MelangeByLisette

Happy and thoughtful Veteran's Day to all, and thank you to all our Veterans! I finally had a few quiet moments to post my latest work, bouquets and a veil. They were fun to make, even though they take a while to create! The hardest part is guarding my work from my muse DaVinci, he Adores Helping Mommy Very Much! I took several pictures of him helping me, I will post one soon, and you will see! Well, I have probably tempted fate because I named my bunnies "Yin and Yang", but it felt right! I am trying to tame them, they are so adorable, but still pretty shy, however I give them treats several times a day, and also, they have not bitten me, even though they could if they wanted too! Did you know, rabbits like to eat alfalfa hay? And they love salt, carrots and chicken scratch, and they love to chew the desert wood, it helps grind down their teeth. They really have sweet and funny personalities, and I am already captivated by their antics! Next time I post a blog, I will post pictures of them. Well, time for a midnight snack, goodnight to all, from up the Chiliwist, Lisette

Well, we've had our first snow! It melted off over the past few days, and I think we'll have a nice week to come. Last thursday I went and saw Cathy and her animals with Mel, my neighbor, and my camera. We had a nice visit and I took pictures of two amazing horses, Curlys son ( Hot Havana Nights ) he looks a lot like his father. Curly was an arabian stallion, one of the most beautiful animals I have ever seen. And I took pictures of Deisel, the son of Opportunity Knocks, another on of the most beautiful horses I have ever seen. I could not find the words to express my sorrow for her loss of Opie, but I gave her a cd of my pictures of her critters, and both stallions were the stars. I came home with a puppy, so totally out of character for me! I named her Grace, and she is a blue heeler mix, just precious.   And the next day, I realized she's a special girl, and she needed more than I could give her, she is going to be a career girl, a cow herder! Well, I called Marv, our friend and real life cowboy, and our hay grower too. I thought he'd let me know who might want a real cowdog. I left a message on his cell phone, and it was a very short time later, he called and wanted to "see that pup" and he snatched her up faster than a duck on a june bug! She has a good strong herding instinct and will be a valuable team player, and like he said, she's cuter than all get out!  Best of all, she has a true friend,(besides Marv) and his name is "Buddy" and he is a fancy type of poodle, medium sized and he gets to live in the house with Marv, and Grace does too! They adore each other already, and they play with passion, and the pot belly goat watches and rams them now and then if they play too close to her! She is such a cute goat, they don't call them pot bellied for nothing! She is hilarious, and next visit I'll take a picture of her and post it. Well, Marv gave me 2 baby rabbits,( not tiny but not big yet either), so  I guess my universe is balanced now. They are truly beautiful, one is bigger than the other, and their fur is a bit different, but they are so soft and sweet! I am going to try really hard to make friends, spoil them, and handle them too! I am also going to take pictures of them and post them soon, and you can see for yourselves! I brought them home today:) My sweetie put up winter clear plastic on all the kitty pens, so they will be snug for winter. My chicken and the rabbits will share the outdoor pen during the day, and the rabbits will stay there through the nights. Now, I have to name them! I think I'll sleep on it, and in the morning, I'll know their names. Courage the cowardly dog is on, and my white wine is calling me too! I am going to try to post a few pictures, wish me luck! Actually, I am going to post this first, then crop a few pictures to post. Goodnight all, from up the Chiliwist, Lisette

She was born to be Queen of the Wolfpack Born to run wild and free Instead she chose to spend her short life with me As a cub she showed her true nature in her glowing wild gold eyes She allowed no one to claim her with me she would stay 'till she died Many were the miles we did travel together a family pack Looking for gold and independance in the wild alaskan outback. From Yakataga to Nome we did ramble and roam working and living our dreams But life is a play with the end veiled in mystery I saw us together forever no other view would my mind's eye see Even now I can't change I still see you wild and free While you're chasing those caribou in heaven I know you are wild and free Born to be Queen of the Wolfpack born to run wild and free lisette

Just 2 more days of deer hunting season, I'll be very happy when it is over so my wild friends can visit without fear. We lost our beloved red wolf Kenya last saturday, he died of a heart attack. Thank God we heard him cry, so we were able to give him tranquillizers to ease his passage to the next world. He was and is an angel, and he never gave us a moment of trouble in his whole life. He was 9 years old, it seems so unfair. Maya is our only wolf now, and Kalahari thinks she is a wolf, but she is actually a bernese mountain dog. They miss Kenya so much, and it is very sad not to hear his howl. I've been lucky enough to have wolves in my life since 1980. I am going to share a poem with you, about my friend and beloved wolf Michelle, long gone to the big hunting grounds in the sky. I still miss her, and all of our wolves so very much. I am blessed to have had them in my life for so long.

Opie and Curly

It wasn't until later in my life that I got to really know and love horses. I love my Shadow boy so very much, I feel sick thinking about losing him someday. Through my friend and neighbor Melanie, I met Kathy and her horses. They took my breath away with their beauty! I was privileged to photograph her horses over the last few years. When she lost Curly, her beautiful arabian stallion, I just could not believe a creature so fine was gone. He was magnificient. I still cry for the lost beauty. Well, Cathy lost another of her herd, his name was Opportunity Knocks, but his everyday name was Opie, and he was the most beautiful horse I have ever seen in person. Life is so very delicate and precious, every breath is a gift. The world is a sadder place for their loss. Farewell Curly and Opie, you will always be missed.

Well, I cooked down about 20 pounds of mixed squash today, 9 pressure cooked quarts and each batch was a little different, and all were just delicious! I am freezing them as soup base, as well as simply heating up the puree. I fried up a large pan of bacon for seasoning the squash and bean dishes as well.  I added a few spoonfuls of bacon and drippings, a dash of canola oil, seasonings and a cup of water to each batch of squash, and cooked them at several times, with the same measured amounts of water (1 cup per batch) and 10 cups or so of cubed squash. 11 minutes was a smooth puree with just stirring with a spoon. 10 minutes was a chunky puree, and 9 was soft chunks. Delicious all! I made a big old batch of sourdough bread last week, and it is time to make more. I think I'll make some flatbread with my bedouin spice blend too! I have my Moroccan style salt preserved lemons for sale on my second ETSY site, LowTek. This batch of lemons was truly extraordinarily fragrant and delicious! I need to buy some fresh fennel seeds, then I can offer my own fennel lemon blend, it is so good! All the critters are happy just smelling the kitchen in action, they know they will have some of whatever I cook, and it makes me feel so happy when they give me loving looks and kisses at dinnertime! I have nearly completed my latest hummingbird  beading project, and I just realized I have not downloaded it from my camera yet. ( This explains why I could not find the pictures anywhere in my files! ) I finished cleaning and drying feathers my sister sent me from her parrots, and they are simply incredible, each one is a treasure! When time slows down a bit, a week or two from now, I am going to use a particularly lovely color group on a gourd designed with those colors. Perhaps several Christmas ornaments created from my tiny gourds! Very fun because ornaments are labours of love, and great canvases for new designs because they are tiny and quick to make! Well, goodnight from up the Chiliwist, it is time to make dinner, angel hair pasta I do believe, with a red sauce... Goodnight everyone, from up the Chiliwist, Lisette. p.s., I am posting a picture of one of my gourds, the poison dart frog I think!

 It's been another whirlwind week ! It was the week of "the squash who invaded my kitchen!" We, (the wolves, doggies, horse and myself) have eaten pounds of squash this week! A mountain of squash, no an Avalanche of squash!!! I had so many patty pans that I had to come up with a new way to peel them! In case you aren't familiar with patty pans, they are just beautiful, but a very unusual shape. I like my squash peeled and that was a real challenge. I had the idea to use my cheese slicer, ( the kind that looks like a spatula with a slit in it) and it worked like magic! I was very proud of myself! My pressure cooker/canner just arrived from fed-ex! The animals are still fussing about it. I am thrilled because I have a bunch of tomatoes which need canned, and so now I will learn how to pressure can things, scary, but I can do it! Somehow, I managed to create a beaded butterfly this week, and it came out so well! I added a three dimensional body which I crafted with a pipe cleaner, and I also added wire antennae, and it really brought it to life. I sold the goldstone cabachon hummingbird at the bead store, and I stocked up on blue tricut beads this week. I want to do a blue piece, a bird, I'm not sure what kind yet, but something exotic. I have two beaded hummingbird kits for sale, but I realized I need to bead the design myself again first because I sold the first one and I forgot to photograph it first. So, I will bead another one, then take a picture of it so the buyer can have a reference picture. That will take me a few days, and then I will post the kits on ETSY and my blogspot. Well, my sister Laura is going back to work, so I am going to have to work very hard to absorb more knowledge so I lessen my dependence on her! I can hardly believe her son will be a whole year old on October 6, this year has whizzed by! I have a feeling this is going to be an exceptionally busy winter... Have a lovely weekend everyone, farewell from up the Chiliwist, Lisette 

 My cosmos are blooming!

            I love my new cookware! I always read the recommendations that come with things, and I read that you should never use high heat with these pans,( after I was heating water on high heat! ) Thank goodness my smooth top range is smarter than me, and my pan is just fine. I made my own dill pickles, and I can't believe how easy and fun they were to make! I always thought that it took a while to make pickles, and perhaps some do take a lot of time, but I used a pickle mix, (Mrs. Wages) and after 24 hours, I opened a jar, and they were crispy and wonderful! I can't wait to make more. The next batch will be bread and butter pickles, and I also found canning mixes for katsup, and chili base, what fun! You can actually use canned tomatoes for your home canned chili base, that caught my eye! I have looked high and low, and there are not as many recipes as you would imagine for pickled veggies, but I am going to try carrot pickles, and pickled green beans, and whatever else I can think of... I went horseback riding with my friend and neighbor today. It was really nice, slow and peaceful, with a little trotting thrown in. It is scary dry around here right now. I have never seen the ground this dry before around here. I water my garden, and some of the grass in the front yard gets water as a result, but right in the middle of the yard, it is nothing but sand and rocks. The same is true everywhere around here without irrigation. Oh, but the apples this year are amazing! Absolutely amazing. Sweet, crisp, and so fragrant! The golden delicious are the sweetest I have ever tasted this year, and I am hoping to get some local red delicious apples.Did you know, apples are in the rose family? Apples are just big old rose hips! Well, my poor sister and my 11 month old nephew have the swine flu. They live in extreme southern Alabama, and for whatever reason, the flu is there right now. The good news is so far, they are getting through the illness. My nephew is on antibiotics, but my sister doesn't need them(thank goodness), and now they will start building more antibodies to fight future flu viruses. Did you know, it is actually good for you to catch a cold now and then? It stirs up our antibodies and we need them to fight viruses and bacteria. I have started harvesting my carrots and freezing as well as drying them, and I am exploring ways to can them as well. Pickles for sure, but I adore canned carrots, so I am going to try canning my own:)  When my sister and nephew are better, we will focus on starting up LowTek on ETSY. Goodnight to all from up the Chiliwist, Lisette

 As an aside, I wanted to let you know, there are, interestingly enough, three correct ways to spell our area. Up the Chiliwist, Chillowist, and Chilowist. It actually means " Little trickle of water over big rock". Goodnight all!

Well, on a spur of the moment, I decided tomorrow was a good day to have a Needlework Showcase on ETSY! I invite you to drop by if you are in theETSY neighborhood. It sure has been a busy week, lots of small steps forward, lots of projects finished, and new ones started. (I love starting projects as much as finishing them!) Speaking of starting things, this coming monday I hope to launch my sister site, LowTek on ETSY! Goodnight from up the Chiliwist, Lisette

 Well, it has been an exceptionally busy week for me! I have also made my first you tube video! Actually, I made the video last winter, and my sister Laura suggested I put it on you tube, so we did! My you tube name is Chiliwist Silver, so check it out if you are a bird lover! I have been trying to work my behind off in the garden, but the darn thing just won't fall off! I should be skinny by now, but it is extremely hard for me to decrease my gravitational pull (my weight)! I finished another beading project, and started a new one yesterday. We had a big rain day before yesterday and that gave me a much needed break from watering the garden, so I pulled out all of my old sweet pea plants and planted more greens and lettuce. I'm going to plant a small test area with peas, and see if they can mature before the first freeze. I love experimenting when I can! Yesterday at Wal-Mart I found a new pressure canner/cooker which can be used on my glass top range, for about 70 dollars. That is great because I can't use aluminium on my range, and my old pressure cooker was aluminium, so I gave it to my neighbor. I am very happy to find one I can use! I called the factory when I bought my glass top range, and asked them what I could safely use on it, and I discovered I can't use my black iron skillets on there either, so I bake with them . I have four black iron pieces, one large skillet with browning ridges, two large skillets and a large black iron pot big enough to bake a chicken in. It has a handle so you can hang it over a fire, and I do believe it is quite old, and they all do a wonderful job. I just had my birthday, and I am 600 full moons old! In celebration my husband bought me a ten piece set of Cusinart cookware, and I can't wait to get it in the mail! I could cook for a small army soon! I love life tools, and I do hope to pass them down to my girls eventually. My only real problem now is that I have to completely rearrange my kitchen, and that's going to be a big job, very soon. I am going to go ahead and paint the kitchen so it is truly a fresh start. I am almost ready to launch my new sister site on ETSY, and it is named LowTek. I will offer simple things such as my pine needle baskets, gourdworks, spice blends, and so forth. Things with an intimate connection to Earth herself. Well, I need to go stake up some of my sunflowers and tomatoes, and then I have a lot of food to blanch and dry, so, I am off. I hope everyone has a meaningful and happy week to come! And remember, porcupines need hugs too! We'll talk about porcupines another time...Good evening from up the Chilowist, Lisette and pack

The design, and the squash...

Well, this last few days have been a little hectic around here! We had a nearby fire which made the national news, right here in Okanogan county. One of my photographs made the local tv station news! It was really scary, we were at level 2 evacuation alert, and a local sheriff came by, and the fire fighters came and inspected, but my husband keeps a large zone around our place brushed out very well, and I keep a green zone around the buildings with plants. The only really dangerous thing around here is our two giant pine trees, but the firefighters said they have foam they can spray on the trees. I am very glad it didn't come to that!

We have neighbors who live on the coast, and they just spend holidays here, and their places are not brushed out very well, so that was an extra worry we didn't need! We live in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, near the bottom of a large foothill, and I even have my own baby mountain, which will have wind turbines and vineyards someday. The soil is laden with volcanic dust, and a little water and mulch and you can grow many things here. I have been drying piles of veggies from my garden. I have lots of squash this years, some of which are my own hybrid plants. I remove the seedy pulp, cut in strips or rounds, blanch for three minutes, and dry in my dehydrator. This year the dried squash is sweet, like apples! Like I tell my husband, squash is like the tofu of the veggie world, and you can add it to most anything. This past week or so, the nighttime temps have been in the 40's and 50's, and the heater has kicked on every night. Kind of strange...We are going to get lots of firewood this year, just to be safe. I have been working on a new hummingbird design, (beaded) and it is coming along well. I have started my new venture of selling beading kits here locally, and I will also be selling them in my ETSY store very soon. My problem with selling on ETSY is the locals here buy all my designs! That is a problem I can live with, but it is one of the reasons I am starting to sell kits too! I'm going to post several pictures today, starting with the fire shots. Thanks for visiting, and stay safe out there! Goodbye from up the Chiliwist, Lisette

Well, it feels like a furnace outside today! Ironically, this is when we must use heat to preserve our food for winter. I am spraying water around all my critters to help cool the air. We are lucky today because there is a breeze, and that helps evaporative cooling. Evening will be here soon, and as soon as the sun hits the ridge, it starts cooling , it's magical, and one of the reasons we live in the mountains. I saw a large flock of turkeys this morning, headed for the alfalfa field I think. A few days ago they came here through the yard and ate a huge pile of grasshoppers. We have enough grasshoppers to share with the birds...I probably won't eat any grasshoppers myself. I would have to be VERY hungry to do so! One of the biggest negatives of eating bugs are the parasites they carry, and grasshoppers carry tapeworms, as well as other bad things. I used to adore crabs, but when I read years ago that they are basically big old water spiders, well, I lost my taste for them. I love spiders, but not to eat.(EVER!!!) Life really is a food chain, and I am glad we get to be on the top of the pyramid! I ended up with 20 half pint jars of jelly, it came out very well. I also made 3 half pint jars of Morrocan Style Salt Preserved Lemons, and they are exquisite! I have three jars for sale, $20. each. These salt preserved lemons are incredibly versatile, and I add additional zest and thin peels as well as the lemons themselves, which I cut into fairly small pieces. One little chunk will flavor an entire chicken, rubbed on the bird. Just the smell when you open the jar makes my mouth water! It would be outrageous rubbed around the rim of a marguerita glass, or a glass of tomato juice, mmm,mmm! I tried it for the first time in a pot of blackeyed peas, and it was amazing. I also adore split pea soup, and it adds a brilliance and polished flavor to the peas. Just a little dab will do. I am still working on a quart jar from two years ago, so when I decided to sell them I chose much smaller jars. I will be buying some tiny jars this week, just the right size for gift giving! I like to keep mine in the fridge, ready to grab. The jelly was extrordinarily clear this year, pretty as a ruby. I finished a bridal bouquet this morning, and it sure is pretty. The blended tea roses are very time consuming to make, because they are created one petal at a time. It takes several days to sculpt the petals, and my hands have to be totally clean because the ribbons are very pristine white for bridal bouquets. My hope is that they will be treasured for generations to come. Well, it's time to go and check on my critters again, I brought in my chicken, Pagan, to her living room pen. I get concerned when she starts panting from the heat! Everyone, please take care, and check on the elderly, the young, and the animals as often as you can. Good evening from up the Chiliwist, Lisette

What a beautiful day up the Chiliwist! Our heat spell has broken, and I can finally tend to my garden! During the hot times I simply water and harvest daily, but when it is lovely like today, I can weed and break new ground. I was very pleased to see how well the beets and potatoes are doing, and I have four or five kinds of squash going, and they are so good! I had so much squash day before yesterday that I cooked up some bacon, and cooked 4 kinds of squash together, it was so good! I had so much left over, I offered it to my wolves and dogs and they inhaled it! So what I can't dry or freeze I can share with my critters. My husband loves veggies raw, but he's pretty picky when it comes to cooked ones, but, I love them both ways. Last night I oven roasted fresh veggies with sea salt and a touch of canola oil, and they were very good. It was a mix of baby potatoes, beets, carrots, and squash, and also chicken drumettes, which is my husbands favorite. I also made a simple and yet gourmet dessert. I took fillo shells but a dab of my berry jelly, and a few freshly thawed raspberries and currants, and topped it off with a spoon of cool whip. It was very light but rich as well, and I will make more of those very soon! They were actually low calorie pastries, but with a depth of berry flavor . My husband had to go to the coast today to visit his parents, his father is having open heart surgery on tuesday, so a visit was called for. He said it went well, and that made me happy. Speaking of happy, last night we got a skype call from our daughter Silver, who is stationed in Cuba, and my darling little grandchildren sang songs for us! They sang "I'm a little teapot", and "Ittsy bittsy spider", and it was just adorable! They also sang a few songs which were a mystery but we loved them too! Skype is simply magical, and I can't believe how connected you can feel with your loved ones far away! It is a very strange time in the world right now, we have tools which can heal, and tools that can annihilate civilization. I want our world and our civilization to survive without killing each other. Why does it have to be so hard? Oh well, that is a subject for another day... Good evening to all from up the Chiliwist, Lisette

A few more pictures from my yard...

   My first batch of ring pillows are finished! I used pure white velvet, lace, and pure white silk ribbon, from China. It is such a pleasure to work with fine materials, like candy for your eyes... It is still hot here today, and the air is lightly smokey today (the smoke was really heavy yesterday), and the heat wave is beginning to break. I decided to save the jelly making for a few days, I don't want to heat the house up too much. I chose to blanch and dry a pile of zucchini, about five pounds of squash is condensed to one mason jar. I use an Excaliber dehydrator,( set up outside) mine is over 20 years old, my daughter Silver bought it at a yard sale about ten years ago, for 20 dollars. What a bargain! When this one dies, I will buy a new one, for sure. Yesterday, one of my nieces, Nicole gave birth to a baby boy! He was 8 lbs 11 ounces, and it was a C section birth, due to his large size. New life, beautiful and welcome. I am awaiting another order of beautiful colored ribbons, from my favorite shop, http://taylorscutaways.com , which is also where I buy a lot of my velvets and satins. I will begin a new project in the next few days, my first "Crazy for You" panel, a prepared panel ready to embellish, will be for sale. I work on my own actual crazy quilting when I have slow time. I'm going to post a few pictures today, a mix of subjects for your pleasure... Goodbye from up the Chiliwist, Lisette