Garden Inspirations (& Weekend Memories)

Hub and I went to the cabin this weekend and on the way stopped to meet up with this Chatty Clan plus Mum & Dad on Friday evening for a Fish Fry featuring the fish they had just caught that week at the resort they were staying at (which was just 16 miles from our cabin). From there we went over to our cabin for the weekend and they all came over to visit us on Saturday (the day they had to leave the resort).

Some weekend memories…in no particular order:
~We all received countless bug bites, mostly from annoying horse flies.

~I seemed to be a magnet for spills…At Friday's dinner, a gusty wind picked up picnic plates and sitting downwind from hubby, I got his plate tossed onto my lap…fish fry bits, watermelon juice, Sprite, etc. Then on Saturday, an empty bucket (that had just been dumped out with the fishy water my Dad had used to swish his fresh fish filets in to get the blood and junk off) was set back on the filet table and being mostly empty, the wind took it and blew it at me…leaving me sprayed with the fishy water remnants from this bucket. Yuck!

~Eating almost every delicious meal that we could outside on the old red picnic table.

{Mum’s homemade berry muffins...yum!}

{Mine and Hub’s new favorite invention: onions, red peppers, green peppers, and a finely chopped clove of garlic…dotted with a couple good-sized pats of butter...sprinkles of sea salt, pepper, and a dash of curry…then wrapped up in tinfoil and grilled to sweet perfection. So simple and yet so good. I love it because there are no pans involved!}

~Going out star-gazing on Saturday night and seeing many shooting stars and some false ones too (those darn lightning bugs were tricksters…)

~Dad’s prized fish of the trip…a giant from the deep…his 27 ½” Walleye. He happened to catch this while all 4 of us were squeezed onto the little leaky aluminum fishing boat on Saturday evening at dusk. When he finally got it in, it was flapping around like crazy on the bottom of the boat & both Mum and I started squealing like the girls we are and making quite a scene on the calm lake as we were both getting sprayed by this huge walleye…and so the guys promptly took us & the fish in (and then they promptly went back out on the lake). I don't know if I've ever seen Dad look prouder than at this very moment…

~Mum and I took a few walks and found wild blueberries, watched common yellowthroat warblers feeding each other, and saw many sweet & humble gardens all along this nearby dirt road we like to walk on the other side of the lake. A sweet, pretty garden makes a walk all the more fun and intriguing…naming the flowers and noticing many humble garden accents…these inspired me for things I could do in my own garden someday, when it gets to be a little more of a garden!

{An old glass plate attached to a rusty post...why not stick a lovely vintage plate in your garden?}

{Or better yet, an old colorful chair?}

{With a basket full of flowers on top perhaps? This flower basket looks like it had seen better days though.}

{This particular garden has the sweetest tiny garden fairy above a bird bath, and lots of neat old hunks of smooth wood stuck here & there...}

{And lastly, what else but (ceramic/stoneware) mushrooms!}

The Picnic Shirt

The other night, Hub and I were sorting through our closet, pulling out old clothes (and sometimes brand new clothes - unfortunately) that we never wear anymore. While I do this “closet clean out” sort of thing a little more often than him, I still had much that I should part with…since I always have the hardest time letting go of clothes that I don’t wear, either because they are in perfectly good condition or I have some sentimental reason attached to the article of clothing.

Yet Hubby rarely goes through his side of the closet because...well, first of all, he’s a guy and doesn’t buy clothes as often as I do. And secondly, he’s a guy and this is really one of the very last things he wants to spend his time doing.

But in preparation for our upcoming yard sale, he really needed to go through his side of the closet. While he kept saying he was going to do this, he never did. I decided he needed a little "push" and someone to do it with him.

So, getting into the spirit of closet cleaning…I decided to go through my clothes again. And as we were trying on clothes together and laughing hysterically at each other over goofy shirts and tight pants and saying things like “no, you can never ever wear that out in public!” I realized a few things…

1 – I’m now a staunch advocate of cleaning out your closet with your spouse. It can actually be an (occasionally) fun thing to do…good bonding, you know. You can laugh at (and with) each other and also recall memories together…like “ohhh, that was the big funny Hawaiian shirt you wore on our 2nd date together!” (And yes, it’s true, he really still had that shirt.)
Plus, you can hold each other accountable for discarding clothes that perhaps if by yourself you may be tempted to sneak back on the hanger and put back in the closet…just in case, because you think you might wear it…sometime.

2 – It feels SO, SO good to get rid of things that you don’t need…less clutter in your closet and in life in general, more focus on the clothes you actually DO like. It really helps to be able to find the clothes you do like…which leads to my next point…

3 – You find new things! I discovered a couple of shirts that I really like but had totally forgotten about because they were buried underneath piles of other shirts.

4 – We are very blessed and have wayyy too much stuff. I want to be more mindful about what I do buy and not buy as much. I resolve to buy only the things I truly LOVE and are unique to my wardrobe…and to not buy something simply because it is cute, comfy, and/or on sale.

5 – This isn’t really a realization but a question…Why did clothing manufacturers previously make shirts soooo short and sort of boxy? It seems not all that very long ago shirts only went to the top of your jeans…so even if it’s still a fine and dandy shirt, now I’m used to the long and lean shirts and this has forever wrecked my feeling comfortable wearing a regular/short shirt. I realize styles change and whatnot, but a longer shirt just feels so much more natural and comfortable…like how a shirt should have always been designed in the first place. (Does anyone else understand what I'm saying here?)

My favorite line of the night came from Hub as he tried on this enormously over-sized, red and white gingham, short-sleeved button up shirt. It was so large I could have fit in it with him too. As he held his arms out wide, he said, “I’m lucky that when I used to wear this shirt nobody ever tried to have a picnic on me.”

Perhaps it was actually funnier at the time while seeing him wearing this ridiculous shirt. But maybe we’ll hang onto this one, just in case we ever want to go on a picnic. :)

Mushrooms: From Sculpture To Specimen {Part 2}

Above are some proper pictures of my first 3 little finished mushroom sculptures to showcase their uniqueness and specimen-like qualities.

Below are pictures of my latest mushroom sculptures (and a bird too!) with picks in the bottom to use for a variety of things to add a little bit of fun and whimsy to craft projects, planters, or even as cake toppers.

*A note about the style of the photographs above…I used a “Through the Viewfinder” kind of look to achieve a sort of oldness and specimen-like quality. While I’d seen this style of photography used often, I only just recently learned (through this inspiring and beautiful blog) some tips for how it could be accomplished and I thought this would be a special way to capture my tiny mushrooms. I used this particular viewfinder found here to layer over my mushroom photographs. I'm excited to experiment more with this particular method on other photos too!

Mushroom Sculptures: The Making Of... {Part1}

In a recent post, I wrote about my plans to make miniature mushroom sculptures using the same method I used to make my little bird sculptures. While my first 3 mushrooms have been completed now for a few weeks, I’m finally posting some pictures of the process, or rather “the making of” them in their various stages and some of the materials used.

While making these very first mushroom sculptures, I had the idea to turn these little sculptures into cupcake toppers, craft embellishments (to pop in a craft project such as a wreath), or even little planter picks (to spruce up any indoor potted plant) by securing picks to the bottoms, thereby making it easy to stick them into whatever little spot you may imagine. And not just with the mushrooms but with the little birds too. Now my only question is what objects I should attempt to make next?

Fog, Tomatoes, & New Votives

I like fog. I really do and I can’t pinpoint why exactly. But some melancholy, peaceful sort of feeling comes over me like a blanket…making me want to cozy in and giving me the perfect excuse to stay inside and be creative. I might feel guilty being inside on a nice afternoon. But not when there’s fog. And today was mostly that…a foggy, cool day…and I so enjoyed it.

I’m really liking this part about our move…the cooler summers, lower humidity…mostly attributed to the large body of water just down the hill. Sleeping with the windows wide open…only running the AC two or three times so far…throwing a sweater over my bare shoulders come evening…I really do like this season up here.

I also really like homegrown tomatoes. And I think we’re successfully achieving some this year. We have one Grape Tomato plant doing very well and one Early Girl. Although the cooler summer means a slower and shorter growing season than our former home, I think we still may get a few good ones. See…

And finally, a couple of new votives…putting to work my cuttings I talked about in a recent post.

A warm candle’s glow softly cuts through the foggy evening and all is right in my little corner of the world tonight.

{squatty little teapot votive}

{cuckoo for candles votive}

Scenes from Scenic...(an amateur's review)

Eating out is one of our favorite activities. So when we do go out to eat, we like to consume really, really good food…along with enjoying an overall experience that engages all of the senses. We typically avoid the chain restaurant type food where the focus seems to be more on the quantity of the food versus quality of the food. And we also like to order things that we likely wouldn’t make at home. Though we often times are inspired by what we’ve ordered and many times have had fun trying to replicate dishes that we’ve tried while eating out.

The Place…
Chances are pretty good that if you’ve visited us here, we’ve likely taken you to one of our favorite little places to enjoy quality food and all that is wonderful about the North Shore. Our favorite restaurant in these parts, New Scenic Café, has the most consistently delicious food, intensely good flavors, yet uses simple and fresh ingredients.

The Food…
During a recent visit there for dinner, I decided to try their seasonal entrée special, Ratatouille. It consisted of multiple layers upon layers of all sorts of goodness and the most unique combination of flavors. Aubergine, zucchini, spinach, onions, goat cheese, and quinoa are just some of the ingredients that make up this fine dish. (I wasn’t sure what “aubergine” was and the server told me it was a type of eggplant…or perhaps just a fancy word for eggplant?) And I won't soon forget the “fried garlic chip” garnish…fantastic and for a garlic-lover like myself, that’s the very best thing I could imagine being fried. Some new inspiration for me to try at home now too.
We really aren’t big appetizer-ordering people, yet we almost always order the "Artichoke Slather" here and incorporate into our meal. It is pure Asiago-cheesy goodness and oh so hard to resist once you’ve tried it. It comes with sliced, crusty ciabatta bread, and while this is very good too, it really is just a means for getting the "slather" neatly into your mouth.
And just a note about their soup and salad combo...this is what I most often order as the soups vary often and I've never had one I didn't like. The house salads (and dressings) are so satisfying and tasty...and come topped with phyllo crunched up on top for a little crisp. (This is something else I keep meaning to try at home...to "fancy up" my own home made salads.)

The Setting…
Aside from the food, the setting is fabulous…views of Lake Superior through the tall Pine trees and a sweet little garden full of fresh herbs and flowers to roam around in after your meal. Plus a few Adirondack chairs sprinkled here and there in the garden to kick up your feet and let the food settle a bit. The interior has a very understated, cabin-y sort of feel, reminding you of being away at church camp perhaps…minus the very bad camp food, of course. It has a modern twist though with a collection of abstract oil paintings gracing the walls, adding pops of color to the otherwise earthy and natural setting.

After Dinner…
Usually on our way home from Scenic, we’ll stop at one of the pull-offs and take a quick jaunt down to the rocky shoreline. Dipping our hands into the lake…feeling the icy-cool water. Watching the sky turn shades of pink, reflections from the sun setting on the opposite side. Finding smooth sea glass. Listening to the waves sweep over the rocks.

This is my idea of a perfect evening. What’s yours?

A Postcard Perfect Summer Weekend

From beginning to end...it seemed to me a postcard-worthy, picture-perfect weekend in every respect:

~Sharing an overflowing paper basket of cheese curds (from the downtown street festival) with Hub on Friday afternoon…(I’ve now gotten my fix to last me another year…which also motivated us to get out and kick up our usual daily walk into a run instead!)

~Enjoying an authentic Summer thunderstorm on Friday evening…complete with thunder, lightning, and flickering lights…and making it all the more cozy to enjoy this warm and nutty Almond Torte (which I had just baked) by candlelight.

~Sitting on the deck in the Saturday morning sunshine & browsing through my latest MS Living mag…learning how to properly save heirloom tomato seeds and other such important "good things"…(yeah, I don’t think I’ll be doing that anytime soon!)

~Sign-making for our upcoming Yard Sale…(which hopefully will occur next weekend if the weather cooperates.)

~Picnicking by the lake, followed by an invigorating yet demanding hike on Sunday…rewarding us at the top with a beautiful, expansive view of Lake Superior.

~Watching…we also watched 2 whole movies (Bella & Amazing Grace)! Yes, I know…this is A LOT for us to watch in a weekend, or even a month, since we’re really not big movie folks…but for some odd reason we did and both of the movies we watched were so very good.

“Bella” was a beautiful and uplifting story about the value of human life, how precious it is…and now that I think about it, so was “Amazing Grace”…it was about one man’s unyielding passion and heart to end the slave trade and how his love for God would not allow him to ignore this wrong. His belief that God created all men equal motivated him to continue his political career in order to work to right this wrong. Its interesting how in today’s political arena, it is often seen as wrong to mix moral convictions with politics. Yet while other men were motivated by money and greed to keep the slave trade going, it was entirely due to this man’s faith and spiritual convictions that caused him to continue in his efforts to put an end to slave trade.

So I even learned a little history this weekend too. Isn't Red Box great? Or rather, it can be (to paraphrase Martha) "a good thing"! ;)

Paper Cutting

So I know it may not seem like it, given my blog subjects of late, but as my blog subtitle alludes to…I do enjoy paper cutting…and I actually have been squeezing in quite a bit lately in the nooks and crannies of my life. And I have heaps of new design ideas up my sleeves for a whole new batch of votives.

I like designing my cut-outs in my sketchbook first, and seeing how somehow, they all sort of end up having my own little style or similar look about them. I don't know how that happens, but I suppose most artists sort of have their own "look" or style to their work that just happens to ooze out of them when they create.

My usual method for paper-cutting/votive-making is to cut out the paper designs and then give them a permanent “home” soon after on an appropriate votive…according to the shape and size of the cut-out designs. However, lately I’ve just been busy doing lots of cutting, as well as gathering up and adding to my old glassware collection. I'm just not doing any actual gluing yet. I think this way I’ll be assured of finding just the proper "home" for each cut-out design I have planned. Off to find more "vintage" glassware today... Ta ta!

Merry-Makers...

On Tuesday afternoon, I heard all sorts of commotion in my back yard. I peered out the window to find, to my astonishment, 4 rambunctious little fawns playing what appeared to be a game of tag. Running this way and that like the wild young animals they are. What a neat sight!

I’m not sure who the winner was, but it did appear as though, for the most part, they were all happy and satisfactorily tuckered out at the end…if their nose-to-nose kisses were any indication. ;)

Fields of Forget-Me-Nots

How could one forget or even pass by these diminutive, periwinkle blue flowers without noticing? They are in full bloom in my part of the world, just reaching their peak. Often found along creeks and damp portions of the woods, they make quite a statement when seen in large numbers such as this, creating a sea of spotted blue petals and sunny yellow centers.

I’m quite certain that these often overlooked flowers, upon closer inspection, will captivate you with their color, delight you with their daintiness, and charm your flower vase if you do so boldly pick a tiny sprig of these not to be forgotten Forget-Me-Nots.

A Vintage Platter & Holiday Chatter

I was the very happy recipient of this vintage rectangular platter while down to the Cities to spend time with the whole family over the holiday weekend. Mum had recently bought it at “La Garage” (a thrift/antique kind of store) and in an effort to simplify & declutter her cupboards in anticipation of their upcoming move, she offered it to me without hesitating as she was drying it off after just having used to it for our Fourth of July feast. She thought I could sell it in my upcoming yard sale. Yet I thought maybe I’d use it myself. And I have…I’ve already used it twice since being back home less than 48 hours. Perhaps I’m just trying to convince myself of its necessity and usefulness so I don’t feel obligated to add it to my ever-growing piles of things for my very first yard sale. Besides, I don’t have a rectangular platter…many oval and round ones, sure, but not rectangular!

Now to the 4th itself. Being with family, no matter the occasion, is always a bit bittersweet for me since our move last year. We cram in as much as we can, and then the sheer physical and emotional exhaustion overwhelms me as we head back home, leaving all our beloved family until next time. I’m hoping this will feel natural in time. But for now, it is a bit extreme for me. A bit exhausting to pack, travel, unpack, sleep in a bed not my own (but still lovely nonetheless, mum!), catch up on life, laugh, talk, hug, play with all the little ones, and pack up again, get back in the car, and take a deep breath and realize anew, after each visit, that life is quite different now.

Someone once said you can never go home again and I feel I really understand that now. Once you leave your home, where you spent your life growing up, going to school, getting married, and starting out in life…and then you leave that…well, it just never is quite the same when you go back. The same places are still there and the familiar faces, but there is a sense that it will never be experienced in quite the same way it once was. It was home for so long but it will not be anymore. So for now, until my mind and body learn how to flow seamlessly between these 2 important spheres (my new home and my old one), I will have to grow accustomed to the mixed emotions and inner turmoil that occurs with each visit. Perhaps it lessens over time. Perhaps the visits become less of a big deal, with less of a feeling as though you need to cram in so much in the precious hours spent together.
And perhaps it’s a good thing too. Perhaps you cherish family more, you hold on to the important things and let go of the things that don’t really matter. You enjoy the moments, the quality of them. You store them up in your mind and you treasure them more now. And you learn not to take things for granted. Each day is a gift. Our freedom a blessing.
Reflecting back on my 4th of July weekend, I realize it’s the small, often overlooked, things that matter. Like the great amount of love & comfort poured out from everyone to one of the “little ones” who got her first bee sting. The celebration of this little one’s birthday with a “bday jeep ride” sign to honor her. The lovingly prepared homemade food. The tiny symbolic flags to decorate cupcakes. The lawn chairs outside and the carefree-ness of tossing a frisbee. The fireworks, in and of themselves are not important, but the fact that they bring people together to celebrate our nation's independence. The family fireworks display of sparklers, shooting tanks, and little fountains. No other day of the year would we all be outside until 11:00 pm lighting up small explosive matter. Yet on this day, we come together and laugh and cheer over these small, seemingly insignificant triumphs. So it truly was a wonderful weekend, full of many blessings, inner turmoil & all! ;)

Blueberries & Such

Sometimes I wish my camera were attached to my hip. Like this morning, driving into downtown for my early class, (the 5:45 a.m. kind of early ~ ouch!), the sunrise over Lake Superior was a strikingly BIG, pinkish-rosy colored orb slung just above the lift bridge. A beautiful way to start the day. I wish I could show you!

Anywho...blueberries are just starting to come into season, so today I decided to make a batch of Blueberry Streusel Muffins (recipe from The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2008). I looove streusel...that cinnamon-y, brown sugar-y, butter-y dense topping makes most anything taste better. Perhaps these blueberry photos may just tempt you to dig up your favorite blueberry recipes and bake up a bit of blueberry love!

P.S. My own blueberry bushes are ever so close to bearing fruit: