I Love My Shasta!

Oh yes!  I wanted one of these darling little travel trailers for the longest time and I kept my eyes peeled for one until this rough gem popped up in our own backyard.  Well, not exactly in our backyard - but close.  It had gotten some use over the years but had mostly just languished behind a garage for many, many years until I rescued it.


Dusty and dirty, it housed my stored canvases, picture frames and odds and ends that we had put there during our move almost three years ago.  Until last Saturday.  Quite honestly, I've had this trailer for several years and hadn't had much time (so you say) to dig in and start fixing it up but Saturday I got the urge.  I emptied it out and started cleaning.  And cleaning.  And cleaning.

After one bottle of Murphy's Oil Soap, Windex, a Yankee   Candle plug-in scent and a good vacuuming, I started to get pretty excited about what was happening before my eyes!  I found some cotton fabric for curtains at the wonderful quilt store in Lincoln, The Cosmic Cow, and I spent Sunday at the sewing machine until I had all of the windows done.

Love the fabric - It's a Hoot by MoMo for Moda.  I wanted retro but the 60's really were not as cool as you might imagine, kids, in terms of color and pattern.  Trust me on this one.  So I found fabric that is fresh and simple.  It works.

I am having such a ball refurbishing this sweet little travel trailer and why wouldn't I?  It's like having a grown up playhouse.

Thistles . . .

Even those things considered 'noxious weeds' hold beauty and if you squint your eyes and soften your focus, you can see the deep pink heart in the center of the blossom.

I carefully mowed around these few thistles as an old friend in Rye, Colorado, had a special request from a young bride who wanted to carry thistles in her bridal bouquet to honor the Scottish background of her groom.  She eventually opted for Sea Holly with the same 'thistle-like' bloom but it was fun to let these mature and I have been surprised at their beauty.  Usually they're chopped before they get to this stage but this was sweet to watch unfold every day.

I regret having to mow them since I was so careful not to for several weeks but . . . I think this can go on my 'permanent record' if I don't.

Eagle (Raceway) Nest . . .

I can't imagine that birds give a lot of careful consideration to where the best nest-building site would be so when I found this little robin's nest last night,  I just had to take a picture and hope for the best for her.

We were at Eagle Raceway in Eagle, Nebraska, last night where my darling stepson is racing one of his dad's (darling husband Ed's) sprint car - a dustier and dirtier and noisier place there cannot possibly be.  Lee was lined up to race his heat and his girlfriend and I climbed up to the viewing platform on the back chute when I happened to look down and there, at the top of the metal stairs between the handrail and the support is a robin's nest with one beautiful blue egg!

Possibly not the best place to build but in her defense, the racetrack isn't too busy except for Saturday night and she probably wasn't counting on a crowd.

The best thing is that everyone, drivers and pit crews, who climbed up those metal stairs were very careful to sidestep the nest and leave it undisturbed.  Cannot wait to see if she has a hatchling next weekend.  Fingers crossed.  We're pullin' for ya, little mama!

Friday Blooms . . .

I can't resist leaving you this Friday with a few shots of my iris in bloom. Sonja's Selah - beautiful.  Veined shrimp pink falls and white petals, orange beards.

And two old-fashioned Mystery Iris blooming in the ditch.

Bye.bye little birdhouse . . .

Yay for me, I hardly get a chance to post things on my blog before the sell anymore.  I should be so lucky all of the time!

Anyhoo, this is a little copper birdhouse I enameled with several siftings of vitreous enamel in white as the base and raspberry pink for the top layer.  On the final firing I randomly placed a few copper dots for a bit of interest and forged a bail to pin on top so the little birdhouse swings.

Pretty cute.  May have to do a series in sweet Springy colors?

More enameliciousness . . .

A few shows can wreak havoc on one's inventory so I'm working hard once again with copper and torch-fired enamels, experimenting with color and blending and embedded bits and pieces of copper.  Sometimes it's best not to know what you can and can't do with a material as that opens up toying with unpredictable results.


While the price of sterling silver is still sky high, using copper is becoming more intriguing.  I am not only playing with the colors of the enamel, but also using rivets and pins and hinges to make each piece unique.  

Love it.

Winter directly into Summer . . .

Sheesh!  Last week I was wearing my fleece jacket and yesterday it hit 97 degrees.  If anything deserves a WTF, this does.

So to honor my cravings for All Things Summer, I had a monstrous craving for Gazpacho.  Monstrous.  And with no fresh tomatoes at this point (c'mon, July!), I built it with canned tomatoes and it was wonderful nonetheless.  Now, I'm no foodie and typically I don't post recipes but in the event that you get a midnight craving for Gazpacho, here's a quick recipe that will fulfill your every jonesin'.

Two 28oz cans of good diced tomatoes, juice included

One English cucumber (you know, the ones wrapped in cellophane), diced or rough chopped in the food processor

One red onion - rough chopped in the food processor

Two little cans of sliced black olives

1 yellow pepper - rough chopped in the food processor

2 cups tomato juice or V-8

1/4 cup diced garlic (to taste)

1/2 cup red wine vinegar (I love pomegranate vinegar!)

1 cup good olive oil

salt and pepper (to taste)

I serve this (of course, cold) with a dollop of sour cream and tortilla chips and it's to die for.  It's my prelude to summer and should hold me until the 'real' tomatoes are ripe on my vines.