Les Vacances

We are enjoying ourselves in la Floride. Check out these photos to see what we've been up to this week! More to come, plus video.

Recent Work - just kidding!

While my hallway is still in the "Work in Progress" stage, I enjoyed this mural at the DuPont Mansion Bed and Breakfast on Fourth Street, near Central Park. I attended an appreciation party for volunteers of the Old Louisville Garden Tour. I was unable to make it to all the gardens, but I so enjoyed greeting people at Garden 8 on Fountain Court. I am going to do it again next year! I met so many wonderful neighbors. I love living in Old Louisville - have I mentioned that?

Some shots from 410 Fountain Court:

The Cheat Goes to Camp Kathman

Since I was going to take Henry to Kentucky Kingdom, I knew The Cheat would be upset, seeing as how he is much too small to ride Chang (despite his attempt at vertical proficiency with platform shoes). So I took him up to spend the week with the Kathmans. Madness ensued, and I believe they got it all on video, which is being edited as we speak. Until the flick's world premiere, please be satisfied with this little ditty about our favorite gold-toothed friend. I don't think the visuals were lacking. I'd give him a trophy.

P.S. The Cheat likes MarketFresh sandwiches from Arby's.

Grace, Clara and Margaret Day(s) of Fun

Earlier in the summer, Grace and Clara worked together on their list of what they wanted to do for their MeeBee day. The picture above illustrates their wishes.

> Swim - check!
> Zoo - check!
> Hike - (does hiking around downtown and the zoo count?)
> "Plae" (with cats) - check!
> Play with Stephanie and Margaret and Kate - check!
> Park - check!
> "Saup" - this needed translation..."Stay Up!" - check!
> Ride on the "Charlie" (Trolley) - check!

Bonus:
> Girl band ("The Hi-Tops") concert at the Wolf Creek pool!
> Slumber party with cousins!
> First viewing of "The Wizard of Oz" at the Palace Theatre!
> First ride on the TARC bus!
> First visit to Creation Gardens!
> Eric-made chocolate-chip waffle breakfast!
> Gardening at Meeb and Eric's!
> Magical traffic light changing opportunities!
> Eating lots of ginger snaps (they called the cookies "energy bars")!

I can't believe we did it all in such a short amount of time. The girls were such troopers - Explorer Girls through and through. You have to check out the photos to get an idea of the gallons of fun we had, despite the intense heat.

I'll leave you with this photo and quote from "The Wizard of Oz":

"Poppies! Poppies will make them sleep!"

P.S. Clara was worried about how Dorothy was going to get home after the hot-air balloon and the wizard floated away unexpectedly. I whispered, "She does something with her feet." Clara asked, "Does she kick down the wall?" Hee hee!

Henry Day(s) of Fun

Henry is so much fun to be around. He is insightful, clever and kind. We had a great time together. The annotated list of what we did:

> Saw "Wall-E" - AMAZING movie (I need to see it again to really appreciate it, methinks)
> Played the Wii and made some pretty interesting "Miis"
> Went to Kentucky Kingdom; rode ALL the water rides
> Got a tattoo
> Ate pizza, ice cream, and *some* healthy food (Henry LOVES Eric's homemade wheat bread)
> Stayed up too late and slept in
> Went to Flame Run to see the Beatles exhibit

All in all, a very fun visit. Henry - I have a bunch of the pictures you took, and I'll try and send them to you on a CD.

Full photo album here.

I'll leave you with this image of the fifth Beatle:

No Pasta For You.

That would be Margaret, Kate, Stephanie and Christopher, acting like sad little lost puppies outside the Fazoli's. We met up for a carb-boost before everyone went off to their final dual meet of the season. What a great season it's been! I am so proud of what supportive teammates and good sports these kids are, first and foremost. The bonus is they like swimming. The other bonus is, they're all good at it. Keep it up, everyone!

Wedded Bliss

We attended the wedding of new friends this weekend. I have some artsy (blurry) photos to share, as I'm always interested in color and movement. I hesitate in these low-light situations to use a flash, but what I've been attempting to do is try to catch someone else's flash. Whether the professional photographer or a fellow attendee, I can count on SOMEONE'S flash being on. I love the cool effect of the flash outlining the people, paired with the warm and blurry tones as a result of my camera not producing light. Thoughts?

What a Catch! (and that guy's cute too)

I love my husband. He agreed to go with me to Kentucky Kingdom. He DID ride Chang. He did NOT ride the Wheel of Terror/Wheel of Death. Fun times!

Sigh. See You Next Year (and I'd Better Win *Something*)

Churchill Downs' spring meet closed Sunday. Thankfully, I got in two visits - one on Mother's Day and one on Independence Day. But both were on dreary days, so the "sun shining bright" was left to the imagination. And I just never cash anything. Ever. I guess that's a sign that I need to make a living by hard work and thoughtful planning. :) But is it too much to ask for just ONE exacta? Just one? Mom, it's time for another streak, methinks!

Better luck next year!

Louisville Love Part Deux

I love this city! Check out some shots here from our garden and on bike rides down the RiverWalk. Our house to Chickasaw Park and back is about 18 miles, and we're going to try nd do this about twice a week.

Congrats to our BIL Chris, who made it from WOLF CREEK to our house in less than an hour. In rush hour traffic. Oh yeah - ON HIS BIKE!

Thanks to Stephanie, Christopher and Margaret for going on a walk around the block with me and helping to identify trash that needed to be picked up. And plums! :) Some parting shots of Margaret and Christopher, tending the crops:

Independence

How fortunate we are to live in this country! Though there's always room for improvement, I am grateful that I can spend so much time with family, friends, my garden and my art, all while being able to eat and live safely.

Also, I am grateful for small explosives that satisfy my pyrotechnic side!

More Krish family firework fun.

What I've Been Up To

Have I mentioned how much I love summer? My ten-page to-do list probably consolidates down to only about three pages now. I have time to pursue so many different ideas, chasing them like Alice chasing the White Rabbit. Hopefully, I'll have a colorful array of completed projects in my pocket before the fairy tale ends. So, here are a few of the characters in this summertime story:

Our Hallway

My wonderful mother-in-law, Kathleen, and I are experimenting with Pompeii-inspired murals in our hallway. It is coming together nicely. It will be so different, but I love this style, the colors, and a vision of what it will look like is slowly revealing itself. Which brings me to...

Louisville Faux website
Do you love the look of Venetian plaster? Do you have a ceiling or accent wall that you want to stand out? Look no further than Louisville Faux for samples and ideas for your next redecorating project. :) (We're only a day old, so check back often for updates!)

Louisville Love

With all the love for Louisville I've seen, I want to exploit it as much as possible. :) I do love this city, especially living downtown. I want to my fondness with other "lovers" through the pictures I've taken. Here's a mock-up of what I have in mind. I'm experimenting with details, like whether or not to "seal" the bottom, to write "Louisville" on it, etc. Another idea, for notecards:

The seals are made from hot glue gun glue. I tried many, many ideas that incorporated reusing stuff I had (crayons, candle wax, etc.), but this seems to be the most consistent.

Organization

I don't know about you, but I hate looking for things. I want to be able to have the super power of knowing where any one thing is at any one time. It helps to have purged so much stuff over the years. I finally feel like I have just the right amount of things; enough to make me able to do certain projects, but not too much to be unusable or unmanageable. I've organized all the closets, the pantry, and now my art/craft supplies.

I've managed to also spend some time in the garden and trying out a few other crafty projects, not to mention catching up on reading, visiting with friends and family, being outside, painting portraits, and researching all sorts of ideas.

Next up:
> figure out Etsy and CafePress
> delve into more portraits and painting
> test the vast waters of sewing and upholstery (!)
> try more new recipes
> make more areas of our life more sustainable - rain barrels, anyone?
> ride bikes further and more frequently to prep for a long anniversary trip in late August (any thoughts on destinations within about 30-45 miles of downtown Louisville?)

What have you been up to this summer, or what future plans are you anticipating?