Flower Pounding

While wandering around the yard, I thought the fuchsia blossoms would be good to use for flower pounding.

If you've never heard of flower pounding, you take blossoms, lay them on watercolor paper, and pound them with a hammer for some savage amusement.

If you Google flower pounding tutorials, most will tell you to use fresh blossoms. My plant is so pretty and doing well, I didn't want to take fresh blooms. Some had recently passed and fallen on the ground. I also pulled a few that were just going.

On a hard surface, you arrange the blossoms on your paper. I'm using the inside cover of my giant dictionary as I didn't want to do this on the hardwood floor.

After the petals are arranged the way you like, you can cover them with wax paper or a paper towel. Then grab your hammer and go to town

You want blossoms that still have some moisture in them and aren't  completely dried out.

When you're done pounding, you remove the spent blooms.

You're left with a "watercolor" impression. Sometimes the colors are different than expected. You can use the finished paper as collage fodder or to make a card. You can outline  and doodle around the image, too. 

I haven't decided what I want to do with this piece yet.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Heavy rains the week before knocked the hose out of the rain barrel.

The elbow was facing up when the hose got knocked out. A slight adjustment with the elbow down made collecting the water right as rain.

Petunias

Clematis flowers the size of dinner plates

Petunias for the mailman

The hydrangea has new growth. The deadwood needs to be trimmed away

I asked Quill to smile

Alpine bells among the ferns

The snowball bushes look more like flurries

What is it? It's pink.

How does your garden grow?

Happy, Little, Time Waster

 

Dad builds a diaper changing machine.

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. A rainy, Saturday afternoon. Perfect for watching Richard Widmark in The Alamo

2. Lost my gold crown while taking supplements. Fortunately, I didn't swallow it. The Dentist was able to squeeze me in so he could glue it back

3. Another week and another play day with Teague. She had a surprise for me.

4. Had a good class even if the iPad-pocket projector didn't work

5. Old tech might be old, but it works. Demonstrated on the chalkboard.

How was your week?

Happy Towel Day

 

Don't forget to bring your towel wherever you go today.

Whatcha Doin?

 

Mr. Spock and The Young One are helping me to try to connect the iPad to a pocket projector so it will mirror what is on the iPad.

I thought I would go 21st. century for teaching students calligraphy instead of writing on a chalkboard where I sometimes make a better door than a window when I'm in front of the chalkboard. Also people at the museum have written on the chalkboard with oil pastels so not always a good surface to use chalk on as chalk was intended.

I can demonstrate letter formation and the ductus (stroke) order using Procreate and a 45 degree angle calligraphy brush and in theory can project what's on the iPad onto the wall.

The Young One has gotten a lot closer in making it so than I did.  The good thing is the chalkboard is still the fallback plan and we have 6 weeks to figure things out.

Whatcha doin? I'm happy dancing because she got things working, and I was able to replicate her instructions.

T Stands for Portland Head Lighthouse

On our Camp Ogunquit trip, we took a ride to visit Fort Williams and the Portland Head Light House in Cape Elizabeth. There's a museum in the lightkeeper's cottage, but as our trip was early in the season, it wasn't open.

In the distance, Ram Island Ledge Lighthouse

Compass rose and wildflowers

Another view of the lighthouse

A field of potential wishes on the grounds of Fort William. After wandering around the park and reading the historic stuff about the remains of the WWII battery that was stationed there, we headed for lunch at

I had the best gyros I had ever had. The first time I have ever had a gyros made with beef (usually it's lamb). What made the gyros amazing was the fresh-baked pita. I also had sweet potato fries and unsweetened iced tea with lemon.

Teague had a turkey sandwich made with thick slices of real turkey breast, not deli sliced turkey. She had a lemonade.

After lunch, we went to visit Two Lights State Park to visit the twin lighthouses. The park is a popular spot and there were no parking spots. The Western light  is no longer a functioning lighthouse but is now a private home. The Eastern light is an automated lighthouse and still working. Because we couldn't get into the park, I couldn't get a picture of the twin.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

Rain Man Pictures from Ogunquit, Maine

If you've seen the movie, Rain Main, you'll remember that Raymond often took unusual photos. I've also been told I take Rain Man photos.

On this trip, Sea Castles Resort was Camp Ogunquit. Our "cabin" was the last on the left of the second floor.

Camp included a full kitchen, living/dining area, bath, private balcony, and a loft upstairs for sleeping.

From our room, we had a view of the ocean

We even had a real room key! Not a key card.

For Iris, Leo couchant

I've seen this movie (referring to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds)

Conspiring seagulls in the Ogunquit River. I yelled at them I didn't want to be Tippi Hedren (another Birds reference. Go watch the movie)

Pansies growing through a crack by the foundation of the souvenir shop.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

The clematis bloomed

Zinnia and Red Scarlet

Gazania

Calendula

Coleus

Assorted green things to be transplanted

In the Aerogarden, a yellow flower blooms. I think this was taken outside to be transplanted

Also in the Aerogarden, assorted herbs. Mint, basil, and the kitties have especially been attracted to the dill.

Much needed rain.

How does your garden grow?

Happy, Little, Time Wasters

 

If you enjoy classic card games and board games, you'll be sure to find a happy, little, time waster at Cardgames.Io

The Friday Five Good Things

 

Five good things that happened this week.

1. Gave the sunroom a half-assed clean and opened up the sunroom.

2. I spent a lazy day in the sunroom watching Queen Charlotte and Young Victoria on Netflix. Later in the evening Mother's Day texts from the Eldest.

3. Himself's birthday celebration. He wanted take-out from Outback and ice cream cake for dessert

4. I attended a Zoom workshop from the comfort of the sunroom.

5. Play day with Teague. We went to a new to us place for lunch, Out Post Farms in Holliston. Yummy, turkey sandwiches and giant cookies.

How was your week?

Mr. Zip Makes A Special Delivery

 

The Eldest's next work assignment is in Arkansas. A problem arose and she needed the item overnight. No problem. A trip to my post office where I mailed the package and told the Eldest she would have it by 5 pm the following day.

The next morning, I check on the tracking number and was surprised to see the package had been delivered. I sent a text to the Eldest that she could pick up the package at the hotel desk.

A few minutes later, a text the package wasn't there. Rotrow! Did I have the right address? Did I mail the package to the wrong hotel?

A call to the closest post office and Bob to the rescue. He remembered the package coming in. I told him tracking said it had been delivered, but it wasn't there. Maybe I had the wrong address. He put me on hold while he went to check. 

No, I had the correct address. Whew! The carrier left the package at a different hotel. Fortunately, the hotel was within walking distance where the Eldest was staying. Thanks to Bob, the Eldest went to retriever her package.

Later that afternoon, Bob called back to make sure the Eldest had gotten her package.

Like the postal service slogan, "We deliver for you.", Bob went above and beyond customer service. He could have just said, the package was delivered instead of tracking down exactly where it went.

I thought Bob deserved a special thank you note from a grateful mother on behalf of a relieved daughter far from home.

My envelope features the More Than Meets The Eye stamp and Mr. Zip. He was part of the postal campaign in the early 1960s to remind us to use the new Zipcode instead of the old zone number for an area of the city. Mr. Zip said: Mail moves the country, and Zipcode moves the mail.

Hopefully, Bob got a kick out of the mail art.

Whatcha Doin?

 

I'll be attending an online workshop on Social, Emotional Learning. Whatcha doin?

T Stands for Lunch on Long Sands

The Runaway Weekend (aka Pretend I'm Dead Weekend, or Camp Ogunquit) started with cloudy and cool weather. As soon as we crossed into Maine, the sun came out. 

Check in at the hotel wasn't until 4 pm, so we decided to stop for lunch at the Sun and Surf Restaurant on Long Sands Beach in York, Maine.

While Teague was living in Los Angeles, California when we were in our twenties, I used to go to Long Sands Beach every weekend with another friend I worked with at the hospital. Back then, this restaurant was a small clam shack on the beach where we would get fried clams, French fries, and onion rings.

Hard to believe how upscale this area has become. Mary and I stayed across the street at the Anchorage, a little motel which is now a very expensive resort. When the free parking along the beach filled up, the Anchorage allowed parking on the lawn for $5 for the entire day! Free parking is now metered parking, and I'm sure the Anchorage doesn't allow parking on their property unless you're a guest of the Inn

Fun decor at the Sun and Surf

The restaurant had an outside patio that had a plastic tent/awning as it was a bit windy and chilly. The tent didn't reach to the ground so our ankles got cold. After a couple of weeks of rain and grey weather, it was just too tempting to want to sit "outside" with a view of the ocean.

We both ordered one of the lunch specials a haddock and chips baskets. I had an unsweetened iced tea with lemon.

A view of Long Sands Beach from the restaurant parking lot. Mary and I would have parked our chairs not too far from the water. I don't remember the tide coming in so high as it is in the picture.

Across the way you can see Nubble Light. The black dot just above the wave is a very, brave surfer. Even a wet suit wouldn't keep out the cold of the 44 oF water temperature.

A trip to Ogunquit wouldn't be complete without a stop at Nubble Light.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang is up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.