ruby crowned kinglette

back home

the warm weather we had for the last couple of weeks has moved things along botanically speaking...  the apples are beginning to color up.  these are not the same two i have been taking photos of, they have grown into a position that isn't very photogenic at the moment.  nor do they have any color to them at all.  but, the two petals are still hanging on at the blossom end of the one...

i bought these phlox nine or ten years ago, a one gallon pot of just off the truck at home depot.  they have been the best.  who would have guessed?  i think i need to divide again this year.  anyhow, only one had bloomed when i left town last wednesday - this morning there were several all opened and beautiful.  of course i had to take a picture.  that is when i noticed the chalky white spider on the petals.  this must be the incredibley rare chameleon spider of the pacific northwest, phlox variety.  i have heard that they are hard to spot...

even the little birds were hot last week.  saw this feather, discarded among the pavers and spanish moss.  i know how the little guy felt - i am glad it is cooler now.

it's family reunion time

sunriver
hot
family
food
fun.

oh yeah, golf too!

see you all on monday!

birdman and the pie

a quick update on the birdman and his helmet and goggles.  have still to work out how the goggles will attach to the helmet, certainly the pins sticking through his ears is not the most elegant of solutions.  i left enough ease in the hat to accommodate hair, but i don't know what type yet....

also, made a blueberry pie this weekend.  i don't think you can tell by looking, but this is - hands down - the worst crust i have ever made.  i think it was due to the heat, it made me forget everything i know about making crust.  most important?  don't work it more than absolutely necessary - i am pretty sure i worked it within an inch of it's life... oh well, the filling was spectacular.

freshy's blueberry pie
a pillsbury bakeoff winner, ca. 1961

1 9-inch pie shell - use your own best recipe, DON'T OVERWORK IT!!!
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup water
3 cups fresh blueberries, divided
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

bake pie shell at 450 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. cool.

combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. blend in water and 1 cup blueberries. bring to a boil; cook, stirring constantly, until very thick. stir in butter and lemon juice. cool.

fold in 2 cups blueberries. cool 1 hour in refrigerator.

beat whipping cream until thick. add confectioners' sugar and vanilla.

spread half of whipped cream over bottom of pie shell. top with blueberry filling. chill about 2 hours. garnish with remaining whipped cream. refrigerate.

i always make a bit more whipped cream so i am not skimping at the end to cover the pie.  i make more pie crust too, so i can be sure i have enough to get a good edge, then there is extra to bake with butter and cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top.  i am pretty sure that in my life i have burned 50% of those little extras.  they are referred to as 'sargent shrivers' in my family.  a friend once told us there were actually called 'general grants' - i have no idea why.  one thanksgiving while making pumpkin pie we were getting ready to burn some of these extras and kept trying to remember what they were called, the only name we could think of was sargent shriver.  that is how those little family oddities come to be.

nothing....

photo courtesy of WWF-UK

it is too hot to post, to think, to do much at all.  i am not a summer girl, i much prefer fall and spring, then winter.  so, to the pit studio i go, because it is cooler there, i do have some work to do and i don't feel like i want to cry down there like i do up here.... and for crying out loud, it is just 90º plus, but still.... chet and i are dragging.

this photo is not mine, i got it from the internet.... it explains how i feel, right down to the skull, picked clean.

works in progress

already, it's another friday - where is the summer going? 

this is embroidered on some very fine and loosely woven wool that i got from a friend when she was selling her father-in-law's tailoring supplies.  it's 'official' use is interfacing, or for stabilizing - if i did any tailoring at all i would know... at any rate, i am in love with it for embroidery.  i am not yet certain how i am going to finish this bag - and then what anyone would use it for - but it is so damned pretty.

these just need cording and beads.  but i don't have any white cord so they are waiting for me to get on the stick...  i was inspired by all the fabulous portuguese bloggers whose lives seem to be saturated with fantastic colors. like hilda, ana, and matilde.  there are so many more too, just great women out there...

these two still have the hoop marks in them.... just finished the embroidery on these late last night, so have to sew them up and press them and all of that.

i am loving embroidery right now.  thank you ,michelle, for reminding me how fun and rewarding, and beautiful it is. and, how important it is for me to have my cheapie readers handy so i can see what i am doing.  ok, michelle didn't remind me of that, i am figuring that one out on my own.

the green blur

is it strange that i scurried to get the camera, found the tripod, and took 45 photos of this stink bug? 

a green blur out the back door, and then a tiny little thunk as it landed on the screen.  it was quite patient really, as he withstood my photography efforts and chet's attempts to get in the dog door.  these are so beautifully green, but apparently a bit smelly.  i will try not to upset this one - you know, any more than i already have.

{editors note:  should anyone think i am brave... this stink bug's body is between 1/2" and 5/8" long.  the biggest i have seen, but not all that big really. it certainly didn't creep me out, like some bugs do.}

nope, i am not your mother....

but.....just a little reminder of how important it is to back-up your computer files, and address book.  no, i didn't have any problems, but lying in bed this morning i said to myself - 'self, you would be in a world of hurt if you lost those things on your computer.  you had better back-up everything this morning.'  you know what? i did!!

it makes me wonder how secure and loss proof this blog is at typepad.  how do you back-up a blog, i wonder? 

ok, now - go forth and back-up.  and it wouldn't kill you to make your bed either...

super size? yes please.

when the annual anniversary sale at nordstrom happens they usually have the face cleanser available in a huge bottle, twice the amount for just five dollars more.... this year - same deal.  but here is the greatest thing.  they also had the moisturizer in big too - twice the amount for just ten dollars more.  AND, the shampoo i love, and have been out of for a little while - hence the unruly and uncharacteristically poofy hair today - is available in a bigger bottle for the same price.  i mean, how often does it happen that all three things you go in for are super sized deals????? hardly ever, that's how often, hard-ly ever.  of course, they were out of the shampoo at the store i went to, so they will be getting it for me from another store in town - soon, i hope.  i could use it.

editors note: the author of this love letter has no affiliation with nordstrom, philosophy, or phyto.  she just likes their products a whole lot.

ditty bag

ditty bag - n [origin unknown] (1852) : a bag used esp. by sailors to hold small articles of gear (as thread, needles, and tape)

ditty bag.  a gift i made for my sister for her birthday.  for holding important - and not so important - things while traveling.  or to hold whatever she wants, whenever she wants....

the ground fabric is a hemp and cashmere (?) blend that i used for some drapery panels and now can't exactly remember the 5% animal hair - but cashmere sounds good.   i added a bright stripe of cotton and embroidered flowers in a split stitch.  then finished off with some vintage cording and a couple of glass beads.  going to have to make some more of these...

golf was fun - we tied, and we should have done better - that is the story of golf.

happy birthday sister

happy birthday suzy - 43 isn't so bad...

plans for the day:

    • finish making suzy's birthday present
    • write on the birthday card - for about the 40th time - that 'hey! we are the same age'...   
    • play golf with sister suzy and mother mom
    • try very hard to beat suzy at golf - i don't care, i have a present for her, she doesn't need to win too
    • have a nice birthday dinner with suzy and mom at mom's house   
    • review day's golf game, say for the hundreth time that 'golf is hard', and - 'we should be scoring better, we are better than this'   
    • drive home