Sad decorating

Hello, folks,

My blogging was abbreviated last week because we had to go out of town to a funeral for my brother-in-law. He was a really good person who died far too soon at the age of 61. 

An arrangement of flowers we sent were mounted on a cross. It was very pretty, until one of the attendees bumped it and knocked it down. Then, not so much. We were planning to leave it at the church for their use, but since it couldn't be reassembled we took it with us. Here are the sections I brought home:

David was always a generous spirit and that continued to the end, with his organs donated as his final gift to others. We used to e-mail each other and sign off with YFSIL and YFBIL. Farewell to my favorite brother-in-law who will be sorely missed. 

Michele

Mini Project on Wednesday

Hello, friends, I hope your weeks are going well. Today was the haircut appointment that had to be cancelled a couple of weeks ago when we rushed out of town  when my brother-in-law had a massive stroke. Since today is senior citizen day and there is one near the beauty shop, you can probably guess where this is going. Most of the items are for ebay, but this tiny piece for $2.99 for me. 

I have several other hand made whatnot shelves similar to this one, but it is the smallest. It was pretty rough. 

An application of this near magic elixir made a huge difference, though:

See the dramatic difference? Cotton-tipped swabs got in the scrolls very neatly.

Hanging in the living room. It's not crooked on the wall, I swear, it must have been operator error by the hand holding the camera, oops! Anyway, I think it's cute and a good place to set a little ornament or seasonal decor. The charming couple circa 1930 probably won't stay, since they aren't related to us. 

That's all I've got for Wednesday. Have a good one.

Michele

Lighten Up

Hi, all,

Technically it isn't spring for another month, but when the temperature zooms up to nearly 80, it's hard to feel like winter is still going on. Starting by the front door to change things up always feels logical, so here we are:

That was then.

This is now. Of course, putting away the jackets and scarves and warm hats is a sure fire way to guarantee one more blast of cold sneaks in to surprise us, but that's okay. Lighter, brighter colors feel right, so we're going to run with those for now. Undoubtedly, over our endless summer they will get old long before there is even a hint of fall, but that's part of living in Texas. 

Have a good week. 

Till next time,

Michele

Mystery Solved!

Hello, all,

This mystery didn't need a request to the Texas Rangersor FBI for investigation. My friend Tricia told me she sent them, only realizing too late she forgot to include a gift card. It looks like a very Tricia gift--she's a cherry-holic--so it wasn't a huge surprise that she was the giver. 

Here they are, front and center. Too cute! Thank you, Tricia.

Gotta run,

Michele

Mystery Gift

Hello, Friends,

I hope your week is chugging along well. Mine is doing all right so far, aside from the confusion a package caused. Tuesday there was a delivery from Amazon. 

A package with this sweet little box inside the bubble wrap. 

It contains a pair of cute cherry adorned salt-and-pepper shakers. But that's all. No name, no tag, no other information at all. 

Wouldn't you want to thank whoever sent such a sweet present? Me too. Sometimes ignorance is not bliss, not when you can't express your gratitude for lack of a name. 

That's the puzzle of the week around here. 

Have a good one!

Michele

Can this marriage be saved?

Hello, all,

Years ago a magazine featured a  piece each month called "Can this marriage be saved?". It seems as though it was in Ladies Home Journal, but that may not be right. Today we have another challenge, this time starring a piece of furniture bought recently at Value Village. The question is, can this table be saved?

Here it is in the hallway under inspection by Freddie and Freckles. 

A visual, sans cats. The top is pretty beat up. 

One gateleg part  is missing, so in this shot that side is propped against the wall.

The legs are not as battered as the top, thank goodness. What do you think? Is it destined to stay a sow's ear, or does it have silk purse potential? At least the price was sufficiently low at $6/56 to make me take on this sturdy little survivor as a project. Check back again for progress reports.

Take it easy!

Michele

About last week. . .

Sorry for flaking off last week, but we had a death in the family and weren't home for a while. 

While organizing before that I came upon one of those plastic zipper bags that originally had a pillow sham in it, now being used for small pieces of fabric. They were in no shape to use at that point:

as you can see. Pretty scrunched up and wrinkled in general. Then it occurred to me that there as no need to go in Mr. B's studio and get out the ironing board, because my oldest daughter gave me this for Christmas:

It's a real iron, exactly four inches tall. Perfect for this job.

In less than five minutes, voila! Pretty cute and ideal for tiny jobs, like a single ribbon or one creased edge. 

We are trying to get back to normal routines, so let's hope the rest of the week offers more ideas and inspiration than has been the case the past few days.

Have a good one!

Michele

Small addition

Hello, all,

This is so small it hardly counts as a post at all. Do you see my latest find? 

How about now?

A little pair of deer salt and peppers that work in two collections, deer and shakers. As a bonus, they were new in the box at Sand Dollar, a fun find for $3.10. 

Gotta go cook now. Have a good one. 

Michele

Just a little more . . .

Hi, everyone,

It is a gorgeous day here, sunny and bright but also cool and very windy. 

Still going through my Valentine stuff so here are a couple of minor displays from Sunday. First:

a vintage heart hanky in an embroidery hoop on a bookshelf in the library. Also,

a twig ball covered with tinsel wire perched on top of a red candlestick that's usually on the dresser, serving as a hatstand. Really, with red my favorite color, it seldom happens any given piece or accessory won't work for February! 

Since I was at Manna and didn't get home till 2:30 my chores are screaming for attention, so back to my oar. 

Later,

Michele

Still seeing red

Hi, everyone,

No, not seeing red in the sense of being angry, but very much in a hearts and love way. Today there are a couple more decorations in the library:

Sorry for the less than ideal lighting. Here are a wall pocket from a thrift shop and a rag trimmed wreath made several years ago hung together near a bookcase.

A pair of lovebirds on a little wooden sign from Value Village. Because of the way the wire hanger goes through holes, it occurred to me to back it with a red doily, which was easy as pie.

More hearts and glitter. All the picks were from a long ago dollar store that moved.

That sweet little bird has to go on a high shelf so its damage isn't visible. One or some of our cats want to kill anything made out of felt. So far they've gotten to the birdie, a darling Christmas ornament and a whole string of felt heart garland that Target sadly doesn't sell anymore. The said thing is, in the case of the bird and garland the items were put away, after February was over. The culprit rooted them out of a box where they were stored. The Christmas ornament was bought on sale this year after December and destroyed within hours of coming into the house. Sigh. The heart in the middle was a gift from a daughter at Christmas.

A suitcase full of love and good wishes on a tiny display shelf in the same area.

That's all I've got for today. Have a great evening,

Michele

Hearts and . . . Smoked Meats

Hello, friends,

Since despite any logical reason for this to be the case, dates tend to sneak up and surprise me, it seemed prudent to get busy on valentines before the holiday escaped me entirely. Here are the first efforts:

This new small notebook with hearts on the cover turned up in Goodwill today for .49 cents. To it was added from my stash:

Another heart, that does this:

Inside is the message:

The other is more of an assemblage:

Starting with this deck of bacon playing cards,

with the addition of letter tiles, this message was added. More tomorrow.

I hope Wednesday is sweet for you. Practice is always good.  Pass the chocolate,

Michele

Short and Sweet

Hi, everyone,

Now it is officially February a tiny bit of Valentine's has started to creep in. 

A banner on the bookshelves in the library.

The little red box, all sweetened up for the 14th. 

A couple of touches in the bird cage. That's all for now. Check back tomorrow.

Good wishes from my heart to you,

Michele