Fall Preview

I really am a simple person; it does not take much to keep me happy. All I ask for is the "right" kind of jelly for my morning toast and my afternoon PB&J. Is that too much to ask? No, it really isn't.

This morning I slept in. I hate to admit that when I got up is was time for a late brunch or slightly early lunchtime. Based on the time, either my usual toast and grapefruit breakfast or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich would have been equally acceptable. My dilemma did not come with choosing one over the other but that we had no jelly. Which of the two would I rather eat with no jelly?

My favorite kind of jelly is red plum. Knowing that we were low on jelly, but not realizing that we were completely out, I tried to buy some yesterday at the grocery store. The store where I now shop does not carry ANY brand of red plum jelly at all. What's up with that? In a moment of stubbornness, I did not even buy that grape that will always do in a pinch. Consequently, I was forced to eat naked toast this morning. Though the immediate problem of today's first meal had been addressed, the bigger problem of no jelly still had not.

I know, I will make jelly. I only had one problem, not enough of any one fruit to make the process worth it. Fruit salad did not sound like an appetizing flavor of jelly. But wait! I do have pumpkin. And BK is here. She can make pumpkin butter. This is Erin's favorite and she has been asking for it for . . .well, a long time. It is not the same as red plum jelly, but it is a close second. The only thing that could impede my plan was having no canning jars. A quick trip up the step stool to the top pantry shelf revealed a half dozen jars. That should do. Anything that doesn't fit in these jars we can just eat with a spoon!

One does not usually think of pumpkin in the 100 degree Texas summer; one probably does not think of canning either. Oh well, we did. Though pumpkin is usually considered a fall thing, at our house it is a staple. We eat it all year round. Brooke has a great vegan pumpkin pie recipe and muffin recipe. I have an awesome pumpkin bread recipe. I am not sure whether it is the pumpkin itself or the fact that every recipe that uses pumpkin also uses mega amounts of cinnamon, but in my mind, nothing bad comes from pumpkin - except maybe soup. Truthfully, I have never had pumpkin soup;however, it really does not sound good, especially compared to pie or muffins!

A little canned pumpkin (this is how you know it is summer), some sugar, just the right spices and in a few minutes you have pumpkin butter ready to be put in jars and then in a hot bath. Amazing!

Because my naked toast had not been truly satisfying, I had a peanut butter and pumpkin butter sandwich for lunch. BK joined me and Brooke and Erin had well-dressed toast. There is nothing that beats homemade jelly.

Don't think that I have forgotten about the red plum jelly. Tomorrow we are going to get a bunch of plums, more sugar, and a supply of canning jars. By this time tomorrow, the pumpkin butter will have to share its spot on the pantry shelf with a few jars of red plum jelly. These are not a compatible combination to the taste buds, but on the pantry shelf they are an awesome duo.

A Last Look At New Mexico

Thank you to all of you who have stayed with me during this week's travelogue of my adventures in New Mexico. You will be glad to know that today is the last of the series - mostly pictures that did not fit into any of the other posts. Hopefully life back in Texas will get a little more interesting or I am going to have nothing to write about.

No matter what the weather conditions, the New Mexico skies are always beautiful.

These are views from the road between the cabin and Taos.

Here the thunderstorms are rolling in at sunset.

This picture was taken near the plaza in downtown Taos. I love the pottery up on the ledge. Fortunately, none of it was for sale!

THE END. I promise!

Mountain Dogs

There are mountain lions and mountain goats, and then there are mountain dogs.

This was Adidas' second trip to the cabin. On his first trip, he was accompanied by our elderly golden retriever Snuggles, who had made several trips before, and Malibu, BK and John's equally elderly pug. Since our trip two years ago, both of these veteran mountain dogs have died. Adidas, having been mountain trained by the best, remembered all that they had taught him. He passed on all of the necessary information to Harley on this her first trip.

The most important piece of information that he shared was that of the canine boundaries. The dogs were good about staying close by unless accompanied by one of their humans. Of less importance but of great canine interest was the hot spot for chasing chipmunks, where to find the best swimming, the location of all the bones so that you can assemble your own forest critter, and how to open the screen door with no human intervention. The dogs were great companions on this trip.

In years past we have hiked up to the meadow, about a two mile hike each way. We did not make this hike this year - partially because it rained quite a bit and also because Erin and I (and the dogs) were the only hiking enthusiasts on this trip. One afternoon, however, Alissa, the girls, the dogs and I headed out for a short walk up to a small waterfall, maybe a half a mile or so. As soon as we reached our destination, we were met with an afternoon thunderstorm. We headed back to the cabin but not before we were all drenched. The rest of the day was spent inside drying off and, you guessed, knitting.

Here is our canine trail buddy.

Actually, Alissa spent much of the afternoon spinning. Please notice the "decor". Like I said, we all got soaked. With no dryer, wet clothes were hung on the line in front of the fire. It just so happens that the line was strung across the living room. Oh well, it was all girls up there - except for Adidas and he did not care.

It is hard to see in this picture, but the roving that Alissa was spinning looked like the colors that were in the hummingbirds that were constantly at the feeders outside the cabin windows.

Once the rains stopped, Adidas was ready to play frisbee. He is such and addict that we had to change the phrase "play frisbee" to "recreate with the flying disk". He had the energy to play 24/7. The rest of us did not.

Harley was not the least bit interested in recreating with the flying disk, but she did enjoy inhibiting Adidas' game. Every now and then she would snatch the frisbee from him. Her favorite thing to do with it was hide with it under the rock table - a place big enough for her but too small for Adidas without some serious excavation.
Harley likes for everyone to think that she is precious, but we all know better!

High Fiber Diet: Main Course

Because we are all smart people, Alissa, BK , and I all left for New Mexico with ample knitting projects to keep us busy while away. BK was knitting a baby blanket for a little person who arrived just before we left, Alissa was knitting socks from yarn she had spun, and I was making Elizabeth Zimmerman's Adult Surprise Jacket. However, none of us could overcome the temptation to visit yarn shops in Taos. It won't hurt to just go look! Yeah, right.

On the recommendation of someone who came into our local yarn shop, we went to Taos Sunflower. It was like turning a bunch of five year-olds loose at Chuck E. Cheese. Look at this! Feel this! I want to make something with this! Look at the colors! What do you think I could do with this? Which color should I get? Should I buy an extra skein? Yes, it was sensory overload at its best and I loved every moment of it! When the voice of reason finally managed to get through to me, I bought only a hank of beautiful merino to add to my Surprise Jacket, some Lamb's Pride to make a Lucy Bag, and a skein of lace weight yarn to do "something" with. I know it sounds like I overindulged, but you have no idea how much restraint I showed. I really did!

Below is the view as you approach the shop. All of the brightly colored yarns are cheerful and inviting. It gets better on the inside. Not only is there more of the same as far as yarn goes, the staff is equally bright and cheerful.

The whole picture is so full of life.


The yarn is just an extension of the garden.

As we were leaving the shop, I noticed this old wagon.
Hmm. I could buy more yarn if I had something like this to haul it all up the mountain. Then I noticed the unassuming red building in the background. As I walked toward it just to see what it might be, I saw the sign that said "Pottery". Oh no! Another temptation.

I must confess that I was not able to overcome the urge to buy. I just had to have some. There will never be another opportunity to have these one of a kind pieces. Plus, the potter was personable, had a great sense of humor and he had dogs. Every weak spot I have was touched. I was not the only one. BK and Alissa also succumbed. Boy did we have fun!

We all headed back to the cabin with enough yarn to keep us busy in the mountains for another couple of weeks. It is a shame that we had to come home after only a week.

My girls, who had spent most of the week reading and watching DVD's of TV cop shows, got the knitting bug when they saw all the beautiful yarn that we had found. They had opted to go paint pottery of their own at a local studio while we went yarn shopping so they did not share our experience of the yarn shop. After their ooh's and aahs and a little whining about needing something to do with their hands, we all pulled up our big girl panties and sacrificed ourselves to take them to see the yarn on Saturday before we left to come home.

Brooke bought some 100% merino to make herself a hat and scarf. Maybe it is finally sinking in that she is going to freeze her butt off next year in Chicago. Erin found some yarn to make a hat for BK's grand baby who is due in December. Erin finished her hat this afternoon. Brooke is still working diligently on hers.

I am anxious to see all of the finished projects from our yarn indulgence. I hope to post pictures as things are finished.

Oh, one more confession. I was the only one of us who had "dessert". As we made our way back home, we stopped by Southwest Weaving. I bought a tabletop Navajo loom. I have a larger one but I never seem to have time to work on big projects. My rationale was that perhaps a smaller loom would afford me the opportunity to actually finish something. We'll see . . .It has not made its way out of the box yet.

For those desiring a high fiber diet, Taos definitely offers many five star "restaurants".

High Fiber Diet: Appetizer

We had some great food while in New Mexico, but to three knitters, a high fiber diet means lots of yarn!

Early in the week we went to Victory Ranch, an alpaca ranch about thirty minutes from the cabin. We had a great time feeding and petting the animals though in the back of our heads at all times was boy this fleece would make a great sweater (shawl, sock, hat, etc.).We did have the opportunity to buy yarn in the gift shop. Imagine my surprise when one of the handspun, handpainted yarns I picked up had a label on it that said it was from Denton, Texas. It was done by our local locksmith. She makes an annual trip to Victory Ranch to pick up fiber and then spins and dyes it for them. It is nice to know that we can get this fiber locally, but a trip into town is not nearly as exciting as a trip to New Mexico.

These animals, who are a year old, were shorn for the first time about a month ago. The first fleece from an alpaca is always the softest and thus, the most desirable.

As far as I am concerned, the entire animal is desirable!. They have the sweetest faces and most of them have an equally sweet disposition. Faces like this just make me melt.

It always comes down to food. Alissa had the food and these guys wanted it. The grilled corn and banana bread that I made last week had almost the same effect on BK and Alissa.

It takes more than food to get to this little girl's heart. She stood outside the herd while the others indulged at snack time. I wish I could have brought her home with me! I know that is pushing my luck; my buddies had to deal with my kids and my dogs all week. But, isn't she cute!

At night, the ranch is patrolled by six Great Pyrenees who protect the herd of alpaca from coyotes.. Technically, the dogs are "off" during the day so they are free to meet and greet visitors to the ranch. Erin made a new friend in "Zeus".

I am proud to say that i resisted all temptations. I bought no yarn and returned home to Texas with only the animals with which I left and a few pictures of what could have been.

We're Back

We (the girls, the dogs, BK, Alissa, and I) just returned from a week in the mountains of New Mexico. It was a time of no TV, no Internet, no telephone, a great deal of knitting, a fair amount of work, and some good times with friends.

BK and her sister own a cabin about 30 miles north of Taos. It is an awesome place!

The temperatures were in the 50's at night and the 70's during the day. That beats the heck out of the three digit temperatures expected in Dallas this week.

Once I unpack and upload pictures, I will tell more of the story.

Stay tuned . . .