summer 2008 soundtrack

if this summer could be summed up by one record it would be the hold steady stay positive. there are a lot of f*cked up things going on in this world and sometimes we need to remind ourselves of this. staying positive is really the easiest thing you can do to change your life and the things around you.
if you haven't bought it yet, drop what you are doing and run out to the music store (do they even exist anymore?) and buy it, immediately (or go to their myspace and take a listen.) it was pretty much on repeat all summer. and dave was lucky enough to go on tour with our buds the loved ones, who were on tour with the hold steady for two weeks this summer. if lord i'm discouraged doesn't make you sad or constructive summer doesn't make you rock then you are inhuman.
they are playing philly again on november 8. can't wait.

summer is coming to an end

i love the summer, and hate to see it end, but there is nothing like the feeling of fall. the air is starting to feel fall-like already and i am looking forward to the cooler days and nights, sweaters, pumpkins, leaves (except raking), upcoming trips, and my favorite-apple dumplings. i'm hoping we get to go camping this fall, something we don't get to do often enough. last year we went to hickory run state park and had a great time, despite the slightly crappy weather and too crowded-and-not-enough-trees campsite. if you haven't ever been there you should go. there is a boulder field that is amazing to see, pictures really don't do it justice. it is a huge field of boulders (16.5 sq acres) that were brought to the area about 20,000 years ago, during the last ice age.



oh and this is how we roll, beef stew cooked over the fire in a cast iron dutch oven. it was delicious. (oh and i had nothing to do with it, it was all d.a., chef extraordinaire)

moz loves camping too, or so we think he does. he's content anywhere, so maybe he doesn't. haha. unfortunately he recently hurt his "good" back leg so he's a full time limper now. vet appointment is saturday, wish us luck.

rummage and garage sale finds

this past saturday morning i hit up a rummage sale in chestnut hill and a garage sale by our house. first of all the houses in chestnut hill are amazing, i mean, really amazing, old, stone houses. i got lost on the way home, but didn't care because i saw so many awesome houses.
so here is what i got, juice glasses, salad bowls, fabric...

painting of awesome old lady...

and canisters...

they are hornsea pottery, labeled england 1973, bronte design. i adore the pattern and colors.
oh, and not pictured, "obama bulbs," which i just had to buy because of how they were labeled. they are tulips from a neighbor, and i'll have to plant them in the fall, keeping my fingers crossed that the damn squirrels don't eat them.
anyone else find anything good this past weekend?

quilted ipod cases

dave and i splurged recently and got new ipods. i got the ipod touch (it's awesome) and he got the 80gig classic. they needed cases so i put my quilting and sewing skills to work and made some. i recently bought some vintage fabric from etsy and used it (along with some left over amy butler fabric) to make the cases. i haven't used any patterns yet, i just kind of wing it.





i was at my parent's house the other month and saw two jars full of buttons and asked if i could have them. turns out that they belonged to my grandma, so they are very special to me. this blue one was my favorite.

canada eh

we spent a wonderful long weekend up in canada with friends at a cottage on deer lake, ontario. you can click on the flickr link to see lots of pictures, but here are the highlights:

swimming


delicious food

fireworks


dogs

and sunsets by boat

daily rainbow

we have a rainbow that creeps through the house every sunny day. we lucked out and a previous owner of our house was a carpenter and installed all sorts of awesome things to make the house unique. there are two beveled glass windows, one on the porch and one in between the living and dining rooms. sunlight passes through the glass window on the porch, which acts like a prism, and casts a rainbow that creeps across the floor and onto the wall.


now here is where i'll really nerd it up. do you know why prisms create rainbows? well white light is made up of all colors of light. as the light passes through the glass it slows down (refracts) and slightly changes direction. each color, or component of the white light, passes through at a different speed and so when it exits the glass, it is separated into it's components, or colors. i suddenly feel the urge to listen to some pink floyd, dark side of the moon.

ocmd

ocean city, maryland, what fun. we go just about every year for a weekend. it has an excellent boardwalk and lots of great food. our vacations always revolve around food.

a couple weekends ago we went with some friends and had a great time as usual. here are the highlights.

thrasher fries and pit beef

seagulls. although they are annoying, they are beautiful

sunset at seacret's

great idea for a bar. (at seacret's)

photobooth

awesome boats

i love pasta

last week d.a. made this awesome pasta dinner. homemade pasta and sauce with locally raised beef and sausage. it was delicious! yes, i am one lucky girl...