"Folded finally into narrow shafts of sleep
in the dim shades of pre-dawn,
I rose upon the fullness of the vernal sun
to again experience
the dichotomous reality
that was then my life."

-Linda Neufer, from a page taken from her original illuminated poem, Transformation. This is the card used to advertise her exhibit and the recent publication of the poem in book form.

I love it so much I plan on framing it.

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This weekend I'm off to one of my favorite places on Earth: Mt. Rainier. I've finally found a decent lab that will develop 120 film quickly and without charging an arm and a leg, so I plan on taking a few cameras with me to the mountain. Hopefully sometime soon I'll have some of those photos to share here with you.

Have a lovely weekend.

While out doing errands yesterday, I did a double-take as I walked by everbody's favorite independent music store, Sonic Boom Records. In their window was one of the most gorgeous gig posters I had ever seen, a screen-printed beauty advertising the show I am going to (!!) next week.

Alas, my bus came just at that moment. I was not able to even scout the artist's name.

I emailed Sonic Boom, so excited to know if there was someplace I could purchase said poster and equally certain that I was out of luck. Turns out it's by the fantastic Frida Clements, the promotional company distributing them gave Sonic Boom extra copies, and they could set one aside with my name on it for free.


This is the kind of thing that does a good job of shaking me out of the cynicism of my bad day (slept through my alarm, missed my bus, etc.) and makes me love the rest of the world.

Although this weekend found Seattle basking in some of the warmest, nicest weather we've had all summer, the boy and I pretty much only left the house to visit IKEA, a friends apartment, and the farmer's market (at least that one was outside).

See, we decided to re-do our all-purpose spare room/the boy's study/cat area. Took longer than we expected (oh how we should have known, right?) but it sure does look fantastic now.

A much needed...summer cleaning?

We broke from our home-improvement frenzy for new flower admiring, fresh fruit eating, and iced-coffee drinking.


Actually, that's pretty much what I'll break for anytime.

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Ming Makes Cupcakes

Further adventures in the kitchen.

Playing around with garlic scapes,
Frosty glasses of homemade strawberry lemonade,
Peach & Crème fraiche pie
(which I made last year for the first time,
I've just been waiting for peaches to come into season
so I could make it again)

& Summer light--my cooking companion when the boy works late.

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We went to see Jesca Hoop the other night.
The show was deserted, but she was amazing (as I expected).
Apparently she's very well-liked in the UK?
Apparently her album isn't out in the US yet?
(Apparently the version I have is an import?)
Didn't realize any of this before the show.
But still--I can't understand why she's not bigger here.
I just think she's great.

The place where I am taking my whole foods nutrition/cooking class has a truly amazing garden out back. They grow tons of veggies, gorgeous flowers, classic Pacific Northwest shade lovers, and a huge variety of other plants and herbs that have both medicinal and culinary uses.

I feel so lucky that I can spend a few minutes after each class exploring such an inspired and alive space before heading home.

In gardens as glorious and well-tended as this one, don't you just imagine that you can practically hear the plants singing out in happiness?

Maybe that's just me, but I do.

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Bérangère Claire
Al&Alicia

Beautiful colors, both manufactured and not:

I couldn't decide on just one shade of nailpolish at American Apparel,
& a mid-July sunset after a dinner out near the water.

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Wartime Matisse (speaking of color)

One of those weekends where I didn't really feel compelled to pick up my camera very much--and that's just fine.

It did get a bit of use on our hike to Wallace Falls, one of my favorite hikes. The day started out grey, but by the time we were heading home the sun had appeared and made the woods look like a completely different place than where we had started out from.

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I've been really enjoying this photographer lately.
And Alice's photos of a recent trip to Ireland.
Oh, and Jason Nocito's Cat Power series as well.

I love being born in November--it's usually a gorgeously moody month in Seattle, and my birthday falls right around Thanksgiving, so there's always a generally festive feeling in the air.

But a July birthday wouldn't be too bad either.

Practically every kind of fruit imaginable perfectly in season?
Sunshine so gorgeous it's dripping like liquid across the trees?
Dinner outside and playing badminton barefoot afterward?


Yeah. A July birthday wouldn't be bad at all.


So we celebrated with all of the above plus a lemon-raspberry cake I created for the event (I must admit, I am pretty proud of it--I've never made such a decadent party cake before!).


Happy July.

I made a clafoutis last night with the last of the Eastern Washington cherries we brought home. I'd never made a clafoutis before and it's puffed and golden top looked so pretty when I pulled it out of the oven. Unfortunately, I found the thing to be only meh once I ate some. Not bad, just meh. Maybe next time I have an abundance of cherries I'll make jam.

Or cobbler.
Or a crisp.
Or a pie.
Perhaps a tart?

I really don't think it will be a problem.

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Today is the first day of a class I am taking on whole foods cooking and nutrition. It's been a while since I've been a student anywhere, so even though this is just one class for the summer semester, I'm a bit nervous! Hopefully all goes well, and I don't accidentally light my sleeve on fire or something when we start working in the kitchens.

I think bagpipes are great. Not in an ironic, "Hey, lets love the weird wheezy instrument because it's simultaneously ear-splitting and ridiculous" way, but because I honestly find them powerful and amazing.

Which is why I've been going to the Highland Games in the gorgeous Skagit Valley for quite a few years now. I am not Scottish. There is just something indescribably beautiful about watching and hearing full bagpipe bands march onto the field of competition.

Between getting some funny tan lines and listening to the sheep chomp away in the evening, we picked up some tayberries (a cross between raspberries and blackberries), drank more iced coffee than I thought was possible, and marveled at how a single golden day can seem to epitomize everything that makes summer great.

During the summer I usually lose all interest in cooking or baking.
I usually crave simple veggies, raw fruits--nothing fancy or dressed up.

So far, this summer has been the opposite.

I don't mind turning the oven on, even with the warm days we've been having.
And it's been fun to play around with the great produce that is spilling over the farmers market stalls.

I made Brian's potato salad and it is impossible to stop eating. This apricot crisp is delicious in the morning with some vanilla yogurt. My summer-mascot sandwich of roasted squash, goat cheese, basil, and balsamic vinegar is going to be my dinner every day until the baguette I bought is all eaten up (yes, the combination is that good).


Isn't summer delicious?

3 things making me smile this week:
-A kitchen full of growing things
-Warm weather and abundant sunshine
-Receiving packages in the mail from dear friends

What's making you smile?