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Archive for the ‘This and that’ Category

This and That on a Thursday

Thursday, July 21st, 2011

It has been a day of getting odds and ends of things done. I felted three more colors for backgrounds for my next  felted piece. I need to do at least six more for the composition I have in mind.

Yesterday, I picked up 2 quarts of Marionberries at the farmer’s market. They are an Oregon treat and, like the Hood strawberries, I have grown to love them and like to put several batches in the freezer. I spread them on a big baking sheet and freeze them and then I vacuum pack them in plastic baggies. In the middle of the winter, they taste like summer. I also picked a quart of raspberries in my garden which we will  enjoy some and freeze some.

We have had so much rain that the weeds had taken over my veggie garden so I spent an hour pulling weeds and tending my poor plants that are hoping for some sunshine and warm temperatures.

Tonight we had a veggie feast from my CSA pick up — roasted baby carrots and roasted beets with braised beet greens and an arugula salad with delicious heirloom tomatoes. The tomates were not from Oregon, but were left over from the focaccia sandwich. When I was preparing the beet greens, I was taken with the beauty of the greens and had to snap a photo of them.

We were hoping that the railing would be installed on the deck before the week-end, but they couldn’t get the aluminum ordered in time so we have to wait until next week. Mr C has been working on the area between the house and the garage. I will be happy to have that finished as I have to navigate a construction area every time I go to the freezer or my car.

I took a big sigh of relief yesterday when we were given until September 30th to get work entered in the next SAQA Oregon show. I need that extra month.

Talking Food

Wednesday, July 20th, 2011

This is a Focaccia Sandwich that I prepared for STASH, today. The filling is pesto mayo, tomatoes, red onion, arugula and fresh mozzarella. I made the Focaccia di Patate that I made yesterday. It has yukon gold potato in it and cherry tomatoes on top.

This is Scooter after I found him checking it out and hoping for some bites.

I served it with chilled melon soup and brownie with raspberry coulis and vanilla ice cream. The raspberries were picked from my garden yesterday.

Last night I went to High Fiber Diet. We selected the theme for our 2012 show – Elements: Air, Earth, Fire, Water.  I think I can work with that – lots of ideas. Our current show opens the first week of August in Oregon City:

NW Vibes, a new fiber art show by High Fiber Diet, opens with an Artist Reception on August 5th   from 5-8 pm at the Singer Hill Café, 623 7th St, Oregon City, OR.  Musical entertainment by “The Sale” will be from 6 to 8 pm.  Singer Hill Café’s Fundraiser Friday will donate 25% of food and beverage purchases at the Cafe that evening to the High Fiber Diet group. The show runs from August 3-31, 2011.

If you live in the Portland area, I hope you will come by and enjoy the evening with us.

Here are some photos I took at m beloved Rhodie Garden today on my walk with Mr Scooter.

And, I even saw a Blue Heron.

Three for Three

Thursday, July 14th, 2011

I finally heard from the third show that I entered, the La Conner Quilt Museum Quilt Festival which will take place September 29 – October 2. Autumn Aspens made the cut.

Life around here is still very crazy. The decking has been almost completed on the deck and tomorrow, they will finish laying it down in the extension between the garage and the house. I think my son is hoping to drive back to San Francisco on Sunday.

I got a few things done around the house, but am feeling so distracted by all the activity going on. The window guy came by to measure for the replacement pane. We have not heard how much it will be yet. It is a tricky install because it is two floors up from the back yard.

I subscribe to Robert Genn’s Twice Weekly Letter. Tonight’s letter was titled, “Sixteen Reasons Why I Won’t Paint Today.” I am sure it was written for me. This was his concluding comment:

Annoying as all these impedimenta are, they shouldn’t bother folks with internal drive. Internal drive is the forge of productivity. In all self-starting activities where end results are dependent on you and you alone, procrastination is the default mode. You can pretty well always find a reason not to work.

I really need to stop procrastinating. What the heck am I afraid of?

Construction Zone Continues

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

I managed a little bit of studio time tonight. I fused 2 more organza sketches to silk for hand stitching. They hope to finish the decking on the outside area of the deck tomorrow so that the aluminum railings can be installed next week. The deck is going to wrap around between the house and the garage where we have our BBQ and will raise the floor so that we do not have to do so many up and down steps.

We had a bit of excitement late this afternoon when a golf ball came through the living room window.

It is a very large window and will be pricey to replace. Mark ran down and found the golfer who hit it. He has offered to pay what the home owner’s insurance does not cover. We find lots of balls in our backyard. This is the third window to take a direct hit. The other two were smaller windows downstairs that Mr C repaired.

The next and last Twelve by Twelve colorplay challenge is orange — pure, unadulterated orange. I found these at Trader Joe’s today and they followed me home for inspiration.

Antsy

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Today, I had to do some more cleaning and purging because we found ants in the shelves where I keep my baking supplies. It was a good thing to do, anyway. I found several things that could be thrown out. That activity plus getting wiped by Pilates this morning, left me with little extra energy for much. I did make it to the Farmer’s Market and scored some Hood Strawberries – they are the best. I also got a couple of pounds of Queen Anne cherries and some fresh salmon for dinner.

Tonight, I challenged myself to start a small piece while I was watching So You Think You Can Dance (which is utterly amazing this season). I printed one of my tree photo sketches on organza and fused it to some commercial silk that I love.

Here is the original photo. I inadvertently fused the wrong side of the organza.

I am now doing some hand stitching. There was a lot of golden grass in the landscape so I added some stitching to simulate the grass. I am now doing some random hand-stitching in the background fabric. You can click on it to see a larger version.

Our next High Fiber Diet Show is coming up at gallery in Oregon City and we can sell small items that can be enclosed in plastic so I am trying to come up with some ideas.