Out and About on a Beautiful Early Summer Morning

Today is one of those picture perfect days here in New England.  The sun is shining brightly, it is in the mid 70's and a light breeze is blowing. After all the rain we had everything is very green! I was walking around the yard this morning checking on my flowers and decided to take a few pictures.  I am a bit behind in my gardening this year because of the weather and the death of my mother in law, but things are starting to look nice around here.
I love the pinks. They remind me of peppermint candies. The wooden planters are planted with a few mixed perennials.

Outside the back door, the old oak chair and table make a nice place to have a cup of ice tea in the morning. The old rusty bucket makes a nice pot. More pinks are planted in the rusty clam bucket. I do love my rusty buckets! The iron german shepard is a shoe scraper. The green table was a curbside freebie.

The outhouse on the property which hubby says will soon be my potting shed looks pretty with the old lobster traps and buoys out front. I collect old buoys and anything ocean related besides my prims. The old watering can makes a nice planter on top of the lobster trap.

At the front of the house the child's double seat adirondack chair has a potted pink petunia on its table, and here comes kitty to investigate what I am doing! The old wagon wheel with it's great red paint leans against the lamp pole. I am hoping the vine I planted will grow around the spokes.

Beside the house the river is calm and the greenery is lush. I love sitting here watching the fish jump and if I am lucky I see a couple of river otters playing occasionally. In the early morning when I arise the croaking of the bullfrogs is like a chorus.  A black snake surprised hubby when he was fishing earlier here.he didn't catch anything. lol

I hope today is a beautiful day wherever you are! Thank you for stopping by!

Happy Memorial Day

I hope everyone has a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!
I haven't been working on my blog for a bit as my mother in law passed away last week. She was a wonderful lady that my family loved dearly. She was 89 years old. She will be remembered lovingly.
Rest in Peace Alice.

Prayer for the Troops

Please join us in our prayers for the men and women of the Armed Forces Of The United States Of America and other countries who are now in harm's way in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other parts of the world. We thank them and their families for their sacrifices.

 

We are grateful for the ultimate price of freedom paid by those fallen. We pray for strength and courage for the POWS and Missing In Action and those held hostage.

 

We pray for the protection and safety of selfless relief workers and missionaries who help those in need.

 

We pray for the protection of children and innocent civilians.

 

We pray for our nation and our leaders.

 

- The Howards

Lilacs To Brighten Another Dreary Day

Today has dawned another dismal, showery, cool day here in New England.  The only cheery sign of pending summer is the beautiful lilacs blooming along the back fence.  I snipped a few, shook the rain water off, placed them in an old Gem mason jar and added them to my coffee table vignette. They are beautiful and smell so good!  My daughter's boyfriend informed me that next Tuesday is supposed to be good weather. Today is Thursday sooooooo..... I guess that is something to look forward to. I am wondering if I will ever get to plant my vegetable beds.

Outside Corner Makeover

Yesterday hubby and I were walking around the yard deciding what new plantings need to be done and what changes we should make.  We stopped at that corner of the house.  It is a place where nothing grows, and believe me I have tried growing things there. There is little sun because of a large Japanese maple tree that blocks the light. It is just an eyesore. The only thing that flourishes there is spiders. He said, "We need to get something for that corner", and started listing things that involved money.  ( granite troughs, benches...ugh)  I am on a thrifty kick and my brain began to think of things we had in the shed, in the garage, or stuck in the basement. I remembered seeing this sweet little chair in the garage on top of the canoe ( it looks like an episode of "Hoarders" in our garage at the moment. ) I think it was another thing he had found roadside.  I came out of the garage with it and some bucket that I believe is the liner to a bait bucket, and he said "where are you going with that?"  I said, "I just want to try something" He began mumbling about wood glue and clamps as usual.  I just ignored it...it's not like anyone would want to actually sit in that spider infested corner anyway.  So this is our new "naughty corner" display and I like it.  I am going to put a plant in the bait bucket liner. Best of all it was Free and I think it looks primitively charming. What do you think?

Antique Lighting- A collection of mine

My husband and I have been early lighting collectors for quite a few years. I love the old lamps, candlesticks and like to think of the people that used them back in the day.  We take our electricity so much for granted now, but imagine what it would have been like to use a betty lamp to read by. I can only imagine the dangers of it also. Here are some pictures of our antique lighting pieces.  I also have a lot of cherished primitives reproduction lighting also.
This lamp came with our house and is above the kitchen table.  It was electrified at one point by someone.  I love the design in the iron and the milk glass shade and the bell above it.  It is one of my favorites and I cherish it.

I also love this little oil lamp that hangs in the living room.  I love the little brass punched shade. It is all original to the piece.

A lamp that hangs on the side of the kitchen cabinet by the sink. I love the worn reflector.

A few pieces that are on the beam above the stove.  The little whale oil lamps glass is so thin, it is amazing that it survived through the years.  There is also another oil lamp and a small lantern.  I think my husband said it was for the railroad.  The second picture is a hanging lantern that I actually do light at the holidays. It looks so pretty.

Here is another lamp that came with the house.  It is at the front entry by the stairs. I love the color of it. When it is on it makes a swirled pattern on the walls.  The picture below it is an early betty lamp that I hang on one of the shutters in the living room window. I love the hearts it has.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the lighting pieces I have.  There is none more comforting than the glow of a candle or oil lamp.

Look What Hubby Came Home With!

He always manages to find some treasure somewhere.  This cabinet was on the side of the road with a FREE sign on it.  I am loving it!  I have been wanting a wall cupboard for a long time but didn't want to spend an arm and a leg for an antique one. I was going to buy an unfinished new one soon to work on, but lo and behold I got this surprise this afternoon. I think some man used it in his basement for tools and such. It is not ancient but it is not new either. I am thinking new door hardware and of course a coat of paint.  So stay tuned for a trash to treasure prim makeover coming up soon :)

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Moms out there, I wish you the happiest of Mother's Days!  I hope you can spend it with your children doing something you enjoy.

The beautiful pink blooms on the cherry tree outside my back window make a pretty backdrop for the display of colorful antique bottles.  My whole kitchen has a pinkish glow to it this morning!

Vintage Suitcase Makeover- Yard Sale Find

This past Saturday I had picked up 2 vintage leather suitcases at a yard sale. There is a picture of them a few posts back along with more of my finds.  I put them in my bedroom next to my rocker after decoupaging some vintage travel stickers I found online and graphics I found at the graphic fairy on them. I used coffee stained Mod Podge to decoupage to give them an old look.  I placed an old brass chamberstick, with a battery operated candle in it, some old books and my husbands granny's reading glasses on top. I think the suitcases came out pretty well and it makes a nice gathering. Please excuse the glare from the window.  I am trying to learn how to use a new camera my son gave me. Have a great day and thank you for stopping by my blog!

Closeup of decoupaged travel stickers that I added to the suitcases

Hubbies Cupboard

Oh how I would love to paint this little cupboard in our den/computer room, but hubby likes it the way it is.  It holds his things so I don't push it too much. I think it would look great in distressed black paint. One of these days ....lol  It is full of his old bottles, powder horns and assorted small shore bird carvings.  The ship in the bottle on top was given to his grandfather so the story goes. It was made by someone on the ship when they came to this country from Italy.  It is an Italian scene in it and a treasured piece in our home. The sampler on the chair was done by his mother.