How Do, Ballou

I'M A WISHING...

to re-do my blog, re-invent myself and find a new place in this ever confusing muddle of a world.

I thought about re-naming the blog to Hubba Hubba Chubba - reflections of an aging person of interest - but perhaps I have not enough to say - although I do think I am a HUBBA CHUBBA (think, short, round, cute and FUN).  Anyway,  I need to branch out - I am hoping my current nightmarish existence is coming to a close VERY SOON and I need to focus on ONWARD & UPWARD.  Hey, maybe that's my new blog.  Comments most welcome!!

A VERY PROUD DAY!

Ebby at 13 and "graduating" from middle school!  Tonight was Class Night and black fingernails the order of the day, er, evening!

Ebby also was awarded an Academic Achievement Award for French & Math and presented with a President's Award for being on High Honor roll for all of her 3 years of middle school.  Pretty,  smart & FUN!

That's my Ebby xoxox

EEEEK - Halloween

And this folks are the males of the family at their finest hour.

L - Cuyler dressed as a Princeton grad yr. 2022. Daddy-O chicken, and Sushi Chef Will.  Yep, scary, very scary.  Me, with my rubber lips, I went to dinner with gal pals and thoroughly enjoyed a glass or two of wine and no Snickers, Hersey bars or Kit Kats!!

Happy Halloween all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In another note - I keep thinking I am picking the last roses of summer/fall but then I find a few more - all feel like gifts 

FINALLY - The Big Bash Post!! OMG 70!

Post was hi-jacked from my daughter's blog. Thanks Jen!

{not-a-great scanned copy of the invitation, created by me}

I couldn't let such a big birthday go by without some fanfare, so I convinced my mom to have a party.  Now if I was a really good daughter, I'd have planned & paid for it all on my own and just had her show up ;-).  But I'm an only child and I know my limitations.  It all ended up for the best for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that one of my boys was in the hospital for 4 days and was discharged just 72 hours before party time.  Luckily we have some good friends that jumped in and helped out with the final preparations!

My mom did an awesome job with the decorations.  She was awash in a sea of patterned paper, glitter, and punches for weeks beforehand.  Take a peek at some of her fabulous creations...

The centerpiece of the main party table was this beautiful faux cake that my  mom created using cardboard, cardstock, dimensional stickers and loads of ribbon and fun embellishments. 

For each and every guest, my mom made what she called an Honored Guest badge.  She was burning up the lines on her Martha Stewart scoring board for days ;-).  I'm not sure what she had more fun doing:  creating over 30 unique badges or pinning them on the guests as they arrived!       

Here's a shot of the table, all set, complete with white twinkie lights that may or may not be snowflake lights that my mom likes to leave up year round...

Throughout the house there were colorful paper pinwheels of all sizes and patterns. They added a touch of festiveness and whimsy, just the mood we were going for.

My contribution to the decor was an OMG 70! banner that was strung in the living room.  Please pardon the poorly lit iPhone pics.  I used some of the same patterned paper from the invitations on the front, along with ruffled crepe paper and a lovely pale seafoam mini ball fringe.       I backed the pennants with pages from a vintage children's magazine--published in September 1940, the month and year my mom was born.

Along with my lovely assistants (Ebby and My Cousin Laura), we put together these fun party favors.

We saw the idea at our local scrapbook shop and loved it.  I purchased the specially colored "chocolate gems" at Fresh Market and we got the bags at our local shop.  Once I did some research and made a paper funnel to slide the M&Ms into the bags, the work went pretty quickly.  They are great favors and can be adapted to so many different occasions.  If you're interested, here's some info on how to make them and here's a link to an online source for the 1"x8" cello bags.

Before we knew it, it was time to set up the desserts.  I put myself in charge of making all the cupcakes in my mom's requested flavor combinations.  We had four different cupcake creations:  Vanilla with Vanilla Buttercream, Chocolate with Chocolate Buttercream, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing, and Lemon with Vanilla Buttercream.  They were all, dare I say, downrightdelicious.  I mixed and matched recipes from the Cake Mix Doctorbooks, I checked out 3 of them from the library.  The frostings were all from scratch which is one of the CMD tenets. 

My mom also ordered a cake from a local bakery which was a fun addition.   And it gave us something to stick sparklers and candles in for my mom to blow out☺.

It was a wonderful party, full of love, laughter and lots of sparkle.  When my mom declared it her best birthday ever, I knew we'd achieved success.

 

You might also like:

Ebby's Party: The Photo Booth

Pretzel Party!

Ebby's Party: The Sweets Table

 

More Art & Soul

Now that I've had instruction as to how to get photos off my iphone, I can share a bit more of the Portland adventure.  On my two days off I ventured into the city by light rail (great public transport in OR) first on Sat. with my sweet friend Gina. That it was raining didn't deter us in the least!  Saturday Market is a giant weekly crafts fair with a bit of everything, lots of fabric up-cycling and creativity galore!  I bought a very cool skirt at Luna, incredible dahlias, very cool architectural elements.  In all just a visual treat.  After getting soaked we asked vendors for a lunch recommendation - Mother's it was and was it GOOD!!  Gina even bought the cookbook!!  Back to the hotel to get ready for Vendor Night!!

On Mon. LK kindly took me to Staples so I could mail home my projects (that's why no pics of them yet) and I talked her out of her author work and into hopping the  light rail into Portland - first stop Farmer's Market - OMG the dahlias, the peppers, the artichokes in bloom - whew!! And then off to Powell's, supposedly the largest bookstore in US and it is one full city block worth of books all VERY favorably priced!!  2 hrs. well spent here then off to lunch and then to explore a place called Cargo (an emporium of seemingly endless treasures mainly from Asia but colorful, very colorful!!)

   And my final pic

 PORTLAND - ya gotta love her!!

ART & SOUL REVISITED

At this point, I've been to a few of these events - and this qualifies as one of the very best.  Was it the classes - Jane Wynn, Kysentizi, Julie Haymaker Thompson,  the cocktail hours that afforded the chance to get to know a few like minded folk, my easy going roommate,  the chance to visit the city of Portland twice with great traveling companions??? Hmm, don't really know but this felt like a great trip - loved 2 out of 3 classes, ease of meeting up with other like minded souls and the chance to explore Portland, which is a very NEAT city.

From L Lorrie, me, Renee and Julie Haymaker Thompson.  Fun crew who liked to chat about a wide ranging array of topics!!!!

 

 

An image or two of class projects - this one from Julie's World.  I'm working on posting from my new i-phone 4 with which I took many more pics. Bear with me as I learn to use this amazing device!!!!!!

For whatever reason this was the best retreat I've attended yet.  Great classes that were pretty much new to me - Jane Wynn's especially (I would post pics but I had to send my shrines home UPS so it will take a few days).  The dichroic glass produced some lovely result but rest of glass projects must be shipped by the instructor due to kiln restrictions.  Several trips into the city of Portland really made this trip memorable - Gina and I braved the rain and the light rail to check out the Saturday Market - did not disappoint.  Fun and innovative stuff. We both left a bit of cash there and then on to Mother's for lunch.  Yum, definitely YUM.  Mac & cheese to die for - Gina bought the cook book - look out housemates at Artfest - maybe she'll bring the Mac & Cheese bit... vendor night, awesome as usual although I did notice a big trend toward materials rather than finished product.  I bought a bit of each.  A necklace from Jane Wynn that I just love and lots of "raw" materials.... Embassy Suites goes a long way toward making travel easier for women on their own and toting lots of "stuff".  That goes a long way toward making the experience a positive one, believe me!!  Anyway, it was a very FUN time - glad to be home and see Mr. Starbucks who is enthralled with his Aunt Gina's catnip toy.... more pics once  I figure how to unload and post....

For 

BIRTHDAY BASH!

Ah, the birthdays!  Cuyler & Will turned 10 and Ebby's 13!!  We all celebrated - in style with a few extra neighbor kids thrown in for good measure!!  Ebby loved the quilt  I made her.  These are the colors of her new room re-do.  

Gardens are starting to suffer from lack of water and the very restrictive water ban that's in place. But it was looking lovely when I took these pics.  Cut first dahlias today and some gorgeous gladiolas that just sorta showed up - I think they  survived the winter in the ground which is unusual for glads in Zone 6.

 

Spent last evening in the good company of 6 local artists (painters). We watched a very inspiration video about Alice Neel who was an amazing portrait painter and a somewhat outrageous person.  However, she never gave up her desire to paint in spite of long years with no recognition.  Now that's perseverance and a good lesson to learn!!  The painters all brought a sample of their work and we had an informal critique.  Interesting & informative for me who doesn't paint.  Roz Farbush who is a local legend, painter & teacher of renoun led the discussion.  A fun evening for sure! (I brought the quilt, a mixed media icon and another mixed media piece I made in a Lisa Kaus class last year at Art and Soul.)

Speaking of crafting, we - Jen & I again hosted Crafting Day for family members who brought an array of projects to work on - me I was making Award Ribbons for Ebby's upcoming birthday party, my niece was working on her Remains of the Day journal, my grandnephew was working with some evil smelling clay, granddaughter & friend making paper flowers & fairy favors for above mentioned party. Jen finishing Etsy order for custom banner. It was a virtual BEE HIVE of creative output!!!! And great food, too!! 

This is Mr. Starbucks through the sewing machine. He really does like to be a part of whatever is going on!!

The summer is flying by!  We've had 90+ degrees now for more than 10 days.  Heading to Cape tomorrow for some surf and sun.  Busy week getting estimates on various house projects that I'd like to complete before I leave for Art and Soul - we'll see how far the insurance $$$ go!! (we had ice dams over the winter - causing ceiling and wall damage.)

So I'll go back to making my badges.  They really are quite festive.  Maybe I'll put a few in my Etsy shop.

The garden & Mr. Starbucks...

Ever since a friend gave me an insert- a -photo -of -the- month calendar, I have been faithfully snapping pics so I have my very own pin up boy.  How do you like these?  Mr Starbucks in one of his cuter poses. And one of the more regal.  Isn't he just soooo handsome???



 

As is well known, I am a big fan of Julie Haymaker Thompson.  Have taken several workshops with her and aspire to create as cool a creatures as she does.  This little house is from her - the roses are from me.  Don't they make a great pair?? 
This has been a great year for the garden - especially the hydrangeas!!  They are out in full bloom - some in bloom for the first time since I've owned them.  Big bunches of flowers, deeply saturated colors - pinks, deep pink, blue, purple, white. Wow!!  Everything is doing well, albeit two weeks (at least) early!!

Front garden with Astilbe, Spirea, Sweet William, Campanula.

And of course, the lovely clematis!

  

Deck bed, redone this year and the plants are thriving! Lots of purple & green foliage and shade plants.  The red maple is part of another garden but makes a nice color echo.

For those of you who have seen the ads for upside down tomato planters, here is a progress report.

Plants have been in here for 1 month.  As you can see they grew down then up - sorta a tomato chandelier.  It's a very sturdy device but the proof will be in when we see if it can support oodles of tomatoes!!  For now, it's very happy!

And so that catches you all up here at How do, Ballou!!

CATCH UP POST!

Hmm, been quite a while since I've posted to this blog so some catch up photos and comments. My niece & I today at the Newport Flower Show which was another great take. Theme this year -South Africa- and exotic plant material was the order of the day.  Some inspired arrangement, animals made of all natural materials, warrior masks, etc. 

 

All in all quite a show! Thankfully the sun stayed in and we enjoyed a nice mist off Naragansett Bay and best of all we left not a dime with any of the various merchants - a miracle to say the least!!

On Tuesday of this week, I also went on a garden tour more locally to benefit a private library that I just love in Marshfield.  My RI and Artfest friend Chris came up and we managed to fit in a quilt show (purely serendipitious), 5 gardens on the tour (one with a barn with what we decided was a MAN STUDIO - talk about organized!!) and then on to delicious late lunch. 

One of the more colorful quilts.

Another beauty using image transfer and vintage lace.

Believe me when I say these are not your Mother's quilts.  Fine, fine work, imaginative color and design to say nothing of the stitching!!

I was glad Chris was so amenable to an unplanned stop!!  She is a master quilter so that no doubt helped!   
 

  

See I wasn't kidding about the man studio!! 

One of the charming Marshfield gardens.

A few weeks ago, my friend Jane and I headed out on a day trip to the Cape - just to mosey about - no agenda.  Rt. 6A (on the quiet side of the Cape) is just right for this kind of day.  Sunny, no traffic, few people - you could tell it was June - not July or August!!  What struck us was the great Thrift Shops we ran across - very nice merchandise, fairly priced and wonderfully and enticingly displayed!

Although I thoroughly enjoyed our varied shopping stops - it was this garden that made a big impression. Immaculate and incredibly pleasing to the eye as you can tell from the many photos.  Much of the fencing, caging is to keep out the usual rabbits, deer, etc.  But how nicely done!

The most fun place we hit that day was the Edward Gorey House in W. Barnstable. A tribute to the late illustrator, the whole place is a hoot and a half.  Gorey loved animals, especially cats - and of course there is a house cat - one who needs a bit of Curves perhaps, but sweet ! And Jane with friends

And so in between all else this is what I've been doing - also tending the garden, doing an on line course, driving cancer patients to treatment and making a very special birthday present for the tween who will be a teen on July 19th!!! (Ebby) I have more to share but I think I'll do another post.

MOTHER'S DAY 2010

My Mother's day card from Jen - I just love the way she puts things together.  We had a lovely, low key afternoon attending a local art show and having dinner at Rustic Kitchen (yummyfig/cheese pizza, strawberry salad and pasta) very yummy.  Cards handmade by Ebby, Cuyler, Will. Godiva chocolates from Sam and a very nice day.

Jen made me this lovely necklace - now if only I had a lovely neck!!  But I love it and will wear it a lot!!

Mother's Day over the years has been so many different things. Myself, I believe those involved in active mothering (of those under 22) deserve the accolades - really. Being a Mom is a tough, tough job especially these days and to those who hang in there and ride with it day to day - my greatest admiration and that includes my amazing daughter who is doing the very best she can with her cast of characters - not easy but Jen you are doing a great job.  Love, Mom