New Moon - New Month

River Walk

A few weeks back we took a drive to the next county where we used to live and noticed that there was now a raised walking dike in the Skamokawa (sounds like: skaw-moc-aw-way – the Name of the historic Indian Chief of this region) Game Refuge there. So this morning we decided to go back and take a walk along the mighty Columbia River. The walking area used to be Hornstra's Dairy Farm before the State stole the land from the farmers in the 1970's and designated it to become a Game Refuge. We didn’t see any animals at all today, probably because they know that the greedy river is eroding the shoreline away and creeping in:

This watery area used to be filled with a pretty white ranch-style farmhouse surrounded by a large dairy farm. Today it is filled with the overflow of the turbulent Columbia River that rushes by in the fore. And a tug boat plodded down the river as we leisurely walked upriver …

Tug on the Columbia River

Game Refuge Walk

I have a real phobia of water, so I was not happy to see that the river seepage was so close at hand:

The River seriously eroded the road away and is creeping in. The school bus used to drive right there.

The county road used to run by the river where water now runs. The Columbia River ate the road away a few years back, so the Game Refuge cannot be visited in one long continuous drive anymore …

The road is no longer connected. To get to the road where the car sits, we would have to backtrack back to our 4x and backtrack down the road to the main highway and then drive down the highway another 15 minutes to come in at the other end: a half hour trip to get to where we are now from the other end; I hope that wasn’t too confusing.

After I saw how the river was eating more and more land away, I was nervous the entire walk. The Columbia River is a dangerous river and it is a greedy river. Today was the only time I will ever walk that River Walk again. The treacherous river was just too close for my comfort:

On the way back to the pickup, I almost stepped on a fuzzy-wuzzy caterpillar …

It is kinda hard to determine what its stripes are trying to convey. Lore has it that if the rusty stripe is wide, winter will be mild; but if the black is more than the rust, winter will be more severe. To me, it appears to be pretty much “even-steven”, so I’m going to hazard a guess that winter will soon end and we can start getting sufficient sunshine and warmth to chase the gray doldrums away ;-)

MOD Desert Sunrise Dish Towel

I like using antique patterns, so while looking through my pattern book I saw this knit ‘Honeycomb Tweed’ pattern and thought it would work for my new dish towel design; and the colors are in keeping with my desert theme ;-)

I am liking the softness of the towels I design, and the texture patterns I am using. I am searching my various pattern books to find usable patterns that will be able to reflect desert colors without causing a jumbled mess of tangled yarn in the back of the towels … this pattern is keeper :-D

MOD Desert Sunrise Dish Towel

Cotton yarn: 3-oz. ‘Blue Jeans’ (MC) & 3-oz. ‘Over the Rainbow’ (CC)

#10-1/2 Knitting Needles

#J/10 crochet hook

With MC, cast on 73 sts; Purl 1 row.

Row 2: Continue with MC and repeat the following - *K 1, slip next st purlwise*; end with a K 1.

Row 3: Continue with MC and P 1 row; drop MC and attack CC.

Row 4: With CC, K 2 and repeat the following - *slip 1 st purlwise, K 1*; end with K 2.

Row 5: Continue with CC and P 1 row drop CC and attach MC.

Repeat rows 2 thru 5 for a total of 118 rows pattern.

Finish towel as follows: With Mc, K 1 row/Purl 1 row/slip stitch across each stitch and end off … OR continue with MC and single crochet around entire towel, working 2 sc in each towel corner. The crochet edge will help the towel lay flatter with less edge curl.

March for Life 2017

The 1^st March for Life was started one year after the Supreme Court’s ‘Roe vs Wade’ decision in 1973. Every year since then, subsequent marches have been held on or near the January 22^nd anniversary in hopes of overturning that decision.

Today, the marchers chanted “Hey, hey, ho , ho … roe versus wade had got to go!”

And for the 1^st time in 44 years, America has a President and Vice President that agree with that sentiment :-D

And in a historic move never done before by a VP, Pence attended the March and spoke – making clear that he and President Trump support LIFE ...

It is quite possible that R vs W may well be overturned and canceled during this Presidency. Where barak hussain obama ramped up the murderous abortion activity during his failed presidential coups, President Trump seems intent on halting abortions in America.

And we, The People, HOPE SO!

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/march-for-life-thousands-assemble-at-washington-monument/2017/01/27/7d880d52-e40a-11e6-ba11-63c4b4fb5a63_story.html?utm_term=.14679c7ce175

MOVIE: The Jackpot (1950) - Comedy Movies

MOD Arabic Cross Dish Towel

My store-bought dish towels are getting thread bare, and the fabric of the towels really never soaked up wetness of damp hands, so I decided to design my own cotton yarn towels. I am making my own designed towels with cotton yarn odds and ends since they are not for sale, but for personal use; this is a rather large towel that won't shrink much even when washed and dried in the dryer.

MOD Arabic Cross Kitchen Towel

The contrasting colors (CC) edging this towel are all the colors that make up the blended strands of the cotton yarn, ‘Candy Sprinkles’ used for the main body of my towel. This towel was designed with an old antique pattern on the towel ends. The pattern is called ‘Arabic Cross’.

Arabic Cross design …

To the best I can recall this is the pattern for my own designed towel:

************

Cotton yarns in colors of your choice (I used scraps of Mod Blue (CC), Bright Pink, Bright yellow, White, & Candy Sprinkles)

Size #J/10 crochet hook

Size #10-1/2 Knitting Needles

This towel was started with a single chain crochet foundation for firmer edge.

With yellow and crochet hook make a loose chain of 73. With knitting needle, pick up a stich in the back of each crochet chain: 73 sts.

Row 1: Purl

Row 2: Knit

Row 3: P5; repeat following across row - *K 3 through back loop, P 9*: end row with P 5 instead of 9

Row 4: K 5; repeat following across row - *P 3, K 9*: end row with K 5 instead of 9

Row 5: Repeat R 3

Row 6: Repeat R 4

Row 7: P2; repeat following across row - *K 9 through back loop, P 3*: end row with P 2 instead of 3

Row 8: K 2; repeat following across row - *P 9, K 3*: end row with K 2 instead of 3

Row 9: Repeat R 7

Row 10: Repeat R 8

Row 11: Repeat R 3

Row 12: Repeat R 4

Row 13: Repeat R 3

Row 14: Repeat R 4

Row 15; Purl

Row 16: Knit

Repeat Rows 1 & 2. Drop yellow and attack CC.

Knit 2 rows CC; drop CC and attach White.

Knit 2 rows White.

Continue with White & knit 1 row through back loops of each stitch across row. 73 sts.

Purl each stitch across row. 73 sts.

Repeat last 2 rows of White pattern for a total of 6 White rows.

Knit 2 rows White; drop White & attach CC.

Knit 2 rows CC; drop CC and attach Candy Sprinkles.

Knit 54 rows stockinette stitch; drop Candy Sprinkles & attach CC.

Knit 2 rows CC; drop CC and attach White.

Knit 2 rows White.

Continue with White & knit 1 row through back loops of each stitch across row. 73 sts.

Purl each stitch across row. 73 sts.

Repeat last 2 rows of White pattern for a total of 6 White rows.

Knit 2 rows White; drop White & attach CC.

Knit 2 rows CC; drop CC and attach Bright Pink.

Knit 2 rows Bright Pink.

Continue with Bright Pink- 

Row 1: Purl

Row 2: Knit

Row 3: P5; repeat following across row - *K 3 through back loop, P 9*: end row with P 5 instead of 9

Row 4: K 5; repeat following across row - *P 3, K 9*: end row with K 5 instead of 9

Row 5: Repeat R 3

Row 6: Repeat R 4

Row 7: P2; repeat following across row - *K 9 through back loop, P 3*: end row with P 2 instead of 3

Row 8: K 2; repeat following across row - *P 9, K 3*: end row with K 2 instead of 3

Row 9: Repeat R 7

Row 10: Repeat R 8

Row 11: Repeat R 3

Row 12: Repeat R 4

Row 13: Repeat R 3

Row 14: Repeat R 4

Row 15; Purl

Row 16: Knit

Knit 1 row.

End off towel by slip stitching across each stitch. Weave in all loose ends along towel sides.

RICH CHICKEN SOUP w-SPINACH PASTA

This soup can be made in the original way … which is the way I am posting it; but it can also be made in the crockpot, and ingredients halved for smaller families or a 2 person couple.

Remember that a recipe is only a guideline – you can mess with that guideline any way you choose to meet you … or your family’s … specifications. For example, today I am using homemade turkey broth and chopped turkey meat left-over from Thanksgiving as well as chopped frozen veggies and parsley that I harvested from my veggie beds just before Thanksgiving: tomatoes are canned. I am cooking the soup in my **crockpot ** (Instructions at end of post) and I do not discard the veggies: we like chewy bits in our soups ;-) I am also using store-bought spinach noodles broken into bite-size pieces so we don’t have to mess with the long pasta ribbon noodles in our bowls. I add the noodles ½ way through the cooking time so they do not get too mushy.

8 servings

16 cups water

3 pounds chicken wings

1 pound chicken thighs

1 bunch celery, chopped

5 carrots, peeled, each cut into 4 pieces

3 yellow onions, each cut into 8 pieces

2 whole tomatoes, each cut in half

½ bunch fresh Italian parsley

3 whole garlic cloves

8 whole black peppercorns

8 ounces Spinach Pasta

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan

Bring First 10 ingredients to boil in large soup pot. Reduce heat; simmer 2 hours. Strain broth into saucepan. Degrease. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover, chill & degrease).

Bring broth to a simmer. Add noodles and cook until tender, stirring occasionally. Ladle broth and noodles into bowls. Sprinkle with cheese and serve.

**COCKPOT INSTRUCTIONS** Serves 2: 4 cups of frozen Chicken or Turkey Broth – 1 cup frozen veggies (mentioned above) – 1 cup frozen chopped chicken or turkey meat - 16-oz. canned tomatoes – ¼ cup frozen Parsley – spices in a metal spice ball (mentioned above). 4 oz. Spinach Pasta (mentioned above). Parmesan cheese (mentioned above).

Put everything in the crockpot EXCEPT noodles and cheese and cook on high for 6 hours. Add pasta about half way through cooking time.

Soup cooking in crockpot.

Spinach Pasta noodles, broken and waiting to be added to soup.

Sprinkle ladled soup with cheese and enjoy :-D