Lamp Shade Resurrection

Is this better?

This new shade has some great benefits--the old one was a bit garish, and truly didn't show off the coolness of the base. This shade is an inch and a half shorter, which lets all the wood show. Before, the shade hid most of the wood column at the bottom. It's a nice, clean look.

And it's the shade K liked best.

sorry, kenz!

When everyone was here during the holidays, it came to my attention that one of the bedrooms was missing a reading lamp. So one day in January, I stopped by one of my favorite downtown second hand stores, Renewal. It's a cool store where I've found some great things. I spotted this lamp and thought it would go great in the bedroom. I loved the simple line of the pottery base, the overall color, but that shade would have to go.

the two pieces of wood at the top of the base and the shade are awesome.

The color is an overall greenish tone, but is made up zillions of tiny green and black dots on the beige base.

The signature at the bottom is one of the best parts.

As I walking past the front hall on the way to Kenz's bedroom, I glanced at the front hall, and it struck me that this would actually be the perfect place for this particular lamp. Honestly, I tried it in the bedroom to be fair, but it looked better in the front hall. So I'll keep looking for another lamp for the bedroom.

And the shade? It's growing on me. Should I keep it or replace it?

experiments in cooking

Yesterday I came across a recipe for lemon curd. I love lemony things, and this looked easy. I had made K a strawberry pie for Valentine's Day, and had a little crust left over, which would be a perfect way to try the lemon curd. The recipe was easy, but I had a hard time knowing how long to cook it. When chilled, it had a great taste, but was a little grainy. Oddly, though, the graininess disappeared once it was in my mouth, leading me to believe that the butter hadn't gotten all the way melted, which was impossible, since little bubbles were forming. I mentioned to to Kenz, one of my daughters who is very adventuresome when it comes to cooking and baking. She has also never made lemon curd, but wanted to try it. In some reading last night, she came across a recipe for lemon cream, which is similar to curd, and her recipe gave some solutions for problems. She told me that I would need to re-emulsify the mix in a double boiler while constantly whisking. I did it, and it turned out perfectly!

How did it taste? Absolutely delicious!

On Being Ga

When I started having kids, I sort of wanted to be done by the time I was 30 so I could be a "young" grandma. I wanted to be able to roll around on the floor with my grandkids, play with them, and make some great memories. My own dear mother was 60 when my oldest was born, and 62 when the twins were born. I can't imagine her ever being able to do this! Little R and I have just finished a ride. Love that skull in the background!

We're just walking back up the hill!

Here's the fun! We're heading down!

I hope this is etched in R's memory, I know it is in mine!

This is just the cutest photo--we're at an ice sculpture--this is a hedgehog, I love R's dubious little expression! We had a great weekend!

McCall: The Winter Wonderland

Miscellaneous

These are some miscellaneous shots that have been languishing on my phone--now they're free! The one above is a shot taken from above Boise while hiking Camel's Back in November.

In late August, JAM and K and I were in Moscow with J, L and little R. I love the expressions on the faces.

Can you see just the hint of those dimples?

little R and Pa.

Whilst in McCall with JAM, we heard the sound of feet on the sidewalk one evening. Kids running to the pool! No! We looked out to see...

...this mom and her fawn, just wandering through Hearthstone. I'm always amazed.

My Trailblazer!

Today we're snowshoeing! It snowed nearly all day Sunday, so there's lots of nice powder out there! K is the trailblazer! Sometimes we're side by side, but I like walking behind and making him do all the work--I just enjoy the scenery! Thanks, K!

These wonders let us walk on top of the snow instead of sinking like stones!

I spotted this cute little pine tree just trying to stay ahead of the snow.