Scrub Oak

Felt work

I've been practicing some embroidery and found that needles tend to accumulate with the variously colored threads.  Instead of fininshing all the green in the piece, for instance, I like to skip around and then start some periwinkle....and then some coral... and then the yellow.  You see how it is.  It occurred to me that a needlebook would help keep things sorted out.  A few years ago I tried my hand at felting using our Rambouillet wool.  That darn stuff always seemed to felt so easily during washing so it wasn't any time at all before I had a nice square of it.  I added some bits of wool that I had dyed in outrageous colors and worked that in, too.  The felted piece has been waiting for me to use it for some project.  Last night I cut a bit out of the square and made this needlebook. 

 

There are lots of sites that show the felting process.  Here's one to try. 

Head work

I don't think one can go through a Rocky Mountain summer without a photo of the beautiful columbine.  So here it is for us all to enjoy. 

Our company is gone and the house is so quiet.  I miss them a little - always do for the first couple of hours.  There's a thunderstorm moving through and the rain is welcome.  I've been doing some embroidery today which I'll post at a later time.  It's been a strange, rather anxious week.  Sustainability beginnings continue with the recording of all expenses.  With each new entry I spend some time wondering how we will manage without that expense and if it is truly something dispensable.  I also have a "Solution" column going on in my head.  It's a very interesting experience, let me tell you.  For instance, today I washed my hair with my usual product which I buy at a store.  It's not pricey salon stuff but it isn't "Suave" either.  Can I do without it?  Would I be able to use a homemade product to be a good steward who doesn't have a trashcan full of packaging every week?  And - MOST important - would that homemade product tame this wild mop of mine?  (That fear I come by quite honestly.)  Last night we went out for pizza with the family and for the first time in ages I thought very seriously about how much it cost.  Just for pizza.  I cooked (well, Jerry cooked too) a full dinner for us the rest of the weekend and was aware of the time it took to prepare three meals a day.  I've also been keeping lights off (sometimes I turn one on during the day to sew or knit by), planning to put in a long, overdue clothesline to utilize this wonderful Colorado sun drying power. and turning off the basement refridgerator (it really comes in handy when you have a crowd to feed but it's an old one and I'm sure it's an energy hog).  It occurred to me that very often Jerry and I take rides and then go out to lunch or dinner.  This is a pleasure for us that is dispensable but also so enjoyable.  Solution?  Picnic lunch and limit rides to once a month?  This litany that tumbles through my head is just for starters - I've kept a list of all my ideas and that list is growing like mad. It's weird how it's growing - I think Something Else is propelling it onward.  I've even thought about how to revitalize old towels - jeesch.  This adventure - to pay off debt and be a good steward of our earth (the two do go together) - is consuming me.  At this point, I don't think I have a choice.  Sometimes revelations like this are like snowballs going downhill - they just get bigger and bigger and can't stop.  I'd welcome comments on anything you have done that makes a difference.    

Vespucci Land

I remember a teacher who once told us that we should be glad it was the navigator, Amerigo Vespucci's, first name rather than his last that became the name of this continent because otherwise we would be known as Vespucciland.  Being of (half) Italian descent I didn't quite see the error of this then but I do now.  At any rate the 4th of July is always a time to get friends and family together to celebrate, shooting off fireworks, eating watermelon, enjoying summer in full bloom.   My Uncle Joe would cross the stateline to Ohio to buy fireworks that were illegal in Michigan, Uncle Jim would bring the bocce balls, my Aunties made lots of food, and we cousins just had fun.  I made this Boston Cream Pie yesterday with thoughts of those days gone by. 

 

My daughter, Jessica, and grandson, Evan, have joined us this weekend.  My son-in-law, James, is a police officer in Aurora and couldn't be with us this year.  There's been a lot of cat chasing and walks down the road.  Evan helped Grandpa do the chores (see the red bucket?).  A tip - two year olds don't quite get the idea that eggs must be gathered gently.

Our other girls don't have families of their own yet but I'm looking forward to when they do.  I want to see lots of cousins having fun on the 4th in Vespucciland.   

Making do

(Sustainability logo from oeoj.zlir.com)

Phew - have I been doing a lot of thinking the past few days.  It's become so very clear to me for a long time now that Jerry and I have been going along with mainstream thinking about money, possessions and debt.  It's not working for us.  I've been driving home from work almost every night racking my brain with money making ideas that would get us through this difficult economy (some of them are pretty outrageous, I have to admit).  I've got it all wrong.  We're both working and already making money.  Here I've been thinking that all we need is MORE money.  My huge revelation is that it isn't about making more money, it's about making do with the money and resources we have.  I mean, DUH.

I've been a rather devoted reader of the down---to---earth blog written by Rhonda Jean lately.  I've been stalking her blog.  She has just discussed the absolute need for budgeting and paying off debt and lays it out in a stern, no excuses way.  She reminds me of my 11th grade English Lit teacher.  Rhonda Jean also writes convincingly about homesteading skills and common good sense.  She says that this journey I'm about to take can be very hard, but very rewarding.  I think I'm in love with her.  Today I've started to keep a record of my daily expenses in a notebook.  The first step.  Jerry and I have been talking about ways to stay in this home that we built and we love.  But, we haven't changed anything about our relationship with money.  I say this as I look over to the dining room table.  There are two book packages from Amazon sitting there.  I know they're something I bought for work - and I can't even remember their titles.  Well, that was LAST month.  THIS month will be different.   I have this feeling as if I've finally faced my greatest fear.  Check out down---to---earth.   

Ancient black beans

I spent some time shelling mitla black beans from last year's garden today so that we could have some black beans and rice for dinner tonight.   I've got several sacks filled with dried pods - one might think that the proper time for shelling beans would be in the winter.  And so it might if anything about this crazy world made any sense.   Anyway, the mitla black bean goes back in time - some say back to the Aztecs.  I found the seeds in a Native seed program catalog quite some years ago and have been growing them ever since.  The traditional way to grow beans of this sort is called "Three Sisters" planting (the three sisters being corn, beans, and squash).  You plant the corn in a mound and then plant the beans and squash around the corn.  The beans grow up the corn stalk and the squash spreads over the ground.  All three sisters are said to be harmonious and good for each other.   Just like my three daughters who are truly my very own blessing!

There are some really nice Three Sisters recipes here  but the recipe I'm going to give you today is not a 3 sisters dish.  Just beans and rice - but REALLY good beans and rice. 

Mitla Black Beans and Rice

• 1 pound black beans (2 cups), soaked overnight or boiled for one minute and left to sit for 1 hour
• 2 smoked pork chops
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 diced onion
• 2 -3 cloves garlic
• bay leaf
• 1 tsp cumin (or more)
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp epazote (an herb that lends a very distinctive, almost smoky flavor) - optional
• hot red pepper flakes - I use a tbsp but some like it hotter
• salt to taste
• 1 bottle dark beer, like Guinness
• 1/4 cup flour
• Brown rice, cooked

Cook the beans with the pork chop, red pepper flakes, and bay leave until the beans are tender and can be smashed with a fork easily.  This can take hours and seems to depend on the softness of the water.   When the beans are tender, saute the onions, peppers, and garlic in olive oil.  Stir in the flour and when the vegetables are coated add that Guinness slowly, stirring all the while.  You probably won't need the whole bottle of beer so you can drink the rest while you thicken the roux.  Add the peppers et al to the beans and season with the cumin, epazote, oregano, salt (if it needs it).  Simmer slowly for 30 minutes and serve over brown rice.  A dollop of sour cream on the top is nice. 

Morning quiet

It's always best to wake up early when you don't have to go into work.  This habit of mine started when the girls were babies and was the only way  to have quiet time all to myself.   I've found that it is a beautiful peace with the world.  A perfect time to think about what the day might bring.  I make coffee, knit or spin or sit on the porch if the weather is nice.  This morning the breeze coming through the bedroom window had the promise of rain - but - it hasn't at all.  There's a haze over the valley to the north brought on by this summer's first wildfire over by Guffey and Florrisant.  We're safe for now.  I'm thinking of our Mason Gulch wildfire that started almost three years ago to the day that taught me how utterly powerful Nature can be.  

 

But, this morning is quiet and the hope of the summer monsoons is there.  It's very peaceful.

 

Two pictures

These two embroidered pictures were waiting for me on the dining room table after work tonight.  My daughter, Madeline, found them at the Cañon City Goodwill store.  She said she just knew I would love them - and she is so right.

 

There's a signature on the back of each picture -  "Ardath" - and the date of 1975.  I think they're dear.  And so is my Jo for finding them for me. 

I've been looking into doing some embroidery lately and am rather fascinated with Redwork.  There are some free patterns for doing this type of embroidery on Redwork.info if you're interested.  This newest passion was inspired more recently by Rhonda Jean's lovely homesteader blog down---to---earth.  She has some tips and some of her own stitchery patterns that are really delightful and can be downloaded.  Check the left hand column of her blog for "free stitchery patterns.  Ah! Life is good!

 

Hail storm and mashed potatoes

Jerry and I drove over to Lake San Isabel this evening and had dinner at the old Lodge where you can get mashed potatoes and cream gravy.  We went under a huge thunderhead as we left home and drove through a wild hail storm.  The ride was a delight just because it wasn't planned  -  and because the aspens and Colorado blue spruce are so beautiful and every growing thing is some shade of green.  Inside the log restaurant is a little gift shop with hummingbird feeders, those black bear statues that hold "welcome" signs, fudge in ten flavors, and silly plaques that state "you might be a redneck if....".    A lot of the campers and fisherfolk had come in to get out of the storm and it seemed to me that everyone had the idea of peaceful refuge - for just a while, anyway.  It was an evening of god's grace, I think.

Sunshine dress and 2 year olds

A hot, sunny weekend to remind us that summer is almost officially here.  The days seem to stretch on forever with twilight coming so late in the evening.  We sit out on the porch and talk about silly things mostly, whistling the dogs back from chasing deer from time to time (actually they chase any noise that remotely sounds like a deer).  Yesterday Jessie, Evan and I went up to the Estes Park Wool Market.  I'd forgotten, really, that 2 year olds don't find fiber booths very interesting.  We took it in turns to entertain Evan in the sheep/alpaca tents so that one of us could look over the wares. 

 It occurred to me that I have every wool tool known to woman and don't need any more.   I found this lovely roving in a merino, alpaca and silk blend at the Bonkers Fiber booth.  She calls it "Indian Summer" which is a perfect name and it was way too soft to leave behind.  I wonder what it will be when I'm done with it?  I'd like to try to make one of those delicate felt scarves. 

Today I finished this knit sunshine dress using Christine Jonson's princess A-line pattern.  This was just a "muslin" fitting try, but the little sunshine/flowers really make me happy. 

 

The pattern has a sweet, offset neckline.

I'm thinking of my fathers with gratitude on this Father's Day.  One who I can't remember but who gave me his brown eyes and one who taught me to love gardens.

 

Flowers in the house

I woke up feeling rather beaten this morning.  Did I dream something that reminded me of my mortality?  I don't remember.  It happens every so often and simply seems to be a part of my life that I am learning to honor.  It helps always to go out to the garden, watering and trimming.  Cutting flowers to bring in the house completes the healing ritual.  I found these peonies this morning.