Don't these daisies look like space aliens of some kind? That's what came to my mind when I saw them at the farmer's market last year. So, of course I had to buy a pot. For two bucks, I couldn't go wrong.

ARUGULA PESTO
Arugula is my new favorite vegetable right now. I like its kick. So far, though, I make a pesto out of the bitter greens. As with any dish, there are different kinds of arugula pesto recipe out there. Here's the one I made up yesterday: I grinded and blended a batch of arugula, a handful of parsley, 8 big garlic cloves, olive oil, a bit of water, Parmesan cheese, and salt and white pepper to taste.

I loved how green the concoction looked. A perfect Spring dish. Maybe next time I'll think about taking a photo. Also next time I'll add a lot more shredded Parmesan. (I only had 1/4 cup in the fridge.)

A Glorious First Day of Spring, One and All!


I'm linking up to two fun memes today: ABC Wednesday and Say Cheese! Come check out the other par…

Caw. Caw. Caw. Caw.

A flock of crows have been hanging around the neighborhood lately. I've watched some of them fly through the backyard, coming to rest on the tall, leafy skinny tree (possibly a birch) next door.

Caw. Caw. Caw. Caw.

I never paid attention to these birds until one Sunday afternoon in 1994. The First Husband and I lived in an apartment building on the northwest flank of Mt. Sutro in San Francisco. That afternoon I was home working while the First Husband was attending a powwow. While I was looking out the window, a crow landed on our balcony. I moved closer to the window. It didn't faze the crow. That crow and I gazed at each other for a long while. I felt the crow was assuring me all would be well with the First Husband who was diagnosed with cancer.

Until a few weeks before he died, I saw and heard crows often. There were afternoons where I'd see a crow circling above the trees near our carport. Same crow? Maybe. Hearing or seeing a crow mellowed out my…

The Husband and I held a joint discussion (1) over the stool that was painted today: What's the best way to detach the cracked masterpiece of a seat?

The painting of the stool, though, was not a joint effort (2); however, the Husband and I are joint authors (3) of four titles about various careers.

Did my voice sound disjointed (4) in the previous paragraphs? Didactic, possibly also pedantic? That how I sounded when I wrote educational materials once-upon-a-time, except I wrote concepts in simple sentences, straightforward without any editorial commentary or unneeded adjectives, at a third grade reading level. I have digressed. Hope that astray didn't get anyone's toes out ofjoint (5).

Jeeez, Jeeves, this joint (6) is jumping!


Fats Waller had me dancing. My knee joints (7) are fine, as long as I don't do something silly like the splits or the Charleston.

Until two years, when I consulted a joint specialist (8) I had no idea my legs are jointed (9) awkwardly. The do…

Once upon a time there were people who collected other people's trash and resold the items. Some of these early recycling entrepreneurs were said to go down the street calling out something like "I'm here for any rags, bottles, and bones."

Rags, bottles, and bones. For me, it would be books rather than bones. But, I'm not looking to purchase any rags, bottles, or books. Not at all. I mention the phrase because the past week, I've been repurposing fabric scraps, wine bottles, and old books.

RAGS
The elephant scene (above) is my first try at fabric art. I machine stitched everything but the the red flowery thing, which is the top of a tree, onto a purple napkin. The zipper is the second, if not the first, one I've ever sewn.

I have several more purple napkins and a whole bunch of scraps so I might experiment with more fabric art. We shall see.

BOTTLES
Last year I decided to make a garden border with wine bottles that I collected mostly from our 2016 annivers…

The header illustrates, in my mind, what my world was like when I was a small kid. We lived several miles out of town, one of four houses behind a country store, nearly surrounded by fields and orchards which I explored. I've become aware that our front and back yards may be reflecting my long-ago playground.

Here are two views of the lower half of what was the former lawn. It's been over two years since we pulled out the lawn. We don't miss it at all. The daisy bushes have exploded all over the yard. Pow! Pow! Pow! I like the volunteer wild grass that has grown in a pathway. In May, or April, I'll pull it out. Soon, poppies will start showing their orange selves.


And, here's part of the backyard that looks like it belongs in a storybook. So I thought when I saw the photo. This spot gets nice shade in the afternoon. If we set a little round table there, we can sit and eat snacks or play at being an artist. Of maybe, instead, we can put a sofa there so we can tak…

Sewing machines, bicycles, and vehicles are the things that I like to push pedal to the metal. Here are 13 of my favorite ones from today to long ago.

Kenmore portable sewing machine. About a decade ago, good friend BB gave me her 1970s portable sewing machine when I was having a sewing fix and she was in a down-sizing mood. After a thorough tune-up, the machine was good to go. Vrrrroom, vrrrooom.

I'm going through another spurt (and probably last) of sewing. This morning I started sewing curtains for the upstairs hallway. Yup, that's them in "draft mode" in the above photo.

Eliza Do-a-lot. Some of you know about dear 25-year old Eliza.  She's a no-nonsense old lady's white sedan with hardly any blind spots. Eliza was Mama's last car. When Mama broke her hip in 1997, I started driving Eliza back and forth from El Cerrito where the Husband and I lived. By the time Mama felt confident to drive again, she needed to renew her license. She couldn't pass the…