The Naked Lady House

If you came here looking for photos of nude bodies, just hit the back button now!

This story is about a certain flower, called Naked Ladies, also called Surprise Lily, also called Resurrection Lily, or Amaryllis Belladonna.

There is a house in Eureka Springs, where passerby's are lulled into the intoxicating sight of thousands of blooms every end of July.
It is so well known, that it is no secret the owner hosts an annual "Naked Lady Party." by invitation only of course.
This house is also known as a beautiful and peaceful guest lodging named after it's magnificent garden, The Belladonna. I stayed there a couple of times, and it was a retreat like no other. Much love and fine craftsmanship have been payed attention indoors and out to this funky, yet elegant, guest house.
Today was the first time I have seen the Naked Ladies in bloom. They are called that because there is literally no foliage. They sprout one long stem per bulb and then a cluster of trumpet shaped blooms arrive just days later, giving it the other common name, Surprise Lily.
The owner of this establishment told me she watches the clusters of stems and every few years, will dig a crowded cluster and divide them to other areas of her garden. She has now even begun planting them down the hill towards the woods, just right there in the grass of her lawn.
She has literally thousands and thousands of them. It is an amazing sight. Also curious, the deer do not eat them. Perhaps they know they are poisonous. The toxic yet anesthetic qualities of the plant are referred to in one of my favorite movies. Practical Magic stars Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock who dope the evil boyfriend with Belladonna in order to make an escape from his hold on Nicole Kidman's character.
Of course if you have seen the movie, they accidentally overdose him and he dies, and then comes back to haunt them.
In keeping with the nature of the chemistry, this plant is also strange to look at. Many times I have seen it in gardens planted in straight lines, which only emphasizes their strange lack of foliage. I much prefer the clusters that have naturalized over this garden.
I hope to get a few bulbs for my own garden. Here's a website where I have found other gardeners willing to trade or sell bulbs. I have never used this site, so I can't speak to their service. But since these are not usually found in my local nursery, I'll be looking for them through a source such as this.

Unless, of course, someone reading happens to have some they are willing to part with?

Now that would be a surprise!

My treasure of a find!

Girls, (and three guys), I told you I found a new little treasure last weekend at the Fiber Festival at the Creek County Fairgrounds... well, here it is...

It's a little tabletop weaving loom! I just love it! I have taken a few weaving classes. I've wished I had a loom, but I've been leery of dedicating the space to a floor loom.
This little loom is so fast and easy to use. It is called a rigid heddle loom. It is ideal for doing plain weave. But you can also set it up for a basket weave pattern easily and if you know a few tricks, you can incorporate some tapestry stitches for fancier weave patterns. Here is how it works...
This is the heddle in the neutral position. Then you raise it (next picture) or lower it (no picture) to make what's called the shed, or the space that you weave in and out of. The heddle is also used as the beater. I can weave up to ten inches wide on this loom.
It is so fun and easy, that I honestly think children could do it. Maybe a little older children, like 10 or older, with help learning how to warp it or "dressing the loom". Even that seemed pretty easy to me with the instructions that came with it.
It's called a Cricket Loom, made by Schacht Spindle Co. I bought my loom from a very nice lady, Donna, who owns the Weavery at Indian Meridian in Guthrie, OK. It even comes with some practice yarn!
And this is my first scarf made with the practice yarn. (I also added the white merino wool which I happened to have laying around the studio.) It was so much fun that I immediately dressed the loom and made another scarf.
This one was longer and of yarn of my choice. (The color looks weird as I took pics with no flash.) Can you tell that I am excited! lol!
Anywho, this is my second scarf! I think it's quite pretty! I may even wear it today!
Is it okay to wear a wool scarf in Oklahoma in July? Isn't there a rule about wool and white shoes? Anybody? Because I can't wait to show off my new scarf!

p.s. Thursday already! OMG! I somehow lost a day this week and I did not have my Tablescape Thursday post ready in time. (Must have been all that weaving!) Be sure and come back next week, though and I'll have a very lovely outdoor setting to show you!

Cave Man and Hooker Come for a Visit.

Some really wonderful folks came to see us from Eureka Springs this weekend, Adam and Vickie Hardcastle. It's not every day you have a real, live, cave-man visiting your house. Adam is a tour guide at War Eagle Cavern, a 4-mile long cave on the more southern side of Beaver Lake. Vicki works in the gift shop, but her real claim to fame is her rug-hooking. Not only is she a expert hooker herself, but she puts on rug-hooking weekends about 3 or 4 times a year. She has a large following in that niche market. Her blog is called The Hogscald Holler, you should check it out sometime.
Just look at her long silky red hair! Adam told her not to walk in my flower beds but she could not resist! My hibiscus which was covered in blooms about a week ago had one lonely blossom and she had to have a picture of it!
Vicki wanted a picture of us by my now, world-famous bicycle. hee hee! Speaking of world famous, we took them to visit Gilcrease Museum. One year when Steve and I were visiting one of Santa Fe's Museums, the docent asked where we were from and we said, "Tulsa, that's in Oklahoma." (Have you ever noticed the further you get from home the more people have a blank stare when you say your hometown name?) She got all giddy beside herself and said, "You mean the home of Gilcrease Museum?!?"

Well, Adam will attest to this, it is probably the finest museum of American Western Art in the world. He was still talking about it yesterday when they left for home. We've kind of taken for granted what treasures are kept there. So it was good to go back and see it again, through the eyes of a first time visitor.

In true Oklahoma style, we also ate well while they were here (if I do say so myself). I promised Vicki this recipe, so here it is for you all too!

Dana's soon to be World Famous Pork Chops

1/3 cup of orange marmalade

2 T finely chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup of low sodium soy sauce

2 cloves of garlic, pressed

salt and pepper to taste

3/4 to 1 cup of good white wine

Mix this all up in a glass dish.

Marinate your pork chops in it all day (in the fridge of course).

Cook the chops under the broiler or on the grill.

Heat the remaining marinade on the stove to a good rolling boil and use for extra sauce.

I would have added a photo of said chops but they were gone before I could get my camera turned on. Trust me. They're good! Fix a fresh salad with them and some garlic skin-on mashed potatoes and you have a feast fit for a cave man!

Adam also brought his guitar and entertained us Saturday night 'till way past everybody's bedtime. And Vicki and I got to drag our husbands to the Creek County Fairgrounds for a Fiber Festival. Not the kind you eat, the kind you spin, weave, knit, and needle felt. I'll post more about a little treasure I found there later this week.

We can honestly say, a good time was had by all!

We are still, pretty much the same.

I've been reconnecting with classmates on Facebook lately. And a few things have become very clear to me. The saying about a child's personality is developed by the time they are (is it 6, 7, 8?)I think it's true. Sort of.

The thing is, looking back on my childhood, there were painful moments growing up. The time Eddie Hastings poured red paint on my head, etc. etc. You know when we start going to school at about age 5, we have been in an incubator all our lives. We're surrounded by family and friends who adore our every move. We have not been exposed to the cruelties of life, that some people might like us, might not, might be mean to us, might not, might make fun of us, might not. But we soon learn these realities in life, and it starts to warp the way we behave.

For instance, most of you would say that I'm an outgoing gal, a person who is not afraid to bare her insecurities, a talker and most likely a type A personality. But I have not always been this way, or was I? See, I think I hid my true self most of my childhood. People on facebook have remembered me as the quiet girl.

Ha ha! Really? Me?

And then I reconnect with someone and in less than 10 minutes of exchanging life info, I realize, this person has not changed at all. (no names mentioned to protect the innocent, lol!) Oh maybe they have given up the vices of their youth and cleaned up their act, but essentially, they behave the same way they did in the third grade. It is kind of strange.

Of course I like to think that I am much more confident than I was at age 8. But truthfully, all the feelings in my heart, that shaped how I saw myself compared to others, it is all still there, beating strong. And just the mention of a name or a familiar face from the past can bring it all up again. Is that weird or what?

And yet, there is a strange comfort in finding common ground with people you knew 40 years ago. Somehow, we have all lived and learned. We've had failures and disappointments, and it kind of bonds us again. I will be celebrating my 30th high school reunion next year. I guess I will go for the first time since graduating. Now I admit some of the girls I've seen on facebook still look like they are 20. And that is a little intimidating. But I hope that what I learn is that we have shared experiences in life that have made us better people.

Have you been experiencing any of this yourself? Have you ever gone to a high school reunion. Tell me what it's like. Because, see, some of my insecurities are already coming out. But what I'd really like to do is go and be the fun and vivacious Dana that I've become, not the quiet, hiding Dana I used to be.

Oh, that is me on the top row, second from the left. And on the seated row, far left side, that is my "oldest friend," ha ha! LisaM.

Bringing the garden indoors.

July in Oklahoma can be brutal. So I decided to bring my love of gardening inside, to my table this week. I can shed my hat and tools for this garden project.

It's so cool indoors, even the amphibians prefer the air conditioning!

Every garden attracts the birds. . .

and the bees.

Everlasting flowers bloom continuously, even without watering.

And we have lots of flutterby's too!

A few sprigs of rosemary followed me indoors, too!

Soon, my indoor garden was flourishing! (oops you can see my glass plate that supports my pots in the arrangement, oh well, we're all friends!)

There were even flowers popping up in the most unexpected places.

I planted plenty of flowers for your enjoyment. Sweet William...

Roses...

Lillies...

and Hyacinths.

And that, contrary Mary, is how my garden grows!

Today's post is one of many hosted by Susan at Between Naps on the Porch at her weekly Tablescape Thursday project. Visit her link to stroll through quite a few more lovely settings.

Sources

Straw Placemats, iron frog, napkin rings, white napkins, birdie salt and pepper shakers and plastic handled stemware: Target

Garden hat and tools: Dana's garden shed

White pedestal compote: Miss McGillicutty's Antiques, Jenks

Potted straw flowers: Windsor Market, Tulsa

Italian pressed glass tumblers and "Botanic Garden" luncheon plates: Marshall's

White Dinner plate: Old Time Pottery

Rosemary: my back porch

Transformations in the Garden (part one)

BEFORE

AFTER

Three years after, people! Gardening is a long term project, not an overnight success story. I still have things I want to improve, move, plant, and now... divide.

Disclaimer: I've hired lots of help, including design and installation to get me started. Still, my gardens have become a large focus of my activity about 9 months of the year!

Your opinion, please!

Okay, if you read my post yesterday, then you know Steve and I hung this plate rack and of course, when you change one little thing, suddenly everything looks and feels different, so I started moving things around.

I moved the buffet back to the foyer.

I shopped the house and found this table. I think it is too wide for the space. And it does not have the storage I wanted. But it is free.

1. And I could cut the ends off to make it narrower?
2. And add a shelf to the bottom with baskets?
3. And paint it?
4. And change the pull?

Just look at the space I have in my eat in kitchen now!

5. Do you think I need a rug?

As always, comments are welcome. Just be forewarned, I have no qualms at all about painting wood and your qualms will not become my qualms. But I did ask your opinion, so go ahead . . .

Oops! I did it again!

In my never ending quest to create a beautiful home, I changed something... again. but how could I resist this?

What would you think I had to pay for this three tiered wire plate rack that says Country French all over? Three hundred at one of those she-she decorating places? One-fifty at Pier One? One hundred dollars from Target? How about $40? Yes! I said $40! Can you believe I talked myself out of it the first time, and actually had to go back to buy it?
I'm going to tell you about my discount dive, because I am friendly like that. It's a place called OOPS! Now do you see anything wrong with this wire rack? I didn't think so. OOPS! is on highway 412 in Tontitown, Arkansas. They sell all kinds of stuff, some oopified things, some just overstocked things. Do you want to know what the error is with my rack? The color. It is supposed to be sage green. Honey, would sage green work in my kitchen?
No! I repeat No! But this charming shade of bleh! YES! This works in my kitchen. It goes perfect with my new bleh colored draperies from JC Penney. It does not even bother me that my walls are not bleh but more of an ick color. I think they go great together. Who knew you could put these two colors together?
And what a better backdrop to my favorite dishes, all in shades of white... ish.
Well, anywho, I just love it! I might even be tempted to move my buffet back to the foyer and just let this be the focal point of my eat-in-kitsch. I really loved the buffet in the foyer! And it is a bit a squeeze to get by when there are guests.
Oh and I also found these loverlies at Oops!, too. Nesties for the wall! I love it!
And they have all my shades of bleh and ick and ish too! Guess, just guess how much they were. You are gonna die!
Four. Four! As in dollars! Each! You cannot even buy a hamburger for four dollars! Heck this time last summer you could not even buy a gallon of gas for four dollars!
Now I think I am going to have to paint these little wall diddies. The black is not doing it for me anymore. Maybe a nice dark shade of mud? I think I have a muddy brown out in the garage already. And this guy... he is going to go buh-bye!

Just as soon as I can find his replacement. I'm keeping my eyes open for a small cabinet with doors to hide stuff. Or drawers would be okay too. I'm hoping to spend less than a hundred. I bet I can don't you? Maybe I should go back to Oops!?