Knot Sew Crafty

Crazy or Brilliant? 2

According to The Jew and The Carrot, there is a company in San Francisco called My Farm which will come to your house, plan and plant a garden, and then take care of it for you. This seems somehow fundamentally wrong to me, but then again, if you've got the space and the money and you don't have the time or the gardening-savvy, it would be great to be able to get homegrown veg and fruit anyway.

I wonder what Lance at Greenthumbr would say about this.

What do you think?

Summertime and the Living is...Boring?

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon;
to me those have always been
the two most beautiful words in the English language.
~Henry James

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Be like the flower, turn your face to the sun.
-- Kahlil Gibran

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.
-- Russel Baker

What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.
-- Jane Austen

Do what we can, summer will have its flies. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ah yes, Ralph Waldo, you are so right. And those flies for me are the heat, bored children and, of course, flies. It would be safe to say that I am not my best in the heat. When it gets above 85, I tend to wilt a bit. I am also not a big fan of flying bugs, but then, who is?

As for bored kids, I can't wait until our backyard is done, so I can just release the children every morning and they can play on their own in dirt and grass and air and sunshine. That and afternoons at the town pool should keep everyone happy, and if not, then Berlin's Whimsy has a fantastic post on Summer Activities.

We are definitely going to do this.
But probably a little more like this.

Backyard Update

Don't you think that landscaping should be free with a house remodel?

Like dining room chairs should just come with the table?

Parisian and Stockholmian Goodness, Via Japan

I promise to post later today about all the wisdom I've gathered in my long forty years on earth, but for now I'll share my birthday present to myself, fabulous Japanese books about interiors in Paris and Stockholm, from Yvestown.

Sorry for the blurry pictures--I'm so giddy about the books, I couldn't hold still!

By Jove, I Think She's Got It

I think this is finally a proper double crochet stitch. See, it actually helps if you read all the directions, instead of reading the first few words and making up the rest.

I may actually be able to complete a bona-fide Granny Square before I turn 40. Keep your fingers crossed for me...

Practically Perfect in Every Way

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years is the title of the new book by Julie Andrews. It is sitting on my nighttable and I plan to start it today. I have such deep affection for Julie Andrews. She is definitely on the Ultimate List of Reasons to be Happy to be Alive, right up there with sunshine, puppies and Gummy Bears.

In college, I used to rent videos from a local drug store, and very often, in times of stress, I would rent Mary Poppins. It got to the point where the teenager behind the counter would see me coming across the store and just hand it to me. I have it on DVD now, and, while I don't have a lot of time to watch, I'm glad to know it's there.

For your enjoyment, I present Julie with her friend, Carol Burnett at Carnegie Hall. I saw Carol Burnett last year at a performance of Sweeney Todd, and I really had to restrain myself from professing my adoration. I will confess, though, that I did spend most of the play watching her reactions instead of watching the play itself. Carol is also a very strong presence on the List, and Carol and Julie together is almost too much goodness to bear.

Julie & Carol at the Carnegie Hall

Talked In

It occurs to me that the Scorpions post might not quite fit into the theme of June--Home--so I am posting this picture of Baby and Mei-Mei, as "talked in" (Bea used to say that when she was small) by Miss India.

Don't they look cosy?

Home

I have joined an interesting website/group with the unfortunate name of Nablopomo, which stands for "National Blog Posting Month." It is open to all bloggers and all you have to do is promise that you will blog every day for a month about a specific theme. This month's theme is "Home," which should be easy enough, since that's what I write about mostly anyway. Today is a great day to start with this theme, because it is Sunday morning and we've just had a delicious and harmonious family breakfast. Willa set the table, Beatrix made the batter, and CMR manned the griddle, and, even more importantly, made the coffee. India ran around naked and sang.

Bliss.

Bea's Homemade Raspberry Mush Jam