おもちゃ (Toys)

三段の棚の一番上で、いたずらっ子顔を披露するココちゃん。

普段はあみちゃんがおもちゃを一つ一つ落として遊ぶのですが、

（通称「積み木崩し」）今日はココちゃん・・・

Cocoa looking mischievous on the top shelf.  

These toys are arranged for Ami's amusement, 

as she likes to bat at them one by one creating a mess for the humans.

Looks like it's Cocoa's turn today...

野菜色々 (Vegetables, etc.)

親株から枝を取って増やしたバジル、ミント、シソ。

ミントは親株が大きくなりすぎたので処分して子株で新たなスタート。

Small basil, mint and shiso plants grown from cuttings rooted in water.

The original mint plant got too big and woody in its container, so I got rid of it to start anew.

ミニトマト。　熟れると凄く甘い品種なんですが、皮が硬いです・・・

Cherry tomato - sweet million.   

It is very sweet when ripe, but the skin is pretty thick...

茄子。　後ろにバジルとリアトリス。

Eggplant with basil and liatris in the background.

ゴールデン・スクワッシュ。　

（やっと）気温が十分に高くなったので、大抵毎日収穫出来ます。

ズッキーニの黄色バージョンみたいで炒め物にもサラダにも重宝。糠漬けも・・・

Golden Squash - harvesting pretty much every day 

now that the temperature has gone up enough.

We use it for stir fries, salad and also gets pickled in "nuka" 

- a rice bran/salt mixture.

キュウリもやっとやる気を出しました。

ちょっと整枝してあげないと大変そう・・・

Cucumbers are also (finally) starting to produce and spread.

Looks like the vines needs a bit of training...

メトロポール (Metropol Bakery)

今日は久しぶりにメトロポールで朝ご飯。ここではスイーツも時々買いますが、大抵満足度高めです。
We had breakfast at  Metropol bakery today.  We get their sweets sometimes, and they usually earn high marks from us!

どらやき (Dorayaki)

３月頃どらやきを良く焼いていました。

本物とは違うカステラっぽい出来上がりだけど美味しかったです。

涼しくなって小豆を炊いたらまた焼こう・・・

I made these dorayaki a lot back in March.

Not exactly like the real thing - closer to castella, but good nonetheless.

I'll have to revisit when the weather is cooler and I can cook the azuki beans.

座布団カバー (Pillow Case)

Here's a pillow case I knitted earlier in the Spring.  Mocha is showing me how much he loves it by doing his trademark pose. 

春先に編んだ座布団カバー。　早速モカちゃん、お得意のポーズで気に入り様をアピール。

Ami also seems to like it fine...

あみちゃんも気に入ってくれた模様・・・

Am I the only one reminded of a space invader game...? 

見ているうちにだんだんインベーダーに見えてきました・・・

ピーナッツ豆腐 (Peanut Tofu)

最近のうちのブームです。　最初はごま豆腐。今回はピーナッツ豆腐を作ってみました。　寒天と豆乳さえあれば簡単に出来て、暑い夏には嬉しい一品です。
Our obsession of late is a simple "tofu" made of agar and soy milk.  I made tahini tofu the other day.  Today, I used unsweetened freshly ground peanut butter to flavor it.  Simple & cooling dish perfect for a hot summer day...

Felted Cat Bed （フェルトの猫ベッド）

I had been working on a felted cat bed off and on since early October, and it's finally done! (Pattern below) No striping as I wanted to use whatever yarns I had at home, which was basically ivory. These were wool yarns from 30+ years ago that my mom had, and I had been thinking of a good use for it. Turns out that I didn't have enough of it but was lucky enough to find similar yarn at a thrift store -- and a friend bought it for me! After a couple of hot/cold wash in the washer with detergent and blocking to dry, it's a functional cat bed that they all seem to love!

10月頭から暇を見てフェルトの猫ベッド作りに励んでいたのですが、先週やっと完成しました。（パターンのあるウエブサイトはこの下に。）母の家にあった30年もの（！）の毛糸をどうにか使いたかったので、シマシマではなくアイボリー1色。　少しだけ足りなかったので安く見つけた毛糸で補足。なかなかの猫ベッドが出来て満足です。お湯洗い／水すすぎのサイクルで二度洗いし、乾かす事二日。3猫にも認められる猫ベッドになりました。

I started to crochet the cat bed, and Ami and Mocha came to keep my company. 

猫ベッドの編み始め。　あみちゃんとモカがつきあってくれました。

I had to take a break after a while, but the two kept going... 

疲れたので人間は一休み。　でも二人はそのまま続行・・・

I'm done crocheting! 

編み終わりました！

Cocoa thinks it's her playground... 

ココちゃん、最初は遊び場と勘違い・・・

She's kicking it around. 

猫キックも入れています。

Taking a break after all the excitement. 

ちょっと興奮を鎮めています。

Zzzz... 

うとうと・・・

Cocoa comes to check it out after it's been felted and dried. 

フェルトして乾かした後、再度ココちゃんチェックが入ります。

She spins around so fast I can't even capture her... 

目にも止まらぬ早さでぐるぐる回ったかと思うと・・・

...and she starts to groom. 

急に座ってグルーミング。

I think she understood that it's a bed and not a playground. 

遊び場では無くベッドだとご理解いただけた様です。

I think she loves the new bed! 

気に入っていただけた様です！

Mocha finally notices something new in the room.

(Notice the bottom isn't quite flat. Since I used a yarn I had, the gauge wasn't quite right. But it still sits fine!) 

やっと気付いたモカちゃん。 

（底がちょっと波打っています。　あり合わせの毛糸だったのでゲージが少々違った様です。　でもちゃんと座るのでオッケー。）

I think the two of them can fit in... 

一緒に入れそうですが・・・

But better with me in it alone, says Mocha. 

でもやっぱり僕１人の方がいいね。

After "experiencing" the new cat bed, Cocoa takes a nap on my lap. She still prefers heated bed (i.e. human lap) to a regular cat bed. 

ひとしきりベッドを堪能した後は人間のお膝でお昼ね。　やっぱりあったかいお膝の方が好きみたいですね。

Mocha on Y's lap - with cover! 

モカちゃんは「ゆ」のお膝の上でお布団までかけてお昼寝です。

After the two of them are done checking it out, Ami comes out to check it out herself. 

やっと二人が満足したのであみちゃんがチェックしに。

It's quite nice, she says. 

なかなかね。

Little does she know that Cocoa is targeting her. 

そんなあみちゃんを密かに狙うココちゃん。

She notices Cocoa's gaze. 

ココちゃんの視線をキャッチ。

...and hides. ・・・ 

そして隠れました。

Or so she thinks... 

自分では隠れているつもりなんでしょうが・・・

Pattern can be found here

Just in case the link doesn't work anymore, here is the pattern copied from the above site.

Size before felting: 23" diameter, 6" high

Size after felting: 15" diameter, 4" high

2 balls Cascade 220 (440 yards) of each color

I used #7808 (purple) and #9470 (pink) and had some left over

K hook

Don't turn at the end of rounds (except for the very last round).

To join rounds: Sl st in first stitch of round, ch 1 and begin new round in same stitch as joining.

To change colors: In the last hdc of round before color change, yo, insert hook in stitch, yo and pull through, yo with new color and complete stitch and join round. For sc rounds, insert hook in last st of round, yo and pull through, yo with new color and complete stitch and join round.

To make front post single crochet (fpsc): Insert hook from front to back and around post of sc in previous row and complete stitch.

With pink, make adjustable ring or ch3 and join to make ring.

1. Make 10 hdcs in ring. Join. (10)

2. 2 hdcs in each st around. Join. (20)

3. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in next st. Repeat around. Join (30)

4. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 2 stitches. Repeat around. Join (40)

5. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 3 stitches. Repeat around. Join (50)

Change to purple

6. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 4 stitches. Repeat around. Join (60)

7. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 5 stitches. Repeat around. Join (70)

8. 1 hdc in each stitch around. Join (70)

9. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 6 stitches. Repeat around. Join (80)

Change to pink

10. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 7 stitches. Repeat around. Join (90)

11. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 8 stitches. Repeat around. Join (100)

12. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 9 stitches. Repeat around. Join (110)

13. 1 hdc in each stitch around. Join (110)

Change to purple

14. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 10 stitches. Repeat around. Join (120)

15. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 11 stitches. Repeat around. Join (130)

16. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 12 stitches. Repeat around. Join (140)

17. 1 hdc in each stitch around. Join (140)

Change to pink

18. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 13 stitches. Repeat around. Join (150)

19. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 14 stitches. Repeat around. Join (160)

20. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 15 stitches. Repeat around. Join (170)

21. 1 hdc in each stitch around. Join (170)

Change to purple

22. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 16 stitches. Repeat around. Join (180)

23. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 17 stitches. Repeat around. Join (190)

24. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 18 stitches. Repeat around. Join (200)

25. 1 hdc in each stitch around. Join (200)

Change to pink

26. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 19 stitches. Repeat around. Join (210)

27. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 20 stitches. Repeat around. Join (220)

28. 2 hdcs in first st, 1 hdc in each of next 21 stitches. Repeat around. Join (230)

29. 1 hdc in each stitch around. Join (230)

Change to purple

30. 1 sc in each stitch around. Join (230)

31. 1 fpsc in each sc around. Join (230)

32-35. 1 sc in each stitch around. Join (230)

Change to pink

36-40. 1 sc in each stitch around. Join (230)

Change to purple

41-45. 1 sc in each stitch around. Join (230)

Change to pink

46-50. 1 sc in each stitch around. Join (230)

Change to purple

51-55. 1 sc in each stitch around. Join (230)

56. Turn. Sl st in each stitch around. Join (230)

Originally posted on MooiWorld.

Posted in Miscellaneous | Reflection under Cats & Stuff...