Steven Found the Ballwinder!

Steven, Lainie, Jaimie and Ryan came for a visit yesterday. I was working on the kits for the 'yarn feast' in Ashland next Friday evening.



Lainie and Steven were quite entranced by the ball winders in the studio. I have a large one for production and a tiny one for the kits. Everyone wound a ball of yarn, but Steven...he wanted to become an expert at it.

Here is Steven working on his ball winding skills. He attempted at least five times and was perturbed that he didn't get it perfect.

Hey Steven, do you know how to get to Carnegie Hall?



Practice, Practice, Practice!

So Fast!

Monday, October 6th, Shawna and I had been out for an hour and forty five minutes practicing her driving skills in Gilda the Golden, my 1991 Mercedes 300TE station wagon. A little while later, we were on our way to Shawna's driving school class, which you can.not.be.late.for. and the transmission decided it was finished. Phil came on the motorcycle with proper shoes and helmet and jacket for Shawna and managed to get her to class with two minutes to spare! Whew!

I had Gilda towed home and for the past ten days I have been vascillating about what to do. I do believe that if a compression check shows her cylinders to be good I will have the transmission rebuilt.

You should have seen poor Shawna's face when the car died..."do you think I did that to Gilda?" Our wonderful neighbors and friends have been loaning us their cars and motorcycles for transportation and to allow Shawna to continue her practice. And no, Shawna, you didn't do that to Gilda!

Can you believe that this is the best photo I have of my Gilda? If you look closely you will see that we have our kitchen set up in the back. We were car camping at Cachuma Lake at the 2005 Vintage Rally put on by John and Donna Mulrean. At the time this photo was taken, it was cocktail hour and we were making margaritas. These are our friends Nina and Scott, they are both members of the Antique Motorcycle Club of San Diego.

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Our neighbor Steven, last week when someone asked us about our neighborhood, said, "It is like having one great big front yard and it rocks!" I must agree.

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Saturday, October 11th, we had another dinner with our neighbors as I had decided that dinner rolls and lasagna were in order. You see, Steven's wife Lainie is an amazing woman. She has been making her own bread for a long time with a bread machine. She uses the dough cycle and then bakes it in the oven to perfection. This is not her only amazing skill, she is a home schooling mom of four very active, bright and well behaved children, and if that isn't enough to be called amazing...well, she is an incredible friend and human being too.

Here she is enjoying fresh grilled panzanella in my backyard:


After Phil bottled his plum wine a few weeks back, I found my bread machine in the pantry behind where all the carboys of wine were being stored. Lainie gave me a wonderful recipe for dinner rolls that are scrumptious!

Once Steven quoted a line in a book about bread that he wanted to sink his teeth into with "lumps of cheese" in it...I am the experimenter, so off I went to work on that request for our family dinner together. I made three batches of rolls and was not surprised that they didn't last the weekend!

Three varieties were made and tested: chunks/lumps of cheddar, blue cheese and sauteed garlic and butter.

Before they finished the second rising:


After baking:


Being taste tested by sweet Toddie - a definite YUM!


Being tast tested by sweet but "camera shy" Shawna - another YUM!


These rolls were "clover" rolls, three pieces of dough in the roll pan and let them rise together. I put the fillings in between the pieces of dough. As you can see from the photo above, they rise really well. Alot of the cheese was pushed up in the rising but melted back down in the baking. When I do it again, I will make sure the cheese is further down in the roll pan as the dough is so powerful strong it tries to eject the cheese!

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Look at our handsome double decker kitties. These are the boys of the house. Value is the black and white unit above and he is Shawna's baby. He is about seven months old now. Mr. Cosworth Motors is the black kittie on the bottom, he will be two years old in November and he is my baby boy.


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And last but not least, I am preparing for my big Autumn teaching trip. This year I will be going to Ashland, Oregon to teach my color class, as well as an evening event called a "yarn feast" at The Web*sters. I am excited about that theme because I like to make kits that showcase our yarns and I have clear egg cartons that are great for that purpose. Here is a preview as I build the yarn feast!


I took this photo last year in Port Townsend, Washington where I have taught and had yarn events for the past three years at The Twisted Ewe. Suzanne Murray, the owner, brings me in on the last weekend of October to do events surrounding our yarns to coincide with a big knitting retreat at Fort Worden, where the movie An Officer and A Gentlemen was filmed. Isn't it gorgeous?


Here is a photo of the shop. I really like going to Pt. Townsend and look forward to it all year.


Phil is going with me this year and he is excited because there is an awesome record shop in Pt. T called Quimper Sound where I made friends with a staffer there named Michael Townsend...no relation to the town! I walked in with Phil's music list last year and asked him if he could help me find something on the list and he freaked out! Wanted to know if I had time for him to read the whole list before I left. Phil's music list is eclectic and quite long. I had Michael find all of the best albums of the groups Phil was interested in for his Christmas and Birthday presents. Michael T did a stellar job of finding music for my sweetie, and the gift was such a hit that he has requested I do it again this year!

This year, Michael is putting on a musical show the weekend we are there that has to do with the themes of heaven and hell in music and there will be a great variety of artists. Should be wonderful!

John Mulrean ~ Huge Heart of San Diego Antique Motorcycling Community Ends His Fight with Cancer

Phil B, John M & Nina P Cachuma Rally 2005

October 6, 2008 ~ John Mulrean passed away at 10AM today ending his long battle with cancer.

"Uncle Smoochie Bear" was cantankerous, grouchy and opinionated. He also was a helluva guy. John would give a fellow vintage bike person the shirt off his back. He was a major player in SDAMC for years back when Ellen and I joined in 1990. He was a heavy-lifter back in the old Del Mar days, quick to get his hands dirty. He was a good shadetree mechanic, eager to wrench for anyone with a problem. His knowledge of Brit bikes and his parts supply were endless. He and Donna worked tirelessly on the Cachuma Rally, a favorite project for him. Anyone that attended any of these NorCal events knew and respected his hard work and dedication.

Some folks leave a hole in life that will be difficult to fill. I might not always have agreed with John but it never stopped me from respecting him and I'll miss his powerful "lift-me-off-the-ground" bear hugs. Godspeed, "Uncle Smoochie." You will be missed and never replaced.

Sadly, Joe and Ellen Michaud

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Thanks Joe for letting us all know about John. What a sad day this is.

I will remember many things about John but his generosity reigns supreme. He seemed eager to provide whenever someone was in need. Whatever it was. Once he provided a trailer with a generator to an ex-racer who needed to hook up his dialysis machine. That was on a Yosemite Labor Day weekend a few yrs back.

I will miss his strong hug and great big smile too. I could always count on that.

Love and blessings to you John!

Nina Pacelli

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Well said Joe. Uncle Smoochie Bear was the only one that would go up in a bi-plane with me at the Gillespie Field air show. I will miss him... and that damned giant fish he carried around at Cachuma. I'll think about him every time I see a bi-plane or a big man on a Matchless. That's how I'll remember him - flogging that Matchless, with a grin on his face.

Cat Frazier

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John was a tireless worker, and a fine and generous man. He will be rememebred as an asset to the world.

Phil Boncer

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Fri Oct 10, 2008 7:08 pm
Hi everyone-

I'm not a chat room person, so hope this gets to the right place.
Please know I'm very touched by your comments about John aka Uncle Smoochie Bear . I guess I've been so busy with taking care of John and his loves of life, I just never realized much he was respected and loved. There are people coming from San Francisco, and the Santa Barbara area just to say good-bye to my Sweet Baboo - I'm stunned by the outpouring of emails, articles, phone calls, cards, flowers....... I'm doing OK. Like several of you, I'm missing his hugs and big smiles. Everyone tells me I'm strong and will be just fine eventually. Wish I had their crystal balls. I just remember he is out of pain at last. He was a doing person, and giving guy, and he hasn't been able to be there for his friends for much of the time these past years. That was such a hurt for him - not being able to help me and others. Thank you for reminding me of the impact he had on you.

Donna Jo M

I Did Say Rain!

Yesterday was a lovely day, overcast, grey and cool. All day I was sure it was trying to rain, but only felt a little tiny mist of one drop on my arm when out walking.

I spent the day in the studio dyeing yarn, and didn't notice at about 7pm when it started sprinkling until Phil came in from his errands and was wet! It was misting, not really raining, but water was falling from the sky for sure. I was excited!

Chris, Lisa and Annalisa all came over for wine, conversation and dinner and as the intensity of the rain increased, we all kept commenting on the fact that it was still raining. It rained for an hour and forty five minutes, which is a really long time for most rain storms in this area.

This morning, everything is clean and crisp and the plants look plump and happy. The air smells wonderful and the streets and gutters are clean. When it rains so rarely, these are things that are truly exciting to San Diegans!

Thanks Mother Nature! I didn't get my snow, but rain is just as good, and a lot more realistic for this area.

Did I Say Rain?

Today is October 1st, and the temperature recorded at Lindbergh Field, which is out on the San Diego Bay, therefore very near the cooling ocean, was 89 degrees! Can you believe that insanity? That means that at my house, just four miles from the bay, it was most likely closer to the temperature in Kearny Mesa which was 96 degrees!

I have been tracking the temperature in the studio for the past month, and it sits right between 96 and 102 degrees on most production days, and 80 to 90 on non-dye days. I don't need any assistance from Mother Nature to be hot. I mean...really, if Mother Nature wanted to lend me a hand, she'd make the weather casters right for once and allow the temps to drop between five and ten degrees each day over the next four days. I could go for some weather in the sixties! I could also go for some snow.

COME ON SNOW!!!

Rain in San Diego!

This morning around 8:00am, I thought I heard rain...but I looked out our window and the sky was blue with some far off white clouds to the West. Then the rain started falling in big round fat plops and it was truly raining in San Diego. It lasted about 30-45 seconds. I got up to take a photo and by the time I walked down the stairs to my camera the rain had stopped. I took a photo of the wet sidewalk anyway! I knew it wasn't just mist from fog because you could smell that wet asphalt smell that comes with rain. There was even some thunder that we heard, but didn't see any lightening. Sure wish we'd get more than a few seconds worth of water as we are entering fire season.



The last time we had any precipitation in San Diego was March 16, 2008. I remember because this is my sister in law Manya's birthday, and my friend Lisa's birthday. They got water in the desert for their gifts. I got out of bed to photograph that because it was a really rare moment in weather in San Diego. It covered the ground completely. It was about 4 in the morning.



I like this second photo because it shows the action of the hail falling to the ground.

Shawna's New Do

Last night, after driving school, I took Shawna to her favorite restaurant to get her favorite Caesar Salad. Here she is with her friend drinking Emergen-C because they both feel a little under the weather. Not sure if it is allergies or a cold, so this is precautionary. Notice her hair in this photo. Long, grown out Mohawk.

Today, after Phil picked her up from school, she went into the bathroom and closed the door. Nothing weird there...then came the sound of the buzz cutter...

After awhile I was curious so I went in to check out her new do and this is what I saw...her sitting on her bed doing algebra with a shaved head. She looks gorgeous, but she won't look at the camera.



I really want a photo because our friend and honorary Auntie Annalisa is in Switzerland and feels left out and asked me to send a photo...nope.



She was being a punk so I put the camera in her face to try to get her to relent...all in good and goofy funness of course...this is what I got.

You see, we've been having this good natured family disagreement about Senior Portraits. We want her to have them done and she is adamant about not getting them done, so this all plays in to it.

A little while later she came out and asked me for a ride at 4:30. I told her no because she wouldn't give me a picture, she was fairly shocked because I always say yes. She went back into her cave and shut the door. Hmmmm. I could tell she was plotting. She came out and had lunch with us and we all bantered around about Senior Portraits. She suggested that I should like to have a photo of her in her natural habitat instead of in a sterile studio, to which Phil quipped..."then give her a photo here!" I told her we could hire one of the three photographers that live on our street to have her portrait taken in her natural habitat, but she wasn't really going for it.

After lunch she allowed me to take a few shots in weird places and didn't give me any time to take a proper photo...those are the next three shots. You'd think if she just stayed still for five seconds the pain and suffering on her part would be over...but no, she continued to give me a hard time.







As she and Phil and Value left, I decided to be a pain of an adult and followed her as if I were the paparazzi. Snapping shots off as often as my camera battery would allow.


Isn't she pretty?


This is the final one...I think it is hilarious and reminds me of my own teenaged angst when my parents wouldn't leave me alone about something that I didn't think mattered...to me anyway. Because as a teenager, isn't it all about ME? You can see that Phil, in the background, is quite amused with his two girls.


And just because she was being such a little punker, here is a photo of her when she was about 13 with black hair. At this time she had a boyfriend and wanted me to take photos, and actually posed, but now she is too cool for that action! Gotcha!



Love you girl!

Impromptu Neighborhood Ice Cream Social

Tonight Phil and I had the honor of baby sitting our good friends' two toddlers, Sarah and Shawn. We have been looking forward to this for a couple of weeks. We live in a wonderful neighborhood with six kids from two families and we all played together and had brownies and ice cream. Here are some action shots of our evening together...it turned out we had eight children from two and half to ten years old, and seven adults, only two of them being parents of any of the kids. It was an awesome evening.


Here Black Ninja Girl chases Toddie around the car...


Steven watches Shawn hit a home run!


The kids all bounce around on the trampoline like unsecured luggage in the belly of an airplane.


We looked at and later fed the beautiful, furry legged spider living next to my front porch.


Can you believe I took this photo of Melia and me while there were five other kids bouncing on the trampoline? That's a steady hand for you!


Phil, the Potions Master, sits as the children make their "poison potions" with water, soap, glitter paint and THIN sticks, not fat ones!


Phil and Melia smiling big for the camera!


The poison banana potion...we didn't have an apple...a banana had to do. Check out that glitter paint!


Farmer Girls in Glittery Dresses! Oh yeah!


And last but not least, I did my best to get a complete group photo but, well, that was like herding cats, so I was happy with this cute photo.

We are blessed to live in a wonderful neighborhood where we know all of our neighbors and love them dearly. What a wonderful Friday night we all had together!

~ The soul is healed by being with children ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

It's been a Loooong time...

Alot has happened since I last wrote on this blog.

May 6, 2006 Phil and I were married and I created all of the flowers for corsages, boutonnieres, bouquets, table center pieces, wedding arch, etc. Here's proof! We deputized Sonny Angel, owner of Sonny Angel Motorcycles in National City/San Diego, CA to perform the marriage ceremony. He is an inspirational man and has always been a huge supporter of our union. We had a fantastic day!

In early January 2007, I welcomed a new studio cat into the world of Curious Creek Fibers, his name is Mr. Cosworth Motors, AKA Rocket Boy or Roo. The first two photos are him when he was about 10-15 weeks old, and the third one, he is sitting with our friend and neighbor, Ryan summer 2008. Cosworth is a big boy now!

December 16, 2007, Phil and I took in a wonderful young lady and our lives have been immensely enriched. Shawna is a senior this year and has a kitten of her own. His name is Value and he brings a lot of that to her life! Here is Shawna modeling a Lucy Neatby pattern for her Faroese Flower Shawl made in Curious Creek Fibers Omo yarn. She's a wonderful young woman and she has brought a lot of Value to our lives as well.

December 27, 2007, my Daddy went to sleep and didn't wake up. The weather for his funeral was exactly how I was feeling inside. Blustering loud wind and driving rain and sleet during the funeral and graveside service. Then the quiet of snow all afternoon during his wake, the quiet of him being gone, no more conversation, just quiet.

I sure do miss the old cowboy.

This is a photo taken in 1972.

That's all for now folks. I am endeavoring to journal more often as I find my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be. Did you know you can get your blog made into a book? I think that is neat and I know I will appreciate it when I am old. er.

Mr. Knick Wiggles

My boy passed on. He left on his twelfth birthday. He changed me for the better, anchored me in reality when I was struggling. He was a true best friend.

Knotted Pile Rug Workshop

Philip and I took a knotted pile class last month with Sara Lamb. She is a fantastic teacher and an all around nice person. Here is the progress we made in class. Phil was the star student, I think his math brain just got it and off he went. He wound his first ball of yarn in this class. I was such a proud mate!

Phil is working on a spider design.

I am working on a star design. This is how much we both finished in the class.

This is how much I completed while watching the Olympics one night.

I took this class because Sara does some amazing work with silk knotted pile. She seems to specialize in bags (that is what our samples will turn out to be when we finish them)and recently she made a really awesome hat. Check out her blog archives on September 13, 2005 to see the hat. I would like to use this technique for cuffs and collars on art to wear pieces. That way I won't be spending years completing one piece, such as a floor rug, and I'll have that lovely silk next to my skin with it's beautiful pictures in fiber where I can see it! For some reason the link isn't showing up in blogspot, so here is Sara's blog http://www.saralamb.blogspot.com/

Creative Endeavors

I have been working on the Cottage Tea Cozy in Knitter's Stash by Marji LaFreniere. It is a perfect gift for my dear Irish sister in law. Here are a couple of photos of the work prior to the fun part, the embroidery and futzing with embroidery floss, ribbon, beads and other goodies. I am still trying to work out a way to make a miniature wind chime. Her birthday is today, I am late and she will understand. She truly appreciates and uses hand made goods.

I used a single strand of Cascade 220 on size 10.5 US needles for the building of the cottage, and a single strand of Curious Creek Fibers Nakuru in Rock Grotto for the roof, shutters and door. I think I will put a hose in the backyard and another set of shutters and flowers, rather than just decorating one side. It will be seen from all sides and this is a true Irish tea drinking lady we're talking about!