Words of Spring

During my little blog break while family are visiting from Arizona, as promised I'm reposting a couple of articles from another Spring. Enjoy!!

Sometimes the small meanings or pleasures in life appear in simple words right in front of you. Such as words on pebbles like these.

GRACE..............MOON..................

..........RIVER....................REST

I always put a few flat stones in the birdbaths as the smaller visitors like to stand on them while they drink. I love this idea using pebbles and will make some to arrange in my birdbaths...............
WELCOME...............WING......
SONG........MELODY........
........NATURE

These were written in permanent ink, great idea, and something we can all create, writing words we love and which have personal meaning. I've seen expensive ones which were actually carved, this idea is much better, less expensive, and you can choose your words. What a fun outdoor project for kids old enough to use a permanent marker. Younger children could be given washable ones and still have a good time!

Penning those words outside in the garden would be satisfying. Make yourself a cup of tea, sit back, pen in hand with your pebbles close by. Be inspired by the birdsong which is now quite raucous with the arrival of Spring. Grasp the words that seem to fall from the Springtime air. Time perhaps to organize the garden seating...............

.............wash the windows to remove the Winter grime left as a reminder of those months of snow and rain...........

........dust off those spider webs and shine up the shutters........

................get ready to hang fun signs, clean birdhouses.............and make your outdoor space, no matter how large or small, a comfortable, exciting place to spend an hour or so close to Nature as the days warm.

Be sure to stop at your favorite thrift shop where you can find inexpensive outdoor things to make your garden not just about plants. Besides statuary, bird feeders, bird houses and bird baths, I've added mirrors, trellises, an old bicycle with basket for flowers, a stack of discarded chipped plates will soon edge a flower bed and a pile of old bricks will be turned into something interesting.

All images taken at SUZANNA'S ANTIQUES in Raleigh, North Carolina, where you will find everything whimsical for YOUR garden.

Spring Break

Company's coming!

I have to get the laptop off my desk - oops! I mean dining room table!

I'll be reposting a couple of older Spring posts during the week, reason being, my fun-loving brother-in-law John, and his delightful wife, Mary, will be visiting from Arizona. The 'Sullivan boys' love to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Our big, noisy, very green downtown parade will be held Saturday, ahead of March 17, so we're hoping for sunshine and blue skies...............along with Irish food and Irish boys who, I'm certain, will be drinking green beer!

Seek the unexpected....

If you shop retailers such as TJMaxx, Marshall's and HomeGoods, you know what to expect. Those of us who have trawled these aisles for years, have found the good, bad and often the really ugly, be it clothing or household items. Those stores have often been lifesavers though and we have found great bargains.......from leather bags and trendy jackets, to fabulous dishes and good olive oil.

While my DH shopped for socks a few days back at a local TJMaxx, I checked the book section which, as you may have noticed, has now become smaller and is limited to mostly cookbooks. I almost yelled aloud when, between some brightly colored notepads and boxes of Thank You cards, I found this 'book', so not TJMaxx! Imagine my surprise, an old yellowed sheaf of pages, wrinkled and stained edges, tied with jute string, the way I like my books. Oh how I wished there were more hidden. The cashier, an elderly French speaking Lebanese lady, wanted to steal it from me.........she swooned as I did, and wanted to know how I decorated my home. She planned to look for more books like this but I know she won't tell me if she finds any........you can bet they'll be going home with her.

I don't shop these retail shops as much these days. I think treasure hunting in antiques malls, flea markets and thrift shops have become much more exciting. I was however thrilled to find this book........one never knows what's hidden on a shelf so always seek the unexpected.

Daffodils from Trader Joe's.

Welcome Carolee to SuzAnna's

There's a fun new dealer at SuzAnna's Antiques.......her name is Carolee and she may have kissed the Blarney Stone because she's traveled in Ireland, home of her ancestors. Yesterday, while she was setting up her treasures in this corner space, we chatted non-stop as the Irish and English often do, but at the same time I was eyeing her framed art, especially the print of yet another English country scene...............with sheep!

The other 'sheep in English meadows' paintings I showed you recently on SuzAnna's wall, stayed in my mind, and one of you told me I needed to go back and buy one if it reminded me so much of home. Of course the prettiest one had been sold to some lucky person. Always remember, if you see something you love get it before someone else snaps it up!

Carolee must have known I was coming................for there, hanging centre stage on her wall was my 'sheep in English meadow' painting, an old starting to crumble in the corner print, in the perfect refurbished old gold French looking frame. I love the sky, the river, the thatched stone farm cottage, the man in his crude little flat-bottomed punt.................and the flock of grazing sheep in the water meadow.

This charming print came home with me, thanks to Carolee's generous discount, and looks lovely here in the dining room. Looking over at it I can visualize the Devon countryside where I grew up................and remember how especially beautiful it was when I was there last Spring.

Do you hang art which brings back memories of your home?

Tulip Pink Saturday

Happy PINK SATURDAY to all.

Yes, it's tulip time......................perhaps not in the garden yet, but at your local florist or grocery store bunches of fresh, pretty tulips have arrived.

I found the pale pink blooms at my local Trader Joe's and the darker pink at a grocery store ~ love them mixed together sharing their lime green leaves.

My tulip post is dedicated to all the bloggers who are still digging out from this chilly Winter's snow. Hopefully this breath of Spring will warm you today. Have a wonderful weekend.

Stop over to visit our charming Beverly at How Sweet The Sound today, her list of participants in Pink Saturday is huge!

Wearing o' the Green.......

It's a sad state of affairs........looking out beyond my front porch at a garden almost totally devoid of green. I'm hoping Nature will soon kick start Spring. This long, unusually cold Winter in the southeast has turned just about everything to shades of brown and tan. Although I love neutral shades, I do prefer an abundance of green in the garden.

Recent visit to SuzAnna's Antiques had me checking out the greens. I loved the old painted mini dresser - a child's perhaps - the faded yellow and green colors reminded me of jonquils soon to be sprouting through the soil.

Then there were the beautiful paintings hanging on a green wall. Pastoral scenes, reminding me of the rolling farmlands of England where sheep gather in flocks across the always green landscape and, at this time of year, start lambing. Last Spring during my visit home, I was thrilled to see so many lambs in the lush green fields......it was the prettiest Spring I could ever remember.

I know that soon with warming days and shorter nights, with snowfalls a memory and bird songs louder, Spring will arrive dressed in a thousand shades of green - I often wonder how many greens there really are, don't you?

So, here's to Spring. It's time to come out of hiding, to lift our spirits, to bring us blooms, soft breezes, gentle showers.....................to paint the landscape green again.

And the Spring arose on the garden faire,

Like the spirit of love felt everywhere;

And each flower and herb on earth's dark breast

Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.

.......................................................Shelley.

Paper Roses.........

.............no these are the real thing after they've faded and dried.

Do you dry your rose bouquets? I know I've told you before that I've been adding mine to this "JARDIN" pot for some time now. The latest ones were these pretty white fresh looking blooms standing in the silver jug............................

As soon as the blooms were fully open and before the petals started to drop, I removed the bunch from the water, stripped the leaves and tied the stems with string. I hung the bunch upside down near the hearth (we burn a log fire nightly during the Winter) and after a few days the blooms were dried.

Different species of the rose apparently decide to live their second life in different ways. Some do not really open, instead their tiny buds stay tightly closed. Others open partially and happily display their ruffled edges. The white ones opened fully and look more like creamy linen fabric. They remind me of flowers created for pins or hat decorations. I love the way the roses look once dried........faded and vintage.

Dried White Roses