Princess Annie

Princess Annie decided to mark the new quilt on my bed as hers.  Normally she's up on the pillows so she can look out the window.  That brown fuzzy blanket is supposed to be "Annie Spot."  She understands the words, but likes to flaunt her disobedience.  I wonder if she's been taking lessons from Master Stewey.

6 Fat Men got a bit more stitched, but is now packed up until I can get some more white floss.  I'm stitching with a single strand over 2 on 36 count linen, and I'm estimating this project will need 3 skeins of whatever white you choose.  I obviously didn't think about that when I kitted it, since I only got one skein of Crescent Colors Eggshell.  The Bush is sending me more (along with the January Word Play!).

For years I've been wanting to stitch Prairie Schoolers 12 Days of Christmas (the small version) as a set of ornaments.  Finally I just did it.  Days 1 and 2 are done, and now I'm wondering if my fabric piece is big enough.  I'm going to make it big enough, it just means I'm not going to have much of a margin on some of them for finishing.  Oh well, I'll deal with it, I usually find a way.

I finally got honest with myself the other day and made "The List."  This would be a list of all my WIPs, at least all the ones I have here in San Diego.  It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, just over 50.  Yeah, some of you gasping in shock, but I've told you before, I have absolutely no restraint when it comes to starting something.  Attention span of a gnat.  You'll find "The List" over on my 2012 WIPocalypse page. Now you know why I signed up for that SAL.  Oh, and part of the reason why my list wasn't as long as I thought it shoold be was because of the "Kitted" list.  That was over 40 and I have a feeling a few of those might make their way onto the WIP list.  Measi said we could have new starts!

I added a linky list over on my left sidebar for the L*K Halloween SAL.  I'm really looking forward to the group motivation to get this done.  Honestly, I'm getting a bit tired of stitching ornaments and cutesy stuff, and Ann Smith is calling out to me.  Maybe I can find a way to squeeze some of her in before New Year's and the official kick-off.

Tuesday night I cooked dinner, and while the food turned out well, the best part was after dinner.  I did some braised lamb shanks.

We let Annie bring out some of her instincts and gnaw on the bone.  Very closely supervised of course.  I really doubt she has the jaw strength to break one of the bones, be we didn't want to take any chances.  She's a pampered house pet, not a wild dob, and not used to dealing with sharp bones.

After a bit she got to play with the bone herself.

Spoiled little pooch, we tried to feed her something else at the same time, which she'd normally gobble up;  this time she spit it out and went back to her bone.  We paid for spoiling her with the rich food by cleaning up vomit the next day.  She wasn't seriously sick, so I bet she thinks it was worth it, and I do as well, just for the amusement factor.  It was a blast watching her get so excited over those bones.

Bad Blogger!

What have I been up to for the last 2 weeks?  Obviously not blogging.

I did some sewing for gifts/thank-yous.  Luckily the recipients didn't point out my sewing flaws, which there were many and my mom did point out when she saw one of the journal covers.

There was a quick trip down to San Diego (home of the parental units) to take a car-load of stuff down.  Princess Annie took the chance to use my pillow as her throne, since she's usually shut out of that room.

There was also a quick stop in Las Vegas, since its a great half-way point between Utah and San Diego.  Super quick review of the Cosmopolitan, one of the new hotel/casinos in City Center.  Public areas look like the designer didn't have a cohesive theme, and was using just whatever was leftover from other hotels/casinos and cheap (which would make sense since Deutsche Bank bought it out of bankruptcy and decided to go into the casino business).  The rooms were fantastic, which is good considering they were supposed to be condos.  Almost all of the rooms have a balcony, mine was on the 35th floor, looking right over the fountain at the Bellagio.

That was the good part, now for the bad.  Water pressure in the shower could have been better (but the soaker tub with champagne bubble jets more than made up for it), and I never could get the lights or climate control working through the TV remote like it was supposed to.  The restaurants I ate at were either fantastic (Milos) or a dismal failure (Va Bene - the cafe).

The real kicker about The Cosmopolitan and the reason why I'll never go back is being treated like a criminal at check-out. There were 2 charges made to my room, that weren't mine.  I didn't even recognize the name of them and had to ask.  I was told it was one of their restaurants, and the charges were at 6:30am.  Impossible. I had complained about housekeeping barging into the room at 8 am, and if they wanted to review security logs, they'd see the only entry I made to my room was at 10 pm the evening before, nothing after that.  How could I charge something to the room from a restaurant when I wasn't even there?  Front desk staff kept questioning me, not believing what I was saying, but refusing to get the information from security that would prove I was right.  The end result was them finally saying they'd do me the favor of letting me fill out a dispute claim.  Thank you Cosmo, your rooms might have a great view, but I won't be back.  Deutsche Bank, stick to banking and get out of the casino business.

Sheesh, I still get riled up, even a week later.  On to something else, if anyone is still reading this.  I did get some stitching done.  Part 6 of the iStitch SAL.  Totally love the scissors Carol added, and I added a new color.  I had to make the scissors a grey.

Raven's Roost, by the Good Husewife.   This is sort of cheating, since I started this last year and it was about 905% finished, I had just forgotten about it.  Oh well, a finish is a finish and I'm claiming it.

My biggest finish was BBD Greetings, from their Christmas book from 2004.  I started this a few weeks ago, and actually had a half-way pic to post, but it never got posted.  This is actually a scan, since I want to try and print it on some cards to make Christmas cards.

The next pictures are all finish-finishes.  All stitching was done over the last year or 2, and had just gathered in a pile needing something done with it.  Pumpkin Row got stuffed with a lovely mixture of cloves, cinnamon sticks, whole allspice, dried ginger chunks and anise seeds.

Such a lovely smell!

I've also done some baking!  Chocolate Pumpkin Spice cake with a Cinnamon Glaze (totally yummy, you'd never know it was good for you and low fat).

And just out of the oven this afternoon, Apple Buttermilk cakes.  One of these will go into the office tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone that made it through this post, and my rant!  I've been reading blogs, but barely commenting.  I'm sorry about that, but life has been a bit hectic the last couple of weeks.  Hopefully I'll be back to my routine, for at least another month, before it all goes upside down.

More Saturday cooking

I am totally wiped out.  It started with the alarm at 6 am, then it was the green salsa I posted about earlier.

Next it was Mexican style chicken soup (carrots, tomatoes and corn from the 50/50 basket; roasted chilis, onions and garlic from the Mexican pack).

Followed by peach and plum cobber (using super ripe peaches and plums from last week).

I just had to have a little bit of it, and since it was made with some rich (not sweet) ingredients, I just served a small scoop of fat-free Greek yogurt alongside.

I thought I'd finally get a chance to sit down and rest for a bit while my last creation was in the oven, but no, I saw this.

 So I [mostly] cleaned the kitchen (I still need to mop the floor).

Then it was time to take the chocolate chip banana bread out of the oven (had to use up last weeks over-ripe bananas).

I think I've done enough cooking today to last at least a few days.  There isn't any room in the fridge or freezer.  Is it time to finally start working on Part 2 of the iStitch SAL?

Mystery SAL

Carol over at iStitch was kind enough to not only host a mystery SAL, but to design a special project for it.  Looks like 125 people signed up for it, and more are on the waiting list.  The incentive to keep up with this SAL is you don't get the next part until you send her a photo of the completed previous part.  In general I'm leery of mystery SALs, but I tend to like her designs, and I just finished the With Thy Needle and Thread 3 part mystery project, started it well before I knew what the whole thing was going to look like.  It ended up being gorgeous.  Hopefully I keep up with this and don't become one of the spots for someone on the waiting list!  Anyway, I received Part 1 on Friday, started stitching, and finished Part 1 on Sat.

iStitch 2001 Mystery SAL on 40 ct Weeks Grape Ice linen
with HDF Old Maid of the Vineyard silk

This week I was in Omaha, NE for a business trip.  I didn't get a lot of stitching done, but at least it was some.  I took a couple of Shepherd's Bush kits with me.  They're usually on an easy thread count fabric, and have everything all on one place, so they travel well.  Especially when I can't take my magnifier/work light with me.  As much as I love Teri and Tina, I'm not always a fan of all their designs.  The ones I do stitch, I usually make a few changes to.  With Angel Song I'm reducing some of the pinks and purples, and adding more blue, green and golden-tans (Sheperd's Moon silk by Threadgatherer).  Of course the angel at the top was what I started with, and that pink is really bugging me.  Its going to get ripped out soon and replaced with Shepherd's Moon.

Shepherd's Bush Angel Song on 35ct R&R Dark Cappuccino
with assorted silks

I've also put in some work on part 3 of the BBD 2008 Loose Feathers Mystery project.  Not a lot, but even a few stitches is progress.

Saturday morning is when Ogden has its local Farmer's Market.  I love going to it, since its only 2 blocks up the street.  In the 3 years I've lived here, its really grown a lot.  Its still short on fresh produce, and still has more "junk" than what it should have (at times I think to myself, are you serious, people think I'm actually going to buy this crap?), but there's always entertainment and plenty of food vendors.  This week we had a guy playing a didjeridu, and doing a pretty good job of.  Well, good enough I gave him a couple of bucks.

I picked up some fresh beets, zucchini, green beans, 2 loaves of bread (cranberry walnut and lemon sage), and of course a pastry for breakfast.  This week it was apple strudel from Volker's Bakery, same place I get my bread from (when I'm lazy and buy it instead of making it).  After wandering the market, I usually head back down to my house and sit on the patio with whatever goodie I bought to eat, an iced coffee, and my nook.  In the distance in the photo, you can sorta see the pedestrian gate that does out to 25th Street.

I know I've mentioned before about my finish of With Thy Needle & Thread's mystery project and how I ran it out of the house so my mom couldn't take it back to San Diego with her.  On Friday I stopped by Jill's so I could get a picture of it.  Its been stretched and waiting for the frame for a couple of weeks now.  I can be patient, since for once I picked something out that was actually available.  I have a knack of picking out discontinued moldings or mats.

With Thy Needle & Thread Birds of a Feather, stitched
on 35 ct Weeks Confederate Grey, assorted silks

I might actually have to stitch this again.  Myra turned 2 of her birds into cardinals, and they're absolutely adorable.  We'll see about that.  I have done a repeat stitch, but the first finish and the second were separated by about 13 years.  As you can see, some adjustments were made to the colors.  And I apologize for the crappy picture, I really wasn't trying to take a great one, since I knew I'd get a good one once it was framed.

Visiting Parents

My parents were supposed to go on a trip to Alaska this summer, but unfortunately it had to be postponed.  To make up for that, I invited them to come up and visit me during Pioneer Days.  For those people not from Utah (I had to learn this 3 years ago when I moved here), its a state-specific holiday celebrating the settlement of the Salt Lake Valley.  I'm sure there's a more correct definition, but that's good enough.  Terri and Tina talk about it on their blog (just look at the July posts from past years).  Anyway, I live right on Historic 25th Street in Ogden, so a lot of the activities take place either within a block or 2 of my house.  My dad always seems to find endless things to amuse himself with, and he and Annie (their dog) have fun exploring the old trains across the street at Union Station.  That is, when Annie isn't claiming her spot on the sofa.  She's very proud to be a cocker-poodle mix, 100% spoiled princess, and her current favorite toy is "rat."

On Sunday we went up to Park City for brunch at the Waldorf Astoria and to experience Park Silly Days.  I thought it would be a farmers market with a few crafts vendors.  Its actually the opposite, along with a lot of food and drink stands, and entertainment throughout the day.  In Utah its rare to find "happenings" on a Sunday, so this is a huge bonus.  I'll have to go back again.

The Horse and Hitch Parade (back up in Ogden) was interesting.  I think this was on the Tuesday night.  We just ambled out of my house and up 2 blocks to claim a nice shady spot under a tree.

I guess by the photos I took I was much more impressed with the wagons and carts than by the riders on horseback.

I also found some time to indulge in culinary adventures since I had guests.  Since its usually just myself, I don't do gourmet cooking every day.  Actually, its a lot of leftovers since when I do cook, I make sure to fix extras.  The day they arrived I'd been cooking pulled pork all day long (this was after to pork sat in the fridge with a dry rub for 24 hours).  This was something I'd been wanting to try for a long time.  True BBQ people will cringe since I didn't smoke my boston butt, but I don't have a smoker.  This just sat in the crock pot for 8 hours on low, and made its own sauce with the meat juices, spices, and some beer.  We also had some cedar planked salmon, with a bourbon-chipotle-maple glaze.

And I made a lemon-blueberry tart.

Of course a visit during Pioneer Days wouldn't be complete without a night at the rodeo.  I'm not a huge rodeo fan, but a night every few years won't hurt me.  Two years ago I actually volunteered at the rodeo and had fun, despite the heat wave we had (it was over 100 every day).  The last rodeo I went to as an actual observer was Cheyenne Frontier Days, when I lived there over 10 years ago.  This is just a tiny bit smaller than that, but very scenic.  My photos of the actual events didn't turn out so great.

On Friday we went back up to Park City to experience some summertime alpine fun.  I've done the zipline, toboggan and alpine slide at Olympic Park, so this time I wanted to try the rides at Park City Resort.  Mom just had full knee replacement surgery less than 2 months ago, so she didn't join us.  Dad and I had a blast, and we both agreed that the roller coaster was the best.  The zipline was a bit disappointing, I'd suggest you just go to Olympic Park if you want a zipline, or skip them and just spend all day on the roller coaster!  The ride up the mountain on the coaster was almost as good as the ride down.  Very relaxing, and time to take some pictures.

One thing I have to say is they make you work for your rides!  Or at least for the slide.  You have to haul your own cart from the chair lift down to the slide start.  The look of shock and disgust on my dad's face below is because I somehow managed to beat him (we were racing on side-by-side tracks).

On Saturday, after the Ogden Farmer's market, mom and I went down to the gardens at Thanksgiving Point.  I'll save those pictures for another post, since there's a lot of them.

I managed to get some stitching done, and even a finish or 2.  With Thy Needle and Thread's Mystery Sampler was my first finish, but I don't have a picture of it.  I was so anxious to get it out of my mom's hot hands (she's been known to abscond with my stitching) that I rushed it over to Jill's for framing.  Yes, I'm incredibly lucky to not only live 2 blocks from Shepherd's Bush, but 3 blocks from Jill Rensel.  I've also been working on the 2008 Loose Feathers bonus patterns from Blackbird Designs.  I have the first 2 (of 5) completed.

I'll be doing each part on its own piece of fabric, then joining them together for framing.  I'm not sure if I'm allowed to count each part as its own finish, or if I have to wait until I have all 5 done.Technically I should probably wait until I have all 5 pieces done before I count the project as a finish, but I like the sense of accomplishment, so I'll have 5 "finishes" with this.

Just to add some more stitching content to this post, I also dusted off my design software and started playing around with it.  Hopefully in the future I'll start adding some "freebie" charts to my posts.