Under a Blue Moon

Life is just a…

I think cherries are the quintessential Summer fruit. Oh I suppose you could put in an argument for watermelon but when I was young and had no responsibilities Summer was strolling out into the backyard and climbing the ever present ladder up into the cherry tree and picking a colander full. A quick rinse with the garden hose and I was ready to lay in the hammock and read my latest Nancy Drew book until it got too hot and sticky to stay out there.

We had the most prolific cherry tree. I would pick and eat so many each day that I would swear off them for all eternity or until the next morning when I would climb back up the ladder. And if our tree slacked off on production then we would always wander across the street to the Flaherty's house where all the dreamy Flaherty brothers lived (there may have been an older sister too but she didn't hold the same thrall over me as the boys did). They had a big trampoline in their backyard and a huge cherry tree of their own. If you asked politely Mrs. Flaherty would allow you to jump on the trampoline and pick her cherries.

I kind of got the impression she was used to girls knocking on her door with the subterfuge of trampoline jumping. All the while ignoring the craning of necks to look around her, in case there was a boy sprawled out in her living room.

One of Rick's coworkers gave him a big basket of cherries yesterday. While we would be content to just eat them straight out of the basket I decided to try my hand at cherry muffins. I was hoping I could use my little bundt cake pans but the batter is a little too rustic for the bundt shape to really come through. I will say they smell fabulous. Lovely fresh cherry muffins.

I just don't think you could do that with watermelon.

Frame revisted

Everyone remember this frame? I finally finished painting it. I stuck with the red.

My son gave me a framed antique seed packet for Mother's Day. It is one of my favorite flowers, sweet peas, but the frame it came in was a rather rustic affair and not the least bit fitting to the delicate sweetness of the sweet pea.

So I finished painting the frame and put the seed packet into its new home. I love the juxtaposition of the grandeur of the frame against the simple charm of the packet.

Okay now I think I need to go cut out some fabric or I am going to be mighty red-faced come August 1st.

New project

Is it a good idea to start a new project when one should be cracking on an already started (if by started we mean has repeatedly taken the fabrics out of their storage box and petted them and not much else) project? A project one has COMMITTED to doing with a deadline? Live on the edge, I say.

I got an email from my friend Connie (oooh am I ever being presumptious since we haven't met in real life - only over email. But you can never have too many friends, right?) asking me about a certain embroidery pattern that I had on this blog last year.

I had totally forgotten about it. I pulled it out of my complex and effecient pattern storage system (brown paper bag) and took a look at it. The pattern is called "He Loves Me" and is from Lace Tales.

I am going to make another pillow and use the palest pastel shades. Have a nice frothy white ruffle around it. I do like having an embroidery project going on.

He Loves Me,
He Loves Me Not
It Matters Little,
I'm What He's Got

Curiouser and curiouser

I have been working on this bit of altered art for a few months. I wanted to make an Alice in Wonderland themed collage for my nephew who is a huge fan of Lewis Carrol.

As with most of my projects I learn as I go and this was no exception. The lesson was a little longer than most as I kept putting it away when it wasn't totally cooperating.

I started with a microscope slide holder (ooooh – the possibilities are endless….) and I knew I wanted to have a chess board vibe. Hence the black and red theme.

I'm working on my soldering skills (non-existent). In fact this afternoon I was working on the slides, hoping that I could add a soldered edge to them. I have the copper tape. I have the solder. I have the soldering iron. But it turns out one needs flux to get it all come together. At first I painted over the copper tape with black acrylic hoping it would give an aged effect. The copper coming through just wasn't cutting it though. So I peeled off the copper tape and found some electical tape to bind off the slides.

When Rick came home he noted with some alarm the electical tape out on the counter. And then noticed the soldering iron. I told him not to turn on any lights while he was showering, just to be on the safe side.

I do love toying with him.

My nephew is hard at work at Cal Poly, working on his Masters. I am going to send this to him and hope that it adds a little levity to his day and remind him that life isn't all tsch and algorithms.

"We're all mad here."

Paint

We have a big, blank expanse of wall in our kitchen eating area. I was toying with the idea of big chalkboard with a fancy gilded frame but that seemed a little too Pottery Barn circa 1998. I've been keeping my eye out for an oversized print or poster that would work in the space but most of the oversized ones tend to be of the vintage Cinzano ilk. A little bolder and more graphic than is our style.

See? That is one big, blank wall.

I miss those white chairs too. We were just caring for them while my neice was getting settled into her adult life. She's settled now and my her chairs are now in So. California.

A couple of weeks ago I was in Homegoods, just browsing and I found three pressed metal decorative square thingies. The color was completely wrong but I never let that stop me. That's what paint is for. Forgive the blurry picture, I was over excited about my find.

A little primer, a little paint and there you have it. Excellent way to break up a big wall. All for less than $45.

Thank goodness for the internet

Weeeeeee ~ Typepad is all different. This should be fun. I composed an entire post and went to do a final edit on a picture and it crashed my browser and I lost everything. And now my pictures and text keep posting all wonky. I don't think I like this. Someone may be resistant to change….

Did you all see the picture of my backyard on the last Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion?

Okay so not really my garden but it should be. It's how I picture my backyard to look, right down to the scattered rose petals.

I love everything about it and I just poured over the article. Most of the article in on the interior of the house (which is lovely) but I wanted to see more of the garden and particularly the table setting.

I am totally coveting the stemware on the table. Unfortunately the product guide doesn't give any information on them

So I got out my trusty google and searched away.

I found these glasses at Ballard Design. The shape is right and I love the short stem (great for tossing into the dishwasher) but I'm not sure how I feel about insects on my stemware. I love bees in person but maybe not on something I am going to be pressing against my lips.

It's a tie between the next two – I keep going back and forth. I love the etching on the Sur La Table glasses below. The shape isn't as appealing to me as the Ballard Design ones (which have a flatter bottom to the bowl part of the glass).

But the etching on the last glass, from Pierre Deux , is a little more delicate. At the moment they are my favorite. Come on by and we'll sit under the pergola sipping pink lemonade and smelling the roses.

Speaking of glasses – I made PW's Pots de Creme mainly because I thought they looked so pretty served in the wine and champagne glasses. I modified the recipe a bit – using scalded half and half rather than coffee (since I'm not a coffee drinker and didn't have any in the house) and I used less chocolate because someone might have gotten into the bag last night and eaten some.

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