BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED

HOOKY LOVE AND THRIFTY FINDS

Hi there! It's a glum looking day here. The forecast is for thunderstorms and hail and even a tornado watch to hit us later in the day coming from the central part of Pennsylvania and heading east towards us at full throttle!   The rain and thunder storms we have had off and on for the past week haven't done much to give us relief from the relentless humidity.

 The good news is that we have had an endless supply of big, juicy and sweet strawberries come through our pantry door from our little patch. They are winding down now, bummer. Roger took this picture and just had to get in a portion of the maple syrup I brought him back on my trip to Maine last month. 

My days for the past 2 weeks haven't been all that ordinary. We have had the pleasure of pet sitting my daughter's 2 very well behaved dogs. Lucy has been thrilled to have Sweetheart and Shyanne visiting. She has missed her buddy, Mysti, who passed on to doggy heaven a few months ago. Shyanne's frolicking days are behind her now. She is losing her hearing and eye sight to old age. Sweetheart is young and rambunctious. She and Lucy love to play. And, the cats, all 4 of them, have been in hiding coming out only at night when the visitors  have been relocated to the walkway for the night. Our visitors are back with their family now and we are getting back into our normal routine.. I am exhausted! Can't keep up like I used to. 

SWEETHEART

SHYANNE

LUCY

HOOKY LOVE

I finished poncho #2 while in Maine. It's very similar to my #1 but has a cowl neck. I apologize for the poor quality picture. Just couldn't get a good shot for some reason. 

I am still working on my snowflake throws off and on and have started a thread project-a table runner.  

ACQUISITIONS

AWHILE ago I came across this quote: " Buds will be roses and kittens, cats."  A quote taken from LITTLE WOMEN (Mrs. March).  I loved that book sooo much when I was a girl many moons ago. I decided I needed to read it again. Not having a copy of it I looked on Ebay and found this....

Published 100 years ago. While in Maine I read it and enjoyed it tremendously!  I now have a 100 year old copy of LITTLE MEN as well but haven't read it yet. The illustrations in the front and back of the books are quite wonderful.

TREASURES 

In Ellsworth, Maine, on Main Street, my friend, Jane, introduced me to a store that is chockablock full of wonderful treasures!  We had met for lunch at a cafe just up the street and afterwards browsed in and out of shops walking back to where we had parked our cars.  I came away with several items. My favorite  is this old hand painted vase. It  has been added to my collection on a shelf in our living room.

MORE TREASURES...

This  pitcher was made in Mexico and I bought it on  Ebay.....

 Now, I read a blog, MOCKINGBIRD HILL, and about a month ago or maybe 2, Claudia had several blog posts featuring her collection of McCoy pottery. It was very interesting. Stop by her blog if you get a chance and are interested in pottery from around the 1930's, '40's and '50's. So when I saw this vase on Ebay I thought it would make the perfect birthday gift for a dear friend who has everything. After I got it I liked it so much (this picture does not do it pretty enough)  I decided to keep it! Am I bad or what?>? I also found out that the McCoy cookie jars are very collectible. It's really hard to find any that aren't chipped or faded from use in those gone by days.  I managed to find one that was extremely collectible because it was in such good shape and in the box.... Meet MAMMY.....At first I wondered if I was crazy to pay so much for a cookie jar and she looked kind of lost standing  beside my other more modern cookie jars in my corner china cabinet but she has grown on me and now I adore her. 

And lastly, Roger and I have been married 10 years this month. We have certainly had our ups and downs-2 people very much set in our ways and stubborn as all get out. But love has prevailed and I hope that we will be blessed with 10 more years together. 

Well, lovely people I will leave you with a recommendation. I enjoy reading SUSAN BRANCH'S BLOG. If you aren't familiar with her art and cookbooks you don't know what you are missing. I am reading her last book, A FINE ROMANCE. It is unique in that it is handwritten in diary form with pictures and drawings and water color illustrations done by her. She has a style all her own and her books are as easy to read as is drinking a cup of tea!  Here is an excerpt from the inside jacket cover:

 "The first time I met my darling Joe we discovered we both had the same dream-of taking a voyage to England on an ocean liner. To celebrate our 25th Anniversary, we did just that, crossed the Atlantic on the Queen Mary 2 & spent two months wandering the English Countryside. I kept a diary of the journey & when we returned home to Martha's Vineyard, I put it all together in this hand written book." 

          The book starts out with Susan telling the love story of how she and Joe met, fell in love and a bit about their  careers, etc. I love anything Beatrix Potter, Jane Austen, the mysteries of M.C. Beaton (Agatha Raisen), and if you do too, you will love this book. 

So, dear friends, that's it for me until next time. Please stop by again!