Tuesday, October 8, 2013

SUMMER SNAPS

 


Camera snaps titled:  2013, Summer.

 
 



My usual view of the percolator until I can drink at least half of it.


 
 
 
 
Stash of sunglasses and keys in some of Caro’s HALL dishes.
 

 






Some wonderful old dishes Chris came lugging home in a sack, from a roadside flea market.   They make the table look like you’ve spilled out every crayon in the Box of Eight.

 
 
 
 
 
 

We love the make-your-own soup at the Formosa---you just take a bowl, choose what you like from the array of ingredients, and they simmer it for you.  Chris  likes a bit of seafood in his, and mine is always like a bowl of wilted salad in a little broth.  With maybe a pot-sticker or two for garnish.

 
 



Miss Effie, who has been with us through four houses, having been retrieved from the dumpster at the first one.   She came with no sticks, and so she sits, nesting for all time, as she weathers and fades and breaks under the spell of time.   Tree loves her, and cuddles her close, to keep her head from leaving her fragile body as she rests trustingly against his verdigris.
 
Every Easter, she sits on a trove of small pastel plastic eggs, which disappear miraculously one Spring night, having hatched and made their way to K-Marts and garden centers all over town. 

And then one day, you'll be checking out a new garden hose, or a new bird feeder, and you'll catch a glimpse of a familiar arch of neck, or a sly look from a knowing eye in a bright pink head, and you'll know you're looking on Miss Effie's fine offspring---your own grand-flams, off to their new homes and exciting adventures.




 
The entrancing ceiling at The Cheesecake Factory.   The pastels just make me smile.

 
 
 
Sweetpea's arsenal of shoe-horns.   She had longed for one for ages, and would appropriate Ganner's nice real-horn one, so when she asked for one for her birthday last year, she got the green one in her big sack of goodies.   The others have just appeared---perhaps a reverse- grooming version of lost socks.
 
  They have myriad uses:  Digging sand, swordfighting---though we do the salute-and-swish of fencing every time, with a hearty “En Garde!” before we fall to.  And a sorta cute aside, I looked it up to see what the proper name for the salute is (salute), and found the info from a charming fencer named Epeecurean.  

 

 It's six-in-three---yes, six---the hook on the end of the green one is oh-so-nifty for getting things off high shelves, and it fits exactly over the tops of cereal boxes stored above the stove, to tip them out into my waiting hands, hoping the last person closed the box.    These tools are handy for retrieving stuff from under stuff and behind furniture, for paddling our boat down the river, for stirring cauldrons and raking up the garden.  
 
Plus, we could dress a centipede in nothing flat.

 
 
 



Caro’s marvelous Blueberry Compote over Homemade Vanilla.




 
 

One of a set of sherbet-chairs which have brightened the patio this Summer.  Can you tell I love pastels? 
 
 
 
 
 

The cluttery corner with a slipshod array of STUFF.  Moire non about the cabinet, and what I should do with it---I’ve longed to paint it cream and fill it with all my pastel dishes.   Would that be a sacrilege to a handmade family heirloom from 1954?

 
 
 

Perhaps the last summer for the grapevines---they’re on steel cables, but are outgrowing the yard.   I DO love to watch the little grapes swell and grow, and now I’m watching the raisins, becoming in the October sun.

 

Carrying that last cup off coffee out onto the Cracker Barrel porch to enjoy in the soft Summer rain.

9 comments:

  1. I love this, Rachel. Summer memories are treasures like found shells from the seashore.

    Now you have me thinking I have been experiencing a deprived existence of life without a shoe horn. I need to address the situation.

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  2. What beautiful summer memories you have captured ... each one a treasure to be remembered and cherished when winter's snow is falling at your door ... and, perhaps, wrapping Miss Effie in a blanket of white until Spring.

    Loved it!

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  3. Good morning Rachel, There is so much to enjoy this morning that I had to look twice to take it all in. Smile.

    I especially love the hutch that is the handmade family treasure. It made me want to look inside and enjoy the wonderful treasurers in there. Don't paint it please.I loved the crayon colored dishes and the Hall cups used as sunglasses etc. holders. So many good things to love but the anniversary card in front of the coffee pot is my favorite. Wait, Miss Effie stories are the best. I hope she makes it through another summer.

    Have a wonderful day and have a cup of coffee for me. I can only drink one cup a day. Caffeine makes me nervous. However, I must have that one boost first thing every morning.

    Love, Jeanne

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  4. Rache, so nice to meet you. Isn't it funny how we intersect in blogland? I think it is some kind of fate. I can't remember where I found you either, but am so glad I did. I don't have a followers button anymore so I'm glad you put me on your sidebar. I need to add more to mine, it just seems I don't have the time after posting and reading blogs. Plus, though I've been doing this since 2008, I am woefully inept at tech stuff. I'm still trying to figure out how to post pictures from my iphone. I use my camera, because that is the only thing I've learned to post from.
    I have a phobic reaction to painting wood, but I think your cabinet would look great painted a creamy white. You can always strip it if you don't like it, though I know you wouldn't want to. I love whites and pastels too. Look forward to reading your blog too.

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  5. Hi, That blueberry compote sure looks good.
    No, I didn't make that it did it on the rising. Wishing you a
    Happy fall day!

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  6. With all respect paid to this lovely post, it is your sidebar that captured my attention this morning. "Strength to your sword arm"??? At first I thought this to be a very nice metaphoric reference to several uber-male sci-fi war cries. Then I thought just perhaps you were referencing the Brenda Ueland book on Midwest sensibilities. Then, I realized that knowing you it was likely both.

    Did I nail it?

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  7. I DO so love October. Where are you. You have not posted since my Happy Birthday on October 8? Thank you for stopping by..I always love seeing you.
    Are you alright?
    Big hugs!
    Mona

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  8. Dear Rachel, I am so sorry Chris's mom passed away. I know he must be so sad. Losing our mothers is so hard and I think he was hoping it would not happen. A normal reaction to news of illness, especially his mom.

    I have been praying and thinking so much about your journey to see your mother-in-law. I was worried when I had not heard anything. Thank you so much for letting me know.
    Prayers and love are sent out to you today.

    Love, Jeanne

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  9. What a lovely meandering post. It's like sitting with you and having a wandering conversation. I vote YES on painting the hutch. Banshee's cabinet is the joy of my kitchen with it's battered white paint, pastel doodles and pastel china knobs.

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