Cleaning out the produce drawer

   Farfalle pasta with yellow tomatoes and cucumbers. 

   Red onion sauteed with canellini beans.

   Ity bity new potatoes seasoned with garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Couldn't wait, had to have a bowl right away.

Lola

56 days until fall

It is disgusting outside. 9pm and it is insanely hot and humid.

DONE!

Massive work project finally done and uploaded. Ahhhh. Sigh of relief. Ack! Three days late on next project?! Due Monday?! I'll start tomorrow, tonight I'm not doing a thing.

Ennui

A day of blah.
Work? Blah.
Everything else? Blah.
Even the weather is suffering from ennui. Overcast, warm and humid. Blah.

Update

Soldering class rocks.

The Pickler

I've been dying to learn to can and have been determined to can something before the summer ends. Luckily Mike is an experienced canner and invited me to help out this weekend. 

Let the pickle canning begin!

 

The jars are being sterilized.

A MOUND of garlic. No vampires here.

The line-up: cucumber spears, cucumber chips, garlic and peppers.

Assembly

Being filled with the liquid pickle mix.

Into the pot

Ten minutes later out they come.

Waiting to hear the lids "pop".

Pretty, pretty pickles.

Thank you Mike and Sarah!

Bucolic beauty

I GREW this!

Well, not the heirloom tomatoes and certainly not anything to do with the lovely mozzarella but the basil. I grew basil and it taste and smells like basil should. 

I'll be available as an herb growing expert to answer all of your questions right after I finish eating my lovely mixed up caprese salad. 

Parched

I could not drink enough on Friday. I was so thirsty I was drinking straight out of this. And it didn't last long, it had to be refilled. 

Blueberry obsession

I have been eating blueberries nonstop this summer. A handful with my cereal in the morning, with yogurt, with cottage cheese, blended with bananas and rice milk. Even my dogs eat them as a treat. 

This photo made me think of Blueberries For Sal. 

Model beehavior

This bee was very calm and allowed me to get super close.

Click photos to enlarge.

What the flux

Lock your doors and hide your copper and nickel, for tomorrow I solder again.

Blueberry Festival

Let's go to the Blueberry Festival. Is it hot outside? Yes. Oh good. Very, very hot? Indeed. Let's go then!

Beautiful split rail fence leads down to the plantation.

Trying to hide from the kids.

The fairgrounds opened up into a huge willow lined field.

Enormous lengths of cloth hanging in the rafters.

An inside view of a slate roof.

Garden of my dreams.

Garden gate with cannon ball weight.

Must have this garden house. MUST. HAVE.

The guides were fantastic. I have no idea how they remained 

conscious and upright in the heat while dressed in full costume.

Hotter inside than out.

We did buy a blueberry pie when we left and they did have a seminar on blueberries but other than that I have no idea why they call it the blueberry festival, and it isn't historically relevant since the plantation never actually grew blueberries. But after eating a slice of the best blueberry pie ever I didn't really much care.

Didn't do it

Today I did not:
sweep the floor
pay bills
clean the bathroom
grocery shop
make phone calls
take a shower
put away laundry
cut the grass


Today I did:
call my nephew and wish him a happy birthday
change the fish water
drink a beer and a half

I like to say

Crocosmia

Crocosmia

I like to say crocosmia. 

I like the hesitant CRO cut short by the hard, fast accent of the CO which slow motion arcs and falls down into the slick twist of the SMI and ends in soft AH.

I just learned this word. My mouth is still delighted in forming it.

At a garden store I saw a deep row of bright redredred flowers. Little flames shooting out of long, sharp, leaves.

Crocosmia Lucifer it's called.

Lucifer. His little red tongue.

Crocosmia Lucifer rolls and hisses around your mouth.

The word pops into my brain and I have to say it out loud. I feel compelled.

Crocosmia Lucifer. I will plant you.

Garden art

I tagged along to see a neighbor's garden that was part of a garden tour this weekend. I don't remember what the actual gardens looked like, I was so fascinated by all the garden decorations.

Creature and sign hiding beneath the vines. 

Frenetic flower aura or hair?

Juxtaposition of the heavy, old pulley 

holding a basket of delicate, fluffy flowers.

Sculpture of vines intertwined with christmas lights, 

unfortunately the lights don't show up in the photo.

An old croquet set begging to be played with.

This would scare the beans out of me at dusk.

Friday

Drove to CT to see one of my nieces and two of my nephews perform in a musical my sister produced for the local children's theater company. Left PA early in the day and spent the afternoon running errands in my old state and was reminded of all the little life events I experienced as I drove through my old stomping grounds.

After an early dinner we stumbled upon a car show and saw some beautiful cars, like this gorgeous, meticulously restored Thunderbird.

This car would look great on me.

The musical was great, hysterical. The kids were full of confidence and sang their hearts out. They really put on a fantastic show. Driving back to PA I was a bit depressed to be leaving them and CT but when I got home to my happy little red brick house and my two always-delirious-to-see-me dogs I was glad once again to be in PA.

I am solderer hear me roar

Finally.

Today I soldered.

I have been hoping to learn how to solder for way over a year and I keep signing up for classes but something always happens and I never get to do it.

Well now I've done it.

It's not pretty but it doesn't matter, I have lit the torch and melted the solder and now you have to see the photos.

I signed up for a class at a Penn State satellite campus which is gorgeous. 

The studio is brand new. 

No one is in yet because I am the nerd who always shows up early. 

Our very cool professor showing us how to use the torch.

My two soldered joints!

Please inspect the fine line of solder on my T-joint.

Notice the equally fine and even silver solder around 

the edges of my Sweat-joint.

I can not wait for next class so I can use my amazing soldering skills to create more amazing soldering masterpieces.