Relaxing at Brookside

So my parents have been in France for the past two weeks. I assume they're having a ball because I haven't heard from them. Anyways, I had hopes of going over everyday to hang out on the deck, use the grill & drink from the endless fountain of wine that sits in a box in the fridge. I was so excited about it, I felt bad for them to have to go on vacation. 

But given this heat wave, pretty much everyday I've just gone to my own home to sit in front of the fan, watch Andy Griffith and act like a curmudgeonly old man who dreams of frozen margaritas, but only dreams because Tequila is expensive. 

I finally just did it. And I'm so glad I did. You all know how much I crave dirt, that stuff is therapy! The old man is gone, and that's good because I have a whole load of vintage aprons to list. I don't know that old guys really care about those things. 

Scottie the guard cat

So here's a question for you dolls, Do you wear an apron? Cooking? Crafting? Gardening? & does your Mister?

Mr. Acorns wears one when he cooks & I think it's just too cute...& he insists on calling it a "Manprin"

Happy Thursday!

Yes, I Do Have A Funover

I spent the past week with a dear old friend. 

She's the kind of person who has overcome huge obstacles in her life, yet she's always laughing!

She's the kind of person who would drop everything to help a loved one.

She's a nut & I'm lucky to have met her.

Now that she's on her way back to North Carolina, I'm feeling really funover. 

I have what seems like a thousand things to list. I haven't posted here in over a month. And do you know what I spent my day doing? 

Editing pictures of my cats....so I can make a bumper sticker. 
Based on an actual facebook conversation.

For my car. Which I'm totally going to rock. 

In other news of procrastinating: 

Now off to do some real work.

Flowers in a Fountain

I doubt I've ever wanted so badly to be small enough to lounge on that amazing hibiscus. 

This was taken at Tower Hill Botanical Garden. It's a serene and magical place as only a garden can be. Tower Hill has long been a place of refuge for me. 

When we were in school, Alex and I would sometimes skip our last classes of the day. We would head anywhere, really, but my favorite place, by far, was here. We'd take a camera, a book and a sketchbook & let the afternoon warmly slip into evening. 

Does anything provoke feelings of hope and safety like a lamp post turning on at dusk? For years, I've harbored a love affair for the beautifully designed, unsung heros that faithfully ring in the night.

I've spent entire rolls of film (remember those?) on lamp post pictures. Angles are important, Dear Reader (you are still reading, right, Alex?), So Very Important