Sea Salt Soap, Quilting and Pizza!

SEA SALT SOAP ~

Last month I played hooky and made up a batch of Raspberry Lemonade Sea Salt Soap. I used coarse Dead Sea Salts and fine Pacific Sea Salt in this batch ~ along with colloidal oatmeal. The oils used were Sunflower, Castor, Jojoba, Palm & Coconut. Butters used were Shea, Cocoa and Mango. Then I swirled with ultramarine pink.

Well ~ it’s ready to be used and I put it up on my Etsy shop ~ RASPBERRY LEMONDADE SEA SALT SOAP.

SPLIT RAIL FENCE QUILT ~

Continued working on the Spilt Rail Fence quilt…it’s definitely alotta pink. LOL! Not something I would make for myself…not even sure why I had that material in my stash! Hmmm…wonder if I have fabric gremlins? Trading out my Civil War repos with hot pink?! I get up at 4:30 am now, so I don’t have a lot of time to stay up like I used to. For some odd reason I’m pooped out by 9:30 pm. LOL! It’s going to take a while to finish these quilts, me thinks! Here is what I did last night ~ four 12.5″ blocks then sewn together. I’m using 6 different 2.5″ fabric strips for this quilt.

PIZZA! ~

Ok…even though I’ve lost a lot of weight (63 pounds and more to go!)…I love pizza. And I’m able to indulge myself at BLACK ROCK PIZZA in Sparks, NV. It is THE BEST pizza I’ve ever had. Very original pizzas, and great customer service. Thanks Stephanie and Juan Carlos!

Black Rock is owned by Linda & Dave Winchester and they’re there every day (at least every day we are there…and we go at least once a week). ALL PIZZAS (30+) are thin crust with either Multi Grain or Sweet Italian…I love the multi grain crust. There are many sauces ~ Pesto, Olive Oil/Garlic, BBQ, Spicy Sicilian, Thai, Hot Wing, Ricotta White.

My favorites are the veggie Planet X (Ricotta White Sauce, Fresh Garlic, Spinch, Roma Tomatoes, Asiago Cheese) ~ Wild Wings (Buffalo Sauce, Buffalo Chicken, Celery, Jalapenos, Gorgonzola Cheese) ~ Sage Brush (Olive/Garlic Sauce, Turkey Sausage, Sage, Lemon Juice, Fresh Garlic, Romano cheese) ~ Stone Boy (Pesto Sauce, Basque Chorizo, Roasted Red Peppers, Sun dried tomatoes, red onions, gorgonzola cheese) ~ Carlin Trend (Pesto Sauce, Sun dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts, asiago cheese and sliced almonds) ~ Razorback (BBQ’d smoked pulled pork shoulder and green onions) and the Poker Brown (Thai peanut sauce, sun dried tomatoes, roasted red peppers, smoked red onion, green onions, celery, red bell pepper topped with habanero jack cheese and oriental noodles!). I also love the Pale Face (Olive/Garlic sauce, fresh chopped garlic, pine nuts with gorgonzola and provolone cheese)…but I had gallstones and this one made my stones go crazy. Luckily that sucker was pulled last October so now I can eat it again. I’d stay away from this one if you do have gallstones! LOL!

The sandwiches are to die for too! Great salads ~ and I’m in love with the Gorgonzola Dressing. They should market that stuff! Starters are tasty ~ Rattlesteaks (Thin strips of Sirloin Steak, marinated in Buttermilk, Seasoned, cooked crisp, drizzled with Chipotle Sauce) ~ Sawtooth Knobs (Mushrooms filled with ham, fresh garlic, cream cheese, jalapeños, onions; all distinctively flavored in BRP’s smoker) ~ Tumbleweeds (Artichokes tumbled through seasoned breading, served with marinara, ranch, gorgonzola or balsamic vinaigrette).

Made you hungry yet? If you live here in Reno or Sparks ~ there is no excuse why you haven’t given them a try yet. You’ll be hooked on the first visit. If you’re coming into town ~ they are at 2855 N. McCarran Blvd, Sparks, NV 89431.

Wind, Snow, Beach Glass and Monsterslayer ~ all in one day

The Truckee Meadows was wind blown yesterday and last night…checked the weeping cherry and the lilac bush, both were still standing uprightl! Had my fingers crossed as we had 40 mph winds with gusts up to 84 mph! Sheesh. And to top off the bloody bad weather ~ this morning when I looked out the window here at work ~ what do I see?! SNOW! It was snowing! It’s cool and cloudy out there now with a breeze…went from 81 degrees on Sunday to 43 degrees today. And we’re having a cluster of wee earthquakes (in the 3’s)…seems like the epicenter is near Verdi. Just felt one about 2:33 pm…was more this morning too.

The mail was sweet to me though! Popped into the post office at lunch today and found my order from Monsterslayer and Sea of Glass sitting there waiting for me ~ YEAH!

From MONSTERSLAYER I received a box of silver and copper wire and wire wrap pliers…I wanted to try out the silver square wire and I needed a couple of different gauges of copper. They are pretty dang fast with their orders! Placed an order in the mid-morning and that puppy was already being picked and out the door that afternoon. Very impressed with them.

SEA OF GLASS is a shop on Etsy run by Laura. I bought some green and brown sea glass that was collected in Rincon, Puerto Rico. Really nice medium size peices ~ I’ve gotten some beach glass from other folks…trying to find the right size. Sometimes you can’t really gauge it off of the pictures. Am very happy with this transaction.

These are Laura’s pictures…not mine (I’m just hosting them). I haven’t gotten them home yet to take pictures.

I think tonight I’ll organize all of my tools, wire, glass, beads and other supplies…we’re going to have crappy weather the rest of the week through the weekend so it looks like I’ll be doing inside stuffus instead of yard work. G&G Nursery won’t have Old English Roses in for another few weeks…that gives me time to do other things. Like learning to braid/knot hemp….and drill holes in glass!

eBay & Etsy Yarn Artists ~ Oreo & Stash Up Yarns

I have a friend in the Crafters’ Cafe (ebay group) who is an excellent knitter ~ I’m pretty sure most of us in the group have a pair, OR MORE, of her socks!  Oreo, or Oreobbenb, sent me a pair of red merino wool socks for our Valentine Exchange this year that I have worn pretty much every night…we have hard wood floors in the house and it gets cold.

She’s been knitting for sometime now…it’s probably a stress release as she is a nurse at a Florida nursing home, and life is stressful for a nurse.  Socks, scarves, belts, shawls, and baby clothes for dolls (Nana’s Reborn Dolls) and I’m sure real babies too!

I am an avid knitter and crocheter. I am addicted to yarn of all types. Just love the feel of it. Every year I enter our local fair and so far have won blue ribbons on most of my entries.

Socks are my favorite addiction and carry along knitting item. I’ve also been known to knit scarfs, hats, sweaters, dresses, doll clothes and mittens.

I have taught many friends and co-workers to knit. I believe this is a hobby worth passing on to others.

I also dabble in soap making and polymer clay. I usually sell my soaps locally and give some as gifts. Same with my polymer clay creations.

And here are some socks she’s working on for me with the Watchlar yarn from Stash Up Yarns ~

You can find Oreo on her Blog.

STASH UP YARNS ~

Bio
It was just a few years ago that I became intrigued by knitting and yarn. In a very short period of time I turned into a yarn addict. I scoured the internet for any and all yarn shops local and virtual. I spent unseemly amounts of money on yarn and needles and patterns. And here I am even more addicted to knitting and to yarn than I have ever been before. The very idea of winding a hank into a center pull ball using my improvised nostepinne gives me a thrill. And even though I have already purchased every current knitting publication I never fail to revisit that section of the magazine racks because the sight of a knitting magazine is truly a joy to behold. And its contents even more fascinating to read and peruse again and again. The next leg in this pursuit of yarn fiber has led me to hand-dyeing yarn. Dyeing may keep me away from knitting, but who cares? As long as yarn is in the picture, nothing else seems to matter.

I was looking for merino wool yarn for Oreo to make me some socks with…decided to head on over to www.etsy.com as we were boycotting ebay at the time. Glad I did as I found Nina at Stash Up Yarns ~ what WONDERFUL yarn! And great customer service ~ very nice lady, indeed!

I bought her Jasper, Hand-painted Merino & Bamboo Wool yarn which is Sea Green and Blue-Gray in color ~ and another beautiful yarn called Watchlar, 100% Merino Wool that is Thistle and Gray in color. The Merino & Bamboo wool is the most wonderful yarn I’ve petted ~ LOL! I had to keep it a while before mailing it to Sharon for her to knit with. I just kept picking it up and rubbing it on my face.

I recommend that you visit both of these talented ladies!

Birds, Birds, and more Birdies

Had a few ideas rattling around in my head ~ but settled on birds.  Was thinking soon it will be time to go up to Honey Lake, CA area to watch all the migrating birds.  Also remembered I have to stop off at Raleys to buy a big bag of unsalted peanuts for the scrub jays.  Almost out of goobers…it’s not a pretty sight when I get low on goobers.

Then I was on Etsy and stumbled across The Mincing Mockingbird ~ and that cinched the topic ~ Birds.

This has got to be one of the funniest things I’ve seen in a long time ~ all I could think about was my 15-20 Scrub Jays in my yard wanting their goobers.

Item Description:

“For a bag of Cheetos, not even a big bag, but one of those little bags that say ‘Not For Resale,’ I’d tear down this whole far-reaching, malicious world.
Damn. I got a hankerin’ for Cheetos somthin’ fierce.”
I should say so.
“Except those hot ones. I don’t like the Flamin’ Hots. I’m talking standard Cheetos.”

Makes me giggle every time I see it.

The Mincing Mockingbird’s Blog.

More of his artwork (not sure of his name, but he’s from the Los Angeles area) ~

Now for pictures of my Scrub Jays ~

Here is a Black-Neck Stilt that I took last year at the Honey Lake Wildlife Refuge…Mapes Ranch side, near Litchfield, CA.

Baby Quail in our yard last summer ~

Canada Geese babies from work ~

And a Robin sitting on the front fence ~

I’m looking forward to migration season ~ will have my batteries charged and ready to go take pictures! Hope you enjoy the pictures.