Weekend Update: Part 231

Great weekend around here, and we actually had measurable rain for the first time in ages!  I had friends in from England on Friday, and we attended a Baltimore Orioles baseball game. Camden Yards was a seven-minute walk from my old house, but I still only attended one or two games a year. This game was a lot of fun, even though we lost (surprise!), and it concluded with an amazing fireworks display.

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Before the gang arrived, I managed to get something done that I’ve been putting off… Hanging the Chinese print that was my parents. It’s a four-part hinged painting on silk, and is about six feet long. To say that it’s an awkward job to do on my own is an understatement. However, after lots of measuring and measuring again, I got it hung evenly between two of the windows in the main room. I am sure it will look a lot less lonely once I decide which curtains to hang, and what colour to paint the wall – I am leaning towards 50% of the colour on the other wall… a very pale blue.

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I am also working on what to do in the first floor bathroom. It’s a full bath with a shower, which is great, but it’s pretty small, nonetheless. I had the fun idea of papering the walls with tea paper, and I have two packets of it.  One is a gorgeous saffron colour with a silvery-gold piece of leaf on it. The other is a pale grey with a piece of silver leaf on it. The saffron adheres better, but it could be overwhelming. The main issue is that the leaf is not adhered to the paper either straight or centered! The towel fixtures will be black, so I think the grey will work better. I’d paint the existing sink and medicine cabinets a black lacquer.

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I was surprised about how many comments I received on my jelly post! Everyone was intrigued with the oranges, and now there are some suggestions in the comments as to how it can be done. I had the Chefs and another friend to dinner and decided to try a jelly of my own. I used a rosé wine for the jelly and added some fresh raspberries to it. It set up beautifully, but the comment from the Chefs was that it should have been sweeter for a dessert. Next time, I will use a simple syrup instead of the club soda. There are a ton of great on-line resources for making spectacular jelly desserts – check out the Jelly post’s comments section. This ain’t your kids’ Jell-o.

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Very excited this week to be meeting up with two of my favourite bloggers, Toad of To the Manner Born, and Megan from Beach Bungalow 8. Stay tuned for details and a give-away later this week!