Duck, Duck, Goose!

As I was sitting outside in the sun eating my wonderful Honeycrisp apple, one by one the ducks, the coots, and the geese started making their way off the canal up to the area by the motorhome. I had nothing at that point to feed them, so they just sort of sat down with me and enjoyed the sun.

I thought about what a gift this moment was for me. All these guys just hanging out with me, a Black-Crowned Heron across the canal, a Great Blue Heron to the right of me fishing, and a Snowy Egret on the shore in front of me. What a blessing.

I did eventually grab some duck food (chicken scratch) and feed these bottomless pits. They know I'm a soft touch, and wait by my door off and on during the day. Next time I feed them I think I'll wait until the Canada Geese are not around. They are pretty rough with the ducks and coots, biting them so they'll move. I know it's their nature, but it's just not allowed in my camp. :)

Earlier in the day I was outside working on something, and heard a "thwarp" whiz by my head. It was so fast that I almost didn't catch a glimpse of it. It sped past me two or three more times making that noise, but I could never really see what it was. I'm thinking maybe a hummer, although I've never heard one make that kind of noise.

How many gifts are all around us everyday, if only we are quiet enough to notice them!

Christmas Breakfast

This was seriously delicious! I originally heard of the recipe from Pam's blog. I'm not sure why I can't post the picture of it, and don't have a picture of what we ate because we were so hungry and it was so good that we just scarfed it down! You can find the recipe and the picture here. 

We didn't use all of that oil, and added avocado on top of the arugula before plopping the egg on top.

Oh, one other thing. I tried crisping up the pita in a pan, and the result was a very tough pita bread. So, next time I will just warm up the pita so it will cut nicely.

Let me know if you try this. So easy. So good!

Crispy Breakfast Pita

All Rights Reserved.

Ingredients

• 6 6-inch pita breads
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 large eggs
• 3/4 cup (6 ounces) mascarpone cheese
• Grated zest of 1/2 large lemon
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 packed cups (3 ounces) arugula or baby spinach
• 8 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto

Directions

Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Brush each side of the pita breads with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and grill 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until crisp. Remove from the grill and cool slightly.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Crack the eggs directly into the pan and cook until the egg whites are set, 2 to 3 minutes.

Combine the mascarpone cheese, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Add the arugula and toss until coated.

Spread each pita with 2 tablespoons of the mascarpone mixture. Divide the prosciutto on top. Divide the arugula and mound on top of the prosciutto. Carefully place a fried egg on top of each pita. Season the eggs with a pinch of salt and pepper, and serve.

SERVES: 6; Calories: 485; Total Fat: 27 grams; Saturated Fat: 11 grams; Protein: 25 gram; Total carbohydrates: 36 grams; Sugar: 1 gram; Fiber: 2 grams; Cholesterol: 251 milligrams; Sodium: 1,520 milligrams

 

On the Needles

Four days until Christmas. 4 days. I am not a fast knitter. Especially with lace weight yarn that is very hairy and slippery. But it's wonderful yarn. Like knitting with wisps of clouds. It's Elann Silken Kydd in pewter. This is a lovely blend of Mohair and Silk.
I'm hoping to turn this

into this

by Christmas. I'm about 6 rows away from starting the lace part. No, I don't think I'll make it by then either. LOL.  I'll just keep my head down and charge forward. Knit on, knit on...

Polar Bear Stocking

I was beginning to worry that I wouldn't get even one Christmas stocking finished before the big day. But I did.

I didn't get one done for Lexi though, but I'm thinking I'll start that soon so she'll have it next year.
This pattern came from Annie's Woolens on Ravelry.com. She has several different patterns, so Lexi may get a different one.

I learned so many things about colorwork knitting this. I had read somewhere that when you "carry" colors that you can pick them up around every 3 or 4 stitches. The first third of the stocking I did that way, and the inside was a mess. The rest of the stocking, I carried the 2nd color every other stitch and it looked great inside. I'm thinking that had I done that all the way, I wouldn't have had to line it.

Also, the name and the heart on the polar bear is done in duplicate stitch, handstitching over the original stitch. The pattern has you make the heart in green, then stitch over it in red. Totally unnecessary, in my humble opinion. I'll just make it red next time. OH! Did I say next time???

I Love This!

"Continuing to tell stories of shortage only continues to contradict your desire for abundance, and you cannot have it both ways: You cannot focus upon what is unwanted and receive wanted...you have to begin telling a different story if you want different results." -Esther Hicks

 

 

This makes sense to me. If all we focus on is the negative, that's what we create. Let's don't do that!

Droning Noise

While we were in Morgan Hill, CA a couple of weeks ago, sitting inside the building on wheels we heard this annoying droning noise for, like, 20 minutes. It sounded like helicopters, but what would they be doing around here where the noisiest things would be those lovely wild gobblers?

First depositing those six men on the tower, then returning with that top piece so they could attach it to the rest of the tower.

After fastening it securely, the helicopter was back to pick them up two at a time.

What a thrill that must be! WooHoo!!! What do you think? Would you do it?

47 Days

Here's what I'm working on. Crazy, huh? Never mind the fact that I've never used more than one color in a project. And never mind that I've never even considered attempting "colorwork" on any level.
But I have those two one-year-old grandbabies that need Christmas stockings! It seems like the older I get, the more adventurous I have become when it comes to sticks and yarn. Maybe it's like the saying goes, so many projects, so little time kind of thing. I found this free pattern on ravelry.com.
So, I got about 1/4 of the way through one and had to rip out 12 rows, start again, only to frog back (rip it, rip it, rip it) three more times! Aarrggh!
I had sent off for KnitPicks circular needles and they arrived today. I'm hoping that they are my good luck charms, and that I'll find my way to the finished stockings! :) Wish me luck!

I wish...

Oh, I wish I could remember what this was! Looks delish, right? The photo is from 2009, which means I have no idea what it was. Ha! Some kind of salmon spaghetti salad?
Not sure what's going on with my Picassa photos with their two color lighting! :(  I have a suspicion that it has to do with the auto-contrast...

The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park, CA

A glorious hike through the forest.

Cannon Beach, OR

Take a nice deep breath.

I Miss This Woman

 

This blog is for all who desire to create with words and images.
You are encouraged to participate in any way that is meaningful to you.
~
All prompts beneath the photos are only suggestions.
You are free to use the photo to be inspired to write any way you desire.
~
There is no deadline on posting,
you may offer your writing to any prompt anytime.
~
Write and you are a writer.  

How many of us visited this wonderful blog every single day, to find photos to ponder and write about our truest selves? Many of us, I can assure you.

 

This blog touched me. It brought out thoughts that I had only harbored in my secret self. When I found this blog, it set that creative part of me free. I will always be most grateful to her and that lovely blog.

 

In 2009, Laura Jayne lost her job and had to give her time and energy to finding another.

 

I have no idea what happened to her, or her life. I haven't found another link to her online. My only wish for her is that she found abundance in her work and her life, and to thank her for all of her pictures, prompts, and opportunity!

The Little Kidlettes!

 

How beautiful is this sweet girl??? On top of that cute face is a headful of curly hair! Gorgeous Lexi was born two days before...

Beautiful Brycie! They are both so adorable! These children are darling, in my humble opinion, right?!

I never imagined that I would be so far away from these sweet babies. Really, I thought that when my kids had kids, we would all be in the same town, Gramma in their lives every day. But that is not the reality of today. I can only hope that when I'm with them, we create such awesome memories that they will know me through them!

Edgar Allan Poe and the Ravens

Hesper, here's that picture of Edgar Allan Poe, done in Ravens!

Isn't this just Fabulous??? I love it so much. I'm not sure who created it (I saw it on facebook), but it is a work of art, for sure! I'll do some more research to find out who did it, and let you know!

What I've been up to

Trying to get this finished. Through all of my mistakes and learning all about stitches, frogging (ripping out), lifelines, and blocking, I sweated, swore, panicked, and, frankly, worried all the way through this.
But I did get through it, learned some valuable lessons, and am pleased with the results. This has been sent off today as a thank you gift for the woman that did the first edit on Hubby's book.

We're sitting in northern Oregon at this point, enjoying the coast, the beachy little town, and licking our Shasta wounds. It's getting better, but I miss that little face so much.
We'll probably take the next month moving around Oregon, for pleasure along the ocean, but also getting some clean up work done on the BOW (building on wheels) from last year. Small stuff. Then on down into California! By the time we get back to Santa Cruz, my boys will have moved to CO. :(  So that will be a flight back there to do our catching up!
I'll have to post some pictures of my sweet grandbabies, Lexi & Brycie. Oh my Lord, they are soooo stinking cute!

New Rules

Just a little clean up from my last post...the new regulation in Bellingham and Seattle...plastic bags are AGAINST THE LAW. Yes, for reals, there are no more plastic shopping bags allowed in any grocery store, or any other store, for that matter, in these cities. And if you want any bag at all? It will be a paper bag, for the meager price of 5 cents a bag! Of course, not knowing any of this walking in to Walmart, "No, I will not give you 5 cents for a paper bag." "Okay, here you go."

Here's what's weird. Yes, I was shopping for a dress for the funeral, and when I finally found one, it was at a mall. In the middle of the mall. So I bought the dress and then had to walk through another store to get out to the parking lot. How weird is that!?!

We all know how we would NEVER try to walk out of a store with anything not enclosed in a store bag, right? Well, I not only walked through the mall with said clothing over my arm, but into, and out of, Sears as well. Weird, I tell you! Not that I object to the new rule, especially after seeing so many bags caught on fences along the highways, but I never seem to remember to take my cloth bags in to stores with me! I guess I will, eventually.

That Tween Stage

First off, thank you to everyone that gave me virtual hugs at the loss of my very special girl, Shasta. I felt them, and so appreciate them. I will feel that hole in my life for a very long time. My girl.

And, I will make sure to take a picture of the little dog who parked next to us this morning. You will not believe it.

BUT, you know how we live in this small building on wheels, and how we only have so much room to store stuff. Well, as we look towards this weekend, and the funeral, of course my thoughts jump to "What the hell am I gonna wear?" My wardrobe consistes of shorts, tanks, and tees. Okay, I have ONE dress in the closet, thinking I may need said dress in some dire circumstance (such as this). Long sleeved, polyester, black. Hello! It's going to be 95* in Utah this weekend.

So begins the "dress" search. Okay, I am 59 years old. (I can't believe I'm saying that) I have spent TWO days searching for something that is tasteful, yet something that I can wear at any other function. Only so much room, remember? In a big mall. A bazillion stores. No. There is hardly a dress to be found. Okay, so nobody is wearing dresses these days. The ones that carry dressess, are either pandering to 20 yr. olds, or 80 yr. olds. I know. I may start a WHOLE NEW CLOTHING LINE! God knows there's a need!

Yes, I finally found a sundress and added a little skimpy sweater thingy over it. Doable with the brown sandals that I have onboard already.

Wait till I tell you about the new regulation in the Bellingham, & Seattle area in effect! Ah, geez!

A Sad Day, But Still Hopeful

Friday night, around 5:30, sitting outside talking to a neighbor at our site, Shasta listed to the side. We all jumped, thinking it was a problem with her hip. Within seconds, it became clear that she was in full seizure. Turns out our neighbor is a fireman in British Columbia. He helped us through not only this one, but the next three. She bit through a piece of wood, and his finger.

Rushing to the emergency vet 15 miles away, it was after 5p.m. on a Friday night after all, she seized three more times in the car. They gave her Valium immediately to quiet the brain, then evaluated her. They put her on Phhenobarbital and Diazapam, trying to keep her seizure free for 12 hours, so she could come home to us the next day, but she seized a couple of times through the night.

We arrived at the vet today around noon, after hearing this morning that Hubby's stepmom had passed.  (We knew she could pass soon, but never imagined that these two events would happen at the same time.)

They let us into the backroom right away, thankfully. Shasta was so drunk with drugs, but she responded to us with a slow, stoned, wet nose kisses, and whines of what she'd been through. Shasta has always been very vocal in so many circumstances. :) Ask any dog that camped anywhere near us.

The nurse offered to carry her out to the grassy area behind the building so we could spend some time together out of that cage. She carried her outside, down the stairs, around the parking lot, and to the most beautiful area of grass with a little creek rustling over some rocks. The nurse mentioned that when things got too awful in the office, she would come out here and sit by the creek. It saved her.

We layed in the shady grass with Shasta, listening to each other breathe, rubbing belly, and looking into one another's eyes. Occasionally she would wipe that slow dry tongue across my face. She cried for her mom and her dad when she looked at us. Tried to tell us how confused she was. She also fell asleep to a rub under her arm which she loves, and my head on hers. Her breath quieted, and I thought she had some peace at that point.

I felt hopeful then. Even with the stimulation of us being there, she didn't go in to another seizure. We left feeling hopeful, and after calling several hours later, heard that she drank some water and had a bit to eat. Well, I guess it's just never that easy, is it, especially not knowing what the cause is. More seizures tonight during her stay at the vet.

We're saying our prayers tonight for our dear Shasta to not be in any pain, and to wait for us to get there in the morning to bring her home, no matter her circumstance. She needs to be home.

Jumping Around Washington State

Finished up Lexi's sweater today. Too big for her now, but I'm thinkin' by spring it'll be just right. Super easy top-down pattern from Ravelry, and the best part? No seams to sew! Yea!

We've been working our way west through Washington state lately. In Cheney, we stopped to get the oil changed in the building on wheels. It's a 2-3 hour thing where we're kind of kicked out of our house.

Oh yeah, and after my hair blowing into my eyes continually all spring and summer, off it came. Go ahead wind, blow, see if I care. Of course I'll grow it back out eventually, like I do, but I'm sure enjoying it now.

We stayed under the trees in Spokane. The cool thing about this place was every morning several swallowtail butterflies would flutterby in front of the mh window for hours admiring themselves. Sometimes they would land on the side mirrors wondering how to get to that other good looking butterfly.

The next stop we made was at Moses Lake, located in the middle of the state. I know I took pictures there, but I sure can't find them. The lake is lovely, and very green, but once you get away from the lake, it's like a desert. Covered with sage brush and many acres of agriculture. I wouldn't care to live there personally. Get me back to the trees.

Cascade mountains in the backround, we were pulling in to Cle Elum. I believe that there is some pretty great skiing up here. Cle Elum also has one of the best meat markets ever! Owen's meats. The hand pick every piece of meat. When entering the store, we were offered several samples of cheese, pepperoni, and jerky. Yes, thank you very much. The smoked pork chops were to die for and the filet, well, perfect.

Oh, yes we did, we saw this helicopter being hauled on our way. I'm telling you, we never know what we're going to see on the highway.

Love coming around a corner to something so beautiful.

The wildflowers are still blooming in Washington.
And in Mt. Vernon, which is getting on up to the northwestern part of the state, we stayed in a fabulous Thousand Trails. It was thick with trees and these...

They always make me happy. Shasta too. :)

Friday My Town Shoot Out

Fountains, sculptures, murals is the topic this week. And, although I'm not in one particular town these days, I thought this might fit in. Certainly, this is a sculpture on a grand scale.

Once a year, an event called Volksmarch, Black Hills, SD, allows the public to hike a 10K up to the very face of Crazy Horse Memorial. It was a sunny, warm day, and as we got close, I was begging to know how much farther.

Granite. Imagine this. Blasting to begin the first shape.

I don't know that it will ever really be completed, as it has been going on for 60 years at this point, but I sure love the idea of it. Here's a picture off the internet of what the memorial should eventually look like.

Wow. To see more wonderful photos from Friday My Town Shootout, please go here! Have a wonderful weekend!

KICKIN' OUT THE JAMS

Sitting in the passenger seat this afternoon, I listened as Hubby answered his phone.

"Hi, Bonnie. How're you doing?" He was quiet for a long time. Knowing she had been in ill health, this was worrisome. But then, his eyes started bugging out, and his mouth dropped. I noticed that he had goose bumps from head to toe, seriously. His summer attire is tank top and shorts. I saw it all. Could it be?

We've been in relax bored mode recently, after our clients' monthly commercials had been created and placed. Just this morning, we found ourselves pacing this box-on-wheels, wondering what to do. Yes, another trip to the grocery, three days in a row. Ho, hum. Not my favorite by any means, but it took us all out of the motorhome, and was a nice outing for Shasta.

"Oh, my God. Really? Wait, let me hand Lisa the phone, tell her."

Long story, short, we've been waiting five months to hear back from a publisher about Hubby's book, KICKIN' OUT THE JAMS. Yes, it will be published. They love it. We love it. Knowing this, we'll be very busy in the next few months. More details to come. Thank you, Ms. Bonnie. You are amazing. And, I'm so proud of him.

Montana

I have to say, now that we've moved on from Montana, I am missing the possibility of seeing some wild aminals. We have a video of some adult Bison walking up to the middle of the road and staying there while the babies crossed the road. Only then did they cross themselves.

Pronghorn Antelope across the river from our campsite. We were surprised that he was out here all by himself.

Montana is beautiful, no matter where you go. We spent a few weeks in Yellowstone Park (a $10 senior pass will get you into any National Park for free), and a week in the Missoula area, which has the Clark Fork River running through it, back and forth across town. Gorgeous. We'll definitely come back here again.
In fact, we've been so impressed with South Dakota and Montana (and always Washington, Oregon, &, home, California) that we may retrace our steps again next year!

Lucky Photo Day

Driving back up to the geysers in Yellowstone yesterday, we again spotted the huge nest sitting atop a dead tree. No place to pull over, and traffic behind us, this was the best I could do in that direction. These are not little twigs, obviously. I'm thinking it must belong to a very large bird.
On the way back there was no traffic around, so we pulled as far off the road as we could.

As we were snapping away, a truck came from the other direction and stopped along side us.
"Just up the road and across the river, there's a Bald Eagle perched on a tree limb."
"Thanks," and off we went.
When we spotted him, we pulled over, got out of the truck, and made our way through the trees to the river, with only the slightest thought of any bear in the trees.

How cool is that! So that seemed to answer whose nest that was. As we watched and marveled at our good luck, a crow started dive-bombing this poor eagle, who had been doing nothing other than minding its own business. The crow in hot pursuit never quite got to the eagle, but it was close.

How many times have we watched the crows being chased by smaller birds? It never crossed my mind that they would take on an eagle. The crow cawed and the eagle called, and in a matter of a couple of minutes the chase was all over.

The chase was over, but it was several minutes before the eagle was finished talking about it.
What a gift this was!

Just a few things I've been working on

Brycie's Bear. He's knit with Lion Brand Eyelash yarn. The pattern can be found at Craftsy.com under Gypsycream.

I'll have to start on one for Lexi, as well. Hers will be made with a green fuzzy yarn. Brycie's bear took a while to make, although it's a fairly easy pattern, because I was busy making these for my daughter's friend, who's getting married.

I think they were going to sit on the gift table at the shower. I also finished these.

I would never have imagined I could make socks! And if I can do it, anybody can. They're knitted with a washable wool blend, so they're toasty warm. Now I just have to wait for winter to wear them.  I may try a little fancier pattern next time. Hehehe.

I made up a few dish cloths just so I could try out some new-to-me stitches. This next one I made when the opportunity to give a gift card came around. It's called a Gift Card-igan.

It was fun to make, and easy peasy. It's a free pattern on ravelry.com. I'm finding that I really love knitting these days. There was a time 25 years ago when I made a few sweaters, then I was done. For a long time. I think with all of the online videos to help with how-tos, there will always be a knitting challenge for me. :)

Tomorrow I'll get back to posting more travel photos.