A Princess in her castle

We have a plum tree in our yard, and it's never really done much. But this year we have a bumper crop of fruit, I think, because of the wet spring we had.

The branches of the tree have been virtually brushing the ground with the sheer weight of fruit, and today I decided it was time to relieve them of some of their burden.

Marli and I went outside with a large bowl, and I busied her with her Princess castle (more hideous plastic - but once again - she adores it) whilst I reached for the ripest fruit, leaving the rest for another day (and squirrels and jays).

I made the mistake of placing my bowl on her castle, thinking she couldn't reach it, only to be proved wrong, of course. And she was most upset when I insisted upon removing the pits from her mouth, to prevent her from choking. I set Cookie to watch over the bowl after that, on grass that looks very green, but like the rest of the fairytale castle - is plastic!

I didn't mean to pick so many, as there are only so many things I can do with them today, but there were enough for me to have some fresh, stew some for fruit crisps in the winter, and leave some on a neighbors doorstep!

A long, long time ago

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, it was Marli's Adoption shower. I say that, as I am so far behind in blogging, that it is now almost a legend! Life has been incredibly busy recently, as as you all know, when that happens, blogs go out the window somewhat.

I thought I'd just take a second, however, to post a photo or two of Marli's tea, as it was rather lovely. High tea has to be one of my favorite things. I think it's one of the only 'British-isms' I have left in me (oh, and maybe Marmite)

Good friends were invited and we supped on cardamon, earl gray and herb teas. My friend Sima kindly organized it for me, and the food was fantastic, from curried chicken sandwiches to lots of cakes. The table looked lovely, and all credit goes to Mr Colin (husband) for taking such great shots of the table before we attacked it. The tea set pictured here is from the UK, from the 20's or 30's I think.

I have been working on many things recently, including glass designing and casting, and creating a work studio in our yard (now we are currently not moving) so I will try and post more of all of those things at some point.

Mr Baxter continues to come and go, although I haven't seen him much as I fear he was scared by all the banging and crashing whilst the studio was being built.

Baby is into everything and more, dogs are well, and me, well, I'm just exhausted!!

Seven seconds

Oh what to do with seven seconds! Seven seconds is the amount of time I have determined I am able to focus on any one thing, at a time, whilst baby is up and about! This is the time between stopping stair climbing, or phone dialing, or eating kibble. But if I can join enough of those seven seconds together, I might just be able to write a blog post, but only once I persuade baby to stop playing the guitar!

Pictures of actual art work to come. (yes! real work!!)

Cat out of the bag!

I now can show pictures again, having sorted some software issues on the new computer, and I finally managed to take a sneaky shot of he that shall be known as Mr Baxter - the mysterious ginger cat that still lives under my house. It was hard to get him to pose for photos, as the poor fellow is so starved for attention that he tends to be rubbing on ones legs if he sees you. So I used Marli as bait, and he rubbed on her instead, much to her amusement!

English roses

Still no pictures, but words can conjure a thousand images!

At the weekend a friend brought me English roses from his garden. Large headed, with tender stems, cloaked in tiny prickles. No picture could do justice to the smell! From sweet lemony to dark blackberry, intoxicating body and mind. All with special names, all known by sight (to my friend) Even the air around them is heavy with perfume.

With each day, the blossoms drop: pink, peach, pale yellow and sherbet. And each day I scoop up handfuls of cool silky petals, and press my face into my hands, inhaling the potpourri of delicate smells, distinguishing new scents each time. Sometimes I put the handfuls down again, as they retain a fallen beauty, besides their smell, that requires salvation from the trash for another day (or two).

The scent evokes childhood memories of worm houses, tiled with broken found china, and perfume, made by mashing rose petals with rocks and water, under the shade of a weeping willow tree. It reminds me that nature often knows best, and that modification isn't always a good thing.

The blooms sag wearily now, heads too heavy for their delicate necks. But their mysterious beauty continues to draw me to them. Today I was trying to show Marli how to smell them, holding her close to enjoy their air. She held out a tiny finger and touched a petal, so delicately, I was amazed! But then she decided it was better eaten. Perhaps if I didn't know better, I would taste one too.

I have taken photos, and will share them when my computer issues are resolved!

More magic bag matters.

Thank you all for your kind words for Pixie. I am very happy to report that she is doing very well, and has now recovered, except for a lumpy face that I'm sure will soon be covered by a coating of soft blond hair!

The Magic bag continues it's streak of turning out it's nasty crumbs, when last week, the hard drive on my laptop took it's own life. Any of you that have experienced it will understand the horror and realization, as you remember quite how much was on it, and also as I realized the back up drive (set up to automatically back up) had not been doing so since last July.

The first thought, of course, was for the hundreds of photos of Marli, our daughter. Born in June last year, and soon to turn one. Photos that quite simply cannot be reproduced.
Anyway - I won't dwell on what was lost, as there is far too much to dwell on, but instead, urge anyone reading to back up your files right now! just in case.

So - no picture today, as I am typing on a borrowed machine, with none of my files, but I just wanted to check in and say hello. I will hopefully return soon, with more news and pictures of nice things. Hopefully, this is the last of the nasty surprises from the magic bag, and it will produce some joy soon.

Poor poor Pixie

What makes it's way out of the magic bag is for the most part good, but like all bags, it has it's dark and crumby corners that collect fluff and occasionally throw out the odd nasty surprise.

Yesterday's event was one of those, as I packed the car for a planned day in the city, looking forward to Golden Gate Park, and dinner with a friend. The Buttons happily trotted out towards the car, sensing a trip and excited, only to be ambushed by a neighborhood Labrador. Pixie barked at it, only to find her head suddenly in it's mouth (it fitted) and being shaken about. A moment later she was released and ran towards the house. I ran after her, following her trail of blood. Her screams of distress made it clear that things were very wrong, and one glance at her face made it obvious that our plans were about to change, and a trip to the emergency vet was now on the cards.

I suppose really she was very lucky. She weighs a whopping 4 lbs, compared to the Labrador's at least 70 + lbs. Her eyes were very lucky, being just bruised and not lost, but the other wounds will take some time and love to heal.

Today, she feels very sorry for herself, but I hope with each day that passes, she will rally more, and soon return to a happy button.