Last Day of September

It heated up to 97 degrees today.  We were anticipating 100+ with Santa Ana Winds (think: fire).  It was tolerably warm with a gentle breeze.  I spent the afternoon reading outside in the shade.  Surprise, surprise: no bugs.  I hope they're gone for good!

Critter alert:  Saw a bobcat as we were leaving this morning.  It was walking up the hill and stopped to watch us drive away.  Thankfully, the Girls were all accounted for when I got home.  We heard some weird animal calls last night and Mele came upstairs to bark out of our window.  Coincidence?

Trying to read a book with goats can be distracting

 

      

Warp Speed Mr Sulu

Received my Schacht 20" Flip Loom yesterday.  It had been backordered for over a month from Lion Brand Yarn Company.  After warping the Schacht 10" Cricket (last used Spring 2011!) I decided that was plenty loom for me and I was going to cancel my Flip order Monday morning.  I guess it wasn't meant to be cancelled because it shipped out that very same Monday morning 7:30 am CDT.

It took a little fiddling with the Cricket to remember the steps of direct warping, weaving, winding the shuttle, and hem-stitching.  Yes, well, I pretty much forgot everything.  My first attempt at warping was with Malabrigo Sock yarn but since I couldn't remember how to tie on and sley a couple of slots I (very smartly!) put on an 8-dent reed and wove up some scrap Sugar'n Cream cotton and made a little sample.  That helped me remember the steps and I was able to warp up the Mal Sock in 1.5 hours without too much trouble.

The Man helped me put the Flip Loom together and it's ready to go!

Malabrigo Sock yarn, Rayon Vert, plain weave with 10-dent reed

    

First Fall

Picture taken at 6:45 am.  Okay, going back to bed now.

 

Space Shuttle Sighting (sort of)

The Man and I drove to Oceano Dunes and parked at the end of Pier Avenue adjacent to the beach.  There were about ten of us hopeful spectators waiting for the Space Shuttle Endeavour, carried piggyback on a modified Jumbo Boeing 747,  to fly overhead on it's way to LA.  The Man thought the Coast would be in the path between Monterey Bay and Vandenberg AFB which was the next scheduled flyover.  He was right.  Unfortunately, the fog rolled in at the same time.

Foggy Apparition

Nice day at the beach

Last Days of Summer

All of a sudden Fall is upon us.  The days are getting shorter, the shadows longer, and the sun seems different in the sky . . . weaker.

The summer has brought us:

Bountiful produce from Templeton's farmers market and Talley Farms Fresh Harvest CSA

And the realization that I am not a very good gardener

The Mid-State Fair and saying goodbye to Cora's 4-H pig

The Daily Feral Pig Show

Beautiful Sunsets

Fear of Fire

Beach weather ~ Port San Luis Harbor, Avila

Cayucos

Summer, we're sad to see you go.
Fall, I'm looking forward to chilly knitting, weaving, and baking weather.

Beware of the Souvenir Yarn

When The Man and I went to Alaska in October 2008 we (of course) visited a couple of LYS.  At the Far North Co. yarn shop I picked up a variegated, fuzzy, sparkly, pricey ball of acrylic and mohair called Broadway by Artful Yarns.  It's a beautiful mixture of teal, purple, green, with a strand of glitzy, sparkly nubs.  It was my souvenir from Anchorage.

In 2009, I added 5 more balls to my stash from a Ravelry destasher.  Why?  Same color and lot number?  Less than half of what I paid?  I do not know but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Now, three years later, while organizing the Craft Room yesterday I started knitting up the stuff.  I'll plan on gifting the diagonal scar(f/ves) because someone will (hopefully) love it.

Artist Envy

How do they do it?

On Sunday, The Man and I went to the I Madonnari Italian Street Painting Festival at the SLO Mission Plaza.  It was their 21st anniversary and benefited the Children's Creative Project of SLO County.  (Santa Barbara has a sister festival held at the Santa Barbara Mission over Memorial Day weekend.)

The paintings are made with chalk.  It's amazing and transient.  There was one painting with writing on the lower half stating the city of SLO forgot to turn off the sprinklers and had washed away that portion of the painting.

Only a few people were still working on their artwork including a couple of boys copying a 1980's Star Wars "Empire Strikes Back" VCR box.  They were covered head to toe in chalk.  Perhaps if we go next year it might be fun to see the paintings in progress on Saturday and then the finished work on Sunday.

Pictures were taken by The Man:

 

 

 

 

I Madonnari   September 9, 2012

 

 

   

Knock, Knock. Who's there?

This evening, I had a HUGE surprise when I opened the side door off the garage.  All I can say is I'm glad I turned on the porch light first.  It happened pretty quick but I saw a head rearing back and I heard a rattle.  I screamed and slammed the door closed.  We've seen a couple of snakes this summer- we think they were a gopher snake and a garter snake but the previous owner said he had not seen any rattlesnakes.  I'm sure he hasn't seen any on the porch!  I was trying to take a few pictures to show The Man but was only able to get one because the Goaty Boys showed up.  After I safely put all the animals away the snake wasn't on the porch any longer.  Since we've been belly crawling under the deck to gather the errant chicken eggs we'll definitely need to rethink that retrieval method.

By the way:  Hawaii does not have snakes.

Chicken Update

Now we've got two hens (a Red and a Speckled) laying pretty little tan and brown eggs.  Although the nesting box in their Coop is clean and cozy the hens seem to prefer the furthest, deepest, darkest, corner under the back deck to lay their eggs.  It takes courage (spiders and spider webs!) and contortion to crawl under the deck.  So far we've been able to gather them all.  At least we hope so.

Last night's dinner using a dozen little eggs:

Asparagus Frittata and Bruschetta with basil and heirloom tomatoes

   

Snowmen in September

I've picked up the DPNs again (size 1US/2.25mm) to work on the teeny tiny Mochimochi Snowmen that I started last September.  The plan was to make one for each of my HI co-workers as a Christmas/Good-bye/Thank-you-for-the-Great-Going-Away-Party gift.  We'll see if it happens this year . . . . 

Warm weather knitting

 

Will the Egg-Layer Please Stand Up?

One of the hens has been laying an egg a day since August 27.  We have seven tiny tan-colored eggs with a total weight of 8.7 ounces (an extra large commercial egg weighs 2.1 ounces).  No egg yesterday or at least we haven't found it yet.

Only problem is we don't know who's the layer.  I was convinced it was one of the Speckled because, well, they're big and plump and always the last ones out of the nesting box.  Circumstantial?  Probably.

Sunday, The Man found a Red sitting on a warm egg.  She with the littlest body and the biggest, brightest red comb and wattle.  We were getting suspicious that "she" was really a "he".  Hope it's her eggs and glad we didn't put her in the fryer.  (Just kidding.)

Suspect on the right

The Road Home

Spent Labor Day in Morro Bay at "Art in the Park".  Talked to alot of nice and talented people.  Morro Bay is a great place to visit but we're glad we don't live in the fog zone any longer.  Brrr.

Looking back towards Morro Bay

Heading east on Highway 41

Second Post: More "hellos"

More Girls
(Red Leghorn hens)

Mele
(One of the Great Ones)

Molly
(The Mouser)

First Post: Say "hello"!

The Girls 

(Speckled Sussex hens)

The Goaty Boys: Wyatt, Zeke, and Duke

(Nigerian Dwarf brothers)

The Man
(Spouse)