Aubergines

Sometimes the simple beauty of fresh summer vegetable almost takes my breath away. These small eggplant came from our neighborhood farm stand yesterday afternoon. I'm not sure what I'll do with them yet, but that's fine because at the moment I'm just having fun taking pictures of them.

When I was a little girl, my mom would make her own eggplant parmigiana. I used to love eating the freshly fried eggplant slices, before they ever got layered with cheese and sauce. I'm thinking I may have to fry these. They are so small though, that they will turn out the size of coins. Ah well, c'est la vie. Can you tell I'm in a French mood lately? And while we're on the subject, doesn't aubergines sound so much prettier than eggplant? :)

Happy weekend, dear bloggers!

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I'm still struggling to get to all your mosaics from last week, but I hope you will forgive me and join the fun again this week. Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30 pm Sunday. There will be no Mosaic Monday on August 9th. I'm taking a week off to recharge the batteries. ;)

Merci Beaucoup

I'm such a doofus. Yes, I know I've said that before, but it bears repeating. I won this beautiful necklace this spring, and completely forgot to share it with you.

The lovely pottery heart, suspended on a velvet cord, was made by Henriot Bijoux of France. Don't you just love the beautiful crackle glaze?

It came with this certificate of authenticity, which I was surprised to find that I could pretty much understand even though I haven't read any French since college... !

And of course, because it's French, even the signature on the back is stylish. ;)

This wonderful prize was part of the first anniversary celebration for the Quimper Club International's blog. If you love pottery and dishes and anything French, you absolutely have to visit!

So, my apologies for forgetting to post about this wonderful prize, and many thanks to the members of Quimper Club International for this beautiful work of art. Je vous remercie de tout coeur!

Mosaic Monday: Gardening on the Deck

First of all, I want to thank all of you who extended their thoughts and prayers for my in-laws this week. My father-in-law has a terminal cancer, and has managed to survive three years when he was given three months, so at this point we are just hoping for a dignified and pain-free end. My mother-in-law is suffering from dementia, and it is hard to see her retreat further into the darkness of the disease. Your thoughts and prayers are so greatly appreciated.

This has been such a hot and humid few weeks here in my part of New Jersey. Saturday, in particular, was truly awful -- about 96 degrees and super muggy. Yuck. But late Sunday afternoon a thunderstorm rolled through, bringing cooler temperatures in it's wake. We were thrilled to be able to have dinner on the deck, amid the flowers. :)

The purple Angelonia, shown in these mosaics, is one of my favorite annuals to plant. It grows well in our climate, and it's spires of purple or pink or white flowers are always upright and abundant. I'm also loving old-fashioned zinnias this summer, especially as I found some large pots of it at our local supermarket on sale for $1.99 each. :) With the heat, I've been watering every day, and although my basil has been fading, the angelonia and zinnias are still going strong. My dear friend Toni has even been growing tomatoes in pots on her patio, and you should see how tall they've grown! Next year, I'm going to try that for sure. :)

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.

Just Saying Hi

Just a quick post to say "hi," and apologize for not being here too much lately. My father-in-law has been back in the hospital this week, and I've been helping out with my mother-in-law who is also ill.

I hope you are all well and enjoying some nice summer weather (or winter weather for my friends down under). It's been really hot here -- 80's and 90's -- and is supposed to be even worse this weekend.

Anyway, here is a flower for you all. Queen Anne's Lace grows wild in our backyard, and I love to photograph it when it is just opening or when it's all curled up and going to seed. :)

Have a wonderful weekend! Hope to see you all for Mosaic Monday. :)

What's Hanging?

I'm always interested in what people hang on their walls... in fact, you might call me a bloggy voyeur. :) I love to browse the decorating blogs, checking out all the great art. Not great, as in Matisse or Dutch Masters. But great as in "wow, I really like that!"

Over the years, I have found that vintage or antique prints seems to work best for me. This is an old house -- a little scruffy -- and anything too precious or polished would look like, well... a sow in a silk dress. So I tend to collect old prints, mainly with a flower theme. Because I love flowers. :)

The prints you see here hang in our master bedroom. The large one was found at a rummage sale for $6. The others came from my favorite thrift store. I think they were $2.50 each. It's driving me nuts that they are hanging crooked in these photos, but I just wanted to give you an idea of the "art" here at Little Red House.

So tell me, what's hanging on your walls? ;)

Mosaic Monday: Summer at the Farm

This week we had our first sweet corn of the season. The farm down the road grows it, and we always try to buy it and cook it as soon after it is picked as possible. I would have taken a picture of it, but the shortest time from field to table is like a religion around here. No time for pictures!

So instead I am cheating a little and using some of the pictures I took at sunset this week, along with a picture from the farm. The temperatures have still been in the 90's here for the past few days, and while we try to stay inside in the heat of the day, it is almost a blessing to venture forth as the sun begins it's slow descent below the trees.

Here's hoping for some cooler weather this week. :)

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.

Brave New World

This is just about the only flower in my garden right now. Seriously. I've been neglecting the beds and weeds abound. Most of my other plants have already bloomed and faded, but this brave little coreopsis soldiers on.

You've gotta love a plant that is so earnest. :)

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Won't you please join me for Mosaic Monday? Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30 pm Sunday. I hope to see you then. :)