'Rosehaven' Begonia
“If you don’t like something change it; if you can’t change it, change the way you think about it.” – Mary Engelbreit
What a truly lovely week I have had. Yesterday, my father in law sent me this photo of a Begonia. I got a cutting of this lovely house Begonia from my friend Paula, who owns Rosehaven Farms in Versailles, Kentucky. She breeds both Thoroughbreds and Saddlebreds and has HUGE pots with this Begonia and it has been plucked by many friends from around the USA. Paula and I make jokes about it all the time. I suggested she get a map of the US and put colored pushpins in where this beautiful plant has ended up. When it gets large enough it blooms. Anyway, my mother-in-law feel in love with the beautiful greens and so I made sure she had a rooted cutting of it a few months ago and look at it now! She’s very happy.
In exchange, I asked her for a piece of her Jade Tree, which was started from one leaf of my grandmother’s Jade. So I have that growing now in with my Begonia until it gets big enough to have it’s own pot.
Warp
My weaving class! What a great time I had and while I didn’t get to all my warping projects, I did learn a lot and it was worth every effort. No too mention meeting new folks and all that jazz. I came home and warped the last of my projects I had taken (and the most difficult one). Here it is. All ready to go on the loop. It is with lace yarns. It has 400 threads. Now this is a big deal for me. I’ve been using primarily knitter’s yarns in a bulkier weight to the tune of about 40 threads! So getting this all organized with alternating colors and tied up and off the “warping” board and now ready for the loom was new and challenging. It all seems so insurmountable and overwhelming. But once you get it, it’s a no brainer. I’m not yet to the no brainer part, but somewhere between being tentative and being confident. 🙂 Anyway, I was very excited to work through this process on my own and instinctively worked through what was important and what was irrelevant. When you can begin to process it through, you know true understanding is developing. Very exciting.
Empty Stand
Ahhhhh, a dear old friend was delivered this morning. Ron Baker, my friend, my mentor, and my children’s Godfather, is an extremely talented, witty, intelligent, caring man. In addition to being a writer, a calligrapher, a problem solver, and a whole host of other talents, he is an amazing painter. He rarely paints, but when he does, it is like magic. He did a small series of what he calls pallette paintings of stone bridges in Ireland and Scotland. I have many art pieces of his wife Sally’s, but I had none of Ron’s. I asked to purchase one and he never really addressed it with me, often changing the subject. I whined about it on and off over the years to no avail. One year he gifted me with one of my a favorites. Most of the artwork I have are done by friends of mine or an artist I had the good fortune of meeting in person. I don’t covet “things” much. Part of my military upbringing I suppose. “What you can carry,” was pretty much the thought process, at least as far as my mother was concerned. But I have several gems, and this is one. I missed it while it was away.
click to enlarge
Anyway, several months ago Ron called to ask if he could “borrow” it back as he hoped to get photos made of it for Giclee prints. Of course! After a few months, I gently asked, “So. Am I ever going to see it again?” I mean, it took me YEARS to make him feel guilty enough to part with it! I was getting nervous that well, it might stay back in Maryland. He assured me it was intended to come back to me. Ok. And without a word, it arrived this morning. What a great way to brighten up my mid-morning. (If you enlarge and hopefuly you will see that all the strokes are made not with a brush but with a pallette knife. It gives it amazing depth and texture.)
Dave has been away most of August. Every week he is gone, and home on the weekends. I’ve been a tad worried. Though he seems a little tired, he continues to be pretty jazzed about his projects. He had his birthday this week while he was away.
Hudson missed Hurricane Irene AND the earthquake. He’s disappointed. Like a body shop in the northeast, where snow storms are good for business, hurricanes are good for Hudson’s tree care business. Montana is experiencing both. She was evacuated from her building during the earthquake. Dave was in Connecticut on the 3rd floor, and the building swayed and the floor rolled. He was freaked out too. And now Montana is hunkered down for the weekend with friends watching movies, cooking and drinking Mimosas while Irene dumps all her rain on everyone. 🙂
We are making adjustments for The Kipmeister. Now that we know what’s going on. Short, more frequent walks. Smaller, more frequent meals. Hudson wanted me to include Alpha Lipoic Acid to help Kip’s nerve damage and I managed to find a Dog Supplement that has all those B’s, Folic Acid and ALA like what we do for PN! We’ll see if it helps. This new condition seems to be contributing to his back legs withering away, which is distressing. Hope we can’t turn this around. In addition, the arthritic supplements may assist also. His spirits seem good for the most part, although sometimes he gets a bit of a worried look, or maybe it’s just him reflecting back to me my worried look? I need to get his bowl elevated a bit and he is enjoying pulverized dry food mixed in with chicken broth, brown rice, and hunks of boiled chicken.
Q Series BlendTec - Used
Finally… I have been wanting one of those expensive wonderful blenders for juicing and smoothies and such. I discovered a glut of old Starbucks Blendtec Blenders on the web by different venders, having been purchased and refurbished. Originally $1500 these babies are now able to be acquired for as little as 1/2 the money for a new Blendtec Total home version! I found this one on ebay, with free shipping AND a 1 year warranty. It is everything I hoped it would be, including BIG! 🙂 I have been extremely pleased with it’s ease of use, clean-up, and making juices and smoothies. It has already gotten a lot of hassle free use around the Puente Pueblo! There is just nothing like the right tools for the job.
