Just Another Weekend in Jersey or untangling myself and Olive brings home the bacon

Saturday was such a beautiful day here and, like many of you probably, I had the need to seed.

Except our seeds are already in the ground, so I headed down to the Pattersons for a couple flats of annuals. They are my favorite local growers where every single family member works their farm and every single family member,

including their 100 year old collie, who I swear muttered "may I help you" as he brushed past me, offered me help. I love that place!

I got back home with my flats and saw that my compost was looking sincerely gorgeous, so I planted flowers in just about everything on my front porch that had drainage potential including my old teapot, garden shoes and my nephew's Tonka.

As I was admiring my newly acquired green thumb and cleverness, Olive came running toward me. She was moving fast, but awkwardly and seemed a bit panicky.

And she had something in her mouth.

And it was big.

It was very big.

(please don't let it be anything cute)

Olive hasn't "caught" anything in a long time, but there were a couple incidents last spring that earned her the nickname (and collar charm) - mole patrol.

She flew right past me into the house with a look in her eyes of conspiratorial panic and victory, as if she were shouting, "I'VE GOT IT! SHUT THE DOOR!"

It was a huge slice of pizza- sausage pizza.

After I wrestled it away from her (she could be lactose intolerant, who knows) and rewarded her with a couple dog treats

(she did try to bring home the bacon - or some other part of a pig - after all)

and planted my minions from the Pattersons, I thought I would check my email and UGH (again) - no internet!

I have been losing internet off and on for weeks. As soon as I schedule a cable appointment, the service rights itself. And even though I know the problem isn't really fixed I cancel the appointment, so I don't have to wait around all day for the cable guy and ...

so I don't have to face the huge tangle of wires behind my desk ...

which is at worst a fire hazard (is this kind of stuff still a fire hazard with surge strips and such?) and at best the kind of disgrace that always gives me a yucky feeling when I see it.

I am no feng shui expert, but I do know that energy gets stuck in neglected places; in messes, in tangles (and not just the kind of energy that gives you access to Google and cable television).

So, I spent the rest of the afternoon untangling, removing plugs to nowhere, removing electrical gizmos that I never use anymore, damp wiping everything off, vacuuming dust bunnies larger than actual bunnies

and with this one little insignificant activity (well, maybe when combined with the beautiful weather and the planting of some amazingly gorgeous new life in the front of my house) - I felt something lighten.

It was like I untangled a whole bunch of wires inside of me as well.

And, of course if you are reading this - my cable did manage to right itself somehow ... again... but this time I'm not going to cancel my repair appointment - since my wires are nice and tidy and easy to reach and I know if I get hungry while waiting for the cable guy, I can always send Olive out for pizza.

Brazen Cork Necklaces - not afraid to get naked, hang out and maybe cause a little trouble this weekend



Sometimes (especially as the days get warmer) my cork can get a bit too full of itself and I just can't keep it covered up.

I recently made a large "naked" cork order for a winery that is opening near me and am adding a few 'naked' pieces to my Uncorked shop this weekend. If you have a special wine cork saved from that special occasion and would like it reconstructed into a necklace or keychain or some other type of useful doodad, just drop me a line!

Have a nice weekend everyone- we are expecting wonderful weather here tomorrow.

Friday Finds - it's a dog's life - some stuff on Olive's list

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1. charming pet balloon animal dog toy
2. mimi green dog collars
3. cookie mom dog spray
4. mimi green pictures of you dog duvet
5. organic pizza pie treats by olive
6. rubenacker boston terrier print
7. these creatures dog feeder
8. pet peek fence window
9. vintage pet doors
10. mountain dog rope leash
11. skate dog studios pet feeder

another Friday Finds stack by the amazing photographer, stacker and mother of pup Ruby Kella MacPhee












Thoughtful Thursday - who are we letting judge us?

"Here's the mistake we make in high school:

We let anyone, just anyone, judge our work (and by extension, judge us).....

The cheerleaders are deputized as the Supreme Court of social popularity and the gym teacher forever has dibs on whether or not we're macho enough to make it in the world.

These are patterns we sign up for, and they last forever (or until we tell them to go away).

...the ability to choose who judges your work ... is the key building block in becoming an artist in whatever you do."

Conversation by Seth; The Honorable Hound print by HoundTracks