Naturally Flavored Water

I like water.  I have a PUR faucet filter, so I guess it's a little step up from saying it's just regular tap water.  But sometimes, I like to make my water a little more special. It's so easy to cut up a fruit or vegetable and put it in a pitcher.  Voila!  Flavored water.

Not every fruit or vegetable is a good fit, but many are.  Citrus and berries are easy favorites.  Cucumber is really refreshing and super hydrating. Fresh, frozen... it doesn't matter.  You just need to let it sit for a while in the fridge.  Give it time to flavor the water.  As you drink from it, you can keep adding a bit of water and it will last all day.

It tastes great and adds a few extra vitamins to your day. And - it's really pretty.  Suddenly, your day seems a bit more special.

Here's a shot from a few weeks back.  I cut up an orange and I added a couple of kumquats that my friend, Martie, grew in her back yard.  De-Lish!

I must have been feeling really special that day since I even took the time to stage the photo.  I keep thinking about a recent post on Funky Junk where Donna talked about how our blog photos are often smoke and mirrors and that the camera is often focusing on the only clean spot in the house.  I'd be willing to bet there was a giant mess behind me the day I took this photo.

New Painting in the Foyer

We have been living with many naked walls since we moved to our "new" house almost 4 years ago.  I've been hanging things piece by piece, but only when I found something I really liked.  One more wall has been dressed.  I just hung a wonderful painting on the huge wall in the foyer.

Painting is by Mary Winterer, 1980 - Shirley said the painting came from the Theo Waddington Gallery in Montreal.  

Shirley, my booth neighbor and friend,  brought it to the store ages ago.  I was drawn to it immediately.  I find it very relaxing and fresh feeling.  I adore porches, so I suppose this painting was meant for me.

It stayed at the store for a long time and I thought about getting it, but never could figure out where it could go.  Then Shirley took it home. I missed seeing it.  One day, I asked her about it and one thing led to another.  Shirley's booth mate and master carpenter, Joe, built a wonderful rustic frame for it and now it's mine.

I still had no idea where it would go when I brought it home yesterday.  I didn't really think it would work in the foyer because I stupidly didn't think it was large enough for the wall.  I propped it on the bench and immediately realized - it was perfect for that spot.

The painting is much larger than I realized.  That's great because there's a lot of wall space to cover.  The bench (an old church pew from Rudy's grandmother's church) is around 8 feet long.

It's a painting I love and now I'll get to see it every day.  Doesn't art make a home more homey?

Since I had all the picture hanging tools out - level, stud finder, hammer, nails... - I hung 3 more pictures.  These are some I came across while yard sale-ing.  I had put them in my booth and put a great price on them.  One day I saw they were gone and I panicked.  I missed them.  I had fallen in love with the colors.

I hung them in the stairwell opposite the porch painting and church pew.  My husband, the fine art critic, says they look like giant boobs.  I tried to shake my head and act all mature, but I have to admit, they really do!  Oh dear.