tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291906732024-03-23T13:20:56.028-05:00Prairie Gumbo...a spicy mix of Knitting, Kitties, Canines, some occasional Creole cooking and other little obsessions...Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.comBlogger278125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-69976471288076889432011-07-23T11:17:00.005-05:002011-07-23T12:17:20.426-05:00Bad Blogger is Back<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>OMG, how long has it been? 7 months since I last posted? I feel like the worst blogger ever. The best news is that we're all still alive and kicking. Although we almost lost Chloe earlier last month.<br /></b></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>We didn't know that she had a tick somewhere on her, even though we carefully check over both pups whenever we are down at the lake. The only thing I can figure is that it was between her toes, since that's the only place I hadn't checked. We could tell she had been gradually feeling poorly, but attributed it to the heat. Until one evening she seemed so disoriented and her legs were just collapsing under her. She was refusing food but drinking water and was still wanting to go outside to use the bathroom. We had put flea and tick stuff on both dogs earlier that day and I thought maybe it was poisoning her, so we washed it off. We made her comfortable and decided to forego the emergency vet clinic because we were afraid the stress would kill her. We took her to see the vet the next day, who reassured us that the flea and tick meds could in no way have made her sick, but that she had some kind of bad infection. They took samples and sent us home with some antibiotics. As Mr. Criquette was shaking out her blanket to settle her back in (she was still terribly weak at this point), he saw something fall out.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>It was a hideously large, dead tick, as big around as a dime. The flea and tick meds had apparently killed it. So he called the vet back immediately, who then was able to diagnose with her with a tick-bourne disease and put her on the right antibiotic. It was an almost miraculous recovery, and within 2 days, we had a big, bouncy 12-year old puppy! She has been so happy and frisky since then. We are so grateful. And sweet little Abbie had literally stayed by Chloe's side the whole time she was sick, curling up on the blanket with her, which they never normally do. Needless to say, they have both been getting extra love and treats!</b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /><img src="http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif" alt="Add Image" border="0" class="gl_photo" /></b></span></span><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihDRu3QgvWejaqdfpVVpDNGu8_WqqRVmigEniw9ZMMdW2z1s2J67yqPxMnvCstd0MymULy-ip5_GaESxKeZucq0fzHVqKK0mqWsP7RX-Fqok2THNqyDPKN5F-FZVQGDVjMHjurLQ/s320/101_3767.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632588501466132626" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Soaking up the sunshine</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRpHoFwTDpVQjGwxvkotoOosD3GX7d0oRkTeckTzDdzZbumxvwxE1Er4Cq-EO3cGad0cbI1WZWcUMZ83sIzNRToVgUooHC52HPuvSTyJG7wf2FdKvtBK9c-BIIOXhYu7J_eZAnQ/s1600/100_3683.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRpHoFwTDpVQjGwxvkotoOosD3GX7d0oRkTeckTzDdzZbumxvwxE1Er4Cq-EO3cGad0cbI1WZWcUMZ83sIzNRToVgUooHC52HPuvSTyJG7wf2FdKvtBK9c-BIIOXhYu7J_eZAnQ/s320/100_3683.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632588502767923826" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Checking for bunnies</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Last year, I realized that I had let knitting take over my free time so much that I was becoming isolated from friends and family. I had also taken up quilting in the spring, and work is going as strong as ever. So I decided to put more time and energy into re-building old relationships and starting some new friendships as well. I had always taken my relationships for granted and finally came to the realization that I, being an introvert, have to "put myself out there" so to speak, and give relationships the same amount of focus and time that I had been putting into knitting. It has really paid off in a more balanced life, although most days I would prefer to be hiding at home knitting or being on Ravelry or blogging. So that's why I'm not around in the blogosphere very often. But I'm like a comet and I inevitably have to swing by from time to time to visit my blog (it's the only close to a diary that I have) and check in on my friends here.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>I have also been so fortunate to have my brother and his wife, and then a week later, my sister and 14-year old niece for nice, long visits. We got lots of good quality time together, with lots of laughing and loving being together. Here's a picture of us girls, snapped in one of the rare moments we weren't running around somewhere or eating. </b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqqSgK1X-PbKN1MUoXK5p367aPwRYxqAlWJaFRVGFcmzE0Xc9dzO-sNIDoZF83boGMPdnyWq3YEzoFaP2uq-og0hjkNtLoUWlQRFYDzk28cuhAXMs62Q0F_VD6v2aLPc0HTcpX_Q/s1600/101_3848.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqqSgK1X-PbKN1MUoXK5p367aPwRYxqAlWJaFRVGFcmzE0Xc9dzO-sNIDoZF83boGMPdnyWq3YEzoFaP2uq-og0hjkNtLoUWlQRFYDzk28cuhAXMs62Q0F_VD6v2aLPc0HTcpX_Q/s320/101_3848.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5632596634613563986" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br />This is my expensive yarn-loving niece who is slowly learning to knit, but prefers to raid my stash and ask for me to make her something squishy and warm. This time, she was immediately drawn to my carefully hoarded Madeline Tosh light merino in Logwood. Fortunately I have enough to make us each a nice slouch hat or cowl. After all, I have to enable the next knitting generation.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>I've also been in somewhat of a knitting slump this summer. It's not because of the heat, since I don't mind staying inside with my yarn and air conditioner no matter how hot. But I haven't been inspired by a pattern or yarn in a while. I have made a couple of cute baby hats for friends with new grandbabies, and have cast on and gotten a few inches into some little shawls, that have ended up being frogged, and have been slowly slogging away on an afghan to donate to a victim of the Joplin tornados, but otherwise, have nothing much to show. But I do keep to my resolve to knit at least one row of something a day, which just has to be good enough for now.</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Hope you are all having a good summer and finding lot of ways to beat the heat!</b></span></span></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-32220501420031671322011-01-22T10:25:00.006-06:002011-01-22T11:20:49.581-06:00Stash, Stash, Go Away<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">It's hard enough to believe we have finished the first decade of the 21st century, but even harder to believe January is almost over. The holidays felt like they snuck up from nowhere and ambushed us before we knew it. And then they were over.</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">Mr. Criquette and I went to New Orleans, but everyone was grumpy and out of sorts, so it wasn't one of my family's best celebrations by a long shot. One of my SIL's had to have emergency surgery the day after Christmas and no one knew if she would be able to walk again (fortunately, she will thanks to intensive rehab for the next 3 months). There was some good news, too - one of my nephews is engaged and I will have a new niece before the end of the year. And now it's over, we're back home, and I have started knitting with a vengeance.</span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">I am part of a Ravelry group for Malabrigo lovers and someone started a stash down challenge. Since we got our little lake house, I have put myself on a strict budget, and yarn purchases are one of the victims. Plus, when I had to buy yet another huge Rubbermaid bin for storage, I knew I had reached the "I will never knit this much yarn in my lifetime" stage. And that just made me sad. I managed to donate 2 trash bags full of mostly yarns I had purchased early in my addiction, before I had been introduced to the finer things in knitting life. This freed up one bin and some floor space in the overflowing craft closet, which motivated me even more. </span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">My next step was to borrow <a href="http://britknitter.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#00CCCC;">Diane's</span></a> brilliant idea of putting yarn into brown paper sacks, closing them up, and then when she finishes a project, she has one of sweet pups choose her next one. I went through my stash and picked out yarn that had been purchased without specific projects in mind, and paired them up with a pattern and then I put both in a bag together. </span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><br /></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">The projects:</span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCD9FAmfQaHTDRdeg1IB7vp4XPFpvV9dV4kcd6P27ArVzxk3V3ZjnjKqoxnNYWBvyEQnq5HPvvzQP4jQJKdAObn0ZGP8DPdMzbrN8WwtXmXs9u3UeM-vaBsV-5rRSQfkd5YjmUjg/s320/101_3020.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565052122966817010" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">My new LYS</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">:</span></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKEY0ybnkIB1e6DGKnkNab1UWEGi4eJaGhm3rmuLjoejHEe8Mr2v1wUu6PoR8gZqF8_GoWp8iS4FHC1M-fjjZlcuZkoJG0gRe7fv0U4SZCChZZuq_Ex3wstYzkdspNOirnBgEobg/s320/101_3021.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565052128099565394" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></span></span></b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><b>I think it's working because I am 2/3 of the way through January and haven't bought a single skein!</b></span><b> </b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><b>Destash! Destash! Go Criquette! And I actually have 2 projects that I started and finished so far this year.</b></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">A slouchy hat for my hand-knit loving niece:</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#3366FF;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#3366FF;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6dsZZRlr1KTAILPlh9dQmpzi18vE5JNhXvRxX94W-8lB2m4BpDHvM_k21u4GDuxMAGGAz6YjIYRaNeocNxYlL3cGPFXAZzQsco8E_oIQ_mYd2tL_VgYjtw7HSDmSt89kpH47u0w/s320/101_3072_2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565055940441075970" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#3366FF;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">And a start to my Christmas gifts for 2011:</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#3366FF;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#3366FF;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDLPIDF72DfQxQQ2s78wh806mBE-gw8QYjpQifFj6h9EBdpMfSXGEjFgOrgkKgijmM_9INCM5BD4kHK87pH7up1S-EcvIe_HVu6JWoYxsHLKlM0L31r4Jfyr6oremvJfl1egxR7Q/s320/101_3068.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565055947878509650" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">It's amazing what the girls will do for lamb jerky treats!</span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#3366FF;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#3366FF;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQTlKF20cA3CxGg43ZVfLbDEbtdHS80ooMHxhPJF8SyOZjJsJfoTLXh1D0nMacwZN2d2_KHv10YDZHkd9C9626qDsrxbFq7LBOb3je44thwd0KzVgwO390oOmAwRwf0f0jw0Ifg/s320/101_3063.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565055963606219778" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;color:#3366FF;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;">Although belated, I wish everyone a new year full of love, health and, of course, good yarn!</span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><br /></span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrDwCGynZaR8EbcDq7SLAltxeAp6v64Igb-un79M03nZTawJ7WMoKo8iS1gNAIurh7WaerircMtwXHzavhDDNtnYsbS73HwJV6NzDRjkEpf-wGT0h4ZuzJrQPwx23WP2FUZ1rHw/s320/101_3074.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565055951130104610" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 243px; height: 320px; " /></span></span></span></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3366FF;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-weight: normal; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><br /></span></span></span></span></b></span></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-63668686435673594562010-10-24T21:58:00.001-05:002010-10-24T22:53:28.811-05:00In Which Criquette Rediscovers an Old Friend<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>Today's special guest is an old friend. We last visited about 7 years ago. Although she looked a little, well, </b></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>dusty</b></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>, she really hadn't changed a bit (wish I could say the same about me!). But, you know how it is with old friends, as soon as you get past that initial awkwardness, you settle down into the friendship again, and this is just what we did.</b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>Since she was here to help me with a project, we got down to business right away. No messing around, that's how my friend Elna is. She was helping me make something special for a couple of swaps I'm in. I had already prepared everything the night before, so we could get started first thing in the morning. Can you guess what we're making?</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ5n7zxsuBh-LIxQe96Yis44rXyR3dZHnfq2NJjsfxuam634U3E8X7xiTUUniw7wrT04cfg88sjCtdmJuk5fPlGv46Ktbkze8vV2QGipXy7p91neJUS6SnKj1_lXIc2skrzz6DQ/s1600/100_2799.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjZ5n7zxsuBh-LIxQe96Yis44rXyR3dZHnfq2NJjsfxuam634U3E8X7xiTUUniw7wrT04cfg88sjCtdmJuk5fPlGv46Ktbkze8vV2QGipXy7p91neJUS6SnKj1_lXIc2skrzz6DQ/s320/100_2799.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531822562226345906" /></a><br /><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>If you guessed small project bags, you guessed right. And here's my friend, Elna, hard at work:</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0l3m8A8XyVRAuflXGUpNy6lDOoKXO_cY0Of4MTEe8JCKnJ9j1QT1yGbhXy-ssnJvpBAkZMOTWehnWL9ts56Nufr838Gv6pZ8MiYLif_X4EPK7lhv_Bpjb1o_Wpggbn4YGdNVavQ/s1600/100_2798.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0l3m8A8XyVRAuflXGUpNy6lDOoKXO_cY0Of4MTEe8JCKnJ9j1QT1yGbhXy-ssnJvpBAkZMOTWehnWL9ts56Nufr838Gv6pZ8MiYLif_X4EPK7lhv_Bpjb1o_Wpggbn4YGdNVavQ/s320/100_2798.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531822554073734466" /></a><br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><b>Didn't know I could sew, did you? My mother forced me to learn when I was in 5th grade. Our family had 4 kids at that point (the 5th came along the following year), and so money was a bit tight. I was going to have to make most of my own clothes. Which I did until shortly after college, when I had enough money of my own to finally afford a wardrobe that someone else had already made for me. That was what I considered a luxury. To this day, I still cannot stand the thought of making clothing, but it is somewhat reassuring to know that if I ever did have to resort to sewing clothes or going naked, I could make the more appropriate choice.</b></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>By the time Mr. C and I were on our 2nd home, I asked Santa to bring me my own sewing machine. I had taken an intense interest in making my own comforter because I couldn't find one already made that I liked. After that turned out much nicer than I expected, I made a couple of easy quilts. Then I decided to tackle lined drapes with an upholstered valence, which I loved, which led to me re-upholstering some chairs I picked up at an estate sale. I also made lots of fancy pillows for myself, family and friends. I was really into the sewing thing, and that was about the time I was getting bored with crochet and cross stitch, which had filled my time from college to the "sewing era".</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>Then we entered the 5 years from hell, during which we lost all 4 parents, a SIL, and our first kitty and our wonderful dog, KC. Our house was struck by lightening, which started a fire and fried all of our electronics and caused some moderate water damage to our second story. Right after the house was repaired and all of the electronics replaced, we had a robbery. The thieves stole the usual stuff (TV's, computers, my grandmother's silver) but also stole my sewing machine. (They were actually nice burglars, because they filled the cats' bowls with food, and left a big lipstick kiss on a mirror, and they didn't trash anything so we were lucky).</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>I did replace my sewing machine, with Elna. But I had lost the time and interest for sewing. We built the house we're in now, my practice boomed and best of all, I discovered and fell in love with knitting. Elna sat in the back of the coat closet, collecting dust and cobwebs.</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>But that all changed when I saw some cute little project bags on the 'net and realized that I could make my own. Then a couple of weeks ago, I did something that clinched the deal. I had my first quilt shop experience. And let's just say I might have come home with enough little piles of fabric to constitute a tiny stash. And last night, I cut out the pieces for 2 cute little bags, pulled Elna out of the darkness, cleaned her up and put her back to work. It's like we never lost contact. It feels good to see old friends.</b></span></div></div><div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>There is something about autumn that really revs me up and gets my creativity overflowing. Here are some of my FO's from the last 2 weeks:</b></span><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgkzvs0888FXUKJpmj7bMfUxrdjlfskW2E-QxJPHKtKsccUeMWyLYYGcn12wvC46YLJ94QLCI-5QxyRd61vXtM949s-sARssXSQnIgdj4qwB71j3WwFEY7aZFDnUDWzm0Kv0jdA/s1600/100_2760.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 229px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgkzvs0888FXUKJpmj7bMfUxrdjlfskW2E-QxJPHKtKsccUeMWyLYYGcn12wvC46YLJ94QLCI-5QxyRd61vXtM949s-sARssXSQnIgdj4qwB71j3WwFEY7aZFDnUDWzm0Kv0jdA/s320/100_2760.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531821878086058578" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Kpj2dEbGzTWmYyS2qZPl4h10bUXmrk9sRGYpRnjQisHUg5PFwzzRuFZJwQExR2AVi7G_7yJhX6bThdhiKpi0G5f2lUErzCTPi4NSLI7Kd0rE9D0JnoV38x677FKY5vRyFuGAdg/s1600/100_2754.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Kpj2dEbGzTWmYyS2qZPl4h10bUXmrk9sRGYpRnjQisHUg5PFwzzRuFZJwQExR2AVi7G_7yJhX6bThdhiKpi0G5f2lUErzCTPi4NSLI7Kd0rE9D0JnoV38x677FKY5vRyFuGAdg/s320/100_2754.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531821863274673010" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>This is a clever little bookmark that I made to fit an oversized paperback. While you are reading, your can wear it on your wrist and when you're ready to save your place, it's right there. Now I have no more excuses for dog-earing.</b></span><br /><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRE1PjtF4u5zBYoknviEYv3aDY1nZKSFR5s50pUKsmEvzFr_jC0pQoLUaiOp7L4koiNz0aWEjpIIshIuhIokzAGRVd494TJoCvQt3208ldzCEks2hqACTWf4OiE649pDLWbZyEA/s1600/100_2787.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJRE1PjtF4u5zBYoknviEYv3aDY1nZKSFR5s50pUKsmEvzFr_jC0pQoLUaiOp7L4koiNz0aWEjpIIshIuhIokzAGRVd494TJoCvQt3208ldzCEks2hqACTWf4OiE649pDLWbZyEA/s320/100_2787.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531821860384360450" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;">I made some stitch markers for a recent holiday swap. I also made the fall dishcloth.</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosBdUGH8CNOWmvvdu_B329jQiZSrTwg9dicc1m9gLnrObZWbt3XuHOO_26uVvCfuOVO-n2OkUi-qd2BHYu2c_V6DCAEZQUjrDtF2VswZ3hlmgePwrP91PfzZvvYP79E3jRNAEdw/s1600/100_2786.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiosBdUGH8CNOWmvvdu_B329jQiZSrTwg9dicc1m9gLnrObZWbt3XuHOO_26uVvCfuOVO-n2OkUi-qd2BHYu2c_V6DCAEZQUjrDtF2VswZ3hlmgePwrP91PfzZvvYP79E3jRNAEdw/s320/100_2786.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531821858716365778" /></a><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;">I got a jump on Christmas by making these 2 little sheepie ornaments while catching up on some tivo'ed Grey's Anatomy on Friday night.</span></b><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52Jm0bNK_5HrThjwqGOEXSOzOLejKATciFBbe-gFkI-gjZYyUWcrR7mGzTCc9qFpEc_YbrbV9w-d6fTs2P8RJEEl614dElPhLPWI4ySFq0ygKAZUpmwrXE4VqXtN2zD3ZEoBRSw/s1600/100_2803.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 257px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52Jm0bNK_5HrThjwqGOEXSOzOLejKATciFBbe-gFkI-gjZYyUWcrR7mGzTCc9qFpEc_YbrbV9w-d6fTs2P8RJEEl614dElPhLPWI4ySFq0ygKAZUpmwrXE4VqXtN2zD3ZEoBRSw/s320/100_2803.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531822558583187218" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>Criquette, as usual, goes looking for mischief when the weather turns cooler. This time she found this ribbon and dragged it out of my craft closet to the dining room where she proceeded to create a "Happy Autumn" greeting to all of her fans.</b></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSv3HtOpAVtA_SiA0xDhSyShmrKDJqbSYkKmo14mOt9M01Yds4YMHWGItevjA0HgnfnMJteeXalq5JA_tvrBhR_xnWutWMLUv3ymDZ32ClGpcVQlIyJ-djGoLaBLv30U6zZA1Kw/s1600/100_2796.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDSv3HtOpAVtA_SiA0xDhSyShmrKDJqbSYkKmo14mOt9M01Yds4YMHWGItevjA0HgnfnMJteeXalq5JA_tvrBhR_xnWutWMLUv3ymDZ32ClGpcVQlIyJ-djGoLaBLv30U6zZA1Kw/s320/100_2796.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5531821851644619474" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b>So from all of us here in Criquette World, Happy Autumn!</b></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#666600;"><b><br /></b></span></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-45856737914289759582010-10-03T17:08:00.005-05:002010-10-03T20:25:36.674-05:00Part 3 The Wilton's Dyeing Experiment<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">This is the rest of my Wilton's Supersaturated Dyeing Experiment. The next colors I tested were the Ivory and Brown.</span></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6MZjI4bMcM-jK76FoKf1XCtPpOHP4HzWy01pGRiKrlJmJugFeQbsMNfNJPqbutUVE_3pesEquDZK04Gi52jLS5QAYFkrUaImiS3MeMhz3a0ebvL7zWQoqkpyD263ihoE0jqbS7Q/s320/100_2280.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523947587231429154" /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">Both dyes behaved very well. I didn't have any problems with breaking or exhausting for either.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">Now for the surprises. Here are the Juniper Green and Cornflower Blue. If you are looking at these thinking they look black, you are right. Both of these turned out black at high saturation. The Juniper has a warm cast to it, and the Cornflower is a true, deep, cool black.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 237px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhdn4wVZ_enibWlf0x99vnWlgH0GDhaR8L8w11mWaHhyfpqpu4Le4bmG6f-5KJL-V3bXs-_xZbzdNpc24lKni_TNm-kgJce6agGfwS7QgH6-xJoCF8cPqLAqxpcHPpBOI1vGvng/s320/100_2285.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523947597119160034" /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I also tested Wilton's Black and a new dye I found in the cake section at Michael's, called Duff's. The Wilton's behaved well and did not break at all. It has a slight brown cast to it, though. I really like the Duff's. It is a thick, smooth liquid that dissolved immediately in warm water. The color turned out a solid black without any breaking. </span></b></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Here is a comparison of the 4 blacks I got. As you can see, the Juniper and Cornflower more than hold their own against the Wilton's Black and look as good (to me, at least) as the Duff's Black.</span></b></span><br /><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 235px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjDN-0PSjjADN5doAI0ariaHmGlFVJ24ONnaUt1ut-zsBMKHFbFgukqspPijDzErbYWAfd0ufmGopb6Xs5EQMIbru__ubSKCpbdeKqJCNcgU73EpwJAzKRzFb1f02UruF0yJXnw/s320/100_2289.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523947600494132178" /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>My conclusions are that I can get really beautiful, deep colors using 1 1/2 tsp. amounts of Wilton's dyes. However, using this amount of dye requires letting the yarns sit for longer periods of time because most of them take longer to exhaust. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>At this amount of dye, it was easy to get dark, true blacks. Of the 4 blacks, I would probably use the Cornflower Blue if I were looking for a true, cool black. I would also prefer to use Duff's Black over Wilton's in terms of the ease of mixing as well as the nicer color. The only downside to the Duff's is that it comes in a 4-pack. If you don't need the other colors, it is not cost effective.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>So after the big experiment, I took the leftover white yarn and mixed up a test batch of brown, royal blue and a mix of lemon yellow+a bit of orange. I was not paying close attention and added too much vinegar at the wrong time, but I really like the resulting mess. It actually comes very close to matching a skein of hand-dyed yarn I purchased some time back at my lys.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>It's going to be made into either toddler socks or a hat for the next afghans4Afghans campaign.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixwX91DgmooNlLyGqhMueRij9KExXKEXmRhoqWa5YpArDQEBWfmCW4EqDDk790dfiU2dj_jNkdIKC3UnyJkWG6d4SsYGkMj-rU1ZAGjEJ3NPftczIOViE3jnyFxFThQmryZN-Og/s1600/100_2328.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjixwX91DgmooNlLyGqhMueRij9KExXKEXmRhoqWa5YpArDQEBWfmCW4EqDDk790dfiU2dj_jNkdIKC3UnyJkWG6d4SsYGkMj-rU1ZAGjEJ3NPftczIOViE3jnyFxFThQmryZN-Og/s320/100_2328.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523986900937504370" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2Jxd4XT-BaxjgcSeq2CgXV4iQ4O0S07NUd_P8o93GXEY_Bogt3dLsgFxt4mCw2BQ52_6MBaqO7Of8n6V_aBEqALKfslPXA84TfWWhIVXJ84rttDxvw-Fd3IPI2YWfeXPemuJvg/s1600/100_2332.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih2Jxd4XT-BaxjgcSeq2CgXV4iQ4O0S07NUd_P8o93GXEY_Bogt3dLsgFxt4mCw2BQ52_6MBaqO7Of8n6V_aBEqALKfslPXA84TfWWhIVXJ84rttDxvw-Fd3IPI2YWfeXPemuJvg/s320/100_2332.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523986905265166114" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>In other knitting news, I volunteered as a first-time test-knitter for someone in my Malabrigo swap group. I am making the cutest hat out of alternating skeins of Malabrigo worsted. It is so cute, I can't wait to finish it and then be able to show it off. As always, I have way too many projects on the needles, but sooner or later, they seem to get finished.</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>Finally, I have a couple of pictures of the cabin. We are going down next weekend for the inspection. I plan on doing an inventory of what is already there and what we will need to get. It's furnished, but not accessorized and I don't remember what has been left with the kitchen. Since I didn't get pictures of the inside, I'll be sure to that as well. And of course we are taking Chloe and Abbie so they can check out their new playground! Once it's ours, we also plan on taking the kitties down with us for long stays. </b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXo17rHAnsjan-Bi_eT398QybLewVt0WIkqiaPooxQYeuzNHTrQbQA5uSQ0J73XVhQ5vWyq-Zo8xHhQlwC0bDnHYYtFzQpnk2uMTfNbAfuFDSCqWcLOBR7xVLnhyphenhyphenvem-su6p7Azg/s1600/100_1889.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXo17rHAnsjan-Bi_eT398QybLewVt0WIkqiaPooxQYeuzNHTrQbQA5uSQ0J73XVhQ5vWyq-Zo8xHhQlwC0bDnHYYtFzQpnk2uMTfNbAfuFDSCqWcLOBR7xVLnhyphenhyphenvem-su6p7Azg/s320/100_1889.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523995778678745874" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVwCDv0jKBzIAmyCbkpHIAIzkjEBYeWARrpWiIIX60ht0T2oMQPoUhWsLq8hdqpX8IeTwbgZlvc7k4z8wlyF98wtZ1nlbWfKu1B8DHAqIeLTbhtrh5HXDo0dz_Q0K1KgOjaFlzw/s1600/100_1918.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilVwCDv0jKBzIAmyCbkpHIAIzkjEBYeWARrpWiIIX60ht0T2oMQPoUhWsLq8hdqpX8IeTwbgZlvc7k4z8wlyF98wtZ1nlbWfKu1B8DHAqIeLTbhtrh5HXDo0dz_Q0K1KgOjaFlzw/s320/100_1918.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5523989728957431154" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>Isn't it cute? I can't stand having to wait until the end of the month for it to be ours. But it will be just in time for my birthday! </b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-52744840098703874572010-09-21T17:57:00.005-05:002010-09-21T18:41:34.683-05:00The Wilton's Dyeing Project, Part 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOomq5kRnZsFAaWO0BpGx3Kw1m2rjmKceb1d0cJ6e9qKnWe_MLZtBRxs7DE9qQGamUI1XmoqJtmiBfCjjtGlinSPSmCwHrC3FDM7NJKCh_YtQ5ws2KWM_MIUzeEwHUmYXUp8ysyw/s1600/images.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 276px; height: 183px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOomq5kRnZsFAaWO0BpGx3Kw1m2rjmKceb1d0cJ6e9qKnWe_MLZtBRxs7DE9qQGamUI1XmoqJtmiBfCjjtGlinSPSmCwHrC3FDM7NJKCh_YtQ5ws2KWM_MIUzeEwHUmYXUp8ysyw/s320/images.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519516077549448050" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-weight: bold; font-family:georgia, serif;">Continuing with my Wilton's saturated colors project results, next are the greens, blues and purples.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">As I commented yesterday, the greens and blues gave me some surprises. The first greens that I tested look almost identical:</span></b></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF11P5n8u1GdrrZV7BuQmyB5K1uqn3g0MTC5a9MgFph_2LMqQKyK5sbn1LS2qqZFxq4Qn4bM7yjt4nA68J6xQrAe3deiXCvFjHPEivDBkJhQ_ax45nlVDs0HNS1__CPopwBLrnSA/s1600/100_2266.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF11P5n8u1GdrrZV7BuQmyB5K1uqn3g0MTC5a9MgFph_2LMqQKyK5sbn1LS2qqZFxq4Qn4bM7yjt4nA68J6xQrAe3deiXCvFjHPEivDBkJhQ_ax45nlVDs0HNS1__CPopwBLrnSA/s320/100_2266.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519510827492907858" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Leaf Green/Kelly Green/Moss Green</span></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">I let these soak in their dye baths 30 minutes after the last nuke and the leftover dye water in all 3 was still green when I removed them. The Leaf Green is a bit lighter and you can pick up a little more of a yellow cast on the white sample. The Kelly Green doesn't show the blue cast I was expecting, although if the blue needed more time to absorb, that would explain it. The Moss Green is the same depth of color as the Kelly green, with a touch more yellow.</span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><br /></span></b></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">The blues surprised me by not breaking. Since they received the same time to sit in their dye baths as all the other colors, they may not be fully saturated in terms of the blue dye - they may be much deeper if left to sit longer.</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0BgEiUajIxWHHCPDRdpXmehsRWzEwwz0Wgwk7t_xIV5o8tMfSo4r7Sy3ICWVVfJnWGahajabBorIYps3CNol37Mn8KfeKvgW-8VCscYXctFoaC34vTx-hi-VGy_sFmmMVoVuDA/s1600/100_2275.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA0BgEiUajIxWHHCPDRdpXmehsRWzEwwz0Wgwk7t_xIV5o8tMfSo4r7Sy3ICWVVfJnWGahajabBorIYps3CNol37Mn8KfeKvgW-8VCscYXctFoaC34vTx-hi-VGy_sFmmMVoVuDA/s320/100_2275.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519510834218091922" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;"><b>Teal/Sky Blue/Royal Blue</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">It was hard to get an accurate reading of these 3 colors because they all seem to not look quite green enough (compared to the real-life samples), if that makes sense. </span></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WZkzlt3TVZN36h9M5VzSI9x45u1jlrabb-5o-qk09i1XWBw3N1N-9btiY3fMvUU49128o6NW1DS3hAoqWQXCXZxGkafr5s_dUr3zqDh-fGRA7dW29fbEz6x_m0-tNZ34xDeHYg/s1600/100_2277.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7WZkzlt3TVZN36h9M5VzSI9x45u1jlrabb-5o-qk09i1XWBw3N1N-9btiY3fMvUU49128o6NW1DS3hAoqWQXCXZxGkafr5s_dUr3zqDh-fGRA7dW29fbEz6x_m0-tNZ34xDeHYg/s320/100_2277.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519510838912736306" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#663366;">Delphinium Blue/Aster Mauve/Violet</span></span></b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">On this next group, the Delphinium broke so badly you wouldn't think it's supposed to be a pretty violet-blue. I have no idea where this one color went so wrong, since all of the blues were treated alike and the others did not break. The only explanation I have is that it needs to rest in the dyebath for a much longer time than the other colors and maybe that it needs a lot more vinegar.</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">With the Aster Mauve I was expecting that ugly 80's muddy pink color, but I got a beautiful pinkish-purple the color of thistles. The violet, which also showed no signs of breaking, is a very dark, very rich, true purple. At this saturation, though, it's almost black.</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">Tomorrow I will finish up with the neutrals and reveal something very interesting (at least to me). </span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>And, just because she hasn't put in an appearance in a while, here are a couple of totally gratuitous pictures of the cuteness that is Criquette:</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDSsGovE1ofE-ESpdmqjejXSwV2ZvuAMjDeC6p7dBh2Dd4Fr1H4MErAU6SJQ0lhJFrnLcOiLbVFAzB5fFXIAvgCAZCButYXEnnFKYdd1ln7NaWYK2_ANPTWKgbh0qBq0PXqAM7g/s1600/101_0501.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUDSsGovE1ofE-ESpdmqjejXSwV2ZvuAMjDeC6p7dBh2Dd4Fr1H4MErAU6SJQ0lhJFrnLcOiLbVFAzB5fFXIAvgCAZCButYXEnnFKYdd1ln7NaWYK2_ANPTWKgbh0qBq0PXqAM7g/s320/101_0501.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519514963220102530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYst7fjC4qQ5v7IGZ-S1XHouyJ4QVUSMFOyxUEWHzPf4oi_Bu5yQ3aIC-d-H0X_UMZ_5poAjIApWa9d7myFHpOxcv7NpKfbhJYYfDtMcUvDePfmGe9qbEBHaSEu_4JRYrjsQ970w/s1600/101_0889.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYst7fjC4qQ5v7IGZ-S1XHouyJ4QVUSMFOyxUEWHzPf4oi_Bu5yQ3aIC-d-H0X_UMZ_5poAjIApWa9d7myFHpOxcv7NpKfbhJYYfDtMcUvDePfmGe9qbEBHaSEu_4JRYrjsQ970w/s320/101_0889.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519514952405006610" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></span></b></span></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-6007127189980948872010-09-19T21:49:00.009-05:002010-09-20T21:27:22.379-05:00The Wilton Dyeing Project (Part 1)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLhmXfYroQeZIZ4c0K0rxldrYdwfac2zxpGBiFVYeXnizHQ2YbOIyusuvuxlCZyHiisn532tF0lryewrj1mwEmehyAeWe3nIO_-YCNaCAW993jSff7Xryd2OLhlvVnqmn73OAAw/s1600/GD5161248@Autumn-colours-are-se-8810.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlLhmXfYroQeZIZ4c0K0rxldrYdwfac2zxpGBiFVYeXnizHQ2YbOIyusuvuxlCZyHiisn532tF0lryewrj1mwEmehyAeWe3nIO_-YCNaCAW993jSff7Xryd2OLhlvVnqmn73OAAw/s320/GD5161248@Autumn-colours-are-se-8810.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519184455303493346" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-weight: bold; font-family:georgia, serif;">With the most beautiful time of year almost upon us, I have been dying to dye some yarn in a colorway that captures my favorite time of year. One of the challenges I am finding with using food-safe dyes is that I have a hard time getting really saturated colors. I want to dye some fall and winter skeins, but didn't know if I could get the deep, vibrant colors I have in my head. And a good, true black is very hard to come by. So I decided to use some of my research background to run a little experiment. It actually turned out to give me lots of information without needing to blow up the kitchen or commit acts of violence on small lab rodents.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">My little project took place over the past 2 weekends. It took longer than I anticipated after my kitchen microwave died and I had to make countless trips up and down the stairs to use the one in the basement. But it all came together and I am ready to share my results. And I am all about the multi-tasking, so with that many stairs climbed, I could skip working out and use the time to work out with yarn instead!</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">To begin, I got 3 base yarns and cut 5' samples from each. They were Cascade 220 (white), and Paton's Classic Wool (natural and grey). I wanted to see what differences the colors made on overdyeing, to see if I would be able to get the results I wanted on white yarn, or if I needed to start with a deeper base.</span></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">Here is the naked yarn:</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbTEGhNTQxcScKfzIdhBNMX-HVcUmHCHGMaHxCL-RqOJJsguvyrMvmgUs4kADJRHPuwrYPmnW2jcH2LkomE2zmgitPQc-3ZUfefOUX_qNfrKR42kZbG7yosQ-N7q9dIOofaq_Gw/s1600/100_2130.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbTEGhNTQxcScKfzIdhBNMX-HVcUmHCHGMaHxCL-RqOJJsguvyrMvmgUs4kADJRHPuwrYPmnW2jcH2LkomE2zmgitPQc-3ZUfefOUX_qNfrKR42kZbG7yosQ-N7q9dIOofaq_Gw/s320/100_2130.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518824941580987074" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 254px; " /></a></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">All of my samples were pre-soaked in lukewarm water with 1/4 tsp salt and 2 drops Dawn added. The excess water was squeezed from them before entering the dyebath. All of the dye was mixed using high concentrations of dye:yarn - 1 tsp diluted in 1 cup boiling water. The water was allowed to cool off before adding the yarn. I let the yarn sit in the unheated dyebath for about 30 minutes before nuking in on high for 2 mins, cool for 3 minutes. I added about 1/2 tsp vinegar before the second and third heatings, then let the yarn sit in the heated dyebath until close to room temperature, probably about 20-30 minutes. I then rinsed it well, until the water ran mostly clear.</span></b></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWbTEGhNTQxcScKfzIdhBNMX-HVcUmHCHGMaHxCL-RqOJJsguvyrMvmgUs4kADJRHPuwrYPmnW2jcH2LkomE2zmgitPQc-3ZUfefOUX_qNfrKR42kZbG7yosQ-N7q9dIOofaq_Gw/s1600/100_2130.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><br /></span></a></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>Here are the results, grouped by color:</b></span></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>Pink, Rose Petal, Rose</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSqy5iqI6aE445TDiAOebcVnsyROKcbOb6hGJzM4NvUjd63uU5MF1oO9omfPdc2eedExqfrjRGD8LhAWPLpljeOcxa8n1811VELJ6q-esZKez-FuXtNEOy5sc4ZYpaS3AvxfV2yA/s1600/100_2256.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSqy5iqI6aE445TDiAOebcVnsyROKcbOb6hGJzM4NvUjd63uU5MF1oO9omfPdc2eedExqfrjRGD8LhAWPLpljeOcxa8n1811VELJ6q-esZKez-FuXtNEOy5sc4ZYpaS3AvxfV2yA/s320/100_2256.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519180872271852834" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0); font-weight: bold; ">These were a bit of a surprise - the pink, which I thought would be lighter than the other two actually ended up more of a wine color. In general, the Rose Petal was a bit more coral and the Rose more of a lipstick pink, other than that, they were pretty similar.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-weight: normal; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB4UKLOsHtdIgCLvcsy3B3D0ThNKlyh4MJKzshelArdodG3nSpIB-OtsABVZZDA3QyVsJ3zjA7woDPNKW-quVCvP0KI51DM2QMR4UWgY9eUA5phGcumPf6PvCZL0GzgkSuZcvQQ/s1600/100_2259.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaB4UKLOsHtdIgCLvcsy3B3D0ThNKlyh4MJKzshelArdodG3nSpIB-OtsABVZZDA3QyVsJ3zjA7woDPNKW-quVCvP0KI51DM2QMR4UWgY9eUA5phGcumPf6PvCZL0GzgkSuZcvQQ/s320/100_2259.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519180883920808178" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>Next are the reds - Creamy Peach, No-Taste Red, and Burgundy. (I am missing the other reds in the Wilton collection. When I get them, I will add them to the samples.) The burgundy is so dark it looks brownish-black almost.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBKHVu1gR0s7v050Klza0GJx2WX_M71rMyFaOuRRdaqmfoui279GNECsJxztJI8T9m3zy-aDJje1u1xD2s5BgCnmXtvEPbBx8E7OhUeT6TQNxgH6jZME4ghzPrO2VXyPGBlJY-HQ/s1600/100_2261.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBKHVu1gR0s7v050Klza0GJx2WX_M71rMyFaOuRRdaqmfoui279GNECsJxztJI8T9m3zy-aDJje1u1xD2s5BgCnmXtvEPbBx8E7OhUeT6TQNxgH6jZME4ghzPrO2VXyPGBlJY-HQ/s320/100_2261.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519180893967337794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>The dyes in the orange family actually "took" the quickest, almost exhausting the dye. The orange is very vibrant, whereas the Terra Cotta and Copper look almost identical. Also, there is almost no variation among the 3 base colors with Terra Cotta - they are virtually identical. Copper is one of the colors notorious for breaking, but this batch didn't show any sign of breakage.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b><br /></b></span></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_ZfgO8j1VVGpA4-QjJKvcWnlVOhlXGjdAaEGSm5fNLbNhlWwVmxo774kqrVHnsm1ptF8DmaybB1K2_vdgkkPwdj4MDi-n24q2k_rPYRhYDDTMuZ3tzKA1oHEDnhQtJfNXrGx3VA/s320/100_2262.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519180895847237122" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px; " /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;">The yellows are probably my favorites of all the colors I tested because they look different than I expected and because they are incredible autumn colors in their super-saturated state.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#CC6600;"><b>These colors didn't give me any problems. But the next batch, the blues and greens were a different story. I'll show my findings in Part 2.</b></span></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-714150335992989172010-09-18T20:13:00.014-05:002010-09-19T21:49:37.239-05:00Criquette Returns (With FO's!)<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia, serif; color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold; ">Since I haven't seen my little blog in a while, I thought it was time to check in and see if it's still here. And time, once again, to catch up. First, here are some of my projects that I have made in the past several months:</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b>Malabrigo worsted hat for the Malabrigo swap:</b></span></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBor-3ndqXpddbptvC-_kBuGcjPuxhEXmcGx0e8fOJghP0aYl4_mPjiOMmhWZcnniR5XFQsYSIXBWXvNXNkRTHO9ENx4BuVT_Sl8-8i4kkALuEuBsrY2d2Z-QM7Z8E__QUz5zGow/s1600/100_1831.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBor-3ndqXpddbptvC-_kBuGcjPuxhEXmcGx0e8fOJghP0aYl4_mPjiOMmhWZcnniR5XFQsYSIXBWXvNXNkRTHO9ENx4BuVT_Sl8-8i4kkALuEuBsrY2d2Z-QM7Z8E__QUz5zGow/s320/100_1831.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518430773622451954" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;">A lavender and rice-filled neck pillow for my rav friend, Laura:</span></b></span><br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkG62PdvIK0EgpgbC94Gk3IDupsayVi-4TGhgOWkuMLSBpFVtVDgnUpgQzXz1cbXAmlNMLpfL9pX7454shGdMTKt1PdSzYzWu8u21Xy1329bAl6MVpjhOQQHdzHDrrZPWth9Z-mQ/s1600/100_1235.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkG62PdvIK0EgpgbC94Gk3IDupsayVi-4TGhgOWkuMLSBpFVtVDgnUpgQzXz1cbXAmlNMLpfL9pX7454shGdMTKt1PdSzYzWu8u21Xy1329bAl6MVpjhOQQHdzHDrrZPWth9Z-mQ/s320/100_1235.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518430762893307794" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b>My 3rd Montego Bay scarf for the Odd Ducks' Sea and Ocean swap:</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8A2F_iS6c8WdxNjbxqnqNKHp-JT1bLrb-o4kL0Gs8IUJ_nGxlwbcIBgVrNve0rUjQ26P7OvocevrbmeUkUQwCfVeTOpuSyXmmZS_W7EsKtPPpXuX3dedzguonQ7UfDogH34HwtQ/s320/100_0674.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518430746163921442" /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2bwj2Qec-xzUG5EZamBVhwx71rdjYiDKhUiI72MvDvEmnE2nIzrzuDBHUtu7ObbwaMzEdO4N3ynNZybiCNWvtpZ7aQuu6e7ILgciaw6HsYgHJtlg82KsVldxCk6qHr-0mV9hGg/s1600/100_0647.JPG"></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;">Bella's Baseball Scarf from "Twilight" for my darling knitted-goods-loving niece (which was my first, but not last, attempt at cabling):</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2bwj2Qec-xzUG5EZamBVhwx71rdjYiDKhUiI72MvDvEmnE2nIzrzuDBHUtu7ObbwaMzEdO4N3ynNZybiCNWvtpZ7aQuu6e7ILgciaw6HsYgHJtlg82KsVldxCk6qHr-0mV9hGg/s1600/100_0647.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2bwj2Qec-xzUG5EZamBVhwx71rdjYiDKhUiI72MvDvEmnE2nIzrzuDBHUtu7ObbwaMzEdO4N3ynNZybiCNWvtpZ7aQuu6e7ILgciaw6HsYgHJtlg82KsVldxCk6qHr-0mV9hGg/s320/100_0647.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518430740205438946" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJN4eJYHE33Futt6XYOZkU8BHavnyLPyVlFuZsP88cYrDGM-dAxpk5fsd9zpEssNDiOOwleziIxl-Iko4wYtBB2xpd7qvd_oDg7TMO8wuzltmF9yQopSEC_XvWIIX-I-dhiMNMmA/s320/100_0649.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518430759211314210" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 320px; " /></div><div><br /></div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;">JJ Scarflette (some early Christmas knitting):</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRKSPHnO8bgbCpswAX21As29G5dSQEhcbReRzvChrgWTAU75TApJKR56kQbPKmoGGJrapBnOG3FCSitkR2bA3nWP8CRCe2KLJx9vN2aGsWgBCOEcwZLML7thVV2dLGy6YjtiL4Q/s1600/100_2097.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRKSPHnO8bgbCpswAX21As29G5dSQEhcbReRzvChrgWTAU75TApJKR56kQbPKmoGGJrapBnOG3FCSitkR2bA3nWP8CRCe2KLJx9vN2aGsWgBCOEcwZLML7thVV2dLGy6YjtiL4Q/s320/100_2097.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518448852790392370" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 176px; " /></a></div><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;">And my very favorite - my first shawl! Knitted from my first (but not last) skein of Wollmeise:</span></b></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQlDff11q2Dgpr9bdILuSv43T4yYgMJHU0febWxATi7s-a4LrTTPOx9fWmnq1WqpbVBGnbB2lEcUiGe6oW3o06xEOKxnhHqx6mAjPGeP9yPUQqCbhRDY_LKiejKg2Tfli9YKvyg/s1600/100_2104.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEQlDff11q2Dgpr9bdILuSv43T4yYgMJHU0febWxATi7s-a4LrTTPOx9fWmnq1WqpbVBGnbB2lEcUiGe6oW3o06xEOKxnhHqx6mAjPGeP9yPUQqCbhRDY_LKiejKg2Tfli9YKvyg/s320/100_2104.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518448886024011490" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b>I've been getting more and more involved in hand-dyeing with food-safe dyes. Creating the colorways I have in my head is so exciting! Here are my favorites so far:</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg04d21oIwKjbsBvCsceKM0Kr-6viKsZ28dX_yJdCVGc9TCXLzCS9eez8EecRMGFkD4vvb77rhX5zvBszSFknV3_HEHE1zX6KZBFujwnYYYQ-2I9JD5K7WMR0HdtowszqTZ6FAJPw/s1600/100_0669.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg04d21oIwKjbsBvCsceKM0Kr-6viKsZ28dX_yJdCVGc9TCXLzCS9eez8EecRMGFkD4vvb77rhX5zvBszSFknV3_HEHE1zX6KZBFujwnYYYQ-2I9JD5K7WMR0HdtowszqTZ6FAJPw/s320/100_0669.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518451069424725138" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 288px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrAcOKRiKUyv6i3rAM6ALv8U_H4OqwVxVX8g8_PC1hGwzBZ3rf6GhqPw4q0S2jieXyN6mc9YJzHHolgmSZ2KdPlyQA-sBmtKIwl7lx46fz_evvcc7-Fwaw1R0DO59RE6FIdQSiQ/s1600/101_0573.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgrAcOKRiKUyv6i3rAM6ALv8U_H4OqwVxVX8g8_PC1hGwzBZ3rf6GhqPw4q0S2jieXyN6mc9YJzHHolgmSZ2KdPlyQA-sBmtKIwl7lx46fz_evvcc7-Fwaw1R0DO59RE6FIdQSiQ/s320/101_0573.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518451059842182770" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 252px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-H7xB3yfi6w8IADhagoad1rPqZ6juZ1PSeB_BFP4c81fLrftg_zBz1hIwIeZ-QRNAQe8aXgQ2FroRxiexn7fhci6gBlpaOlGGMOe-LF1ELW5FMrlMS37Rlm6rSmLdcTTVU01Lw/s1600/100_1454.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-H7xB3yfi6w8IADhagoad1rPqZ6juZ1PSeB_BFP4c81fLrftg_zBz1hIwIeZ-QRNAQe8aXgQ2FroRxiexn7fhci6gBlpaOlGGMOe-LF1ELW5FMrlMS37Rlm6rSmLdcTTVU01Lw/s320/100_1454.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518453186621907938" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1hKvpEgdxIRMQEnZX3sJ2bJqR5eKfw92K54A-NfEodOzgF79ZWrHCISP4WESe7m2vIgolEY7t9XcHTsufU2wuDLNPI7yTVLUtI7DLZ2RoZzcJpY_WdmWrNDDSD3-aEUyataKbQ/s1600/100_2127.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ1hKvpEgdxIRMQEnZX3sJ2bJqR5eKfw92K54A-NfEodOzgF79ZWrHCISP4WESe7m2vIgolEY7t9XcHTsufU2wuDLNPI7yTVLUtI7DLZ2RoZzcJpY_WdmWrNDDSD3-aEUyataKbQ/s320/100_2127.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518456097500029314" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 274px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6zTNmyuoIlJN50abl_PAKXz2MZV__AI9RXtrG3cu55Wl8nXQoSs8YirlLkNHSGyiug3F_VsvTMQp9Pixla-9TEgfH32orYmVfapExleyKB9yxT97gyAgQiYsztqrsLpZmVgKKw/s1600/100_1501.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX6zTNmyuoIlJN50abl_PAKXz2MZV__AI9RXtrG3cu55Wl8nXQoSs8YirlLkNHSGyiug3F_VsvTMQp9Pixla-9TEgfH32orYmVfapExleyKB9yxT97gyAgQiYsztqrsLpZmVgKKw/s320/100_1501.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518456090246525810" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6YZx33yye6ogJuFzn5Y1SFeh9eqcwcQx68QxOef6ir3AvzZgcLAlErpWsfglncUVhOAfw-11aYQ7NFzcbKQaJEfjZugI59gf7fAAdYgFTZ8QBrGH1dAVTS5OyJRxAF8NI3Asng/s1600/100_0988.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH6YZx33yye6ogJuFzn5Y1SFeh9eqcwcQx68QxOef6ir3AvzZgcLAlErpWsfglncUVhOAfw-11aYQ7NFzcbKQaJEfjZugI59gf7fAAdYgFTZ8QBrGH1dAVTS5OyJRxAF8NI3Asng/s320/100_0988.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518456050165020578" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUvHUM7Z80Gcd3KWArthqaLq96AOFmySNHNUv45pXuz2tU6UNFT01K6x5jfmEjUEgk1c9bCxHJjiRqsXHaPBLujt-SJbWloQeGeWgnm6DHoaWCShE9eU09G6gMYjFk35eyjaRfw/s1600/100_2113.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJUvHUM7Z80Gcd3KWArthqaLq96AOFmySNHNUv45pXuz2tU6UNFT01K6x5jfmEjUEgk1c9bCxHJjiRqsXHaPBLujt-SJbWloQeGeWgnm6DHoaWCShE9eU09G6gMYjFk35eyjaRfw/s320/100_2113.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518457960597452274" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b>Of course, I am staying busy taking good care of the fur-babies. Nothing new with them, they are all still running the show here on the little house on the prairie.</b></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b>And we have been sneaking down to the lake whenever we can, which isn't nearly enough. So we have finally decided to take the plunge and get our own cabin down there. That way, we can go whenever we want. There's a place we have our eye on, and we may put in an offer this week!</b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;"><b>And of course, working my crazy-long hours. I had to hire 2 new therapists to take some of my referrals since I wasn't able to get people in for months. Neither one of them knit, but I won't hold that against them.<br /></b></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-58171500162234430122010-07-10T10:36:00.007-05:002010-07-10T11:58:50.900-05:00Criquette Returns (With Grits Recipes!)Dear Criquette,<div><br /></div><div>I cannot believe you have come back, after all this time. I have felt so abandoned and alone. Things were so much better before that upstart Ravelry came along and stole you away from me. And now, here you are, acting as if nothing has happened, as if you haven't ignored me for months on end, and expecting me to forgive you and just be here for you. Well, missy, blogs have feelings too! What's that? You're going to give me a new template and fonts? You'll post some pictures of all I have missing? Well, maybe I'll forgive you this time....</div><div><br /></div><div>Sincerely,</div><div>Your sad and lonely blog</div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, it's true. I actually have torn myself away from 'rav to post again. I can't promise this will become regular, but I have missed the blogging world while I have been on this latest blogging sabbatical. </div><div><br /></div><div>To celebrate my return, I want to post a couple of recipes for grits, as requested by Sally (known on Ravelry as warpedntwisted). Sally is one of my new malabrigo-loving buds. I was lucky enough to make it into the mal swap!!! Anyway, it's probably safe to say that most people think they don't like grits. And if they're thinking of those lumpy, glue-like, bland white clumps of sand, they're smart to stay away from them.</div><div><br /></div><div>But if they tried pimped-out grits, like these recipes, they just might change their minds. Whenever I make one of these dishes for my midwestern family and friends, there are no leftovers, and I have given out the recipes many times, to people who thought they hated grits. So here goes:</div><div><br /></div><div>This first recipe is just sublime. It is one of the signature dishes from one of my favorite resturants in New Orleans, Zea's Rotisserie. It's actually easy to make, just be careful not to add the grits too quickly to the boiling broth/cream or you will have a giant, nasty mess to clean up and ask me how I know. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Zea's Corn-Roasted Grits</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 20px; font-family:Georgia, Times, serif;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ingredients:</span></span></b><p style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, Times, serif; "></p><p style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, Times, serif; "></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">2 cups chicken broth<br />2 cups heavy cream<br />1 cup grilled corn<br />1 cup yellow grits (not instant)</span></span><p style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, Times, serif; "></p><p style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, Times, serif; "></p><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Directions:</span></span></b><p style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, Times, serif; "></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">To grill corn, shuck off husk. Lightly butter corncob and grill over charcoal or open fire until slightly blackened. Cool corn and cut kernels from cob with a sharp knife. Bring chicken broth to a boil. Add heavy cream and return to a boil. Slowly whisk in the grits and then the corn. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook 5 to 6 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.</span></span><div class="Copyright" style="clear: both; "><p align="RIGHT" style="font: normal normal normal 15px/normal Georgia, Times, serif; "><i style="text-align: left;display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Copyright 2005 by </span></span><a href="mailto:nonews@ibsys.com" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">TheNewOrleansChannel.com</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.</span></span></i><i style="text-align: left;display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></i><span style="text-align: left;display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I will follow these instructions when I can get fresh corn. But this is a great fall/winter dish, so I have successfully substituted thawed and drained frozen corn. I set my oven on 450 with the top rack a few inches from the top, put the corn in a single layer in a greased pan, spray a bit of PAM on top and slide it in for a few minutes. You have to keep a close eye on this, and turn the corn a couple of times so it roasts evenly or you will have a burnt mess and ask me how I know. It only takes a few minutes and tastes almost as good. Also, instead of just salt and pepper, I add 1/2 tsp of cajun seasoning, like Tony Chachere's or Zatarain's to spice it up a bit more. This dish is great for brunch, and is also a good side for bbq.</span></span></span><span style="text-align: left;display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="text-align: left;display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And here is a more classic Creole grits recipe. It is creamy, rich and so delicious.</span></span></span><span style="text-align: left;display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="text-align: left;display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 5px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, Times, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(68, 78, 92); font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:13px;"></span></span></span></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial, Times, serif;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>French Quarter Brunch Grits</b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; "></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1 quart milk</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">¼ teaspoon garlic powder</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1 teaspoon salt</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">¼ teaspoon white pepper</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1/2 teaspoon Creole or Cajun Seasoning</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1 cup white quick-cooking grits</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">4 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">4 ounces Cheddar cheese, cut into cubes</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the milk, garlic powder, salt, white pepper and Creole seasoning. Heat, stirring slowly and constantly, until the milk just comes to a boil. Add the grits, slowly and stir to mix. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the mixture is thick and creamy, 5 to 6 minutes.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Add the cheeses and stir until they melt completely. Serve warm.</span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 17px; padding-left: 0px; line-height: 1.55em; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I am getting ready to head off to the farmers market now to pick up some fresh corn, because I hear those Zea's grits calling me. Bon appetite!</span></p><p></p></span><br /><br /><p></p></div></span></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-59951998469717590522010-01-12T11:53:00.004-06:002010-01-12T12:02:23.212-06:00Dogs=AngelsIf there was an official religion named "The Church of God, Canine", I would give up my non-denominational identity and become a member, along with Abbie and Chloe, of course. And one of the hymns we would sing every week would be this one, the simple yet profound <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY">"God & Dog"</a>, by Wendy Francisco.<br /><br /><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/H17edn_RZoY&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/H17edn_RZoY&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Watch it (if you're like me, more than once), cry some tears of joy and gratitude, enjoy, then go love all over your precious dogs. Amen and bow-wow.<br /><br />(My apologies if everyone has already seen this. Although even if you have, why not enjoy it again?)Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-27890295583866314502009-12-19T10:00:00.003-06:002009-12-19T10:42:30.479-06:00My Brother Is a Star<span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">My brother, the Instigator, was my childhood nemesis. He tormented my other siblings and I incessently, and was always careful to do it when no parents were looking and then playing innocent so they never believed us and he didn't get in trouble. And of course, whenever we tried to seek justice on our own, we were caught and spent the rest of the day in our rooms, playing with dust bunnies. </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Eventually, we all grew up and, realizing one can not sell one's horrible brother on eBay, made our peace. Now, the Instigator is one of my very best friends and I love him dearly. He still loves to tease and play practical jokes, always in a non-malicious way, and loves to be teased in return (although he won't admit it). </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">We are going to New Orleans for Christmas this year, and I can see it now. He will be trying to give us autographs, and will be wearing sunglasses inside, and will be expecting us to treat him like a TV star because, well, he is! I have posted pictures of the beautiful hand-made ornaments he crafts each year for his jewelry store, donating part of the proceeds to local charities. He was interviewed on the local ABC affiliate and he was so cute that I just had to share </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.abc26.com/videobeta/watch/?watch=038870f8-4e92-43cd-ad6f-5ac72a9435d2&src=front">this clip</a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">. And what you're hearing is a genuine New Orleans accent. I've lost mine, long ago, but pick it right up again whenever I go home. Did you notice how quiet and serious he seems? Not like an instigator at all, is he? And that, my friends, is the act he used to trick my parents (and teachers, and other authority figures) into thinking he is an innocent lamb. Ha! But I am really proud of him and that's why I wanted to share his 5 minutes of fame. He is such a good person, with such a generous heart, that he deserves more. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">I didn't plan to take such a long break from blogging, but I love Ravelry so much that what little free time I have had is usually spent there. I was finally talked into creating a Facebook page because everyone in my immediate family is on Facebook now and we can keep tabs on the day-to-day stuff much more easily now. I will confess, I am also a Bad Facebookee. I check out what everyone else is up to, but rarely post anything. I have had, for me, some big accomplishments this fall which are keeping me away from cyberspace more and more, too. Lots of news, lots of projects, so little time to post about them...</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">But I haven't forgotten my blogging friends. I have turned into more of a lurker than a responder these days, but I am happy to see that you are all doing well for the most part and knitting beautiful things and having wonderful adventures. I hope you all are having a blessed holiday season and building lots of good memories with your loved ones. Hugs to all, and I hope to catch up with you all really soon!</span></span>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-15324529675954661372009-09-03T00:18:00.000-05:002009-09-03T00:18:00.916-05:00Dogs on Thursday: In Which the Bunny Hunter Gets a New Hobby<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWcqEPeknfSZU5Er7iWabB9fVneX2MZ_3YGqTHZsDKQisyr9C4m6MbOyB-pkavRTDs7Zoc9tQ8KTMzhheu1HKb9mWOPeqA7ZJmQKr6eMhyOYGRB_Y9y_fgxY3y6T8INXEPe_0hg/s1600-h/100_9063.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 314px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKWcqEPeknfSZU5Er7iWabB9fVneX2MZ_3YGqTHZsDKQisyr9C4m6MbOyB-pkavRTDs7Zoc9tQ8KTMzhheu1HKb9mWOPeqA7ZJmQKr6eMhyOYGRB_Y9y_fgxY3y6T8INXEPe_0hg/s320/100_9063.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367830549183083170" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">Well hello there! Where did you come from? Did you take a wrong turn in New Jersey? Did you make a break for it when my pal, </span><a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;" href="http://britknitter.blogspot.com/2009/05/dogs-on-thursday-and-old-friend.html">Tara the Turtlehunter</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;"> wasn't looking?</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmmE_idrSR8VCJN9o0KSr27NvN4Dduo0td6BFVgvCwBaCmXt43tryZX7Hva1KkFifRILTzlZhfgH3Xn2sn4Ml79LI6H1w5sRU8OWEFHayo3GwaOLlNgQim_mq_GE9L01DGcGBNA/s1600-h/100_8645.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsmmE_idrSR8VCJN9o0KSr27NvN4Dduo0td6BFVgvCwBaCmXt43tryZX7Hva1KkFifRILTzlZhfgH3Xn2sn4Ml79LI6H1w5sRU8OWEFHayo3GwaOLlNgQim_mq_GE9L01DGcGBNA/s320/100_8645.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367835787501658274" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">It's no use trying to hide from a beagle y'know.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiNlLjtq2RA7bH4s_-EkA_TdjlC6t6vO3mpTuPDHMe2RcuX2onHdTwGXhl5ygStgMjoBoro713D7UwOejidKINpA8_rLdR7P-JMM06Yfa7hTUOxrUweGrsY60keGDLDNwbYb-dA/s1600-h/100_8929.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiNlLjtq2RA7bH4s_-EkA_TdjlC6t6vO3mpTuPDHMe2RcuX2onHdTwGXhl5ygStgMjoBoro713D7UwOejidKINpA8_rLdR7P-JMM06Yfa7hTUOxrUweGrsY60keGDLDNwbYb-dA/s320/100_8929.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367832183925971442" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">With my powerful x-ray vision and supercharged nose, I know you're out there....</span><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-pieJMTQ5m36Zx45Dj_H0WEeRz7x_i5o4UtPsDvE8Nm2vFk7QrojoXy_zpqRdggnFQxjmKPQgaDmhAuRdWiZHQ0KCmvqt6H4GfnQOKpj1QmKgtmtMSh9kDslSVw0Ak-oJA0QSA/s1600-h/100_8650.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-pieJMTQ5m36Zx45Dj_H0WEeRz7x_i5o4UtPsDvE8Nm2vFk7QrojoXy_zpqRdggnFQxjmKPQgaDmhAuRdWiZHQ0KCmvqt6H4GfnQOKpj1QmKgtmtMSh9kDslSVw0Ak-oJA0QSA/s320/100_8650.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367835793208984178" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">...I just don't know what you are. You may not have long ears and a cottontail, but I want to hunt you anyway!</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3dK7bu_sJD5roujIFHRveaQHTOrvvPflBBWBwWWc-MpCeqUfeKd9MR-DCZQICrvoIDJQLb6xU_vMWljxWPWodRgLgxjEApW6oOqKTQhyphenhyphenf8obx6wm8WaDFEBpXYij6WiRFUu42A/s1600-h/100_8920.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3dK7bu_sJD5roujIFHRveaQHTOrvvPflBBWBwWWc-MpCeqUfeKd9MR-DCZQICrvoIDJQLb6xU_vMWljxWPWodRgLgxjEApW6oOqKTQhyphenhyphenf8obx6wm8WaDFEBpXYij6WiRFUu42A/s320/100_8920.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367833127527192082" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">(Chloe is confused by all of the barking and howling that is going on at this point. She prefers to save her energy for critters that are fun to herd, like squirrels and small children.)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">A few days later....</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ7pcZjyDPrUkFH-N6HnP668z3j-eKISR6TQFp0at5KLnwmWZtmdbR1oq1stqyVFiPSsrBVe0Tsv6U5BqS5m0VnB7MMF_YFMMHcn7rVWpIlrP2eoWOWXWPznmpAJSLHrAIRsY2GQ/s1600-h/100_9058.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ7pcZjyDPrUkFH-N6HnP668z3j-eKISR6TQFp0at5KLnwmWZtmdbR1oq1stqyVFiPSsrBVe0Tsv6U5BqS5m0VnB7MMF_YFMMHcn7rVWpIlrP2eoWOWXWPznmpAJSLHrAIRsY2GQ/s320/100_9058.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367830535116989554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">I knew you'd come back! That's why I've been planted in front of the window every spare moment I haven't been eating or sleeping. Now come over here, a little closer. In fact, you're welcome to come in for my little snack...no, wait! I meant *a* snack. Wait! Don't go! I was just kidding!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">(On yet another day....</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">)</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9-zdBBrwQcGW-seaDRuQxCMrNDKD1FWB6hDenj1yAg6dL9C2MGkViX4dnvjETFV1AGZtFYiUX6kGPnnfUtoUdSFg54a02A3yVpKx14mxNYdIwyLJ8_a6EMfbZVWHlWBImVnhtQ/s1600-h/100_8917.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9-zdBBrwQcGW-seaDRuQxCMrNDKD1FWB6hDenj1yAg6dL9C2MGkViX4dnvjETFV1AGZtFYiUX6kGPnnfUtoUdSFg54a02A3yVpKx14mxNYdIwyLJ8_a6EMfbZVWHlWBImVnhtQ/s320/100_8917.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367833118566328546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">Turtle! Turtle! Turtle! You're more fun to obsessively watch for than bunnies, especially since you make a beeline for the same bushes under my window almost everyday and stay there for hours, where I can watch your every non-move! You give me something to live for! I love you, Turtle!</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDbFrKTlJMGuVs3QfyQ7YOkMpPrTNO3AdE0VELG5agNeqhge3PA6iStiAkSV9Zb13SSku8FVGIovYXtAjDJQ5KXfH_MOb9k1Mn3GmDnBvsSGUVLu5vnrPc34QAyc_5ttdDZCjLw/s1600-h/100_8925.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXDbFrKTlJMGuVs3QfyQ7YOkMpPrTNO3AdE0VELG5agNeqhge3PA6iStiAkSV9Zb13SSku8FVGIovYXtAjDJQ5KXfH_MOb9k1Mn3GmDnBvsSGUVLu5vnrPc34QAyc_5ttdDZCjLw/s320/100_8925.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367835778137405970" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">(She must love Abbie, too since she comes out of the woods every few days to hang out in the bushes below the back windows. We're assuming it's the same turtle. If not, we've had 17 different turtles showing up for the past few weeks.)</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5CJpJhUull3LCZ_B9XOsjf_edcSzZ57s73tfdrwRUj78qgxSrl2qlVGVhe73gR-t-DwNPly8wsCVm8mw09boG4cHOxceLR8jYWQAFXfUXy30UMBZ2SieQ0azgBhWmo6KkWGxxw/s1600-h/100_8806.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb5CJpJhUull3LCZ_B9XOsjf_edcSzZ57s73tfdrwRUj78qgxSrl2qlVGVhe73gR-t-DwNPly8wsCVm8mw09boG4cHOxceLR8jYWQAFXfUXy30UMBZ2SieQ0azgBhWmo6KkWGxxw/s320/100_8806.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367832194283235378" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">She is an</span></span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.gpnc.org/ornate.htm">ornate box turtle</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold; font-family: georgia;">. We have also been visited by a very pretty painted turtle but that one did not have beagle-love and hasn't been back.</span><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisowmCfFC3zR00SyrVn2Mu470gPmDZbGGhdPECfZs68M_fP3qUSwJUCsq0mw7u6uqZQi_70CQSVrMarO655Gf3SMAJk0sO1fUnAOvjkBTyAmY5nUUPNVJ6OdVUYHVZ9P6WapckZw/s1600-h/100_9062.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisowmCfFC3zR00SyrVn2Mu470gPmDZbGGhdPECfZs68M_fP3qUSwJUCsq0mw7u6uqZQi_70CQSVrMarO655Gf3SMAJk0sO1fUnAOvjkBTyAmY5nUUPNVJ6OdVUYHVZ9P6WapckZw/s320/100_9062.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367830541878536690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">(Meanwhile, Chloe ponders what her new hobby shall be.) "Mom? Can I get some sheep?"</span></span>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-61288455155335353162009-08-09T18:32:00.000-05:002009-08-09T18:32:00.550-05:00Summertime on the Prairie<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_-UWn0KXwl1ol0b7zemS9IcS45eVqI3CyK72gCY6q0iBPgi8Z70m4G_lyxv1suughd6VMAkDIetmcS9-BrxBRqeUez_N21R2VOOM0_V3yan-YDEXKt8Df0LyHCNNqmwQcmin2A/s1600-h/100_9025.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr_-UWn0KXwl1ol0b7zemS9IcS45eVqI3CyK72gCY6q0iBPgi8Z70m4G_lyxv1suughd6VMAkDIetmcS9-BrxBRqeUez_N21R2VOOM0_V3yan-YDEXKt8Df0LyHCNNqmwQcmin2A/s320/100_9025.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367813631844184114" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: georgia;">No matter how hot it gets here, summertime in Kansas provides lots of eye candy. The main star of the show is the big, gorgeous blueblueblue sky full of clouds so white and wooly, it often looks like a whole flock of sheepies overhead.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">This summer has apparently broken some very old records as being the coolest and wettest in over a half-century. Yes, that's right, Kansas stole Seattle's weather and left the unbearable Midwest heat for our Northwestern neighbors to enjoy. This means that we have had some of the most beautifully perfect days that I can remember in the 15 years I've lived here now.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUgd2YV_w_OrkfLPwgi9TB20bKVXfOXDzXU5ft0sfZTTkCXrGH5WEopoArCaYnNurk9bPqvymP6ao8c91WGwL3lsV8wPVahjbiPamW32OngWPjAI-B4YCoWCG71R2rCvlxeBOgw/s1600-h/100_8773.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNUgd2YV_w_OrkfLPwgi9TB20bKVXfOXDzXU5ft0sfZTTkCXrGH5WEopoArCaYnNurk9bPqvymP6ao8c91WGwL3lsV8wPVahjbiPamW32OngWPjAI-B4YCoWCG71R2rCvlxeBOgw/s320/100_8773.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367806078622697202" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisnc2YO6ehDpzyzxwae1pi2zimhKkgNT5dUY3j6ld49TUHZY2PSLCXdLISzmVvVxy7MhQn6wr5p95DPbzlrrcY1BeVbehhBSfmemQCpJkuvCVRo3u0nrgC7wghZt6_UR83hLq4fQ/s1600-h/100_9070.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisnc2YO6ehDpzyzxwae1pi2zimhKkgNT5dUY3j6ld49TUHZY2PSLCXdLISzmVvVxy7MhQn6wr5p95DPbzlrrcY1BeVbehhBSfmemQCpJkuvCVRo3u0nrgC7wghZt6_UR83hLq4fQ/s320/100_9070.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367813637382071250" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >This is one of the small wheatfields I drive by on my way to work each day. They still farm wheat, soybeans and corn on the many parcels of undeveloped land around here. Sadly, it will eventually be destroyed to squeeze in yet another shopping center. The good thing about the bad economy is that it is slowing down the warp-speed rate of development that has been happening in our county.<br /><br />The next four pictures are from a teensy roadtrip I took a couple of weeks ago to Lawrence, home of the Kansas Jayhawks who won the 2008 NCAA championship. It's a great little college town and the 20 minute drive from my house is through gently rolling farmland. One of my favorite ways to relax is to take a long drive by myself and this is one of my favorites.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbL8bhAKhloAM9hIVbkHIcmYKEtVDAVMdHEkLrg4DxM4ucT4snZDHIY7VQKwXJaAOqrhZaR4fKB7PChsIuJL7TY7OUFoB4oUQSJ0wOk3e0BOYn7Z37lasB2__IGCFep6tEQ6GMA/s1600-h/100_8990.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQbL8bhAKhloAM9hIVbkHIcmYKEtVDAVMdHEkLrg4DxM4ucT4snZDHIY7VQKwXJaAOqrhZaR4fKB7PChsIuJL7TY7OUFoB4oUQSJ0wOk3e0BOYn7Z37lasB2__IGCFep6tEQ6GMA/s320/100_8990.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367808815065683970" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbynnbgXjDkoUpCyemUX3T8SZU4XT5N94-suiSzR78DJmtS7Kd3bL9WOuzJRn7kgR6WQf-pGQAXyXMnugNRjc49EZQlXcg3dvv5jXuGn_xNmzVbwC-5EkOQ3UfDyu0b2IkabTAQ/s1600-h/100_9015.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlbynnbgXjDkoUpCyemUX3T8SZU4XT5N94-suiSzR78DJmtS7Kd3bL9WOuzJRn7kgR6WQf-pGQAXyXMnugNRjc49EZQlXcg3dvv5jXuGn_xNmzVbwC-5EkOQ3UfDyu0b2IkabTAQ/s320/100_9015.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367808808710233346" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" >I love cloud shadows!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">I had two reasons to head to Lawrence - yarn and eagles. There is a fabulous yarn store in Lawrence that I had never visited before called The Yarn Barn. It's right in the middle of the charming downtown and was all that I hoped it would be. There is a very nice selection of various yarns and the best array of knitting supplies I have found so far. However, the thing that makes this store so special is the unbelievable variety of big cones of laceweights and silk yarns. I am not sure why anyone would need such large amounts, but if they do, this is the place to get it. They also have large quantities of wool battings from all types of sheep and lots of undyed roving. They also have a large display unit with both sides covered with all types of undyed yarns. I am not sure if my next hobby will be dying, spinning or weaving, but whatever it is, this will be where I come to buy my crack, er, I mean supplies. I found a few souvenirs to take home, so the drive was worth it.</span></span><br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgTyZVGW1z99XbG1yrJEbS6wmrUMdrMjgPuhaCZwOiRaIIFMogDH5q-4hqlnLGHSa-TF0LUrTkpAUo0DeVlfF9lEimfTbggwPoRdF280ZvivYrLZ979BLw9oCyY1vicLIbTRspw/s1600-h/100_9044.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPgTyZVGW1z99XbG1yrJEbS6wmrUMdrMjgPuhaCZwOiRaIIFMogDH5q-4hqlnLGHSa-TF0LUrTkpAUo0DeVlfF9lEimfTbggwPoRdF280ZvivYrLZ979BLw9oCyY1vicLIbTRspw/s320/100_9044.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367819665219628738" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" >When is sock yarn not for socks? When it's for pretty scarves and mitts!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">I also had another reason to go to Lawrence and it was to find a particular spot on the Kansas River, which is right across from downtown:</span></span><br /></div></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia8FEIL5QyVR9N8RmU5GyRYujdmbI24Vo70EZTHEaK9oidH5HC7hRVoUu1Otph6NkE7qpK_daNAn7pj8cBEUxLA2xsHC6yG_5vbtbg8Z1XKi3GirfXPjq8RRLeaYjutKKMUNBWyg/s1600-h/100_9010.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia8FEIL5QyVR9N8RmU5GyRYujdmbI24Vo70EZTHEaK9oidH5HC7hRVoUu1Otph6NkE7qpK_daNAn7pj8cBEUxLA2xsHC6yG_5vbtbg8Z1XKi3GirfXPjq8RRLeaYjutKKMUNBWyg/s320/100_9010.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367808823844201458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvRuukS8d9uIoUHdSzlLB_lz_Zf8L3WjTX35hy8MFjwFqQd2J239NvxPrXQeb2sFkJNYzJ9oAB5w_BKOCf_TwfY0iEvWwdtEiHPedx6qogaCnCZXdFfl0PbIqoSKfBqx9HRBAaQ/s1600-h/100_9008.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirvRuukS8d9uIoUHdSzlLB_lz_Zf8L3WjTX35hy8MFjwFqQd2J239NvxPrXQeb2sFkJNYzJ9oAB5w_BKOCf_TwfY0iEvWwdtEiHPedx6qogaCnCZXdFfl0PbIqoSKfBqx9HRBAaQ/s320/100_9008.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367808831978841858" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">Even though I have seen a mated pair of American eagles on their nest down at the Lake of the Ozarks (an unbelievably close view, too), it was before I started keeping a life list of birds. So to me, it won't count until I see another one. plus, I'd love to see one or more feeding. This little waterfall is a prime eagle, hawk and sometimes osprey fishing site in the winter. This is because the moving water keeps ice from forming so the birds can fish even in subzero weather. I have heard of as many 17 eagles fishing at a time! I am planning to come here in the winter to see some eagles and wanted to scout the area out first. I only hope the eagles don't elude me the way the pileated woodpeckers have.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: georgia;">I also love my garden in the summertime. The Annabelle and Limelight hydrangeas grow obscenely large, and so far this year I have harvested over 3 dozen large heads of Annabelle (shown here) to sell to a local floral designer as well as several bunches to give to neighbors. The Limelights aren't mature enough to harvest yet, but I should get almost 2 dozen heads from the one bush I have. I don't do anything special for them, not even fertilizer, but they obviously love the location on the front of my house (northern exposure).</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6OfNogE8NwcTS2hb8PQM9zRNHlbvOc-pGOkYPVul79S1HAOWGGntiXzW-vrfMq0c4i0sBhV25pW9LepugGaHL8hVaJ2HK3gtFO5Qedv2uFsn562yl2qGC4szYx0M4taVOJyt3IA/s1600-h/100_9048.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6OfNogE8NwcTS2hb8PQM9zRNHlbvOc-pGOkYPVul79S1HAOWGGntiXzW-vrfMq0c4i0sBhV25pW9LepugGaHL8hVaJ2HK3gtFO5Qedv2uFsn562yl2qGC4szYx0M4taVOJyt3IA/s320/100_9048.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367808836204129650" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" >This pretty little yellow flower is very special to me. It is a banana magnolia, which is an old-fashioned semi-tropical shrub that grows in New Orleans. The blooms are small and mostly unnoticed except for the heavenly smell that is like banana creme brulee. I brought one up here about 5 years ago and have babied it more than my other potted plants (who must abide by Darwinian rule in my household). It has finally rewarded me with 2 blooms! They only last for a couple of days, so I ran out to the porch several times for those days just to take a long whiff.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdza24EzexaPeEeanMo2DytXT8T0Iq3wZfyyBI5JVVPII9cY2l_VEob7CFHwuYN1PH4QC1-9RxYC7c8jeFpXVOl2pepJmAXh7iXPjBfv1e9y8WhXYEWjMmISezcL5gxsle-pg7A/s1600-h/100_8965.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdza24EzexaPeEeanMo2DytXT8T0Iq3wZfyyBI5JVVPII9cY2l_VEob7CFHwuYN1PH4QC1-9RxYC7c8jeFpXVOl2pepJmAXh7iXPjBfv1e9y8WhXYEWjMmISezcL5gxsle-pg7A/s320/100_8965.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367807681170358018" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: georgia;">These are some shagbark hickories that grow not far from where I live. These are some of my favorite trees. I want to spread a blanket under them and knit all afternoon except there's a walking trail right there and I wouldn't want my yarn to get trampled.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMz4Yu2KSpD8fF6JEgtIfu9kK-o94rqiRgGa82_n3xnS8WxLAW5MUCLPqZ3MT9TxcxaObxeOiMwp037IcbtBn24n-Zpv1oV-PL311Pm7fOPhmSmKAE4W-uNdhUG9fFcoGrHOmMmg/s1600-h/100_8726.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMz4Yu2KSpD8fF6JEgtIfu9kK-o94rqiRgGa82_n3xnS8WxLAW5MUCLPqZ3MT9TxcxaObxeOiMwp037IcbtBn24n-Zpv1oV-PL311Pm7fOPhmSmKAE4W-uNdhUG9fFcoGrHOmMmg/s320/100_8726.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367806073028957602" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;">And of course, the girls can't get enough of summertime in Kansas either!</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68IDEqQTKu8IRX1QclgM8ubnoRzl6wRfYPkYVZQ299Ygk6_VhhBnAvA8vPZo_k6phjNoLiM6qNuxYzaZD6if9hwgTp8Yt9gWmWn4gvUgue9ESUaXBug6sJAphiii5JN7abXzUlQ/s1600-h/100_8604.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg68IDEqQTKu8IRX1QclgM8ubnoRzl6wRfYPkYVZQ299Ygk6_VhhBnAvA8vPZo_k6phjNoLiM6qNuxYzaZD6if9hwgTp8Yt9gWmWn4gvUgue9ESUaXBug6sJAphiii5JN7abXzUlQ/s320/100_8604.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367803863501423362" border="0" /></a>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-3132482935111731752009-08-08T22:28:00.000-05:002009-08-08T22:29:23.975-05:00In Which Criquette Finally Resurfaces and Writes a Post<span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;">I knew it had been a while since my last post, but I didn't realize it's been nearly 2 months. Bad, bad blogger! I was also surprised that I hadn't continued the story of my quest to see a pileated woodpecker, or of our wonderful long weekend down at the lake, or posted pictures of the pathetically few FO's I managed to finish since the beginning of summer (and let's not count the embarassing number of UFO's and frogs that I created).</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">First, the</span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);font-size:85%;" > <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://prairiegumbo.blogspot.com/2009/05/cuckoo-in-kansas.html">Quest for the Pileated WP</a>. <span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">I did go back to the arboretum the following weekend and spent 2 hours lurking among the cottonwoods by the creek. I found evidence that I was in the right place, looking at the right trees:<br /><br /><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02a717KiA-oL-uGEPKj8bkXP8mVlfxbMiVyJMRIia0x_zDPgD6iJrZKRyd5KvGAGdYcKm0pT2e7K9oaekAx-M7O9Ti5D3xQAJpFZg4dCv9R1OGZHrXCeFwh7BK2A_LtdrggapCg/s1600-h/100_8754.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02a717KiA-oL-uGEPKj8bkXP8mVlfxbMiVyJMRIia0x_zDPgD6iJrZKRyd5KvGAGdYcKm0pT2e7K9oaekAx-M7O9Ti5D3xQAJpFZg4dCv9R1OGZHrXCeFwh7BK2A_LtdrggapCg/s320/100_8754.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5367799629406537538" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" >Notice the huge holes in this tree</span></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitguoU2atnrhgVmIEPIQN90kFPBm32QyIRcOqSVl-TrBSM6ueAca7LIoGCdmbRj-nhN4VtLfZf43qf-rDKjHD56BSncPvkYtCDQa7m7gUB9NlN14f7TkSNWp5laJdCzJkVy2G2QQ/s1600-h/100_8737.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitguoU2atnrhgVmIEPIQN90kFPBm32QyIRcOqSVl-TrBSM6ueAca7LIoGCdmbRj-nhN4VtLfZf43qf-rDKjHD56BSncPvkYtCDQa7m7gUB9NlN14f7TkSNWp5laJdCzJkVy2G2QQ/s320/100_8737.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365043917196234306" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">compared to these holes made by much smaller woodpeckers</span><br /></span></div><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span>The more I looked, the more of the huge excav</span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">ations I found. There was a tree I suspected they may have been recently using as a nest, but I could only get glimpses of it through the foliage. I looked and waited and waited... Finally, I gave up and started heading back. Then I heard it, right in back of me: the pounding. Two beats, loud and strong, just like what I've heard on my bird sounds cd. It was soooo close, but I couldn't see anything. Some other people were close by and they heard it too. It drummed once more, then called it's kah-kah-kah sound, as it flew further away from us. Arrrgggghhhhhhh! </span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;">Some birders will count identifications by sound alone, but for my lifer list, I want an actual sighting. I went back 3 weeks later with a friend, very early in the morning, but didn't see or hear much of anything. The birds all seemed to be sleeping in that day. I've decided that during summer, the forest is too thick and lush to see much of any birds who perch or fly among the canopies. I decided to wait until mid-autumn, maybe October, to go back and try again.</span><br /></span><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Then, in late June, we headed down for a few days of r&r at the Lake of the Ozarks. We love staying in the quaint family cabin close to the water's edge in a quiet cove, listening to the birds and the gentle lapping of the water. Mr. Criquette, being a Type A personality, has no concept of the word "relaxation". I call him my 2-legged squirrel. He hauls down numerous projects, some of them work, or finds small fix-up projects around the cabin. His idea of fishing is to throw a line off the dock and bustle about doing projects until a fish snags itself on the line. He rushes back to release the fish, throws the line back in and bustles some more. It gets quite exhausting watching him in all of this activity, so I take little mini-naps in between knitting and reading.</span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >I will usually stir myself once or twice a day to take a nature stroll, looking at the various wildflowers and birds that inhabit the area.</span></span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255); font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >I was on one of my strolls along the bank of the cove, and had my binoculars looking for the herons that roost in the swampy area at the far back of the cove, when it ocurred to me that the tree I was looking at was a cottonwood - a really big one at that.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Wait a minute! Pileateds love them some big, old cottonwood trees and PWP's are listed as one of the regional inhabitants. I did a quick search around the cove and noticed several big cottonwoods. Best of all, I noticed that the huge, half-rotted tree that sits at one edge of the property is a cottonwood that has several of these:</span></span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qrcanOc2mnOjgoYAZOt-KAQbn7rxnHCRQVdNUIrVCNxMJb2IsnOuIZXPhIoW74EqbeDjbLMuZLbBysHhc5cbmBMIBcH-6IZ2JONri76AYRUAgm_hoMT84IiLgNLL8lZuWFTqCg/s1600-h/100_8867.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4qrcanOc2mnOjgoYAZOt-KAQbn7rxnHCRQVdNUIrVCNxMJb2IsnOuIZXPhIoW74EqbeDjbLMuZLbBysHhc5cbmBMIBcH-6IZ2JONri76AYRUAgm_hoMT84IiLgNLL8lZuWFTqCg/s320/100_8867.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365043978535673202" border="0" /></a></span><br /><span style=";font-family:lucida grande;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">Holes this big could only have been made by PWP's!</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;">I about peed my pants as I ran off to tell Mr. C. He was very interested and we both kept a close eye on the tree the rest of the time we were there, but, except for a yellow-bellied sapsucker (a lifer for me), some extremely noisy titmice and chickadees, the herons, a mama wood duck and her babies (another lifer!), yellow finches, a phoebe, a great crested flycatcher, and 2 different warblers I could hear but not see, there was no sign of the big woodpeckers.</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;">I was still happy about adding to my lifetime list, but still felt like the PWP's have a conspiracy to elude me. The most frustrating part was when Mr. C returned the key to the owner (his uncle) and asked about the big guys. His uncle, obviously not a fan, said, "Those big pests? They're around all the time. We wish they'd go somewhere else." Such is my luck.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;">Even though I've not been blogging, I have been knitting (with a little crochet thrown in for a change). I have made several dishcloths, including several for Ravelry swaps:</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLxIkfz5WNtpZc-5moVPsxlm0LWakXGuNsOD59EH3ApDl4NLVjQQQdxhXKEFwkShHWj1-A1c2cNvYbP0jxayN3EXF9SBLpY-okm8g5e4DeBD3L9qEIuuppqN63UbcpZYMZnYsj6w/s1600-h/100_9115.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLxIkfz5WNtpZc-5moVPsxlm0LWakXGuNsOD59EH3ApDl4NLVjQQQdxhXKEFwkShHWj1-A1c2cNvYbP0jxayN3EXF9SBLpY-okm8g5e4DeBD3L9qEIuuppqN63UbcpZYMZnYsj6w/s320/100_9115.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365036127123481986" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7pSQaBnlVwbmlQfnaSo2S_PJ0afzHR8OU3u9n-kG-ioqJPQFawaNAqXDQ_igpEiQUErN7SId0PDAIa72S-sEZSYM7R96jnRmZUlWQt1AAWmQBUphMAfuIyrI4d6VMU6E3-uN9Ng/s1600-h/100_9106.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7pSQaBnlVwbmlQfnaSo2S_PJ0afzHR8OU3u9n-kG-ioqJPQFawaNAqXDQ_igpEiQUErN7SId0PDAIa72S-sEZSYM7R96jnRmZUlWQt1AAWmQBUphMAfuIyrI4d6VMU6E3-uN9Ng/s320/100_9106.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365036120163714818" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrFfykJwerogiTOigU42cxyFFMVTsj2vn63zRhBg_R3RqiTwMCzvDZ3jh4CyZMZtgBrg7Tm0nqpJzudR4nrqVts4pGDSr1gzyyE_RoqfgzJoiDaNAYJxDQg3a8ZtbeQcFlpVpOg/s1600-h/100_9102.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrFfykJwerogiTOigU42cxyFFMVTsj2vn63zRhBg_R3RqiTwMCzvDZ3jh4CyZMZtgBrg7Tm0nqpJzudR4nrqVts4pGDSr1gzyyE_RoqfgzJoiDaNAYJxDQg3a8ZtbeQcFlpVpOg/s320/100_9102.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365036115219060994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISykg1oxt2KnEMgFgNmVQq2mt-RYk8tHkvHTovYl056KQZ_exFOXrowHW1c-86yQiQ1JQDZH-bXfNwqxXYoUH77u4f7T6nRVp3MVekyVe76zJWRRCwsWZPXvGgvjIeCKjFz_gZQ/s1600-h/100_9089.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhISykg1oxt2KnEMgFgNmVQq2mt-RYk8tHkvHTovYl056KQZ_exFOXrowHW1c-86yQiQ1JQDZH-bXfNwqxXYoUH77u4f7T6nRVp3MVekyVe76zJWRRCwsWZPXvGgvjIeCKjFz_gZQ/s320/100_9089.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365036110565782706" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fnclPtB5PbJ50uywOyrdMbU-dZLziRq0IJAURQ6GexD4QwtEZWEfuYqm4In6S5yNqkyXvAbBf7Q2EdBue7W2aNOkW3wOn9LzwAF1CecrEA6orKVyVWd6OO9nI3liqbPH5FnuCA/s1600-h/100_8933.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9fnclPtB5PbJ50uywOyrdMbU-dZLziRq0IJAURQ6GexD4QwtEZWEfuYqm4In6S5yNqkyXvAbBf7Q2EdBue7W2aNOkW3wOn9LzwAF1CecrEA6orKVyVWd6OO9nI3liqbPH5FnuCA/s320/100_8933.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365045285865279042" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0f5CM5EcUlAxTJj7J3YTWp7nrt4N-HVTdjgg6uNDSYdiuKnnDNVTqmj8vvEAGm5ONZNvO_PGFYXhPnuTn5zI8XW4pj_NyTI92S2HpqN9w6IZuPe-LBrUgZSzcHY0Q8DxZ-sDfWg/s1600-h/100_8891.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0f5CM5EcUlAxTJj7J3YTWp7nrt4N-HVTdjgg6uNDSYdiuKnnDNVTqmj8vvEAGm5ONZNvO_PGFYXhPnuTn5zI8XW4pj_NyTI92S2HpqN9w6IZuPe-LBrUgZSzcHY0Q8DxZ-sDfWg/s320/100_8891.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365045256102058338" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgR5G4G2mTiLA-Hy3QbeV-tN5W_iVdAYAYONNYuapxOBQeMmwXp8bXJNWB0pFTbNmfIMf6GTBQnCIkQL3V9epX0FCvx6qzMQRDOFqyI2HYxt2yPT-sTr1Jw6GWiOFTXUXrjnIhA/s1600-h/100_8886.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgR5G4G2mTiLA-Hy3QbeV-tN5W_iVdAYAYONNYuapxOBQeMmwXp8bXJNWB0pFTbNmfIMf6GTBQnCIkQL3V9epX0FCvx6qzMQRDOFqyI2HYxt2yPT-sTr1Jw6GWiOFTXUXrjnIhA/s320/100_8886.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365045238542132242" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2naeZLgTSYyEJh_VPB_Aoqjb0eNUbrGtVaqfiDzQ8A0QhTal5u8QlL90XGG51NWpbeTbGeBvFsOLT8J26D3bt6iBJDLruA6Anf_3v81OxN1zvW-CTpAdifADaqfjTIAkJRElvg/s1600-h/100_8852.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv2naeZLgTSYyEJh_VPB_Aoqjb0eNUbrGtVaqfiDzQ8A0QhTal5u8QlL90XGG51NWpbeTbGeBvFsOLT8J26D3bt6iBJDLruA6Anf_3v81OxN1zvW-CTpAdifADaqfjTIAkJRElvg/s320/100_8852.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365045213835635954" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxy344xTrTLTErdO4wQeP04poVO4xhiuwBeRWJ5AYFSHYLhTnVFil6YjKWRYJOHBhMc7Z2asNwXEx7zhWIsX44CmanuK7PW8ySgDyzl9r84oHr5sqxVxnGndNlwuZybEBtkHoTQ/s1600-h/100_8836.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 290px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxy344xTrTLTErdO4wQeP04poVO4xhiuwBeRWJ5AYFSHYLhTnVFil6YjKWRYJOHBhMc7Z2asNwXEx7zhWIsX44CmanuK7PW8ySgDyzl9r84oHr5sqxVxnGndNlwuZybEBtkHoTQ/s320/100_8836.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365043973166447314" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEM97zb1poXKhSYkMqlbA47WwVzj9DVdRyDEnBgFcMjy8fC4ha5OniZCic7kT_w76ILQEJWDk2kx9_qwCd7IbNx5nxkRoAwk8IGG6e0taQxB82tScNtWpCs7WXTQ23EMLZ4NmTyQ/s1600-h/100_9133.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEM97zb1poXKhSYkMqlbA47WwVzj9DVdRyDEnBgFcMjy8fC4ha5OniZCic7kT_w76ILQEJWDk2kx9_qwCd7IbNx5nxkRoAwk8IGG6e0taQxB82tScNtWpCs7WXTQ23EMLZ4NmTyQ/s320/100_9133.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365040024398268658" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNZHqlaUK_ZEjOqy1oiuEM3omKRLruDrpXKXiZjSPxFRm4hjpDAdgJWGvHewm_i4We7OJbC312roOSbKc58kho_XFykXjsq5Pm06-qZNfauKZQjApqlF4smKwV__LYOyFjMtjDQ/s1600-h/100_8942.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNZHqlaUK_ZEjOqy1oiuEM3omKRLruDrpXKXiZjSPxFRm4hjpDAdgJWGvHewm_i4We7OJbC312roOSbKc58kho_XFykXjsq5Pm06-qZNfauKZQjApqlF4smKwV__LYOyFjMtjDQ/s320/100_8942.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365040046781825970" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;">And of course, there are the ever-present UFO's, always lurking in my knitting basket...</span> </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8zHzJu-GbDr3sgpnZ8pE8ctikHMGW9gNMf5uR_Gp9w_rfeBYdJYaqYAqa-b-vEMY6X5IO8-HLM8BQ-0yUFZ4-NnbleItxgZZfLJxbk1Ezxr_TQ7KkfJjD-8nUOzqDZAJJtVNFw/s1600-h/100_8699.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB8zHzJu-GbDr3sgpnZ8pE8ctikHMGW9gNMf5uR_Gp9w_rfeBYdJYaqYAqa-b-vEMY6X5IO8-HLM8BQ-0yUFZ4-NnbleItxgZZfLJxbk1Ezxr_TQ7KkfJjD-8nUOzqDZAJJtVNFw/s320/100_8699.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365040034466845906" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;">My most favorite project right now is a very special one. One of my lovely nieces, who is majoring in hotel management and tourism, is taking a class in wines. As part of this class, they </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" >have</span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;"> to go on a 2-week tour of the California wine country, which of course includes mandatory tastings and gourmet meals. All this and college credits too!<br /><br />I missed her birthday earlier this year, an important one. So I decided to make my first shawl. As in the kind of project where I must FOCUS and PAY ATTENTION. As you might imagine, my progress on this shawl is quite slow, despite the fact that the pattern is so easy, a toddler could make it.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5U6vA2eForpZT8-KhkUp0hWNio0stMq2IsR2NhpvmrOnvYDqW1LOgvrbTV4HDgU4OyCwEaNk5bCklwasOmKZe74iyzxEMRNYIJunHBTLViKbJt9LF6DdTTWJY-7mfiLx_Cd2Kw/s1600-h/100_9127.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5U6vA2eForpZT8-KhkUp0hWNio0stMq2IsR2NhpvmrOnvYDqW1LOgvrbTV4HDgU4OyCwEaNk5bCklwasOmKZe74iyzxEMRNYIJunHBTLViKbJt9LF6DdTTWJY-7mfiLx_Cd2Kw/s320/100_9127.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5365036135722231794" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;">I'm using Classic Elite Cotton-Boo in a beautiful light grey, the color of Spanish moss. The entire time I was working on the first 10 rows, I kept feeling like I needed to frog it. But I remembered reading that lacy projects look terrible the first few rows and so I kept going. Now I am past the second repeat and am loving what I am seeing so far!</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-weight: bold;">I'm so excited that all I want to do is spend the entire weekend doing this and nothing else. However, there are massive dust bunnies gathering in force throughout the house, and my closet has become the equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle and must be brought under control, not to mention the mundane weekly chores that have to wait for the weekend. I motivate myself by remembering that we will be going back down to lake soon. And maybe, just maybe, the "big pests" will make me a very happy birder.</span></span>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-33372961170170719072009-06-14T11:48:00.004-05:002009-06-14T14:16:10.859-05:00What's In a Name?<span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">I have always been someone who is fascinated by names. When I was much younger, I used to entertain myself by making lists of names I liked, names for my future husband and kids (Mr. C's name was not on any of those lists!), names for pets, names of people I knew. When I was really bored, I would sometimes look through the phone book for really silly or weird names. Perhaps this is a strange fixation, but I am not alone. There is even a label for people who are fascinated by names: onamamania. Google "fascination with names" and see how many times this comes up. So even if I'm weird, I'm not weird alone.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">I am sure this stems from my early childhood.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">From as far back as I can remember, I despised my birth name. It felt ugly and awkward, not at all who I perceived myself to be. For anyone else, it is a perfectly fine name, and I have had many friends and acquaintences throughout my life who have been given this name as well. But it wasn't me. I was pretty angry and resentful as a child and, looking back, I think having the wrong name contributed to my overall lack of self-esteem.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">In the summer between 8th grade and high school, when crazy hormones and 13-year old angst were at their peak, my friend (who also hated her name) and I decided to rebel against our parents by changing our names. I had a great-aunt named Katie. She had passed away before I was born, so I never knew her, but she had a reputation in her family as mischievous and fun-loving. This was the name I wish my parents had chosen for me, it felt right and it matched my inner view of who I am. Much more well-suited than the dignified, serious name they stuck me with. And so that day, my true self was born and I became Katie. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">I went home and announced to my mom that I was changing my name. This announcement was, I'm sure, made with lots of nasty teenage attitude. I was just waiting for her to challenge me so I could launch into a full-fledged snit-fit. But, to my complete surprise, she agreed that my personality was definitely a "Katie" personality instead of the name I had been given. She started calling me Katie that very day and my siblings soon after. My dad had a harder time with it. Sometimes he called me Katie but more often, it was the original name. He is the only person I let get away with this.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">And I started high school a couple of months later and introduced myself to all of my new friends and teachers as "Katie". It was that easy. It helps that it is kind of close to my original name that most people never question it, although it is not a nickname of my original name. I have never changed it legally, and while the original name is on a very small number of the important official documents, my chosen name is on many others. A couple of times, I have been asked for clarification, but I am continually surprised at how easy it has been to go through life with 2 different first names. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">It is amazing the immediate impact this had on my personality and self-esteem. I became much more confident and outgoing. For the first time in my life, it was easier to make friends. And I began to like myself, which I had not done before. As a psychologist, I am now aware of the fact that our names can have a significant impact on how others perceive us. It makes me sad to think there may be lots of kids out there who feel this way, but never think that they have the power to change their names, unless they have the kind of name that comes with some decent choices of nicknames. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">In the cyber world, we have a chance to choose any name we wish to be called. And it makes sense to have an alias. For instance, I have 4 different email accounts - the only one in my "real" name is the one associated with my practice. Then there is the one I use for ravelry and this blog, the one I use for secret swaps and the one I use when signing up for things where I might end up on a spam list. When I first created my blog, I wanted a place to share thoughts and ideas and a few personal aspects of my life without it showing up when my name was googled. So I borrowed Miss Criquette's name since the others I tried first had already been taken. She says she doesn't mind, as long as I don't do anything to embarass her or her fellow felines.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLQPDfQpgtE8EH6YhE9pjDnnsFT1huPUQv5hrZ8JiYIPXoY0MR9_NMdVLKJ3Gaqz3IsMANX-eQ94RBiQ2qZQbUAMWmD7ZDDUDxqZUgRTg2LAje-kHj_v4SVi6G94kHaXgO6gsZQ/s1600-h/100_7238.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLQPDfQpgtE8EH6YhE9pjDnnsFT1huPUQv5hrZ8JiYIPXoY0MR9_NMdVLKJ3Gaqz3IsMANX-eQ94RBiQ2qZQbUAMWmD7ZDDUDxqZUgRTg2LAje-kHj_v4SVi6G94kHaXgO6gsZQ/s320/100_7238.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347229094557201250" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-weight: bold;">"This is NOT what we agreed on..."</span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvf3xVtzbyLwt3EvglQM33j_7mLCKjs8OgUYHlHsjwNZ2WValvdq0gBHdvyasjADLMFVKkP1UIx71dxqKrmbkJzx0R-0LY0P0a8h6zJHjOUkbtollHFJxHqGpLs4ySq5q9mEWiw/s1600-h/100_3454.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZvf3xVtzbyLwt3EvglQM33j_7mLCKjs8OgUYHlHsjwNZ2WValvdq0gBHdvyasjADLMFVKkP1UIx71dxqKrmbkJzx0R-0LY0P0a8h6zJHjOUkbtollHFJxHqGpLs4ySq5q9mEWiw/s320/100_3454.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347229089935861378" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-weight: bold;">"That's it, name-stealer! You'll be hearing from my cat-torney on this!"</span></span><br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Xxci6MIY6T1-hWoU0hdfg5P1yrOSpalXfiQhp50aXxWOtNa1V450Q2E1J3PNbaIZsvshFAzxStrqtjxPQ5KcXbQqzWWy8w8CWshRFvKCpHB7bY66Nb35o5jTW92D8zyVyv-SHA/s1600-h/100_8379.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Xxci6MIY6T1-hWoU0hdfg5P1yrOSpalXfiQhp50aXxWOtNa1V450Q2E1J3PNbaIZsvshFAzxStrqtjxPQ5KcXbQqzWWy8w8CWshRFvKCpHB7bY66Nb35o5jTW92D8zyVyv-SHA/s320/100_8379.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347229101364000194" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-weight: bold;">"Okay, that's more like it. All pictures must show my cuteness at it's best."</span></span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">(And just for the record, because when I have met a couple of my blogging pals, they did not know that the correct pronunciation is actually "cricket", like the insect. For cultural purposes, I Cajunized the spelling when we adopted her.)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">So as you can see, we here at Criquette-world like alternate names. And I ran across something in a forum post on ravelry that is so much fun!!!! I had to share it with you. It is an alternate name generator. You can use it to create a new identity for yourself. You could use it to create crazy names for secret swaps and safe email addresses. Heck, you could even find the name of the "real you" that is hidden inside, just waiting to be released! </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">When I typed in my first and last name, here is a sample of what I got:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">a city ukelele</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">cake lite yules</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">tease lucky lei</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">lacy lee sue kit</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">ictus la lee key</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">cute lea lei sky</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">These are sort of silly and upbeat, like me. Now compare these to my original name:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">lunacy sleeker</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">scaly knee rule</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">acne seller yuk</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">ankle securely</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Clearly, words and phrases that are Just Not Fun. Now we can see why I subconsciously did not want to be stuck with this.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Finally, let's look at the original Criquette's name:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">cutely cirque steel (Addi's?)</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">celery cut see quilt</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">query lettuce slice</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">quest cute lyric lee</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Many of her anagrams made no sense to a human, but perhaps would speak more clearly to other cats. But still, we can see from her anagrams that she is a cute, quirky little character.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Do you want to share in the fun? Click on over to the</span></span> <span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-weight: bold;" href="http://wordsmith.org/anagram/index.html">name anagram generator</a></span>. <span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Then tell us, what's in your name?</span><br /></span></div></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-24344726562786834072009-05-30T12:08:00.011-05:002009-05-30T23:00:19.787-05:00Cuckoo in Kansas<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;">(Please note that these pictures all came from various birding organizations on the 'net. )<br /><br /></span>I love birds and I love watching birds. We put out several different kinds of feeders to attract a wide variety of birds, keep the birdbaths clean and full, and plant lots of bird (and butterfly) friendly plants. all of this pays off because we get a very wide range of birds who visit our yard for food, water or insects (I don't use any pesticides in my gardens and I never have insect problems thanks to my feathered exterminators).</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">I like to read books about birds and birding. I have narrowly avoided a few accidents due to bird-watching while driving (almost as bad as knitting while driving). Today, I took another step closer to becoming an official bird-geek - I went on a bird-watching walk at the arboretum near my house. </span></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" >Mr. Criquette's jaw dropped when he saw me appear at the coffeepot at the crack of dawn. I am not at all what we call a "morning person". But I was determined to do this because I have become A Wannabe Bird Geek With a Mission. The mission: to see one of these in person:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSRcZpgXPCRrSGWrV3QHGSYcxIXX2DlU4DUbdwERkfhxb3-Po8ZMyMKOGyqflYUAg_2vlM8Euls4uNHe9v5nGSq6hjanVuZQ7f25JdInrJtYbxUFRibsUl-VeX6hg5Wuo6D6rCA/s1600-h/PileatedWoodpeckerWilliams3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLSRcZpgXPCRrSGWrV3QHGSYcxIXX2DlU4DUbdwERkfhxb3-Po8ZMyMKOGyqflYUAg_2vlM8Euls4uNHe9v5nGSq6hjanVuZQ7f25JdInrJtYbxUFRibsUl-VeX6hg5Wuo6D6rCA/s320/PileatedWoodpeckerWilliams3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341816313456343586" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">This gorgeous fellow is the Pileated Woodpecker. I have had 2 dreams about these beautiful creatures this spring. It is currently at the top of my lifetime bird list.</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;"> They are not only strikingly colored, but apparently are also huge, like crow-sized or larger. Here is a map of their distribution:<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij32Jfnui0-ocdqDWb_k8IAT4tqcklH08T-O9OUVgs_eTJJNqX5A1OmGmR1zPQEYbov93dlArCZcDll-9x5TvNGW1zR79dCY0nINjrFaQNArSE_B6XPjZX08SAJlFkr1sfLC8t1g/s1600-h/usgs+Pileated+Woodpecker.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij32Jfnui0-ocdqDWb_k8IAT4tqcklH08T-O9OUVgs_eTJJNqX5A1OmGmR1zPQEYbov93dlArCZcDll-9x5TvNGW1zR79dCY0nINjrFaQNArSE_B6XPjZX08SAJlFkr1sfLC8t1g/s320/usgs+Pileated+Woodpecker.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341823257744905378" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">According to this map, northeastern Kansas is out of their range. I pouted and started planning trips to visit family and friends who might live in their territory<br />.</span><br /></span></div><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">I guess Kansas doesn't have the kinds of thick forests with humongous old trees that they like - oh wait - yes we do! There is a large patch of virgin forest just 20 miles south of my house! Is it possible there may be one or two who venture north from time to time? The arboretum's website actually mentioned pileated woodies as one of the birds that have been sighted there. Be still my heart!</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">So I went and today could not have been more gorgeous in terms of the weather. It was warm with low humidity and a very nice breeze. We had a very nice young biologist as our guide and he did an outstanding job. We only covered about half of the park today, but I added 4 new birds to my list that I have not seen before!</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisj3aOx3ATTEbPJ2hdqg4kUApiRQcl-9m5RPccgoR0fjCDJUor8OTzYbj360VT3q8U12OvPLmONXM-6E4VoWRc8eAfZwCXIliCSSM0Vez-twHku97pwmoQwGkO24hz1dyJUo4ROA/s1600-h/GreatCrestedFlycatcherCarroll.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisj3aOx3ATTEbPJ2hdqg4kUApiRQcl-9m5RPccgoR0fjCDJUor8OTzYbj360VT3q8U12OvPLmONXM-6E4VoWRc8eAfZwCXIliCSSM0Vez-twHku97pwmoQwGkO24hz1dyJUo4ROA/s320/GreatCrestedFlycatcherCarroll.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341813872430293394" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" >Great Crested Flycatcher - I am a huge fan of flycatchers. Not only do they eat more than weight in nasty flying critters, but they are also extremely attractive birds. I've been wanting to see one of these. </span><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2o0HuXyWi95UOCypaXl-eFl2nSJrJ9MUCNCt4Iv7plXN4JseZV0-LkeG7Du6AnRpnV-gDFR3Dtdo_tQMrpv47Tr51vYAVHf6NlsgvAHL9Svw1lwQWPeXBlCWiXTyy6G8fWeVETA/s1600-h/fieldid_oct07_4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 297px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2o0HuXyWi95UOCypaXl-eFl2nSJrJ9MUCNCt4Iv7plXN4JseZV0-LkeG7Du6AnRpnV-gDFR3Dtdo_tQMrpv47Tr51vYAVHf6NlsgvAHL9Svw1lwQWPeXBlCWiXTyy6G8fWeVETA/s320/fieldid_oct07_4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341825447032514322" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">This is a much smaller member of the flycatcher family, the Acadian Flycatcher. Since the word "Cajun" is derived from "Acadian", these were on my list - I really wanted to see a little Cajun bird. Today, I saw 2. C'est bon, cher.</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjibEfr7O9AFqjYZLrUGnSCo1tMeZ4gwrLZkGPXMtIhBsmcDCo34T63wbkDBUyUSzHG9bAejOa9zNPVr5lo7Gc1Wf5By0CSzSg1Vp_6rXblJ_8tm_hpOuGpaaNCg7x2AftjJ5Fk_Q/s1600-h/NorthernParulaMetz.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjibEfr7O9AFqjYZLrUGnSCo1tMeZ4gwrLZkGPXMtIhBsmcDCo34T63wbkDBUyUSzHG9bAejOa9zNPVr5lo7Gc1Wf5By0CSzSg1Vp_6rXblJ_8tm_hpOuGpaaNCg7x2AftjJ5Fk_Q/s320/NorthernParulaMetz.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341813867739551218" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">This one was completely unexpected! I had no clue these little guys even existed, much less in this neck of the woods. But the arboretum was full of the little cuties - the Northern Parula. Right after the guide told us we'd never see one (just hear them), I saw a small bird flit into a tree in front of us. Guess who spotted him first? </span></span><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAT-8gQKxEIZDhKvIk4Gs4c1EL85Zq_FU2lH1KRE1mVlEeHGo2RmGNZGYSlJEuUhx6gw4eDiV6D7PKN50GMLWc33eG5Wu2Fz05F4Md5WUNJ3Qh9se1h1hK52jeLAuYDyeGcf4cRg/s1600-h/summer-tanager-f450.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAT-8gQKxEIZDhKvIk4Gs4c1EL85Zq_FU2lH1KRE1mVlEeHGo2RmGNZGYSlJEuUhx6gw4eDiV6D7PKN50GMLWc33eG5Wu2Fz05F4Md5WUNJ3Qh9se1h1hK52jeLAuYDyeGcf4cRg/s320/summer-tanager-f450.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341813863146845794" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">I did think there was a chance I might see a Summer tanager, which has been on my bird list for a long time. We rounded a bend, and there they were - a pair. Just gorgeous!</span></span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEyGeaIccYoL8k6meH8XietB-ANKtTEh5Hsd3JgT_B7o87TsN3Hvx9KXLAewUJZjrmygvRIZdmKO5jFL_LaalRAiT4K02HGKWQnKMoW_bwZ6e2m5lpzfc8x1l0wgcq7GKhA-I4g/s1600-h/SummerTanagerMetz.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBEyGeaIccYoL8k6meH8XietB-ANKtTEh5Hsd3JgT_B7o87TsN3Hvx9KXLAewUJZjrmygvRIZdmKO5jFL_LaalRAiT4K02HGKWQnKMoW_bwZ6e2m5lpzfc8x1l0wgcq7GKhA-I4g/s320/SummerTanagerMetz.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341813862107175970" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">Male Summer Tanager</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">I never did get to see a pileated woodie today. But I did get the inside scoop. There are a couple of nesting pairs in some huge old trees by the river. The guide gave me exact directions on where to go to see them and where I should look. If I can drag myself out of bed early tomorrow, I'm headed back.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">I was only a tiny bit disappointed because I got a fabulous consolation prize, #2 on my lifetime list:</span></span><br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbnP7vlJroBl5G9zjU51J1XnfQHjVAJXclRwXQU_hlUdn_couXwcMdDoMXMSQ9YLH76LIETpHxwSFCSUfLV9lRxmhbCX0ACFQ2A-4lsN1ljxGaAb0neIHRcUgPv6s00XQgVO1ZQ/s1600-h/Yellow-billedCuckooCarroll.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbnP7vlJroBl5G9zjU51J1XnfQHjVAJXclRwXQU_hlUdn_couXwcMdDoMXMSQ9YLH76LIETpHxwSFCSUfLV9lRxmhbCX0ACFQ2A-4lsN1ljxGaAb0neIHRcUgPv6s00XQgVO1ZQ/s320/Yellow-billedCuckooCarroll.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5341813859182293250" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">The elusive and rarely seen (around here, at least) Yellow-Billed Cuckoo. We heard it's lovely cooing during parts of our walk, but didn't even see a glimpse. The group was watching a chickadee but I was bored. I was randomly looking around in the treetops with my binoculars and all of a sudden, one landed on a branch not far from me. I (and the rest of the group) was able to get a long, clear look at him. I almost wet my pants I was so excited! As you can see, I am ridiculously easy to entertain.</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" >So I am off to bed, about 2 hours sooner than usual on a Saturday night. But I have an important date in the morning!</span><br /></div></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-30408844546014847852009-05-28T23:04:00.005-05:002009-05-28T23:21:44.601-05:00If It's Summer, It Must Be Rerun Time<span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">It is a known fact that, in TV land, summertime means either endless reruns or really bad fill-in shows. The jury is still out as far as which is more intolerable. But the truth is, actors, writers, directors, producers and all of the people who are responsible for bringing our favorite shows into our homes, need a break in order to refresh their creativity. Makes sense to me.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">That's why I decided to borrow a page from their screenplay and present a rerun today for my Dogs on Thursday post. I thought I would share one of the earliest posts, when my blog was still in her infancy. Most of my 1 or 2 readers may not have seen it before and I figure it may be better than posting nothing. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">The title of the post, "Another of Abbie's Escaping Escapades" alludes to her obsession with escaping whenever possible in order to hunt bunnies. As a beagle/Jack Russel mix she can't help it: it's genetically programmed. It's a good thing she has so many other good qualities (we will overlook her other obsession with snacking from the litter box). Hope you enjoy!</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5982/3103/1600/100_0226.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5982/3103/320/100_0226.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:lucida grande;">The Pi is done!</span></span><br /></div><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:lucida grande;" >This morning started off with an obscenely early rude awakening. Mr. "Refuses To Listen To Me" woke me up 30 minutes before the alarm to tell me he dropped Abbie's leash while on their morning walk. Of course Abbie Bad Beagle, who is suffering a bad case of Bunny Fever grabbed her chance and was off and hunting. Her speed makes Gone in 60 Seconds look like a turtle race. So Mr."Why Won't He Use A Second Leash On Her Like I Suggested" ran home to wake me up to help him find her.<br /></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ha, this is the challenge. Abbie never runs away in a straight path. She zigzags, zogs and zooms on her quest for bunnies. She seems to vanish into thin air and so the first part of the hunt for Abbie is to locate her - she could be anywhere, in any direction. Fortunately God sent the little miracle I was praying for and gave us a break. She had doubled back to a large field near our house and had her full attention on the bunny she had located.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The trick with catching Abbie (assuming you can even locate her) is to be patient and try your best to keep up with her until she has the bunny cornered. Then you stroll up in back of her and scoop her up. Of course she always chooses the day after a storm to escape so she (and you) are covered in mud. So you haul her home, wipe her down, and put her sternly into her kennel for a timeout. And she totally knows she is being punished. She starts howling and singing the blues pathetically. And then when she comes out, she falls on the floor with her head down in the most contrite manner you will ever see in either human or beast. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So of course you have to pet her and reassure her she is still loved and won't be shipped off to the Big House and say a prayer of thanks that she didn't run into the woods where there are wolf-sized coyotes and bobcats looking for a little beagle bagel to snack on, or get hit by one the cars speeding way too fast down the busy street at the front of the subdivision.</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">And tonite, she insisted on lots of snuggling and playing so no knitting today. I had to content myself with taking some pictures of the unfelted Kitty Pi with your choice of either Criquette or Bad Beagle filling.</span><br /><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5982/3103/1600/100_0223.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5982/3103/320/100_0223.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">"Why would you run off when there are such lovely wooly things at home?"</span></span><br /></div><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-family:lucida grande;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5982/3103/1600/100_0224.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5982/3103/320/100_0224.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">Still looking Very Sorry</span></span><br /></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-66656840150060023092009-05-24T15:32:00.006-05:002009-05-24T20:28:01.902-05:00Criquette In the Garden<span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Here at the Casa de la Criquette, spring has finally sprung and I have been as busy as a hive of bees getting the gardens ready for summer. Would you like a tour? Let's start at the front...</span><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-fqoE20OhJW0yvmMQhP81DlW7bB0_Tg0iR5kllVu0SaZBA_QKtwb9gRtCQlCmGdvhd0ABwArWdZe3MDjcD6VfP04szfBzZio3G9LAtszxHZl8Rv1DzvxmHsEzTf7sRHIKUnBIQ/s1600-h/100_8568.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0-fqoE20OhJW0yvmMQhP81DlW7bB0_Tg0iR5kllVu0SaZBA_QKtwb9gRtCQlCmGdvhd0ABwArWdZe3MDjcD6VfP04szfBzZio3G9LAtszxHZl8Rv1DzvxmHsEzTf7sRHIKUnBIQ/s320/100_8568.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339557252772170466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">This is a very shady and damp bed as it faces north/northeast. It's not good for colorful flowers, but in the heat of the summer, it is a very restful green and white. I grow Limelight and Annabelle hydrangeas, astilbes, chelone (turtlehead) and wintergreen boxwood.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDO9HNMGiEnauUFz75lrc5TZUFuOyGLegSIX2tyfrSVoWmLbNIRrxPnuEt9op21wJO1EhDjUQ222fHghlYDKCbzd6NqfxtAjnYNcZeI4EsdQQFqJxVfDatCmQNi2cgH-gmYv7CEA/s1600-h/100_8571.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDO9HNMGiEnauUFz75lrc5TZUFuOyGLegSIX2tyfrSVoWmLbNIRrxPnuEt9op21wJO1EhDjUQ222fHghlYDKCbzd6NqfxtAjnYNcZeI4EsdQQFqJxVfDatCmQNi2cgH-gmYv7CEA/s320/100_8571.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339557246311610306" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">I also have a white dogwood tree, variegated false Solomon's Seal and sweet woodruff groundcover.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfu1CGFSXcM5gAJlxSdvU-FX41GknnhH07qyC_6mgv9aJyOt-mZPJleooCH7dB5jHWOj-w90uz2XQDIVrrLPkxjxN60pikc1SFc7qqVvf0SzOTc_hKEr9-hRGqyM6mFonX5LchwA/s1600-h/100_8572.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfu1CGFSXcM5gAJlxSdvU-FX41GknnhH07qyC_6mgv9aJyOt-mZPJleooCH7dB5jHWOj-w90uz2XQDIVrrLPkxjxN60pikc1SFc7qqVvf0SzOTc_hKEr9-hRGqyM6mFonX5LchwA/s320/100_8572.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339554837578422642" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Walking around to the west, there is a large berm that runs along the property line and gives us some privacy from the neighbors as well as serving as a windbreak from the wind, which can get pretty ferocious. We grow mainly white pine in the berm, but there is also a Fat Albert blue spruce and a blueberry cobbler viburnum. If you look closely, you'll see that a robin built her nest in this tree. She reared 1 baby, who fledged early this morning.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOI6leWLog4uIC-KwkReNrakTD71XZ2PD16v0yBFEtgIUu02crmXa_nywK46hUfvmIgfAtDYOecC-xAXPDSBaxLQM9xAKzi9JkaIZJnpLwOrlHr2_5Jv1CXckWxC_utC1jAeEBA/s1600-h/100_8576.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOI6leWLog4uIC-KwkReNrakTD71XZ2PD16v0yBFEtgIUu02crmXa_nywK46hUfvmIgfAtDYOecC-xAXPDSBaxLQM9xAKzi9JkaIZJnpLwOrlHr2_5Jv1CXckWxC_utC1jAeEBA/s320/100_8576.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339554831943225074" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" >Our bird feeding station is in this curve of the berm. We have a birdbath, a big cardinal feeder, two finch feeders and a hummingbird feeder.</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOoFKvzzZt-PxGuG8yjvA_5ouWckpen7abQ8_rFvWKqJX7N5hhhCTCZOsOPrSqQvI3ussY2mWDN35WyO431aCV3nvDk24tOpWBBpQkUt4Ug_8cZ_y4zZwFmwSrLrlhvCe4T2dPQ/s1600-h/100_8611.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLOoFKvzzZt-PxGuG8yjvA_5ouWckpen7abQ8_rFvWKqJX7N5hhhCTCZOsOPrSqQvI3ussY2mWDN35WyO431aCV3nvDk24tOpWBBpQkUt4Ug_8cZ_y4zZwFmwSrLrlhvCe4T2dPQ/s320/100_8611.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339554841192969746" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Moving south to our backyard, we have a patio under the porch, with a small curved bed in front of it. It contains salmon-pink non-stop roses that will start blooming in a week or so. Before that show, the Japanese iris gives us a gorgeous shot of purple for about 3 weeks.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGqZrAL0GMyzz8GwZP09xG_PuD_ukLekL50gZPaazG3Vm4RoVBNBCqScJDYoT7a3j17p4yKdmsKygUj9KfEmVCaHbr-H-si5FgfGmVGpBMn697FlIi2aGaxoJEDWeI2IUqxAieQ/s1600-h/100_8563.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZGqZrAL0GMyzz8GwZP09xG_PuD_ukLekL50gZPaazG3Vm4RoVBNBCqScJDYoT7a3j17p4yKdmsKygUj9KfEmVCaHbr-H-si5FgfGmVGpBMn697FlIi2aGaxoJEDWeI2IUqxAieQ/s320/100_8563.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339554823651899634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">This is one of the earliest perennials to bloom - 'Carolina Dawn' baptisia (false indigo).</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04pBZJ8xL-2jqXg809-SgJQ8e-GnZIRdRCMVoSLtvmOLaGsgGuzonChC006G5owtJP2Ln4rb8B0DPV3HhM6fG3MLkod1YNPtaYu1Jetyve8hn7ga2JMkssQnnNYzxxO_sH3Ff-A/s1600-h/100_8552.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04pBZJ8xL-2jqXg809-SgJQ8e-GnZIRdRCMVoSLtvmOLaGsgGuzonChC006G5owtJP2Ln4rb8B0DPV3HhM6fG3MLkod1YNPtaYu1Jetyve8hn7ga2JMkssQnnNYzxxO_sH3Ff-A/s320/100_8552.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339554821636660146" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">If we keep heading south, we get to the woods that run the entire back of the yard. I planted a little plant of white violets last spring and the rabbits ate them down to the ground. I was pleasantly shocked to see this big patch. We have several bunnies this spring, but they haven't taken even a nibble.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCnXxQ4J53vQOVV3t8KaNq8BeWUiUMjPxARxQJwqz2n0ctYhMMrSy7s1jcGicYPQyvJrxrEaJE4ZxJAnNiJBmDsHNZbyyJnLHxO8M6_CC1lN9WnSZPmgN4LlclsIiinsU0WB0aw/s1600-h/100_8546.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitCnXxQ4J53vQOVV3t8KaNq8BeWUiUMjPxARxQJwqz2n0ctYhMMrSy7s1jcGicYPQyvJrxrEaJE4ZxJAnNiJBmDsHNZbyyJnLHxO8M6_CC1lN9WnSZPmgN4LlclsIiinsU0WB0aw/s320/100_8546.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339492315703448562" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">This is a honeysuckle shrub, which grows wild in the Kansas City area. It is not a native, but is an introduced species that has started taking over native woodlands and so is considered a pest. I think it's lovely and allow a couple of them in my patch of woods. (Warning to the honeysuckle shrubs: I'm keeping an eye on you!).</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9bjr1XG8eRmfHtsoWkSN_e1iQZ25SpmukfSd2zYcXJDZqbOtqJfsUIknc5mhEFQI2lSU8Zuu38Z2k8dYLdrqusVcsiIMl8qguEUcEAvqkF_fHqhTVOZxBYmWprW6h36q8g7xlw/s1600-h/100_8538.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge9bjr1XG8eRmfHtsoWkSN_e1iQZ25SpmukfSd2zYcXJDZqbOtqJfsUIknc5mhEFQI2lSU8Zuu38Z2k8dYLdrqusVcsiIMl8qguEUcEAvqkF_fHqhTVOZxBYmWprW6h36q8g7xlw/s320/100_8538.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339492307783984962" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">When the builder first cleared the land, they left a little copse of trees. We love it, and turned it into a little island bed. I'm growing some daffodils and columbines in the shade and there is a beautiful wild white rose. We hung one of the wren houses there. This year, a little male wren worked very hard building a nest in the house. I saw him bring the female to inspect it. She must not have approved, because after a brief look inside, flew away, with Mr. Wren close behind.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMgs-g0eC8gB1EOXHuSoPtOpzKiUw4E47iS7S5-RnCXsLINI9Xwxl2f7oqHFSu1Kf53wzwQ96CzSnem2vwV8OTIyfRvOxzRt1ye5h4eIQjTmqkzkBVX113yJBs06P2gmNBxsHqvA/s1600-h/100_8537.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 191px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMgs-g0eC8gB1EOXHuSoPtOpzKiUw4E47iS7S5-RnCXsLINI9Xwxl2f7oqHFSu1Kf53wzwQ96CzSnem2vwV8OTIyfRvOxzRt1ye5h4eIQjTmqkzkBVX113yJBs06P2gmNBxsHqvA/s320/100_8537.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339492301507113234" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Also in the copse, one of my favorite statues. It belonged to Mr. C's parents. I like to think they are looking out for us whenever I see this little guy.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">There's more, but I don't want to test anyone's patience, so I'll save it for another day. Happy summer!</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0M5Wr_l92biqV6vzIzKH_VWEDGPeIGNBx_xhWlCfk0VqEW88m6HbaOyCBdx6Utzkj2m1rLS7HPhJFsSDMoehTQL5xfvOfKwi51oInNdDkZ6k9KlF0wgnf-ZYKgnIijJSd2Xmdg/s1600-h/100_8522.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 210px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0M5Wr_l92biqV6vzIzKH_VWEDGPeIGNBx_xhWlCfk0VqEW88m6HbaOyCBdx6Utzkj2m1rLS7HPhJFsSDMoehTQL5xfvOfKwi51oInNdDkZ6k9KlF0wgnf-ZYKgnIijJSd2Xmdg/s320/100_8522.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339492294805476098" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Cornus florida (dogwood, 'Cherokee Princess')</span></span><br /></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-29307809270921772772009-05-21T20:41:00.000-05:002009-05-21T21:20:52.221-05:00Seven Things: Abbie & Chloe Version<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqjOiRsQIDGsbAs0UbdJw_DHy6wXQQ_-oL57ackzaaoZM21JkEMS_fh2NAdnCNYWefQ0JAepGRkA4XExSmbI9YsOpQGq45-RNY2RsJysben7kkonskVy-CiJfnCHSYGBnyS0jKA/s1600-h/100_8406.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwqjOiRsQIDGsbAs0UbdJw_DHy6wXQQ_-oL57ackzaaoZM21JkEMS_fh2NAdnCNYWefQ0JAepGRkA4XExSmbI9YsOpQGq45-RNY2RsJysben7kkonskVy-CiJfnCHSYGBnyS0jKA/s320/100_8406.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338325922463990450" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">When I was over at Chan's blog a while back, she had a fun little meme called 7 things about me. Since I've been running low on anything remotely interesting to post about my canine kids, I thought they could have their very own meme for this week's DoT. So I'm tagging them. Go for it, girls:</span></span><p style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Here are the rules:</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"> 1. Link to the person that tagged you.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">2. Share 7 things people may not know about you.</span><br /><em style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">3. Tag 7 people to share 7 things and link to them.<br />4. Let them know they’ve been tagged. (I consider these steps optional since my taggers just noted that if you’re reading this and want to play al</em><em style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">ong, you’re tagged…)</em><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">1. Abbie uses her stuffed toys as communication tools. She brings over 1 toy and shakes it while prancing in front of us when she wants us to play with her. When she needs to go out to potty, she stuffs 2 or 3 in her mouth at once then presses the toys hard into our legs. She brings us toys and lays them at our feet to greet us when we get home. This is what it looks like by the back door at the end of the day.</span><br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihF_A7GpT7Z5Gkse2LOxs6PC_tKxx6zUC7YThzsHkwAYPu2gc4PCbQ07lG2Cp7qiUGvrOH4DlyJ7bEVnkgypMtwCL7hczyddWgShyphenhyphenG24nBxQoJQmoF1nb5W8zArbzMtQcGYNwfVA/s1600-h/100_8494.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihF_A7GpT7Z5Gkse2LOxs6PC_tKxx6zUC7YThzsHkwAYPu2gc4PCbQ07lG2Cp7qiUGvrOH4DlyJ7bEVnkgypMtwCL7hczyddWgShyphenhyphenG24nBxQoJQmoF1nb5W8zArbzMtQcGYNwfVA/s320/100_8494.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325117030524242482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" >2. When we have special treats that Abbie really, really wants, she does her special "begging boogie". Even the dreaded Collar of Doom can't stop her.</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCkeYomRWtVtc523vnU2v257MQv-HWRx0MY3yCqyLvscQ7gWT_ur-MbOmDk_uDV4KBLIoVLqs2MOeeELsNlAMuJEk3ScIdE7NKUeF4U4XyLFcaqhjxOlxmoTKHyHB8Kw3qcPqCFQ/s1600-h/100_8444.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCkeYomRWtVtc523vnU2v257MQv-HWRx0MY3yCqyLvscQ7gWT_ur-MbOmDk_uDV4KBLIoVLqs2MOeeELsNlAMuJEk3ScIdE7NKUeF4U4XyLFcaqhjxOlxmoTKHyHB8Kw3qcPqCFQ/s320/100_8444.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338466435759880770" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: georgia;">3. Chloe is getting older (we adopted her 9 years ago when she was about 6 months old). She goes a little slower and takes longer to get up when she's laying down and has a lot of white around her muzzle. But she's still as sharp as a tack, especially when it comes to herding the cats and neighbor children. And she still breaks out into little bursts of "happy running", like she did as a puppy.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJA2C11MsAQ-tiWYOgtWPii5-dys-0XZADgyLucTMeeJQbZuO-9LGJ6L4-j8ZCBh_j0gwKq9oVRspO5tMEvxjRB6qjQoFg2we2Gv8g6dcPmDoCfPaev2nKmBmmaQZSoCESBpi8_g/s1600-h/100_7655.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJA2C11MsAQ-tiWYOgtWPii5-dys-0XZADgyLucTMeeJQbZuO-9LGJ6L4-j8ZCBh_j0gwKq9oVRspO5tMEvxjRB6qjQoFg2we2Gv8g6dcPmDoCfPaev2nKmBmmaQZSoCESBpi8_g/s320/100_7655.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338325910407559234" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: georgia;">4. Chloe is so obedient we can take her anywhere outside with us, without a leash (unlike her sister). Last week, she forgot she was getting older when she spotted a squirrel bouncing it's way to the birdfeeders and took off after it. She almost caught it, too. Just because she's getting old doesn't mean she has to act old!<br /><br />5. Their favorite hobbies are sunbathing and barking at invisible critters in the yard.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">6. When they are out on a walk together, people always think they're mother and daughter, or sisters. Not only are they not related, but they're not even mixtures of the same breeds of dogs.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXvgWRZ-Lboerqa3BliAZo9P6VkKqgeefpOVprDGXOkTQHLOGW-uxCcoucJ_XwaV6pQBjNa-SYJn2DfdUR85jF2malpgELJVmU1CDpqbyjqEipry7mixPIQfl-lZNShSfTd40TQ/s1600-h/100_8604.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXXvgWRZ-Lboerqa3BliAZo9P6VkKqgeefpOVprDGXOkTQHLOGW-uxCcoucJ_XwaV6pQBjNa-SYJn2DfdUR85jF2malpgELJVmU1CDpqbyjqEipry7mixPIQfl-lZNShSfTd40TQ/s320/100_8604.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338325901123096146" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">7. They are the best dogs in the world and they are very, very, very loved!</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOS7WutD4CtSuKSewOMQeCizBcOJUJPN6poBnzKiFm3gKTxXo41N99-PyE3xdFihsLgvbzavKIloTXePRkdus1tFTQ5sYNlx8VwBYisvwgg7E89ykm3kDPC6r7YoF1u7tLrAg8sw/s1600-h/100_7653.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOS7WutD4CtSuKSewOMQeCizBcOJUJPN6poBnzKiFm3gKTxXo41N99-PyE3xdFihsLgvbzavKIloTXePRkdus1tFTQ5sYNlx8VwBYisvwgg7E89ykm3kDPC6r7YoF1u7tLrAg8sw/s320/100_7653.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325117013928052994" border="0" /></a>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-65357394765853561122009-05-09T13:01:00.007-05:002009-05-09T13:46:55.698-05:00Elderberry Juice<span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">So many things have been conspiring this year to keep me out of the garden. The weather has been very cool and wet, or hot and wet. It has rained (or snowed) at least once every single weekend since early March. Wet clay soil, such as we have here, is Not Fun to dig in. Then there has been the health matter. When I got that nasty flu at the beginning of March, not only did it take a couple of weeks to start recovering, but I think it re-activated the Epstein-Barre virus that I contracted about 20 years ago. So for the past month, I have been having low-grade fever, body aches, headaches and a lot of fatigue. It also gave me a lot of mental fuzziness. Whatever energy I did have was getting depleted by work. So I haven't been able to do much of anything. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Last weekend I went to my local Whole Foods to re-stock my supply of vitamins and other supplements and while I was there, a man who has a small company that produces elderberry concentrate was there giving out samples. I am always game to try something new. It sort of tastes like strong, unsweetened cranberry juice, so I wasn't impressed. That is until I found out that native Americans have used elderberries for hundreds of years because they have so many health benefits. One of those benefits happens to be strong anti-viral properties. Hmmmm, since the epstein-Barre wasn't getting any better with my usual regimen, why not try it?</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">So I did and after 3 days of taking a tablespoon in a glass of pomegranate juice, twice daily, I woke up in the morning alert and full of energy. I'm almost back to feeling like myself again. You can read more about the healing properties of elderberries</span></span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elderberry">here</a><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-weight: bold;">.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: georgia;">I also have had elevated blood pressure on and off for the past year or more (hereditary as well as since I started taking hormones for perimenopause). I've been monitoring it daily, and the numbers have dropped by 10 points (systolic) and 3-4 points disystolic. When I saw my doctor yesterday, she wasn't convinced that this was good enough and really wanted me to start taking Bp meds. Since my sister is going through the same stuff right now, and has had a bad reaction to 3 different bp drugs, I am opposed to going this route without trying a natural approach first. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">I already eat a pretty healthy diet, low in fat and sodium, so I can't change much there. But there are some supplements I can start taking and there is one big difference I think I can make, and that is excersise. I used to work out 3 times/week regularly, then about 5 years ago, I had a bulging disk in my lower back that caused me to have foot drop as well as lots of pain. I was determined to avoid surgery, so had aggressive physical therapy and was healed in about 3 months. But at that point, I didn't go back to working out, mostly because we had started builing our house about that time and starting a private practice and literally didn't have a spare minute in the day. When the house was finished, and the practice up and running, I had taken up knitting. And honestly, for me, working out doesn't even have a chance when it comes to how I spend my free time! I did try to figure out a way last year to knit while using the treadmill, but the normally knitting-supportive Mr. C put his foot down.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">So this means that, with the exception of taking the dogs on a 1 mile walk about once a week, the most excersis I was getting came from either gardening or walking through a parking lot. Therefore, I think that if I start working out again, keep my sodium intake under 2000 g/day and keep drinking the elderberry concoction that I can get my bp into a healthier range. My doctor has given me 3 months. Once she said that, it turned this into a challenge - she doesn't think I can do it...and I am determined to show her I can. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;">I started researching my options. We have a workout room in our house, with a treadmill, 2 other evil pieces of equipment that I am not coordinated enough to use, free weights and an exersise ball. It's a nice room, filled with light and there are no current foster babies taking up any space in there. No Excuses. However, I do bet</span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">ter working out with people, but I won't go anyplace if it's not convenient, so I am checking out Jazzercise (which I have done in the past), Pilates and yoga classes. Until then, I'm going to walk on the trail near our house or use the treadmill. And since this is the first weekend without the threat of rain, I'll be gardening like a maniac.</span><br /></span>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-11476807776778651662009-04-18T12:40:00.004-05:002009-04-18T21:49:26.010-05:00Big Thanks To Caroline!<span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">I have been fortunate enough to have the Aussie-loving Caroline as my Mix Makers Swap spoiler in the second round. She and I have very similar music tastes, yarn tastes and snack tastes. I received my last package from her earlier this week and it continued the fabulousness of her first two packages.</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVujkCidl7SkchDIUJzZGNTex51jzm_XtWpYp8qhT23diiKMBBPe94t5M7WPqZ_yGhEtC-QSfA-jH2mesRNT_QY8zqee7dWGvyBtgnXys3MwTnyxf-dxR-XQ7sIrGF-011HZ2YOw/s1600-h/100_8517.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVujkCidl7SkchDIUJzZGNTex51jzm_XtWpYp8qhT23diiKMBBPe94t5M7WPqZ_yGhEtC-QSfA-jH2mesRNT_QY8zqee7dWGvyBtgnXys3MwTnyxf-dxR-XQ7sIrGF-011HZ2YOw/s320/100_8517.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326228846253772930" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">First of all was the mix. This time the theme was "Spring Fever ". It's full of fresh, lively music that is perfect for listening to over and over again. I have lots of new favorites on here. I want to point out the cute packaging that Caroline has created for all of the mixes she has sent. I really enjoy these little details.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">This time she outdid herself on the yarn - mmmmMalabgigo!!! 2 skeins!!! In one of my most favorite shades of blue! She also sent a pattern (the Drop-Stitch Scarf), which may be what this beautiful yarn becomes. She included some sugar-frosted gummy bunnies - so cute and very delicious! A Key Limeade mix, enough to make a big pitcherful. One of my favorite flavors is lime so this will get mixed up and be gone by the end of the weekend. She also included a cute little memo pad, which I use by the dozens. And finally, 3 packs of very pretty little tissues, polka-dotted and monogrammed. Just right for this time of year, when the dandelion fluffs start flying around and my allergies hit the roof. Problem is, they're too pretty to use!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Thank you so much, Caroline. I love everything and have really enjoyed having you for a spoiler. You're the best!</span></span>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-91564586240611187512009-04-18T11:39:00.005-05:002009-04-18T12:39:45.792-05:00When Pointy Sticks Become Weapons of Mass Destruction<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;">The basic logic for knitting for </span><a style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" href="http://www.afghansforafghans.org/index.html">afghans 4 Afghans</a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> is simple: the Taliban recruits poor, uneducated people from a very young age, taking advantage of the extreme poverty and harsh living conditions that are found in Afghanistan. If international charity organizations can get to them first, with food, medicine, warmth and education, they may be less vulnerable to the brainwashing of the terrorists. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;">A4A provides the "warmth" part of this equation by collecting knitted and crocheted wool items and sending them along with the other critical supplies, which are then distributed by the organization. There is a strong hope that, by reaching the impoverished Afghans first, they will be better able to resist the propaganda of the Taliban and be strong enough to function independently and ultimately, without recruits, the Taliban will fail in Afghanistan.</span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Therefore, each big shipment by a4A is like a big, soft, wooly bomb going off. I love the idea that maybe I can make a tiny difference in ending this war, while helping someone in great need.<br /><br />These are my peaceful bullets, shot from my powerful and pointy sticks of mass destruction:</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYukrE4rmBoiK_x97juGVKzkKN7vMsw1ACE1HhMvkdc_17JoN7dzjvEBb1v7s7CeyL3wNdDy9ralAKxJL6UQAoVuHM3ywUzJoMe85cUPbXKSWZ0dsa9hXakmm3HQawiCJL6_WyA/s1600-h/100_8499.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 293px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYukrE4rmBoiK_x97juGVKzkKN7vMsw1ACE1HhMvkdc_17JoN7dzjvEBb1v7s7CeyL3wNdDy9ralAKxJL6UQAoVuHM3ywUzJoMe85cUPbXKSWZ0dsa9hXakmm3HQawiCJL6_WyA/s320/100_8499.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326076061421735506" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">My first mittens, made from the pattern <a href="http://www.geocities.com/bbcrafty_17/patterns.html?976597832370"><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">BB's Knitted Mittens</span></a>- super easy and went really fast. I wanted to knit flat first, so I could understand the basic construction. I didn't like the bulky seam, so will definitely knit future mittens on circ's. But they're cute, aren't they?</span></span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">(I believe these are going to children who live in the Northeast part of Afghanistan).</span></span><br /><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BI6ZnmemQdwZnOnhXB3xmXQ5KhWSS_nUAxWO3FXNacbKmz0v7RxaH3lzmH9D0-98VfmGWGrVjoLz9ETPjG78lVh8-frFqrC0Tw68hjFrOLFRX1nnlL2t7fgNEdKt0I447GEGxg/s1600-h/100_8496.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 219px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5BI6ZnmemQdwZnOnhXB3xmXQ5KhWSS_nUAxWO3FXNacbKmz0v7RxaH3lzmH9D0-98VfmGWGrVjoLz9ETPjG78lVh8-frFqrC0Tw68hjFrOLFRX1nnlL2t7fgNEdKt0I447GEGxg/s320/100_8496.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326076063816469410" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">The baby blankie, finally finished. My "pattern", if you can call it that. I knitted and crocheted a variety of squares, using common stitch patterns that I sort of winged as I went. I ended by crocheting a single-crochet border in black around each square. This allowed me to use black yarn to join the squares with a crochet slip-stitch. I like the consistent appearance, and, for me, I feel like this went faster and was less tedious than sewing the squares together.</span></span> <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" >Next time, I will be more clever and knit the blankie in strips, picking up stitches along the sides for each new lengthwise row.</span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">(My blankie will be given to a baby at the Pediatric Hospital in Kabul).</span></span><br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-Z9iv0onm0RamRzYPEcapBbdKHpcV5IifJAkzlNdVuDZ2BSxGKXcMqedkf9C5JVEqYL0xP6WVVBCF0sWuS5Aj-S8-FdjOvAbuae4ipkazJFxDL7C-i4BnkXDC3oHHC3g-b3ruA/s1600-h/100_8502.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_-Z9iv0onm0RamRzYPEcapBbdKHpcV5IifJAkzlNdVuDZ2BSxGKXcMqedkf9C5JVEqYL0xP6WVVBCF0sWuS5Aj-S8-FdjOvAbuae4ipkazJFxDL7C-i4BnkXDC3oHHC3g-b3ruA/s320/100_8502.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326076076789784354" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:georgia;" >This project has been so satisfying and makes me feel happy all over! Plus, it used up a lot of my stash, especially my odds & ends. There's actually a bit of empty space in the Rubbermaid bin that holds my wool yarns. And you know what that means...</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">If you would like to join the effort, there is still time before the May 15 deadline. A4A is still in great need of socks for babies and small children</span></span></span></span>. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" >Friends of a4A is a forum on Ravelry. You can search the recent threads to find more information on the specifics of what is needed. All items must be made from animal fiber, so this is a great way to use up leftover sock yarn! Even if you can't make it in time for this current deadline, you can always make some and keep them on hand for the next campaign. </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">There is also a drawing for 3 $50 gift certificates for any mittens sent before the May 15 deadline.</span></span><br /></div></div>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-1905106605476426512009-04-12T17:02:00.005-05:002009-04-15T21:48:53.109-05:00Greetings From a Bird-Nerd<span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">In addition to all the other ways I like to be dorky, I am also an avid bird-nerd. That would be wild birds - I don't do inside birds, in fact they scare me. But I can use up a lot of time watching the birds who come to our feeders and the ones who inhabit the woods behind my house. I read at least a couple of books each year about birds. Right now I am fascinated by raptors. We have 3 kinds of hawks, a pair of peregrines and 2 kinds of owls who frequent our neighborhood. I bought a beautiful book last week about owls. Mr. C isn't yet convinced of why he needs to <a style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);" href="http://www.owlcam.com/whatever/boxbuild.htm">build an owl box</a> for our patch of woods, so I am hoping</span></span> <span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);font-size:85%;" ><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.eoy.ee/kodukakk/webcam/">this web </a></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);font-size:85%;" ><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.eoy.ee/kodukakk/webcam/">site</a></span> <span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">will help convince him.<br /><br /></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOY7BkptOmsAMjnX0Pnp8qAslDchLN25zDV0XxxGvnbA5kIevD7My-XfRUwbi1rzg6Vhd1bdHctrWUcobGnstSkWNL6kTdQISPBGLVFO7C_HrvKYmzOoXBY_2tfBOK7iwefGoJ9Q/s1600-h/eric_tawny4_wb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOY7BkptOmsAMjnX0Pnp8qAslDchLN25zDV0XxxGvnbA5kIevD7My-XfRUwbi1rzg6Vhd1bdHctrWUcobGnstSkWNL6kTdQISPBGLVFO7C_HrvKYmzOoXBY_2tfBOK7iwefGoJ9Q/s320/eric_tawny4_wb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325113367791067698" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Klaara is an adorable Tawny Owl who lives in Estonia. (I had no idea where Estonia is located, except I do know they knit exceptionally beautiful lace there. Anyway, it's near Finland. But I digress.) Klaara and her mate, Klaus, are currently raising 4 adorable little balls of white fluff and you can watch them 24/7 on the </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.eoy.ee/kodukakk/webcam/">Klaara-cam</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">I have been addicted to peeking in on Klaara and company for a couple of weeks now, but especially since I watched her help her third chick hatch last Saturday night. It was amazing and I feel so privileged to have seen this happen. There's a group of us following the action over on Ravelry, in the Bird Lovers group.<br /><br /></span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Tawny owls are related to barred owls. Our little patch of wo</span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">ods is a favorite hunting ground for a pair of barred owls and this week we've heard them sounding their mating calls, which sound like they're calling "Who-cooks-for-you? Who cooks for you, who?" That's a question I wonder a lot about recently, as I haven't been in a cookerly kind of mood for several weeks now and I would love for someone to cook for me. My neighbors are not as charmed, however, since the male owl likes to sit in a dead tree right outside their bedroom window and serenade his lady just before dawn. </span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigpVe1-dnooalSFi0m4IEHz4lNTJ6V8tJldyr5SkJXg6l3CZL_h8_pt1vO47r21L4vqjNjeIfs6sIAZ3ay4WD4tpZOC0jKk1QedOtR6Y9crfBsJHBO2UwmPI3kjQNS9V3LhmgMGQ/s1600-h/535927146_7e1869454b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigpVe1-dnooalSFi0m4IEHz4lNTJ6V8tJldyr5SkJXg6l3CZL_h8_pt1vO47r21L4vqjNjeIfs6sIAZ3ay4WD4tpZOC0jKk1QedOtR6Y9crfBsJHBO2UwmPI3kjQNS9V3LhmgMGQ/s320/535927146_7e1869454b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325113370137671682" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Klaara's little owlets are getting bigger everyday. She can barely keep them tucked under her warm feathers now. In just one week, she has shown them how to eat for themselves. Klaus keeps bringing her enormous rodents, which she keeps re-arranging in the nest throughout the day. These varmints serve as the owl-buffet in the nest. I keep the window open, but shrunk, with the sound turned up when I am not actually watching the cuteness of Klaara's family. Chloe and Abbie have taken to hanging out in my office with me, and there is always great interest on their parts when Klaus arrives at the nest to deliver food, with the rustle of wings and Klaara shrieking and owlets peeping. They both run up to my desk, noses twitching and tails wagging. Our family is so easily entertained.<br /><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1PndTn1zhV4OQTlbhLlZCtIYMqG8ft12In3I4BygA6dfxJ-0M2b3Q_iFmCxte8sXTJgpFjO0RDHR7R2fCuMF427l-QPOV5P1BsmwawueRLnvwNCz3K4bGpghPuv6Q59LYGDxVg/s1600-h/eric_chick1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 239px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip1PndTn1zhV4OQTlbhLlZCtIYMqG8ft12In3I4BygA6dfxJ-0M2b3Q_iFmCxte8sXTJgpFjO0RDHR7R2fCuMF427l-QPOV5P1BsmwawueRLnvwNCz3K4bGpghPuv6Q59LYGDxVg/s320/eric_chick1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325113371711191458" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br />As the babies get bigger, Klaara will join Klaus in their hunting efforts to keep enough voles and mice available to feed the growing chicks, who will be out of the nest in about 3 weeks. </span></span><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Fortunately, it is easy to keep an eye on the little brood and knit at the same time. The A4A blankie is finally finished and is blocking right now. I hope to have pictures to show in the next day or two.<br /><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PwjW_PTSQxCFCtrt_rjewsSHkan85Ru35ZWwd5wSDm2mmKyIjmqwoEwtYAj476lsIiSX57a0NlJ_cKI-qd8CsrKQcnzn1QvkTlXTLlqPeSj9dQmAqWoPamv6on71Ia_1Lqf1Yg/s1600-h/owliness.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PwjW_PTSQxCFCtrt_rjewsSHkan85Ru35ZWwd5wSDm2mmKyIjmqwoEwtYAj476lsIiSX57a0NlJ_cKI-qd8CsrKQcnzn1QvkTlXTLlqPeSj9dQmAqWoPamv6on71Ia_1Lqf1Yg/s320/owliness.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325113377402633794" border="0" /></a><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-36621192248260241632009-04-10T21:48:00.003-05:002009-04-10T21:52:33.110-05:00An Un-Baa-Lievable Video (With Proof That Border Collies Are the Einsteins of the Dog World!)<span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-weight: bold;">I saw </span><a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;" href="%3Cobject%20width=%22560%22%20height=%22340%22%3E%3Cparam%20name=%22movie%22%20value=%22http://www.youtube.com/v/D2FX9rviEhw&hl=en&fs=1%22%3E%3C/param%3E%3Cparam%20name=%22allowFullScreen%22%20value=%22true%22%3E%3C/param%3E%3Cparam%20name=%22allowscriptaccess%22%20value=%22always%22%3E%3C/param%3E%3Cembed%20src=%22http://www.youtube.com/v/D2FX9rviEhw&hl=en&fs=1%22%20type=%22application/x-shockwave-flash%22%20allowscriptaccess=%22always%22%20allowfullscreen=%22true%22%20width=%22560%22%20height=%22340%22%3E%3C/embed%3E%3C/object%3E">this link</a><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204); font-weight: bold;"> on a forum in Ravelry. Forgive me if any one has already posted this already, but this is too awesome not to share!</span></span>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-74881651225563154992009-03-28T13:19:00.005-05:002009-03-28T14:29:53.445-05:00Where's a Nice Lamb When You Need One?<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" >If it's true about March that "in like a lion, out like a lamb", then the opposite is also true. And this March, which started off as nice and soft as a newborn merino lamb, is ending up like a whole pride of lions. Hungry and angry lions at that.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4-XYkenInS7IdTbQb34lOiskbz_mU09rTeDkA3Mpuy2bKxK1IRgmO4d7gdRbGlmV5uwlHhG05mgmNwZbb83YKupJBKBP5LmvcuLcBZTYpzfZbJwK-mUdPfVXeDFUBjl06uvJgFQ/s1600-h/lamb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 215px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4-XYkenInS7IdTbQb34lOiskbz_mU09rTeDkA3Mpuy2bKxK1IRgmO4d7gdRbGlmV5uwlHhG05mgmNwZbb83YKupJBKBP5LmvcuLcBZTYpzfZbJwK-mUdPfVXeDFUBjl06uvJgFQ/s320/lamb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318308582109001186" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">Beginning of March</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zhyphenhyphenF4EU-jmuBoae1Nw9v34pLHMzSunzVCZ9NVEWScEhpgkOVMS6Wk1bEsOHWV251QolCrOwU6v0EB_NWZGPJ1dmoBq-llgYiVDghyphenhyphenHrnK9aEAHBJA-X80ivbqDnDrnDkdMqF7w/s1600-h/642755-medium.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zhyphenhyphenF4EU-jmuBoae1Nw9v34pLHMzSunzVCZ9NVEWScEhpgkOVMS6Wk1bEsOHWV251QolCrOwU6v0EB_NWZGPJ1dmoBq-llgYiVDghyphenhyphenHrnK9aEAHBJA-X80ivbqDnDrnDkdMqF7w/s320/642755-medium.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318308594490671266" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">End of March</span></span> <span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:78%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">(ignore the fact the sun is out in this picture)</span></span></div><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Days like today are the ones that make me ask myself, "What am I doing here in this place?". Precipitati0n has been coming down all day. Lots of it, in the form of rain, freezing rain and sleet. The temperature is stuck right at 32 degrees, so the rain portion of this mess is icing over. I can see some snow starting to mix in, but it's melting as soon as it hits the ground and then it'll probably turn to ice.<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPPe4L5B2BddazZSTbUm8xrSBth53ODbXQV3y5an4h_dpALWrQNEt-hEfHxbuVMGaxQNWgYQSiGujkTIPPb8O1T7kTviSmrkFAxEgfEZonzvNZyW1MDyckYZVQiHYAlan-pDB8A/s1600-h/100_8422.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXPPe4L5B2BddazZSTbUm8xrSBth53ODbXQV3y5an4h_dpALWrQNEt-hEfHxbuVMGaxQNWgYQSiGujkTIPPb8O1T7kTviSmrkFAxEgfEZonzvNZyW1MDyckYZVQiHYAlan-pDB8A/s320/100_8422.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318321041431791442" border="0" /></a></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">Where was this stuff during the winter?</span></span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcUZ6LEy9BjtSb51b3ZzIdR1LmfVFzy_KaUiPadaTGxImyfih6Ucrdu5rzgAktW6u9vJ8LPjNweAS4lXge5ccsnNE3hNa0MO23M39Gc_G7r4XqauK1AnZBkxu6OkUY8pUjO6TEeg/s1600-h/100_8423.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcUZ6LEy9BjtSb51b3ZzIdR1LmfVFzy_KaUiPadaTGxImyfih6Ucrdu5rzgAktW6u9vJ8LPjNweAS4lXge5ccsnNE3hNa0MO23M39Gc_G7r4XqauK1AnZBkxu6OkUY8pUjO6TEeg/s320/100_8423.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318321037238950370" border="0" /></a></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">The birds and the pine tree are not happy about this, either.</span></span><br /></div><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />I'm feeling very frustrated with Mother Nature right now, because this is the third year in a row we're having one of these nasty icy storms just as the t</span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">rees and shrubs are starting to bud. I know the flowers that have started blooming and the ones that are ready to bloom in the next few days are toast. I have my fingers crossed that my yellow "Butterflies" magnolia buds, which just barely started coloring up this week, will survive because the buds are still wearing their little fuzzy coverings. </span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />It could be worse, of course. Up until I went to bed last night, the blizzard that has slammed western Kansas, leaving a record 28" (!!!) by Wichita, was headed straight for us. Our part of town was going to get the worst, anywhere from 8-12". So I guess this is better - it doesn't seem bad enough to knock out the power (fingers crossed).</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />It's a great day for knitting, at least. I have finally finished making </span></span><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">all of the squares for the baby blankie. They are all washed, blocked and ready to be joined together. I am not a fan of sewing squares together. Not only is the back and forth tedious, and all of the loose ends annoying, but I think the sewn stitches look very unattractive. So I am going to crochet the joins instead, which will end up finishing it off very nicely. I'm going to sit and catch up on the numerous tv shows I have recorded while working on the blankie. I'd like to have it finished and ready to go by next weekend. Here it is, laid out and ready to be joined:<br /></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvuaxh5V9bv-akOrMZkTYBMjT1415nm6xu5Xx3dblXHSdMX76K17s2E-vnUnOW6gmeF279NRStIT3DVNppxriDCozyaQzkbgiTnDTJcRFC9wdXYDA62NdZZqe7_TzYSaROc6xyQ/s1600-h/100_8417.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUvuaxh5V9bv-akOrMZkTYBMjT1415nm6xu5Xx3dblXHSdMX76K17s2E-vnUnOW6gmeF279NRStIT3DVNppxriDCozyaQzkbgiTnDTJcRFC9wdXYDA62NdZZqe7_TzYSaROc6xyQ/s320/100_8417.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318321035893024642" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">And when I get tired of squares, I will alternate working on the Montego Bay scarf I am making for myself out of the merino/sea cell yarn I bought in San Diego. It's finally long enough to where I can see how it will drape, and it's going to be lovely.<br /><br />I hope that you are all having a lovely weekend, whether your end of March is a lion or a lamb!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Cle9T7TuTZJaCsjLlCDcVQzz1_mOC1Jvrc9C0RURgtnIlFpoGW2UqD2qzNaT9c0t87o1654teSDFyOVXUaGs8kfMmlkn7Pt_fVTcv8oHJ6Fk_J16Tmp5_wJbqlU8dEGYJCOgPA/s1600-h/200486370-001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Cle9T7TuTZJaCsjLlCDcVQzz1_mOC1Jvrc9C0RURgtnIlFpoGW2UqD2qzNaT9c0t87o1654teSDFyOVXUaGs8kfMmlkn7Pt_fVTcv8oHJ6Fk_J16Tmp5_wJbqlU8dEGYJCOgPA/s320/200486370-001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318315360935468946" border="0" /></a><br /></span></span>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29190673.post-10811048553941104142009-03-20T15:13:00.003-05:002009-03-20T15:57:24.070-05:00Mix Makers Swap, Part 2<span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Once again, I have been wonderfully spoiled by Caroline. It is amazing how she picks out things that I would get for myself if I had seen it first. She must be psychic or something. </span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BWjcjC48_LJsP9cHUIKi8RhaQ59g3FZ8CeVsLqyHrQ8pECp2Is5Hen1rQVMJlXXnmVV90wd5PeRgpbHfLVaa0-fESUECXaTTriOdZ-dKq4jb3uipa0X0oJXjvSrnD7RbmhxuLg/s1600-h/100_8389.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-BWjcjC48_LJsP9cHUIKi8RhaQ59g3FZ8CeVsLqyHrQ8pECp2Is5Hen1rQVMJlXXnmVV90wd5PeRgpbHfLVaa0-fESUECXaTTriOdZ-dKq4jb3uipa0X0oJXjvSrnD7RbmhxuLg/s320/100_8389.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315366081816782978" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-family: georgia;">The mix she put together this time is themed "Singer/Songwriter Mix" and has a great group of songs from such songwriter artists as Ani DeFranco, Ray LeMontagne, Jeff Buckley, Turin Brakes and, my favorite of the mix, Dashboard Confessional. While I've heard of, or have a few songs from some of the singers, every song on the cd is new to me, which is so much fun! I just</span></span> <span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">love finding out about new music! The majority of the songs are mellow and it seems like the perfect cd to listen to on a lazy Sunday afternoon, drinking tea and knitting.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">She also sent a big bag of M&M's in pretty springtime colors, a pack of those thingies that hold needles together (thanks, Caroline, I didn't have any and was resorting to using rubberbands), an adorable and extremely useful little lunchbox type box that contained some very pretty fish stitch markers that she made. The yarn she sent is some crushingly soft baby alpaca in a dreamy fuschia color - perfect for an early spring hat - and the pattern for the amazing </span></span><span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/koolhaas">Koolhaas hat</a></span><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;"> that I had admired many times on Ravelry but never thought I could make something this beautiful. I still don't think I can make something this beautiful, but I'm going to give it a try because I love this hat!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">Here's some yarn and stitchmarker pron for your viewing pleasure:</span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9bH3QCxK7AkLqPeOPjXy45z3qhIOTBwPcOwL2wjbPkJCunumnY-W9KDflDa6XL6ECfxNDxe6ROqlDYj8wS4juGNx4KdBPtWzi-O8-LLbGg5nWcxT4j6EifUi56Svumwmut4a8g/s1600-h/100_8392.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9bH3QCxK7AkLqPeOPjXy45z3qhIOTBwPcOwL2wjbPkJCunumnY-W9KDflDa6XL6ECfxNDxe6ROqlDYj8wS4juGNx4KdBPtWzi-O8-LLbGg5nWcxT4j6EifUi56Svumwmut4a8g/s320/100_8392.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315366092336856578" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">There was one more piece to the package that is not pictured, but is probably my favorite part of all. Caroline, a fellow animal lover & parent, made a donation in my name to the ASPCA. How awesome is that? Helping homeless animals is one of my favorite things in the whole world, which makes this part of the package priceless!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">So, Caroline, thanks you most sincerely for another fantastic swap. And may the swap goddesses bring you an equally wonderful package this time around!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">By the way, I found out that</span></span> <span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:85%;" ><a style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;" href="http://stewandcaro.blogspot.com">Caroline</a></span> <span style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">is not completely blogless. She shares one with her husband. Please go by and visit and check out her adorable fur-kids, Fenway and Cat.</span></span>Criquettehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00364541293706699431noreply@blogger.com1