House Tours

We've been visiting friends as we make our way to Maine. Our first stop was near Philadelphia at John's home, someone who Houston is collaborating with on a project. The house is built on a VERY steep hillside, so steep that I would have thought a house could never be built there. The entrance to the door is actually a bridge about 12' up.


Upon entering, one feels like they're in a very expensive tree house, which it really is.


There are a few cozy seatings where you could imagine spending time reading a good book in front of the fire while the snow flurries around outdoors.


A triangle-shaped deck cantilevers way above the ground, overlooking the woods and a small creek.





John's wife is a book reviewer for the New York Times so they had walls of shelves built for the many books she reads.


A view looking up from the back.


A massive landscaping project is taking shape. First the hardscaping with tons and tons of stone, slate and concrete, then the greenscaping.


While outdoors, we looked up and saw a few balloons taking a nice evening ride.


We hadn't really intended to stop at Leslie and Marshall's, but traffic was so horrendous on I-95 that we bailed at 3:00 Friday afternoon. I believe it would have taken us 6 more hours to get to Boston and we had been on the road since 10:30. Luckily they were home and welcomed us with open arms. They live in a very non-traditional house, with odd angles throughout.




The best feature is their living room. You can't tell what is indoors and what is outdoors.


Leslie and Marshall are from Montana and their furnishings reflect their western roots.


This house too feels like you're in a big tree house, with a deck space floating above the woods.




But the pool is it's most notable feature. No sitting on the sides here as it's about a 10' drop to the ground.




We finally made it to our friend's Rick and Fiona in Hingham, near Boston, after sitting in Cape Cod traffic. They live in an old New England home built in 1851. Hingham was settled in 1633 and many of the homes date that far back. It's near the coast, on Hingham Bay near Boston Harbor so it has a seaside feel to it too. But the streets are lined with a canopy of old trees and the houses show off a variety of architectural styles. The gardens are well tended and with all the rain they've had this spring and summer, everything is emerald green.


They've added on a bit over the years, but kept to strict historical review rules.


Their gardens were featured on HGTV a few years back. We found Rick puttering in the garden when we arrived, afraid I would find a weed or two in the beds!

On the Road

We're on our way to Maine, stopping first near Philly, then Connecticut, and Boston. I dropped Houston off at work (at a laser company) and looked for a town that would be fun to hang out in for the day, which happened to be Phoenixville, Pa. It was an old steel mill town back in the day and has since been in a downhill spiral but most recently is on the upswing, with a cool, artsy vibe in the refurbished stores. Above is the old foundry that has been rehabbed and is now a museum.


These are the old mill workers' houses across from the foundry.


Upon seeing this sign, I thought this was the coolest town ever... hosting a gay pedestrian tour. But when turning the corner, I saw that Gay Street was under construction and the sign actually read "Gay St. Pedestrian Detour" and some clever person had covered up some of the letters. Duh!


Patterns


We took a hike with our friends, Fiona, Sheena and Rick (above with Houston).


View of Boston while on our hike.


Beads, beads and more beads. I can't pass up a bead store!

Just Felt It

Ann came over the other day and we had a great afternoon of felting. We laid out our materials on my hot tub since it's in the shade, a perfect height for felting without hurting our backs and of course we can get it as wet as we want.


We laid out silk chiffon scarves that I had already dyed, laying wispy layers of dyed wool on.


I then put on some of my slubby yarn, wet it all and rolled it up in bubble wrap. I rolled it around a pool noodle, sat down, grabbed my knitting and rolled back and forth with my feet for about 20 minutes.


More rolling with my arms, then had fun slamming it on the deck to finish it off.


After it was dry, I embellished it a bit with various beads.


I left a border of chiffon so it created a ruffle.


This is Ann's before....


...and her lovely finished scarf.


This one reminds me of something a mermaid would wear if she had to be warm underwater.

Another Day in Cumberland

Mystery photo.


2 girls and a willy!


more awesomely tacky, but wonderful cakes from Cumberland Bakery... love how he brought the grill right down to the river! Where the fish are bigger than the deer.


This one would be perfect for Judy's annual sunflower party that I'm going to miss.


Who invited the ants to the picnic?!


love the flames


but this one is my favorite. Skillfully executed too.


Doesn't this look like bread trays? or a rorschach test? It's a coal train with just a wee bit of coal in the bottom.

Lost River Day

Two of my artist friends, Seal and Macee, and myself drove down to Lost River to take our jewelry to the Lost River Artisan Cooperative .
Housed in the above barn, the artist's wares are on the top floor and a museum with old looms and woodworking things are showcased below. Thedrive through West Virginia on rural backroads was beautiful. A clear summer day, a creek alongside the road, twisty turny roads and sometimes open field s dotted with big red bank barns, made for a pleasant trip. I love the name Lost River. It conjures up images of a misty river, flowing slowly below dark green banks of grasses. The Lost River is also the Cacapon River, at times flowing into an underground channel, thus 'Lost River'.


After leaving our jewelry at the co-op, we walked up the road a bit and had lunch in this old general store turned cafe/artsy boutique. My favorite type of place to eat. We had delicious grainy bread sandwiches and iced tea while sitting in their screened porch overlooking the well manicured lawn and gardens.


Lost River is just 2 hours from DC so many folks have second homes here. The Lost River valley is becoming known for its recreational biking with a big bike race being held the next day.


A stately home between the co-op barn and the cafe.

A sampling of some of the jewelry I have for sale there.

Log Canoe Race

Last week I went to Chestertown to view the log canoe race. We boarded my friend's party pontoon boat and scooted down the Chester River to the site of the race. I had a vision of a log canoe, maybe a dugout canoe with burly men paddling it in a frenzy. But these log canoes are nothing like that. They are long, sleek and very elegant looking sailboats, made of a log base, hence the name. Young men sit upon long planks that jut out of the base of the boat, keeping the boat upright. It was a perfect day, breezy enough, clear blue sky with no humidity and the most gorgeous, puffy clouds dancing across the sky.


That I got any pictures at all of an actual boat is amazing. I had many that looked like this......


........or this. I don't have the fanciest camera and when I push the button to take the picture, there's a delay of about a week, then it clicks. So I got lots of sky and water shots. Plus it has no view finder and it being the brightest of days, it was hard to see what I was taking a photo of.


This pic is a bit fuzzy but it shows the boys/men on the left hanging out over the water.


And this play craft sported a hairy captain manning the boat.


Here's a boat in action with the members scurrying along the planks. Look how low the person in the back is, nearly submerged in the water.








On the way back, there were many picturesque views along the river. I love these farms that reach right down to the water. We anchored near a nice sandy beach for lunch, near a big party, "Aquapalooza", and could hear the music from the live band playing Talking Heads cover songs.


Back at the Penny's place, this is the view across the street. A huge lotus pond, which is invading the small pond.


and a walk into town to view the old homes in Chestertown. I was taken by this lovely home with all the colors, a nice subject for my next pastel.

Dog Days of Summer

My son, Garrett took this photo of Casey not long ago. Casey loves to roll on his back and perhaps the smartest thing that dog does is to roll around on a tennis ball. As you can tell, he really enjoys it! He and I have been walking a lot lately down our local gravel road to the creek where he retrieves stick after stick. On the days when I ride my bike instead of walk with him, I take him on what I call a "redneck run". I let him run behind my pickup truck for about 1/2 mile, then he gets to swim and bring back sticks. It's been a great 'cross-training' workout. Tomorrow it might be hiking on the mountain. Enjoy your summer!