Just Three Things | #7

I had the opportunity to take in a small town dinner theatre experience last weekend. One of our granddaughters, Lydia, was a part of her high school's drama production of "How to Host a Murder Mystery Dinner Party." Lydia played an attorney in the play and her light really did seem to sparkle and shine. (I'm sure it is not in the least because I could be a bit biased.)  

Who would have ever thought that this young lady who once had a crying jag when preparing for a fourth-grade 4-H speech or who had a huge melt-down after a middle school interview competition might take the stage and actually seem calm and ad-lib to the script to keep the performance flowing? Not this grandmother!

Lydia looking lawyerly 

This performance was followed up on Monday with a fall band concert where she dressed as a butterfly and played a couple of instruments during the middle school and high school performance. Luckily it was live-streamed and I got to tap along to every note. The meal was tasty, the service was wonderful, the performance was suspenseful and enjoyable and a good time was had by all. As always, it was truly enjoyable to be able to tag along and see the activities that the grandchildren seem to take in stride.

- What I'm Reading  -

I'm continuing to work my way through the Callahan Garrity Series by Mary Kay Andrews. I am starting on Book #6 in the series, Strange Brew. I sort of feel like I have a set of old friends that I visit with each day and they have interesting adventures! I'm also still enjoying that wonderful southern voice. 

via

I must admit, I've also been reading a lot of the news stories this week. Some of the stories were reassuring and some of them were concerning - like all news, I guess. At this point in the week, though, I feel hopeful.

- What I'm Loving -

When we moved my office to one of the rooms downstairs, I divided the African Violet that was sitting on my desk and brought the parent plant downstairs to sit on my desk as it had upstairs. Now the window in this room faces south and the one upstairs faced east; so, that may have had an impact on this plant as well as the division. At any rate, it has not bloomed since the move. Today, however, it burst forth with some tiny little blooms. So, I think it is on a comeback!

The violet was one in a dish garden that was sent at my Granny's funeral. I loved it because it bloomed her favorite shade of pink. I can remember when I was a young woman, Granny grew loads of African Violets using grow lights, in windows, and all sorts of ways. She gave me some for my college home away from home. She taught me to create a self-feeding system with a sock strip and Miracle Grow if I wasn't going to give it the attention it deserved. So, it really made me smile to see those tiny pink blooms and think of Granny.

- What I'm Working On -

I finally wrapped the chair project up this week. I had put off working on the last three chair seats but finally tackled them and got them done. Then, during a sunshiney day, I set them out on the porch and gave them a good spray down with Scotch Guard to help them repel liquids and dirt (hopefully). 

My hands and forearms were aching again from wrestling with them to get the fabric stretched taught and smooth. Some of them look far better than others, I'm afraid. But I am satisfied and pleased with them all. Below is a sampling of a few of them being lined up for the protective spray.

It makes me smile as I walk around the house during the day and see my handiwork and my beloved chairs. Plus, it feels so good to mark a project off the list

I hope your week has been productive and pleasing and given you something to smile about!

Maybe simplest is best...

I've come to a conclusion.  I don't think I'm going to put a bed skirt with my Granny's quilt.

I thought it was necessary because the box springs on the bed peeks out from under the quilt.  I've searched and searched for appropriate fabric.  I've given it all sorts of thought.  If I use a bed skirt, the pretty wooden bed rails won't show.  I haven't been able to find the 'just-right' fabric to coordinate with the quilt but not distract from the workmanship.  So, last weekend when I was shuffling bedding, I put a white sheet over the box springs to make it not stand out like a sore thumb.  I think I like that enough for now and will live with it. I've still not landed on the perfect fabric for curtains and pillow shams.  So, I pulled the white matelasse ones off the bed in the back bedroom and that is how it will be for a while.  What do you think?

Had a Helper

I had a little helper while one of the grands was here for her Days.  I enlisted her assistance to clean and straighten my napkin and placemat stash.  I do hate that I didn't take a BEFORE photo.  There was a jumbled up mess in the lower half of my Granny Cabinet.  Honestly, it sort of looked like I had opened the door to the dryer!

Lillie sat in the floor and pulled out stack after stack and pile after pile of cloth napkins and placemats.

I sat in a nearby chair and sorted and created a give-away pile of those things I rarely use.

Neat stacks of napkins!

Then, we organized and stacked things back inside in a more organized fashion.

Tidy stacks of placemats, napkins, and fingertip towels used for napkins or placemats

Now, I just need somebody to help me sort through, clean out, and organize the junk on the top of the Granny Cabinet!

Bridgette took a few of the things out of the give-away pile.

I took a set of baseball placemats to Harris for his enjoyment.

The rest took a trip to Goodwill (at least a garbage bag full).

A day or so later, I got this photo from Bridgette in a text message along with the message:

NO YOU CAN'T HAVE THESE NAPKINS BACK!!!

My Love of Blue-and-White

Yep, I've been playing with my camera, again.  This is a little saucer that I got at a tag sale a couple of years ago.  There were several of these and now I wish I had bought them all! Isn't it a beauty?

Part of what I inherited from my Granny's estate was several pieces of my beloved blue-and-white.  I have always loved blue-and-white pieces and have collected them over the years.  Nothing I have is valuable nor was it expensive.  I would find pieces here and there in antique and consignment shops or even in Hobby Lobby and such places.  I can proudly say that I have never paid full price for a piece and honestly, I don't think I have ever paid over ten dollars for a piece, either.

A small collection that I got from Granny's included several of these Dutch shoes.

I don't know how on earth I wound up with any of the blue-and-white because my Aunt Mary is also a lover and has an extensive collection.  I guess those were just the days that she was not feeling greedy and could give up some of the beauties (You know I'm teasing don't you, Aunt Mary?) feeling ultra-tired and didn't want to take home another piece of Granny's stuff and find a place for it.  (She and Mama said that there were rare times when they would open a cabinet or drawer and it would be empty.  So, they would look heaven-ward and say, "Thank you, Mama!")

The little shoe above lives here on a small table in the master bedroom along with these other blue-and-white treasures.

These little shoes are in various sizes and are trimmed in various ways.  Here are a few of them:

When I first started looking for homes for these little shoes here in our house, Bridgette noticed them when she was visiting one day. I don't believe she really thought I should have them set around like I did because she said, "You know these are ash trays don't you Mama?"

Yes.  Yes, I do know that some were intended to be ash trays but that doesn't mean I have to use them like that.

As you can see, some of them were also intended to be used as planters, I believe.  (What would you put under this to keep it from ruining furniture when the liquid drips out?)

So, I did use some of these Granny Treasures as little planters.  My bucket of succulents needed some dividing.

Some of these little succulents were popped into a couple of the little shoes and another piece of Granny's blue-and-white.  I didn't know if they would take root and grow or not but decided I would give it a try.

This little birdy sits on the kitchen mantel.

As I was working through my after Christmas cleaning, I noticed that one of the succulents had been nudged up under a table beside a basket of magazines in the den.  I decided I would move it out to somewhere else so that it would be lost and when I did...

I saw that indeed the succulents were taking root!

So, I swapped out the one which was obviously growing, putting it in the guest bathroom window and moved the one that was living in the bathroom into the den where that one had stretched out a bit.

We shall see if the placement makes a difference!

By the way, don't you just love how my new camera picks up the differences in light and shadows? This set of photos was taken with Autofocus but I took a risk and tried turning the flash off.  Yep.  I'm getting adventurous!

Country come to town...

A month or so ago, my mother lined up a crew of us to help her move the remaining furniture out of my Granny's house.  The crew was a family team.

Time was squared away to help out.  However, some folks missed out on the chance.  My husband, Mike, and my sister, Brenda, and my niece, Rebecca, had to work.  Bless their hearts.

My son, Bryan, and his family had already made reservations with some friends to go on vacation to the beach.  Bless their hearts.

Bridgette and Corey were gearing up to go to the hospital for little Luci's birth.  Corey was mowing grass to get ahead and Bridgette was resting every chance she could.  Bless their hearts.

So, I hooked my truck to Mike's trailer and awaited the call from Mom to let me know when the remainder of the crew were headed to Granny's house.  (I don't know who was more excited that I got it all hooked up and ready to roll... Mike, or me!)

Bev's truck to haul your junk.  I don't work cheap!

The day was one of those where all you had to do is step outside your house and immediately you were sweating.  My brow was dripping before I even got out the drive and had the air conditioner cooling the cab of the truck.

When I pulled up to the curb, both Daddy's pickup trucks were parked in the driveway and the back seat of Mom's car was already full.

In no time, Nathan, (niece Rebecca's husband) Adam, (niece Megan's boyfriend) Megan, my brother-in-law, Dwayne, and niece Madalyn were soon hauling out chairs, end tables, coffee tables, and more onto the front lawn.

Now, bear in mind that this is the neighborhood directly across the street from a ritzy golf course.  So, I'm sure folks were peeking out from behind the drapes in the neighborhood all up and down the street.

I'm sure we looked a bit like the Clampets from the Beverly Hillbillies.  I even teased Madalyn that we could strap one of the rocking chairs to the roof of my truck and she could ride there when we left.

Here is how we looked when we rolled out of that ritzy neighborhood:

We had dressers, mattresses and box springs, headboards and footboards wedged in between, end tables stacked atop one another, coffee tables strapped upside down on top of dressers, and yes, that is a baby bed on end in the bed of my truck.

Daddy's pickup trucks were loaded in a similar manner:

Heirlooms swaddled in quilts.

Bungee cords, pieces of rope and twine, and ratcheted straps holding everything in place.

My Granny's house stands empty now with handymen working to get it spruced up and ready to sell.  All of her beautiful belongings have been disbursed to members of the family who cherish the gifts she left us but more-so we cherish the memories we hold of her and the matriarch she was to our family.

The funny thing is that many of those same furniture pieces were hauled from my Granny and Granddaddy's farm down to this ritzy neighborhood exactly the same way they were hauled away from that house.  Some of them even in that same little red Ford truck shown in the photo above.  I'm sure the neighbors were thinking many thoughts about our family and us loading all our belongings into old pickup trucks.  Probably one of those thoughts went something like, "You can take the folks out of the country but you just cannot take the country out of the folks."  Bless their hearts.

As we rolled down the street, I'm sure there were more folks than me who were humming the tune and mumbling the words,

...so we loaded up the truck and moved to Bev-er-ly...

Bless their hearts.

The Favorite Children

Sometimes we have a running family joke about who is The Favorite Child.  

I will just tease whoever just did something thoughtful and wonderful for us that he/she is The Favorite Child.

You know, like when Stephen came by and helped me unload the sectional and put it in the basement...he was The Favorite Child.

Or when Bridgette came up and helped me set up for a shower...she was The Favorite Child.

Then, there was the time that Jessica came over and helped me clean up and get ready for a gathering...she was The Favorite Child.

Each of them has been The Favorite Child at some point.

Like, when Bryan helped me to move some furniture from the basement upstairs...he was The Favorite Child.

Or when Bonnie came early and hid and slid things like the vacuum cleaner before a crowd surprised me here on my birthday...she was The Favorite Child.

The day Laura brought some cookies for a baby shower...she was The Favorite Child.

Corey came and trimmed the shrubbery one day and...he was the Favorite Child.

Get the picture?  I will usually thank whomever profusely and gush that he/she is The Favorite Child.

Now, don't think there is any REAL special honor in being The Favorite Child.  

I mean, it doesn't come with wealth and riches, or some special certification or...anything, really.

It just means there is a little shinier, more polished sheen on the halo at the moment in time.

Recently, I was the proud recipient of a couple of fabulous prints that were part of my grandmother's estate.  They are sweet, timeless, classics.  The colors are perfect for any room in our house.  I really feel lucky to have them!

I was gushing over my good fortune with one of the girls at work and showed Sara a photo on my cell phone of the fabulous prints.  Immediately, she became animated and let me know that her mother had those same prints.  She asked me to text her the photo so she could show her mother.  A few minutes later, Sara reported that her mother had responded with this..."Gretchen and Gary!"

We laughed about it and discussed that Sara had no idea if that meant they were famous or if that meant they were common or what exactly that meant.  So, I did what we always do to learn more...Googled it!

We learned that my canvas prints were popular vintage prints of a couple of James Ingwersen paintings.  Ingwersen was a portrait artist who painted the little girl eating cookies and the little boy reading.  

I don't know much more about these prints which were originally portraits of children, but I have decided to adopt them.  

After all, they looked great with the red poppy quilt and decor that I had in the front bedroom...

They still look wonderful with the cross-stitched quilt my Granny made...

They fit well with the other artwork in the room - mostly photos of Mike and my four children.  So, we have decided to keep them in that room where we can admire them frequently as we stroll through the house.  

With all their flexibility and charm, they have quickly become The Favorite Children.  After all, they cost us nothing.  They never cause us any anxiety or grief or concern.  Those two children just peacefully sit and nibble their cookies and read their books and make us smile.  

Free...

...and low maintenance...

I think they have the revered title sewed up!

What more could you possibly ask for out of The Favorite Children?

More Pieces for the Roadshow?

You may recall that members of my family and I have been collecting treasures (of course, it all depends on your perspective) and wondering which one will by my Antique Roadshow treasure.

Recently, I was the recipient of a couple of prints and was really glad to get them.  I absolutely love the colors in them and they are so pastoral and serene.

Sorry the image isn't better but my cell phone shot is all I had that was a head-on close-up.

I have tried to find out more information about these prints by searching online and at my local library.

No luck.

So, here is where I appeal to the world.

(I guess what I'm really doing is asking my Mama to poll her friends since she seems to be my most avid reader!)

What do you know about these prints?

This is what the sticker on the back of the one on the left looks like:

It is called The Swing.  Well, for obvious reasons...

It shows a Victorian lady swinging gleefully between two trees!  I'm sure her face looks a lot like our Lydia's ecstatic one when she was swinging last year at Pre-K...

As you can see on the sticker, the prints are marketed by a company called Turner Wall Accessory and I have found out about other prints marketed by this company but not these two.

The other print has this sticker on the back:

and, well, it shows a pastoral scene with folks dancing.  Imagine that!

I had a difficult time deciding where to hang these two treasures.

The colors worked in almost every single room of this house.

(Wonder if Mama and Aunt Mary thought of that when they decided these treasures needed to be passed along to me?)

First, I tried them in the master bedroom with the stitched piece my Granny had crafted...

Then, I tried them in the front bedroom with the quilt I'm still searching for fabric to accessorize...

Next, I tried them in the back guest bedroom and decided they needed to be where I could enjoy them more often.

Then, finally decided they needed to flank the opposite side of the fireplace where I had another pastoral scene of cows that came from Mike's side of the family.

We do like them.  They are a real treasure from our perspective.

I still can't help but wonder if they are my Antique Roadshow treasure pieces, though...

Need suggestions...

I recently got something I have always thought of as absolutely beautiful.  

I mean ever since I first sat at my Granny's knee and watched her as she cross-stitched the design onto the fabric.

I was lucky enough to help her spread it out onto the floor on top of the plain, white fabric backing that sandwiched the fluffy white batting inside.

We worked ever so carefully to make sure both the top of the fabric sandwich and the bottom of the fabric sandwich were straight.  

Then, ever so carefully (and with really clean feet) I was charged with stepping toward the middle as we pinned the layers together and rolled it tightly onto the pole which became the side of the quilting frame.

Each step was magical and make it more beautiful.

I stood beside her at times while she spent hours making the tiny little stitches which formed another layer of design and permanently held the layers together.

All the while, I thought of it as more and more beautiful.

Then, when I watched her take it off the sawhorse quilt rack and billow it across the bed in the front bedroom of her house, the look on her face made it look like spun gold and silk instead of a simple cotton quilt.

So, when I was told that part of my inheritance was that beautiful hand-stitched quilt, tears stung my eyes.

Now, I have that beautiful quilt here in our house and I'm trying to decorate the bedroom to showcase it.

I'm not really sure how I want to incorporate companion fabrics, yet.  I'm not certain of the look I really want.  Should I use a floral print which incorporates the two colors?

I like this one's name: Florabunda Sea Glass

I think the idea of building the room around the color of sea glass is restful, beautiful...

Then, I wonder if I should use something with a lighter background than the natural linen color of the fabric above.  Something like this...

Waverly Felicite Mineral

I am more of a blue lover, so I thought about this one...

\

Robert Allen Summerlin Seafoam

I also thought about using something that is rather historical.  Something with the name of a creek near my home and place my Granny really liked...

also see the close-up below...

Mill Creek Williamsburg Porcelain

Should I go with something that extends the look of embroidery and needlework and is just leaves and has a lighter blue background...

Jonah

Then, I wonder, should I use a small-scale print...

Robert Allen @ Home Baja Leaves

Maybe I should look at the shapes and forms of the stitchery in the quilt and go with a fabric that has similar shapes and forms...

Art of Design Capri Palm

I've always loved bedrooms with plaid drapes and a plaid bedskirt.  So, maybe plaid is the way to go...

Plaid

Maybe a windowpane plaid would be better...

Windowpane Plaid

Maybe I should do something more modern and geometric and light and bright...

Portfolio Zuma Kiwi

I'd love to bring out the turquoise blue as the featured color.  I also love paisley.  So, maybe this is the route to go...

Robert Allen Raleigh Tavern Turquoise

Maybe I should just go with something sedate and simple and let the quilt herself shine...

Pyper Lagoon Fabric

Tell me, what do you think would look best in this bedroom to showcase my Granny's beautiful work?

Should I mix and match a couple or three fabrics?  

Should I pick one for the bed skirt and shams and something else for the drapes?  

Should I accent with one fabric?  

I also have a chair that will need upholstery in this room.  

Does the chair need to be contrasting or does it need to be of a compatible fabric or does it need to be the same fabric as the skirt, shams, and drapes?

I really need some suggestions!

(I found all these fabric swatches through the Online Fabric Store and am using them only as inspiration.  I am not sold on any one of them and am not compensated in any way for featuring their selections.)