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Labels: Blessings Friday
We’re traveling again soon; we have three trips scheduled—one each for October, November, and December. A post on Maya Made last week reminded me about the necessity of including a first aid kit in our packing.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
I’m not a doctor and, therefore, am not making recommendations on what should be in your first aid kit. Maya Made’s choices gave me a good list to consider; from that I made my own shopping list to supplement what’s already in my medicine cabinet.
Posted by Junie Moon at 6:27 AM 7 comments Links to this post
I love massages, but they’re not cheap. So I’ve figured out a way to get what I need in a more affordable way. My husband and I decided we’ll learn some massage techniques and then treat each other.
To supplement regular massages for our aching muscles and joints, a hot stone massage makes for a blissful experience. I’ve collected what we need--basalt river rocks, a book about massage techniques, and a stone warmer.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
You need approximately 33 stones: 8 large, 6 medium, 10 small, and 8 very small ones to put between your toes. You can buy the rocks or find them in a riverbed. My sister and I drove up to Apache Junction on Monday and spent the day floating down the Salt River on inner tubes to escape Arizona’s heat. There were gazillions of lovely smooth river stones—gifts of nature.
You can buy a stone warmer at beauty supply stores, but you can also just use an old crock-pot, just be careful you can control the temperature appropriately. Put in your stones and water, making sure the stones are completely submerged, but don’t overfill your pot. In addition to stones, the warmer heats mud, algae and other massage products for varying type therapies.
We’re going to give our new do-it-yourself tools a try this weekend. First I’ll make a bottle of homemade massage oil to use with a recipe found at Pioneer Thinking for a massage oil called “Muscular Aches Pain”.
ResourcesA Step-By-Step Guide To The Hot Stone Massage at LifeScript
Posted by Junie Moon at 5:55 AM 9 comments Links to this post
Labels: health
The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.
I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of making these two types of cookies. The homemade marshmallow component was made in advance to save me some time; otherwise, all went pretty quickly.
Mallows (Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies)
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
Prep Time: 10 min
Inactive Prep Time: 5 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Serves: about 2 dozen cookies
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Labels: cooking
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Posted by Junie Moon at 12:02 AM 12 comments Links to this post
Labels: gifts
My project for July’s Craft:along 2009 hosted by Africankelli and Finnyknits is done. I chose the Summer Shimmer Scarf knitting project using Jen’s Purl Bee pattern as featured on Craftzine. 
The yarn used in Jen’s project is a beautiful silk/bamboo called Lorna’s Laces found here ($43.50/skein). I substituted the much-less costly Naturally Caron.com’s Spa silky soft bamboo-blend yarn ($3.74/skein) in the color Ocean Spray found at Jo-Ann’s Fabrics.
From comments left on Finny’s blog, I realized care would be needed with the pattern although it is pretty straightforward. A quick test showed what the problem is—at least for me.
Instructions for the left leaning bias call for: Row 1: K1, * ssk, yo; rep from * to last stitch, end k1.
My count kept being off, so I switched the pattern instruction to this: Row 1: K1, *yo, ssk, rep from * to last stitch, end k1.
The minor revision worked and the scarf knitted up like a dream.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
My new scarf is 7-feet long. The zig-zag lace trellis pattern echoes fishnet which makes this summer scarf perfect for a mermaid.
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What kind of a gift would a man really enjoy receiving? I figure time out for just doing guy things. So that’s what I gave my husband and a bunch of his buddies on Saturday—golf in the morning and poker that night in honor of my husband’s birthday which is actually today.
After stealthy covert ops for the last couple of weeks, I actually managed to surprise him with all this. Surreptitious planning is hard to do when the honoree lives with you.
Surprise Golf Outing
Getting my husband to the golf course without his knowing where we were going was fairly easy with a bit of convoluted subterfuge on my part. Hiding the golf clubs and goodie bags were more problematic, but I managed.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
The invitation sent out along with directions to the golf course attached on the back with a golf tee.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
Each player’s goodie bag (seen in the photo held by my husband): a homemade blueberry muffin (I was baking at 5 a.m.), carton of Goldfish crackers, and the following....
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
… a golf ball sleeve made out of cardstock using an idea from Vale Designs. I used her template to trace out the boxes on heavy-weight cardstock. Coolers with ice and bottled water were loaded on the carts (with the golf club’s permission)—survival tools for Arizona’s heat. After their game, Jim (one of my husband's golf buddies) kindly treated the group to lunch which bought me some more prep time for the poker event.
Surprise Poker Night
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
The front and back of the poker party invitation I made using cardstock and then laminating. The end result looks like a real playing card, just oversized (each is 4½-by-6½ inches).
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
Cardstock sleeves held the invitation. On the outside is a poker chip label I made identifying the guest.
My oblivious husband played on his computer upstairs while I started “his” dinner: grilled rib-eye steaks, baked potatoes, giant Portobello mushrooms with onions, salad, and lobsters. The guys showed up promptly at 6—surprise! Let’s eat.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
I had the guys eat outside by the pool, so I could get the poker stuff ready. Until they came inside, my husband still didn’t know about the poker game. Here’s my recipe for the Portobello mushrooms, I just made it up on the fly, so to speak:
Portobello Mushrooms and Onions
Pre-heat oven to 350°
In a sauté pan, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the sliced onions, and the garlic. Sauté until the onions are translucent and just about to get golden brown in color.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Brush the foil with olive oil and then do the same with each side of the mushrooms. Place the mushrooms gill-side up on the baking sheet.
Top each mushroom with the onion mixture. Bake at 350° for approximately 20 minutes.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
The cake I made while everyone was on the golf course in the morning came out of hiding after dinner before I escaped for the evening. It was meant to look like two stacked poker chips but merely looked strange. Ah well, it was delicious. The filling between the two layers is a mixture of blueberries (my husband’s favorite) and whipped cream.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
Guys don’t care about things like take-home favor bags, but my final offering was left by the front door for each of them when leaving at the end of the night. I used glassine bags with a card thank-you label I made, and sealed with a paper poker chip personalized with each player’s name.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
Inside is a laminated cheat sheet made using a free printable poker hand rankings from here and a dice poker game bought at the game store at Park Mall.
It’s amazing that all the guys involved, their wives, and I managed to keep all the preparations and arrangements secret from my husband. My husband was thrilled with his day and that’s what it’s all about.
Posted by Junie Moon at 7:15 AM 19 comments Links to this post
We’ve all seen gnomes, stuffed rabbits, Flat Stanley, and other assorted interesting characters in photos documenting their adventures all over the world.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved. Park Patty
I have Park Patty, a National Parks Ranger doll purchased last year at one of the national parks. Park Patty is not really her official name; she was named by my husband. She visits every national park we explore and poses for photos in front of park entrance signs and inside visitor centers where we get our National Parks Passport booklet stamped.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved. Park Patty at the Grand Canyon
Here she’s being held by two rangers at the Grand Canyon National Park. The dolls are not available in every park’s gift shop and I was surprised by the enthusiastic interest of rangers at the Grand Canyon and some other large parks. They all wanted to hold her, even the men, and examine her little ranger badge and binoculars. It’s a lot of fun.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved. Park Patty at Zion
Here she is at Zion National Park, resting after an exhaustive hike. There are more pictures of this tiny traveling ranger, but I won’t bore you with them all. I may, however, have to start a photo album just for Park Patty’s adventures.
Posted by Junie Moon at 6:43 AM 11 comments Links to this post
Labels: Blessings Friday
All the cooking, partying, and vacationing going on this summer are not helping me meet my health goal set at the beginning of the year. It’s my own fault. More active movement is needed in my life, plain and simple.
Since I’m not young and am definitely out of any semblance of shape, walking is a good activity with which to start. Following advice from Active.com, I’m trying their beginner Summer Walking Program.
Summer is deadly here in Tucson, so I’ll have to go out very early in the morning. That’s a good idea anyway as there’s something motivating about a fresh new day ahead.

While picking up a prescription at Albertson’s recently, I saw a walking program card on their counter as a giveaway which contains a number of helpful tips. Click on each picture to enlarge and print if you’d like to use their program.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved (from September 2007 post)
I can track my progress with this fitness calendar printed from HP Creative Studio.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
Here’s another great tool recently featured on One Pretty Thing, a free printable Healthy Living Goals List created by Baca Creative.
I’ve got to figure out how to keep this stuff on my computer to avoid actually handling paper considering my allergy issue. Some things can’t be avoided, I guess.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved
An active person is supposed to be able to walk 10,000 steps per day. Doesn’t that sound daunting? Sitting here writing about it isn’t going to get me anywhere, so I’m clipping on my little pedometer and heading out the door.
Resources
Posted by Junie Moon at 6:04 AM 11 comments Links to this post
Posted by Junie Moon at 8:16 AM 12 comments Links to this post
Labels: books, organizing
My camera gets a lot of usage, not only for blogging purposes but also for camera club challenges and just plain fun. Over the weekend I decided it’s time for a new camera strap.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved. 2007 Camera Strap
I’ve been using a strap bought on Etsy in 2007. Two new Nikons later, I’ve still been using this strap. It was starting to look tired and quite well-worn.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved. Old OpTech Camera Strap
This old OpTech strap has been stored in our closet for a few years. My husband has one, too. We like them because they have great stretchy, cushiony qualities easing neck strain. I sacrificed this comfort when deciding to use the pretty strap with the Amy Butler fabric in the first photo. My neck now requires I make a better choice, so I retrieved my old OpTech for a bit of revitalization.
© Dub Scroggin, All Rights Reserved. June's Revitalized OpTech Camera Strap
While there are numerous tutorials for making camera straps (see Resources), I simply measured the length and width of the OpTech strap, allowed for a ¼-inch seam, the stretch factor, and turning under the ends. I used leftover fabric to cut the resulting measurements. Next came sewing a seam, turning the resultant tube right-side out, and pressing it so the seam runs down the middle of one side. Just like magic, there I was with a new strap cover which slid over the OpTech strap. The ends are tucked into the clip thingies on each side. It can be removed for washing, if necessary. If I get tired of the fabric, a new strap can easily be made.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved. Dub's Revitalized OpTech Camera Strap
After seeing my new strap, my husband asked for one. I led him to the Sacred Stash Mountain and let him pick out fabric. He chose a blue batik leaf print and I made his new strap. It was kind of fun, the two of us taking pictures of each other’s camera.
Resources
The following blogs offer tutorials for making camera straps:
Posted by Junie Moon at 5:55 AM 9 comments Links to this post
Labels: photography, sewing
I promised a few folks I would share free book resources discovered recently for the Kindle. While it’s easy to find e-books for sale, I’m seeking free books as much as possible to mitigate the expense of the Kindle 2.
After searching Amazon.com, the public library (Pima County, AZ) was the next source checked. I spoke with the librarian about the availability of e-books the library system. He said they do offer free book downloads but not in Kindle format—right now, but the format is coming. Click here for an article about libraries loaning out Kindles—maybe there’s a library near you offering a chance to check out a Kindle for free.
Authors are discovering the marketing power inherent in e-books. Some offer free copies of their new book, especially if it’s the first in a series. The point is to hook you on their first book and hopefully you’ll buy the next and so on. But you have to be quick as these are usually limited time offers. For example, Paranoia by Joseph Finder is free until Sept. 18.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved. Kindle 2
Available for free is a plethora of classics, urban fantasy, science fiction, and romance novels. As for the latter, I just cannot read a book citing “throbbing members and pulsating orbs” with any degree of seriousness. However, Harlequin is celebrating their 60th year by offering free PDF versions of a few romances until October, such as Price of Passion by Susan Napier.
Book offers are available in a number of different e-reader formats, such as the Mobipocket/Kindle, Sony Reader, Iliad, and PDF. You select which download version you prefer. For the Kindle 2, I either download via Amazon.com's magical Whispernet or directly to a “Kindle” folder created on my laptop. For the latter, I simply plug in my Kindle’s USB and copy the book over to my Kindle, easy.
Here are just a very few of the many free e-books available:
Posted by Junie Moon at 7:35 AM 9 comments Links to this post
Labels: books
Posted by Junie Moon at 5:08 AM 3 comments Links to this post
Labels: Blessings Friday
My husband bought the new Kindle: Amazon's 6" Wireless Reading Device (Latest Generation) as one of my anniversary gifts. A notice from Amazon.com today tells me it’s on sale about $60 cheaper than what my husband paid for it. Anyway, I read so voraciously, taking stacks of books on trips via plane or cruise ship is a problem. Inevitably I run out, but the Kindle will solve that.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Kindle 2 Bag
Naturally, I felt it incumbent upon me to make a padded bag for my new Kindle 2 so I can drop it in my purse and not worry about the screen getting scratched.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Kindle 2 Bag Inside
Fabrics used were leftover from my laptop sleeve project.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Kindle 2 Bag Pocket
The bag has an exterior pocket on the back to hold the charging cord and earphones. It’s interfaced and fully lined, no seams show whatsoever. I’m kind of tickled about working out that last detail.
Kindle 2 Case Sewing Tutorial
Click here for a printer-friendly PDF version.
Supplies
Fabric Cutting
NOTE: in cutting your fabrics, the top of your case is 6 ½-inches wide. Measure and cut your main (exterior) fabric carefully for both the front and back if there’s a design element you want to feature; see following diagrams:
Cut all three fabrics as follows (you should have three pieces for each section):
Directions
Step 1
Iron the fusible fleece interfacing to the wrong side of each of the lining pieces for the back and pocket, and the wrong side of the main (exterior) front fabric piece.
Step 2
Take the long back lining fabric piece, place it on your work table with the right-side facing up and the interfacing wrong-side down. Center and pin the male (rough) side of your Velcro ½-inch from one 6 ½-inch-wide edge on the right-side of the lining panel. Zig-zag around all four sides of the Velcro. Set aside for now.
Step 3
With the wrong side of the long back main fabric facing up, fold over the top 2 inches toward and press. You should now have 2 inches of the right-side of the fabric facing you and the rest is the fabric’s wrong-side. This end will serve as part of your fold-over flap and the pressed line will mark a sewing start/stop point for the next step. Open up the folded flap for the next step.
Step 4
Place the back lining piece right-side up on your work table (the wrong-side of the Velcro should be at your top). Layer the back main fabric section wrong-side up on top of the lining piece (the pocket section should be at the bottom). Pin, matching the top and two sides. Starting on one side at the point where you pressed the fold-over seam, stitch a ¼-inch seam from the point where you pressed the fold-over seam, around the top of the bag (the Velcro end), and up the other side, stopping at the pressed fold-over seam marking. Clip into the fabric at the juncture of the pressed seam marker and the finished seam. Set aside for now.
Step 5
Position the pocket lining piece right-side up (interfacing side wrong-side down) on your work table. Place the pocket main fabric wrong-side up on top of the lining piece. Pin and sew a ¼-inch seam along one long side (6 ½-inches). Flip lining fabric over the main fabric piece and press. Top-stitch along the seamed top edge of the pocket (optional).
Step 6
With the long back main piece made in Step 4 placed right-side up on your work table, lay the finished pocket piece made in Step 5 with the main fabric facing right-side up on one bottom end of your back lining section. Baste close to edge around one side, across the bottom, and up the other side, leaving the top-stitched top piece of the pocket open. Your pocket will now look like the following:
Step 7
Take the short front main fabric piece, place it on your work table right-side facing up and interfacing wrong-side down. Center and pin the female (soft) side of your Velcro 1½-inches from one 6 ½-inch-wide edge on the right-side of top of the lining panel. Zig-zag around all four sides of the Velcro.
Step 8
Layer the short front sections in the following way: front main fabric piece right-side up with the interface side down, and then layer the front lining piece wrong-side up. Pin the top in place and stitch a ¼-inch seam along the top only. Flip the lining over, press, and top-stitch close to the folded edge (top-stitching is optional). Open up the main fabric and lining and iron open. Set aside for now.
Step 9
Now take your finished long section and lay it right-side up with the lining to one side and the extra flap section folded towards the lining fabric.
On top of this panel, place the short section so that the two lining panels match. Pin the lining into place and sew a ¼-inch seam from the notch on one side, down the side, around the bottom of the bag, and up the other side, stopping at the second notch. Be sure to back-stitch at both ends and also watch out not to catch the flap fold-over piece in your stitching.
Step 10
Now move to the opposite end and work on the lining by matching up the ends and side, moving the fold-over flap piece toward the main fabric section. Pin the lining edges into place. Starting at the notch made earlier, sew a ¼-inch seam from down the side of the lining section, stopping at the end and back-stitching. Do not sew the short end of the lining as that is what you’ll use to turn the bag right-side out. Turn the bag around a bit and sew up the other side of the lining, stopping at the notch and back-stitching at each end. Be careful not to catch the flap fold-over piece in your stitching.
Step 11
Turn bag inside out through the opening on the short end of the lining and also push out the flap area. If there are any seams you missed near the flap fold-over, you can quickly slip-stitch those small areas.
Step 12
To close the end of the lining section, turn under ¼-inch, press, and slip-stitch close to the edge. Push lining into bag and press. You’re done.
Enjoy and read lots of books!
Please do not use my tutorial to make items for commercial sale.
Posted by Junie Moon at 8:34 AM 22 comments Links to this post
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Labels: photography, summer
We’re back from our summer road trip, the laundry is done, and the stack of mail has been whittled down. We’ve given a first pass through our more than 4,000 photos, but I’ll only share a few.
Grand Canyon
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Grand Canyon
This is actually our fourth trip to the Grand Canyon. It impresses us each and every visit. We stayed at Maswik Lodge in a tiny cabin on the rim.
Glen Canyon Dam/Lake Powell
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Glen Canyon Dam
The Glen Canyon Dam and its reservoir Lake Powell (behind the dam) are part of the Colorado River Storage Project for the Upper Colorado Basin.
Antelope Canyon
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Antelope Canyon Light Beam
We took a pre-arranged photography tour led by a Navajo guide through Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona. It is a Navajo Tribal Park. The famous light beams inside this slot canyon occur mid-day during April to September.
Bryce Canyon
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Bryce Amphitheater Vista Point
This is just one part of the Bryce Amphitheater view; the following Paiute Indian legend explains the rock formations here:
“Before there were any Indians, the Legend People, To-when-an-ung-wa, lived in that place. There were many of them. They were of many kinds—birds, animals, lizards, and such things—but they looked like people…For some reason, the Legend People in that place were bad. Because they were bad, Coyote turned them all into rocks. You can see them in that place now; all turned into rocks; some standing in rows, some sitting down, some holding on to others. You can see their faces, with paint on them just as they were before they became rocks…”
Red Rock Canyon
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Red Rock Canyon
Red Rock Canyon is in Utah's Dixie National Forest. There are also three Red Rock Canyons in Nevada, one being very near Las Vegas.
Zion National Park
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Majestic Zion
Originally named Mukuntuweap National Monument by President William Taft in 1909, the name was later changed to Zion—an ancient Hebrew word meaning a place of refuge or sanctuary. This park truly fits its name.
Valley of Fire State Park
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: The Arch at Valley of Fire State Park
Valley of Fire is Nevada's oldest state park and an unplanned detour we took on our drive to Las Vegas from Zion. The eroded sandstone formations and sand dunes are more than 150 million years old. In sunlight, the valley does look like it is on fire due to the rich red color of the rocks.
Las Vegas
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: View of Las Vegas from Paris’ Eiffel Tower
Las Vegas at night as viewed from the observation tower of the Eiffel Tower where we stayed at the Paris Casino Hotel for a couple of nights. You can go up to the observation deck day or at night—we opted for the latter.
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Tubing the Lazy River
Here’s my sister Connie floating around Mandalay Bay Beach’s Lazy River which moves at 2½ miles per hour as it circumnavigates the beach/pool areas and through waterfalls. Connie and her husband met us in Las Vegas for this leg of our trip, arranging a Cabana Day experience for us on the Lazy River as well as a massage in our cabana as our anniversary gift. Total bliss!
Hoover Dam/Lake Mead
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam straddles the Nevada/Arizona border. Dub and I looked for the famous line painted across the road marking the border of Arizona/Nevada as seen in the movies, but it’s no longer there. We suspect it proved too much of a photo opportunity for visitors, thus impacting traffic flow.
London Bridge
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: London Bridge
London Bridge in Lake Havasu, AZ is #10 on the Travel Channel’s World’s Top 10 Bridges list. Built in the 1820s for walking and traveling by horse and buggy over the River Thames, the bridge became too small to accommodate London’s traffic so the city put it up for auction. It was bought for $2.5 million in 1968 by Robert McCulloch, founder of Lake Havasu City. The bridge took three years to make its way, piece by piece, to Arizona.
Lake Havasu City
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Sunset at Lake Havasu
Lake Havasu offers the requisite summer experiences: camping, swimming, boating, jet skis, dinner/casino cruises (it’s very near the California border), charters, and other assorted water adventures. We ate lunch at Barley’s Brothers Grill and Brewery, a micro-brewery at one end of London Bridge. The afternoon was spent swimming and relaxing, and then we wandered around taking sunset photos.
Tucson’s Fourth of July Fireworks
© June Scroggin, All Rights Reserved: Tucson Fireworks
We planned our road trip to end July 3 as July 4 is our wedding anniversary and we wanted to celebrate it in Tucson for the first time (having always been off on some travel adventure elsewhere in previous years). We packed a picnic supper and ventured forth to watch the fireworks. My fireworks photos came out looking like abstract flowers which I think is fun.
Other Places Visited
Posted by Junie Moon at 7:30 AM 23 comments Links to this post
Labels: photography, summer, travel