The Ciel Show

By Ciel - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Sunday, October 21, 2018

a new project

Over the past several months I have been seeing more and more little objets d'arte made by a technique called needle-felting. I have done some felting of things I've crocheted, but had no idea how these little items were made. Well, I found out: It is called needle-felting and is done with a specially shaped needle, using unspun wool. Unspun wool is often called roving, but this wool is something different, the fibers laying in cross-directions, rather than all the same direction as is the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:41 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Wednesday already...

It feels like winter, though the leaves have not left yet, the maple has not even gone that rich golden yellow yet. But we have had freezing nights, down in the teens, and I've had the heat on every day. Sadly, the plug on the electric fireplace suddenly blew out the other day, so that will need fixing before it's useful again. Also, sadly, Alice the Gerbil has gone over the Rainbow Bridge to rejoin her pal Crumpet... She never cared to be handled, but was friendly in her way, and not fearful of... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 2:57 PM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, October 12, 2018

Nebulosity and Big Heavy Objects

You wait all week for a delivery... go out for 15 minutes, and it's on the porch when you get home. It. A cylindrical thing as tall as the width of a full bed and the weight of the entire bed including frame, head- and foot-board, and winter bedding, and with me in it. I wrestled it in through the door and onto the stairs enough to shut the front door. and left it there until Charlie got home and could drag it up to my bedroom. Besides that, I am having one of those vague brain days. A bad one... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 4:10 PM | add or view comments (11) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Thursday, October 11, 2018

The Great Shifting

It's still cold in the Springs, but not as cold as yesterday at this time. Today, instead of snow, we have fog, a rarity for this area. The temps are forecast to be creeping upwards over the next week nearly to highs of 60, after more snow on Sunday. We'll see. I am looking into getting new all-season tires for the truck, as there is a dismaying lack of tread on those I've got now, something I noticed even before the snow came. Last week, Charlie and I decided to upgrade the storage unit for the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 8:09 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, October 10, 2018

Especially For Adnohr... and other Grandmas...

First of this winter's snow, an inch of it on the back porch this morning! It won't last long, but the finches--3-5 at a time--are almost frantically going at the thistle-seed net hanging outside--nearly emptied it in the past few days, from about 2 cups worth to down to about a quarter cup. Happily for them, I have a few cups more in the bag to refill with. Marika and Elsa are bound homewards today. We will meet for breakfast, then they'll be driving north towards Denver International Airport.... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:14 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, October 9, 2018

grey days, bright flowers

It's another misty, drizzly morning, and my daughter wants to do a little hike this morning to see some falls in the local area. She and Elsa like to explore the world, Elsa usually at this point riding on Mommy's back in the soft sling/wrap-around, but sometimes on her own feet. Marika wants me to join them for this, really not quite getting that I can't walk a mile without pain, not even a quarter of a mile. It's also cold today, near freezing here in the Springs, maybe nearer up where the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 6:34 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, October 8, 2018

The little birds know...

Overnight temps are dropping to the 40s, even the low 40s this week, and slow, drizzly rains have damped the neighborhood. This morning there were 4 or 5 gold finches avidly feeding on the thistle-seed net that hangs from my deck roof. It had seemed abandoned for weeks, but now they are chowing down, building up fat for winter they suddenly know is coming. A week or so ago, I spotted half a little egg shell on the ground under the big blue spruce out front. Seems that the doves are raising an... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 7:18 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, October 7, 2018

Having company gets the house clean!

Friday evening, my granddaughter Elsa brought her parents to town. Apparently it is a rather different thing to see NaiNai at one's own house, or on the video-chat, and then actually in person in strange new surroundings. There was much shy at first, with tentative smilings, but we got over that pretty quickly. We met up at their hotel, then went for dinner at one of Marika's favorite restaurants--Chili's--which no longer maintains a presence in Washington State. Saturday morning they all came... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 10:23 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Birthday!

Today has been my 66th birthday. Charlie and I had breakfast at a very nice new-to-the-Springs place called First Watch, then took a drive about 7 miles up the Pike's Peak Highway to see the golden aspens. It was probably one of the last fine days for such an excursion: by the weekend, there will be snow gathering on the peaks. Sunday night, I will be bringing in the porch plants. Rumor has it that this will be a long, cold, snowy winter, unlike the previous two. After dinner, we went down to... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 10:57 PM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, October 1, 2018

Cooking artichokes

I like artichokes. They are tasty with mayonaise, or olive oil and salt, as a friend of mine used to eat them. I have come up with a way to cook them so they can be served to people who are a bit skeptical of "those chokey things." Baked, so they don't soak up water; foil-wrapped so they steam in their own juices and don't get all dried out. Here are the photos of the steps taken: https://flic.kr/p/2bC3xS4 (Go to this one and click to the left. Otherwise, it is how to uncook an artichoke.) Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Ciel at 2:45 PM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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About this Blog

I'm doubtful the events of my life will be of great general interest, but I'd like to share a little more of me to the several of you on Blogit I've come to feel are real friends, and the many I imagine are potentially real friends. We'll see how it works out. ______________________ all my words and images posted on Blogit are copyright 2005-present, all rights reserved.

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