The garden news, June 27

I have heard reports that some airports are hanging signs above the area just past security–you know, where there’s a table and chairs–that say “Recombobulation Area”. I think that’s awesome. I have been home from my Grand Tour of family homesites for a few days now, so I think that I am sufficiently recombobulated to [...]

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Meme

1) What was I doing 10 years ago?
I had just graduated from high school and was spending the summer working in a shop, waiting to leave for college.
2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today?
Pick up prescriptions
Go to bellydance class
Remember to bring milk to work, so I can enjoy my coffee
Water the [...]

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Stonehedge Fiber Mill

Located a pleasant distance from the Perfect Cabin is Stonehedge Fiber Mill, where wool is produced, and sheared, and cleaned, and carded, and spun, and dyed, and sold. These people don’t miss a single step.

There is an enormous amount of river rock in the soil around here. It is the material of choice for landscape [...]

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A walk in the woods

I am in The Sticks again, visiting my parents. Last time I was here, there was about a foot of snow outside, and it was deer hunting season, so I spent most of my time and blogging effort indoors. Now, however, it is Springtime–ah, Spring. Spring in the woods. I really love woods; I live [...]

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Yipes!

Of red-ripe strawberries resting in her minty-blue colander, Alicia says “Yipes! Is that pretty!”

Yipes indeed. I do love strong, bright, clear colors and I do love summer fruit and I do love kitchen gadgets in novelty colors. A trifecta of adoration. Le sigh.

Yipes to the American Pie quilt, which is slowly taking shape. I [...]

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Cynicism

Ah, the garden. Is any cynicism not premature?

The day after I complained about the lupines… a flower.

I think this is a pincushion chrysanthemum. I have a red one, too.

Tomato flowers

Sweet pepper flowers

Something mysterious budding in the seed bed

Something else mysterious budding in the seed bed

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Cute/Sweet

In the whirl of social activity, it had somehow come to pass that I hadn’t looked at a single magazine yet this year. Six issues of Martha Stewart Living and six issues of Country Living were piled on my coffee table, touched by guests but not by myself. Something had to be Done.

There was a [...]

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Fabric dreams

I have had the de-cluttering bug since yesterday evening. I re-organized the containers of things on my deck, I cut back the Spring bulb greenery, I organized my sewing table, I cleared off my dining table… and I want to use up some of this fabric that has been sitting around for years. I have [...]

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The garden news

Summer is in full swing. The temperature has been above 80 everyday for two weeks, now, so if things are every going to get going–they’ve got going now.

I cannot love on these lantana enough. What a wonderful plant. What a wonderful flower.

Some of my snapdragons are doing very well, and others aren’t. It’s almost like [...]

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Planning

Let us put the eye candy up front, in this post.

I heart lantana

Oh how I heart lantana

I wish I could remember what this plant was. It is as tall as the foxglove and, like the foxglove, fell over in the storm. Its flowers are enormous… I would say that dolls could use them for teacups, [...]

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After the storm

This little fellow, who lives ever-so-tentatively along the back of my perennials bed, must have been having a very nasty time of it recently. We have had incredible thunder and lightning and downpours of rain almost every night this week. On Tuesday, they even put off the tornado sirens twice–though I think nothing touched down.

It [...]

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Packed lunch no. 1

Heeeeere it is:

Spinach salad with strawberries, mango, and poppyseed dressing. Squid sauteed with garlic and chili. Key lime rice pudding.
The napkin you may remember as being part of the chocolate service from last summer. The bag is made from additional Bleeker Street fabrics, just made up out of my head. Too entirely cute. The whole [...]

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Forever Summer

I have spent a significant chunk of today curled up with Nigella Lawson’s book Forever Summer. It’s full of exactly the kind of fresh, flavorful stuff that I want to be cooking at this time of year. The mizuna and squid salad? Oh yes, ohhhh yes, we’re trying that very very soon. We certainly are.

Today, [...]

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Key Lime Rice Pudding

Happy June. I like June–it is summer, but not yet the searing, blinding kind of summer. Just the happy, carefree, picnics-and-swimming kind of summer. Three cheers for summer!
This happy weather makes me want to do three things. Two of them are (1) sew, and (2) cook something really good to eat, full of flavor and [...]

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