Month: June 2012

Gardening · General

Summer-ing…

Amy11 Comments

It’s been an incredibly busy week.  We are a household in chaos.  Drama camp, Sewing camp, Vacation Bible School, two full time jobs….it’s depleted all of us.  The children are fussy, the parents are fussy, the uncut grass is tall, the laundry is piled in a chair, and takeout reigns supreme.

But this morning, I had a few minutes…

 

To look around…to enjoy things that are beautiful today…in this moment…

The morning glories have overtaken my favorite birdhouse. I love the messy opulence of it…

The illusion of the trailing vines spilling onto the ground…as opposed to their herculean effort of reaching toward the sun.

Zinnias so bright and beautiful that I had to capture them, just for a moment.

And bring them inside with a little Lantana

and Lemon Balm….heady stuff!

Just a few minutes of peace and purpose, tucked in at the end of a flurry of summering.

 

 

Crochet

A Retreat from the Heat…

Amy7 Comments

It’s officially summer in East Texas.  Our temperatures hit the century mark this week for the first time this season.  The downside of 104 degree days is obvious.  Doing anything outside is brutal-especially when  the heat is accompanied by stifling humidity.  The upside is a re-surging motivation to come in from the garden and crochet or sew…(or just lay down under a ceiling fan, motionless…)

This week, I opted to play with hexagons. I think I love them….I actually had a pattern delivered to my email inbox that used these colors, and I knew immediately, I must make them…Big, beautiful rainbows….love!

I'm loving this!

I’m Loving This…

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I love fragrance.  I stock up twice a year, and I don’t necessarily economize.   Because of this, there tends to be a bit of excitement when I make my semi-annual selections.  And naturally, when I’m excited, I like to share!

Jo Malone Iris and lady Moore Cologne.  Feminine and floral but deliciously different.  I love the packaging as well-it’s what first caught my eye! Its’ light but lingering at the same time.  Floral, almost powdery, but with a spicy edge.

Bulgari Omnia Crystalline-A mingling of lotus flowers, nashi and balsa wood.  It’s floral, yes, but very light with a fruity edge to it.  It makes for a great summer scent.

And I always come back to Estee Lauder.  This time, I opted for Sensuous Nude-despite a very warm fragrance core, this scent is light and delicate. It’s described as a woody musk, but is fragranced with Bergamot, Rose and Jasmine petals. Wonderful!

 

Bookmarked · General

Bookmarked…

Amy1 Comment

“Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it”…P.J. O’Rourke

Before I was a compulsive hobbyist, I was a compulsive reader.  At any given time, I have three or more books in progress.  It’s just how I roll.  There have been many times in my life where a book took precedence over just about everything. Have you experienced that wonderful inability to make yourself stop reading?

Today, I thought I’d share what I’m reading now…

We are all about literature for young readers at my house.  Sure, sure, it’s because we have a ten year old, but it’s also because Phil and I love adventures!

I recently watched several episodes of the BBC series Merlin, and it stimulated memories of Mary Stewart’s classic Merlin trilogy. I loved these books when I first read them, and Whitney’s looking for her next “series”, so I decided to read them again.

I just finished The Crystal Cave and started The Hollow Hills.  They’re wonderful, but not at all as I remembered.  I’m not sure that Whitney is ready for them, because you know, lots of sex and adult themes  (predictably).  Oddly, I didn’t remember that at all.  You really do get something different out of a story every time you read it.  It also might have something to do with the fact that it’s probably been 25 years or so since I read them the first time.

On the non-fiction end I’m reading on a few different subjects…

In Greg’s Garden, a Pineywood Perspective on Gardening, Nature and Family by Greg Grant is a collection of essays by a well-known Texas horticulturist. The essays are knowledgeable and folksy and it’s a great guide for “native” plant species.

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau –  In preparing to write this book, Chris identified 1,500 individuals who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a modest investment (in many cases, $100 or less), and from that group he chose to focus on the 50 most intriguing case studies.

Sew Everything Workshop: The Complete Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide by Diana Rupp-I’m actually taking Diana’s sewing class on Craftsy and the book was “strongly encouraged” for the class.  It’s a good well-balanced overview/tutorial for sewing, however, and has been beneficial for my sewing “do over”.

What are you reading this week?   What’s books are on your reading “wish list”?

General

Awards are Nifty!

Amy10 Comments

I’m always thankful and moderately amazed to get feedback on my ramblings. I’m still fairly new to blogging, and I’m not sure when you become cavalier about being “read” or “followed”, but I do know that I’m not there yet. I am completely susceptible to flattery.  It’s just how I roll.

I’ve been passed two very thoughtful awards this week.

Seasonsgirl forwarded the Sunshine award.  Her blog  is lovely and certainly brings sunshine to my day!

Marsha Lee at Streaming Thoughts bestowed the One Lovely Blog Award. Her blog is a wonderful blending of her thoughts on blogging and life in general.

The rules for these two awards vary, so I’d like to give both of them to a handful of blogs that are lovely and bring sunshine.

The Giraffe’s Hat-whimsical and colorful

House of 34-stylish and funny

Stir and Stitch-talented and tasty

By Number 19-crochet wizardry

Oh Sew Tempting-amazing patchwork

Chic Envelopements-radical refashioning

They’re all fabulous! Take a moment and check them out.

Now, I’m supposed to tell you guys 5 or 7 or 11 or 600 things about myself.  So hard.  I think I’ll aim for three.  I’m all about setting achievable goals 🙂

1.  I listen to NPR whenever I’m in my car.  I don’t know when it happened.  One day I listened to a wide variety of music.  The next day, I had crossed over to all talk radio all the time.  I can’t tell you what songs are top 40 and I don’t know who most of the new artists are.  This morning I busted out of my rut and listened to Def Leperd, the Pretenders and 50 Cent.

2.  I can’t tolerate reality TV.  Because of this I’m hopelessly out of the loop at the water cooler.  I didn’t even watch Dancing with the stars this season. I have, however, tuned into A&E’s Duck Dynasty twice in the last week.  Not sure what’s happening there…it’s kind of like watching a wreck.

3.  I have three favorite drinks currently:  1) Latte made at home with Cafe Bustelo, fat free milk, lightly sweetened with agave syrup 2) Dripping Springs Vodka with Fresca 3) Diet Dr. Pepper from the Sonic

What’s your favorite drink this summer?

 

 

 

Gardening

The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

Amy8 Comments

It’s been a month of highs and lows at my little hacienda. Ta da! Our first egg!

Finally! In all it’s tiny perfection.

We still haven’t ferreted out which of the Hogwart’s four is our layer.  I plan to stalk the henhouse this weekend.  I think it’s Jenny Weasley.

I know I should love them all the same, but Jenny’s my “bff” chicken.  She’s the only one who lets me pet her.  Either that or she’s scared of me and she’s dropping in fear…nah, I’m sticking with the first version where she loves me and lets me pet her.

On with the happenings.  Behold my beautiful garbage can potato plants

Blessedly, we’ve been getting a little rain over the last few weeks.  This time last year, we had already begun our 100+ degree heat and relentless drought conditions.  So again, I say, the rain is a blessing.  A blessing that pairs with oppressive humidity, which  breeds mold and fungus….

Fungus…aka early blight. So…darn…maddening! The potatoes had done so well! I was so proud.  And yes, I know I talking about them like they’re already dead and gone, but my optimism is strained on this one.  I cleaned away most of the speckled leaves.  I did everything I could figure out to do for them. If we can limp along a little, maybe I can salvage new potatoes?

I’m probably a little more upset about the potatoes than is rational because my favorite climbing rose is struggling with a brutal case of Black Spot, and my cucumbers look to have a virulent case of powdery mildew.  I don’t have a green thumb, I have a spotted fungus thumb! So sad…

This climbing beauty will soon be a nubby, aggressively pruned beauty.

But then, there are a few bright spots that balance the spotty victims in my landscape.

My Zinnias from last summer volunteered this year!  I love them!

They’re such a cheerful companion for the herbs and veggies in my raised beds.

My squash and zucchini threaten to overtake their companions…

And if I could get the slugs and beetles to chill on my Mr. Stripey, he promises some tomato goodness very soon. (I couldn’t bear to pull that Zinnia like it was a weed!)

Note the giant Tomatillo plant in the background of the next shot.  It’s been blossoming relentlessly for months.  The butterflies love it!  Unfortunately, they don’t bother to print on the packaging that Tomatillo plants need to cross pollinate in order to fruit.  I have only one…therefore, it will never fruit.

Really?  Don’t you think that might be good information?  To put on the stick with the growing conditions?  Just saying…

But really, who cares about the weird Tomatillo situation when you turn around and find this.

Crochet

Tunisian…Ta Da!

Amy9 Comments

I completed the first panel of Jennifer Hansen’s Tunisian Multi-Garment!

It was fun.  Learning Tunisian has been very gratifying. These pictures  were taken after my first quick run at blocking.  I still have some perfecting to do with the structure.

I have a sneaky suspicion that I would have been happier with a slightly larger size.  I won’t know for certain until I’ve completed the second panel.  The sizes were based on bust circumference and I think I would prefer a little more length on what will inevitably be the “torso”.  Maybe I’m long-waisted….or maybe my tummy is a little more of an issue than my bust….

The color work is fascinating.  Let it be known, however, that it leaves a gazillion ends to be woven.  Hence the probable delay in starting the second panel for the garment.  I need a little time to forget what a pain those ends were.

All in all, however, I’m extremely pleased!  The Craftsy class on Tunisian was a great experience.  I’ve signed on for three additional classes since beginning the Tunisian.  I’m not sure that the instruction I’m seeing is the same quality that Jennifer Hansen provided in the Tunisian class, but I love the platform and  recommend it for anyone who struggles to find classes available in your location or that work with your schedule.