MAPS

I love maps, maybe because I love knowing where things and places are. My kids laugh at me because I keep an atlas next to my side of the couch and at a minutes notice I can tell you what city is closest to another city or some other useless fact that only I want to know. My kids tell me to look online, don't rely on that "old" media, but there is something about a map that shows you where you are in relation to everyone/thing else. It shows you the BIG picture, not just a snapshot, and I think it is important to remember the big picture, don't you?

Later,
Janet

PS: Sorry I don't have a recipe ready for you, too much stuff going on that is out of my control. Please run over to Kathy's today and check out those who DID post recipes. Thanks

PACKING TIPS

In just over three weeks we will be heading to Seattle to go on a cruise to Alaska. Everyone tells me I will love it, I know Bob will love it and that is important to me. He always goes where I want to go and he never, ever complains. What a guy, huh? So, if you have been on a cruise to Alaska, please tell me what to pack. I have heard that it is warmer than you think and I have heard that it is cold. Weather.com says the average temp in Juneau and Ketchikan the end of July is usually 65 degrees, but you are cruising between walls of ice... at least some of the time.

I NEED your input.

Later,




PS: That is NOT us in the canoe. I am very afraid of water; but I muster the courage to go on cruises anyway. That's true love :>)

MY NEMESIS

I don't even know its real name; when we were kids we used to call it "sour grass" and would chew on the sour leaves. Now I have other names for it, none that I can repeat here, as it invades my gardens seemingly overnight. It is everywhere, some small some much larger...gives new meaning ( or perhaps not) to the word pervasive.



I will be participating in Kathy's recipe swap on June 30...easy summer recipes! Come and join the fun on the 30th. Click the button on my sidebar for more info.

Later,

Janet

Further research tells me that Little Miss Anonymous is correct ( she always was so very smart) and it is called oxalis euraepa or yellow wood sorrel aka sourgrass. Okay to add to salads, but shouldn't be eaten in large quantities due to the oxalic acid content. Curious minds wanted to know;)

ANSWER???

"A good home must be made, not bought"

Joyce Maynard from "Domestic Affairs"


This may be the answer to why my income stream is stagnant!

Really, shouldn't you BUY the house first and then make it a home, I mean jeeeesh!

Later,
Janet

MENTAL DEXTERITY

Do you do puzzles? It is a fact that puzzles help keep your mind young and believe me, I need all the help I can get. I do these puzzles online saving paper and countless erasers!

Each day I do:


and a bunch of these:
How do you keep your mind fit? Really, I want to know.

Later,
Janet

MY MOM

My Mom celebrated her 91st birthday on June 12th. In honor of that event I thought I would show you one of my most prized possessions. Hard to see, but this Blue Willow Plate is actually counted cross stitch and my Mom made it for me in 1985. Counted Cross stitch is her favorite hobby, right up there with watching the Red Sox and she works on some project every day. Her hands and fingers are deformed with arthritis and she uses a magnifying glass, but she still does it every day. Amazing don't you think? Before you think I have great genes and will live forever, reread this 'getting to know me" post.

Later,
Janet

ANTHROPOMORPHISM

It's not every day that you get to use that word, is it? I am trying to remember when I learned it. It seems like it was in grade school, but could we have been that advanced in vocabulary back in the early 60s?

Anyway, the word comes to mind because I saw two robins in the yard acting like an old married couple. He was trying to find worms and she kept haranguing ( another good vocabulary word) him; fluffing her feathers and getting right in his face and nagging him. It went on for about five minutes as he moved away nonchalantly and she followed and talked at him. Very amusing, but then I am easily amused, especially by nature.

Later,
Janet

THIS BUD'S FOR YOU

When I discussed my landscaping plans back in May I mentioned transplanting some cuttings of Hydrangea Petiolore ( climbing Hydrangea). Joanne at Cottage in the Making mentioned she had never seen such a thing, so without further ado, Joanne, this bud is for you, lol. Am I not the wittiest blogger on the planet? No, you say, oh well I do have my moments.

Later,
Janet

PS: This plant is about 12 years old. I snitched it, with permission of course, from a house I was selling. It blossomed last year for the first time and it had 2, count 'em, TWO blossoms. This year it has 16. I am nothing if not precise!

I"M BAAAAACK!

Much to be thankful for; the weather has broken and the last couple of days have been glorious and I have an accepted offer in the works and it looks like I will get paid ( a paltry sum indeed) after a long, dry 8 months.

These are some random pictures from the Providence Preservation Historic House Tour last Saturday. The heat wasn't too bad early on and only started getting atrocious as we finished and found a lovely air conditioned restaurant for a late lunch. ZBar, for those of you who know Providence.
Very old, very steep stairs and "Ye Olde Colonial " decor. Not my favorite.
Not on the tour, needs paint and my friend Martha hanging about.
Still hanging about at a different house
This was our favorite house. Very livable with homey, whimsical decor. We only got to see the first floor, but it was fun and had a lovely garden in the back. Those windows between the dormers are called monitors and were used to allow heat to escape. Pretty smart back in the 18th century. They claim they are indigenous to the Providence area.
House across the street from "the favorite".

This home, which is far bigger than it looks, belongs to a ...gasp...30 year old guy! He never went to college, but started a company right out of HS with his computer geek friend and in 2007 they sold to Microsoft for an undisclosed amount ( reported to be about a Billion dollars). The home belonged to the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island. Sorry ladies he has a girlfriend and also has parents. I was hoping to adopt him, lol.

In the last year the formal rooms have been restored and the rest has been renovated/redone with exquisite taste. A remarkable undertaking for a team of craftsmen, decorators, landscape architects etc. This is a view from the grounds, although you can barely see the house behind that magnificent Copper Beech tree.



Funky, huh? This is part of the trunk of the Copper Beech. They are gorgeous trees and I had never seen one until I moved to this area. You don't see them often, but when you do they take your breath away.

A random Nepeta/ catmint plant. Wouldn't my kitties love to roll around in that??

This was the registration building. A beautiful home owned by Brown University.
Church Doors
Trying to get artsy...not too successful!

That's it for now. I have to finish scrubbing the lattice under the deck and the railings. The part that I did yesterday looks much improved and makes the undone part look that much worse.

Later,
Janet
PS: Anyone experiencing any difficulties with Blogger? My blog is my home page and I have been unable to access it for most of the last couple of days. Because of these difficulties I have been reading your posts in Google Reader, but have been unable to comment. Sorry, I will comment as soon as I can...just remember you are not forgotten or abandoned.

I'M MELTING!!

What is the first word that comes to mind that rhymes with witch? It was 101 today and the AC at work was dead(OK, I was only there for 3 hours) and we only have one AC unit at home and Lord knows it is too expensive to ride around in the car with AC on, so my mood is not the best. OK?? And oh yeah, my FIL is back in the hospital with another infection. At least he is in the AC.

Later,

Janet
Janet

TIME TO PARTY

I am having a party tonight to celebrate the birthdays of three of my friends. There will be six of us and it was supposed to be an outdoor on the deck, giggle the night away kind of affair. The weather has been perfect for a week or so until yesterday when it was cold and rainy all day. Today did not clear up or warm up as it was supposed to do. Oh well, I vacuumed the dining room and that will be the scene of the revelry. The menu consists of :



This yummy focaccia bread which I started last night with a poolish. I have been baking bread for almost 40 years the traditional way, you know takes about 3 or 4 hours, but this version from Tastespotting promises artisinal results. You know, all the big holes and a well developed, yeasty flavor. We will see. It has to rise for 30 minutes twice, then an hour and then 2 hours with various resting times in between. It is on its last rise and should be ready for the oven by about 5:00. Let's hope that all my guests ( who do not make bread) will be able to discern the artisinal qualities.
Fresh cherries and a blueberry cake for dessert. See, I am too lazy to move the pix into the proper menu order. Thought we could spit the pits off the deck...not going to work in the dining room!!
Grilled veggies which will be combined with herbed farfalle ( bowties), olive oil, garlic and a drizzle of balsamic and served at room temperature.
And shrimp marinated in worcestershire sauce, olive oil and lemon and then skewered and cooked on the grill. I will be outside in the damp cooking the shrimp so they will be perfect for my guests. I will have a glass of wine with me to warm me.

That's where I will be this evening. What are you up to?

Later,
Janet

AMERICA's HOMETOWN PART DEUX

As promised, pictures of Plymouth. Let me set the scene...we arrive and the sun is blazing, nary a cloud in the sky. We find a waterside restaurant with minimal lines and ask for an outside table. We get one...hurray... on the open top level deck. As soon as we are seated we realize that the sun really hot and perhaps outside in the open was a mistake...but wait..look at those clouds coming in and feel that breeze. I ate my delicious Lobster Roll while watching the clouds darken and threaten and the breeze pick up. Just when we left we felt the first drops of what promised to be a doozy and then...nothing. Some of the following pix are Bob's ( they would be the "artsy" ones) . I shut off my flash because mine were looking bleached and the result is photos that are not very sharp. No comments please, after all you don't really know me well enough to question my intellectual capacity;).

The pictures are in no particular order:



A Seaside B&B


The hill is steep, thus the tilted picture




I try to imagine how evil the persecution must have been for the Pilgrims to put their trust in a vessel like this to cross an unknown body of water.


Bob sees art, I see a serious lead paint issue, lol.
The Rock, currently undergoing some kind of restoration. As cynical as I am I find it hard to believe that we know which "rock" they landed on, but whatever one it was, they must have been very glad to see it.

Who wouldn't think it was going to storm?

Original Pilgrim Church built in 1630. It is a hike up from the water now, imagine what it was like in 1630.



Hope you enjoyed Plymouth. Melisssa at the Inspired Room is going to be doing a Drive-bys around the World post soon and this maybe a part of that post if I figure out the linking part. If you enjoyed this post check here for my driveby on the left coast.

Later,
Janet

AMERICA'S HOME TOWN

Bob and I ventured to Plymouth this afternoon for some seafood, sun and shopping. Three of my favorite "s" words. I will have pics for you tomorrow.

Meanwhile I want to introduce you to Gollum. Some of you may now of Gollum from HGTV's Rate My Space. I have never been a huge fan of Rate My Space simply because it is too overwhelming (and people are mean!!). There are about 30,000 pix and I find it too hard to navigate. Gollum is having a game where you tag a room from RMS or any publication and she finds it and does a "rendering". They are simply charming and I have been running to those sites on RMS and checking out the rooms. Run over and visit her and tell her I sent you.

Plymouth tomorrow, I promise.

Later,
Janet