LATE WINTER SUNSHINE

I just had to share with you some sunshine my neighbor sent over yesterday. She's such a sweetie! Unfortunately, they do not have a pleasant odor; but, they look great in my enamel coffee pot!

I decided to display all my English Cottage ware in my purple half-bath because I already have the picture hanging there. They look well together!

Here's how Boston's snowfall amounts look so far:

Today, Wednesday, is hitting 40F/5C to begin the melting process. Unfortunately, the next few days will only be a high of 25F/-4C.

MORE YARD WORK!

I began working on my "big" garden project on Saturday - digging out a flower bed.

It all started with the need to divide my Hemerocallis Citrine, a daylily (which was on the right side of the steps in the second photo). So I pulled that out, cut it into three clumps, freshened the soil where it came from and put in one clump. A second clump went up into the back yard, and the last one was to be put to the left of the steps, for symmetry.

I knew that would be a nightmare because there are oak tree roots all mingled in this (see red line) bed and I haven't amended the soil there for a few years. So I needed a whole day to start this, and Saturday it was.

I had a super blessing last month when my brother-in-law stopped by and asked if I needed any perlite. He didn't know what it was, just that it was for gardening. He had two humongous bags of it for me! (see one on the blue dolly) I had also found two screen doors that Mister had pulled out of the barn to throw away, and I cut the screens out of them to stop the tree roots from invading the bed.

So I started by digging out all the old soil, sifting out tree roots and rocks, setting it into a pile. Of course, I'm doing this section by section, not all at once! I laid down the first piece of screen. Then I went over to the woods to dig up some leaf-mold soil and clean out the roots, rocks, and acorns from that.

Thank goodness for big, vintage enamelware basins! They are perfect for mixing the old soil with the new soil and the vermiculite, and for holding the plants while they're waiting to go back in.

The new mix then goes in over the screen. The daylily was replanted. Then I started in on the next little section. I'm straightening out the rock border, also, as I go along. As you can see, I've only done about five rocks length so far.

I figure it will take a week or so, working one or two hours a day. But it will be so worth it, having that screen under the soil!

So, between home schooling, babysitting, and housework, this is what I've been up to! The only good thing about garden season ending is that I'll be able to blog more!

REDNESDAY - ENAMELWARE AND ROSES

Happy first Rednesday of August!

Mister and I splurged this weekend and hit some yard/barn sales. Got lots of goodies!

First off, I found this great piece of red-trimmed enamelware with lid. I don't know what it's for, but I'm guessing a loaf pan or bread box. It's pretty big at 12-1/2" x 8-1/2" x 4-1/2 deep"

Next is this darling cardboard chest with roses all over it! This will reside in my bedroom.

And the piece-de-resistance is this fantastic vintage apron - red trimmed and roses to boot! I just can't get enough of the angled pockets and pleats! And, at only $2.00 from an ex-antique dealer!

As much as I love vintage aprons, I've always been pretty selective at the same time. My grandma wore these bib-style ones "every day of her life", so I've been looking for just the right one to remind me of her - and this is it! (Or the first, anyways!) My mom was an apron wearer, also, but she wore the half aprons - with big pockets for her tissues and cigarettes, lol!


I'm cheating with this photo - there's no red in it (unless you're color blind!). But I got these two items at the yard sales also. Vintage Pepsi bottles are not common, in my neck of the woods anyways, so I was excited to find this (for $1.00) - I'm a big-time (caffeine free, diet) Pepsi drinker.

The measuring spoons are interesting because they're not the usual light-weight aluminum ones. They're heavier, and probably stainless.

REDNESDAY

EDIT: IN CASE ANY OF YOU WHO LINKED COME BACK TO THIS PAGE - I READ ALL YOUR WONDERFUL RED POSTS TODAY AND LEFT COMMENTS BUT, FOR SOME STRANGE REASON ON SOME OF THE BLOGS, THE COMMENTS WOULDN'T REGISTER. MY APOLOGIES - I TRIED!

Oh, am I in trouble!!! Penniwig, let the flailing begin! Do you believe I forgot about Rednesday until half an hour ago? I don't believe it, either! I was standing in my kitchen looking at a red item thinking that I should photo it for Rednesday . . . REDNESDAY! YIKES! So here I am - don't know what happened. Plus, my computer (or Blogger) is acting up again today. So, let the red begin! . . .

Here is a corner of the pantry/laundry/ craft/potting/computer room where I put in Pre-Teen's home school locker. It's a plastic one I got at a yard sale last year. It had a Chicago Bull's sticker on the front which Mister took off for us. It's just right! . . . because it's red!
Here are three (Hazel Atlas) Moderntone Platonite dessert cups with great red, black, and gold bands on them. I like the look of them, but have you ever tried eating ice cream from them? Can't do it - ice cream slides up one side and down the other!

Here are two gorgeous enamelware items - a tray and a bowl. Still trying to figure how to display them best.

Now, it's your turn. Again, my apologies for the delay!

IT'S REDNESDAY!

I'm still enjoying my strawberries, so maybe I'll use this border until they're gone!

I love enamelware. Just wish I could get my hands on some of those cool English and French colors and patterns! I have to settle for good old American white-with-trim. Mind you, I'm NOT complaining! I love the stuff! And, to prove it, here's my stash:

Yes, there are two blue pans in among the red, but they're nice looking, too!

Some of them I use, some I don't have a use for (yet).




















These two bowls are Corelleware. I like the way they look like enamelware. I have two black-rimmed ones also.
I'll end with a happy red cardinal, taken through the window.
So, what's reddening up your life this week?

VTT - Laundry Time!

Let's face it, the laundry is never done! But we can make it more pleasant by decorating our laundry areas, can't we? Here are a few of my laundry room tidbits.

This first one is a small 4-inch Hummel plate, from 1987. I don't consider the 80's as vintage period, but for this post I'll make an exception! This sweet little cherub is hanging out her bloomers. I miss having a clothesline - will have to work on Mister to put up another one.

Next is a vintage child's ironing board (with red trim - just like the above bowl!) and a vintage looking laundry bag from Victorian Trading Co. I have to mention that I love these Scotch brand hooks - my old house had so many nail holes in the walls, it was pitiful!

Last is the top of my dryer with two old laundry bottles - Dazzle and Clorox, and my fun non-vintage laundry sign! After looking at this picture, I think I want to put some shelving up, and for my laundry products to be in nice looking jars or tins.
At the bottom left of this photo, on the dryer but cut off, is a little sign I made that says "Enjoy the Journey". It means that in life a lot of things stink, and a lot of things can't be changed (like laundry!), so rise above the negativity, don't let them bother you, and enjoy the journey anyways.

Don't forget to go to Coloradolady to see all the other VTT's today!

My Computer Shelf

Over at Vintage Thingies Thursdays this week, someone shared the shelf above their kitchen sink where some of her favorite things were - because she's always there and sees them most. Great idea! Some of my favorite things are on the shelves above my computer, because that's where I am a lot. Let's take a "tour":

This is the whole kit & kaboodle, then I'll show close-ups of each section.
Starting from the top left, is the Currier & Ives illustration I printed from the internet for our home school, a vintage box of thumb tacks, a "clay" pot my dd made from some yard mud, a Hello Kitty gardener my other dd gave me, and a Willow Tree "Angel of the Garden" my MOL gave me.
On the top, middle, is an enamelware with green rim box that I keep some home school cd's in, a Mary Engelbreit photo magnet that says "A Little House ~a house of my own~ Out of the wind's and the rain's way.", and a Gnomes soldered art I purchased on eBay.
Top right is my fake-repro lunchbox by Moda, and an unknown vase.
Middle shelf is, on the left, gardening, birds, home books and a bookend I showed a few weeks back. In the middle are two fairies and a mirror - the left one is by Munroe "faerie glen" series and the other is a Cicely Mary Barker.
To the right are my ever-lovin' gnomes with some vintage Oriental garden, probably fishtank, pieces.
The bottom left shelf hosts an Anchor Hocking retro green mug and a glove(?) box that I keep stamps and address labels in. Press the rooster's wings and he gives a wake-up call! Comes in handy with my teen!
The bottom right is what I call my Red Hat Society - didn't group them by head gear intentionally, though. The dog has no tag, but the other two are marked Japan. They all get along well.

And, finally, in the middle are two items my pre-teen dd made for me this year. A tulip using some of my plant labels for leaves, and a picture depicting a leopard, jackals, and two rangers that we saw on Africam earlier this year.Hope you enjoyed these, and have a great Saturday everyone!