Three Loves

# 1 -Beading:

I just spent a couple of days with two delightful gals, Amy & Susan, from the Phoenix area. They needed a girl's road trip and came down for some studio time in Tombstone. As sometimes happens, the student/teacher relationship got thrown out the window and ideas flowed non-stop. This creative, free flowing of ideas and possibilities is what I thoroughly enjoy about the beading community. I came away with an idea for a bracelet using the African "sequins" that I'm going to have to try out as soon as I can steal a moment to put it to good use. Now I can't wait to put the chaos back onto my studio work surface and see where this idea leads.

#2 - Cooking:

Bagna Cauda
I've royally stunk up the house tonight as I did the prep for tomorrow's night dinner with my 2 Sister's & their men. Oh my.... chopped two whole heads of garlic, added 2 cans of anchovies and it's all simmering in butter & olive oil. My Piemontese Italian heritage is front and center with this dinner. I can hear my Father saying, "NO dipping the bread in!" Guess I'd better get out my stretchy pants as I know I'll need the extra room for dinner tomorrow.

This dinner also gave me the chance to indulge my liking for vintage kitchen implements. I needed something to put the Bagna Cauda in on the table and keep it warm. The only warmer I found in several thrift stores was this Chrome Fire King Fondue pot. Now I'm in real trouble as I don't think I have a place in my smallish adobe to store it. I was planning on getting something ugly and cheap enough to re-donate when I was done with it. This is too good a find to put back out for someone else.

#3 - Gardening:

All I've grown myself is a beautiful dark red Amaryllis which is happily blooming on my window sill. I still miss having a house full of houseplants.

Tomatoes ready for outside planting .... in February! This year I've gotten to enjoy my gardening vicariously. My companion brought heirloom tomato seeds with him and has been carefully nurturing them inside under my beading Ott lights. They are beautiful, healthy, sturdy plants that went into the planting barrels yesterday. We hope to be able to enjoy ripe tomatoes from these plants before we head back to New Hampshire. Sometimes it's very nice to be able to enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor.