Signs of Spring

Since it was raining this afternoon, I didn't have outdoor chores to tackle like we have for the past few days - lawn mower repair, grass cutting, transplanting seedlings, cutting back dead twigs from last year's flowers, tilling and planting the potato patch.  Whew!  Thank goodness for a little shower or two!  Plus, maybe the yellow film of pollen that is all over my truck (and everything else) got washed away for a day or so.  Deep breath in and exhale...

So, I came in to search for some signs of spring.  First I found this old friend.

I got this wreath several years ago.

That was when I lived in another house and used it as a base for the centerpiece on my dining room table.  Since I don't have a formal dining room here at this farmhouse, I think it works well on the front door.  I think it looks a little Martha-ish.

Two or three weeks ago on a grocery shopping jaunt, I noticed a rendition of this same idea on a smaller scale and made a mental note that in a week or so I would come back and get a couple for the back French doors.  Why do I do that?  When I see something I really like, something that will work well with stuff I already have, why don't I get it right then?  Well, you know what happened - when I went on my next grocery jaunt - all those were gone - sold completely out.  Yes, I was a bit frustrated with myself and did a little mumbling and chastising of myself. 

Luckily, my job takes me here and there across the county and when I popped in to another grocery store late last week, I looked in the 'seasonal' aisle and the cute little wreaths were on sale - $2 off!  So, I reached up and got the last two.  That is when I noticed it - several of the cute little eggs were missing.  Yes, I looked around on the shelves below and all around the area, as a matter of fact - to no avail.  After pondering my quandary for a minute, I decided to go ahead and get the one and hope to find a second at another stop.  Guess what!  Earlier this week when I stopped in at yet another grocery store, there she was - not on sale (Even though I mentioned that the other stores across town had them on sale, the clerk didn't mark it down!)  So, I gritted my teeth and paid full price.  Don't they look cute?

Sweet pair!

I had to do a bit of adjusting.  When I first came home with one, I plonked it on the wreath hanger like this. 

After I got home with the second, I thought it looked too much like I had plonked it on the wreath hanger and didn't look very attractive.  So, today I went down and got some ribbon scraps and hung them all from the green polka-dot ribbon and I love the simplicity of these sweet egg wreaths.  Simplicity seems to be my theme this spring.

I had this little wooden hang-up that I used to hang on a bulletin board in my classroom.  So, this year the little Welcome Spring sign hangs in the center of the vine wreath that hangs on the laundry room entrance.  The colors happen to be the same as the egg wreaths.

Here is my dining table centerpiece.

It doesn't feature anything new other than the sweet little speckled carnations.  The blue and white china egg is one I've had for several years.  I had bought one from some school group's fundraising catalogue one year.  Then, a couple of years ago, my secret pal at school gave me another one.  I love them - and after all, can anybody ever have enough blue and white?  No!  The other egg is an emu egg that my friend, Kathy gave me one year.  I love the beautiful deep teal color of it and it is huge.  So, most people who see it comment on its size.  The little blue and white bunny was a find that I got several years ago at a thrift shop owned by a student's mother.  (That was one time when I picked it up the minute I saw it and brought it home with me!)  The lantern was a gift from my daughter, Bridgette, and the candle is one I picked up from a bargain clearance table long, long ago.  The cloth is also a bargain off-season purchase and is screen printed with daffodils.  You can see its mate hanging on the chopping block.

On the island is another little vignette.  I ran across these tulips in the bargain tub at the grocery store last weekend.  Since they are one of my favorite colors for flowers (and I didn't get the egg wreath I'd planned to bring home), they came home with me.  They sit with a bunny and egg salt and pepper shaker that was a gift and rest on tapestry place mat with a bunny and flower scene.  The place mat was a bargain bin special years ago.

Colorful eggs in my antique cookie jar

A couple of years ago I ran across this bunch of old plastic eggs that had been hide-and-seek eggs my children played with long ago.  I poured the zipper bag of them into the antique cookie jar that was sitting in my kitchen.  Lillie just loved it - and she loved the fact that I took them out and hid them all over the house one rainy afternoon so she could have her own personal egg hunt.  So, this has become their traditional place during the spring.  (The cookie jar was a gift from my mother when I was a young girl starting my own home.  The juicer was my paternal grandmother's.)

On one side of the mantle is this little pair of bunnies which was a gift I got the first Easter I was a grandmother.  I love the fact that they are reading a book.  These girls make me smile.  My granddaughters love to sit and listen to books and I think of them when I see this piece.

On the other side of the mantle you can see the other blue and white egg sitting on its pedestal.

Standing on the hearth is another sweet pair. 

Aren't their faces sweet?

 

Here is a look at the entire fireplace.

In the front bedroom there is a little girl perched on the handle of a watering can and it looks like she is waiting for a special tea party. 

Here is a closer look.  I just love the soft colors of the tulips and the leaves around the base of this ceramic watering can.  I filled it with silk dogwood blossoms to honor my mother.  She used dogwood branches to decorate the church alter when she married my Daddy.

This beautiful egg was a gift from Bridgette the first year I was in the house I purchased all on my own.  I had carried a similar one around during her senior year of high school to use for matching paint and accessories for my newly decorated bedroom in our house.  She said when she saw this larger, more elaborate version, she had to get it for me to remind me of how far we had come!

I love how it looks sitting next to my yard sale candle holder!

These silk tulips provide a splash of color in the den and cozied up to their vase is a little ceramic basket and some eggs that I made when I was still a college student.

In our bedroom is one little egg.  It is the one my mother gave me years ago.  I keep it sitting out year-round because I love the colors in it and the simplicity of it. 

I guess the signs of spring are here at our house and I am thankful that I get to be here and enjoy it!