African Folklore Embroidery and an ATC Challenge

In May my mom treated me to a lecture about African Folklore Embroidery. The lecturer was Leora Raikin, who is such an interesting speaker. She spent the morning taking us on a bit of a safari, sharing lots of information about animals, people groups and, of course, about the embroidery itself. She passed around so many beautiful examples of the work done by the various people groups and explained how they expressed something important in their culture or in the world around them. She also shared many examples of the work she and her cousin had done.
For the afternoon session we each chose a square of black fabric with whatever design took our fancy and some thread and then the fun began as Leora taught us some of the basic stitches used in the embroidery. What we learned was based on the chain stitch, so simple, and yet . . .

A few weeks later I saw an ATC challenge swap that would allow me to use the embroidery techniques on one of the three cards I would make for my partner. Couldn't resist signing up.
Here is the ATC that used the African embroidery using black card stock instead of black fabric:
One of the things that makes the embroidery so lovely is that the threads used are multi-colored, with the color changing very quickly. I didn't want to use the beautiful threads I had for my kit because I don't want to run out before I am done with that piece, so I used crochet cotton that I had on hand, some colored, but mostly white, and colored it myself with Sharpies. I don't know how well the Sharpie color would do in a situation where it was being washed frequently, but in this application that shouldn't be a problem.

Real Life Harlequin Romance

One of the websites I enjoy visiting is Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Truthfully, I don't understand a lot of what goes on there, since they seem to love electronic books and I prefer paper. My two favorite features are their reviews, especially when a book gets a bad review, and HaBO.
I needed my daughter's help to figure out that HaBO means Help a Body Out (Not really, that's just how I like to say it in my mind. You should be able to figure out which word I changed from the name of the site.). What happens is that someone remembers a romance they read many years ago and wants to re-read it but can't remember the name or author. It is interesting to see what part of the story stuck in their mind. Then other people try to help them out.
A recent edition of HaBO seeking help finding a book about a rancher and a vegetarian, had a comment with a link to this true story about an actual rancher and a vegetarian. It is quite long, but I have been enjoying it so much and thought you might, too. Does it give the ending away to tell you that the story is posted in installments on her blog The Pioneer Woman?

Something Not About Birds

This is the card I sent my partner for the Lots of Dots ATC swap on swap bot. I also sent her the orange background, circles design ATC below as an extra.
These were inspired by the ATC I received for the swap, a very aboriginal image of hands. I thought it would be fun to try making some dotted cards using some of the remnants of puff paint I have on hand. I am not sure what sort of paint the creator of the aboriginal hands ATC used, except that they weren't puff paints.
I usually get my swaps out early, if I can, but this time I received the one from the person sending to me before I even got started on mine and it turned out to be fun for me and something the person I sent to also benefited from. At least they said they liked it.

Bird Pictures Again

Here is what they looked like Saturday. Look at all those feathers. This was taken with the flash and as soon as I took the picture the one on the far left lunged up with his mouth open. It made me think of a shark coming up out of the water. Turns out their eyes are open now so I guess the flash of light disturbed him and why should he be disturbed by anything, but a tasty bug from his mama's beak?
I will try to take pictures only with good enough light now.
Before I could get out mama bird flew in and startled me, almost as much as I startled her I am sure. She has caught all of us, but Nick in there at one time or another. She sure keeps busy with all of them. Heather says there is a daddy bird helping too, but I don't think I have seen him.

Here they are today. I am relieved every time I can still count five of them. They all seem to be doing well, though they go completely still whenever one of us goes in to take a look or just to get something out of the tool shed. As if we ever just go in to get something without taking a look at them.

More Bird Pictures

This is Monday's picture. I didn't want to put it up because I wasn't sure what bird parts I was even looking at here. In fact, I went back out after I opened this to see if they were all right and they were all breathing like they had just run a mile. So, hurray! Still alive.



This is from yesterday, Wednesday. I wasn't able to take a look at this one then, but look at how well they seem to be doing. Fortunately, they seem to be asleep when I go in, since it is so gloomy with the rain that with my limited photography skills, I have to use a flash and I don't want to disturb them.



Here they are today, snug as bugs. Today was the first day I have been able to count five beaks. I was afraid one of them hadn't made it.

Day Three: Fuzzier

You can see they are getting even fuzzier and cuter. I don't take time to get a good look at them live, since I don't want to bother them or the mama, so I don't really see them until I look at the picture.

I just peek inside to see if mama is there and if she isn't I go in, take a quick picture and leave.

Our Fuzzy Little Babies

Here is today's update on the baby birds. They are getting fuzzy. So cute.
It is amazing to see everything the mother bird has done to build this nest. First she filled the crate this is all in with leaves and twigs, the stuff we stored in there clearly not being a suitable base for her babies' first home. Then she lines the hole in the center with soft fluff and stuff including that tissue in the top left. Then she built the nest itself.
I think she is a winter wren.

Also, today, I am making a batch of Pecan Sandies. This recipe is wonderful.

Look What's in Our Toolshed

This is a picture taken in the last hour. All five are hatched now.
This was taken yesterday late afternoon or evening. It is a bit blurry, but you can see there are still two eggs unhatched. There are three little hatchlings in the pile.

Did The Earth Rejoice To Feel You Again?

One of my favorite Easter songs is "Was It a Morning Like This?" which has the line "Did the Earth rejoice to feel you again?" and while I certainly didn't plan it, we got to feel the Earth "rejoicing" today just as we were moving on to the dessert portion of our Easter dinner. Or at least that is what I am calling the leaping and carrying-on that the Earth was indulging in this afternoon.

On the news people were saying the quake did not last very long, but we moved into an older home last year and some of the windows are pretty loose and we started hearing it a good 30 seconds before we felt it. It was long enough for us to realize that it wasn't the wind or a big truck going by and for everyone to get out of the house. Everyone but me. I stood in a doorway because I have lived in California since I was a baby and that is what I was told to do the whole time I was growing up, and so that is what I always do. Well, it is what I do when I feel an earthquake which truthfully isn't very often.

Most people don't know that we actually have dozens of earthquakes everyday, but they are so small that you don't feel them, but even the stronger ones that other people feel go by me unnoticed. Of course, there are the stronger ones that usually make the national news or are at least big news on the local stations for a day or two that I do feel. It can be a little bit scary, but nothing bad has ever happened in the areas I have lived. In fact this is the first earthquake I remember having pictures on the wall knocked askew or having things fall over. The water in our pool was also still sloshing quite a bit by the time everything was over and we thought to look and see.

About half an hour later it occurred to me that it would have been cool to have looked at the little Easter tree and see if the ornaments were moving, so I looked at it and the ornaments were swinging a bit. Then I looked at the beautiful orchids my sweet little cousin Ethan brought over for us and they were shaking too! Because we were having an aftershock and I didn't even feel it and wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't looked at the ornaments and the orchid.

I hope the folks in Mexico, where the quake was centered are fine physically and emotionally.

Anyway, before the quake the plan was to tell you about this wonderful recipe I tried for the first time today and that we all thought was delicious: Green Bean and Mushroom Medley. The only thing I did differently than the recipe was that I didn't quite double the butter when I doubled everything else and I substituted Emeril's Essence for the seasoned salt because I didn't have the seasoned salt. Oh, I didn't double that because I wasn't sure how well it would work so I wanted to err on the side of caution. It was so good.

Know This

If you asked me about hip-hop, I would say I am not a fan, but this song has enchanted me. There is even a Jane Austen quote in here. Who knew?

Bunnies for Easter

A few years ago, my Aunt Kathleen sent a bunch of her craft magazines and papers to me by way of my mom. Included in those things was a handwritten pattern for a bunny pin.

I made a couple of changes: crocheting the tail, instead of adding a pompom, lengthening the ears and making them different lengths. Anyway, I have no idea of the patterns origins, but here is my version if you want to make one yourself.

By the way, the two bunnies on the right are wrong side up, just because I thought the picture looked better that way rather than having them all face the same way.
It takes about 3 yards of worsted weight yarn to make one. With lighter weight yarn you can make one with shorter lengths.

Crocheted Bunny Pin

any weight yarn or thread
hook appropriate to the yarn or thread being used
pin back or safety pin

gauge: not important, as long as this ends up looking like a bunny

chain 4, slip stitch in 1st chain to form ring

chain 2, 5 double crochet in ring, chain 3, slip stitch in top of 5th double crochet (tail formed), 7 double crochet in ring, join with slip stitch to the top of the chain 2
(body formed)

chain 3, 3 double crochet in next double crochet, turn (head formed)

chain 10, slip stitch in double crochet, chain 9, slip stitch in double crochet (ears formed). Fasten off.

weave in ends. attach pin back of safety pin.

Bee Sting

I got my first bee sting today, which is pretty good considering my age, which is older than most people are when they get their first bee sting, if they are the sort to get bee stings.
The thing is, the bee did not sting me. I managed to impale myself on the poor thing while I was cleaning up some pruning my husband had done. I was felt the sting as I was moving my arm back and brushed into some of the branches. I looked at my arm and could see the stinger and part of the poor thing's butt sticking out. When I looked down I could see her (bees are mostly 'her's, aren't they?) writhing on the ground.
I am sure her last thought was "Mom always said 'They're just as afraid of you as you are of them. Just don't bother them and they won't bother you.'Yeah, right."
In honor of the poor bee:

A Line is Fine ATC

A Line is Fine ATC
Originally uploaded by joanieponytail57

It has been a while since I have done a zentangly sort of thing only because there are just so many things that can be done that it is hard to stay on one thing for a long time, but when I do do this I enjoy it and I know it will stay in the rotation for the foreseeable future.
This was clearly done by me -- it has my lines and patterns -- but it is also a bit different in ways that I like so I think it has worked out well that it was set aside for other things for a time.
I shouldn't say I haven't done any tangledoodling. A while ago we were doing some organizing at work and we ended up only using the middle parts of the some labels leaving strips of about half an inch of labels on each end. Being the creative (or crazy -- I've heard it both ways) type I saved those. Last month I drew various zentangle patterns on them and have been using them as stickers on envelopes. The best part is I can be sloppy around the edges but when I peel the label remnant off the sloppy edges stay behind and it looks so clean, like I was much more careful than I actually was.
Anyway, this went out to my swap-bot partner today. Hope she likes it.

Like Macaroni and Cheese

Cheesy grits
Originally uploaded by StellaTex

In our house lunch is almost always a fend for yourself affair. As I was thinking about what I wanted for lunch today I thought I might have a bowl of cereal. (I know. You can't believe my family doesn't beg me everyday to please, please, PLEASE include them in my lunch plans.) Then I remembered that I had some Cream of Wheat that I usually forget about until after breakfast. I really should use that up before the use by date (10/2010) which given how often I think to eat it is not that far away.
The thing is, it's lunch time and I really want something cheesy. That's when it hit me: instead of adding my usual butter, brown sugar and milk to the Cream of Wheat I could add some grated cheese. It's not like the Cream of Wheat police have a camera in my kitchen. (It's not like I do either, which is why I borrowed this picture of cheesy grits from Stella Tex on flickr.)
I should say at this point that the two things my Mom (hi, Mom) taught me about cooking were "350 degrees for 1 hour" and "a little more cheese couldn't hurt," so it isn't a giant leap for me to think to add cheese to something, but I hadn't thought of it before today in connection to Cream of Wheat and I have to say it was so good. Like a warm, gooey, stringy bowl of macaroni and cheese without the bother of chewing.

Another Year Older

Today is my birthday. I like having my birthday on February first. That way January is just practice for my new year. It gives me time to think about what I want to do and what I might actually do during the year while I have time to come off that holiday high.

During the last month I read a blog from a 25 year old woman who was lamenting her wasted youth and the fact that she was too old to do some of the things she has wanted to do but hasn't had a chance to do yet, like getting her belly button pierced. She did not want to end up like the man she had seen driving some hot sports car while wearing a leather jacket and cool sunglasses with the wind blowing through the few strands of hair he had left. I guess when you get to be a certain age you no longer feel joy or excitement or the thrill of driving with the top down.

My grandma lived in a retirement home for many years and I remember her telling me how it would always surprise her that there were so many old folks around and then she would get a look at herself in the mirror and remember that she was supposed to be old, too.

I hope I am one of those people who has to be reminded by my mirror that I am getting older. I don't want to lose the thrill and joy of life. I certainly don't want to embrace my inner crotchety old lady. And if this is the year I finally lose weight I may even get my belly button pierced.

While I was surfing the web yesterday I found this hilarious story that started with the drawings on one man's birthday cake. I hope you enjoy it. Read all three parts.

Conquer (a.k.a. the best card game ever)

A few months ago our son decided we should make Saturday a family game night. I am sorry to say that we haven't been entirely faithful about this, but when we have we have had a good time. Ds would like us all to play Pokemon or some other such game, but I insist that we play something that we can all enjoy, that we know how to play or that has simple instructions.

Last night, I taught my son and daughter how to play Seven-Up, which was a success, but then my son said he had a game he wanted to teach us. It was clear that he was making up the rules as he went. The usual result is a game more convoluted than Fizzbin (original Star Trek: A Piece of the Action). This time it resulted in a simple, fun game that had us laughing out loud, and even lured my husband away from football long enough to give it a try.

If you would like to try it here are the rules (I would advise playing on an empty bladder):

Conquest
The Object of the Game: To be the first to get rid of all your cards.
Dealing: The game is played with a standard 52 card deck plus the two jokers. All cards are dealt out. It doesn't matter if some players have one more card than other players.
Play: Once all cards are dealt, one player lays down any ace. Aces are low (they are counted as ones). There is no waiting for everyone to get their cards in order.
Any other player may lay down any card of an equal or higher value or one of the same suit.
Other players continue to lay down cards of equal or higher value or of the same suit as the top card on the discard pile.
When a player lays down a card of the same suit, it may be of a lower value.
A joker may be played on any card and any card may be placed on top of a joker. This also makes it possible to bring the value of the top card back down so more cards may be played.
There is no order of play, except that a player may not make two plays in a row, unless all other players are unable to play.
In the event that no one is able to make another play, the game ends and the person with the fewest cards wins.