Sunlight on the Garden Hardens and Grows Cold

I am always out of sync, a day late and a dollar short. Here it is in February and we're getting our first true winterlike weather and I'm posting pictures of last summer's flowers. This time of year it's so grey and dismal out. Coming from the South where the winter lasted all of about a month, maybe two, I find these 6 months of bleakness rather daunting.
I try to think, "Oh, won't it be nice to be forced inside where I can work on inside projects!" That's true, but on the other hand, I always get a nasty cold and just as I get over it, it turns in to another and then another until it's April and all I've been is crotchety and foul tempered and accomplished nothing. Did I also mention I always fall down on the ice? I mean "bust your patootie" fall down! "Smack your head on the frozen sidewalk" fall down! "Lie there for a minute because you might have broken something" fall down!
But then spring arrives and it is so beautiful here. I call my family down South and they are in the throes of a heat wave and a drought. "And the humidity," they say, "you won't believe the humidity!"
So I think, "Oh, I'm so glad I'm in the Northeast and the winters aren't really that bad. The snow is beautiful and the fire in the woodburning stove truly is lovely."
Then winter returns and I think, "What the hell was I thinking! I should have been job hunting down South rather than toiling in the garden."
Well, that's my cycle. One day I might return from whence I came, but I must wait at least 4 more years until I am vested in my retirement plan. How's that for harsh reality! Until then I have to make due with gazing wistfully at last year's blossoms.

And since I am on the topic of melancholia, this is another one of my favorite poems. I think it is particularly bittersweet knowing he wrote it to his wife who had just left him and the country was heading for war. I don't know if it saddens me or comforts me to think of all those lives that came before mine. People who were equally as complex and passionate about life as we are and all trace of them is gone, except for the few who left something behind that the world determined worthy of saving.

The Sunlight on the Garden
The sunlight on the garden
Hardens and grows cold,
We cannot cage the minute
Within its nets of gold;
When all is told
We cannot beg for pardon.

Our freedom as free lances
Advances towards its end;
The earth compels, upon it
Sonnets and birds descend;
And soon, my friend,
We shall have no time for dances.

The sky was good for flying
Defying the church bells
And every evil iron
Siren and what it tells:
The earth compels,
We are dying, Egypt, dying

And not expecting pardon,
Hardened in heart anew,
But glad to have sat under
Thunder and rain with you,
And grateful too
For sunlight on the garden.

-- Louis MacNeice

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato

This is a clearer picture of my vegetable quilt tomato.And here is a picture of the 6 blocks I have made so far, clipped with magnets to the doors of my metal cabinet. Below is a color copy of the Sampler Quilt that Ruth McDowell made. I like to look at it because it makes my little heart go pitter patter, pitter patter. There's something about the blues and browns and blacks in the background that gets me all weak in the knees. Even though I am not a detail oriented person, I liked her quilt so much, I was willing to make an attempt to be meticulous and precise. Most unnatural.
And here is the potato. McDowell used eyes cut from fabric of doll eyes to create the potato eyes. I thought that was just a wee bit too creepy for me so I just used a lighter fabric with tiny circles. Perhaps the next potato will not look like a mummy potato. That plaid fabric makes him look like he is swathed in bandages. Didn't plan on that. Oh, well. All God's chillen make mistakes. Next I'll make a beet. Or perhaps another, but different, tomato. I'm working my way up to the many-pieced carrots and celery. I've got many more blocks to go. As Cleopatra would say, "The quilt is still in its salad days." I better stop here. I feel a treacherous case of bad pun making coming on.

Maggie Mayhem

Oh, but I do miss Maggie. She had such a huge heart in that little body.

This poem sums up the way I felt when I lost her.
Funeral Blues

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead.
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever: I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun,
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods;
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

W.H. Auden

My Vegetable Love

I have the book Pieced Vegetables by Ruth McDowell and I have always loved the Vegetable Sampler she has in the back. I kept thinking that would be a really good project fo the winter when I can't get out in the yard. I thought how nice to sit by the fire and cultivate a fabric garden. So, in the fashion that I am want to do everything, I waited until the least feasible time to start a new, complicated project and began. I went through her whole book and wrote down how many pieces each pattern had. I totally nixed the blocks with curved seams as being beyond my current capabilities and patience level. I wrote a list on the inside of cover of my book, ranking the projects from the least number of pieces(the pea with 8) to the most (the asparagus with 53). I went to Staples and copied each pattern and then cut out the pattern and enlarged it to the suggested size. I then traced the pattern onto freezer paper (which is actually more work than it sounds like!) following the directions in the book. I then cut out the pattern pieces, ironed them onto fabric, cut around them leaving a 1/4" margin and then got to finally sew. The pea was pretty straightforward so I started with it. Then I progressed to the leek (15 pieces) because I was excited about the way the leaves folded into each other.


I began to understand the method to the madness of McDowell's labor intensive preparation system. Without all the marking and precision matching of tics, it would be impossible to work with all these little pieces. I was thinking this would be a great retirement project, when I have the time, but I'll probably also be blind and arthritic so I guess I'll just keep going. I love the way they look when they're finished and I actually like making them. The tomato was a bear because of all the seams meeting in the middle. I love the eggplant though and am going to make another one. I make the freezer paper patterns in sets of two, planning one for a brown background and one for a blue background. I haven't forgotten about my little houses quilt; I've just been temporarily seduced by my new vegetable love.

Drogue de Bazar/Junk Addict

In my next life, I want to be a French woman living in Paris (but, of course, having spent my childhood in the countryside, maybe in the Loire Valley). I wanted to make a quilt with indigo blues and tans but couldn't find any fabric I liked. However, one day at the Good Will, I stumbled upon the men's shirt section and found lots of wonderful fabric with unique patterns and colors. I love quilt shop fabrics, but sometimes, it seems like it all looks too much alike. So I was excited when I found these. I want to make a strip quilt out of them one day. They are all 100% cotton.
I found this lovely bookcase for $15 at the Good Will, too. I want to paint it the color of blue-green seaglass and use it in Sadie's room. Sam's room is already packed to maximum capacity.
A seagrass sewing basket.
Two bags.
A lovely 50 cent blue green bowl holding my magnets.
Tins that are 99 cents each. I love them for crayons or embroidery thread or general minutia.
Another old basket that I have full of markers now. Lord, I do love other people's junk.

O Cursed Flea Market, O Damned Thrift Store

My thrift store/fleamarket/trash picking addiction continues in the new year in full blown force.

I got this shrine at the flea market for $15 and was beside myself with excitement. I'm not Catholic, but perhaps I have Catholic tastes. It is St. Anthony holding a child and the words "Ora Pro Noblis"--I think it means "Pray for Us"--are shaped in the metal work beneath the statue. I've always been fascinated by the ritual and restrictions of Catholicism, not to mention confession. I love the idea of confession! I'm a spiller by nature and would probably create a backlog at the confession booth, hogging all the priest's time. They'd have to use a timer with me, I think. Alas, though, I'm a good heathen at heart. I do have relatives who are Catholics and as a child went with them to church once. It seemed so strange and exotic to me, being raised a Southern Presbyterian.
And here is another 1950's chair I couldn't keep my mitts off. This spring I plan to clean it up and make new seat covers. If I can convince Sadie to let me take her crib out of her room (and she tells me I won't, that she plans to sleep there until she is 15), I would like to put it in her room so she can read and rock. It's actually quite comfortable

Kitchen Kitsch

These are salt and pepper shakers I have collected over time and have on the shelf in the kitchen. This one with the chicken and rabbit and the two mice I got about 15 years ago and the others I picked up here and there. I love their colors and expressions.


These were made in England, thought I got them in Mesa, Az. I love their sweet little expressions.
These are souvenir salt and pepper shakers from New York.
This is a child's teaset made in Occupied Japan. Two of the cups have broken handles.
This elephant teapot I found last year in a consignment shop for $7. I love the baby elepant on top. I once had many more, but I purged when I moved to this house and only kept the ones I truly loved.

Organizing Frenzy Part II

So my organizing and cleaning frenzy continued today. I did the opposite side of the kitchen, where the oven and fridge are. The microwave is black. What was I thinking? And the tv! So I put other black touches around to try and tie it all together. I couldn't build
cabinets under the counter because it would block the heat. Instead I bought these two wooden units from Lowe's. They originally had wheels, but then they were too tall to fit under the counter. So I took off the wheels and put sliders under them so I can pull them out to clean.

The door to the basement and the pantry door.
A pullout wire basket from Home Depot installed under the kitchen sink. Wrap holder on the door. A little towel rack.
A tidy kitchen pantry (a.k.a. broom closet) just waiting for its wheelie shelves.

Organizing Frenzy

My goal for the new year is to organize the house and I'm starting with the kitchen. Although I think neatness is overrated, I do appreciate being able to function in my house. I was inspired after reading an article in Oprah's magazine about a woman who was much worse than I am. She hired professional help and had to have a dumpster brought in. If I ever get that bad, I hope somebody will just shoot me. I'm starting with the kitchen. It's very small. I bought a $159 butcher block rolly cart to add extra space while cooking and Jim put it together. I also ordered a shelving unit on wheels to put in the broom closet turned pantry so we can access everything in there.
Five years ago I redid the kitchen. It once had dark plywood cabinets, an old range, green and yellow wallpaper, and gold and brown linoleum. I really hated it. I had friends help me paint and build a stove cabinet, a drop in range top, and install a counter top. By professionals, I had a dishwasher and venthood installed and a pergo floor. I tiled the backsplash. On the opposite side of the room I had a garden window installed. I kept the old white double sink which I really love. The window over the sink once looked out over the backyard, but I added a family room.
I also bought a new refrigerator when the old one conked out. I went with white appliances, butter yellow paint, and dark gray countertops. I would have loved to have had stainless steel appliances, maple cabinets, and granite countertops, but I like the idea of not spending much money and reusing what is still good.
I used a towel rack made from iron above the sink to hang strainers and colanders, using S hooks from the hardware store. I made little tiles from mosaics (with all our names worked into a tile) to go in the backsplash. I know people worry a good deal about resale, but I plan to be here a very long time so I do what makes me happy. If the next owner doesn't like it, she can change it like I did. I also painted the basement door and broomcloset-turned-pantry door to match the cabinets and then hung framed pictures of the children and my pets on the outside.

I found this little shelf in the basement above the washing machine when I moved in. I painted it to match the cabinets and then hung it to display old salt and pepper shakers and a little Japanese teaset. I love the little whimsical animal figures from the 30's and 40's with their faded colors and simple smiles.

The refrigerator is always a mess and an everchanging display of Sam and Sadie's artwork. Right now there is a portrait Sadie drew of me (with something resembling a spring erupting from my head), a self-portrait by Sam (which he said was different from his other self-portraits!) and a picture of a striped bird by Sam. There is also a favorite photograph I took of Maggie and Sadie about 3 years ago.




That's one half of the kitchen tidy and organized. Now to the other half!