Texas Longhorns and Tea at the Adolphus Hotel

Hi y'all.  I just returned from a trip to Texas.  I had a great time and so I thought I would share a little with you.

Last summer we toured the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas.  The hotel was built by Adolphus Busch, a German immigrant, of the Anheuser-Busch Company (think beer).  In 1912 it was the tallest building in Texas.  It's a lovely, grand hotel that serves afternoon tea on the weekends.

They set up the tables in the hotel's lobby for the tea service.  Needless to say, the ambiance it wonderful!

So, this time I made sure we made reservations for the tea.  It was a lovely afternoon.

My husband, Fouad,  and son, Andrew, of course joined me.  They acted like they enjoyed the experience.

The hotel has an exquisite room called The French Room.  They serve a special dinner there during specific days of the week.  The decor is unbelievable with chandeliers and hand painted ceilings.

This photo is really poor since the room was closed off to visitors while I was there. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip visited the Adolphus back in 1991 on one of their visits to the US.

This is a picture of that visit with their signatures at the bottom.  There's also a large cabinet display with vintage photos and memorabilia.  Here's a photo of the Queen from that display:

On Monday we ventured west of Ft. Worth to an area called Possum Kingdom Lake.  My son is building some homes on the lake and the scenery is quite natural and pretty.  Along the way we found this awesome Texas Longhorn grazing.

Last summer while we were in Texas we stayed at a resort and got to go out each morning and feed the longhorns.  They are quite gentle animals and a must to see if you ever have the chance.

The weather this time was great in Ft. Worth.  Last summer it was in the 90's (day and night) - too hot for me!  Anyway, we visited Ft. Worth Botanic Garden.  It's a large preserve right near the heart of the city.

I think if we would have been a couple of weeks later, we would have seen all the beautiful spring flowers in bloom.

On Wednesday we visited the United States Bureau of Engraving and Printing.  (The place that prints 65% of all US currency).  Years ago, I visited the facility in Washington, DC.  In 1991 they opened the Ft. Worth facility.  It's huge, like 800,000 square feet.  Due to security, I was unable to take any photos.  The tour is free and if you are ever in the area, I highly recommend this tour.  You walk along a raised, glassed in walkway, above the facility.  So, you can look down and see the money being printed.  We had the pleasure to meet one of the official engravers who has worked for the BEP since 1967.  It was a fun tour.

That's about all I  have to share in regard to the big state of Texas.  While I was there, I finished this knitted, rolled brim baby hat from my Planet Penny yarn.  I now have to knit the booties to match.

Which reminds me, don't forget to visit Handmade Harbour. There are so many great ideas and wonderful blogs that you will want to subscribe to.

I wish each of you a wonderful week and remember, I would love to hear from you if you have the time.

Missing my Blog Friends

Hello everyone.  I missed posting a proper post this week to my blog since I was away visiting my wonderful son, Andrew, in the big state of Texas.  I missed hearing from those who visit this blog.

So, here I am writing down some random thoughts.  Sorry I don't have pictures since I forgot my camera cord to transfer the pictures (I don't know what the proper name is).  But, next week, I will have some pictures to share with you.

It's been so much fun meeting people via this blog.  My lovely daughter, Heidi, will be taking me to England this fall to celebrate my 60th birthday.  We will be spending 4 days in the West Midlands before heading south to Southampton for a short cruise and then back to London for a 4 day stay.  I can hardly wait.

My daughter spent two years in England; one year working for the Church of England and another year at the University of Bath where she obtained her Master's degree.  So, it will be my 4th trip to the England.

I am so envious of all the wonderful craft publications the UK offers.  Recently there was a Knit and Stitch magazine that had a free gift of knitting needles and yarn.  Unfortunately, they do not offer subscriptions to the US.
 


But, thanks to the age of internet shopping, I found it on ebay!  This originally sold for like $1.50 but if I win the bid, I will have to pay $10.00 shipping!!  But, that's OK since it will be fun to see what it's about.  I think this publication plans on like 50 issues, each with yarn so that at the end of the campaign, you will have completed a full size afghan with different squares each made with a different yarn.

But, back to my England trip, I'm planning on going yarn shopping while I am there.  We will be staying with some dear family friends who live in Rubery.  We are fortunate that they will be able to guide us around their lovely country.

I hope each of you have had a good start to the week.  I look forward to hearing from you when you have the time.

take care,
Pat (Lilly's Mom)

Mayfield Afghan and Fun at Laguna Beach

It has been a good week here at Lilly My Cat.  I'm almost finished with my income tax preparation (too many forms to send to the accountant), I finished my afghan and I received my order from The Planet Penny Cotton Club!

It was 80 degrees here on Friday and the family headed off to the beach.  Laguna Beach is about 14 miles from my home.  It was a perfect day to relax and soak up the sun and the sounds of the ocean.

It was such a clear day that we could see Catalina Island across the water.  My little grandson enjoyed playing in the sand.

We brought our favorite lunch food from Trader Joe's along with water and chips and had a perfect lunch sitting in our beach chairs.  And it's always fun to see the seagulls who love to scavenge for any food you may have...

As I mentioned, I am celebrating today since I finally (after two months) finished the afghan I made for my little grandson.  The pattern is called Mayfield and you can find the pattern here.

I tweaked the pattern a bit - it calls for thick yarn and size 11 needles.  I used an Aran type yarn and size 8 needles.  I casted on 167 stitches so because of the difference in needle size and yarn, it took me a long time to finish this pattern.  The stitch pattern is a 12 stitch repeat +1 and 10 stitches for the  border.

As a safeguard to my forgetfulness, I placed markers for each 12 stitch repeat and counted each 12 stitch section along the way to make sure I didn't forget any yarn overs.  It worked great.  There is just one glitch:  when you come to row 19 you will have to remove the markers as this row makes the markers 1 stitch off.  You can replace the markers when you do row 20.

Also this week my order arrived from Planet Penny Cotton Club.  Here's a sample of what I created with my new cotton yarn.  I couldn't find a pattern that I liked so I kind of made this up as I went along.

 

I hope you each have a wonderful week and don't forget to check out Handmade Harbour  where you will find great links to lots of crafty ideas.

P.S.  My daughter will be taking me to London in November.  If you have any recommendations for good hotels in London, I would love to hear from you. 

Vintage Crochet Doily Pattern and Baby Booties

It has been a fun week here at Lilly My Cat.  Thank you to everyone who visited my blog.  As I mentioned, I'm new to this blogging and there were a few glitches with those who wished to comment.  I think I have it figured out now - hopefully!

This is a project that I have been working on for awhile (when I'm not knitting).  One day I was rummaging around my yarn closet and I came across this pattern in my Grandma's knitting bag (my wonderful, Danish grandma passed away back in 1992 at the age of 97!)  Since I love to crochet I thought this would be a fun project to do.  Grandma had used the pattern as a pin cushion hence the holes in the paper.

I tried to find the pattern online but was not able to come up with any clues.  I believe it's from the 1950's or before since there is no zip code listed on the address of the company.

 I finished the doily itself in a couple of days.  However, I am still working on the leaves and I haven't even started the berries!  

So, at this point, it's still a unfinished product.  But, one day it will be finished.

My good friend Nadia asked me if I had any baby booties - she wanted some as a gift to a new baby.  So, here's what I have been working on this weekend:

The pattern is taken from an old Swedish pattern.  I added some beads to one of the booties.  I love to knit with beads.  I need to finish the ties and she will have three pairs to chose from!  Remember to check out Handmade Monday here at Handmade Harbour.  There are so many wonderful ideas.

Lilly is such a creature of habit.  Each morning she wakes up, gets a little "wake up" snack and then wants to take her walk outside.  She really gets unhappy when it's wet and cold outside and I won't let her out.  Outside means the back of our home which is fenced. Luckily for me, she is too large (not fat!) to get through the fence.  She loves to sit out there and watch the birds and hunt for geckos.

As you can see, Lilly is my baby and I love her dearly.  She is such a joy to have in the house.  I wish each of you a wonderful week and look forward to chatting with you.  Thanks again for taking time to visit Lilly My Cat!

  

Historic California Mission & Avocado Guacamole Recipe

It has been a great week here at Lilly My Cat.  Thank you to everyone who stopped by for a visit.  It was lovely having you see my blog.

I love history and California is home to many historic missions.  Two missions are close to where I live; San Juan Capistrano Mission and San Luis Rey de Francia Mission in Oceanside, CA.

This is a picture I took of my visit to San Luis Rey Mission this week.  The mission was founded in 1798 and built by Spanish Catholics of the Franciscan Order.

 

This is a photo of the interior of the church.  It still functions as a church and for special events  like weddings.  

                                                  

Each time I visit the mission, I enjoy not only the history but the tranquility of the setting.  Here are the pictures of the garden and the beautiful succulent garden.                        

It was so much fun to roam around the mission's grounds and see all the beautiful plants. If you ever visit California, there are numerous missions scattered around the state.  Each one is beautiful and a joy to visit.

On the way home, we stopped at a roadside fruit stand and bought some "just picked from the tree" avocados.

Here's my recipe for fresh guacamole:

Peel avocado and place in bowl.  Cut the avocado in small pieces (small or large, whatever you like).  Add in 1/4 cup chopped white onion, juice of 1 lemon, 1 T oil, 1 minced tomato and some fresh cilantro and mix well.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

I'll end this post with a wonderful link to Handmade Harbour.  Please take time to visit this site.  There are links to wonderful blogposts where you will get tons of creative ideas.  Here's my creative idea for the week.....

It's a whirligig crocheted doily that I am crocheting from fingering weight wool yarn.  Please check back to see the finished product.  And, remember there's going to be a giveaway on this blog.  Be sure to sign up so that you can enter the giveaway.

Have a great week!

Sunshine and Blue Skies

Hello.  I haven't written for awhile because I was away on a trip back east.  It was cold and snowy so it's good to be back home. I won't bore you with the details of our vacation - unfortunately I got sick and still have a cough.  But it's OK and I am home now where the sun is shining and it's warm.

Lilly was so lonesome for us while we were away.  She got to stay home and had the house all to herself.  She was so happy to see us.  She missed her daily outings in the back yard.  Here's a picture of her relaxing.

 As you can see, she didn't want to smile.  There was a large crow in the tree that kept taking her attention off the camera.  She is such a joy to have.

I had forgotten how cold and gray winter can be.  It's been over 15 years since I lived where winter takes it hold.  The trees were naked without any leaves, the grass was brown and the sky was dark.  It was fun to watch it snow one night - so peaceful watching the snow come down under the street lamp.  But, the 12 degrees daytime high was a bit too cold for me now.  Here's a lovely little flower I saw today dropping it's head over our fence:

I don't have any patterns to share with you right now.  I am in the middle of making an afghan for my little grandson.  The knit stitch is quite patterned so it's not going as fast as I usually knit.

 It's made from a lovely Aran type wool/acrylic yarn that I ordered from England.  The name of the store is Deramores.  They offer lovely yarn and when you have a coupon code, the shipping is almost zero.  If you like to create with yarn, then I highly recommend this store.

I will try and get my creative mind working so I can share some recipes or patterns next time I write.  I wish each of you happiness.

Star Garland Bunting

Hi everyone!  I hope  you had a Happy New Year and that 2013 will bring the very best to each of you.  I last wrote back on December 27, 2012 and it was for a pattern for knitted stars.  It must have been a very boring blog posting since I only received one view!!

So, here's a little bit more about knitted stars.   I had ordered some yarn from England for a new project and since it hadn't arrived yet, I didn't want to start on a big project, I started knitted star after star.  After I knitted the first star, my creative mode took over.   I then came up with the idea that they look like flowers if you do two tones.

I followed the pattern with one color until row 10.  I attached a second color to the beginning of row 10 and continued with the second color for each tip of the stars (flowers).  These stars are so much fun to make and you don't need to worry about weaving in the ends of the yarn.  Just stuff them inside as you sew the two stars together and they provide just the right amount of stuffing it.

Here's the completed garland.  You can make it any size you desire and best of all, it's a great way to use up your odds and ends of yarn.  The bulky yarn will make a larger star and the fine yarn will make a smaller star.

Have fun with this project and I would love to hear your thoughts about this idea!