A Rare Visitor

This morning we had a rare visitor:

A walking stick was sitting on our front door! We don't see too many of these insects. Mark thinks it has been a couple of years since we last noticed one. Of course their camouflage is excellent!

This view gives a better idea of their size.

As you have probably surmised, not much is happening around here.  I guess the old saying, "No news is good news" is true! Although I did have a busy day yesterday: Kita and I both had "grooming" appointments, my dear friend Ann took me to lunch, and then I gave her and her husband a tour of Hill-Stead and the grounds--a very pleasant day.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

More Surprises

Something interesting always happens when I don't have my camera with me. After dinner yesterday we walked Kita up to the horse farm and saw a Great Blue Heron at their pond. That is one huge bird and I'm consoling myself that the sun was already too low to have been able to take a good photo of it.

A couple of days ago the USPS delivered some more surprises--birthday presents from Adria!

Look at this lovely cap-sleeved top with matching camisole in a soft dusty aqua! 

This 3/4 sleeve tee in a jewel-tone teal cotton knit fits beautifully.

I overexposed this view of its gorgeous embellishment to show the detail. It's just amazing! Best of all, these pieces are machine washable--but I'd definitely put them in a lingerie bag before putting them in the machine.

Mark fertilized the lawn this morning after we walked Kita in the reservoir. She got tired pretty quickly because we got a late start (you know me and the Sunday paper!) and it was quite hot in the sun. So we took a short route back to the car.

Mark has the new mailbox post soaking in a basin of wood preservative in our garage. My daily job is to brush preservative on the part of the post that will be buried. This really does seem to extend the life of the posts! 

Hope you are having a fun and productive weekend too!

Weekly Wanderings

Kita and I noticed lots of Queen Anne's Lace blooming during our walks this week. Our brown-eyed susans are in full bloom near the deck.

The purple basil (nonedible variety) provides a nice contrast to the bright yellow blooms.  I had a little helper while taking photos:

Today I took a ride to Cape Cod Fence Company in Canton to get a new mailbox post.  Our present one had a neighbor's tree fall on it during last October's snowstorm and the top broke.

Mark patched it together temporarily and we're overdue for a replacement. 

Having a hatchback really comes in handy--the 8 foot long post fit perfectly!  Even though it's made from cedar, Mark will soak the base of the post that is buried in the dirt in a wood preservative for extra protection. We're trying a different style of post this time.  It has a "tube" for newspapers so we'll be able to get rid of the ugly plastic one. 

Our neighbor just had one installed with 2 "tubes". This weekend we'll look for a new mailbox to go with our new post so it will be ready for Mark and Ross to install over Labor Day weekend.

Home ownership means never lacking for projects!

Oo La La

I got a great surprise in Saturday's mail:

Dawn sent me me the August issue of French Vogue as an early birthday present! I'm having fun trying to translate the French into English--sometimes I can really get the gist of what I read and other times "it's all Greek to me"!  It's also fun to see which ads are the same for the US and which are different.

While I enjoy looking at the latest fashions, I am trying hard not to buy anything new (OK, that leather skirt from Nordstrom was an exception) because I just have so much stuff.  I'm making a real effort to wear what I already own since my closet is overflowing and I tend to wear my favorites again and again anyway. I'll let you know how that goes! Same for costume jewelry--I still wear some things I bought 40 years ago (how is that possible?  Must have bought it when I was 5!)

The weather was beautiful today with highs around 80F and lows last night in the mid 50s--perfect sleeping weather.  Since it was cooler, we walked Kita in the reservoir today for the first time in I don't know how long and spent the rest of the day doing yardwork.  I get reenergized when the hot and humid weather passes! I expect to accomplish a lot this week.

The September Issue

After having seen the documentary "The September Issue" this past winter, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy of Vogue's latest September issue!

This issue usually sells out pretty quickly at newsstands, but I was able to find it at my local CVS when I was doing errands this morning.  Or, I should say that when I asked the young man behind the counter about it, he nicely volunteered to go into the back room and look for it since he remembered scanning it into their computer system.  Success!

The documentary, primarily focusing on Vogue editor Anna Wintour, is fascinating and definitely worth seeing.  I'd also recommend watching "The Devil Wears Prada", based upon a novel written by someone who worked for Anna Wintour.

As the cover says, this issue has "916 PAGES OF FALL FASHION FOR ALL" and at $5.99, it's quite a bargain--unlike the featured fashions!

The Baby Shower

On Sunday afternoon we went to C.'s baby shower.

The mother-to-be looked so lovely!  We felt honored to be invited to share in this special celebration.

After eating some wonderful Indian appetizers and playing typically American shower games like "Baby Bingo", the expectant parents cut the cake and then dinner was served.

 

Dancing began in earnest once the meal was finished. In some of the dances, circles formed around the couple.  C's mother nicely pulled me into the dance! 

I was surprised that so much of the dancing was just the men and they really seemed to enjoy it.

This was another dance that Ann and I were invited to join. 

As that circle dance wound down, the men took over the dance floor again.

C.'s sari was very beautiful, and I really enjoyed seeing all the women dressed in their colorful silks embroidered with gold threads. It was a wondeful party to celebrate C. & F.'s upcoming parenthood!





                                                                                                                                       



Another Project Finished

On Tuesday the humidity dropped enough for me to spray a final coat of paint on the table and chairs.

The antique brass color does indeed look like antique brass but it's still a bit more gold than I would like--whatever was I thinking when I picked that color instead of a bronze?  Or a solid like dark green or even black...

We'll wait and see if this paint job holds up. If not, the next step is the trash for this cheapie set!

Summer Stuff

When it's hot and humid, I don't go into the greenhouse or even pay much attention to all the plants Mark has moved outdoors for the summer.

However this hot pink Brassolaeliocattleya (two blooms, one above the other) is hard to miss! Brassavola nodosa is also blooming now.

I also finished handstitching the binding to the back of C.'s quilt!  I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.

Following our usual weekday routine, I took Kita outside with me at 5:45 am so I could get the newspapers and she could do her "business".  As we stopped near the bottom of the driveway, I saw a young buck standing near our well!  He watched me watching him and then trotted into the woods. The wind must have been blowing the other way because Kita never even noticed him.  Deer look lovely this time of year with their ruddy coats, and this buck had small velvety antlers. He didn't seem to have eaten the bushes near the well--maybe I surprised him before his breakfast!



This 'n That

I spent the afternoon at Hill-Stead for their monthly First Sunday Open House--Sharon has a really hard time finding guides for these. The special "gallery talk" was a tour of the basement, and another guide whose shift ended offered to take over my duty while I went on the basement tour. It was surprisingly clean, bright, and high-ceilinged for a home built in 1901 (no photos allowed).

I am almost finished hand-stitching the binding on the back of the quilt so I'll have photos soon.

One of my book group members recommended The Good Father by Noah Hawley and it was excellent! It was much better than I expected from the reviews I read on Amazon, and it would be great for discussion. Very timely too with the Colorado shootings.

I am still deciding whether or not to keep my new leather skirt.

The leather is buttery soft and I love the color. It looks good with black, brown, ivory, blue, and navy. I also like the asymmetrical front. I could definitely wear it to Hill-Stead and to any job.

It's the first leather skirt I've ever bought! It's not really a pencil skirt or an a-line skirt--it's sort of in-between and I don't know if that's good. I'm not sure if it's supposed to fit tighter (not sure if the leather will stretch out as I wear it), but it feels very comfortable and it's completely lined. Mark doesn't seem too sure about it. Any opinions?

Have a great week!