Is the Grass Greener on That Side?

I keep driving by these sweet sunflowers peeking over the fence. All I had to take a picture with was my phone so I snapped this one. They make me smile and I can't help but wonder what they're looking at.






:) Deanna

Gotta Love the Stache

Well, we managed to fit in the last outdoor movie (you may remember my description of these from last year's post). This weekend we got some action from Burt in "Smokey and the Bandit". As we set up our chairs we got to see some fun reminders of the movie.

Then we settled in for the ride. I have to admit I barely remembered the movie, but with movies like this it doesn't take long to grasp the deep characters and complex plot points. David put it something like this, "This is one of the most ridiculous movies, but it is just so fun to watch!" Well put! Of course by the end of the movie I think I had quoted every line of the song "Convoy" as well.

It brought back a bunch of memories from when we were kids and would go on road trips with our cousins with a CB radio in each car. I remember Dad's handle was Shutterbug and Mom's was "Livewire". I'm not sure I ever convinced anyone that mine was "Scooby Doo" but I was convinced in my head. Oh, but don't worry, we never were chased by a crazy Texas Sherrif, bootlegged, or drove a shiny black Trans Am... although we did have an awefully cool "heavy Chevy".

Hope you are still enjoying your summer too! There's still a little left!

We gonna back on outta here so keep the bugs off yer glass An' the bears off yer tail. We gonna catch ya on the flip-flop. This here's Scooby Doo on the side. We gone Bye, Bye...

*D*

Jack of All Trades, Master of... Well, Whatever...

I've never been one to focus, undivided, on one task. I'm always coming up with some new thing I want to try. That's why stores like Joann's, Home Depot, heck, even Target are so hard on me. I walk in and all the little project neurons in my brain start firing up until I leave with smoke coming out of my ears and bags full of random items none of which are the actual item I came in for in the first place. I know the people who run the stores are all too familiar with my kind. I suppose there's a bunch of government funded researchers somewhere tranquilizing aimless shoppers coming out of Michael's to tag them for further consumer monitoring. We must do what we can to lift this recession, you know.

Well, here are a few of my latest little endeavors:

I was able to sneak in a day of raspberry picking. I froze a ton of them, but also made a batch of freezer jam. Can't wait to put a little of this in my fro-yo!

Of course I'm still working on the garden. I've got some fun little peppers coming in and some great tomatoes! Lately as I've been eating the garden-fresh tomatoes I've been wondering what those red things I've been buying at the store all year are. They look the same, but the taste doesn't even compare!

David and I finished our 50 Mile Challenge last month! Yay us! We finished it on the fourth mile of the 8K we did together. Now we are preparing a fun chart for our next challenge.

Melissa gave me her old sewing machine a couple months ago, so that's really getting the wheels turning on some projects. Dad gave me a bookshelf that I've been wanting to spruce up, so I decided to see what I could do with some paint and material. I love color, but I think I got a little too pastel on this one. I like the material and the paint, but together they look like they belong in a nursery. I'm still pondering this project... I've also been experimenting with my dining room wall. I added some vinyl words and want to surround them with pictures, but haven't gotten everything in frames yet.

Oh, that's just a sampling. I also have other projects scattered about my home and my life. We'll see what turns out and what doesn't! Now, if you'll excuse me, the last time I came back from Michael's I blacked out and when I came to I had this big, plastic bracelet on. I'm gonna go see if I can get that thing off...

*D*

Greased Lightening

I know what I'm getting when my midlife crisis hits...

I went to this car show on Sunday. Totally l-o-v-e-d it. Now I'm in the mood to pop Grease in the DVD player & hang out with Sandy & Danny for a few hours. These cars transport me back in time a little bit when I look at them. I always have a clear vision of me driving & also......being a girl......which fashion accessories I'm wearing while driving.My favorite at the show. This beautiful blue '66 Chevy Chevelle Malibu. I see myself in something a little bit 80's rock & roll...& revving that engine.Under the hood.......fancy pancy!And, Hello. I can just see myself speeding down the highway in this '59 Chevy Corvette! Of course I'm wearing a long head scarf, Jackie-O sunglasses & a huge grin.This '55 Chevy Belair would be my cute family car. A pretty dress, heals & pearl earrings are the attire. Or capris with a crisp white blouse. My hair is pulled back chignon-style.I also really liked this two-tone color.And certainly our vacation rental would be this '56 VW Bug, complete with roof rack to carry our all-important parcels to the beach. :-) Um...hot pink gingham swimsuit? This is the first time I've heard of a Rambler Marlin ('65). I thought it was interesting & different & I could get used to driving one of these too! Love the HUGE side window...holy smokes! I think something simple like a wrap skirt & flats is in order here.Now if I were to drive a motorcycle or scooter.....this '81 Honda Passport would be the ticket. You have to have a basket on a bike. Where else are you gonna carry your six pack of root beer?! Also, when riding this bike, you must be accessorized with a cute helmet & goggles, I think.

The only thing missing from the car show was some old Ford pick-up trucks from the '70's era. And anything with wood-paneling. Rather disappointing.

Melissa

Knitting for cold body parts in need

It's over! My yard sale is finally over! I made a whopping $135 for all the blood, sweat & tears I put into it. Oh well. At least now I have extra spending money for my trip home to Montana. That's next week, baby!

So what's up on the knitting front? Well, not now, but come winter there will be a world of cold body parts out there in need of knitted things, like hats, scarves & blankies. I decided I want to cover them.

This whipped up rather quickly after work on Friday:

[July Baby Pom-pom Hat]

I hope it fits a baby. I do not have any babies to test these things on. Can someone lend me a baby?!! Okay, well it does fit this big-headed stuffed dog.

So this year, I've chosen The Dulaan Project. An organization out of Flagstaff, AZ collects knitted (& probably sewn) warm items throughout the year & sends them to Mongolia, where the winter temperatures plummet to way below freezing. The next shipment goes out in July 2010, so this gives me 12 months, in which I will try to make 12 items to cover 12 cold body parts.

Next month's hat:

This hat pattern was ripped out of a Martha Stewart magazine forever ago. It's the only hat pattern I can do, so there will be many versions in different sizes & colors.... Oh! Wouldn't earflaps be cute?! I might have to experiment with that.

Or maybe I should learn to knit beyond rectangles. Don't be fooled by my hats & purses. They look round, but they are all rectangles that I've folded over or manipulated into something else. By the end of the year, I want to have some socks on my circular needles & be knitting in-the-round. I bought this book for inspiration:

The Coquette sock will be first on my needles; I like ankle socks:

Second on my needles will be the Ragg Hiker; oooh, they look warm:

Another purchase:

I WANT THESE LEG WARMERS!!!

And how cute are thes angora baby booties?!! Again, can someone lend me a baby?!! :)

And, finally....yes, Coy, I'm still working on your scarf! [I was going to put a picture here, but I decided you'll have to wait.] It is soooo much better than the one I made for myself. I think your neck will have something soft, warm & cably to cover it this winter.

Until then, keep cool everyone!

Love, Melissa

Summer To Do List

My schedule has been scattered all over the place this summer! Luckily I've been able to mark some important things off my to do list like...

Pick strawberries

Meet with friends for a walk


Stick pink, girly tattoos on foreheads, noses, cheeks (ahem... not those cheeks!), arms, a boyfriend, and ankles

Play... lots

Watch things grow

Do some journaling

I hope you are getting some important stuff done this summer too!

;) Deanna

Performing a Clutterectomy

It's a yard sale at my house! One week from today.

Signage. Check.
Pricing. Check.
Friends commissioned to help set up. Check.

I'm going to make this a pleasant day for myself. Sort of a summer party feel, so I can be relaxed & friendly around my customers, which is most important. The night before, I'll put up some leftover 4th of July decorations & bake cookies. The day of, I will sit in the shade with my radio & knit during the lull moments (hopefully not many of those).

Okay, this is about the time where I overwhelm myself with worst-case scenarios & panic, which I did earlier. A little. And just now my stomach feels a bit queezy. But really, things are moving along quite nicely.

:) Melissa

A glorious weekend

Yes, I said glorious. Why? Because the sun was shining longer than 5 minutes & because I scored free paint & a free chair (above).

Early Saturday morn, I was reading The Farm Chicks' blog where I found out Glidden was giving away free quarts of paint (which they've since run out of - but are now giving away free $5 rebates). And while I had no idea what to paint with it, I fell in love with the Canary Song yellow. Because yes, I went straight in to stare at all the pretty colors. I'm secretly mesmerized by paint chips & the names of paint chips. Who comes up with these great names anyway? "Sea glass" being my particular favorite of the Glidden collection.

Anyhow, the Canary Song was ever so cheery & I've been thinking lately that my house could use a good dose of cheer. I ordered it.

Hmm...now what to paint?

After the paint ordering frenzy, I felt energized & got straight to work Spring cleaning the house, getting stuff ready for my pending yard sale & taking our Winter/Spring backlog of recycling to the recycling center. I love recycling, but it really does take over your garage if you don't have a nice weekend to clean it out. And as I pulled our truck back into the driveway on arriving home, there it was...the chair I've wanted all along for my sewing table. I've daydreamed about this chair. The rounded, spindly back. Yes. My neighbors just set it out on the curb for Monday morning trash pick-up & I saved it. It's dirty, but I'm thinking some soap, water...& maybe some paint...yellow paint?...might turn it around. Actually, now I'm thinking a nice shade of blue. Ahh...well, something in this house will be painted yellow, if not the chair.

Now a few random things.
While folding laundry Saturday afternoon, these clean white towels stacked atop my white washing machine thrilled me to no end. I love white on white. I admired it for some time before giving in & putting the towels away. *sigh* I felt compelled to take this picture & share it with the world. Wouldn't it be great to jump in a pile of clean white towels? I think that is my newfound dream.I also think I might be turning British. Is that possible? No accent yet, but my evening treat before bed all weekend was tea & toast. Aveda tea, which is my favorite tea in the whole world. And cranberry orange toast from Great Harvest Bread Co., where I visit more often than is necessary.

And more evidence I might be turning British... I began yearning to watch something Pride-&-Prejudice-ish late Sunday afternoon. After a brief search at Netflix, I found Wives & Daughters which I was able to play from my computer. Of course, this taking place in early-1800's England, the ladies in the movie do quite a bit of needlework. Which got me in the mood to knit. I knit in the English method, not the American-Continental method (more evidence). So I picked up a project & knitted away 3 straight hours while totally engrossed in the movie. It is long, much like Pride & Prejudice, but highly recommended by me. Very good.

And that's all for now. M

p.s. If you want to sample my favorite tea, let me know. I'll happily slip a packet in the mail for you.

Summer livin' on the patio

My gardening plans this summer:

Firstly, impulse-buy one pot pretty pink flowers at the supermarket.
Secondly, sprinkle Crysanthemum & Phlox seeds in pretty ceramic eggshells, water them & wait for something beautiful to bloom...
Done.

Gee, that was hard work. Now I really must put my feet up & relax. Truly, I've been relaxing in my patio rocking chairs too much this summer. Things are getting neglected around the house.

No, no...it can wait. For now, there is tea to be sipped & books to be read. And very serious thinking to be done...like, shall I get one of these? One can never have too many places to put one's feet up...

xo, M

Free Summer Fun

Are you looking for something to do with the family this summer, but don't want to spend alot of money? Well here is a good idea. Regal Cinemas is having free family movies throughout the summer. If you go here you can find the movie schedule in your area.

Now, if you are just concerned about free chocolate, this one is for you. Mars is giving out 500,000 coupons for free chocolate on Fridays for a promotion. Now, the problem for those of us on the West Coast is that the giveaway starts at 9:00 a.m. EST. This means 6:00 PST. Doesn't seem like the odds are quite that fair, but what can you do? You can go here to sign-up on Friday.

Just thought I'd pass on the fun!

Deanna

Catching Up on my Goofy Life

Oh readers, you have no idea how often I (Deanna) think, "I must blog about this!" I truly write blogs in my head all the time, but am loathe to sit in front of the computer after eight hours of it at work. Oh, to blog in a notebook with crinkly lined sheets and spaces to doodle to my hearts content. I guess that would be more like a klog (we-blog, noteboo-klog). Well, since my klog is mostly private, I will blog some things I've been meaning to for some time.

I was taking a walk this evening and I felt like I wanted to capture every second of summer like Cindarella before midnight. I know, this sounds very dramatic, but I do get rather dramatic when summer is coming to an end. I want to fully experience it until it is completely gone. Then I have to have some grieving time. Finally, I'm ready to jump into fall with all the gusto of one of those gorilla suited guys jumping out at small children in the corn maze. One of the activities I will most miss from summer are the outdoor movies in the quaint little Perry District. You show up at dusk to sit outside of an old car shop converted into a coffee shop.

On this particular night they were showing "Galaxy Quest", so the Jewish pre-movie band was all dressed up in DIY space outfits while they played their accordians and clarinets and danced with crowd members. My particular favorite was the medly of Star Wars/Trek/Quest/Jones songs they had composed in Jewish style, because, like the band leader said, "there are Jews everywhere".

I also have been wanting to give you an update on my container garden. I would have to say that for the most part I was fairly successful. Here's kind of a side shot of it:

Here's a close up of my tomatoes, peppers and basil. I thought they looked really pretty.
Oh, and here's my one yellow squash that grew... I guess I won't be leaving any on my neighbor's porch this year...

For people who used to read my previous blog you may remember my post on the 10,000 Silver Dollar Bar and what a colorful tourist trap it is. Well, I just want to give you a surprising update. It is no longer the 10,000 Silver Dollar Bar. That's right, there are now 50,000 silver dollars! I give to you the new (well, just the "fives", as you can see from the photo) and improved (well, if getting more varieties of toothpick holders is an improvement) 50,000 Silver Dollar Bar!

I do have some other posts logged away in my head, but they will have to wait for another day. I do, however, want to leave you with one quick update from a previous post. If you remember my Independence Day blog, I wrote about The Keeper of the Tambourine. Well, he is still going strong as I saw a photo of him dancing away at a community fair my church helps with. The moment they showed the slide show I knew it was him... too funny.

Deanna