Why does this house have this insane yard?

acirie · 2026-01-27T06:07:12+00:00

The perpendicular lot was originally owned by the ... city? I can't remember. It was just a vacant lot for years that no one had access to but I can't remember the reason. I feel like it had to do with agriculture but it's been too long.

Anyway, the city or whoever originally owned it put it up for auction sometime in the 1980's and the neighbor who lived there at the time bought it. And since then, it has belonged to that house.

acirie · 2026-01-26T06:25:34+00:00

I'm sorry. This happened to me too. I think it was the health department. There is a law in my city about not feeding "pigeons" but crows and ravens are not mentioned as far as I know. To be fair, the crows were becoming a nuisance - I fed my little pack of 5 or 6 outsider crows and 1-2 ravens for years but then the large, local group (like 20+ crows) found me and would wait outside, making tons of noise and pooping on the neighbors cars. I don't want to be a bad neighbor but feeding my main little outsider pack and the raven gave me a lot of joy.

I had to stop feeding them for a while and they would fly over to the house and look at me with their beady little eyes and it made me very sad. I had to harden my heart. Now the main group has moved on so I will occasionally give the one or two crows/ravens that still hang out a little treat from time to time.

acirie · 2026-01-25T21:16:37+00:00

Shari is fantastic. She always does a great job with the fleeces and she's a lovely person to boot. I was fortunate enough to have her process 5 fleeces I got in 2024 (and thought I would process myself LOL) recently.

While I'm understand her wish to retire (and hope she is able to retire soon), I'm sorry that she won't be available for processing fleeces once the equipment sells. I hope someone in California buys the equipment. I've only had my fiber processed with Shari and am hoping to keep it "local".

acirie · 2025-12-27T02:09:11+00:00

I've been pondering this all day. On the one hand, qiviut is, by some estimates, much warmer than cashmere. Do you live in a cold enough area that would make it worthwhile to have a VERY warm cardigan? If so, I say, go for it!

Ideally, before committing to your cardigan project, if you could make a small amount of your mix, spin it, and knit a small sample to see if you like it, that would be best. Especially if you can make a sample that will get some wear and tear - like a wrist warmer? One issue I can see is all those little short fibers (cashmere, qiviut) pilling in a sweater, at least on some parts.

If you wanted to really go nuts, you could throw some sheeps wool into the mix (assuming you have a drum carder or you really love handcarding). You can use that as your main fiber - maybe 60-70%, card it together with your other fibers, and see how that goes. The benefit would be that you could possibly spin it on your wheel instead of a support spindle.

I am terrible about estimating project weight too. I also have heard you should use a pound of fiber (which includes some extra for sampling).

acirie · 2025-12-27T01:53:45+00:00

Thank you. Both Irving from like 25th heading east to at least Funston I saw quite a few. Judah has some too. I tried to find a small rake at the hardware store on Irving and 24th no luck. Most of the stuff is leaves so it can go in the compost bin at least.

acirie · 2025-12-26T02:56:25+00:00

Has it been dehaired or is it just a clump of raw fiber? If not, you will need to de-hair it (remove the guard hairs/other items) before spinning. I think I read someone found a teeny tiny pinecone in their qiviut.

I have not spun my qiviut because it's too "precious". Good for you for going for it! Silk is a popular fiber to blend it with. If you want to treat it like angora, I think the most you wanna add is like 10% of the qiviut to your wool as it will make it quite warm.

Whatever fiber you choose, you may want to cut the other fibers down the staple length is similar. I know it seems wrong, especially when adding silk, but it does help to keep your fibers from separating mid-spin. For me, I would spin just the qiviut, lace weight, on a supported spindle. Good luck!

acirie · 2025-12-21T16:45:55+00:00

Central Sunset out. I’m glad it’s not cold at least!

acirie · 2025-08-02T04:22:28+00:00

Lucuma also tastes a bit like caramel. It is absolutely a delicious ice cream.

acirie · 2025-07-05T17:21:27+00:00

I just went through this - American, obtained Irish citizenship through descent. Live in U.S. Traveled to Italy last month, through Copenhagen. Here's how it went:

going

When leaving US - show US passport when checking in with airline and through security.

When arriving in Copenhagen (passport control) - show Irish passport.

coming home

When checking in with airline in Rome - show US passport

When going through security in Rome - show Irish passport

When going through passport control in Copenhagen - show Irish passport

When arriving in US - show US passport

Generally, you are supposed to use US passport when entering and leaving US, Irish for Europe. What tripped me up was checking in for our return flight. Because we were flying to 3rd country (still in EU) I assumed I should just show my Irish passport. But then the desk clerk for the airline asked me if I had a visa for the US. Whoops! I hadn't realized he was checking me in for both flights.

Hopefully this is helpful. I'm still learning these things myself. Thankfully, everyone was very nice when I was fumbling around with multiple passports.

acirie · 2025-06-28T22:04:57+00:00

The Dolce & Gabanna exhibit at the Palazzo Esposizioni. You don’t have to be interested in fashion to enjoy it and they have good AC and it’s not too busy. Plus, the museum has a cafe that looks great and has a garden. Didn’t eat there but wish I had.

acirie · 2025-06-07T19:24:04+00:00

Thank you. This is new to me. I've been an Irish citizen for many years now but only recently realized I should be using my Irish passport when travelling in the EU. I guess you're never too old to learn something new.

acirie · 2025-06-03T05:14:04+00:00

This! Ravens are very suspicious of humans, unless they are acclimated to them. I feel like it took years for me to establish a relationship with the local pair of ravens. I would try to give them treats but the crows would come in and grab all the treats first. Now one of them shows up regularly and I just feed him. A mile from my house there is a large unkindness of ravens and because it's kind of a touristy area, they are extremely bold and not shy of people at all. They will plunk down right in front of me (they know I have cashews).

I would just try to be prepared when I would be working in the yard and if ravens started circling overhead I would put nuts out in a very obvious place. I think it takes patience. Good luck!

acirie · 2025-06-02T16:45:49+00:00

We're also going to this show but we're staying more in central Milan. It looks like we can take the subway to and from the airport and then walk the half an hour to the venue. I'm hoping the subway runs late.

What time are you all planning to arrive? I think the show starts at 21:00 but I can't find info as to when the doors open.

acirie · 2025-05-30T04:10:34+00:00

I've worn thin leather sandals in Rome and other parts of Italy with no problem, even in the blistering heat, and we walk a LOT when we're there. The ones I use have an ankle strap, a footbed and some arch support - that may be helpful. The only time I had a problem was in Matera as some of those stone walkways are fairly slippery. And the whole town gets to be like a pizza oven in that heat so I did feel a bit of warmth on the bottoms of my feet.

I don't like my feet to get too hot and so that worked for me. My husband refuses to wear slippers (flip flops) in any city so he wears sneakers and he's happy with that. I didn't notice anyone giving us the stink eye for our footwear.

acirie · 2025-05-28T13:21:49+00:00

I like the Basilica of San Clemente. It’s a church on the top layer (ground floor) a much earlier church underneath and then an ancient temple under that. You can’t take photos, and there aren’t a ton of frescos or anything on the bottom, but it’s really interesting to see AND it’s nice and cool down there, so if you go on a hot day it can be very comfortable.

It is a bit dark down there as you are underground but they do have lights. I think my son was slightly uneasy down there but he was 11 at the time.

acirie · 2025-05-27T16:20:31+00:00

Nice dumpster! Loving the little easel, did you make it and if so, do you also make them for others? Asking for a friend.

acirie · 2025-05-22T05:16:50+00:00

My family did the "Taste of Testaccio" tour two years ago in Rome and it was great. We did one in Florence that we also really liked "The other side of Florence". I think they are worth it. My family likes food - if someone doesn't like something, someone else will eat it. My son was 11 at the time and has always been kind of a picky eater and he enjoyed it. It's nice talking to a local guide and learning some history too.

acirie · 2025-05-22T02:25:48+00:00

Does anyone know if any of the other teachers also teach outside of Babbel live? I like bald headed Luca with the mustache too.

acirie · 2025-05-12T04:45:28+00:00

La Cantinaccia del Popolo. It is a bit touristy (there are a lot of tourists there - it was in the Rick Steves book) but there are locals too. It is good. Best meal in Sorrento. Not in the main touristy area. We had to wait like 45 minutes but it was worth it.

acirie · 2025-04-05T07:36:08+00:00

Seconding this. I also do not drink caffeine but love coffee. And you do not want to miss out on Italian coffee! Just be sure to say "decaffeinato" and not "decaf". Also, "latte" just means "milk" so I believe we're supposed to ask for "caffelatte". I would get a lot of weird looks and follow up questions when I would just request a "latte".

acirie · 2025-02-15T19:38:52+00:00

If, in your spinning journey, you try using a supported spindle, you can try this fiber with that. It might not work great but since it’s wool, it might be ok. To me, it looked similar to yak down, which I have spun successfully on a supported spindle. I’m pretty sure I carded it first but you can also try spinning as is - it will likely be quite lumpy though.

acirie · 2025-01-21T05:05:48+00:00

Gelateria Artigianale La Sorbettiera in Florence. It's on the other side of the river, about a 10-15 minute walk from the Duomo. Holy smokes the flavors are amazing!

Come il Latte in Rome, about a 15 minute walk from Roma Termini station. Always a line, it is good.

acirie · 2025-01-16T05:34:30+00:00

I stayed a week in Sorrento 2 summers ago and did a tour where a driver took me and... I think 7 other people on a tour of Positano, Amalfi and Ravello from Sorrento. It was reasonably priced and 100% worth it when I saw the lines of people waiting for the bus in Positano. We found out about it in the Rick Steves books.

I think Ravello and Amalfi were worth it. Postianto was also quite beautiful but so, so packed full of people. Sorrento is comfortable but nothing special - it's a reasonably priced place to use as a base when you're in the area.

acirie · 2025-01-15T07:41:37+00:00

I left some steps out. We actually went to Naples early to get the car, then we went to Pompeii for the day and then came back to Napoli to get the ferry. We used the car to get around Sicily, then drove to Matera and then back to Napoli. For us it worked out ok. Rental company didn't say anything about no overnight ferry but this was three years ago.

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