One Thing Leads to Another

Sometimes cleaning becomes a necessity.

The other day I spent 5 hours in the living room alone.

Cleaning leads to rearranging.

It freaks some people out that I have so much stuff.

Collections that need to be dusted one by one.

But I can't imagine living in a stark environment just so I don't have to clean.

Everything has either been collected on our travels or was given to us by friends.

 My crocheted stones have been gathered together and displayed in a basket.

 Those I made with rocks collected while in Sri Lanka are sitting on a plate made from the bark of the cinnamon tree that was bought on our recent trip.

 This framed door was made by my friend, Maria, who lives in Lebanon now.
She knows I have a thing for old doors.

The plants got a shower so they are nice and clean, too.

From all the photos above, I think you can see

why I chose the colors I did for my granny square pillow.

After all that cleaning, a treat was definitely in order.

Deep dish brownies:  3/4 cup flour; 1/2-3/4 cup sugar; 3/4 cup butter (melted); 3 eggs; 1/2 cup cocoa powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1-1/2 tsps vanilla.  Blend and pour into a greased baking dish.  Bake at 350 til done.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Beach Inspiration

Getting pictures of sand crabs is no easy task.

The slightest movement and they immediately

scurry under the sand.

 Unlike their cousin, the hermit crab, sand crabs do not live in "borrowed shells";

so I'm not quite sure what this guy was doing with that clear bubble looking thing.

There were many sand crabs to entertain us while at the beach in Bentota.

But unfortunately, not so many shells to be found.

So while at Ikea the other day, I came home with this set of scented beach-inspired clay accents.

 And when I saw this post for simple stars, I grabbed some scrap

yarn and started making little starfish.

 Turns out, Becca has been doing the same thing as seen on her post Inspired by the Sea.

She has photographed her work beautifully.

And even crocheted pretty little sand dollars, too.

I used my starfish to embellish crocheted gift bags.

You can find another starfish tutorial here.

I also came across this post with some very creative beach-inspired crafting.

It's very hot and humid here today.

 I came in sopping wet after doing some outside work.

Think I'll get back to making more starfish (maybe some sand dollars, too.)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

New Things for Tuesday Tea

Today I'm joining Kimmie at Art in Red Wagons for Tea on Tuesday with

a favorite new tea (rooibus, cinnamon and ginger).

 A new cake recipe found at The English Kitchen.

(The recipe called for fresh cherries, which I didn't have.

But I did have frozen mixed berries and blueberries.)

 And my new pillow.

(It's the first time I've actually hooked together granny squares to make anything

so I'm pleased with the results.)

Have a terrific Tuesday.

Bentota

In every curving beach, in every grain of sand, there is the story of the earth.

Rachel Carson

Bentota is a coastal city located in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka.

 We were there for the first time in November, when I sprained my ankle (it took 5 months to heal).

That trip for me was the worst for many reasons.

Fortunately, there were no incidents this time.

 I loved walking the beach last Saturday morning.  There was so much to see onshore.  Lots of purple jellyfish, seafoam, barnacles growing on a piece of rope, an old bottle, and a coconut hull.

I wind up being the only photographer in the family and no one wants to cooperate when it comes to taking pictures so I have to steal the moments when I can.

 It's not every day you see an elephant on the beach.

Because it is the season of the southwest monsoon (June-October), the water was very rough.

No swimming allowed. 

(In November, Yusef had a surf lesson, but not this time around.)

Mostly the boys enjoyed time at the pool since this was the first day they felt really good after being sick in Kandalama.

There was also lots to see and enjoy poolside.

Even an an international game of pool soccer played with an Indian family and a guy from Russia who spoke very little English.

The only lingering affects from the trip is the random outbreak I get due to my allergy to the sun.

Itching, stinging, aggravating.

I wish it wasn't so.

Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves
that break upon the idle seashore of the mind.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Have a beautiful day!

Creating

If you enjoy seeing where others create, then hop right on over to My Desert Cottage where Karen Valentine is hosting the 4th annual Where Bloggers Create blog hop. I'm up to number 23 on the alphabetical list in her sidebar and there are many, many, many more to go.

I don't have a designated space for crafting. Supplies are kinda all over the place -- in every room -- from shelves to cupboards, drawers, baskets, totes, boxes.  Getting organized is on my to-do list which I haven't quite gotten to yet.

Last Saturday you would have found me crocheting pool side in Bentota, Sri Lanka.

These are the rocks I collected and crocheted while we were there.

Yesterday found me in a bit of a crafting frenzy, starting so many projects, finishing only a few.

I started a cross-stitch border for a towel.

A block design using yarn on large weave aida. 

 Finished a small gift bag.

 Tried out a new granny square pattern found here at Wise Craft.

 And crocheted my first ever border for a towel.

Today I shall be crafting and blog hopping my way through all those creative spaces.

Have a great day!

Last Thursday's Morning Walk

Sigiriya sits within the cultural triangle of Sri Lanka and contains 5 of the 8 UNESCO World Heritage Sites that are located in the country.  Sadly, we didn't get to visit any of them.

On the second day of our stay in Kandalama, both boys came down with a nasty stomach bug; possibly because of something they ate that wasn't refrigerated well.  Whatever the reason, it kept them both in bed the entire day and night.

Other than checking on them off and on, there wasn't much we could do. And since we couldn't go far, we wound up taking a morning and afternoon walk, exploring the area around us.

This part of Sri Lanka is in the central dry zone.  Temperatures do not usually go higher than about 90 degrees, so it was warm, but bearable.

Near the water, there was a very strong breeze that helped cool us off.
Kandalama Lake is home to many waterfowl.

And these girls who watched us as we walked along.

 
Looking back at our hotel; it was designed by architect Geoffrey Bawa so that it would be unobtrusive.  The hotel encompasses 50 acres of land that sits within 200 acres of conservational forest. 

With the sun high in the sky, we decided it was time to head back for a bit of refreshment.

 
 I collected rocks along the way so commenced to crochet while having a cold one.

Right now the temperature in Kuwait is 115 degrees.

I haven't walked since we got back.

Believe me, there's a BIG difference between 85 degrees and 115.

Hope things are cooler where you are.

Have a great day!