This appears to be the state of things of late - I'm still in the process of coming up to speed on a new-ish job, and it's safe to say my brain is full up and I'm not good for much else on the evenings other than unwinding and preparing for the next day. But I am still here :) and hooping (tho I haven't really learned any new tricks, for fear of accidentally taking out the ceiling fan and I'm too shy to hoop in the greenbelt out in front of the house, and believe it or not, the backyard doesn't offer much more room to experiment than the inside of the house due to the prickly landscaping). The time sure is flying by - I can't believe it's May already! I completely spaced about Maryland Sheep and Wool - and TNNA is just around the corner in June!
There is just something to be said for a weekend brunch, whether it's just you and your family, or with additional guests for weekend entertaining. I have good memories of brunching while growing up, and now that I've a home of my own, it's a nice break from my weekday routine.
is a great compilation of fantastic things to prepare for brunch, or even for other meals (who says you can't have breakfast all day?) - the book is laden with gorgeous photography, and each recipe has a nice introduction. Split into multiple chapters, each focusing on different aspects of brunch such as: drinks, basics, more eggs, pancakes, waffles, french toast and other sweets, bakery items, brunch bits, savories and sides, salads and soups, and finally fruits and condiments - the book includes a total of 100 recipes. The back of the book also includes some menu plan suggestions, in case you need some assistance in making selections. In case you're wondering, the basics section features old standards such as omelets, strata, fritattas, quiche and crepes - each with a number of variations listed. The "more eggs" section features some other egg preparations including the stunner on the cover - baked eggs in ham cups. The "bakery" section includes both sweet and savory preparations (heavier on the sweet than the savory, but all look delicious) including scones, pretzels, muffins, coffeecake, turnovers, tarts and doughnuts. I'm looking forward to digging into this book the next lazy weekend I've got at home :)
is a cookbook based on the chef's restaurant Bobby's Burger Palace. At home, I tend to go for plain old cheeseburgers, but sometimes have a craving for something a little "more" - and this cookbook has plenty of variations to choose from, each beautifully photographed. 33 mouth-watering burger variations (in all fairness, there are a few that are fish-burgers and one turkey burger), 10 sides (regular fries, plaintain fries, sweet potato fries, potato chips and onion rings) and a slew of milkshakes. If you're curious for what you might be in for, you can sneak a peek over on the Amazon listing where you'll find the recipe for the Miami burger and Sweet Potato fries posted.
...not much knitting going on...I've been kept entertained at work. While it seems wildflower season didn't do much here (that I managed to capture anyhow), the yucca around campus are in bloom. These delicate flowers are found on some rather gigantic yucca (some of the foliage is as tall as I am, it seems!) and are only open in the morning when I go into work. By the time I wrap things up to head home, all the buds on the stalk are closed tight! Hopefully they leave the stalks intact so I can see what the fruit looks like later this year.
With the temps flirting with the low 100's I finally decided to go in and have my hair chopped off. It's in braids because it's being donated to Locks of Love. For those that are interested, but don't think you can get your hair out to 10-inches, it looks like the minimum length requirement for Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program is only 8-inches.
I wound up donating somewhere between 10 and 12 inches of hair - I gave the stylist the opportunity to play, with the only requirement being that the hairstyle be easy to maintain and not require much fuss in the morning. They opted to leave it a little longer than I usually go for, mostly because I've been thinking about doing something interesting with color (yes, apparently they can put color into my hair without totally ruining it (I went to an Aveda salon)) - so we'll see, if by the time I'm up for the next trim I'm also up for the color experiment (we're thinking of hiding the color underneath, so it peeks out and doesn't require as much touching up). Anyhow, it's much cooler now :) and definitely dries a heck of a lot faster! Now if I could just remember not to go to bed with my hair wet....it does strange things now that it's short when I do that ;)
While this last winter has been crazy across the country, I can't help but wonder if we've damaged the environment past the point of repair - ever the optimist, I've continued pondering ways to reduce the ways I strain the environment. We do recycle a lot, we've installed compact fluorescents throughout the house, I carry reusable bags to reduce our consumption of plastic ones, we pay a little extra to have green energy put on the grid. Our home landscaping is xerescaped, and our houseplants are watered with gray water or rinsewater from when I wash veggies for cooking. We try not to overconsume by way of purchasing extraneous "stuff" and we try to dispose of what we do have to throw away responsibly. If I need to go to the store on the weekends, I try to walk over, after all, it isn't far. Every little bit helps, I figure.
Just in time for the 99 degree temps ;) I finished another "cardigan" - that's right! Marble gave up nesting on top of this particular project and I've got it done!
It's an extremely solid and heavy tome, beautifully produced and just over 400 pages in length. While it covers 32 different types of crafts, this particular volume does not touch on any of the needle-arts, nor does it touch on various other crafts including stained glass, weaving, or pottery amongst others. Here's a snapshot of the table of contents (sorry, my scanner has taken to being temperamental so I had to try to make do with my camera).
Surprisingly (to me, anyhow) I've actually experimented with a bunch of these craft techniques - though I can't say that I've ever had a resource for all of them in once place. Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts
is a photo-rich resource for ideas on various crafts if you're looking to do a little organizing, decorating or embellishing, or if you are looking for possible handmade gift ideas. Each section includes basic information about supplies required and several projects along with basic instructions and plenty of photos.
If ever you wonder why the knitting progress can be slow going, now you know. Would you want to disturb this kitty if she was sleeping on your handknitting projects when it is just as easy to grab a project that she *isn't* sleeping on?
While the glass was amazing, I think my favorite shot was actually this one. Not so happy about the flash, but there was no capturing this little guy without it - the sun was going down and he was going for his evening meal. So brave, there were people all around, and I was snapping photos - totally didn't seem to faze him at all! I was stunned once I reviewed my shots and discovered that I managed to catch him with wings back and nose in the penstemon!
I also really liked this capture - it's actually an HDR modified shot - the blurry bits are actually other visitors wandering around while the 3 exposures were captured. It looks like an alien landscape! I'm pretty certain that that crazy upside-down-flower chandelier is the same one that looked like orange carrots in the sun.
Throughout the year and especially during the warmer months, it seems I turn to sandwiches. Of late, I've been enamored especially of the breakfast sandwiches at Bertha's Cafe - but Bertha's is a ways away, and they will be moving at the end of this month (and will be closed while they renovate their new space). I was really excited to check this new book - 'wichcraft
- out. Both beautiful and a fun read, the book doesn't disappoint. The table of contents features large thumbnails of the detailed sandwich photos throughout the book - it's like a menu of sorts!
is broken down into several sections including breakfast sandwiches, cool sandwiches, warm sandwiches and sweet (think dessert) sandwiches. There's also a section in the back with recipes for "pantry" items like dressing, sauces and condiments for the sandwiches included in this book. I'll admit, while some of these sandwiches are not anything I would have ever thought of conjuring (boucheron with grapefruit and crispy olives or raw yellow beets with avocado, grapefruit and radish sprouts) - their description and photographs sure make my mouth water. I'm looking forward to giving a bunch of these sandwiches a try over the next few months!
I really adore the combination of the more or less straight uprite blue glass and the swirling blue glass in this installation. It would have been even more perfect if some of the agave were blooming.
More red waving tubes - these were further back in the garden, not right at the entrance. I really think they look more like flame at night with the red, yellow and orange colors.
One of my absolute favorite installations was of this green glass, in an alcove if I remember right. They remind me if pitcher plants or fiddlehead ferns with their swirling knobs on top.
And finallythere is this crazy, amazing installation right inside the main entrance to the garden. It is crazy and huge - and it looks much more spectacular once the sun goes down - at least I think so anyway!
I thought these were really pretty - unfortunately there wasn't any signage nearby so I don't even know what they are. I'm guessing they aren't native, but they sure are lovely!
And I always love the gold poppies when they make an appearance. This patch appears to be primarily Arizona wildflowers - the red things in the background were more glass :) and the bokeh-d stick like things are ocotillos.
This guy was busy trying to impress another bird nearby...I'm amazed my camera managed to even capture him as I was shooting with a wee point and shoot (digital elph). Unfortunately the blue sheen on his plumage seems to have been lost in the capture.
Here he is on his perch atop a saguaro.
twists and curls - a closeup from this rather large sculpture: 
it's like a bunch of grapes...but better somehow :)
These orangy carroty things are a closeup of one of the "chandeliers"
And these look incredibly fluid - like those fabric sock tubes that you sometimes see blowing around at events - they also remind me of flame - a whole bunch of them are found right at the entrance to the botanical garden.
Anyhow, I seem to have latched onto this new project, knitting it exclusively while I'm home - and even bringing it with me on occasion if I know I'm going out to knit. If all goes well, I might have a new cardi by the end of this next weekend! (I'm on the 1x1 round and round ribbing part...1x1 ribbing is no more fun than 2x2 ribbing, in case you were wondering) :P
combines both. Each of the six chapters reveals information about a type of tea or the traditions that have sprung up around it, and are followed by patterns, a recipe and a bit more information about a "site of interest". Patterns in the book are classic and retro in nature and run the gamut from accessories for the home (egg and tea cozies, a cushion, and a tablecloth), to accessories for wearing (gloves, socks, wraps, a hat and a purse), to the expected sweaters and cardigans. Skill levels range from Easy to Experienced and patterns are included for men, women and children (though the patterns for women are definitely by far in the majority). Each of the patterns has at least one large shot of the finished project, and often has additional smaller detail images include. Charts and diagrams were clear and included as appropriate. I really enjoyed paging through this book, and learning a bit more about tea. 
- it's written by the mother-daughter team of Sally Melville and Caddy Melville Ledbetter. The book features 30 patterns for mother and/or daughter - the patterns are fairly classic in design, and many will suit knitters of all ages. The book starts out with a great chapter on fitting your handknits to best flatter your body-type and includes information on customizing knitting patterns to achieve the best look. Building on this opening, the patterns do call out opportunities for customization as appropriate.
