Sunday, May 26, 2013

Time Needed

   I have been away from my blog for quite a few weeks now...Much has taken place.... I have  been ill for a couple weeks...I was taken to ER and was in hospital for 3 days in Defiance and spots were found on lungs... I was sent home and was so ill went to Toledo Medical ..After extensive testing A drainage bag was placed in my side and to date 17 liters of fluid removed from my body of which made me feel so much relief...I will continue to have this in my side and a port as I will be starting my first chemo treatment this Tuesday morning...Without treatment I was given 6 months... so we will try the treatment...My journey to come will be entered into with hope...I hope to return to blogging but for some time my battle with this terrible disease will be fought....Sending you all love and best wishes... and enjoy the moments... I I tent on doing just that...

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Eventful and Emotional Week


With such a eventful and emotional filled week here in the United States, I felt the need to try and add some romantic touches to my home.... I had these lovely silk roses... some of them the double rolled centers, purchased when being in the floral business, got them out of storage and hand tied them in a large clear glass canning jar... added a tag and some crinkle ribbons.... Although we are into spring it was a very rainy and cold and windy week here in NW Ohio... Along with the emotions felt by all in the states due to very large tragic events in Boston and in a small Texas town, thoughts enter in " what is happening to our United States."
   Knowing full well we are not the only countries suffering loss, makes ones heart break for mankind... I am hoping for nicer weather to fill ones desires to get out into the outdoor spaces I love so much and feel the gentle breezes blow and sunshine that energizes ones body... I know it will come... it is the virtue of patience that once again arises... Sending best wishes for blessing to enter our lives....

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Everyday Offers Possibilities


This morning was spent in the back room in my little corner finishing a card for my neighbor across the road and making a couple batches of our favorite shortbread... Knowing well if Tom sniffed the shortbread when he arrived home from golfing and I didn't have samples for him he would be disappointed.. My neighbor Connie lost her mother to a battle with cancer and the funeral was yesterday in Indiana...  The card and a plate of shortbread was for her and her family... Yesterday I also completed a card for Tom's youngest grandson Lance who will add another year on Saturday...
    Before I realize it days have passed and I haven't shared or posted on my blog... I find myself on my mini Ipad more and more and I do not post on it... I have found much more time being dedicated to Facebook and Pinterest than in the past.. Not traveling much at all this winter I also found I couldn't find words for writing... Hopefully when the weather and the sun appears to be more stable so will thoughts and inspiration... I have so many possibilities of projects I would like to do if I can arrange to complete some with the spending of funds and work with things I may have or can thrift at a market or sale... I am struggling a bit " getting the look" I would like to display more... I have some Victorian, shabby, cottage, French, and Vintage and cannot go purchase further so I just will remain with the mixture of bits and pieces... I must say most of it does work together cause most are in the same color....
    I can create somethings also... My puppy likes to go to the back room I have created a corner to craft and spend time creating in... Not completed as I need more clever and vintage looking  storage.... Just a work in progress... The puppy gets placed on a lease because he cannot behave himself... He knows how to open the storage containers with his nose and takes his nose and trows all the pillows off the bed and runs like a race horse when he has ribbons and lace and lets say anything thing that can fit in his mouth.... Maybe when he gets past the puppy stage we can spent more peaceful time back there... For right now he is outside as Tom is placing the border stone around the front area that we are making all stone and Lucky thinks he is playing with him... I have to smile for the little break as the puppy helps me all day long... Chasing the sweeper... chasing the broom... grabbing my mail from my hand and opening it... peers up as I am in the kitchen for anything that may make its way to the ground... Get the idea...He has so become a part of our life however and lets say he is a "LUCKY" dog...  Well , the afternoon has gotten away from me and it is time to think about getting supper... I made apple salad earlier and will have ham slices... mashed potatoes and corn... Hot bread on the griddle... That should make the tummy happy... ps.. feel free to grab the great graphics for altered art if you wish.... I love the writing...

Monday, April 8, 2013

Monday Afternoon Musings

With Easter gathering behind us and placed away in our memory pages... we had another dinner and visit with Toms Sisters and Aunt who are ND nuns that came for a visit this past Wednesday... My thoughts this week were hopes  to begin working in outdoor spaces but Mother Nature has other ideas... Today is gloomy and some rains and winds traveling through our area... Tom and I have decided that anything we do to our outdoor spaces are going to be very easy maintenance... He is going to change up my front garden area as you enter in our home and place it all to stone and rocks so I do not have all the weeding to do... This will look fine and match up with the since we have around our home now... My idea now is once placed in outdoor area it needs no care as it is getting harder to keep it up and when it comes to this point it is much better to keep it clean... I have pinned several clever ideas and will try to create some with existing objects or a very budget friendly manner... Tom did hang my wind chimes he purchased for me last year in our back area by the pool and it was a expensive purchase, but well worth it as I myself and all that enjoyed our pool area relaxed to the beautiful tones the chimes rang out... so lovely...
      I must admit I have placed most of my focus on well being and happiness, with the appreciation of a little bit of loveliness... Just a desire to let little pieces of all touch my heart and enjoy...
     I have a love affair with many things... Being a small detail person I may overlook a large object and seek out a very small piece of glam... I seem to be able to spy the smallest piece of loveliness...
    I have been working on my buttons and carding them with description and approximate value on the back of the cards... Also carding many pieces of my  lovely old jewelry as you can see in the pics... The one picture is a trio beautiful rhinestone fur clip and brooch combo, rather unusual... These are getting harder to find and have become somewhat pricey... I know where another one is and I want to try and go and purchase it or get it laid back next week... The other is just a very old brooch... I have the buttons in a very tall and lovely jar and secured them unto a gift paper roll to display.. The other buttons I have done are placed in the curio case as of now... I have a lovely collection of depression clear glass buttons and the old rhinestones of which are my favorites... On the jar I have shown a picture of a lovely old piece of jewelry that has been made to embellish bottles that I purchased on Etsy... Again just a example of all the little pretties that speak to me...
     Hope to see many of your lovely outdoor spaces and to share mine when I am able to get them completed.... I know it will be about the second week in May cause it usually ends up that way about every year and then we open the pool and make ready for use by Memorial Day... Sending blessings and best wishes....

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

The Easter Season Has Arrived

Easter week is upon us and Tom and I have been working on some spring cleaning even though we have had snow on the ground , all promised to be gone by Friday... Wow, the cleaning went much easier a few years back...
     Tomorrow we will be off to Defiance to purchase our groceries for our family gathering Sunday... My list is long as it seems you need many special ingredients... We will be baking 2 old fashion hams however... very traditional..
      This afternoon I just finished putting together some little packages if BUNNY COTTON TAILS for my soon to be set up candy bar on my server in the dining area... I plan on making little packages of BUNNY POOP consisting of colored mini marshmallows also.... I have made ready many old games... clothes in drop into mason jar for candy....I drew a big bunny to pin the cottontail on for Olivia... and this yer we will have a egg toss instead of a egg hunt... These ideas can be found on my Pinterest under Easter... The labels were originally from www.theidearoom.net
       Just wanted to post a short post as I am now off to make supper and start by frying pork chops for adding BBQ sauce and a apple salad... mashed potatoes and corn...
       Hopefully I will get another post in for Easter but if not my wishes for all are to enjoy a day filled with love and happiness....
     
     

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Passing Time With Button Love

A old jar of buttons from shirts, blouses, ect. may hold little or no value to a collector... The majority of buttons of collectors have some special qualities.. The clear depression glass buttons I have just carded I wouldn't use for crafting unless it was for someone very special or for a display project for my own use... I have a couple gallon jars of ordinary buttons I use for creating and altered art... Many collecting look for buttons that were manufactured differently up to 200 years ago or so... with different techniques... Clothing buttons were made from hand-cut glass, { of which I love... along with rhinestone and mother of pearl} some of molded clay, and hand decorated porcelain among some of the materials.
      VALUE ? In general, clothing buttons prices can range from a few cents to a few hundred dollars each,, Only rare examples in excellent condition bring high dollar values.. These buttons are very hard to come by these days...
      Many times buying a piece of antique or vintage clothing in poor condition at auction may not be a bad proposition if it contains a number of buttons and the piece can be scrapped and salvaged...

     PS.. the carded buttons in my pictures are just a few hours I have already spent finding and printing and cutting the images to place the cards on... { I also have a shared just a few of the cards I printed... More can be found on my Pinterest under altered art board} I have many more to card and also I have been placing description and approx. value on card back... This will help me and my poor daughter that will have to love to collect or rid of her mother's passions... I plan on displaying these lovely collections in a shabby white antique sewing machine drawer... Just another effort to place some new objects to enjoy in my home with what is already available to me in my home....
     I am interested in possibly purchasing more of the clear depression glass buttons if you would like to rid of or know if some one who would... Will share more as I slowly work on this little passion... I have rhinestone buttons to work on also and many little tiny ones and also pink buttons... I also have been busy trying to get my creating space in the back guest room which has now become a space for me to create... I also have more personal projects and have started a brown bag scrappy book for my favorite little athlete at Tinora High School that will be a gift to him... It also is a work in progress... Have much to keep me busy till the sounds and smells of spring arrive as it comes much closer....

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Thoughts Of Spring

Thoughts of spring have entered my thoughts as we await warnings of a large snow storm to enter our area this afternoon and over night into tomorrow... The winds have picked up in the last couple hours....
      I realize I haven't posted for a couple weeks again and have been working on a few projects around the house... As I am posting Tom is in our basement recreation room making ready for new carpeting to be installed in the morning... It will be a welcoming improvement as the carpet he tore out was very old...I also spent a couple days removing all my stash and altered art supplies from this area and have relocated into the back unused guest bedroom... This will be where I will be creating from now on...It is not a studio as I would love to have but a tiny corning of the bedroom ... and I will be happy for the small warm space to spend time in... I have several projects started and I need to take special moments and just enjoy the time creating...
      As soon as I finish this post I must remove the evergreen wreath and antique ice skates from the front door entrance even though we are expecting snow... it needs to go...
     Most of my winter decorations have been placed in storage and I have been pulling out some of my Easter belongings for reuse... I have a few draw backs now with decorating since our little rescue puppy has come to live with us... I find he is a "thief" and often grabs things ... and we are constantly yelling "drop it"... Cannot leave remotes or computer mouse laying around as these are crowned jewels to him and he is ready to heist....
      I have shared a couple pictures of a few Easter objects I will be using... I am working on my dining area table and not quite done with it but have snapped a couple pics so you can get the idea... The large cabbage leaves I had purchased at Chicago Gift Mart several years ago for displays in the gift and floral area of the shoppe... I had purchased several for my own use here and they are fun to work with.. I will place a couple book page shreds under the bunnies on the plate and a couple other embellishments... I have several little sugared mini carrots I haven't found yet to place by the bunnies and on the eater tree that sets on the server... I have to make ready the server to hold different Easter candies.... The little fancy butter dome I found at the Ft. Defiance Antique shop was widowed from it original plate and I purchased it for a couple bucks as I thought it was very pretty and I had a little pressed glass dish I thought would work here....
     The fireplace mantel I removed the Valentines antique boxes and replaced with antique and vintage mirrors... I do have very small mini lights to turn on worked through the greens for evening and special occasions...
     This past couple weeks I believe I spent way too much time in the house... The picture above is just one of the treats I made for us... It is home-made shortbread and it was wonderful... but only one of the treats as I realized I had made a scratch lemon pie... Carmel corn... home-made sugar donuts for breakfast one morning... Home-made large loaf of banana nut bread... and creme puffs... I haven't made anything as far as baked goods the past couple days when I realized Tom and I was the ones consuming all this stuff... yikes...Tonight we are having New York Strip Steaks.. baked potato and a salad and some carrots... Tomorrow I am going to make a kettle of potato soup and I will bake some cookies as we are out.. Imagine that...
     I did have another 3 month check up a week ago in Toledo at the Dana Cancer Center and they said after my examine that all looks normal at this time period... I am always so glad when the 3 month check ups are over but I have many more 3 month check up to look forward to in the future... even though I know I am very blessed it is a but nerving....
     Sending love and best wishes to all my blogger friends and hopefully I can get myself back into a better posting order... I am so looking forward to spring with hopes that I will be able to enjoy the pool and yard time this summer that I felt was really short due to the finding of cancer and not being able to swim for 3 months of the summer... especially when we had just replaced the existing in ground pool with a new one and was looking forward to using it... Tom and many friends and family did enjoy it however.... I see some snowflakes as I peer from the window... think I best put those thoughts of spring on hold for a couple days...
   

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Catching Up

It seems it has been awhile since I posted last.. The winter months seem harder to find inspiration .... as we are now seeing bear grown and fields after a couple weeks of beautiful puffs of white gently making theirr way to the ground... Now it is just a chill in the air as you travel to the outside...
       It has been a quiet last couple days with Valentines once again past and those decorations back in storage... A couple little touches of winter to come down and thoughts of spring will be next... I placed a small amount of Easter tucks but will continue to change vignettes... I did change the fireplace mantle to assorted mirrors for a couple months... I have been spending a large amount of time pinning on Pinerest and let the blogging slide a bit...
      As I patiently await the days of spring to arrive I face another 3 month examine this coming Thursday so I will be traveling to Toledo to see the surgeon that performed surgery on the cancer... I find the days leading up to the visit to be a bit nerve racking but also realize what will be will be.... I find Easter to be hard to decorate in my home ... course I can always find room for a sweet little bunny... I placed a bunny on a cake stand in the living room and of course our puppy barks at it... I love the shades of the tans and browns and the soft blue-green for Easter colors to use in my home with just a touch of pink...
     When thinking of the rearranging we first and always keep in mind the function you need in your home on a daily basis... A woman living alone can always have more treasures somewhat in the way but when a man is in the home this doesn't work as well... Like somethings we love our partners may not enjoy working around it... Tom is pretty easy for me but my home is not as girly as it was when I lived alone... Keeping this in mind... when I place my treasures, there really should be a home for everything so not to get the messy look... The things I love to accent with is old books and aged book pages, tea dyed old linens and crinkled old ribbons and tags, and glam and lace with touches of grain sacks... Although they are total opposites... I love them and they work well in my style which I know well is not for everybody... I just am simple and cozy in the country .....
      Did find some touches of French on Pinterest I will attempt to achieve with some of my own belongings.... Since my pockets are not jingling with coins... and I will not be purchasing new treasures ... I will be thankful I have much to work with already...  I have to watch the vignettes are not to close to puppy's reach as we are raising a little thief... and are constantly running around the house in chase and yelling " drop it"...
    Many of our friends are in Florida now but Tom and I aren't minding the winter and have attended almost all the girls and guys basketball games for the season... Tonight will be the guys last home game before tournaments....
    For you I haven't left a comment for a bit I will be catching up and wishing you all are well, safe, and keeping warm for those in winters way....

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Mirror,Mirror

In my home I have a small collection of antique and vintage mirrors I plan on placing in a vignette on my mantle in another week... changing out the early 1900's candy box collection for Valentines decorating that is now displayed ... I believe I have the right amount of mirrors to achieve the look I desire without taking hanging mirrors down... My mirrors I plan on working with now are  laying and house vignettes of glam and antique and vintage perfume bottles...
     I love the use of mirrors for their reflection of twinkling lights and adding of the feel of space... Many supersitions throughout many years make mirrors just a bit intriguing ...I found a few of these old superstitions to be a bit scary...and will share just a few of them with you...
     *Of course we to this day all know the most common that the breaking of a mirror is suppose to mean bad luck for years to come... This superstition goes way back to the ancient Roman days and believed the only way to overcome this is to bury the broken mirror pieces very deep in the ground...
     * If a mirror in the house falls from the wall and breaks it means someone is going to die...
     * It is considered bad luck to see your face in a mirror by candlelight...as you may see the spirit of a loved person who has passed...
     * If you want to know what your future husband lloks like, you sit in fron of a mirror and eat a apple.. After that you start to brush your hair, and a image of your future husband will appear behind your shoulder in the mirrors reflection...
    Several others that I researched all seem to be connected with death and spirits... making it seem mirrors to be a scare tactic as thier orgin.. People many times attribute the supernatural links to things they do not understand and mirrors are believed to be a reflection of the truth...
     I still love my mirrors but will be making real sure they are secured on strong stands and no candlelight in front of them... just maybe some twinkling Christmas white lights...
    The pic of the mirror gathering on the mantle is the look I am desiring and I believe this may be from Rene  http://missgracieshouse.blogspot.com but am not completley sure of that... I know she has some other mantle vignettes that I totally love also... The other pic is of a venetian mirror and I think they are so lovely... I do have a standing smaller one I am hoping to work in with my other collection.. Then, next I would like to try a collection of old frames after that.... Will share when I redo my mantle soon... until then all I can say is Baby it's cold and blustry outside and counting my blessings to be in warm cozy home today.....
      

Monday, January 28, 2013

Passion For Antique Purses

One of my passions is collecting antique purses.... I try to allow myself at least one purse a year if the cost is over 100.00.. I find the beaded and mesh purses to be my favorites with their handmade works of elaborate and delicate work... Most of my purses are displayed in different areas on my walls except I enjoy placing a few of my finest in glass cloches changing up displays from time to time... My purses are hanging from little white drawer knobs similar to the first pic...Collecting involves searching for many specialities over 100 years or so... Many love collecting vintage of which is before the 1950's.. I also have a few of these in my collections... Not all my purses of course are museum quality but I love them equally as they to me show strength and endurance of surviving from the past years... and do not have to be in pristine condition..
        The first picture and second picture I pinned this morning from Pinterest and of course the last picture is of one of the walls in my little home in the country...
      Yesterday this little home in the country was filled with family as I hosted a 5th birthday party for my granddaughter Olivia...Pic on Facebook... As the day progressed into the evening hours so the weather thickened and snow and freezing drizzle arrived and throughout the nighttime hours... This morning all rural area schools were cancelled but the temps have gotten warmer with drizzling rain now.. I have taken it somewhat easy today as I did tire yesterday, so only mopping kitchen floor.. and a couple loads of laundry completed and supper will be placed on stove top shortly... Tom wanted smoked sausage... sauerkraut and mashed potatoes with another veggie so that's what it will be... Have some leftover cake from yesterday for dessert... Looking forward to lazy boy and TV viewing this evening....