Pickle-rama

A little something different in today's blog which will feature Hector's adventure...but first a little background story.






If you watched the snippets of video, this is what sparked the pickle interest. Sure H has always loved pickles but homemade pickles? H is ready for the challenge after doing some research on pickling pickles.

Now all pickles are not created equal and we both love the crunchy dill pickles that Claussen makes...so here is the homemade Claussen knock off pickles recipe that H tries.

It took a few days to gather all the ingredients and find the right size gallon jar but here goes.























The pickling process in photos...let them sit for 4 days. We tried them on Christmas Eve and I liked them. H thought they needed a few more days (since they were big cucumbers). So after brining some more, H thought this was a success although more garlic is needed. 

Note: there is a second batch pickling and tomorrow, we try them. Pickle-rama!! :)

2014 in Review

I don't believe that I've ever done a year in review. I really should have thought about it earlier but I'll hit some major points....

February: Did 2 trips to Mammoth on back to back weekends. First weekend was blizzard conditions and the next weekend was beautiful.


I even bought photos of Hector and I shredding....hee hee.





March: I traveled to Calgary with my SIL Lupe on a LA Kings fan trip. We met lots of fun, nice people, explore Calgary and watch the LA Kings!









April: For the first time, we changed our usual spring break trip to Mammoth to 2 trips. Tyler went without us to Costa Rica with his 8th grade group. He had a great time and the memories will be special.




The remainder of our family went to Washington DC...the family dynamics were definitely different and quiet. Josh got to experience being an only child and eat lots of fattening food. It was my first time to DC and we did lots and lots of walking. We also caught the cherry blossom season which was really cool.






June: We had both kids promoted to the next level of their education. Josh to middle school and Tyler to high school.





Also if you live under a bridge, the LA Kings won their 2nd Stanley Cup in 3 years. The adults in our household were very very happy and the kids are thankful the screaming, yelling and cheering is over (for now).




July: NHL awards in Vegas with Kathy and the kids. 



 
 I head over to NYC with Lupe for 4 days which was my first trip there. It was a wonderful time and we did LOTS of walking like over 7 miles a day. My feet didn't cooperate with my shoes so I had lots of bruised toenails and blisters. 






October: Back to Vegas for Frozen Fury. Apparently I don't have many photos uploaded so just use your imagination....




My knitting production decreased although I still knit a lot. My painting increased and I learned nail art too. Maybe I'll recap those in my next post....

Ashburn

Ack, it's already December! I've done some shopping and we're still decorating the house/tree. After taking a break, this year the Christmas cards and photo calendars are back so that took up a good portion of my time. I guess it seems really hectic in addition to being my mom's assistant and driver. 

I used my anniversary  Amazon gift card to buy an Instant Pot. So far I used it to make mashed potatoes (success) and pinto beans (success). I make beans often and used the stove top method. I would just boil/simmer the heck out of them but using the Instant Pot was like night and day. WOW! I know it's just beans but married to a Hispanic can put some bit of pressure on a girl. ;)  Heh, see what I did  there unknowingly? Pressure ===> Instant Pot = electric pressure cooker. 

Okay, these beans came out really good. I'm no bean expert but after 18 years of marriage and beans, these are GOOD. And it only took about 35 minutes of cooking in the Instant Pot. I didn't have to stir every so often, check the water level or worry about burning the beans. So I'm making more today. No more fuss...I can't wait to make stew and soups.
Mmmm...

So on to the real topic, my Ashburn which is not technically correct since I knit it for someone else. It was a real labor of love and it came out just beautiful. I only had about 12 hours to enjoy it and try to take proper pictures of it before I handed it off. I hope hope hope that the recipient LOVES this to death forever and forever. It was a lot of work for someone I don't even know and I won't do that again. Too much for me.

I plan on knitting myself one next year and picking out the colors will be the most difficult part. :) This ranks right up to Color Affection in use of colors and coziness. 





Here it is laid out on the floor which you can't tell how large it is. It measures over 70 inches along the top edge so it can be a lovely shawl or as I model in the following photos a cozy scarf/bandanna.




The cool feature of this pattern is the texture created in the middle portion. It took the longest but the end result is well worth it. 




A new technique I used on this is the picot bind off. I can't recall doing this on any other project but I may be wrong. I think it adds a nice feminine touch to this. 

The weather is even cooperating so I wasn't sweltering during the photoshoot. Although now I see some strange white flecks in my hair!  Blergh..




And now for my artsy look...It's going to rain a lot tonight so since the Ashburn is gone, I will have to find my Color Affection to cozy up with during the hockey game. :)

Repurposing

Ack! It's already December! Thanksgiving flew by and now Christmas is speeding towards us! Everyone has plans, lists and shopping on their mind. We had to be more on the ball this year because we adopted a family and had to have their gifts ready for delivery today!

It was lots of fun to shop for them and I hope they're happy with their gifts. It 's nice to help others as much as possible.

Anyway, my family has now seemed to FINALLY be over the cold/flu we got last month. I just saw on the news today that this years flu shot is not that effective. Huh, that might explain a lot.

I've been knitting but this one particular project has taken up my time. I am soooo close to finishing but then I have the long bind off which may take me a day to complete. It's very pretty and I'm happy with the results.

My youngest has requested a variety of cereal to try for breakfast so I had got a variety pack at Sam's Club. The last bag was Cocoa Puffs and wouldn't you know, the kid that loves chocolate is just sort of meh about it. So I have a full bag of this stuff. 

The internet and Google to the rescue!! Reese's Pieces Cocoa Puff Bars!!!! Super easy recipe but I did substitute regular Reese's Pieces because I couldn't find the minis. I mixed the candy into the bars instead of putting them on top because they wouldn't be able to stick. Even then, some of the candy would fall off but not a big deal. 

Just had to use the microwave and mix. I offered them to the kids after school and the oldest one, who really doesn't care for chocolate ended up liking them after they were transformed with the peanut butter and Reese's Pieces. Funny kid! The youngest still refused. So 50% is not bad...I saved a few pieces and sent the rest to hubby's work. Win/win and I used up that bag of cereal, gave some people a treat and looked like a genius baker/cook. :)

Friday is Here!!

Cute video of a young Boston Bruins fan getting fist bumps from the team.




Also I've been trying my hand at nail art which is lots of fun. My results do not come out like the videos but my nails look decent and I've gotten a couple of compliments on them.











This is the person I follow on Youtube and she has many pretty & cool designs. I tried the second one but used black as the base color for that 80's vibe. Not as pretty but from far away, my nails look cool. I  obviously need improvement on my stripes. So many videos to watch and try!

Life Goes On

Hi,

I honestly feel bad about neglecting my blog for long stretches of time. Life stuff happens and one must deal with it as best they can.

I'll share this just to get it off my chest and I don't usually post heavy things. My mom has been in declining health for a while and this summer, I (we) couldn't ignore it any longer. In August, my mom's iron level was getting dangerously low and an incident with her car (while it was parked) at the doctor's appointment, made us come to the difficult decision of not letting her drive anymore.

This has been added stress to me as the only child and there were some difficult moments of adjustments for all of us. After 3 months, we settled into a routine that suits everyone. It brings back memories of H and L caring for their mother when she needed it. Decisions to be made. Lots of repeated explanations but we carry on. It hasn't gotten to a serious stage yet but the upcoming holidays make life take on extra meaning.

My mom took care of me and keeps on giving us love & advice which can bug but we know her heart is in the right place. So I cherish the time I have with my mom and enjoy what we share together. :)

So be nice to your family and friends, they may not be perfect but deep down, hopefully their hearts is in the right place towards you.


And since I'm posting, I might as well get to the lighter things now.  I knit when I can...the whole family came down with the nasty cold with H & I suffering the most. We actually got real rain in SoCal in I don't even remember when it rained last here. Josh has his school fundraiser and like usual the parents stepped up and sold 51 orders of cookie dough. His goal was 15 orders to he can go in a party bus to In n Out! Well, H's work always comes through and he sold the majority to them. I'm ecstatic because we get another Sector 9 skateboard with 50 orders.

I picked up a paintbrush to try and continue on with my Van Gogh painting. It is very time consuming (in a good therapeutic way) and I need lots of natural light to see the tiny numbers/areas.

I'm thankful to Hector...our 18th anniversary is coming up on Sunday! We have something planned and with kids have Monday/Tuesday off, I will have them for some fun time planned sort of last second.

Hopefully I can get motivated with photography again. I miss it.

Carry on...  :-)

Friday Mish Mash

I have no excuses for this bad blogger. Just enjoy the assorted and random things I post today.

I finally picked up my Reef painting over the past weekend from my childhood friend Kathy. I love it and decided to place it in the kitchen so I can see it all through out the day.



Of course, I spy another painting that is lovely and for sale.



Went to Vegas for Frozen Fury with the girls and had a blast. Lots of drinking amongst the eating, hockey player sightings and heat.




This was just in the Long Beach airport.

Hockey season began and last night was the replica ring giveaway.




They look pretty nice, don't they?

I totally missed the Throwback Thursday...so here are 2 pics.

One is of Hector & Carlos at our wedding (1996). Time flies by so quickly.




Here is one from 1993 when I had my car accident. I should leave it for another post but it was a miracle that I lived. Just sayin...






Okay, I threw practically everything in this post except the kitchen sink. Until next time!