Can You See Me Now by Estela Bernal

Can You See Me Now by Estela Bernal is on the shelves now at Powell's and she will have a book opening on June 30th at the Cedar Hills at 7:00 p.m.

Published by Arte Publico, Can You See Me Now is an emotional story of a young girl's loss and her ways of coping with tragedy.

The cover was designed by Gigi and you can read about her creative process here.

If you're going to be in the Portland area on June 30th, go to Powell's and listen to Estela tell you all about the story.

4th of July Fingernails

I love to decorate for every holiday and the 4th of July is no exception. So, today I went to get my nails done and thought why not have something playful?

Now, with my pillows on my benches and the flowers out in the yard, I even have my fingers done for the occasion.

How bout you? Any 4th of July decorations?

Willamette Writers Meeting July 1st

On Tuesday, July 1st, at the Old Church in downtown Portland, Willamette Writers Stevan Allred, will talk about his collection of linked stories, A Simplified Map of the Real World.

 Meetings start at 7:00 pm, and the doors open at 6:30.

  

Thirty-Onederful years ago today

Yes it's our anniversary. Last year we had a renewing of our vows celebration.

It's kind of hard to top that kind of a party - but just wait until we hit 60!

We're on our way now...only 29 more years to go. ;D

4th of July Decorating

I wanted to make the yard a little festive for the upcoming 4th of July holiday and one easy way to do it is to make new cushion covers and pillows for our benches but I didn't want to spend the money on a ton of fabric. So, I went to the closet and pulled out some old sheets.

Then I simply sewed some straight lines around the edges.

And added a few stars.

And to seal the top, I just used snaps, which I sewed on by hand.

They turned out really festive.

Then I put them out on the benches.

And I added a little color to my alliums, out in the garden. And, I think they kind of look like sparklers.

And now I am just getting going. . .

But the yard will be ready in no time.

Fry...day for Father's Day

Okay, maybe not Fry, but BBQ. And this is one idea for what to give to Dad for his special day:
Homemade BBQ sauce that suits your Dad's taste.

BBQ sauce is so easy to make.

Essential Ingredients:

1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar

There you have it...now, add the tastes your dad likes.

It could be 1/4 a cup of honey, 1/4 a cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of chili flakes, or whatever is tasty to Dad. Maybe he likes raisins, boil 'em down to a thick paste and add them in.

Then simply bottle up your "potion" I mean "elixir" and label it with something that says: Here's to one HOT PAPA, or TO MY SUPER SWEET DAD - and you could include a Superman Logo on the label...whatever you think your Dad would like, do it, or add it to it.

This will make a unique handcrafted gift meant just for your DAD. And it's one that he'll never forget - especially if he likes the taste. :D

Old Sheets

So I have a wonderful pair of benches out in the front yard and I love to decorate for just about every holiday...except for maybe groundhogs day but if I could come up with something to do for that day, I might even decorate for it. Anyway, like I was saying, I have some old sheets...yes, a red one, a blue one and I might have to run to Goodwill to get a white one...but I'll see if I can't find an old one down in the basement and then, I'm going to make new cushion covers for my benches to help roll in the holiday.

So now you know what my next project will be, come back this weekend and see what progress I've made on the slipcovers for my cushions.

How 'bout you...any projects coming up for the holiday?