Place and Play – Block Island Day 5

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I am not much of a beach bather, but I am an absolutely avid beachcomber. The evidence sits on shelves in my garage. Stacked in boxes and bins are hundreds of pieces of driftwood, seashells, sea glass and even fishing lures that have washed up on the beaches I visit. I also enjoy creating cairns (more on these tomorrow) and stone sea nymphs. Here are a few pictures of this year’s creations. I named the photo above “Three Sisters.” I am a part of that three sister trio. I am the stone maiden on the right. My sister Amy is on the left, and sister Sue is in the middle.

I also really enjoyed putting together the bride and groom beneath the driftwood arch. Fun! Yes, it’s true…I will never grow up.

Place and Pressed Flowers – Pressing the Odd Item/Block Island Day 4

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Clayhead Beach on Block Island is probably my favorite beach. This past winter, storms and currents deposited extra sand on the shoreline. The stretch of sand along Clayhead has always been sensational, and now is better than ever. The large rocks just off the beach create amazing tidal pools. These pools capture hermit crabs, periwinkles, starfish, and this year I even saw a sea urchin for the first time. The pools are a big draw for beachcombers, young and old.

Seaweed is abundant on Block Island and grows in these pools. In the past it was farmed and sold. While I was researching the seaweed, I found this article about a present day forager of seaweed. You can read the article here: Seaweed Forager – Jen Lighty

Here are some photographs of the seaweed on the island.

I especially loved the look of the frondy seaweed in the picture above and decided to try to press it. Luckily, I had thought ahead and brought a few books for pressing along with me. I gathered up a cupful of the seaweed then soaked it in fresh water, changing the water several times. I then spread the clean seaweed on several layers of newspaper and left it in the sun. Within a matter of hours the seaweed had lost all moisture, but unfortunately was also rock hard. To press it in this brittle condition would have shattered it. I decided it was an impossible task. Happily, I didn’t throw it out right away, but forgot and left the hardened seaweed on the balcony overnight.

Hooray! Thank goodness for my occasional absent-mindedness. During the night the seaweed reabsorbed a bit of moisture from the dew and fog. It was not wet, but only sticky and damp, and a bit pliable. I put it between the pages of my book and in a few days it was hardened again, but now perfectly flat.

The dried and pressed seaweed held on to a bit of its pink color, but all the greens and whites faded out or darkened into browns and tan. The pieces, even though pressed, are still fairly thick. I don’t think I can use it in my usual greeting card artwork. One idea I have thought of is to use it as a stencil in my painting. I also could apply paint with a brush and use the pressed seaweed as a stamp. Any ideas for me? Please leave a comment. I’d love to get some input on how to use it.

Place – Block Island/Day 3

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Can you spot the deer watching us from the meadow in Rodman’s Hollow?

Day three was overcast and gray, but that wasn’t such a bad thing; we decided to hike the mile through Rodman’s Hollow and walk along the beach below it’s bluffs.  Hiking beneath cloudy skies is easier than trudging along in blazing sunshine and heat. This nature walk and the descent down the side of the bluff to the beach is not for the fainthearted. The climb is a bit dicey, but worth it to Joe and I, so we carefully picked our way down the steep trail.  The view of homes on the bluffs is one of my favorite sights on the island.

It’s interesting to watch the homes come into focus as we walk towards them.

After we scaled the bluff again, and hiked back to the car, the day deteriorated into heavy showers. Luckily for us the Olympics were on all afternoon. We watched the Games and Events and tried out every box and bag of snacks we brought with us: cheese puffs, candy bars, jelly belly beans, peanut butter crackers, potato chips, Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies and goldfish.

I woke up in the middle of the night and got out of bed to take this picture of the moonlight shining through the dark and gloomy clouds. It was quite the eerie atmosphere. (Or could my mood have been affected by too many sweets eaten during the day?)

Place – Block Island/Day 2

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Day two dawned gorgeous with the promise of blue skies and sunshine. We decided to explore Grace’s Cove and Dorie’s Cove. I was on a quest to find stones shaped like hearts, a favorite pastime of mine on the beach. While we were walking we came upon this small beach hut made of scavenged materials: driftwood, lobster cages, rocks, rope…anything and everything that washes up on the sand was used. I always find these impromptu shelters interesting.

We also stopped and watched as a group riding horses along the edge of the waves passed us on the beach.

Here are a few of the heart-shaped stones I found during our stay.

Place – Point Judith and Block Island, Rhode Island – Day One

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Last week we began our week-long vacation on Block Island, Rhode Island. To beat New York traffic, we leave from our New Jersey home at 2:00 AM. Yes, it’s early, and yes, we are usually very tired by the time we pull into the ferry parking lot at Point Judith.

Joe waiting in line to drive the car in reverse onto the ferry. I’m glad he is the one to navigate this task, and I am able to board the ferry to find a table with a good window and view.

The ferry always takes off right on time. We enjoy watching the fishing boats and jetty as we begin the hour-long ferry ride to Block Island.

Soon the beautiful bluffs of Block Island (New Shoreham, RI) come into view.

Within a half hour of arriving on the island we were on West Beach, enjoying the day, and even catching up on a bit of the sleep we missed.

I enjoyed talking to this young guy who had collected quite a few mussels and was building a fire pit for cooking them. He planned to steam them in some white wine and butter inside a large tomato can. By the time he had built the large pit he had already drank the wine, and decided to cook the mussels in butter alone. I didn’t have a chance to ask him how they turned out, but I bet they were amazingly good.

Our next stop was checking in at the home we stay at while we are on the island. The Upstairs is a such a lovely place to spend our week. It is built on a beautiful piece of land overlooking a conservation property. While we were out on the balcony the first night Joe pointed out this beautiful rainbow in the sky. What a great way to start our time on the island. A few raindrops are welcome when they paint one of God’s masterpieces in the sky.

We were blessed with even more of God’s beautiful works of wonder as we watched the sun set from the balcony off of our room.

To view information for “The Upstairs,” check out this link:  The Upstairs on Block Island.

Product – Survival Hammock

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On a recent camping trip my nephew brought along a survival hammock. This lightweight, full sized hammock fits inside a small bag and easily opens up into a strong and durable, weatherproof hammock. We were amused at how prepared he was for any problems he might encounter. All within reach were his flip-flops, a hatchet, and a fly swatter. He was prepared for any emergency.

These hammocks are quite expensive, but for the serious camper and hiker, worth the expense.

Play – Swings!

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Papa loved the new disc swing so much he wouldn’t give anyone else a turn on it. Just kidding though…big boys and little boys, and even Nanny (me) loved the new swing.

This project was so easy to do. Find a sturdy tree limb, buy a wooden disc at the lumber store, drill a large hole, string a strong rope and tie it onto the tree limb. Voila! A terrific swooping swing.

Product – Oscar Mayer Angus Beef Hot Dogs

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You always crave what you can’t have. I don’t know how much I “love” hot dogs, but because I have a bad reaction to the sulfites in them and other foods that contain this chemical, I don’t eat them. So, of course I crave hot dogs, but never eat them at picnics, fairs or barbecues. I was so happy to find these Angus Beef hot dogs in the supermarket this summer. They are free of artificial preservatives. Hooray! They were worth a try, although I found them quite expensive compared to other hot dogs. The flavor was good, not spectacular, the skin a little chewy, but I was eating a real hot dog.

If there were any sulfites, they were negligible because I was fine and never felt ill effects.

Here is information on sulfite allergy: Sulfite allergies

Planting – Square Foot Garden and Container Update

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My Square Foot Garden is still going strong. I have replanted my spring section with Fall vegetables. The summer section is bearing fruit, and I am harvesting the bounty. The peppers are delicious, the eggplant are producing fruit. The newcomer, spaghetti squash, is huge and starting to turn golden. The bush beans are quite a thrill. I planted some new varieties and have had so much fun watching them fruit and dry on the vine. I have to check my cucumbers daily to make sure one isn’t hiding away becoming a MONSTER of a CUKE. The photo below might not seem like such a large cucumber, until you realize it is a Kirby pickling sized cuke.

In my garden containers, the tomatoes are cascading over the tops and are bearing quite a bit of fruit. Even though the rascally squirrels steal some of the bounty, I have brought some of the tomatoes inside to my windowsill and they are ripening.  (A neighbor has since told me that this is due to the dry drought conditions we are experiencing. The squirrels ease their thirst with the juice inside the tomatoes.)

Black Brandywine, Amish Paste, Cherry Tomatoes & Kirby Cucumber

I’m excited as I daydream about what surprises my Autumn garden might bring.

Prose – Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

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To say I have an abundance of books is an understatement. I am blessed to have extra rooms to spread out in, and I have collections of not just my books, but the treasured volumes of other family members too. Still, at times, I feel I don’t have anything to read. I love to look through the donated books in library sales and thrift stores, and almost never buy a full-priced book. Recently I came upon a copy of Dr. Zhivago. I absolutely love the movie, the first version starring Omar Sharif and Julie Christie, and also thought the new version starring Keira Knightley and Hans Matheson was done quite well.

The book is filled with some of the most beautiful prose I have ever read. I understood why when I visited Wikipedia’s page on the life of Boris Pasternak. The link can be found here: Boris Pasternak. Pasternak writes so vividly and with such skill that I can perfectly visualize the scenes he describes.

“It was a dry frosty November day with a still, leaden sky and a few snowflakes coming down one by one. They spun slowly and hesitantly before settling on the pavement like fluffy gray dust.”

I am on page seventy-three of the 560 pages. It will take me awhile, but the reading of the familiar story will be well worth it to me.

Here is a beautiful Youtube slide show I found accompanied by Lara’s Theme.

People -Susan Boyle/Christmas in July

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“…Whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” Galatians 6:7

 

I love this Susan Boyle rendition of Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day.” The song is not only perfect for the Christmas season, but a good message to keep in your heart all the year through.

Phascination – Baby Clams on the Beach

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This is just a little blurb of a post about a “phascinating” natural phenomenon. Hundreds, upon thousands, most likely even millions of baby clams in the surfside sand at Strathmere, NJ each year. Smaller than a dime, many amazing colors, stripes and patterns make up the tiny clamshells. The baby clams wash up in the waves, they dig down, they wash up, they dig down. It is one of those endless cycles you can become almost hynotized by as you watch. Here’ s a little blurb.

Baby Clams on Strathmere Beach

 

Place – My Crazy-Happy Back Porch

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It all started with this crazy-happy placemat I found in Macy’s…I love it, and even better, it was on sale for almost nothing. As my Mom often says about her great bargains…”They were almost giving them away.” My husband and I had repainted our back porch in the traditional white woodwork and gray floor, but I wanted something wild and colorful and inviting as decoration. Sometimes it is hard to come up with the perfect color scheme, but I found all the inspiration I needed in the placemat, and I was off to the decorating races.

I painted a few thrift store tables and chairs a glossy black. They took a lot of time, but I was really pleased with the way they turned out.

I added a few throw pillows and repainted the porch swing a bright, vivid green called, “Tree Frog.” I love the paint and I love the name of the color, and I’m on the lookout for some tree frog additions of some kind…I’ll post when I find them.

I also painted a large acrylic canvas for the back wall.

Plastic Adirondack chairs are bright, resilient, and very easy to keep clean.

 A few more pieces of this and that and the porch is near completion, and yes, it is used daily, usually more than once. Every morning I sit on the swing and have my morning coffee and devotions. I feel God’s presence all around me as the birds sing and the sun shines, or the rain patters, and I rock and read and pray.

My grandsons helped me make this special floral arrangement for the table. A dollar store beach bucket filled with sand from their sandbox, an inexpensive and durable windmill of butterflies, some fabulous “jewels,” and the kid-friendly porch and dining table was ready for our first meal together…pizza for lunch. Happily, the wind was feisty and blowing, the windmill spun and fluttered and happy little voices cried out, “It’s Spinning!!!” God is so good to me!

Play and Pinterest – Magnifying glasses and Painting Feet

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I know I’ve mentioned it before, and I’m sure I will mention it again, but one of my favorite sites on the Internet is Pinterest. I have found so many good ideas there for fun projects and activities to do with my grandsons. Here is a link to my Grandkids Fun board.

Pinterest Link: Grandkids Fun on PINTEREST

We’ve been working on creating pictures using paint on their feet. It’s a “ticklish” business and so much FUN!!!

 

The beginnings of “Butterflies.”

Pleasure – Flash Mob Concerts

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I was recently sent a link to this terrific flash-mob concert video. I love it…especially the exuberance of the children who enter in the joy of the moment by dancing. Enjoy.

Place – New Hope, Pennsylvania

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I love visiting the quaint town of New Hope, Pennsylvania. The town of Lambertville, known for it’s art and antiques, is just a stone’s throw across the river.

The town is great, but leave plenty of time for navigating the traffic flow. I took the pictures below as we made our way through town on a holiday weekend. New Hope is crowded, but well worth the visit. If you have time take the NewHope-Ivyland Railroad and visit the sister town of Peddlar’s Village.

Pressed Flowers – Bible Verses

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I’ve been creating pressed flower greeting cards using some of my stored pressed flowers combined with favorite Bible Verses. I think the two go together well. The flowers on the card front are: florets from the top of a marigold bloom, magenta lobelia, vinca, ferns and other wildflower foliage.

 “But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

 

Problem-Solving and Posies – Too Much of a Good Thing

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I had a second crop of lilies bloom in the last few weeks. They are very long-stemmed, some nearing almost four feet in height. We’ve been having some violent and windy storms so I cut most of the stems and brought them indoors to enjoy.  When I came downstairs the morning after bringing the flowers in the fragrance had become so strong I almost couldn’t breathe. It filled each room with a scent that was good, but almost wasn’t…does that make any sense? If you have ever smelled Stargazer Lilies it will make perfect sense to you.  The fragrance was sweet, but was also over the top, and suddenly began to smell like a room filled with stinky gym socks. My solution was to place the vase of lilies on the porch where they could emit their fragrance without overpowering my sense of smell. The solution was perfect. I could still enjoy and smell the lilies without feeling overpowered.

Floral Arranging Tip: The anthers of lilies are notorious for staining clothing.  Most floral arrangers remove the anthers. Conservatories such as Longwood Gardens also remove the anthers to keep the orangish-brown pollen from staining the clothes of visitors. If all these precautions fail and you do get anther pollen on your clothing, instead of rubbing it, which will only set the stain deep into the fabric, use a pipe cleaner bent like a paper clip and gently tease the excess pollen onto the chenille of the pipe cleaner. It won’t remove all the pollen, but it will save the stain from being as noticeable.

Produce – Garden Harvesting/Appaloosa Bean

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My gardens are beginning to produce large amounts of vegetables. I am gloriously happy as I pick the fruits of my labor and place them in my trug basket. I have many cucumbers, squash, tomatoes (the ones the squirrels don’t eat) herbs and a new bush bean called Appaloosa Beans.

I let these beans become completely dry on the bush. I only grew a few since it was something I hadn’t tried in the past. I am very pleased with the look of the bean. I don’t have enough to make a bean dish with them so I am going to save them and use them as the star attraction in winter soups and stews.