Miscellaneous 11-11-23

I think I may have  to start posting  stories from my past.  I just don't seem to accomplish much  these days.  Lots of naps, two walks a day with KoKo,  keeping  up with bills, and keeping up with Facebook, SAQA, Surfside QGuild, etc.  Since I have a few days without outside obligations I went to CVS  this morning for a flu shot.  My arm has started to  swell  and itch - as it usually does with any vaccine - so I have been putting an ice  pack on part of the  time.  Interested to see how it  will be in the morning.    After  another  week  I'll  have another  few  days free  and  I  will go for the "biggy", a Covid booster.   In the past they  have put me  off my feet for a few days.  Maybe this  one won't  be  so bad.  

A few days/weeks? ago I posted a picture of the local bird bath and said I would try  for a better image.   Didn't see many birds this morning, but we walked earlier and the shadows were  better.  All the  darker spots are holes  the birds made  with their feet  and wings  as  they  bathed in the dry, sandy soil.

I  have managed some sewing.  Mostly mending, but  here are six recorder covers for music students at a south county school.   They needed   over  200!   A small group of SQG members got together to  cut out the two  layers (cotton  outside  and  flannel inside). They made up kits with instructions and Velcro  for members to take  home  and  sew together. I thought it would be an easy project, but I have  lost  some  of my sewing skills and it took me a long time.

They are 16" long X 3"wide and hopefully sturdy enough to last a few years.

Autumn is sort of here in  SCalifornia.  We have  mild  daytime temps and a few nights down in the  high 40s.    Not low enough for a rush  of  fall color, but there is some color. This Nandina (known also  as Heavenly Bamboo) grows along the drive-thru line at Starbuck's.  KoKo is not smelling it, just sticking his head out the window.

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Friday Food 11-10-23

When I look through my  pictures I  realize that I am more inclined to take pictures of desserts than of actual meals. So, these are either homemade or at unremembered  restaurants.

Avocado  toast which I have  enjoyed for decades,  before it had a  name!

This is homemade with toasted raisin-pecan bread, a thin spread  of  mayo, a tiny sprinkle of salt, and, as you can see, some black  pepper.

Sometimes I make it with frozen waffles!

One of  my favorite meals when I visited friends in San Juan Batista.

Mary would fix lamb chops and  baked potatoes and,on this occasion thinly sliced carrots, a tomato slice and some thin radishes. Located in the veggie capital of California there are always lovely fresh vegetables.  

A lovely fresh shrimp salad at an  unremembered  restaurant.

I do love shrimp, but rarely eat them unless I can be sure they are not treated with sulfites to keep them fresh.   Sulfites do a job on me. The blue flowers don't have a taste, they are just a delight to the eyes. 

This is an Indian meal from the family whose boys I take to school two days a  week.  The dad was born here and works from home except for Tues and Wed.  The mom, born in India, is a nurse who is studying to be an anesthesiologist assistant and has odd hours.  Both of them cook and will sometimes prepare extra  for me.  This is beef chunks, little pancakes with veggies, a "salad" of cut up fruits and veggies (papaya, green onions, cucumber, and other things).  Also a homemade naan.  Sometimes things are too spicy for my old stomach, but usually I can tune it down with plain yogurt and occasionally I put it in a strainer and run water over it before reheating it in the microwave. The food is varied and always tasty - even if I cannot identify it.  I believe they use these stainless steel plates and bowls as their every day dishes.  

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Miscellaneous 11-08-23

 I thought it was just Blogger that wouldn't let me post last night, but it was something else.  Still having a problem with  my space bar.  Guess  I will have to go visit the Geek Squad.  I think I was just born without  the  electronics gene!

The Fuyus (persimmon) are just ripening. This one hangs over an 8 foot wall along our walking route. I  think  I will knock and see if they will share.   I guess I will need to  carry a ladder over to reach them.   They are  my favorite fruit.  

I  am taking the boys to school  on both Tuesday and Wednesday this month and Julian can't stay alone  when he gets out at  1:15 or 2:15 so I stay with him until his dad comes  home. I have been doing surgery on Froggy while I am sitting at the  boys house.  Poor guy, I will need to replace his entire back again since KoKo  chews on him there.  But there are also many small  holes with a tiny puff  of stuffing sticking out.   I use carpet thread, which doesn't come in  green, but KoKo doesn't notice. 

Lots of Western Bluebirds lately.  This one turned his head just as I clicked. 

I think we need to have our fence  sanded and repainted.  

Here is  another local bird!  This is an artificial blackbird perched on the right hand  of  the giant skeleton who has been "re-garbed" for Thanksgiving.  

I think he needs  a pilgrim hat. 

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Quilts from Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection 11-05-23

Two pieces by Kathleen Probst, purchased two years apart. The first is a12x12 from the 2012 SAQA online auction.

"Simple Landform: Sand & Water" - Kathleen Probst - Idaho 2011  12"X12"

Fused, hand-stitched and machine stitched.

Kathleen  notes: "The balance between sand and water interests me, as they mutually agree on boundaries. Montessori landform puzzles were the inspiration for this piece. This is the first time I've hand-stitched one of my "Simple Series" pieces to create the chunky lines I've been craving." 

DEL COMMENTS: I am intrigued by the shapes and the stitching on this piece - besides, it is blue and yellow!

This one I purchased directly from Kathleen.

 "Wings #2: Pairing Up"  Kathleen Probst - Idaho   2012
27.75"W X 28.5"L  Cotton fabrics, Fused. Machine quilted.

www.kathleenprobst.com       kathleen.probst@gmail.com

You can also check Kathleen Probst on the right sidebar for past posts and pictures.

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Friday Food 11-03-23

 All of the quilt guilds I have belonged to have  refreshments of some kind.   I think the ladies of Surfside Quilters Guild outdo themselves, at every meeting there is a tempting spread of  both sweet and savory.  A member brings something and puts their name in a bowl for a drawing for the table decoration.  Members with birthdays in each month are encouraged to bring something for the refreshment table.  In September I always take See's chocolates - three pounds are gone by the end of the meeting.

Some offerings are homemade, but I think they are mostly store bought. 

One member consistantly brings English muffins  topped  with  egg salad and cut  into bite  sized  pieces.  Usually this  is  the first  plate that empties!

Some members  like to bring seasonal treats like  witches hats  and chocolate egg nests.  

A selection of savory .....

....and sweet.  At our present location there is no coffee - groan!

I think it would be impolite not to try a little something!!

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Halloween Ending 11-02-23

Our neighborhood has a parade on Halloween and on the 4th of July.   Sometimes KoKo and I sit on folding chairs in the  driveway and cheer them on.   But this year I just  went out  and took a  few pictures.  Didn't participate in Trick or Treat.  

But I could not resist taking pictures of the man riding a leopard!

He is standing straight up and his legs are the front legs of the tiger.

False legs with boots grasp the tiger and the back and  rear tiger legs are also false.  I wish I knew who the guy is so I could ask him some  questions.

This is not street regulation, but the family drives it around on  the  local streets quite a  bit.  They have decorated it  with  orange lights.   Run off  the  battery?

Here is a gutsy guy dressed as  a big  pink  bunny visiting my cross-the-street neighbor.  The arrangement  is becoming more common - place a  table loaded with candy and sit/stand  outside to monitor  the children's  intake.   Lots of  problems with just putting out a bowl or basket full and having some kid take the  whole  thing,  basket  or bowl included.  

Have no idea how  a firetruck  is arranged to drive in front  of the parade since  our neighbor fireman moved away.  It  is always there and even  gives a siren burst.  The pole is  located between our driveway and Mark-to-the-South's driveway.  

The  enormous   skeleton is out  for the season.  He'll stay up until the New Year with appropriate clothing. I suggested  putting him up for Easter  and I would  provide the bunny ears.   They  were  not interested!!

Here is his smaller friend  wearing one of the  bowties that  KoKo  gets at the groomer. There is  a baby skeleton hanging from the big guy's arm who has the bowtie from last year.

Same friend with a few skulls and a sign.  Add a little more each year!

Across the street they have three blowups and the lights that make floating ghosts and bats on the garage door.  We saw them last evening on our walk. 

But this morning about 8am they had been replaced by this blowup turkey.  The owner either came out in the night to change or got up very early before he went to work.   

So another whole year before we do this all over again.  Maybe we will do candy next year.  The mornings after the parades I take an extra plastic bag on our walk and pick up the candy wrappers and other trash.   This year there didn't seem to be as many.  However, in the parking strip beside the house that just went on the market for a million+250-dollars was a used disposable diaper.  The current state of our society is not great.  

 

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Flowers on our walk 10-30-23

Of course there are Halloween decorations, I'll show some tomorrow.  But in Southern California there is always something blooming.  I try to remember the names, but sometimes must look them up and the Internet makes that so easy.  This time it was Cassia, which I usually cannot  remember, evenbefore I got old and  addled!  

Little John Bottlebrush

It only grows to about two feet  high, but it has a spreading shape. 

Yellow Daylily - my favorite daylily color.

This one grows under the Plumeria I showed the other day.

Senna or Cassia  

In full bloom now and this yard has three very large, spreading bushes - like trees.

Of course, there are always roses. 

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