Are you talking to me?

First off -- I just had to add this clip; it inspired the naming of this photo. It's an inside joke pm and I have since it reminds us of our international wedding and all the things that got lost in translation. Fear not: If you speak just English you will understand 90% of this video. If you are Spanish, you hopefully will understand 90% too. :)

Enough of that diversion. Here's the photo, followed by my thoughts.

Time for a show of hands (maybe comments will work? :)): Who likes garden gnomes? Who doesn't? I happen to like them. That is not to say that I would buy one and decorate my outdoor spaces with it, but I do find them humorous. Every time I see one I have to smile. (And then wonder why someone bought it in the first place.) I also like to think that something is tending to or watching over the garden when I am not. For me the garden gnome is kind of like the scarecrow.

Anyway, pm does not like them. He finds them both tacky and creepy. I think it's because he has a thing with bearded men. He doesn't even believe (spoiler alert!) in Santa Claus. In fact, he feels the same way about Santa as he does about garden gnomes: creepy and tacky. Only difference, other than the plush red suite, is that Santa knows when you are sleeping, and knows when you're awake; the garden gnome does not. There has got to be something in that Spanish water.

I've been noticing a lot of garden flair lately. In part, yes, to the fact I have been making a point to notice all the flair. Chicagoans seem to like putting little artsy details in their front yards. Some past photos and examples include past post about our Pentax O-ME53 of the Wooden Totem and Red Star.

Hope this post inspires you to (a) articulate, (b) share your thoughts about garden gnomes and (c) get inspired to see garden flair on your daily walks.

30 Days of Creativity - Day 6: Flores

For our lack of an outdoor garden, it was necessary to create our own indoor garden. A very easy project - all that you need are paper, scissors and a stapler. I opted for more muted toned paper, but using colorful paper remnants would give that garden some extra punch. I plan to make more of these little fellows throughout the week.

I absolutely love gardens. The closest we have ever come to having a real garden has consisted of filling our window sills with planters. It's been successful thus far, and lucky for us our last couple of apartments have had great natural light and deep window sills.

Our indoor garden update for the day involved our aloe vera plant. I transferred a shoot from our larger aloe plant to a pot today. I am hoping that it continues to grow roots and makes it. [Judging by how burned my shoulders are today from a morning stroll I may be in need of some aloe soon.]

red on red

We've got a birthday coming up here, which means my apron, rolling stick, and whisker are out and feverishly working. This year I'll be making one the classics ... strawberry rhubard pie. Lucky for me this happens to be one of my favorite desserts.

This was one of the pies my mom made a lot. (She, like me, got her recipe from the Joy of Cooking.) I remember as a kid going into my grandfather's garden (sometimes with my mom and most often with my brothers) to pick rhubarb during the summer. My grandfather tended to let his rhubarb plants go wild, so in many cases the plant was as tall as me. It always amazed me that such a tart taste could make such a delicious pie when coupled with strawberries.



I thought I'd capture the wonderful, and very red colors of the strawberries and rhubard. I'll be sure to post another photo of the finished product - that is, if it merits one. :)

I find it extremely appropriate that Julie and Julia is on its way to our apartment as we speak. Nothing like watching a movie about good home cooking when enjoying your own delights, especially when it's all being done to celebrate another year. Yum!