You can fool the fans - but not the players.... John Cage

Kentucky Derby hats - latimes.com

via www.latimes.com

Check this link out for some amazing hats photographed at the Kentucky Derby!

Iris

We've got iris beginning to bloom and as always I am fascinated. What an amazing flower. They look so delicate and paper thin but if left in the garden they put on a beautiful show even though I've not had any luck with cutting them and bringing them in the house. Oh sure, they'll flower, but they don't last long.

 

They crowd the front beds along with the hollyhocks and I meant to thin them last year just like I meant to thin them the year before. Despite my neglect they bloom on.

 

I love how they have a sparkle to them when you get really close and yet they are almost translucent.

 

A really beautiful flower. Love that they came with the house cause I would not have thought to plant them.

 

Other things are blooming as well. This is the first year I've seen the sage bloom. They aren't super showy but my favorite part about them is the blossoms smell like sage just like the leaves. And they are edible... one of those beautiful additions to food. I haven't used any of the flowers in a dish yet but as I've been working my way through the leftovers I'll be forced to dream up something to eat sooner than later and I see these showing up in a potato salad or frittata.

 

JC brought this to me after my dog bite last year and at the time it had masses of multicolored blooms. It has survived the year in this little black pot and although it doesn't look the greatest I can't let it go. Since it is so persistent I may have to even try and spruce it up a little, give it a prune and pay a little more attention to it. Isn't this red amazing? It doesn't even look real in this photo.

 

Remember this chair? Bought it at the Salvation Army in San Diego. Gave it to JC as his outdoor man chair. He loved it but he didn't love the cushions. Plain white duck and no back cushion. So he took it in and chose this Sunbrella fabric and had new cushions made. Looks good, yes? Guess how much. Shockingly much. All I can say is that it is a good thing the chair and ottoman didn't cost much to begin with and even then it is far and above the most expensive thing sitting on our patio. It had better get a lot of use and not just by the cat.

 

Last but not least, I pcked up this sweet little folding table at our local thrift store last week. I like it's rusty whiteness, the fact that it folds up flat, and that it is the right height for drinks on the back patio. I'm going to look for some sparkly orange plastic tips for the legs - I can see them in my mind but I have no idea where to find them.

Today.... the Choo Choo Swap meet. I've found many a treasure at the Choo Choo over the years so I'm looking forward to it even though my friend KA is out of town and it is usually an event we attend together. I'll solo it today, sadly. Maybe I'll see you there!

Wedding boots?

via www.google.com

Nacona black boots with cream floral design.... nice.

I'm thinkin' and I'm lookin'

Struggling for balance

Had a bit of a meltdown yesterday.... but I should have know it was coming. It has been quite a week with surgeries, travel, disruption, chaos, added to the normally hectic routine of work, work and more work, trying to maintain a home, dogs, horses, life. I am by nature a person requiring periods of quiet alone time in order to rejuvenate and when that isn't available to me I can feel the tension and frustration building. I think I must be a freak of nature.

But I melted down, recovered, soaked in the hot tub, and somehow I'm up again this morning with another day of the same looming. I'll face it and get through it and even find those moments of joy that always seem to appear. But I know that it is still a life out of balance and there has to be a way to change that. It feels like turning the Titanic - as if my life has taken on its own momentum and it takes all the strength I have to get the rudder to turn even a tiny bit.

 

We found these over the weekend - Mason jars that we'll use for flowers at the wedding. We bought seven of them and I've put them outside for the summer to see if the sun might start to tint the glass just a little. It doesn't matter if it does or not, I really like the jar just as it is, with the star, but it'd be an added bonus to have the glass begin to turn.

 

They came with old (I think) tin lids - although they might be reproductions. The lids are in great shape and have plastic inside so either these have all been in storage somewhere for a long time or they are a remake. There were about 15 of them in a box marked $5 each - we asked how much for seven and got them for $20. I'm pretty pleased with that. One little thing to mark off the wedding supply list!

 

The weather finally warmed up this weekend and I planted the cherry tree JC brought home - it is a beautiful tree and although we won't see fruit this summer we can hope for next year. I don't know that we'll see any fruit this year thanks to the snow and the freezing winds in April. It was good to get this in the ground.

 

This is the new rocker that needed only a little spiffing up - no major overhaul - to adorn our living room. I did put a coat of tung oil on it and buffed it up to a rich glow. What a find - and just to remind you of the sow's ear I was working with before:

 

I've managed to get most of the blue paint off and will repaint or stain this and take it up to the resort for use on the deck we'll build someday in front of the cabin. It is sturdy and comfortable and will have a good life looking out towards the lake.

 

My final (well, not really but the last one I have photos of) project of the weekend was this metal storage thingie I picked up in another effort to organize my art room. I painted it pink and it will house stamps that currently live stacked in boxes. I read recently that organizing an art space is a challenge and yet a worthy effort - as getting stuff off the flat surfaces, easy to find and reach, put into some sort of order - can only help when the time comes to create. I have to admit that sometimes I walk down there, look around, and walk back out thinking "I just don't have time to deal with all this right now".

 

And this - this is what Mr. post hernia surgery did:

 

Just kidding. I had to threaten him with calling his surgeon to get him here, finally, on Sunday afternoon after he'd done way too much all weekend. We suffer from the same disease, the same Protestant work ethic and guilt complex that keeps us from being able to just lounge around at home. I was happy to see this happening - the dogs lounging on the grass, Mr. Recovery taking it easy for an hour, the hammock finally getting used.

This is a glorious week - temperatures in the 70s, no wind the last couple of days, plenty of sun. I'm going to wring what I can from it and welcome May.