How come I didn't know about this Shannon Lamden fabric? I'm so glad I asked about fabric, I'm getting some good links, thanks you guys!

This picture has nothing to do with anything, I took it several years ago with my old point & shoot Olympus, but I still like it. Actually, it does have something to do with today's post, since these are Spring flowers (see the first question below).

Now seems like as good a time as any to do a little meme that I was tagged with recently. Both Robin (check out her terrific terrarium, and read about how resourceful she was finding the plants for it. I love that she has a little terrarium resident, too!) and Alice (look at her beautiful photos! I'm a little envious that she gets to live in Oxford. I spent a rainy Fall day there once and loved it so much) tagged me, and these are some fun questions, so here you go:

1. Cut and paste the questions into a new blog post and respond to the questions.
2.
Replace one question you dislike with a question of your own invention
– and say which one you added.
3. Tag other untagged folks.

What is your current obsession?
Spring flowers. There are wildflowers blooming along the freeway as I drive to work, and of course you know all about the daffodils and grape hyacinth. I also have birthday flowers all over my desk. There are a big bunch of baby pink and white roses (courtesy of Mr. HeyLucy), sunflowers from a friend, my annual Lily-of-the-Valley from Trader Joe's, and a bunch of blooming forsythia branches I bought last week.

What are you wearing right now?
black & cream striped jeans, long sleeved pink t-shirt, 3/4 sleeve black sweater, black ballet flats, new earrings that I won from Pamela Susan (more on those later)!

Who was the last person you hugged?
It was either Mr. HeyLucy or Winston. I guess Winston is not exactly a human, but they both get hugs every day.

If you were a tree, what tree would you be?
A cherry tree. or maybe a fig tree.

What’s for dinner?
Mr. HeyLucy put a giant pot roast in the crock pot this morning, so I guess that's what we'll be eating.

What was the last thing you bought?
Jamie at Home
(I had a birthday gift card for Barnes & Noble)

What are you listening to right now?
My Pandora station is playing Rocco Deluca & The Burden. I do not know them, I haven't decided to give them a thumbs up or thumbs down.

What is your favourite weather?
Sunny and 70 degrees, although I do appreciate a nice rainy day. I hate windy days, they make me cranky

What’s on your beside table?
Lamp, an orchid, photo booth picture of my grandmother, a bird-shaped dish holding earrings and stitch markers, a pretty handkerchief, a vase full of daffodils and a tiny box with some new earrings  and dust.

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you want it to be?
A little village in England. It would have to have a thatched roof. I hope the locals wouldn't mind me moving in.

What would you like to get rid of?
30 lbs around my middle

Favourite vacation spot?
All my vacations are usually spent visiting family. I would love to go back to Italy someday

Name the things you can’t live without.
My laptop, sewing machine and knitting needles. And also Mr. HeyLucy and all the animals, of course.

What would you like to have in your hands right now?
A big stack of money would be nice, but if that's a little much to ask, then I would be happy with my knitting needles

What is your favourite tea flavour?
Peppermint, but I'm also loving Yogi Tea's Classic India Spice right now too.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
I would probably want to visit my parents in China, to see how they're doing and meet some of their students.

What is your favourite snack?
Chips and Salsa, no question, unless I want something sweet, then it's definitely cookies and milk.

I'm going to add this question for today's giveaway:
What is your favorite, can't-do-without beauty product?
I'm not a big 'product' girl, but I love my MAC Sequin Lipstick. I've been wearing it for at least 12 years. I experiment with other colors, and I have a nice pink right now, called Hot Gossip, but I always go back to my Sequin. It's neutral but with a little sparkle, and it blends with whatever else I'm wearing. I also love the lack of scent in MAC products. I like wearing perfume and certain smelly lotions, but I'm very particular about the scents, and I hate make up that smells. Here's a swatch from the MAC site, which is looking a little pinker than it really is on my monitor, it's definitely got a bit of a brownish undertone:

So that's today's giveaway, your very own tube of Sequin Lipstick, it's one of my favorite things! Just share your favorite beauty product in the comments, it's always good to get opinions on these things. Oh, and I'm terrible about tagging people, so the first three commentors with blogs, consider yourself tagged!

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I wasn't kidding about more daffodils. I love the ethereal quality of this pale apricot variety. They are nearly always two to a stem, and have a lovely, light fragrance. After a cursory internet search, I still don't know the name of this particular variety. I should keep better gardening records.

I am very lucky to have a lot of thinking time. I spend a lot of time in my car every day, and when I'm driving I come up with a lot of really brilliant ideas. If only I could write them down to remember later. I also think a lot while I am swimming, but swimming-thinking is usually about the things I need to do. I plan elaborate to-do lists for the evening when I get home. Seldom is more than one to-do completed when I actually do get home, but still, it doesn't hurt to be ambitious. Anyway, the point of all this is that this morning while driving to work, I thought that since this is Birthday Week at Hey Lucy, there should be some presents, don't you think? Only these presents will be from me to you. So I also thought up a list of some of my favorite things, which also happen to be quite small (I don't want to break the bank here, after all), and I'll do my best to have a post each day with a little giveaway. I might make you work a little for these giveaways, and I'm sorry I can't send a present to everyone, but I think we can have some fun! Are you in? Spread the word, if you have a blog.

Now, on to the first giveaway. I love music, and I love my family, one member of which happens to be a very talented musician. I know I make you watch his videos and download his music, but it's all so good, I wouldn't want anyone to miss out. Today I have an autographed copy of his brand new, very excellent CD, Goodnight Human. Big things are in the works, and you will probably start hearing his music on the radio soon and he will likely be appearing in a city near you this Summer. Despite the fact that Cary likes to tell everyone the story of how I laughed at him when he first told me he was going to be the lead singer in a band, I've always genuinely liked his music, but this album is really something special. I know he's poured his whole heart and soul into it, and it shows. Don't ask me what my favorite song is, because I love every single one.


So, here's what you have to do if you'd like this CD: just share your top five most favorite albums ever. I know it's probably hard to narrow it down, but if you could only listen to five for the rest of your life, which five would you choose?

My brothers tagged me on facebook to do a list of 25 albums, and that was hard, I already want to add a few more. If it helps, here are my 25:

In no particular order:

1. The Cars – The Cars
2. U2 – War
3. Lucinda Williams – Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
4. Dar Williams – Mortal City
5. G. Love & Special Sauce – Philadelphonic
6. Cowboy Junkies – Pale Sun Crescent Moon
7. 10,000 Maniacs – In My Tribe
8. They Might Be Giants – Flood
9. Andrew Bird – The Mysterious Production of Eggs
10. Gillian Welch – Time (The Revelator)
11. Annie Lennox – Diva
12. REM – Out of Time
13. The White Stripes – White Blood Cells
14. Barenaked Ladies – Maybe You Should Drive
15. Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever
16. Billy Joel – Glass Houses
17. Yann Tiersen – Les Retrouvailles
18. Toni Childs – Union
19. The Sundays – Reading Writing & Arithmetic
20. Sufjan Stevens – Illinoise
21. Styx – Paradise Theater
22. Rogue Wave – Asleep at Heaven's Gate
23. Richard Thompson – Rumor and Sigh
24. Matthew Sweet – Girlfriend
25. Indigo Girls – Indigo Girls

I think I'll leave comments open for a couple days for each giveaway, so you'll have until Thursday night to enter this one. And don't forget to come back tomorrow for another birthday present!

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I pretended to be a pioneer this weekend, except for the electricity and indoor plumbing, oh, and the washer and dryer and gas stove, but other than those little conveniences, it was just like being a pioneer.

I haven't been cooking much more than dinner lately, so I decided to spend a little more time in the kitchen this weekend. When the Angry Chicken mentioned making butter, and 70-some comment-ors shared their enthusiasm, I had to jump on the bandwagon and try it too. I did it in a more pioneer-like way, and shook a pint of cream in a quart-sized mason jar. It was fascinating how the texture changed. First it just got all thick and frothy, and I was worried my jar was too small. Then I could hear it sort of thunk-ing around, and then suddenly it was a solid mass and finally, it turned pale yellow and there was a chunk of butter sitting in a pool of milk. This would be a great home-school science lesson! I recently scored a bunch of mini jello molds, which will soon be turned into pincushions, so I pressed the butter into one of them and let it harden in the fridge for a while and then turned it out on a plate.

The pint of cream made that-which I would estimate is 3/4 to 1 cup, plus another half a stick. I salted it very lightly, really just a couple shakes of kosher salt, and when I tasted it right after it was finished I was worried that I put way too much in, but today it's much better. And I have been eating a lot of slices of bread and butter.

So that was my weekend to-do list up there, and I didn't get it completely finished, but I did make quite a lot of progress. Make Butter: check!

Next up was Make Pickles. I will not be able to tell you how successful that venture was for two or three months, however. Here's a little more pickle backstory: Mr. HeyLucy loves a good antipasto salad, and the last time we had pizza the salad was a little disappointing. We are also trying to be more thrifty and not eating out, so this will be a good thing to try and make ourselves at home. Summer garden plans are in the works, so if the homemade pickling thing works out, we'll plant lots of pickle-friendly vegetables. Also, I was talking to a couple Persian friends at work who told me all about torshi, Persian pickles. One of found this recipe and sent it to me. I modified it a little, and made it a bit more Italian style (because I'm such an Italian cuisine expert). Here are all my vegetables, ready to be mixed and put in jars. The bowl is full of herbs and vinegar, and it smelled delicious, although now I need a break from the smell of vinegar for at least a couple days.

 

Vegetables are pretty! Clockwise, from the top left we have green pepper, cucumbers (the little persian ones), herb-y vinegar, cauliflower, carrots, cooked eggplant (not too much of that, I wasn't sure if we would like it), whole garlic cloves, and celery. I ended up with five quarts and one pint. Now it has to sit for a couple months and then we can enjoy it! Make Pickles: check!

Next up, Sew Skirt. Didn't happen. I have some pretty grey linen for a Summer skirt, and I want to sew lots of rick-rack around the bottom, but the fabric store I went to on Friday only had purple, so I will have to go on a rick-rack hunt next week. Sew Skirt will move to the top of the list for next weekend.

Gather Moss. I don't think I'm ready to take the dogs out again, my hand should be healed by next weekend, however, so that stays on the list. The dogs each got a little brushing, and therefore quality one-on-one time with me instead, and it's not like there was a moss emergency. My terrarium in the little house studio is doing quite well, I will have to take a progress picture so you can see how pretty and green it is.

Sew Blouse. Well, it's cut out, so that one gets a partial check. I hope to work on it this week, so expect to hear more about this later.

Sweep Driveway. We have a big driveway. Between dogs digging and chickens scratching, and wind blowing, it gets messy. I got a lot swept, so I'm giving myself a check mark, but there is one more corner to do, so it will be back on the list next week too.

Do laundry. Done! Although not yet put away, at least it's all folded. Maybe tomorrow I will finish putting it away, and then I will get my check mark.

Make Pincushions. Well, I tried, but more experimenting is needed. I did make a strawberry with emory sand, so I'm kind of excited about that. I made one attempt with the aforementioned mini jello molds, but I have to try again. No check mark, back on the list.

 

I'm excited to make some new little sets, with wool-stuffed pincushions and emory-filled strawberries, and maybe even matching needlebooks.

Bake a Cake. Specifically, Nigella's Clementine Cake. I've been wanting to make this forever, or at least for the last three months. So forever might be an exageration, but I finally did it today. And it's good, but not quite as outstanding as I was expecting. She does say that she prefers it the next day, so maybe my opinion will change tomorrow. I think I might like it more with a simple orange glaze. It's flourless, so it might be a good recipe to add to your reportoire if you need a gluten-free cake. Also, it's not all that exciting to look at:

 

So that was my weekend to-do list. I should have included Pick Flowers, because that would have earned me another check mark.

 

I hope you won't mind just a few more pictures of daffodils and grape hyacinth, but we have to enjoy them while we can!

 

I love that bright orange center, and how about that extreme bokeh, eh? 

 

I just love these tiny things. That photo is worth looking at full-sized. This version is straight out of the camera, but I played with some Photoshop actions and added those versions to flickr.

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Spring is my favorite time of year. My birthday is in the Spring, my favorite flowers bloom in the Spring, things turn green, the sky is bluer, it's just the best. Tomorrow the pool opens after being closed for 3 months and my swimming stuff is already packed and ready to take along to work for a lunch hour swim.

Saturday I declared an official pajama day, and I spent the morning with the bedroom window open, and enjoyed the fresh Spring air along with a little breakfast in bed, followed by a little knitting and hulu.com watching (while still in bed). I would have just stayed in my pajamas all day, but around 1:30 I decided I had better get dressed and go to the feed store, or I was going to have to deal with some grumpy, hungry chickens.

I've worked some more on my skirt, although I have to finish off the yoke facing, and I may sew another row or maybe even two of ruffles. Two might be too much, but I think I really will do one more. I'm wearing my boots, obviously, but once it's a little warmer, I think these cute shoes will work well with this skirt.

The skirt is made of a cotton bamboo fabric I got at JoAnn, of all places, and the ruffle is bias-cut silk dupioni. I like the cotton bamboo a lot, it's very nice to sew with.

I was also working on the mushroom tutorial, as promised, and Sally came for her usual visit. I took some pictures and then played around with them in Photoshop, using some Pioneer Woman Actions.

I like this 70's action. The sunshine one is fun too:

And then I went out and tried to take photos of flowers without dogs or a goose in them. I am trying to teach them to respect my personal space, but it's not sinking in. Still, I got a few flower photos without any animals in the frames.

I love all the bulb flowers, but grape hyacinth are one of my most favorites:

And the lilacs are getting their big fat buds:

I hope you don't mind all the pictures! But did I mention that I love Spring?

P.S. Mushrooms winner will be posted by tomorrow, if not later tonight, and the tutorial will be up soon too! I'll also have a few mushrooms for the shop, if you don't feel like making your own. Now I'm going to go make some soup!

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Some of the best things about summer: lavender, roses and sunflowers. There’s not much else, except weeds in our yard at the moment, but I am focusing on the positive :o)

I thought this was a really sweet entry on my dad’s blog. It made me tear up a little.

I’m still working on the bookbinding post(s). I think part one may be up this evening. Unless I decide to re-do the entire thing.

Edwin says Hello blog readers! What do you have for me to eat? I want to nibble on your toes.

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