Crochet projects I've completed

So, using YouTube, Pinterest and various blogs, I've successfully taught myself how to crochet. Single crochet, half double and double crochet are the stitches I'm comfortable with at this point. I've made a cowl using a bubble stitch, 3 double crochets in the same stitch, I made a black beanie using all double crochet and another teal beanie using a random variety just to test my skills. I wore that hat for a whole day and got several compliments. The last beanie I made was all double crochet using a rainbow yarn. It's a little loud for my taste but I love how the colors line up. To learn and get comfortable with the atitches I used a plain yarn, now I've moved on to some great textured yarns. If you're learning to crochet remember to take your time and don't take anything to seriously. It takes a lot of screwing up to get it right, and you'll be better for it in the end. I can make a hat without following a pattern now.

Last sunset of November 2013

Meet Charlotte

I'm afraid of spiders, but one thing I practice to acclimate myself to them is taking photos and researching them.

One spring day after hours of tending to my roses I peered out my front screen door at my hard work. To my terror, from eight feet away, I saw this bright green hairy spider sitting on a fresh peach rose.

This spider was about 2" long, not including her legs. The abdomin was beautifully decorated and the legs extremely hairy. I was traumatized but intrigued. In the above photo she's devouring a wasp. In the photo below she's devouring another one. It seems with every wasp she ate she grew bigger and bigger!

She stayed on the same flower for days until it wilted and the petals fell off. I looked for her (and found her) everyday in the same location. I was sad when her flower fell off. I missed her. I had shown her off to Mike and to family and friends. I named her Charlotte after my favorite childhood movie. I knew all of the words to "Charlotte's Web" and I even curled up on the back of my couch and acted out the part.  Weird that with my affinity for that movie that I would grow up to be so afraid of spiders. I think it had something to do with the movie "Arachniphobia."

So I watched Charlotte inhabit a few flowers on the same bush and in the same general vicinity. I watched her continue to catch live wasps and enjoy them until they disappeared. The weather got colder as Summer came to an end and she began to slow and become inactive. Then one stormy day I looked out to her perch and found this

I had thought that she'd been replaced by another spider, one that hadn't yet overstuffed her belly with wasps, I couldn't believe that this was my Charlotte. But as I observed for the days ahead I noticed that it wasn't a wilted flower she clung to, it was an eggs ac.  This is when I knew for sure that Charlotte was a mother. I was so excited that my garden would soon be filled with these beautiful green spiders just like her! Especially because I had been stung by a wasp that season and quite enjoyed watching her exterminate them from the garden.

Well Charlotte eventually faded away but I kept tabs on her little ones for some time, until I didn't see them anymore. We had had some hard rains and I worried that all her hard work had gone to waste, but yesterday, a whole year after watching her beautiful life cycle, I found another eggs ac crawling with little Charlottes, on the same rose bush! This filled my heart with glee and my eyes with tears of joy, for even though I hadn't seen this generation devour wasps and inhabit flowers, some of her offspring had survived.

Charlotte is a green lynx spider and although their bite can be painful, they seldom do bite unless threatened. I will look forward to many more generations of this beautiful creature in my garden. Although I will never touch her and will always keep a good distance, this is a spider that I like having around.

Fried ham and cheese balls

So after I made Mike breakfast and I still had some leftover pancake batter but wanted something slightly more savory, I boiled some fry oil and went to work on these delicious little creations!

First, roll up some game and American cheese, stab it with a skewer and cut it into a bite size chunk

Then dip it in pancake batter. You could use cornbread batter too, but this is what I had on hand, and all over the kitchen. (I'm a messy cook!)

Test your fry oil to make sure it's not too hot. Just drizzle a bit of batter in there. If it turns golden brown in a quick but not too quick amount of time, drop your ham ball in there, stick attached, turn until completely golden brown. Batter will fluff up quite a bit. Experiment with the consistency. I like a fairly loose batter, but one that holds on without dripping off before I get it into the oil. Each ball should only take about 10 seconds max.

(Excuse the post breakfast dirty stove!)

I also tried making some breakfast sausage balls. Those turned out great too! Just roll sausage into macadamia nut sized balls and cook through before dipping them in pancake batter. They'd be excellent dusted with powdered sugar and served with a side of maple syrup.

Give this quick, easy recipe a try! It's not the healthiest but it sure is a delicious little splurge.

It would be a great brunch dish to serve to a large party!

Enjoy!

Momma Doi's fantastic Wun Tuns!

Around Thankgiving time my mouth always begins to water for Mike's mom's recipe for Wun tuns. I took a picture of it and posted it on my Instagram account so it would be at my fingertips whenever the mood struck me to whip some up. It wouldn't be fair for me to not share this fantastic recipe with you so here it is. I'll post a picture of the delicious finished product next time I make some!

Best Hair Conditioner EVER!

I'm a natural mousy brunette with blond highlights from the sun, but for a year or so I swore I was a redhead! I had never dyed my hair before and my mother always warned me against it, but without her here I decided to give it a go! I got plenty of compliments on the color, people thought it was natural, but over time it felt over processed and I felt like chopping it all off. But I look terrible with short hair and despite my prior beliefs, long hair is lower maintenance. My sister in law Lori introduced me to this amazing conditioner! Within one use my hair was buttery soft and shiny. When the bottle was empty I tried whatever else was available and my hair reverted to full and lifeless again.  Without my usual brittle breakage, my hair has grown longer than ever.  Matrix Total Results Sleek conditioner is the only thing I'll use now. Mike tried it himself one time because his hair was feeling a little dry, and he raved about how his hair felt afterwards. Actually, he's the very reason I'm posting this product review. He said that I should share our hair secret with as many people as possible! Try this product! It has a neutral fragrance that both men and women can enjoy. It's pretty affordable too. I get a gallon of each, the shampoo and conditioner for about $50 altogether. I'm pretty frugal so I've calculated that the cost per use is similar to cheap drug store brands like Herbal Essence or Mike's favorite, Finesse.

Turkey for You and Turkey for Me...

In the wee hours of this morning, as I lay in bed, afraid of the cold and wishing just a few more winks would fall on my sleepy little head, I got to researching TURKEY DEALS this November.  The San Diego Union Tribune mentioned that due to a lack of feed there was rumor that there would be less turkeys available this year.  They concluded to say that there will be enough turkeys to go around, however, expect to spend around 80 cents a pound for a frozen one.  Well, my whole family, meaning Mike my Fiancé, Keila and Monday my doggies, and Sybil the kitty.  So I got busy on a couple of my favorite store sites looking for deals anyway.

Turns out the best deal I found is at Fresh and Easy.
limit 2, while supplies last!  That information comes straight to you from Fresh and Easy Neighborhood Market Facebook account.  This was the very first deal I found for the season and so far it's the best!

Jennie-O Turkey Store Premium basted Frozen Turkeys
              8 to 24-lb 37cents per lb

Next so far in my research would be Von's.  You have to buy $30 worth of groceries to get the deals, and it's limit 1 per purchase, but here's the breakdown:

Safeway Frozen Turkey, Grade A offers good through 11/28/2013
                         
               8 to 16-lb     $8.00 each  ($1 to 50cents per lb)  *best Von's deal per lb for a 16-lb turkey
        16.01 to 20-lb   $11.00 each  (69cents to 55cents per lb)
        20.01 to 24-lb   $13.00 each  (65cents to 54cents per lb)

Butterball Turkey (it doesn't say frozen so I assume it's fresh)
             10 to 16-lb   $10.00 each  ($1 to 63cents per lb)
        16.01 to 24-lb   $15.00 each  (94cents to 63cents per lb)

I'll keep up my search, and update this post as I find more deals, in the meantime, go gobble up some turkey, it's great anytime of the year!

How Does My Garden Grow?

With Kitchen Scraps and seeds and pits and lots and lots of love.

My collection of pineapple plants

My well established but slow growing avocado tree

My mini make shift greenhouse from a recycled water bottle

My baby avocado tree

Kitchen scraps to treasures. Lemongrass, celery, green onions, romaine lettuce and ginger

Collecting Shells and Memories

Every time I go to the beach or the bay my gaze is drawn to the sandy shore and the beautiful wet treasure that adorn it. There's a special depth to the little gifts from the sea in their natural environment yet I find myself bringing them home time and time again nonetheless. I ask myself every time, "what am I going to create with all of these shells?" Well, lately I've been going a little easier on myself and my reply is, "I don't know yet, but it's going to be fabulous!!!!"

Today, while admiring my salty, sandy finds I discovered a way to preserve the beauty these sea gifts possess when they're wet. Olive Oil! With a few cotton balls and a little olive oil you too can bring the beauty of the sea into your home!

Before. Still beautiful but slightly lack luster.

Olive oil and elbow grease.

This technique works beautifully for sea glass, rocks and driftwood too!

Simply put into a pretty glass bowl these beach finds make touchable art that will inspire memories and future shell crafts.

Enjoy!

Sleepy the Bug

I love my Keila Bug! The puppy has been tiring her out so she gets a wink where she can. This was a dreamy fluttering eyelid quivering loopy moment!

My Outings with Auntie

Yesterday my favorite Auntie, Mimi, picked me up in her convertible PT Cruiser and whisked me away for a fun filled afternoon of Crunchy Shrimp Taco Platters, salty Margaritas and a long walk on a familiar beach. We didn't stop talking the entire time. This is a lady whom I love dearly but didn't get nearly enough of growing up. She loves the beach, just like me. We delighted in collected broken shells and beautiful wet stones, and big groups of children pulling chunks of tangled kelp like it was the trendiest toy a kid could have. My auntie looks like a California beach girl. Her hair is a beautiful sun kissed blonde and her toes are always tan. She always has a smile on her face and a twinkle of pure joy in her pretty blue eyes. She's the closest thing to my mom that I will ever get enjoy again. I am so grateful for her. 

Furry Monday in the Morning

Good morning, Monday! Is my pillow comfy? Good! I was comfy on my pillow too until you sat on my head :0)

But with a furry little face like that, I'd give you the world!

Coqueto: memories of my Puerto Rican firecracker friend

When I was in my early twenties I worked at Roy's, a fine dining restaurant that has remained my favorite since I left 8 years ago. The pastry chef was an amazing little "Puerto Rican firecracker " named Jen. One year for Christmas she gave me a creamy rum eggnoggy kind drink called "coqueto."

I am now in my early thirties and have been craving that drink since she gave it to me! I recently contacted her and she gave me the recipe. It's crazy simple and makes regular rum taste festive and delicious- so here ya go:

Firecracker Jen's boozy Puerto Rican eggnog!

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk

1 can coconut milk

One bottle white rum (750ml)

Mix, bottle, give to friends and store in your freezer for long lasting buzzy wuzzy goodness!

Clean yard, Happy heart

I spent most of my day today cleaning up my front and back yard. It was looking kind of wild in October, but the look worked as it looked a little haunted for Halloween, but this morning it just looked shaggy. So I weed whacked the front and raked together 4 trashcans worth of fallen leaves, Bougainville and grass clippings. I poured those into a far corner of my back yard in hopes of having some rich mulch come next spring. I picked up over five hundred feijoas. Those are from a tree indigenous to New Zealand, it bares green fruits that look like avocados but smell like pineapple and have the texture of a guava. I'll be making some jam, chocolate feijoa cake, feijoa bread and using the rest in smoothies.

After picking up all the fruit, I manicured my back yard as well, leaving me with a huge, satisfied smile on my face and a happy feeling in my heart because I love spending time in my yard but sometimes the weight of the chores get to me.

I was curious, now that the nights are cold and the days are dry and hot, when is the best time to water the yard. I researched it for a little while and found that the early morning is best so that you give your plants the water they need to endure the hot day, but they're able to "go to bed" at night with "dry feet" and dry leaves. This eliminates the risk of fungal infections and frost damage.  So tomorrow morning I'll be numbing my toes in the cold dew on the grass in order to give my yard a well deserved drink before I scurry off to a doctor's appointment. I'm already excited to come home to a quenched yard and a welcomed humidity in the air.

Today, We Crochet

I know how to knit a basic scarf but the art of crocheting has always eluded me. Today I pledged to myself that I would master the basics so that all of the crochet projects I've been pinning on Pinterest would not be for nothing. I've got a ton of yarn and yarn scraps. I started with some YouTube videos on how to double crochet and how to crochet a circle and I got started. As you can see from the picture below, it's been a busy morning and, if nothing else, I achieved my goal of mastering the basic stitches and getting familiar with the tools and materials. For my next feat I will actually tackle a pattern to make a beanie, dishcloth or afghan.

San Diego Gardening: What about November?

I have a fairly large garden at my San Diego home.  I've been involved in the process of tending to it most of my life.  I love exploring plants indigenous to San Diego and have traded cuttings from friends and neighbors to expand my own selection.

My "Edible" garden is not what it once was, due to time constraints, priorities, and the unfortunate removal of my rich fertile soil for the city's underground electricity program.  They replaced it with rocky fill dirt that doesn't drain well and grows weeds.  What I have been prolific at is creating a potted garden with kitchen scraps.  In recent years I have successfully grown lettuce, watercress, beans, celery, cantaloupe, avocado, mango and citrus trees, ginger, lemongrass, garlic, onions, potatoes and pineapples.
Here in San Diego we enjoy long growing seasons, little threat of frost and a fortunate second growing season in the fall.

Right now I'm harvesting my bountiful pineapple guava fruit as it drops from the red in the cool autumn nights, my strawberry guava berries have just finished their peak, and I'm waiting anxiously for my navel oranges to ripen.

November is a good time to continue to plant winter vegetables like cabbage, onions, scallions, chard, spinach, peas, carrots, beets and radishes (mastergardenerssandiego.org)

For more thorough information go to http://www.mastergardenersandiego.org/vegetable%20planting%20guide1.pdf)