An English Day Out

No, I didn't actually get to England yesterday, but I did meet up with Jackie, a new English friend, who recently moved to North Carolina and found me via my blog. We are from the very same Devon town! Even though I'm older than she, we had so much to share about our home town, our childhood, school days, the quirky British folk and customs...................and how much we miss it all! Of course we both chose to marry Americans and moved to this great country, and I doubt either one of us would have it any other way, but you know how it is.........if we're honest with ourselves, there really is no place like home.

Jackie and I decided to meet in Hillsborough, NC, a quaint small town full of historic Southern plantation homes and cottages, and a main street lined with little shops and restaurants. Friends, Susie and Anna, at my local thrifting/vintage shop "SuzAnna's" told me about this wonderful shop named "FETCH" so we spent some time here before enjoying lunch together.

Karan, the shop owner has a great eye - her slip covered vintage furniture, farm tables, architectural windows and doors, lighting and mirrors, are all gorgeous. Tucked among these larger treasures one finds beautiful linens, aprons, framed rose paintings, delicate china, mercury glass, and crystal. The rear of the shop opens onto a small garden laden with wrought iron gates, iron urns, peeling porch posts, vintage garden chairs and tables - all covered with tumbling petunias, verbena and pots of hibiscus.

OK all you lovers of tureens, I know you're out there wishing this one was in your collection! Just look at the roses on the lid. I was sorely tempted but, as it's really old and in perfect condition, the price was a bit beyond my budget............................perhaps it could go on my upcoming Birthday or Christmas wish list though. "DH - you need to read my blog post today - you know how you never can decide what to buy me."

My dream bird cage - large in size but delicately scrolled into a perfect shape, and then suspended from it's own matching scrolled wall hanger - wish list just got longer!

Some of the elegant chandeliers overhead. Gorgeous old shabby door with an oval mirror inserted and reflecting another corner of the shop. This door is huge and has panels at the bottom - would look great just leaning against a wall and reflecting daily life in the cottage.

Pretty boudoir lamps on feminine dressers - the rack in back holds dozens of vintage aprons, candlewick bed covers and linens.

And.................. although I'm saving for my October trip to England, I just had to buy something to bring home. This little antique English chair caught my eye - looks like someone started to refinish it but stopped, and they had enough sense to leave the beautiful painted roses alone thank goodness. And what, you say, does she plan to do with the teeny tiny pink leather ballet slippers? Well who knows - but how could I resist footwear so pretty and dainty - and little KR, (the initials inside) whoever she was, may still be dancing somewhere in much bigger shoes now.

Jackie it was a fun time with you and I hope we can soon get together again to chat more about life "across the pond".

Happy weekend to all my blog friends, there are many new ones this week. Forgive me if it takes a while for me to get back to you - your kind comments are really appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed - thank you so much, and do visit me again soon.

Inspiration Friday - the Welsh touch

If you enjoy reading international magazines such as UK Country Living or, like most of us, anxiously await the return of Victoria which hopefully will have pages of British/European country style homes - you will be familiar with the Welsh Dresser. This sometimes built in, or otherwise free standing "hutch", was used in country kitchens before cabinetry was discovered. The daily china was stored on open shelves, cutlery in the drawers, food prepared on the wider shelf, and often cookware was kept on the "potboard" at the bottom.

These first two beauties are authentic antique free standing Welsh dressers.

This pine version was probably purpose built for this English kitchen and to house this fabulous china collection.

This one, also in an English kitchen, was obviously built-in to fit the available wall space. My sister-in-law had one similar to this in her Edwardian period London house. Longing to have a baby, she found a photo tucked in the back of one of the dresser's drawers. It showed a Mum holding her infant taken on the front steps of the house. Feeling this was a good omen, it was not surprising that she conceived a year or so later and presented me with a beautiful niece - who is now almost 16. They now live in the South of France - their fabulous kitchen there is a whole other story.

......................and here's my version, which some of you have viewed before, just right for my cottage dining room...............waiting for a good Fall spruce up, cleaning, and decorating with some white pumpkins, and perhaps my new Halloween witch a bit later.

Enjoy your Friday and be inspired to do something Fall-ish over the weekend.

Textured luxury

I need to add some color to life - my last two posts have been sombre looking! Remember my love for texture - in fabrics, on surfaces - here are a few favorite things in my bathroom.

Fig fragrance Italian bath salts - beautiful frosted bottle sealed with cord and a silver capped cork, elegant handwritten label - my repousse sterling silver lidded loose powder bowl from England.

A cracked rough wall hanging - faux but fabulous!

More beautiful frosted, silver topped Italian bottles with bathing products, Moss bath foam and Bergamot bubble bath. Needless to say I cannot bring myself to open and use these products because they are too lovely! The reproduction French sign is for lotion, Jasmin - spelt the French way like my granddaughter's name.

One of those filmy "zephyr" fabric tops with a purposely wrinkled silk skirt - a great hot night at the restaurant outfit - we've had so many this Summer. Matelasse shower curtain - love this textured fabric.Another bottle of bath salts in Moss fragrance - "shabby" wood waste basket with rose carving.

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged to participate in the MIDDLE Name Game by the two sweetest blog friends - Allie at My Cozy Home, and Mary at Isabella's Closet so I'm going to play just once because I have rather a long middle name!!





he MIDDLE NAME GAME


Here are the rules for those who choose to follow them:

Players, you must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the name you would have liked to have had. When you are tagged you need to write your own blog post containing your middle name game facts. At the end of your blog post you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.


E - England, my home. My roots are there - I'll visit next month!
L - Love - the most important thing I can both give and receive
I - Imagination which enables me to be creative.
Z - Zephyr, meaning the soft, light fabrics I love to sew and wear.
A - Art which brings beauty to my everyday life.
B - Bob, my wonderful, patient, intelligent and loving husband.
E - Evening, my favorite time of day.
T - Travel to see new places and meet interesting people.
H - (Good) Health - being a cancer survivor I know for a fact there is nothing more important.


I love my middle name and sometimes wish it had been my first! It's a bit long which means I will tag these nine blog friends ~~~ Dawn, Jolene, Crystal, Genevieve, Deborah, Kate, Sandra, Clare and Niki.

Wishing each of you, whether tagged or not, a day full of fun and happiness.

Some things

...........there were two lovely woman who shared a name. Carole, best friend from early childhood, and Carol a much later good friend who was a kind and loving neighbor to my mother as she aged and required help with her daily routine.

One would have been 64 today, the other a few years younger.

One chose to go because she could not bear the pain of this often terrible world, the other was taken by the pain of ovarian cancer. I loved these women dearly. They should still be here. No matter how bleak a day can seem, the beauty of the next day is just around the corner, if you can just hold on a little longer, pray a little harder. The devastation of an illness is often more difficult. No matter how strong a person is, how hard she fights, how positive she tries to be, the battle is sometimes lost. So sad to think that one wanted so much to live, the other took her life and threw it away.

Carol, who could no longer fight her cancer, sent me both these cards. Today I reread the words inside, written when she was still a healthy, busy wife and mother. They seem appropriate as they are somewhat sad - they make me think of two lost girls who should still be here.

SIMPLIFY ~~~~ if only

Visiting SuzAnna's here this past week was, once again, like a day in the Sahara Desert.........no oasis in sight but chilled bottles of water on hand - thanks girls! Worth it - oh yes. These fabulous women shop owners and their marvelous helper, Linda, were hard at it restyling the shop, in 95 degrees no less, following installation of an additional window (vintage of course) in the side of the building, thanks to their handy dh's. This newly illuminated space will be exciting - a gorgeous bed to display linens and many other treasures I'm sure..............I'll be back there soon to report on this. They are now opening 7 days a week instead of 4 - whooppee!

Another sign to add to my collection. This one is irresistible because I wish this could be my life ~ SIMPLE. But, how can one enjoy the hunt for treasure and keep it simple, impossible!

I've been eyeing this very old cobbler's wooden shoe last for several weeks. After seeing one "altered" in an art publication, I've decided to try my hand at that too - I'm thinking Renaissance or Bohemian. Have you seen Sandra Evertson's here fabulous altered wire shoe - it's amazing what she creates.

Still hunting down old buttons to fill my bookend jar - and wooden thread spools for the other one. These however will remain on their old illustrated shirt cards awaiting an art project - imagine, originally just 10 cents each.

Another corner at SuzAnna's - notice I was into photographing white treasures in an effort to beat the heat!

Old cotton petticoat - dangling crystals - pewter candlestick - COOL...........

.......................and though not vintage, this set of vegetable bowls, just $5 total at TJMaxx, this week, made it onto my cool list. One can never have too many bowls.

The struggle for beauty

Inner beauty is important.............................in the garden we usually look for outer beauty. It is often fleeting and we must capture it immediately before it's gone. So, the roses disappointed this Summer (see yesterday's post) but there is always next year. Meanwhile, this morning as I walked the garden bounds, distressed to see so much plant life struggling in the heat and drought conditions, there were these beauties showing off their amazing colors as if to say, " roses we aren't, but goldenrod, mandevilla, morning glories, petunias and hydrangeas we are........and gorgeous too".

The "Fireworks" goldenrod is just starting to add some color along the back fence.

See the terrible state of the grass..................what grass say you?

These "Flying Saucer" blooms are huge.

The gazebo has supported this mandevilla all Summer..........now the blooms are cashing in!

Can there be a Morning Glory more blue than this one?
These were the best white petunias - strong, with ruffled edges, ever blooming in a pot. And here.................one of a few late blooms on the "Endless Summer" hydrangeas. A little smaller but still pretty - living up to their very appropriate name.

Hope you enjoy this little morning stroll around the garden. My neighbor called earlier and said she doesn't want a hurricane of course, but a nice tropical storm would certainly perk up the gardens! This has been the hottest, driest August ever in our part of North Carolina and next week the temps. will continue in the nineties, whew!

I'm off to look at Fall displays at the craft store, pumpkins, russet leaves, chrysanthemums, perhaps that will have the cooling effect!

Inspiration Friday ~ ROSES

I really believe that the last roses of Summer are struggling in my parched garden - this Peace rose is the only near perfect bloom left and, unless we have some rain soon, I fear there will not be a flush of Fall flowers. As of this week, our water restrictions are so severe, we have to just about give up on keeping anything going.

Well, for our hats we can rely on silk roses - this one's so pretty.

After all they say...........a rose is a rose...........I won't argue with that statement.

Just love these photos of beautiful pale pink roses - perhaps next year mine will do better and I will have bunches to fill my pretty vases.

These roses are sent with love and thanks to a special friend who not only loves roses, her name is Rose - and she will know who I mean. A smile coming your way right now - cheer up, and enjoy each day knowing you are special to so many people.

Ochre and Cerulean Blue

I love these colors together - the ochre shades of Fall foliage mingled with Cerulean ocean blues. I love the pre-Raphaelite ladies, thick red tresses, folds and gathers of a silk and velvet dress, calm countenance displaying thoughts of...............only she knows!

I made this wall hanging with tags this past weekend. The words read "Only your heart knows what is precious" ~ I feel this is true for each of us.

When life gives you cucumbers!

When life gives you cucumbers..........................................................................make Green Gazpacho!

Disappointments come easily when the garden doesn't live up to expectations - the good years are always discussed lovingly. "Remember the year we were still picking a ton of green tomatoes in October when the first frost was expected?" The poor years, such as this one, are best forgotten, except for cucumbers, well we did pick several pounds of tender haricot verts, but the tomatoes and peppers were disappointing. However, those European cucumbers - all grown from seeds - despite almost no rain, but enough hose water to make us quake in our shoes when the water bill arrives any day now, THESE cucumbers, wow! Bright green, yellow green, a few short and stubby, others as long as baseball bats, some even curved into alphabetical letters - they just keep coming and they are so good - small seeds, sweet, even tender skins.

If you enjoy the better known tomato based red Gazpacho, you may enjoy trying this one for a change. We actually like this one better and tonight, after it's well chilled, we'll enjoy a bowl along with our salmon Caesar salad. Today was another scorcher so anything light and cool is welcome sustenance.

GREEN GAZPACHO

4-5 medium European style cucumbers, peeled, any large seeds removed

1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, cut into chunks

1 red bell pepper and 1 orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded, deribbed and cut into small chunks

1 medium jalapeno pepper seeded, deribbed and chopped

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

4 slices of day old Italian style bread such as Ciabatta, cut into cubes

3/4 cup good quality olive oil

Several sprigs of fresh mint

Juice of one lemon

Salt to taste

Croutons and parsley to garnish

Puree the cucumbers in a food processor until completely liquid, pour into a large bowl. Pulse the onion in food processor until coarsely chopped and add to cucumbers. Pulse peppers until coarse and add to bowl. Place jalapeno, bread cubes, garlic and mint in processor and slowly add olive oil through the feed tube until everything is well blended into a paste. Add to bowl with lemon juice, salt, one cup of ice water and a couple of ice cubes. Stir well and refrigerate at least 3 hours. Stir again, soup should be thick but if too thick add more ice water. Ladle into glass bowls pre-chilled in the freezer. Top with croutons, finely chopped parsley and a drizzle of olive oil. Keeps well refrigerated for a couple of days - 6/8 servings.

To all the school children

UNDAY MORNING

Sometimes we grownups need the company of the young. Their innocence brings back times when we too were full of promise and great expectations of life ahead. Before realities of how life truly is set in, we skipped through Summer vacation with no sense of hours passing, no cares about being too hot, or too wet. Meal times, bed times were not scheduled. Life was beautiful and we took each minute as it was given to us, a small gem to handle as we wished, not realizing that it would be gone in less than an instant, never to return.

This lovely Sunday morning shared with my granddaughter Jasmin has been special and her granddad is now driving her home. Last evening we went out for dinner then home to spend a couple of hours watching a movie - granddad made the popcorn. She requested a "proper breakfast" which included her favorite maple and brown sugar oatmeal, scrambled eggs and bacon, and as a treat, these fresh buttery croissants. We were able to relax and just enjoy each other, chatting about our lovely Summer together.

School starts tomorrow. The early morning rush will not be here in my house, she and her mom will be facing that, just as so many of you young moms across the country. I don't envy you, but I've been there too. I admire you, each and every one, readying your precious children for the day, sending them off out of your sight, confident they will stay safe, wishing and hoping that they make the right decisions.

My thoughts and love go out to each of you as school begins - moms, dads, and the many grandparents who are often the caregivers..........................and to all the wonderful children. May it be a great school year for everyone.

Bouquets especially for the MOMS!