Charmed flowers

I just have a different way of showing off my garden. These photos are a couple years old, but I wanted to do some colorful charms, so I did a bit of 'shopping and charming.

Three guesses who that last photo is.

Okay, one guess. *g*

:: waves to YSRN ::

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Flowers
Italian Charms
Clay Aiken

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Better than chocolate

Now there's a button I proudly wear. I'm a chocoholic. My list of favorite people include both Ben and Jerry, and I'd sign a petition to cannonize the folks at Dove.

But there is a food that's better than chocolate.



Geographically limited, inexpensive when in season, and good for you, so I'm told. If you live outside of North Carlolina, you've probably never had any - North Carolina Sandhills peaches. Grocery store peaches, picked unripe, shipped, and warehoused, just can't compare. I walked through Harris Teeter recently and was tempted by the aroma of thier SC peaches on display. I bought a couple, hoping for some magic. While they had the wonderful aroma of ripe summer peaches and a bit of flavor, they had an astringent flesh that's just not good for eating out of hand.

My husband's from the Sandhills area, and he's related (distantly) to the Aumans mentioned in the above article. I've been to both those peach stands, of course, and more! There are dozens of varieties to sample, with names like Georgia Belle, White Lady, Biscoe, and Clayton (yes, Clayton). Tree ripe fresh peaches are incredibly good, but they have to be eaten within days, or peeled, sliced, and frozen. Then you thaw them out and eat them on toast for breakfast! Yup!

More traditionally, my mother-in-law used to make the most wonderful peach cobbler. Nothing but melted butter, milk, sugar, self rising flour and peaches. Lots of peaches. Melt the butter in the pan, mix up the batter, pour it in and dump the peaches on top. While it's baking the batter rises around the peaches and turns golden and yummy. I'm hungry for some peaches!

It's almost time to clear out some room in the freezer for this year's crop. Hmmm....didn't Clay say at one time that his favorite ice cream is Bryer's Peach?

Pssst! Call me, Clay. I have connections!

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Spring!

Okay, so it's almost summer, but we've had a wonderfully long spring. I think today was the first really muggy day this year. Glad I got out yesterday!

There's a pretty lake in a park near our house, and a 2 mile paved path encircles it. There are always enough people walking and biking to make it agreeable to walk alone. Yesterday I took my camera and went to check out the babies. Baby ducks, that is.

All the human traffic (with the obligatory bread) makes for some rather brave ducks. This little guy was quite forward, even though all I had to offer was a camera lens.

His momma stayed back a bit. Oh look - a swan! Last year there was one swan here, this year I've seen 2.

Make that three! My, that is an ugly duckling...


I'd been watching the ducks and swans while chatting with some other observers when the adult swans started hissing. We hadn't moved! Then we noticed the snake. The swans chased him off, while the cygnet bravely swam away...


If you think this is a poisonous snake, please don't tell me! I like to walk here!

Technorati tags:
duckling
cygnet
swan
snake

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Do stale smoke and beer create talent?

"He didn't pay his dues playing dives and smoky bars".

I hear this all the time with regard to American Idol alums. But all I can say is so? What the heck does inhaling smoke and beer fumes have to do with being able to sing? If you perform in a lot of nasty places, do you collect talent points? Are these redeemable at your local record label? Do they make people notice you? I mean other than the stench wafting off your clothes, that is.

I say no.

Talent is something you have. It must be nurtured, honed, explored, challenged. But dives are not the only places you can become a seasoned performer, and bars don't infuse aptitude along with booze. Kelly, Ruben, Clay, et al, worked for years; they practiced, made demos, performed in groups, bands, or alone. They got experience, even if you never heard of them before their stint on American Idol. Even if they didn't (or weren't allowed to) talk about their past. Bars, shmars. Give me someone who can entertain me, and I'll plunk my money down.

Like this guy:

Or this guy:

Or this guy:

Save your distaste for no talent, pro-tooled "stars" like Ashlee Simpson, Hillary Duff, or, heaven help us, Paris Hilton. I'll just enjoy the folks who can actually sang.

Technorati tags:
Clay Aiken
American Idol

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The Big Push

Finally - the last bathroom remodel post!After he got the floor done, Bud had some other stuff to do for a week, so I had some time to paint, stain the trim, and install the lights.

When Bud came back, it all came together very quickly!

The cabinets, ordered through Lowe's, were from Insignia. They're not top of the line, but they look good and seem well constructed. I did have the nerve wracking job of drilling holes for the cabinet hardware, but they included an easy to use template.
Insignia also did a very quick job replacing a few parts that were damaged in shipment. The "secret drawer" front was a reworked damaged door, so that worked out nicely.

Click on the picture below for a better look at the glass tiles. I love the iridescence.

The window has the original wood trim. It's outside our usual "splash zone", but it's been double coated with polyurethane and sealed with a siliconized acrylic caulk, just in case.

Done!

Well, we're still missing the shower glass. Until we cough up three grand, it's a $5 shower rod matched with a $3 shower curtain for us. Hey, it works! It'll be a bit drafty in the winter, though.

I just love how the "secret" drawer came out! It's huge!

With all our starts and stops, waiting to get on the schedule of people I trusted, it took 9 months to "fix that leaky shower". I think it was well worth it!

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bathroom remodeling

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