Just Chillin...its Summertime!

Well I have to admit that I kind of disappeared a bit before the official start of summer here, but you have to understand what its like in these Midwestern states.
Just outside Chicago in the burbs, we wait and wait for the good weather to hit. So the minute it even seems remotely like summer, I'm off! Off duty, off kilter, off track ...I am just plan off!
Been playing a bit of hooky, but honestly, I really don't subscribe to the notion that "summertime, and the living is easy" theory.
Seems like things shoot into high gear with just so much to do!
What does get easier is dressing! I think what I like best is the fact that I can finally go out of the house with tank top,shorts and flip flops. Just throw on a flowing long summer dress and sandals and be off! There is something liberating about it.
I think the vintage postcard of the frogs above says it best.

I have to admit I do enjoy the extra yard work, and watching my garden evolve from year to year. Its still has a way to go but it is a work of labor and love. I love playing with the palettes re gives us and moving or adding plants to get just the right contrast in color or texture.
Today I finished a pin that features a feline gardener who is looking for a new garden to tend.
Its in my etsy shop but here's a sneak peek of it.

If you would like to read about what shes looking for in her new job just go here. She is also attending a party of a very ambitious blogger named Rory who runs the show over at Tools are for Women Too Blog. In her clever way to support fellow etsy sellers she is hosting a party. To crash the party and find out what its all about, simply go here!

Well thats it for today! Time to fire up the grill, sip on a cold beer while cooking dinner. Then perhaps after cleaning up a few more weeds will be pulled before jumping into the pool for a final cool off for the night! Need to savor as much as I can, because it will be gone all too fast! Hope your summer is as enjoyable as mine has been so far!

I'll pass on the Green Fairy

While I was enjoying a glass of some great French wine, I happened to come across a poster for a different beverage that I have since learned has quite a history to it.
I have to admit that my only knowledge of it was quite limited. The only info I had of it came from a number of years back.
My oldest son, and a friend of his were here cooking for a crowd of people who were going to invade my house. They were sipping on a strange bottle of alcohol, and cracking jokes while they were chopping, dicing and sauteing.
When I questioned them, they only laughed, and mumbled something about "wormwood", "banned" and "it makes people insane". Let me just add that they were legal and over the age of 21, lest you think I was some sort of irresponsible adult.
So being the responsible adult that I was I just buried what they said quickly in my subconscious. I mean I had a houseful of guests coming for dinner. I really couldn't deal with the fact that the cooks were drinking some strange green liquid that might render them psychotic.
The night finished out without any need to call in the medics and I forgot about the mysterious bottle of potion...whatever it was.

Then I came across a few antique posters that all had something in common...absinthe.
Quite the history which would require lots of typing here so rather, should you want to learn more, one of the foremost expert websites out there on the subject is here. Drink up on knowledge of this legendary drink often nicknamed "The Green Fairy".
So this is what those two were up to that day in my kitchen. Think I will stick to my French wine.

But I will share one of the more famous posters from the Victorian era that has a cat lapping up a glass of absinthe.

Having had cats that indulged in catnip, I cannot even begin to figure out what a cat that indulged in absinthe w0uld be like. Cat nipped cats zoom and fly through the house and stare at things that aren't there. So a hopped up Green Fairy cat would probably see flying Tinkerbells all over the place.

Makes me think of a pair of earrings I made with a cat that has the largest glowing eyes. Its a Victorian image I used so could absinthe be whats behind those eyes and that wry little smile?