Hand Modeling

When I was little, it seemed like there was far more hand modeling than there is today. All of those ladies on the Price is Right swooping their hands and slender arms over and around and in the general vicinity of all of the amazing prizes in the showcases. A full living room suite [*hand flourish* at corner of showcase, then limbs skimming like agitated birds over coffee table top, the edge of a television set entrapped inside of a giant piece of furniture, alighting for just a moment on the back of the easy chair, then tripping along the back of a couch until the hostess perched cheerfully on the arm rest looking anything but right at home.]

Plus, disembodied hands showed up a lot more in commercials for jewelry, for Neet, for moisturizers, cars and on and on. Something about a long slender hand--the kind you imagine might be attached to someone who looks like Betty Draper--that made products fly out of the stores in the 70's and early 80's. Not so much now. Maybe because we're allowed to show so much more now on TV, the staid hand couldn't hope to pique anyone's interest in the way it used to.

But my childhood was filled with my brother and I mimicking those hand and arm movements. My parents bought a new VW bus, my brother swoops into the picture brushing his arm the length of the racing stripe down the side and finishing with a hand framing flourish around the VW insignia at the front of the van to family applause. We finally, at long last, years after all of our friends have gotten one, get a color TV, which I do a short spinning dance in front of and then lunge to the side with my arms lagging behind, framing the 16" TV screen with happy little jazz hands. It could be joyful. It could be sarcastic. It could be mean. But those movements we learned from glamorous, besequined women were a meaningful part of the anatomy of hand motions in my household growing up.

My mom was here visiting this last week while I recovered from surgery. But for one walk a day, I wasn't allowed to leave the house. So, we read and watched movies and talked and cooked, and I asked her to be my model for a load of mitts I have made to sell on Etsy. Bona fide hand modeling. . . and in the midst of it, she brought out some of the old moves we used when I was a kid.

It was one of the many reasons it was nice to have her here this last week and I miss her still.

Is that a mug?!?
That's a great mug!

Holy Cow! Frank Lloyd Wright was really talented!!

Flowers are so pretty! Oh man, did you see how pretty those were?

Nicely done, Mom. Nicely done.

Recovery & Rehab

So, the big surgery is out of the way, and I'm now in recovery. My back hurts, but I'm meant to walk about as much as I can. These first few days, I've decided that's mostly scuffing around the house, in combination with one big walk a day(I'm only allowed to use stairs once a day, so. . . not a lot of other choices).

Mama is in town to take care of me, and so we used Freddie's ridiculously yummy ices as a draw for the walk midway point. I had lemon. She had raspberry.


And then on the walk home, we took a slow-mo gander at all of the neighborhood roses. . .







It's a little over half a mile one way. And so now, I'm bushed. But the ice was totally worth it!

4th

Our buddies Jess and Jett joined us for our yearly Cicero 4th of July. Just the four of us this year because I need to keep things small and manageable. Maybe next year, we'll throw a real blow out.


Dan grilled burgers to go with broccoli salad and baked beans. . .

And there was cake. . .

And the night sky and Cicero provided the rest. . .

small yard

Dan and I have a tiny urban bungalow yard. But I have big gardening dreams--in which I manage to have both beautiful flowers, interesting foliage plants, and produce loads of food to eat all summer long. It's hard to fit all of those big hopes into one small yard, and while I'm not quite successful yet, with the help of container planting and some vertical growing, I am fitting a fair amount in.




Herbs: sage, oregano, parsley, tarragon, rosemary, basil, dill, cilantro, and chives (and unwanted invasive mint)

Veg: 4 kinds of tomatoes, serrano chilis, thai chilis, yellow squash, two kinds of green squash, green bush beans, yellow bush beans, some kind of heirloom italian bean, 3 kinds of pole beans (Scarlet, Kentucky Blue, and Hyacinth).

Edible Flowers: Nasturtium (several kinds), Marigolds

Fruit?: rhubarb, six apple trees, though we've only gotten two apples off of them so far.

Decorative plants: iris, magnolia bush, hydrangea, wisteria, hosta (loads--mostly in front of the house), lilac, peony, lilies, lamb's ears, ornamental grass, two evergreen shrubs and three bride's veil bushes.

Now that I write it all down. . . that's pretty impressive. But as I think many gardeners feel, it's still not good enough. I want it to be a bit prettier and I want a bit more variety.

Ready. Aim. . .

If you live in Cicero, IL, you don't have to go anywhere for the 4th of July.
The 4th of July comes to you.

Oh, My Aching Back

I threw my back out this past winter and it's not quite back to its former self, but that didn't stop Dan and me from launching into our three year plan to completely overhaul the outside appearance of our home. Working on a little curb appeal, if you will. And I fear that I will have the stiffness to prove all of our hard work of today. . . tomorrow morning.

So, this is what the front of our dear bungalow looks like:


I can't wait until this is the "Before" picture. You can hardly see the sweet house for all the crazy plantings. The ridiculously out-sized trees that obscure the whole front of the house. The wedding veil bush on the far side in too small a space to be able to properly waterfall to the ground. The big round, nondescript bush to the right that is only of interest in the fall when it turns a deep burning red.

Meh. It all has to go. But it will take a lot of work to get that done. . . so we're moving slowly. A three year plan. This year, the dumb bush goes and we put loveliness in its place--loads of hostas, lily of the valley, and a tree of some sort. Don't know what yet. . .

But, man! That bush did not want to get out of there. Here's Dan being tough and taking that bush to town.


We worked for hours and then finally, our across-the-street-neighbor introduced himself--and his pick axe and sledgehammer--and gave that bush the final what for. Thanks, Ruben! We owe you one!


I know it looks thin and lame right now. . . but in a few years, its going to fill in and I hope look like a mix of cottage-y and forest glen-y.

And at least the back yard is simple and awesome. Herbs galore growing back and as always the huge Rhubarb. So, tonight I made a rhubarb/strawberry crisp from a recipe my Mama sent me.



Thanks, Ma! It's delicious. . . proving again and again why Mother's Day is so well deserved by the mothers in my family. Brilliant cooks, gardeners, thinkers all.

Freddy's

There are a few downsides to where we live (note my last post and L.P.'s downward spiral into gangland tagging), but there are so many little upsides, that we hardly even notice. The Oak Park Farmer's market so close by. The Lake movie theater. Our cute little backyard. Still being close to the Blue Line on the CTA. And Freddy's--a tiny Italian market/restaurant/gelateria--within walking distance of our house.

Located on 16th and 61st Ave., Freddy's has changed some of my cooking habits--probably for the slightly less healthy, though also for the significantly more tasty--and they've ruined me for ice cream. Their gelato and their ices are amazing. . . best in town.

Yesterday Dan and I went for a walk with the L.Pster and on the way, stopped at Freddy's for little ices. Dan had Chocolate and I had Lemon. . . and how did they make the Chocolate taste so creamy?!?!?

They're Magicians.