Pink Saturday

For some odd reason, this week I've been absolutely fascinated with small travel trailers. It's just one of those things...I've never had an inclination to camp---outdoor living is really not my style. I've noticed a few of these small trailers on blogs...people have turned them into craft studios, offices, and what I would call playhouses on wheels. How cute would one of these look parked beside my favorite Katrina cottage? I've been obsessed with those for well over a year. I'm sure my trailer obsession won't last that long, but in the meantime, I've browsed through Trailer Travel: A Visual History of Mobile America. Some of those little "teardrop" trailers are pretty cute, too.

Visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more Pink Saturday posts.

In Honor of Tasha...

I've been a fan of Tasha Tudor for many years. Her simple, rustic way of life seemed so appealing...the photo spreads in Victoria and other magazines illustrated an artist marching to a different drummer.

When my daughter was in elementary school, I was her Brownie and Girl Scout troop leader. I would take inspiration from Tasha Tudor's Old-Fashioned Gifts, and we would make things out of this book for special gifts for parents and teachers. This book is a treasure-trove of ideas.

Pumpkin Preview

Here's what I found while looking for a little autumn inspiration from the infamous pop-up BHG website. (Click photo to enlarge) They have an amazing photo show about decorating with pumpkins...and I picked out my favorites. I love just plain, natural pumpkins, but those plaid-painted pumpkins are pretty cute--and I love the pumpkin stack at the bottom with the harlequin diamonds painted on them...and the white pumpkin on the chair with the log-cabin quilt squares is just gorgeous. I hope this was a good season for pumpkins!

Time

I love this time of year; it always feels like a new beginning--even more so than January 1. Back to school time, a change of seasons, a time of planning for the coming holiday season. As I get older, it seems to take a bit longer to get back into the swing of things--prioritizing, organizing, and the hardest task for me--time management. I used to be a good judge of how long things would take to complete. Now I have to triple the time (at least), adding time to just sit back and think about it.

Photo: Country by Mail

Dylan Update

Great music, lots of people, a break in the weather with nice cool breezes, a very big cross section of fans...and I still only understood a few of the lyrics! After listening to the first few songs, we moved to the permanent seating...there were plenty of open seats. We had a great time. It's hard to tell from the picture, but he's the one in the white wide-brimmed hat.

Rainy Day Women...

On the agenda today...actually this evening...a Bob Dylan 'event' at our local amphitheater. It seems like ages ago when I picked up tickets for this, and I really can't believe we're at the end of August already. We have lawn tickets, which means we'll be dragging our folding chairs (and probably umbrellas), so we'll probably have a bird's eye view of Dylan, if we have one at all. He's not a real favorite, but I like what he's written and enjoy hearing other people sing his songs...I just have a problem understanding what the heck he's saying most of the time. This will be fun though, so I'm looking forward to it.

In other news...I'm continually cleaning ceiling grit from the floor in the bathroom. There's still a thin sheath of flooring between us, but their flooring is going to have to be structurally reinforced. It's just going to be a giant inconvenience.

I'm still holding back on pulling the Halloween decorations out, other than the framed postcards...but come September 1, out they'll come!

The sky is falling...

While having a mid-morning cup of coffee a little while ago, we heard a loud crash...we couldn't determine if it came from the upstairs neighbor or in here. It was both...the neighbor almost came through the bathroom ceiling. The part of the ceiling above the commode is now on the floor and in the commode. This is not a good thing. Still awaiting word from the landlord...

Frog Follies

It's Frog Follies weekend in Evansville...what is that, you ask? Every year on this same weekend, the area is inundated with hot rodders from all over the US. The difference in 'hot rodders' and classic cars? The cars have to be pre-1949, and modified in some way. This is a fun weekend to people-watch--these cars are all over the roadways, filling all of the hotel parking lots, and their owners filling our restaurants. If you're a local, this is the weekend to stay home and cook! Most all of the FF activites take place at the 4H Fairgrounds, and another thing (other than the crowded restaurants) you can always count on for FF weekend--hot and humid weather, and most likely thunderstorms.

It's back to school time

The University of Evansville has such a pretty campus...lush green lawns, beautiful flowers, and some ancient buildings that give the school an established look. This evening before class, I was wandering around the front circle and decided to take a picture of this tree that dominates a large portion of lawn.

The program I'm in now is the Masters of Public Service Administration program. My first class is one on leadership, and I've got to admit that I when I left campus at 9PM, my head was throbbing. Yikes!

And it starts again...

The beginning of a long workweek for me...five days in a row...will I make it? Usually there's a day or so splitting up the workweek, so I can mentally skip through the week. Not this time. In addition, today is when I get the word on if I will be starting school tomorrow evening, or waiting until the new semester in January. The last time I talked about this, I was the one wondering if that's what I wanted to do. After speaking to 'the people in charge' and finding that the right person was not in the office and would not return until today, I was kind of left hanging. Misdirected paperwork, crossed lines, and just general confusion led to this problem...so today's the day.
I must say that I'm worn out after yesterday's antics. It seems like I'm always moving something around, but it's usually not the really heavy or loaded with items stuff. As usual, I've left things in an incomplete state, so I will be walking through the door into a 'mess' after work. I have nail holes to fill and paint, a decision to make on where to put the mustard colored display cabinet (that hung on the focal wall of the foyer), and then there's the general stuff I neglected yesterday while moving, framing, hanging, sitting and thinking. Hmmm....I think I need another day off!

Later that same day...

Today was one of those days...I'd move something, sit back and decide what to move to fill the void, move something else...take a break and frame some postcards, move something else...and get out the big long-arm duster to get rid of the dust and cobwebs (authentic Halloween decor, but not wanted now).

I know that it's only the middle of August and Halloween is 2 1/2 months away, but I'm looking forward to putting out my decorations...maybe just in the foyer for now. By the time it's actually appropriate to pull out the decorations, I probably won't be in the mood, nor will I have the time...that's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it! I should be doing laundry and getting ready for the work week, but I keep puttering around. We'll see how far this goes by the end of the evening.

How I spent my morning...

One of my JoAnn purchases from Friday was scrapbook paper, sale priced at 5 sheets for 96 cents. To cover the interior of the top of my little corner cupboard took 12 pieces, but what a difference it made!
I'm going to move the cupboard to the foyer and display vintage Halloween items there. I love the look of black and white with a pop of orange.
I put a few items in the cupboard just for photography...without anything, it's a little op-artish. I've seen this same paper on a few other blogs lining hutches. I love the crisp, clean look of it. I used double sided tape to secure it to the white painted surface of the interior. After the Halloween items are in place (or my next trip to JoAnn's), I'm going to look for a subdued paper pattern for Christmas decorating.

And the winner is...

Kathy from Kathy's Cottage! I used the random number generator, and out of the 53 comments, number 12 was the 'random number.' Kathy was comment number 12. Congratulations!

Finally...Pink Saturday

Early yesterday afternoon I walked around the historic district taking pictures of gardens, focusing on the pinks. There were several really beautiful little plots. For some odd reason, I can't download those pictures from my camera...that's the technical difficulty. I grabbed a few pink shots from my files...next week for sure, we'll have a garden tour of the Evansville Historic District!

I have lots of 'orphan' stemware; one, maybe two of the same stems. I love to use them for everyday...drinking AND bead holding!
And...how's this for a really PINK book?

Please Stand By...

Due to technical difficulties, Pink Saturday AND my giveaway will be posted later in the day.

More To Do's

Feeling a little ADD today...it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, and I'm off work for the next two days. I don't know what to get into first.

The New To-Do:

• Decide how to finish the sewing machine table. New thoughts--black accents on the white table.
• Continue organizing sewing and crafting things.
• Make a list for JoAnn Fabric shopping tomorrow. Six 40% off coupons and I'm not afraid to use them all!
• Make a major restocking pantry list, also for tomorrow
• Major, and most important To Do--make the decision TODAY if I want to return to school next week, or wait until the new semester in January. Having this summer off has been great; I know that I want to continue and get a Masters, but it seems like I've been struck with lots of creative inspiration lately, and I don't want to stifle that...it's been years since I've started and finished so many projects, and if I go back to school now, it will cut into that creative time. Of course, the sooner I start, the sooner I'll finish...and I'm not getting any younger.
  

And now for something a little different...

Monday morning at work found me checking in lots and lots of library materials. This is usually a pretty pleasant task, and it's often when I begin accumulating a nice sized pile of items to take home for further perusal. It's one of the parts of my job I like best.
While going through a huge pile of children's books, I came across this gem...Imaginary Menagerie: A Book of Curious Creatures. It is a strikingly beautiful book of poetry and paintings by Julie Larios and Julie Paschkis. The mermaid picture above is one of my favorites, and it's my intention to adapt it to a small wall hanging for my daughter for Christmas. She's a mermaid aficionado almost from birth. Ariel, the Little Mermaid, is still one of her favorites even at the ripe old age of twenty one. I'm thinking applique, with the string of pearl beading will be a good choice.

Knobby Hedgeapples--a good thing!

Hedgeapples...either you love 'em or hate 'em...

I love their color and rough knobby shape...and their delicate scent. I haven't had any of these for years...one of my co-workers was telling me about how they had fallen from the trees this weekend. Playthings for the squirrels. She brought some for me after lunch. They're supposed to be insect repellents...especially for spiders.

The Weekend Scorecard

To do:

* Cover dress form with mocha brown burlap. (Save for another day)

* (done) Finish painting old sewing machine cabinet. This little project came out of left field. The cabinet and 1950 Singer AM-20 (heavy as heck) have been sitting out on the sun porch for 4 years, something I picked up from Evansville Freecycle. Every time we have a heavy trash pickup, I think of putting it out. This morning I decided to see if I could fix the machine. Thank goodness before I put too much time into it, I discovered a big wiring problem. I removed the machine from the cabinet and have it ready to put out for regular trash. I asked my daughter if she wanted the cabinet...it has a pretty awful finish...you know, someone had put an iron down on the surface, assorted water rings, etc. I thought I'd sand the veneer some and see if it could be salvaged. It seemed to work, so I have two coats of Martha Stewart White Linen painted on the top. The piece could turn into a night stand, a little desk of sorts, or who knows...a sewing machine cabinet! Also a possibility...I found some pink toile paper napkins several months ago (for this Christmas project) at Tuesday Morning. I'm thinking of putting some of the toile in the corners of the table top. Hmmmm. Also...need to paste wax after the table top decision is made.

*Put wood putty on the broken veneer surfaces of yet another old (treadle base) sewing machine cabinet...or totally chip the veneer off. This is the one I want to mosaic with broken pieces of blue Bennington pottery. (Actually just moved this heavy piece from where it was and put it in the middle of the kitchen. Don't want to walk around it too much...but it's ready to work on.)

* Paint lazy Susan. (done--the black paint; need to decoupage later in the week) I got this idea from the new Somerset Home. I've had a wooden lazy Susan for ages...it's 'country blue' with geese painted on it...a Christmas gift from an ex-sister-in-law from over 20 years ago. It's been hidden in a cupboard for most of its life because it's so darn ugly. I'm going to streamline it with black paint and a little decoupage.

Notice the word "paint" liberally scattered throughout this post? I hate to paint, but I love looking at things in new ways. I've also been throwing the "decoupage" word around a lot lately...I've always had Mod Podge on hand, but I don't recall every using it for anything. Sounds like it's about time!

Sunday Morning

Photo: Country Living

Photo: Teresa

Photo: Country Living

Friday morning (pre-crafting) was spent cleaning and rearranging the front porch; I don't have much out there as it is a downtown front porch sitting eight steps up from the sidewalk...plenty of foot traffic and lots of vehicle noise...AND big potential for theft (my American flag and pole two summers ago). I have a very heavy wrought iron bench there...one of those old ones with a pattern of leaves on it...I 'trash picked' a little chair that almost matches it and moved it to the porch, too. A little sweeping and cob-web removal, and it's finished. If someone would steal the wrought iron, I can be assured they would hurt themselves doing so.

I noticed that the hydrangea was ready for another harvest...this time the floral heads are coppery rose and green, and have an almost papery texture. This is a great time to harvest hydrangea for preservation. I clipped off a box full of heads and have them in a single layer to dry naturally. I'd like to do an arrangement like the one in the tin pictured above. A few autumn leaves and some hydrangea...so simple and pretty.

Circle of Friends

Photo from the Library of Congress archives

Friends and family...that's what it's all about. Wouldn't you love to know what these girls are up to? 'Lil Miss Ruffles on the end...isn't she a cutie? My favorite is the 4th from the left. She looks a little shy, doesn't she? This photo reminds me of the gigantic world of blogging friends...

If it's Saturday--it must be PINK

Thanks again to Beverly for hosting another Pink Saturday. The quilt in the first picture is newly finished by my friend Michelle. She brought it to my house yesterday to complete...and finished sewing the binding by early afternoon. It's a baby quilt for a shower at the end of the month. Doesn't the pink pop?
My pink contribution this week is my cookie jar. Even though it has lots of colors, I always think of the pinks...
My friend Carol has a similar cookie jar...she grew up with hers; mine was a purchase from the St.Patrick's Parish garage sale I chaired in 1991. It came from the rectory kitchen, and I guess Father Tom and Father Gene didn't like it, so it was one of their donations.

My jar rarely has cookies in it, as it resides on top of my cabinets in the kitchen...not the easiest place to get to!

Don't forget to enter my blog giveaway. Just click on the picture beneath my blog header---it will take you to the giveaway post!

Crafty Friday at the Cottage

It's a Friday off, so it's my turn to host craft day...and it's an absolutely beautiful day here in Evansville. The temperature currently is in the low 60's, and the dewpoint is low...unusual, but so delightful.

What to do, what to do? I finally (finally, finally) finished the knitted wrap last night. I really can't remember when I started it, but it was at least 3 years ago. I had just taken up knitting again and we were snowed in for Christmas...it was the winter I taught my daughter how to knit and she was makin' those needles click! For some reason or other, we had several skeins of the same color of Lion Brand Homespun...I vowed to use up all of it on this wrap. I used a solid color with the homespun, so this was a hefty project...just plain knitting, nothing fancy. It got to the point where it was so heavy to work with, but I kept plugging along...now it's ready for those cold winter nights. Yay!

Time for a cup of coffee on the back steps...and more pondering on 'what should I make today?'

Do you know about...

Mygazines? I found this link while reading last week, I believe on the Brocante Home blog. It's an online magazine reading service, and it's free. If you're comfortable flipping through a magazine on your computer screen, it's a good thing...no paper clutter, no recycling issues, and your favorite magazines are just a click away. On the downside, you can't rip pages out.

I like to have real magazines, but the virtual ones are a nice way to preview issues that you aren't familiar with.

Yo Yo's

A few weeks ago, I used a 40% off coupon at JoAnn's to purchase a Yo Yo maker. I usually use those coupons to buy Somerset magazines, but the new Artful Blogger and Somerset Home weren't available yet.

While going through fabric this past weekend, I started sorting smallish scraps to use with the YYM. After work this afternoon (will 5:30 ever come??), I have a few housekeeping chores to do, and then I'm going to pop in a DVD and make yo-yo's. Are you on the edge of your seat with excitement?

What's Your Style?--A Giveaway

Are you a Farm Girl? An International Exotic? Prim & Proper, or Cottage Charming? Add a comment to this post describing your favorite decorating style/lifestyle between now and August 15, and you'll be in the running for winning these two books and a little surprise.
The MaryJane's Outpost book has really easy recipes, building projects (a willow endtable and a wall tent are just a few of the projects), and Bazaar Style is an eclectic mix of international decorating styles and ideas. Both books are brimming with style inspiration.

I've been fortunate to win a few giveaways recently, so I want to have one of my own; it's just a little early for a 300th post (this is #278), and it's just a bit past my one year blogiversary, so this one is "just because."

To kick things off, I'm going to add a comment from Vee. She's away from her blog attending to her grandmother, and from what I understand, she's away from the computer for a month. She always leaves a comment, so I feel sure she would leave one on this post if she could. The winner will be chosen using the random number selection process.

Here's another link to a great giveaway...Vintage Indie's Flip & Tumble sponsored bag giveaway.

A Contest!

It's a Two-Post Sunday!

I know, I know...we're all sick of seeing these pictures...but they're my favorites that I've taken, and they all have special meaning to me. I was blog-surfing this afternoon (when I should have been doing something else), and came across a contest...at Reflections of Debbie . According to the post, she needs some new inspiration and will take a look at your special photos (not too keen on people, animals, etc.), and do a sketch for the winner. How cool is that? Here are the photos I've 'submitted'.