The July Breakdown

Not a break-down like my car is broken or I'm having a meltdown but, rather, since I haven't posted anything in July, here's a quick breakdown of some things that have occurred or happened to me this month...

1. Pigs in rain boots; they're everywhere. (Wow, I wish I meant that literally.)





2. I'm trying to get a regular poker game together, so I've been thinking about poker... and stereotypes of poker games... and dogs playing poker... which brought me to the site "dogsplayingpoker.org" which had this pic in the gallery:



Note the fantastic line: "He reads the day's mail and has no worries or women within sight."

3. Every kind of varmint in the world has taken up residence in my yard including, most recently, a rabbit. And all of them want to eat the kale. Yet, despite everything, I know I will try to grow kale again next year. Some people never learn.



4. Speaking of gardens, the veggies are coming along okay (despite the rabbits eating the beans, and everything eating the kale), but the hubby and I have decided that this fall it is time for a complete revamp of the veggie plot layout. I'm thinking keyhole/mandala style, with a fence around it to deter critters. The question now is: do I make the mandala garden raised or just do it at ground level?

5. I have been majorly slacking on quilting projects. My fabric stash continues to grow (the fabric addiction is waning slightly, but it's still there), but my quilting project pace has stagnated. Man it's hard to quilt when there's weeding to be done, and hard to weed when there's cookin' food and hanging out with friends to be done... See, this is exactly why I need to be unemployed. How else will I find time to garden, quilt, cook elaborate meals, hang out with friends and also be a lazy bum? Ahhh c'est la vie.

6. The Dexter season 5 trailer came out! HOLY BEJEEZUS! I am embarrassed to be so excited for a tv show.


7. And as if my level of excitement about Dexter isn't embarrassing enough, I am positively giddy over this Game of Thrones teaser trailer from HBO.



I read winter-is-coming.net daily to keep up on all the Game of Thrones gossip, and have even convinced some of my co-workers to do a chapter-by-chapter bookclub (a la the folks over at Gestalt Mash). GoT fever is in the air!


Well, I guess that's all for now. See you in August!

8 years

Today's our 8 year anniversary. My what an old couple we are turning into.

pic stolen from http://shelby-lee-adams-resume.blogspot.com/

vegan doughnuts!

And, before I forget, we made VEGAN DOUGHNUTS on Memorial Day! Let me just say... wow! This pic doesn't really do them justice but here ya go...

In the Yard - 6/18/2010

Lots of fun stuff is starting to bloom! Such as...

asiatic lilies

i forget what this is... veronica 'royal candles', i think? 

one of the many dianthus i have around

 alcea rosea 'old farmyard' (hollyhocks)

'lady in red' hydrangea

loads of lavender

the first hint of blooming on the monarda (bee balm)

fabric, fabric, and more fabric!

I have become positively addicted to fabric. Buying fabric, browsing fabric, mulling over ways to use fabric... it's becoming an actual problem. Fortunately I have about a thousand ideas of quilts, bags, pillows and other miscellaneous projects that I can make to use up my ever growing stash. Let's take a look at a few of the collections that I've been obsessed with recently (very little of which I have managed to procure)...

Castle Peeps by Lizzy House for Andover (Castles and folks in medieval garb? How could I resist?) 

All of the Birch Organic collections. After all, they are cute AND organic. Such as... 

I'll just list off a few more, I think the images will speak for themselves...

Into the Woods by Sharyn Sowell for Clothworks

Spring 2010 by Etsuko Furuya for Echino

Heather Ross on Spoonflower

Metro Kitchen for Robert Kaufman

Ta da!

I can't believe what a great job the roofers did cleaning up... and I don't think any of my plants bit the dust! There's a clematis in the back that might have lost a limb or two, but she'll survive. Anyway, new roof! What do you think?

New Roof

When you are getting a new roof, you have to do things like take the window boxes off your house and work from home... and this is what it looks like:

Unfortunately it doesn't actually sound as peaceful as the picture may lead you to believe; I feel like I'm under seige! 

Anyway, here is a pic of the roof this morning as the workers were just getting underway (on the rear of the house):

And here is some of the ensuing destruction...

Will my plants make it through unscathed? Doubtful. Will the roof NOT look it's going to collapse any moment? Yes! I think it's worth the trade off, but oh how I fear for my plant-children today.

I'll post more once they are done and we'll see what the final verdict is!