to make it, and I will be seating first-comers at the table and late-comers in the living room. I have 21 acceptances! Woohoo! Individual cheesecakes, almond macarons, hazelnut scones, marionberry cookie sandwiches, clementines, deviled eggs, and little bowls of cashews. Sounds like the theme is nuts to winter! One of these days, I will get the macaroons RIGHT! Hmmm - with so many people, maybe another cookie would be good. Peanut butter! Nuts to winter indeed!

Wish you could be here and see the lovely winter sunlight slanting down through the branches of the plum tree. The shadows are so stark and the afternoon light so golden and warm-looking. It's cold enough to give me nip-ups when I run to the mailbox, but is sure does look purty out there.

Remember the magnolia branches I said I was going to try to force? 5 buds are popping open today! This is so cool! I didn't think anything would happen, but the branches looked so artsy that I though I'd just leave them there.We shall see how the buds blossom out.

We have a new roof. The house was re-roofed just before we bought it, 17 years ago. This winter, I noticed spots where the plywood under the shingles was starting to rot, and I lobbied for a metal roof - successfully. We're looking at retirement, and we don't want to be facing roofing expense every couple of decades or so. The metal roof is supposed to be good as long as we live. It's tile red, and and I loves it!
If we decide, down the road, to do a water catchment system, it will be easy to install. And if we decide to add solar panels, they'll fit right between the ridges of the roofing. There was a honking big industrial sized drop box in our driveway for the better part of a month, and I was parking in the driveway of the un-occupied house next door. And of course, Since this was all done over the holidays, it took twice as long as we had expected. But I have realized that any time you have contractors in, it is GOING to take twice as long and cost twice as much as you expected and that's just the way it is. I need to get over being surprised by this. It didn't cost quite twice as much (there was more rot than anticipated, and they wound up replacing the skylight as well) but I'm still satisfied with the results.

And that does it. No more changes in the house for the foreseeable future. DH is talking about retiring to Hawaii. He's found a real-estate website and is feasting his eyes on the tropical properties. If he continues in this vein, I'll have to talk him down. Hawaii is paradise, and I love to visit, but the idea of packing the whole house and moving is just too daunting. Sorting out which teacups I want to take and which I can bear to part with would be more than I could stand, just for starters. Then there's the yarn stash, the fabric stash, the books ... No, I think it'll be easier to just stay here till I die.

(If you want to make God laugh, tell Her your plans. I'll do whatever I need to when the time comes.)

making - do!

2012-01-08T13:14:00.000-08:00

Pay it forward 2012. I will send something handmade to the first five people to comment on this. The only condition is that you repost and pay it forward. It can be as simple as you wish but must be handmade by you. I will gladly send stuff anywhere in the world ♥

Love these socks some more.

2012-01-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

Dave is so right! The trick to theses socks is to wear them proud and LOUD!

Another quilt finished

2012-01-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

Using up some of the fabrics that LG passed along to me, I took some pre-cut squares and sewed light to dark. Just sort of scrambled together, but it turns out kind of cute. And the big border makes the finish easy. I am having such fun using other people's palates. There was one chunk of farmyard print that I pitched in because it's a kid's quilt.

Every square looks different depending on the animals that show up. Dogs,pigs, chickens, geese - -

Sheep, cats, bunnies, cows - -

And then we got a cat of our own on the quilt. Ben is sure that I made this just for him. Isn't that a happy face?

birds

2012-01-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

I can tell a robin from a pigeon. I recognize wild turkeys, pheasants, quail, Canada geese and and a few other birds you can eat if you really have to (like starlings.) A turkey vulture is the bird hanging way high with wing feathers like separate fingers. Blue herons look like pterodactyls when they fly. I have a light and passing familiarity with the larger birds, but lately, I have become interested in these LBBs - the Little Brown Birds that are partying at the feeder. Juncos and finches and chickadees and bush-tits. LG, bless her heart, is going to give me a bird-watching outing to introduce me to some more of the little feather dusters. But in the meantime, can anyone recommend a book like, "Little Brown Birds for Dummies?"

(Brace yourselves. This could lead to blurry shots of leaves and shadows with the proud caption, "The little brown spot in the upper left corner is either a Clemson's Warbler or an El-Ay Wrapper.")

I really do love these socks

2012-01-03T08:55:00.000-08:00

Dave Daniels was right. The black acetate knit gaucho pants just didn't do the socks justice. But if you match them with a nice pink print skirt - - cunning, donchathink? A woman walks down the street wearing this outfit, you know she's not afraid of anything!

We took a walk

2012-01-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

New Year's day, DH found that our favorite deli (Kornblatt's)was open so we drove over that a way for lunch. As we passed the Jaguar dealership we saw that they have gone all holiday on us, putting antlers and a red nose on the leaping logo. Merry Christmas, ho, ho, ho!

We parked a ways from the deli and sauntered around in the dry, relatively warm day. I strolled DH through a neighborhood where I used to live and bored him rather silly with tales of events that had occurred here and there. Like the restaurant where I first found out that for some people, me included, drinking schnapps and eating pickled herring at the same time results in disastrously low blood pressure. The only time I have ever passed out in a restaurant.

These doors belong to a middle eastern restaurant where we have been a couple of times, and each time, they have forgotten my order and left me without food. Everyone else got served, and there I sat with nothing. Once could have been an honest mistake. Twice? They don't need my business. But the doors are cool.

This neighborhood is upscaling considerably from the time I lived here. There are a hundred little boutiques where once there were scruffy bars. run down old houses have been converted to chichi salons, and the shoe repair shop with the resident cat that used to sleep in the window, is now a trendy coffee bar. This used to be slums, but now it's where successful lawyers bring their husbands to dine. And yet, these bits and pieces of the old days still show up here and there.

This is the front of an art studio. But I could swear that old guy lived behind the dumpster of the warehouse that used to be here. You could tell when it was spring. The bums would try to hit on you before they would spare-change you. "Hey baby, ya wanna party? You sure? Well, could you spare a couple of dollars so I can go party?" Back in those days, if I had a couple dollars to spare, I would go to the grocery store and treat myself to a box of Earl Grey tea. Quiet parties. My apartment had a south-facing bedroom and one Sunday morning when I treated myself to breakfast in bed, the sun broke through the clouds and filled the room like honey. I just lay in bed sipping my tea and basking.

Yeah, doesn't take much to please me. And it doesn't take much to amuse me, either.

Wish we had gotten closer. This van is a rolling work of art. "There's a lion above the fender./ You can offer legal tender, to help to make the van go/ so art in Portland can grow." I love living in this city!

Oh, lunch at the deli was delicious! I have fallen in love with their matzo-ball soup. It tastes like comfort.

OMG it's a whole new year!

2012-01-01T08:11:00.000-08:00

Last night, DH and I lounged in front of the TV with another finger-food feast and champers, watching Johnny Deppin "On Stranger Tides" and then I took a bath and went to bed before 10 PM. I am SUCH a lightweight! I'm the one for whom matinees are made. And "EarlyBird" dinners. And even though I wasn't awake and alert to bring it on, never the less, the old year passed and the new one arrived. The neighborhood has changed enough that no one blew things up or fired guns last night, so I slept through all those changes. Did I miss anything?

We have a magnolia tree in the back yard that has grown so large that in the summer, when the boughs are heavy with leaves, they almost reach the ground. Makes mowing the lawn a pain. So DH decided that he would go prune the tree yesterday. I got my new, long handled clippers and joined him outside, and we gave that tree a wicked trim. Then I went for the denuded Christmas tree, chopping it into pieces that would fit in our fire pit. We spent hours playing with the fire. Gasoline was brought into play to start the flames since everything had been doused with two inches of rain in the past two days. I had been folding boxes to recycle, but cardboard boxes make great chimneys to make the fire draw harder. Then I figured that, instead of blowing on the coals, I could use a small flattened box as a fan, and we were able to get the trunk of the Christmas tree to ignite. There is a certain primal pleasure in playing with fire. Eventually we ran out of dry fuel, and things smoldered to an end, but if we ever have to survive on a reset island, we do know how to make things burn.

I saved a few of the magnolia stems and have them stuck in a vase full of water in the living room to see if they will bloom like forsythia when brought into the warm. The yard debris can is full, and there are still loads of branches if anyone else wants to try.

vehicular futz

2011-12-30T15:34:00.000-08:00

I was out and abouting today, and ran through a big puddle.(It's been raining a lot lately. There are puddles in the street you could raise trout in.) I smiled broadly at the big splash, then blinked in surprise at the puff of smoke or steam or whatever from under the car. The battery light came on, the power steering went out, and the heater ceased to heat. "Oh Crap," I thought. "I flooded something. Maybe if I just keep driving, it'll dry out." Didn't happen. I wrestled that non-power steering around corners and in and out of a parking lot and on the way home I gave up and pulled into the neighborhood mechanic. When I described the symptoms, he said, "You dropped your serpentine. That usually only happens on Chevy vans. We can get to it this afternoon." "You could keep it till next year if you need to." I said. He blinked, then laughed, and now the car is back and running just fine and we are only $160 lighter. So if ever the power steering goes out, the heater blows cold, and the battery light comes on, it's probably your serpentine belt. We need to tell one another about these things.

No plans for New Year. Usually we go to bed like normal, then when the neighbors start firing their guns, we roll over, kiss one another and wish one another a happy new year. Do you have festive plans?

geese and other fowl

2011-12-29T09:20:00.000-08:00

On Christmas day, as we were headed out to the movies, we passed a school playground with about two hundred Canada Geese all facing the same direction. DH pointed it out to me and told me they were there to sing geesemas carols. I suggested that they were the grounds maintenance crew there to fertilize the grass and get rid of the slugs. This is a very new agey school, so of course they would use the greenest methods possible, and if anyone has seen goose poo, you know how green it is. We decided that both explanations could be simultaneously correct. They could sing geesemas carols while they were fertilizing. Let's see, what carols would geese sing? These, of course, would start with "Oh Canada." Then perhaps, ""We free wings," "Here we come a waddling," Would "TheTwelve Day of Geesemas" include six geese a-laying? (two purple slugs and partridge . ..)

The next day, as we were on our way to the store, we passed a house with an apple tree in the front yard. We had a freeze a while ago, then several warm days, then a good stiff wind which blew down a number of apple. There was a family of geese feasting on the fallen apples and acting erratically. I mean, it's hard to tell if a goose is staggering. But they would stand with head held high, sort of making little circles with it as if trying to get things to come into focus. And one goose was trying to intimidate a parked pickup truck. My friends in Oz tell me that parrots get drunk and hold loud, raucous parties, where they to sing dirty songs but no one can remember the words. I can just envision a parrot, lying on its back at the side of the road, feet in the air, crooning, "Shweet vi-o-letchsshhh, shweeter than all th rozess . . " over and over and over.

Do geese and parrots have hangovers?

I believe!!

2011-12-25T15:11:00.000-08:00

My BIL,a prince of a fellow, works as Santa's stand in for various churches and charities in the Azusa area. On this particular occasion, he gave presents to over two thousand kids.

He always wears the white gloves, and he gets the thickest,fluffiest beard he can find ". . .because it filters out more germs." Things I never thought 'santa would have to think about.

The good gifting runs in the family, too. DH gave me "Twilight in Lake Woebegone" by Harrison Geilor which looks like vampire love in Northern Minnesota with the Norwegian bachelor farmers. Can't wait to get to it.

But first, I want to watch the movie, "Going Postal" which is adapted from Terry Pratchett's book of the same name. DH got me the CD. Squeee!!

And speaking of movies, we hit the Christmas day matinee of Sherlock Holmes. Rock-em, sock-em, kick butt action and wads of special effects. Rather a thin plot. But I was expecting it, so was prepared to enjoy all the stuff aimed at the teenage boy the film was made for. Woohoo! I enjoyed it!

And now, DH has spread a finger food feast for us to nibble as we enjoy the serenity of the afternoon. He totally rocks! Haveede I mentioned?

We saw the lights

2011-12-24T14:24:00.000-08:00

There is a holiday lights display out at the Portland International Raceway every year. A fee is charged, some of which goes to charity, and driving around the racetrack to see the lights is a holiday tradition for many families. This year, for the first time, DH and I drove over to see them. I was delighted and impressed. There were stockings hung by the chimney with care, and Santa on a ski jump, and dolls and toy soldiers,

And the little igloo in Bethlehem with the three wise penguins sliding on the ice. You remember the story of the three wise penguins who brought gifts of seal liver, mucktuk and pelts, don't you? It's in the new, revised, multi-cultural, politically correct Bible.

Then the twelve days of Christmas were illustrated in lighted sculpture. Taking pictures from a moving car leaves things a bit blurry. My apologies. I was particularly taken with the three enormous French hens attacking the Eifel Tower. Fowl domination of the freedom-loving French!

I also admired the five gold rings. The two turtledoves evidently knew a good thang when they saw it and are making a fast getaway.

Then things got - more varied. There was a display with two stars of David and a menorah, followed by a display of - well I'm not sure what, but it was titled "Kanzaa" I'm not trying to be cute here. I really couldn't figure out what was being symbolized by the patches and strings of lights. That one could use a bit more work.

Then we came to the true, inner meaning of Christmas. The dinosaurs. What, you don't revere the holy Brontosaurus where you live? You heathen! There were also attendant stegosaurs and triceratops hovering by. It warms my heart to see such sensitive, reverent displays.

And last, but certainly not least, was the Christmas Godzilla.

After a night of such illuminating excitement, I went home and went straight to bed where visions of elven electricians with baskets of colored light bulbs danced in my head all night. What a huge feat to keep that place lit up! There were over two miles of displays, and it really was fun to cruise through. They even loan you a Christmas music CD to play as you go through to get yourself in the mood.

But a Christmas Godzilla? Well, we are on the left coast, here.

May all your Christmases be merry and bright, and may Santa bring you everything you ever wished for! Ho Ho Ho!

big plans

2011-12-22T06:58:00.000-08:00

Paul Z has been a blog buddy for years. Finally, he moved from New York out here to the left coast and at last we got to meet face to face. What a darling! Had tea with him and MJ in Aurora and evolved a plan for a mad hatter's knitting retreat at MJ's beach house in May. The place sleeps ten, so get your reservations in early. I will do tea at the end to celebrate the results of our labors.

Think about it. Is there a technique you want to learn? A hat is small enough to finish in a weekend. And if you don't know anyone who needs a hat, there are a bunch of orphans in Romania who would really appreciate something to keep their heads warm. If you knit slowly, you can knit caps for babies. Preemies have heads the size of an orange. You surely could finish an orange-sized hat in two days. Not to mention all the knitting you could do if you can get someone else to do the driving on the way up. Let's talk about this!

And I need to move forward on the piece-a-thon stash-busting party for my birthday. We'll need sewers, pincers, pressers and sorters. (Sorting for dark, medium, light fabrics.) And rippers. Lots of the fabric will be ripped into strips because this is quick and dirty piecing for speed.

Benita already contributed a huge box of fabrics, and again I marvel in the joys of using other people's palettes. I am attracted to bright, loud, big prints. Benita sent a lot of subdued little plaids and small scale prints and I am wallowing in the beauty of fabrics I would have overlooked in the store. What an eye-opening treat this is! Thank you, thank you, Benita! I hope we don't have any guests in the near future, because the guest room bed is covered about a foot deep in fabrics. Ohh, this would looks so wonderful with that! And then add a little of this and a pop of the other. Squeee!

another quilt finished

2011-12-17T15:59:00.000-08:00

I've been working on this one, on and off, for a few months, here and there. Using up scraps. Mostly, it was constructed to use up scraps of batting and odds and ends of fabrics. here's the back - a bit scrappy, but not too bad. The stripes seem to have been a curtain at one time, and the white is an old sheet. It's so thin that the color of the patch on the other side shows through with a good light behind it.

And here's what I consider to be the front. It's not planned in any way, shape or form, but lordy it was fun to work on! Very much crazy quilting without the pretty embroidery and beads. Brace yourselves, my friends. You may be getting crazy quilt potholders next year. This is just addictive stuff!

And here's a neighbor suffering from a different addiction. They are addicted to inflatable yard decor. There's an inflatable creche, inflate-a-Santa, inflate-a-Grinch, inflate-a-santa in his workshop, and - that true icon of Christmas, an inflatable Winnie the Poo and Eeyore. Just warms the cockles of your heart with the holiday spirit, doesn't it? Well, it must make someone happy or they wouldn't do it, so more power to them! I saw a picture in today's paper of a yard decorated with Santa in a sleigh pulled by 8 pink flamingos.

I'm looking forward to driving around in the dark tomorrow, enjoying the neighborhood displays of lights. Some houses are dark and Scroogely, but some are lit up like Las Vegas. Some houses have careful, well thought out arrangements,with green lights on the bushes, red lights on the trees, white icicle lights hanging on the eves, and illuminated snowflakes on sticks along the walk. Other houses look like someone sort of threw the lights at the house, and wherever they stuck, it was good. All sizes, colors and varieties, sort of plugged in, one to the next, and draped wherever gravity will hold 'em. I do love the lights this time of year. Even the stop-lights blink a bright red and green.

December is usually the wettest month of the year. It looks like being the driest month of the year and is already the driest December on record. There have been days when the sun shone full and bright from a cloudless sky, and the shadows went clawing their way due north at noon. Most peculiar!

Another quilt finished

2011-12-16T16:02:00.000-08:00

So MJ and I got together and used up some scraps from another quilt. This process is like sourdough. A little bit of starter from the previous batch provides the ferment for the next one. So we put together strips we had torn and kept adding to them until it was big enough.

We were out of batts, so we did triple layer and backed it with navy flannel ( A queen-size set of sheets - well worn and cozy but, since we now have a king bed, no further good to us.) As you can see, we left the seams exposed on the back and clipped them to a frazzle.

It makes quite a nice quilt, actually. I ran it through the washer after we clipped the seams then ran it through the dryer twice and enjoyed the results quite a lot, though I had to clean the dryer filter about three times and you could have stuffed a teddybear with the fluff generated.

I've also been spinning and listening to "Outlander" by Diane Gabaldon. Time travel and hot sex with highland laddies in Scotland. Woo hoo! Now I have enough silk and merino for a shawl, a long vest, a small sweater,or who knows what. There is also some lovely yellow wool to spin, and some splendid cranberry and pink, not to mention three mystery batts from Fantasy Fibers. The mystery batts make wonderful hats. I might think about that for my next projects, since it is definitely the hat-ly season.

Currently I'm knitting a cable cardigan for a young woman I know. What's the stylish length for a cardigan now? Should it hit hip-level? Higher? Lower? How long do you like your cardigans to be?

Note to the Fashion Police

2011-12-12T14:04:00.000-08:00

Re: Crimes of style

I am 61 years old. I love my new socks. If you don't like the look you can bite me. Disrespectfully, Roxie

We went out for lunch

2011-12-11T17:52:00.000-08:00

Grocery shopping was pretty easy today. It's the weekend between most paychecks, and we got to the store about 30 minutes earlier than usual, so the crowds were almost non-existent. No overstressed moms trying to wrangle two toddlers and a bored pre-teen through the aisles, negotiating the weekly box of of cold cereal and blocking the aisle for ten minutes while reasoning with the two-year-old who wants Neon UltraSugar Crunchies. No large immigrant family with the seven-year old reading and translating packages and signs for Mom, Grandma and Aunty. No brain-dead shoppers running me down with their shopping carts. No one parking their cart sideway in the aisle while they read every ingredient on the label. I don't care if people read their labels. I object to blocking the flow of traffic when it is cart to cart in both directions all through the store. When we went shopping today, you could have roller-bladed through the store. We got done so quickly that we got everything home and put away before lunch.

So, instead of grabbing a quick burger on the fly, we went out for lunch. We hit a local brewpub (OakBottom Pub) and were just delighted by the names of the seasonal brews.
Consider: Brewdolph, the Belgian Red
C-Sons Greetings Ale
Sockeye Cream Stout
Ye Olde Tavern Rat Barley Wine

Wouldn't you like a pint of each?

Being grownups, we faced the 40 degree fog with hot tea. DH had a cheeseburger and hand-cut fries. French fries cut from fresh potatoes right there on site! Yumm-o! And I had the Oak's Bottom Salad - large. Or as I called it, "The Big Bottom salad." Mixed greens with chèvre, candied hazelnuts, and spiced pear. I could eat that salad every day for a month!

December tea

2011-12-10T07:06:00.000-08:00

Usually I don';t host aDecember tea because people have been so busy during the month of December. But as the kids have grown, the number of mandatory school plays and athletic awards banquets has dwindled, and the frantic search for the perfect gift has been moderated, I thought perhaps more of us would be free to enjoy. So here is the table-dressed, but not set with foodyet since the ants would carry them all away. I always have such fun setting the table. The big white cloth has a honking great stain in the middle, so I got it at an estate sale for $1. Then I took the red cloth I found at a garage sale on a Sunday afternoon and persuaded the lady to let me have it for $2 to save her the bother of packing it up for GoodWill. Red cloth covers stain and voila - festive table. The flower holder napkin rings with red and white carnations work perfectly!

Don't you think? Orange, almond, chocolate cupcakes, orange and rosemary shortbreads, chicken salad with rosemary, and TW said she was bringing leftovers from her church bakesale, so the feasting will be monumental and varied. TW is a demon baker!

I wanted to make peppermint macaroons like these. I separated the yolks from the whites and warmed the whites to room temperature (extra yolks went into the cake) I made sure the bowl and beaters were scrupulously clean and grease-free. I added the sugar to the whipped egg white a careful spoonful at a time. I had even gone to the fancy bakery supply shop and gotten extra wonderful peppermint flavoring to make the cookies superbly delicious. At the last I added the flavoring to the whipped egg whites and watched in horror as the whole fluffy mass subsumed into a frothy scum. Then I read the flavoring bottle more carefully. Peppermint oil - not extract. Ohhhh -crap! I added the almond flour and gave it a try anyway. Instead of those lovely high, melt-in-your-mouth fluffs of flavor, I got -

Mostly gummy ugly flat wafers that wouldn't even let go of the parchment paper. They tasted quite strongly of peppermint, though.

I was also going to make cheesecake pops, but my courage failed me and I decided to quit while I was not too far behind. The cupcakes are yummy, and the shortbreads are not bad. Clementines and chicken salad sandwiches will round things out nicely. We will be a small group anyhow, so why go all crazy with this? I will NOT be serving these failed macarons, but I will try macarons again. They are soooo decadent. What flavor?

A day to play

2011-12-06T17:05:00.000-08:00

DH got up at 5 like always and went off to work. I had my breakfast, tidied the kitchen, and started to play on the computer. I had been through e-mail and Facebook and was just catching upon blogs when the door opened, and DH walked back in. "They sent me home for lack of work."

So I recruited him to help me shop for some young great nieces and a nephew. Tuesday morning at Toys R Us on Dec. 7 was not nearly as dreadful as I had anticipated, and DH had a ball! The kids are 3, 5, and 7. The remote-controlled jeep may get played with more by Grandpa Den and Uncle Alex, and the talking doggie may drive everyone nuts before the 3 year old tires of it. I chose some jewelry-making kits for the 5 year-old, because I always wanted kits to make things, and if I have no idea what to get her, at least I can get something I would have loved to get.

Since it was so quiet, we headed off to the mall to have a bit of a look around. (This was entirely his idea. The mall anytime after Thanksgiving scares me. He goes on Christmas Eve just for the fun of the crowds.) We stopped at the gourmet olive oil store and got some Strawberry balsamic vinegar which will make killer salad dressing. then he marched me into the department store and said, "For Christmas, I am going to get you a new formal dress for our April cruise. Let's shop." Swear to God, if I could clone this man, every woman in America would want a copy!

Unfortunately, we couldn't find anything appropriate for a 61 year old woman. When I was young and slender, I could wear anything. Now, my skin is crepy, my upper arms are drapey, and sophisticated basic black makes me look like a corpse. Moreover, everything is cut clingy, slinky, and strapless. With ruffles. I got so bummed out that we gave it up and went out for lunch. And right across the street was David's Bridal. Mother of the bride dresses? Sure, we can look.

I found four possibilities. The dear clerk took notes on all of them, helped DH find things in other colors, and will help him when he goes back to make a selection. So it will be a surprise for me! He is even talking about accessories. After all the time in the mall trying on things that made me look like mutton dressed as lamb, or like six pounds of pork in a four pound casing, or like someone you might see on the CSI autopsy table, it was a treat to try on pretty clothes that made me look like an elegant lady!

What do you mean it's December already?

2011-12-04T16:29:00.000-08:00

I'm going to make macarons for the ladies' knitting tea on Saturday, so I stopped by Bob's Red Mill to get some almond flour, and just had to take photo from the parking lot. This is so wildly atypical; December is grey, leafless, rainy and oppressive. It's really hard to get into the Christmas spirit with all this sun and blue sky stuff. Yes, there's frost on the windshields in the morning, and the sun has moved so far south that noonday shadows are verging on the horizontal, but trees don't have leaves on in December. This is aberrant!

I've gotten most of the rum balls shipped off, and am finishing up the packages to go to family. I made fewer rum balls this year and found the perfectly sized tin at Joanne's to fit exactly into the small flat rate box that the post office provides. I will not wind up going into debt to ship cookies this year! Yayyy!!!

But it still doesn't FEEL like December!

I am finishing up lavender sachets for the ladies. One of my silk hawaiian shirts gave up the ghost, so I cut it up, sewed the pieces up, and stuffed in the lavender. Quite satisfactory. My sis-in-law who loves flamingoes will get a flamingo tote bag and four flamingo-print potholders this year, because I found some awesome flamingo fabrics at an estate sale. My oldest brother (impossible to buy for) is getting a cap from Lowes' Hardware that has built-in led lights so he can see things in the dark now.

And next Saturday's knitting is all planned up now. Chocolate/orange/almond pound cake (I got red and green cupcake papers), orange/rosemary shortbread cookies, peppermint macarons, clementines, and chicken salad sandwiches - maybe with some rosemary. I may have to hem a few red napkins to dress the table. Really, these parties are more fun than should be legal.

comforter

2011-12-01T07:32:00.000-08:00

MJ has a friend with cancer, so we sewed her a comforter. The color here isn't right on. It's much prettier in real life.

Swing with MJ is such a pleasure! We blend out stashes, collaborate on design, rip and strip piece and turn out practical beauty on a regular basis. I think other people would enjoy this just as much as we do.

So - start gathering your scraps, my sewing friends. I'm thinking of having a great piecing party for my birthday party. We'll do quick and dirty quilts for donation to the Medical Team International and/or some other worthy cause. Men and women all together. Even non-sewers can play. And if you have any old beat-up blankets we could use for batting, well the little kids in Roumania would be thrilled.

Not much in the way of news. It was clear last night and we had a good frost. I started DH's car this morning to give it a chance to loosen the ice on the windshield before he got in to drive. Sunrise is pretty un exciting because there are no clouds to bounce colors around. On the other hand, sunshine is pretty darn exciting, so I'll go for a walk outside today. And there's that list of Christmas errands, too. How many rum balls will fit in a standard rate shipping box? Must remember to stop at the post office. I'll take them some rum balls, too.

Here's the tree!

2011-11-27T14:16:00.000-08:00

As I said, when we went out to get our tree, it was a warm and sunny day. Here's DH (wearing a sweater I knitted for him ) discussing the virtues of this tree. We decided it was too wimpy. Usually we get a Douglas Fir because he likes them, but this year was my turn and we got a Noble fir. I adore the way they smell, and the branches are strong enough to hold heavy ornaments. I have collection of Margaret Furlong porcelain angels that I hang on the tree every year, and with Noble Firs, I can hang the ornaments clear out on the end of the boughs.

Usually, too, we get a tree that's about 6 feet tall, but the way we have the house set up this year, there's no room for a big tree. Instead, we got one about four foot tall and put it on a table behind the sofa and right in front of the window. It looks so NICE from outside, all twinkly and bright.

So this is the tree we settled on. DH is looking further back into the acres and acres of Christmas trees saying, "Are you sure this is the one?We just got here." Really, it doesn't take me that long to look at a Christmas tree any more. It's not like they are all that different. Used to be, when we went out and got a wild tree, you had to search and search, but Christmas trees are groomed and trimmed to a fare-the-well on the farm, and you just can't find any ugly ones. DH dropped to one knee, whipped that saw into place, and five minutes later we were carrying the tree over to the shaker and baler. The folks who owned the farm said we could just leave it and the boys would be by with the tractor and flatbed but geese, we were right there, and even I am capable of carrying half of a four foot high tree.

And here it is, set up and decorated. Lots of the ornaments are hanging inside, sparkling out at you when the lights are on. I decorate mostly with angels, hearts and birds, then fill in with colored balls. This year, with the smaller tree, no fill in needed. Though I may figure out a way to work some more in as the season progresses. Maybe some red ribbons to add a shot of color?

The kitties are old hands at this indoor tree thing.

I remember one year, though - I was a little kid, too little to go tree-hunting with Dad and the big boys. They brought back a huge, thick, bushy cedar tree and set it up in the playroom. The family cat was going mad trying to sneak up into the tree. Finally, when Mom was about half done decorating, she shrieked and jumped back. There was a small owl deep inside the tree and he had had just about enough for one day, so he snapped at her. Dad put on heavy gloves and grabbed the little guy, took him outside and released him. Not every family gets a Christmas owl.

As for the Create your own element game, you guys are peerless!

teeveescreenium-that which renders all other elements drooling and useless only to be conquered by commercialonium.
At 1:53 AM , Rose Lefebvre said...
Felinesium--(fe-line-EE-see-um)has the element symbol PURR.
Felinesium is light-weight, moves through the air with a breeze, and when moistened will create a hacking sound. If it is near canines it has an unusual reaction--it makes a hissing sound. This element can be a nuisance when in abundance because it clings to just about everything--clothing, furniture, blankets, carpeting. When found in large clumps, it feels soft and silky. At the present time, there is no known use for this element.
It is related to the element dustbunnium (dust-bun-ee-um) which shares similar features and is often seen moving across floors and under furniture in households. This element has a unique feature that its beginning or source has not been discovered, but scientists are still searching.
At 5:28 AM , Tim Young said...
Fartainium : A highly combustable, heavy gas with an odor similar to that of decaying bodies.
At 7:34 AM , Dave Daniels said...
Queertanium - A precious metal, highly prized for its lightweight and malleable qualities.
Not to be confused with Penisium, though.
At 9:15 AM , mplanck said...
Fantasmin; a rare odorless, colorless gas. Once inhaled, it can launch biological entities into realms unknown to the mundane consciousness. Unsympathetic scientists call it hallucinogenic. Alice

Never too old

2011-11-25T18:20:00.000-08:00

For the very first time in my life, I made a Black Friday shopping strike. Joanne's had quilting fabric on sale for $1.79 a yard, and I had a doorbuster coupon that gave me an extra 25% off if I came in before noon. The store opened at 6, and I know what the lines would be like, so I left DH asleep and was at the store just as they opened the doors. It took me ten minutes to grab my fabrics. It took me a further hour and five minutes to stand in line till I got the fabric cut and paid for. Swear to Dog, some people got NO sense! There was a woman who was buying entire bolts of fabric and making the clerks measure out 3 yard pieces and cut and fold them for her. She is incapable of cutting her fabric at home? She is incapable of folding the sections while she's standing and waiting? I mean - jeeze - there are other people in the world. And she kept running off and grabbing more bolts of fabric while the line kept growing behind her. But, on the plus side, as I was standing there with my several bolts of fabric, the nice young lady in front of me said, "Would you like to share my cart?" This store has about fifteen shopping carts, and the sixteenth person in line at the door didn't get one. I was about thirtieth. The young lady has great good karma now. She was kind and generous. ANd SO shy. I tried to talk with her, but it just made her uncomfortable, so I relented and talked with the woman behind me. As I got up to the cutting table, I realized that I had forgotten to get batting, but I couldn't have carried it anyhow, so I shrugged and proceeded to fold as the nice clerk cut, and if it looked like I was close to the end of the bolt, I just asked for the bolt end so she wouldn't have to take the time to cut. When does a little more fabric ever go to waste? And fat quarters were a dollar off. I went mad. I felt so sorry for the clerks that I bought Lindor Balls and gave them to the lady who cut for me, and to the lady who checked me out.

Then DH and I went to breakfast. Then we hit the grocery store, went home and unloaded, then went out in search of the wiley Christmas tree. For the past week it has been raining fit to drown the frogs - an inch a day with wind pushing it flat sideways. But today was clear and dry! You couldn't have picked a nicer day if you had looked for it in the catalogue. The folks at the tree farm were organized and just delighted to have us there. We knew what we wanted, found it right away, cut it and carried it overt the shaker and baler, and were on our way home within 20 minutes. It was fabulous!

So DH set up the tree while I pulled the ornaments out of the attic. Then he stamped the Christmas cards and took them to the post office while I dressed the tree. We had turkey hash for dinner and a glass of wine apiece. Life is so darn good!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T06:42:00.000-08:00

It's 6AM in Portland, and all over the city, Grandmas are getting that thirty pound turkey into the oven so it will be cooked in time to be eaten before the football games start. All their wonderful sons (with their useless wives) and beautiful daughters (with their worthless husbands) and the most wonderful grandkids in the world will be arriving for the annual stuff-yourself-until-you-fall-asleep fest. The house will be overcrowded, everyone will be overwrought, the noise level will be deafening, the air will be steamy with cooking. Someone will decant the cranberry jelly onto the special oval plate and it will sit there quivering , still retaining the ridges from the can. Aunt Becky will bring her special green bean casserole made with canned cream of mushroom soup, and decorated with the canned fried onions. And everyone will eat it up. The vegan daughter-in-law will bring a tofu and Jerusalem artichoke casserole, and take most of it home again because no one else will touch it. In my family, we had a tradition of all the male adults getting too drunk to drive before the end of the meal, then passing out in front of the TV and missing the game. The females kept busy in the kitchen, or riding herd on the the kids. There was always wayyyyy too much food, and we usually left it sitting out long past the point when it should have been refrigerated, but no one ever died of botulism,so I guess we were stronger than the common toxins. My favorite part was the skin, all crispy and greasy. I would snitch bits of skin for hours, while helping to clear the table, do the dishes, set out the pies and coffee, clear the table after pie and do up the final dishes. Then, and only then, would we package up leftovers ("Sherry can take a leg and thigh, and Mary, I know your kids will finish off the sweet potatoes with the marshmallow topping.") and at long last, dismember and refrigerate the carcass. The next day we kids would pick at the carcass and leftovers for sandwiches, while the grownups nursed their hangovers. On Saturday, the last of the meat, gravy, stuffing, potatoes and left-over vegetables would get mixed together and re-heated as hash - the best part of the holiday! Sunday, we would wake to the smell of the turkey bones simmering with bay leaves and onions to make broth for soup. Thanksgiving would be over, School would start the next day, and we were launched into the madness that is Christmas.

DH and I do things differently. We go out to a nice restaurant and have a splendid dinner served to us in gracious peace and elegance. And sometime during the weekend, DH roasts a small turkey for just the two of us. No stress, no frenzy, no regrets. And all the turkey skin I can eat!

create your own element

2011-11-20T18:11:00.000-08:00

DH and I have made up a game and we would like to invite you to play with us. It's, "Make up an element." You take a look at the periodic table of elements, (Oxygen, magnesium, plutonium, etc.)and then make upon of your own, and describe it. For example, I came up with rastafarium: It's found primarily in Jamacia, frequently in the presence of spliff, and presents long, tangled extrusions known as dreds.

DH came up with occupyrite: a recently discovered element useful for exciting other elements. It can be found in cities worldwide.

What's your element?

Happy birthday, DH

2011-11-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

Fifty seven years ago, my Darling Husband was born. He doesn't like a big fuss for his birthday, so we will celebrate quietly. A friend went wok hunting a few weeks ago, and gave us a big steak, so we will have that for dinner. He may even have a beer on a work night! I baked a cheesecake for him, and the house is sweetly redolent.

Every day I count my blessings. He is intelligent, funny, honorable, hard-working, and nutty about me. He can fix anything, build anything, cook anything, and when he gets a new tool or appliance, he - reads the directions! He can read a map and doesn't mind doing so. He doesn't like organized sports any more than I do. He likes kitties! He collects cookbooks that are put out by ladies' groups as fundraisers and are a collection of each woman's favorites. For movies, he like "creature features" from the 50s and 60s, Action/Adventure flicks, and animated features like "How to Train Your Dragon."

He will do anything for a friend. He loves his family and gets along with mine. Yes, he is a veritable nosegay of virtues andI could continue enumerating them till you get bored and go home. But the thing is, I'm totally nutty about him as well. And it is my great good fortune to be, not only his wife, but also his best friend. When he retires, I have suggested that he teach classes on how to keep your wife happy. He laughs, but really, he's remarkable good at it!

Illustration

2011-11-15T16:19:00.000-08:00

My friend, Tim Young, knows why I never get lost.

my worst date.

2011-11-14T08:01:00.000-08:00

Back when I was single and willing to give it a go, a fellow asked me if I would like to go for a walk on a trail on Larch Mountain. Larch Mountain is a bit of wilderness a scant 40 minute drive from the city. It is steep and brushy, and at least one hunter or hiker dies there each year, through lack of attention. But hey -it was a date. And he waxed lyrical about this well-marked and maintained trail, so I decided to give it a go. First, I dressed for the weather with multiple layers, a crackly sounding rain slicker, a good wool scarf and mittens stuffed in my pockets, sturdy hiking boots, and two pairs of socks. Second, we took my car. I'm not going into the woods with a stranger unless I know I can get myself out. I picked him up, and he looked quite handsome and rugged in a polo shirt, jeans, windbreaker and sneakers. I assumed, since he had gone on about the wonderful hikes he had taken, that he had expensive high-tech layers and one of those hooded raincoats that folds into a two-inch square pouch and fits in your hip pocket. The ride up was quite delightful, as he was witty and charming. He directed me to a parking lot, I locked the car, and he led off, down hill through the undergrowth on a short-cut to the path. I stopped, took a careful look around, oriented myself, mentally reviewed what I knew of the terrain, and followed him. He continued to be witty and charming as we bushwhacked down toward this wonderful trail that he was sure was just a little further along. Clouds built up. The temperature dropped. He chattered even more charmingly. Finally I planted my feet and declared, "We've been walking for an hour, and we haven't found that trail. Are you sure you know where it is?"

He got very silent. Finally he admitted, "We might be lost."

I replied, "You might be lost, but I know that if we just go back uphill, we'll hit the road."

"But that could be miles away!"

"You wanted a good hike."

"Let's just sit down and wait. Someone will come to look for us."

Then the sleet started to fall. He did not in fact have high-tech layers or a rain slicker. He didn't even have a baggie of trail mix. I was lost on a mountain that eats stupid people, with a totally useless, if charming, idiot. I gave him my wool scarf to tie around his head (Not even a hat - the moron!) and said, "I'm going home. You can come with me, or sit here and freeze." Then I headed uphill. Rather than try to retrace our wandering path through the woods, I surged in a direct line toward safety, which led through a couple of rhododendron thickets already becoming ice-encrusted with the steady sleet. The waste of skin trailing behind me began whining that his feet were cold and wet. It rains around here. What did he expect? We came up against the foot of a cliff and paused for a breather. He turned east. He had been drifting east all along. If you go east DOWN the hill, you need to go west back UP the hill. I snarled at him. He snapped back. I turned west and a few minutes later heard him thrashing along in my wake. Pouting, he trailed behind me for another half an hour when the ridge we were climbing met up with the top of the cliff, and we emerged into a paved parking lot. I set off briskly to the west, knowing the car would be about half a mile down the road. At the far east end of the parking lot I could see a lovely graveled, well-maintained path. "Oh look!" the dumb bunny remarked. "That's the path I wanted. I must have gone to the wrong parking lot! Oh, dopey me!"

Fuming in silence, I strode down the road, found the parking lot with my car, got in and set the heater on high. He opened the passenger door, settled his wet, shivering, blue-lipped self into the seat, And chirruped brightly, "That was kind of fun, wasn't it?"

I glared at him, and in my best thunderous roar, named him an anal orifice and told him to shut the fornication up or I would kick him out of the car. I took him home, and warned him not to ever call me again because he was clearly too stupid to breathe. He was at least bright enough to take my warning.

What was your worst date?

a busy day

2011-11-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

I want to wait till I have all the food on the table before I take the pictures, and I don't want to put the cold food out too soon, so I wind up remembering to snap photos just as people are arriving and I don't take time to fuss with stuff like lighting. To the right you can see the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and a ring of pecans. Beneath that dare the lemon meringues. To the left of them is the fruit salad (oranges, mangoes, kiwis and coconut.) the the three tiered stand from bottom up, the turkey/cheese roll-ups, the maple cream sandwich cookies, and the bourbon balls.

DH suggested that I serve the cake in single layers which was inspired. Usually, people ask for half a slice of cake, and this way, it was just the top half. Some of the ladies cut the slices in half anyway. Then, to my very great delight, they went back for the second half. Maybe even a third half? And everyone asked for the recipe. Yayyyy!! The meringues were tough, but I think that had something to do with the lemon juice I flavored them with. And the oven was a bit too warm. I will improve with practice.

But needless to say, we feasted and frolicked as ever.

DH came home and declared that he was jonesing for pastrami, so we decided to try a deli we've never been to before. On the way, we passed this bush. The purple buds are berries. Does anyone have any idea what this bush is? I want one!

The deli was a delight and we stuffed ourselves. We will need to return soon so I can try the matzoh-ball soup. I had a tongue sandwich and OMG it was yummy!

Then we had to stop in at the LUSH bubble bath store, since it was a party day - the Gold Ticket promotion kick-off. All the staff were wearing gold and sparkle and festive attire.

Isn't he just adorable? And such a sweetie! I wish I could remember his name. Gold lame shorts, and formal black over-the knee socks.

Good Lord, am I really that stout? Well, I'm still beautiful on the inside. Pretty is as pretty does, and I do pretty well.

some place-settings

2011-11-11T15:57:00.000-08:00

I changed my mind a bit on the color scheme for the party. The runner with the autumn tones just didn't fit. Since I will be serving juicy fruit salad, I needed little bowls. These bowls jumped up and demanded their place, and the rest of the settings just fell into place around them. The pink pressed glass bowls needed plates with pink and green. And the tea cup with the fishes on it is one of my rave faves!

The yellow pressed glass bowls needed more pizazz. A yellow plate, and a hand-painted yellow cup with nice green leaves fills the bill.

I love these delicate old hand-painted bowls with the violets on them. The black and white Noritake plate sets them off wonderfully, and the lavender hand-painted tea cups are great accents. And doncha love the purple napkin on the green cloth?

No two place settings are precisely alike. I have ten settings at the table, and then I have back-up I can set in the living room, because four people told me they might make it. It's funner if we can all sit at the same table, but the table seats only 12.

So I spent today baking carrot cake and lemon meringues and making fruit salad and cheese spread. Tomorrow, I plate everything, make the tea, construct and slice the turkey and cheese rollups (DH suggested I sprinkle cranberries on the cheese before I lay down the turkey. Brilliant man!) do a quick final sweep of the bathroom, and then revel in the delights of another tea party. We can squeeze you in just fine if you want to come.

Regarding low- tech

2011-11-10T07:47:00.000-08:00

I had a boss who dearly loved that meal where you take a flank-steak and pound it thin, then spread a stuffing on it, roll it up and roast it. Roulade I think it's called. Well, the boss loved that dish, and his wife loved to make it for him, but pounding that flank steak looked, to him, like a lot of work. So he decided he would make it easier for her. One Saturday, she was out and he was home and there was a flank steak in the fridge. Not understanding that the pounding was mostly to make it tender, he figured out a much easier way to make it flat. He put it in a ziplock bag and took it into the garage. (Cooks everywhere are becoming nervous as they read this.) Being a man, he had a couple of boards lying around. (I never seem to have a couple of boards handy when I need them. Do you?) He put one board on the garage floor, put the flank steak in its plastic ziplock bag on the board, put the second board on top of it, then drove his pickup over the boards.

Flank steak SPRAYED the entire underside of the pickup and the inside of the garage. He spent the rest of the weekend washing steak off the walls, the lawnmower, the tool bench,, the underside of the pick-up, the wall full of storage shelves, and re-packing all the Christmas decorations into new boxes that were not covered with flecks of steer muscle. And they had pizza for dinner.

And because he was a wonderful guy, with a great sense of humor, he came to work and told us the story on Monday. I loved working for him. He was serious about the job, but not about life in general. Best job I ever had. I, and six other people, were replaced (inadequately) by a computer.

What do you do?

2011-11-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

I was half-way through the rum balls, and my grinder broke. So I fell back on low-tech solutions. I dumped five boxes of vanilla wafers into a pillowcase, wound a stout rubber band around the top, and began to smack it against the counter, the floor, the walls. I can't tell you how good it felt, swinging that pillowcase full of cookies. SMASH! Crunch! Whammo! And it was working really, really well. I was just about ready to sieve the crumbs through colander but I wanted just one or two good whacks, just for the fun of it. That's when a seam split and cookie crumbs sprayed all over the kitchen. I will be finding cookie crumbs for weeks, I just know it. I swept and brushed and sponged for about forty minutes. Thought I had it all. Went to get some milk for my tea. There were cookie crumbs on top of the refrigerator, that showered over my hands when I opened the door. I wiped down the top of the fridge, and had to sweep the floor again. I reached for the cookbook with my rum ball recipe in it. The top was covered with cookie crumbs which of course scattered widely. I wiped down all the books and the bookshelves, and swept the floor again. I noticed this morning that there are cookie crumbs in the overhead light fixture. Screw it. They can stay there!

And with all this scatter, most of the crumbs stayed in the pillowcase. I was able to get another batch of cookies finished, and there's almost enough for a final batch. Today I am going to walk down to the liquor store and buy a half-pint of bourbon. Then I'll step over to the grocery and buy some chopped pecans. And I will use the scant remaining crumbs to make a batch of bourbon and pecan balls, just for me. There are about twenty pounds of rum balls that will need to ripen for a few weeks, then get packed up and shipped around the country. And after I get that done, I will by gods need a treat!

And there is additional kitchen news: We have ants. They are the teensy, weeny, tiny little black ones that are a bit smaller than a speck of pepper, but you know when you have one in your food because they taste angry when you bite them. We have put out the ant traps and the infestation has waned considerably, but with the feast of cookie crumbs sifting into every impenetrable crevice and cranny, those ants are going to think every one of them is having a birthday party at the same time. I think I'll pick up more ant traps at the store as well. Can I get anything for you while I'm out?

Knitting happens this weekend. DH found a recipe for carrot cake that uses pineapple and coconut, and requested that I make it up. So we will have carrot cake, lemon meringues, rum balls, maple cream cookie sandwiches (I bought a box of them because I adore them, and this way, I won't eat the whole damn box all by myself); a tropical fruit salad with pineapple, oranges, and mangoes; and turkey and cheese on whole wheat tortillas, rolled and sliced decoratively. I have a new green tablecloth, and a center runner embroidered with autumnal tones, so I'm going with a green theme for the china. Not bright spring green, but sort of muted avocado. I am going to try really, really hard to get some proper photos this time. Please let me know if you are coming.

Have you seen this?

2011-11-06T05:43:00.000-08:00

Awesome new toy. $39 in the local paper, and you probably will need to buy the helium seperately, but oh, what fun!!

Http://www.wimp.com/airswimmers/

Tis the season

2011-11-05T15:37:00.000-07:00

Things that go into rum balls. The 'nilla wafers have to be crushed very fine. DH got me a KitchenAid mixer that does everything but play dance music. It has a grinder attachment, so I blithely gave away my heavy duty manual meat grinder that weighed eight pounds and made my shoulder sore by the end of the day. When I make my Christmas rum balls, need to grind at least ten boxes of wafers. The new grinder went through fireboxes, then stripped a gear or something. Next week, trip to the repair shop. Bummer! But at least I got through the cinnamon batch (Iadded a pinch of chili powder this year) , the cherry rum batch, and the peppermint batch. Next up, plain rum, then maybe some almond. And perhaps I'll get a pint of bourbon for some bourbon balls. What else goes good with chocolate?

I get to keep my teeth!

2011-11-04T14:35:00.000-07:00

I went to the dentist for my bi-annual cleaning. After spending forty minutes prodding my gums with pointy steel hooks and scrapers and scalers, then polishing the ol' fangs and thoroughly moistening my entire face with overspray, the kindly hygienist called the dentist to come and inspect. We waited. We chatted. we looked at our watches. Finally, she said, "I'd better remind him that we're waiting here." I said, "warn him that if I have to wait too much longer, I'll start singing." Then I began belting out, "Roll Out the Barrel." People don't realize that when I threaten to sing, it can truly be a threat. I can be QUITE LOUD.

The doctor materialized before I got to the second verse.

My gums are firm and pink,my teeth are strong and well seated. I get to keep all my choppers for another six months. Woohoo! And the doctor probably won't forget me next time.

The doctor and hygienist both complimented me on keeping all my teeth for so long. My parent's generation had dentures by the time they were forty. I drink a lot of tea,and it makes my teeth yellow, but I think it helps keep them healthy. I did not grow up with fluoridated water.

Speaking of water, though, we get our drinking water in big jugs like this. Not all of them have handles. The other day, I was carrying one in from the garage, and lost my grip on it. Do you know what happens when you drop a plastic jug full of five gallons of water straight down? It splits right along the seam line, and pure mountain spring water splashes up about three feet, soaking you past the knees. AND, you get to mop five gallons of water off the garage floor. Then you still have to bring in a five gallon jug of water to replace the empty one. I much prefer the jugs with handles on them.

Knitting HAS been happening

2011-11-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice little scarf for Med Team International knit with leftover hand-dyed silk and some hand-dyed merino. Scraps- just tiny balls of each. Cast on the long way and seed stitch, changing colors at the end of each row. Soft and Oh So Warm!

On the needles now, Lorna's Laces from Angelika's Yarns in Portland. A sweater for a handsome Russian pre-med student. His dad works with my DH. I knitted a similar sweater for DH. He suggested I knit a nice warm sweater for the dad who was going deer hunting in Eastern Oregon, and the dad loves it. DH, who knows how much I love to knit, suggested that I knit a sweater for the pre-med lad who will soon be out on his own and putting himself through school and no doubt living in cold and draughty rooms. I gotta say, this chunky silk and merino blend is a freaking joy to work with! Wish the red color would photograph better, because it's darker, manly and subtle, and will have young ladies lining up for a chance to wash his dishes. I'll try to get a photo of him in the sweater.

It snowed in the passes last night. That morning, I had to scrape ice off my windshield at 8:30 am. I think the season is upon us. Time to cuddle by the fire and knit faster.

kitty in the dark

2011-11-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

The kitty pumpkin shines so nice in the dark. Several people took photos of it.

We had a total of 59 trick or treaters between 6:00and 8:30. DH's favorite was a teen-aged couple dressed as penguins. They were large penguins, so we asked if they were Emperor penguins. They giggled and blushed. I think they had lost a bet.

My favorite was a young pirate girl. First she asked if she could pet our cats. Then she pointed out her crown and assured me that she was a "Piwate Qween" Then, after a happy few moments choosing her candy, she twinkled at me and said, "Sank you." Before she got off the porch she whirled around and said, "Mahk's in da stwoller. Twick-r-twee for Mahk?" (I think she meant, "Mark's in the stroller. Trick or treat for Mark?") It took her another several minutes to decide what Mark would like. "No MnMs cuz he could sshoke. An no - - - Mom, kin he have shocklet?" She eventually selected a hershey bar for Mark, got clear off the porch, then whirled again. "Oh, sank yew fah Mahk!" I think that young lady has the makings of a successful CEO.

Lots of pirates last night. And LOTS of fairies. More commercial costumes than usual. Also, kids were decked with glowsticks as crowns, bracelets, necklaces and wands. It made them lots more visible. Since there was neither rain nor freezing wind, so the accompanying parents were comfortable and congenial, and liberally supplied with flashlights, hand lanterns, and steaming beverages. It was a lovely night, all things considered. And we have 31 left-over candy bars.

end of October

2011-10-31T11:17:00.000-07:00

If you are arachnaphobic, quick, scroll down two photos before you realize what you're looking at. Quick, now!

If you're not, look at this golden orb spinner. Isn't she big? Friends from Oz, this is as big as they get around here. Honest to goodness. I've seen pictures of your huntsmen, and they creep me out immensely.

Summer is over and this spider is on her last legs(as it were) and getting ready to go to that great web in the sky, or I wouldn't get my finger so close to her. We have little spiders, because they freeze out every winter. This one has had a web on the front porch, and has been a meticulous housekeeper, cleaning out the after-dinner mess and repairing the structure every day.

There's a house in the neighborhood that decorates like mad every halloween. This year, they have added a giant spider, about a meter and a third from head to abdomen. The eyes glow in the dark and the darn thing waves its legs. And in the groundcover underneath, they have a set up that will flash a pair of red eyes at you, then the lights disappear, the leaves rustle as if something is scurrying beneath them, and a pair of red eyes flashes from somewhere else.

But nothing jumps out to frighten you,and there is no gore or overt violence. Just mega-creepy atmosphere.

We are much more moderate for the season. I carve a few pumpkins, and we leave the porch light on.

I use my linoleum knife to carve the skin away, but leave the underlying flesh intact. Of course, I have to cut off the top and clean out the seeds. And, since the pumpkin is pretty much air-tight when I put the lid back on, I cut two air holes in the back - on top and one bottom. If I used those battery operated led I wouldn't have to do that, but I'm anold-fashioned girl. Sometimes I have to scrape the inside of the thicker-fleshed pumpkins to get to the translucency point, My favorite tool for this is a steel serving spoon with a wide bowl.

I made a little lantern out of this one, with simple geometric designs, but it looks cool in the dark..

I have a collection of stencils for the other designs. I always do the kitty every year, and then something appropriately spooky as well. This is the first year I have done the reaper.

We have 90full sized candy bars. Last year, we had to turn out the light when we ran out of candy. We had 70 kids and I was giving out Hershey's kisses at the end, because I had some for baking.

I haven't really planned on a costume. Maybe I'll use up some old eyeshadow and paint my face like a butterfly.

Hope your all saint's eve is fun!

Sunday in October

2011-10-24T09:11:00.000-07:00

Holy Crow! It's almost Halloween! We gotta go get pumpkins! So, since DH did NOT have to work this Sunday, (If he did work, they would have had to pay him triple time, since reworked all of last weekend.) we went in search of the wiley pumpkins. It was overcast and cool, and the pumpkin field was a sea of mud. I had my hot pink galoshes, and DH had his profound masculine nonchalance, so we slogged out and made our selections. And we picked up some assorted squashes as well because they were there, lolling in their various bins, calling out in their little squashy voices to be taken home with us. I thought I got some splendid photos of various bins of squash and fields of pumpkins, but I still haven't figured that one random finger stroke that turns on the damn movie camera, so I got lots of movies of the squashes, which don't do a damn thing but lie there looking photogenic.

At last, I got one still photo of the gourdish haul, before we loaded them into the car. We took a scenic route home, through the hills, and all the gourds, squashes, pumpkins, ran back and forth across the back of the car, trying to get a good look out the window. Squashes don't get out much and they simply couldn't sit still! But they were only minimally bruised when we got home, so,no harm, no foul. Now I am squinting at those orange surfaces and imagining faces.

With an afternoon before us, we looked for something to do that we would both enjoy. The new Three Musketeers movie is now showing. It was SO much fun! It's well cast with appealing actors young and old. It even drifts loosely around the original story, though Dumas never imagined the flying warships or the Countess DeWinter engaged in Matrix-like sword fights with the Cardinal's guards or any of the other interesting twists, but I kept grinning through the whole show, and Dh enjoyed it, too.

There have been 40 movie versions of the Three Musketeers. I think I remember Michael York as D'Artangan. And didn't Racquelle Welch once play Constance?

The costumes in the latest version were a treat, though only roughly accurate. I adored the king's shoes and hats! It might be fun to compare costumes across all 40 versions.

Now, /dh is back to work for another 12days straight, and I have pumpkins to carve. And a camera to learn how to use. Wish me luck.

Trying to post photos again

2011-10-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is how October looked on Tuesday.

And here is a movie of my cute little vase/napkin rings.
file://localhost/Users/roxie/Desktop/IMG_0087.MOV
It may come through. "Why a movie?" you may ask? Because I still haven't figured which random finger stroke I need to make to get a still photo.

I have not yet pulled out all my hair. I should quit while I'm ahead.

I'm so easily amused

2011-10-21T07:18:00.001-07:00

http://youtu.be/yEH4Yum4nN4

What's it like where you are?

2011-10-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

Autumn is edging it's way up on us. Leaves are falling. Wind is blowing. Today we have sun, but this will probably be the last of it, so I'm going to bundle up and take myself out for a walk. But I wonder, what's it like where you live? Spring is bounding up on Australia. Are there no daffodil photos to share? How about the foliage in New England? What's October like in Southern California? I challenge you. Take a picture of your day and share it.

My cold has relinquished the flooding sinus and achey fever stage, and is just snuffly uncomfortable. A "Woman cold" as Doug S. in Australia would say. My DH says that "Man colds" are worse than "Woman colds" because men won't acknowledge that they are sick until it actually kicks their feet out from under them and they are unable to crawl back up. Then they accept the illness and enjoy it fully. Women have the sense to pay attention to their bodies and treat a cold when it first shows up. Men are trained to be tough and steely eyed and deny all pain as merely a flesh wound, not worth paying attention to. Women, who have to clean up the aftereffects, know enough to catch things before they get critical. We rarely die of flesh wounds.

Things have been quiet in the blogverse lately. How are things going for you?

Post knitting

2011-10-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

The tea was lovely.Lots of happy women with lots of comfortable talk and love. The set up was quite nice, if I do say so myself, but the pictures came out lousy. Over exposed, under exposed and blurred. I used my new little vase/napkin rings with little yellow and brown Peruvian lilies. That was at 6 places. Green and gold beaded napkin rings for 4 other places and wooden napkin rings at the ends. Fruit themed round plates alternated with sage green square plates. (I had the square plates set on point. A retired accountant sat at one of those places, and promptly turned the plate to be square with the edge of the table ;-) Dark brown tablecloth. Khaki or brown napkins. The two three-tiered serving stands loaded with cookies and cakes, and between them, the cake plate bearing green and red grapes, surrounding a small vase holding five red roses. Very dark and rich and opulent. And because every tea party needs some chocolate, a scattering of assorted Lindor balls. All in all, quite a successful party.

I give some credit to the subliminal messages in my red wall, though. Pat thinks I should do a post on the red wall, butI've pretty much already told you all about it. You paint the wall with flat paint, then mix the remaining paint with high gloss glaze. Cut out stencils of words you want to express. My dining room has, "Eat, enjoy, talk, listen, laugh, love." In the bedroom, it says, "Yes!" over and over with stars and hearts. Tape the stencils to the wall, and paint over them with the high gloss paint. When you are done, pull off the letters. They will show as matte next to the glossy. It will only show in the right light, but the words are there all the time, visible subliminally.

LG stayed and helped me with the dishes, bless her dear, dear heart, and then I sat sown to rest a bit. The longer I sat, the more clear it became to me that I have caught DH's cold.This is the crappy cold with a fever that makes you feel like you have been wrung out like a washcloth and draped over the side of the bucket to dry. By the time Dh got home from work (he had to work this weekend - blast it!) I was in full blown sinus flood and misery. So do be warned, all you ladies who trustingly came to my party - Quite un-intentionally, you have been exposed.

I slept all day yesterday. I've spent most of today in beads well. I hope to get dressed tomorrow. Maybe.

And unfortunately, being sick has never killed my appetite. I am throwing myself on leftover tea treats like there is no tomorrow. Seven cranberry oatmeal cookies is not the same as a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I don't have the strength to just throw the stuff out, and DH Hasn't been remembering to take it to work with him. Do you think three apple cake cupcakes could count as one small apple for WeightWatchers? No, Ididn't think so either.

This is so cool! Hope it comes through

2011-10-15T07:31:00.001-07:00

Amazing nature - The Eagle Owl <http://www.dogwork.com/owfo8/>

Eureka!

2011-10-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

Ha!It took about seventeen steps, but I finally got photos onto the blog!! Here is DH in the Jade suite we got as a free upgrade at the Pan Pacific Hotel. This is just the sitting room area. There's also a separate bedroom, a bath and a half, a kitchen area, and a secluded little vanity perfectly lighted to apply makeup.

I sing the praises of PanPacific! Even the bellhop makes eye contact and seems genuinely interested in your comfort and contentment.

And this is the balcony of the Jade suite. Immense! And whadda view! I spent many a happy daydream imagining weddings held out here.

Then , for something completely different, the view from our shipboard cabin. Yes, we look directly out on to the lifeboat we have been assigned to. Hey, we booked an inside cabin, so this is an upgrade. Natural light, a view of the sky, and the occasional entertainment of watching the crewmen washing things down or painting them up.

Tea at the Empress in Victoria, BC . Beautiful china! Crisply ironed napkins, perfect tea and yummies to devour. It was such a civilized experience!

I wore this same black dress every night, so had to think of how to make it look different. Beth Miles made me a necklace to go with my red cardigan. I asked for a necklace that says, "Look at ME!" so no one would notice that ". .. it's that same damn dress again. Doesn't that woman own anything else?" The necklace is so very right for me. I love it! And nobody noticed my dress.

Knitting here on Saturday. The theme is harvest. Pumpkin bars, apple cake, grapes, figs if I can find them, and chicken with rosemary quichlettes. I hope.

2011-10-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

Still fighting with the computer to get photos up. Here's a hat I knitted for my Bro-in-law the scoutmaster. Gotta keep the ears warm on those snow-camping expeditions. This is the yarn I thought looked like a dinosaur, and tried to knit a fierce sort of ridge across the top. It wound up looking entirely too phallic, and got frogged right down. Still, it makes good cammo for a spring landscape. Tuck one flap over your lower face, put on a gray jacket, and disappear under a willow tree.

And here's a quilt I made for my niece who was in the army. Red, white and blue, stars and stripes. She ought have an emergent blanket in her 4wd truck.

There are lots of cruise photos in the photo album, but when I want to put them on the blog, it says "Server not connected." I continue to fight the Apple war.

diddit!

2011-10-11T06:24:00.000-07:00

It took four and a half solid hours, but I got ten months worth of paperwork properly filed. Whew! My brain is wrung out. And I got in my ten thousand steps, because I had to spread out on the dining room table with the leaves pulled out,(and use the sideboard as well) then walk the finished piles in to the office to stick them in the file cabinet. I pretty much filled a recycling bin with expired coupons, and the advertising shoved in with bills, and had to empty the shredder twice from all those credit card applications. (I use the shredded paper as mulch, then cover with a thin layer of "beauty bark.")

I changed the sheets, and, thanks to my wonderful robot servants, I also got an entire week's worth of laundry done, and washed the dishes. Then I took the bottles to the store to recycle, used the change to buy a bottle of Ivory liquid for cheap bubblebaths, took in drycleaning, picked up drycleaning, mailed packages, folded and put away a week's worth of laundry, took down the curtains and washed them, and started planning for the knitter's tea.

My theme this month is Harvest. I'll have apple cake, pumpkin cookie bars, oatmeal cookies, grapes, (and if I can find them, figs) and rosemary/chicken quichelettes. MLR gave me some gorgeous fruit-themed china, and this is the perfect time to use it!

I got photos off my phone, and onto the laptop. Now to get them onto the blog. Wish me luck!!

List

2011-10-10T07:48:00.000-07:00

There are 27 things to do on my list. Dishes, laundry, plan and prep for the knitters on Saturday, and the dreaded FILING. I have a two foot deep pile of paper that needs to be sorted and stored. Receipts for taxes, medical bills, utility bills, cards and letters. I have put this off, at least once a week, for oh, 42 weeks or so. It's gotta be done, and ignoring it hasn't made it go away. So today I will buckle down, knuckle down, and do it, do it, do it. Then I will treat myself with a trip to the mall where I will buy new lipstick and get a free makeup bag. I've tried the stick, and the carrot works so much better for me.

In spite of faithfully taking the stairs instead of the elevator, I gained three pounds on the trip. The fresh bread and extra-fat butter, and the wine conspired against me. Being lactose intolerant was a Godsend, since there were so many mouth-watering dishes made with cream and cheese. They had macaroni and cheese with LOBSTER! I had lots of salads and fresh fruit cups, but the fresh bread and butter, omg it was good. Not just one slice and pat good, but three or four. Back onto Weight Watchers.

Also on my list of things to do is figure how to get photos onto the blog. I am making transition from PC to Mac and am dazed and confused.

San Diego Airport

2011-10-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

The cruise ship docks are about two miles from the airport. We disembarked into a glorious sunny San Diego morning and considered. Do we want to drag all our luggage two miles to we know not where? Do we want to stand in those LONG lines for a taxi? Do we want to pay $7 per person to ride a crowded and un-air-conditioned shuttle bus that will go to every other airline before it gets to ours? Or... . do we want to pay a bit more and have a young man with thighs of steel tow us in his pedicab through the balmy sunshine and sea-fresh air? We went with the pedicab. Squeeee! It was sort of slow-going at first because there were lots of tourists wandering around with their heads up and locked and paying no attention to things going on around them.

So, I sort of let them know we were coming, and they obligingly moved aside. "Yeee ha! Coming through! Woopwoopwooop! Let's go! Yeeeee haaawww!"
When traffic thinned a bit, our driver said, "I didn't know they had the bar open this early."

We were late disembarking because the ship had so many non-American passengers (Canadians) and many of them didn't realize that even if they weren't getting off the ship, they would still have to be accounted for by US Emigration. Everybody on the ship had to take their passport to the nice people and be verified. An hour after we were supposed to be on shore, the cruise director was still announcing, "Will Serena Rodriguez of cabin 4198, Mr. and Mrs, Ngyn of cabin 8703, Mr. and Mrs Waldorf of Cabin 1022, Miss Waldorf and Miss Simpson of cabin 1023, and Mr. Andrew Po and Mr. William Johnson ofCabin 1028, please report to to the emigration officers on Deck 2. No one will be allowed to leave the ship until everyone has been cleared." If I had known any of those people, I would have chivied them down muy pronto, chop chop! There were folks who were in danger of missing their flights.

But finally we all cleared, and DH and I wound up standing in line on the stairs, waiting to exit the gangway. Behind us, a mom and dad were explaining to 6 ish Johnnie why he shouldn't be jumping up and down the steps and bugging everyone. So I turned around and said, "Have you had a good trip, Johnnie?"

He was flat out flummoxed. "How did you know my name?" Then he suddenly went all shy and hid behind Dad. When he peeked out again, I said, "I heard your folks telling you why you shouldn't be jumping up and down the steps. Do you remember what they said?"

Evidently Johnnie thinks better with his finger in his nose. Up the nostril and he could report, "It bothers everyone else."

"So let's just talk and we won't bother anyone else. Have you heard any jokes?"
He knew most of the knock knock joke about the banana, but he didn't know the punchline, so I had to give it to him. Folks around us chuckled. I told a couple of knock knock jokes. Then another lady further up the stairs told another knock knock joke. A grandpa down the line came up with an elephant joke. Little Johnnie kept us all well amused by laughing uproariously at our silly old kid jokes. When you're 6, you've probably never heard why a fireman wears red suspenders. Actually, he'd never heard of suspenders. He didn't want to believe in them, but then one of the older gents in line took off his cardigan and displayed his suspenders. Johnnie was FASCINATED! It was probably the best part of his trip.

And talk about good timing! We get off the ship and head off for cool and rainy Portland, and the ship heads back out into the Pacific to play tag with a couple of hurricanes. They will not be stopping at Puerto Vallarta at all, because a hurricane is due to hit the same day they were scheduled to arrive. So they will spend an extra day at sea, in hurricane stirred waters. A second hurricane (Irving)is following close on the heels of the first, so they will miss their second port as well, spending a second extra day at sea. Then Cabo San Lucas for a day, and back through the stormy ocean for two more days. SO glad to miss that!

And since the connection is free here, and fast, And we have another hour to kill, I am going to catch up on all of your blogs now. Happy trails!

Day 3 - last at sea

2011-10-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the swells stayed high and a lot of people stayed in their rooms, so the formal dinner was not as colorful as others we have attended. Of course, this is also Holland America where most of the passengers are retired and formal nights don't bring out the brides-maids dresses. We have also cruised on Carnival. Carnival to Holland America is like Las Vegas to Monaco. Lots more color, glitz and flash on Carnival. Much younger crowd. Not nearly as much money and experience. On Holland America, you see real diamonds. On Carnival, big cubic Zirconiums. Carnival has firm, fit, youth and beauty. Holland America has wit and wisdom. Carnival, they eat and drink and party all night long, then sleep till the crack of noon. Holland America, it's early to bed and early to rise, reliably healthy, wealthy and wise. So no extraordinary attire to report, though I did see a number of diamonds big enough to choke a pony, and a string of Tahitian pearls that I would give my eye teeth for. Lots of good black silk dresses and nice cashmere wraps. One artistic old gal had what looked like a Tibetan gong slung around her neck and bouncing against her belly as she walked. Between the gong and the coral and turquoise beads, the thing must have weighed about seven pounds! Then she had her hair pulled up in a bun with whisps falling loose and half a dozen picks with fetishes dangling stabbed through at various angles. That,with the orange eye-shadow did rather make her stand out in the crowd.

Today is calm and sunny. I'm on the lifeboat deck watching the walkers circle past. DH is feeling much better, and soon we may return to the spa. Tomorrow, sigh, off the ship and back to reality. But for now, a cool breeze, bright sunlight, blue sea and all the food you can eat right at hand. Life is GOOD!

Better than I could have hoped.

2011-10-06T13:23:00.000-07:00

Last night, after a gray and rainy afternoon, the weather started to clear, and as we sat down to dinner, sun broke through. We were at the mouth of the Strait of Juan deFucca, so the change to open ocean and the late afternoon light hitting the water made such a beautiful picture! Luckily, our table is right near the window, so I was able to feast my eyes, And then, in the golden afternoon light, I saw a whale blow. And another! And another!! There was a whole pod of whales. One rolled. A little one flipped his flukes! There was a swirl where it looked like a pair were bubble-netting. (they swim in circles around a school of fish, blowing a curtain of bubbles and driving the fish close together and up to the surface. Then they swim right through the bait ball with their mouths open. Smorgesbord! The gulls were going mad above them! It Was So Cool!!

We passed on by, and turned south into the Pacific. There was a heavy bank of clouds along the horizon, cumulo-nimbus pilled up in stacks and towers. The sun set behind them, limning all the edges in liquid gold. Then the few cumulus clouds overhead began to pick up color, going from cream to apricot to rose. The ocean took on the reflected color and turned almost lavender. DH and I sat in a quiet little bar with big windows, sipping wine and savoring the sunset. It was perfect. It was magic. It was one of those things that you are glad to have lived long enough to enjoy.

We are experiencing 10 ft swells and full sunshine. It's about 80 degrees outside, but the ship is rolling so much that half the passengers are in bed with mal-de-mere. I don't mind it at all, except for getting thrown into walls, furniture, and other passengers as I trip merrily about the ship. DH toughed it out as long as he could, but finally took a Dramamine and is napping.

I had miso soup and grilled salmon for breakfast (Japanese breakfast) and sushi for lunch. And as I trot around the ship, I keep snagging a cookie here, a croissant there - - you can't get away from the food on a cruise ship. If you're feeding a teenage boy, it might pay to bring him on a cruise. You might, possibly be able to fill him up - at least temporarily.

Tonight is formal night. I love seeing what people are wearing. I can hardly wait!

Victoria

2011-10-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

Victoria,BC, is elegant and civilized and charming. Even the clerks in the souvenir shops are courteous and cheerful. We bought t-shirts of course. But we also stopped at Munro's Books and bought British editions of PG Wodehouse and Terry Pratchet books. I got "Nanny Ogg's Cookbook" for those of you familiar with the disc world.

And then we went next door to Murchie's and blew a wad on teas. I got "Radio Blend"and "Library Blend" and "Empress Blend" and Russian Caravan" and some with black tea and lavender, and 1/4 lb of Rose Congu (!) and bags of decaf Earl Grey, and green tea with ginger and - well, I just went nuts. Over the next few months I can pee with Chinese, Indian, and Ceylon accents. And thus will I warm and beguile the tedium of the winter.

Our last stop of the day was the Empress Hotel where we met Jim and Margie and had High Tea. It was squeefully wonderful! The china was exquisite. The service was impeccable. And the little three-tiered cake plates were chock full of yumminess. Smoked salmon pinwheels. Cucumber and butter on rye bread. Egg salad on tiny flakey croissants, and pork pate on crostini. Next plate - current scones with unsalted butter and strawberry jam in tiny eensy teensy jars. Top plate - Battenberg cakes with pink fondant coverings, shortbread cookies, bite-sized lemon tarts, chocolate mousse in thumb-sized chocolate cups, and cheesecake in two inch squares. And Empress Blend tea, of course. The waiter invisibly kept the pot hot and full. I never saw him replace of refill it, but I know we drained it twice. It was hella expensive, but you know, the way the stock market is going, we may as well spend the money while it's worth something, because in another month, it'll buy 20% less. And, by God, it was worth every penny. WE laughed and feasted and made plans to maybe go cruising together next spring.

Now we are wending our way down the Strait of Juan De Fucca (and no doubt hundreds of thousands of puerile lads have sniggered over that name.) and making our way to the Pacific. Last report was that out at sea we are expecting eight to ten foot swells, but as big as this ship is, it will be like taking a gravel road in a Cadillac. You know the bumps are there, but you don't mind them. Happy trails, my friends. We will be at sea until Saturday. Sometimes the internet fails while we're out to sea, so If you don't hear from me, fret not.

Sigh!

2011-10-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

The robes are thick and fluffy. The bottles of water, and the tea and coffee in the honor bar are complementary. The dinner was superb. And instead of just shoving the room service cart at us and holding out a hand for a tip, the room service staff came in, spread a tablecloth and set the table for us, carefully arranging the plates to best enjoy the view of the city lights shining all twinkly, twinkly on the water, then tactfully departed, allowing us to feast in privacy and comfort.

This morning, DH took our last stale doughnut out and tempted the seagulls. He knows he shouldn't encourage the little crapsters, but he can't help it. One glided in and landed up-wind, which meant that it had to face away from the wind to pick up the treat. The breezes are stiff here, and pretty much blew the seagull inside out. Feathers from the tail forward flared out, and a few even came loose. I laughed and laughed at him. He endured, though. A glazed cake doughnut is not to be denied.

Breakfast was beyond expectation as well. And DH wants the computer NOW.

omg, omg, omg!!!

2011-10-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

We are staying at the PanPacific Hotel in Vancouver, BC. It's right at the cruise ship dock. This is the third time we have stayed here for just one night. This is the second time they have given us a mind-blowing upgrade. We are in - get this - the Jade Suite! It has a 180 degree view of the bay and the city. It has a sitting room with a desk at one end, a dining table at the other end, and two sofas and a comfy lounge chair in between. There's a half bath to go with the sitting room, and a big screen TV. Then there's the bedroom with about an acre of snowy linen, windows looking out over the bay, a mountain of pillows, and of course, the big screen TV to watch from bed.

And then there's the bathroom. With the sunken, jetted tub which also has a view over the bay. And enough fluffy white terrycloth to polish an elephant. They provide a couple of thick toweling robes, just the thing to wear while I'm doing my face at the marble vanity in its own, separate, carefully lighted little alcove.

Oh, I forgot the balcony. You could skateboard on this balcony. It wraps around the face of the hotel and has about as much square footage as our living room at home. It has chaise lounges and potted pine trees and breath-taking, breath-taking, astounding views! We are so awe struck by this room that we have decided not to go out for dinner but instead, to go nuts and order room service. I can't bear to leave!

Until tomorrow, of course. That's when we get on the cruise ship for four days of luxury at sea. No views for us on board. We have an inside cabin. Four days of pampering for a bit more than $300 per person. All the food we can eat, free room service, entertainment, and not having to make the bed. ohhh, yeeeesssss!

I'm taking pictures, but still too dim to get them onto the blog.

trippin' again!

2011-10-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

I write this from on board the Amtrack Cascadia, leaving Portland and headed for Seattle where we will then transfer to a bus and wend our way up to Vancouver BC. We're headed for another re-positioning cruise. EXCITEMENT! Amtrack provides free wi-fi in business class. They have big, cushy seats that recline, and wide windows to watch the passing scene. And oh, what pleasant scenery it is. I just glanced out the window and saw a heron stalking along a riverbank. It's grey and cloudy of course. It's October in the pacific NW after all. But the cottonwoods still hold their leaves and the heavily firred hillsides remain eternal green. It's a cruise through the verdure, and -- oh, -- I saw a cow! A steer to be precise. One of many grazing across the fence from the train, and watching our passing with perfectly adolescent ennui. Been there. Seen that. Boring. Nothing can be as bored as a young steer.

Yesterday we stopped at a local bakery (Sarah Bernhards) and collected a bag of breakfastable goods. Glazed cake doughnuts keep well, and should sustain us for hours. The dining car on the train does leave something to be desired.

Weeeehooo! Another train is passing on the other track, headed the other way. It makes me dizzy to watch. And then, when it's gone, the sudden absence of roaring wall is a shock. I'm having such a wonderful time!

DH has the other laptop out and is watching an old black and white creature feature from the 50s called, "Behemoth" Something comes out of the ocean and threatens the idyllic fishing village and the pretty love interest. I'm willing to bet that the dark and virile hero courageously overcomes the monster. Wonder if his shirt gets torn?

Taking the train is SO much more pleasant than driving! In a bit, I'm going to get up and walk to the bathroom. Then I'm going to walk to the dining car and get a cup of tea. (They run the water through the coffee machine. Bleach. But it's hot and wet, and with enough sugar, it's palatable.

Passing a corn field. Passing a farm house. Passing a hay field. Passing a slough with ducks and geese. What a lovely way to pass the time! Passing trucks and cars traveling on the freeway. Ha, ha! We're taking it easy, and you're stuck in your trucks.

Sorry for the stream of consciousness, but I want to share the rolling fun. Now, we travel alongside the Columbia and can appreciate the clouds dragging their bellies along the ridge on the far side of the river. Oh, it's October for sure and true. Lazy low clouds in every shade of grey (or gray). They swoop in over the ocean, soaking up water vapor, and hit the coast range like a barrage of sodden sponges.

OK, I'vegot a few pictures on my phone. I will now attempt to download and display what my busy hands have been up to lately.

Wallow in the last of the sun.

2011-09-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

It's a cloudless morning, and predicted to remain cloudless all day. The last roses of summer are blooming, and, although I have a shipload of tasks to do today, I'm going to go outside and embrace the rays. How many more days will there be this year that I can walk outside without a raincoat?

I have two bags of daffodil bulbs to plant. This is the perfect, God-given day for it. Then, come March, after months of rain and days so cloudy that you don't throw a shadow, I'll be able to look outside and see YELLOW! I do love those happy daffs.

Fun at flock and fiber fest.

2011-09-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

Without photos. I got photos, but how to get photos from the cell phone to the computer to the blog is beyond me at this point. Sooo...

Imagine, if you will, a girl about 8 years old leading a frisky, curly-coated billy goat who is bleating with each prancing step. Imagine scores of white tents set up on a green lawn under a blue sky, and imagine each tent holding a unique rainbow of hand-dyed rovings and yarns. Imagine hundreds of happy fiber artists, colorfully and artistically clad, wandering from tent to tent, becoming ever more heavily laden with glorious purchases. Imagine the scents of lamb barbecue and kettle corn, sheep and goats and and their stables lightly perfuming the air. Imagine the hubbub of hundred of happy shoppers. It was a splendid day!

I got there early enough to grab three mystery batts from Fantasy Fibers. these are the batts she pulls off the carding drums when they need to be cleaned. There's no telling what's blended in, but every mystery batt I have ever spun has been an education. Merino and alpaca and silk and who knows what else. I do love the mystery batts.

My shopping plan is to carry a big basket, and when the basket is full, I'm done shopping. Batts take up a lot of space, but I can always hang skeins of yarn around my neck, so I wasn't too worried. As usual, I just didn't have the cohones to force my way into the Blue Moon booth, which was packed elbow to elbow with some fairly fierce shoppers. Folks do LOVE their Blue Moon yarns! I was carrying the basket on my head to take up less horizontal space, but I felt as if I would need both hand, me knees and elbows, and maybe my teeth to shop the Blue Moon booth.

I found some stunning enameled shawl pins with matching earrings. I was completely taken wit a set of kitties for $68. They wouldn't have gone with a thing that I own, and luckily, the line at the cash register was long enough to allow me second thoughts. Instead, I bought some hand-dyed blue-faced leister in shades of blue and lavender. And some merino, alpaca blending very manly grey with green and purple highlights, and some merino in rust, orange,brown and gold because I just had to have it, even though I don't wear those colors ever.

When my basket was full, and my pocketbook was empty, I took the long way home, taking the Canby Ferry. Imagine green forest and blue river with small electric-powered barge running from bank to bank. Imagine half a dozen cyclists in their colorful gear lined up against the side. Imagine six cars to fill the barge, and a gentle five minute journey across the river in the last of the summer sunshine. As I drove home, I could see clouds forming along the horizon. Last night it rained. Today it rained. Tomorrow it will rain. The water year is beginning. The flock and fiber fest was a perfect farewell to summer.

Doctor talk

2011-09-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, as long as I was at the doctor's office, I decided to get my shingles vaccine. See, when you had that case of chicken pox back in the 2nd grade, you got over the symptoms, but the virus took up residence in your nerves, hiding behind the tangles of synapses, playing poker with the cold sore virus while they waited to mature. Herpes simplex can re-errupt as a cold sore, or as sores on other moist, tender parts. And chicken pox can come back as shingles - a burning, itching, torment that can, at worst, cause permanent nerve damage. (The old myth that, if the shingles that appear on your waist get so bad that they completely encircle you, you will die, is not true. It happened to my mom, and she lived another 50 years.)

Having observed this burning, itching torment, I decided to avoid it if possible. I was a grownup and got my shot. Of course, I studied all the possible side effects first, but I forgot that they would couch it in doctor talk.

You know, when you are having a pelvic exam, and the doc says, "You may feel a twinge," and the next thing you know, you have tears rolling down your face and there are dents where your hands were clenching the sides of the cold metal table? Twinge. Right.

Or, during the colonoscopy, he says, , "You may experience some discomfort." And then you would scream like a little girl if only you could get enough breath? Discomfort. exactly.

So the possible reactions to a shingles vaccine include ". . .some temporary reddening and itching at the injection site." This swollen, hot, tender spot about the size of a demitasse saucer and red as an aroused babboon's butt - this locus for a desire to grab the steel brush off the grill and SCRUB, this sensation that has gone on for 35 hours now, is a "temporary reddening and itching." At least I didn't get the ". . .giant hives, throat swelling shut, and fever of 103." If they say THAT in doctor talk, what must it really be like?

When my mom had shingles, the doctor came to our house twice a day for a week and gave her a shot to keep her sedated. Since I'm just experiencing "mild discomfort" I get by with hot packs (to short out all sensation in the area!) and focusing on other things. I am listening to Terry Pratchet's book, "I Shall Wear Midnight" and sewing. Pictures soon.

Holy Crow, it works!

2011-09-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, in spite of a good life and sunny days, I started feeling blue. The grey film was sliding over everything, and I was having thoughts about hurting myself. Not that I was saying, "Life is so miserable that I just can't stand it anymore." Just random flashes. Like driving down the road and visualizing turning the car into the side of the 18 wheeler beside me. Or, while slicing a mango, thinking, "This knife is really too short to actually kill myself with." I'm not crazy, but sometimes my body decides to soak up too much seratonin, whch we all need to stay cheerful and balanced.

don't worry. I was not suicidal or anything like it. But Winston Churchhill's black dog was on my trail.

So I made an appointment to talk to my doctor about upping my Prozac dosage. And in the meantime, somehow, I started using the treadmill again. I am getting in half an hour a day. And doggone, if that grey film didn't lift, and the grim thoughts stopped, and I even went back to having happy dreams. Exercise really does help! I saw the doc yesterday, and we agreed to keep an eye on the situation, but not fool with the dosages yet. And keep on walking!!

One thing that helps, and I can not begin to express how very much this simple little thing helps, is that DH applauds when I have finished a workout. I just radiate smiles right now thinking about it. Approval is SO important to me!

Oh, and the weight is beginning to burn off, too. After I broke my wrist, I sort of went into a funk for three months. I was crippled, and wanted to do nothing but eat and feel sorry for myself and be cautious about further injury.

And my dreams started letting me know that all was not well. I dreamt repeatedly about being lost and late for something.

Oh, that's right. Other people may not react to that situation with the same gut-twisting dread that I feel. This is a dream that brings me bolt upright, sweating in fear. When that happened, I called the doctor. But it takes weeks to get in to see your medic if it's not an emergency. And bad dreams do not really constitue an emergency.

Luckily, I managed to get off my fattening butt and start walking. We watch Jeporady, then I put on walking shoes and hit the treadmill. If I had to go to the trouble of workout clothes, it wouldn't happen. I just sweat into what I was wearing all day, throw it in the washer when I'm done, and take a lovely hot bath. I sleep like a hibernating bear, and the day is brighter when I wake up.

And last night I dreamt I was going back to college with a bunch of the women from my writing group, and we moved into a BIG apartment together, with lots of empty cupboards for us to start putting wonderful things into. Oh, the glorious possibilities. WHAT a happy dream!

On the other hand, DH just got his work schedule for the next three months. He has to work at least one day, if not both days of three out of four weekends till the end of the year. They just don't have enough machinists to keep the machines going, so they have instituted mandatory overtime. This sucks rocks! If you know any machinists, or even someone who would like to be a machinist, Precision Cast Parts in Portland Oregon is hiring. They will even teach you how to run the machines, and send you to school to improve your skills. You DO have to pass a drug test, and not be a recent felon. But they pay really well, and as long as America is fighting wars, Precision will have work to do. (They build airplane and tank parts, as well as all sorts of other cool things like artificial finger joints, and land-based power turbines and titanium golf clubs and stuff.) And you get to live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. If you know any young people who want a good, solid livlihood, send 'em this way!

Guest blogger

2011-09-20T06:17:00.000-07:00

My fellow writer, Alice Lynn, has offered to share some of her thoughts today. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

I want to thank Roxie for welcoming me to her blog. Inspired by her post of September 10th, I’ve been pondering the subject of ghostly visions or sensations, animal and human. Do our pets survive death? Do we? I feel hints, if not answers, can appear in dreams.

My fascination with dreams began in childhood, and continues to be a source of wonder and curiosity. I’ve dreamed stories, three of which inspired my three published novels. One way to sharpen your dream recall is to keep a dream diary, something I did for years. I also studied everything I could find on the subject. I exchanged dreams with my sister and worked at interpretation. Eventually I taught a community school class on the subject.

From dreams of departed loved ones to psychological insights, our dreams entertain, instruct, integrate, and sometimes warn us of health matters or coming events. Their importance cannot be dismissed since it is a known fact that people deprived of REM sleep (the dreaming phase) often become unstable mentally and emotionally. Dreams, like visions, seem to be messages from the unconscious or even the Cosmic.

After losing my son to a motorcycle accident, I received a dream postcard, the return address written so clearly that I can see it yet. “The Summerland, Heaven,” it read, signed “love, Joe Kelly.” That made me smile, for he always signed his full name even on birthday cards. That message was a great comfort, for I felt he was letting me know he was all right and not to worry.

Another dream came after the death of a valued employee. The vision presented a cameo-like appearance, without action or dialogue. Miss Claudia sat in a nimbus of light, her red hair and fair complexion glowing with health. In her lap lay a vividly beautiful turquoise shawl. When I shared this experience with her daughter, Ruthie exclaimed in amazement. “Mom was knitting a scarf before she died, and the color is just as you describe.”

The warning dream was actually a series of three, dreams of dying. I was taking a Jungian class as part of my degree work at the time and finally talked to the professor. After a discussion, he suggested I might want to check with my doctor. I hadn’t had a mammogram for several years, but decided I might as well book one. The result was the discovery of a small cancerous lump. Luckily, it hadn’t spread, and after surgery, a dose of chemo, and a month of radiation, I was cured. That was almost 12 years ago.

The study of dreams and visions goes back as far as our most ancient civilizations and is an honorable one. Do you pay attention when your “dream master” puts on its nightly show?

***********

A native Oregonian, Alice Lynn spent her formative years in the Willamette Valley. She has pursued interests that range from horseback riding and amateur theatricals, to sculpting, gardening, and sewing. Her mother, who was a great reader, instilled in her a love of books. Writing seemed to flow naturally after that and has always been a part of her life. She graduated with a degree in psychology from Marylhurst University in 1999. Currently she resides in Oregon City with her husband and three cats. Alice just released her third book, Scattered Pieces.

About Scattered Pieces: When Katie’s little brother is snatched in 1946 it tears her family apart. It’s only through her friendship with the irrepressible Marilyn and Marilyn’s handsome brother Tom that she navigates a lonely childhood. In college, studying psychology helps Katie understand her mother’s mental illness and her own fears. And it leads to a client who may know something about her brother’s disappearance.

You can find Scattered pieces at the following online retailers: http://amzn.to/ScatteredPieces, http://bit.ly/BNScatteredPieces

http://bit.ly/SmashwordsSP. Alice is also the author of Wrenn: Egypt House and Volunteer for Glory.

Connect with Alice online:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AliceRuthLynn

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AliceRLynnAuthor

Blog: http://alicelynn.wordpress.com/

ready for the rain

2011-09-17T10:08:00.000-07:00

The rain has started again. Last Saturday was over 90 degrees, today, we'll be lucky to make it to 70. Fly nags me until I take him to every door and open it for him. He thinks Summer is still hiding somewhere out there. But no, there is rain behind every door.

Often there will be a parting kiss of summer in early October, then the water year opens for business and the omnipresent rain will begin again.

So I have been sewing - a comforting thing to do when it rains. Listening to Terry Potter's Wee Free Men and crafting quilts for the orphans. Here's the green side. This is fabric given to me by LG. It's a lot of fun to use someone else's palette.

And here's the brown side. And still, pounds of fabric sing to me, promising to keep orphans warm and well loved in places all over the world. I need to get more thermal layers. Old blankets, or bags of batts. Time to shop!

Leftovers never go to waste. Here's scraps from the green side, creating a new tea cozy.

And here's the red side of the tea cozy, because JoAnne's had a 40% off for seniors day, and I couldn't help myself. I should have bought batting, but I need a new tea cozy to go with my new big teapot, and I wanted a red one!

Life goes on

2011-09-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

Thank God the day has passed. "Remember!" screams the news media. "Remember, remember!" As if we could ever forget.

Our knitting was on the last hot day of summer. Hot, for us is when it gets over 90. And around here, we don't get humidity without precipitation, so it's usually a dryish heat. Yesterday, a marine low moved in, and temps got into the mid 70s Ahhhh! And with that full moon, I want to drag the Darling Husband outside and neck in the pavillion.

His co-workers are getting teaparty leftovers, Yesterday, the brownies went. Today, the gingersnaps. Like locusts, they will eat anything, so tomorrow might bring them stale angelfood cake. I'm keeping the lemon merengues. I drank strong leftover green tea all day yesterday and was vibrating slightly by 4 pm. No more caffeine after 3 for me. Buzzzzz!

It is fascinating to me how many of us have experienced contact with spirits that have passed on. And I struggled to decide on just about every word or phrase in that sentence. Almost as if there isn't exactly a vocabulary for the experiences. As one of the gals at knitting said, "It's for you. It doesn't matter if other people don't understand."

tea in the pavillion

2011-09-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

I was too busy enjoying myself to get many photos, but I did snap one shot of the spread before we dug in. In the center, surrounding a small vase of flowers, is angelfood cake. To the left, reading top to bottom is lemon merengues, gingersnaps, brownies with peanut butter chips, and honeydew balls with mint. To the right is a stack of bacon, lettuce, tomatoe, and avocado sandwiches. And to the right of theem is a plate of caramel/apple cookies that LG brought. We were a small group - only 9, which meant we were able to get a group discussion going. (any more than that, and we tend to break into smaller, more intimate chatteries.) And toward the end of the time, we began sharing our experiences of being "visited" by people who have died. I was surprised by how many people had dreamed of a loved one shortly after that person's death, and been comforted by the dream. which leads me to wonder - what are ghosts?

There was a cat I loved - his name was Blue , and he loved me with complete, unstinting devotion. He was with me during some of my hardest times, and when I finally had to have him put to sleep, I grieved so sorely. Then one night I dreamed that I saw him in the window where he loved to sleep. He opened his eyes and looked at me with perfect blissful contentment. I knew he forgave my failures and understood why I had to help him die, and he still loved me with absolute cat love.

Blue cat will help me die when the time comes. I won't transition alone.

Do you have ghosts?

I'm a day late for AW Wednesday

2011-09-08T06:17:00.001-07:00

Food sampling at Trader Joe's! Watch for the lady that crosses herself!
http://www.youtube.com/embed/-icgySC4e2c

scrapping up

2011-09-07T15:41:00.000-07:00

Piecing busily, I have finished another scrappy quilt. Actually, I have the front and back center of yet another quilt pulled together as well - turquoise, lime and avacado on one side, wheat, brown and cranberry on the other. They both need borders to bring them up to bed size. No rush, though. I have lots of fabric and lots of time.

Tomorrow, I initiate baking frenzy for the Saturday soiree. Gingersnaps, lemon merengues, angelfood cake. Friday I make the melonballs, and the guacamole for the BLATs (Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato sandwiches) and toast the bread . . . make iced tea, stage the buffet setups, mumble, mumble .. .

Saturday morning, move extra furniture out, set up the buffet, plate and put out cookies, cake, put together sandwiches, make hot tea, put out iced tea, sparkling cider, melon balls, get chalk and write on garage door, "Come around back > > >" Take a deep breath, enjoy the party!

It's supposed to be the hottest day of the year on Saturday. If we need to, we can just grab everything and move into the house with the air conditioning. My friends are flexible and fun.

another knit

2011-09-05T07:41:00.000-07:00

A longwhile ago, I got some pink and grey silk and wool roving and added it to the stash. In time, I spun some delightful thick and thin grey yarn and added it to the yarn stash. Recently, I needed something fairly mindless to knit, so I began mitered squares with the soft pink and grey silk and merino yarn. So soft. It needs to be a scarf. five feet of scarf later, I see lots more yarn and decide to do my other favorite thing which is to add a ruffle. One ruffle was good, and two, which just finished off the yarn, was even better. Now, the scarf goes into the finished objects stash. Probably off to the orphange. If I decide to keep it for gifting, I might bead the edges.

But for now, I'm making a hat for my brother-in-law the scout master. Again, I went stash diving. This time I pulled out a skein I bought because it was a colorway that I never buy. Time to stretch my creativity. I usually go with pink, blue, purple, so I bought some Iron River Ranch hand dye in yellow, green and a teensy bit of orange. For some reason, it makes me think of dinosaurs, so I am knitting a dinosaur hat for the beloved BIL. Stay tuned for photos.

Also on the schedule, The darling Ms, LG brought over some scrap fabric from the stash clearance of a friend of hers. I adore other people's scraps. Again, colors I would never choose. Especially lime, avacado and turquoise. Time to whip together another quilt! I have one quick and dirty stripper in shades of blue to finish off, and then, play with new colors!! Woohoo!

off to the fair

2011-09-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

Every year, DH takes the Friday before Labor Day off from work and we go to the State Fair. We always get there right after they open, so sometimes, the kids are still in bed.

But it's never too early to be beautiful. Here are three sheep getting the final primping before their 4H owners lead them into the show ring. They get groomed to a fare-thee-well, even getting polish on the hooves. This must be a fairly odd experience for the average sheep.

And once they've been buffed and puffed enough, they have to wear a pretty coat until it's showtime. Otherwise, being sheep, they'd go find something to roll in. Sheep are not known for intelligence. Their primary aim in life is to die, preferably somewhere inconvenient, ideally, in your water supply.

This little guy was just too cute. Had to get his photo.

We walked all over the fair. Next year I have definitely got to enter some things! The poetry competition was puny, and the quilt show was poorly represented as well. Even the photography competition was sparse (though I haven't a clue what makes a good photo.)

This is one of the fun activities. The pool has about three feet of water, and you pay to get inside the buble, have it blown up, and then flail about with glee. I was reluctant to risk my wrist right now, but if they have it next year, I'm in! It's sort of like bumpercars without motors.

I looked all over for deep-fried beer or Kool-Aid, but the oddest I could find was deep-fried PB and J. And one place offered corndogs about three feet long. They were cooking the fish and chips, and the blooming onions in the same vat of grease. We passed on the deep fried everything.

But, one activity I did participate in - the State lottery commission had a tent, and we won a chance to grab "dollars" for a chance to win lottery tickets. I got in the booth, they shut the door and turned on the air for 20 seconds and I snatched paper out of the air and stuffed as much moolah down the front of my shirt as I could.

Right up till they opened the door. I had 23 "bills" in my clothes which won us 6 free lottery tickets. Woohoo! That was wonderfully silly fun!

We walked at least five miles wandering around the fair. But DH feels we needed more exercise, so today, we went for a bike ride. There is a paved bike trail along the East side of the Willamette river, right down the hill from very urban life. The hill is city land and heavily forrested.

And just across the fence from the bike path, we saw a doe, calmly enjoying some yummy blackberries on a late summer morning. I could have hit her with a rock. Heck, if I had a watermelon with me, I could have spit seeds on her. And she just ignored the hell out of us, and all the other riders and walkers who happened by. I do love living in this city!

The recipe for bacon maple cupcakes

2011-09-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

Next time, I'll just mix maple syrup with powdered sugar and glaze the cupcakes rather than frost them. And these were better the first day. The bacon got - greasy tasting overnight. Maybe if I nuked them a few seconds in the microwave before serving . . .

Ingredients
* 4 1/2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
* 1/2 tablespoon bacon drippings (left in the fridge to become solid)
* 1 egg
* 5 tablespoons brown sugar
* 4 tablespoons maple syrup
* 1 1/4 cups self rising flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* tiny tiny pinch kosher salt
* 1/4 cup milk
* 1/4 cup of minced bacon, cooked and drained

What you’ll do–
* 1) Cook some bacon in a fry pan (about 6 thick strips). Reserve the drippings and place in the fridge to solidify. Mince 1/4 a cup of the bacon. The chef should eat whatever is left to assure that the bacon is tasty.
* 2) Beat the crud out of the butter and solidified bacon fat ’till light and creamy. Add the brown sugar and maple syrup and beat well until combined.
* 3) Add the egg and beat until incorporated.
* 4) Sift the flour, salt, baking soda and powder together.
* 5) Add some of the flour and mix, then some of the milk, then continue to alternate the dry and wet ingredients, ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in the bacon. Taste and add more maple syrup, flour, or milk if needed for desired taste. Keep in mind the maple frosting is very sweet, and to add in very small increments for alterations as maple syrup in large amounts can break a cake batter.
* 6) Scoop into cupcake papers and bake at 350 F for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Be sure to rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes for even baking.

Maple Syrup Frosting

Ingredients
* 4 tablespoons of butter.
* 2 tablespoons of maple syrup.
* 1 cup of powdered sugar.
* turbinado sugar (optional, but recommended).
* coarse grain sea salt (optional, but recommended).

What You’ll Do –
* Combine the syrup and butter until combined. Add the sugar, a bit at a time, and whip at high speeds until combined. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes. Sprinkle on sea salt and turbinado sugar for decoration and a lot of added flavor.
(add some crumbled BACON TOO!)

bacon maple cupcakes

2011-08-30T12:36:00.000-07:00

First try at the cupcakes was a monumental fail. I have no idea why they got all fluffy, then flopped. I follwed the recipe the same way both times and got completely different results. It's magic. Or something.

The second time, they turned out to be lovely little cupcakes with a decent crumb and a good flavor. I don't know how I did it.

And here they are, frosted and garnished with a bit of bacon. And oh my do they taste good! Think of a pancake breakfast. Think how good the bacon tastes where the maple syrup dribbles on it. Think of that taste in a cupcake. Think of a good excuse to ask me to bring a batch over to your house.

keep on rollin'

2011-08-28T16:56:00.000-07:00

So the knitting keeps on rollin'. A baby Surprise jacket which turned out to be more of a surprise than I expected, because the white worked up to a significantly smaller gauge than the turquoise, hence the lifted hem. But it has a certain cachet, and it was a learning experience. Now to find buttons, and it goes into the box for the orphanage.

And here we have the starting point for another "Keep on rolliln'" experience. DH and I took a 6 mile bike ride today. Our city is so bike-friendly that they will close off entire neighborhoods to vehicular traffic, and open the streets to the bikes. We took the route that circled the Hawthorne neighborhood. As you can see, the weather was perfect. And the streets were thronged with cyclists. We saw two guys riding really tall bikes - the seats were about 9 feet off the ground. We saw scores of parents with kid-tandem bikes, towing littler kids in trailers. There was one little guy, about 4 years old, on a little bitty bike with training wheels, and dad was following behind in his in-line skates, calling advice and encouragement, and when extra speed was needed, bending over to put a hand behind the tiny bike seat and be the booster rocket. And there was - this was so cool and I WISH I had gotten a picture of it, -- two guys riding bikes inside this big cage contraption. The bikes were side by side, and the cage thingy was welded to them so they moved in perfect synchronization down the street. And when they built up a good speed, the two guys would both hit the front brakes at once, and the whole contraption, guys and bikes and all, would do a somersault! The whole crowd squeed over that. And, nonchalent as can be, they just pedaled away.

It was a fun time. DH coaxes me into adventures I would NEVER try without him. I'm beginning to understand about the fun of bikes. But riding in a crowd isn't all that much fun. It was when the crowd thinned, and we had the streets free from cars that I enjoyed myself. Downhill is even funner than up.

On Friday I went back to the fracture clinic and got approved to go brace-free. YAY!! I tell you, this broken wrist thing is just as much fun as it's cracked up to be.

And I gained a certain sense of sympathy for dirty old men. Just a bit. The doctor who looked at my wrist this time was - OMG yummy! Honey blonde, fit, trim, beautifully groomed beard and mustache, and drown-in-them nordic-blue eyes. But I knew how unacceptable it would be to say, "Wow, did I win the lottery? I bet they call you Doctor Hunk-a-licious."

Blessings and good wishes to all my friends in Irene's way. Stay dry. Hug the people you love. We're praying for you.

Roxie of Redwall

2011-08-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

Valspar Pomegranate lightly sponged with mulberry, then heavily sponged with pomegranate with lots of irridescent pearl glaze added. The different colors and glosses disguises the crappy spackling. And, when I hang a big mirror at the end of the table, people will be too busy admiring their lovely reflections to notice the deplorable edges of the wall. Meanwhile, the color is warm, intimate, and smile-inducing every time I walk through the room.

And we also arranged some pots and plants out at the pavillion. Sigh! I swoon out there every afternoon. Sweet tea, and "The Help" (Great book by the way, though I hate knowing that it's based in fact. But we need to be reminded that things WERE worse. We have made SOME progress, and we need to make more.)

Knitting in September - How am I going to get 24 knitters out in the pavillion? Or do we draw lots? First 6 women to respond and request pavillion priveledges get it? Rotate guests out there every twenty minutes? Any suggestions?

This will be a Weight Watcher's tea - lots of fruit and crudites. Maybe angelfood cake. Ya wanna come anyhow?

Fun at the fair

2011-08-21T07:56:00.000-07:00

DH that Darling Husband of mine, took me to the Clackamas County Fair on Saturday. We wandered through the displays and critiqued the various competitions. (That got a red ribbon? I can see mistakes from here!) Next year, I have got to get my act together and enter a few knitted items! Then we went to see the animals. I do love those bunnies.

Some are very social, and some are shy. They also had a bunny agility race that was just a hoot. Some of the bunnies ran it in harness with the owner trotting along beside. Some bunnies hopped the gates, and some ran right through them. A big English Hairy bunny spent most of his time trying to get out of the harness and run away. With his looks, he doesn't need to perform.

And the chickens never fail to delight. Banty roosters make me smile. They try to out-crow and out-posture the big guys all day long. They must go home in a state of exhaustion.

The Silkies consistently tickle my fancy. love that fluffy head.

Now here's something you don't see every day - a lap-pony.

A little more common is a goat with a coat. (All cleaned up for show.)

Of course, everywhere you look, there are kids having fun or just taking it easy.

We made our way to the Pioneer Village in which I spent two or three stints as the local spinner and weaver. But I hated camping out so badly that I gave it up. Still, I made some wonderful friends. I always stop for kettle corn.

And every year I stock up on Laurelstone Soap. Laurie makes wonderful old fashioned soap with goatsmilk and oatmeal. I have used no other soap on my face for twenty years. It's amazing! Mild,and thourough but gentle. And Laurie is just a sweetheart! One night, she found me walking in my sleep, looking for DH, and she lovingly took me back to my tent and put me back to bed.

I'm trying to get her to start blogging, so if she does, I'll put up a link.

stripping

2011-08-20T07:51:00.000-07:00

This is the wallpaper found under the beige bamboo wall paper in our dining room. And I am in the process of removing it. I'd rather not use something that requires rubber gloves, eye protection, rental equipment, or a particle mask. I have a lot of recorded books and I am good at tedious, repetitive work, so I used warm soapy water, a sponge, and a plastic pancake turner. The papre came off in postage stamp-sized pieces over the course of two days, but now I am at thepoint of a final washing of the wall and then spackling. I got wonderful suggestions and encouragement from facebook friends. I still have trouble getting information from the internet because You have to ask the questions it's ready to answer. When I type in, "How do I strip wallpaper before painting my wall?" I got pages of adds for wallpaper and for wallpaper-stripping products. When I asked my friends, I got useful, practical advice.

Next - the spackle!

In the meantime, every night, when DH comes home, we take our laptops out to the pavillion and lounge in the peace and the shade, checking e-mail (Do you want to save the one from Don? Have you seen the one from Tim?) sharing news of the day, and then playing games till the batteries give out. I'm thinking it might make sense to run an extrnsion cord out there. Squirrels sit in the walnut tree, peeling green walnuts and throwing the husks down on the pavillion roof in pattering showers of organic debris. Sunshine stencils leaf shadows overhead. Crows and scrub jays bicker and yell insults at one another. Something about the thin canvas wall on the side where the dogs are makes the waft of crap less obvious. After I get the dining room wall painted, I am going to bring my spinning wheel out to the pavillion for a few days.

And one of these days, I will need to get some filing done. (shudder!)

Today, DH and I are going to the fair! I love the Clackamas County Fair! It's still an agricultural county, so there are still horses and calves and sheep and competitions in domestic skills. One of these years, I'll get myself together enough to start entering things again. I took Grand Champion in the cookie jar contest one year with my Ricky Martins -ginger cookies with cream-cheese frosting. sweet and spicey and teen girls just devour them. Maybe I could submit some macarons.

pink blankie

2011-08-16T10:49:00.000-07:00

I needed(!) to knit, and had some Aunt Lydia's Sugar and Cream cotton in "Knit for the Cure Pink," so, without a specific plan, I cast on for a mitered square. It used less than a whole ball, and turned out kinda cute. Why stop with a washcloth when other square things are available. I used to work with a young man who is about to become the father of a baby woman. I could knit him a nice burp cloth! Two and a half more squares later, I ran out of "Knit for the Cure Pink." Without a second thought, I toddled off to Joanne's and bought some more varigated pink. Unfortunately, not quite the same. But close enough. After finishing all 4 squares, I wanted to use up the end of the yarn, so I picked up around the edges and knitted around, increasing two stitches at the corner every other row. That was nice! I bought some more varigated pink. Then it occurred to me that stockingette curls, so I wanted a nice flat stitch pattern, And since it was headed toward blankie size, I decided to add in some white cotton I already had. Knit row all even- numbered rows with white, increasing a stitch at either side of the corner markers. All odd numbered rows: k1, p1 all the way around with varigated yarn no increases. Kinda purdy, ain't it?

It's a mite small for a blankie, but newborns are kinda small too. And the soft, machine-wash cotton should be good for an August infant.

I can knit again! Waaahhhooooooo!

What next?

bridge walk

2011-08-15T12:42:00.000-07:00

On unday, Dh and I were two of the 13thousand bicyclists and pedestrians who took part in the annual Providence Bridge Pedal. Some of the city's ten bridges are shut down temporarily, or a few lanes are blocked off, or bicyclists are restricted to established bike paths, but a strong and dedicated cyclist can cross all the bridges in one morning if he or she so desires. We saw the ten bridge wave getting started. Not more then four ounces of fat between the whole 2 thousand of them. Calves tanned, with muscles standing up in knots and ridges. Many parents towing kids in small trailers or on those cute little tandem-for-tots bikes. There were hand-pedaled bikes, recumbent bikes, any number of trikes, and these bizzare eliptical trainers on wheels where you stand up and run sort of. And one unicycle. On the shortest ride, the 6 bridge ride, there were swarms of little kids on their bikes and what madness that must have been, trying to wrangle a passle of young'uns for six miles, up and down over all those bridges!

DH and I walked. I'm no good on a bike. I like to look around me and I keep steering into trouble.

But to walk, you need the proper shoes. Like these.

Or these breezy trekker sandals (Though they would wear holes in my feet in no time.)

Or these . . . ah, wait a minute.

This nice lady was quite happy to take the five mile hike in her strudy sandals. Good for her!!

There were a lot of us packed into a rather small area by 7:30 in the morning. The event was wonderfully well organized, and our path was marked the full five miles with purple arrows. No one stood the slightest chance of getting lost. DH and I were just happy lemmings and went with the flow.

There is something rebellious in me that delights in walking where usually cars hold sway. A section of freeway shut down entirely fr a few hours to let bicycles and feet rule.

And this is the bridge I wanted to walk across. Ever since it was built, I have wanted to walk across it. If you look closely, you can see the swarms of speedier walkers ascending to the crest.

This walk was rather hard for DH because there is a certain touch of race horse in him, and being passed is not his favorite thing. But he is married to a fat old woman who will not speed walk.

Slow and steady does it!! (Omigawd I'm getting fat! Back to Weight Watchers for me!)

Portland really is such a beautiful city. I took scads of photos (while more people passed us. Poor DH) There were booths handing out free energy bars and bottles of water. And, since the bikes were coming along shortly, there was a mobile bike mechanic set up to help with repairs. And a first aid station of course.

There weree taiko drummers at the crest to encourage us. They were wonderful, and I felt encouraged!

The crowd thinned out on the down hill leg. Then we wandered through some interesting sections of the city I have never visited. There are gentrified little residential pockets tucked into the unlikeliest corners! I would have said the area was pure industrial, and I would have been so wrong! Finally, we found our way to the Broadway bridge.

The fair Willamette river and the just-crossed Fremont Bridge. I'm so proud of myself!!
I made the whole trip without blisters or shin splints, - but I forgot that some talcum in the crevices would have helped things along mightily. A little butt-dusting as it were. What an area to develop hot spots.

I went to bed early. I know, there are any number of you who could have run five miles before breakfast, but I am pleased as punch that I was able to walk it, and yay for me! (DH was good for another two or three hours of 3.5 mph, but I was worn OUT.) Soooo, what's next?

and a lovely time was had by all

2011-08-13T15:52:00.000-07:00

Theme pink. SO pink! Pink watermelon, pink salmon open-faced sandwiches (with pickled beets to give color and zip) Pink napkins wrapping the baskets of scones seasoned with Dave Daniels' French herb blend (YUM!!) In the bottom right corner you can even see a bit of a pink tea cozy.(Though I'll have to knit a larger one for my awesome extra larger pot. This is the first tea party I haven't had to brew a second and even third pot of tea. ( If I have more than 12 guests, I just start with two teapots and re-brew from there.)

A splendid time was had by all! Linda A brought blueberry muffins. Several weeks ago she baked up two dozen muffins and stuck them in the freezer. When she went to get them today, there were10 left. Do you suppose they have been subliming away, one by one, in their little plastic box? Just sort of dissolving into the void where that second sock goes?

Tamara brought a batch of her world-famous biscotti - still warm. And glorioius woman that she is, she left the remainder of them with me, wrapped in a pink embroidered dish towel. Squee!

As ever, we laughed and talked and told stories. We got on a theme of what happend when you got stopped by the traffic cop. I got pulled over once by a young fellow who took a look at my license and said, "Get out of the car, please." I got out. He looked up at me and said, "Oh. You ARE six feet tall, aren't you?" He accepted that my license was real, and gave me a speeding ticket anyway. Maggie was living on the East Coast and being the perfect Super Singlemom when she was pulled over. The officer pointed out that her tags had expired, and much to her surprise, she burst into tears so wrenchingly that he backed up several paces in shock. (No one is Super Singlemom. Everyone lets things slide.) Moma was lost on an LA freeway and going too fast in the fast lane. The officer got to the car to find Moma weeping in frustration, her two adult daughters in the backseat praying out loud for help with the situation, and her adult son in the front seat, laughing his silly ass off. The officer gave her a warning and instructions for how to get where she was going and sent her on her way, no doubt figuring that her day was hard enough. And how was he supposed to fill out the traffic report on that one? Moma says her kids revert right back to childhood when they travel togeether in the car.

Do you have any stories about when you were stopped by the police?

Don't you just love real stories?

The pavillion

2011-08-13T09:06:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the new brace, which I can remove for exercising and bathing!!! Every night, the bathing is a freah and new sensation for my arm. it quietly squeals with glee over every submersion, and paddles around so happily in the hot water. And the brace gives me support and protection while allowing a great range of activity.

For example, this garden pavillion which the instructions said needed four people to safely assemble? DH, with his bad back, and I with my wonky arm, put the sucker up in two evenings. Of course, his remarkable construction skils and scintillant intelligence is what made it possible, but I WAS a good helper!

One hour till the knitters arrive. Time to start heating water for tea.

theme pink

2011-08-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

My pink lilies are blooming, so this has set the theme for our knitting tea. I'm fixing raspberry bar cookies, French scones (seasoned with Dave Daniels French herb blend - lavender, rosemary, and other yummy things) lemon blossom mini cupcakes, and salmon sandwiches on black rye bread with fresh dill. TBW, the master baker, is bringing some delicious confection as well. And tonight, DH is going to help me pick out a watermelon. It was his idea to serve slices of cold watermelon, and I think it is inspired. And he has a n ability to pick ripe, sweet melons that is almost mystic.

I can't tell you how wonderful people have been, offering to bring food, offering to help set up, offering any help I need. The table is set, and I am going into baking frenzy today. Tomorrow, pick the lilies, plate the goodies, make the hot tea (iced tea, both black and peppermint, is in the fridge) and the coffee, herd the dustbunnies under the bed, and revel in the party.

Now that I have the cast off, I can do so much more! It's fabulous to have my hand back. I'm still wearing a compression mitt to control swelling, so taking that off for bath time is a period of unalloyed sensual delight.

I am working on a cotton baby blanket and having a fabulous time playing with colors and stitches.

And we had a cement pad poured in the backyard where we will set up a shade pavillion. DH has been having a lot of back pain, but when he got home last night, he pulled out the instructions for the pavillion. Then he pulled all the parts out and organized them. Then he went into the garage and emerged with his tool kit saying, "Who am I kidding? I can't just sit here and look at this!" So there we were, him with a rib out, and me with a barely healed wrist, assembling the basic structure for this shade pavillion. And with only one false start, we put the bottom frame together last night, and went out for Subway sandwiches to celebrate. The roof part is going to be a problem, because it takes four people to lift that sucker up and bolt it into place. Whatcha want to bet that DH gets it fully assembled and ready to go tonight?

When the ladies come over for knitting, DH and several other husbands meet for breakfast. They call it variously, "The Counter-Knitting Agency", or "the Liars Club." I'm hoping DH can recruit one or two of these gents to give us a hand.

By next weekend, we should have the pavillion all set up with bug net and outside curtains and maybe even interior lighting. Candles at least. Wanna come over for a barbecue?

Is google getting screwy?

2011-08-09T20:01:00.000-07:00

What is this with Blogger lately? I can't comment at all on some blogs. On others, I can only cheat in by going as anonymous. Still others, - no problem whatsoever. Is anyone else sufffering with this?

movie reviews

2011-08-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, we went to see "Captain America" So wonderfully 40s comic bookish. The bad guys were unremittingly bad with no redeeming elements. The good guys were honorable, heroic, and flawed just enough to be charming. I loved the history lesson in action sort of stuff. Selling war bonds and collecting scrap metal. The very laast bit- the segue into the 21st century - was a bit iffy, but how else are they gonna get him into 2012 to join The Avengers? (With Thor and Iron Man and Nick Fury)Needless to say, I loved it. And these hunky young men bulking up to take their shirts off on the big screen is a nice new trend.
Then today, we went to see Cowboys and Aliens. Yeeha! It's done with a lot of affection for the Westerns of the 70s, and lots of really cool evil aliens! If you are familiar with Sci Fi, and with Westerns, there won't be many surprises, but there's lots of wonderful action and special effects. (Harrison Ford with an Apache spear held like a jouster's lance, skewering an alien from horseback.) The kid manages to save himself and even the dog makes it out alive. It's great fun!

Tomorrow, I begin the countdown to the knitter's tea. We will have raspberry bars, lemon cupcakes, salmon with dill on pumpernickle, and for fruit - how about big slices of cold watermelon? If you're coming, let me know soon. It takes me longer to set the table with this broken wing.

Out of the cast!

2011-08-06T07:05:00.000-07:00

Every time I go in for x-ray, I learn something else about the extent of my injury. Evidently the doctor had to "fill in" holes in the radius that had been punched by other bones in the wrist. And the filler has been well assimilated, the break is fusing, and I have graduated from cast to splint which I am allowed to remove five times a day for stretching exercise, and (drum roll please) for bathing! I scrubbed my left arm from fingertips to elbow for the first time in 2 months. Oh god it was glorious!! Oh, yes! ahhhh, oooo, just like that! Mmmm, harder, Yeeeeesssss!

The stretching hurts like a sumbich but I gotta do it if I'm gonna get my hand back. Amazing how weak and stiff you can get in a brief two months. And pale! I didn't think I COULD get paler, but there is a definite like of demarcation just below the fingers.

Oh, and I have a new story - I was at Nordstrom's half-yearly sale and this supermodel type shoved me away from a rack of Balenciaga dresses at 75% off. So I shoved her back and it must have been when I punched her in the head that I broke my wrist. . .

When I don't know what to say,

2011-08-03T08:31:00.000-07:00

. . . sometimes I just start typing and topics rush in to fill the void. Not today, though. One of my facebook buddies (Troy simpson) said, "I feel as gay as a bagful of butterflies." and I am struck dumb with envy at the apt simile. What could be gayer than a big bagful of butterflies?

"Had I teeth of pearl and breath of lillies . . .

2011-08-02T14:32:00.000-07:00

I might call it ennui, but as it is, I must confess to laziness." Oscar Wilde

The past week or so has been divine with afternoons in the upper 70s and low 80s, and I have been lounging for hours outside, reading books, sipping iced tea, and generally hanging loose. Napping with the cats has occurred as well. And quite a lot of sitting in the shade and gazing at the play of sunlight in the leaves. Honestly, if I accomplished much less in a day I might quit breathing. Oh, but it's been glorious! I've been meditating without the yoga clothes or the proper mats or the vedic mantras or any of that righteous stuff. Freee-range meditation your might call it. And I refuse to feel any more guilt than is absolutely necessary.

I made it to the book fair down in Pioneer Square (Portland's living room as it were) and did my stint on the bricks. I have much praise and admiration for Pat and Susan who spent the entire day there! All I succeeded in doing was encouraging other self-publlished authors to contact Puddletow Press to get their books into e-format. With any luck, I'll be getting my paperback books this week. Any requests for autographs and endorsements? (for example, "Linda G. is a saint and you are damn lucky to be getting a book from her. Happy Birthday, Roxanna Matthews.")

I have been knitting gently and slowly along, and am surprised and how much stronger and more limber I am getting. Can hardly wait for the cast removal on Friday. Maybe I can go to a brace then. If not, I don't know if I'm going back to a pink cast, or trying something differnt. I'll follow my whim.

Sock Summit was inspired madness. I didn't attend classes, but did swing by the vendors. What a plethora of yarn! I was giddy with the choices. and thene there was the flashmob singing "I've had the time of my Life," to their yarn and completely discombobulating all the public transit riders who witnessed it. Watching the U-tube of that lead me into watching other flash mobs around the world - - -
U-Tube is like peanuts for me. I can't stop at just one!

Oh, and TBW and Alwen are right. Those white flowers with two red petals are "Hot Lips" Doncha love it?
Thanks for help, ladies!

It's Fryday

2011-07-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

I have one more week to live with the current cast. I have decorated it with words this time around. Affirmations. It says, "Heal, grow strong my lovely bones." This fiberglass is so porous, it has taken about 17 coats of white polish to create a surface fit to write on. I bought a specia lfineline black nailpolish pen for the litterary effort. No smudge, no smear.

To celebrate, and because I was headed in that direction anyhow, I stopped at VooDoo Doughnuts again. I got in line just in front of a woman with 22 middle-schoolers in a summer day camp. The noise level, as you can imagine, was toxic. So when I got to the order desk, I asked for the first thing that came to mind - the cock-n-balls. It's cream-filled, you know.

After meeting a friend for lunch, I made my way to the Sock Summit which is going on right now. As I am not much of a sock knitter, there weren't a lot of classes that appealed to me, and the off, odd classes I wanted had all filled up within about 30 miniutes of the area, and went quietly and blissfully insane for a while. SO many colors! So many soft things to pet! So many pretty things people have knitted! Oooooo! I spent a mere $55 on some hand-dyed bamboo from Teresa Ruch, and came away feeling highly satisfied.

Tomorrow, I will be doing book signings from 1 - 2 in Pioneer Courthouse Square along with dozens, perhaps hundred of other independent authors and publishers. My publisher, Puddletown Press, will have a table set up at the book fair on the square, and I get to help! Woohoo! For the e-books, I will be signing bookmarks. And we hope (oh so fervently) to have recieved our shipment from the print on demand press that is producing Sanna, Sorceress Apprentice in paperback. Who wants a copy?

hydrangeas

2011-07-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

I took myself for a nice walk this morning. since I live in a blue-collar neighborhood, everyone who is going to work has already left by 7 AM, and I had the streets to myself. Well, yes, there were a few cats to give me the hairy eyeball as I passed, one grey-haired gent in sweatpants watering his blueberry bushes with a hose, and a stay-at-home granny enjoying a cup of coffee and a smoke on the front porch. They all smiled and waved, except for the cats, but other than that, I had the entire morning to myself and could saunter down the center of the street with insousiance.

The hydrangeas are in fine form riht now. I wanted to share a few photos. The range of color from pink through purple to blue just delights my heart. I look good in hydrangea.

Then I took my c-pap breathing equipment in for a check-up. The machine has a built in memory card that records how many hours a day I use it and how much pressure it needs to produce to keep me breathing. Before the machine, my breathing was interrupted about 35 times an hour. With the machine, I average only 7 interruptions an hour. No wonder I don't fall asleep in front of the tv anymore. I'm getting about 7 1/2 hours of solid sleep a night! The gal who evaluated my performance is also a spinner, so we had a grand gabfest. I bet, with this smaller cast, I could even start spinning again.

I spotted this dainty beauty on my walk today. TBW, or anyone else, what is the name of this pretty flower, and is it hard to grow? It looks so romantic!

So . . . Granny is visiting for a while and one day the 16year old granddaughter daughter comes romping through the living room in a very sheer shirt. "Sweetheart, you're not going out like that, are you? says Granny. "Why, I can see your nipples!"

The damsel replied, "Oh gran, get with it. No one minds if a girl shows off her rosebuds."

The next day, Miss Rosebuds flounces into the living room and there's Granny, topless. The young lady shrieked, "Oh my God, Gran! Put some clothes on. My boyfriend will be here any minute."

Granny smiled and replied, "Oh, get with it. If you can show off your rosebuds, then surely I can display my hanging baskets."

Street of "Affordable" homes

2011-07-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

Dh and I enjoy going to these shows of homes that the builders put on. Not that we intend to drop five hundred thousand dollars (This is affordable these days?) on a new house. We are perfectly happy where we are. But we go shopping for ideas and inspiration. Robin's egg blue is the new color, with bark brown. And there was one lovely bedroom in ecru, oatmeal, and charcoal with a painting of a poppy over the bed, a red vase on the dresser, and on the nightstand, a magazine with a red picture on the cover. Don't know how long you'll want to keep a June, 2011 copy of Home and Garden Digest on the nightstand, but it sure gave the room some punch!

In the master suites, they are still installing huge tubs, but they are no longer the jacuzzi jetted types. And, though it seems like madness to me, the builders are still trying to sell us on outdoor living. OK, it's July 25. People are still skiing on Mt. Hood, a mere 90 minute drive away. When I went to get the paper this morning, at 5 AM, I was greeted by thunder and lightning. This is NOT an area where outdoor living makes sense. Really. No matter how many fire pits and uber barbecues and stylish lounge chairs are scattered around, it's still too darn cold!

Another thing that makes no sense is the concept of rooms that no one will live in. The "sitting room" just off the front door which is too small for any social event, and wayyyy too fussy for comfortable lounging. I guess it's where you would seat Queen Elizabeth if she ever comes to visit. Take the plastic off the chairs, first.

And these "Great Rooms" with the twenty foot high ceilings - a pain to heat or cool of course. And who wants to sit in a great draughty echoing chamber for a comfy family evening? The only thing I can see those rooms being used for is big parties. And how often do you have 40 of your closest friends over for a pleasant dinner?

On the other hand, I saw many lovely mud rooms off the garage with masses of storage space. And several builders have realized that it makes sense to put the laundry on the same floor as the bedrooms because that's where most of the laundry is created anyhow.

But best of all is coming home to our dear home with our comfortable furniture, and our dated but satisfying color scheme, and being so grateful that we are not in debt up to our eyeballs!