As I was laying on the couch last night, enjoying the AC and a good book on my Kindle, I caught a glimpse of Goldie who was also enjoying the AC by napping on the back of the couch. 





His tail was a fluff of spun cotton candy -- a childhood carnival treat, but vanilla not strawberry.  I wonder: Do carnivals operated by real-life gypsys still travel through New England in summer?  

I suspect that they don't -- the last time I was at the Durham Fair, the food booths were all run by local non-profit organizations & I think the games of chance were too.

  

Memorial Day memories

Going with my Grandmother to tidy the gravestones and plant geraniums in front of them -- and after she would pointed out those related to us in other plots.  

Marching as a Girl Scout in the local parade.

The flags placed by the Boy Scouts/VFW for military service. 

A visit from Grandfather's cousin.  He moved to Canada to enlist in WWI because he wanted to fly & US was too slow to enter the fight.  

The gold Stars in Grandmother's brother's window during WWII -- 2 of them for sons serving on the same sub. 

And, of course, the cookouts - standard fare made special by the day.

My special fare today is French toast soldiers with Vermont maple syrup and several bacon strips -- which Goldie didn't hesitate to remind me that I had to share. 



Bettycrocker.com

 A British term, "soldier" refers to toast cut into thin strips reminiscent of the formation of soldiers on parade. The toast is sliced like this so it can be dipped into the opening of a soft boiled egg which has had the top of its shell removed. 

Summer Bed Quilt

After waking up two nights in a row to toss off the winter quilt, its time for the summer quilt.

I don't make bed size quilts.  Saw this at a  $1 type store near my local grocery store several years ago, loved its blues and greens and the use of plaids, so I snatched it up.  Still love it.  The pattern is one of the many many Log Cabin variations.  Because its batting is so light (thin?) there's no warmth-making weight to it. 

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2011 is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit.  Here it's the Year of Paint The House.  The House will remain the same color -- gray.  Easy peasy, right?  Ha!  Not if you're a quilter & given dozens of gray paint chips!  Not if you're a scrapbooker & given dozens of gray paint chips!  And if you're both? 

Can we just put on the blindfold & play Spin the Paint Chips?

You Got Mail

Turned on the TV to get the weather forecast and You Got Mail, my favorite movie, was on, so I've loafed here watching it - again.  Not a DVD buyer, but this is one of the few I do have on DVD. 

In it Meg Ryan says: When you read a book as a child, it becomes a part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.  

Growing up reading The Bobbsey Twins, guess it's only natural then that I'm a cozy mystery reader. 














Note the change over the years, from the small @3" square books I read to Kindle.  Happy to see they are still "in print".  Movie Watching Bonus -- there's a quilt on her bed. 

un digestif

Un digestif, that after-dinner drink one's human servants may enjoy, becomes an after-dinner nap.   This is  not to be confused with the morning nap or the afternoon nap.

The heroine of the book I'm currently reading owns a cheese shop with a friend (accused of murder, falsely of course) owning the neighboring wine shop.  After a page or two I want crackers and cheese munchies.  

Maybe I'll enjoy un digestif on Sunday while waiting for Jesse Stone program.    

  

More Spring Colors



www.babylock.com -- Eleanor Burns



Green grass, blue skies, yellow daffodils. My scan of  the back cover of April's American Patchwork & Quilting (advertising baby lock machines), this Sawtooth Star in a Log Cabin setting -- an Elleanor Burns quilt. 





"The Wedding Shawl"

written by Sally Goldenbaum.  A very

Amazon.com

 enjoyable cozy series -- knitting not quilting but there is a cat, named Purl. 



Yesterday after serving breakfast to the feline VIPs, and as I was enjoying my morning muffin,  two bunnies hopped by.   Guess the grass is greener on the other side of the street. 


2008 source info lost














Thankfully they stayed away from the flower bed and so far Mr. Groundhog, who has been dining during the "cocktail hour",  has stayed out of it too.

Bookstores

Sometimes a memory just pops up & that happened to me today -- back in the pre-Kindle days, when DH & I got down to NYC, we would try to fit in a visit to Murder Ink, which opened in 1972 on West 87th Street.  As the name indicates, it focused on crime fiction. Unfortunately, it closed in 2006.

In You've Got Mail, my favorite movie -- books & romance, what more do you want? -- Meg Ryan's store focused on children's books.  

Sorry, a firm paw reminded me that it's Dinner Time and that both Meg Ryan and Murder Ink lacked a kitty.  Kitties with books and romance are best.

Currently Reading



Amazon.com

This is the second one about Charlie, a librarian, and his cat Diesel which I have read.  Looking forward to a third one.  Diesel wears a harness & goes to the library with Charlie, actually a retired librarian who is now a volunteer.  Can't imagine either Goldie or Tri wearing a harness.












The Measby Murder is the other book I've also recently finished.  It's set in an assisted living facility that's in a traditional English village.  As a birthday gift, the heroine is given a kitten.

Currently reading Murder Under Cover.  The heroine of this one is a

 rare book appraiser & restorer.  She also has a cat but he hasn't played a major role yet in this book.  He does have a cat quilt in his cat bed.

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Delights of a Spring Morning

Between breakfast and the morning nap, there's serious work to be done:  The House Wren (I think that's what they are) has a nest sheltered under the patio roof.  One can hear the babies chirping for their breakfast.  Goldie and Tri, who feel like Godparents to the brood I'm sure, monitor with great intensity the parents' trips to seed scattered on the patio edge . 

I'm enjoying the lilacs which have begun to bloom, including a white one on that side.  It was planted in memory of one of my Grandmothers who had a white lilac; the standard ones are from my other Grandmother's garden. 

  This photo of the opposite side was taken a few years ago .  I enjoy this view while having my breakfast coffee.  Sadly, the birdhouse feeder, made by DH, disappeared a number of years ago.   It was there when I went to work and just not there when I came home.

My sping tulips now hang on the wall.  

Quick scrapbook project

A simple tag:

The motto was suggested by my therapist when I was recovering from the trick-knee fall.  It's a wonderful excuse for a day of loafing. 

An Ordinary Day

Yesterday and today's simple routine of meals, house tasks, favorite TV shows and quiet reading is a good counterpoint to a string of eventful days.  Friday's Royal Wedding was followed by a special family visit on Sunday. 

Tomorrow The View has Dick Van Dyke as a guest promoting his new book, My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business.



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For me the show's a personal classic -- along with Arthur Godfrey and I Love Lucy.

It's been added to my "Must Read" list -- a nice change from the cozy murder mystery.

Goldie feels he's just as graceful and light on his toes -- unless he wants breakfast and I'm sleeping in-- then he lands with tonnage.  At least he's not dragging the quilt with him.