tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-195748232024-03-18T21:16:04.447-07:00Eggs In HatsMelissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-47054983305301019022010-03-01T09:03:00.000-08:002010-03-01T09:25:07.430-08:00Alas, Eggs no more...<span style="font-family:arial;">Back in 1991, I took in a tortoise - my first one, a chaco tortoise (<span style="font-style: italic;">Geochelone chilensis</span>). She came to me from a family who had purchased her 10 years before from a local pet store. She was full grown at that time, a wild-caught import from Argentina.<br /><br />Figuring out a tortoise's age is never full-proof if you don't have information on when they were hatched. Counting the rings on their scutes (the individual scales on their carapace, the part of the shell on their backs) is not accurate, as, like trees, in good years there may be more than a growth ring, and in bad years, no growth at all. Once the tortoise is full grown, there may be no perceptible growth 'rings' since the new scales are rarely larger than the previous year's scale. Age takes a toll, too, wearing down the sharp margins of the scutes, blurring the lines. That being said, when I got her, I counted: there were 60 rings. So, Chaca was probably 60-80 years old when she died this week.<br /><br />She was healthy through the years, her only problem being the occasional beak overgrowth. Only once did I have to resort to filing it down with a Dremel; gnawing on corn on the cob and melon rinds, and grazing on the forage growing outside, kept her beak naturally trimmed.<br /><br />Through most of the years I had her, I didn't take many photos of any of my critters. She was difficult to photograph, anyway, as she never lost her "Holy crap! A human is looking at/approaching/touching me! Dive! Dive! Dive!" reaction, quickly pulling her head in and tucking it behind her elbows. As leery as she was of humans, she was very tolerant of the other tortoises, and box turtles, and didn't seem to mind when Sluggo, my blue-tongue skink who died two winters ago, and the occasional iguana, used her back as a pillow to rest on when sunning themselves.<br /><br />Chaca, as you've no doubt guessed, was the creator of the Eggs. We will miss her.<br /><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-31270817474827847572008-04-11T11:35:00.001-07:002008-04-16T12:51:16.918-07:00Oeufs Redeux<span style="font-family:arial;">Chaca emerged from the last long sleep of her winter brumation in January, but hasn't shown any interest in food or water. Oh, she drank a bit, but not the great sucking bowls full as did Treppie (discussed in </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.lizards-in-scarves.com/2008/04/spring-doth-creep-on-tiny-tortoise-feet.html">Spring Doth Creep on Tiny Tortoise Feet</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> in my LIS blog). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I thought perhaps she might be gravid, as she spent a day or so making the soil excavation motion with her hind leg, but it wasn't as determined or prolonged behavior as it has in past years. It stopped altogether, so I thought if she had been gravid, she must of resorbed her egg(s). Last year, you may remember, she laid only one, rather than the two she has laid in previous years.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Last Saturday, she asked to go out (trundled to the back door and scratched at it), so I put her down on the step, and she used the ramp to go down to the patio and off she went. Unfortunately, she decided to go through a hole in the fence into my neighbor's yard - a hole I hadn't noticed, and one my neighbor was going to fix that morning but delayed a bit. My neighbor came over several hours later, Chaca in hand, after his dogs found a rock moving across their yard, heading towards the fence.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Chaca does have some shell damage, but thankfully nothing that penetrated through the plastron or carapace into her body cavity. I treated her with soaks and topicals, and put her back in the iguana/tortoise room, where she has stayed, for the most part. She has ventured a few steps into the kitchen, going to the feeding station, but she kept going back to the I/T room without eating or drinking. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">By yesterday, I was starting to get concerned about her inappetance. In the late afternoon, Mikey headed back into the Iguana Room (to him, it is, of course, the Iguana Room, as he studiously ignores the tortoises unless they are at the feeding station). I noticed that he was hanging out on the floor rather than climbing up to his roost, so I went to see why...and found two eggs on the floor. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Here they are, cleaned up:</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7oG4j0BFFlUdhpGPOtIqVdxzWzlkbEM3uGqwiQOjaZYIhgoeigflBYXH3n3d-qutecpbRh9nDs6-e9QOVDQYqzFd31nVCNRA-cHLgjp-76aJt8INXUv6dGfSk5fU4-h8c73lMA/s1600-h/2008-04-11-2x600.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF7oG4j0BFFlUdhpGPOtIqVdxzWzlkbEM3uGqwiQOjaZYIhgoeigflBYXH3n3d-qutecpbRh9nDs6-e9QOVDQYqzFd31nVCNRA-cHLgjp-76aJt8INXUv6dGfSk5fU4-h8c73lMA/s320/2008-04-11-2x600.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189932809090912722" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />I have read lots of candling articles over the years, and as far as I have been able to tell, her eggs have not been fertile. This year, I have a new tool in my candling effort: my 20 million candle power </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.lizards-in-scarves.com/2008/01/cozy-crazy.html">spotlight</a><span style="font-family:arial;">!</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br />Here's what the eggs look like on Day 2 (well, more like Day 1.5):</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqO4gy0MH3n-MtgGwXWMaB9hjCzliFFWfT9PLEzotqmKX67jKgBI0XaxuUyNhW1ZrGHqFijrrhnXuDzE4c7E9sa7ob575yeHzTwAau7EbRJ5qpXuiM2irboMMEnL2qUTaSFYbFQ/s1600-h/2008-04-11-candle-2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXqO4gy0MH3n-MtgGwXWMaB9hjCzliFFWfT9PLEzotqmKX67jKgBI0XaxuUyNhW1ZrGHqFijrrhnXuDzE4c7E9sa7ob575yeHzTwAau7EbRJ5qpXuiM2irboMMEnL2qUTaSFYbFQ/s320/2008-04-11-candle-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189932809090912738" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrgANVtTySLL4XwWp3XFEio-zquicKS_AoKoCi97rOjHCU3Su1ayT5nFtWLW0ul8QIC7dz4WAtDkGSMeF9MzWzhmEzh-M9uUNLqn_Ap7x2ygKslDFTVkvjA241Os39jh_r__lHQ/s1600-h/2008-04-11-candle-3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrgANVtTySLL4XwWp3XFEio-zquicKS_AoKoCi97rOjHCU3Su1ayT5nFtWLW0ul8QIC7dz4WAtDkGSMeF9MzWzhmEzh-M9uUNLqn_Ap7x2ygKslDFTVkvjA241Os39jh_r__lHQ/s320/2008-04-11-candle-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189932809090912754" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">What can I say - I just think this is a nice picture of Hand, Egg, and 20mcp:<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWv6H5dCcQac5KMserdFg3HzCyPz1nVslfrzLZnUG4_aQvXW4ujDvgtsMKp2FOtqJmqlBnOmiOYRN-EcJJ0zZzErMMVgwAROit_SdOecpKzLZuje0U-wqPl-COUpUt3aPA38YcFA/s1600-h/2008-04-11-candle-4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWv6H5dCcQac5KMserdFg3HzCyPz1nVslfrzLZnUG4_aQvXW4ujDvgtsMKp2FOtqJmqlBnOmiOYRN-EcJJ0zZzErMMVgwAROit_SdOecpKzLZuje0U-wqPl-COUpUt3aPA38YcFA/s320/2008-04-11-candle-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5189932813385880066" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />I also pulled out one of my LED flashlights, formed a tunnel over the top so the light flowed through my hand, and viewed the eggs lit up that way. Didn't tell my any more than the 20mcp light did: there is a dark spot at one place within the egg that may be an embryo - or not. I'll check again on Day 6 to see if there is any sign of decomposition or development.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />And so, we wait.<br /><br /><br /></span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-22531512718562259112007-01-12T18:53:00.000-08:002007-01-12T19:17:36.271-08:00Yarn CrawlBack when Karen, Polly, Jean and I did a yarn crawl to shops in the town of Sonoma and one in Marin county, I bought some Lana Grossa Merino 2000 yarn for a scarf at <a href="http://www.bellayarns.net">Bella Yarns of Sonoma</a>. As I've started working on it, I decided I didn't have enough and so sorta stopped working on it while I concentrated on my <a href="http://www.socksforsoldiers.org">Socks for Soldiers</a> (you can read more about this project in my <a href="http://lizards-in-scarves.blogspot.com">LIS </a>blog). <br /><br />A month or so ago, I took my friend Pat to <a href="http://www.sonomayarn.com">Sonoma Yarn </a>to pick out some beginner knitter things for a holiday present for her niece. Pat last knit 40 years ago, when there wasn't yarns like there are yarns today. She was amazed at the variety of fibers, colors, textures, and patterns, and subsequently dug out her own ancient needles and picked up a starter project of her own to get back into it.<br /><br />Well, today she is officially back into it! I wanted to also show her Bella Yarns, and their splendid collection of silk and bamboo yarns in addition to the "usual" yummy wool, alpaca and cashmere yarns. (Okay, and cotton and linen, too.)<br /><br />Here's Betza with Bella's sheep:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpfe9SRvhTcueNMA5_lj8HldxnNIQPDSdT_tLN74kC4KGZjJXzG5Q-kdBiXb70f3KN649IDBT-vliv2bRT2WJA6gkQ9RSbqad1K2ipyhue8aBq4ddvWrBTg1VP5aV2qsW-a2HEw/s1600-h/bella-yarns-2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkpfe9SRvhTcueNMA5_lj8HldxnNIQPDSdT_tLN74kC4KGZjJXzG5Q-kdBiXb70f3KN649IDBT-vliv2bRT2WJA6gkQ9RSbqad1K2ipyhue8aBq4ddvWrBTg1VP5aV2qsW-a2HEw/s320/bella-yarns-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5019343290007506402" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">What?! You were expecting real sheep?? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Very taken with one of the lovely silky bamboos (remarking that the bamboo growing in her back yard feels nothing like the luscious bamboo yarns in her hands), Pat has decided to knit her son and daughter-in-law-to-be a throw for her wedding present. After discussing some possibilities, and ways to make it Irish without complicating things by figuring out how to include shamrocks in it, we came up with a feather-and-fan pattern, using lots of different yarns in shades of green.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">This photo (blurred again ::sigh::) does not do the yarns, with their varied textures and sheen and depth, justice:</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQrOIiq6tH-2xTb2BNIPG5yB_fW4ikhyphenhyphenv5Azhqh2hRHyn_6_8UY-2rJ0qebLZ1NeEaw8mYQ7lvEsjHTiJwbjkbRBc0sz_BNfT9AJL6o_eKoyZtGqUhVNGxc7VKywdugLRTZIKFA/s1600-h/pat-irish-throw-yarns.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyQrOIiq6tH-2xTb2BNIPG5yB_fW4ikhyphenhyphenv5Azhqh2hRHyn_6_8UY-2rJ0qebLZ1NeEaw8mYQ7lvEsjHTiJwbjkbRBc0sz_BNfT9AJL6o_eKoyZtGqUhVNGxc7VKywdugLRTZIKFA/s320/pat-irish-throw-yarns.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5019343148273585602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Bella was out of stock of the circular needles and some other things we needed, so we stopped by Sonoma Yarn on our way home. As I was getting out of my car at Sonoma Yarn, I remembered something, and reached back in to get something for one of Sonoma Yarn's owners, Frances Purl: doggie jerky!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's Frances and Betza. You'll note Frances is looking a bit puzzled. I at first tried placing Betza on the chair seat right next to Frances, but Frances decided Betza was just another treat for her from me. After I rescued Betza from Frances' mouth (thank goodness Ms. Purl is as small as she is or it could have been real ugly, not to speak of messy), I placed Betza on the table, as that was the one place Frances couldn't get to her.</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsOm28dFEz18Ly0O-XKT_uF-68PUi3n6RW4_wLCTnuPzLTY2c9q5X779N_TmXRtTu5r_09qfFDeMkLEz7bHv1EIIHjg4LDmbFF6FZx9yMwcgDPvfr-vH4S6TGiiNn9qebRWUYUg/s1600-h/sonoma-yarn-frances-purl.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsOm28dFEz18Ly0O-XKT_uF-68PUi3n6RW4_wLCTnuPzLTY2c9q5X779N_TmXRtTu5r_09qfFDeMkLEz7bHv1EIIHjg4LDmbFF6FZx9yMwcgDPvfr-vH4S6TGiiNn9qebRWUYUg/s320/sonoma-yarn-frances-purl.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5019343152568552914" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Well, this may be the last of the photos in any of my blogs for a while. On the off chance that the blurring may be the camera and not me. I am having a problem with the flash on one setting, so there may be something else going on, she said, voice full of likely-to-be-misplaced-hope. Keep your fingers crossed that whatever ain't working, will start working properly.</span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-79256667164754419652007-01-12T18:37:00.000-08:002008-04-12T23:05:09.249-07:00And Chickie Made Two...Briefly<span style="font-family:arial;">Last weekend, we went out for dinner for Karen's husband's birthday. Unfortunately, my shakes and tremors continued, so there are few photos, and of the two here, only one is any good. Fortunately, that's the one of the back of Karen's head, again showing how, while she doesn't listen to me, I listen to her when she doesn't want to have her picture taken. (Of course, I never want mine taken, so perhaps it is not a far comparison...). Whatever.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Here's Jim, unfortunately somehow overlit as well as blurry, but that's okay, because now you can't see the mean things he's mouthing at me because he realized the camera is pointing at him.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkIaL7TZHAAb1kW6Gn_gGRhu1aD1RbdKHczSbLc333X6gUUhJCoIclIfYE6HAwnAvE_spxk4Jf79Z22ATitzkapWnJ6U5Hc-pOO5xe6cVSLts67eGpDt1zIWGNUIuhTf-SHbSgQ/s1600-h/2007-01-07-56-birthday.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkIaL7TZHAAb1kW6Gn_gGRhu1aD1RbdKHczSbLc333X6gUUhJCoIclIfYE6HAwnAvE_spxk4Jf79Z22ATitzkapWnJ6U5Hc-pOO5xe6cVSLts67eGpDt1zIWGNUIuhTf-SHbSgQ/s320/2007-01-07-56-birthday.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5019340562703273362" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Here's Karen's head, as we were driving home.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimqkyZLc1-bQOGJX3gcBCqpcKF1Xy0-IlRabbPu9QmDRb9qCbB8cQ6JpZKqGWhJii6NjD8aL-HKt_7UY5L2gNg7kmWE92K85vyFfPXlcEAg2QqHbFABMV6nob79JblKAkgHPWRLw/s1600-h/karen's-head-2007-01-07.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimqkyZLc1-bQOGJX3gcBCqpcKF1Xy0-IlRabbPu9QmDRb9qCbB8cQ6JpZKqGWhJii6NjD8aL-HKt_7UY5L2gNg7kmWE92K85vyFfPXlcEAg2QqHbFABMV6nob79JblKAkgHPWRLw/s320/karen's-head-2007-01-07.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5019340562703273378" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd-R9HIdXDiO-vZ6BjORZwWqtGyTA3fZ7V-Ii5ZGOUNpKZ6fOYvnzbfr1yZSiRNd_TRbnHAn-noSt32ipYNU4RTQLe_EzteoR6oTiSezfNh5mMxsnh2bqMJU_Pd-RsMZ67njH3CQ/s1600-h/graces-hat-2.jpg"><br /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Present at dinner was Jim & Karen's niece, Grace. Grace loves small things, and was taken with Betza and her hat. She asked if I would make her a hat for a chicken egg, which, while larger than my tortoise's eggs, is still small enough to be considered, well, small.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Last night, I dug out some stripey pink yarn, and knit a little hat. For some reason, I felt the hat should have a large pompom on top, and so now it does! Here's Grace's hat and Betza in her new hat:</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5nKWtKKOVaGsx0IEb-RRC77ZwY_iUqrvIDlgToipfTNFrqKbhpgvY1qLghd3Fih4nWPPaqA6zEJOON36PUI37IuQrFl8PD0Cf8hfCMHBe7wE-oMKfdSl5ZdHyk7QsYUdqq3pYg/s1600-h/graces-hat-2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip5nKWtKKOVaGsx0IEb-RRC77ZwY_iUqrvIDlgToipfTNFrqKbhpgvY1qLghd3Fih4nWPPaqA6zEJOON36PUI37IuQrFl8PD0Cf8hfCMHBe7wE-oMKfdSl5ZdHyk7QsYUdqq3pYg/s320/graces-hat-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5019340558408306050" border="0" /></a>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-6066533916172437032007-01-09T10:16:00.000-08:002007-01-09T11:30:46.894-08:00Road Trip I: Wine Tasting<span style="font-family: arial;">On the last Saturday of 2006, Betza got her first road trip! Betza, Karen, Polly, Ed and I took off for an afternoon of wining and fressing. In November, Karen and her cousin, Swanee, visited several new-to-us wineries, a couple of which Karen really liked and wanted to share with Polly and I. Ed, Polly's husband, decided to accept Polly's invitation to come along with us, so our day was extra special.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">On our way north to the first winery, I looked over Karen's first attempt at knitting a sock. Unfortunately, despite my having cast it on and worked the first couple of rows for her, it was hopelessly messed up (and I'm being very polite here) and needed to be frogged (ripped out) and redone. Since none of us had the needle I needed to cast it on again, we decided to stop first at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.goodyarn.com/">A Good Yarn</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> in Windsor, a yarn store that was already on our list to visit to get a pair of needles for Karen and get up close and personal with some luscious yarns.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">While Karen and Polly were making their purchases, I sat for a bit with Betza, and took her first ever road trip photo next to an </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://fibertrends.com/viewer/patterns/AC33x.html">unfelted clog</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> and its felted mate.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUMP5-NfeSdZx87uwt_68iUypQ_gAd-GhKZxnWUmXYVS5_2By6eIfZvX-agyeJgkz5XCPHDtCAkixCDy7XHcIgf6dMI2hEmn8bjFigxwXA4Pp4juwcjQCfYwNqspaXXm6oMvP2w/s1600-h/a-good-yarn-windsor-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqUMP5-NfeSdZx87uwt_68iUypQ_gAd-GhKZxnWUmXYVS5_2By6eIfZvX-agyeJgkz5XCPHDtCAkixCDy7XHcIgf6dMI2hEmn8bjFigxwXA4Pp4juwcjQCfYwNqspaXXm6oMvP2w/s320/a-good-yarn-windsor-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098255678543698" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">You'll note that Betza's little poncho has been folded back to make a little hat. I think she's happier this way.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Next we took off for Healdsburg and </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.seghesio.com/">Seghesio Family Vineyards</a><span style="font-family: arial;">. I'm afraid I can't personally say much about the wine. The high dose antibiotic protocol I've been on for three months has pretty much killed my taste for wine, not to speak of causing recurring nausea. And, as I found out when I uploaded the photos taken during the day, causes a lot of microtremors, so most of my photos did not come out. Even the best of them are far below my usual quality, but that isn't going to stop me from inflicting them on you because, after all, we must celebrate Betza's first trip!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">So, the first thing you probably do NOT think of when you think of "Sonoma Wine Country" is venom. While I was looking around all the shirts and wine-drinking paraphernalia for sale at Seghesio while Karen, Ed, Polly and Betza were enjoying the wine and banter with the very nice Seghesio folks, I spotted a black ball cap with a serpentine design embroidered on it, with a single word: Venom.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeL7C9wUeDUQOfYX3jYA9qMMEe-QC3KDdI6DmRZM2SYdVAhYcfMD2t4APOTchLJCSweoarrmS6iDfHmbN1egdQiAG2a41TmNJfWI81PrSNqwFIcS84a0JBGMUQxfmmEAbhHTHBMw/s1600-h/seghesio-2-venom.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeL7C9wUeDUQOfYX3jYA9qMMEe-QC3KDdI6DmRZM2SYdVAhYcfMD2t4APOTchLJCSweoarrmS6iDfHmbN1egdQiAG2a41TmNJfWI81PrSNqwFIcS84a0JBGMUQxfmmEAbhHTHBMw/s320/seghesio-2-venom.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098259973511010" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">No, no one here is a big fan of the Pacific rattler. One of their vineyards is on Rattlesnake Hill in the Alexander Valley, The hat sits next to a large interior window that overlooks a barrel room:</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTas5ya2-ALJwHrtmgWzkYcgDBRgy-KFy2D2cI3cZ5XIQxm5ey7Cr-AZDPYN-ZjAodyNcY1m4k-7__b_g0L0Qt6dWfxN5HX-1xAG6UhXuA3G9FMZnoF9_XsIkVJ38pX7453xGhg/s1600-h/seghesio-3-barrels.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTas5ya2-ALJwHrtmgWzkYcgDBRgy-KFy2D2cI3cZ5XIQxm5ey7Cr-AZDPYN-ZjAodyNcY1m4k-7__b_g0L0Qt6dWfxN5HX-1xAG6UhXuA3G9FMZnoF9_XsIkVJ38pX7453xGhg/s320/seghesio-3-barrels.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098259973511026" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The humans in our party quite enjoyed their wines, and both signed up for Seghesio's wine club, so I'm hoping that by the time we next visit (hey! picking up one's shipment in person is a great way to ensure some quality time in the country on the rare day off!), both my palate and fine motor control systems will have recovered.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oVh9s4WHI6HsU4JW1z-D7OP2BO5-V5lH8ASq3uJD94ZSZQKhv0wTW3IEUPU-f1OMGSkVC_7limqUyG4UMCGAdafxPKbFMHDcq4j4BIP2vT4ErBGu7Fk6jU3toFyOkm6yFwt9lA/s1600-h/seghesio-4-days-offering.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oVh9s4WHI6HsU4JW1z-D7OP2BO5-V5lH8ASq3uJD94ZSZQKhv0wTW3IEUPU-f1OMGSkVC_7limqUyG4UMCGAdafxPKbFMHDcq4j4BIP2vT4ErBGu7Fk6jU3toFyOkm6yFwt9lA/s320/seghesio-4-days-offering.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098264268478338" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">On our way back to the car, Betza wanted a moment to commune with nature a bit so she settled down in a pansy bed for a while.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5h_1xW8_Ar2EkYGLliIeOs08OV3nRlm-9o_Q2JPJV0h0eGVlwJ-CR-EIAtdw5bb_uz5y6yeFE9AyCnu8Z5VZ0Pd95GvYFd865JO29ih_c_BF6evQwctZP2Yp2D_tjhz2kpx9sJg/s1600-h/seghesio-1-communing-nature.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5h_1xW8_Ar2EkYGLliIeOs08OV3nRlm-9o_Q2JPJV0h0eGVlwJ-CR-EIAtdw5bb_uz5y6yeFE9AyCnu8Z5VZ0Pd95GvYFd865JO29ih_c_BF6evQwctZP2Yp2D_tjhz2kpx9sJg/s320/seghesio-1-communing-nature.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098264268478354" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Next we went to </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.mauritsonwines.com/">Mauritson Wines</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, also in Healdsburg. Here are Polly, Karen and Ed chatting with Jan.</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNrAmbjajOmx2gWEWuwyU9OXfIkx6MVXy073T5uK3BahIQoD1URPSOf4yJ1y8EeEtRGQg2X6HvZ_lGm1EtQqGBkjat8cxeSjXqqciN6O3nGts_gMUbzdHlf9LU4CO_k1tue_zEow/s1600-h/mauritson-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNrAmbjajOmx2gWEWuwyU9OXfIkx6MVXy073T5uK3BahIQoD1URPSOf4yJ1y8EeEtRGQg2X6HvZ_lGm1EtQqGBkjat8cxeSjXqqciN6O3nGts_gMUbzdHlf9LU4CO_k1tue_zEow/s320/mauritson-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098586391025570" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's a photo from the other side of the bar. You'll note that, unlike Karen, I honor her request to not be photographed when she doesn't want to be photographed. Here, she is artfully concealed by the decorative branches.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6uc8QvNugxeatzHUSg8JZNSNd8_COkAOpRLenzNPFbnh0JEdVKUwn18-KbBDyjxrBndEwMheo1Nx1BX7ou-cXnZ8J2mLqMjdDL2IXJ-zHB9D72-0Il8w9NAMKE94ZEKN3g94UyA/s1600-h/mauritson-2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6uc8QvNugxeatzHUSg8JZNSNd8_COkAOpRLenzNPFbnh0JEdVKUwn18-KbBDyjxrBndEwMheo1Nx1BX7ou-cXnZ8J2mLqMjdDL2IXJ-zHB9D72-0Il8w9NAMKE94ZEKN3g94UyA/s320/mauritson-2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098586391025586" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's looking towards the outside of the tasting room, to the patio area where we had a bite to eat along with some Mauritson wines before heading into the tasting room during a lull to chat about the wines with Jan.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DhJbx_8Otxg34zn3a_hJ1WcGAHx5gFHonsxC_6w0dT4PFXq__PiDy7Pphm1wEbfRqUJr_yaQLfEaJgf2ftpqnWIzch3esUYzzetMq5slIpYc21IpKTxP-OoymdNB91g7fSdrRQ/s1600-h/mauritson-3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DhJbx_8Otxg34zn3a_hJ1WcGAHx5gFHonsxC_6w0dT4PFXq__PiDy7Pphm1wEbfRqUJr_yaQLfEaJgf2ftpqnWIzch3esUYzzetMq5slIpYc21IpKTxP-OoymdNB91g7fSdrRQ/s320/mauritson-3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098586391025602" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's the southeast (I think east - definitely south) view from their patio.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0u25YVxmRggPreVyQb5jRRIm4M6HmzsD5rZLU0ZyQYYOaMoKppLgvhE0jWDbLWDSvkx_MWKM9dMCy5pUuS2mPMoavllqGHzRcYKHCqMQ7otu-jSF_egTXt5BlEEtoTadO_aEPaQ/s1600-h/mauritson-7.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0u25YVxmRggPreVyQb5jRRIm4M6HmzsD5rZLU0ZyQYYOaMoKppLgvhE0jWDbLWDSvkx_MWKM9dMCy5pUuS2mPMoavllqGHzRcYKHCqMQ7otu-jSF_egTXt5BlEEtoTadO_aEPaQ/s320/mauritson-7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098590685992914" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's the same view, peopled and Egged. Polly, Ed, and Karen are snacking on cheese and crackers, kalamata and black olives tossed with goat feta, and my lox and cream cheese spread, while Betza enjoys the company and the sun and the fact that deviled eggs were not on the menu.</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4DuBHttkP6pjeEN_AU1CQkN9IuTv8JDN8s3RcVvfnMM6bdDQq_zLnBkGjP7zIbQhAT3PM0fY3sZ84kOifIHk80AMIRzrRphruZWOU9yNZlFEDXDS8AQvzV3nxbpqyGPEzn4J2A/s1600-h/polly-ed-betza-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC4DuBHttkP6pjeEN_AU1CQkN9IuTv8JDN8s3RcVvfnMM6bdDQq_zLnBkGjP7zIbQhAT3PM0fY3sZ84kOifIHk80AMIRzrRphruZWOU9yNZlFEDXDS8AQvzV3nxbpqyGPEzn4J2A/s320/polly-ed-betza-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098590685992930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Next on our wine itinerary was our old favorite, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.teldeschi.com/">Teldeschi Winery</a><span style="font-family: arial;">, home of the lovely Terra Nova, one of the Dan Teldeschi's lovely wines. Dan himself beards a resemblence to my late husband, so it can be disconcerting looking at him, but not so much when Dan looks, as he so often does, like a mad scientist or anarchist about to blow something up.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkjZ2qe7DJQdvx_1NbTYyIyAl5BCdjYSOUfsNgloQfkjRi-hmrU_Gvrfj-AMTEbnrPIv556fir2V4qlQRbjXNFTrqkOKlZR64aRWpd0zOD_aoyMioJ1yx-z_GzMiUGLFMswYtRA/s1600-h/teldeschi-6.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkjZ2qe7DJQdvx_1NbTYyIyAl5BCdjYSOUfsNgloQfkjRi-hmrU_Gvrfj-AMTEbnrPIv556fir2V4qlQRbjXNFTrqkOKlZR64aRWpd0zOD_aoyMioJ1yx-z_GzMiUGLFMswYtRA/s320/teldeschi-6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098912808540194" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Teldeschi's tasting room is tiny, intimate, the atmosphere relaxed and informal. It reminds me of the wineries I visited in Italy back in the early 1970s, as does the countryside around there. You can see some of my favorite Teldeschi views in my November 2005 </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://eggs-in-hats.blogspot.com/2005/12/road-trip-black-friday-wine-tasting_12.html">Black Friday</a><span style="font-family: arial;"> blog. (For those of you new to my blogs, you can also see what my photos normally look like, quality wise, instead of how icky they are right now... ::sigh::)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's Betza, rather over-exposed, hanging out under Ed's watchful eye. He was quite concerned that she would sneak some wine herself, and otherwise be corrupted by hanging out with Polly, Karen and I. While Ed has known Karen for years, he didn't realize until this day how truly wacked she is, especially so when the three of us are together and pretty much feed each other's inner crazy person.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yyCe3FLH0Ryy7d63nMB4ZqgASmLMIV4sIi02KpXKOLYcaRDDg26nWHY7dnzWmwlHSZ2Hb4Ttrc6c-sEie5SlKyoUSAVTwaKknmaISXJYPM12ri0CYWJ0B_tdBLBvk2RecUjnUA/s1600-h/teldeschi-5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8yyCe3FLH0Ryy7d63nMB4ZqgASmLMIV4sIi02KpXKOLYcaRDDg26nWHY7dnzWmwlHSZ2Hb4Ttrc6c-sEie5SlKyoUSAVTwaKknmaISXJYPM12ri0CYWJ0B_tdBLBvk2RecUjnUA/s320/teldeschi-5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098908513572882" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Fortuntely, Dan's pretty wacked himself, as can be seen by one of the winery's t-shirts:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQRJ-e9kJKNk-qtwemvcGNRiSW8QZA3NtUxi767sCfIZ2XJ3JzDciesXuUQ4lWIgrYuOa4gDaT6Byi2f4DtqsFfL1FL4yWNG7KpjdHQEnaUsYUOKkYMF59f5rn0hCi4rtXEfFrg/s1600-h/teldeschi-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdQRJ-e9kJKNk-qtwemvcGNRiSW8QZA3NtUxi767sCfIZ2XJ3JzDciesXuUQ4lWIgrYuOa4gDaT6Byi2f4DtqsFfL1FL4yWNG7KpjdHQEnaUsYUOKkYMF59f5rn0hCi4rtXEfFrg/s320/teldeschi-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098908513572850" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">It was not as beautiful out this day as it sometimes is out this way. As the sun started sinking behind the hills, the early evening grew misty and cold.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIR733p4iuKI5qy0YKkNNH-4lbVDIHb5_z2jOswIi7p0SkFc4Iwnl6P-5B6QVy-asrpCswqzQtrzMwxAK2fDaJuSMEtjxwF5Fd-sK1W0u0vOgNg3rC-F7W_7A0h2OWqnfshKGGg/s1600-h/teldeschi-4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxIR733p4iuKI5qy0YKkNNH-4lbVDIHb5_z2jOswIi7p0SkFc4Iwnl6P-5B6QVy-asrpCswqzQtrzMwxAK2fDaJuSMEtjxwF5Fd-sK1W0u0vOgNg3rC-F7W_7A0h2OWqnfshKGGg/s320/teldeschi-4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018098908513572866" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">At day's end, we dropped Karen off at her home as her hubby wasn't feeling well enough to go out for dinner. Polly and Ed took Betza and I to dinner at Hunter's. Here Betza is wearing one of Sist's hand-me-down sweaters, the one with the scarf, since it got too cold for her to wear just the hat.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKNEaySlnGuBSxTK5ZRiSFYs6FRc86zd8e5WlWSrxnHakSarrUFjI3Lcsu38sv82W_Kw3O1S7F4JokY1-lX1ffGKgqw9pH8HV5iQYcAdT8GGD0ym5juyMIBGsi-Zu4w5gLOh0YA/s1600-h/hunters-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKNEaySlnGuBSxTK5ZRiSFYs6FRc86zd8e5WlWSrxnHakSarrUFjI3Lcsu38sv82W_Kw3O1S7F4JokY1-lX1ffGKgqw9pH8HV5iQYcAdT8GGD0ym5juyMIBGsi-Zu4w5gLOh0YA/s320/hunters-1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018114198597146690" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Throughout the road trip, Betza road up front with Polly and Ed. Unfortunately, I didn't think to get a photo of them together, so I guess we'll just have to go winery road tripping again!</span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-35667027429185084632006-12-27T14:42:00.000-08:002006-12-27T23:49:29.907-08:00Hark! What's that I hear? ::groan:: ::plop::<span style="font-family:arial;">Look what I found when I went into the iguana room Christmas morning!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnTAckyI7CpngWlu4GRJvfIbyV4C7Odos3F1qY855gNqiY-Bo5J1oWq9Q-uOf-U73q45jGZnSBzfAl9ePXTxMU4ENWeS29ne3XAv513xe5ttUkGJTtwFigpIfn7G4tWhGM5iT4A/s1600-h/xmas-2006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUnTAckyI7CpngWlu4GRJvfIbyV4C7Odos3F1qY855gNqiY-Bo5J1oWq9Q-uOf-U73q45jGZnSBzfAl9ePXTxMU4ENWeS29ne3XAv513xe5ttUkGJTtwFigpIfn7G4tWhGM5iT4A/s320/xmas-2006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5013342415809118898" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Betza has arrived!</span><br /><br />She is smaller than <a href="http://eggs-in-hats.blogspot.com/2006/02/eggs-in-scale.html">Uova and Sist</a> were:<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFX9OJEX_RcuzwZNzerSrjvhlO47s-X-Wl5OPE67jZ6oXEEf2KWiZ7ApZEkHLxETddaN0hwJVBZo8RHgGWV32dyeCspV0ZVLHqDV3qJxowNQUamvX0C-uC1pkTMom6ZpMcx1I96A/s1600-h/xmas-2006-size.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFX9OJEX_RcuzwZNzerSrjvhlO47s-X-Wl5OPE67jZ6oXEEf2KWiZ7ApZEkHLxETddaN0hwJVBZo8RHgGWV32dyeCspV0ZVLHqDV3qJxowNQUamvX0C-uC1pkTMom6ZpMcx1I96A/s320/xmas-2006-size.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5013342420104086210" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">For now, Betza will be resting, and getting ready for her first road trip in January.<br /><br />In the mean time, </span><span style="font-family:arial;">I will have to dig up U&S's hats and sweaters...or knit some new ones! Well, now, there's a thought!<br /><br />Actually, I do have some yarn stashed away that I've been saving to knit something. Natalie sent me some of the yarn left over from her <a href="http://knatolee.blogspot.com/2005/12/knitting-hell.html">Suck Up To The Mother-In-Law</a> scarf she knit for, well, her MIL. I whipped up this fetching, ah, poncho? fashion scarf? for Betza tonight. Seeing as how the yarn is a luscious 45% qiviut (musk ox)/45% wool/10% silk, Betza will be warm indeed during these cold winter months.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4e_cqNUoCdc4ZTsghT13TbSngMEXLnymh5JaTJ-6-zwRKaSBq1NH9C42gMvPL2GCw4qGLdeRasA5k7f10JYNqyZm24LzS26H39Uk1wJ-jHckPnQ_z96qXvB4TMvj48NKDOxdhxg/s1600-h/knat-poncho-2006-12-27.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4e_cqNUoCdc4ZTsghT13TbSngMEXLnymh5JaTJ-6-zwRKaSBq1NH9C42gMvPL2GCw4qGLdeRasA5k7f10JYNqyZm24LzS26H39Uk1wJ-jHckPnQ_z96qXvB4TMvj48NKDOxdhxg/s320/knat-poncho-2006-12-27.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5013481461080359650" border="0" /></a>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-69914596186574843072006-10-01T20:18:00.000-07:002006-10-01T20:22:09.574-07:00Oeufs Still Stinky<span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">For those who have been checking in looking for an update, why, thanks!</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Eggs have been spending the summer quietly in the refrigerator because their primary chauffeur and nanny (that would be moi) has had a pretty crappy summer, health-wise. Spending the months in cold climes has retarded the encroaching <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">creptitude</span> but has not staved it off completely.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">On the bright side, Fall is approaching and so, too, is tortoise egging season. So, Eggs may have a successor or two. Or, <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">y'know</span>, not. Time will tell.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">After having taken a hiatus from tiny knitting, I have made two sweaters this week. </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">This first one is made in memory of Suzanna Marie <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Somerville</span>, who died August 31, at age 98. Her daughter and granddaughter are not themselves knitters or crocheters, unlike Marie (as she was called) who, it seems, was always working one something: knitting, crocheting, crewel and embroidery, beading, and making things for small dolls. </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">When going through Marie's things, deciding what to keep and what to give away, Cory, Marie's granddaughter, came upon a small scrap of crochet work. Since we couldn't find anything it went with, Cory was going to throw it away. I offered instead to make a little sweater for it, to donate to <a href="http://www.caninecompanions.org/">Canine Companions for Independence</a>, for their annual holiday fundraiser tree at <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Coddingtown</span> Mall. (The handmade ornaments are donated to <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">CCI</span>; shoppers who donate $10 to <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">CCI</span> get to pick out an ornament to take, and the donors' names are put on the tree in place of the ornaments. The tree goes up in early December, so if you're in the area shopping, please stop by and give a little.)</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The crocheted scrap was made from a white yarn. I unraveled it, and combined it with some of Marie's red yarn to create a small sweater. Here is the body of the sweater, with the needles holding the picked up stitches from which I will make one of the sleeves.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4135/2389/1600/somerville-sweater-pu-sleeve.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4135/2389/320/somerville-sweater-pu-sleeve.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Here's the finished sweater:</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4135/2389/1600/somerville-sweater.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4135/2389/320/somerville-sweater.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The basic pattern I used was from one of Betty <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Lampden's</span> Miniature Sweaters books.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">This next sweater I knit using a pattern local alpaca rancher Vicki <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Arn</span>s shared with the knitting guild last year. Here it is, in blue and white, laying atop Marie's red and white sweater:</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4135/2389/1600/two-sweaters-2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4135/2389/320/two-sweaters-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Wooo</span>! Pretty small, eh? Here's a shot of the sweaters and quarter lined up:</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4135/2389/1600/two-sweaters-sxs.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/4135/2389/320/two-sweaters-sxs.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Vicki's sweater (here worked with fingering yarn on size 1 & 3 needles) is available online in a </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://sonic.net/melissk/sckg/vicki-arn-teeny-sweater.pdf"><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">PDF</span> file</a></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> at the <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Sonoma</span> County Knitting Guild's site. You'll find a whole page of links to patterns for tiny and very small holiday ornaments at the guild's </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://sonic.net/melissk/sckg/tiny.html">Tiny Holiday Ornaments</a></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"> page.<br /><br />The 'Marie' sweater, while it would fit one of the Eggs, is instead going to be kept, along with other tiny sweaters I'll be knitting over the next several weeks, in an stinky-Egg-free zone, ready to pass along to </span><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" style="font-size:130%;">CCI</span><span style="font-size:130%;">.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" >Note: If you think these sweaters are small, check out Althea <span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Merback's</span> miniature knitting creations at her </span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.bugknits.com/"><span onclick="BLOG_clickHandler(this)" class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">BugKnits</span></a></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:130%;" > site.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br /></span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1151204434643066772006-06-24T19:49:00.000-07:002006-06-25T09:18:26.306-07:00Oeufs dans le réfrigérateur<span style="font-family: arial;">With the weather heating up as much as it has, and the Eggs already, uhm, aging rapidly, I sent them to live in a cooler clime until I get around to knitting them string bikinis or some other suitable summer wear. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">(Oh! Can you see it? Eggs on a Cruise!)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">(It's okay. You can resume breathing. Eggs aren't going to be doing any cruising unless one of you takes them. Hmmmmm...maybe a houseboat on a lake? Uhm, Karen, can we talk?)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Anyway, just in case anyone was wondering where Eggs are, they are here:</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-in-frige-2006-06-24-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-in-frige-2006-06-24-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">That's them, in their carpeted carseat/condo, sitting on top of a glass dish holding a couple of pinkies (for Sluggo), which in turn is sitting on a couple of yogurt containers, sandwiched between the milk and juice container filled with ice tea.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-in-frige-2006-06-24-2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-in-frige-2006-06-24-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">You may recognize their "carpet" - it's the yarn I used for my </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://lizards-in-scarves.blogspot.com/2006/04/april-birthdays.html">grandnephew's sweater</a><span style="font-family: arial;">. <br /><br />Bon apeti-- er, avoir un grand été!<br /></span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1148873749025495262006-05-28T20:32:00.000-07:002006-05-28T20:35:49.036-07:00Memorial Day 2006<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/knitting-machine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/400/knitting-machine.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">David Cole's </span><a style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.iberkshires.com/story.php?story_id=17649">Knitting Machine</a><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">. 2005.</span><br /></div>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1147893096521277062006-05-17T11:40:00.000-07:002006-05-23T08:57:53.990-07:00Old Age Approaches...<span style="font-family:arial;">Well, while their <span style="font-style: italic;">bain </span>may have staved off the rapidity with which old age is approaching, the therapeutic waters were not therapeutic enough to stave off encroaching decreptitude entirely.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Eggs did go on a field trip in late April, which was good. But spending 14 hours in an un-air conditioned car while on the road was not.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Eggs are distinctly....fragrant.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Here they are relaxing with us the evening of our arrival in Tulelake. We gathered on the porch of the house we rented through <a href="http://www.fesbandb.com/">Fe's Bed & Breakfast</a>. </span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/tl-eggs-relax.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/tl-eggs-relax.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">I supplied the grilled proscuitto-wrapped shrimp, bacon-wrapped shrimp, and shrimp with my favorite dipping sauce, a cocktail sauce spiced up with lemon juice and Tulelake horseradish (of course!) while friends Karen & Jim supplied our ever favorite <a href="http://www.teldeschi.com">Teldeschi Winery</a> wines.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It being a warm night, Eggs disrobed and hung out <span style="font-style: italic;">al fresco</span>, so to speak.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">As you can see from the red ball thrower on the left side of the table, Sidney the Wonder(ful) Dog was there, too. What you don't see is the puddle of saliva gathering on the porch floor as Sidney awaits his share of the appetizers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">After filling up on all the augmented shrimp and wine, Karen, Sidney and I took a walk down the street. At 9:30 PM, it was as dark as it gets in the town of Tulelake. Karen brought her spotting scope, so we did a bit of star and planet watching. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">About 10 PM, still needing to stretch out a bit after the ride up there, we put the scope away and walked across town. Mind you, this was Friday night. At 10 PM. We encountered not one car driving through town during our 45 minute walk which basically bisected the entire town. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Did I mention we really like Tulelake?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">And did I mention there was NO graffiti? Anywhere? Well, except on and in the box cars of the trains that rumbled through on their way to bigger, but not particulary better, placed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">A final photo: Sundown in Tulelake.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/tl-nightfall.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/tl-nightfall.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">I have put in an online album some of the photos from our </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://tinyurl.com/eanrs">drive to and from Tulelake</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, if you'd like to see them. When I get the other photos fiddled with and uploaded, I'll put a link to that album here, too.<br /></span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1145329929267725172006-04-17T20:05:00.000-07:002006-05-17T08:50:47.870-07:00Les Oeufs Prennent un Bain<span style="font-family:arial;">Or, more prosaically, Eggs Take a Bath.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Why?</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Because they are getting a wee bit....fragrant.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I noticed it when we were last out. Since they've been sitting stashed in their carrier on my desk, all padded by their blankie and latest hats and I-cord O-rings, and my desk sits in the coldest place in my house (unless it's in the middle of summer, in which case it is the hottest place, besides the always heated iguana room), any molecular exchange between Eggs and my Nose has been limited.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So, a bath.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Here they are in their covered hot tub:<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-en-bath-covered.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-en-bath-covered.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">And here they are with the cover removed:</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-en-bath-2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-en-bath-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1141870289720098462006-03-08T18:05:00.000-08:002006-03-08T19:15:19.600-08:00Eggs in Stocking Caps<span style="font-family:arial;">There is a very nice woman in our local knitting group whose name is Nita. Nita has a thing for socks. Sock earrings, sock scarves, sock socks, and at least one sock hat that I've seen. She also does a wonderful sock display she sets up at our annual <a href="http://www.sonic.net/melissk/sckg/knitout.html">Knit Out</a> day.* So it was no surprise that, when browsing through the latest issue of </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.knitty.com">Knitty </a><span style="font-family:arial;">and seeing the photo for a </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTstockingcap.html">Real Stocking Cap</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> pattern, I thought of her.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">And I thought of Eggs. Atter all, some of their hats are made up of sock yarn I've used to make socks for me and others (and a few cats, who get theirs stuffed with catnip) (and a </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://eggs-in-hats.blogspot.com/2006/01/busy-day-between-raindrops.html">sweater with matching scarf</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> for Sist Egg). So I decided to honor Nita's creativity, and those of other real stocking hat makers, by knitting some stocking caps for Eggs.<br /><br /></span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/stocking-cap1-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/stocking-cap1-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Here is an in-progress look at Sist's hat.<br /><br /></span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/stocking-caps-closeup-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/stocking-caps-closeup-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Here are are both hats. Note, too, the new I-cord o-rings I made for Eggs since they are getting sort of...floppy. Not soft, but as their innards dry out, it makes them unevenly weighted. So, Eggs now have Stands, too!<br /></span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/stocking-cap2-3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/stocking-cap2-3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Here's a closeup of Uova's hat...<br /><br /></span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/stocking-cap1-2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/stocking-cap1-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /><br /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">...and Sist's.<br /><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">All dressed up and no road trip in sight!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">* The Knit Out (which includes crocheters, too) started as an impromtu group of knitters meeting in New York's Central Park after September 11. Since then, knitting groups across the country have been staging their own Knit Outs during September-October. The </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.craftyarncouncil.com">Craft Yarn Council</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> serves as a sort of clearinghouse of KO events around the country. You can check their site for KOs in your area, or, if you get your own KO going, let them know and they can list it on their site.<br /><br /></span> </span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1140751166869975772006-02-23T19:08:00.000-08:002006-02-23T19:19:26.880-08:00Eggs In Scale<span style="font-family:arial;">Karen pointed out that many of you may not realize how small Eggs are, so I shot some nekkid photos of them alongside a couple of things most people can easily recognize: two sizes of paperclips, and a dime.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Here they are with their latest hats...</span> <a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/scale-1-2006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/400/scale-1-2006.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;">And here are their (only, at this point) sweaters...</span> <a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/scale-3-2006.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/400/scale-3-2006.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;">So, while they are the smallest things I've ever knitted, smaller even that the little socks I knit and fill with catnip for catty friends, they are the smallest things I think I shall ever knit.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">To see some incredible knitted things that are would make the dime and paperclips look huge, check out </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=588661&uid=153018">Islandknitter's Knitted Garden</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> and the incredible </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.bugknits.com/">Bugknit's Nano Knits</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1140392149442596032006-02-19T15:08:00.000-08:002006-02-21T13:13:03.336-08:00Sashimi and Saki and Eggs, oh, my!<span style="font-family:arial;">Karen, Eggs and I went out to celebrate my birthday dinner at our favorite Japanese restaurant, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.google.com/local?hl=en&hs=O7w&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lr=&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&q=shogun&near=Santa+Rosa,+CA&sa=X&oi=locald&radius=0.0&latlng=38440556,-122713333,4688558561731786986">Shogun</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. We gorged on a small order of shrimp and vegetable tempura to start, followed by a large platter of mixed sashimi, followed by a softshell crab (Karen's first) and an order of unagi (smoked eel sushi, also a first for Karen). This was leisurely washed down with several large cups of green tea and several carafes of hot saki.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/sashimi-and-saki-3small.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/sashimi-and-saki-3small.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here are Eggs in front of the sashimi platter containing white (albacore), red (ahi) and yellow (yellowtail) tuna, sea bass, and red snapper, along with (my favorite garnishes) mounds of daikon threads and ginger.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Eggs wore their new hats, and also got to show off their some of their sweaters (the blue with the scarf, and the bright light green and purple) to the very nice server.<br /><br />Everything was great, other than the fact that Karen kept referring to Sist as the "terrorist egg" because of the proclivity of some of that ilk cravenly hiding their identity behind balaclavas.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">After dinner (and did I mention lots of saki?), we let Sidney out of the car, where, alas, he had to stay, burrowed under my Sidney blankets, while we ate dinner. He decided it was way too cold to read the news around the parking lot, so he quickly got back into the car, and off we went to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream for us and to take home to Karen's hubby.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Karen's waffle cone was sort of disintegrating while we were still in the store, so the nice fellow who was handling our order gave Karen a cup to put her scoops in should the cone give way before we got home. It did give way, so Karen managed to invert the cone over the cup without running into the center median. Sidney, the lucky boy, got to eat the waffle cone. He then decided that I must not want my waffle cone, either, and so poked his snout repeatedly in my cheek to make it as easy as possible for me to hand over the cone. Which, seeing as how my cone was still filled with Mississippi Mud ice cream, I did not.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />When we got to Karen's, I dished out some Truffles in Paradise ice cream for Jim, topped my own cone with a dab (well, I had to make sure TiP tasted good!), and we hung out for a while, 'we' meaning Karen, Jim, Eggs, Sid, Jack the cat, and I.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Sid, while waiting for me to get tired of my cone, cleaned up and shredded Karen's cup. Once he at the last inch of my cone, he grabbed his large (faintly obscene) Nylabone </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.nylabone.com/default.aspx?pageid=111&prodID=60">Double Action Chew</a> toy, and began teasing me with it, offering it to me, then pulling it out of my hands. We played for a while, watching a movie, <span style="font-style: italic;">Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events</span>, Jack observing us from his place, stretched out in front of the fire.<br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Karen then drove me home (did I mention lots of saki?) where, still warm from the saki, I eventually went to bed and slept well. Well, until 4 AM when </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://miscellog.blogspot.com/2006/02/sidney-thing-that-lives-under-my-tub.html">The Thing</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> returned to its place Under The Tub.<br /><br />Thank you, Karen and Jim and Sidney and Eggs (and Shogun), for a very yummy birthday!<br /><br /></span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1140236457115422762006-02-17T19:54:00.000-08:002006-02-17T23:06:23.066-08:00Brrrrrrrrrrrrr!<span style="font-family:arial;">It is frickin' cold here. After a week or so of sunny, bright, mild-to-almost warmish days, and nights ranging from brisk to nearly balmy, we are smack in the middle of winter again. A <span style="font-style: italic;">COLD </span>winter.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Here, for example, is a photo of the outdoor thermometer, taken this afternoon around 2:30 PM. The window it is on is on the south side of the house:</span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/thermometer-small.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/thermometer-small.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Here's a temperature/dewpoint chart reflecting the past 24 hours (well, from 7:50 PM last night to tonight). See??? Cold! </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/tempdaycomp.png"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/tempdaycomp.png" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />There was even snow here in <a href="http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060217/NEWS/60217008/1269/NEWS01">Sonoma County</a>, in one area enough to make a snowman that stuck around.<br /><br />I don't care what it is in Wisconsin or Maine or British Columbia or anywhere else it is cold. It is sup<span style="font-style: italic;">POS</span>sed to be cold in those places. Not cold like that here. This is coastal California, by gosh, and we just do not do cold here. So, make it go away!<br /><br />But not until you see Eggs' new hats.<br /><br />Well, Eggs get cold, too, and so need some warm new hats to get through these COLD days.<br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/red-hat-closeup-800-2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/red-hat-closeup-800-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Here is Uova in her smart red-and-flecked number. The red is the Cascade 220 I'm using for Sidney's dog sweater. The flecky stuff is...something. Juliette gave me a leftover ball of it that had been knocking around the shop after she finished something, so I've had it in my stash for about a year. To make the hat, I ribbed a 5" long strip, grafted the two ends together, and then picked up stitches and knit them in the round to the top.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Uova was happy with the hat, but Sist wanted something offering more coverage.<br /></span> <a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/balaclava-closeup-800.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/balaclava-closeup-800.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />So, I made her this little chenille balaclava.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">All they need are some leg warmers (well, and some legs) and they could hit the slopes at Torino and catch some Olympic action.<br /><br />As for me, I think I'm going to go sink into some flannel and down with a hot cuppa.<br /></span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1139355922110468672006-02-07T15:20:00.000-08:002006-02-07T15:47:09.116-08:00Proper Intros, Pillow Talk, and Signs of Things to Come<span style="font-family:arial;">I thought that, before we go on much farther, you'd like to meet Eggs up close and personal. Taking advantage of their naptime today, I took their pictures. Here is Uova...<br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/uova.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/uova.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <span style="font-family:arial;">..and here is Sist.</span> <a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/sist.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/sist.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">As you can see, they are beginning to look a bit...aged. They've been living in</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> the den, whose average daily temperature during the winter is in the mid-50s, so they are being quite well preserved, considering they are, er, uhm, raw.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Did you notice that hint of green behind them, in their individual photos? Those are pillows!!! Their Aunt Darry made them each a pillow, very much like the larger iguana pillow she made for Mikey the Cycie. She also made those cute little drawstring bags you see. </span> <a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-on-pillows-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-on-pillows-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Now Eggs will be able to rest in comfort while I plot, er, plan their new finery. I've been busy lately making scarf gifts which have finally been sent off, and so I'm catching up on knitting some more squares for the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.sonic.net/melissk/sckg/sonomablanket.html">Sonoma Blanket Project</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, and a new scarf for myself, having belatedly realize I have no purple scarves.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />But, I digress...</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">I am planning on using some of the left over purple scarf yarns to make something for Eggs, but more importantly, I have been thinking about how to use another gift Eggs received, this from </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://knatolee.blogspot.com">Knatolee</a><span style="font-family:arial;">. Knat, who designs and makes spectacular </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.grinninggeckodesign.com/GGDGallery.htm">rugs </a><span style="font-family:arial;">(my faves being the Albino Axolotl on page 1, and the Fintistic Fishies on page 2), also knits and does other crafty things. She recently drove herself crazy knitting a lace </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://knatolee.blogspot.com/2005/12/knitting-hell.html">scarf </a><span style="font-family:arial;">for her mother-in-law, out of a wonderful foresty qiviut (musk ox)/wool/silk blend. Knat sent Eggs the remaining yarn! <br /><br />So, while working on other projects, I've been giving serious thought about what to make out of this luxurious yarn. A lacy poncho, perhaps? A shawl and hat? Hmmmm......</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Oh! Want to see the yarn? Yum....</span> <a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/knats-qiviut-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/knats-qiviut-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Here's a close-up for you.</span> <a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/knats-qiviut-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/knats-qiviut-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So much to knit! Only two hands!</span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1137103404284958912006-01-12T13:59:00.000-08:002006-01-12T16:05:46.273-08:00Busy Day Between The Raindrops<span style="font-family:arial;">As the old year wound down and the new year got underway, the northern coastal and not so coastal communities in California got slammed with record rainfall. Rather than adding to the roads crowded with people trying to lay in supplies, flee from floods and massive soil erosion, and did I mention there was lots of rain?, Eggs and I stayed inside, dry, if not particularly warm.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">(I pay more than I can really afford to heat that damned lizard so I don't heat anything but water and food for myself...and with the 40% increase in the cost of utilities, further stretching the stretched-to-the-limit ends to make them meet is about to become real interesting.)<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Well, Eggs were likely warmer than I was as they nestled under their holiday hats, wrapped up in their blankie. I, on the other hand, wielded cold, metal needles, knitting them their new....sweaters! Yes, this blog takes a brief diversion from hats to sweaters.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/sist-sweaterscarf.0.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/sist-sweaterscarf.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Sist is wearing a lovely stone-washed denim pullover with a scarf. The scarf was actually knit horizontally and meant to be self-fringing (like the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://lizards-in-scarves.blogspot.com/2005/10/this-n-that.html">self-fringing shawl</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, which it was, but the fringe ended up to be longer than the scarf, so I chopped them down. A lot. You will recognize the yarn (okay, so maybe not) as being from the same skein of yarn as my most recent pair of finished </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://lizards-in-scarves.blogspot.com/2005/12/busy-busy-fingers.html">socks</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.</span> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/uova-mockturtle.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/uova-mockturtle.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Uova is wearing a slip-stitched sweater in yarn I frogged from a hat that turned out so badly I can't really use the phrase "turned out". Fortunately, this sweater really did turn out!</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">(Do I have to point out that this sweater has a <span style="font-style: italic;">turtle </span>neck? Sheesh, where are your powers of observation, your sense of how my mind works?! Really, people, have you learned <span style="font-style: italic;">no</span>thing from reading my blogs or sites??)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Finally, <span style="font-style: italic;">finally</span>, we got a break in the rain. Not only that, we got a break in the heavy cloud cover, so much so that the ground and stuff started to dry out a tiny bit, and I decided that, with the three of us getting a touch of cabin fever, we needed to be out and so went to run some errands.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Our first stop was at Vinnie's Rohnert Park Automotive to drop off some Florida oranges from the huge box my dad sent me. I felt a little badly about leaving them a box of brownies and drunken fruit cake before the holidays, so I figure I'd make it up with some natural sugar.<br /><br /></span> <a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eih-vince.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eih-vince.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Here's the eponymous Vince Lagomarsino, who is looking a bit shell shocked as he holds Sist and Uova, apparently trying to figure out just how much of my own fruitcake I must have ingested to make sweaters (well, hats, too) for eggs. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Our next stop was my friend's yarn shop, Elf Hand Knitwerks in Rohnert Park. Check out the socks hanging on the rack of sock yarn - those are mine. The blue-and-green striped one I made way to small for some reason - probably not enough fruitcake. The red-white-blue striped one fits, but it's just so not me, even me on election days. The other one of mine is a white-brown-gold fair isle-y one whose colors are just so not me. Not even when they are covered by pants and shoes. Just <span style="font-style: italic;">knowing </span>I have brown garments on bothers me.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eis-at-ehk-2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eis-at-ehk-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Here's a close of Eggs, backed by yarns, including some that have gone into making an </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://lizards-in-scarves.blogspot.com/2005/12/busy-busy-fingers.html">inside-outside hat</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> for my nephew.</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eis-at-ehk-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eis-at-ehk-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Home again we went, and settled in for the evening. Comfy in their bed, I sat nearby, settling into doing some final stuff on the computer, ready to put my feet up and start knitting. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />And then the phone rang.</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">It was Polly, asking if Eggs could come out for a drink at Chevy's where Polly and Karen were stopping on their way home from a difficult week at work.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Soooo, since Eggs aren't old enough to drive, their chauffeur (that would be moi) had to heave herself up and get dressed again (well, into street clothes from at-home-grubbies), and off we went to Chevy's.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />There, Karen and Polly were already working at boosting their anti-oxidants and improving their heart health: Polly with a glass of red wine, while Karen was using fruit and cactus in the tasty combination known as a cranberry margarita. Feeling somewhat in need of some oxidant suppression myself, Karen and I split a pitcher of margaritas. See Uova and Sist waving?</span> Or are they trying to check our nystagmus?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/cranberry-margaritas.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/cranberry-margaritas.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">I would show you pictures of Polly and Karen unwinding, but, uhm, the photos didn't turn out well, so I am afraid that we shall have to once again go to Chevy's so I can re-shoot them.</span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1135732278641864282005-12-27T16:52:00.000-08:002005-12-27T17:41:28.546-08:00Merry Happy Hanukamas!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-in-holiday-hats.1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-in-holiday-hats.1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Christmas came, and with it a trip to Karen's house for shmoozing and fressing with her family.<br /><br />Eggs hung out most of the time on the mantle, backlit by some mini-lights, keeping an eye out on everyone and making sure the dogs kept their distance.<br /><br />This year featured the introduction of a new member of the family. No, not Eggs, though this is their first Christmas. I'm talking about Karen's new niece, Lucy. Lucy traveled up here with her new buddy, Skie, and their humans, Karen's brother and sister-in-law. Bro shot this photo on the drive up north:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/Skie%20%26%20Lucy%20Dec%202005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/Skie%20%26%20Lucy%20Dec%202005.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>It has been sooooo long since I had a puppy fix: soft, silky puppy fur wrapped around a mouthful of needle-sharp puppy teeth. I was careful to ask Lucy and Skie's humans about what it was okay to feed them, treat-wise. But it wasn't until I diverted Lucy from chewing on my sock-encased toes to chewing on my bare hands that Bro very nicely told me that they don't allow her to do that because eventually, she is going to weigh around 100 pounds, with more teeth and power than she has at only 32 pounds.<br /><br />That's okay, I get that, though I must say that never stopped me from play-fighting with my adult akitas, and my parents' adult akitas. My mother became torn over inviting me over for dinner or whatever, because one of the first things I'd do was to get down on the floor in the middle of the den and play with John & Yoko (uhm, my mother stumbled onto various artists late in her life, including Lennon and Ono, and so, when she ended up getting two Japanese dogs instead of just one, well, all I can say is, it made sense to her). Getting down to their level physically was their cue to instantly revert to puppyhood, and so we'd have a wonderful tumble and slobber fest. They would then be keyed up for hours, so, while I would go home, my folks were left with two highly energized dogs.<br /><br />And did I mention that Yoko routinely jumped the 8ft fence that separated their large area in the side yard from the main yard? Or her penchant for fresh avocados, which she harvested for herself from the neighbor's tree that overhung the dogs' area? It took for ages for my parents to figure out why her coat was so much better than John's...and why she was so...plump. She was not a happy camper when they figured it out and took steps that ultimately prevented her from being able to harvest 'her' avocados.<br /><br />But, I digress. This is, after all, the EIH blog! Once Karen's house started to empty out a bit as guests left, Eggs moved to a nearby table where they eyed some of the Christmas loot, including a photo album and a cute box containing most of the ingredients to make Scotty shortbread (that silvery thing on top of the box is a Scottish terrier-shaped cookie cutter).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-and-loot.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-and-loot.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Next to Eggs you can see a little Santa in a row boat. That is one of the pieces that Karen got at the Napa holiday crafts faire we went to after the <a href="http://eggs-in-hats.blogspot.com/2005/12/road-trip-black-friday-wine-tasting.html">Black Friday wine tasting</a>.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-in-tree-2.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-in-tree-2.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Eggs did get to hang out for a while in the tree, where they were able to get up close and personal with several of the ornaments, including a couple of the airplane ornaments, and the bare butted Santa hanging down on the bottom right of the photo, another craft faire find.<br /><br />And that was sort of that! Eggs made it safely through their first Christmas, which included cranberry martinis, a teething Rottweiler, and rum and brandy soaked fruitcake dressed with rum hard sauce.<br /><br />Hic.<br /><br />Stay tuned for our next outing, which will probably be the upcoming <a href="http://www.wineroad.com/events/winterwineland.asp">Winter Wineland</a> wine & food event.Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1134682987565080322005-12-15T13:35:00.000-08:002005-12-18T20:20:04.316-08:00Holiday Hats!<span style="font-family:arial;">With Thanksgiving past, it was time to start thinking about the upcoming holidays...and holiday hats and blankies. Sist expressed a preference for Hanukkah colors, while Uova was definitely showing red! Always willing to grant their wishes as best I can, I came up with these two hats.<br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/potluck-1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/potluck-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Unfortunately, you can't see the cable that twists its way up the front of Uova's red hat, nor the nice cushy broken rib stitch in the body of their new blanket.<br /><br /></span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/jessica-eggs-tcn-potluck.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/jessica-eggs-tcn-potluck.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Eggs had an opportunity to socialize with folks at </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.cndsinfo.net/">The Carousel Network</a><span style="font-family:arial;">'s annual holiday party. TCN is the local information and support group for people with CFS, FM, tickborne and associated diseases. Here, Eggs are chatting with Jessica B., who has been coming with her mom to TCN meetings for many years. During regular meetings, Jessica always quietly busies herself with drawing and crafts. Each holiday potluck, she sweetly comes with party favors she has made for everyone. She is a great kid, with great parents.<br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/carrot-cake.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/carrot-cake.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Here you can see Eggs in situ, greedily eyeing the remnants of carrot cake on my plate.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-in-holiday-hats.0.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-in-holiday-hats.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Here's a close-up of Eggs, where you can better see Uova's hat's cable and the blanket detail. </span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1134427659065113962005-12-12T14:21:00.000-08:002007-01-09T11:39:32.657-08:00Road Trip: Black Friday Wine Tasting, Part 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/dry-creek-valley-3.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/dry-creek-valley-3.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />After leaving Christopher Creek, we headed to our favorite winery, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.teldeschi.com/">F. Teldeschi Winery</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> on Dry Creek Road. Well, it the favorite with Karen and I; today was the day to introduce Polly to Teldeschi wines and winemaker Dan Teldeschi.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />But first, a drive through valley west of Healdsburg, along Dry Creek Road.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/dry-creek-valley-2.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/dry-creek-valley-2.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Public Service Announcement:</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Did I mention that the rivers here flood during the winter rains, and that we have earthquakes? BIG earthquakes (think San Francisco 1906, Loma Prieta, and Northridge). And actors for governators. And 10 percent of the country's population. Did I mention California is a really awful place to live so if you don't already live here, you do not want to move here, okay? Go away. The door's closed. Well, except for visitors who want to enjoy the sights and sample the fruits of the vines and groves before they go back home.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />On Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, in case you are just tuning in, so designated because it is the first big holiday shopping day of the year), the day was sometimes brightly sunny, other times overcast and cool. But any gloom was dispelled by the deciduous leaves of trees vines gone russet and gold in the Fall.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The Eggs enjoyed their ride through wine country, perched in their car seat on the car's center console.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">When we arrived at Teldeschi, we were pleased, after the crush at Christopher Creek, to see no other cars there. We went into the tasting room to find Winemaker Dan.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Dan was at work upstairs, so while Karen went to get him, I liberated a couple of the bottles out for tasting, and took them outside to the Eggs.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/fruit-of-the-vines.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/fruit-of-the-vines.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />By the time I went back inside to get a glass going for myself, a group of people had arrived, so I snatched Karen's glass (since she was so rude as to not make sure Dan poured one for me) and took it outside to enjoy with the Eggs.</span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/taking%20in%20the%20view-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/taking%20in%20the%20view-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here are Eggs enjoying the view overlooking the Teldeschi zinfandel vines and the intersection of Dry Creek Road and Lambert Bridge Road.<br /><br />Just visible to the left is the corner of the old store and bar, now part deli and delicacy shop for those looking for some Italian and other goodies (olives, cheeses, sandwiches, etc.) to sustain tourists and residents alike who are out enjoying the day.<br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/the-vines-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/the-vines-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Here's a close up of the Teldeschi zin vines.</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-wine-olive-tree.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-wine-olive-tree.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And a close-up of Eggs and wine bottles that I stupidly forgot to face forward so you could see the names.<br /><br />Dan's brother, John, grows the grapes: zinfandel, petite sirah (Karen's favorite)<span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Carignane, and some Cabernet, Gamay, and Malvasia</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">. </span>We are both big fans of Winemaker Dan's Terranova, a blend of several of their grapes. You'd see that on their website, but I see it doesn't reflect their current selection or current wineclub offering. Gee, guess we'll just have to make another trip up there to let Dan know...!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/winemaker-dan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/winemaker-dan.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And, speak of the devil, heeere's Dan! See Eggs watching Dan? The F. Teldeschi Winery tasting room is very unlike the majority of tasting rooms you are likely to visit, here in Sonoma and Napa counties. It reminds me more of the small rural family wineries in Italy. Funny, enthusiastic, and generally disheveled from working in the winery or in the office, clad in flannel against the chill in both, Dan's a breath of fresh air in a long day of wine tasting. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">While the Russian River and Dry Creek Valley hasn't become as snobby as the eastern side of Sonoma, the wineries have become more business-like, a bit stuffy. Good wines, very definitely, but with some of the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >joie de vivre</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> gone. Not so with Teldeschi.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">But Eggs and humans do not live by wine alone (though we often give it a hearty try), and so we must eat, something more substantial than the decimated olives and cheese of earlier in the day.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">And so we headed to the town of Sonoma for sustenance before diving into the opening of the holiday crafts fair in Napa.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We decided on </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.dine-at-deuce.com/">Deuce</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, where Karen and I had lunch a couple of times during the year she was visiting her hand surgeon a lot (such a tiny bone! so many surgeries!). We've never actually eaten an actual meal at Deuce. When we go, we order several of their appetizers. Like their entrees, their appetizers change seasonally, depending on what's fresh in the local markets and not so local markets. Everything has been wonderful, and tonight was no different. </span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/good-cork.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/good-cork.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We again ordered lots of different things, this time accompanied by a bottle of Teldeschi's Terranova. Here, you see the Sommelier Eggs have opened the wine and made sure the cork is damp on the wine end, dry on top.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/rosemary-bread.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/rosemary-bread.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />While waiting for our food, we suffered through Deuce's hideous rosemary bread. The stuff was so bad we suffered through three refills of it. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Considering all three of us eschew gratuitous carbs for various reasons, Deuce was lucky - otherwise, I suspect we could easily have cleaned them out of all the rosemary bread they had on hand that night!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/ready-for-dinner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/ready-for-dinner.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Let's see, what did we have besides the rosemary bread... We had the lobster pot pie; endive and roast pepper salad with glazed walnuts and Point Reyes Bleu, dressed in a balsamic vinaigrette; crispy calamari with a tarragon lemon aioli sauce (I get all the little tangles of tentacles since Karen and Polly are wimps and don't realize how fun they are to eat); roasted butternut squash ravioli in a brown butter sage sauce; and Deuce's lovely mixed olives warmed in olive oil and garlic.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-asleep-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-asleep-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />By meal's end, Eggs were sleepy, and so we tucked them into their carrier and went on our way. Because they were still asleep when we got to Napa, we left them in the car rather than risking them in the crush of the faire's opening night. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">They continued to sleep through the faire and the ride home, dreaming of wines and vines and olives and cheese and hideous rosemary bread.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Not a bad first Road Trip!</span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-asleep-1.jpg"><br /></a>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1133746186775622082005-12-04T17:17:00.000-08:002007-01-09T11:37:49.414-08:00Road Trip: Black Friday Wine Tasting, Part 1<span style="font-family:arial;">Many of you may have heard of the Friday after Thanksgiving in the U.S. being called "Black Friday." This is the first crazed rush of consumers to hit the stores to start their holiday gift buying spree. The hope is that enough money will be spent to put retailers firmly into the black for the year.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Many of us try to avoid descending into that particular maelstrom. Most do it by staying home and recovering from Thanksgiving dinner's tryptophan, 'bad' carb and sugar overload. Other's spend it like Karen, Polly and I did: doing a little wine tasting and attending the opening of the annual Napa holiday crafts fair.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Since Karen joined the </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.teldeschi.com/">Teldeschi Winery</a><span style="font-family:arial;">'s wine club last year, she usually heads on out to the winery every quarter to personally pick up her shipment, thus giving her the excuse to make a little time during at least one weekend afternoon a quarter to take a beautiful drive and sample some of her favorite vino. Because I basically have no life and she pities me greatly (and her doggie loves his godmom), I usually go with her.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />We've been trying to work it out with Polly to come with us because we think she'd enjoy the place, the drive, and, oh yeah! the wine as much as we do. This year, with the additional draw of the crafts fair Polly makes a point of attending to look for more figurines by her favorite artist, we decided to make a day of it. Also, Polly is as wacked as Karen and I are, and so we make a great threesome, albeit a little scary to anyone who encounters us in full-blown wackmode.</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/egg-stroller-3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/egg-stroller-3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />At some point on Black Friday morning, while I was getting myself together, it suddenly occurred to me that Eggs need an outing, too. So I packed up the Egg carrier, including a couple of blankets, stroller, and the camera.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />When Karen and Polly arrived, Polly came to the door to get me. Polly was quite matter-of-fact when I told her I was bringing Eggs.<br /><br /></span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/eggs-need-sunglasses.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/eggs-need-sunglasses.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />We no sooner started on our way when Polly informed us that the eggs were getting carsick in back and so had to ride up front with her and Karen.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Unfortunately, I didn't think to knit Eggs hats with brims, nor did we have any sunglasses for them, so they rather squinted in the occasional bright shaft of sunlight that poked its way through the scudding clouds.<br /></span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/chris-creek-tasting-room.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/chris-creek-tasting-room.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Our first stop was a winery we had not been to before, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.christophercreek.com/">Christopher Creek Winery</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, where we learned that not only is Black Friday a major shopping day in the U.S., it is also a major wine tasting tour day, with vans of people going around from winery to winery.<br /><br />Which is the point, I know, and as Sonoma County residents, we love the tourist and retail dollars that our wine industry brings our community, but do they <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> have to go wine tasting when Egg & Us are going??!! Apparently so. <span style="font-style: italic;">::sigh::</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />So, first stop Christopher Creek Winery. Here you see Eggs hanging out on the tasting room bar, nicely awaiting their turn.<br /><br />Oh, wait.<br /><br />They're too young to drink.<br /><br />Here you see Eggs hanging out on the tasting room bar, doing some people watching while waiting for Us to work our way through the reds.<br /><br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/chris-creek-tasting-room-closeup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/chris-creek-tasting-room-closeup.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />See how cute they are? Wouldn't it be nice if all offspring units were so well behaved these days?</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />We did debate whether it was legal for them to be in a place where alcohol is being served. I decided it was fine for them to be there, being so young that there was no way the servers behind the bar would think they were older than they were and serve them by mistake.</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"><br /><br />~~~~~<br />Tangent Alert: </span><br />You know, I've been talking about Eggs, but realize I haven't yet properly introduced them! I do apologize about my lapsed manners. Allow me to </span><span style="font-family:arial;">introduce Sist (on the right in the blue and yellow) and Uova (in the little Tyrolean number). At least, that's what they were wearing when I first dressed them. I suspect that they sometimes swap hats when I'm not looking.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">~~~~~</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />The group of merry-makers who were there when we arrived left, giving us a brief respite and opportunity to talk with the server about their wines. Suddenly, however, another group swarmed in, including one woman wearing perfume. Since Us are all adversely affected by fragrance products, we made a beeline for the door and the patio...and our lunch.<br /><br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/chris-chreek-vines.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/chris-chreek-vines.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Eggs waited patiently at the table for Us to get get our food from the car. I think they sneaked a sip of my wine while I had my back turned. Polly and Karen swear they didn't see anything, but I dunno...</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/chris-chreek-vines-cheese-2.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/chris-chreek-vines-cheese-2.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Ah! Finally! Food!<br /><br />As you can see, the perfect wine tasting lunch: Kalamata olives, a good goat raw milk feta (my favorite goat feta is made by </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.redwoodhill.com/">Redwood Hill Farm Dairy</a><span style="font-family:arial;">, which makes a variety of goat milk products), a raw white cheddar, and, a third one that had something embedded in the surface. When I emailed Karen to find out what it was, she responded "I don't know the weird one. Unpronounceable." I don't think it was St Pat, the nettle covered one made by another favorite cheesemaker of ours, </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.cowgirlcreamery.com/">Cowgirl Creamery</a><span style="font-family:arial;">.<br /><br />Well, that's enough for the first part of our day. Stay tuned for Black Friday Wine Tasting, Part 2.<br /></span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;color:navy;" ><span style=";font-size:10;color:navy;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1133732256510808372005-12-04T13:36:00.000-08:002005-12-04T13:37:36.510-08:00EIH Part 1, continued...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/hat-2-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/hat-2-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Striped it is! This little hat was knit while the egg was still in the other room, so again, it was, uhm, faked. I knit it on #3 DP needles, and grafted the top like I do the toes of my socks (kitchener stitch). I goofed, however, because what I was envisioning was a flat squared off seam with tassels on the end. I tried putting tassels on this one but it look stoopid. So, out came the tassels, and rolled went the brim, and voila! Hat #2!<br /><br /><br /><br />I rather like the jaunty angle of the brim in this shot.</span><br /><br /> <span style="font-family:arial;">And, yes, Hat #2 implies there will be more hats.</span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19574823.post-1133732198342015662005-12-04T13:33:00.000-08:002005-12-04T13:36:38.346-08:00EIH, Part 1: Genesis<span style="font-family:arial;">Every year about this time, Chaca, my 45+ year old female <a href="http://www.anapsid.org/chaco.html">chaco tortoise</a> lays an egg. Since Baby Atlas, my ~20 yo male chaco hasn't yet successfully mated with her, and her egging predated his arrival here by several years, the eggs have not been fertile. My two box 30+ yo turtles have also attempted to mate with her, as has Treppie (short for Intrepid), my now 9 yo captive bred desert tortoise. When Chaca is not receptive, all the boys can do is tilt themselves up against the back of her shell, and work fruitlessly (from a reproductive standpoint) away.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I feel bad that she has expended precious energy into forming the egg yolk and shelling it and squeezing out the surprisingly large egg, given the size of her vent (the opening through which all things pass out, and in, during mating). Then again, human females lay babies the size of good sized melons, so, every thing is relative, isn't it. Having myself passed only eggs, not babies, I'm not exactly one who can speak from personal experience. But given what I've seen, both of women and female reptiles, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;font-family:georgia;" >ouch!</span> is an understatement.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />This year, Chaca laid two round eggs, both slightly smaller than ping pong balls. I set them aside...well, okay, I buried them lightly in the soil substrate of </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><a href="http://www.anapsid.org/tobago.html">Tobago</a>'s enclosure</span><span style="font-family:arial;">, as I do every year, because I'm basically an idiot in hoping, "Well, maybe this one is different...".</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">This year, by gosh, I was going to throw <span style="font-style: italic;">the </span>egg out...but there <span style="font-style: italic;">they </span>were, nice and round and white...and I couldn't. So, I buried them.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">But, as I walked away, thinking about them, it came to me.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Eggs in Hats.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So.<br /></span><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/1600/hat-1-3.0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/1181/967/320/hat-1-3.0.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Here is the first hat, a cute little number in slip-stitched turquoise and yellow, with a little tab at the top that I am particularly fond of recently in baby hats. I'll have you know that I knit this hat last night while the eggs were still buried in the soil, and so did not know if the hat would fit until I excavated the eggs this morning, washed them, and tried it on.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I'm thinking the second hat will be a mock fair isle or stripped number, made from the oodles of self-striping/patterning sock yarn I have left over from the 100 grams I need to buy to make my 80 gram pairs of socks (please may I have size 6 feet in my next life? It will be so much cheaper...as would a size 4 body, but that's another mantra...).<br /><br />Stay tuned for Part 2.</span>Melissahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06294935630942542388noreply@blogger.com0