DIY Christmas part II

Even Ralphie is getting in the spirit....

Some of the things I did like the frosted candle, came from the current issue of Martha Stewart Living. I liked the idea of frosted candles, so I conviced the pharmacist to sell me an unusually large supply of epsom salts (she was convinced I need it for constipation....) and went to work. The bells and cluser bow on the spray on the front door are also adapted from MSL. I´m not finished crafting yet, but I do have to work in between projects. So stayed tuned, more to come!

The DIY Christmas

My Do it yourself Christmas. No store-bought wreaths or garland. Thanks to our neighbor who cut down some trees in his yard I had lots of greenery to work with. The result isn´t perfect, but I´m pretty happy with the way things turned out. I do think that the garland I make for my mother at home out of cedar looks much prettier and turns out much better, but the greenery was free and I didn´t have a source of fresh cedar to work with. Maybe next year.

HomeGoods StyleScope - I'm a Country Classic

HomeGoods StyleScope - I'm a Country Classic

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The yard

Before I´m off to frolic in the waves I thought I´d post some new pics of our yard. No commentary, just pictures. It might not look like this when I get back, but I know my husband will do his best.




This is not our yard, but it´s kind of the way I´d like the path to our front door to look in a few years.

Hydrangeas!!!

Ok, I have an obcession with flowers. I like tulips and daffodils, I love roses and lavender, but I am completely and totally obcessed with hydrangeas. Both my wedding boquets had hydrangeas in them. One was blue hydrangeas, and the other used green/whitish hydrangeas. They were gorgeous, and maybe I can find the digital pics to share one day. But obcession aside I dragged Mr. Peach along Schloss Zuschendorf in Pirna to see the hydrangeas. There will be a big hydrangea exhibit in a couple of weeks but I wont be here to see it, so we decided to try and catch a glimpse. I forget to write down the names of these, but it´s not super important for now. Next year I´ll be back, notpad in hand writing down my favorites..... more to come on that.

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!

Ring around the rosey!

Peace!

She´s a beauty, isn´t she? I´m so glad my mother suggested this rose. Just a little info about this lovely courtesy of wikipedia:

The Peace rose is the most famous and successful garden rose of all time. Over one hundred million plants had been sold, as of 1992. It is a Hybrid Tea rose with very large flowers and a light yellow to cream color. It is very hardy and resistant to disease making it popular in gardens as well as in the floral trade (Beales).

It was developed by French horticulturist Francis Meilland in the years 1935 to 1939. When Meilland foresaw the German invasion of France he sent cuttings to friends in Italy, Turkey, Germany, and the United States to protect the new rose. The rose became known as 'Peace' in the following way. Early 1945 Meilland wrote to Field Marshal Alan Brooke (later Viscount Alanbrooke), the principal author of the master strategy that won Second World War, to thank him for his key part in the liberation of France and to ask if Brooke would give his name to the rose. Brooke declined saying that, though he was honored to be asked, his name would soon be forgotten and a much better and more enduring name would be "Peace".

The name "Peace" is a trade name; its formal cultivar name is Rosa 'Madame A. Meilland'. The adoption of the trade name "Peace" was publicly announced in the United States on 29 April 1945 by the introducers, Messrs Conard Pyle Co.. This was the very day that Berlin fell, officially considered the end of the Second World War in Europe. Later that year Peace roses were given to each of the delegations at the inaugural meeting of the United Nations in San Francisco, each with a note which read:

"We hope the 'Peace' rose will influence men’s thoughts for everlasting world peace".

Peter Beales, English rose grower and expert, said in his book Roses:

"'Peace', without doubt, is the finest Hybrid Tea ever raised and it will remain a standard variety forever".

And here she is just starting to open. She looks so much darker and brighter here. Once she fully opens and has been in the bright sun she fades to a much subtler yellow with just the slightest hint of pink. I much prefer her in the first picture.

And this is an almost spent blossom on my climbing rose, Constance Spry. I like the smell of Constance, and when the blossoms have just opened they are gorgeous. Unfortunately I was a bit late getting a picture, and since this is her first year in my yard she´s still very small. I´m sure that wont last long! She is almost ready to be tied to the trellis, and I can´t wait to see what she does next year. This year she had about 8 blossoms which wasn´t too bad for a new rose. It´s a pity she only blooms once a year. Sigh.


An last but not least, Schneewitchen. I like the pure white this rose has and the clusters of blooms. The bush is full despite this being its first year in my garden and I am thrilled.

Now if only Empress Josephine and the Pink Panther would bloom...they have buds, so I´m sure it wont be too much longer before I share pictures of them along with my other climbing rose New Dawn. Until then, happy gardening!