ribbit ribbit

this little tree frog has been spending his days looking in my kitchen window from his perch on the rolled up bottom part of the bamboo shade.  he's there for most of the day.  i wonder if he's waiting for me to kiss him... hmmmmm

re-purpose

very old typewriter keys in their new life as bracelets.  Kate found the letters one in an antique/junk store in duvall and last time i went up there i bought the other one.  i love wearing them.

fibers

Kate gave me some BFL roving which she'd just dyed... maybe because i was clutching it to my chest and calling it mine??  it is lovely and a joy to spin.  i do love that BFL... and her dyeing of it.

and you, too, can see, fondle and buy her fabulous fibers at OFFF in Canby, OR 9/26 and 9/27.  she will be sharing a booth there with Linda (NW Wools) on the lawn.

summer tradition

well, when finally the long wait is over for garden ripened juicy sweet tomatoes, my big indulgence is a BLT.   it's worth the wait and oh so enjoyed.   mmmm..

happy 20th anniversay, Northwest Wools!!

Last night we celebrated with Linda Berning, her 20th anniversary as owner of NW Wools in Multnomah Village, Portland.  It was a surprise party which was pulled off beautifully by her husband, Greg (whatta guy!) at Lucky Lab Pub in Multnomah!  i'm not positive, but i do think that it is the longest open yarn shop in portland.. and there is a good reason for that... Linda!  and it was wonderful to see all the people who were there to celebrate with her!  and in a scrapbook that her mom had made of photos, newspaper articles, shop related stuff, there's a class schedule from 1990 listing my beginning spinning class.  and i think i started consigning my dyed fibers and yarns there in fall of '89.  i feel so lucky to have had Linda's support and friendship all these years.. bravo!!  sad to say i forgot to grab my camera which i'd put out on the counter to take, so no photos from me.  hope i can snag someone's pics.

if you look really closely, you can see all the pollen he has collected on his little pollen-collector things.  he was a really greedy little booger and had a little trouble with lift-off.

from Huffington Post

"At a Barney Frank town hall meeting in Dartmouth, MA, a constituent asks, "Why are you supporting this Nazi policy?"

Frank responds: "On what planet do you spend most of your time?" He then calls her approach "vile, contemptible nonsense." He closes by saying: "Trying to have a conversation with you would be like arguing with a dining room table."

I love it when i can start my day with a snarkie smile... thanks, Barney!!

garden flamingo

his job today is holding a basket of coleus 

word of the day

Gasconade (noun)

Pronunciation: [gas′kə nād′]

Definition: Boastful or blustering talk.

hmmm - suppose i still have politics on my mind??

and don't get me started on the issues and how distorted and filled with scare tactics and lies that they become!

to the garden for attitude adjustment

i was feeling very very much the cynical old crone this morning... but i should have known better than try to watch "Meet the Press" at 9a.m. before my brain was fully engaged and caffeinated.  but Rachel Maddow was on the panel, which made me think i wanted to watch the show.  i left 1/2 hour and 1 cup of coffee into it to take a shower and try to wash the insanity away.  i could not wash away the pervading sense that society will never make any progress toward peace and civility as long as we are dealing with the belief that volume and twisted facts trump respect, facts and the ability to have a rational discussion!  damn!  but i was able to put away that despair feeling when i took myself to the garden  and focused on the quietude and peace of my queendom.... ahhhh.  so, my political tv will now be limited to Jon Stewart (for the REAL news) and Stephen Colbert (my favorite "conservative") and Rachel Maddow who actually listens to differing opinions, then comments and discusses without trying to "win" with shouting and off-topic bullshit.

other than the ongoing gopher drama, the garden is looking good and the 2 white eggplants will be harvested this week and possibly combined with sweet, ripe tomatoes from the garden in some kind of tasty Greek dish.  and that blossomed out artichoke has become a gathering place for bumble bees the past few days.  a few yellow jackets have found it, too.

home from up north

back home now after a lovely visit with the northern bunch of the family.  rode back up there last sunday with Chris and kids after Chris had been here for his 20th HS class reunion.  we stopped in Centralia at the The Old Olympic Hotel, which is one of the McMenamin's renovated historic places, where we had supper.  it is worth getting off I-5 to see it if you are ever in that area.  i've never seen the hotel portion of the building, but it is likely much as it was 100 years ago, but with enough upgrades (like bathrooms and hot water) to make it comfortable.  got to home destination later than we'd expected (10pm) due to the usual awful traffic the further north we got.  time there really flew by.... spent some time fiber dyeing with Kate, picking ripe tomatoes (yummmm), being really amused watching the chickens, (they were thought to be all hens, til Sunshine started crowing and grew an amazing bunch of tail feathers).   these chickens have full run of the property during the daytime, and i guess i'm easily entertained... but i totally enjoyed watching their "dirt bath" ritual, where 6 of them scratched up a patch of dirt and kind of fluffed themselves up and wallowed in it.  too hard to describe and too late tonight to try.  had fun with the kids, played a board game, learned more about pokemon.  spent a lot of the day on Wed. in town at the fabric shop, antique/junk shop, and Greek lunch at the Egyptian restaurant with Kate and Pam.

ate way too much, with the height of decadence pictured below.  Chris grilled up a gourmet treat of pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon weave.... mmmmm, dear goddess, a taste treat for sure!

#1 - before grilling...

#2 - off the grill and disassembled...

#3 - the chef -

#4 - Alex loved it!!

finished!! bag, plus "from the garden"

the bright colors in this bag really washed out.  will replace later.  but it's FINISHED.... first finished item in awhile.