Election Day!

~I'm a nut when it comes to politics. Election day is one of my favorite days no matter what the mood of the country. On this note, I thought it fitting to republish a post I did earlier this year about Politics. Too often, I hear folks say...."I hate politics." Well...not so fast. The political process was set up for a reason. It is up to all of us to exercise our right to vote to keep it in tow and make it work for us. I am perhaps the most cynical person in the world. That cynicism keeps me focused and inquisitive. But I understand the concept of how the system was designed to ebb and flow. The political process can be our friend when we need laws to protect us. It can also be our enemy when it seeks to overreach and stifle our freedoms.
~On this election day, 2010, I've thought it might be a good idea to bring back my post on politics here.

From An Old Floorboard to a Tombstone Cupboard

My thanks to Susan of http://www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/ for hosting another Metamorphosis Monday and for giving her fellow bloggers a chance to show their stuff!

I sort of put the words metamorphosis and recycle into the same mental category. If I can take an object and turn it into something else rather than dispose of it, I consider it to be recycled...or repurposed as the new generation would say.

My favorite metamorphosis or recycle in our lives is always one that involves the transformation of one of the old, wide, pine floorboards that were taken up from the first floor of our circa 1724 house here on Olde Cape Cod. Would have loved to save them as flooring, but as we all know...water seeks its lowest level. All the flooring on the first floor of our our house was rotted along with the underpinnings. Some of the boards were 23 inches in width...a treasure in my book. We saved what we could and stored the boards in the garage. Over the years, hubby has crafted many things from the nearly 300 year old flooring, but one of my favorites is our pine Tombstone Cupboard. With the exception of the back piece, the entire cupboard is crafted from an old floor board. Hubby drew up his own design based on my requests. I think the result is spectacular...and a very fitting subject for a post at Halloween time since it's called a "Tombstone" cupboard ...get it?

The cupboard provides the perfect home for some of our old pewter pieces. Oddly enough,what I most love about it is the group of holes in the door. The only usable part of the floorboard that was wide enough for a door had holes in it where the floor nails had rotted right through. Hubby didn't want to use it. But eventually I convinced him that the holes actually added character.

We painted our Tombstone Cupboard with Olde Century Colors paint in Greenbriar along with Barn Red on the inside.

It's truly one of my favorite things in our home.


Thought for the day: Welcome the unexpected.... opportunities rarely come in neat predictable packages.


Don't forget to check out our online apron shop at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/

~Ahhh...Fall. It's always beautiful in New England but especially on
Cape Cod where the sunlight on the water in the morning takes on the look of a gazillion diamonds. Keeping the flower beds and window boxes looking good is a task in the summer with long days of full sun and sparse rainfall. Perfect beach weather but tough on plants.

~This time of year, with shorter, cooler days, the flowers seem to thrive. There's color everywhere. Our sedum plants have taken over the front cottage garden and will have to be removed this year.....but in the meantime, we're enjoying the blast of gorgeous color. Sedum is an odd plant. Its blossoms stay green all summer long and look like little bunches of broccoli. Come the end of August, they slowly start to turn; first a soft pink, graduating to the darker mauve color they are now, soon to become a dark russet. I always leave the seed heads on through the winter because even after they dry and turn dark brown, they look beautiful...especially when snow falls and lands on their pretty faces.

~At the moment, we're enjoying the butterflies and bumble bees that seem intoxicated by the
sedum's gifts. It's all good.

~Working on two aprons for a special order. I don't usually accept special orders but these are for a special friend so an exception is being made. It's a whole different ballgame. Not sure why, but it takes me twice as long to do a special order.

~Ordinarily, making an apron or anything else it like painting a picture to me. It's a ride on the imagination train. When I am confined to specifics like color, size, etc., it becomes work! But, as I said, this special order is for a special person, so I'll not complain.

~Be sure to check out our web page at www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com to see what we have to offer.
And enjoy this beautiful time of year.

Our Tuscan Farm Table

~So one evening while having dinner out on the back deck, someone said, "Wouldn't it be nice to have one of those big Tuscan style farm tables for our big family dinners?" Next thing ya know, hubby built one for us. It's nice and big and sturdy so when the little kids come, they can't lean on it and tip it over. Nice and big for lots of people which is what we usually have here during the summer on Old Cape Cod. Made from pressure treated pine, he joined the top pieces with biscuits and glue and then sealed the seams with something or other. He made two holes to accommodate two umbrellas. There was much discussion about the placement of the holes. We all thought they were too far apart. We came close to taking bets it.

~But...as usual, hubby knew what he was doing and the day that six of us carried the big table out to the back deck, the umbrellas fit perfectly. We christened it that night with a family dinner as you can see by the pics. The baked stuffed shrimp and beef tenderloin was our first meal.

~Lots of folks arrived this week for the big, annual Falmouth Road Race. Over 9,000 registered runners. The new table will be perfect because eating is a big part of every road race celebration. This year, we'll be celebrating Tuscan style!

Coming Soon

The making of an outdoor Tuscan Farm table....coming soon.

Summertime on Old Cape Cod

~Summertime. Feet up on the porch. Cold beer in a keg. Hot dogs and burgers on the grill. Simplicity. Laughter. Sun kissed faces. Towels on the line. Flip flops in the entryway. The sound of the screen door slapping shut. Inhale it. Feel it. So pure and good and simple.
~Living on Cape Cod brings a special meaning to summertime. We have little pieces of salt stuck in our screens. We live with the low, drone of the fog horn lulling us to sleep each night. We have a hard time deciding which seafood restaurant to go to on any given night because they are all so good. Today the waters of Vineyard Sound were lapping upon the shore and tiny whitecaps were visible everywhere. Boats were heeling over, beholden to the wind. Tomorrow might be the exact opposite with calm seas and limp sails. It's ever changing. Always a surprise. Always beautiful.

~The beach roses are spent but the honeysuckle is just coming into its own and the sweet fragrance is intoxicating as I ride my bike along the Shining Sea bike path each morning. Being outdoors. Watching runners, bikers and walkers from our perch on the front porch. Passing fresh faces each morning on the bike path. Movement. Energy. Emotion. It's contagious.

~Thank you God, for letting me live here on Old Cape Cod.

Independence Day

~Here we are...another July 4th on the horizon. The weather couldn't be more
cooperative here on Old Cape Cod. Sunshine, blue sky, fresh, clean air. Gorgeous. While most folks are gearing up for holiday bashes this Independence Day weekend, I'm hanging loose, lying low and eating lean.
A recent visit from my sister and a close friend who both live in Orlando has left me spent. For five days, we ate, shopped, drank and talked. It was wonderful. Like three teenagers goofing off and being giddy. Our little town is the kind of place where you can go from the candy shop to the t-shirt store to the Irish pub all in the blink of an eye....and that's how we spent our little va-ca together. Whether sitting at the Roo Bar eating tapas and drinking Sam Adams Summer Ale
or couched around a small table at Pies a la Mode, eating homemade
gelato and surrounded by pastries to die for, we found a way to quench our thirst and get some retail therapy while fueling the economy of Falmouth with purchases at every stop. From Port Cargo where I found a gorgeous leather-like handbag to The Black Dog where my friend found the perfect tank top to bring home to her dog sitter, to Touche' where my sister found the ideal pair of silver hoop earrings, we hit them all.
~A scenic drive along the shore road one day led us to Woods Hole and the Oceanographic Institute where research of the ocean's bottom is alive and well. No one can leave Woods Hole without visiting the Capt. Kidd where what seems like a 50 ft. long bar reportedly dates back to the civil war days. One of the things I love about living here on Cape Cod is the rich history that is part of its lore. And when someone comes to visit who is curious about that history, it makes it even more fun because each and every inch of this place has a story to tell to anyone who will listen. Sitting on our front porch, looking through the books of Falmouth and thinking of what was once here puts you in a different state of mind. It makes you ponder the grand scheme of things.
~And so, that's how I'll spend this July 4th weekend...sitting on the porch, pondering the rich history of this place; what the men and women who came before us did to keep it safe and whole. Our house dates back to 1724, quite some time before Independence day in 1776. It's come a long way, baby.
~As an aside to this post, I have to share a funny story. My friend who bought the tank top at the Black Dog emailed me the day after she got home. She had left the tank top in the Black Dog gift bag on the table in her family room for her dog sitter as a thank you gift. Black Dog merchandise comes wrapped in white tissue with little black Labradors printed all over. Their gift bags feature a big black lab on the front. Apparently, "Dooley" my friend's sweet, lovable Labradoodle, attacked the bag while she was at work, practically ate the tank top and left the tissue torn in pieces. He didn't like the intrusion of the Black Lab, we are guessing. Dooley never does anything like this so it was quite a surprise for my friend when she came home that day and found the destruction! But this story ends well. When she called the Black Dog to tell them her plight, they cheerfully shipped out a new tank top and didn't even charge her the usual ten dollar shipping charge. I guess they take responsibility for the tortes of their black dogs, even if they are just pictured on a bag!!!


~Haven't been at the sewing machine in a month, but we still have some pretty aprons in stock as well as some summer blouses. Check them out at http://www.apronsgonewild.etsy.com/