Wednesday, December 31, 2008

New Years Eve


Fireworks #1
Originally uploaded by Camera Slayer



Happy New Year, everyone!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Closing Days




This is the larger of the two liquidambar trees in our front yard. When we moved here, there were two of the same age but, several years ago we lost the western tree during a bad windstorm. The tree we replaced it with is also a liquidambar but always loses its leaves in November. This one hangs on into January or February and even then doesn't lose all its leaves until the new spring leaves push them off.





The Lisbon lemon also in the front yard was picked clean about a month ago by an elderly couple with a shopping bag. This is the second year that they have been around here. Last winter I first saw them picking oranges from our next-door neighbor's tree; I didn't say anything because he never picks them anyway. Then we noticed that we no longer had any ripe lemons less than six feet from the ground. Now it was a different story because we do use ours. We've been trying to keep any eye out for them this season, but have not been able to catch them in the act. Actually, I'm not sure what I would say if I did catch them. These lemons are almost ready, so there may be another raid soon.

We had a good bit of rain right around Christmas but since the weekend, it's been cool and clear. The baby tomatoes in the greenhouse haven't started ripening yet.

We still have to paint the hallway but have decided to leave it until after New Year's. Meanwhile, I've started my sewing project for the grandchildren: old-fashioned nightgowns for the girls and a pair of pajamas for OJB. I bought the flannel for the girls a few months ago but the knit for the pajamas came from my stash. Two yards busted! I also cut out a kitchen smock for myself - another 3 yards busted. I haven't done a count of how many yards are in my non-quilt fabric stash, but this doesn't even make a dent.

Today is the start of my second year of retirement. I haven't accomplished much of what I had planned to do but hope to do better in 2009.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas Surprise in the Greenhouse


Last spring I planted seeds for this Jelly Bean grape tomato. They took their time germinating and, by the time they were tall enough to plant in the garden, summer was almost over and we were about to leave for two weeks. I planted one seedling in the raised bed between the two Italian tomatoes and left the other in its pot. When the weather started to get cold, I moved it into the greenhouse but wasn't very faithful about watering it. I noticed the two blossoms last month but, even then, I didn't manage to water it regularly. Today, just a few days after the shortest day of the year, I found these robust fruits in an almost dry pot. I immediately gave it some water and am hoping they will ripen. There are very few leaves on the plant and the fruit are on a foot-long stem, so I don't think I will get any more. But it does give me hope for growing tomatoes in the winter even though the greenhouse is unheated.
Also, this reminds me that in a few weeks it will be time to plant tomato seeds for the 2009 season. I will definitely plant this variety again!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Apple Pie Time


My contribution to Thanksgiving Dinner was dessert: Pumpkin and Apple pies. The Husband used the apple peeler-corer-slicer that KAS and EAS gave him last Christmas. The first few apples were not quite perfectly peeled but, after that, it was a breeze. We had enough apple slices for the pie in about 5 minutes. Clean-up was easy, just a quick rinse and then I let it drip dry.



The spiral peelings look really interesting - like maybe we should steam them to use as a garnish. Needless to say, we just put them in the compost. We'll try something fancy another day. I saw a video on You Tube showing a similar instrument peeling and spiraling a potato but I'm not sure how we would get past the corer.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Bella Bella

We've been having a run of really warm days - mid to upper eighties, little wind, blue, blue skies. It cools off considerably in the late afternoons but not nearly as cool as November should be. However, I think we are about to get back to normal. This evening there is a nip in the air and they say the fog will be in tomorrow morning. I packed my summer clothes away almost three weeks ago, so it's been tricky getting dressed in the morning. Luckily I have some long sleeved tops that are light-weight enough to be comfortable. In the cold weather I usually wear them under a warmer top.



This is our neighbor's tiny chihuahua Bella. I ran into them one cool morning when I was walking and volunteered to knit her a sweater. This only took me a couple of hours and is made of Lion Brand Wool-ease, worsted weight. It's a little big in the tummy area as the pattern didn't have any directions for narrowing the body. I'm now working on another sweater using the same yarn. It has a bit more shaping, so I hope it fits better. Bella isn't used to wearing clothing and she just hunkered down, hoping it would go away.
I had to frog the second purple pattern sock after I started the heel. My count was off and the foot was at least an inch longer than the first sock. I would just have ripped it back, but the toe cast-on was sloppy and somehow I had picked up an extra stitch, so I decided to bite the bullet and start over. I'm almost back to the heel turning again so this pair should be ready to wear in a week or so.
I'm also making good progress on the Mystery Shawl. Only about 40 rows to go on the second half. I really need to order the lace blocking wires from KnitPicks. I'm afraid if I don't block it right away it will join the ranks of the almost finished.
I'm back to working on the Orange Crush quilt. EAS stayed over Saturday night and helped arrange some of the blocks to get me started. I also finished another catnapper. The free motion quilting isn't perfect by any means, but looks pretty good from a couple of feet away.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Beach Knitting


KAS modeling my 2008 garter stitch stole which I finished while sitting on the beach.


Saturday was spent at New Brighton State Beach just south of Santa Cruz with KAS, EAS and their parents. Their mother had planned this for last weekend but then we had that freak rain early last Saturday morning. The forecast was for possible showers throughout the day, so we decided to cancel. At the time we thought we had probably missed the boat, that the fine weather could not possibly continue for another week. But surprisingly enough, it did. We arrived just before noon and it was beautifully sunny with no wind. Then we spotted the fog building down by Monterey. It crept slowly north, then another patch started creeping south from Santa Cruz. By 2pm, we were socked in; no sun but no wind either, so it wasn't too cold. The fog didn't deter other people either. They just kept coming until the beach was really quite crowded.



Leo got the last of our salami.

We left about 3 o'clock and drove up to Capitola to Judy's Sewing Center. I had heard that they carry the new Janome quilting foot and bobbin holder, which are supposed to make free motion quilting easier and better looking. However, it turned out that they only had them at the parent store in Scotts Valley. By this time I really didn't want to go home without, so we drove over to Scotts Valley and bought both. I'm anxious to try them out - hopefully tomorrow.



By the time we got back to Highway One we were getting hungry again, so decided to go home via Moss Landing and get a bowl of clam chowder at Phil's. They make the best! There were signs all over the place saying that the Food Network will be filming there on 10/26 and 10/27 .
Their website says that the episode will be shown on Nov. 19 at 4am. I don't know why the early hour but I'm sure it'll be shown again and again.






Husband also ordered a cannolli for dessert. I think he's had his eye on this item for a long time but usually is too full after his meal to even think about dessert. But tonight he planned ahead.








Don't forget your free taco at Taco Bell - Tuesday October 28 from 2pm till 6pm!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Mom's 101st Party



The big day actually isn't until next Thursday but this was the weekend we could get everybody together. All five of her great grandchildren were there as well as two of her great-nephews and a great-great-nephew.

It was a surprise until the guests started arriving; then she caught on right away.





Mom had a lot of help opening her gifts. She doesn't see too well, so EAS read all her cards to her.
TCB borrowed a little video camera from my nephew and flitted around recording all the activity, with a running commentary. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that the camera needs to be moved slowly, so most of the video is just a blur. But we all really enjoyed watching her in action.









Amongst all the activity, there was time for some deep thought; or else there was something really interesting going on out in the street.












This is the end of Clue 5 on MS4. There are about 50 rows to knit in Clue 6 and then the first half will be complete.

The weather in SF was cool but very clear, no fog even at sundown. This is Fleet Week in the City and the Blue Angels were performing. We actually heard them flying at one point. I don't think they went over the house but they are so loud that you can hear them even when they're not very close.


Last night the low temp was in the upper thirties. Very unusual for early October.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Seize the Day

This morning the Husband came back from walking Leo and suggested that we drive up to Fremont Peak.
I had planned to spend most of the day sewing - EAS wants a lizard costume for Halloween and I've committed to making it for her, so I suggested that we do it another day. But then the Husband made a comment about what a beautiful day it was and that set me to thinking about how often we put off doing things and lose the perfect moment forever.

So I decided to leave the costume for tomorrow and we took off right after lunch. The valleys were hazy but the sky above was the most beautiful blue.


One of the things we wanted to do was to check out the campsites. I've never been camping but we do have a tent, sleeping bags and a camp stove, and I've been talking about trying it at least once before I'm too old. Fremont Peak State Park is close enough to home that, if I chicken out in the middle of the night, we could be back in my own bed pretty quickly.

However, I think that if we do choose Fremont Peak, it won't be in summer or early fall - the deer flies were awful today!

It was very quiet up there. We saw only one campsite in use and only one other couple visiting as we were.









Finally got a photo of the Green Eyelet socks I finished the other day. I can't believe what a perfect fit they are. The basic pattern was the Universal Toe-up Sock pattern from Knitty.com.

The eyelet pattern was from Wendy Johnson's Double Eyelet Rib Socks.

I finished Clue 5 on Mystery Stole 4 tonight. Clue 6 comes out on Friday. We were still watching Bones when I finished, so I started working on the Purple Pattern socks. I've completed about 5 inches, so I tried them on and the fit looks good. The yarn is Lion Brand Magic Stripes and is a bit thicker that what I usually use, but I'm still using size 0 needles with 48 stitches around.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

County Fair




Granddaughter EAS spent Friday night at our house and this morning Gpa took her to see "Beverly Hill Chihuahua" which was a big hit with both of them. Then we all drove out to Bolado Park for the San Benito County Fair. After a quick hot dog for lunch we headed straight for the barn section so that EAS could get her animal fix. She saw the horses, the cavies (which you and I would call Guinea Pigs), the cows and sheep and finally the rabbits and fowl.





I sat outside the Rabbit/Poultry building with Leo since we didn't think the bunnies and chicks would take kindly to a rat terrier in their midst.
I think EAS was most impressed with the turkeys. I'm not sure she had ever seen one except on the table at Thanksgiving.













After we did the barn area, we headed for the commercial building where there are always lots of free things. The children always love this part of the fair - all the pencils, fans, candy and little doodads they could want, even bags to carry everything in.


This is where we ran into cousin David who was manning the Pinnacles National Monument exhibit while the ranger was taking a break. Doesn't he look distinguished with his new beard?

EAS and I visited the Quilt exhibit but, while there were many nice quilts, there was nothing really exciting. I couldn't even choose a favorite. Maybe I was spoiled by last week's show in Morgan Hill but this one was very disappointing. It's not that the quilts were bad, just not inspiring.


We had some rain during the night and lots of clouds most of the day but we managed to avoid any rain while we were at the Fair. There was plenty of mud though. Usually it's all dust, so this made a nice change.

I finished my green eyelet socks this morning and started on a pair of self-striping socks this evening. I'm using a very easy pattern, so these should go pretty quickly.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Rain on the Way



The first storm of the season is reportedly heading our way. This KSBW webcam photo from Fremont Peak definitely shows "precursor" clouds. It seems like it's been a very long time since we had any rain - at least since last March or April. However, this is very early for the fall storms, so I won't be too surprised if it just fizzles out. Disappointed, yes, because I really love rain.
But, on the other hand, this is County Fair weekend, so I won't be that disappointed.



This is the end of Clue 4 on Mystery Stole 4. Clue 5, which was released this morning, has 48 rows which will take us to row 232. Then I have to knit the same thing all over again and graft the two pieces together with the Kitchener stitch. So, considering it will probably have taken me a little less than 4 weeks to do this much, I should have this baby ready to block by Halloween. So far it's been a pretty fast knit but sometimes the boredom factor can set in when I'm doing the same thing twice. Sort of like second sock syndrome.

Speaking of which, I am just about finished with the green eyelet socks - only seven more rows of ribbing to do on the second sock and they are ready to wear. I started them in January but had to frog a couple of times due to size issues. This time I have a winner, I hope.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Busy Monday

I got up early and walked for 1.5 miles; then spent the rest of the day doing chores. I've made a list of things I want to do this week and have it posted on the fridge. Since I'm the kind of person who will do a job just to have the satisfaction of checking it off the list, I thought this method might help me to get more accomplished. Today I managed to check off all but three items, and those jobs will be moved to tomorrow's list. I need to load up the early part of the week because I tend to run out of steam along about Thursday.

Last night I managed to finish Clue 3 on the Mystery Stole 4. And I'm already 5 rows into Clue 4! Unfortunately, when I put in the lifeline at the end of Clue 3, I managed to include my stitch markers, where they will have to stay until I put in the next lifeline and remove this one; so I had to scrounge up 8 more markers to use until then.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Taste of Morgan Hill

The South Valley Quilt Association puts on a quilt show every year on the last weekend in September. It is held in conjunction with Taste of Morgan Hill in the MH Community Center, a great venue. There is one really large room where they hang most of the quilts and several smaller rooms for the vendors (always an important part of any quilt show); they also hang many more quilts in the hallway that runs the length of the building.

Once again, the quilts were outstanding. I always come away from this show inspired to create more and better quilts. A couple of years ago there were several quilts based on Louisa L. Smith's Strips and Curves book. The four of us in the Courthouse Quilters group decided that we would each sew one of these and enter them in the Pinnacle Quilt Guild April 2007 show, which we did.


This year there were two quilts from Bella Bella Quilts ; both were absolute knockouts! I've had this book on my Amazon wish list for several months and now I think I need to order it soon.
The quilt on the far right has Celtic applique in the center and the corners. We chatted with the quiltmaker and she said that this is the first time she has ever entered anything in a show. She doesn't even belong to a guild, although she says she is planning to join the SVQA. I did get a program but not the leaflet which gave the quilt names and makers. So I don't know this lady's name but I'm trying to find someone who does know.


















The featured artist was Carla Gulati who does these amazing pieces.





I think this lady must have wandered in from the vintage car show
which stretched for two blocks on Main Street.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Moving Along on the BQM

I'm working on the backing for the Burger Queen Mystery Quilt. These are extra blocks - the blue stars were my original block but I decided that the blue should be the background not the stars; the 3" star blocks were extras - somehow I miscounted; the circle in a square block is made from leftover pieces. Those triangles were not easy to cut and I don't want to waste any. So I am going to incorporate these five blocks into my pieced backing.





This cool print was planned to be the border on the front but I decided that it didn't look so good. I left it pinned up on the design wall for a good two weeks hoping it would begin to look better. But that didn't work this time so I've decided to use it on the back. Right now my plans are to set the above blocks at various angles with this print filling in around them. There probably won't be quite enough so I will use the blue from the front border and a gold print all around. I have plenty of both.


I still don't know how I'm going to quilt this baby. One of the group members suggested quilting with the back on top but I'm not that experienced a machine quilter and am a little afraid of going that route without a good all-over print to guide me. I have the book Quilting Back to Front but I just don't think I'm ready yet.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Meet the Goats







I went to the LDS Family History Center this afternoon to order a microfilm for my Stout family research and when I left I heard a rustling coming from the edge of their parking lot. Of course I had to investigate, and this is what I found. Four goats foraging, two were eating grass and two were nibbling on the bark of some small trees.



We have some dried up corn still on our cornstalks, so we are going to ask the goat owner if he would like to have them. I don't think they would be much good in the compost bin anyway.







This is the third time I've planted microgreens and I haven't managed to actually put any on the table yet.
I'm not even sure how to use them or if we will like them. Supposedly they are being used in the finest restaurants and, being as they are the plant stage just past sprouts, they've got to be healthy.

The first two time I planted them I didn't get to use them when they were ready and then it was too late. To tell the truth, I'm so used to having a couple of months between sowing and harvesting, that I forgot about them. I planted these in the greenhouse on 9/18 and this is the amount of growth just five days later. Most seeds haven't even sprouted in five days! This time we are going to eat them. This week. Guaranteed...


The Burger Queen Mystery quilt has its borders. The rust border is 1", the 2" middle border matches the stars and the 3"outer border is a different fabric from the background but the color is close. I ran out of the blue basketweave, unfortunately because I really love it. Now to plan the backing.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Road Trip Yarn Purchases


The dark skein is Schaefer Andrea, Jane Addams colorway. It is 100% silk, laceweight, about 1093 yards. I couldn't resist it - the colors are so glorious: garnet, olive, teal, and I keep seeing hints of lavender but cannot actually find any lavender. I will probably use it for a shawl from Victorian Lace Today.

The pastel skein is Prism Lace Wool, color Spice. It is 100% wool, also laceweight and about 1460 yards. The colors range from lavenders to pinks to yellows and beiges. Another shawl, maybe from the same book. There are so many I would like to knit from that book.

The balls of yarn are Jojoland Melody Superwash, 100% wool, fingering weight, about 220 yards per skein. They don't have named colors but we have a heathery pink and a heathery teal. I will probably be able to get 2 pairs of socks from each color.

These yarns were purchased at Knitwicks in Rogers, Arkansas. We were visiting the Husband's cousin BA in Bella Vista and his wife G found this shop for me. She doesn't knit but was very supportive of both my knitting and quilting habits. A true friend, indeed!

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Knitting and Quilting

That's what I've been doing lately.




The Mystery Stole 4 is moving along nicely - I completed Clue 2 Friday, the day Clue 3 was released; I started Clue 3 on Saturday evening and knitted about 10 rows before bed. I thought it was going really quickly and that I'd finally progressed to the point where I would be able to keep up with a knitalong. Then I realized that all these clues will need to be done a second time for the other half of the stole. Some of the knitters are doing both halves at the same time but I thought that might be too confusing for me, especially with having to learn to knit with beads. Oh, well. At least I've learned some chart tricks, such as writing in the number of stitches when there is a long run of knit, and highlighting the symbol for a stitch and also all those stitches. That really helps when there are both left-leaning and right-leaning decreases. I'm highlighting the ssk in orange and leaving the k2tog alone. I've also rescued a metal bulletin board from the grandchildren's toy box and am using it for my chart. I cut a magnetic strip the length of the chart, attached a piece of ribbon to the sticky side and use that to mark my row. All of this really speeds the process. There aren't any beads in Clue 3 so it should go even more quickly.

Friday evening the granddaughters arranged my Burger Queen Mystery Quilt blocks for me and I sewed them together on Saturday. Today I added a 1" rust-colored inner border; still need to add two more borders before the top is finished. I'm still planning to piece the backing - need to keep using that stash!


Monday, September 15, 2008

Back to Normal

We've been back home for almost a week but I'm just now feeling that the trip is really over. I think it takes a while to come down from that feeling of being free, with no responsibilities. When I was still working, the job brought me down immediately, but now I can sort of coast in.


The garden was well taken care of while we were gone, even though the temps were close to 100 for several days in a row. Our neighbor watered regularly and our daughter and her family came over every weekend to do what needed to be done. The green beans appear to be pretty well finished. I think this is way too early for them to give up, so today I picked every bean I could find and tomorrow I will give them a good watering and some fish emulsion. Maybe I can bring them back for another month. The tomatoes are flopping all over the place which makes it hard to pick them. But they are producing like crazy and we should have enough to supply the family as well as the freezer. The figs are ripening slowly. We get a few every day and they are really yummy. The zucchini are still poking along but nothing like they did a couple of months ago. We pulled up the cucumbers and most of the lettuce before we left, so we are reduced to buying lettuce until my new crop is ready.


On the knitting front, I've finished Clue 1 in Mysterystole 4 knitalong. I know I already have two unfinished lace projects but this one has beads and I just couldn't resist it. I found the beads at Sun Country Gems in old town Albuquerque on our way home. I've never knitted with beads before but it's actually quite easy. These 29 rows only took me 3 evenings. What a difference from the Anniversary shawl - one row takes about an hour, assuming I don't have to correct a mistake. I'm hoping to get caught up with Clue 2 before Clue 3 is released Friday, and then stay caught up, using any extra time to work on the Anniversary shawl. The Spring Surprice shawl will just have to wait until these two are finished. It is by far the most difficult and I should be a much better lace knitter by the time I go back to it.

Today was the first time I turned the sewing machine on since we got home. I finished the extra blocks for the Burger Queen quilt and now they are waiting for the grandchildren's next visit. I don't do random very well so I'm going to have them arrange the blocks in a 4x5 rectangle, then I will sew them together, add the border, and they'll be ready to baste and quilt. Actually, I will probably do a pieced backing to use up even more of my stash. That's the same stash that was somewhat enhanced by visits to four quilt shops in Missouri and Arkansas. But that's another story...

Monday, September 8, 2008

Final Leg of the 13-State Tour

After we left St. Louis we drove west through southern Missouri encountering some really heavy rainstorms, the result of Hurricane Gustave which had hit New Orleans Labor Day weekend. We never see rains like this in California! We were probably lucky that there wasn't thunder and lightning, or tornado warnings.
We stayed the night in Rolla, MO and drove on to Carthage the next morning. We probably could have spent more time in Rolla and Carthage, but were anxious to get to Bella Vista, Arkansas where we planned to spend a few days with the Husband's cousin and his wife. They have a very nice house in a wooded area. When you look out the windows, it feels like you are in the middle of a forest, with no other houses around.


Bentonville, AR, home of Walmart. Bella Vista is in Benton County, so we had to make the trip to see where it all started. The building behind the Husband is actually a museum.

Later this day we managed to visit a yarn shop and two quilt shops. I enhanced both my yarn and fabric stashes considerably. Pictures will be displayed someday soon.

Then we all went to The Hungry Flea to satisfy the Husband's cravings for catfish. I have never been a fan of fresh-water fish, so I chose chicken-fried steak. Pretty darn good!

Saturday morning we were on the road again, this time headed home on Interstate 40. I had planned to stop at Clanton's in Vinita, OK for some more chicken-fried steak. Jane and Michael Stern say it's the best ever. Unfortunately, we arrived there at 10am; fortunately, they serve chicken-fried steak and eggs, so that's what we had. We didn't have the nerve to ask for Coconut pie that early so I guess we'll just have to go back next year. I don't know if if the Chicken-fried steak is really the best but, if not, it's pretty close. I probably should keep testing, just to make sure.



Interstate 40 runs with or near Route 66 for most of its length west of Oklahoma City. We had thought about trying to stay with Route 66 but the call of home was too strong and we just wanted to get back to California as quickly as possible. Maybe another trip.

We ate breakfast at this cafe in Santa Rosa NM, mainly because the guidebook said it dated from the glory days of Route 66. The meal was good but pretty much like any other breakfast.


That afternoon I managed to talk the Husband into stopping at Old Town in Albuquerque. The church of San Felipe de Neri was founded in 1706, although the current church building was not erected until 1793. It is on the Square and has a lovely little walled garden to the side.







We ran into some weather in Western Arizona. We could see this rain miles away and then we drove into it. We were hoping the clouds would last through the California desert, but no such luck. It was 105 to 107 the whole way between Needles and Barstow.













Needles, CA and the highest gas price we paid the entire trip.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

St. Louis and Beyond


Wednesday morning we left Jerseyville IL and headed for St. Louis to see the Arch. Skies were gray and it looked as if it would rain any minute. Luckily though, the rain held off until mid-afternoon, by which time we were finished touring the Arch and were on our way west again.


We took the tram up the south leg of the Arch and spent about 20 minutes peering out the very small windows. The tram consists of small 5-seat compartments with no windows. They advise people with claustrophobic issues against using it. We were the only people in our compartment but I imagine they fill all the seats during the busy season. I think that might make me a bit uncomfortable.





They say that on a clear day you can see for up to 30 miles. But with the low overcast, we were grateful to be able to see anything. This is Busch Stadium where the St. Louis Cardinals play. It was opened two years ago and kind of reminds me of the SF Giants park, but without the bay.
We also had a good view of the historic Courthouse where the Dred Scott trial was held.
Lots of history in St. Louis.




This bear is at the entrance to the Museum of Westward Expansion which is located in the underground area between the legs of the Arch.

The museum deserved more time than we were able give it. I don't know that we will ever get back to St. Louis, but I really hope we do.






These steps lead down from the Arch to the riverbank. There are a lot more of them than this photo shows and I had a difficult time getting down; but going back up was surprisingly easy. They must be just the right height.

The reason we walked down was to get to the "Tom Sawyer", a riverboat that took us for a one-hour cruise up and down the Mississippi River.









We sailed under four bridges and saw several barges being pushed by tugboats. This method of moving freight is still used extensively on the Mississippi.