Spring's Ending

These are the last of my garden's peonies. I love their fragrance all over the house! Next up, my roses will be in bloom. I don't have much of a yard, but I squeezed as much in the plot as possible.
















I was looking through some stuff from college and found this Oilily picture I've always loved. I guess my tastes haven't changed much in the past decade (nearly!) . I've been looking for some wallpaper designs like the backdrop.... any info would be much appreciated.

Another Good Reason to Have a Blog!

I am so happy that I joined in on blogging! A candy swap!

Here are the details: http://www.quietfish.com/notebook/archives/000484.html

Seems like at some points in my life, candy is a huge part of my diet. I never much was into chocolate, but I can eat bags of sweets each day and still want more. I think I get that from my parents. At my dad's parents house, they always have sweets. At least 4-5 scoops of Breyers ice cream is typical each night. I get to scooping that much now and people look at me like I'm a pig. I know my dad keeps a secret stash of sweets in his bottom right desk drawer, and that my mom also hides the candy in certain cabinets. Also, she always let me and my brother pick out at least a candy bar every trip to the store. Dont' get me wrong, we eat pretty healthy beyond all this-- not much into fried or fast food... just the sweets!

So, we'll fill out this questionnaire for our swap partner. We will spend $10 on our new friend, and in exchange get a yummy sweet package. if you're interested, sign up before June 10.

* Candy Swap 2006 Questionnaire

1) When I was a kid, Halloween was all about:
a) collecting as much candy as I could because my brother somehow always came home with twice the amount (I think he showed up to a few houses more than once)

2) What is more important to you: quality, or quantity? Quality! Cheap candy corn is no good compared to the real stuff-- same goes with gummi candy. It has to be the good stuff or it's just not the right consistency, flavor, etc.

3) If you were on a desert island (haha, I wrote "dessert island" but that would be a totally different question now wouldn't it?) and could only have one sweet treat, which would it be?
A McDonald's Caramel Sundae with no nuts. (Side story-- one time I went to McDonalds and ordered just that-- A Caramel sundae with no nuts... and all they gave me was caramel... no nuts and NO ICE CREAM!)

4) You arrive at "Dessert Island" – where you discover a river of pudding flowing freely through a swamp of Cool Whip. No one is watching. What do you do?
If it's vanilla pudding, I am diving in. Chocolate, I'll just watch.

4) Sweet, sour, or savoury?
Sweet.

5) Sex or chocolate?
Not much into chocolate, so...

6) What kind of candy, if any, would you turn down if someone offered?

peppermints or other hard candies

7) You're at the grocery store, you're children/husband/pets have been The.Worst.Ever. They're throwing cans at each other, tripping little old ladies, taking bites out of the produce and putting them back in the bins, and piercing the milk bags with diaper pins. You feel yourself getting woozy. That vein in your forehead is throbbing. You need an immediate sugar kick before you do something crazy. What do you reach for?

Haribo Gummis, Swedish fish, Chewy Caramels or a Milky Way

8) What are your feelings regarding Thrills gum, ribbon candy, scotch mints, and other "grandma candies"?

I've not heard of these candies, but I just love anything chewy.

9) How adventurous are you? Do spicy dried mealworms or candy-coated crickets give you the willies, or are you willing to try anything once? I've tried some worms before and some sweets at an Indian restuarant that were interesting.. I'm up for anything that's just not too spicy. I think it's fun to try different things.

9) Do you have dentures or other dental issues? Do you have a good dental plan? nah, my teeth are in good shape.

BlogDay!

BlogDay was initiated with the belief that bloggers should have one day which will be dedicated to know other bloggers, from other countries or areas of interests. In that day Bloggers will recommend about them to their Blog visitors.

What will happen on BlogDay?

In one long moment In August 31st, bloggers from all over the world will post a recommendation of 5 new Blogs, Preferably, Blogs different from their own culture, point of view and attitude. On this day, blog surfers will find themselves leaping and discovering new, unknown Blogs, celebrating the discovery of new people and new bloggers.

BlogDay posting instructions:
1. Find 5 new Blogs that you find interesting
2. Notify the 5 bloggers that you are recommending on them on BlogDay 2005
3. Write a short description of the Blogs and place a a link to the recommended Blogs
4. Post the BlogDay Post (on August 31st) and
5. Add the BlogDay tag using this link: http://technorati.com/tag/BlogDay2006 and a link to BlogDay web site at http://www.blogday.org/

Why Does She Look So Grumpy?

This week was a long week! This week, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders took Virginia SOL (Standards of Learning) tests. It made for an atypical work week, and makes me appreciate the weekend even more.

I also waitress... well, I have waitressed for years. I have worked in so many restuarants -- I actually really enjoy waitressing. I love to see/taste all the delicious food, meet some really cool customers and of course, work with my very best friend! It's just not something I want to do full time. For the past year, I have worked at a small bistro in town, once or twice a week. I decided that it was about time for me to work one job (rather than my full time + part time job)... that I need to simplify my life! So, any-who, I put in my notice and this was supposed to be my last week. I've been asked to work"one more day" -for one night next week, due to the fact it should be very busy b/c of Washington and Lee's graduation. So I am close to being finished waitressing, and since I am, I'm so anxious to have a full week of free evenings! What a luxury! :)

I mentioned that I went to a pottery place on Saturday. The bottom plate is supposed to be American Gothic (you know, the man and his wife, pitchfork, house) and then the dip bowl is a landscape all the way around with farms and a little town. I spent almost 3 full nites there in the studio painting. It's my new addiction. It's my first project in ceramics (never got to take it in college) and I think I should have started simple. I'll have to put in a photo of the finished set.

I also have been trying forever to finish my friend Autumn's baby quilt. It's my first quilt. When I first started it, I worked full-speed because she was to visit from California. It was close, but since then, I haven't been able to work on it all that much. I look at it everyday and want to finish, but haven't found the time. Here's Lulu looking at it, and a close-up of one of the 6 hankies I'm using on it.




My last project is to hang two Tord Boontje "Before Dawn" panels... Here is what one looks like. Don't you love them?!?!?!?!

My problem: I have a cat and when I had one hanging by itself , he jumped thru! He pierced it and I have to fix it. My solution is this (I'm open to other suggestions, though): place sheer curtains on both the front and the back of the panel. That way the cat won't go up in the window and try to jump thru, or play with the small cutouts on the other side of the panel.

Memorial day seems like a perfect time to tackle some of these projects, though... can't wait.

Good Catch(es)

Loads of fun yesterday. Went to a few yardsales and the flea market. It's funny to go to yard sales. You never want to act too interested, because then they'll know that you want what they've got. Or maybe your fellow yard salers will notice that you're really eyeing something-- and come in from behind when you least expect it. Yesterday I picked up this basket (a sweetgrass basket like they make in Charleston, SC) and I paid for it, and we were headed out. But this lady stopped me and told us some story how she'd set it aside, blah, blah, it was hers. So I handed it to her, but I really should've kept it... since I paid for it. Of course you see things you'd like to "claim" but that doesn't mean it's yours. I cannot believe how crazy yardsailing can get.

2 or 3 weeks ago, my friend Ash and I went to this great yardsale with lots of vintage stuff. There was this silver bread box, in perfect condition, probably from the early 60's in perfect condition, for only $5.00! I guess I was oblivious to what was going on, or what my friend said, because I just went and bought it. Next thing I know, my friend Ash declares that she had a claim on the bread box. I guess maybe she did point it out to me.... We didn't fight about it. We just didn't know who should keep it. If I kept it, I'd forever feel guilty for taking something my dear friend rightfully claimed. If she kept it, she'd feel the same way (at least she claimed to feel that way). So we went back and forth, driving our friend Danielle crazy. So we had Danielle pick a number, and I picked the closest to Danielle's number. So it was mine. But when I went home, I felt like it was stolen goods. I cleared my counter, and lucky for me, it was just too big for my tiny kitchen. So I dropped it off with Ashley, and now she can deal with it! :)

I got lots of cool stuff yesterday: a vintage tablecloth with matching napkins (see strawberries), a smock (orange-- you'll see it later), a picnic cookbook, a corn griller (kind of like a fish griller), a frog (for flowers), an old stoneware mixing bowl (cream color), a cake/candy dish with handle from the 30's, and a milk glass candy dish . I spent a total of $28.00!










Anyway, as soon as I got home from yard sailing, my mom called and wanted to go to Creative Kiln, our town's new paint-your-own pottery place(http://www.creativekiln.com/pages/1/index.htm). I had no idea how much fun it would be! I am painting a chips and salsa set, after the artist Grant Woods. I'll show you the end results when I can figure out posting photos with this darn blogging stuff!

Where to Start?

For months I have followed the adventures and creations of so many bloggers out there... I think I'm ready to dive in! I am also trying to participate in a few swaps, but it seems like it's just cooler to have a blog (in order to participate). I can't wait! But I may need help sometimes, because I don't quite understand how to set up some parts of the page.

Any-who, I am in love with vintage things. My favorite day of the week might just be Saturday. We go to YARD SALES! There are usually a few auctions around here, too, which bring in a small crowd. And this weekend, there will be a flea market at our local drive-in: Hull's Drive-In http://www.hullsdrivein.com/. What fun! I'll have to show off some purchases.