The Second Most Wonderful Time of Year

The second most wonderful time of year
is when peaches make their appearance at the Farmer's Market!
I was afraid there would be no peaches this year.
The best peaches in this area are grown in the hill country.
They need cold weather and they didn't get much last winter.

I've been having peach smoothies for breakfast.

I also came home with tomatoes.

It's bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich time.

With half of the tomatoes gone and only a few peaches left,

a trip to the market next Tuesday is definitely in order!

In Musashi's garden,

the day lilies I ordered from Oakes Lilies are starting to bloom.

Little Grapette was the first to bloom.

2″ bloom, 12-18″ tall, Early Season, Semi-Evergreen. 

Deep grape colored blooms with a deeper purple band around a small chartreuse throat. 

This is Mini Pearl. 

3″ bloom, 16″ tall, Early-Mid Season + rebloom, 

Masses of blush apricot pink blooms are held low on short scapes.

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five on Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

This and That

- June Is National Iced Tea Month 

and that's a very good thing!


- June marks the beginning of hurricane season 
and that is not a very good thing.......

- ICAD (Index Card A Day) started --
June and July --
61 little pieces of art on an index card.

This is my Index Card for June 1.
Mixed-media, paper scraps, ephemera, stamps, fortune cookie.

"The challenge is about the DOING and not the
KEEPING or PRESERVING or ARCHIVING. 
It is the process of creating each day that matters."
~ Tammy at Daisy Yellow


- I had a birthday.

It started by opening all the birthday cards.

*

Flowers from a dear friend.
Too cute!

Instead of birthday cake--

birthday cupcakes --

fudge bites with frosting.

YUM!

-  Musashi's Garden had a visitor -- a charming little lady.....

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five on Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

Tra La! It's May!

Tra la, it's May, the lusty Month of May

That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray.

Tra la, it's here, that shocking time of year

When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear!

(Lyrics from Lerner and Loewe's Camelot)

*
Where I live, the arrival of May means summer is here.
Six months of summer and six months of not summer.
Although the "not" summer seems to be getting shorter.

*

Did you know the month of May is named for the Roman goddess Maia,
who oversaw the growth of plants?
Also from the Latin word maiores, "elders," who were celebrated during this month.

*

Amaryllis is blooming in Musashi's garden.

*

My 50th high school reunion is this year.
THUD!

Here I am --

If I remember correctly, the senior pix were taken the end of the junior year.
Thus the short hair (look at all that teased hair).
Yes, I have my eyes closed  -- the sun is bright in New Mexico.

*

It's no secret that I enjoy shopping (especially window shopping) at Sur La Table.
This is what I found in their latest email.

Too cute!


*

I decided I needed to clean out my yarn closet.

I would open the door and wonder what would fall out next!

My habit when I'm working on a project,

knit, crochet, counted cross stitch -- whatever --

is to put all the supplies in a tote bag with the project.

A girl can never have too many tote bags.

So in goes the pattern, yarn, needles, hooks -- everything to get the project done.

And when I finish, I tend to leave everything in the tote bag.

So, cleaning out the yarn closet meant I went through all the tote bags to see what was there ... mostly patterns and hooks/needles.

One of the totes had two balls of a washable acrylic, nylon yarn in a wonderful teal with dark  blue specks, a circular needle and several scarf patterns.
I like to use a circular needle on small projects.

 One of my all time favorite stash busting patterns from Knit Picks was included.

I must have decided to try to get a scarf from the two small balls of yarn.

Well, it worked!

Here's the finished product.

I cut the pattern (Diagonal Garter Stitch Scarf) from the Knit Picks catalog 
(back when they sent catalogs by mail).

It's very simple -- Cast on 22 stitches (or your choice).

RS: Knit into front and back of first st, knit across to last 2 sts, K2tog.

WS: Knit

Repeat these two rows until scarf is desired length and bind off loosely.

*

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five On Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

Monday Social

Craft On

Exercise Your Mind Not Just Your Abs

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.

I had a quiet one.

Did some digging in the garden which is always good.

*

I put my crochet hook and my knitting needles aside giving my hands a rest.

Marly Bird is going to do another KAL (Knit-A-Long) and I want to be ready!

I haven't been to Michaels yet to get the yarn.

It's on the "to do" list.

*

The Fortune Cookie Journal suggested I exercise my mind not just my abs 
(which I did in the garden)
and I guess I did that by completing some reading.

My 88 year-old godmother loves to read.
She really enjoys the China Bayles mystery series by Susan Wittig Albert.
The new one - THE LAST CHANCE OLIVE RANCH is out. 
Number 25 in the series!
It's a good thing that my godmother doesn't mind if I read it first!
It's on it's way to her house for Mother's Day. 
One of the reasons I enjoy this series so much is the business China owns--
an herb shop.
In this book -- olives take center stage along with murder.
All the favorite characters are back and in fine form.

*

The second book I want to share with you is
MY CITY HIGHRISE GARDEN by Susan Brownmiller.

Most people know Susan Brownmiller as feminist and journalist. She is probably best known for her 1975 book, AGAINST OUR WILL: MEN, WOMEN AND RAPE. Now 80 years old, Brownmiller takes us on a delightful tour of her 20th floor high-rise garden, something she has been tending with care for 35 years. 
 Small space gardening is not easy (I know), but on the 20th floor of a high-rise is definitely an unnatural environment with high winds and bad weather, along with the occasional maintenance of the building. She talks about the garden with humor and honesty. I got lots of ideas for my balcony (on the second floor) and my postage stamp backyard. I even ordered day-lilies from the company that she uses. If you love gardens, this a short (154 pages), sweet description of an oasis in the city with all its trials, tribulations and successes. I'm going to keep my copy for future reference!

*

The third book is THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER
by Phaedra Patrick.

Charming and delightful, Arthur Pepper is nearing the one year
anniversary of his wife's death. It's time to clean out the closet and get rid of her things. While separating clothes and shoes, he finds a charm bracelet in a pair of boots. He doesn't remember ever seeing the bracelet before.
This bracelet and it's charms take Arthur on an adventure of healing and self-discovery. 

Three different books and all good.
Although if you are interested in the Mystery,
you should start with book number one -- not number twenty five!

 *

I went out to feed the fish and look what I found in the pond!
A whole lot of "something" going on. Ha!
This must mean that spring is definitely here.

*

This week instead of lunch it was breakfast with a friend.
Spinach Quiche at Croissant Brioche -- French Bakery and Cafe.
Authentic French breads baked fresh daily.
YUM!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five on Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

Location, Location, Location

How many times have you heard location, location, location?

One of the best things about living where I do is definitely location.

Living near Rice University there's always plenty going on...

athletics, art, music, community education.

I'm also near the museums and Hermann Park.

There's lots of shopping and good eats in Rice Village.

The latest public art installation in Rice Village is an owl by California artist Nathan Mabry.

A blue origami-like aluminum owl, along with four smaller lifelike owls, 
are a nod to Rice University.

"While researching Rice Village, I became interested in the vibrant history of the neighborhood and proximity to Rice University. I find myself particularly engaged with the mascot of Rice University, the Owl," Mabry said in an announcement.

"It's a powerful symbol in both antiquity and contemporary life. My work has long explored the depiction of birds from all facets of art history."

The Owl weighs 868 pounds and took 8.3 hours to install.
It's a fun addition to the neighborhood.

*

Speaking of location.

I'm also near the Zoo.
The zoo always celebrates Spring with a Spring Fling for some of its members.
Usually it is a breakfast.
This year the zoo decided to make it Breakfast for Dinner and hold the event in the evening.
It was a beautiful night.
Breakfast was delicious -- with the best biscuits and gravy I've had in awhile!

I invited my next door neighbors and can say that a good time was had by all!
There was a hula hoop competition for the kids,
face painting, endless carousel rides and the children's zoo was open with
the petting zoo. 

And even the adults had fun watching the zebu.
He put on quite a show.
His keeper asked him to walk in a circle.
He did and he was given a treat.
Then he kept walking in a circle and back to his keeper --
"treat please"!
We were all laughing --
all except the Llama who seemed quite put out!

*

A good friend took me to lunch.
We went to one of our mutual favorite spots --
the Hobbit Cafe.
The Hobbit has been around since 1972 and for some time was the 
only spot to get good, fresh vegetarian food.
They have now added the "regular" food for those who just can't live without their burger.

I had the "slim" Gandalf.
(Believe it or not, there is a larger version of this sandwich.)
Their wheat bread is amazing.
Avocado, mushrooms and melted cheese.
You can pick your side - black beans for me.

My friend had the Fatty Lumpkin -- tuna salad, tomato, melted cheese
with carrots on the side.

They are knife and fork sandwiches -- 
no way I could get my mouth all the way around to take a bite. 

*

Last and not least for locations--
there is no place like home! 

Wishing you well, much joy and a "Hoppy" Easter!

Five on Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

Monday Social

The best cure for boredom is crayons!

From the Fortune Cookie Journal
"The Best Cure for Boredom is Crayons"

Today is National Crayon day!
Crayola has announced that one of their colors is going to be retired!

In the spirit of crayons and art ---
Liberate Your Art 2017 is underway.
I received my first postcard last week --
all the way from Ireland -- Connemara Cottage, an acrylic painting.
The artist is Jacinta Moore.
You can find more of her artwork and photos here.

*

It's been busy around here.

Spring cleaning outside.

The last of the freeze damaged plants are gone.

I found some very old flower and veggie seeds 

that I've "thrown" out into the bare garden spots.

If they come up -- great -- if not -- that's okay, too.

The pond/water garden has been cleaned.

All the water out, the fish out, the plants out.

Power wash and then everything back in.

Two pretty, new water lilies.
One pink and one purple.

Some fun floating grass for the fish to play in.
Now I'm waiting for the fish to spawn.

*

The balcony is ready for spring and Easter.
The Gerbera Daisy and geranium are blooming.

*

A  very handsome visitor stopped by.

At least once a year there is a hawk in the backyard.
They know I feed the birds in the morning.
No critters were harmed during his visit.

*

I've been busy weaving in the ends on the Cottage Charm lapghan
and trying to decide what I might like to tackle next.
I have yarn for more shawls.
Never too early to make Christmas/Birthday presents.
Be prepared!

These are also calling:

I enjoyed the Cottage Charm lapghan.
I found another pattern with similar flowers.
Or
Some cute potholders.
Both projects should be good stash busters!

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

Five On Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

Monday Social

Craft On

Celebrating the Green!

St. Patrick's Day is today.

This year I started celebrating a little early with a 

Green Tea Frappuccino from Starbucks.

Matcha and Green heaven! Ha!

And, if it is too cold for a Frappuccino,
perhaps some hot tea will do the trick.
Always nice to get out the Belleek for St. Patrick's Day.

Corned beef and cabbage are usually on the menu.
This year I'm changing things up a bit and plan on having
Pasta, Peas, Asparagus, Spinach and Pesto!
Adapted from a friends recipe that you can find here.

*

Daffodils have arrived at Trader Joe's and I'm in heaven!

Spring is definitely arriving around Twisty Lane.

In almost every room.
The daffodil is such a happy flower!

“Daffodils are an optimistic flower, and foolproof. 
You know what Shakespeare said: 
"Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty."

...I plant them in big clumps with a trusty shovel. 
I make several large holes all around and put quite a few in. 
That's why it makes such a spectacular look when they bloom.” 
― Tasha Tudor, The Private World of Tasha Tudor

*

I finished the Cottage Charm Afghan.

Yes, I ran out of blue and had to get more.

The color is a close match, but the texture is a little different.

I always make the first of a project for myself.

The difference in texture won't bother me! 

I think my favorite part of the afghan is the little white bow!

It's going to work well as a lap-ghan for me.

Most importantly -- It has Mr. Oliver's approval!

The blue matches his eyes...... 

I'm reading the last of the Amish mysteries - A Churn for the Worse.
I'll be sad to finish. I really like the characters and the setting.
I hope there are more to come in the series.


*

May your joys be 
as deep as the oceans

Your troubles 
as light as its foam

And may you find
sweet peace of mind

Wherever you
may roam.


Wishing YOU well and much joy on this St. Patrick's Day.


Five on Friday
(Thank you Amy for hosting!)

Willy Nilly Friday

Monday Social

Mosaic Monday

Make It Pretty Monday

Keep Calm Craft On

Like Raindrops in Spring!

February was the hottest month here since "they" started keeping records.
Bodes ill for summer.

March has come in with rain... all weekend and most of the week.
But it was a nice rain, slow steady raindrops and about 4 - 6 inches worth.


*

It's March and thoughts have turned to Spring!

I've been slowly finding my Easter decorations.

My favorite Easter Bunnies.

They make me smile.

Sitting at the kitchen table
surrounded by some of my favorite things
is a great way to start the day!


*

Working on the Cottage Charm Afghan.
I bought the kit from Mary Maxim.
Nice yarn and the pattern is easy to follow.

However, I've run out of yarn twice.
I'm a "tight" crocheter so I was a little surprised.
I had one more pink flower to make.
Thankfully, I had some yarn at home that was a close enough match.
Then I ran out of the green.
I had to go out and find a green yarn to match.
I now have enough of the green to make another afghan.
Feast or famine! Ha!

Now adding the blue to the squares and wondering if I will have enough yarn.

*

I started a "new to me" cozy mystery series by Laura Bradford.
They are set in Amish country -- Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
I visited the area some 15 years ago.
Came home with a Quillow (a blanket that folds into a pillow)
 which is mentioned in the first Amish mystery Hearse and Buggy.
I thought Hearse and Buggy was one of the best first books in a cozy series I had read in a long time - so much so that I dashed out and bought the next four! 
The books pictured here are the ones that I've read.
I like the characters, the story line, the mix of the "English" and Amish life styles. 

The lovely teacup was a Christmas gift from one of my sister's by choice.
It is an Aynsley.
Aqua is one of my favorite colors.
Pretty waves on the cup and saucer with gold rims.
Fun spring-time flowers on the inside of the cup.

Five on Friday

Willy Nilly Friday

Mosaic Monday

Monday Social

From the Fortune Cookie Journal:
"Good fortune will shower you like raindrops in spring."

Wishing YOU well and much joy!

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