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The jasmine whisperer

The trellis has been painted, the wall fountain rehung (and brought back to life with a new pump) and the jasmine has been rewoven into the new lattice.

Before the painters came Rick painstakingly cut the trellis away from the jasmine so the painters could paint behind the trellis. We didn't want to just hack out the jasmine and start over again so he cut the trellis into little bits and he carefully disengaged the jasmine and piled it up in the flower bed.

About 15 years ago Rick made me two gated archways in our backyard of our old house. One archway had a Sombruiel rose growing over it and the other one had a wisteria. I remarked to him how it was amazing that the rose and wistera perfectly wove themselves through the lattice. I could picture them growing during the night and sinuously weaving their way through the boards. He just laughed at me and informed me *he* was weaving them through the lattice.

He did the same thing with the jasmine when we first moved to this house and he just spent the morning redoing it on the new trellis. The jasmine is a little droopy looking but a few days of sunshine and watering and it will perk right back up again. It smells heavenly when you walk up to the front door.

Paint’s dry!

The house is all freshly painted. I am quite pleased with how it turned out. The work went quickly, especially for me since I just watched three guys sweat in the 97 degree heat for three and half days, while I stayed out of their way.

So to refresh your memory the house color started out an orangy tan. Here you can see the original color along with a swatch of the new color. The new color is called "Tumbled Stone" by Kelly Moore. The trim is "Swiss Coffee." The old color is called "Ugly."

Here's a good before and after –

Exhibit A – Before:

Exhibit B – After:

Here is a picture of the front of the house – It's kind of a boring 70's ranch style. When the roses and hydrangeas are blooming out front it looks prettier. Rick trimmed everything back before the painters came so the plants along the house were out of the way as much as possible.

We have a little bit of work still to do by the front door. We had to cut out a trellis that our jasmine was growing on and it's sitting in a heap at the moment. We need to get a new trellis, painted it, mount it and then string the jasmine back up. Then we'll put the wall fountain back up and we'll be back in business.

Here's a closer look – you can't see where the jasmine and wall fountain go in this picture though – it is on the left hand wall in the entry way, opposite the window. Oh I guess we need to put the urns back too. They go in front of the two long windows on either side of the front door. My black "Kitty Kitty" door.

Lazy days

I am totally enamored with this book ~ Lazy Days and Beach Blankets. The pictures alone are worth the price of the book but it's also full of great sounding recipes.

The premise is dining al fresco and the recipes reflect the sort of flavorful food you would associate with a gourmet picnic; rich flavors, easy to prepare, portable, lots of fresh ingredients.

The book makes me want to invite eight of my dearest friends to join me out on the back lawn for stuffed sandwiches and icy cold gazpacho served in pretty glasses.

Or maybe just a romantic dinner for two out on the deck. With fresh flowers, candlelight and perfectly grilled chicken served with panzanella made with crusty Italian bread and garden ripe tomatoes.

I highly, highly recommend this book. Just reading it and looking at all the gorgeous pictures was relaxing. I'm ready for Summer to start in ernest.

Scones

Oh Tuesdays after a Monday off are hard, aren't they? I have time for a quick post before, as my sister longingly says, I have a house full of sweaty men.

We are having the house painted. On Friday they painted the baseboards and crown molding. Now I can say our kitchen remodel is finally complete. It only took three and half years. Rome wasn't built in a day, and all that….

Yesterday they power-washed the outside in preparation for painting. They are due to arrive any minute.

I have always hated the color of our house. We've lived here for almost eight years and it has never ever grown on me. It's a warm tan with brown trim. The tan is vaguely orangish in certain light. We are painting it a warm grey/taupe color with cream trim. The front door will be black. The very best thing is the name of the door color. Kitty Kitty. I love that.

I took some before pictures and this weekend I'll take some afters.

I think this post is supposed to be about scones. Rick's favorite cookie is the Snickerdoodle. My friend Karen sent me a recipe for Snickerdoodle scones.

They are good but I find they are teeny bit sweet. They definitely have that Snickerdoodle quality to them. I have a simple scone recipe that I've been making for a few years that has never failed me and I think I'll stick to that one and make proper Snickerdoodle cookies when the need arises (I sure left that open to interpretation, didn't I? Rick is going to think there is a need all the time…).

Whoops – sweaty men are here. Gotta run!

Calaveras County

Yesterday Rick and I spent the afternoon with my niece Sara and her husband Ryan. We had a lovely lunch and a did a little wine tasting. I forget that there are some really adorable little towns in California. So used to the bustle of the Bay Area and Sacramento.

We had lunch in a town called Murphys. There was some event going on so the little town was teeming with people walking up and down the main street.

Calaveras and nearby Amador county have a ton of wineries. Murphys has a number of tasting rooms so that one needs to just park their car at one end of the street and work their way down to the other, rather than have to drive from winery to winery to go wine tasting.

We popped into Lavender Ridge to sample some wines and cheeses. My favorite wine of the day was a Cotes du Calaveras Blanc. A white blend of Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne grapes, all Rhône varietals (look Sara! I was paying attention). Nice and light – it might be my new favorite Summer wine. Actually I had a glass with lunch before we went into the tasting room so I might have been biased.

It was a perfect afternoon. There is so much to see in our State that is just a short drive away. No need for over planning or packing. Just hop in the car and drive the beautiful back roads.

I'm trying really hard not to bring up the obvious – the fact that I rarely post these days. Oops. There I brought it up. It has to get old, reading my pleas for forgiveness and my multitude of excuses. Let it suffice to say that my huge work project is wrapping up, I'm taking the first two weeks of June off and things should improve around here. I may even have time for some creative endeavors.

If not you can throw me in the Murphys Pokey.

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