Meadowsweet Cottage

My Guideposts - Week81

2012-01-29T16:14:00.000-08:00

There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range cost and risks of comfortable in-action.

~John F. Kennedy

Every Silver Lining Has A Cloud

2012-01-25T22:46:00.000-08:00

It's true, y'know.

Beautiful warm sixty degree day with sunshine? The cloud is the complete lack of winter precipitation and a looming drought.

A freezer housing five assorted cartons of Ben and Jerry's (a gift from someone who didn't know my favorite)? I'm undecided if the cloud on this one is the five hundred gazillion calories involved or the birthday that involved a zero.

Anyway, you get the idea. It's too bad that the silver linings come with their own personal clouds, but they do.

There's lots of random smooching at our house and slow walks while holding hands. It's very nice. The cloud, however, is named non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

I have all day tomorrow off work. The cloud is that I'll be spending it with my better half while he has his first chemo treatment.

This isn't going to turn into a cancer blog but I wanted you all to know what's been going on. CT scans and biopsies and wishing we could get answers more quickly. Also holidays and laundry and brushing the dogs. A birthday, a bit of painting and some January decorating. A lot of blog drafts that aren't publishable yet due to overactive brainwaves on a totally unrelated subject.

I know. Some bloggers will use any excuse to explain why they haven't been posting as much as usual.

I'm stocking my Kindle with books to read and sorting through my projects for portable crafts--things to distract my mind and let me accomplish something productive when we're stuck in Doctorland.

Good vibes, positive thoughts and fervent prayers are all welcome!

Hugs,

My Guideposts - Week80

2012-01-22T21:48:00.000-08:00

Don’t wish away your days waiting for better ones ahead.

~Marjorie Ray Hinckley

Trying to enjoy the rain rather than wishing for snow. Trying to enjoy the soft grey clouds rather than wishing for more sunshine. Trying to enjoy sewing inside rather than wishing I could work in the garden.

I'm trying!

Hippo Birdies Two Me's...Again!

2012-01-17T06:59:00.000-08:00

Fun is...shopping yesterday with the Queen Mother for my birthday present.

I needed to trade in a sporty simple blue pullover (Christmas present) that was the clone of one I already had. There was nothing wrong with it--except that it was sporty, simple and I already had one similar.

I wanted something different. I was in a girly mood for something ruffled or rhinestoned. Something that was cute right this instant and would look completely dated in a couple of years.

Something not classic, not necessarily functional, maybe a little fun and artsy. I didn't care if it was cotton or wool or something completely synthetic. I wasn't waiting till I shed the ten extra pounds that are my perennial excuse of not buying something. It didn't even have to match anything else I own.

After trying on half of Macy's stock, I ended up finding a trendy little deep-chocolate sweater with ruffles on the collar and sleeve bottoms in the I.N.C. section.

Obviously this is the purple version and I'm not planning on wearing it with white slacks and a sequined top in our kindergarten. Can't imagine why.

And I look way better than this in mine. 'Cause I have attitude and I rock it.

The price tag said seventy dollars, yikes! Still...~~it was twenty-five percent off and the Queen Mother got another discount on top of that plus I returned the other top and I had a store credit~~ I totally deserved it.

A girl only has a birthday once a year!

And I'm not indulging in a birthday dessert this year. Not even a scoop of peanut butter cup ice cream to celebrate (I can get a bit focused when I'm serious about losing some inches and gaining muscle definition).

I'm looking forward to creating chic combos. Birthdays and new clothes are fun!

Somewhat older than last year, but definitely cuter,

Hot Off The Presses

2012-01-16T20:34:00.000-08:00

Dere pOgonip,

The frsh water is appericiated. Mostly we Lik the roosterz. We used them all up. Plees send mor.

Hope yu lik the eggz.

Cluckss,
Yor henz.

p.s. also we deemand suett and seeedz like yu giv the birdeez.

---------------------

It might have been twenty-two degrees outside this morning with fresh snow powdering the brick patio and icy pond, but one of these eggs was practically steaming in my hand it was so fresh!

I don't know what made the Bombshells change their mind, but they got a whole sunflower head and free range time in the sunshine as a reward.

I guess the soup pot will remain empty.

Happily,

My Guideposts - Week79

2012-01-15T21:29:00.000-08:00

To be astonished is one of the surest ways of not growing old too quickly.

~Collette

Perennially amazed,

p.s. Don't you love the threaded comments that Blogspot now allows? You rock, Blogger!

The Chicken with the Dragon Tattoo

2012-01-12T09:03:00.000-08:00

Chickens should not be allowed anywhere near computers. They are hackers! Who knew? The Bombshells must be hiding an iPad somewhere in their run and tapping into my wireless system. Is tapping even the right word? It's pathetic that my chickens are more computer savvy than I am. I think I now recognize Sophia's uncanny resemblance to Lisbeth Salander. Those eyes...brrrr.

This post was going to be titled Eggs-Stravagant Layers. One of my worst ideas. I can only surmise the Bombshells hacked my system, read about the Oregon and SoCal hens who aren't laying during these cold dark winter months and immediately decided to follow suit here in Nevada. Because I was getting close to an egg a day from each girl until I started bragging, er, drafting this post. You know how many eggs I've gotten in the past two days? Nada. I'd gotten used to having eggs magically appear. I was spoiled. I realize that now.

"What am I doing right? I wish I knew."

That's what I was stupid enough to type in my original post. I went on to wonder about why they were laying with only ten hours of light each day. I wondered if their devotion to laying last winter might be due to their youth and vigor. Maybe, like many females, the Bombshells didn't like me mentioning their age (I should have known better.) They're almost two--I wonder how old that is in chicken years?

I think my biggest mistake was the following paragraph:

"My best guess why we're getting winter eggs? I'm lucky to have a breed that channels all their energy into eggs. They are skinny females and all of them together wouldn't fill a soup pot, so they must be converting all that chicken chow right into lovely brown eggs. They were supposed to be Buff Orpingtons but turned out to be something like Red Comets. I'm not complaining. They may not have the Orpington good looks, but looks ain't everything!"

I can see how I might have accidentally hurt their feelings.

Actually I think I'm lucky that after reading that they didn't decide to lure me into their run and attack me like the little raptors they are.

Dear Carole-Amelia, Rita and Sophia,

My sincerest apologies. You are young and gorgeous. You lay the best eggs in the whole world. No one has ever loved their chickens more. What can I do to make it up to you?

Fresh organic veggies and leafy greens? Perrier water? More free range time daily? Sunnier dust baths? Heated nests? Swedish massages given by roosters?

Name your price. You have me at your mercy.

Humbly yours,

The former Number One in the Pecking Order

Any and all suggestions are welcome from the Blogosphere.

Desperately,

Party Girl: Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday

and Met Monday at BNOTP

My Inspiration Word for Twenty Twelve

2012-01-11T17:10:00.000-08:00

Focus: v. to direct toward a particular purpose or point ; to concentrate energy or attention.

synonyms: sharpen, concentrate.

It's a good goal for someone who likes to procrastinate, inevitably gets sidetracked because she's ruled by bursts of enthusiasm and sometimes fiddles around with minutiae instead of working on the important priorities. This is going to be an eventful year and I want no regrets to seep in.

Life can be as boggling as this image if I let it. I'm determined not to allow myself to over-think and get overwhelmed before I've even started.

I'm determined to live by the Four Agreements as well.

So far, so good.

***

I haven't actually hit the "publish" button yet on my inspiration word, but this is my kind of post. What a joy it is to be able to write and publish without having to wait for sunshine to take more photos, or scouring my Pinterest site to track down my inspiration, or work out the kinks in a project! If you think that sounds like five ~~stinkin'~~ unfinished posts that I've recently been working on are still in the draft stage, you're right. Hang in there--Picasa 1-2-3, Chickens in Winter, UFO's/PIG's/PhD's, January's Mantle and/or Thrift Store How-To's will be coming soon to a blog near you. Consider this a sneaky peeky preview!

In focus,

Sharing my word with the Blogosphere at Layla's place:

Effortless Tick Removal

2012-01-07T22:21:00.000-08:00

Let's list ticks among Kharma's least-favorite things about California, along with fleas and heartwork mosquitoes. January's neither flea nor mosquito season, but apparently the ticks are active since Kharma brought back a souvenir from our brief trip to see the in-laws.

The tick passed unnoticed at the vet visit just a day after we returned. The not-so-little bugger survived our nightly canine brushing (New Year's resolution #3) but thankfully not my sweetie's sharp eyes.

A quick Google search to ensure we removed it correctly turned up the improbable suggestion that we simple rub the body using a circular motion and the tick would disengage voluntarily. Given that no tweezers or pulling was required, we gave it a try.

Thirty seconds later. Bingo!

I know the entire tick was out because it was (shudder) crawling around in the jar afterwards just before I poured acetone over it. Simple alcohol would have worked, but I was in the mood for a bit of overkill (and an extended session of soapy handwashing.) Then we sent it to tick valhalla via burial at sea.

Here's the Instructables site complete with a video showing actual removal.

I'm so glad we live in the flea-free, tick-free, heartworm-free high desert! I love my in-laws but right now I'm happy we don't visit more often!

Kharma might disagree given the amount of petting she receives from G and G, the hot-and-cold running squirrels available for her entertainment and the half-acre of yard--fortunately border collies haven't figured out how to drive.

Yet.

The Four Agreements

2012-01-01T06:02:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

The last day of 2011 gave me a gift which dropped softly and unexpectedly into my lap at the perfect time.

1.Be impeccable with your Word.

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the Word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of the Word in the direction of Truth and Love.

2. Don't take anything personally.

Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream.

3. Don't make assumptions.

Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama.

4. Always do your best.

Your best is going to change from moment to moment. It will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Simply do your best and you'll never regret it.

~Don Miguel Ruiz

from The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom

More than a weekly guidepost. Perhaps a roadmap for the challenges 2012 is bringing my way? Anyway, a good start to this New Year.

Love, Peace, Blessings, Smiles,

Twenty-Eleven

2011-12-31T19:14:00.000-08:00

A year of roses blooming wildly, sweet kisses, wagging dog tales, an empty nest 2.0, painted furniture, blackboard paint, to-do lists, green leaves and blue skies, walks with friends, a camping trip, birthday parties, family reunions, fresh eggs, compost, sun-dried towels, smoothies, new sheets, health worries, visits, high school, inspiration, tweets, Facebook, airport runs, smiles, crazy weather, fireworks, fires, fresh starts and sad endings, quilt fabrics, new art, daydreams, nightmares, holding hands, disappointments, welcome surprises, fun, laughter.

The best of 2011? A tie between reconnecting with my cousins and knowing my BIL was going to recover.

The worst? Let's just say there are challenges ahead and we have our fingers crossed. But then, all of us are facing problems either large or small, all of the time. Some things I did right. Some times I dropped the ball. Next year I'll do better. I'm making plans already; I love a fresh slate!

Clink your glass to the year that's passing,
Cheers!

Coming Attractions

2011-12-30T14:34:00.000-08:00

These previews have been approved by the LSOGP:

Appropriate for all Audiences.

Coming soon to a place near you (unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere).

"Yes, I'm talking about Spring", the annoyingly perky announcer chants with a lilt. Because, really, how can you say "Spring" in the cold darkness of winter without a lilt? Not possible.

On the Fifth and Sixth Days of Christmas, I rolled out the garden hose, attached the end to the bibb and watered three thirsty yews, two droopy rhodies, countless leafless rosebushes, and a partridge in a pear tree.

I checked the lettuce seedlings under the row cloth and found them flourishing despite a month producing stats of 0.0001 inches of precipitation and enough nights in the 'teens to create six inches of ice on the pond.

I might have even scattered a few more packets of lettuce into the raised bed with the hope that someday we will have snow (that white stuff that falls from the clouds in winter, reportedly). Gardeners, even Nevada gardeners, are such optimists. Who else would dare to dream of more baby lettuce plants growing under their own little fluffy snow blanket which protects them from subzero temps while simultaneously watering them and providing lots of filtered light.

Hey, it's the tail end of December and the thermometer reads sixty-six. It feels like mid-March here--at least for these two lovely precious days. I'm grabbing these tantalizing days of faux-Spring gardening and storing them up against the feet of snow that will undoubtedly fall on every three-day weekend for the next two months.

And yes, I did remember to disconnect the hoses--thanks for asking.

Sending wishes that you too are granted a respite to enjoy your heart's desire,

On the Third Day of Christmas

2011-12-27T21:07:00.000-08:00

We braved the mall...and survived.

We didn't find a new bedspread. Comforter sets are common but bedspreads, as you may not know, are far and few between. Worse yet, I have a definite preference for simple white cotton spreads and those are almost extinct. I like our current one so much that I've cut off the frayed edge, hemmed it, rotated it ninety degrees, disguised the remaining hole as best I could and reattached the edging.

Yeah, I really like the one we have! I have faith the universe will deliver the perfect item before our old bedspread is nothing but holes and threads. She said with her fingers crossed.

However...we did find fluffy towels in a lovely hydrangea blue (above the lavender in this photo)

to replace the tan (atop the brown) we received. Is there anything more luxurious than a thirsty thick towel? Maybe one snatched from atop a warming rack! But that would actually qualify as decadent, wouldn't it?

Our last stop was the jewelry store. Don't leap to any grandiose ideas just yet though. My most cherished piece needed to be repaired and re-sized. I'm hopeful that by the Fifth Day of Christmas I'll be singing with a gold ring on my finger once again.

I'm thankful that Christmas leftovers provided a quick and delicious dinner when we returned to our cozy nest. I'm using those extra minutes to ponder what I want to focus on for 2012. Tis good to reflect and reassess--we're all a work in progress!

Thoughfully,

Yippee, It's Solstice Time Again!

2011-12-21T20:40:00.000-08:00

The winter solstice is like my own seasonal version of hump-day. I'm so darn glad that it's finally the shortest day/longest night of the year. As in, let's just get it over with and move on. Now I can look forward to just a tidbit more light each morning as I head out to pick up my walking partner(s) and hit the hills. Even if the morning are butt-chilling, quad-freezing cold (note to Santa: if they make heated long johns they're at the top of my list. Just don't tell Stacy and Clinton), we'll have some gorgeous sunrises to admire!

The cottage is decked with color inside and out to combat the bleakness of long dark nights and a slumbering garden bereft of flowers. My scrappy Christmas quilt is my favorite of all the wall-hangings I've made. I can never decide which of the thirty-six squares is my favorite...but this animals star has to be tops for sheer silly cuteness.

No silver trees or monochrome decorations around here. Just an explosion of red-and-green, colored lights, polka dots and holiday cheer!

No one will ever accuse me of being subtle or a trend-follower during the holidays. It's kinda like "Mrs. Santa meets Buddy The Elf" as I commit whole-heartedly to kitsch, tradition, and COLOR. It's a disease I get every December and I hope I never find the cure!

I could gaze at the reflections in my "soapbubble" ornament for hours on end. Sigh.

Can you ever have too many Santas, snowmen, angels, snowflakes and reindeer? Honesty compels me to answer, "Yes" as I'm donating the ones that didn't make the cut to our SPCA Thrift Store. The ones that remain may be overkill to you, but they're the perfect number for me. And that's what makes decorating and blogging fun...I can admire the burlap stockings and simple mantles at your house and turn around to enjoy my own version of the North Pole!

One thing you definitely can't ever have enough of: nativity lambs. Or nativity sets.

I'm going to feel like a kid as school lets out and I'm free to use the precious daylight hours to sew another doggy stocking, bake our favorite cookies, stir up some Five Minute Fudge, build a roaring fire, take Kharma for some extra-long hikes (because waiting is just so darn hard),

and generally revel in the holiday spirit. Here's hoping you enjoy your Twelve Days of Christmas as much as we will!

Merrily,

Thanks for stopping by--especially all the late-comers like me from Funky Junk!

My Guideposts - Week78

2011-12-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

Truth and love must prevail over lies and hatred.

~Vaclav Havel
who put his freedom on the line,
stood up for liberty,
and inspired change.

RIP

December Went Where?

2011-12-16T19:42:00.000-08:00

Because there's no way it could possibly be the sixteenth already. Please tell me I'm mistaken!

I might not have a tree yet, but at least I found the time to put up last year's elf header on this year's blog design even if it doesn't quite fit.

Dear Santa, please could I have an early present: a battery charger for my ambition? or a giant pitcher of margaritas?
Do good intentions count as presents?
Rather than thinking of it as only eight more shopping days to Christmas, I prefer to think of the eleven thousand five hundred and twenty minutes that I still have to leisurely look for the perfect presents. Certainly that provides more than enough time to get them wrapped creatively and sent to distant states too!

Not panicking just yet...although I probably should,

Giving Thanks

2011-11-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

I have so much to be thankful for. Every night this month I've gone to sleep counting my blessings. It's more effective than counting sheep plus it puts a smile on my face!

I'm grateful for all the Big Things in life, of course, but the other items are like chocolate truffles--they make be small, but they make me feel rich.

Like your comments; whether you're an old friend or a new visitor, they warm my heart. Your visits come from sea to shining sea, from our northern neighbor, from eastern Europe, Oceania and beyond. It's always a delightful surprise.

I'm wishing each and every one of you so many things to be thankful for that you fall asleep before you've reached the end of your list! And that each of us finds even more things to be grateful for in the coming year.

Blessings,

Fluffy Whole Wheat Rolls

2011-11-12T20:53:00.000-08:00

Putting "Fluffy" and "Whole Wheat" in the same title seemed like false advertising when I grabbed this recipe out of Winco's bulk aisle.

I guess Hope Springs Eternal because I was intrigued enough to try it anyway, and darned if it didn't actually turn out to be a wonderful fluffy-in-spite-of-being-whole-wheat recipe!

Fluffy Whole Wheat Rolls

2 T. dry yeast

1/2 c. warm water

1/2 c. butter, softened

1/4 c. honey

3 eggs (at room temperature)

1-1/2 t. salt

4 c. whole wheat flour

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water.
In a large bowl, cream butter and honey (or put it in the microwave and nuke it until the butter melts).
Add eggs and beat well.
Add yeast mixture.
Mix in salt and flour to form a soft dough. Let rise until double--please notice that it does NOT say to knead, just rise!
Once it's doubled then knead.
Let rest for 3 minutes before shaping rolls on a greased pan or cookie sheet.
Let rise till doubled and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Makes from 12 to 16 rolls, depending on how big or small you make them.

I make bread so frequently that I've developed a shorthand in my recipes that might be less obvious to anyone who's not a baker. It drives my kids, who do bake, nuts. I'll spare you that...

c=cup. t=teaspoon. T=tablespoon.
Warm water means water that's somewhere between hot and warm--if you can't keep a finger comfortably in it, then it's a bit too hot. Sometimes I'll put the too-hot water in the bowl and wait a minute while the bowl cools it off. Too cool though and the yeast will start to shiver.
I always proof my yeast before putting it in a recipe. My yeast is almost always fresh since I use it so often but I still proof it just in case. That means adding yeast to warm water (with a smidge of sugar) and letting it sit there till it starts to get all foamy and bubbly--"proof" that it's active.
I'm fortunate enough to have a fabulous canvas square that I knead my bread on (and roll out my pie crusts), but you can knead on any smooth surface too--table top, counter top, cutting board--just make sure you have enough flour on it so that your dough doesn't stick while you're kneading it. Your surface should be low enough that you can press down easily with the palm of your hand otherwise you'll get pretty tired. Kneading is one of my favorite things in the whole world (besides ironing). Crazy, I know. I just love the feeling when the dough suddenly tightens up and I know it's ready.
Grease your pan with butter, oil, shortening, whatever. Just don't miss any spots or getting your bread out will be impossible.
My rolls doubled enough that they began touching each other. Unlike siblings in the back seat, they didn't complain.

The rolls didn't last long enough for me to take a photo, alas. You'll understand when you make them.

Elevenses

2011-11-11T20:01:00.000-08:00

Eleven-eleven-eleven makes me think of the hobbits worrying if Strider knows about tiffin, elevenses, supper and dinner. Which is appropriate since LOTR always reminds me of World War II... so in honor of Veterans Day here are excerpts written by my dad (age 20) to his mother at the tail end of WWII:

Amarillo Army Air Field
Amarillo, Texas
24 Oct 45

Dearest Mom,

Our formation this morning was orientation on conversion of our insurance, G.I. Bill of Rights, getting your job back, and things like that...

Only thing I'm worried about are the buses. With the strikes and all I might not get connections and have to hitch hike. Bob did it from Hueneme so guess I could do it from L.A. Will just have to wait and see how it works out...

It won't be long now until I walk in the front door, don't expect too much because I'll probably be a wreck, mentally and physically.

Well, goodnite now, dear,
I'll be seeing you
Lovingly,
Buddy

How many sons have written the same thoughts to their mothers over the years? How many mothers cherished each letter as it came to them and worried about the contents?

Freedom, whether in Middle Earth or in America, always comes with a very human price tag that makes it all the more to be valued.

Thankfully,

Mirror, Mirror

2011-10-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

I ran across this oldie at Goodwill during my one-girl weekend extravaganza. The price was so low that I thought it might have been a mistake and held my breath until the checker rang me up without questioning the sticker.

It's about twelve by twenty-four and weighs a TON. If there was any question about whether to buy it or not, the weight would have been the deciding factor. Kind of like finding a dresser with dovetail joints and dust covers. You just know the quality is there and snap it right up.

It's missing some detail on the left side but I'm going to follow this hint from A Polka-Dot Cottage (whoops, I mean The Polka Dot Closet) and try to replace it.

It's worth a try, and even if it doesn't work, there's obviously plenty of other detail still intact.

The odd coppery color is unusual and not long for this world. Since it'll be hung in my newly reacquired guest room a coat of my usual Sleepy Eyes white with a bit of glazing to bring out the details should make it a shabby chic treasure worthy of guests.

Have you ever tried photographing a mirror? The background not only has to be acceptable but also provide decent support for the heavy glass and the reflection needs to be good too. Kharma's sweet paw and my still-green lawn are up to the challenge!

(Happily, I found it was much easier to make the reflected doggie fudgsicle disappear with Picasa than my usual shovel and pail. Just sayin'.)

Now to get busy with the makeover (mirror, not lawn. Well, maybe lawn too.)

Fairly enamoured,
(mirror, mirror...fairly, get it?)

This One's for The Ladies

2011-10-15T20:29:00.000-07:00

The back story for those of you who don't know me IRL--I'm usually at the Pacific International quilt show this weekend hanging out with friends I only see once a year. (Hi ladies, I miss you!) We arrive from all corners of the West and descend on two wonderful people (Hi, Lin! Hi, Liz!) who host us year after year and make us believe that we're actually welcome. We're gullible that way.

Instead I'm at home (it happens to all of us at some time or other) having a regular vanilla weekend instead of the usual yearly wild and crazy craft-and-spending marathon with the group nicknamed "The Ladies" once upon a time by twins too young to go with us.

Or it would be vanilla if I hadn't decided to pull up my big girl panties and create a crafty weekend on my own. It might not be quite as wild (okay, it's not even close but I'll get more sleep), still I'm doing my best to get my money's worth from my debit card and spend-spend-spend as fast as I can.

Hey, I have an extra fifteen bucks that I would have spent on admission to PIQF. Money which would have been well spent to find my favorite merchant vendors conveniently located all under one roof for my spending pleasure. Number two, I'm not undertaking an eight-hour roundtrip so my gas bill is practically nonexistent and there are plenty of good local places that will be happy to take my money. It's perfect weather and the yard sales here this weekend are A-Maz-Ing! Lastly, school gets out about two seconds before Christmas so I might as well do a bit of early holiday shopping too. See? Spend-spend-spend!

Our tradition is to gather at the end of the day and share our booty. You'd think that we'd know what everyone bought after being in the same places all day but there are LOTS of us and each of us inevitably produces a surprise or two during show-and-tell. I'm not physically there to participate, but thanks to the Blogosphere I'm sharing my goodies with them (and with you).

Get ready for Show-and-Tell. The numbers? They're a good idea that wasn't so good and I'm too lazy to redo the collage. So just please ignore ~~the man behind the curtain~~ them.

First up, frames. They've been popping up in garage sales, thrift stores and dumpsters practically begging me to take them. Gold ones for paintings (minus the liner soon).

I love the floral duvet in the guest room--it makes a lovely stand in for an actual bit of art. And can there be too much aqua in one's life? I think not.

Fancy and gold. And I know exactly the watercolor that's going in there.

(Think clematis in full bloom.)

Some frames have already been repainted to match the new look of the laundry room.

Some are waiting for a makeover.

And some are every bit as ugly as they look here.

Thank heavens for the transformative powers of paint.

I've never before seen a terra cotta frame--a bit of added shine and my sleepy cherub will have a new home in this curbside surprise.

One person's trash, my free treasure.

Have I mentioned how much I love roadkill?

Free works for me.

I would have grabbed this tool chest just for the hardware!

With this old chocolate advertisement transferred using CitraSolv (if I can find any) on top

it should be irresistible. Graphics Fairy, I love you.

Moving on...
I'll be Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz for Halloween. Ruby slippers are hard to come by I found, but I this sparkle paint on a pair of Mary Janes from GW should fool anyone.

I tuck a pair in every coat I own--cold hands at recess are not fun.

Not to alarm anyone but winter is only nine weeks away. (Not that you SoCal and Arizona gals know anything about that!)

I used my 40% off coupon at Michaels.

Christmas is only ten weeks away (feel free to panic). Glitter is essential to holiday survival. I have plenty of plans for this spray-on glitter.

(Hey, KC, I found Santa! Yeah, THAT Santa. Maybe the stocking will make it down to your place this year.)

As long as Christmas was on my mind, I picked up these place card holders for Casa Encantada's rather majestic dining table.

I won't be there to enjoy the Albuquerque festivities, but I know the recipient will love the red color.

These knobs match two I already have.

2+2=a cute new look for the vintage sewing cabinet at a thrifty price.

Have your imagination add greenish water, a pale rubbery worm and a spooky label from The Graphics Fairy...

and I'll have a creepy lab specimen for the Halloween display.

I used two coupons on the Michaels run and came away with this lovely clutched in my thrifty little hand.

Spend-spend-spend is good. Save-save-save is even better!

My forty cents a yard red rickrack may be my favorite buy today.

Because it's gonna make my redwork tea towel even cuter.

(Somebody in the Bay Area better be taking photos so I get to see some of your loot. I'm not naming any names. )

(Jen?)

There's still one quilt shop and two fabric stores I haven't visited yet and my debit card is still working. The weekend is young and I'm just getting started!

Wishing I was there,

Rosy

2011-10-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year, with warm sunny days and cool nights--my roses love this weather. All the colors seems more intense. Any pink rose now seems

in tone. But as the weather cools (there was snow high on the ridge this morning) I know winter can't be far behind and I get

as I bid farewell to my lovelies' last blooms.

The east side of the Sierra may not exactly be subtroppical or we'd be able to grow

but our summer's all the more welcome as we soak up the sun. Summer is truly the

in Reno's four seasons.

We know there's an

lurking somewhere in our future but for now the

of our Indian summer is welcome.

So fare-thee-well, my flower friends; remember that it's never too early to plan for springtime!
I've enjoyed visiting you all at our weekly

Happily,

My Guideposts - Week77

2011-10-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

This is true love — you think this happens every day?

~William Goldman

Today is the anniversary of the day we met. I believe in true love, love at first sight, head-over-heels, and till death do us part. We might be separated by distance and several time zones, but our thoughts today are centered on each other.

Still crazy about him,

Home Made Delicious

2011-10-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

If you pick a hundred pounds of deliciously ripe fruit and it doesn't all get eaten at your family reunion, you'll have to do something with it. After I conned my extended family into helping me sort and pit the last-of-the-season apricots and super-flavorful Santa Rosa plums (this was back at the end of July), we put them all into ziploc bags and I popped them into my freezer to wait for cooler weather.

I'm not crazy enough to make jam and/or jelly when it's stinkin' hot outside. (That's why God created freezers. And I wouldn't want to wreck any Divine plan.)

I spent an incredibly satisfying day making plum jelly, apricot jam, mint jelly and Oriental plum sauce. I used up every single jar I had in the process.

I just wanted to mention that I have a smooth electric stovetop. There are rumors about being unable to can fruit or make jelly if you have one. FALSE! I just wipe up any sugar spills or jam drips with a wet cloth and I'm good to go.

Then I took my jars outside in the sun for a photo shoot. I think filled jelly jars are as beautiful as stained glass!

Yummily,

My Guideposts - Week76

2011-10-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

There's no place like home.

~Dorothy Gale

I'm home. The Professor and Pooh are home after nearly a month of surgery and recuperation. The Queen Mother gets sprung and transitions from teen-sitting to her autumn garden later this week. My sweetie is enduring another long stretch in a different hemisphere and yearning for the quiet of his office here at home.

Travel and growth are experiences we wouldn't give up, but returning to the place where the daily temperatures feel normal, the night sounds are reassuring, the mattress is just right a la Goldilocks and cooking in a kitchen doesn't involve searching through three cabinets and two drawers just to find the measuring cup is a treasure beyond compare. There's no place like home.

FYI, the photo is a birdhouse crafted by my incredibly talented brother (shhh, don't tell him I said that. It would ruin the whole sibling rivalry thing).

Appreciatively,

There's a Box?

2011-09-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

I live in a community that has CCandR's--which I appreciate most of the time since we have no rusty yachts parked in driveways or twenty-foot RVs hugging a property line and wrecking a view. I admittedly chafe at restrictions on composting, clotheslines and other items I consider earth-friendly and green. It's unbelievably hard to change them too.

So I just think outside the box. Clotheslines aren't kosher? Who says you need a line? I have four patio chairs that are perfect for holding jeans or towels as they dry in the blinding sunshine.

In redecorating the laundry room I discovered that I'd stashed (and forgotten about) two multiple-skirt hangers that now hook over a sugar maple branch and are perfect for pinning up smaller items. Like tees and undies. Which multiply quicker than bunnies during summertime's daily morning hikes and dry even more quickly in the Nevada afternoons.

I have plans to introduce the shiny silver metal to my can of Apple Green spray paint. All the better to camouflage my rule-bending hangers in the tree, my pretty.

Thanks to the Bombshells, I've finally managed to make quick-and-easy compost in our dry Nevada climate. In the past, I've succeeded turning unwanted sod into compost by letting it sit in an old whiskey barrel through the winter. In our desert climate, the trick seems to be keeping the materials damp enough to decompose. Last Spring I tried using a reject trashcan which I turned regularly. I had hopes. F-A-I-L pretty much describes that result.

Armed with a hammer, some very long nails and leftover lumber from a fence that blew over at the Queen Mother's I cobbled a simple compost bin that's normally enclosed on all four sides but is easily opened at two ends. Earlier this week, I shovelled a cubic yard of chicken-coop-goop turned compost into the raised beds. And I've started a new pile of chicken straw which will soon be augmented by autumn leaves mulched into small pieces by the hens. Multi-purpose, those girls!

Fortunately when these homes were built, backyard chickens were all but unheard of so no one thought of forbidding poultry. The Bombshells are sort of flying under the CCandR radar (not that they can fly very well). The coop is tucked invisibly away from any neighbors who might object and the neighbors who do know about it are well paid in fresh eggs.

I guess I'm sort of stretching the rules a bit, but I'm not breaking them.

Much.

I still use turn signals, drive the speed limit in school zones and brush my teeth twice a day.

Iconoclastically,

My Guideposts - Week75

2011-09-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

Some things I cannot change, but till I try I'll never know.

~Elphaba Thropp

I've got a voice and I'm going to use it!

Summer Fun!

2011-09-22T19:47:00.000-07:00

This was my smile for the day--enjoy!

Glad I finally figured out how to get the whole YouTube screen to show on my blog! It used to be so easy but, with a little thought, I conquered the new template at last. Now I've gotta change my header...

It's always something!

My Guideposts - Week74

2011-09-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.

~Jimi Hendrix

Reminder to a self who will be re-entering the schoolroom later this week: learning is a two-way street.

My Guideposts - Week73

2011-09-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

When we see how quickly life disappears, how even the longest life span is over in a flash, we realize how important it is for us to create the conditions that help us most quickly, most directly, and most strongly move toward true happiness.

~Sharon Salzberg

Happily yours,

I Brought Summer With Me

2011-09-10T16:27:00.000-07:00

I'm taking credit for the ninety-degree temperatures here in the Portland area. I mean where else did it come from?

In other thoughts from the Pacific Northwest:

I guess Farmers Markets are overpriced everywhere, not just Reno. Earlier this week I plucked blackberries from a vine growing wild vs $3 a pint this morning?! I used to rationalize it that I was subsidizing the farmers directly. That was when we actually had a disposable income.
I can get my Winco fix here. I was always a Raley's gal but once I discovered Winco's bulk section I changed over quickly. Winco may be Oregon's best export!
Living in Reno it's rare to meet a fellow blogger. Here I got to meet Heather from My Everyday Graces. She's just as wonderful as I'd imagined!
Blogging seems to be harder since the days go faster with a teen around. Otherwise I'd have a post up about Heather already. And how pretty her hens' eggs are (no offense to the Bombshells). And the Farmers Market. And one about the house with the purple door.
I have a map showing bike paths--guess what I'm going to be doing next week?
I'm capable of waking up at 6 a.m. It's worth getting up to enjoy the cool mornings as well as beating the rush hour on the school run.
I had two monrings of admiring Mt. Hood on one stretch of road. I'm hoping for more if the smoke clears. Fires are the worst part of summer-turning-to-autumn in the West.
I'm trying hard to focus on the delicious Gravenstein apples we bought this morning instead of missing the Balloon Races with my walking partners this morning. The Glow. Dawn Patrol. Apple Crisp for dessert and applesauce this week is a pretty fair trade-off. My family loves those Gravensteins!

That's a positive note to end on. And the news from San Diego continues to be upbeat and encouraging. Good news all around!

Doing the Happy Dance

2011-09-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

Yes, surgery was successful! The prognosis for recovery is excellent. We are breathing a collective sigh of relief and rejoicing that a very special husband, father and mentor has surmounted the first obstacle.

Would it be too much to ask for a smooth recovery too? It was an awfully rough road getting to this point, and I for one think Pooh and the Professor deserve just a small break.

I'm smiling as I think of the Professor sawing logs as he rests comfortably in ICU and catches up on his sleep. As my Baptist friend from the yard sale would say "Praise the Lord!"

At peace with the Universe,

Warrior

2011-09-07T13:52:00.000-07:00

Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick.

He never complains. He stays positive. He always is ready to laugh. He commits wholeheartedly and never gives less than one hundred percent. He's kind and caring and a great listener. He's soft-spoken and low-key but he's a warrior at heart. Warriors never give up. Warriors have a goal and pursue it single-mindedly.

The Professor aka my BIL is in surgery right now. They've been operating for five and a half hours now and we know they are far from finished. We're all in this together, yet we're separate. I'm in Oregon teen-sitting while his parents are in San Diego. The teen's in school. The Queen Mother is in Nevada. Pooh is waiting with the hospital lounge. We're trying to keep busy with those necessary daily chores, but our united hearts and minds are hovering an operating room somewhere just north of San Diego.

We know he's in the very caring and competent hands of a top-notch surgical team. We know that St. Joan of Arc is lending him her indomitable spirit. We know we're raining down as much love and positivity and faith as humanly possible.

It's just hard to wait. Tick, tick, tick, tick.

Attention Seekers Anonymous

2011-09-06T12:07:00.000-07:00

Howdy, my name is pogonip and I just lurve attention.

Have you noticed I don't post about my fairly pathetic vegetable garden? I never rave about the five green beans in my fridge waiting for enough compadres to make more than a single-bite veggie.

Or the fact that I finally planted the two pumpkins that sprouted? Even though I'm fully aware that snowballs have a better chance. What a great procrastinator's post that could be! Complete with photos of their hopeful little pumpkin blossoms now and then the cruel shot of them after our first hard frost.

No, I post about the flowers that delight my heart. And apparently the bigger they are, the more I like them.

It's hard to find anything flashier than peonies in the spring. Ahhh, those huge buds promise even larger flowers. And deliver the goods.

Of course if you were to find something even less shy and reclusive than the double peonies it would probably be a Nelly Moser clematis. One that I just happen to have growing by our front porch.

The one that has total strangers stopping to ask me if it's real.

I apparently chose flowers for my garden based on how flashy they are. The Oranges and Lemons rose, while not large, also has a certain flair that grabs your eyeballs and won't let loose.

Fortunately, Strawberry Swirl hardy hibiscus is more eye candy than eye grabber.

Yeah, it's sorta huge and pretty much the only thing you notice blooming right now. But is that a problem? It's wonderful to look up from my sink and swoon over her loveliness all the way across the yard.

So, am I the only one that has this ~~little~~ large problem? Does size matter? Is bigger really better?

Or is it just more fun!

Not-so-subtly,
from a tres petite,

Come visit other gardeners (who hopefully don't write paragraphs like that last one, lol) at the Tuesday Garden Party.

When Gardeners Fall In Love

2011-08-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

Girl sees plant blooming in nursery and is amazed. Girl wants hibiscus. Years pass.

Girl buys hardy hibiscus. For a lot of money. And is thrilled with late summer blooms.

Girl doesn't have the perfectly-drained and sunny spot for said bush so she leaves it in the pot for the winter. (Because hardy hibiscus can survive minus 30F.)

The winter is endless and cold. Very cold.

Girl is dismayed at dead-looking stems in the spring. (What was she thinking?!)

Girl hopes for a miraculous rejuvenation. Nothing happens.

Girl begins to rehearse her story to get a replacement plant at her local nursery which only has a six-month replacement policy.

Girl notices that the neighborhood roses-of-sharon are also dead-looking in spring. Maybe there's hope.

Stems begin sprouting new growth. (June 9th? Miracles do happen.)

Hibiscus gets a haircut.

Inspired and relieved, girl digs up wisteria that hasn't bloomed since the fence fell on it years ago and puts in hardy hibiscus instead. Plant grows and flourishes. Buds form. Buds show color. Waiting is hard!

First hibiscus blossom on August 27th. Smaller than a dinner plate, much larger than a salad plate. Girl shares her delight with family, neighbors, passing strangers who all ~~are forced to~~ must admire it.

Kharma investigates huge flower as possible alien invasion.
"It's safe, Mom."

August 29th. For some, this is memorable as the first day of school. Girl will always remember this side-by-side set of incredibly large blooms at the end of summer.

Love the two-toned swirl and the bright green leaves. Amazed at how many blossoms it has. She's a winner!

Giddily,

This was the nicest of happy endings. And I'm happy to share at a very special party for all us gardeners: an end of the season gathering of favorites over at An Oregon Cottage.

After sharing at these parties earlier this summer:

When the Gods Smile

2011-08-29T08:34:00.000-07:00

I must be living right. I only had two things on my Garage Sale list--picture frames and a barbeque. Needed, but mundane.

Instead I was lucky enough to find these silver beauties...fifty cents each. Don't hate me.

Fate also handed me the frames I was hoping for. Three of them! The gold one (minus the mat) will hold a new oil painting. Please forgive the artistically arranged silver on my vintange pink suitcase as temporary art.

The long rectangle (with a little repainting) is perfect to re-create a chalkboard for my neighbors. More silver and suitcase art. Hmmm. Sensing a theme here.

Not really.

The small one (currently looking even uglier than when I bought it) is for...something. Not for laundry room art, which was my intention.

I'm kicking myself daily for not buying the two wood frames that probably would have been perfect once they were painted. Why didn't I? Ack! I can't even say they cost too much--only free would have beat the price. Kick. Kick.

Check out this brand spankin' new Weber. It wasn't a bad price when I first saw it at the church rummage sale, but I decided I'd return closer to the end of the day to see if it was cheaper. Uh, yeah, half of the original amount made it a sweet buy to replace its decrepit/rusted/very short predecessor.

And a lightbulb moment came along along free with it.

I like to chat with random people (something that used to drive my teenage boys crazy) so I expressed my delight at finding this amazing deal exactly when I needed a new barbecue as the Baptist volunteer took my money. I don't sling the Almighty around much and I'm not comfortable with people who do, but I realized her spontaneous "praise the Lord" was pretty much the same as my usual "there are no coincidences" mantra. Finding that similarity between us was my best bargain of the day.

The garage sale gods also had a good laugh at my expense. I also bought a cotton lace tablecloth and have been wondering why I used pink suitcases for backgrounds instead of ecru lace. I ironed the tablecloth this morning and found that I'll soon be testing my mending skills on one gigantic and one smaller hole in the lace netting.

They had all their linens taped into bundles and I was more concerned that the size was right. It never occurred to me that these wonderful folks who teach craft classes and have an adorable gift shop would hide a flaw. I don't really think they were hiding it--I just should have checked better. Drat.

Oh well, my intent was to fancify the picnic table anyway and I certainly won't feel guilty about hauling lace outside now!

It's all good.

My Guideposts - Week72

2011-08-28T22:42:00.000-07:00

Adventures are what make a summer.

~Robertson Davies

This summer's adventures:

Sleeping under the stars near Williams, Arizona, after a thundershower
Sleeping under the stars and a full moon on the way back--no tent, no stove, just air mattresses and sleeping bags
Getting a geology lesson in a parking lot
A morning hike almost every day
Re-building the Queen Mother's pond waterfall
Helping organize a family reunion
Picking a hundred and ten pounds of fruit in ninety degree sun, washing said fruit and watching the family devour it
High-grading the leftover fruit for apricot jam and plum jelly
Seeing how much furniture we can fit in a rented mini-van for the trip to Oregon
Surrendering the steering wheel
Moving (most of) TBG's stuff in two days when he finally found a rental
Knowing what time it was in Serbia

Still adventurizing in the hopes that I can stretch summer just a bit further...

Barn Charm

2011-08-26T07:46:00.000-07:00

There's just something about them.

Simplicity. Purpose. Beauty.

Home to barn cats. Barn owls.

Clandestine nests of hens eggs. Mewing kittens hidden among the hay bales.

Dusty saddles. Miscellaneous horseshoes. Odd tools.

And little girls who like to explore and grow up remembering barns with fondness.

Tweet/Tweet

2011-08-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

If you guessed that I am now tweeting on Twitter, you're right! I started for a really good reason.

My BIL has an extremely-rare illnesses, his medical insurance is through Kaiser and his surgeon considers him an urgent case. Long story short, there has been poor communication, slow responses, records not sent, approvals moving slowly, and an unresponsive primary care physician.

When you are facing an inconclusive biopsy, a ten-to-twelve hour surgery (including direct chemotherapy in the peritoneal cavity) and a one-to-three weeks in-hospital recuperation as the result of a 1-in-2 million tumor it seems like you deserve just a bit of extra patient care. You'd think that even a large HMO like Kaiser might expedite your case instead of acting like the Keystone Cops.

You'd be wrong.

And if that's how Kaiser treats a customer/patient who's really ill, imagine how cavalier they must be about patients who have run-of-the-mill cancer. Or a stroke. Or appendicitis.

I'm hoping that Kaiser is one of those image-conscious companies who assign an employee to watch Twitter, jump on any negative comments that show up, and resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Because they are going to get plenty of bad publicity from me otherwise!

My sister and her family are using most of their energy to survive from day-to-day while facing a scary and uncertain future. They have little time left over to struggle with a faceless entity, revolving doctors and basic foot-dragging. And since I'm not close enough to march up to their local Kaiser hospital and demand answers for them (just as well since they'd probably summon security to remove the furious lady yelling her head off while carrying a placard stating "Kaiser is a joke"), I'm trying Twitter. It can't hurt. And it makes me feel less helpless.

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now. Thanks for listening.

********

The ".../Tweet" in my title is the lost cockatiel that my neighbor rescued yesterday. As the resident bird-person in our cul-de-sac I provided a cage, some food and fresh water for the little guy.

He obviously was much-loved by his owners but his unclipped wings allowed him to fly through an open door and off into the Nevada summer. Sadly, the little guy didn't make it. Apparently he'd been away from home too long, hungry and thirsty, or perhaps had been injured. It broke my heart.

I'd fallen in love with his sweet and gentle personality. So much so that I found myself checking craigslist and discovered that there are cockatiels out there who need someone like me who enjoys spending time with birds. Something tells me we might soon have a new family member.

Oh yeah--I tweet as "meadowsweetisme"--because I really am very sweet, don't ya think? (FYI: One of the first accounts I followed was Nathan Fillion--I'm a fan of both Firefly and Castle and I find him irresistibly cute and funny!)

Hoping for better days all around,

My Guideposts - Week71

2011-08-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. Go forth and waste.

~Mary Englebreit

Amen, sistah!

Going forth,

Heirloom Wardrobe Makeover

2011-08-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

Painted in a vintage ivory-cream color, she looks like she just came out of a California ranch house. My uncle (a former Seabee) built it for my aunt (the love of his life) so she'd have a place for her pretties. I think my aunt and my uncle would both approve of her fresh new look.

He went to college in Chico on the GI Bill and they lived in one of those older homes with bedroom closets the size of a shower stall. Or littler. I've never understood why anyone would design a home with a miniscule closet space. Hello! Even babies and toddlers need closet space. Much less a new bride!

We rescued the family wardrobe from my cousin's storage locker last summer and it's been cluttering up the Queen Mother's garage for the past year. I almost couldn't wait for my priority projects to be done so I could tackle her makeover! My young neighbor aptly calls this color "Burnt" and it did nothing for the wardrobe. Neither did years of dirt and a very splinter-y attitude.

It didn't help that someone had made these random cuts for electronics cords sometime.

But a little hocus-pocus involving a luan skin appropriated from a rickety bookcase and some wood putty combined with a surprise apple-green interior have dolled her up considerably.

She may have been "Burnt" before, but she's a bonny lass now with a story to tell and ready to be useful once again. Can't you just imagine her in a craft room filled with glue and glitter and piles of lovely quilt fabrics? Maybe with a couple of storage baskets on some added shelves? Or in a child's room with sweet little dresses hung up and small shoes below? Or in a farmhouse-inspired kitchen holding pantry items?

I enjoy what happens when elbow grease meets vision and creates something worth keeping! Even more when it's quick and easy!

Swiftly,

Party time! Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday (say that fast five times!)

and the ever-wonderful Show and Tell at My Romantic Home!

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Laundry Room

2011-08-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

Now that I have the camera, camera cord and a working computer all at the same time...I remember that taking photos of small rooms with no windows is an exercise in color-balance frustration. Just the same, it gives you an idea of how much the mood of this room has changed.

Before
In its neutral and boring color scheme.

After
It's a cheery place for dirty clothes to hang out.

The cabinet doors are staying off until I've either added trim to jazz them up or replaced them with glass doors. Meanwhile I'm looking for creative ways to disguise the utilitarian nature of the contents.

Or I would be if I had the attention span of an ant--this whole project is soooo last week. I currently have an enthusiastically half-unpainted wardrobe greeting one and all as they enter our cottage. Serious decorating chops!

A Change of Focus.

2011-08-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

The first (and only, final, last) family gathering that I've been working on for seven months was delightful and successful and fun and wonderful and rewarding. And much more. There's not an adjective that fully describes how insanely crazy I am about my family! It was a team effort and I enjoyed working so closely with my cousins. We're not only still talking to each other after our mega-project but we've woven our heartstrings a bit tighter in the process.

But the get-together is now family history and the loose ends are firmly tied up, so it no longer consumes my every thought and utterance. Seriously. The vacation drive back from Casa Encantada involved discussions about condiments. Really. (I'm not sure if that makes me detail-oriented or complete anal retentive.)

It's nice to move on to new challenges. Before I panic and waste what's left of summer. Time to get involved in some other worthwhile effort.

Olympic Organizing Committe? I'm just not that into sports other than soccer. (Plus the IOC haven't called back.)

World Peace? Worthy but I suspect more frustrating in the short run than rewarding. I cover up enough grey hairs as it is. So not into more of them.

I was thinking something creative. Something tangible. Something that will improve my quality of life and eliminate half my wrinkles.

Delving into my Summer List, I found the perfect project. Short-term. Cheap. Easy-peasy results. No guarantee about the wrinkle remover though.

And I get to use my Purdy paintbrush. Love, love, love having a great paintbrush again! It's my own personal magic wand.

Yep, I'm transforming my laundry/powder room from soothing natural colors to a palette that has more energy. Lesson learned: avoid decorating that's subtle, soothing, and/or sophisticated. It's not me.

The raw silk valance is headed for Craigslist to be replaced with some Cath Kidston-esque fabric that I've sewn. The tan and moss hand towels took a trip to the Queen Mother's. SW Interactive Cream walls received their first coat of SW Buff. The rooms look much brighter. That'll happen when walls go from fawn to vanilla ice cream and the trim from KM Bone to KM Antique White.

So. Much. Better.

We have turquoise and lime towels now. The beadboard switchplate covers (Lowe's beat Home Depot's price by $3 each!) make my heart go thump-a-lump every time I see them. Next up: white frames for some original flower paintings.

And a search for my camera USB cord so I can download photos for the final reveal. Where did I put it?

Smiling and contented,

My Guideposts - Week70

2011-08-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

Life is short. Summer is shorter.

August arrived along with tiger lily bulblets and these words became the truest thing I'd ever heard. I've got so much still to accomplish before summer vacay ends!

Busting my hump,

My Guideposts - Week 69

2011-07-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

Even after all this time,

the sun never says to the earth,"You owe me."

Look what happens with a love like that.

It lights the whole sky.

~Hafiz

(Not So) Sweet Violets

2011-07-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

Violets are one of my very favorite flowers. They bloom cheerfully wherever I plant them. They withstand snow, late freezes and dry winds. They have the prettiest leaves. And they might have the best smell of any single flower.

I love the blue ones that bloom by the shady chimney corner in earliest springtime. The rest of the garden might be dead leaves and frost-heaved soil, but that one lovely corner reminds me that better things are in store for a gardener with patience.

My shy little Labrador violet is a work in progress in my Forest Garden. She survives and blooms, but remains modest and quiet despite encouraging doses of extra water and fertilizer. I enjoy the challenge of changing her microclimate to something more to her liking. Gardeners are silly like that.

My red-violet violets (do you name color based on the big box of 64 crayons, complete with built-in sharpener, you had as a child?) are my very most favorite. They were a Mother's Day present a gazillion years ago and remind me that my children are the most amazing miracle of all. Most years the red violets and the sweet woodruff bloom simultaneously and the mingling of leaves and flowers were a bit of garden serendipity.

Then there are my white violets. They make me utter that age-old gardeners' question:

WHAT WAS I THINKING?!

Enamored by the unique white blossoms, I dug a few from the Queen Mother's old garden many years ago. They were one of the few plants that grew under the dry shade of the pin oak. They even managed to spread themselves with runners and seeds despite thick oak roots and hard soil. They grew much better under the white birch where the soil was rich, the water was plentiful and the shade was moderate.

Much. Better. (Alas.)

Yep, this yearly post chronicaling my battle again the dreaded white not-so-sweet violet is beginning to become a Meadowsweet tradition.

But guess what? I can see dirt now instead of a dense riot of violet plants! My weapon of choice (my big pick) is in permanent residence 'neath the birch so that I can loosen dirt and rip violet stems as I get a minute or two. Those minutes have added up nicely, despite summer temperatures. I have bare patches and I'm getting most of the roots out. I can see flowers that I actually want.

Like this pink mallow that mysteriously reappeared after five years.

I'm enjoying my time here in the garden at Encantado, but that doesn't stop me from sending long-distance evil thoughts to the remaining unsweet violets while I contemplate more digging and rooting out. Physical violence, negative energy and the judicious application of noxious chemicals--them's my battle plans.

Extinction is not always a bad thing.

The determined/optimistic,

Visiing the Tuesday Garden Party over at An Oregon Cottage

My Guideposts - Week68

2011-07-10T07:02:00.000-07:00

This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in.

~Theodore Roosevelt

Funny that I never thought of TR as a philosopher before, but hey, you take wisdom where you find it! Rolling up my shirtsleeves,

That Lightbulb Moment

2011-07-08T12:54:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but when I travel I like to stay in contact at least a little bit. Taking along my cellphone and checking email is part of visiting far-flung family, because I want to make sure things are okay at home with the dogs and the hens. (I try not to think about what my garden is suffering in the summer heat--that's just part of the tradeoff for a vacation.)

A side benefit is being able to keep up with friends and occasionally blog. It seems like there is just enough downtime when we visit, to be able to go online.

But keeping up with my blogging friends has always been a bit more challenging. I miss you when I'm away. You are just part of my daily routine like brushing my teeth or making a smoothie for breakfast. So I thought I was brilliant on my Oregon trip to email myself a list of blog https so I wouldn't have to remember them.

Today I was doing a bit of surfing while my son was working and after I checked my emails, I drifted over to A Hocking Hill's Garden to see what Lona was up to with her plants. I usually depend on Google Reader to keep me informed of new posts when I'm home, so it's a treat to actually see the website for a change while I'm on the road. As I was scrolling down, I noticed her bloglist that updates new posts as others publish them. Lightbulb!

Adding new sites to my bloglist just went to the top of my priority list, people. That way I can just check in on my own blog, click your links and presto! So easy.

So I'm just mentioning this in case you are planning a trip and are as addicted to your blogging friends as I am.

And Lona, I owe you a big thanks for making my life a bit nicer!

Bloggily yours,

p.s. It turns out that Blogger will let you easily import all your Google Reader subscriptions or the blogs you follow right onto your bloglist. Brilliant!

p.p.s. I have way too many blogs on my Reader so I deciced to pick and choose. If your blog isn't on my bloglist, I'll catch up with you when I get back!

A July Garden Party

2011-07-05T10:27:00.000-07:00

The Liberty Crew would like to invite you to join them in the pleasant July shade.

So would Flick (I think he wants to show off his green thumb--I haven't the heart to tell him that anybody can grow petunias).

We'll decorate with some Peace roses. Can one can ever have enough Peace? I think not.

Fragrance provided by the Scentimental roses as well as a bit of patriotic red-and-white stripes.

Midas Touch will add a pop of color to our garden picnic.

The waterlilies contribute cool elegance. As well as provide a hiding place for our shyest guests. Who would guess that my three goldfish (Target, Tips, and Red) are lurking right beneath those leaves?

I invited both of the Mourning Dove twins, but it looks like only one could come.

Maybe the other twin realized that Zelda and Kharma were also coming?

The funny thing is that I made sure the garden looked nice, but forgot all about providing food. Yikes!

A little dieting never hurt anyone. I'll pour some cold water and add a sprip of fresh mint and we'll have so much fun chatting and looking at the flowers we won't miss nibbling. Will we?

and Show and Tell at My Romantic Home

Red, White and Blue--Hooray!

2011-07-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

I can't help humming patriotic tunes while I garden and feed the Bombshells.

I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy...

A real live nephew of my Uncle Sam,

born on the Fourth of July.

Sweet land of liberty...
Of thee I sing.

Purple mountains majesty...
Amber waves of grain.

It's a grand old flag...

The emblem of, the land I love, home of the free and the brave...

Every heart beats true for the red, white and blue...

Forever in peace may it wave.

It's more than a holiday for us Americans.

Wishing the whole world life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness--

My Guideposts - Week67

2011-07-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

I am open to the guidance of synchronicity, and do not let expectations hinder my path.

~Dalai Lama

Why is it that cherished relatives provide the ultimate need to become a little zen before they drive me crazy? I think my expectations are at fault, so I plan to let my plans float and drift at the whim of the Truckee River beforehand so that I can enjoy three lovely people with all my heart.

Wish me luck,

Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose

2011-06-28T07:46:00.000-07:00

Carnation

Lily

Rose

A June garden in bloom is one of life's great delights.

(Dianthus, first waterlily of the year, Lollypop lily, David Austen Lilac rose.)

Inspired by John Singer Sargent's portrait:

"Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose".
Love the garden, the lanterns, and the starched white muslin dresses.

If I had been blessed with a little girl, I would have named her after a flower! Rosie? Violet? Marguerite?

In love with summer,

Come join me at the Garden Parties--so many lovely gardens and gardeners to visit!

Cheap Cheeps

2011-06-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a girl who dreamed of fresh brown eggs.

Actually, she just dreamed about cute fluffy sweet little chicks

but thought it best to tell her family about the wonderful eggs they would soon have.

Day-old peeps don't stay little for very long and would need a coop in a few months. However our heroine was a romantic with a practical side. She loved the idea of chickens, but didn't think fresh eggs should cost her the moon and the stars. Ideally, she wanted to break even with her little adventure. So she challenged herself to build a chicken coop as cheaply as possible.

This...

is not it.

She did have an unused dog house

and an idea.

She used old plywood, cabinet doors scavenged from the neighbors and some free knobs.

Along with linoleum and hinges from the Habitat ReStore and some leftover bedroom paint. She did splurge on a roll of insulation from Home Depot since her hens would experience cold winters.

The growing pullets appreciated it. In fact, they loved sleeping (and pooping) on the flat roof very much.

Princesses do not like such behavior, so she rooted amongst a pile of old fence boards and 2x4s and created a pitched roof.

The hens lost their roof roost but gained a rooster who proudly decorated their remodeled coop. With the addition of a tarp, the coop provided a cozy home for the winter months.

But the girl wasn't finished. Summer arrived, and she found a quart of exterior semi-gloss that was still usable after sitting on the shelf for twenty-four years, more 2x4s and plywood. She cobbled together a base to raise the coop off the ground, painted the whole shebang and insulated the roof.

Then she moved the whole coop forward so that it was was more convenient for daily use--although it made it impossible to get a good photo. She plans to nail the other half of the roof as soon as she cuts the plywood. And paint the overhang.

But the Bombshells moved right in and began laying eggs.

Any guesses on the cost of this coop?

Hint: the practical girl is very happy. Very happy, indeed.

Insulation: Eleven dollars
Caulk: Three dollars
Linoleum: One buck
Roofing paper: One dollar
Hinges: A whopping fifty cents
Everything else: free free free.

Truth in blogging compels me to admit that an unknown "something" still has to go over the roofing paper and that will add to the total cost.

Best of all, the base, coop and roof are all modular so two people can easily move the structure by unstacking and restacking it. The base could use some additional bracing to stabilize it even more and a cement floor underneath would be great someday.

I'm grateful to Donna (Funky Junk Interiors) and Marian (Miss Mustard Seed) for having blog parties where I can share this!

My Guideposts--Week66

2011-06-26T09:06:00.000-07:00

Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.

~Frank Lloyd Wright

The Bombshells would seem to agree.

Practical-ly,

My Guideposts - Week65

2011-06-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

My Guideposts seems to have slipped itself into a different time slot this week. But given my quote, how very appropriate!

Control is an Illusion.

-Lao Tzu

I learned that lesson last week on our little out-of-state jaunt. So many motivational speakers have us visualizing great outcomes and uttering wonderful positive-thinking statements, and I respect and admire that aspect of striving to improve your life for the better. I do it too. Mostly.

But the truth is that we can only control so much. Control IS an illusion. As someone said--and I'm too lazy to look up the exact quote right now--the only thing we can really control is our reaction to things or our attitude toward what Life hands us. But still I persist in trying to influence way too many situations around me.

With limited success. Surprise.

I suspect that one reason I enjoy summer vacation so much is that I'm my own boss after nine months at the beck and call of others. I move from project to project in a seemingly random and erratic fashion, but it gets results. So right now, giving up control is hard. Frustrating. Challenging.

Rental vans are not cheap. And adding my name to the drivers list would have added an extra ten buckaroos per day. So I spent last week not having control of the steering wheel or the gas pedal. Not being able to jump in and take myself to the Goodwill (it's one of the best I've been to) or visit Gardeners' Eden nursery (my go-to place) or even cruise back to Fred's and grab that pink peony.

Okay, I could live without those. But, oh golly, watching us stuck behind a slow RV on the mountain roads and not being able to rev that engine and pass that sucker hurt. We easily lost a half hour right there. And knowing that Law-abiding Husband was traveling exactly the speed limit made my right foot twitch with the need for speed.

The lesson the Universe was trying to send got through when we drove into Chez Pooh's driveway ten hours after we left. Uh, that's usually exactly what it takes me when I drive the Queen Mother up for a visit. So after that, when I felt any frustrations due to vehicle limitations or time constraints, I had a stern talk with myself.

And I didn't look at the speedometer or gas gauge once on the trip home. Zen comes in odd places sometimes.

Happily out-of-control,

Summer Letter

2011-06-21T10:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Summer Solstice,

Welcome! We've been waiting eagerly for your arrival! I'm glad you're almost here at last.

So is my double peony. She almost hasn't been able to contain herself.

She and the Madison mini-roses have been hanging out together. Your sister, Spring, needed an attitude adjustment this year (as if you didn't know)--but her coolness just made the rose colors more intense.

I don't think mini Peaches has ever been quite this lovely. She almost glows, especially in the shade.

Although the Queen Mother's favorite soft pink is always lovely no matter what. The bugs certainly think so--usually her petals have been chewed to lace by now. It's a nice change to see her looking her best.

You may have heard that we took a brief trip to Oregon; yeah, we ~~hadn't had quite enough rain~~ are completely nuts so we left sunny Nevada to experience a few more showers! Oregon rainshowers are actually easy to ignore and gray skies make it pleasant to garden, but I'd trade them for blue skies and your heat any day!

Our "gypsy wagon" was the deluxe variety. We had Sirius XM satellite radio--nice reception on the ride thru the Siskiyou Mountains. And so much leg room that to touch the front I'd slide down in my seat and s-t-r-e-t-c-h my toes! I enjoy our delivery trips to Oregon just so I get the excuse to rent a mini-van. I became a convert the first time I discovered stow-and-go seating. Lo-ve! Yikes, I'd better be careful so my sweet little Subaru doesn't hear me, lol.

You know I've been trying to be good about daily exercise and I did my daily walks religiously. I could've wished for hills to challenge me, but I did carry weights. Yes, I'm still carting around my old heavy digital! Hey, she fits in my pocket plus I remember hauling my old film SLR around in the old days. I don't miss that bulk at all.

I did go a little nuts taking peony photos. I've got to get one of these light pink beauties. I think this is "Sarah Bernhardt" and she's pretty easy to find. She's almost as light a pink as the mini rose that the Queen Mother likes even though she looks darker here. I almost brought one home that I saw at Fred's. The Oregon prices are great (and I love no sales tax) but I wasn't sure if I wanted to travel with it. I probably should have. Sigh.

I did get one of these whites with the red "breaks" in the petals for Mothers Day. It was a bareroot from Walmart (I know, I know)--but we've had pretty good luck with their stuff in the past.

I figure that I should get my first bloom from her about 2013! Good think we gardeners are patient.

Well, that's all for now. See you SOON!

Your friend,

Sharing my letter with my buds:
Jami

Candy

and Cindy

The Old Lane Cedar Chest

2011-06-16T09:08:00.000-07:00

It's an older Lane cedar chest that has seen better days. (Stop drooling over the fancy antique trunk and focus on the cedar chest, people.)

What? You don't think those faux Mediterranean handles add anything to it? Me either.

Remove them and you suddenly notice that those grooves seem like beadboard. Ahhhh!

It's had a few ups and downs and the finish is finished. And the storage tray inside is in pieces and will need to be rebuilt.

Now it's time to give it some TLC and send it to a new home where it will become a storage bench in the master bedroom.

This is one reason why it will be painted rather than refinished to match my sister's bedroom furniture.

The wood is permanently damaged (water?) where the finish was marred on the lid.

Even sanding didn't improve it.

And here's another reason.

Right now you're probably thinking that you love the little heart-grained wood pattern. Me too. So what's the problem??

The other end isn't holding up its end of the wood-grain bargain.

Blah is the kindest thing I can say about it.

Finally, the dainty relief on this carved edging (which no one ever noticed before) will be the belle of the ball once some paint dances with a bit of glaze.

Ninety-minutes with my palm sander and some 120 grit sandpaper...

A little wood putty in the holes, a final sanding, a coat of primer and it's ready for a lovely coat of soft white paint. Are you ready?

Before:

After:

And that carved molding?

Looked great without any glaze.

Start to finish, I spent little bits and pieces of time for a month. It's been delivered to its new abode, complete with the key, labels and original warranty plus the rebuilt tray inside; ready to store seasonal clothing, extra blankets, special keepsakes or linens.

Thrilled that I actually have a furniture piece to share at:

Gypsy Rambles

2011-06-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

On vacation = no Internet. I can do without my cell phone and my own bed. I can live out of a suitcase and sit in a car for long hours without complaint. But no connectivity? Sigh.

So I'm grateful for a brief hookup today thanks to Tigger whose iTunes cards are calling his name (loudly) but who is allowing me to monopolize his computer for a bit.

Can I just say that the Pacific Northwest has gorgeous rhodies and peonies right now? They make my gardening fingers twitch! I couldn't have timed it better to see them if I'd tried!

I can match their peonies, but my struggling high-desert rhodies will never have the humidity levels in Oregon, alas. Still, the beauties here in the Portland area have inspired me to elevate my rhodie care to full-on TCL when we get back.

Pacific NW roses have decided it's summertime too. Just gorgeous.

I have photos--oh my!

Miss you,

My Guideposts - Week64

2011-06-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

There shall be eternal summer in the grateful heart.

~Celia Thaxter

Grateful for quite a lot,

I'm Not A Solo Sailor

2011-06-11T21:37:00.000-07:00

Every Friday night I scour craigslist for garage sales. And every Saturday I stay home instead and wonder what treasures I missed out on. It turns out I can't make myself go garage sale-ing solo. Thank heavens for summer because my young walking partner loves yard sales too!

That said, we didn't find much to set our hearts a-flutter today. Three hours and we came home with a whopping two items each. Sad, isn't it? I do better at Goodwill. And the ReStore.

Two posts in one day and not a picture to be found. What's up with that? You guessed it! My camera batteries are recharging. That's okay with me--photos of my air gap and the replacement shovel I found for the Queen Mother aren't exactly inspiring!

Here are our true finds:

The best quote of the day,

" 'Antiques and collectibles' are code for 'really expensive.' "

Second-best quote (and good advice for anyone having a yard sale):

"What people are asking for something and what they actually sell it for are two different things."

Ramona's Plumber Rocks!

2011-06-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's called an dishwasher air gap instead of an air vent, but whatever it's called it was spewing dirty gunk into my sink instead of sitting quietly like it had for decades.

Googling it produced a link to Ramona's Plumber on YouTube who described the problem exactly, showed me how to open the air gap and demonstrated three different ways to clear the clog.

Well, simple blowing didn't eliminate the problem, so I moved on to option two. I needed a bottle brush that looked like a longer, thicker version of a pipe cleaner. I didn't have such a critter, but that didn't stop me, 'cause I do have a pile of clippings left over from pruning our apple tree! I use them for plant stakes mostly, but also have been bending them into hoops to hold my row covers over the lettuce/spinach bed. If they'll bend into hoops without breaking, I figured that they'd surely be supple enough to perform like a faux bottle brush.

I love the Internet. I love DIY. I love making do with whatever I have on hand.

Twenty-three years of gunk (the technical term for greasy black plumbing clogs) just washed down the pipes and my dishwasher is blowing me kisses.

I'm patting myself on the back while chanting "girl power" over and over.

Lessons Learned

2011-06-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

WARNING
This post may cause cold shivers or uncontrolled shrieking.

Things I learned yesterday:

Snakes nap under compost bags.

A napping snake isn't something you want your dog to play with.

Snakes and chickens don't mix very well.

A chicken run can function well to keep dogs and chickens away from garter snakes.

Snakes can be shy.

Little garter snakes can fit through a small gap in the fence boards to reach the front yard.

In the time it takes me to run around the house to the front yard, a snake can easily wriggle back through the gap.

Fearless husbands are never around when a snake is.

I'm more fearless than I thought I was.

But I can rationalize that a snake in residence under the hen house is easily able to dine on baby mice and should be left alone.

Today's lesson:

Garter snakes like the pond.

They're actually kind of pretty with their yellow stripes and little nose sticking up through the lilypads as long as I see them before they see me.

Sons are also fearless and handy.

Snakes don't fit into large yogurt containers.

Snakes don't like Costco-sized lemonade cannisters either.

Snakes move really fast when they're escaping.

Snakes can wrap around plants and hang on for dear life when someone's pulling on their tail.

Snakes can scream bloody murder.

Okay, I made up the part about them screaming.

I'm brave enough to hold the lid while someone else stuffs said snake into the lemonade cannister.

Snakes really smell.

A lot.

The Happy Ending or, Snake In A Can

Snake being released while I snap photos as fast as I can while shaking and trying not to scream.

Snake heading for safety while a madwoman chases her with a camera.

It's a win/win. I'm thrilled she's now living in a greenbelt complete with cool ditch water, green grass, warm rocks and things to eat. And she's no longer in our vicinity. Sigh of relief.

Bloggers will do anything for a good post.

Bravely,

The First Day

2011-06-08T23:49:00.000-07:00

Is the first day of summer vacation the last (very short) day of school with the accompanying giddy feeling of complete freedom?

Or is it the first full day when you wake up in the morning knowing that there are beaucoup of these days strung like baroque pearls ahead of you?

Does it matter?

Yes.

These are weighty questions, my friends.

Let the wild rumpus begin!

A Perfect June Morning

2011-06-07T22:57:00.000-07:00

The drenching rains have subsided, there's not a breath of wind, and the sunshine brought balmy weather with her return. Come walk with me in our backyard and see what's blooming today.

Sweet woodruff and a mountain fern light the shady side of the cottage.

Love!

While a small wild columbine nods delicately in the rain-freshened air.

I have a nursery bed of seedlings from this sweetie that will soon be ready to transplant. One can never have too many columbines, don't you agree?

My finicky Siberian iris have finally found a spot they like and are blooming for the first time in almost ten years. Turns out they love full sun and frequent soakings.

I'm so glad I had the patience for a bit of trial and error--their rich color is worth the wait.

The Kharma dog decided a morning drink was more important than the mirrored surface of Lilypad Pond. Still, I'm loving the ripply reflection of the snowball bush and an older lupine in the water. And our sky of Nevada blue. I live in the most beautiful place in the world! (I'm just a tad prejudiced.)

Little did I know when I took this photo that a lurker has taken up residence in the pond! As soon as I can flush her out and have my fearless husband catch her, a little garter snake will be gently carried into the greenbelt where she can hunt to her tummy's content and cease scaring the beejeebers out of me. My froggies have been very quiet recently and I'm hoping they are just laying low. I miss their croaking each evening. Come back, little peepers!

Join me at this week's garden parties.

I so enjoy seeing what's blooming in other corners of the world and connecting with other gardeners.

Thanks for stopping by the cottage on this fine June day,

My Guideposts - Week63

2011-06-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

Think big thoughts but relish small pleasures.

~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

My plan for summer in a nutshell! Er...make that eggshell.

The New Neighbors

2011-06-04T14:51:00.000-07:00

Our newest neighbors took over an older home that badly needs some exterior paint, has lost the front porch and probably could use updating inside also.

But this vintage cottage is situated in the shade of a large cherry tree, with a lovely brick patio and many flowers in the yard. I'm guessing they saw the potential in it.

Here's Dad looking askance at me while I photographed their new digs. He let me know in no uncertain terms that I was interrupting his very busy life.

My bad.

I wasn't offended to any degree; I have to agree that any parent of multiples has a lot on their hands. And I wasn't exactly helping them get on with the feeding schedule!

Mom wasn't thrilled by my interest either. Social calls apparently aren't a priority for her just now.

The ruckus that those young'uns raise gets louder every day. Mom and Dad pop in, feed those hungry mouths and rush out to grab more insects and swoop back in.

In. (Peep, peep, peep. ) Out.

In. (Peep, peep, peep.) Out.

The babies have fledged and I wouldn't be surprised if Mom and Dad introduced them to the neighborhood sometime very soon

Hang in there, my busy little neighbors, you'll soon be empty-nesters with leisure to enjoy summer time.

Temporarily a landlady,

TGIF...And Then Some

2011-06-03T19:22:00.000-07:00

I'm exhausted, beaten to a frazzle, limp, energy-poor and unable even think of cooking dinner...or at least I was until I realized that tomorrow is Saturday (cue angelic choir) and

A. I need to get more layer pellet (poultry-speak for chicken feed) which means that
B. I will be very close to the ReStore and I can just feel that something good awaits me there and
C. the ReStore is right next to my favorite closeout fabric shop.
not to mention that D. SUMMER VACATION STARTS THURSDAY so I'll obviously need fabric for one of my myriad summer projects.

Right? The universe has obviously handed me une carte blanche otherwise known as a blank check, but which I prefer to think of as a no-limit debit card. (Blank checks are so last millenium.) I can hardly wait!

And I found enough energy while I was tossing scraps to our feathered composters to finally take photos of a previously unoccupied fixer-upper that a young family has moved into. I don't know their name yet, but I do know that their young'uns generate quite a fuss around feeding time.

Hoping that your Friday left you with plenty of enthusiasm for the weekend,

Spring Favorite

2011-05-31T16:57:00.000-07:00

Now that's a cottage welcome!

Nelly Moser's irresistible with her lush, exuberant growth and amazing blooms. My smile is an ear-to-ear grin whenever I walk by. Even if my front door still isn't farmhouse green...yet.

I'm seeing the world through my rose-colored glasses as I move through my garden. Every day brings a new treasure to enjoy., but Nelly Moser is definitely the star of the garden. Last week there was only a single blossom promising delights to come.

Now? Oh my gosh--how many clematis blossoms can you put on one plant?

And they're HUGE. As beautiful close up as they are from the front walk.

If I was a flower fairy, I'd surely choose a clematis vine to nap in. I'd wrap myself in one of the two-toned petals and nod off as the breezes gently rocked me. And I'd pluck the silky seed balls each autumn to spin my winter blanket from.

Sweet garden dreams, my friends.

Wishing you joy,

Participating in these parties. Come join me, you can never have too many flowers or too many friends!

And Show and Tell at My Romantic Home, of course!
As well as my newly found Fresh-Cut Fridays over at Rose Vignettes!

My Guideposts - Week62

2011-05-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt.

~Margaret Atwood

With dirty fingernails and a newly-planted Double Delight,two peonies, and a big smile,

How To: Paint Diva Roses

2011-05-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

Painting these roses are so stinkin' easy and fool-proof that it's practically immoral.

Supplies: Acrylic paint and some paint brushes, pretty basic and pretty simple.

Art brushes: one flat brush to paint the circular roses, one round brush for the details and leaves.

Colors:

Flowers: two contrasting carnation pinks, one light and one medium.
Leaves: two contrasting greens, lime is perfect for the lighter of the two and a medium green for the darker. Think tropical.
Dots: White.

My ~~plastic lid~~ fancy pants palette is ready to go. Ignore the metallic gold, aqua and black from a previous painting binge. Believe it or not, this IS a clean palette for me. Normally I have ten or more thick layers of paint crusted on.

Basecoat: I'm using soft blue for this tute, but black or white/ivory are fab and I'm dying to try a yellow-gold background soon.

Basecoat your item and let it dry. Besides the pot and wood hearts, I've also considered a bench, stool, flat picture frame, wooden box, garden art, pretty much anything flat that can be painted. You're limited only by your imagination! My brain is creating signs for a Garden Party, an arrow to the Rose Garden, a garden quote for my jardin and a box for the TV remotes.

*******

Grab your flat brush and some white paint, paint large and small circles randomly. Can you tell I use a pivot technique? So quick to just spin my brush around. Voila!
Let'em dry. (Why white? I always-always-always paint white first when I intend to use pink or red which cover notoriously poorly. You'll get a truer pink or red without painting multiple coats.)

Fill in between the circles with white elongated-almond shapes, some tilted one way, some tilted the other, some almost horizontal. Try to keep them random.

~~~~~~~~

Using your flat brush again (I'm assuming you washed out the white paint), pivot-paint over your white circles in light pink. Don't worry if you still see some white at the edges or if you slop some pink outside the white. It'll look great, you'll see!

Pay no attention to those darker pink circles. Pretend they are light pink too. Please?

~~~~~~~~

Now use the round brush and lime green to turn the white almonds into leaves. Paint more than half the white shape lighter. Then use the medium green to paint crescent-moon shapes on the other side. You should have a definite bend in your leaf. I usually (but not always) have my lighter green on top.

And yes, I did accidentally touch some wet green paint as I spun the pot around. It happens. No prob.

~~~~~~~~

Time for the round brush and darker pink to bring your roses to life. Think sixes and nines and spirals for the centers and fill in with some curved commas around the edges. It's fine if your lines waver, change from thick to thin or become wispy. In fact, it's good if they do that!

~~~~~~

You can add white polka dots and call it done at this point OR you could darken your green with a tad of black and add some definition to the edge of the green crescent like I did on the right there.

********

I used this terra cotta pot as an opportunity to play around a bit. My inspiration piece had large light pink and small dark pink roses with black accents, so I experimented with both red and purple accents for my pastel version of the diva roses with limited success (at least for me, you might love'em). My conclusion? Keep all the roses light pink with darker rosy spirals (that's why I told you to ignore those darker pink circles earlier).

Here are three other colorways for the diva roses :

Black background with both light and dark pink roses and white dots. Wretched photo, I know, so hard to see the colors in the glare in the morning sun. Do not despair, my lambs, the mug photos below are filled with details enough to delight any heart.

And the fabulous white diva mug itself in with black dots and detailing. See how yellow-green the leaves are compared to the pastel ones below?

Pastel blue like my How-To flower pot, only with black lining the leaf centers and detailing the roses.

Have fun painting,

Tuesday in My Garden

2011-05-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

It's time for the Tuesday Garden Party--it's so nice to have something in my garden to share. And I recently discovered that The Little Round Table features delightful gardens. So join me, spring was a long time coming this year but she was worth the wait.

My Double Delight rose continues to light up our yard. Her cool weather colors are my favorite.

The center is lighter than it would be in warmer weather. I still haven't decided where she'll be planted yet but I need to soon.

Another bearded iris has begun. She's even prettier in person.

I love the picotee edge! Even after jazzing up the photos in Picasa, I'm disappointed the colors aren't showing up better. I thought photos under cloudy skies would be great. Wrong. And Picasa is having upload issues to Blogger. (Or am I the only one?) Usually they are both reliable.

My two seedling lupines from last year are blooming for the first year and I'm not disappointed in their colors.

This soft peachy pink is nice.

But this pink is the color I was hoping for--yippee-ki-yo!

I'll be seeding some more this year hoping for a deep purple and a blue in the future. What you can barely see is baby peony foliage peeking through the lupine leaves. They should be a spectacular combo someday, especially with the clematis vine directly overhead. Just thinking about it makes me giddy!

And my treasured Nelly Moser clematis has her very first bloom. She's a springtime star.

It won't be the last one--she's loaded with buds that will welcome one and all to our front door for weeks to come. It tickles me when someone asks if they're real.

It seems every day brings new beauty to the cottage. Have I mentioned how much I love spring?

Beaming,

Diva Roses

2011-05-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

Every new trend begins with an inspiration.

Mine started with my new latte mug--a birthday gift to myself. (Tea or hot chocolate tastes twice as good in a cup that looks wonderful, I think.)

Unfortunately, the mug chipped the first time I put it in the dishwasher. I was able to exchange it for one in pristine condition (they only had three left in the store) and I only wash it by hand.

Divas apparently require careful handling to keep them happy. Who knew?

Back in February when I decided to repaint the valentine "welcome" heart that hangs on our front porch, the roses on my diva mug became my inspiration.

I can't even begin to express how much I loved the final result. But I'll try...love, love, love!

I heart easy. I appreciate success. I also enjoy trying out new colorways.

The weather (temporarily) turned warm and I began thinking pastel. These colors remind me of a Cath Kidston fabric.

I liked the pastel version enough to try it again. This time a softer look--without the black.

I have the feeling that these aren't the last diva roses I'll paint!
Interested in painting your own diva roses? You're in luck--I just posted a How To!

Lots of people more creative than me at BeColorful.

My Guideposts - Week61

2011-05-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

My work is loving the world.

~Mary Oliver

Animals Make Me Laugh

2011-05-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

I could watch these twenty times in a row and still laugh out loud. Because I know our dogs understand every single word we say, especially the food words.Why does Dooce always find the cutest ones first? Does she have pickers?

I could become a cat person if I had a pair like these. Or if I could find another like my college cat Steinburg.

This video is cute, but the takeoffs are hysterical. (Thanks to Jenn at Breed'em and Weep for clueing me in on this one).

Go, Animal Kingdom!

Wishing you day filled with laughter and animal cuddles,

Damp May Flowers

2011-05-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

I don't often say that I'm happy with rain (I'm half cat), but today might be an exception. Those of us living in the rainshadow endure the winds that usually precede any storm front that's aiming at us. After three days of having my hair unsuccessfully restyled by renegade wind, I'll settle for some nice peaceful raindrops instead. Even if it does mean muddy dog paws.

From dirty dog toes to pink dogwood as you near the cottage.

Those would be peony buds in the lower right!

Bearded iris under the dogwood and birch, just enough sunlight, just enough shade.

Nearing the front door, you encounter a bit of perennial exuberance.

Oh, how I love candytuft and bluebells!

This is my "mayflower."

They're Japanese anenomes with a bit of delicate sweet woodruff nearby. They love my dry shade and seed themselves in just the right amount.

May also brings flower drop from our cherry tree.

I swept this three times yesterday--hopeless. But maybe it'll pay off in sweet cherries in a couple months?

My new Double Delight rose loves the cool damp weather as she awaits planting in her new home.

She's my Mother's Day present.

Every single day brings changes to our May garden: sprouting leaves, delicate new buds, shy bits of color, sudden bursts of bloom. I've delighted in muddy fingernails, spading compost and manure into the raised beds (I know, only a gardener would list that!), buying petunias and bareroot peonies, nurturing tomato seeds. I love springtime. Lots.

Happily,

Linking up with the Garden Party

My Summer List: Act 1, Scene 1

2011-05-16T20:18:00.000-07:00

I began my summer list on Sunday (even if the weather is barely springlike much less summery) while my son drove us to his soccer game. It's hard to believe that summer vacation starts for me in three and a half weeks! Yes, a mere fifteen and a half days of school remain. Not that I'm counting or anything, you understand.

It's just that after a hundred eighty day of being ruled by inflexible school bells that don't care if I have a headache, need a potty break or have a flat tire, I kinda--just a little--look forward to setting my own schedule for a few months.

My Summer List
Priority items are now in red!

Garden Projects

Fix leak in backflow preventer (or replace), ~~check irrigation timer, and fix the drip system the puppy destroyed five years ago~~ (because it would be nice to go on a trip without my poor neighbors stressing about keeping all my plants watered).
~~Raise the coop, paint, insulate, shingle the roof (who knew all 4 chickens would take up permanent residence here?)~~
~~Scrub algae off the pond rocks (even if it will grow back)~~ and ~~get larger rocks to replace the small gravel.~~
Paint the doghouse and add some cute factor (long overdue).
~~Re-seed the lawn where dog paws have ground it to bare dirt (big dog = big paws)~~.
Make a new hammock sling and re-paint the metal supports (and I have a fabulous flowery aqua outdoor fabric).
~~Spray my fence art (formerly a metal welcome mat) white/off-white.~~
~~Paint Flick apple green and aqua ('cause the orangey yellow has got to go).~~
Create solar lights in the maple tree (saw some in Target but my sweetie sees no need for mood lighting on the patio, alas).
Engineer a canvas awning for the kitchen window (one that is wind-resistant, looks darling, and can fold out of the way).
Convince husband that we need to cut down the Japanese maple (it's huge and I'm afraid it's wrecking the roof--that's my story and I'm stickin' to it).
Put in drainage pipe to connect with downspout by back door (slipping on an icy walk got really old fast last winter).
~~Gutter nails~~(found 'em) now I need my husband to pound them in by front door.
~~Add drip irrigation to all the new plant areas (less lawn = colorful plants)~~.
~~Find an umbrella clothesline (I like being off the grid).I found that patio chairs work just as well and the HOA can't complain about a clothesline. There's always a way to push the envelope!~~
~~Redesign the compost bin (preferably so the dogs can't scavenge in it)~~

House

Have wood floors professionally sanded in ~~August~~ September and apply a better finish (tung oil? varathane?).
Order shutters for guest/craft room (whether TBG moves or not, it's gotta be done). ~~At least I've got a call in to set up an appointment for them to come out and measure and estimate the cost!~~
I~~nstall a ceiling fan in guest room (although if TBG moves out, it may not be worth it). He did move out--so a fan went on the non-priority list and the shutters moved down a few notches.~~
Paint our front door farmhouse green (convince husband first) and attach our new kickplate (not necessarily in that order).
Shampoo the carpets (again). Getting moved to the Autumn List!
~~Stop the overflow from the dishwasher.~~
~~New kitchen faucet.~~
~~Paint the laundry and powder room (might even get this finished before summer vacation starts)~~. Added: HA!
~~Add molding to laundry room cabinets and~~ ~~paint~~ ~~(so glad I received a Lowe's GC).~~
~~Paint family room (maybe).~~ I decided it wasn't necessary this year!
Paint master bath (did you know Nice and Easy will dye walls if it splashes?).
Finish living room curtains (inspiration would be a help).
Make new family room curtains (have the main fabric, need to find a great red now for edging).
Look for new master bedroom drapery fabric (the original ones are now officially sun-rotted).
Find hooks for our new drapery rod (I'm positive I can find them at a great low price even if I haven't after two years of looking).
Scrape off popcorn ceilings (I can dream).
Begin repainting the house exterior (at least in front where strange vertical stripes have appeared).
~~Fix drywall where the doorknob slammed into it (everyone has this prob once in a while).~~
Check/replace fluorescent starters and ballasts OR change drop ceiling to lights

Craft Projects

Bead garlands
K.C.'s Santa sock
Yellow shelf
~~Large desk, finish, photo and sell.~~ OK, so it wasn't the same desk I'd planned and it went to our son's new place, but it's one less desk in our garage!
~~Photo local barns~~

It's far from complete, but it's a start. Without a list, I'd be lost.

I've learned that summer doesn't last forever. If it did, I probably wouldn't get any home improvement projects finished. Procrastination is my middle name! How'd you know?

Inspired,

My Guideposts--Week60

2011-05-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

The true traveler is she who goes on foot, and even then, she sits down a lot of the time.

~Colette

I'm still challenged on getting more walking into my daily life, but this reminded me to enjoy life in all its aspects.

Spring Robin's Nest

2011-05-06T21:57:00.000-07:00

The wreath on the front door of Meadowsweet Cottage is sporting a stylish nest!

Come get a closer look.

It's okay, you don't have to be careful about scaring away the momma bird.

I'm the momma that made this little nest.

Hey, if a bird can do it so can I.

Cheep,

Come join more fun at My Romantic Home's Friday Show and Tell!

My Indecisive Chandelier

2011-05-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Some projects flat out tell you exactly what they prefer to look like. Those are the easy ones! Others...not so much.

My yard sale chandelier is more indecisive than a bride that keeps changing her mind about which wedding dress she likes. (Naturally I'm completely opinionated and never have any trouble making up my mind--I'm blaming this all on her.)

Obviously her current brass look isn't going to win any fashion kudoes. And what's a chandelier without lovely dangling crystals?

She was leaning toward a faux mercury glass look. Alas, there's not a can of Looking Glass spray paint to be had anywhere in our vicinity (and I've tried all the alternatives with indifferent results) so we've reluctantly jettisoned that idea on the grounds that we know when we're beat.

The current possiblities--and course all these would include clear drop crystals from the bobeches, arms and curlicues--are:

Ivory paint with darker glaze to highlight her baroque details. It has possibilities, but I'm not sure the flat look of paint is the best look for her.

Oil rubbed bronze. The contrast between the dark bronze and sparkly crystals would be a-maz-ing. On the down side, ORB is very dark. So dark that The Big Guy commented the trophy I spray painted looked like it had turned to the Dark Side (insert Darth Vader-esque breaths here). And would the baroque twirls and swirls show up?

Silver leafing. A definite glamour girl look. I wouldn't even mind the extra care all those little nooks and crevices would demand. Not sure I like the silver leaf I've got. It says silver leaf, but it doesn't look like real silver to me somehow. At least not next to my silverplate platter. Although my silver-leafed Dollar Tree bird does have his good points.

It's time to force the issue and git'er done. Help me out here, pretty please? Which look would you most favor for my indecisive chandy?

Ivory

Oil rubbed bronze

Silver leaf

FYI, I'm not planning on keeping the chandy for myself; I'll be helping her find a new home via craigslist after her makeover, but I do want a classic, timeless look for this little beauty.

In a dither and thankful to those of you visiting from My Romantic Home for adding your two cents,

May Is...Gardener's Delight

2011-05-03T13:23:00.000-07:00

May is candytuft season at Meadowsweet Cottage.Along with tulips and primroses. There's enough happening that I'm joining in the Garden Party over at An Oregon Cottage, hurray!

Of course I enjoy the flowering almond blossoms.
Their delicate petite beauty is best savored close up.

The redbud blossoms will debut this year. Love!
I've been dreaming of this moment since I planted a somewhat homely, twiggy bareroot plant in the spring of 2009. I'm not sure if patience or imagination is a gardener's best asset.

Guess who picked the season's first lettuce today?This mesclun-mix lettuce became a festive homegrown spring salad with the addition of fresh-this-morning eggs (cooked and diced) courtesy of The Bombshells and some viola petals sprinkled on top for their intense color.

And what better ending than a May Day basket of flowers from my garden?
Spring took her sweet time arriving, but she's been worth the wait.

Giddily,

My Guideposts - Week59

2011-05-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

A good walk cures most problems. Want to lose weight and get fit? Walk. Want to enjoy life but spend less? Walk. Want to cure stress and clear your head? Walk. Want to meditate and live in the moment? Walk. Having trouble with a life or work problem? Walk, and your head gets clear.

~Leo Babauta

My Dream House

2011-04-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

I was out of town and without my cell phone when my husband got the call. I came back to find we were moving to a new house! A one story rancher with an entire acre of land. The ceilings are a little low and it faces north (not good in our climate) but I plan to flip the dining room with the living room (easy-peasy fix) and we'll spend winters drenched in lovely warmth from the south-facing windows. The old owners apparently left a few things behind: a hulking brown refrigerator in the kitchen along with their laminate counters circa 1950. Oh, how I'll miss my granite! But at least I know my current cherished fridge will fit. Also a spindly-legged mahogany dining table got left behind. And the biggest pumpkin that I've ever seen sitting outside in the backyard. I'm not sure if the turkey I saw in the yard is a visiting neighbor or if she came with the house. I guess I'll need a bigger chicken coop! And a fenced run since there are coyotes in the area. There's plenty of room to pasture a milk producer (sheep? goat? Jersey cow!)although there's no barn or shed. And I guess my potager just became a farm. Also it's county land and I'll be free of CC&Rs that don't allow me to have a compost heap or clothesline. Maybe I shouldn't have lumped the compost in with clean clothes in that sentence. But assuming they won't be anywhere near each other...can you just about smell those air-dried sheets this summer? And The Bombshells won't have to be a clandestine operation any more. And wonder of wonders, it has a mudroom. Hallelujah! A laundry area on one side and I think just enough room for locker-style storage and a bench on the other. The oddest thing is that they took the old mailbox that was on the old stump and we have to wait for the post office to deliver a new one. What's up with that? The outside is red brick and white siding--that might change eventually, but right now practical thoughts like double-paned low-E windows and lots of insulation are going through my mind instead. It might be raining outside, but everytime I think of it the sun comes out! It's only three miles from our current home, so I will still see our current fabulous neighbors. And it's only a couple of doors down from a friend with kids the same age that I did a Cub Scout den with and I have other friends along the country road. Lots and lots of work but it's the perfect home for us.

I woke up smiling this morning, then I realized it really was "just" a dream. How I wish I could have kept sleeping a while longer in that paradise of a world. There were so many details that it seemed real. And all the while I kept saying, "It's the perfect house!"

I know we passed that rancher (for sale) on the way to Costco yesterday and I do have a large pumpkin in my backyard to the delight of the chickens, so I know where certain elements came from. But it's the best dream I've ever had and I think it told me something about where my heart is now. And I plan to start cruising that area west of us just in case there really is a brick home with no mailbox and a turkey roaming the front yard. And it might just be for sale. Who knows? Stranger things have happened.

Meanwhile, I'm up and thrilled with my vision even if it was just my dream, and the chickens are clucking outside for some breakfast and the doggitys are waiting to get sprung from their crates and give me good morning cuddles. The winds died down as the front passed and rain fell overnight and the sun is starting to peek out. And I'm living in a home I love right now. And I'm not disappointed that it was a dream, just happy I had it. Life is good!

Dreamily yours,

My Guideposts - Week58

2011-04-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.

~Marcus Tullius Cicero

After another ridiculously, inexcusably long blog vacation, I'm back. Perhaps I shouldn't have taken my last guidepost quote--"gardens are not made by...sitting in the shade"--quite so seriously and spent so much of the last few weeks in our garden? Springtime is that season when certain garden chores just have to be done or there are dire consequences down the road. So worth it--the yard looks lovely with trimmed edges and pruned fruit trees and my mind is wonderfully uncluttered with "I have to's".

Plus, spring is as irresistible to this gardener as loose soil is to the Kharma dog. We just gotta. Right now. My fingernails have regained their normal black crescent tips, my skin is rough and my hair is dusty but the garden looks terrific decked in hyacinths, tulips and primroses.

My Kindle went to California for the weekend with The Big Guy (he loaded reading for classes on it). I miss it mucho--thank heavens for a well-stocked pre-Kindle library.

Springtime = Garden = Love,

Forget Spring--I'm Ready For December!

2011-03-09T11:33:00.000-08:00

Did you know it's possible to spray paint in sub-freezing weather if you're ~~crazy~~ ~~impatient~~ ~~desperate~~ motivated enough? Hint: It involves my warm laundry room, a quick dash outside and an even faster retreat inside and an exhaust fan.

I have a secret to painting things red (like my vintage iron bed and my puppy planter.) I get a nice glowing cheery red by first painting my piece white. Much easier than still seeing a shadowy darkness to your red after applying coat after coat after coat of red!

My wooden R-Y-E (fifty cents each at GW)...

have now been joined by a red metal "m" and "r" (Michaels closeout). The spray paint and red acrylic paint couldn't have been a closer match if I'd planned it!

Yes, it's mERrY at our house. This project's done, finished, photographed in the last snow of the year, crossed off the to-do list and put away in one of the Christmas bins.

And it's so delightful to discover that my auto-post didn't auto-post on Monday. Better someday than never, eh!

Merrily,

My Guideposts - Week57

2011-03-06T14:39:00.000-08:00

Gardens are not made by singing, "Oh, how beautiful," and sitting in the shade.

~Rudyard Kipling

Rolling up my sleeves,

The Demise of the Healthy Blogger

2011-02-28T21:56:00.000-08:00

Not the actual blogger. Or said blogger's health. Just the blog about it.

Maybe I could have titled this post The Healthy Blogger Bites the Dust. (Biting dust is probably low-cal and maybe even an appetite supressant. I doubt that it's healthy though--might have some trace minerals but I'm guessing no vitamins.)

Pardon me while I have a silly attack.

I just deleted my other blog since I hadn't posted to it since November and I have this moderate sense of relief--enough for some silly. (That would be my voice performing a sad version of opera.)

FYI, I didn't delete it because I've given up. I'm still working more health into daily life with a little help from No More Holidays (thank heavens) for a while and a giant boost from The Big Guy who can tweak my exercises so they're more effective and also who bullied me into keeping a Food Journal for a week.

Thank you for your attention. We now return you to our regular health-free programming.

Sneak Peeks

2011-02-28T07:30:00.000-08:00

I have lots of projects in the process of Becoming.

Clockwise from the upper left:

Kharma (do dogs qualify as projects?);
R-Y-E (Would it help if I told you I also have another M and an E still to be painted?) and a wooden candlestick awaiting more paint;
new hammock fabric;
future valance in laundry room;
and newly painted robin's eggs (previously tan speckled).

Not shown: a How-To post on How I Paint My Signs (it turns out I have some good tips) as well as one on Editing in Picasa.

The best part is when several projects get finished almost simultaneously and you feel like You've Really Accomplished Something!

Progressively,

My Guideposts - Week56

2011-02-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

Stay close to any sounds that make you glad you are alive.

~Hafiz

Inspired by birdsong in the snow,

Throwing Caution To The Winds

2011-02-25T22:45:00.000-08:00

I finally brought myself into the new millenium and signed up for Facebook. Reluctantly and with reservations, but I did it.

Big ~~scaredy cat~~ risk taker, I know!

Now I have to figure out how to actually use Facebook. I'd rather be buying more velvet and working on new curtains (two separate projects) than struggling with a new technology that doesn't look particularly user-friendly at first go. Actually I'd vacuum, dust and mop the floors by hand than begin the navigation process. Go ahead, tell me that it's easy and I'll love it. I could use the reassurance.

Thinking positively,

Dream On

2011-02-24T21:20:00.000-08:00

The guest bath in the cottage isn't our highest priority; heck, it's not even on the to-do list! Maybe that's why it was so easy to assemble an inspiration board for it. (When there's no budgetary constraints, the sky's the limit!) Do you do the same thing? Daydream about a project that won't come into being for another decade?

Perhaps the vinyl and underlayment that's peeling up and buckling due to an over-exuberant boy shower a few years back has subconsciously influenced my brain. Whatever the reason, I'm currently inundated with visions of clawfoot tubs, hexagonal tiles, a marble countertop and porcelain accessories. Also beadboard and a skylight (as long as I'm daydreaming I might as well go for broke and invent the bath of my dreams).

I call it "Country Vintage Charm." I originally thought it could be "Classic Vintage Elegance" until I laughed so hard at myself I almost got a mouthful of Sleepytime tea all over the keyboard.

This bath will be the place where dogs fresh from a muddy pasture will be bathed and blow-dried, paintbrushes and glue guns will reside occasionally and brightly-colored rugs and shower curtains will flourish.

I seriously doubt that anyone will use elegance to describe anything I dream up EVER! And that's okay--I may be a dreamer but I'm also a country girl at heart who loves gingham, cheery colors and critters with dirty paws.

Blissfully,

Linking up with Show and Tell at My Romantic Home.

I Love To Surf

2011-02-22T23:23:00.000-08:00

California girl, and all that.

Truthfully, I'm more at home in the mountains (no matter how snow-covered) than on the beach (no matter how warm and sunny), but I do love to surf--web-surf that is. You can find the most inspiring, dream-inducing sites.

Like these Tiny Texas Houses. This company believes small is beautiful! These beauties are crafted with recycled wood, reused metal, upcycled cast-iron sinks and (clawfoot!) tubs and customized beautifully. Want to live off the grid? Have a/c? Go solar? Love to cook on an induction stove? This customer-pleasing company can do.

These homes appeal to my inner ranch-girl, my bent for all things vintage, and the part of me that wants to save the earth.

Oh yeah, and the fact that housework in one of these little gems would be soooo easy and quick doesn't hurt either. They range from 10 by 10 up to a whopping 12 by 28.

It would be like playing in a stinking-cute dollhouse! They almost make me want to move to Texas just to live in one.

Almost.

Riffing on the tiny theme--I love teardrop trailers. Huell Howser's California Gold had a program on them a few years back. They were popular in the 40's and 50's. They're polar opposites to RVs. I drool everytime we pass one sales lot in Auburn next to I-80.

Teardrops have a bitty camp-style kitchen in back. This one comes complete with a spice rack and built-in "fridge" and plenty of pizazz.

It's the best of both world's--I could have fun cooking in the wilderness and my sweetie could still sleep in his own bed. Our interior wouldn't be this ~~bland~~ calm though.

The possibilities of customizing the exteriors makes me hyperventilate just a bit. A woody on the outside with a retro fifties interior (think beach party meets FiestaWare).

Is this cowgirl trailer for sale? I just happen to have the perfect cowgirl pillowcase for it.

A cowgirl teardrop with some gingham curtains and cowhide accents would look cute. And my sweetie would look so much better standing outside than this bearded dude. No offense meant, bearded dude.

It's so fun to dream!

I dream practical too. I'm surfing for a new kitchen faucet: long, tall, polished chrome.

If someone could wave a magic wand, I have a bathroom in need of a makeover. I'd be happy to surf for black and white hexagonal tiles, a clawfoot tub, and chrome and porcelain fixtures--luxuriously vintage elegance-- if someone would like to finance me!

I'd settle for a kitchen faucet that doesn't get me wet every time I turn it on though!

Back to real life: rising bread dough, dinner dishes that need loading into the dishwasher, checking out the weather report while pumping a bit of iron and remembering to set the alarm for tomorrow morning.

Dreamily,

My Guideposts - Week55

2011-02-20T06:30:00.000-08:00

It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, but it is not possible to find it elsewhere.

~Agnes Repellier

Evaluating,