Caio Bella!

My favorite roasting tomato is a little beauty called Juliet. She is an indeterminate variety that one might describe as either a large grape/cherry or petite Roma. As the harvest exceeds my and the neighbors' ability to eat and cook them fresh (one little curly-headed neighbor in particular can tell you how delicious they are straight from the vine and how many you can eat before you get a stomach ache - lots), I roast and freeze the surplus.
Later, the sweet, little halves come out to be added to soups or pasta, to embellish pizza or, paired with a bit of chevre, to top toasted baguette slices. Fantastico!

I have had great results growing Juliet in a large pot with companion herbs and annuals at her feet and a tall stake in the middle to support her very fruitful self.

Stupendo! Meraviglioso! Magnifico! Bellissimo!

Buttons and Bows

That's the name of this quilt pattern. The "bows" have not been added to the log cabin squares yet. The buttons are to be sewn over the center squares, but I may skip that step and make up another name for the pattern so I don't have to explain their absence. A friend assured me that this is a good project for using up extra stash fabric. She also insisted that even "the uglies" can be included and they will disappear. We'll see about that.




I have cut and will sew 1480 pieces to make 120 blocks for a twin size quilt. Counting the pieces for a sample square and some mis-cuts the number exceeds 1500. This is not unusual in quilt making, but I can't help thinking how crazy it is to buy new fabric, then cut it up and reassemble it into a quilt. It made sense when quilters were reusing clothing, scraps, or feedsack fabric, but now... nuts. This is the typical and temporary state of mind I am often in at this stage of a quilting project, but when the squares begin to go together my outlook will be rosie again. Check back (much) later to see the end result and tell me if those "what was I thinking when I bought them?" fabrics make or break the finished product.

It's Time to Go

... before you've outstayed your welcome.

Billboard Bananas

Not sure when Miss Chiquita started promoting video games, but she should stop that and stick with what she is good at, which is touting her namesake fruit's benefits and virtues.

We grew up with the Chiquita banana music and lyrics looping around inside our heads. My apologies if it gets stuck there again, but here it is, one of the most enduring jingles ever:

"I'm Chiquita banana and I've come to say - Bananas have to ripen in a certain way- When they are fleck'd with brown and have a golden hue - Bananas taste the best and are best for you - You can put them in a salad - You can put them in a pie-aye - Any way you want to eat them - It's impossible to beat them - But, bananas like the climate of the very, very tropical equator - So you should never put bananas in the refrigerator."

Music © 1945 Shawnee Press Inc. under license to Chiquita Brands International, Inc.

Both the jingle and Miss Chiquita were introduced to educate consumers about how to store and eat bananas which were, in 1944, an exotic new produce offering. Miss Chiquita was drawn by Dik Browne the creator of the Campbell Soup Kids and Hagar the Horrible. She was depicted as an animated banana and made many appearances in person and on popular radio shows, movies, and commercials to promote her product. In 1987 she was redrawn by the artist who created the Pink Panther to appear as the human Miss Chiquita that her public imagined her to be.

You can hear the original Chiquita Jingle and a newer version promoting the healthy aspects of banana eating here.

You can learn more about the wonderful Miss Chiquita here.

Run for Your Lives!

Zgnombies!

Cheap, Cheap, Cheap

Because of the higher cost per sniffle I hate to buy the little square tissue boxes even though I like them better for small spaces. Here an empty box gets a makeover to be sturdier and cuter. I will refill it as needed from one of the jumbo boxes that I typically buy. Crazy? Probably.


Box as template.



Iron-on fusible webbing.



Cut.



Paste.



Sneeze.

Wild Stripes Baby Blanket

This is a variation on the Wild Stripes Baby Blanket from Knitty. The intention was to be knitting it in solidarity with a beginning knitter friend whose sister was having a baby (as a sort of a sympathetic pregnancy knitting mentor), but the baby came quite early. His auntie gave him some nice stuff from a gift registry and I was left to knit my blanket alone. It was an excellent and warm TV-watching project for me last winter and finally, the fabric backing is on and it is finished as the baby who started it all nears two-years-old.

I feel quite confident that my blanket would have appeared nearly as smooth and ripple-free as the one at Knitty if I had been photographing it on a day when temps were not subzero. Fussing over the staging that day could have resulted in frostbite. Just an excuse I know, but a pretty good one. The need for a baby to have a nice warm blanket like this is much more obvious in my photo setting than it is in theirs.

Floral Department

This month the garden club took on the project of sprucing up the six foot tall floral arrangements that grace the art center foyer.




It was my first official garden club activity, and I got to be in charge of arranging one of the two mirror image compositions. With plenty of helpers standing back and making suggestions (bend it to the left, more upright, fluff that one out, add another lily, etc.) we got the job done.




It was fun to do, and the result is quite pleasing.

HAPPII MÅRKKH

Ikea fabrics to brighten up the March sewing table. This is "Gunilla" designed by Sissi Edholm and Lisa Ullenius.







The themes in the "Annamoa" series designed by Lotta Kulhorn are quite intriguing.

She says: “Forest, city, under water and somewhat graphic. These are the images I worked with when I created ANNAMOA fabric. For inspiration, I looked at fairy tales and proverbs about animals. I also thought about things and places I like, such as Lappland in northern Sweden and the Skanstull neighborhood of Stockholm. Each pattern is bold and has its own story to tell. I can see the fabrics stretched on frames, like paintings. Hope you like them!”




Not sure if I like this because of, or in spite of the goats. You?

Do you know your Swedish furniture name? If not, you can generate it at Blogadilla. A little something silly. Give it a go.

Again, HAPPII MÅRKKH! Best, SLÅRKE

Urban Interlude

It's hard to be young and hip when you're not, but we gave it our best. First, lunch at The Bad Waitress Diner.




Then to the MIA for the "Foot in the Door" exhibit.




Anyone, amateur or professional, can enter a piece of original art that fits in a foot by foot square space. The variety of media and topics is remarkable.




5000 people answered the once-every-ten-years call for entries.




Some hope to be noticed and promote their career, others just want to be noticed. It would be cool to be able to say that your work was on exhibit at the MIA.



Two favorites, conveniently side-by-side were, "Bad Seed" crop art, and a great photograph with notation that reads: "From the Series - Men Wearing Pajamas Playing the Accordion for Disinterested Cats" (Click on the photo to zoom in if you want to see just how disinterested the kitty really is.)




2020 is the next chance for your 15 minutes of fame. This decade's show runs through June 13 and it's free.




We saved the best activity for last. Well, we kind of had to because there was only one show time at the Lagoon for viewing this year's Oscar-nominated animated shorts. Wallace and Gromit in "A Matter of Loaf and Death", from Aardman Animation of Great Britain was our favorite. Runner up, "The Lady and the Reaper", from Spain.

Virtual Vacation - the Monkey Diaries

Last Day - Got in a little beach time before packing up. Sky was overcast just like our mood. Wow. Wish we could stay forever.
Well, it will be nice to see Fluffy. OMG! Fluffy? Did we remember to kennel the dog?!

Virtual Vacation - the Monkey Diaries

Day Five - Feeling a bit blue. Tomorrow is our last day in this awesome place. Wow! Wish we could stay forever.




Blue... that reminds us of the time we took blue at the fair. Hey, we can shake off this mopey mood. We're winners, not whiners! Wow! Let's hit the beach.

Virtual Vacation - the Monkey Diaries

Day Four - Back to the beach. Met some great new friends today. Wow! Promised to Facebook them. If only our own family could be here... hmmm... wonder if it is still below freezing at home? We really should take back some souvenirs. Maybe snowglobes. Hahaha!

Virtual Vacation - the Monkey Diaries

Day Three - Got a bit too much beachtime yesterday with no sunscreen(oops!), so we visited the shell museum/genealogy center to take a break from the rays and discover our roots. Wow! We're multiracial! Bivalve and gastropod make-up. Who knew? Cool!

Virtual Vacation - the Monkey Diaries

Day Two - Hit the beach and went for a sail. Wow...this is living! Checked the weather at home. 6 degrees this a.m., foggy, and ice on the big lake is still 22" deep. Wow! Totally glad we got out of town!

Virtual Vacation - the Monkey Diaries

This week in the land of make-believe the monkeys will be showing us what it would be like if we were on winter break in a warm, sunny paradise.
Just use your imagination...here we go...




Day One - We explore our new home-away-from-home...




...and scope out the pool scene. Wow! Cougarific!

As Seen on TV

You love the blog. Now have the mug.

Next Door Laura - It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

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Very limited stock.

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Olympic Eating (and Drinking)

My sister was invited to an Olympics kick-off potluck and as one might expect, themed dishes were strongly encouraged. She's very creative, but needed a little inspiration jump-start so we set about brainstorming ideas. Here is what we came up with:

Starters:

Shaun Whitebean Dip
Stuffed Dick Button Mushrooms
Jamie Salead with Russian Dressing and French Croutons

Entree choices:

Lasagna Harding
Dorothy Hamloaf
Hannah Tetertot Casserole

Accompanied by:

Browning and/Orserve Rolls

And for dessert:

Christine Nesbittersweet Chocolate Fondue or,
Peggy Flaming Baked Alaska


She ended up taking one of her reliable potluck standards, the Seven Layer Salad, with lots of Olympic spirit garnishes. Multicolored sweet pepper Olympic rings, candle torch, Canadian flag, potato Inukshuk, mayonnaise and cheese snow. It was over the top just as she intended. She nailed it and deserved to at least podium. Alas, no prizes were awarded.

Once the creative juices were flowing they just wouldn't stop. We realized that Olympic events are a great source for naming mixed drinks, or for that matter bands. For now we will concentrate on our bar order. Here's what we would be serving at our Olympics party if we were having one:

The Triple Axeltini (side effects - double vision and dizziness)
The Agony of Defeat (straight up double of scotch, bourbon, or whiskey)
The Lillehammer ('nuff said)
The Jamaican Bobsled (rum-based of course)
The Luge (smooth and on-the-rocks - White Russianish)
The Biathlon (hot cocoa with a peppermint schnapps chaser?)
And just for fun, for the duration of the 2010 Olympics, let's rename the classic Caesar (Bloody Mary made with Clamato) as: The Lutz Salchow Shotgun Spin Camel Combination.

As far as name possibilities go this is just the tip of the iceberg, we haven't even touched snowboarding lingo. Gotta leave something for Sochi.

Thanks for hosting a swell event BC. Play on!

As Promised

Neighborhood intrigue is harder to come by in winter when neighbors have hunkered down indoors and are rarely sighted. The great bear scat inquisition of Summer 2008 proved that intrigues often grow in frequency and proportion to the number of persons involved in wild speculation about seemingly small occurrences. So, without that "buzz" going on around the block it is only natural that there is little to report on in the cold weather months. However, that being said, through extraordinary efforts we have managed to dredge up a few mysteries and puzzlements for your consideration.



What is this?



Who ate this? and how do they know which ones cost the most?



Oversight or gauche flaunting of a designer plant's brand?



Were these once orange? Were they intentionally frozen to be used again next Halloween? Will they make it to October?



Could a plate of cookies influence whose driveway gets blocked by this snow?



How many logs did they have to throw on for this display?

Enquiring minds want to know...

It's Time

We have sun. Next, warmth, and bare ground for it to sink into. They will come. Really. And then we'll need a plan. Be ready.