jenniferblaufrau.com

I have pictures to show you.

Rainbow after rainstorm:

Rainbow cupcake I made for Chicago Pride:

My second knitting project, two easy cotton washcloths:

I am not particularly crazy about this pink, but these were in the sale bin, and I am just learning:

Texture!

Blaufrau ducky! A birthday present:

Grilling for the first time, on a cute grill that Matt & Richard gave me. Shrimp, scallops, and pineapple!

Grilled dinner: balsamic portobello mushroom, garlic, red onion, yellow onion, corn, asparagus, honey-tamari salmon, tilapia, shrimp, scallops, regular and Chinese eggplant, and yogurt sauce with cucumber. Could not finish this feast!

I have plenty of big things on my mind, in my own little sphere and reaching out around this planet and beyond.

But today, I just had some fun.

I rode my bike through a gorgeous summer day to Valerie’s house (45-minute ride). We hung out at her place a bit, then walked to these tennis courts in her neighborhood right on the lake. You could see the lake and the beach from the court! And it was surrounded by sweet, swaying evergreens that caught the wind and sun beautifully. It was just a perfect Midwestern summer day.

This is our second time playing, and she’s already improved noticeably. We got into a great hitting groove for a while there, and it was an excellent workout. I really got in the zone with my serve, and I can see that the lessons I got from my coach are still paying off in improved play.

After an hour of tennis, we walked to Metropolis, where I got a bag of freshly roasted beans (French roast) and a free cup of the coffee of the day (yum). We walked back to her place and hung out a little more, before I biked back home to make my 5:30 phone meeting with a brand new client. I was going to help her plant her garden in the community plot today, but we ran out of time.

This evening, I will be making rainbow cupcakes to take to what some friends have termed their Gay Party, the night before the pride parade. This should be a hoot!

Here’s Valerie at my house for our T-shirt deconstruction party. She made a skirt out of seven T-shirt panels. My creation is the blue shirt with stripey touches on the couch.

I hope I get around to posting about my visit to Long Island & New York in May, but for now, here are some teasers.

My friend efrat and her husband dan are both artistic people. They live in dan’s grandparents’ 100-year-old house, and they have kept many of the objects that have lived in the house, and let them keep living there. Every nook and corner offers another attention-grabbing mini art installation to admire.

They live right on the waterfront. These are the pretty rocks on the beach:

Hot chocolate supreme, from MarieBelle in SoHo.

The boy:

The blanket fort:

I’m learning to knit! I’d already been crocheting for a while, but visiting my friend on Long Island recently, and getting a mini lesson while we took the train to the city, inspired me. This is my first project, an easy little basketweave washcloth.

I used it in the bath today, and it was lovely. 100% cotton, soft but scrubby, and lathered the soap up very well. Much better than your typical store-bought rag on all counts, particularly for the softness and lushness.

And here was my delicious lunch I threw together in moments before a big bike ride through the forest preserve today. Spinach, Asian peanut dressing, dumplings, and blackberries. Mmm.