What to Do When Your Daffodils say, "See You Next Year"?

Last night I was walking in the garden checking on the progress of my lilies and the general well-being of my pots.

Whoa! 

What the hell!

My daffodils!

Yikes!

When did this happen?

It's funny how one day they look wonderful and the next day, they look scraggly and pitiful. Not to mention, messy and depressing. 

It was clear my riot of daffodils was saying, "See you next year!"

The good thing is I don't have seven acres of daffs that are looking sickly. So, this afternoon, I braided up my pots and in a little while, I'll compost the braid and the bulbs will sleep the sleep of the righteous 'til next spring.

Certainly, I could cut them back, but I really believe it's important for all the nutrients to go back into the bulb. It's probably an old wife's tale. It's sort of like believing in Heaven. Why not? What's the worst that can happen if you are wrong?

I figure you can get away with a multitude of sins if things are orderly. Chaos and sin are a bad combo!

 

At least when I walk under the pergola, it feels cared for. That and orderliness is a good combo!

 

My day lilies in my large Italian terra cotta pot have filled in nicely and perhaps best of all, the daffodils bulbs can happily go take in all the nurtients they need without looking messy.

Day 33 Everyday Grateful ~
Marylou came by for a visit.

Sunny, bright, still. Happy.

What The Hell is Weft and Warp?

Weft and warp are weaving terms. From simple one-over/one-under homespun to intricate brocades, jacquards and matelassé, all woven patterns in fabric are generated by making the weft and warp do what you want.

So, what is weft and warp and how can I be sure which is which?

I think in pictures. Unless I have a mental picture of something, it's sometimes hard for me to grasp a concept. When I was in college and we were studying fabric. I just couldn't get weft and warp straight. Because I didn't weave, I just didn't have confidence as to which was really which.

Enter Star Trek. When James Tiberius Kirk said, "Take us up to Warp Speed, Mr. Sulu." brings his arm up, straightens his elbow, points at the flight deck window and the stars go whizzing by, I finally got it. Warp is the "go foward." It's the length. The warp is the fiber put on the loom first. It's the reason manufacturers can weave 300+ yards at a time. When a bolt of fabric is unrolled across the counter in the fabric shop, you are seeing the warp in action. That leaves the weft. It goes side-to-side and makes the pattern.

Ramses' scarf is a one-over/one-under homespun. The warp is linen. The weft (side-to-side) is all Ramses. See? 

Wow! What a Great Dog! Does He Shed Much?

You know how when you're listening to the radio and the announcer says, "this next story contains subject matter which may be distressing to some listeners?"

Well, this blog post may be distressing to some readers who have a low tolerance for eeeeuuuuwww things. If you do, stop reading now and tune in tomorrow.

More about Ramses:

As you know, he's a massive dog. Not in the 200# variety, but in the 140# variety. Ramses is a Leonberger. It's an old German breed from Leonberg, Germany. It was bred to be the town mascot ~ the Lion Dog. Lion City, Lion Dog. Get it?

Bred in the middle of the 19th Century, Ramses' forebears were Newfoundland, Great Pyrenees, and St. Bernard dogs. Noble, hairy dogs all. They actually only have one flaw. They drool. Not just drool, mind you. They are professional droolers.

Their drool can be found on lampshades, on the ceiling cornice moulding, on the ceiling fan as it spins over the dining room table, across the Dutch master oil painting you found for $5.00 at Goodwill, on the seat of your pants, down the inside of your thigh, running down the windows in your car.

While I consider myself an evolved person, I'm sooooo not into drool.

Leonbergers don't drool. Ramses is the perfect dog. Well, there is one thing. He sheds. Leonbergers "blow their coats" a couple of times a year. This is where you have to really love euphemisms. When I say blow their coat, I mean sacks full of hair, vacuum canisters emptied three times full of hair; I mean, when they got up from the floor, they leave a dog body print of clumps of hair on the floor, the carpet. The carpet in my bedroom looks like a terrifying pilly sweater.

They are professional shedders.

And, their hair is like cashmere. Ramses' undercoat is this wonderful apricot colour. Every time I'd throw out a giant bag of hair, I'd think, "this is so wonderful, it's a shame to pitch it out."

Well, over the years, I'd watch my good friend Grita turn fibers of all kinds into glorious needlecraft. I asked her if she spun. Yes, in fact, she did. I told her about Ramses' hair. And, she allowed as how she'd like to give spinning it a try. She pronounced it lovely.

I now have an outlet for all the hair produced by my big hairy hound. Of course, it is beginning to feel a little like taking straw to the miller's daughter to spin into gold, but, so far, she doesn't cringe when I bring her a couple of sacks.


Over the years, I've given her enough of Ramses' hair to spin the wool for a Russian army officer's great coat with matching trousers and vest. Bales!

A while ago, she presented me with a scarf woven from Ramses' hair. Wow! It's fantastic. The warp is linen ~ sort of a deeper than cinnamon, lighter than oxblood red. The weft is all Ramalator! It's gorgeous.

There's only one problem . . .

When people comment on how pretty my scarf is and ask what it is made of, I always wonder what the right answer is. "Dog" feels like a bit of a conversation stopper. I'm working on it.

Day 32 Everyday Grateful ~

Sunny, bright, still. Happy.

The Zen of Sheets on the Line

What a wonderful Mother's Day! Talked with the boys. Talked with my friends. Cleaned up my tall terra cotta pot by the driveway. Removed all the dead ivy ~ sheesh! I thought ivy was immortal! Who knew! Repotted it with Armeria pseudarmeria ~ Joystick Mix.

Spunky! Festive! Fun!

The highlight of the day (what can I say, I'm a simple woman) was hanging my sheets out to dry in the sun.


 I've only hung sheets out for the last few years. I got the bug from a client of mine.

When I was over working on her project, I noticed her sheets hanging in the back yard. It was sunny and breezy and warm and the smell of warm cotton was heavenly! She had the coolest retractable clothes line. It attached to the side of her house and spanned a large part of her backyard. And, when it wasn't needed, it rolled back into its little housing. I wanted one!

Of course, I could never find one. When I went to the places where I might have found one, it wasn't on the top of my list. Then, one day in my travels through my favourite salvage haunts, I saw one ~ out of its package and just sitting there. $5.00. Sold!

I hung it under my back deck and by the hand of God, the one I'd purchased was the 40' model. Side to side ~ perfect.

Now, I'm a sheet hanging fool. Nothing smells more wonderful than sheets hung outside to dry.

So, while it may not seem very much like a Mother's Day thing to do ~ I hung my sheets out to dry.

And, it was heaven! I recommend it.

A very Zen thing to do.
 
  

See my very cool hot tub equipment cart?

Rick and I got it when we went to the closing of I. Magnin's in Seattle. I grabbed it when we first came into the building to use to carry around the things we were buying. Well, one thing led to another and when we went through the checkout line, we'd bought it.

I love it!

I had glass cut to cover the two levels so it is easy to clean but mostly I just like looking at it in its original vintage style. Very French with those massive wheels and iron screening on three sides. Wonderful!

http://tinyurl.com/74jmpx9 one place to find the little retractable clothes line.

More Everyday Grateful ~ Mother's Day 2012

Mother's Day ~ Lessons and Insights

Mother's Day ~ the boys are out of town. The Bear called from Milan for a 45 minute chat. Talked with my little granddaughter; heard that the Dracula pop-up book I bought her a couple of years ago is her favourite bedtime story! Yikes. It's got a middle page of a gnashing, very terrifying wolf who pops out 6" when you open the book flat. And, the more you flex the covers, the more he snaps his jaws! When I bought it, I thought it was fantastic . . . but, then I was worried about its being too scary for the grands. Who knew!

Logan called from Portland. He's getting ready to come to town for Rent this summer. Both the boys will be here in August along with my lovely daughter-in-law and the grands. My daughter-in-law spent the weekend in Paris with a group of friends she met in her ex-pat mothers' group in Milan. Paris in May. Niiiice! The Bear said, it's like flying from Seattle to Portland ~ $40. I had to remind him, it's nothing like flying to Portland. For $40, it's cheaper to fly to Paris than to stay in Milan!

Oh, this wonderful generation of children.

I was thinking of my mother and my friends who are mothers; all the things I've learned from these wonderful women in my life.

My mother was S*M*A*R*T, she was extremely well-read, inquisitive, discerning, supportive, had an eye for detail and was a total man magnet.

My friend Barb is S*M*A*R*T, a true and generous friend. Has a perfect sense of what she calls being a goalie. When I run a problem past her, she gives me insight into how to avoid disaster from the start. I learned how to prepare a complete meal from her. She's extemely well-read, interested in philosophy and why people do things. She has a full-body laugh, a full-body hug and a ready smile. And, she's a total man magnet!

My friend Audrey is  S*M*A*R*T. She has saved my bacon more than once. She is generous. She does things I admire and have never done ~ a book club, an art workshop in France, for instance. She on a continual search for her path to art. She lives her values, has a darling sense of humour and, is a total man magnet.

I'm sensing a pattern.

My friend, Marylou, my friend, Mary, my friend, Susan, my friend, Marie, my friend, Sally ~ all S*M*A*R*T women of substance, generous with their time and energy. Women who live their values; lead full and interesting lives and are life-long learners. Inspirational all. Women who have raised accomplished children, overcome very difficult events with grace and optimism.

What a great Mother's Day ~ all things I needed to remember.

Day 31 Everyday Grateful ~

Talked with Barb about when to cut her daffodils.

Sent the photos of braiding the leaves

until they dry. I was reminded of the

little blue plants that have

naturalised in my yard. I love them!

I wait until they are completely through

flowering before I cut the grass

 in the lower garden. I have this romantic notion

 it looks like a Little Woodland Glen

and not a complete mess! 

So much of life is perception.

Sheets hanging in the sun to dry.

Sunny

Happy

Picnic in the Theater Lobby ~ Perfect!

                             

For several years, my friend Audrey has included me in tickets for a couple of shows at the Seattle Rep.

Here's the drill: I'd pick her up at the ferry terminal and then we'd decide what to do for a small dinner. Some times it was a wonderful wine bar near the theater. Or, other times, we'd cruise the deli aisle at Metropolitan Market up the street and eat in the small cafe near the deli.

The last few times, we packed a picnic and brought it to the theater lobby. I'm sure this breaks at least half a dozen laws, but . . .

It's a classic picnic. A baguette, a bottle of wine, some cheese and fruit. We bring a couple of linen napkins, two wine glasses, a cork screw and some spreaders.

Sure the lobby picnic has it's pitfalls. When we went to see I am my own wife, we ended up misplacing one of Audrey's napkins and my corkscrew. When she went to the next production, she stopped by the "Lost and Found" to retrieve the errant items. They barely even gave her "the eyebrow" when she picked them up.

Last night, we went to see Clybourne Park. And, our little (probably totally illegal) picnic went off without a hitch! I brought the baguette, the brie, the fresh strawberries, the oblong celadon plate, the spreaders, a bread knife and the linen napkins in a festive tote from my friend, Sally. Audrey brought the wine, the glasses, the cork screw and of course, the tickets and parking voucher.

Everything was just what you'd want in a picnic ~ perhaps, most astonishingly the strawberries. I'm always leery of store-bought strawberries ~ always in the winter, but especially at the beginning of the season. These were completely beautiful but . . . experience has shown that the more beautiful the strawberry, the more likely it is to be flavourless. Really beautiful but tasteless strawberries always remind me of a room full of 18 year old beauty queens. Beautiful but not much going on otherwise. Depressing, in a way.

But, these were not 18 year old beauty queens. They were not only beautiful but toothsome and delicious.

And, what a picnic. One woman stopped by to give us homemade oatmeal cookies. Another couple joined us at our little table. Very convivial. Very casual. Very perfect in every way. The production was stunning. A wonderful evening.

Day 30 Everyday Grateful ~

Talked with Audrey while walking 

to the REP about what

wonderful lives  we have and

how much we have to be grateful for.

True, all true . . .

Sunny

Happy

How To Hang a Picture Perfectly in Two Steps! Four More for Extra Credit . . .

To paraphrase the great Jane Austen "It is a truth universally acknowledged . . . it is always dangerous to blow your own horn.  You risk treading on the Cosmic Banana Peel and watching your heels fly over your head as you thud to the ground."

But, where is the fun of life if no danger is involved? So, here it is ~

How to Hang a Picture Perfectly in Two Steps . . . yes, math is involved.

4' 6" ~ Remember that number. You will be tested.

Most people hang pictures too high. You've seen this before (maybe you've even done it.) They hold the picture in both hands, thrust their hands straight out, move it up and down a bit, settle on up and drive the nail.

Perhaps not the best technique for perfect picture hanging.

Try this: Think of 4 1/2 feet off the floor as the center of your picture. That is a number that works best for most art. My sons are both 6' 5" tall. Their fallback picture hanging location is about three inches from the ceiling. Difficult for the general public to appreciate the image.

Why 4 1/2 feet? Because most furniture is manufactured in standard heights. A table is 30" high. The new standard for counters is 36" high (it used to be 32" in the olden days when we were eating less meat.) The most satisfactory arrangement for art is tied visually to the furniture around it.

For taller furniture pieces, hang the picture 6" to 9" above the surface of the piece. That will visually tie the art the piece.

For the picture hanging alone on a wall, feel free to use 5' 0" as the center of the art.

The wonderful vintage watercolour hanging on the wall in my stairwell is tied visually to the buffet in front of it. When I was deciding to hang it, I decided not to center it between the two ceiling beams because the margin on the left was more important to me. 

Establish a Line: Yes, it is true, we all have our thing.

My thing when grouping pictures is establish a line ~ either horizontally or vertically. Very, very, very few designers (and they are brilliant geniuses, let there be no question) can put a bunch of framed art up on a wall and not have it look terrifyingly, hideously, depressingly messy.

You can also establish a line by lining the edge of the frame with the edge of the piece of furniture it is hanging over. For example, a long buffet could benefit from aligning the art with the side of the cabinet. That would allow for placing a bowl of flowers or something else on the the buffet surface to fill the void space. That makes a nice asymmetrical placement. Certainly you can center it as well, but the main thing is . . . take all the elements into account when you hang art.

Note the Page and Thorbeck bowl hanging beside the large collage in the living room image. The line I'm following is the bottom edge of the collage frame. For the placement of the collage, I decided to center it between the console table and the ceiling.

To recap: Remember ~ 4' 6" and establishing a line. Doing these two things will transform the outcome when you hang your pictures.

Now, for the Master Class and extra credit. Friends stick together. If I'm hanging a group of pictures, I like to establish a uniform space between each frame. Too close and it feels like three people crammed into the back seat of a Volkswagen beetle. Yes, you can do it but no one can breathe.

Too far apart is nearly as bad. It feels lonely like the family members at the reunion who really aren't speaking. Not friendly. The happy distance varies. This is where the art of picture hanging comes in. I've had a lot of practice so I just go ahead and start hanging. You can put your frames on the floor and work out an arrangement that works for you. Just remember, there are dozens of ways to hang an arrangement beautifully.

I like seeing the little Chinese woodblock together with the vintage Chapman sconce. It is missing its glass chimney so I added a candle. It's all very warm and yellow in that corner.

More extra credit ~ Hanging things other than framed art. I love combining framed art and three dimensional items. Interesting combinations work well. Here's what I keep in mind. I consider shape, colour and texture. Again, there isn't a hard and fast rule, but these are things that work.

I like seeing the Blue Willow plates at the same time as I see the two framed Chinese silk fragments in my little hall. The celadon paint is a nice backdrop to these interesting pieces.

Don't stagger pictures! Unless there is some compelling reason (you're going up the stairs in your Georgian mansion and hanging the portraits of 10 generations of relatives), never stagger your art. You know what I'm talking about . . . one up, one down and about a foot apart. Every time I see it, I think, "Oh, dear God, that's painful!" I've never once seen a successful application of this configuration. So, when you think, "I'll just stagger these. Wahdahyah think, Fred?" Go lie down until the feeling goes away.

Think vignettes ~ as you evaluate the placement of art, think about creating individual vignettes. You know what I'm talking about. We always recognize it when we see it. When you enter a person's home and the entry hall has a table with fresh flowers, a wonderful mirror or a group of framed photos on the wall over it, everything reads as a whole. It feels complete, inviting, friendly.

For the vignette in the kitchen, I used the two bronze rams heads I bought at the Bermondsey Square Antiques Market when I was in London. I like them on the slim wall by the sink over the vintage Chinese woodblock print. Friendly and interesting. 

As you begin your picture hanging project, think of each of your furniture pieces and each piece of art as individuals. Then create the vignette you want by combining the framed art and three dimensional pieces to add depth and visual interest.

Enjoy!

Day 29 Everyday Grateful ~

Going to the Rep with Audrey,

braving the construction under

the Alaska Way Viaduct,

bringing brie, bread and fruit.

Sunny

Happy