interiors, revised...and some exteriors

Look, I've got one drawer organized! It's so nice to go in there and find the scissors right away, with no digging at all! Also, I refolded the linen closet upstairs, too, so now the sheets don't fall out at you. I guess it's the beginning of my spring cleaning.

I'm going to sew some aprons for Eva, their family bought my Grandma's place, and could not resist taking a picture while the fabric she sent was on the line yesterday. I just love hanging out the laundry, but mine does not usually look as pretty as this. She also sent me some of the blue flowers from the backyard, and I planted them under the lilac tree by the back fence. I wonder how far they will have spread by the time we leave this house...

And there is Karl, about to bottle his first batch of beer. It should be ready in about two weeks. I hope it turns out to his satisfaction!

Interiors

The dark corners of our lives sure tend to get messy after awhile. Heck, the everyday drawers and shelves can't stand up to scrutiny after continual use, either. It does get tiresome to scrabble for the tape or a sharpened lead pencil month after month! And the idea of sorting out the drawer was, of course, much worse than the actual event. Here's a few pictures to show what sort of interiors tend to reappear in our house (sorry that I don't know how to rotate them on the laptop yet):







Albin is on day 4 of his fever. It's a little low this morning, and he went to bed very early last night. It was low yesterday morning, too, but rose again in the afternoon. He missed his friend's party--sadness!, and won't go to church tonight, either. Erika said her kids' fevers lasted between 6-10 days. We'll see how long Albin's goes.

I found another great new Ravelry group. It's called Opt Out, for people who are opting out of the recession. Media hype tends to fan the flames of fear. How bad would the recession be if people weren't getting scared from what they hear on the news? We're going to do our part of opting out by spending in our community. Maybe I'll go get my hair cut--it's still crooked from when Karl and Elise cut it. Karl and I went out for lunch at Tuvalu yesterday. (The tuna melt was phenomenal!) You know, that sort of thing. I guess we aren't going to change much. We still don't want a lot of stuff in the house, and we like to be frugal. But when we do have extra money, we can support our local businesses by going ice skating, eating out more than once a month, buying fresh flowers for the table...

let them eat cake

Here is the latest fabulous cake. Who knew that decorations could be so much fun? Elise brought it to potluck, where most of it was consumed (after being much admired). Several people said they could just tell it was made by her, had her signature trademark, as it were.

Albin still has a fever this morning--better get tested for strep!

Albin and I are pulled deeper into the vortex of cold symptoms. He was up at 4:30 am getting a sore throat lozenge. I was awake for several hours in the night, too, and the head cold is definitely settling in.

Here are a few more pictures to remind us of warmer, days in Greece, while we languish in bed. It's Albin at the fort in Napflio, the stray cats welcoming in a fishing boat in Ydra, and Elise at the Ydra house with a land snail. Aren't snails sweet? I think a pet snail would be the bee's knees. (Which reminds me, Mom, whenever someone says "lying in state," I can't help but think of that snail on the bookshelf...)

I will post a few Greek architecture pictures, as long as I'm still on the computer, and Albin isn't hounding me for Runescape time. I could not keep my eyes off the bright contrasts of color and weather-beaten windows or doors. I thought they were so beautiful. Oh, and the top picture was the view from the porch of our rented house in Ydra. Wow.

I've got some Valentine's pictures to post, so will add those without much comment. I caught the cold that is currently tormenting Albin. It's the first cold I've had in two or three years, so I won't complain! Karl and Elise went to the fire department's pancake breakfast, and we 'sickies' are staying home in bed, surrounded by electronic entertainment, books, and knitting.

Oh, just have to note that this is the first white cake I made from scratch that ever turned out--yay, cake flour! Elise did a beautiful job decorating it (and setting the pretty table for our special lunch). She has an artistic eye!

I've been sucked in by a great book, lent to me by one of my most fabulously domestic-minded friends. It's The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brockett. I can only read it about ten minutes before I have to get up and do something...domestic! The pictures are too good, the whole thing is just delicious. Last night (after ten minutes of reading) I recovered one of our dining room chairs. Elise heard the pounding, and had to come help.

Oh, and here's a picture of a pancake that she made herself for breakfast the other day. It's a turtle, she says, but it makes a great flower, too.

I ordered the Edwardian apron pattern for women and girls yesterday, from Sense and Sensibility. Time to start sewing soon!