Today

When I first saw the little spider, it was crossing a light, warm area of the painting.  It's black body was quite visible, but it's legs disappeared against the paint.  Then it crawled onto the frame, and suddenly it's legs appeared and it's body disappeared.  ~ Yes, I'm easily entertained.

Apt. K ~ In the Kitchen

I really just wanted to show you our adorable grandson getting a kitchen-sink bath!  But since we're in the kitchen, I'll go ahead and show you the rest of it, plus the so-tiny "Butler's Pantry," which houses the fridge and dishes.

Step One

Taking one little step forward after a 6-month break.  It amazes me that moving the fingers again to weave some paper (chocolate wrapper*) this afternoon almost instantly inspired me.  I want to make some little samples of various weaves.  And then make them into a book.  Using only fibers (paper, thread, etc.) and no glue or acrylic medium or such.  I hesitate to announce this, as things are so apt to change . . . but maybe stating my intention will help propel me to step two.

* Askinosie single-origin, fair trade chocolate.

It Must Be Spring

My first hand-picked bouquet from our grandson (with considerable help from his mom -- he's just 5 months old).  As a child I picked henbit and dandelion bouquets for my mom, my kids picked them too, and so it continues.  I'm so glad Spring comes to Texas in February!

Dear Art in Red Wagons, I love your dish garden!  Now I want to make one.
 

Saturday Morning

It's a lovely [gray, drippy] morning, and I've been distracted by tea and candlelight.

My plan for the morning is to finally, after six months, drag out the moving box of art supplies and put them in their new home -- the old buffet I showed you before.  (And the buffet still wears it's own skin rather than a coat of paint.)  Maybe with supplies at hand something creative will happen.

All's Well That Ends Well : Cookie Edition

If you ever make sugar cookies with your sister-in-law's recipe but substitute white whole wheat flour for regular flour because it's all you have, you probably shouldn't assume that the texture of the cookies would be better if you used a bit less flour than the recipes calls for (as I did).  If you do use less flour, when you take them out of the oven you will probably find to your horror (as I did) that they have all run together.  I have occasionally experienced this disappointment in the past, but THIS TIME I had a sudden inspiration.  While the mess was still fresh-out-of-the-oven hot, I applied my cookie cutters a second time, right on the cookie sheet.  Voilà!  Perfect hearts.  Why had I never thought of this before?  (As a bonus, I then had a bowl of trimmings to nibble with tea, or maybe stir into ice cream or pudding, or crush for a pie crust, or . . . .)

I sandwiched some of them with melted dark chocolate, some with apricot fruit spread, then drizzled with chocolate and icing.

    

Ranunculi

Get yourself some flowers!

Buffet

I just brought home this old oak buffet from the antique store in our neighborhood (thanks to the generosity of my mother-in-law).  Now the big decision:  oil it up to refresh the finish?  Or paint it??  If it were painted the off-white color of the wall, the room wouldn't seem so crowded with dark furniture.  Painted one of the colors from the poster it would provide a nice pop of color.  But do I really want to cover the wood?  Do share your thoughts, please!

Happy New Year

Enjoying the last evening of 2011, and wishing you all a blessed year in 2012.

[Clementine candle instructions here.]

Christmas in Apt. K

We had a lovely Christmas with family, hope you did too.  Did you notice we added a manger with star and an angel this year to our Christie Cone nativity?  And in case you were wondering, I did finish Grayson's little stocking (my first sock!) thanks to Staci's wonderful tutorials at verypink.com.  I'm so excited to have discovered her website and blog! 

Catching Up

1. Finished an afghan for James.  I crocheted this with all natural fibers -- primarily wool and alpaca.  I loved working with these yarns.  When it was finished I decided to "full" it a bit in the washer.  I forgot that some of the cream-colored wool was "washable."  You can see in the second photo that the regular wool got very fuzzy and the washable did not.  I've made the decision to like this result.  Variety of texture is interesting, right?

2.  We celebrated Thanksgiving in Apt. K with a non-traditional meal -- Mexican -- [and thank you to everyone who contributed to the feast!]  We set the table with  handmade dishes, autumn leaves gathered by James, fresh red peppers, and limes for squeezing.

3.  Baked some Cranberry Bread for Christmas giving.  The recipe was given to me by Aunt Hazel some years ago.  (Fresh cranberries, dried apricots, golden raisins, finely chopped pecans, etc.)  Due to a last-second impulse, I decided to make it dairy free.  I stuck the butter and sour cream back in the fridge, and added olive oil and applesauce instead . . . with mixed results.  It's pretty tasty.  I reduced the amounts of oil and applesauce, but it still made a more moist bread.  Which is nice in its way, but made it more difficult to get the bread out of the pans intact.  Which is why I will give one little loaf as a gift, and serve the other three at home.  "Spoonbread," anyone?

4.  I've been spending some sweet time with this little gentleman:

5.  And today's news:  I'm about to start a little knitting project. (A Christmas stocking for the little gentleman.)  I've knitted blankets and scarves quite a bit, but this is my first time to try a sock.

yarn √

circular needles √

double-pointed needles √

pattern √

I'll let you know how it goes.  

Garlic + Oil + Bread

Our beautiful "grate plate" was made by local potter Roy Odom.  Grate garlic on the plate's sharp little projections, then add olive oil and freshly ground black pepper, dip your crusty bread and enjoy!  (You  also might want to add balsamic vinegar, salt, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes to the mix.)  This plate also comes in a set with bread plate and cruets.

This is my souvenir from the 2011 Fort Worth Music Festival this past weekend.  We enjoyed fun bands, food trucks (including our favorite Salsa Limon) and art/craft vendors, and the weather was lovely!

Son of my Son

I cannot contain such joy!  It flows out in laughter and tears.

Autumn

So grateful today.   That our formerly painted-shut and screen-less windows are now open and have portable screens.  For yesterday's much-needed sprinkle of rain and today's fresh breeze.  For the new light-blocking shades that allowed a good night's sleep in spite of the security light that shines in our bedroom window.  For the mama cardinal splashing in the birdbath outside my window.  For two new places to sit in our living room.  For family and friends to sit in them.

Now if that grandbaby would just hurry up . . . .

Home

Settling into Apt K and loving it.  Knitting, nesting, container gardening--I'll share some of that with you soon.   Waiting for the grandson to finally make his appearance.  I just finished knitting this little blanket for him.  The color is actually a deeper teal than these photos show.  

The Nest

I made this paper weaving months ago but never showed it.  Seems appropriate now, as we prepare to move from the apartment we've called home for the past two years and to make our new little nest in a 1910 apartment building.  

Domestic Arts

I've been busy with homely pleasures.  Crocheting for our eagerly expected grandson, birthday baking, and . . .

also getting ready to move to a new [old!] apartment.  I'm feeling a serious case of nesting coming on -- more about that soon.

Regarding the cake:  I used this recipe from the Ghirardelli website, but I used almond milk instead of cow milk, and folded crushed cookies (Newman O's)  into the batter before baking.  I "floured" the baking pans with cocoa powder so the edges would be pretty left unfrosted.  Also stirred crushed cookies into my buttercream frosting.  So good.

                                         Grand Fudge Cake

• 3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1 1/3 cups milk
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and lightly flour two 9-inch round cake pans. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low, and add vanilla and eggs one at a time, scraping bowl after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and milk (starting and ending with the flour mixture), while mixing on low speed. Continue to mix until smooth. Pour into prepared pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of cake comes out clean.

Simple #4 Editing

8" x 8" 

Another piece I made last month including woven catalog pages.  

(detail)

Lynn shared this quote in her comment on the last post:  

“Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Just as skilled editing can make a good story great (shall we say perfect?)  removing the unnecessary and inappropriate can make life better.  Of course, everyone has their own idea of "perfection" in this regard and mine continues to change as the years go by.  (I recently discovered I'm no longer merely "simple,"  but am now considered "minimalist.")

Anyone else have thoughts about simplicity?  

Simple #3 Retain the Poetry

I've read that the maxim of Japanese tea masters in regard to design was "pare down to the very minimum while still retaining the poetry."  While we continue to pare down our possessions, we want the things we keep and the new things we acquire to be beautiful and meaningful.  Like these dishes.  Of simple design, handmade from clay, bearing the imprint of oak leaves picked up during one of our walks to the park, and made by someone we love.  Poetry.