Chronicles of a Country Girl

Separation anxiety

2009-07-11T05:30:00.001-04:00

As I was leaving to go run some errands the other day, I tooted my horn as always and waved out the window at my husband. I could see him in the distance, in the yard tossing frisbees to George. I did a double take when I noticed he had the camera with him.

So I waved some more.

But wait. What’s this? George wants to come for a ride in the car. Forget the frisbee. It’s mom in the car! A ride!! A ride!! (He does love a good ride.)

Oh, he’s coming all right. He plans to catch right up to me and take his rightful seat, the one in the back that’s covered with a quilt all his own.

I think he’s getting surprised that I’m not stopping. But that’s not stopping HIM.

Ma!! Wait!! Take me with you!! Maaaa!!!

Shane!! Shane, come back, Shane!! Shane!!

When I was very young, I had a huge crush on Brandon DeWilde and I don’t care that I’m showing my age. The boy was beautiful. And such a wonderful actor.

I’ve digressed as I’ve never digressed before. **sniff ** Let’s get back to George . . .

Guess who’s turning two years old today?

George was born on Seven Eleven Oh Seven. That’s how my husband says it. (And he’s bought a present for him.)

PS ~ The quality of these photos is way below standards for my discriminating tastes, being the hoity-toity person I am. I did what I could with them, though and for what it’s worth, I’m just going to let it go. I’m just sayin’.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

My niece, the artist

2009-07-10T05:30:00.001-04:00

One of my nieces left a comment on my post yesterday. I know she’s been a long-time visitor and occasionally, she drops me a line telling me she’s been here. Frankly, I’m quite flattered (and honored) that she even visits.

I was surprised to read her comment that stated, “I’ve started a blog”!

So of course I had to get over there pronto and check her out. I think she’s been at it for just over a week or so.

These drawings are from a post she did on her sketchbook.

She’s always been a talented artist and graduated last May from Drexel University with a degree in fashion design. She landed a sweet job in NYC at Jones NY and loved it . . . until the economy fell flat and they had to let go of some people. The newest hires were the first to go.

[Emily] is beautiful and talented and is the eldest daughter of my dear sister [Charlotte]. Stop by if you have a moment and give her a welcome to world of blogging.

And Em, I hope you don’t mind that I stole these pages from your beautiful sketchbook. I just really loved them. Good luck storming the castle!

Love,

Aunt Kate

Until tomorrow, as every else knows me . . .

A simple treat

2009-07-09T05:30:00.000-04:00

I have been accused several times by a co-worker of being hoity-toity. And to that I say, “What! Me? You’ve got to be kidding!”

This time it’s because I like cucumber sandwiches, of all things. I was telling him and another co-worker that I’d had them when I went out to lunch the other day. And that they were really very good.

They’re very simple, too. And I don’t mind being teased just because I like something.

In the summertime, I work ‘summer hours’ which is 8-1 daily. It’s a pretty sweet deal and was actually a huge selling point when I took the job over ten years ago. It only lasts two months, but I love those two months. The school is basically quiet and there’s a lot to accomplish as we close out one year and prepare for another. And if I want to take a Friday or a Monday off, I just work extra hours during the week to cover the five hours that I’ll miss on the day off.

I don’t eat much when I’m at school, usually a small morning snack and a very light lunch. So when I come home, I’m a bit hungry. (Or as my British MIL says, ‘a bit peckish’). And today to appease my hunger, I had these wonderful little cucumber finger sandwiches, along with a glass of freshly made mint iced tea.

To make these, choose a good-tasting bread. I used Pepperidge Farms’ Oatmeal because it was what was in the breadbox. Slice off the crusts and cut the bread into 6 small squares. Smear a small amount of mayonnaise on each slice, place a cucumber slice on top and then sprinkle with salt, pepper and chopped chives.

It’s a wonderful summertime snack!

I’ve always liked to score the pared cucumber with the tines of a fork. I think it makes it look better. And if that makes me hoity-toity, well then I will just revel in it.

I think I’m pretty simple, though.

And it doesn’t take much to make me happy.

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To all those who guessed ‘You’ve Got Mail’ for the movie quotes in the post below, you were right. Yeah, I like that movie too. Here’s one of my favorite scenes, at the very end of the movie.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Simplicity

2009-07-08T05:30:00.000-04:00

Funny how just seeing that word makes me think of a daisy. I found this one on my walk today; it was all by itself at the edge of the woods.

So I picked it and put it in a blue bottle when I got home. I figured it would make a good vase.

“I love daisies. They're so friendly. Don't you think daisies are the friendliest flower?”

(Name that movie).

I know this is a little sad, but it’s a sweet memory I have. When my friend’s mother was dying some years ago, I sent her a small bouquet of daisies. I remembered that she liked them and we had been close at one time as I had helped the family care for her a couple of years prior.

The daisies were sent to her house in what turned out to be just a few days before she passed away. They told me that she was very animated about them. They’re so cheerful, she managed to say.

Her girls put them in a place of honor in the room and told me that this one small gesture went such a long way to cheering all of them. I have never forgotten that and sometimes when I see daisies, I think of their mother, Jean.

It was quite warm here today but thankfully not a lot of humidity. I had lunch with friends at a local crab place. We ate on the front deck under an umbrella and laughed much.

When I came home, I was relieved to find that my husband had kept our house cool with the old-fashioned method of closing windows and pulling curtains. I know there will come a point when this method won’t work and the heat will be oppressive but I’ve decided to think about that tomorrow. Or next week.

I am still loving those textures and overlays from the Florabella Collection, as you can see. It just feels right for now. Tomorrow may be different, however.

Thanks to everyone who answered my questions yesterday! It’s always fun getting to know you better. And I can’t believe how many of you still hold hands.

This is good.

And from the same movie (above):

“Once I read a story about a butterfly in the subway, and today, I saw one. It got on at 42nd, and off at 59th, where, I assume it was going to Bloomingdales to buy a hat that will turn out to be a mistake - as almost all hats are.”

Can you name it?

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

My favorite pasta salad

2009-07-07T05:30:00.000-04:00

Everyone has their own favorite recipe for pasta salad, and this is one that I came up with years ago and honed until I felt I’d gotten it right.

It doesn’t have a lot of ingredients and most of them are already in your cupboard or frig. It hits the spot on a warm day and satisfies with its cool delishishness. Is that a word?

I made this over the weekend and didn’t take “how-to” photos, but here’s the recipe.

Simple Pasta Salad

16 oz. two or three different pasta shapes (I used fusilli, cellantani, and a little florette that I forget the name of)

1 pkg. Good Seasons dry Italian Dressing Mix

Med. cucumber, pared, cut in half lengthwise and sliced

1 1/2 cups sliced bell peppers (I used red, yellow & orange)

1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded carrot

1/2 to 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1/2 cup vidalia onion, diced

1/8 to 1/4 cup Italian Dressing (I used Good Seasons Italian)

1 to 2 Tbsp. McCormick’s Salad Supreme

Pepper

DIRECTIONS: Cook pasta according to instructions (remember that some may have different cooking times). Rinse thoroughly with cold water. Drain completely.

Pour cooled pasta into large bowl and sprinkle with entire packet of Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix. Stir until combined. Cover and refrigerate for several hours.

Slice and chop all vegetables (you can use any others you like but I’ve always liked this combination) and add to pasta. Pour dressing over and stir with large spoon. Add pepper and Salad Supreme to taste.

Sometimes I add a small package of cooked and drained tortellini. I didn’t have any today, though. And it helps if you let it sit again in the frig for awhile (an hour or more) before serving. Enjoy!

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And now a soothing beach scene for you. I took this last winter. Does it make it look any cooler? It’s the beach at Cape Henlopen State Park in nearby Delaware.

And now some questions for you . . .

1. When was the last time you held hands with someone?

2. What one thing says “summer” to you more than any other?

3. Do you wear sunscreen? Do you wear it every day or just when you’re at the beach?

4. How often do you look at the time, either on a watch or other timepiece?

5. What tv show have you seen every episode of?

See you in the comments. Until then, my friends . . .

What a day for a daydream

2009-07-05T22:41:00.001-04:00

It was a beautiful weekend here in Maryland. We were blessed with the sort of weather that makes you say “it doesn’t get any better than this.”

The sunflowers are bursting forth in my husband’s vegetable garden.

He planted nasturtiums around two of the garden’s borders. I put a couple in the pasta salad I made this weekend and they tasted pretty good.

The corn is getting really tall, as well.

George has endured three nights of fireworks around here. They’re not proper ones, just locals setting off their noisemakers. It’s been pretty crazy between the neighborhood next to the property and the kids in the field adjacent to us. Some of them have been terribly loud, too!

Do you notice this wonderful rug that George is resting on? It came in the mail the other day from Hilary at Crazy as a Loom, a blogging friend who is a weaver. I love that blog title, don’t you? You can visit her studio [here].

I love my new rug. Thanks, Hilary!

And now because it’s late and I need some beauty sleep, I’ll bid you farewell.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Lunch on the porch, among other things

2009-07-04T16:29:00.001-04:00

We were blessed with the most wonderful weather today here in Maryland. It’s a balmy 81 degrees with low humidity and a bewitching breeze.

It really is that sort of breeze; I kid you not. It’s toying with me as I write this post in the living room with the deep windowsills.

We’re staying close to home today, and for those of you who know me, you’ll understand why. For those who are new to this blog, I welcome you! It’s always good to see new faces and I’m so glad you stopped back.

I have been totally crushing on these textures and overlays that I discovered through fellow blogger, Mary of In a Soft Light. All of the pictures in this post have been processed with something from the Florabella collection. I’ve been in a sort of dreamy netherworld lately and this processing is lending itself well to how I feel.

I should be working on the photo album that I’m making for a friend but what am I doing? Playing with textures is what I’m doing! It’s just so much fun. To amuse myself even further, I had lunch today on our little back porch with George and Blackie.

George was thrilled to have been invited.

{This is a pussy called Miss Moppet. She thinks she has heard a mouse!}

Quick, name that book! Or just name the writer. Yes, it’s who you think it is.

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Back to lunch then, shall we?

Today I’m having watermelon salad accompanied by a glass of chardonnay. It’s Rodney Strong’s Chalk Hill. Yum.

The salad took less than 5 minutes to prepare. [Recipe here].

I love sitting out on this porch in the early afternoon. The sun doesn’t hit it hard until later in the day allowing me to sit in the shade . . . or if it’s raining one of those soft rains that I love, I’m safe from the weather.

I have a lot of hanging baskets and potted flowers and plants on this porch because it’s got great light.

I think this planter is really cool but when I first brought it home, my husband didn’t agree. I could tell by the look he gave it.

That’s when I knew it was perfect.

Oh, one more thing before I go, ok?

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Would you

? ? ?

Come back and visit, okay?

Don’t just

I bought a new pendant at my friend’s shop.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Hope you’re having a wonderful holiday, those of you who live in the States!

The book quote is from [here].

Synonyms for the word ‘Beautiful’ can be found [here]..

Summer sky (and a giveaway elsewhere)

2009-07-04T05:30:00.000-04:00

This is another of the surprises that awaited me on the camera card the other day. My husband must have taken the shot on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week. But it wasn’t until today that I began feeling a creative urge to do something with this big blue sky.

Besides, a blogging friend had just sent me a group of textures she had created, and I was keen on using one or more of them right away.

For this shot, after I adjusted the original to my liking, I added the new texture (below) that I just received from Dlyn. It’s called Rusty Paint. I used the hard blend mode, opacity 36%. I wanted something else around the perimeter, so I used this overlay from Florabella called Tea-Stained. I set the blending mode to soft and the opacity to 47%.

And because I wanted something completely different, I decided to run Pioneer Woman’s seventies action on the photo before I used the very same textures. I used the same blending modes but for the overlay, I set the opacity to 79%.

Sometimes I just like the original photograph. But I wasn’t in the mood for that today. I was looking for something else and I feel that I found it.

Original, Dlyn’s Rusty Paint texture, Florabella Tea-Stained overlay.

Please don’t get the impression that I know what I’m doing here. Maybe my hand was too heavy, I don’t know. How and why I choose what I do is a mystery even to me. There are too many choices but basically I just start fooling around. And then things begin to develop. A good rule of thumb for me is to walk away and come back later. Sometimes I ask myself what in the world I was thinking!

As an aside, things are just a little better today and that’s all I have to say about that. Thanks to everyone for your well wishes.

Go to Jenni’s blog before Monday to register to win a CD from someone you may already know. Well, somebody you would know from the blogging world, I mean. Readers who are familiar with Pioneer Woman may already know who Rechelle Malin is. She’s the Country Doctor’s Wife and until this morning, I had no idea that not only could she sing and play guitar but that she has a CD out (and you could win a free copy).

And she’s pretty darn good!

Happy Independence Day everyone! And until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Portrait of dog in grass. With stick. And frisbee. And flying.

2009-07-03T05:30:00.000-04:00

Today after work, I had lunch in town with my favorite art teacher in the whole world, my friend Margie. We walked the streets of the little touristy town where we both work, and I bought my husband a cool bird house.

When I got home, I saw that he’d changed the background on the desktop again to the photo you see here. He changes the desktop background on an almost daily basis.

I think it’s fun.

I like little surprises like that.

I looked on the camera card and I found so many more that he’d taken a couple of days ago, when he was feeling so much better.

I decided I’d put them all in a post for tomorrow because I love them so much. They’re each of George lying contentedly in the grass, probably after an exhausting romp chasing stick and frisbee.

He looks like a movie star, our dog does.

And he also looks like an action hero, as evidenced in the photo below.

Beautiful.

Things will get better. It’s the chemo. I wish I could do more to help but I guess playing with George helps; just being here helps too, I hope.

Thanks to all for your wonderful comments about my photo album (post below). Yes, I’ve tried Blurb and I love the quality. If I was doing a coffee table book, Blurb may be the way to go. But for a personal photo album, it’s Shutterfly due of the plethora of choices in page layout and background style and color.

And speaking of plethora (and because it’s always good to have something funny to keep me sane), I’m posting this minisode from one of my favorite TV shows.

Apologies if I’ve already posted it.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . . and may your weekend shine!

Shutterfly: My favorite online digital photo album company (Giveaway winner announced in post below)

2009-07-02T05:30:00.002-04:00

In November of 2006 as I was watching a news program one evening, a segment came on that was comparing three digital photo album companies. Back then I was still using my first digital camera, a little Sony Cybershot I’d bought after reading a review. And I thought a photo album would make a great present for someone.

The news program was comparing Kodak, Snapfish and Shutterfly. They showcased stories of three women who had each volunteered to make photo books using the three companies. Camera crews filmed each of the women as they progressed from taking the photographs, to uploading them and then designing their books online.

After everyone received their albums they got together, along with several people from the news program, to review the products .

For ease of use, all the companies were voted about the same. But Shutterfly won the comparison due to its overall picture quality.

So I went online to investigate and that holiday, I ended up making my first photo album and gave it to my in-laws as a gift. Everyone in the family was impressed and my mother-in-law actually called me the next day to tell me again how much she loved her present.

Since then, I’ve made several photo books using Shutterfly, but I’ve also tried other online digital processing companies just to see what they were like. In all, I’ve used Shutterfly, Kodak, Blurb, Lulu and Snapfish. I never ordered the book from Lulu because I was so annoyed with the entire process that I ended up calling their customer service. Recently, Pioneer Woman offered a photobook contest using Snapfish and that’s when I tried out that company. I wasn’t planning on ordering my entry for her contest but Snapfish ended up offering half price to readers of PW’s site, so I bought two of my books and when they came, I gave one to my mother-in-law for Mother’s Day this year.

I wasn’t very impressed with my Snapfish book, though. (And my mother-in-law never called me the next day to tell me again how much she loved it.) So when it came to recording our big Road Trip last month, there was no other choice for me but Shutterfly.

Let me show you some of the album:

I ordered a 12X12 photo book and an 8X8 copy to send to our friends as a gift. The copy was a breeze to make. I just clicked on “make a copy of this book” and voila! I adjusted type in several of the pages and within minutes, the copy was finished. The book arrived less than a week after I’d ordered it and it is beautiful.

I love all the choices of page backgrounds so I went a little crazy. Normally my photo books are pretty quiet.

I uploaded my images at full size and it was a snap using the bulk uploader. I’m so familiar with the program, it took me very little time to design this book.

There are so many choices for backgrounds, page layouts and even photo borders.

The colors and image quality of all of my photographs are spot on.

When the book came, I actually got a little teary-eyed because it was so beautiful.

Nah, not really. But I was smiling wide as I turned each page.

My friends called to say that they loved their book. And do you want to know what my husband said about it? The only thing he said about it?

“There’s only one picture of George in the whole book,” is what he said.

Sigh.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Winner announced in Giveaway!

2009-07-01T19:00:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to Michelle at Boulderneigh who has won the ceramic bird and set of linen napkins in my Giveaway Contest. Michelle lives in Oregon and raises Shetland sheep.

Thanks to all who participated. I just love a good giveaway. Don’t you?

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

George would like to remind you: Giveaway ends today!

2009-07-01T05:30:00.000-04:00

There were a lot of surprises on the camera card today. This photo of our beloved border collie was one of my favorites out of all the shots taken by my husband.

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion. –Unknown

Enter my giveaway by visiting the post directly beneath this one. Ends tonight at 6 PM!

Until later, my friends . . .

Giveaway at my place! Ends Wednesday, July 1

2009-06-29T18:15:00.002-04:00

I am a sentimental fool.

Yesterday, I woke up and wrote the post below this one. And as soon as I hit the publish key, I read it back I realized how gushing it sounded. So I wrote a comment immediately at how much of a sap I thought I was.

And then, because I was in a hurry and my day was going to be full of visiting and traveling, I shut the laptop and didn’t open it again until I woke up this morning. And I remember thinking as I booted up and opened my e-mail account what a foolish sentimental sap I am sometimes. I actually thought I’d lose followers because of that. Do you believe this drivel?

So you can imagine my surprise at finding a full inbox with comments completely to the contrary of what I had thought. One person even wrote, “Saps ROCK! SAP ON!!!”

Hilarious!

So to all my fellow sappy friends, I’m holding a giveaway because I love you. I love beautiful mornings and sweet kitties, cute dogs, handsome husbands and being thankful for all that I have. But there is a catch. (You saw this coming, didn’t you?)

This Giveaway is only open to followers of my blog.

THIS IS NOT A BLATANT ATTEMPT TO ATTRACT FOLLOWERS. If you’ve been reading my blog and haven’t yet signed on as a follower, go ahead and enter. You don’t have to sign up and “follow”. I’ll know who you are because I’ve been reading your comments for months on end. If you want to sign up to follow, fine. Go ahead.

In your comment, please leave me a way to contact you if you win. I’ll be using the random integer generator at random.org to choose the winner. And please, if you sign on as anonymous, leave either your first name or your initials so I can tell who you are.

Giveaway ends Wednesday, July 1 at 6 PM. Winner will be posted before 9 PM on Wednesday.

Here’s what you could win:

I love birds and I love the color red. This little ceramic bird and this beautiful pair of fabric napkins would look lovely in your home. They’d look lovely in mine, too, and I’m thinking of going back to the little shop where I purchased these and getting a duplicate gift for myself. But I won’t. I’ll just think about it.

Rock on, readers.

Love ya,

Early morning in late June

2009-06-28T09:53:00.001-04:00

At the risk of sounding overly sentimental, I’m writing about how I feel in my heart today.

I apologize, in advance, to those of you who live in areas where it’s already hot and muggy in the early morning hours. Please accept my sincere condolences.

I awoke before 7 this morning and I so very much wanted to roll over and just go back to sleep. But there was such a beautiful, sweetly scented breeze flowing into the bedroom that combined with the smell of coffee wafting up the stairs, I simply had to get up.

This morning in Maryland is the kind of day that makes me thank the Lord that I am on this earth. In fact, I looked out the window at the beautiful light and I thanked Him out loud. I then saw my husband in the distance, taking his daily walk with George around the perimeter of the property and I remembered something I’d read yesterday that Thomas Jefferson had once said.

He said, “The object of walking is to relax the mind. You should therefore not permit yourself even to think while you walk; but divert yourself by the objects surrounding you. Walking is the best possible exercise.”

I want to thank the Lord that I still have my husband. And that he’s still able to walk.

I made my way downstairs and poured a cup of my husband’s delicious coffee. I have it with half and half. And when I sip it, all is right with the world. Today, at least.

Hello, kitty.

Blackie is sitting here with me as I enjoy my coffee on the front porch.

And hello, you beautiful dog.

When George saw that I was awake, he came running from his morning walk to greet me.

My eldest son is in town for a friend’s 25th birthday. I feel honored to have been invited to dinner last night, along with our art teacher, Margie, and her husband Charles. It’s wonderful when children grow up and include the adults they’ve known as teachers and friends when they get together. All of the young men and women in the photo below (with the exception of one) are graduates of the school where I’m employed. I’m honored to be considered a friend to them.

That’s my son on the far right. And you’ve seen Mary Ellen and Kate on this blog before. Mary Ellen, I’m sorry about the picture and the face you’re making but I’ll make it up to you somehow. Don’t be hatin’. That’s the birthday boy in the center. God only knows what he’s doing but it’s why Mary Ellen is making that face.

I may sound like a sentimental fool this morning, but I’m fine with that.

Hope the remainder of your weekend is all smiles, too. Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Time Wastes Too Fast: An artist’s tour of Monticello

2009-06-27T09:00:00.001-04:00

While having coffee this morning and visiting my favorite blogs, I stumbled upon an absolutely wonderful link provided by Jeannelle at Midlife by Farmlight. After visiting the link she posted, I wrote her and told her that I was going to shamelessly steal it and post it here.

Click on the words below to visit an article that was published in this week’s New York Times, and was written and illustrated by artist Maira Kalman. Prepare yourself to be enchanted and enlightened.

And for all those out there (you know who you are) who are crushing on Mr. Thomas Jefferson, you will not be disappointed.

Time Wastes Too Fast

I hope you enjoy. Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Girls in their summer dresses

2009-06-27T05:30:00.000-04:00

I have a major problem and it has to do with my photography. Or rather, the management of my photographs.

My problem is that I take a lot of pictures. I mean, a really large amount. Usually, I get rid of the throwaways quickly. But my problem lies with people asking me to e-mail them a copy. Oh, they’re polite about it. And I always say yes. I just don’t tell them when exactly they should expect it, and the truth is that it will be some time within the next year. Or two.

So when I was going through some picture files that I’d recently taken, I came across one that I liked and hadn’t done anything with yet. I’d taken this shot back in late April of this year at the Alumni Banquet for our school. I’d gone outside to make a phone call and saw five of the girls from the senior class standing there drinking pink drinks. I thought they looked adorable. I took only two photos and liked this one better, although the other was more crisp.

I tried several different actions until I settled on this one from Kevin Kubota. It’s one of my favorites of his and is called “Secret Formula”. Then I added a Joy St. Claire texture over the top and brushed away most of it, but not before I brought out the pink of those pretty drinks.

And do you want to know something funny? Not one of these girls asked me to e-mail them a copy. And because of that, I think I’ll mail them each one. I mean, if you think this photo is good enough. I like doing stuff like that.

Now if I could just get to all the picture files that really need to be done. Like graduation. And the album for my friend’s 50th birthday. Ah. Such is life.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Book Review: The Marriage Bureau for Rich People

2009-06-26T05:30:00.000-04:00

I’ve just finished reading a charming book and wanted to share some of my thoughts with you. I was approached a few weeks ago by a representative from G.P. Putnam’s Sons who wanted to know if I would review a book on my blog. The selection arrived shortly before my scheduled road trip and I knew I’d have plenty of time during that long drive to read it.

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The Marriage Bureau for Rich People is a tale that takes place in India, and although I’ve never been particularly interested in that country, I enjoyed learning about the culture through the pages of this interesting read.

Mr. Ali is recently retired and has been looking for something to keep him busy and his mind occupied. He and his wife live in a comfortable home in a city in Southern India and it’s his idea to start a marriage bureau. The caste system in India is still prevalent and most people don’t marry for love, although love often comes later as it did with Mr. Ali and his wife. Marriages are arranged by another member of the family and many prerequisites must be met before a meeting takes place between the potential bride and groom. Mr. Ali’s bureau turns out to be quite popular. He possesses much common sense, but not enough to know that the fledgling business is consuming every waking moment of his time. It’s his wife who finally suggests taking it easy and hiring someone to help him.

A local girl named Aruna enters the picture as his assistant and as the business grows, so does my fondness for the key characters that Farahad Zama so wonderfully describes. I was especially taken with Aruna whose love and respect for her family very nearly destroys the promise of happiness for herself. The character of Mrs. Ali, whose role in life is that of her husband’s wife, runs the household with the help of a maid who’s going through a bit of a rough time. Mrs. Ali is a sensible and strong woman who would never go against her husband’s wishes, but there are other ways of getting around certain situations. I was extremely taken with her cleverness.

The Ali’s have a son who has become estranged from them because he’s gone against his father’s wishes. In India, you do not disrespect your elders, but sometimes it’s necessary for the benefit of others. Rehman is a freedom fighter and is protesting a major company who has decided to build on land owned by farmers and I found this side plot very enlightening.

The writer’s colorful descriptions of the relationships between the people in this book have earned him the UK’s Melissa Nathan award for comedy romance, and he is the first man to have ever taken this honor.

I found his writing just a tad unsophisticated but perhaps only because it was compared to Alexander McCall Smith for style. I think that over time, Mr. Zama, who wrote the book on a train while traveling to work, will grow into a wonderful writer. And he’s certainly on the right track (get it) with this prestigious award for his first book.

Respectfully submitted by Kate Young.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Vantage point

2009-06-25T05:30:00.001-04:00

I have a favorite spot in the yard to sit and it’s actually something my husband created. Here, on the patio off the breakfast nook, is a lovely little space where he put our umbrella and set up a couple of chairs. I came home from work one day in May to see the big umbrella as I was coming up the drive.

It made me smile, because it looked like a party.

And I love parties.

When we moved here, my husband cleared the crabgrass that had covered the patio. He also severely trimmed the hedges you see here. I was afraid they’d never look good again.

Then last month, he took the old bird feeder off an existing post that you can see the umbrella is attached to. It had been drilled really well into the ground at the center of the bushes around the edge of the patio.

He then attached the umbrella with little plastic ties that are really strong.

The chairs were left here by my youngest son.

I know the plastic ties look a little bit hillbilly but I don’t really care. This is my vantage point from my favorite seat when I look towards the dogwood tree on the left. I can sit out here after work and immediately feel better just looking at all the green. The grass was cut today and the heady scent of it floods my senses. I’m immediately taken back to a day in my childhood. My father is mowing the grass. My mother is sitting on the front stoop shelling lima beans. And I’m sitting there too, in my pedal pushers.

Oddly, none of my siblings are in the picture. Although I loved them fiercely, they’re not in this memory.

What I see when I turn around. That’s the breakfast nook wall to the left. And I’ve just freshened the water in the birdbath. Nothing but the best here.

I’m having a glass of blueberry iced tea as I sit here in my comfortable seat listening to and watching the birds flitting about..

On the fence we have a birdhouse which was claimed about 6 weeks ago by a family of chickadees. They were defending their real estate this afternoon when a brown creeper showed up and tried to start some trouble.

George even noticed the commotion. He ran over to the fence and scattered the combatants. Then he came and laid down by my side.

Those birds are fast, I tell you. They were flitting and twittering all over the yard. Here’s where they all were when I snapped this photo:

There were more but I didn’t want to crowd the scene. The elusive blue bird showed up as well, and the brown creeper and one of the chickadees were all over the place, chasing each other.

Eventually, the chickadee won out and the brown creeper stayed away.

This is just a closer view of the plastic ties. I think it’s rather ingenious of him, frankly.

And this is just a view out the bottom half of my front screen door. I’m just throwing it in here because I like it. And I can do what I want.

My husband is always saying that I’m doing whatever I want.

As it should be, is what I say.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

PS ~ I’m getting a little hankering for a summer giveaway. I can feel the urge coming.

Views out the car window

2009-06-24T05:30:00.000-04:00

When your destination is a 2-day drive away, and you only have so much to keep you busy, the road can become quite monotonous. In between reading a book, perusing magazines or napping until it was my turn to drive, I found myself gazing for long periods at a time out the front window.

So here are a few things I saw along the road. And then I’ll stop harping about my big road trip.

For agonizingly long stretches of time, I saw nothing but interstate, trees (a lot covered in kudzu) and sky. But every now and then, we’d come upon something really interesting, like this bridge we came to after passing through Montgomery, AL. At least, I think we were past Montgomery.

I’m not sure what river we’re crossing here. On the way back home again, I saw a sign for Lizard Creek. I was driving and my husband took these two photos. I just remember feeling elated while driving over this bridge (wherever it is) with its long-ranging view and momentary escape from the sheer boredom.

I took this photo when we were driving over Lake Pontchartrain on the Interstate 10 bridge span. During Hurricane Katrina, the storm surge rendered this bridge completely unusable. The twin spans reopened in early January 2006.

Here’s another view going over the 5-mile bridge.

My first view of of the city of New Orleans, from I-10.

Busted flat in Baton Rouge, waiting for a train.

Name that artist.

Riding along Beach Boulevard (Route 90) in Biloxi on our way to the casino. I won over a hundred dollars that night.

So I wasn’t busted flat anymore.

I used to be flat busted.

But that’s neither here nor there.

I was actually out of the car when I took this photo but I’m throwing it in here because I think it’s real purdy. I found it in a tub planter in Fairhope, AL where we’d stopped for lunch one day with our friends.

Hope you enjoyed the ride with me. And please, don’t think I’m whining when I said it was boring. I mean, it was. But it was also worth going the distance.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Welcome to new faces I’m seeing all the time and to my faithful readers who visit daily. A shout out to Peggy. Hey, girl! Thanks for the tip to bring something real pretty to wear on the visit to see your brother.

And now for something refreshing

2009-06-23T05:30:00.000-04:00

I’m serving drinks on the patio this afternoon. C’mon and join me.

There’s nothing I like better on a fine summer day than catching some rays while hanging by the pool and cooling off with a nice summer cocktail. Unfortunately, I don’t have a pool, nor is it a fine day, but I won’t let those little details get in the way. But I do have the mixings for my favorite new summertime drink, so one out of three ain’t bad, right?

I’m using one of the new sweet teas. You can find them in the vodka section of your favorite liquor store. I’ve never tried this one before but the words jeremiah and weed in the name sort of intrigued me.

There are suddenly many different brands of sweet tea available. Firefly is an excellent choice. And I rather like Carolina Tea which is a little less costly. When mixing your cocktail, it’s always better if the lemonade is as fresh as you can get it. Of course, in a pinch, the powder mix will do.

This is the simple recipe:

Sweet Tea Vodka with Lemonade

Fill glass with ice.

Fill to half with sweet tea vodka.

Top with lemonade.

You should probably write that down, in case you forget.

Today, I’m serving mine in my UVa cocktail tumbler, in honor of Lauren. Just so you know, they’re available at the university bookstore, one of the nicest college book stores I’ve ever seen. (There’s even a Clinique counter).

Enjoy!

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

Mosaic Monday: N’awlins memories

2009-06-22T05:30:00.002-04:00

Welcome to my submission for Mosaic Monday, hosted by my friend Mary at Little Red House. I returned yesterday from a week’s vacation where we visited friends in Biloxi, MS. We all took a day trip to New Orleans, a city I’d never seen.

It was fabulous, although the weather was incredibly hot and steamy. We strolled the French Quarter and had brunch at The Courtyard of the Two Sisters, who you can see as statues in the center of this mosaic.

After we ate, we walked a little more and then drove over to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and iced coffee. Yum.

Stop back later because I have a new drink to share with you. It’s perfect for summertime by the pool. Or anywhere, really.

Stop by my photo blog where I have one of the photos above enlarged. You may also click on this mosaic to go to my Flickr page, then click on "all sizes".

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

It’s all about compromise

2009-06-21T09:47:00.002-04:00

First I’d like to say thank you to all who welcomed me home after my week-long absence. Your comments surprised me and your support means so much to me.

When taking a road trip of any magnitude, the first rule of thumb is to have fellow travelers you enjoy spending time with. George was coming, and I enjoy him. Check one. And then there’s my husband who I mostly enjoy but we have differences of opinion as to when to stop and how many times. Our biggest bone of contention is in “the stopping for the night”.

This could be a problem, I thought.

Before our journey, we discussed options and I was beginning to notice my husband’s all involved camping of some sort. (He even packed the tent and the supplies, “just in case”). Camping was not an option for me and I stuck to my guns in this regard. I wanted a bed, I told him. A bed in something that doesn’t have zippers. And a bathroom with a shower. End of discussion.

So imagine my surprise when my husband found this very nice compromise! We booked it the day before we left. It’s camping ~ which fit into his tastes ~ but it’s a dwelling, with a bed ~ which fit my requirements. And I didn’t really mind that the bathroom wasn’t inside the cabin. It was such a short walk down a nice little path.

My husband found a KOA campground only a mile off the interstate just east of the Georgia border in Anderson, South Carolina. The campground borders Lake Hartwell but you actually have to drive to get to the lake.

We’d driven for 12 hours and I was surprised at how well George was handling the fact that he was cooped up in the back seat with no frisbees to catch or toys being tossed. We did stop a few times at rest areas to take him for short walks, however.

So while my husband took George for a real walk, I headed out to get something for dinner in the nearby town. I took a drive by the lake too, but couldn’t get a picture.

Inside the cabin was a double bed along one wall and a set of bunks opposite. There was also a small table and chair, cable tv and air conditioning (another of my requirements). It was already hot in the south and I was glad to have the AC blasting.

Let’s take a closer look at that curtain fabric, shall we?

Everything in this area is about nearby Clemson University. The gift shop at the campground was stock full of fun items, people in the nearby town sported apparel with the trademark paw logo, vehicles sported Clemson stickers but the curtains at the campground were a little much, I thought!

My husband woke me at 4:30 the next morning. I like the fact that he’s an early riser but thought this was a bit overboard. I kept my thoughts to myself, however because it’s all about compromise. We were showered, dressed and on the road again by 5. Here’s George in the back seat, being good.

I’m sorry to report that on the way home, my husband did not compromise. We drove straight through and there was no changing his mind. I will not go into the argument we had, but I will say that the only thing that kept me awake and driving during my turn was my intense anger at him. Lord help me, it was not a good feeling and I realized one of my biggest pet peeves is people who camp out in the hammer lane. Ok. Enough.

It’s a beautiful morning back East as I write this post. We’ve got a gorgeous breeze blowing under partly cloudy skies with a temperature of a 70 degrees. Through the window, I can see my husband hanging laundry on the clothesline. And I am in heaven.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

I’ve missed you, my friends

2009-06-20T12:48:00.003-04:00

I’m back from my sojourn and boy, do I have some stories for you. I’m saving some of them for future posts, but . . .

In a nutshell, I will tell you that my husband and I took a Road Trip to see lifelong friends who are currently living in Biloxi, MS. I went to school with W, and he’s been in the casino business for years and is an executive vp in the best one down there. I am not that into these kind of places. At all. But it was fun! And so very different for my husband and I.

This week, I did a lot of things. I visited New Orleans for the first time in my life!

That road trip pic up there was actually a shop sign from one of the boutiques along the French Quarter.

I had a chat with a beautiful mermaid. She told me that she didn’t mind the heat. It was 97 with an extra dose of humidity. Oh. My. God.

I ate fried pickles. I had no idea such a thing existed but what surprised me even more is that I actually liked ‘em!

I drove through the city of Atlanta on a foggy early-Sunday morning. Hi, Debra Rector and Deb!

I stood humbly under the majestic canopy of one of my favorite trees: the Live Oak.

I attended something huge called Club Tiki at the casino and saw Vanilla Ice perform. His real name is Robbie and he has pet goats.

I was surprised that he was actually pretty good.

I was in the VIP section, but I braved the crowds and the water that Mr. Ice was spraying at the audience to get you this photo. The girls were still clothed at this point and we left well before the orgy began. This is the part where I usually say “not really”.

Won’t be sayin’ it, however. (Oh, my).

I ate the most incredible food. This was a sampler at a wonderful Asian restaurant at W’s casino. The chef sent it to our table as a compliment when he heard that my friend and his wife were dining at the restaurant with friends they’ve known since high school.

I’ll tell you more later. I’m tired and am taking it easy today. I’ve got a recipe for a new drink for you and a cooling salad later in the week. I’m glad to be home but even more glad that I got to see my friends. The long drive was worth it.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering as to why we didn’t fly, there were several reasons. My husband’s chemo and germs were one and George was the other.

(And George was a perfect angel and the perfect doggie houseguest). It made me very happy.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

The way we were

2009-06-13T05:30:00.000-04:00

I’m away from my desk at this time and thought it would be fun to do an auto-post featuring puppy photos of George.

And I’m lying about the desk. I write all my posts from my couch.

I took all the photos you see here with my old camera, a little Sony Cybershot I used for years. It was my first digital camera and I think it did a pretty good job, considering. However, some of my digital memories are a little misty and water-colored.

I just can't believe how cute he was as a puppy. George was born in July of 2007 in Ellsworth, Maine and these photos were all taken in October when he was about 2 1/2 months old.

Please don’t look at my coffee table. Ok, well. I guess now it’s too late. Also don’t look at the covers we have on the couch. It was a valiant attempt on my part to keep the furniture free of dirty puppy paws and a husband who worked with horses.

The one thing that I demanded when we were discussing getting another dog was that the puppy not be permitted on the furniture. None of our other border collies had ever been allowed to do this and it was important to me at the time. Unfortunately, my single demand fell on deaf ears. And I eventually got over it.

He enjoyed this elephant for quite some time. I think it had something to do with the trunk. I seem to remember that it squeaked.

I always liked this photo. It was taken in our backyard at Northview Stallion Station, outside of Chesapeake City, Maryland. In the background, you’ll see an attempt by my husband to fashion a piece of equipment in the hopes that George would someday compete in Border Collie Trials.

It stayed like that for a week or two when we realized that the puppy just wanted to have his way with a piece of driftwood in the yard that was about twice his size. It provided much chewing and dragging satisfaction.

You’ve come a long way, baby.

Hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane with me. Until later, my friends . . .

PS ~ I’m sorry to say this, but I’m going to be taking a small break from blogging. Could be a couple of days, could be a week. I just need to relax and want to see if I can actually stay away from technology for a little bit.

I appreciate the wonderful and encouraging comments from a couple of posts down when I mentioned the school year closing out and just being so busy. I’m glad for the busy, I honestly am. There are so many who don’t have jobs (my husband included). I’ll miss all of you. But I promise, I shall return.

Something unusual, something strange

2009-06-12T05:30:00.001-04:00

Last week, I received an e-mail from a representative who works in marketing for a publishing firm in New York. I was informed that they had seen my blog and wanted to offer me an advance copy of a book on behalf of G.P. Putnam’s Son’s. They needed my address to send me the book.

I was surprised, to say the least. I wondered, “why my blog?” when there were so many others out there. And then, immediately I was concerned because of the address thing. So once I had determined that they were in fact, real and not an axe murderer posing as someone from a publishing firm, I decided to go ahead and do it.

Basically, I would read the book and publish my thoughts about it. And, if you recall, I had asked for suggestions for summer reads in a recent post. I just never imagined I’d get an answer from someone at a publishing house. However, looking at it from a marketing point of view, I’d be cruising the blogosphere too, using key words and zoning in on blogs that might meet my requirements. I mean, if I worked in marketing.

Well, the book came immediately and when I arrived home from work the other day and saw a package from the Penguin Group of Publishing, I was really relieved to find that it wasn’t some stalker nut on the internet.

The marketing rep writes: “The Marriage Bureau for Rich People is a delightful read that’s perfect for Summer, about an Indian man named Ali struggling to come to terms with his own retirement in Southern India. He decides to open his own "Marriage Bureau for Rich People" in the front room of his home and start a second career as professional matchmaker. The bureau becomes the dwelling of a whole spectrum of colorful stories and encounters: here, you will meet a father who wants a tall son-in-law because his daughter is short; a divorced woman who ends up reuniting with her ex-husband; a salesman who can't seem to sell himself without Ali's help; and a wealthy, young doctor for whom no match is ever perfect. The novel has been described as an alluring cross between Alexander McCall Smith and Jane Austen--McCall for style, and Jane Austen for the subject matter. And it's not a book lacking in depth either, as Zama's portrait of the trials of love and marriage also conveys the state of India as a country still grappling with the politics of caste, religion and civil unrest.”

You know, it sounds good to me. And I already love the fun cover. So I’ll keep you posted.

Until tomorrow, my friends . . .

I took the post title from one of my favorite songs, “Amie” from Damien Rice.

Something unusual, something strange Comes from nothing at all But I'm not a miracle And you're not a saint Just another soldier On the road to nowhere