I wiped away the weeds & foam. / I fetched my sea-born treasures home... Ralph Waldo Emerson







Showing posts with label black cat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black cat. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Fall Garden Peeping



Hello everyone! It's a gorgeous sunny breezy day today. Let's get out of the sewing room, office, the kitchen---no closet cleaning today! (Okay I admit I did a smidge of closet cleaning earlier. Mel and I have a project! Had to find my beads...).


November is one of my favorite months here. It's usually so autumn-y, like how we expect October to be. Crisp days, chilly nights, lovely for sleeping, but not cold enough for flannel sheets. Apples and cheese--brie, cheddar, Stilton?, white wine, hot Earl Grey tea. Scents of cinnamon and clove, even woodsmoke. One of the neighbors must have lit their fireplaces.



We're a bit short on beautiful red and orange trees, tall leafy trees are rare here, just pines and shrubs. The color comes in the marsh's verges, red creeper and poison ivy, orange bittersweet, amber plumes on the phragmites, school bus yellow golden rod. Now and then a hint of lavender peeks out, the fall marsh asters are blooming.
But today is not a marsh walk day, instead we'll take Mo and amble around, see what's blooming in the neighbors' gardens.



The grass is still so green. These pics were taken while we were training Mo to wear his costume last week.


Checking out the beach alley. The tiny marigold hedges are at their best now.








My friends' dahlias finally have bloomed.


Roses and begonias, happy at last.


Morning glories thrive in the cooler weather. I think these are called Flying Saucer. Must have next year, maybe I can harvest some seeds?






Volunteer MGs abound. The climate is too harsh here by the ocean, though; they won't become invasive.






And what are these adorable tiny brown-eyed yellow morning glories? Very cute, a climbing vine





The ornamental grasses are in the glory days. The seed heads nod and glow in low amber sunshine.









The hydrangeas like the rain we finally had, looking very pretty in in mostly shades of old rose and bronze.






A few confused bushes sporting bright midsummer blue.


I snipped some heads here and there, with permission, of course. They'll dry in my crocks all Fall.




Now let's swing by Mo's bench, a five minute rest, a treat, a drink of water. I have cheese and peanut butter crappy crackers in my pocket, and a few of Mo's ''healthy'' treats.


Say hello, to the Kitties at the house being reno'd....


Back home Mo must try on his winter clothes. Oh the humiliation! Will things still fit? Or have we outgrown our clothes? We all know that season change dread and sympathize.


Mo's Puppias and Bumble Bee sweater fit but he is a big boned Pug, with a broad chest.
Later we found a last hour of sunshine to sit on the deck and sew and/ or chew on a toy.






I watched that solo sailboat all afternoon. He was either becalmed or out of gas, or just having a lazy day.



The sunset comes too soon but is beautiful.






You'd know it was November even if like Snow White you suddenly opened your eyes after a hundred years.



Tonight's candle scent is "London", scented of black tea and bergamot. Lovely. Mo is snuggled now with his new dolly, Smelly the Skunk. Poor Smelly has no stuffing, but his tail crinkles. lol.






Goodnight!




love

lizzy

gone to the beach...






PS We also have visited the Goose Family recently. Sadly they were dressed for football, instead of Halloween. And yeah, Baby is naked again...





Thursday, May 29, 2014

June (soon)

 
 


Hi guys!
Ah---June. A time of change, uncertainty, a time of anticipation, of pothole repair crews and traffic jams. Sweaters and windjackets/ shorts and flipflops.
Nowhere, anywhere, to park.

June at the beach has an odd air of frenzy, or desperation...we [they?] just cannot WAIT! to get out there on the beach.
Hurry Up! We gotta relax! Now! 

go awaaaaay! go awaaaay!



LOL.
Anyway I just adore the beachy tchotcka aisles at the supermarkets and beach shops.



 My kids are too old, to blase', now but once upon a time, a June long ago, it seems, we'd pore endlessly over the baskets of sandcastle molds and pails and shovels. So exciting to choose just the right one! (And as if we didn't have washbaskets full of same, from other years or beachcombed. But still.).



I kinda miss all that. Though sandcastle construction is, like kite flying, a lot of hard work and not quite as much fun as you think it'll be.



I do less machine sewing, more handwork in the summer when I can see my stitches in the bright sun. Today I dyed some natural linen green, for June strawberry leaves.



I painted the thrifted pantry boxes. The new-to-me chalk paint is very pretty and easy to work with, great coverage.




 This chalk paint will be great next spring for eggs...


I picked up a few useful things at Marshall's. A huge beach basket hamper for all the beach towels.



I have a zillion towels.



Somehow no matter how often you gently ask guests to bring their own towels and beach chairs---well, they don't. And kids only use a sandy towel once, right. ''EEeew, ma, it's all sandy."




A couple other Marshall's things: Pretty stationary to write to friends who do not use email or text. (Yes! They exist!) Or for the ones who send email but never write back when you respond, one of my little peeves.



A wooden spool of cord, bought mainly for the neat fat flat spool. They had a bunch of them but $$$. No bargains there.



A beautifully colorful Provencal tablecloth, 100% cotton. Maybe for a quilt back someday? How fun to flip over a drab Civil War repro quilt and find this! Authentic in its way, as in the early 1800s India block printed muslin was ''all the rage''.



And I bought a little pot of daisies for my graniteware blueberry bucket.




A little skimpy, but I haven't found just the right thing, and these were cute and cheap.



So. For now.




A visitor. Not Kitty, one of her Twins. Kitty , Smokey and Junior have not been around for months. I hope, as Kelley suggested, they found better ''homes'' during the long hard winter. Only Stripey, the patriarch---and the Twins remain.



Let's hope for a warm sunny weekend!  Any plans?
 
love
 
lizzy

gone to the beach...