Under a Red Roof

Balmy Gin

June 12, 2008 in Drinking, Making by Colleen | 2 comments

I was relieved to have some sun today, so what better way to celebrate than to make up a cocktail? Drink up kids! Well, you know, not literally. I’m not going to encourage that.

Balmy Gin

1 6″ sprig lemon balm

1 6″ sprig mint

juice of 1/2 of a lime

2 oz gin (or more, if you like)

1-2 oz simple syrup

4-6 oz soda water

ice

Muddle lemon balm and mint (leave out stems) in the bottom of a tumbler. Add simple syrup, lime juice, and gin. Mix thoroughly (it won’t look pretty). Add soda water and ice. Stir, sip, and enjoy.

p.s. If you are a local and have no lemon balm or mint growing in your yard, come see me. I am happy to share.

A Long Term Vision…

April 29, 2008 in Decorating, Loving, Making by Colleen | 3 comments

With Siding

Siding on the side, waiting to be recycled.

A fresh coat of paint in my favorite colors: green and red.

Welcome to our newly painted home…

The front porch, so sweet!

Me, taking a picture of Milo looking out at the new colors.

The back yard from the upstairs – the lawn furniture resides where the dead BMW once did.

When Gregory and I came to Portland for our house hunting trip ten years ago, we looked at twenty five houses in four days. Ooh la la! What an overwhelming and wholly taxing experience. At the end, when we were seated in the office of our realtor, Carol Zamba (I wonder if she’s still selling houses?), and I chose this house, Gregory and Carol gave a slightly horrified stereo response. “That one?”

While I extolled the house’s virtues – it faces west (for shady summer afternoons in the back yard), it has a large lot with a detatched garage, the right amount of bedrooms (four – ours, guest, tv, and office), and a full basement – they thought about the alligator living in a giant aquarium in the dining room, the peeling paint, the piles of garbage on the back porch and basement, the siding on one half of the house, and oh, yeah, the dead BMW nestled in the tall weeds in the back. Yes, that one.

The key, for me, was a long term vision. I could see us turning that house into our home, and we have, slowly but surely, bit by bit.

So, this is our humble abode’s tranformation to half-sided and okay to painted and lovely. We dreaded this awful project for ten long years – take off the siding? finish the job? paint it? We finally decided to take it off, and then paint the whole house in a new Colleen and Gregory color scheme. I am so happy we did, for I never really liked that blue color, not being my choice and all. This green however, I am in love with it. It looks so lovely with the red roof and the matching windows. I am happy, happy, happy. I finally have the exterior of my dreams. Now for the bathroom and basement. All in good time…

p.s. This project is what kept me from posting sooner. It is hard to focus with five loud men painting up a storm!

Too many craft supplies?

April 16, 2008 in Giving, Making by Colleen | Permalink

If you are like me, and your crafty eyes are sometimes too big for your crafty stomach, and you’ve got more fabric and do-dads than you’ll ever use, and you happen to live in the Portland area, give them to Knittn’ Kitten! It is your local fabric, bead, and craft supply thrift store.

I just donated this rather large tote full of fabric, plus a few new and vintage patterns that, despite my eagerness at the time, I know I will never ever make.

Even if you don’t have anything to donate, the shop is certainly worth a peek. They have a very interesting inventory of inexpensive crafty goodness: patterns, stickers, great yarn (lots of wool), fabric, and many many notions. They also have some vintage clothes and bric-a-brac for the home, a little of everything. Though, I must say that my favorite bit has got to be the vintage linen room. Were it not for the fact that I’m not buying anything until June, I’d have gone a little nuts in there.

The store is owned by a lovely mother and daughter team, Ethel and Rome. A real gem – check it out!

www.knittnkitten.com

Polite Society

March 27, 2008 in Making, Writing by admin | 6 comments

She’s my baby girl, my first draft, out in the world without me. She’s having sleep-overs at the homes of my dear friends, even venturing off to sunny Mexico.

Will she be safe? Will she play well with others? Will they like her, enjoy her company? It is all out of my hands now.

No matter what happens, I know that I made her what she is: silly, creative, strong, independent. I loved her, coddled her, coaxed the best from her. No one can take that away from me, ever. She is mine yet never really was.

Where will she go from here? It is not for me to say, only to hope.