My friend Mary stopped by the other day with this gorgeous stem of orchids. This variety, 'though I can't remember the name, is my favorite. I love the pale chartreuse and deep maroon color combination, and the stems and flowers are so large and hearty looking!
I loved the choice of wrapping and ribbon, too.
This palm plant is really doing well since I brought it in for the winter. It's actually doing better than it did this summer outside. I think I might leave it in next year. It seems to be trying to play my piano, which is the wooden structure hidden at the bottom, lol. You can just make out a book of Mozart sitting on it and the red and gold silk runner on top of it under the flag. Other vintage items include children's games, top left, and of course, the hand painted GULF GAS sign from the 1950s.
Three dishes of an appetizer I made up the other day wait for the oven to preheat. I mixed equal parts ground chicken and ground unsalted sunflower seeds. I added a few herbs, spices as well as a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil, a little cheese and an egg to hold the mixture all together. I formed them into these mini meatballs, and baked them in a 375° oven. After turning them halfway through the baking process, and rolling them around a bit, they were left in the shape of a small meatball and were very light and tasty. I served them with a very simple peanut sate dipping sauce—basically unsalted peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, 5-spice powder, rice vinegar and water cooked until smooth and of a "dip" consistency.
This is part of a "lawn" I created this week for the 2-year old daughter of a friend or mine's Calico Critters dollhouse. I started with a new Ikea occasional table, and added felt, paper and polyurethane to create this garden path and flower borders. This photo just proves that I can't take a photo anywhere inside and not have a scale model car, or an unfinished piece of art in it. At the top you can see one of my new pieces, one of what I call cardboard "quilts." I've made 35 new cardboard quilted bases, in several sizes, and am working on them with bits and pieces of preprinted paper meant for craftbooking. All of the patterned paper reminds me of those huge books of wallpaper the local paintstore had when I was a child, books I spent hours perusing with my aunt Hoohoo, for just the right color and pattern for whatever room "we" were redecorating at the time. On the right is a 1:18 version of the 2005 Mustang prototype in silver with a red interior and black glass roof. You can also see three painted rocks behind it. I painted those when I was about 8 years old. They're white river rocks I picked up on a family vacation in Vermont. I've also painted other furniture and toys for children, or grandchildren, of friends.
- Vintage, floral child's rocker for my little friend, Deja.
- Patchwork Hobby Horse for a little boy named Thomas.
- Dinosaur-themed vintage chest of drawers for Nicholas, age 8.
Where ever did you get the blue baking dishes? I have never seen them in that color.
ReplyDeleteHappy Everything.
;) Me
TRULY YOU ARE AMAZING. I ALWAY GET TICKLED AT ALL YOU CAN DO. A COOK, ARTIST, GARDENER, WRITER AND TRULY A GOOD FRIEND.YOU'D MAKE SOMEONE VERY HAPPY.I COULD MAKE THOSE MEATBALLS BUT WOULD NEED A RECIPE. THEY SOUND YUMMY. I ALSO LOVE THE ARTWORK ON THE DOLLHOUSE. A REAL KEEPSAKE.THE ONE THING I ALWAYS LOVED OF YOURS IS THAT PIECE YOU PAINTED FOR YOURSELF. LET ME THINK WAS IT A TRUNK OR A DRESSER. ANYWAYS I LOVED IT BEST. IF IT WERE MINE, I'D TRESURE IT FOREVER. WHEN I GREW UP AS A KID, WE HAD A COUPLE THAT LIVED NEXT DOOR. THE MAN WAS A GERMAN ARTIST FROM THE OLD COUNTRY. THEIR HOUSE WAS LIKE A MUSEUM. WALLS, FIRPLACE, DOORS YOU NAME IT WAS PAINTED WITH HIS ART.I DOUBT THE SON EVEN KEPT ANYTHING HIS DAD PAINTED. THEY NEVER REALLY GOT ALONG. I'VE STILL GOT THE ONE PAINTING HE DID FOR US WHEN GRAMPS AND I GOT MARRIED. IT HANGS IN THIS HOUSE STILL. 53 1/2 YEARS AGO. LIKE YOU HE'D PAINT WAY INTO THE NIGHT IN HIS BACKYARD STUDIO. HIS EVERYDAY JOB WAS PAITING HOMES. INSIDE AND OUT. I SURE COULD USE HIM NOW.
ReplyDeleteANYWAY,THANKS FOR SHARING ALL YOU DO WITH ME AND THE BB'S.PEEKERS TOO.
GRANNY
CORNINGWARE. AM I RIGHT CASEY?
ReplyDeleteGRANNY
OH YES. ONE MORE THING MY MOM ALWAYS WORE THAT FLOWER ON HER DRESS AT EASTER WHEN WE WOULD GO TO CHURCH.MOST EVERY LADY WORE ONE ON THAT DAY. MOM WOULD ALWAY BUY ONE FOR ME ALSO TO WEAR.THAT WOULD BE A SPECIAL DAY BECAUSE I KNEW I'D GET A PRETTY DRESS, NEW SHOES AND A FLOWER. MEMORIES MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD.
ReplyDeleteGRANNY
Those blue baking dishes are Pyrex. I'm pretty sure I bought them about 10 years ago on one of my then-famous 3 am shopping sprees at 24-hour Walmarts, Kmarts and other purveyors of all-night taste and glamor, lol.
ReplyDeletenext time I make something like these little meatballs, I'll write it down. Once I make something I tend to forget what I put together for them! I know these had equal parts ground chicken and ground sunflower seeds, the rest is a blur, lol. Everyone liked them though, I brought them to a friend that was having a couple of people over.
ReplyDeleteEaster reminds me of the big egg hunts Hoohoo would make for us. They'd be hidden all over her 5-6 acres, behind boulders, in the fork of a tree, sometimes in baskets of chocolate or hidden in plants. Plus there was a Golden Egg, with $5 in it, which meant a new Matchbox car or two and an Archie comicbook, lol. Hoohoo's innate irony was a joy to behold.
ReplyDeleteCymbidium orchids.
ReplyDeletethanks, PX! You'll soon learn though, as Mary has, that you can tell me the latin name for every flower and I will have to ask you every time. Tell me it's a "gramma's wig" or "night-blooming wanderlust" and I'll remember it, and several stories about them, everytime!
ReplyDelete