Colors

soft white; pure white
rose beige; taupe
pewter; light gray; medium gray; charcoal; black
icy green; blue-green; duck egg; true green
light teal; dark teal; light aqua; spruce; pine
icy blue; sky blue; powder blue; cornflower
light periwinkle; bright periwinkle; purple
sapphire; dark navy; royal blue; cassis
blue-red; violet; plum
rose pink; purple-y pinks; pink-y purples

Thrift Store Treasures 5/31/10

Thrift Town, one of our favorite local thrift stores, was having a big Memorial Weekend sale -- 30% off everything. Here's what we found:

Ann Taylor scarf, 100% wool, made in Italy. 69 cents!


Shirts for Bruce. They're hanging in the sun to get rid of the dryer sheet smell. Peee-ewww.


I'm trying to replace the plastic in my house. This wooden tray works well in a kitchen drawer. 69 cents.


Metal tray. 69 cents.


Heavy glass vase. $1.30. It's filled with parsley seed heads from the garden.


The small plates in upper left were from a previous shopping trip. 29 cents each. The petal bowl was 35 cents; the plates in front were 20 cents each.


This wooden lazy susan (made in USA) was from a different store that Judy and I visited while she was here. It was $2.00. Bruce scraped off the old varnish and oiled it. It is solid and turns smoothly.


Judy brought the milk glass compote with her as a hostess gift. (Thank you, Judy!) It was the start of my milk glass collection. She bought the little bowl for me at the thrift store we went to together.


Detail of milk glass bowl.

A Few Random Photos

Found this little picture (wrapped in plastic!) in a box of stationery. I put it on the brass easel, which also seems to be Asian-inspired.


Here's a wider view of the tabletop. The lamp was a thrift store find that I recently spray painted bronze.


Moths in the grass.

Things I Know about Me

I like to walk (in safety, without fear of dogs)
I'd rather take public transportation than drive.
I lean more towards urban than rural.
I'm interested in alternative/natural health care.
I am distrustful of the mainstream medical business.
I seem to be sensitive to the passage of time and the weight of history.
I like calm and quiet with just a smidgen of environmental bling.
I want to be healthy and competent and kind.
I have low tolerance for stupid, rude people.
I don't want responsibility for animals.
I want to go to new places, see new things, but without a lot of actual moving-travel.
I want to know the connection between faith, history, and life today.
I don't like or want "too much". Too much is too much; just enough is just right.

Random Thoughts

Today I shredded my Make-It-Happen Book. I could not stand the thought of unrelenting positive thinking any longer. There were a few ideas, though, that I hated to lose:

Do not give up or run away from the opportunity to grow.

You're always going to find new things; nothing's ever done.

Baby steps spark miracles.

Every room needs a touch of yellow.

Simplicity - Appropriateness - Beauty
Symmetry - Balance - Harmony
Time - Energy - Money
Luxury - Elegance - Refinement
Interest - Knowledge - Experience

To live in a deliberate way -- savoir vivre.

Simplicity - Class - Grace - Style - Elegance

The ordinary holds no charm.

If you do not change the direction you are going, you may end up where you are heading.

What one can do, I will do.

Intentionality. Mindfulness. Treasure Hunt. Treasure Map. Dragonfly. Waterfall.
Pink Bubble. Illumination. Anticipation. O, the Joy! Bliss. Other Plans. Amethyst.
Seeker. Meaning & Purpose. Goodness & Bounty. Positivity. Open Mind/Open Heart.

The Golden Triangle of Life: Beauty, Truth, Goodness.

Make the best of it -- and be thankful.

Nature is extravagant with color. Why shouldn't we be?

McDougall Zen in 2010.

I have faith in a good outcome.

This is not forever. This is just for now.

My McDougall-style diet is compassionate, ethical, pure and healthful.

Hobbies That Don't Require a Lot of Stuff

1. Reading
2. Listening to music
3. Watching movies
4. Walking
5. Gardening
6. Teaching self to draw
7. Journaling
8. Writing haiku
9. Meditating
10. Crossword puzzles
11. Sudoku puzzles
12. Theater-going
13. Digital photography
14. Blogging
15. Learning a foreign language
16. Coloring with colored pencils
17. Finding and standing on latitude/longitude lines
18. Geyser gazing
19. Spiritual retreats
20. Urban exploration

Any other ideas?

What's for Dinner?

Whole wheat penne with a puttanesca sauce; steamed garden green beans.


Green salad; black olives.

Garden, 5/29/10

Dragon's Egg cucumber.


Okra blossom.


Heirloom cantaloupe.


Orange nasturtium.


Bluebonnet remains. I am trying to save the seeds.

Green Beans -- Garden to Table

Lots of green beans to harvest this morning.






Freshly picked and in the kitchen. (Ignore the worm holes!)


Cleaned, trimmed, carefully inspected, and soaking in salted water.


Ready for cooking.


In the skillet. This was a McDougall-style dry stir fry.


Sauced and plated and ready to eat!


And here's a bonus photo: birdhouse gourd seedlings.

My "New" Plate Rack

I found this plate rack (minus the plates) at Bearly Used Thrift Store for $1.99. For months I left it the original not-so-special chrome and added plain white plates. This weekend I finally decided to spray paint it bronze and changed out the plates to Italian hand-painted ones (from the cupboard, bought a long time ago on clearance at World Market for 87 cents each). I like my plate rack much better this way.


Here's the rack before.

What's for Dinner?

McDougall-style ragout of veggies over polenta; organic kale on the side. Very yum-o!


A plate of local Texas peaches (lightly sugared) for dessert. First of the season, juicy and sweet.

Yellow Rosebud

Mini Jungle

I am trying to grow micro-greens on my hemp sprouting bag. This is what I have so far.

Aerial view.


Side view.

Flower Photos

Check It Out!

Judy's got a brand new blog. Go visit her and say hello.

Bluebonnet Seed Pods

When the pods open they make a noise -- snap! crackle! pop! I have a feeling we will have lots of bluebonnets next spring. Click on the photos to enlarge and see detail. The twisty pods are very cool and you can see the seeds in some of them.












And a tomato plant. I am proud of this one; I grew it from a seed.