Monday, July 18, 2011

Practice, Peaches, and a Party


My most recent fortune cookie fortune read "Practice Makes Perfect", and I'm trying to practice as much as possible these days.  I had a wide open afternoon today, and it was very nice.   The piece above is what I'm working on at the present time.  It is still wet, but I hope to finish this step in the process tomorrow - it will be steamed after it dries. 


This is another piece that I'm playing around with 




looks almost like a glass of dark beer, doesn't it?  LOL  Actually it's one of my sleeveless cotton tops that I like to wear when I work out at the gym.  Somehow I got some black spots on it and try as I might, I couldn't get them out.  So, into the dye bath it went.  I can't wait to see how it turns out.  



And I want to share with you some facts that I've recently learned about peaches.  I apologize if you already knew these things, but I think perhaps they bear repeating.  I give credit to CJ Cameron, who writes the food column for our AJC.  I learned that peaches should never be refrigerated, as that is what makes them mealy.  So, we should buy our peaches from the farmer, rather than from a supermarket, for chances are they've been refrigerated somewhere during their trip to the produce aisle.  When you get them home, you should keep them on the kitchen counter on a raised cake rack - as you see above.  This keeps the air circulating around them and prevents them from spoiling on the bottom part.  We are enjoying our fresh Georgia peaches right now....MMMMMM!  I grilled one the other night.  Have you tried that?  I cut it in half, placed the two pieces cut side down on the grill and left them for about 10 minutes.  Boy was that good!  Of course, a bit of vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt makes the taste even better!


We had friends over on Saturday night - a party that was planned long before my Mom fell ill.  It was a great diversion for me to prepare for this gathering, and it certainly was nice to have the house full of friends and family.  The weather cooperated beautifully with the coolest temps we've had in quite some time.  Folks mingled and ate on both patios!  Charlie made his official debut and was a real sweetie pie.  He and his folks spent the night and we all did a lot of 'swimming' yesterday.  We also got out the watercolors and he painted another masterpiece.  It was interesting to see how much more adept he is now at almost eight months, than he was two months ago.








PEACE

7 comments:

Ginny Huber said...

Hi Judy! I always like seeing your dyeing projects; I am a new dyer (a friend here in seattle told me about your work and I'm glad she did. Also, loving seeing little Charlie!

Gerrie said...

I never put peaches or tomatoes in the fridge. I love them when they are room temperature. Charlie, Charlie — you are so dang cute!!

Jeannie said...

Charlie, you steal my heart everytime! Your Mimi's art comes in a close second. I used to hate getting a spot on my favorite tops. Now I look at them as a dye opportunity. Thanks for the info on the peaches. It explains why the one I grabbed at the store was awful.

Eva said...

Love these greens of the dyed piece! They remind me so much of a dress I had when I was 17. I was mad about these colors.

diane said...

Great post, Judy -- you'll have to let us see the outcome with the green piece.

Too bad my dinner invitation was lost in the mail or else I would have been there to see the ever-adorable Charlie in person!!

Karen said...

Charlie is looking a lot like Gandma Judy these days. How do you keep him from eating the paint?

Carol said...

I love to see Charlie painting. And that smile!
Well, here I am at the beach and after a couple of fabulous days we are now enjoying days of gale force winds and torrential rain. Just a little bit scary but Basil Beagle and I are coping. xo