A Funny Pair

I enjoy good British comedy. For years I followed the adventures of Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced "bouquet" for those not in-the-know) and her hen-pecked husband Richard in the BBC hit show Keeping Up Appearances. Now I have a new British comedy indulgence: Jeeves and Wooster. If you haven't caught this show before, it is really worth a look. Wooster, a snooty aristocrat with hair-brained ideas about life, employs a valet, Jeeves, who saves the day again and again. Dry-witted British humor permeates the show, of course, which easily whittles its way into your list of must-views.

The show was made popular during the early 90's and starred Stephen Fry as Jeeves and Hugh Laurie (famous for playing Dr. House in the TV series of the same name. My favorite show, which is now between seasons) as Wooster. I highly recommend putting this series of shows on your Blockbuster queue, but not until I've finished viewing them and I'm only on season one of four. Don't do it. Don't press that "add to queue" button. I know who you are and where you live!

Speaking of funny pairs. I just had to include this photo of Earle's sister and brother-in-law. This picture epitomises the joy and laughter that permeates their home, at all times. They exude warmth and joy, the kind of joy that only comes from knowing that everything in this life is safely in the hands of The Creator. A visit to their home is like a haven of comfort, a place you know you will be accepted and valued. They have a gift for that and a gift for spreading joy! All of Earle's siblings are unique and I am blessed by knowing each one of them. We will miss visiting with them this summer, but look forward to a trip to Maine in the fall.

Last, but not least, this pair's picture speaks for itself. They will both want to track me down now. I will have to go into hiding! Just when they thought they were safe, these darned pics show up after all! Face-painters beware of moms with cameras.

Quality Time

Earle and I have been savoring moments of quality time over the last week. Starting tomorrow he will be off to Taiwan and Germany again for work. This time it will be a two-and-half week journey to solve problems that came up in Taiwan. This unexpected trip has altered our summer plans. He was originally going to leave yesterday for a short trip to Germany and was going to take Julia with him. After his return we would have been heading up to Maine to visit his family. All that is now postponed until fall. Fall is a perfect time of year to visit Maine though. It should all work out just fine in the end. The hardest part is knowing he will be away from us now for longer and he will be away for our 20th anniversary. So, we are sharing these moments of quality time before and after the trip. It actuality, his upcoming departure has forced us to slow down and enjoy the summer we have left. That has been a good thing.

There is a park not far from our home that we enjoy with a pond, walking trail, and memorial to a fallen police officer. Recently Earle took his camera and I took my small field guides to wildflowers and birds. These are some of the highlights of our venture. We had been there just the day before and observed a lovely killdeer standing ankle-deep in the marshy area at the end of the pond, waiting patiently for dinner to move below the surface of the water. We were hopeful he would be there when we returned with the camera, but he must be photo shy. Maybe next time.

I've Been Tagged

I got tagged by Gretchen. Now, Like Gretchen, I don't know eight people to tag. I haven't been blogging long enough to have many to tag, yet!

These are the rules:Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. Mourning Doves are my favorite birds.
2. My life would be incomplete without cats. I have three right now.
3. I won Best Printmaking at the student art show my senior year in college.
4. I have painted about 50 commissioned watercolors of clients homes and/or businesses.
5. The animated Cinderella movie (Disney) is my favorite movie. I like the mice best!
6. I play The Sims 2. It's cheaper than redecorating a real house all the time!
7. I like pie better than cake.
8. This August is my 20th anniversary. Yeah! I am happily married to my best friend!

Yes, those were very random facts. I am going to tag:

Vanessa (It's time to get more of the relatives blogging don't you think?!)

Green Beans

"Hey hon, are those fresh green beans from the garden? They look yummy!"

It's amazing how many beans you can get from two small rows of plants. They were loaded. This is about half the beans. The others need to grow bigger still and the plants are still blossoming so there will be more to come.

I cooked about a third of the beans and put the rest in the frig for the next few days.

Here they are fresh from the pot, dripping with melted butter, salt, and pepper. Makes your mouth water, doesn't it? Come on, you know it does. Yes, they really were that good.

Truffle thought so too.

Good Friends, Good Food, Good Times

On Wednesday Gretchen and her family came for dinner. Shawn had some souvenirs to dole out to her son and daughter from his Asia trip. Gretchen has fabulous gardens teeming with vegetables and flowers which she patiently grew from seed. This is the bouquet she brought me for the table. Isn't it stunning?! Nasturtium leaves, dill flower heads, snap dragons, and flowering thyme- such a lovely combination of flowers and herbs. She has quite a gift for growing and arranging them.

Then, on Friday night, they had us over for dinner. She served the most wonderful fiesta of melt-in-your-mouth fish tacos with all the appropriate toppings (totally Californian), deconstructed guacamole salad (ala Barefoot Contessa), and fried pineapple over vanilla ice cream for dessert.

If we don't quit getting together for dinner I'm going to need more money in the budget for a new wardrobe!

Gretchen is such a good cook. I hearby award her the title: Taco Temptress!

The Asian Expedition

As promised, here are a few pics from Earle and Shawn's trip to Taiwan and Japan. It was difficult to narrow it down to just a few pics. This got a bit longer than I expected!

Rooftop temple carvings in Tainan City, Taiwan.

Oyster shuckers hard at work in the market, Tainan City, Taiwan.

Earle getting up-close and personal with the Koi.

The Koi returning the favor.

Shawn in front of 101, the tallest building in the world, Taipei, Taiwan.

Night skyline from the top of 101.

The Eva Air flight from Taiwan to Japan. Hello Kitty was everywhere, inside the plane and out.

Outside a temple in Japan. Check out the height difference!

Beautiful architecture and gardens outside a castle in Kakegawa, Japan.

Night-time shopping in the Ginza District, Tokyo, Japan.

Yes, it looks good on you. No, we can't get one. Earle trying a Fairlady Z on for size in Tokyo.

View from the hotel room, Tokyo, Japan.

Same view at night.

National Museum, Tokyo, Japan.

Imperial Palace Gardens. The rain did not keep visitors away. The typhoon was approaching, causing constant drizzle to begin.

Yes, this is real. Look at the size and color of that butterfly! Almost makes me want to go with him next time. Almost. Except that flying bit.

The Travelers

Earle and Shawn are home at last from their Asia trip. I will try to post a few pics when they have all been downloaded.

What an adventure they had; eleven days in Taiwan and Japan, a category five typhoon, and a 6.4 earthquake (experienced from the swaying, creaking vantage point of a hotel room on the 24th floor in downtown Tokyo.

O.K., here's the thing, they took video of the swaying room during the earthquake instead of putting on their shoes and heading for the ground floor. When they did decide to leave they took the elevator. Were they not paying attention to all those action movies (that they so love) where people get trapped in elevators in emergencies? I don't think I can let these two travel together anymore! They are too much trouble.

Polymer Progress

The men-folk are coming home from Asia today; home to safety. As it turned out, the typhoon, Man-Yi, turned early thus avoiding a direct hit on Tokyo. The weather was very rainy there, but it quickly dissipated and they weren't in any danger.

I have been using my free time to finish up a bunch of polymer clay projects I began a while ago.
I haven't made a lot of jewelry with clay before. These are a new venture for me.

Here I have deconstructed a store-bought bracelet; removing various larger dangles and replacing them with clay leaves I cut from several of my leaf canes. I also added a translucent gold wash of paint to the leaves to echo the antiqued brass of the bracelet.

More leaves waiting to be put on the bracelet. The larger dangle at the left is one I took off. I intend to make matching earrings with them.

I made these beads a while ago and just now got around to stringing them into a bracelet. I purchased small silver beads as spacers between the clay beads. If I had a better camera you could actually see them!

Next, there are two pendants I made. The one with the fruit motif I made the beads for almost six months ago. About time I finished it up! The other is from newly made canes. I think it looks kind of Celtic. They both tie at the back of the neck so the length is adjustable.

The table in my studio is a huge mess of polymer clay bits and pieces! It is nice to have a designated space where I can leave my projects out until I have time to get back to them again.

Sunday Night at the Museum

Van Gogh, Vincent (văn gō, Dutch vinsent' vän khôkh), 1853–90, postimpressionist painter, b. the Netherlands. Van Gogh's works are perhaps better known generally than those of any other painter. His brief, turbulent, and tragic life is thought to epitomize the mad genius legend.

If you care to learn more about an artist this summer, may I suggest Van Gogh. The brilliant, sunny hues of his Sunflower painting are familiar to most as are the mysterious, swirling, indigo hues of his famous work, The Starry Nights.



Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• Read a biography of VanGogh's life.
• Observe his paintings. Ask yourself: How does it make me feel? Why did he choose the colors he did? How does the swirling texture of the brushstrokes contribute to the mood of the painting? What time of day is it, what season is it? Do I like the painting? Why? Why not?
• Investigate his relationship with his brother Theo. Read some of his letters to him.
• Watch the film Lust for Life as Kirk Douglass portrays Van Gogh's tormented existence.
• Engage in an entertaining art lesson with a group of kids or adults, or even by yourself.
• Listen to the song Starry, Starry Night.
• Watch a Fantamorph video of Van Gogh's self portraits on YouTube.
• Go pick some sunflowers, arrange them in a vase, and enjoy their magnificence!

"I am not an adventurer by choice but by fate."

Vincent Van Gogh

Out in the Garden

After all the rain, heat, and humidity lately the garden has finally begun to take off. As you can see, it isn't very big. This is our first year to garden here and preparing the soil was no small task. Earle was still on crutches at the time, recovering from his knee surgery. Shawn took over the rototilling responsibilities. Then we raked out the sod chunks and tilled in several bags of peat moss and some fertilized garden soil. Still the soil hardens and cracks in the sun. This clay soil devoid of nutrients is a bit of a nuisance, but next year will be better after we are able to amend the soil some more.

I am growing: heirloom tomatoes (courtesy of Gretchen), wild Mexican cherry tomatoes, zucchini, yellow crookneck squash, spaghetti squash, bush beans, lettuce, radishes, spinach, and Swiss chard. Of course there is only a small amount of each, but this way we get to see what does well here and what doesn't.

We planted the spinach too late in the year and the heat made it bolt before it got very big. Julia and I had spinach salads last night with our only helping of spinach this year. The birds ate the lettuce seeds so it never came up, just a couple little spots. The radishes are already gone. They did pretty well and are always easy to grow. I intended to plant more of them, but never got to it. Just yesterday I noticed the first tomato plant setting fruit and there is a tiny yellow squash too. It got a very late start under poor conditions, but we may get some veggies yet!

Lovely yellow crookneck squash blossoms.

Pretty pinky-purple bean blossoms.

Containers on the deck with ripening peppers, cilantro, and thyme.

An annual, container plant I just couldn't pass up at the nursery. It is called a black-eyed susan vine. It is taking off up the trellis as promised and is a delightful plant!

Julia's plate of homegrown spinach salad from last night, complete with homegrown radishes.