Confessions of a Misplaced Southern Belle

Not so misplaced anymore!

Archives for October 2018

People (and things) I miss. Blogtober Day 21

Way back in 2004, this blog started out as a knitting blog and as a way to keep my family back in Louisiana and Georgia updated.  I started out on Blogger, then moved to Typepad, and then finally to a hosted website.  I’ve got versions of this blog saved on my server, but some content was lost in the migration from Typepad years ago.  Actually, I should see if my Typepad account is still active..or even if they still exist. Anyway, it was through  Hurricane Knitters (do they still exist?) on the internet that I met up with who would turn out to be my first  friends in Florida, Linda and Kathleen.  (the blog came later). Funny story, that was just so Linda, The first time we met up (for the life of me, I can’t remember where that was, but maybe a Starbucks, but for some reason, Troyer’s Dutch Kitchen is sticking in my head, but that can’t be right) Linda took one look at this hat I was knitting for my then toddler niece and declared that I was knitting wrong. She was absolutely right, I WAS! I had taught myself to knit from the internet and books and I was knitting through the back loop! Everything was twisted! Linda was very direct…she was a native of New Jersey after all, but she was such a great resource and willing to share her vast knowledge with us.  She had a stash ROOM in her house that would make a yarn store envious and when she traveled to South America, she brought me back some beautiful green yarn that I can’t bear to knit or part with.  You see, Linda died of lung cancer in 2011 and no matter how many times I clean out my bins of yarn, that yarn goes back in the bin.  One day I’ll make something from it and think of Linda every time I do.  I also have some yarn that was dyed in her honor by Three Irish Girls for A Good Yarn in Sarasota, and one day, I’ll knit some socks, because Linda was the one that talked me into taking the plunge into sock knitting.

I miss my friend Kathleen, who up and moved to Colorado where she can actually wear what she knits! I am so envious of all of her photos of real fall and snow in the winter. (And her chickens!)  I don’t know how I would fare with the snow, but I’d like to at least knit more than socks and the occasional wrap that I can use maybe two months out of the year.   She was and still is a great source of inspiration to me and one of my greatest cheerleaders when I decided to go crazy and host a swap called the Hurricane Sock Party Anyone who reads this remember that? I believe that had to be 2005 or 2006 and that got written up in Southern Living.   (PS, she’s from New Jersey too!) . Linda, Kathleen and I used to have the best time together and I hope to get out an visit her some day.

I mention Linda and Kathleen specifically because they were my my first knitter friends, and who were the first ones who encouraged my knitting and taught me really how to knit.  I made some awesome friends through knitting and through the internet.  Some I’m still friends with to this day, and some  we are no longer in touch, which makes me sad for many reasons.

I think what I’m missing most is the knitting community as it used to be on the internet.  Maybe it’s still there, I don’t know.  I know the days of blogs have seemed to have waned, but I think it might be making a comeback. Maybe I’ve been away too long, and it’s still there, I’m just not as into as I was before I had a full time job.  I know Ravelry was a game changer for the knitting community.  I don’t know what I’m looking for or why I’m out of sorts.  Maybe I’m looking to simplify things, maybe I want to go back to life when I blogged, knit, and read books. I don’t know, maybe I have way too much on my plate right now and I just want things to be like they used to. Maybe I just need to reassess my life, and figure out what it is important.  (Don’t we all?! lol)  Anyway, enough with me thinking out loud, if you have any knitting blogs that are worth following, leave a comment. I’d love to be inspired again.

 

Well, that was unintended (Blogtober Days 13-18)

I did not mean to take nearly a week off, but after last weekend’s whirlwind trip to Washington DC and getting back to work, it just threw me off.  Now that I have had some time to decompress and think about my trip, I have all sorts of thoughts.  The one thing that I wanted to do was to see the National Archives.  I wanted to see the Decvlaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.  (Ok, so I wanted to pretend that I was in the middle of National Treasure…lol). I got off the flight, shuttled to the Gaylord National, checked in and was in an Uber about 20 minutes after I made it to my room.  I had the nicest Uber driver and we talked all the way to the Archives.  I only had about four hours to do any sightseeing that I wanted to so I knew that I would barely scratch the surface.  No photos were allowed at all, so this is the only one I was able to get!

What can I saw, I wanted to cry.  All of my life, I have been a history junkie. I have taught Civics and I have taught my students that the way to change history and to change what they don’t like about laws is to learn about the Constitution.  Standing there in front of these documents that people have fought and died for was almost overwhelming.  It was also pretty powerful to stand there during this time of turmoil in our country when it feels like our rights and ideals are being eroded by the very people that swore on oath to defend them.  I think every single one of our elected officials, and ESPECIALLY the current occupant of the White House needs to take a trip down to the Archives and stand in front of them and ask themselves are they in our government to protect and defend the Constitution or are they there for their own selfish reasons? IF they aren’t there for the right reasons then they need to leave.   (Steps off soapbox)

After the Archives, I started walking towards Capitol Hill.  Can’t be that far right?  I’m not sure how far it was, maybe a mile? It was farther away than it looked, but the weather was beautiful with a nice breeze so it was a nice walk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Random thought. I thought the Rotunda would be bigger. LOL. I don’t if it was the perspective, or what, but I always pictured this building to be somehow ‘bigger’ than what it is.  Isn’t that a crazy thought? Maybe I’ve been watching too must West Wing and Designated Survivor (that might not be the best example as in the first episode, the Capitol was blown up).

After that walk, I turned around and walked down the hill, then up a hill…in the wind…towards the mall and the Smithsonian Castle.  By now it was after 2 and an I hadn’t anything to eat or drink since some coffee and half a croissant at the Tampa airport.  I was very surprised that there was no restaurants anywhere near where I was. Maybe they were a few streets over, but I think I would have killed for a Starbucks! Instead I found a cafe inside the Hirshhorn Modern Art Museum and managed to not die.  After twenty minutes debating whether I should just call and Uber and go back to the hotel, I decided “nah, I’m in DC, you can walk some more.”  So….off I went to the Smithsonian Castle.  I new that I didn’t have any time to really visit, so I took a few photos and headed over to the Natural History Museum where I felt like I should be in Night at the Museum.  (This is sad, all my reference points are from movies). I’m going to leave you for now with a few of those photos. You can click on them for the larger images.  Part two tomorrow.

Hurricane Michael, (Blogtober Day 10)

Please keep the Panhandle in your thoughts. Hurricane Michael came ashore today at nearly a Category 5 and I’m afraid that daylight is going to reveal a horrific sight.  Panama City was a favorite vacation spot when my friends and I were kids, and I fear that the area won’t be the same for a long, long time.

If you want your hubby to cook dinner, buy him a flame thrower. (Blogtober Day 8)

It has been a running joke in my house that when my husband doesn’t know what to get me for Christmas, he defaults to a kitchen gadget…usually one that he wants me to use to cook him something specific.  Case in point, the Anova Sous Vide machine. (This is not sponsored, btw, however, if they want to reach out, I probably wouldn’t say no) . Anyway, he had been talking about this sous vide thing for a while, and knowing what was coming, I specifically told him to not buy me any kitchen gadget that he really wanted for himself.  He didn’t listen.  What shows up under the tree three years ago…yep that sous vide machine. I got pissed, he got mad, and he had to do some super last minute Christmas shopping that included a trip to the Apple store and the jewelry store. (We had opened these presents early as Amanda had to work over Christmas and we were headed to Atlanta.) Anyway, after that apology, we began to use it and it really does make a great steak.  What we have been doing is using ziplock bags, the water displacement method and a stock pot. Last week, after our latest sous vide, he began to ‘wonder how a blow torch would work on the steaks.” I knew what was coming, but didn’t say anything because I really didn’t want to think about what might be showing up on my doorstep.

Two days later (thanks Amazon Prime) a stack of packages show up.  Want to guess what was in those packages? A FoodSaver vacuum sealer, a specialized container for the water, a rack for the bags of meat, and…a flamethrower.  Overboard much?  I told him that I would pick up the steaks, but he was on his own.  After thirty minute, reading the instructions three times, and watching two YouTube videos, we finally figured out the vacuum sealer, popped the meat in the bags and then in the water, and we were off to the races.  Once they were done, Joel took great pleasure in playing with fire.  Dinner was delicious. The steaks were perfect and tender, Joel did a great job with the flamethrower, and the baked potatoes were a great side.  So ladies, and gentlemen, if you want your significant other to cook dinner, just buy a a flame thrower.

Weekending (Blogtober Days 6 &7)

I was remiss in posting yesterday, but hopefully this will make up for it.  I shot Puppy Raiser Day at Southeastern Guide Dogs yesterday. Puppy Raiser day happens with a dog is matched with a handler and the people that raised the dog gets to come meet the new handler and see the pup that they raised.  Here Mendy (on the right) is looking down at Wrigley, a Golden Retriever, that she raised. To the left is Wrigley’s new handler. They became fast friends and I know they will continue to stay in contact.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, I met up with Chip and Chris and Irwin to take some photos of Irwin before he goes back for formal training in a couple of week. We headed up to Tampa to the Riverwalk area and explored Armature Works and had lunch at Ulele. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The guy up top is real and is pedaling his bike to make gin.

While we were waiting for our table at Ulele, Irwin made a friend and showed off his cuteness.

My lunch, Chip’s lunch and Chip’s Frose’

 

Dog sculptures and a Humpty Dumpty sits atop Ulele…hope he doesn’t have a great fall!

Around Ulele, there are these vintage storybook characters.  The owner of the restaurant spent $100,000 restoring them after he bought the characters from the now closed Fairyland area at Lowry Park Zoo.  I loved seeing these decorating the area. In addition to Humpty Dumpty, there’s the Three Little Pigs, Jack and Beanstalk and Alice in Wonderland.  I highly suggest that you get to Ulele a little earlier than you plan to eat and explore. It’s so pretty and peaceful. You forget that you are in the middle of Tampa. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, that was my weekend.  I have a guest blogger post going up on another blog soon.  I’ll let you know when that’s up and you can check that out.  Hope everyone had a great weekend and I’ll see you tomorrow!

Go Back….to the MSC Seaside (Blogtober Day 5)

I have a very long overdue blog post on our 25th Anniversary Cruise that we went on back in April.  Planned and hosted by the amazing Chip Barker over at Oceans and Lands Custom Travel Planners, it was the absolute perfect vacation.  We are planning another trip soon on either the Seaside or the Meraviglia. We can’t wait to Go Back…in the mean time, for a sneak peek of the ship, take a look at this video that Chip sent me as we were prepping for our trip.  My photos and a long post on my trip will be up soon.

Photo of the Day (Blogtober Day 4)

Meet Freyja, aka Mama Freyja. She is a six year old retired breeder from Southeastern Guide Dogs.  She is queen of the house and she knows it.  (Taken with my iPhone X) . We brought her home at eight weeks of age, raised her as puppy raisers, sent her back for training. She came home three weeks later chosen as a breeder and had three litters before she retired.  Her babies have all grown up to be guide dogs, service dogs, ambassador dogs, and breeder dogs as well.  We love her to pieces.  

Ten Things About Me. (Blogtober Day 3)

Ten things about me, that are probably ten things too many.

Image result for Leap yearI am a Leap Year baby. Yep, born on Feb. 29, 1972 (you can do the math) I celebrate my birthday on non-Leap Years on the 28th. It causes all sorts of computer chaos when filling out forms.

I was born in     Image result for Louisiana   and lived within 20 minutes of my parents until I was 30 years old and I was dragged kicking and screaming to  Image result for florida   when my husband took a job here. That was 16 years ago and I’m still not over it.

 

One of my hobbies is    Image result for cameraI own Kiki Mac Photography in Florida.

I also like to Image result for knit clipart

 

We raise Image result for puppy clipartfor Southeastern Guide Dogs. 

I drink way too much unsweet Image result for iced tea clipart(minus the lemon).

 

I go by our local Image result for starbucks clipart so much during the week, that the barista starts my order when I pull up. (Trenta Black iced tea, unsweet, no water)

I teach at my daughter’s old high school  

I took my very first Related image on the MSC Seaside  last April and can’t wait to do it again. (Psss… call my friend Chip at Oceans and Lands Custom Travel 

In 2005 the previous version of this blog had a write up in Image result for southern living talking about a knitalong and swap I hosting that revolved around hurricane season.

 

Ok, that’s ten things about me.  All random, but it was fun finding all the clipart.  I’d love to find out more about people, so leave a comment with your ten things, or send me a link to your blog!