In the Garden Today

Acacia dealbata

Blooming now, backyard.

New Machine, New Curtains

In the summer of 2005 on the night before I moved from Baltimore to Austin, my mom's beloved Singer sewing machine, the machine on which I had learned and sewn exclusively ever since, was stolen from my packed car. The Hampden hillbillies we know must've done it probably abandoned it in an alley. It breaks my heart.

About a month later, I bought a new machine. Its box remained unopened until this week. I think I didn't/couldn't open it sooner because I was still so dang sad about losing my mom's antique Singer, and I also feared I couldn't sew except for on that machine. But it was time.

Our dining room needed curtains because my neighbor's front porch is, like, right there. The temporary stitch-witched window coverings had not been intended to stay up for this long, and they were making me sad. It was time to sew, so I sewed, and it was fun. I love the new machine, though it lacks sentimental value. Above is a picture of the finished products in situ. Below, you can better see the fabric pattern.

Yay!

Today

Swan's Neck Agave are blooming now. Mine are too young and newly transplanted, so I'm showing you the ones near our favorite spot in Dunsmore Park. Scale is important to capture here; these flower stalks are huge. The picture in the center includes a bird (click to enlarge).








Treetops. Beautiful blue sky. Clouds that linger after yesterday's rainstorms.

Tonight