Reblogged from queerveganfeminist
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[Image: Four feminine-presenting people on a poster tinted pink in front of a pink back ground with a lighter pink female sign in the background. Above their heads is the text in brown, pink and white font: “Apparently, America’s greatest threat are healthy, independent, sexually active women.” At the bottom of the poster in white font is the text: “Trust women. Stand with Planned Parenthood.”]](http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lj0dcuHuum1qivn7do1_500.jpg)
[Image: Four feminine-presenting people on a poster tinted pink in front of a pink back ground with a lighter pink female sign in the background. Above their heads is the text in brown, pink and white font: “Apparently, America’s greatest threat are healthy, independent, sexually active women.” At the bottom of the poster in white font is the text: “Trust women. Stand with Planned Parenthood.”]
(via hiohmegan)
I spent the last part of my evening last night at Kim & Betsy’s house over in Oakland Beach in Warwick…sitting on the deck overlooking the water, and enjoying their company.
At the end of the evening Betsy was kind enough to show me something her granddaughter has been working on to help her pay for college this fall…these beautiful glass fish! Honestly, each one she showed me was more beautiful than the last one - I was so impressed! And this was her first attempt at working in this medium, can you believe it? The photos don’t do it justice…the amount of detail on this little creature is just amazing, and each fish has a personality all her own.
So as I was getting ready to say my goodbyes, Betsy gifted me with one of the charms…she let me pick…and this is who came home with me last night. Her name is Bubbles Lamour. She’s a retired exotic dancer, but she still gets out and has a lot of spunk. I can’t wait to wear her out in public and start getting inquiries about where to buy one. Seriously - this kid could skip college and go into business if you ask me.
Thanks again ladies for a lovely evening and the parting gift.
Bubbles and I are going to be very happy together.
Well, I signed up for this to be the “Summer of Nancy”, left my job (and the security it brings) and have been on a journey to find myself. I know, I know…aren’t I a bit old for that? Well…..
This has been the summer of my dreams. I keep thinking to myself why did I wait so long to do this? And what I’ve decided is, that every woman should take off the summer of her 40th year and just play. Take an art class (I still can’t stop talking about my class with Teesha Moore last month!), plant a garden (mine is in full bloom and I have fresh flowers in the house every day - what a treat!), visit with friends (just had lunch with Shael down in Wickford and caught up on the past month’s events, and having dessert with Betsy & Kim tonight on their deck in Warwick), and just be good to yourself.
Well, it’s true that I haven’t exactly been doing just that…I AM working on two projects that will take place in September…you know me…
First one is Walk a Mile in Her Shoes RI (www.walkamileri.com) that will raise funds for the RI Crisis Assistance Center. Men will get sponsors and then wear women’s high heels and walk for a mile in downtown Providence on Saturday, September 18th at 10:00AM, beginning at Beneficent Church on Weybosset Street.
Second event is the B*A*S*H, a MASH-inspired fundraiser at Quonset Point Air Museum in North Kingstown, to raise funds for the RI Red Cross. Stay tuned for a great short film talking about the event on YouTube (due early next week).
So yes, it’s true that I’ve been doing a couple of side projects, but mostly I’ve just be rediscovering myself and taking time out to nurture my inner child. Can I just tell you? This has been the summer of my life!
OK…I can hardly stand it. My teacher Teesha Moore just posted this on her blog about the class I took with her in Cleveland last week. Check out the top photo - my cover is there - first one on the right……
And on Ginny’s blog (the woman who held the class) she has a photo of my journal page at the the top of her page (the purple lady is mine).
I have died and gone to heaven….my artwork is being posted by artists that I admire….this must man I’m an artist too! Who knew???
OMG - I just returned from a three day art camp with Teesha Moore - the mother of art journaling. I had such a blast in Cleveland (who knew?)
Ok, actually, let me start out by saying that upon my arrival at the airport and getting picked up by cohort Kerry Burns, we made a wrong turn (that damned GPS!) and ended up in the middle of what we thought was a crime scene…dead body in the middle of the road (under a sheet), crime scene tape all around, and 4 police cruisers.
Really….is this why they call it the “mistake on the lake” city? Turns out that on the evening news it was actually a fatal motorcycle accident, but still. Not the way I planned to start my art retreat…..(and yes, I’m very sad about the man who perished, but really…I paid $400 for this retreat so who needs to start on such a downer???) Sheesh!!!!
On the first day we actually made our journal, and this was, by far, the hardest part for me. I’ve never bound a book in my life, and with a room full of 30 “professional” artists I was a little intimidated. Turns out that both Kerry and I held our own, thank you. And we were having fun, which most of the other “artists” didn’t really get. We laughed and giggled, and they were more interested in talking about themselves and how great they were, so we just tuned them out.
On days two and three we really got to work inside of the journals. Who knew you could spend hours and hours on just one page? The minutia is incredible, but it turned out to be so much fun.
I really enjoyed learning about all the layering techniques and different ideas from Teesha, and of course getting a chance to get critiqued by her was amazing.
She said she thought I really “got it” so I think I’m well on my way to enjoying this art journaling thing. Now the hard part will be to dedicate a chunk of time every day to this, but who knows? Maybe there’s an artist in me yet!
Bri and I decided to have a yummy snack in Jamestown, RI on this lively Memorial Day, so we stopped and picked up his mom (loving called Sped) and headed over to Trattoria Simpatico in Jamestown.
The park at the end of the main street was filled with flags for the holiday, looking out over the water, and the crisp breeze that was blowing really made them snap in the wind - quite a sight!
We love to lunch at the Trattoria in the summer because it’s such a pretty place to sit and enjoy some really good food at a relaxing pace - we love how they don’t try to rush you out, no matter how busy they are.
But you know how Jamestown is in the summer - no parking! We ended up parking up the street and strolling down at a leisurely pace, peeking into shop windows and enjoying the view along the way.
We sat out on the patio under the tent and spent a few minutes deciding what we were hungry for. Bri and I opted for sandwiches, while Sped chose a light dinner.
Bri got the Trattoria burger and sweet potato fries and practically licked the plate clean. He said the burger was cooked to perfection and hardly came up for a breath.
I got the grilled chicken sandwich (they had run out of prosciutto which would normally go on this) but it was really yummy. The dressing was really rich and creamy and I made a bit of a mess but it was worth it!
Sped enjoyed the veal dish - three large pieces of veal with mashed potatoes and sauteed veggies. She only finished off half of it and brought home the rest in a doggy bag to heat up for dinner tonight! This is the lunch size portion, so imagine what the dinner portion must be! A nice little jazz trio played background music while we dined and we really had a lovely time - just like we always do!
We said goodbye to the Trattoria and schlepped up the hill back to the car. Time to drive Sped back to Newport and spend some time with her and her dog Gypsy before heading home to North Kingstown.
We headed back over the Newport bridge - it never gets old, does it? Late spring days like this remind me of why I love living in Rhode Island. It felt like being on a vacation - just what the doctor ordered!
My flowers are in bloom! Yay!
I can’t believe that everything is blooming here so early in North Kingstown, Rhode Island but it seems that things are popping a few weeks early. Not that I’m complaining because I love harvesting the rewards to put inside all around the house. My peach roses this year are just spectacular with more than 50 petals per flower - I am so thrilled!
And my peonies have just started blooming in the past few days, very slowly. Only a few are in bloom but there promise to be many more - both pink and white.
Is there anything better than fresh flowers on the windowsill?????
I spent the morning with my hands in the warm dirt all around my house today. The sun has been peeking in and out and it was a great morning for planting.
I put in a few new annuals in a couple of the bare spots on the side of the house…we’ll see how they turn out. Along the way I really took notice of how early some of my flowers are popping this year. Strange for Rhode Island, since we don’t normally have such an early blooming, at least not in MY garden, since my roses in the back are really starting to pop, which doesn’t usually happen until early June.
The red bush has been in the yard since we bought the house about 5 years ago and it’s an old fashioned rose - not one of my favorites, but quite hardy. I planted the peach roses next to it just 2 years ago and it has really taken off. Thank you Jackson Perkins catalog!
Isn’t this crazy? Second year growth and it’s already halfway up the house! I have to get a couple of new trellises to put in as it’s gotten so big so fast and I don’t want it to fall over.
The shade garden in the front is coming along quite well also, though there are a couple of bare spots that need a certain something, but I’m not sure what yet. I think we might take a ride over to Seven Arrows next week and see what we can find…they always have great stuff over there!
The hydrangea bushes are coming along quite well also…they are budding like crazy and I think I’m going to have quite a few summer bouquets in the house this year. Last year my lacecap didn’t do so well, but it’s grown a bit and is starting to bud so I’m hopeful I’ll get a few more flowers on it this year. If it still doesn’t do well I think I’ll transplant it to a sunnier spot, as right now it’s on the corner of the front shade garden.
The sunny side garden is getting ready to burst into color in a few weeks. These will turn a deep golden color, a nice compliment to the purple catmint that grows like crazy right in front of it. Wish the color lasted all year.
Speaking of color, it’s the first year my clematis has bloomed…I’m so excited! What a great fuschia it is! The rose next to it is going to be a creamy yellow and the long blades of the grassy bush next to it really compliments it I think.
And then the baptista on the other side of the yard is in bloom - it was planted last year so I’m thrilled that it’s come back. This was a great find from White Flower Farm on our trek there last spring, so now I’ll have to go back and find something wonderful to compliment it, as there’s still a bare spot right next to this.
Can you tell I’m really enjoying gardening this spring? It’s so great to have some time off to be able to play in the dirt. It’s such a great reward to have things burst into bloom when all you give them is a little sunshine, water and love.
And remember the peonies I told you about in yesterday’s blog - the ones from Robin Hollow Farm in Saunderstown? Well here are the cut stems I got at the open house yesterday - they came with some bells of Ireland and I mixed them with some of the baptista from my own garden and they’re sitting on my dining table and they look GREAT!
Ahhhh…spring in Rhode Island has been so great so far - can summer be far behind?????
What an amazingly beautiful day it was in southern Rhode Island!!!!
Brian actually had the day off today, so we started out bright and early (okay, for us that means sometime before noon) and decided to stop for a late breakfast at Wickford Junction on Route 1A. Now, do you notice anything different about Bri’s breakfast and mine? No? How about PORTION SIZE?
So here is Brian’s breakfast - eggs, corned beef hash, home fries and sourdough toast….
and here’s mine….
two slices of french toast.
Hmm…what’s wrong with this picture? That’s not to say that my french toast wasn’t yummy, because it was out of this world! Texas toast dipped in egg batter and coated with crushed Frosted Flakes, coconut and almonds, and sweet syrup. Wow. No wonder my blood sugar is bordering on dangerous. Nothing like dessert for breakfast, right? Hey, I had some orange juice with it - my fruit for the day.
So after breakfast (as soon as we could waddle back to the car) we headed out to Robin Hollow Farm in Saunderstown for their once a year plant sale. Just the drive alone reminds of why I love living in Rhode Island…through the winding tiny street, past Gilbert Stuart’s home with the watermill, and there it is - a RI treasure. Beautiful stone buildings and walls and an abundance of green…what could be better?
I try to make a habit of going to farmer’s markets here in RI throughout the year, and we really do have some great ones. Robin Hollow Farm sells fresh flowers at a few of them and I ALWAYS come home with a bouquet of flowers that look like they should be in a Martha Stewart wedding photo. Really. I’m a flower freak (I will spend money on fresh flowers first and eat PB&J instead of steak) and they really push all my buttons. I can’t believe that they grow so many beautiful and exotic flowers here in Rhode Island. Last summer I brought home peonies that were the size of dinner plates, and I’m not exaggerating. I had friends over for brunch and they talked about those flowers for weeks.
Well, at the plant sale I was really looking for a few perennials to fill some blank spots in my garden, so I found a couple of beautiful morning glories that I’m going to plant next to my light post in the front of the house, and a couple of other things I’m going to try in my side garden and see how they do. I love trying out new things every year and seeing what works. Robin Hollow Farm is definitely a favorite now, along with White Flower Farm in CT…both are worth a day trip.
After the flower hunt, we stopped over at Casey Farm, again on Route 1A and caught the end of the Coastal Grower’s Market (we would have gotten there early, but you know Bri….up at 10 and it takes him at least an hour to get out the door…). Not much to choose from by the time we got there (Bri was Jonesing for some almond croissants from Olga’s Cup & Saucer but they were sold out), so we decided to spend a little time visiting the chickens. Did I mention that we both love chickens? There’s something so cute about them…..but that’s another subject for another day.
When we got home we decided to do a little work in the yard, so we finally put up a couple of the trellises I just got, to support some of the rosebushes that were planted last year. I can’t believe how well they did over the winter and they’re really growing well and budding already. I don’t know why I’m always so thrilled when something that I planted grows, but it’s so amazing isn’t it? This side garden will be filled out with pink and white peonies, yellow lillies, purple catmint, hostas of several shades and my beautiful roses that will be yellow and pink. I’ll post photos in a month or two when everything comes into bloom… I can’t wait.
I know, I know. Don’t you hate it when people are such bad bloggers that they let days, sometimes weeks go by without posting anything?
I have a good excuse. I’ve been busy doing artwork. Ok…maybe not REAL artwork, but I’m tryin’ here. I’m really LOVING collage and mixed media work. I think I’m actually making progress at it too!
So I took an online class to learn how to doodle….sound ridiculous doesn’t it? Well, you’d be surprised at how much there it to it - really. Who knew there was a right way and a wrong way to doodle. So, after getting the black and white basics down, I decided to try adding some color.
Pretty cool, right? But wait - it get’s BETTER! Lastly, I tried doing some watercolor work on the paper first, and THEN doing the doodling. Wow…I am really starting to get the hang of this! Who knows where this could lead…
And last but not least, I signed up to take a class in Ohio with Teesha Moore (I can hardly wait!) and I sent my registration in inside of a collaged envelope that I made. Well, lo and behold, Ginny (the artist who runs all the classes) posted photos of the envelope on her blog - OMG. She called it ART! Ok, that means I am officially an artist now. See, the classes are paying off. Is it too late to run off to Paris, paint every day and live like a bum? Oh yeah, I’m a bit too old for that - and besides, I like to eat every day. Guess I’ll just have to console myself with doodling for a couple of hours every night here in North Kingstown. Things could be worse.
