Wednesday, November 23, 2011

A Stitch In Time

I lucked out on a cache of sewing and embroidery magazines at the grocery store. Let me clarify this. Every Friday a nice gentleman shows up in the parking lot and proceeds to pull out of his van one treasure after the other which he sets out on long tables. Every week it's something new. Yesterday it was boxes and boxes of paper goods. The aroma of old papers is irresistable to me. The embroidery manuals are fantastic. I imagine myself, 60 years ago, sitting in the parlour embroidering my husband's shirts and hankies while he savors a brandy and smokes a pipe. The June Cleaver wannabe looks much more liberated and probably smoked as well. The machine she's using is the second fully automatic model to come out of the French Singer factory back in 1959.
On the next post I will show you the first machine.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

18 Hands Between My Thighs

His name is Oscar. He's 16. I know that may seem young but he knows exactly what to do. What a ride he gave me! All muscle and strength.
Ok, now. Get your minds out of the gutter. I'm talking about the horse I rode today. A "hand" is the unit of measure for a horse, equal to 4 inches, so that makes Oscar 6 feet tall at the shoulders. Lets just say it was a challenge to get up into the saddle. I'm going to be sore as hell tomorrow but it was worth it. For now I'll start treating my muscles with a hot bath and a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau which came out today. Tomorrow will be spent in the garden planting and tidying up for winter.
Oh, by the way, my ass was not bigger than Oscar's!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Professor Mountebank's Miracle Cure

You've got to love the French. Only they can invent one remedy that treats two totally unrelated ailments. This one is for " sickness of the veins and ovarian dysfunction".
I wonder if they have something for earache and constipation?

Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Horse's Ass

Good news today. A spot opened up at the equestrian center and after several years of no sports activity whatsoever, I'm back in the saddle. It will be good to get back into shape. The one question on my mind when I mount up on Saturday?
Is my ass bigger than the horse's ass?

Friday, November 11, 2011

And Rake She Did

A couple of posts back, I said I like to rake. Well here they are. 20, count 'em, 20 bags of leaves for the little lady. This is only the upper level of the back garden, mind you. The lower level has 2 birch trees, a maple and and an ash that waits for the really cold weather to lose its leaves. Meanwhile, I'll start raking the front garden. Beech, elm, and an 2 ornamental cherries. I'll keep the beech leaves to spread around plants that need winter protection. I read somewhere that they're perfect for this because of their light weight.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Let Them Eat Cake

I love France. I love French food. I love any kind of food. But what I really love is cake. American party cake. You know,  the kind with "so rich it almost makes you gag"  buttercream flowers. And I always want a corner piece. Well there it is. The downside of living in France. No party cake. Until now, that is. Thankfully the French are curious enough to set aside their culinary chauvinism and taste my cakes. This one was for the baptism of a friend's grand-daughter.  Vanilla filled with raspberries in whipped cream and gag-alicious buttercream icing. They ate it all up

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Autumn Is Really Here

Most of the leaves have come down off my trees. The lime tree is trailing behind but I know that in a few days it
too will be bare. I'm looking forward to raking. Really! It's one of my favorite fall activities. I waxed my Barbour today and I'm ready to go.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Better Late Than Never

TO PAMELA PO-PO WHO INSPIRED ME

So here it is. I can't type and I'm technologically challenged. The perfect ingredients for starting a blog. On the other hand, I do have an eye for junk and I can fix or restore almost anything. Failing that, I upcycle. Add to that, gardening, oil painting and cooking and you have all I love to do in one neat package. Oh, and eating. I should have put that at the top of the list.