Take A Swing

I got hit in the face with a baseball at the Outdoor Family Fun Center today. I'm not very good at baseball.
However, Charlie taught me how to swing a golf club and I did hit quite a few balls and not bad, either. I only shanked 1 or 2 and grounded a few.
Golf is pretty hard. For the past 3 months I've been hearing about it, watching it, and seeing more golf clubs pass through this house than dust bunnies. After years of blindly disliking it (that's the Floridian in me) I found myself forced into a lifestyle revolving around it, and eventually understood it and even enjoy watching the tournaments (mandatory on weekends).
I never had the nerve to pick up a club, though, until a baseball showed me what-for.
Even still, I don't think I'll be doing it often. Charlie says it's bad for relationships. :-)

How To Make A Polymer Cake

Sometimes I make little cakes like this out of polymer clay. People seem to like them, so I made a ten minute video about how I go about creating them. You can find it here.

As always, my etsy shop (link to the right) is always full of a variety of handmade creations including these cakes, which I make into magnets and brooches.

Tomatoes In My Life

I recently learned that you have to prune tomato plants of their suckers to focus more energy into the fruit. Since then, I've been a little more than obsessed with going over every branch of my overly-wild cherry tomato plants that grace the front steps. When I'm done going through the leaves with a fine-toothed comb, my hands are stained and smell so utterly spicy and lovely. It reminds me of my first tomato.
I remember the exact place I was at when I grew my first tomato (all by myself). I hate to admit that I went as far as twenty years without producing such yumminess.
These tomatoes I've decided to grow this year are from seeds, and came in a beautiful antique-style package promising cherry tomatoes of every color. The seeds were even color coded and looked like sprinkles.
I'm so proud of my plants for actually taking the time to grow that I let them go a bit much. They boast huge gobs of fruitlings that threaten to never ripen. I didn't stake it properly and it's winding itself down the steps.
But that's how I like it. I want it to be untamed (except for those pesky suckers!) and do what it feels like doing. Also, I can't wait to see what color they turn!
I'm just going to mention one more thing on the subject of tomatoes in my life, and that is that I used to abhor tomatoes. I hated them and never thought I would be able to choke one down. Now I love them (although I still have some trouble with the soft type and eating one whole is sometimes a challenge...) and have found that they seem quite at home on top of a toasted bagel with cream cheese first thing in the morning.

Did you know you can buy concentrated pesto paste in a tube in some grocery stores? It is made by Amore and I recently came across some in Amazing Savings for $2. It makes very quick pesto for so many uses! I mixed it with cream cheese and put it on bagels or crackers, and of course that goes well with tomatoes!