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Archive for January, 2010

Going in Circles Again

Sunday, January 31st, 2010

I am starting on the second irrigation circle piece. It is a bit larger that the silk piece, which I am stitching by hand with hand-dyed thread in my spare moments. I am going to use my shibori fabrics for the circles on this piece.

I marked out the grid on a piece of felt. It is sturdier than batting and will not stretch out of shape.

The last few days have been full of various activities. I have done some cooking — a Key Lime Cheesecake for a dinner party last night. Tonight, I made White Chicken Chili and cornbread muffins for a family dinner.

This morning, I took Scooter for a walk in the Rhodie Garden. It is certainly beginning to look like spring.

Daffodils are on the way.

The first Rhododendron blooms .

And some cherry blossoms are beginning to burst out.

When we moved from upstate New York to California in 1976, one of the things I loved most was having spring come in January and February. This is a bit early for Portland, but I will enjoy it.

Back to Reality

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

We arrived home on Tuesday night, and it has been difficult to get back in the swing of things. I had quilt show entries to get done; housekeeping to do as I have a meeting here tomorrow morning. Ya da Ya da! Part of me is longing to be where this is the philosophy!

Here are few photos from the last couple of days. We had an absolutely gorgeous last day on Monday. We took a 4 mile round trip hike down to Tunnel Beach, so called because in the winter the surf often forms tunnels for the expert surfers. But, it was pretty calm when we were there.

Here is the sunset on Monday evening, not spectacular, but very lovely.

On our way to the airport, we stopped at an overlook of one of the wildlife refuges. It was so lush.

While on Kauai, I did lots of reading and some hand stitching on my silk irrigation circles. You can see a sneak peak up above and here. It is slow going. I am not sure that I can get this done in time for the High Fiber Diet show.

Scooter stayed at a dog boarding/day care out in the country. I think he had a great time, but he was a mess. His long coat was matted and dirty. No one was brushing him!! So I took him to the groomer today, and now he looks as if he was on a crash diet. She even had to trim his bushy tail!

I am going to do a little reading  — I am so close to finishing The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Then, it is PR!!

Mahalo

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

Mahalo is a word you hear often in Hawaii. It means thanks, gratitude, admiration, praise, esteem, regards, respects. I am thankful and full of gratitude for this wonderful time with Mr C in this beautiful place. I didn’t realize how much I needed or would appreciate this time away from my normal life.

I have my computer with me because I have a job that requires that I keep in touch and be available to send bulk e-mails for the SDA reps, but I have really tried to keep my online time to a minimum. I am reading a very huge tome. I am spending quality time with Mr C and I am even doing a bit of stitching on my circle quilt – it is really sloooow cloth!

Yesterday, we visited the Lumahai Botanical Gardens. It was not peak bloom time, but we learned a lot about native plants and plants that have become a problem in the forests. I loved the colors of this Hibiscus.

When we got back to the cottage, Mr C went to rent snorkel gear and was told the water was too rough, and they would not rent to him. A really nice guy on the beach lent him his gear, and so the birthday boy got in a little snorkeling. Does that look too rough?

Then, he went on a hunt for the bananas that grow on the property. We found 3 different trees. They have a very interesting flower that hangs down from the banana cluster.

We went out to dinner for Mr C’s birthday, but were not impressed with the meal. We decided that from now on we will eat lunch out and dinner at home.

Today, we stopped at the Hanalei farmer’s market. I bought papaya, avocado and organic greens for a salad.

We headed for the Kilauea light house and wildlife refuge. We stopped for lunch and had fish tacos with a pineapple salsa – yummy.

I love this photo of a painting of the lighthouse in progress. We saw a lot of red footed boobys. They nest on a huge cliff that can be seen from the lighthouse.

I am going back to stitching for a bit before I crash for the night. There are lots more photos on my Flickr site.

Aloha from Kauai

Thursday, January 21st, 2010

Yesterday was a very long day and I did not sleep well before out flight yesterday. We arrived to wild trade winds and sporadic rain, but it was still balmy. Needless to say, I crashed early and got about 9 hours of sleep. Here is what Oahu looked like as we landed in Honolulu to get our connecting flight to Kauai.

Today was absolutely gorgeous – sunny and in the 70’s. The beautiful hibiscus, above, is right outside our door. There are also lots of fragrant Plumerias.

This is the seedpod of the Plumeria – almost as beautiful.

This is our cottage and the view from our little deck.

There are 5 cottages here, but only one other cottage is occupied so it is very private and really delightful having this beautiful spot almost to ourselves. The owner, who lives in Berkeley, was here for a few days. She brought us some wonderful small bananas from a tree nearby and also some lemons. The bananas are sort of lemony tasting. I had one with papaya and yogurt for breakfast.

We took a walk on the beach and I found some fun things to photograph.

Yes, that is a coconut.

One of the things I love about Hawaii is the variety of trees and other plants that can be seen.

I saw several of these perky Brazilian Cardinals today.

But, I think the official bird of the island is the chicken. They are everywhere!!

I am feeling so relaxed. I spent a little time in the sun, with lots of sunscreen, I have been reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and loving it. I have done some stitching on the circle quilt. We had lunch out, but cooked a delicious fresh Ahi tuna for dinner tonight.

Tomorrow is Mr C’s official birthday so we are going to a nice restaurant called Postcards. It comes highly recommended by friends.

I am signing off to watch Project Runway. Mr C is snoring on the other sofa. LOL!

If you want to see more of my photos, they are on my Flickr site.

Winding Things Up

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

Here is the linen embroidery thread that I dyed with Colorhue dyes; all dry and wound on bobbins. I am so happy with the results.

Here is the bamboo thread:

I was so thrilled to find the DMC bobbin winder and bobbins. No more tangled embroidery threads.

I am almost finished packing for our early morning departure for paradise. I have 3 books and the hand-stitching on the quilt to keep me from getting bored. I have a camera and my battery charger with extra batteries to for the hunt for the green flash. I have two bathing suits which I may never wear. I only own one pair of shorts. I am so not a direct sunlight person. I have my sunhat, sunscreen and two pairs of sunglasses. What else do I need?

I have wifi at the cottage so I will be checking in with reports on our escapades. Better finish the packing and get some sleep. I must be up at 5:30 am.