I’ve been working on and off on Christmas gift items for a while now and have one large project finished and a few smaller ones.  All will be held in secret until Dec 25 or when the packages are finally delivered.

As with many of us, gifts this year will be those created.  Knitting is still enthralling to me so many of them are knitted.  Dust will be removed from the sewing machine for some fleece projects that have been popular in previous years.  Lots to do!

While trolling for knitting patterns I ran across these sites and thought to share.

Most of my pattern searching has been on Ravelry, but other places have ideas, too!  Lots of knitting charts and patterns are here.  The creative and generous designer is Jessica Tromp and I have only begun to explore the site.  I’m eager to try some more color work! The mittens page is full of some adorable ideas.

Ever been to www.colr.org? I was led there through a Google Widget and it is fascinating to pick a color out of an image and give it a name.  Lots more possibilities and need to see what else is offered.

Today was gorgeous.  It was in the 70’s when I pulled into my favorite local park by the river.  You may recognize it, the scene of the anointing of my “Bird Poop Socks”.  Late in the afternoon the picnic table next to the boardwalk IN THE CLEARING was free so I set up there.

Cypress trees and moss

The idea was to take some pictures of my hand-spun yarn with the weathered wood of the boardwalk as a backdrop and do some spinning.

Pictures came first while the light was good – bright and mostly overcast with bursts of sunshine.  It was quite breezy so I was a bit apprehensive about setting some of the tiny skeins on the walkway and held some in my hand.

A couple of my favorite pictures:

The first yarn is Rambouillet from Lazy Dog Farm in Texas.  Very very soft and fun to spin.  Two ply, about DK weight.  I think 80 yards.

The mini skein is my “mutant” roving – the sheep breed is CVM or California Variegated Mutant.  The breed is a result of crosses of Romney and Rambouillet sheep from nearly a century ago.  Not quite as soft as the straight Rambouillet and very nice to spin.  I  have about 5 more ounces, and I WANT MORE.  2 ply, sock weight.  I was going for lace weight, and it fluffied up on me.  For comparison the white yarn tied around the skein to hold it in place is good ole’ acrylic worsted.

Spinning

A near-constant breeze and gusts made it a bit windy but not too windy to spin.  The temperature was nice and it was like sitting outside in air conditioning… After I relaxed into the process, I was concentrating so thoroughly I was startled when a woman started talking to me.   We had a nice visit and she admired the single I was making.  After she and her dogs left, others walked by and spoke including a man that mentioned his mother used to spin with a spindle, and make blankets and rugs.

It is fun to talk to people about my spinning and I was able to get a nice start on a Christmas present for a member of my family.

One last picture:

Since I’ve been introduced to lovely sheepy wool with knitting and spinning, sheep seem more interesting than ever.

Wonder if I could have A back yard sheep?  Just ONE sheep.  Does a single sheep get lonesome?  Guess the zoning regs wouldn’t be too happy about it.

A new book (please note:  This would make a GREAT Christmas or Birthday present…just sayin’ and USED is just fine…) The Knitter’s Book of Wool has a fun quiz – Which ewe are you?

I’m a Finn!  Huh?

“Finn’s resilient nature makes them practical and straight-forward, a quality these medium wools balance with curiosity and a zest for life.  Fastidious in personal appearance and reliable, Finns stay true to their flock and make loyal friends.”

Awwww.  Very complimentary and guess they don’t know my 7 colored tee shirts I wear with everything.  Everywhere.

A good excuse to locate some FINN wool to spin!

Sorry you haven’t heard from me in a while – been both busy with normal every-day things and didn’t think much was noteable.  Of course I thought you would be vastly interested in:

• The folding chair I’ve used for a computer chair gave up the ghost. This chair, unlike the previous 20 yr old desk chair did NOT dump me on the floor.
• I found the library book that is 2 months overdue
• The trip to the grocery store has been put off until I have eaten some of the cans of not-favorite veggies in the cabinet.  Why do they put nasty lima beans in mixed veggies???
• I’m behind on my email.  No matter how I try to keep up, it defeats me
• Guess what – I’m knitting and spinning!  But not yet knitting what I’ve spun.   And only in places with good AC.  Eliminates the dustbunny palace with mediocre AC until evenings when it cools off a bit and the AC has a fair chance.
• I’m tired tired tired of being HOT and sweaty.  Come on cooler weather!
• Missed both my sis-in-law’s and nephew’s birthdays.  (my BIGGEST oops)

Next post should be more fun!

Sis needed a beach trip – soak up a bit of salt air, watch the waves, and have a refreshing get-away.  I got to go too!   As we started from her house to head to Daytona Beach Shores the threatening grey sky turned to rain.  Much of the way is on a 2-lane highway and we had the fortune to follow a garbage truck on the way to the dump.  For miles.  And miles. In the rain.  You can almost see the reflection of the camera cozy I was knitting in the picture below.

The camera.  Sigh.  I had misplaced my camera over a month ago and could not find it anywhere.  So sis loaned me an extra camera she had at home and I could once again take pictures.  Side note – yesterday I was looking for a specific color of yarn, and in a small box UNDER the yarn I saw the edge of my camera.  YAY.  It was not left behind somewhere and I have it again.  Sis’s camera is fun to use with all the different settings and it doesn’t gorge itself on batteries like mine, but there is nothing like your OWN camera back.

The rain did end but were were left with cloudy skies.  First stop in Daytona was at Krispy Kreme Donuts.  The Hot Light was not on but they did have some warm glazed donuts (without the hole) of which we consumed way too many.  Then onward to Beach Street and the Scrapbooking store.  I sat and knitted while Sis found some pages she needed.  As we crossed the Halifax River on Dunlawton Bridge we got our first view of…THE BEACH!  Well, at this point it was ocean, but we are nearly there.

To the stoplight and turn left – a familiar path as we have stayed on this “end” of the beach before.  Saw a number of restaurants with closed signs.  Sad – including one Diner type place that had been there for years.

As we unloaded the car at the motel, the box of donuts fell to the ground, spilling FOUR of them.  I do admit that I was ALMOST tempted by the 5 second rule, but we were outside in the parking lot.  At the beach.  Sand…yuk.  And just general yuk, too.

Awesome room – 8th floor at the top of the hotel!  Great view, balcony, kitchen, and even comfy chairs!

First beach meal – takeout from DJ’s from under the bridge – It is a fun place to eat as they have wooden tables with thatched umbrellas as outside seating.  An interesting river view and you can even purchase fish crunchies (Purina fish chow?)  to feed the fish.  Both of us love the scallops and shrimp, so we split the meals and share the fresh seafood.

This is the view from the outside seating

I scurried back to our room and we ate sitting on our balcony, gazing at the ocean.  Ahhh…  Then it was time to change to the swimsuits and check out the water slide.  The hotel had an adult-sized water slide and we both tried it out, laughing all the way.

And the beach looked like this:

Cheery, huh?  We messed around in the pool and the hot tub…not much else was noteworthy the first day.

Day 2 -

Woke up just in time to take pictures of the sunrise and then back to bed…LOL

Waking up the second time, I find out Sis is ill.  Oh, dear.  I make a CVS run for bottled water, meds, and batteries.  Sis takes her meds and goes back to bed.  The notable meal of the day is delivery from an italian restaurant and is AWESOME.  The pizza was tasty, crunchy, and loaded with the good stuff.  We also ordered a toasted sub sandwich and it was just as good.  Will definitely be ordering from them again, Genovese’s Italian Restaurant (looked up the phone number and address to include here so I’ll remember it…LOL) 1116 Dunlawton Blvd 386-767-4151.

The day cleared up for a few hours, and I spent most of it spinning and reading.  A nearly perfect day for me, and miserable for sis.

and wool/spinning pictures for my fibery friends:

I slept through most of sunrise on the next morning, and before we knew it time to leave had arrived.

On the way home we stopped at an interesting little place on the St. John’s River for lunch.  We ate looking out at the hot summery day and watched the river flow lazily by.

Mini vacation was over.

One of the blogs I enjoy reading published a excerpt from a General Motors 1930’s filmstrip about how a Differential Gear works.  This is one of the clearest and best explanations I’ve seen.

Check it out for yourself!

Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Indian Rocks Beach Restaurant, Cocktail Lounge & Bar

The description on the back of the card reads: “19915 Gulf Blvd.  1/4 mile South of Indian Rocks Bridge.  Telephone 9-8283.  Mailing Address: Rt. 1, Box 254, Largo, Florida.  Chicken-Steaks-Seafood.  Capt Joe Urga: ‘I’ve traveled all over the world and spent most of my life on the sea.  I found a nice spot on Indian Rocks Beach, won’t you come and enjoy it with me?’.”

I bet they did have great seafood!  I wondered about Capt. Joe Urga and looked him up.  He was the owner!  Aug 30, 1953 advertisement for the restaurant in the St. Petersburg Times states, “…Finest Greek salads and seasonings, Capt. Joe Urga, host.”

An article in The Evening Independent, Jan 24, 1964 tells a little more about the Urga family.

“The vast collection of china, statuary and furniture which once graced the Indian Rocks restaurant belonging to the late Capt. Joe Urga will be auctioned off…”

The Auctioneer “…was handling the sale for the captain’s widow, Madame Diamente Urga…”

“Many of the objects now awaiting sale came from a Roman villa once owned by Captain Urga, who was also an Italian Marquis.  The documentation for the Renaissance sculpture lists him both as marquis and captain of the Italian Navy.  He also served in the US Merchant Marine.”

Madame Urga was also famous, “Madame Urga, a licensed midwife for many years, was convicted three times over a 20-year period for performing abortions.  Two convictions were later reversed.  A third conviction in 1962 currently is under appeal.”

More personal drama accompanied the couple, and the article also brings up this bit of infamy.  Apparently a Mrs. W had shot Madame Urga in 1936, wounding her slightly in the arm.  Mrs. W received a $100 fine. In 1956 Mrs. W once again pulled out her weapon and “…shot and seriously wounded herself at the Urga’s luxurious beach home, adjoining the restaurant.”  According to the article Mrs. W also shot Capt. Urga, but the severity of his injury wasn’t clear.

I love Madame Urga’s comment to a reporter, “My husband is a wonderful man but she has been giving me trouble for 20 years.”

The next google link took me to a summary of the Special Report from the Texas Crime Investigating Committee and places a Joseph Urga on the list of Tampa mob figures circa 1950’s.  Hmmm…wonder if it is the same man?

Published by Florida Speaks Corp, St. Petersburg Florida
Not Postmarked
Very Good Condition

Interested?  Currently item 400067715001 on eBay

A friend of mine just posted her recipe for Crab Dip with REAL crabmeat!  And Cream Cheese AND Mayonnaise!  Three of my favorite ingredients.

Nothing is complete without mayonnaise.  Except…my tuna dip has no mayo!  Probably because it started life as a Tuna Ball.  You know, that lovely 70’s thing you put out with the good crackers (Ritz) on the wooden serving platter. The recipe was probably passed along from your mother’s parties in the 1950’s (OK, I am becoming ancient so let’s say Grandma’s).

I’m not interested in mixing the ingredients and skillfully forming into a ball to roll in chopped pecans, or if you are REAL cheap, dried parsley leaves (they rehydrate in the fridge so they aren’t crunchy).  So I skipped that step entirely and just mixed and  plopped in a nice bowl.  I do smooth the top so it looks pretty.  Kind of.  And if I’m feeling real festive, sprinkle some finely sliced green onion over the suface.

About the only difference between my Tuna Ball and the Crab Dip is the lack of mayonnaise, no shredded cheddar.  BUT I have 16 oz of artery-clogging Creme Cheese to make your cardiologist go wow…

My version of The Tuna Ball

6 oz can of drained tuna (hey – anyone noticed they are now FIVE ounces? And cost more?  So may need to remove about 2 oz of the Creme Cheese)

2-8 oz bars of Creme Chease

dried garlic (fresh is really better, but don’t use too much)

few drops Worcestershire sauce

seasoned salt (never tried Old Bay, but can see that would be GOOD)

Celery Salt (or get fancy with Beau Monde Seasoning) May not need if you add some minced celery for a bit of crunch.

Black pepper (if you like it…)

chopped green onions – Plenty of onions.  Green add a bit of color along with flavor, but red or plain yellow onions work, too.  Use what is on hand!

chopped pecans to roll the ball into (not absolutely required as explained above).

A little citrus juice – a bit of lemon or lime will perk up the flavor, as will a few drops of tabasco-type sauce (my current fav is Frank’s Red Hot Sauce)

Drain tuna, mush together and refrigerate to let the flavors blend.  Serve with crackers of choice.  Triscuits are pretty good with this, but Ritz or Club Crackers are Really Good.

I’ve tweaked the biscuit recipe a bit and have come up with Chocolate Chip Scones!  They are AWESOME.

Chocolate Chip Scones

1 c all purpose flour
1.5 teaspoon fresh baking powder
0.25 teaspoon salt
0.25 teaspoon cinnamon (more if you are so inclined)
2 tablespoons sugar

stir and then add
0.25 cup chocolate chips (more if you are so inclined)

stir and then add
0.5 cup milk with 1 oz vegetable oil

mix together and bake/cook your favorite way.  Place a small bit of butter/margarine over the top to melt and help make a nice, brown crust.  Can make as drop biscuits in the oven, toaster oven, or on the Oster Sandwich Maker.

If you are out of milk, water will do, but they won’t taste as rich.