For everyone in the U.S. have a safe and wonderful holiday today. Let freedom ring! I send special greetings to those serving our country. Here is a nostalgic American flag image from a set of vintage flash cards. This is a 49 star flag, Alaska was just added in 1959, when this card was printed. In keeping with our American traditions I have some chilled beer, a sliced up watermelon, and some hot dogs on hand (veggie dogs too). We will look at the sky later for fireworks, Yay!
I enjoyed this book by Deborah Rodriguez. She is a woman who took a chance on a trip to Afghanistan and it ended up changing her life and many others. It is important for women to understand how women are treated in other countries around the world. This story tells about life for women in war torn Afghanistan. It is an amazing story about courage and kindness.
Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there. I really appreciate my Dad. And it makes me happy that my girls think that their Dad is special too! My youngest girl had this vision, a special cake for her father. I think she pulled it off very well with very little help from me, the more experienced baker. And yum! It was a taste treat. Vanilla cake with lemony, cream cheese frosting and strawberries. She use a little tube of red gel to customize it. Voila!
My favorite part of the SF Bay Area Maker Faire was the Craft building. Here is a picture of the wrap jacket pattern I picked up. The patternmaker interprets vintage styles and makes the fit modern. I enjoyed browsing through their rack of samples. I got so excited when I saw this lovely jacket. I plan to try it in silk dupioni. If you want to find out more about Decades of Style
What an excellent performance! Strength, beauty, and color are all present in the 20th anniversary show from Mark Morris Dance Group. The combination of SF Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, the Chamber Chorus from UC Berkeley and the MM dancers was incredible. I'm sure the critics are writing rave reviews again. Handel's Concerto and the Pastoral ode from the Milton poems are masterpieces already. The collaborative effort is just outstanding. I completely enjoyed the classic piece of MM choreography with perfectly gorgeous costumes and thoughtful scenery. These dancers are incredible. Our special friend loaned us a copy of the Celebration book she purchased after the show. The pages are full of incredible dance images and narrative for each piece. This is an awesome commemorative souvenir. The cover photo barely does justice for this work.
I have a new photo album inspired from a visit to a friend's home and garden. It's called Charming Cottage Garden. This garden has a wonderful caretaker who let me wander and take pictures. It attracts all kinds of birds and plenty of bees. I hope you take a minute to click through the photos. There is some whimsy mixed in!