It's fire pit time.

I've been looking at old pictures, reminiscing about our summer fires...one of our most enjoyable past times during the warm evenings of July and August. Those nights call for a blazing fire, a soft guitar and smores. There's even an outdoor movie now and then. We acquired our copper fire pit about 10 years ago when hubby gave it to me as a birthday gift. It owns a lot of dents now, and the shiny copper color is no longer, but it still serves us well each and every summer. The nice thing about a portable fire pit is just that...it's portable. We can have a fire wherever we want. Every August, on the evening after the road race, we move the fire pit out to the big area in front of the house where we have lots of room for lots of people. It's always the perfect ending to a perfect day.

The Falmouth road race now draws over 10,000 runners each year. We usually have eight or nine running from our group of family and friends. When the race is over, we all celebrate for the rest of the day with great food, music and a lot of laughter. As much fun as the day is, everyone really looks forward to the evening when we all sit around a beautiful fire with the little ones toasting marshmallows for smores. There's quite a bit of talent in our group. A good fire inevitably brings out the guitars and and a song fest ensues. This year's road race is only two weeks away. I'd better get busy.
Even though I've been bad, bad, bad about sewing aprons, do check out my etsy shop at apronsgonewild.etsy.com
I've got two new ones that will be posted this week.

No complainin' today.


We've had a good stretch of sunny weather. I almost welcome the rain this morning. I won't have to water the flowers. Our Queen Victoria's plume, pictured here, is moist and full on this dewy day.

Not much to report since last time. I'm still a bum in the sewing department. My etsy customers must think I've abandoned my shop. It's just not the right environment around here in the summertime, to haul out all my fabrics and trims, etc. in order to cut and sew some new items. I need quiet time to be creative. I dragged everything out one day last week and before I got to even sew a seam, daughter Joanne called about going to the beach and that was the end of it. Hard to stay indoors and sew while the sun is shining and the beach is calling. Of course....off I went, leaving the scissors and thread and sewing machine abandoned.
We lost a dear friend this past weekend. She was 89 so those who came to honor her life essentially were a gathering of friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time. It was actually fun to catch up. Just the kind of environment that Isabelle loved herself. Going back to Connecticut is always like a reunion of sorts for us. It's where we spent the big chunk of our lives when we raised our four children, so there are a lot of attachments and reminders.

I am sitting here this gray, drizzly morning writing this, listening to the fog horn. Not sure why I love the sound because it inevitably means no sunshine! But, it keeps me focused and reminds me of how close the water's edge is. Being near the water is something I never take for granted. It's like nourishment to me. When I don't have it, I feel starved. I remember the three years we spent living near Chicago when hubby transferred for his job. I felt as if I'd been dropped in a hole. The neighborhood where we lived had a community swimming pool but it was always crowded and noisy. The nearest thing to water for me was Lake Michigan. It's so enormous that it almost comes close to feeling like the ocean, but not quite. We bought a small sail boat and trucked it to the big lake each and every weekend to get our "fix," so to speak. But, I never quite felt right. The droning sound of that fog horn on mornings like this certifies that I am truly home now. And home this time, is in a truly spectacular place. Sooner or later, I'll get back to making aprons. In the meantime, check us out at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

After several gorgeous summer days here...
we are back to the rain and drizzle. But...we did get in two days at the beach. Daughter Patti visited from Vermont with her three little ones, so we felt blessed by the warm sunshine and balmy breezes. A spectacular show of fireworks with a bird's eye view from the shore topped off our July 4th. Having young feet around is a trip. We never know what to expect next. When one is relaxed and wanting some quiet time, another one is wired and wants to play tag. I now know where the meaning of "never a dull moment" came from. Must have been someone with lots of young children. Of course, they are all so adorable you could eat them. The house will be quiet now for at least a few weeks. The teenagers don't make much noise. They are either working, facebooking, texting or sleeping. Oh...I forgot eating. They are always eating. But they are quite independent and don't ask for much. I try to maintain my "summer rules" about keeping their rooms in order. Sometimes they fail, but for the most part, they try to keep things reasonably neat.
I plan to get back to the sewing machine now that the house is quieter. I've been a complete failure since we got back from Florida. It just seems that there is always so much work to do on the house. Hard to find time to sew. My apron stock is sorely depleted. Meanwhile, the outside of the house trim, fences, decks, etc. all need painting. Hubby is limited this summer because of his back. However, his exercises are making him stronger and he's been able to do a lot more than he had anticipated.
I found two interesting "deals" recently. The Sheraton chair pictured here, I found on Craig's list for $30 while I was looking for sofa. The ladder back chair was at a yard sale for $5. It looks very old, partly because the seat is quite low. I've learned that the height of the seat is a good clue as to the vintage of a chair. People were shorter generations ago. Most of the furniture from the 1700s and 1800s is of a much smaller scale and height. Both chairs have very sound rushing on the seats. Replacing the seats in chairs of that age is costly and the major reason why people sell the chairs rather than fix them. For that reason, I felt fortunate to get them for next to nothing. The fact that they are black was an added bonus. I use a lot black in decorating our home because I find it is a grounding color that accentuates everything else.

I hope this will be the last post I write that doesn't feature a new apron. I'm determined to have something new added to my etsy shop to show you next time. Until then, check us out to see what we have at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com

How do you feel when you open a blog....

and all of a sudden, loud music starts to play? Depends on where your volume is
set I guess...but this morning, when I opened a blog that I frequently read, I nearly jumped out of my chair. Like a shot in the head, out of the blue, music began playing...really loud music. I couldn't hit the volume button fast enough. Not a good thing. Sometimes I think the blog world affords us too many creative additions to our little pages with points of view.
As for me...I like to view blogs that feature pictures of the insides and outsides of the author's home. I love all kinds of decor and admire folks who can put a room together with style. I could absolutely stare at the pictures on "Between Naps on the Porch" all day long. This blog has amazing photos of the author's beautiful enclosed porch that is set up for year 'round using. Love it, love it, love it! She has also taken her readers into her bedroom as well as other areas of her home. All are an inspiration...especially to a reader who loves decor. And, there's no music!
I've posted a picture today of our "old house" dining room. We have an odd sort of fireplace, but it was the thing that warmed my heart when we first looked inside this old place. Years ago, one of the neices of the former owner stopped by. She had spent her summers here and was building a summer house of her own on the other side of town. She wanted to photograph the fireplace so she could replicate it in her own place. I guess our humble fireplace "spoke" to her as well.
I'll not whine today about the weather. We had one glorious beach day yesterday, but this morning, we're back to cloudy, dreary skies. It's hard to comprehend.
Now that my Emily is here, I'm hoping to get some pictures of her modeling my aprons and tops. In the meantime, check us out
at apronsgonewild.etsy.com to see what we have to offer.

Well...it's still raining.
Heard a weather report this morning that said Cape Cod has only seen two full days of sun since
June 2nd. How's that for depressing? Our daughter and her family arrived from Ohio last week,
expecting to be spending our visit sitting in the sun at the beach. Instead, we've been stuck
in the house, eating and playing board games and napping, while the rain pelts against the windows and leaves branches and whatnot blown around messing up the deck and front porch. Yikes!
This morning, I couldn't sleep so I got up before 6am and took advantage of the break in the rain to sweep the water and debris off the decks, pick up the yard a bit and just feel fresh air on my face. I'm not an indoor person. Not an athlete, or anything like that. I just like fresh air in my face. I like to have the doors and windows open, sensing the outside air. I love sunshine. It's probably why I enjoy our four months in Florida each year. Just about every morning while we're down there, I wake up to bright sunshine. When I open the front door to get the morning paper, the sun warms my face. People are out walking their dogs, smiling, enjoying the warm salty breeze that comes off the ocean.
That's often the scene here on the Cape in the summertime. But even though June is never a really warm month here, it's hardly ever this dreary and rainy. None of our outdoor painting projects have even begun. Luckily, I got the back deck sanded and painted before this streak of rain hit. I have a hard time finding a time to mow the lawn and even when it's stopped raining long enough to do the job, the grass is always wet and heavy, making bagging a real effort. Whine, whine, whine. Maybe I need wine, wine, wine.
I've also been waiting for some nice weather to photograph our granddaughter, Emily, in some of the aprons and tops I made while in Florida this winter. Things always seem to sell better when Emily is modeling them. Three more aprons went out of my etsy shop this past month, all as gifts to women in Aruba! Since they were delivered, I've noticed some Aruba visits to the blog site. Hopefully that means the recipients are reading the info on the tags we place on every apron.
I've recently subscribed to a magazine I first noticed at my hairdresser's place. It's called, "Lucky." The sweetest clothes are featured. I think it will help keep me up to date as to what's in style and what buyers are looking for in this market. Lots of great separates put together as outfits with .com addresses to almost all the places for purchasing.
Hope you'll check out Lucky magazine and check out our etsy shop as well, at apronsgonewild.etsy.com

I've been a flop this week.
I'm usually full of plans and ideas, but this week, I'm just flopping around. I'm getting sick of hearing myself complain about the gray skies and almost constant drizzle outdoors. But, each morning, when I wake up, I just want to roll over and go back to sleep....no incentive to jump out of bed and start my day. I like it when the sun lights up our bedroom early in the morning. On those days, I lie in bed for a few minutes and think about my day, going through all the steps of all the things I want to do. But, on these dreary, drizzly mornings, the only incentive to get up is the thought of that first cup of coffee.
I had a nice email today from a shop owner here on Cape Cod. She was inquiring about aprons, but I was most delighted to learn about her shop location...a place I know well. "Yummy Goods," as it's called, is located in a really neat old building in W. Barnstable. There is an old fashioned General Store that's been there as long as I can remember. Yummy Goods is next door in the same building in the spot of the former post office. When I checked out the Yummy Goods blog, I learned that an upcoming movie scene was being filmed there recently. Named, "The Lightkeepers," it stars Richard Dreyfus, Blythe Danner and Martin Scheen. Cool.
I've got some really nice fabrics to work with in the next few weeks. Always a tough decision as to whether to make aprons or blouses. I guess I'll let each piece of fabric dictate its future.
Check us out at apronsgonewild.etsy.com for some really cute aprons like the one Emily is wearing here.

Rain, Rain, Go Away....

Please go away and come again some other day. I'm sick of you!! I know we need the rain for the lawn and the flowers and all that, but I need some sunshine. The sky is so gloomy and cloudy. Everything outside is wet...the picnic table, the chairs, the grill, the benches. Even the flowers are wet. I brought in a bouquet of lilacs yesterday to put in the guest rooms for our daughter and a friend who were visiting. Had to dry them out with paper towels before I could even arrange them.

We had a wonderful dinner last night. Mashed potatoes, London Broil, baked beans and a big salad. Sometimes, the simplest menu is the best menu. Topped it off with a carrot cake. My stomach still felt full when I woke up this morning.

I've been doing a lot of cleaning lately and therefore haven't been doing much sewing. So, I'm going to share some cleaning tips. We use a several products here that aren't well known. Three of them have been recommendations by friends who watch the Home Shopping Network and QVC. Since we're all supposedly trying to eliminate use of potentially toxic cleaning products, I can highly recommend "Supercloths." They are made in Italy and are available on QVC or directly on the Internet. Supercloth is an ecological suede like cloth that can be used on any surface from windows to floors. Just wet the cloth with tap water and wipe down the surface. The shammy like quality of the cloth creates a sort of "drag" that not only cleans the surface but dries it to a shine. Supercloths come in sets of 3. I keep one for the bathrooms, one for glass and appliances and one for wood surfaces. They seem to last much longer than the 4 months they claim on the package. Matter of fact, I've kept my original order for several years now, even though I did re-order one more shipment of new ones last fall. You do not need to use any cleaning solutions, sprays or powders with Supercloth. Just tap water and that's it.

My next favorite thing is "Pro Shot Floor Restorer." This stuff will take your wood floors to a new level. I don't know how it works but when our friend Robin comes to clean, I am always in awe when I return home and she has done the floors with Pro Shot. Somehow, it doesn't leave any build-up and it makes your floors absolutely glow. Robin gets Pro Shot on one of the home shopping channels, but I've noticed you can buy it directly online from several sites.

My third favorite thing is my Joy Mangano "Huggable Hangers." These hangers are very thin and have a velvety covering, so nothing slips or slides. Your blouses, shirts, t-tops, even lingerie stays right where you put it. Plus, the thin profile of the hangers doubles the amount of clothing you can put in your closet. Recently, I've seen copies of the original Joy Mangano hangers in stores like Home Goods and TJ Maxx. They aren't quite as well made, but the difference in price makes them well worth the purchase. I've given all our plastic hangers to Goodwill and we now have Huggable Hangers exclusively in our closets. They are that good.

It's still raining. So, I will take my Supercloths and do some cleaning and afterward I'll get out the ironing board and iron some shirts and hang them on my Huggable Hangers. The Pro Shot floor job will have to wait for a nicer day.

Check out our etsy shop at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com for some really pretty aprons and tops for the summer.