Strawberry Boxes

The incentive for this project was free wood, screws and nails. It starts with my dad building various garden boxes through-out my growing up years. Recently he saved the redwood planking from a deck he took down and kindly sawed the pieces into approximately 3' x 4 ' lengths for me. I helped by carrying the cut pieces to lean against the outside wall-yeah, I know, really a tough job-especially since I didn't have gloves. :)
Here's the beginning of building a strawberry box on the top picture. We alternated the ends of the old redwood boards. So on the picture, the bottom board (just above the date stamp) is aligned with the outside of the board on the right (just above the date stamp and the bottom board) and then alternately it is aligned with the inside of the board on the left. Just alternate the ends so one end is on the inside and the other end on the outside. Next picture is the drilling.
Then Dave drilled three holes (after marking with chalk) into what would be the outside of each board end. Next picture is the fastening.
Then we recycled old 2 1/2" to 3 " screws to fasten the boards together. (Total of 12 screws per simple box.) Next picture is the finished product.
And here we have the finished box. Next post I'll show how we put two boxes together.

Happy Anniversary Darling, Part 3 (the end)!

Dave standing in front of the torch by the heavy wooden door with stained glass leading into the formal dining area.

Jean standing in front of one of the many murals adorning the walls all around the restaurant-this one invites us to the feast.
Dave’s Death by Chocolate dessert-a flour-less chocolate cake adorned with fresh raspberries and a touch of raspberry sauce to the side
Jean’s Crème Brulee with a chocolate dipped strawberry and the red rose they gave us for our anniversary. And that’s all folks!

Happy Anniversary Darling, Part 2!

“Halt! Who goes there?!? “ That is the question posed by the animatronics Sherwood type sentry that guards the inner door to the restaurant. It’s a bit unusual to step into a outer courtyard that’s only the size of a small room with a sentry, lions, a flower garden, vines and a “flaming torch”. Reminded me of some of the maze like queuing lines at Disneyland.

So this really nice restaurant with costumed staff is in a strip mall type atmosphere. It’s still a nice place although we almost did not find it for looking for a medieval type restaurant building.

Here we are, all smiles with our yummy food. Noticed our coordinated blue plaid shirts-completely unintentional but still fun that we think along similar lines sometimes. We had a long-haired robin hood type maiden in a boat for our picture above our table-but the flash is greatly obscuring it.

I had the red snapper amandine with rice pilaf and the fresh vegetable (yummy asparagus!). It was tender and flaky and the rice pilaf almost feels like it’s melting in your mouth.

Dave chose the King Richard’s cut of prime rib along with a baked potato and the asparagus (which I enjoyed since Dave’s not an asparagus fan.) He says his prime rib was excellent-the small bite I had was so tender. Look for the desserts in the next entry!

Happy Anniversary Darling!

How wonderful it is to be married to a wonderful man who displays so many wonderful traits. We were able to celebrate our anniversary today. Considering that our celebrations have rarely fallen on the actual anniversary and have varied from the actual date by as much as a month then I’m grateful for when we can celebrate. Dave took me to the elegant restaurant, Ye Lions Den, in Ogden. Dave shows off his enthusiasm for the raw onion in the veggie tray served with a delicious spinach dip.

Next is the lone scone left from the batch that I hurried and snagged to take a picture before it was eaten with a dab of the raspberry honey butter and whipped butter. On the bottom is my scrumptious French onion soup (Dave had the salad which was organic baby greens with a homemade Thousand Island dressing.) Hungry? There’ll be more from the meal in a later post.

But I want to be bored....

Aahhh….. a double rainbow. Things have been really hectic right now so here’s a list of boring things I wish I had some time to do:

-defrost the downstairs freezer

-pull up the downstairs carpet and scrap the pad up

-roto-till the dog run

-sit in a chair watching the mountains until I fall sleep

-get out an old college term paper and try to read it

Alas, I can do none of those things. I’m moderating a yahoo group with over 800 members, hosting the caucus next Tuesday, taking the family in for hair cuts, planning for Easter, making stuffing (and trying to figure out how to make a separate gluten-free batch), trying to catch up on my journal, wanting to write letters, plus all the day to day like meals, paying bills, doctor visits, dental visits, family visits, etc…

Next post I hope to move on to more creative entries like how we are building our strawberry boxes!

Pony prancing prettily

According to Crayola, their sidewalk chalk is made from Plaster of Paris and color pigments.
Amazing how a couple of simple ingredients result in a drawing medium of fun.
Along with friendly sayings and interesting spatial designs we've been seeing a lot of horse drawings thanks to Sarah.
After she drew this picture I knew I had to take a picture or it would be lost to water and/or wear.
Apparently chalk drawings can live on and still be rewarding even when the original is gone thanks to modern technology.
Although abstract expressionism sums up the majority of the sidewalk art at our home we have found that the art we make with chalk is a gift for young and old alike.
Allow yourself to enjoy some art this week-from the abstract to the detailed whether man-made or natural.