Rolodex Swap

I've been a busy poster this weekend so you probably won't hear from me again for a few days. I have to go in to "work" mode!
I love my rolodex art. I'm always on the lookout for a circular rolodex holder, but my flat one is fine for art display. I'm hosting a swap this month for the byhandartists yahoogroup who want to add to their rolodex. I have a lot of quote art in mine and decided to keep going with that theme, though I do love my pink ones, too, even though pink is not a favorite color of mine.
I used watercolor paper and the same technique used for the atcs in June, you can scroll down, if you like, to see the details. Some have a bird in flight mask and others the dragonfly in the June post. I like it better for smaller projects, though the birdie will be great on a fat book page or scrapbook page in the future. I don't think I'll use it for atcs or rolodex again. I used the wet mask to stamp the backs, and in one case the front. Seeing the negative and positive is interesting to me.
The quotes are from Suzanne's collection at Quietfire Design. I think her calligraphy is fabulous.
Here are a few others from my collection to enjoy. I would scan them all if I had time!

Yes, and it's a farmer's market day, too!

Jim and I made our way to the market on this incredibly pleasant 4th of July morning. We've been blessed with moderate temperatures and low humidity this week.
We slept later than usual and missed blueberries from my favorite vendor and tomato pie, again. The bread I like to use to make bruschetta was also gone, but I have a half loaf still to use. Another very sad week for cut flowers, too, though they they are planning to finish the season with a bang! I did find some blueberries from Huber's for my blueberry "fix". See the gooseneck loosestrife from two weeks ago?

I did get four ears of peaches and cream corn, and another bunch of that celery we've loved. I think there is a pot of vegetable soup in my future according to Jim, our resident chef. I think some of the greens of it will be great in the soup and I'll use the rest to add to salad.
This was the first week for local peaches, I got one BIG yellow one and several white ones. They were sweet as sugar and so delicate we couldn't get them home with out a few bruises.
There was a small purple cauliflower, just enough for the two of us, that I snagged along with some baby russet and French fingerling potatoes. We, also, got a 1/4 pound oyster mushrooms from a "new to the market" vendor. He fried them, we're having them in the soup.
And oh, what joy! My first Cherokee Purple tomato siting of the year! Promise of good things to come. These will ripen for a few days more before slicing and a little pepper makes my mouth sing!




Now for the plants,

I couldn't pass up this Puerto Rican oregano. I'm hoping to over-winter it for next year. They haven't grown it before and don't know about its performance. It has velvety, fat leaves more like a succulent and smells so good. I'm hoping my friend, Donna, knows more about it. If you want to see some beautiful plants in a yard, head over to her blog.
I also added this little hosta beauty to my garden. I forgot to ask the name, but will next week. Hope she knows it. I'm trying to label all of my hosta.
Lastly, six little stems of Sweet William (I have two sweet Williams in my family, William Eric and William Ezra). Three red for the bedroom and three pink-purple for the guest bedroom.
We grabbed buffalo(ground, stew meat and brats) and headed to Sweet and Savory, my future place of business (remember?)

Happy 4th of July!

Hoping you are finding some way to celebrate today. While I am not particularly over the top patriotic, I do appreciate the fact that I live differently from the vast majority of the world. And I appreciate the freedoms I have greatly, mostly free speech and religious freedom. I have done short term mission work in developing countries and seen first hand their poverty and political unrest.
My father was a veteran of WWII, enlisting when he was just 17. He served in the Navy on a support ship in Italy. Like many other WWII vets, he rarely talked of his time during the war.
My niece's husband leaves for Afghanistan next month for a year. Their first baby is due the first of August. We are all hoping for him to have a bit of time to enjoy his son prior to his deployment. I'm sure being essentially a single mom the first year will have its challenges.
These flags were flying among the petunias at Churchill Downs yesterday. Yes, we went again, our last visit of the spring meet and a record 4th time.

In my work world

(I post this with written permission from the parent of those pictured here, she took the photos.)This is two year old, "V" and her brother, oh, and yes, I do see stuffed animals, too. I came to know their mother when she filled in for the dentist I work for during her maternity leave. She is artistic, witty and fun. "V" has been quite ill and has hopefully finished all of the treatment she will need. She came in for her first visit recently. Her wispy hair was a stark reminder of illness in an otherwise normal two year old girl. I love that she was wearing a crocheted cape that had been her mom's when she was little, sort of like being wrapped up in love from many years ago.
It is relationships like this that make me love my work. I have patients I've seen for 30 years, in some cases 4 generations of a family. I consider myself so lucky to care for and be a part of so many wonderful people's lives. I look around my house and see tea towels that Anna brings for each holiday during the year. I have ones for Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I get them out over and over again and think of her. She also feeds my doughnut craving when she comes in and occasionally, "just because". I have a beautiful quilt, a wall hanging, skirt and a few appliqued t-shirts made by Jude, and quirky glass plates that have faces made by her older sister, Naomi. I've known them since Jude was 2. They are the third generation of their family that I have seen on both their mother and father's side. Each are expecting babies this year.
I'm lucky to have meaningful work, and even though there are days I've hardly gotten through for one reason or another, I count myself lucky to have rarely not wanted to go and do what I do. I've often been sad for folks I know for whom work is "work" and retirement the only benefit.
Lucky me.

And Saturday it is!

Today at the market the flowers were sparse, rain you know. I planned to get bouquets to use for my niece's shower table decorations. But I had plenty of fruits and vegetables to choose from. No Dream Burgers, though and that is what I planned for company on Tuesday. Plan B is in my future. There were these great blueberries and black raspberries which if I don't eat before then, will be in a fruit salad. Theresa's bread is for bruschetta along with the tomatoes from the same guy I got them from last week. I told Theresa's husband, who's name escapes me as so many other things do these days, that I wanted bread last week but ran out of money. He said I could have certainly paid him this week for last week's bread- file away for future reference. I got the last loaf today and it wasn't 9:30 yet. She was also out of tomato pie already!

How about the color of these onions (keeping with my purple craze)? They are going into the green bean potato salad and the ginger watermelon salsa. The terrific potatoes are for the salad, too. The purple ones from last week got two thumbs up from Jim and me when roasted with onion and rosemary for dinner one night.




I think I am going to make a small yellow squash casserole because it just sounded so yummy to me today! And I got the two goat cheese packages I talked about last week. Don't you just love the name Fromage a Trois? The other two bouquets are from last week AND still the gooseneck loosestrife from two weeks ago!

Post two-art

Can you believe it, two posts in one day? I should be working! This is the atc I made for this month's insect swap. The background is on white card stock. I used Tattered Angels new Glimmer screens Flights of Fancy misting tool, which is basically a mask. I spritzed Glimmer Mist Turquoise Blue and LuminARts shimmering mist Golden (?) I can't read it anymore- kinda dark olive with a coppery look. I stamped the dragonfly stamp from Hero Arts ( I've used this stamp for 10 years probably- it was my logo when I had my toiletries business)with Marvy Le Plume persimmon, peacock, and pale green (on some). Edged with Versacolor copper ink. Applied the dragonfly square with pop dots.

A joy, one of my beautiful boys

My friend, Sue, made me think about music I like to hear. She posts a music link every Monday. This is a link to my favorite musician in all the world-my youngest son, Brian, who's music never fails to bring me a smile or to tears. You can hear a few of his songs here on his myspace page and if so inclined, his upcoming shows around town are listed, too. I knew he was a talent when he was 4 years old and sang "Devil with the Blue Dress". He taught himself to play guitar, drums and piano. Truly gifted, and not from his mom, so I can brag on him. I paid for a couple of piano lessons when I realized his gift, but he would never practice, which made me angry. He got by not practicing because of his gift, which made me madder. I quit taking him until he agreed to practice, which he never did. He didn't need to. He is a man who is true to himself, which I respect and honor. He had a full scholarship to U of L for music, but school was never his thing and music was not what he wanted to do full-time. He gave it up on the third day of class. Brian has always considered "work" to be something done physically.
He is an incredibly talented, artistic welder, too. I'm lucky enough to have been gifted a few pieces of his art. He welds kitchen equipment during the work week.
In addition to being a professional musician, and artistic welder, he plays and sings in a praise band at The Valley, a Disciples of Christ church here in town.
He's a great Uncle Brian to his nephew, who's just about as crazy about him as I am.
He's married to Kelly and has a step-son, Jake, our two most recent additions to the family!

More blog candy !

Here is a link to a great giveaway and a fun newsletter. It's international!
Create4fun
There is a quick link to the right where the logo is.
Enjoy!

It's Saturday, therefore...............

a trip to the farmers market! Today I used restraint because I hadn't gotten cash yesterday. So, I bee-lined it to the purple cauliflower at Happy Jack's. Yea! 5 heads to choose from. I tried to talk the guy next to me into getting it, but he passed. Too bad, for him. I also picked up these green beans, (we had his two weeks ago and they were super!) and the potatoes. The purple ones (clearly I'm into purple this year) are sweet and purple all the way through. I'm sure a picture is coming soon.
Next door to him is the dixie cup flower lady (I didn't buy a Dixie cup bouquet this week) for a flat of flowers and a hanging basket, which I saw on email were on sale (the flat 1/2 price!) I asked the name of the pink fluffy flower in the Dixie cup from last week, of course I have long forgotten the proper name but the common name is "Joey", which was easier on my brain. Their place is Mt. Eden Greenhouse. The hanging basket, big and beautiful is replacing this sad thing. I'm not sure what happened, not enough sun, too little water while on vacation? But, it had to go.
I cut some flowers from the dying plant to make these two little bouquets, the one in the antique cordial glass had three little snapdragon blooms that fell off.
On to a cucumber from Conrad Hambley Farm, over to see what Byrnside Orchard had, his are the tomatoes, one free to try and bought three. They are grown in dirt bags in a greenhouse this time of year. But, he's sure he's made a customer for life. I usually get his cabbage.
Next cut flowers from Perennial Favorites Flower Farm, more gooseneck loosestrife and some snapdragons. My GS from last week is still pretty and I just pitched the zennias today. Next, Kenny's Cheese-still on my Cumin Gouda kick. I surveyed what Theresa, at Nature's Dream, had cooked up. I wanted a loaf of bread but, hum, no money. She had quiche, tomato pie, lettuce mix with edible flowers, cinnamon rolls and sticky buns (with and without pecans)blackberries and tomatoes.
On to check out Capriole Farms goat cheese. I sampled quite a few as I plan to buy next week for a small group I'm having over for a summer supper on the 30th. I think I'll have the three layered one that is caliente on the outside, and the plain one wrapped in bourbon-soaked grape leaves, it just looks pretty when you open it up on a plate.
A stop at Kentucky Bison for 4/1 patties and we're off to drop off the goods home and head to Sweet and Savory for breakfast where we can use a charge card. Every time I am in there I want to ask the woman to sell the place to me when she's ready to retire. Just what I'd love to have. Their hours are 9-2 most days and have breakfast all day and lunch after 11.
Also included are pics of the backyard. Can you believe how much the oak leaf hydrangea has grown, from down to nothing after the tree was removed. Oh, and see my morning glory reaching the top of the fence? How about that red cherry tomato that I'm going to eat this afternoon? How about a peak at the autumn joy and the sunflowers from last week drying for the birds?