Long time no hear

It´s been a long time since I updated, so I´ve decided to give you a short chronology in pictures. I´ve had several baking endeavors (see the lovely Strawberry Shortcake from the cover of Living July 2007)

cupcakes for my friend Andrea´s birthday (half chocolate, half vanilla with Swiss merangue buttercream frosting)
Then a fourth of July bash that somehow did not get sufficient documentation as I found when Iwent to upload the pics. We had Carolina bbq pulled pork, potato salad, cole slaw, tomatoes, angel food cake, patriotic icecream compotes, and lots of other yummy things including home made buns.
The chicken drumsticks with cilantro and lime garnish.
The drinks minus the ice tea. yes, that´s an old washtub filled with beer, cokes and ice.
Some of the guests chowing down. Unfortunately you can´t see the decorations that I worked so hard on, but they are there.
Then I decided to make my sister a hostess gift since I´ll be staying with her for a few days. As far as I know she doesn´t have a tea cozy, so I made this one.
And half a dozen napkins to match with fancy stiching
An apron to serve the tea in
and here I am modeling the apron. I copied a vintage one my grandmother had made and changed a few things. This one is a bit fancier than what she did--I decided to use a different material for the ruffle. Has something a bit maidy now. Oh well.
And a new rose in my yard. A yellow one that was supposed to be white. Oh well, guess nobody is perfect!

And last but not least, I´ve spent quite a bit of time making jelly out of blueberries, strawberries and sour cherries. And no, I´m not done. I´m half way through re-doing an old nightstand. So stay tuned, maybe I´ll finish it before I head home!