Mosquitoes

Tags

itching, mosquitoes, postaday2012, repellents, scratching

I jinxed myself earlier this month. I was walking Rex and Jack and I realized that I hadn’t a single bug bite. Normally by this time in the season, my legs are covered with scabs and scars from the pesky May flies and mosquitoes. I don’t know why we weren’t hit by the usual swarm of May flies, I’m not complaining about their absence but it is odd because they are normally such a part of May and planting. Their swarms can get so bad that I have often been tempted to wear a beekeepers outfit which makes it so bizarre that I didn’t get plagued by them this year. Mosquitoes, on the other hand, are right on time, so no mystery where they are concerned. I have been bitten by them since they have made their presence known in Blandford. My legs, arms and hands are starting to accumulate the scabs that happen when I get bitten. Normally I am a fairly disciplined person but all bets are off when I am itchy. My tolerance level is extremely low for itchiness, I will scratch my bites until I draw blood, only then does the itchiness stop. I know that I shouldn’t do what I do because the scars left by my scratching aren’t too attractive but I haven’t found a remedy for the itching or a repellent that would keep the blood sucking insects away from me. I must have a pheromone that screams “suck my blood!” because I could be standing with others, such as my hubby, and I’m the only one being bitten.
I do have to say that having screens makes such a huge difference because the sanctity of the home isn’t violated by those little buggers, my summers in France were quite the contrast in living arrangements with the mosquitoes. The family house did not have screens or air conditioning, so if you wanted fresh, cool night air you opened a window and prayed that the mosquitoes wouldn’t come in. They would and you would get the buzzing in the ear and when you turned over, the buzzing would be on the other side, driving you to close the window, turn on the light and try to kill the mosquitoes. An endless battle between you and the mosquito, with the actual winner often the mosquito. Hopefully this summer I’ll figure out a better strategy for dealing with mosquito bites and finding better ways to repel them. Thank goodness for screens.

What was the last movie seen in the theatre?

Tags

cinema, movies, postaday2012

• Name the last movie you saw at a theater.

• June 30, 2012

• At the Movie Theater
• Tag Your Friends as Family Guy on Facebook & MySpace

  My hubby and I just saw Ted last night. It was unbelievably funny, Mark Wahlberg was excellent and Seth Mcfarlane is a genius. There was something about the way it was done that wasn’t offensive in any way. In the hands of a less skilled director, it could have gone wrong at so many points but Seth Mcfarlane handled the subject matter with such comic finesse, believe it or not, it was great.

The most ambitious DYI that you have ever undertaken

Tags

digging, ottoman, painting, postaday2012, sewing

• Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.

• June 29, 2012

• An Ambitious Project
• Electronic Sewing Kit

  Painting bedrooms isn’t really ambitious, steaming wallpaper off the hallway walls, not really. I have taken out a huge patch of bittersweet, that was a job and a half, but I wouldn’t call it ambitious. I know, we had a pretty ottoman covered in a burgundy soft fabric with a warm tapestry covering of the top of the ottoman. Rex ate it, the remains of the ottoman when I got home seemed beyond help. I was determined to repair that ottoman first to save Rex from getting yelled at over eating another piece of furniture, he was eating us out of house and home and second to see if I could. I don’t sew but I got out my sewing kit and got into the surgical zone and pieced the foam back together and then patiently stitched all the pieces back into place. Other than I, no one had a clue that the ottoman had been all but destroyed.

College orientation

Tags

Becker College, college orientation, empty nest, postaday2012

My hubby and I are back home from spending the whole day at the college going through the mandatory orientation with our baby girl. The school separates the parents from their children early on in the program, the parents get the whole financial aid spiel and how the school will do their best to give your child the best chance for success. The kids on their end, according to the staff, were getting their own pep talks. We got put back together with the baby girl to enjoy a nice lunch as a huge group under a huge tent on the lawn, the campus is very lovely so having lunch al fresca was a nice touch. We were than separated once again. My hubby and I were finished with the parents part of the orientation program so, since we couldn’t be with the baby girl, we decided to head home. The baby girl will be coming home tomorrow afternoon. On the ride home, my hubby and I couldn’t help but talk about how cute the baby girl was when she was little and now she is sleeping overnight at her college campus for the first time. I felt a little nervous for her, I was hoping that she didn’t feel too new and too shy, I was hoping that she found someone that she clicked with and could laugh with, to not get too overwhelmed with the thoughts of what college really means. I can’t wait until my baby girl gets home.

Sushi

Tags

avocado, eel, postaday2012, roll, sushi

Tonight the baby girl and I came to Boston to visit and have some wonderful sushi before embarking on a full day of parent/student college orientation at her school tomorrow. We, of course were joined by my hubby. He loves escorting his ladies to dinner, especially sushi restaurants. It’s not often that you go out to eat and feel good and healthy about it. The restaurant that we had dinner at was appropriately named Sake. We ordered green tea and water, my hubby and I started with small green salad and steamed shrimp shumai, dumplings, and the baby girl ordered edamame, soy beans. My hubby always put his trust in the Chef’s plate, the baby girl and I, we don’t roll that way. We have fallen in love with the dragon maki, which is smoked eel, avocado and cucumber roll. I have on occasion, such as this evening, deviated away from the dragon maki and ordered other rolls. I decided to order the scorpion roll which had the added feature of shrimp on top of the smoked eel and avocado. I was even thinking Alligator maki but I decided against the shrimp tempura because I didn’t really want anything fried in my roll. It was a really nice dinner, the three of us. Tomorrow is a big day ahead of us so we are turning in early.

Have you ever found something cool enough to want to keep it?

Tags

cats, kittens, lost and found, postaday2012

• What’s the coolest thing you’ve ever found (and kept)?

• June 28, 2012

• Finders, Keepers!
• kittens 017

  When I was little my best friend, my little sister and I were climbing into a neighbors backyard, I forget why, but we found a litter of kittens. We of course fell in love, and my best friend took one and my sister and I helped ourselves to one as well. We snuck our kittens into our respective households, fully intent on keeping them. That plan lasted all of an hour, we were found out and ordered to return the kittens back from whence they came, it was done, though not without much begging and crying in the attempt to change the parental authorities mind, but alas to no avail, the kittens were found, kept and then returned.

June the month for young brides

Tags

brides bouquets, June, postaday2012, pruning, roses

As I was in the backyard today, pruning some errant branches and weeding the bamboo jungle, I turned to my left and saw my button rosebush in almost full bloom and it made me think of my wedding bouquet twenty two years ago. My hubby helped design the bridal bouquet with my mother’s best friend and his own best friend. They created the baby rose and baby breath bouquet together at my father’s restaurant where all the floral centerpieces were being put together , between the three of them, we had so much design talent for floral arrangements. It was spectacular. I went inside to get my trusty cell phone and went around to my five rosebushes to showcase how the cluster of blooms would be so lovely in any bridal bouquet.

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Would you open a restaurant?

Tags

baking, cooking, postaday2012, Restaurant

• Would you ever consider opening your own restaurant, bar, or cafe?

• June 27, 2012

• Opening a Restaurant
• Oyster

  It has tickled the back of my mind from time to time because I love cooking and baking. However, having grown up in the restaurant business with my father and seeing first hand how hard it is; the long hours, the high possibility of failure and the stresses that occur everyday. I keep my cooking and baking right here in my kitchen where it belongs.

Never say die, one of my motto’s in gardening

Tags

containers, herbs, lavender, postaday2012

a grouping of my herbs; basil, thyme, rosemary and sage

baby lavender just planted in the container in the front

another lavender bush in its second year

Rosemary and Sage

Sage and Rosemary

thyme, one of the fragrances that I especially like

lavender bush in its second year

I don’t know if my motto comes from stubborness, perseverance or tenacity, but there a few plants that no matter how many years have disappointed me, I just can’t accept defeat. I have always loved lavender, I have taken the TGV from Bordeaux to Toulouse and from Toulouse to Marseilles and the fields of lavender are absolutely magnificent. I have, since seeing those those fields from afar and walking amongst the lavender, decided to have my own little piece of lavender paradise here in Blandford. It has been, I would say at least six years of trying and as you can see from my pictures I have gone back to the drawing board several times over. I have a friend of mine just down the road who has several big lavender bushes, so it is possible to grow it here. I have asked for advice and followed her advice but even though I have had some failures in the past, I promise you that I will have my little piece of lavender paradise. My saga extends itself to the herbage as well. In the southern parts of France, rosemary, sage and thyme grow like weeds, now I realize that in the mountains of western Massachusetts I don’t have the climate for keeping the herbs alive all year. So for over a decade, I have made my project in the fall of bringing in my precious flower pots of herbs and trying with all my patience and tender loving care to keep them alive throughout the winter. I have succeeded once or twice with rosemary but never two winters in a row. Chives on the other hand, they grow like weeds up here in Blandford which makes me so happy. I can be cooking anything such as a frittata for example and I can go outside with my scissors and snip as much as I like and voila fresh chives in the frittata. I would love to be able to do that during the winter, but I can’t seem to be able to keep my herbs alive for more than a month or two before they start to fade, diminish and then die. This year I have reluctantly accepted the fact that my house doesn’t have the sun exposure necessary to keep these herbs alive during the cold winters. Sometimes you have to let a dream go, if sometime in the future I rearrange a room in the house around keeping summer plants alive, than I’ll revisit the project of green housing the herbs, but until that day comes I’ll be replacing the herbs annually.

What is your favorite summer seasonal food?

Tags

cantaloupe, fruit, nectarines, postaday2012

• Share your favorite seasonal food item.

• June 26, 2012

• Seasonal Flavors
• Nectarine Fruit

  When I think of summer, I think immediately of fresh fruit. My all time favorite fruit is the white flesh nectarine here and in France. In France they have a special variety of cantaloupe that is the sweetest that I have ever tasted, I can’t wait to have a slice one day this summer. I have to say, however, in terms of versatility in preparation and eating, the white flesh nectarine is excellent in fresh fruit tarts, grilled with pork chops, made into sorbet, or cut up into bite size pieces in a glass with some red wine and left to sit for a few minutes, it tastes like the nectar of the gods.

• 

  an example of what beautiful artistry you can achieve with the nectarine