Monday, July 29, 2024

On the Road Again

While getting ready for our long camping trip, I decided I didn't want to take my good scissors, so I went ahead and cut the steeks for my Oregon Autumn Cardigan. I'm hoping to get a lot of knitting done on the road.



I needed something mindless to work on during meetings and the Olympics, and who doesn't need more dishcloths? I had some Peaches & Creme cotton yarn left from the trailer rugs I wove for the old 5th wheel and then resized for the r·pod, so the color is perfect for the trailer. I picked the pattern because it's slightly different from Grandmother's Favorite Dishcloth, which I've used before, but still mindless.



We have a new addition to our collection of tiny poodles in our china cabinet. Do you recognize Rocky? A friend and very kind person created this replica for me. He arrived in the mail a few days ago.



She used a photo of Rocky in his later years as a model. He's perfect, even down to the haircut. (Usually poodle figurines have a show haircut, like they come that way.)



Now we keep the hair on the body and legs shorter, for ease of maintenance. Dusty and Sandy went to the groomer on Thursday. We wanted to get their haircuts shortly before leaving town, so they wouldn't need too much attention while we're traveling and would stay in good shape until we get back. They will need regular brushing, however. Gracie, the groomer, said that Sandy has grown up to be very easy to work with. (He has always been easy, but when he was a puppy, he was...a puppy.)



I'm still walking the dogs early in the morning and managed to get a 2-mile hike in every day this past week except for one day, when the AQI (air quality index) was in the unhealthful range. Sometimes it clears up if I wait a bit, and it still isn't too hot, but not always. I don't want them breathing the smoke, and it isn't good for me, either.




Sometimes we meet someone on the trail and have a chat, which is nice. The pups always attract attention.


We're leaving today and expect to get as far as...Winnemucca, Nevada! Remember Winnemucca? Our three weeks there with no vehicle during March 2023? Our Arizona vacation? We plan to stay at the same place: Silver State RV Park. They were so nice to us. It was a good place to be stuck if you have to be.


On Saturday, we hooked up the r·pod and moved her to the curb, so we could load her up. It will be interesting to see how the shelves work out.



We plan on meeting up with Alexa, Soren and Johan, in Utah. They set off a few days ahead of us for a family reunion and the some camping along the way to Utah. Here they were, in the car, ready to take off on the trip.



I don't know if Johan was asleep or if he was just saying, "Can we just get going?"


We'll be picking up Peter at the airport In Salt Lake City and doing some camping with them. We plan to see Alex, too, who lives in Utah, while we're in that area.

 

Peter works for Laika, the film studio in Beaverton that produced Coraline, Missing Link and several other stop-motion films. They are working currently on a film based on Wildwood, by Colin Maloy. They will use Coraline to introduce the film, as explained in this article. The film is due out next year.


I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.


If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil, Mariah or Classic Tales Retold, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.


Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still working on the Oregon Cardigan.

What's on my loom: Still in its corner under the windows.

What's on my sewing machine: Still its dust cover.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In Hidden Talents, the dolls speculate about how Emil can see and hear what animals are saying.


What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci. Also still reading Elfen Königin by Holly Black, translated from English.Didn't get very far with the physical book. I'm taking it along, in case I have an opportunity to read.

What's in my wine glass: Delta Cabernet Franc from 2020. Not sure whether it's named after a body of water (in California?) or the airline, but it's nice.

What's my tip of the week: Have some leftover rice? As you may know, we lived in Indonesia for five years. One of our favorite Indonesian dishes is Nasi Goring. Here's my recipe.

Nasi Goreng à la Balikpapan
Servings: 4 servings
Categories: Indonesian, Main Dish

Ingredients
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp red chili flakes,
1-2 small red peppers, chopped
• 1 small onion , diced
• 3 cups cooked white rice , day old, cold
• 2 tbsp kecap manis (usually available in Asian food stores)
• 1 C frozen green peas
• 8 eggs, scrambled, cooked flat (as for an omelette) and cut into strips

• Garnishes / side servings (optional)
• 2 green onions, sliced
• Tomatos and cucumbers, cut into wedges/chunks
• Lime wedges

Directions
Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat.
Add chili flakes, red pepper and garlic, stir for 10 seconds.
Add onion, cook for 1 minute.
Add rice, peas and kecap manis. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes until sauce reduces down and rice grains start to caramelize.
Top with egg strips
Serve with garnishes of choice (green onions, red chili).


(Shown here without the egg on top.)

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 
Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook is available from the BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. Poems included are Valentine's DayKeeping PetsBack to School, Victor the VultureThe Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.
The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green GreatcoatThe Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.
Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is hereThe three stories in Emil are Best BudsGetting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.
The three stories in Mariah are Being LittleBesties, and Distraction.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 



Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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Monday, July 22, 2024

Preparations, Part Two

The Oregon Autumn Cardigan is continuing to grow, but slowly, because I've been busy. When we head out next week, I'll have more time to spend knitting as we drive. Can't do much else. I'll have to pack my good scissors for the other steeks.


We've continued to walk, the dogs and I, putting in 2+ miles a day. About three times a week, Charlie joins us. When he does, Sandy tends to stay right by him.


This is our normal route, starting at our house, walking to the entrance to the trail that's north of us and continuing northwards to Bear Creek Rd., where we turn around, water the dogs (mostly Sandy) and turn around, going back the way we came. Instead of getting off the trail where we came in, we continue south on the trail until we reach the park near the recreation center. Then we turn around again and head back, getting off the trail at the entrance that's south of our home.



I try to leave the house about 7:00, but it's usually about 15 minutes later if Charlie joins us. He's a night owl, so getting up at 7:00 AM is a real sacrifice. We can't go later, though, because we've had very warm weather. It's always much warmer in the sun than in the shade, and there's more shade early in the morning.

We got out the wading pool for the pups. Mostly for Sandy, because he's the water dog.


One of my assignments this week was to get the bed made in the R·Pod. Charlie has found the mattress a little thin for his liking, so he ordered a mattress topper to fit the short queen trailer mattress. We decided to put it under the mattress instead of on top. Some people just replaced the whole mattress, but it would be very difficult to make the bed with a thicker mattress, because you have to pull up the corners while you're kneeling on it. It's hard enough lifting a thick mattress when you can walk around the bed. (The baskets on the shelf are empty right now, but we have plenty of items that will go in them.)



One of the things I did this week was stow away the non-perishable food for our trip. The canned food went under the seat next to the door. The dried food, tea, etc, went over the stove, with the dishes. So I wouldn't forget where I put things, I made a diagram. I numbered each storage location and listed what kinds of things are in each place.




I'm busy now planning menus for the trip. I doubt I'll be able to fit enough meals in the freezer, so I have to have some things that can be cooked on site. We expect not to have electricity (other than our battery or what we can get from our generator), so we won't be able to use our microwave/convection oven. I'm taking the pressure cooker to use like a wet oven on top of the stove. (I did this when we lived on the boat, because our little toaster oven wouldn't have power when we put out to sea.) Some things can be heated up on the stovetop, but if it's something that can't be stirred, I'll just seal it up in foil, to keep the water out, and put it on a rack in the pressure cooker with a cup of water in the bottom (what my pressure cooker requires). Then, when it's up to pressure, I'll cook it for 1/3 of the time I would have had it in the oven for. I should mention that you can't do this with one of those new-fangled hot pots. Those require electricity.


When I was out shopping this week, I "spodded" another R·Pod in the store parking lot. (When you see another R·Pod, that's R·Pod speak for "spodding" it.) I had to take a photo to post in the R·Pod group on FB with the text, "You've been spodded." This looks like one of the bigger models.


We're planning on using the visor we bought. It's sort of an awning that just covers the door and steps, handy if it's raining.


We had a surplus of ripe avocados this week, so I went looking for a recipe that took more than just one. I used three small avocados and added some cucumber that was going to go bad if I didn't use it. This was a good recipe. We'll eat it up long before we go.



We also had this Tuscan Bean and Vegetable Ribollata based on this recipe.



I made quite a few changes for the sake of practicality. Here's my version:


Ingredients
• 1 1/2 T olive oil
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 large leek, chopped
• 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 sweet potato, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bouillon cube
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 C dried beans
• 1 t dried thyme and/or sage
• 2 1/2 C water
• 4 oz kale, chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions
In a 6-quart stovetop pressure cooker set over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add carrots, celery, leek, onion, sweet potato and garlic. Season with salt and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 20 minutes.
Add dried beans, water and thyme and/or sage.
Seal cooker and bring to high pressure over medium-high heat. Cook 30 min.
Rapidly release pressure on the cooker. Open lid and check beans; they should be creamy throughout. If they're still firm, return cooker to high pressure and cook 10 to 15 minutes longer, then check again. (For this recipe, it's far better to overcook your beans than undercook them.)
Stir in kale, then replace lid and return to high pressure for 15 minutes before rapidly releasing and opening the cooker again.
Season with additional salt to taste if needed.


Then I made a big pan of Baked Macaroni with Cabbage, a favorite of ours, because I needed to use up the cabbage; it was getting to that part of the cabbage where you can't pull off individual leaves anymore. I'll package up some of that to take along, as well as a big pot of lentil soup. Eat some, freeze some.


I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.


If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil, Mariah or Classic Tales Retold, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.


Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still working on the Oregon Cardigan.

What's on my loom: Still in its corner under the windows.

What's on my sewing machine: Still its dust cover.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: In A Hole in the Sky, an all-new story in The Doll's Storybook, we relive an old folk tale and learn some science from Mandy.


What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci. Also still reading Elfen Königin by Holly Black, translated from English. Didn't get very far with the physical book.

What's in my wine glass: Rossofuoco Barbera D'Asti 2021. Yum!

What's my tip of the week: To freeze small amounts or individual servings when you only have a limited number of containers, turn the container over and use it as a mold for a lining of heavy-duty foil. Then take the foil and put it down inside the container, fill with food and fold the top over. After freezing, dump out the frozen food, label and store in plastic bags for later use. The containers can be reused. The frozen food can be thawed or not, and heated in the oven or in a pressure cooker on top of the stove.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 
Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook is available from the BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. Poems included are Valentine's DayKeeping PetsBack to School, Victor the VultureThe Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.
The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green GreatcoatThe Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.
Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is hereThe three stories in Emil are Best BudsGetting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.
The three stories in Mariah are Being LittleBesties, and Distraction.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 



Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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Monday, July 15, 2024

Preparations, Part One

We're getting ready to take a long trip with the R·Pod toward the end of this month, so we're starting to prepare. I pulled out this cookbook I made when we took our three-week vacation in New Zealand in 1996. 



We were living in Indonesia at the time, so it wasn't so expensive to get there and back. We rented a little camper van that only had a stove top for cooking. I found recipes that looked good, adjusted them for two servings, so we wouldn't have a lot of leftovers in the little fridge. I had a computer and a Quark X-Press word-processing program for the text. I had it bound with a plastic sheet on the front and back, and took it along. I noted the date we tried each recipe and how we liked it. I think it will be useful now, because on this trip, we will be staying in some places that don't have electricity, needed for our microwave/convection oven.


I did some shopping a few days ago and picked up a couple small dishpans to use on the shelf over the table. We can put our shoes in them, so they aren't taking up floor space. I'm thinking of keeping the tea, coffee filters and that kind of thing in one of the three little boxes I picked up. I'm thinking of going back to get more of the dishpans if they still have them, now that I know that they fit. The little boxes also fit on the shelf over the bed. If I can find more of those, they would be good. Everything was on sale.



We'll unload the shelf before we pull out.


I also picked up a couple of storage cubes for the space over the refrigerator. There's room for two more behind these. They fold flat when not in use. I'll pick up a couple more of those, too.



I finally found a use for that funny cutting board that came with the trailer. Someone suggested using it as a shelf over the toilet, but it didn't fit exactly in ours, and we do actually use the shower, so it would get wet. It still can be used as a cutting board or a tray, but I discovered that if we slide it in in front of the things in the cupboard over the sink and stove top, it keeps things from shifting.



The pups and I have walked every morning during the past week. We've been going out a little after 7:00 AM and usually get back before 8:00 AM, before it gets hot. Charlie decided to give it a try, although he's usually still asleep. I really like the two-dog hands-free leash, but when Charlie joined us, he was walking behind me, and Sandy couldn't decide whether to be out in front or walk with Daddy. It was a little uncoordinated. We tried it with Daddy out in front, and that worked out better. Sandy could be out in front and walk next to Daddy at the same time. 



The route we take gives us a little more than two miles. Here's our route, as a screenshot from the Walk for a Dog app from WoofTrax.



This time of year, the cheatgrass is a problem.




The problem for us is the seeds, sometimes referred to as foxtails. They can get into the fur of our dogs and burrow into the skin. Sometimes a dog will be sniffing at something and one of these seeds will go up into their nose. Another problem is the inside of the ear and between the toes. These plants are a pest for other reasons, too. It grows along the trails here, including the trails through the trees. I carry a comb in my pouch to remove them if one of the pups gets into some, but I try very hard to keep them out of it.


We had a sad occurrence on Wednesday. Our son-in-law's father passed away suddenly at his home in Texas. I think he was working out in the field in the summer heat, which may have been the cause, although he did have a heart condition. Thanks to the miracle of technology, we were able to attend the funeral on Sunday. He was a heckuva sweet guy, and I'm sorry we didn't get to visit with him again.



On a brighter note, I got a little more knitting done during the week. I've done more since this, but it's too dark to get a good photo.



I finished a new story, including the photos this week. Because we will be traveling, I have scheduled stories through the end of August, in case I'm not able to get online enough during the trip. The new story will come out on Friday. The others are reedited reruns. If I'm able to get another new story done in August, I'll add it midway through the month and reschedule the other stories, which is easy to do...if I have internet.


Soren had his birthday last week and Johan this week. Here's Soren, reading Our Favorite Verses: Stories from The Doll's Storybook. I'm impressed that he can read it; there are some big words in it, especially in "Veronika's Vocabulary Verses." I think he's the biggest fan of my books!




I have a lot of difficulty responding to comments to my blog posts because of technical issues beyond my control (my lack of understanding of how things work). Message me on Facebook, Ravelry or Spoutible if you need information.


If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart". Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of any of our books, including Emil, Mariah or Classic Tales Retold, please leave an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.


Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.

What's on my needles: Still working on the Oregon Cardigan.

What's on my loom: Still in its corner under the windows.

What's on my sewing machine: Never mind.

What's in The Doll's Storybook: Emil ponders how he is able to communicate with the animals and the other dolls can't, in Emil's Gift, this week's story from The Doll's Storybook.




What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci I'm up to the part where he and other scientists were grappling with the HIV-AIDS epidemic, which I remember well. Also still reading Elfen Königin by Holly Black, translated from English. Didn't get very far with either this week.

What's in my wine glass: Rossofuoco Barbera D'Asti 2021. Excellent!

What's my tip of the week: Don't throw out that leftover coffee. Pour it into a bottle or jar while it's still fresh and keep it in the fridge. You can microwave it the next day or serve it over ice as iced coffee.

Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with a few changes. 
Our Favorite Verses: Poems from The Doll's Storybook is available from the BookBabyBookshop and other booksellers worldwide. Poems included are Valentine's DayKeeping PetsBack to School, Victor the VultureThe Week Before Christmas, Insomnia and Veronika's Vocabulary Verses.
The stories in Classic Tales Retold: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are Little Green GreatcoatThe Boy Doll Who Cried Wolf and Lost in the Woods.
Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook and Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook are also still available from booksellers. The link for Book Baby is hereThe three stories in Emil are Best BudsGetting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.
The three stories in Mariah are Being LittleBesties, and Distraction.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less. 



Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.

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