...and the Critters Keep Coming...

Critters come and go...I gave 4 away and made some more

Meet, Neon the Elephant and Sunshine the Piggy. 

Neon is the brightest critter I've ever made and he's just super dazzling!

Lake Cachuma 2019 and 2022

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December 2019

December 2022
We need some rain.

Goodbye 2022

Lots of things went wrong in 2022, but I'm not going to delve on them. 

I'm counting my blessings by looking at the things I want to remember that were good for me (just me) in 2022. 

I'm being selfish and I can as this is MY blog.

1) I have a wonderful, loving husband

2) I have great friends and family whom I love

3) I can walk without a wheelchair, walker or cane

4) My left hip is pain free

5) I love the freedom to live where I chose to live

It's been a challenging year and I'm ready to welcome 2023!

Happy, Healthy New Year.

Where is the Rain?

I stole this weather map from AccuWeather...there's rain in northern CA (which is good) but there's not a lot of rain in southern CA or southern NV. 

We need to tell the weather-gods to send us some water.

Where's the Normal Piggy?

Another piggy showed up in the menagerie. She's cute and loud and while her shape is "normal" she is unusual. So that might make you think the normal piggy is the pink one until you see her eyelashes. She's definitely channeling Ms. Piggy.

So, which piggy is normal? The loud piggy or the Ms. Piggy wannabe? 

BTW I don't know the answer. In the world of crocheted piggies, anything can be normal.

Meet Ella the Elephant...Eli is her brother. They are "circus elephants" or they started out as decorated Easter eggs gone awry.

Sometimes I Need to Make Toys

I love making critters. You've already seen the recent batch of piggies. Today I finished a blue elephant. I asked my friend Karen to name him and she said he looked like Eli the Elephant." Of course I asked him if he liked that name and he said "YES! Eli's a very handsome elephant. 

Like I said, I needed to make some toys....and more are in the works.

Merry Christmas

It's Christmas Eve. When I was a kid, this was the big Christmas celebration. We had a huge dinner with lots of family and then we opened presents. We even got Christmas presents from Santa. When I asked my mom why they came early she said that Santa was a busy man and he left early presents to kids who were good. My sister and I were pleased with that answer and never questioned it again. We were good kids and good kids got all their presents on Christmas Eve. We kind of felt sorry for the kids who had to wait for Christmas as they were not as good as we were. 

To that end, I hope you get your presents from Santa early. Merry Christmas everyone!

Flying Piggies

Sometimes I need to do something different...so I'm making flying piggies

. 

Of course flying piggies have unusual aerodynamics as their wings are small in relation to their bodies...

but theoretically bees are not supposed to be able to fly...so why worry about it.

Normal piggies

A quartet of piggies waiting for new homes.

Lake Reflections

This morning the water mirrored the mountains. 

I think it is magical to see a large body of water so still.

You can tell the water is low as the old road has surfaced. 

If you look very carefully, there's a fellow fishing on that old road. 

Morning at Lake Cachuma

It's morning at the lake. The fog is lacing the sky with tendrils of light 

Soon the sun will melt the fog

And the view will be clear.

Solvang

The tiny Danish town, Solvang, in the Santa Ynez Valley, celebrates Christmas with style. Not only are the streets decorated, so is the town park Last night was a community song fest of Christmas carols. The park has several real Christmas trees covered with lights and ornaments. The spirit of the season is happy and bright.

Main Street is lined with trees decked with strings of white lights. Solvang a perfect place to get last minute Christmas gifts with a Danish flair. 

Christmastime in the RV

We are winter camping in the fifth wheel in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley in CA. It's about 60 degrees warmer than our home in the Rocky Mountains and that's why we are here. We have a little Christmas tree on the coffee bar and sparkly garlands hung on the slide outs...it a cozy cabin for Christmas.

Outside in the campground there are wild turkeys strutting around and woodpeckers are tapping acorns into the oak trees. We've seen deer and even a coyote crossing the street. It's good to be back at Lake Cachuma after a 2 year absence. BTW, the lake is at 31% of full. I'll show you pictures tomorrow.

On the Road, Again

We're on the road again...first time since October. The October trip was from summer house to winter house and was not very long. This one is much longer and will actually include winter camping. The plan is to spend Christmas with our family in northern CA then spend some time at our favorite lake in southern CA. Two days out and we're still following the plan.

We've been on the road many times in the fifty years we've been camping. Our first adventure was in July, 1972, which was a shake down trip to Crater Lake in an 18 foot mini-motorhome. We discovered the water pump did not work but that did not hamper the adventure. Since that first shaky trip, we've had many more adventures including driving to 49 states; 9 provinces and 1 territory in Canada. We've also rented motorhomes when we did not have ours. We've lived full time in our RV when we've built or sold houses too. We would not be who we are without the wonderful stuff we've learned while being on the road. The memories are many and we hope to make more. As the seniors in the campground, we take our time while enjoying what we can do and it's still a great adventure!

Christmas Lights

For the last few days our neighborhood has been texting about Christmas lights. The messages have been flying and we all decided to use the same set of lights and we decided on how we were going to display them. We ordered the lights (thank you Amazon) and they arrived on Monday. Yesterday we all installed lights along our common back fence and they went "live" last night. What a sight to see our lights all across the villages. Talk about a great neighborhood! Talk about cooperation! 

A little bit of light to get us in the Christmas Spirit. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sunset in the Desert

We've lived in the desert for several months now and we've discovered this desert does not have colorful sunsets. 

We were used to sunsets at our last home so we miss them. Then, last night we had a sunset!

As with any sunset, they are illusive. By the time we drove out of the parking lot, it was gone. What a sight to behold if even for a minute.

Baby Blankets

Remember I made 2 baby blankets for little girls to be born in December. Both little girls were born on the same day...the day before Thanksgiving. A real surprise...

I have a video of the other little girl, but not a still...I should be getting more pix soon. Welcome to the world little ones.

Braciole

My family has a traditional dish that's made at the holidays. We call it by the Sicilian name my dad and grandmother used...but we have no idea how to spell that "old country" name. After years of trying to find the correct spelling of the dish, I found the correct name for the dish while looking at an episode of America's Test Kitchen. It's called Braciole. Braciole is a type of veal bird, or stuffed meat roll, that is found in each region of Italy. I know a version from Sicily but I'm sure it's not a "pure" version...it's a version by way of Sicily, San Francisco, and now Nevada based on foods and spices that can be found locally. As an example, originally the meat was veal...I used flap steak this time that I pounded to 1/8 inch thick. Very thin cut round steak, tenderized and pounded to 1/8 inch thick is an alternative.

When I was about six or 7, my grandmother taught me how to make Braciole. I remember standing by grammie, and listening very carefully how to measure out each spice. She took my left hand and told me how much of each spice to pour in my hand...and how to hold my hand flat or cup my hand to get the correct amount. For certain spices she said I needed to crush them with my right thumb to release the oils in the spice. The process was interesting to the little me, and I remembered the recipe. To this day I measure out the spices with the same process. 

The recipe is not hard, it's just long. Nowadays, it's a "heritage recipe" which means it's complicated.  The meat needs to be pounded so it's very thin. The stuffing has to be measured and mixed. Then the stuffing is spread on the meat in an even layer, the meat is rolled and finally tied together with strings. When the meat rolls are finished, they are put into a large pot of  tomato sauce that has been bubbling all morning. Finally, the large and heavy pots are put into a 350 degree oven for several hours. While they are cooking, the house is filled with the best aroma you can imagine. On Thanksgiving Day I made 52 Braciole or veal birds for Christmas dinner. And of course, we had Braciole for Thanksgiving Dinner. They were yummy. From start to finish, I worked six hours. A labor of love and a walk down memory lane. No one in my little family knows how to make the dish even though I've tried to teach them over the years. One year, I even made a step by step picture book. So, as long as I can make Braciole, I will.

Here you see 3 little Braciole with rotini and the sauce, the best meat sauce you've ever had, as it's cooked for several hours. I froze the remaining Braciole and they are my gift to my family for Christmas. I can hardly wait to see their faces when they see them because, as of now, the Braciole are a surprise.

Mini Christmas Trees

I'm making tiny trees for Christmas decorations. They are very cute.

I've decided the trees need to be in a variety of colors, but the other DrC wants them to be green. I'll make some green ones for him.

Baby Blankets

After making dozens of critters and pumpkins, I'm making blankets again. 

Two little girls are going to be born in December, so I'm crocheting away on identical teddy bear blankets. One is finished...the other is started.

Not the traditional pink, they are strawberry and cream. Welcome little ones.

Back in the Desert

The transition from the lush high country to the dry desert is amazing. One day things are green and turning golden...

 

and the next day the red and ocher sandstone in fantastic shapes decorate the background

They are so different from each other. 

On another note...while we were away our landscaping was finished. It looks like a backyard from Sunset Magazine. We are impressed.

The perfect place for morning coffee after my walk!

Pumpkin Patch

My friend Dottie called this a pumpkin patch..and it is

.

I know more are on the way!

Fall Flame

Fall in our little patch of the Rocky Mountains has been spectacular. The aspens are turning from green to yellow-gold. When aspens are intermixed with conifers, they look like patches of flame amid the green. The effect is eye-dazzling. The vistas of gold and yellow trees on the mountainsides have to be seen as a picture just does not capture the beauty. Given that, I take pictures from a closer perspective. Take a look:

We have had incredible weather...warm, blue skies, and autumn leaves

A cabin nestled in the aspens

The color has been amazing this year

Even the leaves dappling the ground are artfully arrayed. 

Mini-Pumpkins

I've branched out from critters to things...this time mini pumpkins for the fall.

I like them a lot and they are relatively easy to make. As you know, I like to stay busy.

The Herd of Elephants and Other Critters

What do you do when you have Covid and are too tired to do much of anything? I don't know what other folks do, but I crochet. 

My latest pack of pachyderms includes Golly, Jumbolina and now Effy. I finished Effy last night.

 All three have forever homes in such far flung places as Florida, Utah and Guam. 

I still have some piggies too...the next 2 projects are baby blankets. I'll post them when I'm done.

Yep..One More

Meet "Golly" short for Goliath, as he is one of the bigger "little" elephants that I've made

He's a loving fellow with a heart on the tip of his trunk. 

His forever home will be in Salt Lake City as he's a birthday present for a friend.

More Elephants

I'm making nonpartisan elephants...some with their trunks pointing up, some with their trunks pointing down. All are kind of cute. This little girl is named Jumbolina and she's going to live in Florida with my friend who just survived Hurricane Ian. She's a circus elephant, all dressed up in pretty colors.

This little fellow is named Horton...and is sort of noisy like a Dr. Seuss critter should be. 

I wonder if he hears a Who?

Now for a downward pointing trunk...Meet Elspeth the Elephant. 

Do I need to get a life? NO, I'm having fun making critters. Remember I'm still in quarantine...what do you expect?

Quarantine

The camping trip ended...we all hugged each other...and we all came back with Covid! Not so lucky. Along the way, the other DrC caught it too, and another friend...so I'm tracking 5 cases of this weird disease that is no longer a pandemic. All of us have had the same symptoms in the same order to varying degrees of intensity. It has not been fun. The DrsC went to Urgent Care on Monday to get the "official" test, which we passed with flying colors. We were given a multi-page document telling us what to expect and 2 boxes of Paxlovid, one for each of us.

 

Then we were put under home arrest (aka quarantine until Wednesday). Quarantine started from when we first had symptoms on Friday. If we feel well on Wednesday then we can "go out" starting Thursday as long as we wear masks outdoors. So far, the regimen has been helpful. I feel better than the other DrC and he's making progress. 

I must say the directions for Paxlovid are easy to follow. Someone designed the packaging so a very sick person could figure it out. Inside the box are 5 trays, one for each day; each tray is divided in half and there are 2 large blisters-packs on each half to open to get to the pills. The morning half is white and has a sunshine on it. The evening half is pink and has a moon on it. Just follow the easy directions and you are good to go. So far, we have not paid anything for the medication. The box says "For use under Emergency Use Authorization" and I'm not sure what that means. 

We are trying to wrap up our time in the High Country and this has put a crimp into that process. When we get back on track we'll be working hard to winterize the house and get on the road. 

Critters Great and Small

We continued our "Great Moose Hunt" today by trekking into the wilds of the Tetons. We drove by Christian Ponds, a good moose browse...but no moose. Then came the moose browse by the Lake Jackson Dam...no moose. Then we drove to Jenny Lake and while we saw fantastic scenery, no moose.

As a last ditch effort, we went to Moose-Wilson Road and we finally saw a moose. Debbie has been looking for a moose for 6 years and today, she succeeded. She had  tears in her eyes when she was a big mama moose who had twins hidden in the understory. We never saw the babies, but we did see mama. Oh Happy Day!

Along the way we gawked at views of the Grand Tetons. In my opinion, you can never get enough view of the Tetons

Jackson Lake was still and the reflections were world class. Another great day in the mountains.