Browsers Welcome

Lots of this and that

books, child's chair, and heart stand

blue teapot, green creamer, rust vase, etc

little items in cubbyhole cabinet

bead baskets

pillow of vintage pins

Untitled

This is one of those times when I really don't know what to say. My ordinary life doesn't lend itself to thrilling posts. I spend a lot of time at home due to my mother's condition. I miss the freedom of hopping in my car and going someplace on the spur of the moment. Then I think of my mother who used to do so many things on her own and how trapped she must have felt when the privilege of driving was taken from her. Dear me, aging is tough, and Alzheimer's is especially devastating. I can't imagine what it would be like to live for so many years that you experience the loss of spouse, relatives, and lifelong friends. It really is a wonderful thing that we can only see TODAY.

A for Apple, Art, Author

Hope your Friday was a good one. Mine was a busy one with errands. I'm sharing my latest "couldn't leave it behind" item. The letter almost didn't fit on my bookshelf.

Enjoy the weekend. Sandy

Morning Stroll

Welcome to the garden

Dahlia

Phlox

Iris

One resting place in the backyard

A few early garden pictures I'll be adding to my gardening journal for 2009. Thanks for joining me.

A few favorites

favorite buy from Tuesday Morning

favorite colors on washstand tile

Old books, pitchers, and oil paintings are a few of my favorite things.

favorite sculpture

I was home strolling through my own house...counting my blessings...enjoying those things that personalize a home.

I'll leave you with these two quotes-

"Decorating takes patience, but there's joy in finding what speaks to you." Susan Fox

"These are my treasures, and I love them all...they fill my home with mirth."

George E. Davenport

Oh, Spring!

Today's post requires few, if any, words.

Oh, what a lovely spring day!

Do you see the long-legged curvy miss

raising her arms up in celebration of the season?

Wooden Boxes

Boxes intrigue me. This collection of three gets moved around from room to room. Sometimes I stack them, and sometimes they're separated. The contents usually stay the same. The handmade alphabet letters in the largest box were found on an antiquing jaunt. The middle box holds a wooden set of town buildings. The top box is empty right now... it once held favorite quotes I had collected, but now I have those pasted in a notebook. Boxes are keepers of love letters and secrets. They are guardians of treasures too precious to lose. They are storage units for whatever you tuck inside.

First Bloom

What a delight it is

When, of a morning,

I get up and go out

To find in full bloom a flower

That yesterday was not there.

-Tachibana Akemi

I want to wish you a Happy Easter.

Sandy

Gardening Journals

I just came in from outside. Perfect day... warm sunshine and light breezes. I pulled out last year's journal to review the order of blooms. These journals were purchased at a Dollar Tree store, and for years I didn't know what to do with them. But when I started gardening, they came in handy for writing notes and pasting pictures. Now I had a record of what plants performed well.

"The best thing about being a gardener is never feeling at a loss for a friend or an occupation. And working in the earth gives one a sense of peace and serenity that nothing else can equal."

-Joanna Reed

Below that quote in my 2008 journal I wrote: Is gardening really that powerful? I sure hope so because this could be the year I need its power to give me that sense of peace and serenity.

It is now 2009, and I am feeling the same way.

Easy Easter Decorating

Don't you just love the shape of an egg? These are old plastic eggs I once had in a wire basket in a former kitchen...like the simplicity of them in this wooden bowl.

I tried this combination for dining table...kids' painted eggs will finish the display...chose a bird instead of a rabbit...sure grandkids will ask about that.

This jar and ribbon are about twenty plus years old. I would display it on a tall bookcase for an Easter decoration when my son and daughter were small. Lauren informed me that she and Ryan would climb up on the wing chair to take candy from the jar. Now it is a sweet reminder of those long ago days in their first home.

I am fond of this sweet planter...decided to just sit it out on my bathroom counter.

Tomorrow's forecast is warm weather. Yeah! Springtime at last!

More Things for Easter

This inexpensive papier-mache rabbit is several years old...the necklace is my favorite part.

Dollar General egg plate has pretty designs...blowing out a few eggs in advance for weekend painting with the grandkids.

Like the brown and blue material scraps used on this bunny.

A spring tag set

Here are a few more plastic eggs I'm decorating with sand and glitter...can't seem to get enough of them. I love the old-fashioned graphics that show rabbits and lambs.

Sand and Glitter Eggs

I had such a good time crafting these eggs...you should try it! Yesterday my grandson who's eight was here and made two...one with a tiny rabbit and one with baby chicks. So now you know it really is simple and fast. There are a few more images I want to do...gee, this type of egg decorating is addictive and a whole lot of fun.

Spring Displays

Since the calendar turned to lovely April, I thought I'd share a few spring decorations at my house. Hope you are able to take away a tiny bit of inspiration. Oh, by the way, the sand and glitter technique for Easter eggs demonstrated by Tracy Porter is beautiful. I love the result! I'll try to post a picture soon. Have a great first Wednesday in this new month of promise.

Sandy