“In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It Goes On.”
Robert Frost
Showing posts with label cute. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cute. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Summer Days Dwindling Down

You're thinking.... "Wow, she finally posted something!". Yes, I know, I've been neglecting my blog and all of you far too long! It's been over a month since my last post and I do apologize for disappearing from blog-land without even a mention.  It seems that life gets in the way sometimes.... house guests, mini-vacations, etc...

I left in the heat of summer and now am returning to almost fall like temperatures outside today. Before I turn the page on summer I have a few things I want to share with you today.

First of all I have some Happy Mail that I received over the summer.

This first image is of a wonderfl collection of crystals that my dear blog friend Stacy sent me... she has a lovely blog called Magic Love Crow. Thank you Stacy, I really love these!


The large crystal in back is "Clear" quartz, it is used to clear the air. Next is an upturned white heart which is Selenite, it is said it holds no negativity.  In front is a Heart shaped Rose quartz crystal which is for love and peace.  More rose quartz and then the ones that almost look like purple jelly beans are Amethyst, they are for all over good healing.

I know all of those things to be true, for when I hold them in my hands, I love how they feel. Rolling them through my fingers and looking at them really do give me a sense of calm, perhaps similar to holding prayer beads... but maybe more.... below are some fascinating things that quartz is used for....

Here are some other amazing things quartz is used for...

Quartz (silica) source

As a crystal, quartz is used as a semiprecious gem stone. Crystalline varieties include amethyst, citrine, rose quartz, smoky quartz, etc. Cryptocrystalline forms include agate, jasper, onyx, etc. Because of its piezoelectric properties quartz is used for pressure gauges, oscillators, resonators and wave stabilizes; because of its ability to rotate the plane of polarization of light and its transparency in ultraviolet rays, it is used in heat-ray lamps, prism and spectrographic lenses. Also used in manufacturing glass, paints, abrasives, refractory materials and precision instruments. Silica is also used in manufacture of computer chips, glass and refractory materials.


Next I want to share a few photos of my late summer garden, taken a couple of weeks ago.  If you look closely, you will see a pretty Black Swallow-tail Butterfly in the phlox.  This butterfly was almost constantly fluttering its wings and I must have taken about 20 bad images before I even got this just OK one!


 Below are just a couple of photos of the phlox and day lilies.









And then there was more Happy Mail....

Another blog friend over in the UK recently closed down her brick and mortar store and is now selling only online.  I ordered a few books and cards from her and this is one that I simply adore! The book is titled Hand in Hand to Fairyland and the image is by Rene Cloke. Thank you Barbara, I loved every thing so much! You must visit her shop and blog March of Time Books.






And even More Happy Mail...

And now summer is dwindling down to just a few more days but another blog friend has jump started my Fall decorating by informing me that I had won her blog contest and she sent me these fantastic new and vintage decor and crafting items! Wow! I was thrilled! Thank you Pam!  Make sure to visit her at Virginia Retro blog. And yes Pam, I saw your post and I do know I am one of those lazy bloggers! Hahaha!

But look at this, Pam made that adorable card for me and look how it perfectly matches my old tablecloth! Darling!




Here are all the goodies I won from Pam's blog contest! 
Cute, Cute, Cute!






To finish off my post today, I want to share a little page from the 1960's book, Music Through the Year, art by Robert J. Lee, poem by Rose Flyeman.






Happy Fall to All!
I promise I will visit every one of your blogs and I WILL be back soon!
~~ Diane ~~ 




Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Auld Lang Syne





Remember this old gem of a song? This tune is familiar to most of us and I'm sure you faked your way through the lyrics quite a few times. There are several versions of the song and I found a bit more about it on the somewhat accurate Wikipedia site. Read on.....

Robert Burns sent a copy of the original song to the Scots Musical Museum with the remark, "The following song, an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man."  Some of the lyrics were indeed "collected" rather than composed by the poet; the ballad "Old Long Syne" printed in 1711 by James Watson shows considerable similarity in the first verse and the chorus to Burns' later poem, and is almost certainly derived from the same "old song".
Should Old Acquaintance be forgot,
and never thought upon;
The flames of Love extinguished,
and fully past and gone:
Is thy sweet Heart now grown so cold,
that loving Breast of thine;
That thou canst never once reflect
On Old long syne.
CHORUS:
On Old long syne my Jo,
On Old long syne,
That thou canst never once reflect,
On Old long syne.


        This is the version we generally sing here.


         

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
for days of auld lang syne?
CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my jo (friend),
for auld lang syne,
we’ll tak' a cup o’ kindness yet,
for days of auld lang syne.

source 



I've included a few favorite versions of the song on my SoundCloud playlist on the top right, scroll down if you'd like to hear other versions.



from Music Through the Year
Ring out the old, Ring in the New!






from Music Through the Year

Old Father Annum

Old Father Annum on New Year's Day
Picked up his bag of months and years,
Thrust in his hand in a careless way,
And pulled a wee fellow out by the ears.

"There you are," said he to the waiting crowd,
"He's as good as any I have in my pack,
I never can tell, but I hope to be proud
Of the little rascal when I come back."

~ Leroy F. Jackson









Happy New Year to All!

However you celebrate, I hope it is Merry and Safe!
See you all soon!
~~Diane~~




Monday, December 8, 2014

Christmas Elephants

Many animals come to mind when thinking about Christmas, but usually not Elephants! Sure we think about the Christmas story and the donkey Mary rode to Bethlehem on.  We remember the sheep, camels and other animals around the stable that complete our own Nativity scenes. They even have their own song for goodness sake!




Then there is Santa and those reindeer and the one with the red nose, Rudy! Again, his own song!  There are Christmas stories about cats, dogs, a kangaroo and even a hippopotamus (also has a song)! No where have I seen a book about an Elephant and his Christmas, until now. This guy doesn't even have a name, he's just called Little Elephant and this is his Christmas story!


The images are from a charming book entitled "Little Elephant's Christmas", written by Heluiz Washburne and illustrated by Jean McConnell. This is from an original 1944 Edition published by Albert Whitman and Company. Little Elephant helps his family prepare for Christmas by baking, decorating the tree and opening gifts!




Little Elephant was all excited.  In a few days it would be Christmas.



I picked up this book last year and it sold the other day. The book was in somewhat poor condition, but it was still holding together and I just couldn't tear it apart to sell the individual pages, even though I would have probably easily quadrupled my money!  I will leave that up to the party that purchased the book, maybe they will take out some of the pages and frame them. It really was a delightful thing to see.  I want to share a few of my favorite images from the book.


Little Elephant Wraps a Present.


Little Elephant was so excited because in a few days it would be Christmas! The postman had been delivering presents and Little Elephant could hardly wait to open them.  He spent some time helping his mother make the plum pudding and then he decorated the tree.  He also wrapped presents for Grandpa and Grandma Elephant.






Little Elephant Decorates the Tree.






Little Elephant Hangs His Stocking.




Finally Christmas morning arrives and Little Elephant gets to open his presents! His favorites are a horn! Which I think is pretty funny, considering elephants already make trumpeting noises! He also receives a wrist watch, because Elephants want to be on time!





Little Elephant Toots His Horn!





Little Elephant Admires His New Watch!


Father and Mother Elephant open their gifts too! Father received a painting set so he could paint his tusks!


Father Elephant Painting His Tusks!

Mother Elephant (below) wearing her present, the lace collar! Little Elephant not a fan of his vegetable soup!



Mother Elephant and Little Elephant Eating Christmas Dinner.



After all the decorating, wrapping and then opening presents, they all settle down for a lovely Christmas dinner of green veggie soup and something with drumsticks? Didn't know elephants ate that sort of think, but who knew they also decorated Christmas trees and hung stockings?







As often happens with a huge celebratory meal, Little Elephant was stuffed! He had to get up and run around the table a few times to settle his meal so he had room for the plum pudding that Mother Elephant had prepared. Kind of sounds familiar doesn't it?

After celebrating with his parents and with Grandma and Grandpa Elephant, Little elephant was pretty tired and as with most kids, he kept his favorite Christmas gifts close that night.






I hope you enjoyed this time with Little Elephant.  I'd love to hear your thoughts and observations about the art, the book etc.  Do you remember your favorite holiday gift?

Let's all have a Holly Jolly week!
~~ Diane ~~





Thursday, October 2, 2014

Soft and Quiet



Soft and quiet, October arrived. The rain on the roof is tapping lightly while I sip on my gi-normous cup of coffee. The house is quiet this morning and I look over some of the enchanted vintage items I picked up last weekend.





I found another silly rabbit planter, this one with a little pink bow around his neck.  A few gorgeous teacups arranged on top of the piano amongst the Autumn decorations, placed there out of the way of kitty foot traffic!






Pretty roses and cosmos adorn these two cups and saucers. Rain dripping off the roof and all the windows are now closed up, there's a real chill in the air.  Even the kitties are not happy with the cold wet weather and after their morning breakfast, went right back to their favorite warm spots for naps.

This little owl creamer is so sweet and goes so well with the Autumn colors. Soft and quiet, that's kind of how these pictures came out. I snapped them with my phone, too lazy to go down stairs and get my other camera!

.





Last weekend was the last Flea Market of the year for our favorite venue.  My hubby and I gathered up as much as we could find.  We were like crazed squirrels hoarding our treasures for the winter.  It was much nicer last week getting out than it will be in the coming cold months. And just like that the weather changed from an 80 degree day on Sunday to now in the 50's with rain.







Speaking of crazed squirrels, what do you think of this little charmer?  It is a dark brown squirrel nut or candy dish. He has gold trim on the little dish he holds in front and gold around the large bowl opening which is his tail. My husband called him psycho squirrel. I think he is cute and couldn't resist. It was worth getting up at 5:30 in the morning just to find this little treasure!

Next time I'll be sharing a few photos of a little trip north I took with my husband. We drove along the shore of Lake Superior all the way from Duluth to Grand Marais MN.

Until next time....  I'll be seeing you in BlogLand! ~~Diane





Friday, September 5, 2014

Tim and Tina ~ A Love Story


Today I would like to introduce you to fellow blogger Mary, a wonderful writer of whimsical poetry. Some of you may already be following her fun and magical world at Lemonade on My Patio.
Mary describes herself and invites you to her blog...
"Just myself, Mary, thinking about this world of ours, our history, things we like, things we do. I love to tell stories and I'd love to hear yours!"

Why thank you Mary! I was happy to join your blog
and hear your fantastic stories!
Oh, yes, Mary tells wonderful stories! She tells stories about cute little animals like Marcia the kitty who bakes pies or Alex and Avery the reading rabbits! You may also find a poem to fire up those brain cells on Haiku Friday!


Mary was quite gracious when I asked her to write a poem for my two sweet little friends Tim and Tina Turtle! So let's begin our journey with them now....




Tim and Tina in their backyard.


Tim and Tina

Tim and Tina live beside Listening Lake
They're wonderful turtles who loving friends make!
They take slow walks in the rain...
Down lovely Lily Lane.
They only eat veggies, and never eat cake!


Walking through the rain.


Tina has developed a crush on Tim...
He's very intelligent; not at all dim!
When Tim looks at Tina... what does he see?
And Tina wonders, 'Can Tim see the real me?'
Soon Tina will confess her feelings, and go out on a limb.

Friday Tim and Tina are going out for lunch...
Tim picked her some daisies... a whole big bunch!
Tina will wear a little blue bow...
It was a special gift, from her friend, Turtle Moe!
Tina loves Tim... about this, he has a hunch!

Tina never used to be shy around Tim...
But the last couple of months... she's been shy around him.
Tina has such sweet turtle eyes...
Tim sees this; her beauty he spies!
When they're together, they're anything but grim.

Picnic at Listening Lake.


Tim and Tina lunch by Listening Lake....
It's a summer picnic, so their sweet time they take!
There's a legend around that the beautiful lake listens...
It shines and sparkles, and deep blue it glistens!
And Tim's a true gentleman; after all, he's no rake!




A stroll by the lake.


Tina tells Tim how she truly feels.
And Tim is so happy, his mind really reels!
He tells sweet Tina that he loves her too...
And he asks her, 'Tina, please marry me, do!'
Tina says yes, and the trees around them sing!
The lake has listened, and is happy... wedding bells will ring!

by Mary Raynes


Wedding Day for Tim and Tina.


Thank you Mary for turning my little idea into a magical memory where Tim and Tina will live happily ever after! Please visit Mary at her blog and say hello! Tim and Tina have returned to everyday life and are available in my shop! The photos above have been enhanced and edited for your enjoyment!

I hope you have all enjoyed your time here. 
Have a magical weekend! ~~ Diane


Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Chipmunk Invasion

Last I left you, my kitty Guy was afflicted with Chipmunk Fever. Well that hasn't changed.

What has changed is that now we have a full blown case of ...

 Chipmunk Invasion!!!






First off here is a cute little book about those darling fantasy chipmunks, the ones that only exist in children's books! Chip Chip is available in my shop.



Chippy being cute....


Chippy being smart....and naughty....




But of course it always come down to the Chippsters getting into some kind of ----- TROUBLE!

Take a look at the photos below....... A couple of weeks ago whilst I was taking something out to the garage to throw into the recycling bin, I saw a furry chipmunk scamper off behind a box. I opened the overhead garage door and thought I must have chased him out.

  


I didn't notice till a few days later ---- this!! I'm not sure if the hole was chewed trying to get out or trying to get in! Not only did they chew the door, they scratched away the cement floor! Anyway, now they come and go at will.





The photo above is a close up of where they chewed on the garage door.



The photo below shows how they are excavating a tunnel outside under the driveway!! 



They are moving into our garage for the winter! Guess they think I owe them for putting up with Guy all summer! Really I only had to pry them out of his mouth a couple of times (and they ran off). Usually he just sat on them (and then they ran off). Anyway, I'm leaving this up to my hubby to fix. He said something about patching the hole with metal....


Other than this and hot weather, cold weather, endless houseguests and flea market/estate sales, I have made some progress in my office and shop. I'll be back with more fun finds soon. 

Glad to be back in Blog Land, I've missed you all.  Expect a visit soon!

~~~~~~ Diane, Dot and Guy! ~~~~~~

Monday, July 14, 2014

FAPCO Pottery and a Fuzzy Bear

My house-guests are on a plane back home, so it's back to business as usual!
I would like to revisit a couple of items that made a brief appearance on my blog a few weeks ago. The first is an adorable little vintage Aqua Deer Planter by Fredericksburg Art Pottery Company, or FAPCO for short.

I learned some interesting information about this company from the Collectors Weekly site and a FAPCO Facebook page. The FAPCO factory burned down in the early 1960's, much of the history has been lost. One interesting bit of information for you fellow collectors, is that much of the Disney marked pottery was distributed by the Leeds company but in fact was made at the FAPCO plant. I don't believe that any of the FAPCO items were marked, instead they used paper labels which of course usually fall off over time. This only makes identification more complicated and confusing!


Here is a little fantasy picture of the Deer Planter.....


and below a practical use for this little cutie!



This little Deer Planter has a heavy base and wide opening, making it perfect for holding pencils, paintbrushes etc.



 Cute as can be, just sitting on a shelf!




My second and last subject is a sweet little vintage book called "Fuzzy Wuzzy Bear". This book was printed in 1949 and is still in remarkable shape for being over 50 years old!  There were several Fuzzy Wuzzy books printed during the 1940's and 1950's and featured a variety of cute animals. The fuzziness came from adding flocking to the main character's image. 

The book is a cautionary tale about what happens to Fuzzy little bears who refuse to hibernate for the winter and instead eat all the honey and acorns they have stored up in their Fuzzy Bear Store House!





















Poor Fuzzy Wuzzy, his buttons are ready to pop off and he can't even get through his front door!!







Fuzzy Wuzzy thinks that if he turns sideways, he will surely be able to slide through the door. No such luck and in fact a pesky bee decides to sting him on his nose as he is stuck in the doorway!



Fuzzy has had enough and goes back to bed as his nose heals.

As Fuzzy Wuzzy sleeps, he gets thinner every day and when he wakes is able to fit through the front door. He decides that hibernating in the winter is actually and excellent idea!




I know how you feel Fuzzy Wuzzy, some winters I think it would be best to hibernate!! And who hasn't put on a pair of summer pants, that just don't quite fit after a long winter!! Ugh!

Both of these cute items will be in my shop soon! 

Let's have a very happy and fun-filled week! 
~~ Diane ~~