Sunday, August 23, 2009

Sky Watching, Western Edition

While on the way home from Long Beach I missed some stunning sky pictures. But at least I was able to take this photo.



This was taken in Wyoming.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

We've Been a Little Busy!

We had a contract to pour some sidewalks for two neighbors once we returned from the latest trip. Thought we'd go ahead and add a sidewalk from the front door to the street at our house. We also added a bit of a patio. And then tiled it!

Pre concrete:





Starting the tile:



The paint had all come off the bistro set and we were down to (I think) the primer:



The tile is finished and grouted and the bistro set is repainted. Not happy with the color of the paint - maybe red?

Monday, August 17, 2009

Peach Crisp


I haven't posted a recipe in quite awhile! My main reason for posting recipes here is so that I can find them again later. This peach crisp recipe started from a recipe I printed off allrecipes.com. But I then changed almost everything!

This recipe made an 8 x 8 pan. For a 9x13, add more peaches.

6 peaches, peeled and sprinkled with about 1 tsp cinnamon and 1Tbl flour. Lightly grease pan and pour in peaches.

To peel peaches, dip in boiling water for about 30 seconds, then immerse in cold water. The peels will slip right off.

Crumb topping:

1 cup flour
1 cup oats
1/3 - 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 - 1/2 cup brown sugar
dash salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all topping ingredients, then cut in 1/2 cup margarine or butter until topping is about pea size.

Add desired amount of topping over peaches. Bake 350* for 35 - 40 minutes.

I had extra topping for my 8x8 pan. Next time, I might reduce flour and oats to 3/4 cup each and use about 6 Tbl butter. I used 1/2 cup sugars this time and will cut it down to 1/3 each next. My peaches were wonderfully ripe and juicy. Enjoy!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Maxfield Parrish Sky

Anyone familiar with the American artist Maxfield Parrish? He was born in Philadelphia in 1870 and died in 1966. At auctions, I would usually see at least one of his prints up for sale. Parrish was known for his luminous colors. Parrish blue is named for him. His paintings are known for their layers of color and the dimension achieved through rather unique methods.

Anyway....All week, my sky has looked like it came straight from a Parrish painting. The clouds looked very three dimensional. They really looked like I could reach up and grab them back out of the sky. Very solid filled with light, shadows, and color. And not a camera around. Whenever I got to the same place as the camera, the sky looked like a "normal" sky. Nothing noteworty at all. Get on the road to go somewhere, camera at home, and the sky turned all luminous and majestic on me. Just figures, right?

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

No luck with the breeze

This morning there was a light breeze. So I grabbed my scarf and tried to drape it artfully over the neighbor's tree. No luck with the artful "in the tree with breezes" shots. Still happy with the scarf though!



Monday, August 10, 2009

Giveaway!

Denise is giving away an awesome present box on her blog! Now, I really don't want anyone who reads this to actually enter - because I'd really love to win her box of goodies! But to enter, I actually have to help spread the word. Doesn't seem quite fair, but there you have it!

Denise and I have started emailing a bit back and forth. She is not only the knitter of wonderful things, but she is a farmer. Of lavender. And if that isn't a wildly romantic thing to farm, I can't imagine what is.

Feather Duster

My stealth knitting from last month is revealed as Susan Lawrence's Feather Duster. It's written as a scarf pattern since Susan was trying to use one skein of Shibui knits Silk Cloud. I haven't ever seen the silk cloud before. Most mohair yarns that I've tried make me itch, but I keep trying different ones. I'd like to make this again in a larger size. Again, Susan has written an accurate pattern that just flies along!

Again, the preblocking blob:


This seems to show both the right colors and the wonderful stitch pattern.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Free Concert!

My backyard neighbor is the local American Legion (or the VFW - not sure). They're usually pretty good neighbors. Nothing loud late at night - usually not after 10 pm. And in the winter with all the windows closed, I usually don't hear them at all. A couple times during the summer they have a big outdoor thing going on - a dj, prizes, burgers on the grill etc. Today is one of those days. And it's a very eclectic range of music they are playing.

Hank Williams Jr., Marty Robbins, Randy Travis, Johnny Cash and Garth Brooks. Elvis, Eagles, Richie Valens, Jimmy Buffet and a bunch of current songs. I'm awful with artists names on new songs.

It's five o'clock somewhere, right!

Saturday Sky

Sky watching, Long Beach, CA edition. When working at the shows, we never really know what the weather is like outside. We arrive at the convention center about 8 am and leave about 7 - 7:30 pm. But this was the sight waiting for us when we walked outside one evening.

Friday, August 7, 2009

On the Vine

This is another pattern by Susan Lawrence. And On The Vine doesn't disappoint. For the first time, I used some Knit Picks Gloss laceweight yarn. I had enough to do three extra repeats of the pattern and the yarn blocked like a dream. Not a knot or tangle in the skein. I just took it off the blocking board, so maybe some "floating in the breeze" pictures will come soon.

Preblocking blob:


On the blocking board (and a pretty accurate color on my monitor):



The color is washed out, but I think you can see the beads that I used instead of nupps:


Saturday, August 1, 2009

45 out of 50!

We're travelling home. And by the time I get into the hotel at night, I never do remember to bring the camera in with me. Hopefully there are some nice pictures.

But! I have now been in 45 of our 50 states! We had a delivery to make, so for the first time, I went into Idaho. Drove past fields of wheat being harvested and potatoes growing away. And I finally got to see the pretty part of Wyoming. Until yesterday, I had only seen Wyoming along I-80. And it is not pretty. Not nice at all really. But we were in the north west part of the state just south of Yellowstone and Jackson. Gorgeous.

Other than Alaska (which I really want to do an Alaska cruise) and Hawaii, I have not been to Montana, North or South Dakota or Maine. I'm hoping to change at least the Maine part. Well and the Alaska and Hawaii part.