Goodbye August

:: August ::

My least favorite month of the year.

It's over. And it really wasn't bad at all. August was especially mild for us this year. In our neck of the woods it's generally brutal. Hot, humid and miserable. I believe if you're not exercising you shouldn't be perspiring, so August and I don't see eye to eye. Yesterday, Hubby and I worked in the yard with a gentle cool breeze keeping us comfortable. And this morning, I exercised in fifty degree weather. It was nice. Very nice. This year I appreciated August. It was a good month with many positive changes. I saw this post about August and had to chuckle. Well said Kelli, well said.

Would You Mind A Little Bathroom Talk?

I'll try to keep it pretty. This is the worst part, I promise:

Try as I might, I haven't mastered the art of healthy, efficient cleaning. I've read lots of books and tried different homemade concoctions, but in the end, I keep reaching for my not-so-healthy products to get the job done. Yesterday, I borrowed Green Housekeeping, by Ellen Sandbeck, from the library. The chapter on bathrooms is quite good and today I'm trying out some of her tips. These are the products I used to clean my bathroom. One spray bottle filled with vinegar (grain based) and one big bottle of vinegar to refill the spray bottle if needed. That's it.

One spray bottle. One spray bottle. Really. One spray bottle. If the results are favorable, this will really simplify my life. It's not rocket science, and people have been using vinegar for years, but Ellen does a great job explaining in detail how to deep clean your space so that future weekly cleaning becomes super quick and efficient. She even goes so far as to suggest a step-by-step process that, done weekly, will take only three minutes (for toilet, sinks and floor). So, for starters, the toilet was cleaned with vinegar inside and out. I feel pretty confident that it's "healthy clean".

Except for some mineral buildup on the faucet, the sink is sparkling.

And I'm trying her advice for taking care of mineral buildup. Vinegar again. I'll check back in a few hours to see if it did the trick.

The tub? Vinegar.

Can you guess how the mirrors were cleaned? Yup. Vinegar.

The only thing I've yet to tackle is the shower stall, but it's Friday night and a girl needs to have a little fun on a Friday night. I'm going to continue reading this book and experimenting in my home. I'm excited at the prospect of paring my cleaning arsenal down to just a few natural ingredients that really do the job. I'll keep you posted on my progress and if you have any tricks up your sleeve I'd sure love to hear about them.

Still Going Strong

About this time of year, my excitement for gardening begins to fade. The planting, watering, deadheading and weeding begins to feel like a chore. I start getting antsy to rip things out, neaten up the beds, put on a pot of stew, start up the fireplace and immerse myself in knitting and sewing. That's how I felt this morning as I dragged out the hose to water once again. And then I noticed how pretty the zinnia looked in the early morning sun so I grabbed my camera to capture their beauty. And the hibiscus? Well they were just screaming, "look how pretty I am". Before I knew it I was running through the yard snapping photos of beautiful little flowers that are persevering through the dry, hot days of August. So, I reframed my thinking. I'm not going to wish away the summer. I'm going to enjoy every last beautiful bloom.

Cabin Fever

My mom gave me these Honey Buns. Aren't they lovely? If you aren't familiar with Honey Buns, they are little packaged bundles of 1 1/2" strips, presented in that cute little Bake Shop box. This one contained two different lines of fabric:

:: Spring Magic by April Cornell ::

:: Objects of Desire by Sandy Gervais ::

I decided to make some log cabin blocks. It's my favorite block to make because it's quick and easy and I just love the scrappy look it produces. I had a little helper with me. It was getting close to snack time just before bed and things got somewhat dramatic:

But, we managed to get two blocks completed and we're looking forward to making some more tonight.

I've got cabin fever!!

A Very Special Day

August 25th is a special day in our family. My dad was born on that day in 1939. On that same day in 1986, I gave birth to our son. The two birthday boys have always shared a special bond and to this day they love to visit and chat about what's going on in each other's lives and about baseball. Boy do they love baseball. I've shared this photo before, but it's one of my favorites and it truly captures the happiness and fun times they've had together. So Happy Birthday Dad and Matt. Wishing you both a wonderful day! Here's a fun little birthday song for you.

Vintage-y

It's not a word :: I looked it up. But I couldn't wait to show you my vintage thrift finds. Webster's defines vintage as "of old, recognized, and enduring interest, importance, or quality" and also "of the best and most characteristic". I like that definition. And guess what? I think I might be a vintager, "one that takes part in a vintage". Anyway, I did a spur of the moment thrift run last week and found some endearing treasures.

I love to put these old pins on the collar of my jean jacket when the weather starts to turn a bit cool. To me, they're like little rays of sunshine.

This book popped out at me. The color and illustrations are so sweet and fun. And do you see that pillowcase? It's baby sized and just delightful!

It's a tad overcast in the garden this morning, but the temperature is in the sixties and feels so nice.

This yellow enamel pot will be a great addition to my gardening collection. It might end up holding a potted plant, or storing some bulbs and seeds. Whatever it's purpose, it makes my heart sing.

Hope you enjoyed my vintage-y show and tell. I just love to share with you.

Leprechauns and Pots of Gold

This was our view last evening as the rain came and went. It was magical :: a yellow glow and a double display of the most gorgeous vivid color. We didn't look for leprechauns or pots of gold. It would have spoiled the moment for sure.

Fast Food My Way

This was a happy accident. It was one of those days when I didn't think about dinner until it was time for dinner and I had no idea what we were going to have for dinner. A little brown rice, a can of chick peas, a bag of frozen veggies and some satay peanut sauce all thrown together.

Colorful, tasty, and served in one of my very favorite bowls. My idea of a fast food meal. Yum.

Big News!

I installed a zipper last night. And it wasn't hard at all.

I spotted this little zipper bag on African Kelli's blog and loved the size and shape of it. Christmas is fast approaching and ideas have been swirling around in my head for a special charity project. Last year, my friend and I put together gift bags full of miniature toiletries for residents of a local nursing home. We talked about doing it again and these bags would be the perfect size and shape to hold the toiletries and would be much more personal than a plastic gift bag. It would also make a great community project for the quilt guild.

Construction of this bag was really very easy. I used a glue stick to "baste" the zipper in place, eliminating the need for pins, and the zipper went in like a breeze. It wasn't my idea, I read that tip somewhere long ago. One thing I'd do differently next time is to zig zag the interior raw edges instead of pinking them. It was difficult to cut through all the layers of fabric with my pinking shears and I think machine zig zagging will produce a neater-looking finished edge. I learned something very strange about myself while making this bag. I hold my breath when I sew. Not all the time. Just when I'm working on something that I'm a little unsure of. Thank goodness this was a quick project! Do you hold your breath when you sew?

The tutorial for this project was generously shared here. I've added it to my sidebar under "Tutorials I've Found and Love".

Good Morning

:: Busy day today :: :: Just popping in to say hello :: :: Hello ::

Knitting and Dreaming of Fall

Yesterday, I finished the Wedding Washcloth while visiting with some of my quilting friends at our local coffee shop. The yarn was so wonderful to work with and the finished cloth is soft and luxurious. I envision gifting a stack of these wrapped in beautiful ribbon with a handmade soap tucked inside. It was so much fun I needed another project to work on............ and because I adore the fall time and it's pretty darn hot in our area right now, I decided to pull this scarf out of my unfinished project pile and get it finished up. I'm anticipating wrapping it around my neck as I'm heading out the door on a crisp, cool morning to take a walk through the freshly fallen leaves. Ahhh....can you feel it? This afternoon I'm taking my neice out for a farewell lunch. She's heading to college this week to start her first semester of nursing school. She's very smart, level headed, and grounded and I know she'll be a fantastic student. Wishing you a beautiful day and thank you so much for stopping by my little corner of the world :)

Refreshing and Caffeine Free

My naturopathic physician once told me, "Try not to drink your calories". Because of his advice, my beverage of choice is generally water. Every now and then though, I get the itch for something a little more exciting. This drink fits the bill as a wonderful low calorie treat.

:: Herbal Iced Tea from The Barefoot Contessa ::

I thoroughly enjoy this tea. It's easy to make (only three ingredients plus water), caffiene free, and is naturally sweetened with fruit juice. I followed the recipe exactly the first time, but yesterday I reduced the amount of apple juice by half, substituting the rest of the juice with water to reduce the calorie content. It was still very nice. This glass is for you. Enjoy!

This Morning

Window Candles

One of my new blog friends sent an email inquiring about the window candle in my header photo. I thought I'd share with all of you in case you love window candles as much as we do. When hubby and I lived in our previous home, we made a mental list of all of the things we'd like to do if we ever had the chance to build a custom home. One of the things at the top of our list was to put outlets under every window. This would eliminate the string of extension cords we rigged at Christmas time to support the window candles. Fast forward fifteen years or so, while designing the details for our current home, hubby spotted a brochure in a model home we were browsing through. We thought we had died and gone to heaven. Not only did this company sell window candles, but they sold low voltage window candle systems that could be hardwired, completely eliminating the need for an outlet. We put them in all of our windows.

The wiring is beneath the little white contact piece that you see on the sill. The candle simply slips onto that piece, making contact with the wires. The base of the candle then slips over the top and is really for decoration only. The candle sleeves come in many different color choices as do the bases. A pretty ingenious idea I must say. I'm just sorry I didn't think of it myself. Oh, and the dirt on the window? That falls under the "keeping it real" category. :)

Getting Everything In Order

I'm taking our college graduate shopping today to pick up a few more dress shirts and ties to complete his wardrobe. The new job starts on Monday and he'll be moving to a shared townhouse in the next couple of weeks. It's all very exciting and positive but I'd be lying if I said that the permanency of the separation isn't a bit hard to swallow from a mother's point of view. That said, I'm so very proud of him and the person he's become.

Run Away....As Fast As You Can....

If you are trying to eat in a health-conscious manner!!

This Country Blueberry Coffee Cake is a recipe by Paula Deen. I made it over the weekend for our son and his lovely girlfriend, Rachel. It's loaded with all kinds of things that we usually steer clear of (biscuits, brown sugar, butter) but it was a special Sunday morning treat.

We all thought it was a fantastic recipe, and we were able to justify eating it since the oats and the blueberries counteracted the unhealthy ingredients, right? Of course, I only tasted it....several times :)

Making Me Smile

:: Veggies from our neighbor's fabulous garden ::

:: Photos before the sun peeks over the mountain ::

:: Sunlight and shadows ::

:: This lone little petunia growing up under the shutter ::

:: My favorite herbal tea helping me to (yet again) kick the coffee habit ::