i am training a pumpkin along the top of the fence around our deck. i have to tether that beast at regular intervals but it has rewarded me with fruit
michael wants to build a shelf for this one but so far the vine is really strong
big bean (too stringy too eat though!)
lemon and honey tequila on a muggy afternoon
the other guard cat
and more wax processed from the cappings and a candle in the mutti tin
happy weekending!!
weighing in at one pound, two and three quarter ozs or, to the gram friendly, 528 of them!
heirloom pink brandy wine ripening on the deck
my biggest this season, so far
and due to the ever attentive guard cat, the birds stay away!
watching paint dry - i reckon i sit and watch the tomatoes ripen
read some of my workshop notes
then do some housework. really. promise.
i used to look after joanna when she was little. then she looked after prairie when she was little. now she has her own babe, esther. this is for her.
i picked up a great book on picasso from the library and was looking through it as i savoured my first coffee of the day. the morning sun was beautiful. crisp, sparkly and brand new.
throwing great shadows
j'aime picasso
this morning i laid out all the necessary items in front of p to finish the dog. funny that we can take a project almost to completion and then let it dangle and, to actually finish it takes such a short amount of time. is that just us or human nature. or are we exposing some deep dark psychological issue? don't answer that!
i love the little plaited scarf she made. the dog in the book was wearing a bandana but she wanted something different so choose threads using the colours in the ear fabric.
next: statistics homework. don't think i will be quite the help that i was with the sewing!
yesterday i was at home on my own sans car when the gas bottle that runs our stove top, ran out. we always keep a smaller back up gas bottle but i started fantasizing about how i would make my coffee if the little one didn't work. it did and i didn't have to put plan b into action. but, i woke this morning with plan b still very much present.
light brazier
eggs in fryer for p
and coffee for me - it wasn't hot enough for the coffee pot so i sat it directly on the coals and the coffee was through in literally seconds. simple pleasures. we were cowgirls. we were laura and ma. we slowed down for a while and it was good!
these are my new cups - i adore them. painted on stitching - what more could a cowgirl want!
finally!
our big guy turned 19 the other day. wow. last year of the teens. in addition to a vintage turntable, amp and speakers i made him a doll. never too old for dolls i chant.
i made the guitar at christmas time and i crossed fingers that the doll would come out the right size. he did! i painted him rather than embroider - oh the freedom, the speed. he lives in a checkered shirt though not green jeans - i don't know what possessed me!
the weeny buttons i got at tinsel trading and have waited for the perfect project.
life kicks in with routine this week. the summer holidays are over. p went back today and t still has a few weeks before university starts up again. next week i am starting a course of my own which i am very excited about - three whole months. i can't wait!
ps thanks for all the chair cover love - there has been a lot of sitting under the trees going on here!
we called them safari chairs but i think they are also known as butterfly chairs. these belonged to my parents in the 60s and i have had them for many years. they have always had covers that every few years have needed replacing. you can't go and buy a standard size because that they are not so we always had them made.
for the past few years they have sat coverless in the garden, patiently waiting. michael has always been very keen for new covers so i decided this would be his christmas present, and, i decided to make them and to use what i had. what was my sturdiest fabric? - french canvas that i had a big bagful of and rolls of burlap/hessian strapping tape that i had found on the side of the road. i backed them with coffee sacks (i am never without a ready supply of those!) the only thing i had to fork out for was the heavy upholstery thread and i needed a lot of it as i double stitched every seam, topstitched and went around the binding 3 times. my sewing machine handled the bulk but my poor serger/overlocker has to go in for a service - working okay but making some very nasty noises!
i only managed to finish one before the big day so i finally got my act together and finished the rest of his gift.
they are very very comfortable and we can now sit back in comfort and wait for these babies to ripen!
p and i gifted ourselves with this book after christmas - something to do while we wait for summer. i am waiting for her to finish this!
