Fairground finds

These are some of my finds from the ginormous Springfield Garage Sale at the fairgrounds last weekend.  My mom and I canvassed the entire sale and walked away with some treasures.  I've been having trouble with Blogger tilting my pictures sideways...can't figure it out and haven't been posting because of it.  Hmmm... The drawer is from the booth of a dealer out of Lebanon that I always like to shop.  The little animals aren't marked and weren't as expensive as some of the Steiffs in the same booth, but I like their tattered look and sweet expressions.  I also got a couple of pieces of silverware, a bucket, some blue Mason jars for my friend Shannon's summer wedding, a pair of chick S & P shakers I paid too much for and a small divided ironstone-ish dish.  Oh, and two pairs of knock-off sunglasses, which I must say fit me just right.  The chunky finials are from Relics where we stopped later in the day.  We had a really great time and I'm so glad my parents got to come up and spend the weekend with us.  This weekend we are looking forward to attending Drury Homecoming with some of our oldest and dearest friends.  It was 64 degrees today, I think...it sure doesn't feel like February and everyone is talking about what a weird winter we are having.  This weekend will be a bit cooler but it doesn't seem like we're going to get any snow days this year.  We could be out of school by 23 May if we don't, but there's just something about the unexpected, stay-at-home-and-be-cozy break a snow day provides.  I wouldn't mind a couple.  Preferably in a row.  Preceding or following a weekend. 

Tweets

I've been feeling a bit stalled lately...more lazy than productive...but the wheels have been turning nonetheless. Instead of putting away the folded laundry or packing away the Christmas trees and decorations I've temporarily stashed in the guest bedroom, I stand at the kitchen window, watch the birds at the feeder and note how bare the woods look out back, so brown and brittle with the busy gray road visible through the branches a few hundred yards away. In the summer the woods are so lush you can't even see the ground beneath the trees or the creek down the hill, but in the barren winter I spot foam cups and cardboard and bags that have blown from our trash or someone else's and tell myself I should trek out there with a bag and pick it all up while the temperatures are still unseasonably comfortable. But I don't. The little birds are much busier, and while there are a number of cardinal pairs that stop by, I find it sweet that my favorite little regulars--chickadee, tufted titmouse, downy woodpecker--all arrive in shades of my favorite color scheme...black and cream and gray and white. The round mourning doves huddle on the wrought-iron railing, and the back deck itself is a mess of seeds and gifts the little birds leave behind, but I don't guess I mind. If I'm not inclined to chase after the paper cups in the woods I'm probably not going to sweep of the unused deck any time soon.

Perhaps when the grass is greener I will put together some variation of this adorable project I spotted in the recent Country Gardens magazine. I know just the place here in town I could get the mini fence and other accessories, and I'm thinking the metal washtub I brought home from my Papaw's barn a few years ago, already rusted through a bit in the bottom for drainage, would work just as well as the wheelbarrow.

I've also been contemplating creating some button art like these found on pinterest and etsy. I'd like to do the word Love or Home in a script font with all white/cream buttons on linen then have it inserted in an old black frame I have, no glass. Some of these versions look stitched and others glued. I'd be going with the latter. A whole word might be too ambitious, too...not sure. I asked the boys at the flea market last week if they'd seen any jars of white buttons in the booths (of course I see them all the time until I am looking for one) and they both offered to bring me some from their treasure stashes at home.

I watched Water for Elephants yesterday afternoon; the book gave me so much to think about when I read it last year. I just couldn't bear the scenes where August mistreated Rosie so I skipped those and might have missed a few things, but I liked the movie and loved Reese's look. Tonight we'll be cheering for Ryan's 49ers in the NFC Championship. He's loved San Fran since he was 11 or so and this is the first football season I can remember in our 15+ years together that the team has done well. He's loyal, that one. I am making guacamole and cupcakes for the occasion...better get to it. Go Niners!

Book {Nook}

Ryan and Macauley surprised me with a Nook Color e-reader on Christmas morning. I am an avid reader and thought I'd only be content with old-fashioned paper pages, but I'm loving this little thing. I went to Barnes & Noble and got this vintage graphic case for it by Jonathan Adler. It's got a linen lining and fits my aesthetic.

I haven't discovered all its features yet, but I have been reading and doing the crossword puzzle app, which is quite addictive. The first book I downloaded was The Dovekeepers, one I'd seen in a couple of magazines. The cover and title appealed to me. The story is not at all what I expected, but I think I will like it. I read several screens in bed Christmas night and enjoyed the story but was a bit confused. Then I realized that I had inadvertently scrolled over to page 234 of 287 or something like that and had been reading in the middle/end of the book the whole time. I will work my way back to this one.

I saw The Blind Contessa's New Machine several weeks ago at Target and also loved the cover. This is a short novel and the first I've finished on the Nook. The story is inspired by the invention of the first typewriter. It's worth reading.

I've since moved on to The Paris Wife, a book I've been wanting to read for a while now. I'm just a couple of chapters in and like it so far. Purchasing a book on the Nook is far too easy...Ryan was sweet enough to set it all up for me and I can just click away and the books show up immediately. I need to investigate the Nook Friends application you can use to lend/borrow books to and from other users. I resisted the idea of an e-reader for a long time, but now I don't know why. I'm totally Nooked.

Time/flight

Time to put away the holidays and head back to school tomorrow...these luxurious days flew. I will miss the twinkling lights illuminating the house at night, the waking up with the whole day stretching out before us. Everyone seems to be looking forward, making plans for themselves and 2012...perhaps I should set some goals, too....

Silent night

So relieved to be on "winter" break from school finally...I've been in my sweats (see my reflection in the ornament for proof) and on the couch since 3:47 p.m., soaking in the peace that comes with a clean, sparkly house, all gifts wrapped and ready, talk of flurries on the late news, and time to just be still and warm...

sleet against the windowpane,

or maybe a mouse in the wall...

I listen...

but silence knows no direction

outside,

heavy pine boughs,

deep in the woods

so quiet, so still

a deer steps

inside, warm,

the sound of a cat's paw

disturbs very little

as it hunts in a dream

silent as sleet

"Silent Solstice (Winter Becomes Maine)" by Denis Dunn

Gifts to gold

Some shots of the dining room...just a few, as I still have some work to do in here and presents to put under the tree. Simple, gold, sparkly, with some woodsy touches.

Our shopping is 3/4 done, with all of the big stuff being accomplished this weekend. I wrapped gifts for several hours last night. Wish I'd bought more of the woodgrain ribbon @ Joann's. As I cut and taped and tied and embellished (and thought of the school week ahead), I wondered if there would be a market for a gift wrapping service...I thought through possible pricing options, bring-your-own-paper or not, keeping track of what's in them all, possible mix-up disaster scenarios and so on...I think I would enjoy wrapping gifts full-time (in my home, in my sweats, with good reruns playing on the TV, like last night). Hmmm...would anyone pay for that?