the color explosion that is my kitchen

The one and only time I ever made it to the Alemany Flee Market, I bought this little green table. We were on our way out when I spotted it.  Between three of us we could not quite come up with enough cash for the table, and the vendor did not want to let it go. Not even for $3 less than the asking price. It's a flee market for crying out loud! He finally did agree and as I carried it out I hoped it had been worth the annoyed feeling I felt. It has been the perfect little table to fit along the wall in the kitchen and I have not even come close to regret buying it. Setting up little vignettes after coming home from the market has been one of my great pleasures. I've posted at least half a dozen examples, and here's another. The poppies are a really wild feeling variety and I love looking at the pollen they are dropping. Not so crazy about cleaning it up, but for now I'm leaving the mess and enjoying it for what it is.

when's the last time you went skinny dipping?

Coincidentally the same day I was working for a friend in Sonoma, another friend asked me to come spend the night with her at her family's house in Napa. Timing was perfect, and so was the weather. We spent the evening chatting and drinking rose on the porch and after coffee this morning (a total treat since I'm trying to lay off the caffeine) we headed out to harvest plums. It's been a long time since I was in an orchard and it reminds of my childhood. I grew up with about 30 fruit trees and summers were spent picking and eating fruit and occasionally sleeping out under the stars to protect the ripening fruit from nighttime thieves. Why you send your kids out to scare away foxes and bears I don't know, but it seemed to work. Then again, we were teens at the time and my parents are hardly to blame for being willing to take that risk.
I must have come home with about 70 pounds of Santa Rosa plums. Jam is inevitable, but I'm thinking a nice bucket full of fruit will look perfect with our booth this weekend. It's going to be a hell of a week prepping, so I'm sorry if posting doesn't happen.