Monday, August 10, 2009

Dog Day Afternoon

It is hot today: so hot in fact that I have been huddled indoors, tooling without my halogen lamp because even THAT makes it more scorching.


All the shades are drawn and I am personally very excited for evening: the cool that descends is both physically and spiritually renewing.

My garden cannot be enjoying this.

My garden, by the way, is a mess of weeds and herbs and some of the plants Francis (our backyard neighbor) planted last year have begun coming up again: tomatoes in the chard (which has been resurrected!!), herbs in the onions, etc. 
Oy! 

This is where I realize that perhaps I put too much on my plate this summer - hee hee?

I made a few custom dog collars today that were a great deal of fun, and a few barrettes in various shades and using two different kind of vintage leather tooling patterns from the dawn of tooling time.
They are so fun to follow and work with and when I tool them I can feel the ghosts of old Sonoma County cowboys over my shoulders encouraging me to honor the history of this rare art.
And so I do.


A classic poppy in yellow and red with a black canvas and a really neat-o flower blossom that I colored pink, yellow and red with a black canvas.

Oh, and Jordan? The cake (cooling on the open windowsill, like in the olden days)


was really really yummy (I would recommend a touch more sugar in the recipe as the raspberries were tart - or you could use a completely different berry!)
and I feel compelled to share the recipe with all of you: HERE it is!

The website, SmittenKitchen, is just filled to the brim with good recipes and gorgeous pictures.
I am indeed besotted by it all.

A happy, happy Monday to you all and hugs for the parts that hurt :)

10 comments:

Runs4fun said...

What a strange coincidence! I have buttermilk to be used up this week, AND I just arrived home having stopped at the outdoor market...with a 1/2 flat of --- raspberries! Now I know what I'll do with them!

Have a lovely~~~coooooooled off~~~evening! It's 'stick' here (as they say)...very humid and nearly 90F at 6:15 p.m.

Hugs (despite the heat)

Allisunny S. said...

Hugs right back, oh fortunate chef :) You'll love it, Heath :)

Kiki said...

It's nice to see some new leather pieces, and they're the perfect ones for this heat: barrettes!

AppaloosaMoon said...

...i can feel the temperture rising...in those flaming barrettes...hot...hOT...HOT...

Allisunny S. said...

Kiki - it's nice to make some new leather pieces :) Indeed: it is 95 degrees here today!!!
Wooo!

Nancy - well, thank you - I bet you are drinking your tea iced today!!! :)

susie said...

Beautiful flowers- makes me wish I had long hair. Thank you for the recipe- we went blackberry picking and I've been looking for a good recipe. We had a storm blow through last night and take some of the heat away with it. Keep cool, enjoy the evening.

Good Girls Studio said...

Perfect barrettes to put your hair up on these sweltering days! Hope you cooled off :)

jordan said...

yay!!! that looks amazing just like it sounded!!! maybe i can modify it and make it gluten free...on a related note, i made a kick-ass batch of gluten free/dairy free blueberry corn muffins last night...super satisfying, not too sweet...perfect brekkie food!! talk to you soon lovely lady
xoxo

Anonymous said...

Love those barrettes. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Jaime/GirlLovesGloss said...

OH my, I clicked on that link to the recipe and then spent over an hour pouring over the recipes! I've already printed off several to try - I was mesmerized!

Jordan - Blueberry Corn muffins sounds right up my alley! YUM