swallows, strawberries and a storm

The other day Coco asked "What's in your garden?"

To which I commented "Strawberries!"

So here they are, ready for harvest.

The Barn Swallows are back and building 

their nest below a neighbor's balcony.

They are so quick, that was the best photo I could get.

It's very dark outside, another storm is coming...

Morning Walkabout

doorstop

dried flowers

pink shadows

Walking around the apartment this morning, 

trying to see the usual things in a new way.

"It's a matter of never giving up before one has

managed to re-create the first impression..."

-Pierre Bonnard

Weekend Cleaning

My brother is coming to visit this Wednesday

so I've spent most of my weekend cleaning in anticipation of his arrival.

Even so, there's dust on the toaster...

I imagine most people have a dusty toaster

so I'm not going to worry about it too much.

Perhaps I should sew up a nifty cover for it sometime.

The roses are in all phases of bloom.

Mid Summer has darkened the green of the leaves

and crickets fill the night with song.

Time to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening.

Think I'll watch "Like Water for Chocolate"again,

blame it on the rose petals... 

Hope you had a great weekend.

Saturday

Since my return from the mountains I've been very, very busy.

As my friend, littlelichen, suggested 

"Head to the woods and never return to civilization!"

My heart is always in the woods...

Yesterday I had to give a block printing and bookbinding demo at work.

I hauled in the pages for Farm and a copy of April, among other things.

The response was great and I even had requests to purchase each book.

Last night I spent three hours cutting around the 12 first panels of Farm;

12 complete copies are going to take a while to finish!

The flowers on my yellow orchid are starting to droop,

pretty amazing since they bloomed in February!

As impossible as it seems, I have three tiny cherry tomatoes on my windowsill plant.

The hothouse beauties will be used to make a tomato and avocado sandwich for lunch.

Hope you enjoy your weekend.

Tuesday - Rainy May Day

A steamy shower window and orchids in the kitchen.

Wouldn't it be lovely to have sheep in the doorway.

Happy May Day!

Monday Morning

Another bright and sunny day.
The temperature is supposed to reach 80F, but only for a day.

A peek inside my medicine cabinet and the beginnings of ground cover.
The quote is from Emily Dickinson.

Wednesday - Morning Coffee

Clouds are moving in this morning, maybe it will rain.
I'm glad the leaves are coming back.
Flowers get all the glory but there is nothing like the sound of rain
and wind in the leaves.

I bought my Ilsa coffee maker 20 years ago in Woodstock, NY.
After many summer vacations in Italy I can't wake up without a
good strong cup of coffee.
The rest of the day is for tea.

An hour to knit and read before I'm off to work.

Tuesday - Morning

A bright but chilly morning, my day off.
Cheerful yellow tulips.

Laundry waiting to be put away.
The basket reminds me of a ship, sun upon its bow,
heading boldly out to sea.
Perhaps I am in need of an adventure...!

Miss Sophie's ever watchful eye.
Although, when caught, suddenly the bit of dust on the
door jam was the object of inspection the entire time.
cats.............

Thursday - Coffee Table

A candle that smells of honey and a favorite vase.
Very busy at work lately...

Sunday

Such a warm, bright, lovely morning.

The green and brown vase is one I made.
The exquisite blue on green crystalline was made by a dear friend.

The Weeping Pussy Willow was in the last chance bin
at the grocery store...my weakness for wayward plants.

Thursday - At home

It was 61F and clear today.  

I opened all the windows and had a sorting out.

On Tuesday I organized five of my bookshelves.

Today was spent arranging my yarn and cleaning the fish tank.

Feel like I may be getting a cold so my evening will be spent

cataloging knitting patterns and drinking Gypsy Cold Care tea.

:)

Saturday - Jewel Tones

Morning reading and knitting, dried flowers, closet peek, favorite
shaving mug and aprons.

I never realized how many jewel tones are in my home.

Thursday

It's grey outside and heavy snowflakes are falling straight down.
I'm sure they will soon turn to rain, as predicted.

Bird song has brightened and my Mourning Doves are busy
eyeing up potential nesting sights.

I don't go into work until later so I pulled out my favorite cheerful cup,
munch down a couple of Mandarins and read a quick chapter in my book.

Hope your Thursday is lovely, too.

Monday

I left work at about 6:00pm tonight and was thrilled to see the
deep blue color of the sky contrasting with the yellow window.

The elf-like hat is for a friend who is heading to Vermont in a couple of weeks.
It took less than two hours to knit...I may make one for myself.
She's definitely a city mouse so I thought she could use a country hat!

Happy Monday!

Friday Morning Light

There is a definite change to the quality of light this morning.
The earth is slowly turning my home back toward the sun.
Deceptive February...or does it serve to bolster hope and remind
that Spring will come... even if there may be more snow.

The translucent stems of my African Violet and the
gingham pattern from the window screen on my Geranium.

Sitting on my bed with a bit of knitting before going into work...

Tuesday

                                         It was amazingly Spring like today!
                                         The temperature was near 60F with the slightest breeze.

                                         Although I had many chores to catch up on, laundry and
                                         grocery shopping,  I still found time to fling open all my
                                         windows for a much needed "changing of the air."

                                         An Italian friend of mine once said, "When there are
                                         sheep in the sky, it's bound to rain," and so are the predictions
                                         for the rest of the week.

                                         A new knitting book for my birthday and a delicious little tart
                                         just because.
                                         Slowly working my way through My Heart Wanders.