Sorry I'm Late Mother.....

Today I'm dressing up - my son is taking me to a belated Mother's Day brunch at a very nice restaurant. Hopefully the crowds will be smaller, the decibels lower, the fish fresher, and I can enjoy a conversation with my 'boy'.

Beautiful Victorian framed print at SuzAnna's Antiques.

Pretty in cream, white, yellow, green....and of course pink!

My visit to SuzAnna's Antiques this week was so much fun. I met up with Vanessa who found me via my blog and said she would like to treasure hunt too!

Vanessa is originally from Brazil, a beautiful, charming young woman. She brought her sweet little girl Luna along. The three of us had a great time with Luna ending up with a cute child size chair and table to use on their patio.

Afterwards, they came home with me for tea and while I showed Vanessa around the cottage and garden, dh entertained Luna...............he's great with little girls and even dug out our granddaughter's stuffed animals for her to cuddle.

~~~ Some treasures spied at SuzAnna's this week~~~

Sam's Country Porch is next door to SuzAnna's.

This birdhouse came home with me - couldn't resist it with that vintage book used for the roof!

First attempt at this post I added more descriptions however it will not post and I lost it!

This time you just get the pics and must guess what I said about all these pretties.

Thursday evening I'll return for SuzAnna's ribbon cutting party to celebrate the new addition to the shop - sounds like a fun time.

....and the winner is..............

We were up bright and early this morning...........things were happening around the cottage which was washed with heavy rain last night. The garden looks fresh and shiny clean, the plants and shrubs have gulped down gallons of the 'good stuff' that only comes in the form of Nature's own elixir, water from the heavens!

But on to the fun stuff as promised................as dh sipped his big morning mug of coffee, and our granddaughter Jasmin woofed down oatmeal and waffles (she spent the night here), I presented my trusty garden hat filled with the names of those of you who entered the giveaway to celebrate my 300th post. Jasmin of course got to do the honors.

Drum roll please...........and the winner of this neat book is JANET at Housepeepers . If you don't know Janet be sure to visit her, she will have you laughing instantly!

Congratulations Janet - please e-mail me with your mailing address (and full name) - I'll get the book in the post next week.

After all that excitement, a huge truck arrived bearing the ten - yes 10 - cubic yards of cypress playground chips we'd ordered. They promised "the small truck" because we have trees overhanging the driveway and we dislike the free trimming a big truck does. Guess someone goofed there! Anyway, they were unloaded at the top of the driveway and the guy drove off with twigs and leaves waving from his truck - only one rather large branch was broken off thank goodness. Here's Jasmin getting ready to leave for school - you can see just a small portion of the chips.........................so guess what dh and I are doing now? More on that later.



Many thanks for taking time to enter the giveaway and for leaving your very kind comments. I enjoy sharing many aspects of my life with each of you. I hope to keep my blog interesting so you will return often - that way I, in turn, get to visit with you in so many exciting and beautiful places around the world.

Painted Beauties

Time for a little decorative dreaming as Spring cleaning progresses. Although I somewhat dislike the actual cleaning part (believe me it gets more painful and tedious as one ages!) I love to dream about pieces of furniture I might enjoy having move into my home. Luck has it that with a small cottage size house there is no more room for additional furniture. The only way is to replace a piece already here!

"Meubles peints ~ un style reviste"
"Painted furniture - revisiting a style"

According to recent issues of French decorating magazines - I sometimes treat myself to one now and then because they are always beautiful - painted furniture is regaining popularity in France. On this page I found the delicate toile effect on this painted chest really elegant. It would be perfect with my sofa fabric and toile pillows.

Below is another one, similar in color, less formal, can imagine it in a cottage home and would be perfect with these lovely roses I received for Mother's Day.

Love, love this one - the shape, the corners, artwork, colors and...........

..............can you believe this one below is actually mine, purchased several years ago for my dining room. I wanted to 'bring the outdoors in' as the large window looks out onto the front porch. I've found it to be such a great storage piece - guess it's now quite stylish according to the French!

Would love to see any painted beauties you enjoy in your home!

Celebrating Three Hundred Posts!

ometimes, when I come across something I really love, I like to buy two, one to keep and the other to give to a special person. Here is one of those little finds worth sharing. This wonderful book, written and beautifully illustrated by Abbie Zabar, allows one to share an entire gardening year on her New York city rooftop. She proves one doesn't always need acreage to grow a garden. Abbie also shares wonderful quotations, written in her own handwriting. This is a little gem both for dedicated gardeners and for lovers of gentle books and charming art.

This book can come to sit on your bookshelf or bedside table. Or, it can be gently tossed on the wicker chair or porch swing, ready to be picked up and a few pages read as you enjoy a cool drink on a hot, lazy Summer's day. To celebrate my three hundredth blog post, and the joy of knowing many of you for well over a year, I would love to read a comment from each of you, toss your name in my Spring gardening hat, then draw a winner.

Leave your comment on this post only please by this Thursday evening. I'll have dh pick a name on Friday morning.........he enjoys that part!

"As for rosemarie, I lette it runne all over my garden walls, not onlie because my bees love it, but because it is the herb sacred to remembrance and to friends.

......................Thomas More, English Statesman, 16th. Century

Raindrops Falling on........................

......................everything!

Yesterday the rain fell like the crystals dangling from the front porch. It started gently then changed to 'cats and dogs' - the kind of rain that would be deafening if you were under a tin roof. The roses sagged, their petals sweeping the ground like a ballgown. The Jasmine's perfume was intoxicating making one want to stand still and just inhale........raindrops, scents, colors scrubbed clean and sparkly.

The garden on a wet but wonderful Mother's Day.

Mother's Day 2008

Always With You

Your Mother is always with you,

She's the whisper of the leaves

as you walk down the street.

She's the smell of bleach

in your freshly laundered socks.

She's the cool hand on your brow

when you're not well.

Your Mother lives inside your laughter.

She's crystallized in every teardrop.

She's the place you came from,

your first home.

She's the map you follow

with every step that you take.

She's your first love

and your first heartbreak.........

and nothing on earth can separate you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~Author Unknown

Ruth Mary Hallock ~ 1919

Jessie Willcox Smith ~ 1921

James Francis Day ~ "Storytime" undated.

Jessie Willcox Smith 1923

Clara Olmstead ~ Undated

Jessie Willcox Smith ~ 1925

A Mother laughs our laughter

Sheds our tears,

Returns our love,

Fears our fears,

She lives our joys,

Cares our cares,

And hopes our hopes.

................Julia Summers

Caring Bloggers ROSE DAY

To celebrate Caring Bloggers ROSE DAY my favorite rose opened its first blooms earlier this week. With delicate yellow and pink blushed petals it is a magnificent flower in the Spring through Autumn garden.

The PEACE rose is the most famous and successful garden rose of all time. To read more about the history visit here.

Porch Peeping

Yes, it's almost that time again...............front porch living is looking inviting. Yesterday I put actual garden chores on the back burner. It was a beautiful day, perfect for outdoor cleaning early in the morning. I tackled the porch to rid it of the remnants of pollen which was unbelievably heavy this year and caused me much discomfort. That's what comes from living in an older neighborhood surrounded by huge oaks and pines. Bombarded with acorns and leaves all Fall and Winter and having to rake same for months on end, then coated with choking yellow pollen much of the Spring................but then shaded by a gorgeous green canopy to temper the heat and humidity of Summer in the South!
Many of you enjoyed "visiting" my porch last Spring............a few of you were even able to stop by in person..........and everyone seemed to enjoy seeing me bring home treasures from SuzAnna's Antiques to give the porch a welcoming feel.
The Endless Summer hydrangeas have come back with a lovely vengeance! These two on each side of the fountain have leafed out and are covered in buds. My rose Peace has it's first blooms, and the Jasmine is climbing fast up the porch posts.

As you come up the front steps, the hydrangea visible through the pickets is the Nikko Blue I planted a few weeks back to replace the 15 year one that was killed by last year's late Spring frost. You can see the budding blooms are huge already - I love them this lime green color before bursting into shades of blue, I think perhaps I found a nice healthy plant. I do adore hydrangeas and have a lot planted throughout the garden.

As you step on to the porch you are greeted by a pretty lady, my French mirror which I'm still scared to hang on a wall indoors due to it's weight, the COTTAGE sign, shabby wall sconce, urn etc. Note the SIMPLIFY sign is still there and I'm still in the process of trying to do this.............so hard though!

The small table holds some of the old books I'm 'aging' outdoors - they are getting a little rough looking and the edges are curling at long last.

If this is your first visit you will note the porch is quite small, just room for three wicker chairs - can squeeze in a fourth if necessary. At the far end stands the the wild chartreuse green potting bench discovered with squeals of joy last Spring at SuzAnna's Antiques. This was built of several components and is such a fun piece to display revolving collections of pots, bowls, jugs, birds and birdhouses, candle holders, glass bottles with seasonal blooms..................a spot to rest your wine class, lemonade, or cup of tea...........and I promise a slice of cake!

The paint is peeling on the back of the potting bench. I was ready to scrape and repaint however I just love this look of the blue peeking through the chartreuse green so have decided to leave it for a while. The Jasmine is blooming and smells divine. Cut back last year, it's growing quickly now and will soon travel along the back of the bench and blue Morning Glories will be climbing up from a pot placed below, so the peeling paint may be hidden by late Summer!

The small candolier was given a good wash and new blue candles will be lit if you stop by in the evening.....................

.............and above hangs another wrought iron and crystal candolier which, along with the rustic lamp, casts a romantic glow while we raise a glass and toast to friendship and good times.

Update on the Porch Wrens: You may enjoy knowing that the four baby wrens are still in the garden and I see them several times a day. They seem to circle our property all day long, merrily chirping and still with their parents, stopping at different spots to eat such as the roof of the gazebo, the side garden under the bird feeders, the privet bushes etc. This photo below shows their nest - I removed it from the wall planter yesterday - it's a beauty and I must find another larger glass cloche to put over it. The one next to it under glass is last year's nest from the kitchen window box - same family of wrens I'm certain. The mama wren is now returning every evening around 8 PM to spend the night back in her corner of the porch ceiling - we're not sure where the babies sleep, but think they could be in the trumpet vine on the arbor or up under the roof of the gazebo. These are just the perkiest, cleanest, sweet birds - I love that they have made our home their home!

I always look forward to viewing your garden - and be sure to stop by the front porch if you're in town!