leslee roberts :: shouting into the wind

waaaaah

i haven't been able to find my ipod nano for a few days. then i decided to do the wash.

tilt

long, long ago, i finished all the pieces to the tilt sweater from knitty.com. the pieces have been sitting squashed up in a plastic bag.

i've finally begun the blocking phase and here you can see all three stages: squished up piece, blocked pieces and pieces stretched for blocking. and the blocking process -- it's not as bad as i thought it would be -- the foam roll is dense enough to keep its shape when the pinned pieces are wet.

slanted door

after determined effort through open table and a 4 week wait, cheryl and i went to slanted door for dinner last night.

our drinks (both quite fantastic):

- cheryl: daiquiri no. 3 barbancourt white rum, lime, maraschino liqueur, and fresh grapefruit juice - recipe from la floridita, havana; served up
- leslee: añejo margarita el tesoro añejo tequila, cointreau, lime; served up

we began with:

- alaskan black cod roll with roasted peanuts and rau ram leaf (incredible!)
- baby mediterranean octopus with shishito peppers and lime-cilantro sauce (wow!)

for main dishes we had:

- brick oven roasted whole fish with spicy gingered fish sauce (actually we intended to have the caramelized fish (cobia) claypot with shallots, ginger and thai chilies but i either mis-spoke or the waiter mis-heard -- it was excellent anyway!)
- allstar organics heirloom beans with fresh baby corn and torpedo onions
- jasmine rice

and for dessert:

- cheryl: a semifreddo of some kind over lemon pound cake, i can't remember the name but here's a picure:

- leslee: warm fig and goat cheese tart with vanilla bean ice cream:

it was a very expensive but worthwhile dinner and we would go back again.

resolutions

11/13/07 update: i sold this piece to a good friend who has been waiting seven years for a piece for his auntie for christmas. it couldn't have gone to a better home. (lr)

:: :: ::

i have drawerfuls of beading projects-in-progress and kits. my beading and jewelry tools and materials have outgrown their storage unit and now spill across my dining room floor.

at the beginning of this year, i resolved to make a dent in that mountain of projects. so, in january i began.

here is marianne biagi's pearl dream kit. it is a magnificent pearl and crystal rope with tassels at both ends. i began this kit in my hotel room in el dorado hills while on numerous business trips and recently finished it up during my august vacation in rainier, washington.

click pic to see full rope:

rick's place

in august, i spent a couple of weeks in rainier, washington, visiting family.

each year i look forward to seeing the family gardens (mom, deb and vickie). being a city girl, i am amazed how good food comes out of the ground if you have the time and energy to tend a garden. this year, however, the family gardens were a little bare. vickie's garden was best of them all but it too had less than i had seen in previous years.

so, my mom suggested we visit rick's garden which we did one late afternoon. we drove down a gravel road about 10 minutes from my mom's place and i was surprised to see what lay at the end of that road.

rick is a gardener and the first thing we saw when we drove up to his house was his beautiful, bountiful garden. it was late afternoon/early evening, my favorite time of day when the light is golden, warm and glowing. there were rows of raised plots, each surrounded by large white stones which were gathered locally. as he showed us around, it was apparent that his garden was a manifestation of his natural energy and exuberance:

rick also collects gems and minerals -- but that's a topic for another day.

healing

in late july, i woke with my right thumb painful and unable to move at all. i suppose all the abuse with the treo, nintendo ds, knitting and beading finally took its toll. the first few weeks, i couldn't do anything -- all the little things we take for granted -- turn the key in the ignition, press the button on the gear shift of the car, dress, dry my hair, hold a pencil, use a fork. i have been wearing my wrist brace at night and limiting the use of my thumb. it's been healing slowly since then -- i can do many of the normal things now but i must still limit my nintendo, knitting and beading.

i've been reading instead and listening to audio books: harry potter and the deathly hallows, anansi boys, coraline, the kite runner, the secret life of a knitter-yarn harlot, on becoming an artist -- astounding since i haven't had a run like this for at least a year.

i've also watched several movies: all of the harry potter movies, peaceful warrior, 10 items or less, hula girls -- more astounding, since i rarely watch movies.

even though it's been quiet online, it's been busy -- mom came for a visit in early august and then we both flew back to rainier where i stayed for a couple of weeks for vacation. i'll be posting those pics soon.

lynda's show-n-tell

lynda's been busy making wedding jewels for anna, her new daughter-in-law.

for the wedding ceremony, pearls from ta pearlstone:

for the reception, lynda made a white version of the chrysanthemum splendor class she took at bead & button this year with elizabeth townes. she got the lentil beads and czech pressed flower beads from kelly (san francisco arts & crafts). other beads came from kandra's when she was at beads on the vine.