“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Finally Spring

I now can say that spring has finally arrived in full force.  It has been very slow getting here. Many of you have been posting your blooming flowers and trees and I have been impatiently waiting here for something to happen.  Well I can finally report we have leaves emerging from the trees and plums and cherries blooming.

Monday we had 2 inches of rain, but the rest of the week should be sunny and warm.





The hearts on the Bleeding Heart plants are just starting to bloom!



We've had weeks of cold miserable weather... I was so happy to see the sun shine through the leaves of these Blood Root plants.







The leaves are just opening now, almost three weeks behind the norm.



I found a cute book last year that also has a spring theme, so it works perfectly with today's post.  The book is titled Pussy Willow. It is a charming book about a fuzzy little kitty named Pussy Willow. This is a Little Golden Book written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard. Western Publishing Company 1979 edition. It has darling illustrations throughout!



Pussy Willow goes on an adventure and 
makes many friends along the way.








 When the pussywillow buds disappear, Pussy Willow the 
kitten goes searching for them.




 He looks everywhere for the pussywillows, 
and makes some unlikely friends!








Pussy Willow is available for purchase here.

Pussy Willow reminds me of my very own fuzzy kitten, Guy Noir, who actually had his second birthday last month. Oh they grow up so fast!  Speaking of kitties, both Guy and Dot are very thrilled to be able to go outside with me and enjoy some of our wonderful sunshine.

We will be busy with house-guests for the next couple of weeks, but I will try to get around to your blogs in between some of my chores.

Take care everyone.  I'll try to stop in soon!

~~ Diane ~~


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

A Picking We Will Go...

It's finally starting to look and feel like spring! Did you hear that parts of Colorado and Nebraska got snow over the weekend? Thankfully we only received rain and no severe weather. Spring is sometimes a turbulent time, lots of changes going on. 

We were traveling over the weekend to celebrate with my husbands family and had a wonderful Mother's Day celebration with his mom. On the long drive we stopped in at a few second hand and vintage shops on the way.  I'm sharing a few photos of some items I picked up. Most will end up in my shop, but I may have to squirrel away a few to enjoy for myself first!

I was using my new smart-phone and have figured out that it must be smarter than me, because it occasionally just starts taking pictures on it's own. Pardon a few are a bit blurry, I am still trying to get the hang of the thing.

First off, I found this cute Fuzzy Wuzzy Bear book in a paper-back version. I couldn't pass up the cute illustrations. I'll share some of them later on.



I also found a Billy Bunny book published by the Vogard company which also published the Raggedy Ann books back in the 1920's.  Next up is a cute book called Little Elephants Christmas (1944) and another book with some great illustrations called A Home for Turkey Gobbler.






Here are some darling pottery pieces! 
I found dogs in boats, dogs with bows and a Scotty dog salt shaker.





I also found pigs, teacups and of course some deer!



The planter above is a darling version of Bambi! Unfortunately, it has a small chip on one ear. Otherwise it is stunning with the gold application! The planter is on top of a fabulous vintage table cloth with pink roses.






I fell in love with this cute little Raccoon planter!





.....And how could I pass up this charming Elf with his cart??




Here is another shot of some of my fresh picks! The gigantic peanut with the squirrel on top was a great find, so darned cute! The squirrel to the left matches the squirrel on top the nut!

Below are a few photos of one of the most organized antique shops I have ever seen. There is never a speck of dust on anything! I can't imagine how she keeps it up. It is a very old fashioned store and she does not use the internet, so the only way to buy is in person. She is located in South Dakota, if you would like further information you can contact me. The owner's are very quirky but sweet.



Oodles of Pyrex and glassware.





Some fabulous Christmas Pyrex. Sorry for the blurrr.



I love the fruit pattern Pyrex, but I just don't have the room for it!




This was only a small part of the store, we were in a hurry so 
I had to get back to my shopping!






I hope you all have been having a wonderful week and that your weather has also been Spring-like! Soon I should have some flowers to share, things are just getting started around here.  For now, I will be organizing and photographing some of these items to list in my shop.

See you soon!
~~ Diane ~~





Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Sooner or Later



It's been a busy week indeed! The weather has finally improved to the point that I can start to do some gardening. Well, not planting yet, but cleaning up and pruning some shrubs and getting ready. My hands are suffering a bit so I must take it easy for a few days. I love finally being able to be outside in the fresh air and sunshine! It's true, I have been neglecting my online shop, blog and social media! *Gasp!* Times does fly when you are having fun though.

And here we are... it's Mother's Day this weekend. I hope you are all going to enjoy a wonderful day with your family. 
The image below is from my Pinterest Board titled Words.  I think it sums up many of our relationships with our Mothers!  'Cause you know what happens, sooner or later.........

 


via

Happy Mother's Day!

In loving memory of my 
Mother and Grandmothers



Thursday, May 1, 2014

Happy May Day





May is finally here! April has sent us a deluge of rain in the last several days and we are just about to float away.  My poor kitties are not happy to be cooped up in the house and when we do go out we must jump over huge puddles and dodge the rain drops! It even has been cold enough to send snow flakes down again, but we will not dwell on that!

Oh I wish it could be sunny and as bright as you see in the vintage image above, those little animals are happy as can be, no puddles in sight!

As I get older, I think back to ancient times when I was a child and pulled this little gem out of the archives for you.  Here I am with another girl on a May Day many years ago. I'm the one facing the camera. The other girl was one of my closest childhood friends.



We are each holding little May baskets and are walking down to the stage where the May Day King and Queen are waiting. There was a whole procession of boys and girls and the royal court consisted of the older teenagers. We also had a Maypole outside that we danced around with the ribbons. No pictures of that though, but I still have the recollection of the yearly event.

A few years later the May Day celebration was canceled and disappeared into oblivion.  I seemed to be at that age where things just kind of ended (1962). Maybe it was because of the Vietnam war and people felt there was no time for this kind of frivolity.

The month of May is the time of year when warmer weather finally arrives and the flowers and trees are in bloom.  It is often a time of love and romance and a time to celebrate the coming of summer. Our April showers are no doubt going to bring an abundance of May flowers and I can hardly wait!

Have a wonderful May Day!