Good Eats in Tacoma :-)

So, if you thought of Tacoma at all before, you probably just thought of it as that city south of Seattle or north of Olympia, not really a destination, no art, no sights, no places to hang out & enjoy a delicious meal, among interesting people or in an interesting atmosphere. Yes, Seattle & Olympia both can boast of great attractions & destinations, art & delicious food, but you probably already knew that. Tacoma has some hidden gems waiting to be discovered by anyone willing to stop & have a look around. Today I thought I'd talk about some of the fun & tasty destinations to check out around the historic shipping port known as Tacoma, Washington.
Let's start with ‘breakfast‘ treats:

Legendary Doughnuts: Amazing, delicious doughnuts in decadent flavors to start your morning off right (or hey, who says it has to be morning food. Treat yourself to a bit of decadence, whenever you feel like it). Buy a dozen & save some for later or cut them into smaller pieces & create a sampler, so you don't miss any of the scrumptious flavors, you'll be tempted to eat them all at once! 6th Ave Tacoma, WA

Inside Legendary Doughnuts

Sasquatch Cinnamon Rolls: Gigantic cinnamon rolls (& little ones too), in different fun flavors every day, macaroons  of many sizes & flavors, delicious lefsa (my favorite), plus many other treats. You never know exactly what you'll find here, but you can be sure it will be delicious. There's plenty of vintage memorabilia & silliness to look at & keep your attention, while you enjoy your treats & the company. They open a little later in the morning, but it's worth the wait or you can take your treats home & try to save them for the morning. Freighthouse Square, Tacoma, WA (bring cash, they can not currently accept credit cards)

Inside Sasquatch

Little Jerry's:  A little retro diner based on Seinfeld. Serves breakfast & lunch, American fare with cute Seinfeld related names, Seinfeld memorabilia & episodes of Seinfeld streaming throughout the day. You can sit inside or out at a little diner style table or you can sit on bar stools at the counter. There's also a small annex that serves espresso. In Fern Hill, Tacoma, WA

At the counter in Little Jerry's

Olive Branch Cafe: Serves breakfast, lunch & pastries (sandwiches & cafe fare) in a beautiful, quiet atmosphere.  Great place for a business lunch. New location inside Freighthouse Square, Tacoma, WA

One of the main attractions in the Olive Branch Cafe is the tea cabinet , from which you can  pick  from a huge selection of teas to be perfectly brewed in one of these ingenious mugs. Sit & relax in this lovely place, watch the trains go by & enjoy something new or something more classic from their fine selection of teas, chat with the friendly staff or book a tea party for a special occasions & events.

Not a complete list, just a small sampling of what Tacoma has to offer, in historic & interesting little areas around town. Go out & explore, let me know what gems you find. Next time: Lunch (my favorite meal). SAM

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays, everyone! No matter what holiday you may celebrate, I wish you a peaceful & joyful time :-)

Peace, SAM

Zombies! A Review ;)

Zombies!

Ghost Town Jerome, AZ by Shelley McElhiney *

Feed by Mira Grant

What was the book about? Zombies :-) Well, not really. Like any good zombie movie/show/book this novel was more about the people than the zombies: society, politics, media, emotions.
Did you like or dislike it? For the most part, I liked it. Who doesn't love zombies, right? Ok, maybe it's just me...I'm a huge fan of socio-political discussion, so that didn't hurt, either. Yes, I know, that makes me a huge nerd. When this book was written, bloggers were enjoying a huge upswing in readers, commenters & followers, but that seems to have fallen off in the past year or so. Maybe it's just a lull, before another upswing, but it made for a difficult 'suspension of disbelief.' There's still a definite trend toward more of an on-line presence in terms of media, but will bloggers be a main source of news?
Who was your favorite character? I always have a hard time with this. I liked the three main characters as a team, but I don't have a favorite single character. Shaun is kind of a surfer boy, daredevil, but he also has an intelligence & an emotional side. Buffy is like a future media queen, but she's also quite intelligent & an emotional writer. George is more level headed & cool than either of them, but shares a deep bond with her brother as well as an appreciation for Buffy's poetic side.
What was your favorite part? Maybe the end where there is a hint of societal rebirth, while things are still coming apart.
What was your least favorite? There was a sadness whenever a major character was lost, even though it was probably necessary to the story, as a whole
Have you read any other books by this author? No, I don't think I have
Would you read any others because of this book? I will probably check out some of the others in this series.
Would you change anything about the book? I might edit it to shorten it a bit or break it up into more parts. It was quite a read at 571 pp
Would you recommend this book to other readers? Yes, to anyone who is into zombie media or who like me, likes exploring socio-political topics in an enjoyable read.
What surprised you the most about the book? The research into media, technology & the on-line world. These topics weren't just skimmed & played an important role in the book.
Would you ask the author a question if you could? Maybe
What would you ask? I would probably ask if they still thought that the blogging world would play such a big role, in the future.
Did you like the book from the beginning or did it take you a while to get into it? It took a while to get into (but not too long). At first I thought it would be just another adventure type book.
Were there any situations or characters in the book that you identified with? I think I identified with all three of the main characters in some way.
How? George's caution & coolness, Buffy's poetry & Shaun's sense of humor, the way they worked together, the inner intelligence & emotion.
What is the significance of the title? Feed is what zombies do, but more than that it's a media feed & even a social & political feed.
Would you have given the book a different title? No
If yes, what is your title? I can't think of a better, more succinct title.

Glasses So I Can See by Shelley McElhiney *

Have you read this book? What did you think? What have you been reading lately?

*All rights reserved. Share post, with credit, please contact me for any other desired usage

Poison Pumpkins, Oh My!

Poison Pumpkins!

So, recently I took part in a swap challenge to make a Halloween/Fall related embroidered felt ornament. I thought for awhile & wasn't sure what to make, but after a bit of thought about Halloween & fall, pumpkins & apples, skeletons & skulls I came up with the idea of a 'poison pumpkin' & today, I thought I'd share how you can make one, too :)

Wool felt (stem), wool yarn scrap (for hanging the ornament), pumpkin orange felt fabric (found at  a local Goodwill, stuffing, scrap of vintage fabric, embroidery thread in candy corn colors, sugar skull embroidery pattern from Sublime Stitching (awesome pattern or you can draw your own)

What you will need:
Felt in orange & green
Yarn or Ribbon
Plain Fabric (light colors or white work best)
Thread in candy corn colors
Stuffing for plushies
Embroidery Pattern for skull (this one is from Sublime Stitching there are others or you can draw your own
Bowl (mine was about 6" across) & pencil for tracing
Scissors, pins

Step one: Iron your skull design onto the plain fabric, according to package directions, or draw your own. Embroider in your choice of colors & stitches (I liked the idea of candy corn colors on a sugar skull. My son once made a sugar skull with candy corn colors at a local event & I thought of this as I worked). Cut around the design. I used pinking sheers (some my grandmother had) to prevent fraying of the raw edges.

Step two: Cut two circles out of the orange felt. I used a bowl, large enough to accommodate the sugar skull design, plus enough for a small seam allowance & extra so the pumpkin wouldn't be completely covered by the design, to trace the circles onto the felt.

Step three: Cut out one stem piece. I just free-formed the shape, from some memory. You could make it less curved, as some pumpkins have more of a stump than an actual stem. Leave enough at the bottom for a small 1/4" seam or so.

Step four: Stitch the sugar skull embroidered piece onto one of your felt circles. I hand stitched everything, but you could also machine stitch your pumpkin.

Step five: Cut shallow ) ( into the top & bottom of your pumpkin pieces. These don't have to be perfect, but they should be the same on both pieces, so do both pieces at the same time.

Step six: Sew your stem piece to the top of one of the pumpkin pieces. Mine is sewn to the inside of the ) with a 1/4" seam, leaving most of the stem sticking out. Add a piece of yarn or ribbon for hanging.

Step seven: Sew the 'circles' together, using a 1/4" seam, leaving an inch or so left open to add the stuffing. I've simply left the edges showing, so there is no need for turning & the sugar skull is already on the outside.

Step eight: Add the stuffing. I've stuffed this loosely, for a lighter & more 'squishy' feel, but you can add more, if you want more a 'stuffie' kind of thing. Sew the opening together.

Step nine:  Add hand stitched curved lines, for a pumpkin effect. I've pulled my stitches a bit, to make the sections created by the lines puff out, like on a pumpkin. If you leave out the stitching, you get more of an apple shape, than a pumpkin (which would be cute in red felt, for a poison apple ;)

Have fun! Come back & show us what you've made. SAM

Fixing Old Jeans & Repurposing Stuff

So , for some reason, both my husband and son have decided that their jeans should have giant holes in them. Maybe they didn't decide this, but the holes have appeared anyway. I could have just slapped giant patches on them or maybe they should have been thrown out...I'm kind of liking the current ripped jeans thing (that's been a current thing, many times in the past) & I like the idea of giving things new lives, so I decided to add patches in a new/old way.

When I was a child & my jeans or my brother's pants needed patching, my grandmother would iron the patches in so they were on the inside facing out (usually before the fabric was able to fray in the wash). This made them less obvious, virtually invisible, if done right, than the traditional patches thing on the outside, particulary when we were able to match the paches to the fabric color. I still had some of the outside type of patches, but these were emboidered patches, added for fashion statements & not often used to cover actual tears, especially once I found that they weren't as sturdy as the real thing.
I decided to use my grandmother's technique on my husband & son's jeans in a way that strengthens the jeans & keeps some of the great texture of the frayed fabric, while adding a new textural detail of its own.

Starting with some bits of vintage 60's denim fabric that I had lying around, I pinned the fabric to the inside of the pants & basted around the edges to hold to fabric on straight while I stitched. Any fabric could be used, you could even use lace or velvet, for a pretty contrast. Since these jeans belonged to my husband & son & they were signifcantly damaged, I decided to use more of a matching fabric. If you're trying to strengthen the area, as well as patch the hole/s, I'd suggest matching the fabric to the weight of the pants fabric. If you want to use lace on heavier pants, with large holes, you could try backing it with another fabric first, even if that fabric is sheer, for extra strength & to help keep the lace from tearing, when the pants are worn.

Once the patch had been basted to the inside of the fabric, I started stitching, back & forth across the patched area. This is amost like weaving extra stability into the area. The stitches don't have to be perfect or perfectly even. These patches look great stitched with a more 'primitive' look, it matches perfectly with the frayed edges of the fabric. I used a blue thread (also something vintage that I've had lying around forever), that is similar, but doesn't quite match the patch or the original jean fabric, to make the stitches stand out a bit, for texture, but not too much (for my husband & son). You could use a completely contrasting thread, to add another layer of texture to your design. Sewing the stitches in more than one direction, crossing over each other, strengthens the area, along with adding a design element.
I like how these patches turned out. It takes a while to do patches this way & I used up the better part of a day for each pair of jeans, but I think it's worth the effort. If you don't like hand stitching (I find it kind of relaxing), you could try machine stitching. The effect would be a little different, less primitive, but still interesting. Maybe you could even use different stitches or embroider a pattern over everything...

So, in the end I've saved four things from the trash heap: two pairs of jeans, some fabric scraps & an old spool of thread, plus came up with a technique I think I'll use again & in the process, made someting cool out of old stuff. I hope my husband & son appreciate them, but at least I like them :) SAM

Tacoma Summer: Every Day is Exactly the Same, Seven Days

Tacoma summer: Every day is exactly the same, seven days

Center Photo: Wright Park, Tacoma, WA, Outside Photos: Tacoma, WA

Day 1. Sunny, Warm, Light Clouds
Day 2. Sunny, Warm, Light Clouds
Day 3. Sunny, Warm, Light Clouds
Day 4. Sunny, Warm, Light Clouds
Day 5. Sunny, Warm, Light Clouds
Day 6. Sunny, Warm, Light Clouds
Day 7. Sunny, Warm, Light Clouds

So, yes, almost exactly the same...

http://www.unknownmami.com/category/sundays-in-my-city

Be Yourself

Journal Pages: Animal prompt, Repurposed anmal images from magazines, vintage "Black Beauty" pages (from a damaged copy) & ink in a handmade journal with repurposed magazine pages (journal by L. Florig-Beck)

Be yourself

Release your inner spirit
Be an animal
For awhile,
For as long as you want:
Embrace perfection
Fly to the sun
Dance under the moon
Stretch to the stars
Embrace imperfection
Be an animal, whatever animal you want
For awhile,
For as long as you need...SAM 8/14

*Image, journal pages & words by Shelley McElhiney, all rights reserved.