hi

Lots of stuff going on, I want to re-do this whole mess of a site, but a super brief update. This is one of the best books I have ever read:

I highly recommend it, go read it now.

It's cooling off and summer is ending. I think I shall ever after refer to this as the summer of tragedies. My other grandmother died, my car was stolen, Reggie sprained his leg, there may have been a speeding ticket in there somewhere, and some visits to the doctor for various tests, and, well, I am hoping the fall brings better things.

Here is something cheery: dishes! I'm really liking the Hall China, particularly everything available in light blue.

Another cheery thing: I got a new camera which I am liking very much. I took some pictures in Balboa Park:

That's all for the moment, I'll be back again soon.

UPDATE: I know the pictures aren't working, I'm having annoying FTP problems, and I'll have to figure it out later. Check back soon :o)

~11:17 p.m.|Friday, September 12, 2003 mailto:lucy@heylucy.net

projects galore

I've been working on a lot of little projects lately, and haven't been on the computer much. Mostly, it's so nice right now, that I'm outside as much as I can be. While we still have more weeds than we know what to do with, there are some little patches that we have tamed and that are looking really beautiful. Here, for example, is what is growing outside our guest house:

and these:

There are more snapdragon pictures here and here.

When I do stay inside, I've been working on making our little guest house pretty and cozy. I made some pillows for the bed:

The flowery ones are vintage handkerchiefs (circa 1950) from my collection-I love those little printed handkerchiefs they made back then, and the blue one is turquoise silk shantung, and I sewed a whole bunch of pink glass beads to it. Mr. Lucy doesn't understand the concept of 'decorative pillows'. How can I explain it to him? Also notice the hideous paint colors in the guest house. I think the previous owners used several cans of leftover paint, and even mixed their own colors. Here we have blue walls and yellow in the window sill. That's not too bad, until you realize the the other walls are painted dark green, light green, a weird sort of muddy pink, and the ceiling is also painted yellow.

I've been in a needle and thread kind of mood lately, so I also did a little cross stitch pattern of 4 robin's eggs, and made a little sachet pillow, filled with lavender, out of it:

It's hanging on the headboard.

I actually managed to paint my kitchen ceiling, after having the paint for about nine months. It's a pale blue, and I'm not sure I like it, but I'm willing to live with it for a while, mostly because painting ceilings sucks. I hate it, and I don't want to do it again for a long time.

I don't know if it's because it's spring, but lately I'm just full of ideas and projects that I want to do.

~01:21 p.m.|Tuesday, June 3, 2003 email

what's been going on

I took a break from my computer, and a lot of things were going on, so this will be an abridged catch up entry. Actually, I wasn't entirely away from my computer, I was working on the cd packaging for my brother. The new cd will be out shortly, I suggest you buy it, it's really good. He didn't pay me to say that either.

So, it was my birthday, on the very same day as Erica and Julie. How cool is that? Thanks to them for the birthday wishes. It was a great day, which I spent at the nursery and in the garden planting what I got at the nursery. This included 4 assorted foxgloves, a creeping thyme, and a scented geranium, as well as some lavendar petunias to fill in a bare spot.

Sadly, a few days after that, my grandmother passed away. So I spent a few days in Idaho for her funeral. It was a lovely and sad time. I've never laughed and cried so much. She was 92, and when I mention this, the reaction is always, 'oh, well, she lived a long life, didn't she.' Well, yes, but she was my grandma and I didn't get to spend nearly enough time with her, so I'm still very sad. I'm not going to say anymore about that, though, because I don't want to start crying again.

Now for the Bear report. Bear continues to be a sweet, lovable, yet occasionally, Very Bad Dog. One day he disappeared into the bedroom. We didn't think too much about the fact that he was very very quiet. When we saw him again, this is what he looked like:

The blue around his mouth is not quite as bright in the picture as it was in reality. Soon we discovered the cause of the blue mouth:

Lucky for him, it was from an old pair of shoes that I didn't wear much because they weren't very comfortable and I bought a cuter pair of blue shoes.

We also went on another hike one day. Unfortunetely, we didn't make it quite as far, because Bear stepped on a red ant hill. I felt terrible for him, but it was pretty funny to see the way he danced around after that. Even when we got the ants off (and there weren't that many, so don't worry about him), he kept walking kind of funny, and would suddenly sit down and lick his back leg. We poured water on it, and mixed it with a bit of dust to make sort of a mud pack, until we got back to the car. And of course, by the time we did get back to the car, he was fine and ready to go again.

~09:35 a.m.|Wednesday, May 7, 2003 email

bubbles

I am strangely fascinated, yet somewhat repulsed by this idea. I don't actually drink tea (well, herbal tea, but not black or green tea), but these are not necessarily tea drinks. Has anyone tried this? Is it weird to have little chunks of rubbery stuff in your drink?

~08:43 p.m.|Wednesday, March 12, 2003 email

spring!

I had the nicest weekend ever, starting with a hike on Saturday morning. A friend came up to my house, and we walked up to the trailhead, which is about a mile up the road. Bear came along, and I wasn't too sure at first if that was going to be a good idea, but I was hoping that the exercise would calm him down a little bit. I needn't have worried, because he was the best little hiker ever. When we started on the trail I let him off the leash, because I was tired of being dragged, and he just trotted along, like he knew where we were headed. We only passed a couple other people, and whenever I saw someone coming I grabbed ahold of his collar. He's friendly, but very protective, and he reacts so differently to people, that I'm never quite sure what he might do.

As we walked along, we heard a cow mooing, but couldn't see it through the trees. Bear kept stopping and perking up his ears whenever he heard it. Finally we came to a clearing, and we saw the cow across the creek. I had to drag Bear away, I think he wanted to go and say hi to the cow. He acts the same way around horses. I think he thinks they are big dogs, and he wants to play with them.

Further up the trail he stopped and growled at a big rock, so it's nice to know we won't have to worry about any rock attacks, Bear will take care of any vicious rocks we might run into.

Anyway, the hike was beautiful, it was along a creek, which had lots of water from our recent rains, and everything was lush and green. I know I need to enjoy it as much as I can now, because it will get too hot for hiking in the summer, and rattlesnakes become much more of a worry.

Later I went down to Summers Past Farms, where the wisteria was in full bloom. Everything was looking so lush and full. We are still getting frost at night, so I know our growing season is a little behind theirs, but their snapdragons were knee high, and our snapdragons are tiny little plants. They had chamomile that was six to eight inches tall and full of flowers, and we have it growing wild all over the yard, but it's very low-growing, just sort of creeping along the ground, and with just a few buds. We have so much to do. The bulbs are still coming up like crazy, though. We have lots of little white crocus, and now paperwhites and grape hyacinth are popping up. We even got our first tulip this weekend, a purple, velvet-y one. I love spring so much!

~02:56 p.m.|Wednesday, March 12, 2003 email

dogs

Warning: dog story to follow.
So, Bear is doing better all the time, and we are learning to make sure that he has things to play with and things to chew on, and plenty of exercise and attention. It's when he doesn't get all this that we have trouble. Last week I got him a big bone, and so Reggie wouldn't feel left out, I got him a smaller bone. Now Bear prances around with his big bone, and I can just imagine his thoughts, "I've got a big bone, look at my big bone, and I can carry around my big bone. I'm the best dog with the biggest bone." I've tried and tried to get a picture of this, but I can't quite capture it. Reggie, on the other hand, is not content with his bone. He must have all the bones. Nevermind that he can barely lift Bear's bone, he just thinks that he must have it. So he hides his bone and then tries to get Bear's bone to chew on. It was sitting in the middle of the driveway the other day, and it took Reggie fully 10 minutes to drag it up the driveway, and carry it up the steps to the porch. He did it though, and proceeded to chew on it like it was his own. Luckily, Bear is so sweet, and doesn't mind sharing. He just thinks it's all a game. You'd never know that I was actually more a cat person than a dog person to hear me tell all these dog stories.

I could never be on Trading Spaces, this kitchen is taking me months to do. Of course, I am doing everything all by myself, but even with two other people, it's pretty amazing that they do a whole room in two days. The second curtain went up the other day, but I still have one more to go. Here you can see the before and after effect:

They are growing on Mr. Lucy, he actually said they looked nice and didn't go on and on about the check and the floral not going together. After nearly five years I think he is finally beginning to understand and appreciate my design style.

So I still have to paint the ceiling and paint the kitchen chairs and find some kind of replacement for the hideous track lights. Actually, I should probably replace the track lights and then paint the ceiling.

~10:14 a.m.|Thursday, March 6, 2003 send me some email

cute socks

The spring issue of knitty is up. I really want to make these socks. I've never made socks before, and they have seemed really intimidating, but I just learned how to knit a hat in the round, and it was so fun. Can socks be that much more difficult? I'm going to give it a try one day soon.

I've been feeling yucky all week, so I did nearly nothing all weekend. My house is a mess, laundry is not done, curtains are not finished (I sewed one more, but ran out of energy to install the rod and hang it up). I managed to walk to the post office, but spent most of my time napping. I couldn't even knit or work on my second sock dog. I hate unproductive weekends!

~09:52 a.m.|Monday, March 3, 2003 send me some email! (please?)

snow

It's still not cold enough for snow, only incessant rain for the last four days.

So I made my own snowflake.

I've been feeling particularly crafty this week, and have been working on a sock dog. Target had some fun socks on sale, and I picked up a couple pairs of argyle knee highs for only 98 cents each! Such a deal. I had a bag of stuffing already, which was maybe $2, and I have boxes and boxes of vintage buttons, so I found some good eyes.

Speaking of buttons, I made a little collage with a few in a little shadow box I picked up at a thrift store, a scrap of pink silk shantung, and some vintage embroidered trim:

I wish my digital camera didn't suck. Or maybe it's just the photographer that sucks.

~10:16 p.m.|Thursday, February 27, 2003 email

curtains and gardens

So many people are coming here searching for 'kitchen curtains', I better post my picture!

I finished one window, two more to go. I like them, however Mr. Lucy thinks that the blue and yellow check I used on the top part does not go with the blue and white print I used for the main portion. The check goes with the walls, he says, and the floral goes with the kitchen, but they don't go together. The way I see it, if you look at it geometrically, a=b and c=b, therefore a=c, right? They both go with the rest of the kitchen, so they work well together. It makes perfect sense to me.

It's pouring rain, and snow is likely today at home, but I am at work, so I'll miss it again!

We got a ginkgo tree this weekend, it's going to be so pretty! I'm very excited to see it's leaves. There is no sign of any buds yet, so I think it will be a while before we see them. The lilacs are full of buds, though, and I think we will have lots of flowers in a couple of weeks. The daffodils are still going crazy, and the tulips are starting to pop up their green leaves, and we have a few little white crocus showing their faces.

It seems that we are the talk of the town, with all of our garden work going on. Our house is on the main road, and none of the previous owners did anything with the land, so people are watching with interest as we've been digging and planting. We hear about it from our nearest neighbors and whenever we go to the diner or the hardware store we can depend on someone asking what we're working on. I'm not sure if they are eager to see what we do, or just laughing at us behind our backs, "Those crazy city-slickers, trying to build an English garden in the mountains. Ha!".

~12:25 p.m.|Tuesday, February 25, 2003 email

curtains

I've finally started making curtains. I finished a small one for the guesthouse, where we have a strange, skinny window. I had an old piece of organza, embroidered with roses and leaves that I really like. I think it's silk, and probably from the 1950's. It wasn't quite long enough, so I added some small pieces of linen on each end. I just used small tension rods, which took a little searching to find, since the window is less than 12" wide, but I finally found some at Home Depot. Here is the finished curtain:

Here is a close up of the embroidery:

The kitchen curtains are underway! Finally! I'll have pictures by the weekend, I think.

~07:51 p.m.|Monday, February 17, 2003 email

nothing much

I re-did my brother's web site last weekend, it's right here. Obviously, we still have to add some stuff, but we are both liking the way it looks :o)

Curious girl made knitting needles. She does a great job with the step-by-step instructions. I have some dowels and clay, I might have to try that sometime.

~09:41 a.m.|Sunday, February 16, 2003 email

valentines and tea

My little tea party was lots of fun, we were not dignified, pinkie-out tea drinkers, but a group of raucous women shrieking with laughter, and making a big mess with art supplies. Only a few cards were actually made, and lots of food was consummed. I think everyone had a good time. My curtains were not finished, but no one really cared. My pink room got the appropriate number of oohs and aahs, and Bear and Reggie were happy with the attention they got. My sister-in-law made the Best Scones Ever (using my recipe, which usually produces flat, although tasty scones. Her's, however were nice and high and round and delicious), and my sister slaved away, making little sandwiches and chicken salad, and sweeping my floor. Thanks guys!

The first bulbs we planted are coming up. We have daffodils!

~08:47 a.m.|Tuesday, February 11, 2003 email

hgtv junkie

I admit that I'm an HGTV junkie. That and Trading Spaces are what I most often watch. I've seen this new show on HGTV a few times, Design on a Dime, and I like the concept. But is it just me, or are the people on there completely lacking any personalities? They just seem so wooden and uncomfortable in front of the camera. I really hope they warm up over time, because I find them just painful to watch sometimes.

~03:17 p.m.|Tuesday, February 4, 2003 email

redesign

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I started to redesign my page. I guess I am just doing it one step at a time, so maybe next I'll be changing the title .gif. What do you think? Is this background too busy?

~02:43 p.m.|Friday, January 31, 2003 email

advertising

From the advertising slogan generator, 'Lucy makes everything better.' Or, 'Gonna be awhile? Grab a Hey Lucy'.

I like the first one better.

~02:02 p.m.|Friday, January 31, 2003 email

randomness

Dave Barry has a blog. It's hilarious.

This weekend I am determined to make my kitchen curtains. I'm having a Valentine Card Making Tea Party the next weekend, so I have to have a pretty kitchen! I finally figured out how I am going to make them, and I've washed all my fabric. The linen had that stiff finish, and it said to allow for shrinkage on the selvage, so I'd rather just wash out the Scotch Guard and not have to worry that my curtains are going to be too short the first time I wash them. I don't think we'll be flinging any food around, so they should stay stain-free even without the Scotch Guard.

Speaking of Valentine's Day, if you wanted to make your computer desktop all full of love and pinkness, I still have the wallpaper I made last year here.

I like to get email, so send me some, sometime if you want. I'll write back, I promise!

~09:31 a.m.|Thursday, January 30, 2003 email

picture time

I haven't put any pictures here for a while, so here are some fun ones for your viewing pleasure:

Bear got a bath a week or two ago. He did not enjoy the experience. Here he is giving me the evil eye for subjecting him to such an atrocity.

Here are my black pansies, along with the blue-bronze ones, and some yellow and blue ones. I like them a lot.
And this is my pretty garden table, with the pansies on it. It's sitting in front of our little yellow guest house.

~11:46 a.m.|Thursday, January 23, 2003 i really like to get email