The Pomegranate

About 5 weeks ago I bought a beautiful red shiny pomegranate from the grocery store. It was as large as a softball, and took up my entire palm. It sat in a bowl on my tiny kitchen island, then I moved it to the butcher block cutting board, then moving again and again, if I needed the space it sat on.

Today when I felt it, I could press it a bit, and decided that it was time to open it up and see if it was still edible.

I carefully cut only one slice in the pomegranate, and then gently pulled it apart. My pink

" Life is Good" shirt now has bright red spots on it, but I don't mind.

Separating the seeds from the white membrane, I spent about a half hour until the entire fruit was released from it's beautiful red jacket. And it was amazing. Red jewels bursting with juice, only a few immature seeds and a few iffy seeds. The fruit gave up almost two cups of seeds.

I put the pomegranate seeds in a blue glazed bowl on the counter. I left a tablespoon near it so that I could spoon a few seeds and snack on them. They were so sweet, not too tart. The evening was young and I found myself going back to that bowl many times over the hours.

Finally, here I sit in my office, at my work table, with the blue bowl and the tablespoon, eating all of the remaining pomegranate jewel like seeds. With much joy.

One of my small pleasures of the holiday season. Is there no fruit more beautiful than a pomegranate? I think not.

Carnelian Beauty Detail

Newest Jewelry Creations

I love to design necklaces, many of you already know this. I will showcase some of these pieces here periodically. I also can accept Mastercard, Visa and now Discover Cards. The holidays are just 3 months from now. I also ship in gift boxes with gift card. Thinking ahead.

Necklace top, red jade, carnelian, silver

Necklace middle, a pendant from Afghanistan, lapis lazuli, carnelian, silver
Necklace bottom, crazy lace agate, magnesite, silver

Signs of Autumn - September 2011

The humidity has gone for now and I can feel the seasons slowly changing down here in South Florida. The garden is overgrown and just before, I began the job of trimming. The gardens need mulching and weeding and soon I will go to the garden center and buy many bags of eucalyptus mulch. I like eucalyptus mulch because it does not harbor ticks. Sammie hates ticks.

Each year I have taken photos of the gardens as they change. These are the latest.

The iron mesh table and 3 chairs are a newish acquisition from Nettie's Consignment shop, after she moved into larger quarters. She is a great source of unusual and fun outdoor and indoor furniture and collectibles. I began my Fiesta plate collection because of Nettie's.

I just bought a new used Shabby Chic coffee table from Nettie's and she has two of my large pieces there for sale. I had to clear out to make visual space. The coffee table is off white and large enough for at least six of us to sit around it and have a feast.

Saturday I hope to have some friends over for a Moroccan meal to celebrate my new Moroccan space. Appetizers on the new table. Olives, flatbread, hummous, and wine. yummy.

Collections

A Moroccan Vibe

I have been living with an uncomfortable tiny sofa for too long, so catching the current Moroccan decorating vibe, I created a corner cushion seating with the help from a friend who is an excellent carpenter and a local woman who made cushion covers. The fabric is a Suzzani print on linen, purchased at Calico Corners. I have 2 more prints to be used on additional back cushions and some more large 27 inch cushions. I tossed on a lot of pillows, and now I have a place to relax with friends.

I will have a Moroccan inspired dinner party here in a few weeks with some friends who return from the UK. I will serve a chicken tagine , spiced and nutty couscous and flatbreads, olives and whatever else I can find here in South Florida.

Two lanterns on sale at Anthropologie and some small hanging votive lanterns complete the look. Two open back bookcases purchased at IKEA, where else! add interest and show off my books and my basket collection.

Bed and Bread

So I confess that I have been quite lazy these days, hot days, summer began in April and we are doomed here in South Florida. Only seven months to go until fall begins. hmmm....

A trip to see my brother and family in NC, quite a great time was had by me and them I hope. I felt nurtured and was served very good home made pizza, freshly baked bread, see photos, stir fry and more. I actually was still not fully done with my flu/cold, and may have given it away to my sister in law. Sorry, for that. It was day 5, I thought I was no longer contagious. Or she got it elsewhere.

I am now just getting back to what feels normal for me, health wise and had myself a social weekend that involved drumming, dancing and eating really good foods. The previous month was a blur or napping on the love seat or my bed, interspersed with daytime tv, which I rarely do. I saw a lot of travel channel shows.

I made a killer mac and cheese, from imported Irish aged cheddar, that is the trick ( check out archived blog here for recipe ). This recipe always goes over well. It was gone quickly. I always serve it with apologies that it isn't health food, but it IS comfort food. We all need that sometimes.

My studio/office is a total mess, so bad are the piles of who knows what on my work table, and yet here I sit typing this silly blog. Anything so as not to have to tackle the messes that surround my laptop. I had to move a basket filled with papers and things I should deal with just to find a spot for the computer. Procrastination is thy middle name.

Time to change my bedroom linens and use the vintage summer quilt, ( a thrift store find, washed in very hot water before using ) and white curtain over closet. The room feels cooler already. Not.

Barbara Loves Beads at Etsy.com

Last month I took the plunge and began listing my jewelry and shrines at Etsy.com, a site for crafters and artists and today I had my first sale. Whoohoo!!!!! I was very surprised and very happy. It appears that someone is buying a necklace for someone else, could it be for Valentine's Day???

Listing my items was a lot harder at first than I first imagined it would be. So many details, but after it was done, I see why the more details you have the better. And photos of the work. I even began using editing tools for enhancing my photos. I am a work in progress. As is the shop I am building on Etsy. Twenty-five items and counting.

I went and participated in one more Farmer's Market last weekend, and though I had two nice sales to friends, the general public is still not spending, not at my booth and not at the other booths. The stock market is up, the economy seems to be moving along, but has not yet trickled down to the vendors at the market.

So I am going to make this Etsy work. I don't know how, but I hope, if I build it they will come. I hope. It worked for Kevin Costner.