August 1--really?

Hi, friends,

How did it get to be August already? You know a cat person like me doesn't want to see the dog days show up, but here they are anyway.

Today I started working on switching out the decor inside. There seem to be some things missing or else my memory of last year is completely wrong. Here is the small bookcase at one end of the living room:

A few sunflowers in the suitcase, a bottle and on some of my little chair collection.

The terrarium on the buffet in the dining room has a basket full too.

The revolving book case end table has a seasonal tray and a twig chair.

The camera decided to be coy after these were taken, so this is to be continued.

It is 99 here today. I hope you're able to stay cool wherever you might be.

Later, Michele

A Small Switch

Hello, everyone, I hope your week is going well. Thank goodness today our camera decided to cooperate so it was possible to take pictures to include in this post. 

After two months of seashells and beach vibes August and September are all about sunflowers at our house. Tomorrow I'll start replacing one with the other, but today  didn't seem too soon to take care of the doors. My patriotic display has been up less than a month in the front of the house, yet in those brief weeks the color completely faded from the new curling wire that was used, two different kinds, stars and liberty bells. The strands  were all red, white and blue but now are plain silver--not very attractive, and now headed straight  to the trash.

Without  further ado, here is the replacement for the front door:

In the back we have:

Both were bought very inexpensively from different thrift shops. 

Do you get tired of your decor and ornaments after a while and are glad for an excuse to change them for another theme? I seem to have A attention D deficit D decor. While I really like the blues, shells and everything beach related and summery, it won't pain me a bit to switch to  sunflowers. 

Have a wonderful evening!

Michele

A Nice Place to Visit

Hello, all,

How's your Tuesday so far? I've gotten a little done, not enough but better than nothing.

Today I thought I'd tell you about a wonderful writer. Many of you may be familiar with her and longtime fans, but she may be new to others. Her name was Gladys Taber. Here you can find some facts about her life:http://gladystaber.wikispaces.com/ here. However, the real way to learn about this remarkable woman is through her books.

These are a few of the titles in my library.

Harvest at Stillmeadow was published in 1940. Many of her books were set in the valley in Connecticut where her 17th century farmhouse, Stillmeadow,  is located.

Harvest of Yesterday relates some of the major events of her life prior to the move there.

She and her husband and another couple bought Stillmeadow in 1933. At first they just used the house during the summer, but in 1935 moved in full time.

Stillmeadow Sampler, like many of her other works, is a non-fiction series of essays about her family, friends, nature, animals and the seasons in the country.

This one is called Stillmeadow  Calendar.

This one is fun, because it is written in the form of letters between the two authors, Gladys Taber in Connecticut and Barbara Webster in Pennsylvania. Webster's husband, Edward Shenton, illustrated a number of the Stillmeadow books. 

These are gentle, peaceful reads, meditative thoughts on life, family and friends. They include a lot about animals, especially dogs. Gladys Taber was born in 1899 to a father who was a geologist  and mining engineer; there was a lot of moving throughout her childhood, which is probably one reason why she loved her place in the country so much, as a home to stay put in. She taught English at Columbia University and wrote fifty  books during her lifetime. Her non-fiction works are especially good if you're busy or stressed. There is no story to follow, you can dip into the middle of one as easily as dutifully beginning at page 1 and still enjoy the visit immensely. I've been picking up her books at thrift shops and sales for decades now, and her message never grows stale. 

Do you have favorite writers like this you go back to automatically in time of stress or conflict who never fail to soothe your spirit? I hope so!

Till next time,

Michele

Heat Related Injury

Hi, folks,

I'm blaming the weather on the fact that my brain quit working for a while; sorry about that.

Today my post relates to a couple from other bloggers; first of all, Manuela at http://acultivatednest.com/ wrote Saturday about how she made ribbon holders that are very pretty. I didn't  do that. At some point in years past I bought Mr. B a gadget that was supposed to help with the lack of space in the small closet he had then; for some reason it never caught  on and went unused to hang pants. It was still (literally) hanging around though, so I re-invented it as this:

It  holds quite a few spools that are easy to grab. Thanks for the inspiration, Manuela!

Then, last week I visited Dawn at http://www.wecallitjunkin.com/. The lead photo in her post on July 17 featured a gorgeous old metal bread box. I got up immediately and went in the kitchen to check and. . .yep! I have a sifter of the exact same pattern, although it's more worn.

It's got an old chopper with a red wooden handle sitting inside it. The whole thing goes on the shelf above a door in the kitchen that's holds red things.

It came from either Sand Dollar or Value  Village and didn't cost much. Now that the bread box has appeared, who knows what other pieces might be out there in this same cheerful pattern combining gingham checks and colorful flowers. I'm going to be on the look out and probably so is Dawn!

I hope your last days of July are going well. We had welcome rain both days on the weekend, which is always good news.

Stay cool!

Michele

July Junk

Hi, Friends,

I hope you're having a good day. Mine has been mostly quiet, which is great--the better to hear the rain, whoo hoo!

I haven't been thrifting much lately, but have picked up a few odds and ends. One Saturday Mr. B and I ventured over to Fulton Thrift. It has been seldom visited by me in the past couple of years because they've been digging up the streets to put in a light rail train. No one seems to know where it will or or who it will serve, but oh, well.

This isn't a great picture, but it is a pair of old, hand-made decoupaged book ends featuring a puppy and kitten, each wearing a hat. Very cute for $1.41.

On the same trip I picked up this 3D shadowbox by Marjolein Bastin featuring eggs and a nest:

Some of the above are Mr. B's finds.The wooden paint box with a road runner on it, the copper candle holder and the new puzzle with a picture of buttons he got at a yard sale last week.  I found a box of new, giant Christmas crrackers, another Homer Laughlin sugar bowl, an embroidered gingham apron and three new sets of Mary Engelbreit  coasters in a bag together, again for $1.41. The crackers were bought because the box they were in was the exact size needed to ship a large binder, but seem to have been a good brand from the UK for $3.99.

How have your finds been lately? Anything wonderful or mostly mediocre?

Stay cool!
Michele

Super Summer Book

Hi, friends, I hope your Tuesday has been terrific so far.

Today I wanted to tell you about a book with great interest to bloggers. It's called Ladies' Night by Mary Kay Andrews.

It's the story of a blogger named Grace Stanton who loses her blog, her livelihood and her home thanks to a cheating, unscrupulous husband and her former assistant who is just as bad. Set in Florida, this tale of treachery, friendship and re-invention is a winner, destined to especially captivate anyone who writes or reads blogs.

Enjoy!
Michele

Another Theme Gift

Hi, friends,

I hope you had a good weekend. We are still hoping for rain, but so far there is none to report.

As mentioned earlier, I think it's fun to do theme gifts. Last month in Friday Finale this item showed up:

specifically, the large wooden ampersand next to the picture book. A few weeks later another item turned up at Goodwill, and with the help of some spray paint, I now have:

a red ampersand with a coordinating mug. These will be a joke gift for my oldest daughter, with the tag signed by our cat named Bitty. After hurricane Ike my oldest and middle daughter fostered some of our furry companions while we were homeless for several weeks, staying with friends. Hilary noted then that Bitty's meow pretty much always sounds as if she's saying "Aaaand", usually in a rather disgruntled tone. Bitty has given her hostess a couple of these symbols in the past couple of years, so with this addition she may have a formal collection, come December. Like me, this daughter also loves all things red, so the mug dictated the redo of the symbol. 

Do you like to do all your shopping at the last minute, or collect things throughout the year? You can probably guess which type buyer I am!

Take it easy!

Michele