A Yard Sale and the Antique Expo

We had a yard sale two weeks ago with the neighbors. We sold some things but not enough of the bulky, awkward to store items. BUT I scored this AWESOME fabric from our neighbor...



$3.00 for the whole 25 yard bolt!!! I'm going to make some pillows for the wicker set and some chair pads for the table chairs.

Then we took all the money we made and went to the giant Antique Expo at the expo center. You see the most interesting stuff there. Who doesn't need a giant rooster?



... or an oversize camera?



This horse brings back memories. We had a similar one when I was a kid.



I love these beaded bags. They were so hot a few years ago and the price went through the ceiling. Now the prices are coming down and they are relatively easy to find.



And this lovely hand made yet overprice horse...



We spent all the money from the yard sale at the expo. I'll have to post those goodies soon.

Garden Visitor

Yesterday, I was mass pruning my cutting garden and trying to bring it back under control when I discovered this little guy...



I have never seen this type of snail in my garden before. His shell was about 2" across.



He moved fast for a snail. His stalk eyes were moving all around taking everything in. And then he was gone...

Has it been two weeks!?!?

Where has the time gone?!?!? Some of it has been taken up with house projects and freelancing, and I was gone last week teaching the last week of my summer class at the University of Idaho. We stayed at my parents farm and enjoyed a wonderful 4th of July with my family. I did manage to take a few pictures...



It was hot, hot, hot while we were there, so we tried to do any walking in the early morning. But some mornings it was just too hot, so I stayed near the house and took pictures of the hummers...



Mom and Dad feed an army of about twenty hummingbirds. After the eggs hatch there will be closer to forty. They eat out of two feeders and consume a quart of sugar water a day. If it is really hot, Mom has to fill the feeders in the morning and again in the evening. You do have to be a little careful when standing under the feeders as you might get speared by a fiesty hummingbird zipping by.

Since our farm is close to a Reservation, there are many wonderful and illegal fireworks to choose from. The spouse loves this availability, so he and my sister drove down and bought $50 worth of exploding activities while I was working. We started off with the sparklers...



... and then had to move to an area away from the house and any fuel tanks for the big stuff. All the kids enjoyed it, but Mister Ewan was asleep after a few fountains so missed the aerial display... ah well... there's always next year. I posted the rest of my pictures on Flickr.

Pie

There is nothing better than pie. It is the one dessert item that announces summer's arrival and makes me happy, happy, happy.
This is rhubarb....



... and this is some lovely pastry made with lots of butter... which is the only way to make a really good pie crust.







In the oven for a little baking....



Ta Da!



There are only two pieces left today. Strawberry-Rhubarb is an excellent combination and disappears quickly. Will have to make more pie soon.

Sweater Project

I've finally picked up my needles again and and trying to finish a sweater for Mister e before he outgrows it. Nothing like a growing child to force you to finish a project!



I finally found a great knitting magazine: Knit 1. Vogue Knitting magazine publishes it, and apparently this is where they put all their good patterns.



I improved upon their black and white combination by changing it to brown and green... a little more unexpected.

More photos

Here are few photos from the farm. Mom's gorgeous peonies...



They really are luscious with their color and curving petals. And they smell amazing. I had four of them in a vase on my desk at the university and it scented the entire second floor hallway of the building.

I spent a lot of time on the hill tops in the evenings taking pictures of the setting sun.



I'm still not sure if I like sunset pictures or not. I think I like the clouds better. But I could get cel phone reception up there and could talk to a friend while I was waiting for the sun to set.

I posted the rest out on Flickr.

Last week...

I have been at the University of Idaho the last week teaching an Illustrator class. You know you have arrived when you get an office with your name on the door..



I am required to keep office hours, so I'm in an available space. It's pretty sparse.

Note the red painted toes... that always makes me happy.

Miss E's Room

I have come to the realization that Miss E's room will not be done soon, nor will it stay clean. So I'm posting pictures of it now. It is on the north side of the house, so the light is not really good.



The carpet is mohair and belonged to the spouse's grandparents.
This is the Hidey Hole. We had an extra full size mattress set and didn't know where to put it. Fortunately the eave closets are really deep. Sometimes Miss E sleeps in here.





Mirror, mirror on the wall...



The princess alcove...



How cool are these lights from Ikea? They have the most clever solutions to things. Look at the green cord that is the stem.



This dresser was built by my Great Great Uncle. We still need to put up a shelf above it for Miss E's assorted things.



And here Mr e enjoying some time with his sister's things. You can see the cradle and crib that have the blanket and quilt in them.



There are still a few things to do... shorten the green drapes and add some eyelet to the bottom. Hang pictures, a corner shelf, and a shadow box for all these little tiny toys that she is starting to aquire. It will get done this summer.

New cabinets

Yay! I finally have some cabinets...



We went to Ikea on Saturday and bought these three beauties. Let me tell you, going to Ikea with a spouse that doesn't really like shopping there and a 4 year old wanting to touch everything and pose as a mannequin was a lot of work. I like to putter along and look at everything and remark "How clever is that!" and "What a great solution to that problem!". Which, needless to say, did not happen this trip. Fortunately this is the last time we have to make the drive to Seattle... and the last time we have to hear 2 hours of Miss E's song stylings. It was funny for the first 20 minutes.

I am now in the process of sorting and folding all my fabric...



which will be a lengthy project, I'm afraid. Once it is done, I will be able to see exactly what I have and hopefully do more sewing.

Roses...

I love that first blast of heat in the spring. It brings the roses on...



The yellow are the English Rose Jude the Obscure... one of David Austin's and a PROLIFIC BLOOMER.



The pink roses are Edens. Again another prolific one. The first blooming is incredible and then it tapers off a bit. I'll try and get a picture of the bush.



Tucked in there are a couple Sarah Bernhardt peonies- a classic beauty.

Treasures

The spouse and Miss Elsie go yard sale-ing and flea market-ing often. Elsie picked out this treasure for me a few weeks ago.



She knows what I like. She picked out a good one. I love the little jeweled bug.

I'm ready for summer....

I have washed off the porch and moved my christmas cacti out...



summer can start now. And since I was outside with my camera, I thought I would wander around and see what's blooming, since I really haven't spent much time outside for the last two weeks.
This is a David Austin English Rose... Alexander Hamilton.. I think... although it might be the Pat Austin, but since it is the first blooming, it is not blooming true to color... still it is lovely...



... and these lovely iris...



I bought them soley for the name "Caesar's Brother". Who knew Caesar had a brother? (I'm sure it was the iris plant brother of in iris called Caesar... but it does make you wonder.) It was on Portland Nursery's discount dying plant table... just add water.

Babies and Body Functions

I was standing in the kitchen today and heard some furious grunting. When I peeked around the corner, I was confronted with a very red little man deep in concentration. I captured the moment via an illustration rather than intrude on the moment with my camera.



Babies are so not shy about their functions

Warm fuzzies...

What is it about cats in a sunbeam...



it just makes you want to nap...



I've been sick all week, and I'm still sick. At least my ears aren't stuffy anymore. The spouse is sick too. The kids were sick for about three days and didn't feel that bad. I think the germs mutated when they infected Dave and me. We have some super bug that has really hit us hard. Maybe after the weekend, I'll be feeling better.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful, dedicated Moms out there. It's hard work, and you all deserve a big "thank you" today, so you know you are appreciated. I was treated to a little sleeping in, breakfast in bed, and some lovely gifts: some chocolate from a local chocolatier, flowers from a local independent florist, and a belly dancing set! The set had a CD, cymbals, and a book. I had mentioned a while ago that I wanted to go try it with a friend. It looks like such fun.... anyway, Miss Elsie, who is totally Nutcracker obessesed and LOVES Arabian Coffee couldn't wait to try out those finger cymbals. So I got her all dressed up to match the book, and she treated us to an hour long performance and then posed for a few pictures.




She takes it very seriously. I love it that she wants to wear the costumes and accessories. We have a good time dressing up and having dance parties.
Tonight, they are all cooking dinner for me... noodles of some kind!

Morning Projects

I bought a doll cradle at Goodwill last year for $7.00 with an additional 30% off. Pretty good score. However, I have not had a chance to outfit it with bedding. I knitted a little doll blanket last week out of some leftover yarn. This morning I made a mattress and pillow.

Here is Miss Elsie stuffing the pillow...


The finished project...


It turned out pretty well. Elsie is pleased with it.

I'm getting into a spring cleaning/decorating mood. I want to make some new pillows for the living room and take down the velvet drapes. I came across these cool mobiles this morning. One of these would be so cool in the house... just what I need... another project. We still need to finish the basement. Although I did get the following things done:
chimney cleaned
carpets cleaned
oven cleaned
ice maker fixed
sent out area rugs to be cleaned
... so I'm off to a good start with the spring cleaning.