Elemental Stitches

Vineyard Trip 2011 Photo Recap

I fought back tears as we drove away.  It was so much fun.  Tom is exhausted at night, but thanks his lucky stars every morning when he wakes up to this.

I think I could live in his working trailer for a long time if I got to live somewhere as beautiful as this.  My days were spent cleaning his work/living place, medicating a sick hawk, cooking for several hungry workers, and blaring my car horn at invading starlings while scaring the crap out of the occasional car full of half drunk wine tasters (not intentionally of course!).  We flew falcons, saved and released a wild Shrike from a sparrow trap, munched on table grapes fresh from the vine, chatted with another falconer about growing up in Ireland, learned to strum on an Irish Banjo, flew kites... need I go on.  One more month and Tom will be home.  All these pictures were taken with my iphone 4.  I didn't even take my dslr out of the bag.

 

This Vons has the largest canning section I have ever seen! My local store only has two types of jars and they are nearly impossible to find.

This was our favorite stop on the way home. Bubblegum Alley in San Luis Obispo, California. Brae insisted, apparently Judy Moody has been here. Yes that is all chewed up gum, 2-4 inches thick down the entire length of both walls. Yes, it is nasty, but smells a lot better then you think.

*Due to naughty job poachers (yes, seriously) I cannot tell you exactly what vineyard that we are on or where, only that we are somewhere off the 101 freeway from Santa Barbara to Paso Robles. In August it's Paradise here.

A Week in Instagram & The Coming of Fall

It is the third week of August and I have felt the first signs of Fall.  While walking Brae to her first day of school I noticed the early morning fog has a deeper wetness to it.  The clouds threaten rain even though we shouldn't have a drop until Halloween.  By mid morning the fog is burned off by the sun, who seems to have realized the coming of the dark half of the year, and is burning hotter then ever to make up for the cool summer we have had.  By nightfall the wind picks up, cardigans are slipped over bare shoulders and flipflops are traded for socks.

A couple nights later while I was figuring out dinner I had a sudden craving for a warm and hearty potato leek soup.  Not something I would normally make in the summer.  It's a soup firmly anchored in my fall and winter menu.

Then last night, while sitting in bed, a craving for apples hit me so hard I had to go downstairs and eat one immediately.  My first apple in at least 6 months.  It just so happened that I saw beautiful apples at the market earlier that day and was drawn to their beauty like a moth to a flame.  I bought a few for my daughter's lunch, but never intended to eat one myself.  Apples are my fall & winter thing, they taste the best in season.  Fresh from the fridge it was cold, crispy and sweet. 

If I were still living in the high desert I would be looking for the first sign of fall in the scent of the north wind.  It has a wet earth, deep forest smell.  One of woodsmoke, falling leaves and the faintest hint of arctic ice.  It appears in September right when my Mom's apple trees are ready to harvest.  We could guesstimate the start of Fall by the ripening of those apples. 

I imagine it takes at least a decade to get to know a place that well and I have yet to learn the first sign of Fall here in the SF Bay Area, but I am guessing it also begins with a craving for apples.

Photos - All taken by me on my new and amazing iphone using the Instagram App.  Links and descriptions for each photo are below.

1.  Summer Flowers  2.  Banana Almond Butter Shake. 1 c milk, 2 tbsp nut butter, 1 banana, ice.  Blend until thick & creamy.

3.  My friend's cat was over for a visit.  He really liked the chickens.  4.  Swing Socks, recently finished.

5.  Deep Chocolate Brownies  6. Everyday Lunch - Avocado, turkey, tomato, lettuce, and cucumber on whole wheat bread.

7.  What natural dye should I use for the Kalajoki socks?  8.  The garden.  Over 40 lbs harvested so far.

9.  We have 2 new quail, a boy and a girl.  Thinking baby quail and eggs.  They need names.  Any suggestions? 10. Darwin, my favorite chicken but probably a rooster.  Bummer.  Check out the adventure.

11.  My first ever home raised organic free range chicken egg laid by Ladyhawke.  12.  I am freezing loads of tomato sauce this year.  Recipe from Heart of the Artichoke by David Tanis.

Last Week in Pictures

 

This past week I...

Said goodbye to Tom for 2 months.

Made doughnuts.

Found chickens eating tomatoes.

Hung herbs to dry.

Bought some yarn from Knitpicks and Soulemama's new book.

Dragged a resentful daughter to the Renaissance faire, which she loved.

Took the light rail downtown for the first time.

Tested a new cookbook.

Savored an old favorite for lunch all week.

Yarn Along - Getting Back in the Swing

This Summer has completely screwed my blogging.  But I think I am getting back in the groove.  Brae starts 1st grade in about 3 weeks (OMG!) and I have lots of plans for getting back to it.

I've been thinking about this blog all summer.  Where it is going?  What is the point of this blog?  Since I moved all my food and gardening news over to Shoots and Roots I have been at a loss of what to write about here.  But I realized that there is so much I want to document in my life that doesn't belong on Shoots and Roots.  This blog is first and foremost about documenting our days, what we accomplish and how we live our lives.  Hopefully in the next few months I can explore this more.

The above photo is one I took a week or so ago.  I am joining in with Small Things and her yarn along group.

BTW, that book 15 Minutes Outside is awesome.  Lots of creative ideas I haven't come across before.

Happy August!

Blackrose Socks

A year ago I didn't really understand the hullabaloo about knitting socks.  I would read Yarn Harlot's hilarious and passionate posts about her sock addiction puzzled as to why socks were so great.  They are socks people.  No one even looks at your feet anyway. 

Then I made the Sea Clover Socks and the Blackrose Socks.  Now I understand.  Its not the utilitarian construction of socks that is addicting.  It's creating a work of art.  It's the small portable size, the teenie tiny stitches, the intricate designs that are just enough to exercise my brain, but not enough to overwhelm.

Blackrose (my ravelry) is a beautiful and simple pattern.  A panel of 17 lace stitches cascades down the side of each sock with everything else in stockinette.  It's is the perfect compromise between "mindless knitting" and "you better fricken pay attention knitting".

With a few pairs of socks under my belt I only have one question. 

How do you all keep your gauge consistent when working on a long project?

My socks are always slightly off with one larger then the other.  I know my mood makes a difference in my gauge.  Stress knitting = tight stitches.  Bedtime knitting or relaxed knitting = loose stitches.  Is it because I don't block my socks?  I don't have a sock blocker so I haven't bothered to do it.  I've read that knitting two at a time solves this problem, but I haven't learned how to do that yet.  Is it hard to learn 2 at a time on your own or should I find some kind soul to show me?

Right Now

So I know I am totally ripping off Amanda from Soulemama, but I love this type of post.  What a perfect way to record little memories, those beautiful little moments that make my life complete. 

Right now, I am...

+ re-reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  It still sounds a bit preachy, but I'm loving the story.

+ wishing I got my chickens this weekend.  Yes, our new family members are three hens who will provide us with lovely eggs.  We had to postpone our Saturday trip to the coast to get them.  Next Saturday is the new chicken day.  Also reading Keeping Chickens by Ashley English, wishing I had Home Dairy, and the room to keep my own bees.  Melissa means honeybee so I kinda have a soft spot for the little buzzy creatures.

+ adoring the Blackrose socks I just finished.  Pictures coming.  As soon as I figure out how to take a decent picture of my feet.

+ loving the first week of summer break with my daughter.

+ listening to her first phone call with a friend from kindergarten.

+ planning for big changes in the next two years.

+ wanting to eat more loquats from my neighbor's tree, but knowing that the fifteen or so I ate last night were enough for this week.

+ planting a new bed of Ruby Red Swiss Chard in the new garden bed I built last week.

+ imagining just how heart-shaped the heart-shaped tomatoes are going to be.

+ thanking Tom for, how do I put this into words... everything he does to keep us going.

+ wondering if I should dye the beautiful wool yarn that Tanya sent me before or after I knit a pair of these socks (ravelry link)?

+ eating loads of baby greens, shallots, potatoes and peas from my garden.

+ enjoying the hot weather and the easily tanned skin my father passed down to me.

+ watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 for the first time and loving every minute.

+ attempting to convince myself to cancel cable tv for the summer.

+ wearing tank tops everyday because I can.

+ researching my family tree and getting lost for hours in the amazing stories of survival and hardship I am finding.

+ trying to find new books to read this summer.  Any suggestions?

Back with Potholders On

You thought I abandoned you for my new blog Shoots & Roots, didn't you?  Well, I have been spending a lot of time over there getting her started, writing about the garden, the granola I have been making every week and the little ones favorite oven fries. 

But all my crazy Californian urban homesteading fun doesn't quite fit in on Shoots & Roots.  That is what Elemental Stitches is for. 

You want to see what I have been doing lately?

Well, a couple weeks ago I almost burned my hand with a worn potholder and decided to pull out my dusty sewing machine and make some new ones.  I have been thinking a lot about Amanda's new baby, remembering when I first found her blog in 2004.  We were both pregnant at the time.  Amanda with Adelaide and me with Brae.  Reading about how she was raising her kids helped me form my own ideas about what I wanted my family to be like.  I am still drawn to her blog.  Several mornings a week I sit down to read about how they are chasing after their own little American dream.  Her posts always seem to inspire me to reach higher for my own dreams. 

All this thought about Amanda drew me back to her book, Handmade Home.  The projects are so simple and easy to make.  Millie's Hot Pad was just what I needed.

After two episodes of Bones I had cute new potholders.

In other news, we will have some new friends joining our family this week.  I will share more about them soon!

Scenes from the Road

From last week's trip.

Gilroy, Ca

Gilroy, Ca

Palmdale, Ca

Mom's house.  Palmdale, Ca

Mom's deck, where everyone hangs out on the weekends.

Prickly Pear - My friend Tina got hundreds of those tiny orange thorns in her arm and hands.  Tape, very sticky packing or duct tape is the trick to removing those suckers.

Azula - My mom Aussie Shepherd

My Mom.

Antelope Acres/Neenach, Ca

Neenach, Ca

Neenach, Ca

Antelope Acres, Ca

Also wishing you a very happy Easter!

Hard Times - Heading to So Cal

(This photo was taken during my last trip to visit my Mom. My mom's lab Bailey is patrolling her yard)

It's always my mother who calls with bad news. Saturday I was enjoying the afternoon with Tom, contemplating dinner options when the phone rang.

"Melissa," Mom said as if she was whispering a secret, "Something terrible has happened."

My heart drops, along with my stomach, and both turn into a pool of mush in my feet. Last time she called a young relative of ours had been killed in a fight. The time before that was the earthquake in Haiti. I will never forget when she woke me up early on the morning of Sept. 11th, 2001, with, "Melissa, something terrible has happened."

This time it was about my best friend from my hometown. Her husband tragically passed away on Saturday morning and she needed me. I canceled my plans for the week. Got my taxes done, woohoo! And now I am packing my bags and heading to southern California.

My friend, who looks and acts like an angel, is now a widow with four children ages 12, 9, 8, and 6. Please pray for them. Send them strength and courage. They have had a very difficult last few years and now this. They deserve a decade or two of peace.

Please wish us all some luck this weekend! Thank you!

Happy Spring & Sea Clover Socks

I know I am a couple weeks late but HAPPY SPRING! 

I have been spending lots of time in the backyard, working in the garden or knitting in the shade with a cup of tea.

I have also been cooking & photographing up a storm for my cooking blog, Shoots & Roots.  It's up running away with itself.  I am having so much fun telling stories and photographing the food I am cooking.  I love it. 

I finally finished my Sea Clover Socks!  The pattern is by Kate of Confessions of a Graveyard Gypsy.  Here is my ravelry page for the project.  I used Hazel Knits Artisan Sock yarn which I loved knitting with.  I remember it being kinda pricey ($23 on her website) but I would definitely buy it again.  Maybe in a green next time. 

I picked this pattern because it was super challenging.  I really wanted to see if I could do a difficult pattern start to finish.  I began the first sock last year in July and finished it in November.  At one point I accidentally knitted far too many decrease rows around the gusset of the foot and had to rip back several rows.  I totally screwed the ripping back up and had to take a break until a lovely lady from our knitting group helped me pick up all the stitches I had dropped and put them back in the right order.   What a sweet patient woman.  Bless her heart.

The second sock knitted up easier and faster then the first, as it always does.  However, I found that I only wanted to work on it when I was stressed out.  As if the difficulty of the pattern put some of my other life stresses in perspective and calmed me down.  By the time I was nearing the toe I couldn't wait to be done with the whole thing.  I grafted the toe and pulled both socks on only to discover the first sock was a bit larger then the other.  After pulling my hair out trying to figure out what I did wrong I realized that it was my stressed out knitting.  It is much tighter then my relaxing day knitting and I need to keep that in mind when I am working on gauge sensitive projects. 

So you expert sock knitters out there.  Can this be fixed with some aggressive blocking of the smaller sock? 

I am guessing it can but I havent had the guts to try it yet.  I would love to hear some input on how I might fix this.

Happy Knitting!