Who me??

Mona el Said In Memoriam

2024-02-19T12:44:00.005-06:00

Mona passed recently (February 2024). She was one of my favorite Egyptian dancers. I was thrilled to meet her in person and take workshops with her. I first did so at the festival in Cairo, Ahlan wa Salan (AWS) in June 2004. I have some really old blog posts from my 2nd trip to Egypt when I first started to blog.

I started a website sometime after that so some items went to both places.

I had photos posted on my website (long gone now) from an event in September 2004 and a review I wrote was published somewhere. This was before facebook swallowed everything. I actually dug out both but seem to be missing some photos from a later event. Whether the photos were on an old mobile or an old camera . . . I had some memory cards that are somewhere but not sure how much is accessible anymore.

Meanwhile, I am posting some photos from Mona's Saturday night performance in September 2004. , , .

I found links to the review I had posted on Gilded Serpent. I actually have a page here on my blog that has the links of my reviews from Gilded Serpent.posted,. . . lightbulb moment, :-) . . . i haven't messed with my blog in awhile obviously.

First part of review: Part 1 Mona el Said Review:

Second part of the review: Part 2 The Saturday Night Show

Jasper, a 4 year old Norwegian Forest cat, came home in April, 2022

2024-02-18T22:05:00.000-06:00

Like I needed another cat , right?? I was at East Lake Cat Care Center when I spotted this big boy that had been surrendered. He had some teeth removed since they were in bad shape so he was quite groggy. I put my name down on him and a week later I brought him home. A big Norwegian Forest Cat according to the vet. I looked for similar breeds on the internet and I think he is a mix . . . but who cares?? He is a big dude!

Here we are almost 2 years down the road and I still wonder if he likes me. It took him 2 months to come out of the room where I quarantined him from the other boys. There are still spats amongst them and I am not sure he wouldn't be better off in a home with no other cats. But mostly it is OK.

He was diagnosed with diabetes in July 2023, so we have had a total turn around in focus with me giving him insulin shots twice a day. He lost a lot of weight in the beginning so it has been a big adjustment in feeding to get him to gain weight. Getting the insulin shots caused a big change in his appetite and he hated everything at first. I was frantic for a few weeks as I was working on him gaining weight while adjusting his insulin. It is definitely better. I am no longer feeling his bones . . . ribs and hips were so obvious when I touched him but looking at him it was as he had long hair with a double coat.

I hope he will level off soon with the weight gain because I am afraid that he will eat himself into a giant super-sized cat.

The Feline Additions: Pre- and During the Pandemic

2022-04-08T21:35:00.003-05:00

Bart came with Teddy in December 2019. Even though he is several months older than Teddy

, Teddy's foster brought Bart to meet with Teddy to smooth the transition of the adoption. Bart had been waiting awhile for adoption and all his siblings had already found homes. He's overall a good boy, friendly, easy going with some quirks.

Teddy was approx 4 months old when he was adopted in December 2019. He will be 3 years old in August 2022. He is a skittish boy. I knew he would be a bit of a challenge but I was hoping for more progress by now. At least he isn't hiding from me and I can pet him . . . even rub his belly. But he won't sleep with me unless he is next to Bart. Maybe some day.

Then I adopted Ozzy about 6 months later. I missed my ginger Maine Coon, Rufus, so much. I thought it would help me if I got another ginger kitty. They are not even remotely alike except for being ginger with white. So it goes.

Ozzy was 2 years old in February 2022.

They grow so fast!!! But they still act like kittens.

Cheesy Bread Baking

2022-04-02T08:22:00.000-05:00

Since I have returned home from my trip, I've been baking and cooking new recipes. The bread recipes I made were from King Arthur's website. The recipes were quite different but similar in that they both used cheese and a tomato element.

Pane Bianco recipe is made with Italian cheese blend (I grated hard parmagiano reggiano and pecorino), sun dried tomatoes in oil, lots of garlic and fresh basil. I added some mushrooms and black olives.

The other recipe is Pizza Party Buns with mozzarella, pepperoni and pizza sauce. I added some pizza dough seasoning to the dough and some pizza herbs/spice mix to the filling. These are made similar to the ones above with the ingredients rolled up. But this recipe is cut in rolls while the other is split down the length and made into a figure 8 shape.

While both of these recipes turned out nicely and taste fine, I probably won't make them again. I already have a cheesy bread recipe that I like to make with a mixture of cheddar and jack cheese. Honestly, I think I prefer the parmesan cheese in biscuits and basil in Thai noodles.

Now I want a real pizza. Saturday pizza . . . time to knead some dough!

Cairo: Starting the 2nd Half of my February 2022 Trip to Egypt

2022-04-01T19:47:00.003-05:00

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Back to the Grand Hotel again in Downtown Cairo . . . Wust al Balad. I seem to have photos of these streets from different sojourns here, The first time was in February 2005. Now that was a story in a different chapter in my life. I have made a lot of memories here. I have walked around in the area a few times . . .I have been lost in the area a few times too. It has changed over the years of course. Egypt has changed overall . . . for better, for worse . . . through the Revolution in 2011 and big changes after. Egypt looks like a construction zone all over. There has been an expansion on the metro in Cairo going on for years that has made a lot of progress. The area around the Grand Hotel was really bad for awhile but better on this trip. Progress? Yes.

.

February 18, 2024

Looks like I need to finish this . . . at least add some photos

Luxor - Part 3: Egypt February 2022

2022-03-23T21:28:00.022-05:00

Friday, February 18, 2022 (continued)

We cruised into Luxor early enough for a visit to Karnak before dark! One of my favorite temple complexes other than Habu Temple. I have been to Karnak twice for the night light show and 2 other times during the day. You really need more time than we had to properly see more of the complex but we definitely hit the highlights. For me those huge magnificent columns are some of the main things to see. There are so many of them and they tower over everything!

You get a double dose of those columns because I always take so many photos of them

One of our group photos taken with Kay's phone I believe. She's in the photo!

Other cool things to see . . .

This large scarab has some magic attached to it . . . if you walk around it 7 times! I didn't do that but saw other people.

The group photo in front of Karnak . . looks like we all made it including Kay and Yasmina!

Back to the boat for our last evening . . .

When we returned to the boat, we had a class with Khairya Mazin, the last of the Mazin sisters who is still teaching Ghawazee style. She has become quite popular for groups and individuals to go to her for a class when they visit Luxor. I went to her flat for a class in 2013 during the Journey through Egypt 4 lead by Sahra Kent.

During the pandemic, I attended a zoom on-line event where Saidi musicians played several pieces and she danced to a few of them. I really enjoyed that so I had no doubt I would find lots to keep me interested even though I wasn't dancing.

I wasn't disappointed. I loved the music and everyone dancing was having a good time. I spotted at least one female passenger who came up to the front of the bar where we were located to join in for a little while.

The rebaba player was so good. It almost made me want to get one to learn how to play. I saw some for sale when we visited a musical instrument store in Cairo/Mohamed Ali Street. I didn't even ask how much they cost, Can you imagine what the neighbors might think when you practice? :-)

I have a few video clips where Khairya teaches then dances with members of the groups . . . here's one of the longer ones . .Khairya with zills

. . . but this might be the most fun . . . she is dancing with a stick with the Saidi music: Khairya-Stick-Saidi

After class we went to dinner, then came back to the bar later to watch a belly dancer and a tannoura dancer. I think they were making the rounds of the docked boats because they had short shows. It was a full evening so that was fine.

Photo courtesy of Vickie Ng

Tannoura photos courtesy of Nikki/Seraphina

Saturday, February 19, 2022

Saturday was the last day on the boat and our last day in Luxor. We had to be all packed up before our day began so luggage could be stowed on the bus.

Meanwhile, we all crossed over to the West Bank to make stops at Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's Temple. I am hurrying through these myself as I have been here before a few times. I have lots of photos from those previous trips but I have to show something of the group!!

I went into one of the tombs but decided to sit outside for awhile instead of going in others. The amenities have expanded since the last time I visited. I remember when the place where the shady cafe sits was a concrete slab. I hate to date myself but I remember when there wasn't a cafe or a concrete slab, hmmmm. These spotty memories have sent me back to look at photos from 2005, 2012, 2013 and 2017/2018.

Ok, I don't want to include photos from a prior trip but I can't resist one photo from Nov 2018 . . . the view to the east from the top of the steps of Hatshepsut's Temple from this trip might not make it too apparent that Karnak can be seen across the Nile. Maybe if you enlarge the photo or squint . . .but look at the photo below this one . . . .

Hatshepsut's Temple as seen from Karnak Temple on the east side of the Nile, Nov. 2018

A quick visit to an alabaster factory . . . I think I have been to a few at this point and I still had to buy a Bastet for my collection and another for my neighbor who stopped by to look after my cats.

During the demonstration, the workmen here had all been coached to say "Oh, my god!" right on cue during the narrative.

photo courtesy of Mary Ann Daniels.

After the alabaster factory, we headed back to the Nile to get on the motorboat for a cruise to Banana Island for lunch and Tahtib class.

The restaurant we visited is Aladdin's Banana Island. There is a banana plantation on the island along with a few other things tourists can see. We didn't have time for that with the tahtib class after lunch.

Photo courtesy of Nikki/Seraphina

The Banana Queen! I tried to lay claim to the title but Jessica claimed it!
"Ana Mawz Malika!!!!!"
Both above photos courtesy Kay Wheatley

The restaurant is mostly open air and the group was seated in the outside section. There are lovely painted and cloth decorations inside and out.

The Tahtib class was after lunch. I chose a nice comfy spot to watch and take some more photos. This is quite a scenic spot with the Nile in the background.

Off to Luxor Temple and our last stop before heading to the airport . . . Yes. I know. I try to sneak in as many photos as I can of the Nile with all the sailing/cruising vessels.

Luxor Temple

Still some daylight left when we arrived with lots of photos a bit shady depending on which direction you are facing.

The Avenue of Sphinxes . . . maybe I will be in Luxor at another time with more time to walk it to Karnak . . . someday!

Finished our visit to Luxor Temple and headed out to the airport for our flight back to Cairo . . . Whew!! What a day! I never do this much in one day. I am usually quite lazy, lol. I think we did in one day what I might have spent 3 days doing if on my own. I would have spent way more time sitting by the Nile or cruising on the Nile. Every trip has its own flavor.

We finished our day at the Grand Hotel with falafel sandwiches from Gad. We ate a lot of falafel sandwiches because we always seemed to be rushing around. It was nice when we had time to sit for awhile to eat something more. Our lunch on Banana Island was nice so maybe I will have the opportunity to do that again . . . when I go back to walk the Avenue of Sphinxes.

Cairo/Alexandria in another post . . . or maybe I will split up a bit more by topic to make smaller blog posts. Seriously, the last 3 are already too long!! I have photos from the Islamic Museum and the NMEC in Cairo, the Tannoura show, Alexandria Library, more dance shows in Cairo.

Stay tuned for more blog posts on my February 2022 trip . . . but don't hold your breath . . . these last few might take awhile.

If interested in joining another adventure with Kay Taylor and Farida Adventures, check here: Farida Adventures

There just happens to be another trip organized for November 2022.

Cruising on the Nile/Kom Ombo/Edfu/Locks at Esna - Part 2: Egypt February 2022

2022-03-19T14:13:00.008-05:00

Thursday, February 17, 2022

The Nile cruise begins . . .

Docked for an evening visit to Kom Ombo. Last time I was here in 2013, it was during the day. A lot more tourists here this time and we just had a short walk from the boat.

Sometimes, I get rather fixated on columns . . . .

Then other times, I love to look at the scenarios and hieroglyphics on the walls

I think that is the moon peeking out but with so many bright lights to keep us from stumbling over the various obstacles in the way, it was hard to tell at times. ;-)

Back to the boat for dinner as we started cruising again to Edfu. There was a galabeya party schedule for 21:30 but for some bizarre reason, I had scheduled a massage at the same time. I thought I would be finished early enough to attend part of it but the guy took too long and then he wanted me to schedule another appointment . . . nope, nope, nope, my budget was already over the limit.

The Concerto photographer probably took all the group photos before I would have gotten there anyway . . . I borrowed someone's photo from the evening to show you how well everyone else did at getting into their colorful garb.

At least I could hear the music up on the deck from the dark room where I was getting the massage.

Friday, February 18, 2022.

Sometime during the night we docked at Edfu and it was an early morning rise to get off to see Edfu. . . 5:45 am!

There were lots of carriages waiting to take us to the site. We were all assigned to a carriage and told we needed to remember to which number carriage we had been assigned. They didn't want any mixups and this ensured that we all made it back as we couldn't leave without all of us in the carriage.

For some reason my brain wasn't functioning to take photos of the horse carriages, so I asked some in our group for photos.

Vickie Ng's photo of back of carriage to remember the number

Photo taken by Kay Taylor

I love this photo taken by Nikki/SeraphineOfScotland. Below are more of her photos taken at the end of our visit.

Edfu is another site that I visited in December 2013. So early in the morning it seemed so different. . . . Particularly approaching the site by carriage. But it is still the same with many more tourists.

I just had a look at my photos from 2013 . . . because it was later in the day, some of the photos are a bit better with more sunshine and bluer skies. Each visit is different of course . . . always notice something that was probably overlooked before.

Ahmed trying to gather us for an explanation about Edfu.

The whole group . . . look who has the crabby look, lol.

After Edfu, some of us had a wild ride back to the boat as the drivers really get into the spirit of the race . . . or maybe they just wanted to get back faster to see if there were more tourists to take to the site. There is a lot of maneuvering of the boats as they are basically stacked up several deep at the docking site. You had to be careful to get on the right boat as they would be switched around while you are gone.

We were all handed a chit/ticket when we debarked which we had to hand back in when re-boarding. That helped them to keep track of the count of people leaving so, hopefully, no one gets left behind. Not like it is possible when you have an organizer and guide counting to keep track of everyone. But I have a story later about that, lol.

Back on board, we headed to breakfast and the boat started cruising again . . . going through the locks at Esna while headed to Luxor . . .

But first . . . more towel art!! They made up the room during breakfast so I found this one when I got back. Very clever!

Most of us spent a lot of time on the deck just hanging out and watching the Nile go by even if it was a bit windy. Mostly it was just watching the water as we went along, but after awhile, we began to notice all the cruising boats. It felt like we were in a race and the Concerto seemed determined to get to the head of the queue. . . Blowing its horn as it passed as many boats as it could.

Then there were the enterprising guys in the small boats as we approached the locks.

They even threw their wares up on the deck . . . one landed in the pool!! They were quite expert at doing this but I imagine it must be quite tiring to do this with so many boats. And did they actually sell stuff?? If they flung it onto the deck, how did they get their money??

They came so close to the boat that it looked dangerous to me.

As we approached the locks, queued up and went through , there was a lot of activity even if it was a slow process but quite interesting. Lots of passengers were lining the bow of the boats to observe the whole process.

Our boat passed under a bridge while going through the locks.

I started taking some video at this point. I wanted to show the different vehicles but it seems not as many interesting ones showed up and by interesting, I mean unique to Egypt. I do have a lot of photos showing various transportation options from other trips to Egypt

Opening Locks at Esna . . . this is a much longer video to watch but it is interesting. The water levels change, the lock gates open and we cruise through.

Good bye, Esna!!!

On to Luxor . . . .To Be Continued in Part 3.

If interested in joining another adventure with Kay Taylor and Farida Adventures, check here: Farida Adventures
There just happens to be another trip organized for November 2022.

Pssssst! I snuck out of the country and went to Egypt in February 2022. Part 1 - First Stop Aswan and Environs

2022-03-13T10:49:00.012-05:00

February 12, 2022 - Takeoff!

I didn't really sneak, lol. I was properly ticketed, vaxxed/boosted, covid travel insurance purchased, PCR tested and papers all in order to depart. So many new forms to have ready as I was transiting through the UK on the way to Egypt. Requirements keep changing and dropping , , , it almost felt "normal" . . . whatever that is lately. Ugh, I hate politics and war with the latest conflict starting while I was in Egypt. So much travel anxiety before and on my return. I shouldn't complain too much because it rather negates the overall experience of my return to Egypt after 2 1/2 years.

Novotel, Cairo Airport

I had flight credit (American Airlines) and evouchers (British Airways) to use before they expired from the cancelled trips 2 years ago. I had put a deposit down on the group adventure, Essence of Egypt, 3 years ago for a 11 day tour in February 2021. I wouldn't have gone a year ago but the organizer, Kay Taylor of Farida Adventures, postponed both her trips (one in November and one in February). I was still apprehensive about February 2022 and, while the November trip was moved out another year to November 2022, the February date remained.

Turns out that the timing couldn't have been better even though the Grand Egyptian Museum won't be open until November 2022, inshallah. The omicron variant was on the wan and the future for travel was perking up. Egypt was definitely hopping as we found out. More cruise ships than ever before were getting floated on the Nile cruise route so I heard . . . seems school holidays were a couple of weeks early. Usually March is school holiday time. I wonder if Ramadan coming up soon is the reason. Visitors from the Gulf were certainly in Cairo in large numbers as we found when we went to the Blue Nile on a 2nd night to see Marguerite when we returned to Cairo.

Aswan International Folk Festival

I had ambivalent feelings about travelling with a group when I had been at home most of the time during the pandemic. I don't even eat out opting to use delivery and curbside pickup. I stocked up on masks and vowed to wear them as much as possible. I was the most consistent in the group with the mask wearing. I believe that wearing masks in Cairo (indoor and outdoor) helped to keep me from getting sick with the usual "Cairo Crud" . . . sort of a combination of smoke and pollution that my allergy meds couldn't defeat.

Monday, February 14, 2022 - an extra day to relax and a night out!

After the long journey across the Atlantic to London, then on to Cairo, I arrived a day early so I could get over jet lag. . . Not like that helped in the long run because our group was so busy over the next several days with so many activities. But the night before we headed to Aswan, we had an extra night out to see Soraya at City Stars. She is so good!

It was St. Valentine's Day . . . many hearts required.

Tuesday, February 15, 2022 - Down to Aswan!

We had to be up really early for a 7am flight to Aswan. On arrival, we still had to wait for our rooms for a 1 night stay at the Basma Hotel before we continued on to our boat, Concerto, for the Nile Cruise. It is peaceful at the Basma Hotel as it is above the noise of the city and has a great view. I stayed there in December 2013 when I was on Sahra Kent's Journey Through Egypt 3&4 Tour. The Old Cataract Hotel is just down the hill from our location while the Nubian Museum is across the road.

Great View from my Room at the Basma Hotel

I missed the afternoon Nubian dance class because I fell asleep. When I woke up, I could hear the sound of the music coming up from the terrace where they were dancing. I hadn't planned to dance but I did want to watch and listen to the music. Being tired at the beginning of the whirlwind tour is not the best idea. Oh, well.

That evening, we attended what looked like a rehearsal/walkthrough for the Aswan International Folk Festival. There were a lot of groups from different countries staying at the Basma. They were walking around in their costumes all day. I swear some of them were the same people who had been performing at Abu Simbel when I went in Feb 2017. The groups seem to do double duty in Aswan then Abu Simbel.

Wednesday, February, 16, 2022

I am such a fan of quiet mornings and watching the sunrise . . . oops, that was on the other side of the hotel. I did get to watch the moon set.

Not long after breakfast, we checked out of the hotel . . .

then headed off to Philae for a nice visit before checking into our floating domicile, the Concerto, for the next few days!

Riding the motorboat to Philae

This was such a busy day even after Philae. We checked in to the boat, had some lunch then in the afternoon, did the Nile cruise to a Nubian village on a motorboat with one stop at the botanic gardens for a quick walk-through, , , run-through, lol.

I feel like everything is done at a brisker pace than I can manage . . .even after the knee procedure, I am struggling. The story of my life . . . at the back of the group and the last choice for a seat at the table . . . because I am sloooowwwww.

I do love sailing in a felluca or cruising in the motorboat on the Nile . . . I don't have photos of me getting on and off various vessels because it would be awkward . . . so many opportunities to fall in the water or injure my knees/feet. So many people helping in and out, up and down . . . no wonder my muscles were screaming, But once I was in place, I enjoyed all the rides.

Kay posing in the botanic gardens

Kay, Jessica and I at the Botanic Gardens . . . I think, lol

Tourists getting off the motorboat to engage in extra activities . . . like riding camels or sand surfing.

We visited a Nubian home where we had tea and sweets with some music and dance.

Left to Right: Gillian, me, Jessica, Mary, Hazel, Vickie

Left to right: Nikki/Seraphina, Moyra, Amanda, Adriana, Kay
Kay Taylor took lots of photos of everyone!

I'm the shortest person in this photo :-) . . . the other lady is Gillian

Someone actually stopped us for a group photo in the Nubian Village

Going up: Vickie, Kay, Jessica, me, Gillian, Kate, Nikki, Ahmed, Moyra, Amanda, Mary, Adriana and Hazel

On our way back it was getting darker, so I have some night time photos with the moon trying to come out.

We weren't going to sail until the next afternoon, so after dinner we decided on a quick visit to the souk (market) in Aswan to look for galebeyas ( caftans) and other items. We finally split up and happened upon this one shop that looked like it had a good selection. While some of the other ladies were looking at the shiny ones more typical of what dancers are attracted to, I was looking for something different. First I looked at ones with Nubian patterns which were so nice. The shop assistants were trying to find something in my size so some went off like they do to other shops. I wasn't really finding something I liked on me until they pulled out the one with the eyes!! One of my favorite colors is turquoise/blue . . . and it was perfect and it fit!! . . . and Kay claimed the yellow one.

Yours truly with the shop guy who helped me.

Kay modeling her caftan.

After stocking up on water and snacks, it was time to get some sleep. Some members of our group were going off to see Abu Simbel very early the next morning. I decided to wait for another year for a possible re-visit with my Welsh friend, Brigid, as we had gone in 2017.

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Towel art for the day

I took the opportunity to go to the Nubian Museum which I had only seen a part of in December 2013.

Museums have the obligation to give us the time period and perspective for the objects contained in the museum. I particularly liked the overview of the Nile and the location of the archeological sites . . . some of which I have seen.

Then there are all the objects themselves. Yes, I love looking at all the items collected from different digs. Jewelry might be my favorite but that only scratches the surface.

Time to set sail at 15:30

TO BE CONTINUED . . . Next up . . . Cruising on the Nile with stops at Kom Ombo, Edfu, Locks at Esna, and Luxor (Part 2 Egypt 2022)

If interested in joining another adventure with Kay Taylor and Farida Adventures, check here: Farida Adventures

There just happens to be another trip organized for November 2022.

Another scarf using a a Caron Cake

2022-02-07T20:10:00.003-06:00

The pattern: Lilac Frosting Scarf this is an easy pattern using a combination of single crochet and double crochet in one stitch, which gives it a slight bumpy texture.

I started this scarf a couple of years ago when I was churning out some scarves to donate. I was attempting to use up my stash and got rid of a few skeins while doing that. I have even more now which is so typical for crochet people.

Lately, I have been digging around to find old projects, WIPs and yarn/pattern waiting for me to make a start. There are a few out there that are going to be rotated but I have so many I want to do.

The yarn is a Caron Cake Bumbleberry. It is an acrylic wool blend weight 4, I used a 5mm crochet hook.

Maybe I will work on the fingerless mittens next. Or there is another shawl that I started and made it one round. oh, but I still have ends to sew in and tassels to make for the Lost in Time Shawl.

Rio Arriba Shawl from Polly Plum

2022-02-03T09:12:00.002-06:00

This is a pattern I purchased on Ravelry. . . Rio Arriba

I didn't use her suggested colors as I have so much in my stash to use up. Polly's choice of colors looks great, but I think mine choice of the Caron Big Cake Nightberry worked up nicely. Big plus, I didn't have a huge amount of ends to sew in at the end. I used up most of the cake with enough to make fringe all around. I did have to undo some swatches/samples I had to dig out. All good though.

This shawl worked up so quickly. Once you get the hang of the 2 rows on repeat, it just flies.

Shawls, Shawls, Shawls . . . Lost In Time to start

2022-02-02T10:27:00.009-06:00

I have a lot of pending projects . . . pending, not even WIP . . . but I do have a lot of WIP that I am rotating around. I am trying to finish smaller projects in between but I keep finding and downloading patterns for smaller items like shawls, scarves, cowls, and gloves/mittens. I think I need the feeling of completion from smaller projects. Now if I could just get all those ends sewn in.

I am sure that many crochet people do this . . . find an inspiring pattern, find all the yarn listed in the pattern, wait on it to arrive and then set it aside. for another project. I have a few of those. Some are blanket size so a lot of yarn sitting around waiting on me. The shawls are more doable. I did buy some yarn packs but many times it is the individual skeins. You can lose track of those skeins easily if you aren't careful to keep them separate. That almost happened to the yarn I bought for the "Lost in Time Shawl" from Mijo Crochet. I had to stop myself from picking colors from that project for another project.

Now I have finished the basic shawl (need to make some tassels) so I can release the extra yarn back into the stash.

I even added in some different colors as I didn't feel too inspired by some colors side-by-side. That 402 for one which looked more pale blue to me than silver green . . . must be the lights! It is a good thing (?) I had stocked up on various colors of the Scheepjes Catona %100 Cotton.

I really liked the first section with the ginger but then the color selection really expanded.

That dark green, spruce, was my substitute for the silver green. I started to mix up more when I got into the end of the 2nd repeat and the 3rd repeat.

I even brought back that silver green! I put all of this in a spreadsheet so I could keep track and switch around when needed. I didn't have enough of the spruce so I did that color juggling on the last round.

This was a big challenge but really wasn't that hard. Lots of popcorn stitch but the remaining stitches were sc, dc, fpdc and bpdc. I have been doing too much mosaic crochet . . . it was nice to do something different.

I was looking at other Lost in Time projects on Ravelry, where I spotted a version done with Caron Cakes Bumbleberry. As I have some in my stash from 3 years ago . . at least, lol . . . I might do another Lost in Time, As soon as I finish another scarf AND shawl that I am part way through. Or, maybe not, who knows where my crochet path will lead . . . I have a lot of different patterns I want to try.

Pandemic Crochet Project #3 - Montana - It is Done!!!

2022-01-08T11:57:00.001-06:00

Errors and all!

Not much more to be said. I pushed through to the end despite the mistakes. I fixed what I could but decided to accept that it needed to be finished . . . so I can move to other projects. It looks good to me and is warm. Finished size is approx. 7ft x 32".

There is fringe on the ends and I did reinforce the sides with the fringe.

First time Macaron baker!

2021-12-08T08:36:00.003-06:00

I got a bee in my bonnet (just an expression to mean that I had an idea that I needed to act on) and decided I had to make macarons. It probably was born out of watching too many episodes of that British baking show. People were making macarons all the time.

Then I ran across a cook book specializing in macarons with lots of great recipes for fillings. I checked out from the library but I recently bought a used copy from Half Price Books (it really was less than half price including shipping than the price on Amazon).

TBH, you don't need to buy a cook book as there are sites on the internet that listed the same basic recipe and lots of technique and tops. But I like to have something other than a laptop in the kitchen to check recipes. Here is a link though for a good source of information: Sally's Baking Addiction Macarons

I had some technique to work on so my results weren't perfect . . . getting egg whites stiff enough then piping them properly so they are the right size, flat and bake well.

Making chocolate ganache was much easier as I have already done that a few times. The filling is what really makes the macaron so tasty. It also hides the taste of the almond flour. I like almonds but something about it in the egg whites was not so great tasting to me.

Yes, I was messy but I wasn't planning on taking them to friends as a gift. Oh, as one friend who has made them a few times said "I have feet!" . . . that's what they call the edge that shows up on the side against the baking sheet.

Things to do: practice getting stiff egg whites and use fresh egg whites instead of the ones in a carton. This is easier but this is a hint mentioned in the tips.

I might make meringues in the near future. Maybe after making a run at choux pastry which is another technique to learn.

Pandemic Crochet Project #3 - Montana Wrap - Backing up a bit

2021-11-28T12:20:00.002-06:00

I put this project down for maybe 10 months ago . . . or could it be a year?? Oh, my!!

I got a wee bit frustrated when I started to struggle due to my counts being off and my efforts to correct as I went along weren't working. So into the project bin it went where it was pushed to the bottom.

I have other WIP projects too and maybe I should keep more going as I get bored easily with the same pattern. Love the final results but sometimes it isn't enough to drive me to finish. Squares can be difficult with the same thing over and over even with the different colors. My current one is black and white squares, lol. It will be beautiful when I finish. That is my previous post.

I pulled out Montana on Friday and started counting stitches at the beginning of the last row. I put in some stitch markers every 12 stitches . . I just picked that out of my hat but it was very helpful to stay on target for the section where I think I really screwed up. I worked my way down several rows. It turns out it is going to mean pulling out several rows, sigh, about 12 rows!

This mosaic crochet pattern is done in rows with the yarn cut at the end of the row. I have a color scheme that I am following and I want an easier way to organize the yarn. So I didn't remove the whole row but took it back as far as I needed. I rolled into a small ball which I then put into a plastic bag.

After a few hours of pulling and rolling I was ready to start again.

Yesterday I did a few rows and I marked the pattern with the remaining missing stitches or extra stitches. I would have to pull the whole thing apart to get rid of all mistakes , , at least the last ones are consistent.

AMMA Cal Black and White Viking Version - Pandemic Project #5?

2021-11-23T12:11:00.001-06:00

I keep finding more mosaic crochet projects to create. This is another one from Tinna Thorudottir Thorvaldar ( Tinnacrochet.com ). I bought the kit for the Viking Granny two-color version from her with the Icelandic wool, Lopi Lettlopi. Shipping from Iceland was not cheap but the kit includes a written version of the pattern with charts.

There are videos available on YouTube for assistance. https://www.youtube.com/c/TinnaThorudottirThorvaldar

I have a part time assistant like many others . . . Bart makes a good model/prop for photos.

I started very ambitiously . . . planned to make 2 squares a week. That went well for 1 week.

The LOLA square.

I decided to make the tiny versions in the opposite order of the colors for a pillow.

The SAGA square.

The first two tiny squares!

Then I went off on a tangent as I decided to buy some other colors to make tiny squares . . . I got frustrated with the magic circle. Imagine that. I think I might need to buy more of that white/cream. Thankfully I found a source in California that is importing this wool.

I got back to it and slowly worked up the last 3 of the designs.

Up to 4 squares here with 2 of the first one made (SAGA).

The Maria Square
The Dora (or is that Pora?) Square

The Tinna Square

I now have 6 squares completed with 6 more to go for the small, 3 x 4 squares But maybe I can slowly do enough squares for a medium, 4 x 5 squares, and make pillows from the tiny squares in multiple colors.

Medina Mosaic Crochet from The Guy with A Hook

2021-10-24T17:49:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it has been over 3 years since I found this pattern and decided I had to make it. Here is my original post with lots of photos of Marrakech. So many beautiful colors to please the eyes and the pattern uses a lot of them in the five different tiles.

Medina Mosaic Crochet Post

I made one of each color scheme while I was taking a break from another big CAL This one is a lot of squares and ordering the yarn was a chore as I had to keep track of varying quantities of so many colors. The changing colors is what makes this pattern pop. And it isn't all that difficult once you get the pattern down. Maybe different shades of some colors could be used but I won't bother with different ones. I might try changing the order to see if I like dark to light instead of light to dark.

Using Scheepjes Catona mercerized cotton (fingering) yarn with a 3.25mm hook,

Casbah (8 tiles)

A – 110 Jet Black

B – 404 English Tea

C – 179 Topaz

D – 383 Ginger gold

E – 157 Root Beer

Tunis (8 Tiles)

A – 110 Jet Black

B – 253 Tropic

C – 514 Jade

D – 391 Deep Ocean Green

E – 525 Fir/substituted 244 Spruce

Majorelle Tile Colors (12 Tiles)

A – 110 Jet Black

B – 146 Vivid Blue

C – 400 Petrol Blue

D – 201 Electric Blue

E – 124 Ultramarine

Medina (4 Tiles)

A – 110 Jet Black

B – 101 Candlelight

C – 522 Primrose

D – 208 Yellow Gold

E – 249 Saffron

Souk (4 Tiles)

A – 110 Jet Black

B – 403 Lemonade

C – 411 Sweet Orange

D – 281 Tangerine

E – 388 Rust

Pasta al Forno - a whole lot of meatballs!

2021-10-23T13:08:00.003-05:00

I am still on a meatball kick so when I spotted this baked recipe I thought I would give it a go. I made a lot more meatballs because of the quantities of ground meat and Italian sausages I bought. I probably would make them smaller because, although they tasted good, the meatballs might have absorbed more sauce if smaller.

The sauce was mostly fresh made. I did used some canned sauce and tomato paste to increase the volume. I just didn't have enough tomatoes. Next time I will. I added a jalapeno and a zucchini to the sauce to get some extra vegetable. Maybe I should add more if I make this again . . . A good tomato sauce is always useful with or without meatballs.

Before I assembled the parts in a dish, I did a little taste test . . . ummmm, spicy!

It is so good to have a good parmesan to grate for adding to the recipe . . . in the meatballs, in the sauce, over the top . . . good stuff.

I had leftover meatballs after putting together the sauce, meatballs and pasta in the casserole. Lots of meals from this one. (Recipe below)

Pasta al forno – baked pasta with meatballs and mozzarella

Serves 4, generously

40g soft breadcrumbs
20ml milk
1 egg, beaten
200g pork mince
1 pork sausage, meat squeezed from its casing – I used spicy Italian sausage.
60g parmesan, grated
Salt and pepper

Added chopped green onion and red chili flakes. Try garlic next time.

1 small onion, peeled and finely diced
6 tbsp olive oil
500g peeled tomatoes, fresh or tinned, chopped
Red chilli flakes (optional)
Big handful basil, torn
1 tbsp tomato puree (optional)
250g mozzarella, drained and ripped

Added garlic, oregano, tomato sauce . . . jalapeno and zucchini to up the veg content

500g pasta (penne, mezze maniche, maccheroni, rigatoni)

First, prepare the meatballs. Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk and beaten egg for 10 minutes, then squash together with the mince, sausage meat, two tablespoons of parmesan (the rest is for later), and salt and pepper. Roll into small, walnut-sized meatballs and leave to rest.

Meanwhile, make the sauce in a deep frying pan for which you have a lid. Fry the diced onion in olive oil until soft, add the tomatoes, chilli, basil and a pinch of salt, then leave to simmer, mashing the tomatoes with the back of a spoon, for 10 minutes. Taste and add a squeeze of tomato puree, if you think it needs it. Add the meatballs, cover the pan and leave to cook for 10 minutes, shaking the pan every so often so the meatballs roll around and cook evenly.

Bring a large pan of water to a boil, add salt and, once it comes back to the boil, add the pasta and cook for four minutes less than the recommended cooking time. Drain immediately, then mix in a large bowl with the tomato sauce and meatballs and half the remaining parmesan. Tip into a large baking dish, poke the mozzarella into the gaps, scatter over the rest of the parmesan and bake at 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 for 20 minutes. Finish under the grill for crisp, golden edges.

Pandemic Crochet Project #1 - Moroccan Tile (Continued)

2021-10-02T12:15:00.002-05:00

Yes! FORTY EIGHT squares done for the Moroccan Tile blanket. There will be a final post at some point . . .hopefully . . . showing the finished product. I do have all the squares created. I almost missed the round of "Walnut" for each square. "Walnut" is the color used to join the squares and do the border.

I have thoughts about the final products but one big blanket is not it. I could make a pillow (16 or 24 squares) with the possibility of a back done with a mosaic crochet pattern I like to use up some of the leftover yarn. A nice sized throw could used the remaining squares.

Time to decide later! I started a new Tinna Hekl (#tinnahekl on Instagram) design in mosaic crochet.

Korean Style Meatballs

2021-09-26T10:08:00.003-05:00

I did make the Korean meatballs . . . or maybe I should say "Korean Style" or "Korean influenced". I couldn't find Gochujang on-line for some reason. I looked in a grocery store where I have bought it before . . . nothing! Not sure why not. It is usually a tub sitting right in the middle of the international section. I am not in the mode of running around town to find ingredients these days. I improvised around it after I picked up the Korean marinade/sauce with sesame seeds. I had the big bottle of Sriracha and a Korean spice mix. I didn't add the hot chile sauce and a good thing I didn't.

I based my meatballs on ingredients from 3 different recipes and ingredients I have at home. I used a 50-50 mix of ground pork and beef to which I added scallions, mushrooms, bread crumbs, an egg, Korean spice mix. Sriracha, soy sauce, Korean sauce with sesame seeds, ginger, garlic.

I used the ice cream scoop to help form the balls. I baked at 400F on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. So easy to cleanup.

I have made 2 sauces so far which are simple using the sriracha sauce and soy sauce . . . apricot and blackberry preserves for the sweet side.

Sweet Potato Oatmeal Muffins

2021-09-23T10:08:00.002-05:00

For a few months during the pandemic (mostly 2020 part), I felt like I was churning out banana bread, pumpkin/squash bread and sweet potato bread on a regular basis. That tapered off after I started getting into yeast breads and found my favorite Italian bread (pugliese).

Lately, I haven't done so much cooking of solid foods as I have had problems with the #30 molar. After a couple of rounds of antibiotics to deal with infection and a root canal (revealing the depth of the fracture) , the infected tooth was pulled and some bone grating was done. At some point, I will get a new tooth implant. yay, me!

I have suffered through many days of liquid/mushy/soft food. Mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes are fine . . . until you want to gag . . even when cheese and spices are added. Which gets me to this point . . . let's put the rest of those sweet potatoes into a bread or else!!

I found a recipe for sweet potato oatmeal muffins in my recipe stash! How many recipes have I printed from various websites over the last couple of years?? One for just about everything!!

These are not too bad. Could use more spice. It calls for cinnamon and nutmeg. It could use some ginger too. Just your basic spicing that could be similar to pumpkin pie spice!!

Now can I mash beets?? I have a bunch I haven't been able to use up. Seriously, I can just roast those.

Meanwhile, I have Korean meatballs to make!!

Armenian soup with Lamb and Prune Meatballs plus Chick Peas (Garbanzo Beans)

2021-09-07T20:18:00.002-05:00

Mamushka - Cook Book with Recipes from Ukraine and Eastern Europe\

I checked out this cook book from the local library because I really don't need more cook books. I have found quite a few recipes on-line but I think a cook book . . . held in the hands and browsed through for hours . . . presents a much better option for finding something of interest. I am on the computer a lot but I find having a book in hand can be more useful. And I really don't like to have my electronics in my small kitchen.

This isn't very hard to make once you have the ingredients. Go get those pomegranate molasses!!

Crochet pillow cover using Viking Knot mosaic crochet pattern

2021-08-24T10:51:00.001-05:00

Most recent crochet creation using Paintbox DK cotton in 4 colors: Racing Green, Pistachio Green, Banana Cream and Melon Sorbet. The pattern used is available on Ravelry : Viking Knot

This is an easy pattern to work in the round. I had some problems getting the join even, so I did some sewing at the seam once I was done. I made a bolster size of 28" x 14" as that suits my needs and the yarn I have available.

Now I really need to finish up another project that has been sitting idle for about 1 year. So many squares!!!

The rain rolled in for a few days and the temps dropped . . . so I made bread!

2021-08-21T18:37:00.005-05:00

Also, my knee felt much better after the surgery, which meant I could stand for kneading etc, without swelling and pain.

I made my favorite dough (the Italian pugliese) then I decided to make a variation that I had been eyeing at the end of the recipe. . . it includes the salty, oily dried black olives. The recipe has instructions to roll up 200 gram balls. Mine were bigger than that. Next time I will make smaller than 200 grams so I can have smaller sized sandwich rolls. Maybe I will add more olives.

I have a lot of the starter left hanging around in the fridge, so maybe i will crank out another batch even though it will be hot hot hot outside. The rolls don't take as long to bake as the large loaves of bread.

I love when my dough rises this much!!

It made for a nice roll to be used for toast with cream cheese and/or bacon or a sandwich.

Halloumi and Feta with zaatar scones/biscuits

2021-08-05T15:10:00.000-05:00

This is another recipe that has been on my baking to-do list for quite awhile. I might need to find some other recipes that use halloumi instead of frying it. This wasn't too bad even if I did overbake so it was a bit dry.

I used creamy feta instead of the easy to crumble kind. I like the creamy kind for salads as it mixes with the dressing and tastes so good with tomatoes and olives.

There is a paywall for the site with the recipe so print it off as soon as possible . . .

Feta and Halloumi Scones

Recipe makes a dozen. I used and ice cream/cookie scooper and I needed to do it twice to get a decent size.

Chocolate Truffles

2021-07-10T11:08:00.006-05:00

I forgot to post about making these before my knee surgery on the 17th of June. I spent a sweaty Sunday producing as many as i could from the box of supplies. Yes, I bought all the supplies from my chocolatier friend, Yelibelly Chocolates ( @yelichocolate on Instagram). There is a video demonstrating the process which matches the included written instructions.

When it is a very hot day, the chocolate can get too melted fast. I keep putting it back in the fridge after rolling about 8 if the truffles. I also kept pulling off the gloves and putting on a new pair because they got so messy. Maybe I should have put them in the fridge??
Unlike my first attempt at ganache where I melted the chocolate in the microwave then added the cream, this recipe has you heat the cream and syrup THEN pour over the chocolate. It works quite well either way.

I will spare you the rolling part as I was way too messy to stop for photo taking. I had various items to use for coating the rolled chocolate ganache . . . cocoa, nuts and sprinkles. Luckily I had different sprinkles left over from the cocoa bomb class, so I was able to extend my efforts to the end of the ganache.

All nicely boxed up for gifting. I gave all these to my friend that helped me after my surgery . . . more people in her house to eat them too. I don't need to eat so many truffles.