Yard Sale 2-18-12! And You’re Invited!

We are hosting a one-day-only, everything-must-go, whole-house yard sale at 14 Digby Lane, Edgewood, New Mexico, this Saturday, February 18, from 10 AM to 4 PM.

And you're invited! Bring friends! ;) The current weather report says Saturday will be the prettiest sunny day of the week, and we believe it, ahahahaha.

This is a "whole house" yard sale, including items for every room. Here's just some of the stuff we've got for sale … click the linked items to see a full description on Craigslist Albuquerque:

· Oval dining room Table & 6 Windsor-back chairs Table $150, Chairs $40 each, or $300 for the whole set!

· 2 Kitchen Bar Stools Ready to paint or stain. $25 each or $40 for both.

· Upholstered Chairs

· Glider Rocker (needs repair) $30

· Full-size Futon couch

· Media Center & Cabinets Low media stand table $75, two cabinets $30 each, or $125 for all three

· Contemporary home office Desk, Chairs & File Credenza $100

· Dishes & Kitchen gear

· Men's & women's Jeans & Clothing

· Kids' stuff (clothes, toys, books, games & DVDs)

· Color TVs (not HD)

· Assorted Hand Tools,

· Universal Gym

· Large wooden Dog House

We hope you can stop by on Saturday to say "hello" ... and please feel free to forward this link to everyone you think might be interested!

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Cream for Knitters
Sandia Park, NM

Daybreak Shawlette–Knitting FO!

 

Gosh this was a fun knit! It’s a semicircular shawl – or, as I made the smallest size, a shawlette. Here it is, drying on my blocking board:

This is the Daybreak pattern designed by Stephen West. I like that the designer shows it worn bandana-style, very Western looking. Here’s his pattern photo:

 

This pattern calls for fingering weight yarn in two colors. I was inspired by this colorway called “Early Autumn”, hand-dyed by Crafty Hippy:

And I paired it with a forest green colorway of Araucania Ranco Multy:

I still have quite a bit left of both yarns … hmm, I’m thinking a matching pair of fingerless mitts … striped, maybe?

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Cream for Knitters
Sandia Park, NM

Gotcha, Wiley Coyote!

Living in the near-wild as we do, backed up to the Sandia National Forest, we hear and sometimes see a lot of wildlife. Specifically, a lot of coyotes.

Our goal is to avoid conflict with these coyotes, and to protect our dogs. The foundation of our plan is to “know thy enemy”. So last week we  purchased and installed a wildlife surveillance camera.

Here’s our first capture:

That’s right, it’s the infamous Wild Weimaraner. *sigh*

We’ve got lots more photos like this one of our dog … and several of our cars … and of us changing the storage card, etc.

It wasn’t until last night that we got this one:

Yep, that’s a coyote!

At the bottom of the frame you'll see that he cruised by last night about 11:30 pm - the camera automatically records the date, time, temperature and even the moon phase of each photo. (We love this camera: it’s a Primos TruthCam 46.)

But because the nighttime shots are infrared, the detail isn't great. I've edited the photo to brighten & sharpen it, but I still can't tell what he's got in his mouth - and not sure I want to know anyway - it looks like a femur!

Stay tuned for more as we catch them!

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Cream for Knitters
Sandia Park, NM

Sprout Blanket! Knitting FO

 

Just finished knitting this Sprout Blanket for a dear friend’s little one (knitting pattern by Hanna Breetz).

As it turned out, I cast on only one hour before the baby was born, so I knitted like mad to finish before he starts high school (grin).

Love this pattern, really fun to knit. The chart & instructions are very clear, and the symmetrical nature of the design makes it easy TV knitting.

Because the recipient wanted easy, EASY care, I used machine washable & dryable Caron Simply Soft, one-and-a-half skeins (about 475 yds) in Pistachio.

I found the yarn just a wee bit splitty, but switching to blunt needle tips solved that problem. It really a soft, light yarn for baby gifts, and launders beautifully.

Would definitely knit Sprout again!

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Cream for Knitters
Sandia Park, NM

The Dogs Ate My Car. Seriously.

I own 3 large & normally well-behaved dogs. This afternoon I put them outside while I mopped the floors.

After 30 minutes or so I heard them yipping - sounded as if they'd gotten themselves stuck in something. I went out to discover they'd apparently cornered something under my car in the driveway. But I couldn't see anything there.

So I put the dogs in the house and got down on my hands & knees to look, but still couldn't find anything underneath the car. Then I opened the hood and there was a terrified squirrel, hissing and squalling and scrambling and clawing all over the engine.

I jumped back, and that is when I saw what the dogs had done to the car trying to get the squirrel out.

They pulled out the wheel well liner entirely, and chewed up the whole front quarter panel of the car. It's all plastic, right, so they literally ate it. I mean, pieces are chewed off, bite marks & scratches everywhere. The damage is amazing. b 


Here are some samples of their work:

My question is, does anyone know if auto insurance normally covers something like this? Should I say it was a bear? I phoned home to ask my dad but he can't stop laughing long enough to answer me!


--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Cream for Knitters
Sandia Park, NM

Leon Russell Live at Albuquerque BioPark 5.13.11

 

I couldn’t have been happier to see Leon Russell’s concert last night at Albuquerque’s BioPark – only in part because we’d won the $25 tickets (thank you, LocalIQ).

The Albuquerque BioPark & Zoo is a lovely place for a show, a small grassy patch of lawn shaded by towering cottonwoods. The spooky screams of the zoo’s tropical macaws, and the odd ducks who flew overhead and around the stage throughout the evening, added the sort of special effects that put the “quirky” in Albuquerque living.

I could have asked for better sound and sightlines, but I couldn’t have asked for better music, or a prettier moonlit night. And I felt completely at home in the laid-back crowd of 2,000-some hippies-turned-grandparents. Ah, them are my people. Russell himself turned 69 last month, making him a year younger than Eric Burdon, but a year older than Keith Richards, imagine that.

Leon opened with Delta Lady, and his set list hit all the sweet spots - Hummingbird, Back to the Island, Tight Rope, Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms and Stranger in a Strange Land – but dang, he left out Young Blood. So my favorites of the evening were A Song for You – of course, Leon’s singer-songwriter best – and his cover of Dylan’s A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall.

Between numbers Leon shared anecdotes that I didn’t mind hearing again: how at 14 he built a crystal radio set that picked up only one station out there in Oklahoma – blues & gospel. How at 17 he traveled to Los Angeles, intending to get a job in advertising (“That’s a bloody business”); instead, he became a session musician and “the hillbilly of the moment” in a place and time that “thought a lot of hillbilly music, for some reason.”

And perhaps my favorite story, how he got that green silk top hat from Gram Parsons (then with the Flying Burrito Brothers) just before he left for Joe Cocker’s Mad Dogs & Englishmen 1970 tour. After road wear reduced the hat to near tatters, he discovered that it had originally belonged to Al Jolson, who wore it filming The Jazz Singer.

Introducing Hard Rain, Leon casually dropped a bombshell: he’s currently working out a set of 15 tour dates with Dylan this August. Looking at Leon’s already-scheduled 2011 tour dates, August will have him hopping between upstate New York, Montana, Idaho, Colorado and (one of my favorite Time & Places) Sturgis South Dakota for the 2011 Harley Rally.

He’s scheduled to play Sturgis on August 13 at the legendary Buffalo Chip as part of the American Thunder Music Festival Aug 6-13. Other festival acts include George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Jeff Bridges and friends, Lynyrd Skynyrd (that’ll be a riot), Toby Keith and Alice Cooper (performing separately, not together). Now, can you imagine if Dylan were added to the line-up? Whoa.

Here are some Leon links to brighten your day:

• The Union by Elton John and Leon Russell, and produced by T Bone Burnett (“making of “video directed by Cameron Crowe)

• Trouble in Mind - Leon Russell, Maria Muldaur, Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson (YouTube video)

• Leon Russell-"Stranger In A Strange Land" (YouTube video)

• A SONG FOR YOU - Leon Russell & Friends (1971) Excerpt from the Homewood Sessions

• Joe Cocker: Mad Dogs & Englishment (tour movie)

• Willie Nelson and Friends - Live & Kickin' Starring Ray Charles, Lyle Lovett, Leon Russell and Steven Tyler (no kidding)

So, happy birthday to the Master of Space and Time. Congratulations on your long overdue induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And thanks for a lovely evening.

Peace,

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Creams for Fiber Artists
Sandia Park, NM

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Margarita Chicken Recipe

I whipped this up last night, and it was delicious! Since it’s still a little cool outside for grilling – up here in the high mountain desert, that is - I baked my marinated chicken in the oven.

Margarita Chicken

I adapted this from “Mexican Tequila Marinade”, a recipe in the Marinades & Rubs cookbook by Carol Wilson.

Marinade Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 cup tequila
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon chili powder

1 to 2 pounds of chicken pieces (I like leg/thigh quarters)
1 to 2 tablespoons of coarse salt (kosher or sea salt) for sprinkling

Thoroughly whisk marinade ingredients in bowl or measuring cup (not metal). Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes so flavors will meld.

Trim fat from chicken pieces, then place in shallow baking dish (not metal) or plastic bag. Pour marinade over chicken, turning to coat.

Seal or cover, and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, but no more than 3 hours.

Transfer chicken pieces to a non-metal baking dish – if you haven’t already – along with the marinade. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with coarse salt, if desired.

(I really like this crunchy seasoning on the baked chicken skin, reminds me of the salty rim of a margarita glass. If you don’t, just add 1 teaspoon of table salt to the marinade, and skip the sprinkling.)

Bake chicken pieces along with the marinade, uncovered, in preheated 375-degree oven for 55 minutes or until done.

(Note: this cooking time is for my altitude of 7,000 feet; at sea level, check for doneness after 50 minutes.)

Serving suggestions: Great served simply, with plain white or coconut rice drizzled with pan juices, black beans, and a green salad.

Grilling: This is fantastic on the grill when weather permits. Add 1 teaspoon table salt to the marinade & skip the coarse salt sprinkle. Then, instead of baking your chicken in its marinade, drain the marinade into a small saucepan & boil vigorously for 5 minutes. Drizzle over the grilled chicken at serving time.

Seafood: It’s an equally good marinade for seafood, especially shrimp or scallops. Marinate seafood in the fridge for only 30 minutes. Any longer and the lime juice will “cook” the seafood!

¡Buen provecho!

--MaggieBelize
Designer, kNotes for kNitters
Creator, Happy Hands Hand Creams for Fiber Artists
Sandia Park, NM