moonfrog

For our third year, we headed up to Eugene last week for the Black Sheep Gathering. We camped in the field behind the fair grounds and slept to the sounds of sheep: baa, baa, baa and an occasional middle-of-the-night outburst from the homeless people who passed by,  displaced by a crowd of campers.

This year, I tried something new. Seeing a call for volunteers for the Wool Show on Ravelry, I offered to help.  I figured that helping would be even more fun than just watching the wool judging, which is what I do most of the weekend. Also, it would keep me busy since I really don’t need anything from the market.  I had a great time moving fleeces around and learning more about wool from a different judge this year.  Then I kept super busy on Saturday taking payments during the sale. And the fleece flew out the door!   I showed amazing restraint and just split one fleece with my friend Connie, who also helped with the judging all weekend.

One thing that was really interesting was seeing some women spread out a fleece in order to split it. It was BIG.  And I learned that fleece are made up of varying qualities from one area to the other. The best fiber is on the back, and even which side the sheep sleeps on will affect the quality. There’s so much more to learn.

Doesn’t it look lovely all spread out there? There were tons of gorgeous fleeces.  If I didn’t have a mountain of wool in my house already, I surely would have come home with more.

Besides working at the wool show and a quick trip through the market and the sheep barns (I loved the newly born lambs!) we went to dinner with the husbands (who were sorely neglected but kept themselves busy.) This trip we ate at Cornucopia, which has a varied selection, including several vegetarian choices. And it is said they have good beer, too. It was extremely busy there and service was slow, but the food was good.  We also returned to the Koho Bistro for a fine dinner. They are on the pricey side, but the food is excellent.

The other activity that I really enjoy is spinning outside in our camp. This year Connie brought a canopy and we added a wall to keep the wind out. The weather was rather cold and windy most of the weekend. I bought some bright orange roving from Aunt Janet to make the husband a hat.  It reminds me of the safety orange jackets my dad loved when he worked on the city street crew. Even though orange is not my color, I’m enjoying the cheerful effect it has on me. It’s like summer flowers.

I always enjoy the drive up and down the Oregon coast, but it sure did tire us out.  Today  was spent recovering, reorganizing, and battling some raging hayfever.  Sleeping in a grassy field always sets it off.  I did spend a little time spinning outside on my porch today, enjoying my new lettuce and herb garden. Oh, and making up to the cat, who is not at all happy that we have been gone so much this month. She sat watching me spin and giving me cranky looks.

We have a three days at home, four more away, and then back to stay put for a while. Sounds like summer, right?

The knitting has slacked off recently and it doesn’t look like it will be on the priority list anytime soon.  I’m still making a hat here and there. I’m still adding to my stash. I’m just not accomplishing anything worth talking about. Such is life.

I did make a Boo Striped Baby Hat *, named after the little girl in the movie Monsters, Inc.  I used Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria that I had in my stash. I’ll make more of these fun little caps.

In everyday life, our pumpkin is growing and even turning orange.  It’s bigger than a basketball and it looks like it will actually get ripe, even though it wasn’t planted until July 5th.  And there’s a new little pumpkin starting on the same plant that’s as big as a walnut.  I don’t have much hope of that one finishing up the season, though. It has been good fun watching this baby grow. We are eating lots of tomatoes and yellow squashes,too. Check out this perfect little pear tomato.

We’ve also been putting some windfall apples out for the deer and watching them eat them. They look pretty funny and cute with their mouths full of big apples. There’s a doe and her fawn, a little buck with tiny velvet-covered horns and a little spiked buck.  This fuzzy picture was taken through a window and is of the mama of the bunch with her fawn beside her.

That’s all I have for this end-of-summer post.  I’m looking forward to the new season, especially if the rains stay away just a little while longer.

*Ravelry Link ( This pattern is not written in English on the author’s blog.)

No knitting or crocheting in the last few days. A bunch of pickled beets is all I’ve got to show for my time. Don’t get me wrong, though, I’m thrilled with my pretty red jars. I love beets. Mom and I put up a couple dozen jars of these. My portion is sweetened with Splenda and they taste as good as the sugared ones. And why wouldn’t they, since they are the very source of sugar. When I look at these I see dessert in a jar.

The rest of the week has been spent working and dealing with another death of a very dear friend. This makes six deaths of loved ones in six months, and I gotta say it’s wearing me down. I remember when my parents reached their fifties and their friends and family started rather steadily dying. It seems I’ve reached that time in my own life. I’m trying to come to grips with it as just one more part of the cycle of life, but I’m not so thrilled with this part of the cycle, if the truth be told. We did have a robust wake for our friend, who was one of the sweetest women I’ve ever known. As Vonnegut would say, “So it goes.”

I’m glad there are so many things to sweeten life: flowers, music, family and friends, knitting and crafting, the ocean…. The list is long and at the end of it is sleep, which was in short supply for a while. So I leave you with a picture of a little catnap with a rock for a pillow. Next week there will be knitting!

I’ve been enjoying more time at home this week. First I started knitting the Lace Edged Hat that has been on my Wanna-Do List for a long time. It’s also one of the featured patterns for Caps for a Cure. I started…and frogged…started…and frogged. Seems I can’t count or something simple like that. So I did what I should have done in the beginning. I placed a stitch marker every six stitches, since this has a six-stitch repeat. The bands are real cheap and lightweight hair bands, not heavy rubber. They are perfect for this, especially when I accidentally knit one into the hat and can easily cut it loose. The markers worked great! I was able to tell immediately if I had a wrong count and made it through the lace edging. Now I am zooming up the hat in stockinette.

I also took time to make some Split Pea Soup and Onion Braid Bread. It’s a great meal for the change in seasons. My kids grew up on these and were very happy to come to dinner. It’s been a long time since I kneaded bread by hand, and I’ve always enjoyed the process. And this recipe makes such a pretty loaf. Here’s the soup recipe. It’s a streamlined version that doesn’t call for a ham hock.

2 c. split peas
8 c. hot water
1 ham slice, chopped
1 c. carrots, chopped
1 garlic clove
1 bay leaf
1/4 c. onion, chopped fine
1 stalk celery with tops, chopped fine
2 T. chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients in soup pan. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for an hour and a half or until peas are very soft. Mash with a potatoe masher, if desired. Makes 8 servings. Enjoy!

Fall has arrived with its cold mornings. The apples are ripe, and it is time to make applesauce and pies. Today I picked half the apples from our family’s trees. There are still yellow delicious to pick later. A friend has also asked us to pick his apples and that will take place tomorrow.

Then it is time to cook them. Applesauce is on the list, as well as a pie or two. I’m thinking about canning some sliced apples to use in pies later. Got any good recipes or ideas for these beauties? I’d like to try something new. I’ve done lots of canning and baking and I’m a bit worn out on the old standards.

Here’s the little girl who helped me pick the apples. She ran around chasing apples, pulling my clothes, and biting my toes. Now she’s tuckered out. She belongs to a friend who was helping with the yardwork.

So I’ve had some fresh air, exercise, and a good puppy fix. Much better than yesterday, when I felt ill all day. I think we ate something disagreeable on our way home from Reno. Yuck!

Enough of that –it is finally time to announce some winners! I’ll start with the Moving/Anniversary Party prizes today. The guesses on the reading contest will be posted sometime Thursday.

First, I want to thank you all for helping me celebrate this move and my first year of blogging. It has been great fun for me, even if I was running around the countryside most of the time. My apologies to the people who posted in the last two days. My hotel would not let me email out and I wasn’t able to reply to many comments. I really did appreciate all your comments and well-wishes. Thanks!

Now…for the prizes. There are eight of them, so I drew eight names. The first winner whose name was drawn will pick the prize that suits her best. Each one after that will choose in order. That means it will take a while, but I would rather have someone choose something that would be useful than just assign prizes willy-nilly.

Winner #1 is Sallee of KnitNana! Congratulations! She will have first pick. After that, in order: Karen S. of Tangles, Ariel of Stariel Knits, Chris of Stumbling Over Chaos, Lorinda of Redhead Ramblings, Lori of Starz Above, Marji of Fiber Arts Afloat, and Adrienne, aka Pixie Girl.

I wish there were prizes for everyone, but these are the lucky ones this time around. I will be emailing each one of you after the one before you makes her choice. I hope to be done by Thursday since I’ll be out of town one last weekend. If you don’t hear from me, I’ll catch up to you early next week. Thanks so much to all of you for playing!

Leave me your secret (or not so secret) apple-cooking tips and check back on Thursday for the Mark Twain Reading contest winner.

Ferg at Redumbrella asked me personally, so I figured I’d play along with this meme. These are foods I’d suggest everyone try at least once in a lifetime. I’m sure there are others I’ve forgotten, but these are some of my favorites.
Five Things to Eat Before You Die
Chocolate-covered licorice
. . . or was it Licorice-covered chocolate? I don’t remember, but a long time ago our town had an import store called Globe Imports. They had a food section that carried some candy from far, far away. It looked like M&Ms. It had a hard outer candy shell, probably brown or orange. Inside was a soft chocolate and inside that was a licorice center. I think that’s the general idea. Sounds weird, huh? I loved those things…. If anyone knows what I’m talking about, point me to a place where I can buy these lovlies. Okay?
Abalone
For years, my dad and his friend would go skin-diving once or twice a year to harvest abalone, a large footed shellfish much like a scallop or a sea snail. Dad would put on heavy weights and dive down and pry the big shells off the rocks. We still have some of the shells. They have beautiful rainbow colored insides.
Mom would take the abalone and beat the living daylights out of it to tenderize it, then bread it and fry it. It was the only food we told visitors (or family) that if they didn’t really like it, they couldn’t have any. It was like gold, not to be wasted. Dad’s too old to skin-dive anymore, it’s very dangerous, although he does still fish on the ocean, even alone. I don’t know where you can get some good abalone, but I miss it.
Moose Tracks Ice Cream
My mom mail-ordered me a T-shirt with this flavor on it. I used to eat a lot of it. *blush* I’ll let you read about it. Suffice it to say that my second favorite ice cream flavor, peanut butter cup, is part of the Moose Tracks recipe.
Lemon Meringue Pie
This is my specialty. I try to convince my family that this delicacy is reserved for my son’s birthday and maybe one other VIP occasion each year. They still pester me to make it more often. I rarely give in to their pleas. I make it myself, but am not above eating a commercial pie once in a while. Mine is better, of course.
Broccoli Soup
Now, this is a dish my DH cooks for me. (He actually does most of the cooking, but that is not such a good thing, as my digital, very accurate, scale will verify.) I have to ask for this delicious concoction, and eventually he will whip it up. Of course, I know where the recipe is and could make it myself, but that’s no fun, now is it? This is a variation of a recipe** that calls for dill, but DH uses cilantro since I don’t care so much for dill. Cilantro! It makes me happy just to think about it. If there was ever a personal aphrodisiac, this one is mine. It doesn’t make me lust after DH, though, just after cilantro, which may be why he isn’t quicker to make it for me. Here’s the recipe.

Creamless Broccoli Soup

Place oil onions, celery, garlic and salt in soup pot. Cover and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat, stirring often. Chop broccoli, using mostly tops with some stem. Set aside about a cup of broccoli tops. When onions are tender, add 4 cups of stock or broth and the broccoli, except for the cup of florets that were set aside. Cover and bring to boil. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the oatmeal and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often. When broccoli is tender, remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Puree in a blender until smooth. Cook broccoli florets that were set aside in boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Add to soup with cooking water.
Yields: 7 to 8 cups
Nutrition per 10-ounce serving: 109 calories, 5.8 g protein,
3.4 g fat, 16.8 g carbs, 0 cholesterol, 239 mg sodium, 5.4 g fiber.
**Adapted from a recipe in
Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special