Cape Cod weekend. The heat wave followed us all the way to Falmouth's Sea Gull Beach, where the parking lot was still full at 6:30PM. Wow. . .

NIGHTTIME BANDIT. . .

I THOUGHT  WE WERE GOING THROUGH A LOT OF CAT FOOD. . .

walls of my world. . .

 so many pictures, not enough walls. So our hallways are a series of collages. Always in the same black frames to create a cohesive look. Wish I had more walls - there's lots more love to hang in the hallway.

 This is the last wall I finished - our wedding day 2 years ago. Since then, we've had a grandson, my youngest went off to college, my older son is a firefighter and EMT now, and more. Gotta get busy. . .But our visitors spend a lot of time at our photo gallery, and it's a labor of love that happens to look great.

  I see this picture is way too light but the mirror is a gift from my nephew Nick.

 The mirror was in a guest room at the old family homestead in Pennsylvania. In the 70's, my brother Neil shot it with a bb gun. The hole's in the bottom right. The grape garlands were my touch.

 A piece of tatting from my great-great grandmother, also from the old Brower family  homestead in Oaks, Pa (now gone). There are so many historical homes in Pennsylvania that our family's home, although built in the 1600's, met the wrecking ball. A skating rink was built on the site of the old orchard, where my cousins and I picked pears and apples from ancient trees.

 A lovely print of my beloved Martha's Vineyard, where we owned a tiny saltbox years ago.

 A collage in our office. The gymnast is my husband (really!); the watercolor is of my mother as a young girl, done by her neighbor and artist Margaret Hydeman, of Norristown, Pa.

 Love this Victorian 3-d carving, probably from a Victorian mirror. Got it at Brimfield, the BIG East Coast Show, 3 times a year in Brimfield, Mass. Come join the fun in May, July or September (pick September 'cause May is always wet, and July is hot as hell)

 This little tin art piece stands for me and my friends Wendy, Amy and Lissa, We were the Playgroup babes 25 years ago. Our kids drifted away, but we still get together every month.

 My darling husband's PhD. He's very bright, very cute and he's the one for me. Yippee. . .

 This is a string of glazed clay vegetables tied with braided hemp, bought in a mercado in Ciudad Juarez almost 19 years ago, when we made the journey to El Paso to bring our beloved baby Ari home to be ours forever.

fuzzy but cute. A papier mache bird. China.

 
"A" is for Antone. I'm big on these oversized letters. I still think they're cool.

Wall stuff I wish I still had: The first Earth Day poster that I dry mounted on foamcore and hung in my Philly apartment on 10th & Pine, and the poster from the Bob Dylan album that's worth a bundle now. Owell. . .

ssh (still stinkin' hot) in Connecticut

UPDATE: it's still too hot to do any gardening!!! Tomorrow is August first - haven't gone to the pool in town yet, never got the extra marigolds and beans in, and in two weeks we go out west to the canyons, so we're investing in a timed sprinkler - hear they have nice ones at Ace. Like having a yard boy. Almost. . .

Come visit my garden!  It's been too hot to go digging around, although I do need to be merciless and halve some stuff - phlox, perennial sweetpea, wandering daylilies and some rose campion that has popped up everywhere. Just a peep 'til I get out there with a shovel and give it a trim:

 These pictures look a little washed out. I'll have to substitute them whenit isn't almost 2am. I snagged that tall ivory wrought iron stand at the flea market here in town for $15. Tony was painting the porch railings on our 3-year old porch. We couldn't decide which colors should go where.

 I'm always been happy with my porch window boxes. I use coleus, a vinca vine, 2 impatiens and a spike, and they all know just what to do anfd how/when to do it. Below, my hummingbird lures, which are now blazing away with red & purple bee balm. If the hummingbird's happy, Mama's happy.

still getting things cleaned up after July 4. Not feeling too well - bummer of a UTI plus this pesky acid reflux thing. Stayed home today, just me and the doggies. Jacked up the AC early on - it was just too hot to be on an antibiotic and feeling crummy AND hot as hell.

But I'll definitely be okay. The bottom line is that it's a weird allergy, but I'm gonna go for an upper gi this week. Consoled myself with a trip to mortenson's dairy and packed in a big bowl  of my 2 fave flavors together: Raspberry sorbet and deepest darkest chocolate. Only thing better is the chocolate with orange sherbet. Wowie.

The most enchanting Raggedy Ann and Andy book in 80 years

I grew up reading the Raggedy Ann book my mother received as a young girl. The original that I own was published in 1926, and the enchanting drawings are mesmerizing.  I have started giving this generation of babies the same Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls I had as a child - complete with the candy heart that says "I love you". Many small specialty toy stores have these dolls in several sizes, and they're all beautiful, with bright red rag hair under their shirts. But the best surprise of all was this book I found on Amazon.com: a pop-up book that's just too wonderful to give to a little kid who will probably rip it to shreds. Here, I share a few pages with you. Please enjoy, as I do (yeah, I kept it) 

back to making cards for the troops overseas!!

lots of paper to convert into cards. Help!!

here are a few. . .

and some more. . .

and a little shabby chic cutie using my cricut tag template.

HAPPY 2ND WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO US!

WOW, HE EVEN LOVES ME WITH NO MAKEUP ON A HOT, SWEATY DAY!

the cake pops - as they turned out

Well, I apologize to Bakerella and all the wonderful artists who can do cake pops so effortlessly. Let me just say that I bought a boatload of beer and wine for my 4th of July guests so they won't notice how imperfect my cake pops look!!!

But, I'm celebrating my 2nd wedding anniversary and having a 4th of July picnic. In  1972 my dad died onthe 4th of July, and since he can't be with us, I've looked for a way to celebrate his life and to make the day a more cheerful one. What better way than a wedding? He would be so proud of his grandsons, David and Ari - being a self-taught Spanish speaker. He would love my Tony, too.  I thank God for giving me my true love in my fifties. Who would believe it?????



me at RD and WD's house at Townsend's Inlet, NJ, where we spent a weekend in fall. The water was warm, so was the sand. The beginning of my love for the sea.