Blanket Start and Snake Flowers

Happy Friday everyone!  I've enjoyed the beginning of my Lucy at Attic24 blog Dahlia CAL!  It's always a challenge starting a new pattern but I've got it memorized so should be good to the end.  I'm on my 5th color and love how this is looking so far.  

But lets start at the beginning... when I'm doing my starting chain I used to lose count and have to start over on the count.. many times.  SO.. I got some stitch markers and add one to each 10 I chained.  She has you use a bigger size hook for the chain and 1st row which is brilliant as sometimes the first row is tight and isn't elastic.. this way it is perfect.

The 3rd row is where you begin with the "spike stitch".  One thing to learn doing Lucy's designs is she uses British crochet terms and her "treble crochet" is the US double crochet.  

I love the ombre look of the dark red, true red, then orange red.

Then orange, bright yellow and light yellow.  After this row we'll be merging into some pinks.  

More adventures in one-pot meals.  This one was a real winner!  We created it up so I am going to call it Country BBQ Chicken.  We layered it this way - rub the inside of the pot with olive oil, chicken thighs on the bottom, drizzled with BBQ sauce, then whole tiny potatoes, sliced carrots, zucchini and celery, asparagus, mushrooms and 2 slices of bacon, cut in half.  Salt, pepper and garlic powder sprinkled on the chicken, and a bit of salt and pepper on the veg above it.  In the oven at 450 deg. F for 45 minutes.  

The juices from all of this made a sauce that we spooned over the top.  

I volunteered at Multnomah Falls with my sister Denise yesterday and we had lots of fun conversations with visitors from all over the globe.  This group was fun, I recognized an Aussie accent from the man on the right and I asked is he was from there and he was.  We told him how sorry we were for the devastating fires in his country and the massive loss of animals, the count is now at half a billion to as much as a billion deaths.  So very sad.  We noticed that they were using our park stamps in their real passports - which was fun.  When I told them I designed the art in the stamp they asked if they could take my photo.  LOL!  So, I then asked if I could take their photo and put it on my blog.  So, meet - from left, from Canada, Rav and Annie, and from Australia, Celine and Jeremy.  Then I gave them my blog address so they can see this post.  :-)

Last night the flower on my Snake Plant (Sansiveria) was at its peak so here is a photo.  Dayle smelled it and said it's a slight sweet aroma.

I wonder how many years until this blooms again?  

I am going to crochet today and see how the new colors will look at the Dahlia Blanket..  what are your plans today and the weekend?  Have a good one whatever it is!  ((hugs)), Teresa :-)