Little Nature Library

I picked up these sweet old books at an auction

a few weeks ago.  The pretty covers caught my attention

and of course, the subject matter. 
They just look like something I would like, don't they?

It seems that 16 year old Frances Jones owned these

almost 100 years ago and pressed her leaf collection

in them.  I just love that.

♥

Random Thoughts

1. Did you have a nice Independence Day? We had Taylor and Lauren home for the last several days and it was a very nice time!  I need to see those big kids every so often! He turned 26 on Sunday, which is hard to believe. haha. They traveled home today and tomorrow we get back to our regular routines.  You know Wednesday is going to feel like Monday, right? 
2. I bid on this old chippy colander at an auction recently.  I thought I might sell it but it seems to have found its way into my kitchen to stay.  I'm thinking it will be a good thing to have when I'm out in the garden picking veggies!  It can go straight into the sink for everything to get a rinse!
3. Our new little rescue cat Pepper is doing great!  I still haven't gotten him into the vet but he is improving every day.  And what a sweet kitty he is!  Nobody responded to my notice on Facebook about him, so I guess he's ours forever and that's ok with us!
4. Can you believe it's July already?  The summer is flying by!  Here in Ohio our gardens are starting to flourish with lots of green fruit growing and teasing us before everything ripens.  It's always fun to watch sprouts break through the ground and thrive in the soil and a good watering every day.  Speaking of watering, it's hilarious to watch the cats when I use the garden hose.  They act like it's a big snake and they are ready to pounce if it makes a move. :)  Never a shortage of entertainment in this house!
5. I think I'll be picking my first basket of blackberries this week. There actually might be enough for a small cobbler!  Yum.
6. And God Bless you, America.  Happy Birthday to you!

Presidents Playing Poker

I bought The Mister a couple of framed prints at an auction

recently.  We finally got them hung on the wall today

so I thought I'd show you!

The artist is Andy Thomas and they are some of the past

presidents playing poker.  The top one is 

The Grand Ol' Gang and the bottom one

is True Blues.

I think the thing I liked the best about them was that

it showed how relaxed they all were now that their terms

were over. haha.  They are enjoying each other's company

and life goes on.... for everyone.  The country is still holding

together and maybe that's a good reminder to all of us.

It might be a shock to some of you that I actually bought

the democratic print.  haha.  But I liked it, too!

After all, 4 of those democrats were my president some time

in my life,..... and 5 of the republicans.

 I respect them all who held that office.

Most importantly, we're all Americans first, right?

The paintings are well done and I actually do like some of

those oldies but goodies!

I could name all 16 Presidents.

Can you?

♥

Auction Stories

Once in a while I see something at an auction that just

HAS to come home with me!  You should have seen the

guys when they came home and saw this in their room!

♥

Auction Stories

I saw a few pretty little original pieces of art at the auction

 this week and I was fortunate enough to get to bring

three of them home with me!

This one is a water color and I just love the

sweetness of that little cottage, picket fence and the

muted colors!  After the auction, a guy came up to

me and told me that his great grandmother painted it.

Helen Bell Ralph (1866-1938) was a Daughter of The

American Revolution.  He said that her paintings

were almost exclusively done in the 1800's and

that I should be able to find a signature on the back,

usually in pencil.  He said that he had a dozen of

her paintings and this one that I got was the last one

hanging in her home and it ended up in the auction.

Makes me think it was one of her favorites since

she kept it for herself!

It's always fun to know something about these pieces!

I can't wait to open it up, find that signature, clean up

the glass and hang it in our home.  So fun!

I'll be taking a little blogging break until next week!

We're off on a great adventure 

for the holiday weekend!

Hope you all have a good Memorial Day weekend!

Don't forget to remember all those that gave

their lives to give us our free country.

God bless the USA!

♥

Estate Sale Story

I met a friend at an estate sale a couple of weeks ago.

After I'd found all my treasures, checked out and loaded my

Jeep, I went back in the house to see if he needed any help.

He was checking out and said I should look around one more

time.  "You never know what you'll find!", he said.

So I dug through a big basket of junkie jewelry...metal,

adjustable bands, plastic....and came across this ring in

a plastic envelope.  The band looked too fancy to be junk.

Everything in the basket was $4, so I bought it!

 Once home, I took a closer look....10KT gold! And a

natural mined peridot stone (you can tell by a couple of tiny flaws

in it that you don't get with synthetic stones...tiny black specks).

Pretty cool, right?  And $4.00?  And guess what...it was my size!

I took it to a jeweler to have the stone set and got to pick 

it up today.  They said it's Victorian era and with the

intricacy of the band, it's worth about $1,000.

Kind of looks like a crown, doesn't it?

Hmmm....princess crown or Wonder Woman crown? haha.

I thought they did a really nice job with the setting!

They polished it up and took a little bend out

of the back of the band.  Fun, fun!
Do you go to estate sales?

You should!  Because "You never know what you'll find!" 

♥

Mid Century White Matte Pottery

My spring cleaning project for this week was to

wash this pottery and give the shelves a fresh coat

of paint.  And I gathered a few more pieces from 

around the house so they would all be together!

The more the merrier, right?

I picked up the leaf shaped plate at an estate sale 

this week and it's the finishing touch!

The shelves used to be white and I'm liking the flat

black much better!  These shelves are above

my washer and dryer.  They make doing laundry

just a little bit more fun!

♥

The Chicken Waterer

I bid on this chicken waterer last week at an auction.

I see them every once in a while and think they are

not only interesting but easy to repurpose in a decorative

way.  Well, I have a collection of glass eggs, so that

seemed like the perfect combination.  

I think the chickens would approve! 

This city girl has learned a lot about country life by

working at and attending auctions.  My first learning

came from a friend talking about 'nesting boxes' and

I thought she was talking about what I had at home...

pretty floral hat boxes that are graduated in size and

can nest inside each other!  Well, no, she meant the

little cubicles in the hen house where chickens actually

have nests and lay their eggs!

The second one was about the white eggs in the photo.

I was working an auction and spied these beautiful 

white glass eggs among the auction items.

I'd never seen any before...obviously old, hand-blown

and so pretty!  I had to have them!

I was amazed when it came time to bid on them that

nobody else wanted them!  The old farmers didn't seem

impressed at all and I got them for the opening bid of

$2.50.  Turns out that they aren't really decorative at all,

but are standard useful farm equipment!  They are egg

decoys, slipped into each hen's nest as the real eggs

are gathered.  They fool the hen into thinking her eggs

are still there and she won't be upset that someone

took away her eggs.  She will sit on the decoys and even

lay more eggs.  Who knew?  

And the third thing was the chicken waterer.

Funny how all of these things have to do with chickens!

The jar is filled with water, the galvanized tray screwed on 

and when you turn it upside down, the trough fills with 

water and the chickens can gather around and drink.  

I've seen several over the years but liked this one because 

it was small and the glass had that pretty embossed detail.

Isn't that fun?

Cluck cluck!

♥

Vintage Blue Dishes

Do you know your blue vintage dishes?

Flow blue, polychrome, transferware?

I brought this stack of dishes home from the

auction last week.  It was a fun weekend

washing, researching and photographing them

for my etsy shop!  And no, I'm not keeping any

of them!  Shocking I know, since I've never

met a dish I didn't like. haha.

They'll be in the shop some time this week.

♥

The Biggest Dome Ever

I had a fun day at the auction today!

Lots of new things for my etsy shop!

And of course, it wouldn't be right if I didn't find something

for myself, right?  I had my eye on this huge display dome.

Thankfully, I outlasted the other bidders and got to 

bring it home.  It's all washed up and sitting here for now,

covering my ironstone punch bowl and carpet balls.

I might dig through my drawer of antique finials and see

if I have one that would give it the finishing touch.

♥

Original Watercolor H B Tschudy

This was a fun find at an auction several months ago!

I just now got around to giving it a closer look and investigating

the artist.  H B Judy, as he signed a lot of his work, 

was Herbert B Tschudy, 1874-1946, an American artist born in

Plattsburgh, Ohio.  He's known for his watercolor and oil paintings

of landscapes and I can see why!  This lovely, peaceful scene in muted

colors is what drew me to the piece in the first place!

There's a little white house in the middle of the trees where

the road curves.  Love the fences, too.

If you can't live without it, I've put it in the shop!

Just click on the link in my sidebar.

♥

Vintage Wooden Eggs

OK, so I caved and put out one little sign of

spring in my kitchen. The eggs are an auction find

and they fit perfectly in this little nest!  So sweet.

I may or may not have added a big bunch of silk 

daisies to the old mail box hanging on my front door. :)

I also brought Mr. Penguin inside and put him away....

just in time for the snow coming this weekend! ha.

♥

Auction Fun

I got this interesting piece of glass at the

auction last week.  Not sure what it was originally,

but I thought it might make a neat terrarium!

For the time being, it's going to look pretty in my

kitchen, holding some dish towels.

♥

An Auction Find

I got this Barbacide Comb Jar at the auction yesterday.

It's going to be a straw dispenser in my kitchen!

A fun little upcycle recycle.

♥

An Auction Surprise

I got this old bird print from an auction this week.

I opened it up today to clean is up and found a surprise inside!

This curly haired handsome guy was hiding behind 

 the birds!  And what do you know, it's Franklin Pierce,

the 14th President of the United States!

I cleaned up the birds, washed the old wavy glass

and painted that brass strip on the frame.

The backing needed to be replaced, too.

Now it's freshened up and hanging in the foyer.

Maybe I can help President Pierce find a home

through my etsy shop!

♥

The Farmer

I went to an auction yesterday and filled my Jeep with things

to sell in my little antique shop.  But I did get one little thing

for myself.  This antique print had to come home with me!

It's dated 1902.  The artist's name is too tiny to figure out.

I'll have to get my magnifying glass out and study it.

It's not very big...probably 7x9".  Can't wait to find an

old frame in my stash and get it all cleaned up.

I loved the farmer walking with his sheep....

and especially that he was holding a little lamb.

♥

Chapel Bird Feeder

I went to an auction today.  I go to find things to sell in

my little antique shop, but usually something finds a 

way to come home with me to stay.

And that's how it was with this vintage bird feeder.

I couldn't resist it's charming look, metal roof and

shallow bottom.  I think it will be perfect for

those dried meal worms for the wrens!

I've found that I can't hang a bucket-full in the tree because

at night the raccoons climb the tree and devour the whole thing!

So this will be perfect for putting out just enough to last the

daylight hours and I can add more the next morning.

I'm loving the way it looks in the crab apple tree!

And I made sure I had a good view of it from inside, too!

♥

A Sweet Surprise

I went to an auction Thursday and spent today going through

boxes of things that I brought home.  In the last box at the very

bottom, this little kitty was waiting for me!

Now, how perfect is that?

♥

Grandma Borland's Ironstone Pitcher

I bid on this beautiful ironstone pitcher at an auction

last week.  It's a nice one... no brown discoloration

or crazing. And surprisingly, no chips.....especially since

it was made around 1850!

Apparently, it originally belonged to Grandma Borland! 

My imagination always runs wild when I see these little

masking tape tags.  I can almost see Grandma as a young mom 

bringing this pitcher to the breakfast table, probably full of fresh milk

straight from the cows.  And I always wonder why it was

passed down several generations and then not wanted any longer!

♥

#vintage

I had to show you my new shirt.

It's so me, isn't it?

I got it from a cute little etsy shop

called New England Nesters.

I'm thinking I need to wear it to the next auction,

just in case it isn't obvious why I'm there. haha.

♥