The boys bent, smiling. They picked the golden flowers, the flowers that flooded the world, dripped off lawns onto brick streets, tapped softly at crystal cellar windows and agitated themselves so that on all sides lay the dazzle and the glitter of molten sun.
"Every year," said grandfather, "they run amuck; I let them. Pride of lions in the yard. Stare, and they burn a hole in your retina. A common flower, a weed that no one sees, yes. But for us, a noble thing, the dandelion."
Ray Bradbury,
Dandelion Wine
Dandelion Wine - one of my favorite books, . We tried to make dandelion wine once. A homeschool science project. Epic fail. Which I guess worked out in our favor, as I don't see how well winemaking would have looked in a homeschooling portfolio--heh, heh. But never mind that. Today I'm working on some dandelion syrup.
And speaking of books and dandelions, I just finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy at my daughter's request. Three books in three and a half days. I couldn't put them down. Had a headache when I was done. Plus, I felt a strong urge to arm myself, and to learn to make food out of weeds.
I first read about dandelion syrup on my friend Julie's blog at
One Penny Jumble Packet.
Julie used to live in my district, uh, I mean, my neighborhood. She was fun to hang out with, and she has some mad skills. You would definitely want Julie as an ally in the arena.
She moved (drat it), and I miss her.
So anyways, after spending my weekend reading an inner-turmoil-inducing but still good trilogy, I decided to calm myself with the making of said syrup.
"To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy, Peeta, Mellark, and the bread that gave me hope, and the dandelion that reminded me that I was not doomed." Katniss, in
The Hunger Games
That sounds good - bread that gives you hope. May dandelions be ever on your lawn.
492 - rag curls (before)
493 - rag curls (after)
494 - buckwheat pancakes with dandelion syrup
495 - the new work apron and... 
496 - ...sturdy colonial shoes that protected me from a spilt kettle of liquid wax
497 - the pretty under the grungy wax-stained colonials
498 - our rain barrel
499 - lilac and black
500 - my painting and my daughter (my girl's the masterpiece)
Well, maybe the shoes can't be entirely to blame. It really started when Old Blue gave up the ghost.
The frame of our dear thrifted 1920's sofa gave out. The three of us--the hubs, the youngest, and I--were snuggled up enjoying an episode of Cupcake Wars when suddenly -BAM!- the couch collapsed. Dry rot. Irreparable. After the prescribed mourning period passed...
...Old Blue was finally replaced with something Chesterfield-esque. Thank God. My weary eyes were starting to bleed from perusing the internet in search of another blue couch. So what does this have to do with red shoes? I don't know. Just stick with me here.
All of a sudden, this, with a can of paint...
...became this
And these were traded out 
for these
Gosh, I dunno. Maybe it's because I've got to dress like this once or twice a week. I want to come home to mod. Maybe it's some sort of tempermental artist mid-life crisis. I won't say cabin fever, since I've milked that one to death. 
Dandelion Wine - one of my favorite books, . We tried to make dandelion wine once. A homeschool science project. Epic fail. Which I guess worked out in our favor, as I don't see how well winemaking would have looked in a homeschooling portfolio--heh, heh. But never mind that. Today I'm working on some dandelion syrup.
And speaking of books and dandelions, I just finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy at my daughter's request. Three books in three and a half days. I couldn't put them down. Had a headache when I was done. Plus, I felt a strong urge to arm myself, and to learn to make food out of weeds. 
I first read about dandelion syrup on my friend Julie's blog at One Penny Jumble Packet.
Julie used to live in my district, uh, I mean, my neighborhood. She was fun to hang out with, and she has some mad skills. You would definitely want Julie as an ally in the arena. 
She moved (drat it), and I miss her.
So anyways, after spending my weekend reading an inner-turmoil-inducing but still good trilogy, I decided to calm myself with the making of said syrup. 
"To this day, I can never shake the connection between this boy, Peeta, Mellark, and the bread that gave me hope, and the dandelion that reminded me that I was not doomed." Katniss, in The Hunger Games
That sounds good - bread that gives you hope. May dandelions be ever on your lawn.
485 - first blooms on the apple tree
486 - candied violets
487 - finding this at the library
488 - kitchen alchemy
489 - Saturday baking
490 - new additions Tasha and Pepper Ann
491 - time to till
oil pastel on canvasette
