...'Queen Tag ~ a ~ Long'

Recently when I told someone we were going up to ME/NH for a long weekend they asked if this was a 'vacation' or a 'tag~a~long trip'... and this had me baffled until they explained the difference. A 'tag~a~long trip' (as they fondly refer to it in their house) is when one of them has to go away for business and the spouse 'tags~a~long' for the roadtrip and to take full advantage of all of the hotel's fringe benefits!!!

Got it! This was DEFINITELY a Tag~a~long trip! J was photographing in NH... and I was lounging by the pool and doing site-seeing in ME 8-) ! ...and nights we were hanging on the PIERS with these little guys!

...and walking the beaches any free time we had

and doing LOTS MORE of this (to hold us over until we get back again!)

We even managed to sneak inside a few THRIFTS, though, even I found it difficult with beautiful weather and sites to be INSIDE!! Now I must do some research to see if this is a MacKenzie Childs piece - paint looks right, mark on bottom looks right ~ but VERY faint....

AND!!!

Royal HAEGER 2011 #8

State Plate for Illinois ~ This is only the 2nd State plate we've found - now we have ME & IL!

...just not a 'pattern' kind of person!

You would think that a person with a college degree should be able to handle a "SKILL LEVEL: EASY" crochet pattern... wouldn't you??

Well, it's not the case with this girl! I may be trained in reading architectural floorplans and specifications, but put a crochet pattern in front of me and forget it! I have a serious mental block when it comes to crochet patterns, and why I thought it would be different with these 'EASY CROCHET FLOWERS', I'll never know!!

After seeing those 'Plarn-look-alike' flowers the 'other vera' is putting on her bags, I was bound and determined to figure out how to make one though! Soooooo.... The other night, armed with a ball of my orange plarn, crochet hook, and laptop computer (for pattern!) I settled into my favorite chair on the porch, bound and determined I WOULD MAKE FLOWER! (okay... maybe not an identical 'flower', but a flower of some sort would be good!).

Okay, so here is the first attempt. My spirits were still okay at this point. I'll give it another try.

ALRIGHTY NOW.

Attempt #2 (front right) is done.

I'm starting to lose a bit of patience with this.

Less than impressed.

Mosquitoes are biting

This is NOT looking at All like the freakin' one on the computer.

J just came out and gave it some backhanded compliment that I REALLY didn't need.

I think that is enough for day one.

Next evening.

Same set up ~ New roll of plarn... maybe yellow will make a difference.

Oh, and I'm giving up on the pattern ~ I'm winging it

Yep, I think Free-style is more my style.

#3 is still wonked out, but I'm getting closer.

#4!

Now that's what I'm talking about.

Played around some more 'free-stylin' and got some bigger petals.

Fun, but WAY.TOO.TIME.CONSUMING!

Bring on some button lovin'!

The little flower baby originals go together REALLY quick (after the Plarn is made!).

OH the possibilities and Color Combos....

Pins for bags, jackets; hair clips, magnets.... mmmm

I think you'll be seeing lots more of these little ones!!

...the ERRIES of July!

March may have it's 'IDES', but July has it's 'ERRIES'...

and as any of you that know me at all realize, berries are a PASSION of mine!!! Mulberries! Raspberries! Blackberries! Wild Black Caps! ... Our backyard has them all, and July is Prime Season for stained fingers 8-)

So, my main consumption since the 4th of July has been picking berries... and eating berries... and washing berries... and eating berries... and baking... and eating... and freezing... and eating... and preserving... and, well you get the idea! It is such a short period of time, I just can't get enough of these little darlings!! Each evening after it cools off I go out to pick until dusk, then just sit on the porch and eat until my hearts content - Mmmm it doesn't get much better than nice, fresh raspberries... still warm from the sun 8-). (Yeh, some vanilla ice cream would be nice, but that would involve getting up and going in the house ~ TOO.MUCH.WORK!!). Oh, I have modified a Rhubarb Bar recipe to include Wild BlackCaps that is out of this world!!

TWO of my favorite church rummage sales were held Saturday morning ~ HaPpY DaNcE ~

Texas Ware Confetti Bowl .75¢ in flecks of aqua/brown (did you see in the first photo how wonderfully it is working with my berries?!), 2 Vernon-Ware Tickled Pink berry bowls, and an 8Cup NIB Krona Stainless Steel Measuring Pot w/ Cover $2. ! I think my mind is still in the kitchen and dreaming of those berries - what do you think?

I NEVER buy tablecloths (unless they are VERA!)... but I couldn't resist the BRITE colors and GREAT GRAPHICS of this CALIFORNIA state cloth! It does have one light stain that you can see between S & W on the compass, but it is really light, and other than that it is crisp and Perfect - did I do okay for $1. ??

A paper mache' PAMPLONA MEXICO bracelet in bright cheery colors .50¢ and a box of 9 vintage ornaments. The ornaments were just plain balls that I normally would have passed on, but it was such an odd grouping of colors together - (1) shiny silver, (1) shiny gold, (1) shiny red, (1) turquoise, (3) frosted pink, (1) frosted purple, (1) matte olive green that they had to come home with me. DON'T ASK.

...and a CLASSIC VERA!

2011 #18

$1.00

Now I see the local Market Stands are starting to have baskets of these beautiful little

'ERRIES'...

(another of my favorites!)

*Have you ever put these little beauties in your freezer (whole, but washed & de-stemmed), then on a HOT, STEAMY day popped one in your mouth ~ straight from the freezer ~ whole ?

YUM!!!

...'play days'

Aren't fellow bloggers the best?!

Last week, spurr of the moment on a Tuesday, one of my best buds from college (A) and I decided to do a 'girls' day' on Thursday - go exploring of some "new-to-us" towns... I sent out an impromptu SOS to Tam of ToLiveToLoveToLaugh ~ who I 'thought' lived in one of those towns, but 'actually' lives an hour away 8(... ! Well, the sweetie that she is, had me in touch with another kind soul (Liz) by Wednesday morning, who P!R!O!M!P!T!L!Y! had an entire days worth of itinerary to me - Thrift shops, bead shops, restaurants, coffee, markets, nature hikes... What a gem! THANKS GIRLS!

The day started with a Perfect weather forecast, and we met on 'old stomping grounds' (familiar to both of us) at a 'halfway town' for coffee and bagels... Before leaving town to set out on our day of adventure we hit a few shoppes and a local thrift (where I picked up a few things -destined as parts of Xmas gifts, so sorry NO PHOTOS!).

~Stops at roadside farm markets~

~Just enjoying the scenery, the day, the chit-chat and the company!~

'Detoured' to another small town with a few small shops I had always wanted to check out. We found a good-sized 'STUFF' shop upstairs to go prowl through!!

Another STUFF shop tucked in on a side street produced a couple of little gems for ME!! (glove clip - $1, Red Atomic Pin - $1).

Back on Main St. one of the shops had a H.U.G.E. selection of that 'other vera' (as in Bradley). I had to take a picture of this bag - I think that she is dipping in on this idea of the 'PLARN look' - though not actually recycling!! Kinda FUN though! Now, I just need to figure out how to actually crochet those flowers 8-) ! (my crochet knowledge is limited to straight lines!!).

~Back on the road to our Final destination~

We made it!

Just in time for Lunch!! I had purchased a CHEAPO certificate off of Restaurant.com, so we knew exactly where we would be 'dining', and it was GREAT! (But, Liz said it would be, so I wasn't worried!)

~All refreshed (Don't Worry! Only one drink each) we went walking and shopping!~

~We found Bling for LOTS of inspiration~

~We thought we were a bit lost for a while in search of BEADS, then realized it was in this great old Ghost painted wharehouse!

~We went in search of a couple of Thrifts on the other side of town - but never found them, (by that time we were both rather tired & hot, so when we didn't find them 'easily'... we didn't try 'too' hard!)

The drive back included Lots more beautiful views and sites... and a quick stop at a new winery - ANYELAS (http://www.anyelasvineyards.com/produce-from-the-garden/) , a farmer's market and then we called it quits for the day!

The rest of our Holiday weekend has also ended up being a 'staycation', with 'play-days' - but I will spare you all of the details... and just leave you with 2/3 of a TRI-FECTA 8-)

HAEGER 2011 #7 - 6 1/2" square Tidbit Dish $2.50

VERA 2011 #17 - square 100% polyester

HAPPY 4TH!!!

...BRITE, Sunshiny Day!

When a Monday morning starts with Sunshine and your first cactus blossom of the year, it can't be a bad 'week'... right?!!?

As for my weekend... let me sum it up in three photos...

Hit a few sales. My 'mojo' just wasn't ON.

Only ONE purchase for 25cents.

I think my mind was racing with thoughts of other things I 'should' and would 'rather' be doing!

... like arranging multiple bouquets of fresh garden flowers, and gathering the mulberries for baking, and gathering fresh herbs for appetizers, and..., and..., and...

for our Sunday SMITH FAMILY REUNION / DAD'S 80th BIRTHDAY PARTY

((sigh))

This was my first attempt at planning /organizing / hosting an event of this size. THANK GOODNESS the weather cooperated, and with my entire 'immediate' family in attendance it went off smoothly and was a huge success, with cousins coming in from as far away as NC and Minnesota! THANKS everyone!!

NOW, ALL THE PLANNING IS OVER. IT IS TIME TO SIT BACK AND ENJOY SUMMER 8-) IT IS A BRITE! SUN-SHINY! DAY!

**WARNING: When attending a special event, make sure your camera batteries are CHARGED! Or, You TOO will find yourself, on a Sunday morning, out in the middle of no-where, at the mercy of the nearest store, paying TWELVE FREAKIN' DOLLARS for four AA batteries!! ...just sayin... Check your batteries and keep them charged 8-)!

...will this be enough to save her?

I adore our Tulip Tree!

My parents have always had tons of Tulip trees!

... straight, and perfectly shaped,

...blossom every year on Father's Day,

MANY, MANY years ago, I took one of their babies for my very own...

She is now taller than our three story house...

and rapidly outgrowing our 'city lot'

and Wikipedia says she'll average out at about 100' tall.

She is also HEAVY in Nectar ~ ie: drops sap allover the ground, making a sticky mess & attracting bees!!

To top it off, in the MANY years that we've had her... she's never produced a flower...

So I finally conceded that it would be best to 'do away with her'.

She wasn't in our 'pruning budget' this year.

Guess what she did this year?!

...The.longest.day

With the coming of the Summer Solstice, equilibrium has almost been regained in my world.

((sigh!))

and hopefully, with it, so shall my regularly-sporatic postings!

HAPPY SUMMER!