A Shaky Start to Today...

Good morning, Oaxaca! We had an interesting start to today: a 6.4 magnitude earthquake in Veracruz made it to us this morning, at 5:46 AM. So much for setting the alarm for 6:00. I guess now I know why I see so many of these:

Yup, those are my stylishly clad feet in that photo. I have discovered that these are the best shoes I have brought with me. Not only do I not have to worry about losing them in one of the sneaky sidewalk holes (seriously... these are ALL OVER), they protect my feet from the nasty mosquitoes. The mosquitoes are so insane here (it is currently the rainy season in Oaxaca) that I have actually already mastered the Spanish word for mosquito. Are you ready? Here it is: "Mosquito". Yup. I am a rockstar.

So I did manage to get some more pictures last night while I was out scavenging food. I found a fantastic little place a little over half a mile from my hotel, that was down a really quaint street. One side of the street was lined with shops and houses with the prettiest windows and geraniums. I apologize for the quality of the photos... it was dark and my phone I was using for the pictures is old as dirt.

I also love the colors of the buildings.

On the other side of the street was a thick wall (maybe 3-4 feet thick) built out of the green stone that is all over down here. The wall had archways all along it.

Some held doorways to homes.

Some were archways to alleys and other roads.

And some held courtyards. For part of the road, there appeared to be a very large house behind the wall, with a cactus garden growing on top, but it was hard to tell because it was a little dark and the wall is a lot taller than me. :)

But in the end, this quaint little cobblestoned road led me to this: Los Tres Conchitos (Carnitas), y uno copa de vino tinto. La comida era muy buena!

It will be interesting to see what the rest of today holds... Hope you all have a wonderful day!

I'm In Oaxaca This Week!

¡Hola, from Oaxaca! I am here this week for my day job... you know, that thing I do when I am not cooking, quilting, stitching and playing tennis.

The city of Oaxaca is about 300 miles South of Mexico City, and is the capital of the state Oaxaca. It is in the mountains, about 5100 feet above sea level, and was founded in 1532!

My flight arrived on Sunday morning, and since my day job doesn't kick in until Monday, I spent some time exploring the town around my hotel.

This is Niños Heroes, the road outside my hotel. They were having a marathon the morning I showed up, so there were lots of runners on the road!

This is one of the roads and walls featuring the green stone that is indigenous to this area.

There are lots of these small plazas and parks around...

This one is on Calle Macedonio Alcala, which I was strolling along on my way to find the Santo Domingo de Guzman church.

 I encountered a street fair with lots of artisans showing their wares...

And I finally found the cathedral! This church was started in 1555 and finished in 1566.

The square in front of the church housed some pretty amazing plants... and I love the trees in the background.

I showed up in time for the afternoon services, and they were beautiful. I don't speak Spanish, so I really have no idea what was said... but I really enjoyed it anyway!

The ceilings were pretty amazing.

This is a brief history of the church... if you can read it. :)

And this is one of the private rooms dedicated to the Virgin.

 This is the back door. I would like a back door like that in my house. What do you think?

These pictures were taken from my hotel room. This is my view. :) The structure you see above is the Guelaguetza Auditorium. The marathon was finishing there, and there is a big cultural celebration there this week.

I will post more when I have a chance to enjoy more of the city!

A Work in Progress: Pattern Testing for Cora's Quilts new Diana Pattern

Hello everyone! If you are wondering why I have been so quiet lately, it is because I have way too many Works In Progress. I know... you are thinking "doesn't that mean you should be blogging more?"  But no. Not so much. Because then I would have to admit to all the unfinished projects I have, and that is no good. No good at all. :)

But here I am, fessing up to another one. I have been pattern testing for Cora's Quilts again. You know how I enjoy that! I am giving you just a super-tiny sneak peak, I won't even show you all the fabric yet, but you are going to LOVE this when I am done. You will. You just wait and see!

This one is called "Diana" and is now available on her pattern shop.

A Beautiful Day at Mt. Tabor

Mike and I spent an amazing day at Mt. Tabor with my sister and her family for a birthday recently, and I wanted to share with you. For those of you in the Portland, OR area, Mt. Tabor is a fantastic park in SE Portland, and also home to several of Portland's reservoirs. The views from the top are amazing, and they have a fantastic playground for the kids, too. There are several tennis courts available, and the cyclists and street luge-ers abound! I apologize for the quality of the photos, but these were all taken with my ancient iPhone, since I forgot my camera. :) Just another sign of getting older...

Truly impressive views to downtown Portland.

The boys, taking a brief rest after a crazy uphill climb. I did mention that it's called "Mt. Tabor", right?

Reney up a tree...

Orry as far up the tree as his little legs could get him.

The whole crew up a tree, even my sister!

For you fitness fanatics, there are some serious steps at Mt. Tabor. You can definitely get your workout on by running these!

Mike and Brigitta getting a core and triceps workout on the swings. Playgrounds are great exercise, you know!

The boys, practicing their driving skills. I am not sure why the tallest one is in the back, since the two driving are both too small to see over the steering wheels!

Mike on the seesaw with Enzo. Just for the record, this is an amazing squat workout when one party is significantly heavier than the other party.

But Enzo was certainly having a good time!

I recommend you check out Mt. Tabor if you have never been... a beautiful place to be in the next couple of weeks with our weather. :) Have a great day, everyone!

Spring Sampler Block #9 - Rambler

Hello everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. The weather here was phenomenal, and I got to spend the last few days playing a National Mother/Daughter tennis tournament with my Mom! We got taken to school a bit, but it is always a good time, and a huge privilege for me to be able to play with my mom. Some day in the future we won't be able to do this anymore, and that will make me really sad. So although we didn't win, I am super proud of her!

I also managed to get some sewing done this weekend: block #9 of the Spring Sampler quilt from Cora's Quilts. This block is called "Rambler" and has a few more flying geese to play with!

I got some more of those pinks in that I love, and just look how all the blocks have come together!

Now I just need to sew another 4 blocks, turn them on point, put the sashing in, baste, quilt, bind... and we're done! :) I can't wait to show you my progress in the next week or so!

Paleo Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Happy Friday, everyone! The sun is out here and it has been a beautiful couple of days in the Pacific Northwest. I haven't been spending as much time in the kitchen as I normally do because I have been out enjoying this wonderful weather, but I do have a recipe that I want to share with you that will allow you to get it in the oven, and then go sit outside in the sun until it is done! Wear sunscreen, of course. I highly encourage practicing safe sun-bathing.

So this recipe is a little spicy, from the serrano peppers, and a little sweet from the tomatoes and basil, and the combination is really nice... a traditional Italian flavor with a little kick at the end! This recipe is easy, comes together quickly, and the toughest part is tearing basil leaves. What more can you ask for? 

Paleo Sweet and Spicy Chicken

Ingredients:

Chicken thighs (8 equals about 2 lbs or so)

1 Pint of Cherry or Grape Tomatoes

2 Serrano Chilies, sliced

Fresh Basil Leaves

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Sea Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the chicken thighs in a 9x13 baking dish. Pour the tomatoes in an around them. Sprinkle the sliced chilies over the top of the chicken thighs. Tear up the basil leaves and sprinkle over the top. Drizzle the olive oil over everything, and think add salt and pepper to taste.

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes at 425 degrees.

The chilies and basil leaves turn dark, but the flavor is fantastic, so make sure you get plenty on your plate! This recipe could easily be adapted for a foil packet on the grill, or even in the crockpot. And I am sure you can experiment with the chilies for different flavors. For those of you who can eat cheese, this would be amazing with some whole milk mozzarella melted on it.

Spring Sampler Block #8

I am happy to share my bright new block for the Spring Sampler quilt-along with Cora's Quilts this week. It is the perfect week for a happy new block because it is really grey and crappy outside. Sorry, Mother Nature, but I calls it like I sees it. Grey. And Crappy.

  But see... here is a bright and happy quilt block to make the day seem less grey.

And I found a wrinkle in my makeshift design wall that needs ironing... I suppose I should take the design wall off the wall before attempting to iron that one out? The block isn't laying quite straight on the wall because of that pesky wrinkle. Sorry.

But here is the crew: all 8 blocks so far. One more to go to finish the wall-hanging size. But I am going for the bigger version, so I will be making some more blocks. Repeats of a couple of them using different fabrics... should be really pretty! Stay tuned for block 9... it should be coming out next week!