Weather Rock

     The weather rock in my front garden has had a monotonous job this summer. Oppresive record-setting heat and severe drought have plagued the St. Louis metro area - trees are visibly drooping and loosing leaves from the stress, lawns are parched and crunchy to walk upon, and utility bills are enormous. The smooth veined weather rock endures unscathed, however. The blazing rays and baking temperatures are absorbed and manifest each day's weather: sunny and hot. If only we could wake for a few days to a cool, wet rock!

Patio Coordinates

     Hooray - the enduring and depressing heat that has been suffocating the Midwest for the last two months has abated for a few hours. The humidity vanished, the night was actually cool and this morning's coffee on the porch was pure joy. After reveling in the physical comfort and the colorful sunrise, I rose to begin a morning of chores but not before admiring the coordinating chair cushions and table cloth that accented the pretty iron table and chairs. When the furniture was new, I searched fruitlessly for cushions - tropical themes, stripes and loud colors seemed to be the only option. A trip to the local fabric store was the last ticket and there I found a lovely green-on-white toile. Its pastoral scenes and cool colors were a perfect complement to the vining flower pattern on the chairs. Thick quilt padding (leftover from another project) was used for cushioning in the chair pads and ties were attached to hold them in place, while the tablecloth featured a centered hole for the umbrella. Simple construction and a simple look equalled a serene effect for morning muses!

Summer Dinner Pie

  

     Just picked corn on the cob and homegrown tomatoes are plentiful and inexpensive at this time of year. Last night's dinner featured the two in a tasty entree that was good hot and will probably be just as enjoyable served cold for lunch today. The biscuit pie crust was mixed up and refrigerated while the corn was sliced from the cob, the tomatoes were thin sliced and a few chives were picked from the garden and chopped. The crust was rolled and placed in a pie plate into which the vegetables, cheddar cheese, salt and pepper were layered. A few thin ham slices were also added to please the man of the house. To add a little flavor,  mayonnaise mixed with a few drops of lemon juice was drizzled over; the top crust was then placed, the edges crimped and melted butter brushed over. 

     The only downfall to this dish was that it had to bake in a hot oven, which I try to avoid in midsummer. However, baking time was only thirty minutes and the end result of an appealing one-dish dinner proved the rationalization worthy. We couldn't decide which was tastier - the filling or the flaky crust!

Nice Kitty and the Grouch

     Miss Molly often sits just inside the front door when there is some interesting activity in the yard or street. Here she surveys the new doormat, which was a gift. Pop felt the edict on the mat was insulting until I asked him why he assumed that "old grouch" referred to him! Molly is unconcerned - she is neither a person nor old, though she is a grouch with some visitors.

Cucumber Water (My Drink of the Summer)

     On a recent local garden tour, we enjoyed viewing several beautiful water gardens and met lots of lovely friendly people (gardeners who welcome visitors usually epitomize that category of humankind.) In one particular backyard, the homeowners had set up a small table of simple refreshments and beverages.  One pitcher held the standard lemonade and the other held something of which I was unfamiliar: cucumber water, which was merely slices of cucumber infused in water with a few drops of lemon juice added. On this day of new experiences and tropic temperature, the icy drink interested me. After one sip, I was hooked and have made a new batch every weekend since. It is especially appropriate now that my cucumber plants are producing fruit at a furious pace!

Sail Away Bathroom

     The guest bathroom has a beachfront motif and I like that a visit to the small room feels like an escape. Its simple decor and natural colors create a peaceful and relaxed mood. For many years, the toilet had a polished oak seat and  lid to match the vanity. However recently, it became obvious that the wood finish was failing and I felt that it harbored germs, even after a good cleaning. So the oak was discarded and replaced with white, easy-to-clean plastic. The smooth, gleaming surface of the lid may have been hygienic but it was certainly not attractive, so I shopped for covers and found none that appealed. Then, during an unrelated internet search, I saw this sailboat quilt square, which was easy to adapt and sew onto an equally simple-to-construct, poly/cotton cover. Quarter inch elastic edges the cover to keep it in place, and now the lid is not just utilitarian, it is a piece of decor!



The candle on the tub corner was made in North Carolina by my daughter-in-law, and also contains sand, seashells and a nautical rope tie.

Because the tub and tiles were already a sandy hue, I sewed a shower curtain of sheer and glimmery blue, to add an aquatic feel.

And finally, a wall grouping that includes a boat, a life-saving ring, and a starfish. (The walls were painted antique white and then striped with a color called "Sandpoint".)

Challenges Met

     A hedge trimmer that chewed up my fingertip and a brush with death for my elderly mother - should these have been reason enough to curtail my writing? I kept thinking not, until I saw how long it had been since I last posted. And even now it is hard to navigate the keyboard accurately - bumbling around with only nine usable fingers; however, I realize that some people manage with fewer and even no fingers, so I am thankful that my disability is temporary.

     Mom had Last Rights in the hospital at ten a.m. that fateful Saturday but at two p.m the same day was admiring a magazine cover graced with Kevin Costner's handsome smile. Three days after her miraculous recovery, she was released with the provision that she have round the clock supervision. So after living fifty-three years in the same house, she now resides in my sister's home, with an oxygen tank as her constant companion. A habitation change was difficult and somewhat depressing for her, but she had been contemplating selling the house anyway. She is easily confused and has some memory problems that may have been due to a lack of oxygen prior to the 911 call - the doctors say she may live a few weeks or a few months, an uncertainty that is disconcerting. But she is safe and in loving care, for which we are thankful.

     (And now, in readiness to sell, we begin to filter through the contents of the five-bedroom home in which my parents, grandmother, six siblings and I lived - should be inspiration for a wealth of stories!)