The Wild West, with a twist....




Oh yes.

I went to see it on opening day.
The boy went with me.
We LOVED it.

As soon as Ron gets back from DC,
we'll go see it again.

A movie hasn't thrilled me like this in a long time.

It had everything I like in a movie.
The Wild West.
I long for westerns on the big screen.

The plot was a bit, as Roger Ebert wrote,
cockamamie.
Which is perfect!
That's what the movies are all about, in my humble opinion.
They should be LARGER than life.
Fun.
Action packed.
Exciting.
They should fill your vision
and let you escape.
Inspire.

I laughed.
I cried (I'm a wimp).
I jumped out of my seat.
It was fantastic!

And then there's Daniel Craig.
In western wear.
Unshaven.
Enough said.

If you want my advice,
go see this movie.
It's the perfect summer blockbuster.
I hope it rocks in the theaters.
So that they make a sequel.
The character development was such that
you'll want to find out more about them.

I could go on and on,
but I don't want to spoil the plot for you.
Just go see it,
and have fun.
Tell them Mama D sent you.
*fade-out with the classic spaghetti western flute solo*



P.S. Of course, I had to wear my favorite belt buckle to the movie...




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One photograph, 1000 words...

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I took this photo of our awning last week.
Ron built it with his own two hands.
This is only a corner of one of the two large awnings he built.

I love how this photo looks a bit surreal, almost ghostly.
Kind of like an x-ray.
As if we are looking at the skeletal awning.
As if it were alive.

My husband's hands
create pieces of our home.
It makes our home come alive. 
Which, to me,
means everything.

One reason why I love taking photographs?
They sometimes, quite unexpectedly,
capture your deepest feelings.

This one photograph.
Worth a thousand words.



Much love...
xo



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Happy distraction...

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Hello, lovely friends, and Happy Monday to you!
I hope your weekend was everything you hoped it would be.

In the past few days, the world has been filled with heartbreaking news.
As my dear friend, Kateri, wrote on Saturday:
The world seems like a very grim place today.
I agreed with her, and determined to escape that feeling with happy distractions.

Happy distraction is the purpose of this post.
I hope to get your mind off sad news by showing you a few pictures.
Pictures taken last Thursday, July 21st.
Our wedding anniversary.

When I came downstairs Thursday morning,
I saw this.

Ron surprised me with a room filled with roses.
Literally filled.
#weepy

Roses everywhere.


The room smelled heavenly.


These are just like the roses in my wedding bouquet.


I tried to capture them all in a photo.
They simply wouldn't fit in just one.

There were roses of many colors.
Red, cream, pink, salmon, orange, yellow, lavender and white with red edging.

So romantic.
What a man.
Le sigh.

I would like to end this post with 
one of my very  favorite poems
about marriage.
It was in a book of marriage poems
that Ron gave me for
our sixth wedding anniversary.

~

The Telephone
by Robert Frost

'When I was just as far as I could walk
From here today,
There was an hour
All still
When leaning with my head against a flower
I heard you talk.
Don't say I didn't, for I heard you say -
You spoke from that flower on the window sill -
Do you remember what it was you said?'

'First tell me what it was you thought you heard.'

'Having found the flower and driven a bee away,
I leaned my head,
And holding by the stalk,
I listened and thought I caught the word -
What was it? Did you call me by my name?
Or did you say -
Someone said  "Come" - I heard it as I bowed.'

'I may have thought as much, but not aloud.'

'Well, so I came.'


{xo}


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This will not work on film.

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Hello, dear ones.
Thank you so much for taking time out of your day
to visit my little blog.

I haven’t done a poetry post in ages.
Which is crazy since I read poetry every day.

So this post is about a poet.
Tom Andrews, an exceptional person and poet.

A man who was taken from this earth too soon.
His work stands out on so many levels.
It’s my wish that if you’re not familiar with Tom Andrews’ work,
you will spend some time with it.

 about Tom Andrews,
and I sincerely hope you take time to read it.

This post was sparked by a piece of art by anca gray.
I had the opportunity to get to know her a bit this week.
Not only is anca extremely gifted,
she is a truly kind and inspirational soul.

I plan to purchase the above original painting by anca.
I love this painting for so many reasons.


This particular example of Tom Andrews' work is one of my favorites…

Tom Andrews
SIX ONE-LINE FILM SCRIPTS


Film Noir
Everyone on earth is asleep – except Robert Mitchum.

French Flick
The camera is an emptiness that longs to be a camera.

Historic Epic
Thousands of extras…reset their alarm clocks.

Stéphane Mallarmé Counts the Buttons on the Hangman’s Vest
Mallarmé: Two, three…no…two…no…wait, two, three…one, two…

God, Guilt and Death
This will not work on film.

The Needle
Medium shot of a camel squeezing through the eye of a needle.


~
Dear hearts,
My wish for you is this.
May each of your days be filled with and formed by poetry.

See the poetry in the moments of your life.
All the moments.
Look at your life like a poet, as a poem.


Much love...
xo




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Heavenly caramel sauce...

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Happy Monday, dear friends! 
I hope your week is off to a super fantastic start.

I had mentioned my newest addiction in a previous post:
Plain yogurt, homemade caramel sauce and fresh sliced berries. 
A request for the caramel recipe was made by one of my sweet friends. 
So here it is. 
The recipe is from the very talented Ina Garten
I have made a couple of slight changes which I will mark with * and **.

~



Caramel Sauce Recipe

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 cup water

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Mix the water and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook over *high heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sugar dissolves. Do not stir. Boil uncovered until the sugar turns a warm chestnut brown (about 350 degrees F on a candy thermometer), about 5 to 7 minutes, gently swirling the pan to stir the mixture. Be careful – the mixture is extremely hot! Watch the mixture very carefully at the end, as it will go from caramel to burnt very quickly. Turn off the heat. Stand back to avoid splattering and slowly add the cream and vanilla. Don't worry - the cream will bubble violently and the caramel will solidify.

Simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until the caramel dissolves and the sauce is smooth **and is a rich caramel brown, about 2 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature, at least 4 hours. It will thicken as it sits.

* I have found that starting with high heat works best for me (and my gas stove).  You may have to experiment to get it just right for you.  Ina's recipe suggests starting on low heat and working up to medium.

** Go by the color of the caramel, not the time, when deciding it's done.


There you have it! 
It's so simple to make. 
The directions may sound a tad complex,
but once you make this sauce, you'll discover it's quite easy. 
I hope you give this one a try. 
It's excellent on ice cream, cake, yogurt...you get the idea...it's scrumptious!

Thank you so much for stopping by!
I hope your day is as sweet and smooth
as this caramel sauce recipe...

xo



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"...yarn from a thousand Arabian Nights..."

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Hello, lovely darling dears!
TGIF!
It's been quite a week around Fringeville.
I cannot believe it's already Friday...sheesh.

Silverthumb update:
Ron's thumb is improving.
He had his second doctor appointment yesterday.
They plan to remove the stitches next Thursday.

I'm currently working on a custom order for
a dear client.
She's been my client for over 3 years.
She is just the kindest, sweetest, gentlest person.

I often wish I could meet my clients.
How wonderful it would be to have a great big party
with all of you invited...

This particular client wrote the most amazing email to me a few days ago.
It made my eyes get all watery.
To think she thought enough of me for this:

"I often imagine you sitting in a magical room surrounded by
yarn from a thousand Arabian Nights!
And then... magical needles flying around!"

Isn't that the most delightful message?
Le sigh...


Here's a wee little
coming soon (and already arrived) Fringe update:

The Urchin Cowl in navy and cream.
This was a custom order.
I fell in love with the fresh color combo so
it will be in my shop starting next week.


Now available.
Turn your frown upside down with brown!


Now available.
For the prairie girl in all of us.


I love the three of these palette necklaces together.
Just saying...
It makes me happy to look at them.

So there you have it, darlings.
A little roundup of my week.
I hope your week has been fantastic.
Any plans for the weekend?
Whatever they may be,
I hope your days include
laughter
sunshine
fresh air
birds tweeting
and always,
always
love.

xo

P.S. My next post will include the caramel sauce recipe, as requested.  Yippee!



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Wherein Ron almost loses a finger....

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This weekend.
Oy.
Saturday, Ron was working on his latest project.
He's building a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall built-in for our bedroom.
Saturday, he was using the table saw.
It all happened in a split second.
The saw grabbed the wood,
and pulled his hand into the saw.
His upper left thumb was cut to the bone.

It could have been much, much worse.

That being said, he came into the house
with a blood soaked paper towel around his hand.
It went something like this:

He said, "It's pretty bad."
Me: "Oh no, what is it?"
R: "My thumb."
Me: "Oh honey. Emergency room?"
R: "Yes."

So off we went.  Ron, the boy, and I.
We were lucky, it was a slow day at the ER.
They took us in after only 5 minutes.


{without too much graphic info, there was a lot of blood}

We had a wonderful ER nurse and doctor.
The thumb took 6 stitches.
{The boy watched it all. I had to turn my head.}
He lost his nail, which should grow back in about 6 months.
The doctor stitched on a fake nail.
Something for the cuticle to attach to.
It's silver.


{photo by the boy}

The boy and I began calling him Silverthumb.


{the ER nurse tied that fancy bow}

The pain was bad the first days.
He didn't sleep the first night,
even with pain meds.
Finally, I poured him a whiskey.
That helped him sleep a couple hours.


{doctor's office waiting room}

Our first doctor visit was last night.
It's already looking better.
We go back on Thursday.
Today, Ron proclaimed a definite pain decrease.

Ron has been working with wood since he was a teenager.
He builds beautiful furniture.
It's his hobby.
What he loves to do,
and he's very skilled.
This was his first accident.
He's still trying to figure out what went wrong.
He keeps playing it back in his mind.
He says he can't explain it,
it happened so fast.

Again, we realize how lucky he was.
The ER nurse and doctor told us
power tool accidents are very common in the ER.
There was a guy there just before Ron.
He cut his hand with a power saw too.

I guess you know how I'm going to feel
when he goes back out to the garage
and starts up that table saw again.
Which I know he will.

So, that's pretty much our last few days
in a nutshell.
We're very thankful that Ron still has
10 fingers.

I hope your week is going beautifully,
dear friends.
Much love!
xo



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Inspiration...

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Inspiration.
One never knows when it will hit.
Sometimes like a brick,
sometimes like the tickle of a feather.

Today,
inspiration came to me through this...

Ron, checking the levels for the pool....
Just look at those gorgeous colors!
Infinite possibilites for color combinations.


Other things that have inspired me in the last few days...


My gorgeous succulents are flowering.
I love the contrast of greens with reds and oranges.


The dusk sky on 4th of July.
Soft muted gentle shades.
If you study this photo,
you'll discover there are many, many layers of colors.


Tomato, tomahto.
Our beautiful little veggies.
From deep dark, almost black, green
to the lightest, almost white, shade of celery.


As you well know,
I'm endlessly inspired by water.
This turquoise aqua color
immediately lifts my spirit.


I love the play of shadows captured
early this morning in my garden.
It's like garden noir!
Black and cream and purplish periwinkle.


You may not be surprised to see that most of these photos
capture nature....

Nature is the endless source for inspiration.

I hope you felt inspired by these little snapshots.
I thought of you as I took them,
my wonderful, beautiful friends.

Thank you for being you...
xo



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Line dry...

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My white and beige summer skirts,
drying on the line.

One of many reasons why summer is
my favorite season.

I hope you are enjoying this holiday weekend,
dear ones.

Be safe and make many happy memories!

Much love...
xo



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