THE IRONIES OF OLD & NEW AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

I am joining our friend, the beautiful Chari from Happy To Design,for the 1st time on Sunday Favorites. After you have finished reading my post, please visit our sweet friend and see her contribution and all of the other ladies who are posting oldies but goodies!! This is my first time joining and this is one of my favorite posts. I must warn you...it is LONG!!! Longer than the normal 'Blondie Long' , but I had so many reason to love what I was writing about. I hope it makes you smile!!

I really enjoy reading blogs with pictures of sweet little daffodils poking their yellow heads through the ground in West Virginia, the blue delphiniums waving in the breeze in Texas and the azaleas blooming in all their glory down in Florida. Well, the above picture is about the only sign of spring I have here in the cold midwest. I promise this is not going to be a post where I report and complain about the weather (although the temp is 4 degrees above zero and the wind is picking up...) but rather an uplifting post about looking forward and looking back and some of the small ironies in life that make a big impact.
I love seed catalogs. I began gardening almost as soon as I had my own first home (this one). Our home was sold as a "fixer-upper" and priced accordingly, so my husband jumped on it. He is not a fixer upper type of person but he knows a good deal when he sees one! Our home was also in a nice parish, just a few short blocks from the schools and church. Anyway, if the house was a mess, the yards were a disaster. The original owner surrounded the whole perimeter of the house with maple, oak and black walnut trees. All available space inside the yards was filled with evergreen trees. Hence, the house was absolutely shrouded and actually looked haunted. Not one bit of sunlight came through and nothing could grow, not even grass. I certainly had my work cut out for me. And "cut out " is what I did. Out with all the evergreens, out with some old maple trees with roots that were lifting and cracking the sidewalk and driveway, and after a lot of preening & pruning (and a lot of new sod) I finally had the groundwork to start planting my gardens.
I'm rather a bookish person so I probably spent the whole winter planning said gardens. I thumbed through the seed catalogs, checked books out of the library and made notes. I pretty much immersed myself in this whole gardening thing until The Husband warned me that if I didn't stop showing him diagrams and reciting the Latin names of my favorite flowers, he was going to plant rows of corn in the backyard and blacktop the front!
To make a long story short, I grew my flowers, my vegetables, my vines and ivy, and of course every year you switch things out or add something new, so it's an ever changing process and I love it. And that is why I love seed and plant catalogs. I can almost feel the cool soil in my hands and the warm sun on my back. Sitting back in the evening with a tall glass of iced tea watching the sprinkler flow back and forth, splattering the flowers and making them glisten. Oh, I am in heaven. And these sweet catalogs make it seem so much closer, even if it is frigid outside now!

Hooray!!! Look at this! This is my first piece of transferware! I am so psyched!! I don't even have a china cabinet!! Hee Hee! I bought this last week from the shop I photographed in my last Pink Saturday post. (I didn't include it because it is more red than pink). I am not really a collector of anything. My brain is spread way too far out to want any more than one of anything. (Does that makes sense?) But this transferware is definitely something I could get in to! Isn't it pretty? Next...a china cabinet???

Yesterday was a thoroughly enjoyable day. It was my birthday (yeah, yeah, yeah, another year older). But I am only telling you because the irony part of my post plays in to this, which I will get to sooner or later. I treated myself to another visit to an antique shop, yeah, two in one week!! I'm still sneezing!! This shop was listed on the last page of Romantic Home magazine and I went wow, this is really close by! So off I went. I have to say that this shop had more treasures than trash, and the prices were out of sight. I was actually looking over my shoulder to see if anybody was going to attempt to snatch up something I was drooling over!! I purchased the above porcelain pitcher and saucer. I would say it is about 32 oz. and in mint condition. See the detail on the saucer below.

I paid a whopping $12.00 for this. The bottom shows a little wear and there is nothing on it as far as origin, but I don't profess to know my antiques, I just know what I like. Maybe it's from K-Mart. Behind the pitcher on my quilt rack is a round tablecloth I also bought that needs a few stitches here and there but is going to look wonderful on my table. Can you feel me smiling? :-))

And this is what I was told is a very old chamber pot. Is that what I think it is?? If so, why is it so fancy? Why the delicate handle? Am I going to use it for anything other than a receptacle for flowers or the like? Nope!!! $10.00. Need I say more? By the way, it's big, the top is probably about 16 inches in diameter.

Finally, I saw four little plates hanging on the wall. They are about 5 inches in diameter. The artwork caught my eye. It's sort of whimsical. Quirky, if you will. Like me. Upon scrutiny I discovered the artist is none other than...Norman Rockwell! Who would have thought? The same guy that illustrated the Saturday Evening Post for 500 years. The guy with the museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The guy that did the pictures of the poor, frightened little kids in the doctor and dentist offices that used to hang in every doctor and dentist office I ever went to as a kid? Yep!!

These collector plates were limited editions of hand-colored private postcards that Norman sent to his friends when he traveled in Europe in 1927. You will see that when you get down to the photo of the back of one of the plates. He was 33 years old at the time.

There is one plate each from England, Germany, Rome and Paris. Since I really didn't associate this type of illustration with Norman Rockwell, I did a little research. I learned that when he traveled he liked to use watercolors and oils and went for an impressionistic and less detailed look. I so much prefer this to his later, more commercial work.

I also learned that sadly, when Norman was at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain in 1927, the sketchbook that he always carried when he traveled was stolen. Thirty years later he said about the sketches, "I'd done them for my own pleasure...I still almost cry when I think about it. I've never lost anything I felt so bad about".

I can't help but think that I have a little bit of Norman's sketchbook here. I feel very badly that his private work, the work he shared with his friends is gone. But I have come to know a little more about this man and I think I like him.

And the irony is, I bought these plates yesterday, February 3, 2009, my birthday. The same day that Norman Rockwell was born in 1894. Priceless.

My birthday dinner last night (minus Kevin :-( ...). I came home and hung up my Norman plates.

xoxo

Janie

OUTDOOR WEDNESDAY: AUGUST LAKE PICTURES

I love reflections on the water. It seems the closer we get to fall, the calmer the water is and I can get beautiful shots like this. Welcome to Outdoor Wednesday!!

Today I am going to share some pictures from the lake. We were on a little vacation that we take every year during the first two weeks in August. We do some work around the house and a little visiting of some small towns in Southwestern Michigan. So I have some pictures I took outdoors at the Lakehouse. I am saving pictures from our little jaunts into the other towns to share next Saturday on Sightseeing Saturday that Christine from Christine"s Travel And Home Adventures hosts. This is a great event to showcase your vacation pictures or even a day trip. You can click on this link or the button on my sidebar. But today's event is hosted by Susan at A Southern Daydreamer. After reading my post, visit Susan and all the participants in today's event. This is a great way to visit new blogs and make new friends!

We invested in a new dock this year. This is it in the picture above. The one we had was wood and it was in such bad shape I wouldn't walk on it. The dock is a great place to sit in a comfy yard chair with a good book and a cool drink, soaking in the sun and looking out at the tranquil water. We are fortunate that we face a bay because it is very calm here. The front of our house faces the lake, which can be quite noisy with all of the activity (boats, wave runners, screaming kids...). We have a channel that takes us out from our dock around to the lake. Anyway, the dock was rotting and I really wanted another wood dock, but The Husband explained that they only have about a thirty year life span which I thought was perfect timing for us. ;-) So we bought this instead, and it does look good. Next year I will have some pretty flowers on it.

I took this picture one evening while sitting on the porch of the Summerhouse. For some reason the air really had that fall feeling to it. Only when I decided to take a picture did I notice that the leaves have started to change. Has anyone noticed that taking so many pictures for our blogs makes us notice and see so much more around us? I really enjoy carrying my camera with me because I notice the little things more and it makes me feel I am living in the moment, which is the biggest hope I have. Our neighbor built this screened in gazebo a few years ago. It's a great place to get out of the sun and to avoid mosquitoes at night. It's pretty, isn't it?

This is a nice little place to have coffee in the morning on the patio. These are the palms that The Husband fusses over constantly. He won't even let me water them which makes me want to cry... ;-)

Here we are sitting on the porch of the Summerhouse. The Lakehouse is in the background. Being the devoted attorney that The Husband is, he mixes business with...

...pleasure!!

This is the cute little chair I found a few months ago at a resale shop. I like it under this oak tree on the patio. Have I mentioned that we have flying squirrels living in it? The tree, not the chair. I truly did not know they actually existed. I mean, I did watch Rocky and Bullwinkle when I was a child, so I thought they only existed in cartoons! But yeah, he pokes his little head out once in awhile and soon we will have acorns dropping and see him more. Flying squirrels have a thin piece of tissue that connects the front paws to the back paws and these serve as "wings". They don't fly like birds. They use their flying ability to avoid predators and generally glide from tree to tree. I will try to get pictures this fall.

This is a nice spot against the Summerhouse to sit and read or relax. It hardly gets any sun so it's nice and cool on 90 degree days, which we only had about a handful of here in the Midwest. That is Monster Fern that I kept here in Chicago over the winter. He looks sick. He didn't do well at all and a wonderful summer at the lake is not reviving him. Maybe a ski trip?? My bare English Garden is in the background. My tall perennials are around the parameters of the garden. I am working my way gradually toward the paths with shorter plants. Now is a great time to buy plants as they are all on sale. I have some work ahead of me!

So this is what I have for this Wednesday. The rest of my week is busy. We have a wedding to go to on Saturday and of course, Procrastinator Blondie has put off getting a dress until now. I am not looking forward to this ordeal. It's not like I am fussy about dresses, in fact, my taste in clothes is very wide ranged. It's just the Dressing Room Phobia I have. They really know me at Macy's here. I am in the little room where all the loud screaming and swearing is coming from.

Since I probably will not post again this week, this will be your last chance to leave a comment and be entered into the giveaway for The Ugly Roosters. This must be the first giveaway in the history of blogging where people are commenting that they don't want to be entered, that they don't want the free gift!! lol!!! Let me just say that this is going to have a bit of a surprise ending!! :-)

I hope everyone has a fun filled Labor Day weekend. Wherever you go, be safe. See you all next week!!

xoxo

Jane

ROOSTERS & RELAXATION

We had the best time at the lake this weekend. I truly sat back and watched time pass without a care in the world. Abby left for college last week and I will post about that soon. Now I am in that strange but content state you might be in after a good cry. I have accepted that my nest is empty and I am okay with that. Luckily, it seems the summer work at the lake is over. Yes, now that fall is around the corner!! I forgot my little Mouse Power Sander, so I could not fiddle with any of the furniture I am painting (a headboard, two nightstands and an end table). I forgot to bring a book and I decided not to bring my bike or laptop. After visiting so many people in the Rooster Party Friday, I truly felt I was going blind. All those colors!! Did anyone have to pop some Tylenol??

I took some pictures of the outside of the Lakehouse for Fifi , who has finished the painting of the Summerhouse, the wee, blue building you can see on the left, and she is now going to paint the house. Not literally come out and paint the house, do a painting. How she is going to see through all those trees to do it, I don't know. But Fifi has quite an imagination. Maybe she can throw in a new roof. The weather was in the mid 60's after a week of rain. I thought for sure I would have ripe tomatoes by now, but I looked and they are still small and green. I can just imagine standing out there in October, popping them into freezer bags!

Remember these roosters from Barb's Rooster Party? The UGLY roosters? A lot of bloggers agreed with me that they were God awful, but many thought they were cute. And a lot of people tried to figure out what the heck the big black rooster was doing with his wings! Swatting flies? Dropping something on the wife's head? (I would too if she were that ugly! lol!!). Well this might answer the mystery questions.

Ugly Male Rooster is holding this little bowl that says, "Keep The Home Fires Burning".

And this is what it looks like with a tea light candle in it. Still, that woman looks crazed!! If I were him, I'd let her freeze her ugly claws off!! Soooooo...I am announcing a giveaway. You can win this piece of frightful art by leaving a comment on my posts up until Saturday. If you do not want this UGLY THING, just say so, and I won't include you (and I will admire your good taste forever). I just can't wait to be done with the thing. I'll throw in some tea lights too.

While standing in my kitchen, not cooking or cleaning on this relaxing weekend, I decided to take a few more pictures of the renovations. I know it seems that I am teasing all of you with bits and pieces of this job, but we have not seen Resident Carpenter since May. Maybe we never will. It's just so hard to get good work these days. Anyway, this is the new tin ceiling and these are the ceiling lights I chose. Aren't they cool? (There are two). The frosted glass lamp can be made to hang down a bit like this, or installed flush against the ceiling. I bought these at Home Depot and I am pretty sure they were under $50.00 each.

A closer view...

This is a close up of my counters. They are quartz and the pattern is Mont Blanc. Also from Home Depot.

The floor is porcelain, but I think it looks and feels like stone. I do love it. It is from a local floor shop.

On my relaxing Sunday, without books, laptop, sander and bike, I put a roast on the grill and sat on the dock to fish a bit. Along came these little cuties. Old enough to leave Mom and Pop, but still new at "testing the waters". The Husband bought me a new deluxeroo fishing pole (doesn't it seem like he has been buying me a lot of things lately? First the bike, then the fishing pole...I think he is trying to get me outdoors more!!). I did find it difficult and somewhat unsanitary to handle worms and then check the roast so I didn't test out the new pole and the lake was safe again.

Hi little guy! Soon we will know if you are a beautiful male or a plain female in need of mascara and botox...

Goofy Milo enjoyed lying in the cool grass...

rolling around a bit...

...and just not doing much of anything. Like me.

Don't forget the giveaway. Mention it in one of your posts with a link to me, and I will enter you twice. Have a wonderful and RELAXING week!! :-)

xoxo

Jane

THE ROOSTER PARTY!!

Today I am going to a rooster party!! There are going to be over 150 ladies there with their roosters, and I have a few to show off myself. So here is a peek:

This is my very first rooster(s). I bought it at a Cracker Barrel while visiting my brother in southern Indiana. I had just remodeled my kitchen to a sort of French Country decor and thought this would be perfect on the counter.

This beautiful rooster picture was a gift from my sister shortly after the first rooster was bought. I love it and it is in the same spot I have always had it, near my cookbooks.

This is a close up. Sorry about the terrible quality of the pic. It almost looks like a mysterious Monet that has just turned up in France!!

This is a plate I picked up years ago from a dollar store to use as a platter. I like the simplicity, the "French" look.

It looks like it took about 40 brushstrokes to paint.

This is a plate I picked up at the lake. I think it was a dollar store find too.

Again, it has that "strutting down the streets of Provence" look.

I bought this little guy for my white kitchen. Love the crackle effect. And he is so simple...

And this is the ugliest thing I have ever seen in my life!! My word! Why would Blondie have this?? Well, I don't know about the rest of you girls, but once I heard Barb was having the Rooster Party, I went into a little panic over my "roosterlessness"! Admit it, Ladies. Some of you have to own up to buying a few more roosters for this party!!! ;-) I found this monstrosity at a markdown sort of store in South Haven, Michigan, when we were on vacation 2 weeks ago. It was only $3.00 and rightly so!! (Gawd, I hope no one collects these!!). I am thinking of using it in a giveaway. Just scare everybody away from my blog! lol!!

And I leave you with this cute little metal guy. My last rooster and my last rooster purchase. I will now confess, I do not like roosters. Or ducks. Or pineapples. Or Fleur de lis. Or crowns. I LOVE when others have collections of these. I guess I just haven't found anything I am passionate about. But I will. Until then, I'm just going to be a party crasher.

Visit our classic hostess, Barb at Bella Vista, by clicking on the rooster button on my sidebar. She has worked her little rooster tail off for this party and I thank her from the bottom of my heart. Now I'm off to visit as many participants as possible even though it may take days. it's worth it. It's a party!!

xoxo

Jane

THREE OR MORE TUESDAY: OLD & RESCUED!!

I hope everyone is having a good week! It is so beautiful here today in Chicago! It's in the 70's and sunny. I went for an hour long bike ride today, just up and down all the streets, looking at all the pretty flowers and landscaping, getting idea's for next year. I was so inspired, I came home and planted two more pots of flowers!! No kidding! I had about eight more geraniums just sitting in the pots they came in, waiting for a cozy home in a big clay pot...gosh, that's so sad. I am a negligent gardener!! lol!! I also snuck in some more ivy which The Husband hates (he grew up in an ivy covered house and he says ivy attracts spiders...I am laughing so hard right now it is hard to type!!). Okay, I have pulled myself together, hee, hee... Today is Three Or More Tuesday brought to us by Tam at The Gypsy's Corner. After you have read my post, leave a comment and then visit Tam who has written a great post about something for her new kitchen, and then visit all the gals participating and give them a call!

I picked up some things at the Worlds Longest Yard Sale and one of the items is below. I just liked it for some reason, the color of the glaze, the good condition it's in, all the hours I can spend figuring out what it is...

So. Any idea's? My first thought was a dish for deviled eggs, but it has a well in the center so that wouldn't make sense. Besides, I already have a deviled egg dish I rarely use, so please don't suggest it is a deviled egg dish.

On Sunday, The Husband and I went out to a HomeGoods store in the suburbs (YES! Finally I have been to HomeGoods!! Oh, the fun I had. But that is another post!!). Afterwards, we ate at a restaurant called Pappadeaux and we ordered oysters for an appetizer. They came on a dish something like this. Again, no well in the center, but whose to say that you can't serve oysters or clams or mussels on this with a nice sauce in the middle to spoon over? I think that is what I will use it for. Please, no one come back and say it is a garden planter or that I have it upside down! It can be WHATEVER I want it to be. So there!! ;-)

Below are some really solid, heavy wall hooks made of cast iron. I knew I would come up with something for them, I mean we all need hooks, although I hate to say that I wouldn't want to bump my head in to one of these babies!! They are solid! So I started to think that maybe I would get a long 2 X 4, stain or paint it and drill these hooks into it and use it in a bathroom to hang towels or robes or something.

I took a couple of pictures because it is hard to tell what they are and I wanted to show the bits of rust coming through that gives it that "old" look. Why is it that I would want old hooks but not old towels? What is it about "old" anyway?? "No, can't put these hooks in my bathroom, they're not old enough.". My mother was always wanting new things and I am wanting old. Go figure.

I have 2 sizes of these old hooks.

My third item came from my friend Jody at Village Floral in my lake town. She is fast becoming a good friend because she has helped me out tremendously with something I can't say too much about, but it has to do with the upcoming Cloche Party hosted by Marty.

She had this plant in her shop that she was embarrassed to say that she had neglected. So that little part of me that has always taken in stray dogs and cats, and birds with broken wings, said, "I'll take it!". So now it is in a pretty new wicker pot on my counter at the lake. I trimmed some of the bottom off and have that in a jar of water to grow some roots and then I will poke them in to fill it out. Then I have to find a place for it. It can't stay on the kitchen counter forever. Well, enough about my Rescue Plant. Please note, the kitchen remodel is not finished, that is why the cabinets and walls don't have trim.

I had to sneak this picture in. This is the dog bed at the lake. I keep it here by the windows because they are floor to ceiling windows and Milo and Layla love to look out. They can't do that here. But I thought this was cute because for the first time Milo (the white one) got in the bed with Layla. After two years I think he is finally accepting her. Or he is just darn tired!!

Which leads me to the fourth and last thing I have today. I bought it for the dogs and it speaks for itself.

Enjoy the rest of your week and don't forget Barb's Rooster Party on Friday!!

xoxo

Jane