Friday Food 07-20-18

This is a re-post from 06-25-14.  I have a small watermelon, the radishes and an orange in the frig and some canned sliced olives in the pantry.   So, tomorrow night my most favorite summer salad.  Try it, it is delicious. 

This is the best summer salad.  It is a recipe shared by Meg in Australia back in July 2009. 

There aren't any exact measurements, but this is what I use for just one dinner size serving:

3 - 4 radishes sliced

half a small can of sliced black olives

1/2 naval orange cut into small pieces

2 cups of watermelon squares - about an inch.

a couple hands full of mixed greens OR baby spinach OR what have you.

Toss with a dressing made with olive oil and fresh lemon juice. 

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Walking in the neighborhood 07-19-18

When KoKo and I walk at 7am (oh so) and 7pm (unless the temp is over 80F, then we go when it gets below 80F) we never see many people walking.  He is still learning to sit/stay and he still lunges and carries on at bikes, trikes, scooters, etc..   We keep working at these lessons and some days are better than others.  We unfortunately still hear fireworks which makes him head for home.  I have had to pick him up and carry him lest he tear my arm out of the socket.  He is only eleven pounds, but it is a powerful eleven pounds.  We have wild rabbits and the smart ones just squat down and wait, the dumb ones take flight and KoKo wants to chase them, so I hold tight on the leash at all times.  He has pulled away from me a couple times in two years, but has improved with time.  The heat doesn't seem to bother him, though he will sit down in the shade if I sit down to rest, which I sometimes do.  

There is a lot of burned foliage around, several large leafed trees are very brown (coral trees, tulip trees, avocados, etc.).  I have a large ficus in back and it has been dropping brown leaves for the last few weeks.  And we probably won't have any rain to amount to anything until the middle or end of October.  A little monsoon moisture is possible in August.  So, there isn't much blooming.  Mostly roses and gazanias, and plumerias. 

This rosebush was here in the backyard when we moved in thirty years ago.  I don't know its name.  It blooms profusely most of the year. 

The buds open to reveal a soft lavender inside and bright pink outside.

As the blooms open they turn bright pink all through.  Unfortunately this rose doesn't really care for the heat and get sunburned very quickly.  You can see the edges started to curl up. 

The "landscape roses" which are everywhere here are almost always blooming, but even they have shriveled somewhat in the heat.  This picture was from earlier this year.  

I really appreciate that KoKo has gotten me out to walk the neighborhood, I always see something interesting. 

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Wordless Wednesday 07-18-18

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Bird watching 07-17-18

For the last two years I have walked KoKo twice a day, which is good for both of us.  An additional perk is seeing the birds in the area.  There is one yard with mostly desert plants that hosts a flock every morning.  They all fly up when we walk by, so it is not always possible to see what species they are.  But in this area the birds are usually house finches, least goldfinches, phoebes, doves, house sparrows, towhees, hummingbirds, crows, mockingbirds, western bluebirds, and some others I can't think of at the moment.  Several houses have hummingbird feeders and one house has a bird feeding platform outside one window.  So, we usually see lots of birds.  But yesterday there were several special sightings. 

On our morning walk there was a fledgling crow and it's mother up on a light standard.  The youngster was begging and crying and carrying on and the mother just ignored it.  She flew off, he followed, she flew back, he followed.  I think she was trying to get him to go off on his own and stop making so much horrible squawking.  I don't think they even noticed us walking below and I watched them for five minutes or so.  

Complaining crow from Google Images 

 Then later in the day I looked out the kitchen window and there was a ROADRUNNER sitting on the low wall across the back.  I have never seen a roadrunner around here, it is all houses and streets, no open country near by.  I tried to take a picture, but my camera battery was dead and I couldn't get a close enough shot with my cell phone.  He hopped down a bit and flew off down the slope.  I wonder what he was doing in this built up area.  

Roadrunner picture taken at Lake Havasu  2005

And even later in the day I looked out to see a hummingbird hovering over the wall and going down close to it.  There are no flowers nearby that could attract a hummer.  But I think she was interested in the spider webs along the bottom of the brick cap on the wall and the hummers use them in their nest building.  There are always some there even though the gardener blows them when he comes on Tuesdays.  So, three unique bird sightings that I came across accidentally in one day.  It was a thrill.   Simple pleasures!  

Anna's Hummingbird from Google 

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Monday Browsing 07-16-18

Do you receive the Friends of Festival e-zine?  It is a free "newsletter" that comes from the people at Quilt Festival in Houston.  I'm not sure this link will work, but give it a try, there are some interesting articles in this issue. 

https://mailchi.mp/quilts/read-the-summer-friendsfestival-e-zine?e=6111cf14dc

And another reminder to check out Luana Rubin's pictures from quilt shows around the world.           https://www.flickr.com/photos/luanarubin/   

The exhibits at Visions Art Museum in San Diego will include work by Rita Zerull.  Here is a newspaper article about her and her creations.
         http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/sd-no-rita-zerull-20180709-story.html

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Empty Spools Seminars at Asilomar 07-15-18

This is a re-posting from March 2010 .   It is so fun to look at this quilt and remember all my Asilomar classes and teachers and fellow students.   I've gone to classes for 27  years, sometimes just one session, but frequently two sessions.  Tried three sessions once, but it almost did me in! 

25th Anniv. of Empty Spools Seminars 03-22-10

Empty Spools Seminars is celebrating 25 years of great teachers, students and friendships. As part of the celebration the three women who run the seminars, Diana McClun, Suzanne Cox and Gayle Wells asked all those who have taught over the years to send spool blocks to create some anniversary quilts. Six quilts were created with the help of some of the teachers and many friends. At each of this year's five sessions all the attendees names are put in a box for a drawing for one of the quilts. The winner pulls a slip a paper with the name of the quilt she has won. At the end of the fifth session in June the names of all of the 2010 attendees will go in a box and a name pulled to win the sixth quilt.

On the last night of the first week I attended (Session III) I was the winner and the quilt I won is "Freddy's Polka Dots". So named because when the blocks were divided up Freddy Moran took this set home and assembled this quilt. I think it is spectacular and I feel very, very lucky. These pictures were taken at the end of Session IV when the quilts were taken down from where they hung over the edge of the balcony and placed on the empty chairs in Merrill Hall so all could see them close up. Not the best situation for photography. I had someone hold up the quilt for an all over shot and I took individual blocks while it was draped on the chairs. I cannot identify the makers of all the blocks. The one on the bottom row with the rainbow flying geese is NOT Caryl Bryer Fallert - she has not taught at Asilomar that I know of. But I cannot tell you whose contribution it is. (Addendum: I am wrong! Caryl taught a computer aided design class several yearss ago - but is still is not her block!! She will also be teaching in 2011. For a list of the teachers for 2011 go tohttp://www.emptyspoolsseminars.com/Teachers2011.html)

Here are the blocks I can attribute correctly.
Top left: Elizabeth Spanning Bottom right: Becky Goldsmith

Top: Gai Perry Bottom: Dale FlemingTop left: Freddy Moran Top right: Kathie Pasquini Masopust 
Bottom left: Peggy Martin Bottom right: Sylvia Einstein

This elaborate block was made by Louisa Smith.

Here is a better image of Sylvia Einstein's block with one by Dale Fleming on the right.

Freddy Moran's colorful block.

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