bean&noodle

Red, White & Blueberry

Well, the counters are finished and most everything is back in place. I love them even more than I thought I would. Here are some before & after shots

... one of my favorite new things is the ginormous cast iron sink that was freecycled from the dumpster of one of Steve's jobsites. She cleaned up beautifully and is adorned with a swanky new faucet.

aah, the bluberries? This morning we called a couple friends to join us at Chickamaw Farm, a pick your own organic bluberry farm about 13 miles down the road in McDade. Today was the first day of bluberry picking season at Chickimaw Farm.The McCranie family grows blueberries, blackberries and strawberries, raises grassfed beef and also catfish. If you're in the Austin area load up and drive out the Chickamaw Farm to pick some berries and enjoy some early summer sunshine. Bring cash.

The following is from an email received from the fine folks at Chickamaw Farm.

Howdy,  Well it's that time o' the year again:  BERRY PICKING SEASON.  Surprisingly we have a fine crop in spite of the weather.  Season will open this coming Monday (Labor Day) and will proceed until the berries are picked out.  Of course we are open on the weekends especially but if you need a special "other time" please telephone.  The gate usually open on Saturday mornings when the first "pickers" arrive.  Please bring a hat and closed toe shoes are better.  We provide good well water and shade if you need or want it.  Remember it is dreadful out there mid day so choose your time of arrival to suit your comfort.  If you do not mind please bring something to put the berries in to take home.  We provide paper sacks but stable sided containers are safer for travel.  Anyhow, if you like blueberries be assured there's excellent ones out this way.  Guaranteed!  Should there be any problem or difficulty on the way out or should there be any question please telephone 512.567.3456.

This just may become a Memorial Day tradition. I'm pretty sure blueberry cobbler is for dessert tonight.

Finally...ready to play (ahem, learn)

It took more than a couple trips to the hardware store for me to realize I needed to mix my own stain color.

 The inside of the resonator is glossy cherry red. I'm sure noone will ever notice it, but I know...and it makes me happy.

After staining I stamped these blossoms with silver ink on the back. I had to do this twice, because I rushed the first coat of poly finish and smeared the ink. Smile to frown in 2 seconds... what am I, five?  Imaptience rarely pays off.

ready to play learn

This is a boring photo of my boring bumpy grey laminate kitchen countertops. Yawn.

Here is the new laminate color to be installed soon. I know, it's hard to believe I want laminate countertops when my husband makes concrete countertops, but this is much more in harmony with the warm, cozy retro vibe of my kitchen. He's done so much of the heavy lifting on our home remodeling projects, that it's nice to actually pay a professional when you can. The wisdom of choosing battles wiesly comes with age.

 

Playing Catch Up

A couple weeks ago I was in Oklahoma City for a press check and snapped some shots of my day. The image quality is spotty to say the least, but I only had my phone.

I was really there to do this....

While talking about how I was fixing up my banjo during lunch with our Customer Service Rep, he mentioned that there was a banjo museum downtown. Hot damn!

My Sales person Tina was a very good sport about taking me to the museum.That said, it had enough kitsch factor to pique her interest.

Amber, this banjo with an amazing hex sign on it's resonator made me think of you.

I had told TIna my plan to "tart up" my banjo and after seeing these glammed up models, she mentioned that I may be "limited in my scope". She has a point. Some of these boredered on something you'd see at either Graceland or Versailles.

On the second floor there was a replica of a Shakey's Pizza Parlour. It made me miss Shakey's! Pizza, banjo music and "The Little Rascals" movies... what's not to love. Apparently the owner Sherwood "Shakey" Johnson is known for having employed many a banjo player to play at his restaurants. More info about that here.

A "drive by" Chihuly , look real hard up in the windows ... no time to stroll through the museum. Remind me to tell you about the time my sister Jessica and I did a drive by at the Grand Canyon.

Oh, and tornado clouds ...of course. I believe these are called Wall Clouds, correct me if I'm wrong. Don't adjust your dials, the sky was really this green. I wasn't too freaked out until it was pointed out to me that the flags were blowing in the opposite direction the clouds were moving.

These clouds looked like poached eggs sinking below the clouds, kinda like a lava lamp. Beautiful. This tornado missed us, but not the St. Louis aiprort.

So here's my mother's banjo all cleaned up with a spanking new head and resonator.

She's been stained and I'm almost finished...