A Gathering

I should save this photo for Halloween...

Something told the vultures

It was time to go,

Though the fields lay golden

Something whispered, —"Snow."

Apologizing to Rachel Field for borrowing lines from Something Told the Wild Geese

Oh, perhaps I could have saved the picture for Christmas because they do look a wee bit like partridges in a pear tree—from a great distance.

Anyway, they are steadily gathering. I don't know where they're going. I'll just be glad that they are gone. So many treetops are broken and bruised this year because of these things.

I saw Canadian geese v-ing overhead squonking on their way about three weeks ago, and starlings all in a row upon on a high wire, and now the vultures. Have you seen any flocks gathering?

The First Meeting

Having a sister is like having a best friend you can't get rid of. You know whatever you do, she'll still be there. ~ Amy Li

The better part of two days has been spent getting packages ready to ship to my sister in New York. Her birthday is next week. Yesterday, both John and I were involved in trying to find a box or envelope large enough. In the end, the USPS couldn't help and we added another item to our growing errand list. We found the box and the envelope in the stationery aisle at W*al*M*art.

This morning as I packaged the items, little tidbits kept floating back to me. I remember the evening when I first saw my baby sister.

Let's back up  a bit shall we? My mother was an only child and my grandmother (Nan) was very protective. From my vantage point today, I think she was overprotective. She swooped in one lovely autumn afternoon and declared that my mother was very tired and that it would be better for all concerned if I went to stay with her for a while. About two weeks later, my sister was born. I remember it vaguely because I went to stay with my grandmother's neighbors so that she could travel the fifty miles or so to visit my mother and the new baby. She reported back that the baby was "bald" and "squally."

I don't recall much more except that I was growing increasingly upset about being with my grandmother instead of my mother. I cried a lot. Guess I was getting squally, too.

One day, Nan announced that I would be visiting my mother and sister. Oh such joy in the camp that day!

I remember the long drive in the late afternoon because the sun set while we were driving. We arrived at my home, my parents' small apartment, and let ourselves in. No one was there. Finally, finally, the door opened and in walked my mother carrying Bald & Squally.

I paid no attention to my sister or very little. I was not much interested, though I do remember holding her while anxious hands rested all around lest I should drop her.

What I vividly remember was my beautiful mother looking like a vision to me, wearing a navy blue dress with white polka dots, cinched in the middle with a narrow white belt. Through the miracle of the internet, I can show you a very similar dress.

Now those are the memories I have of a very special day.

What happened next? I went back to live with my grandmother for several more weeks until I became so squally that even she couldn't stand me and I was finally returned.

Do you have memories of meeting your siblings for the first time?

In Love

How much more mileage can I get from one vintage stovetop? =D

I just love it! And that man standing there? Love him, too. He's been working crazy hard and I am happy to report that he's on the home stretch.

And that soon he'll be switching to a plow instead of a shovel. The right tools make a job a lot easier.

Have a great Thursday!

Vintage Stove Top

Oh it is a wonderful thing that I really like old and shabby. For one thing, I can sometimes afford old and shabby. When I saw this vintage stovetop at the flea market late Sunday, I nearly swooned. What did I like? Everything. I liked the scale, the warming oven, the wheat motif on the doors. I decided that if it were there the next day it would be mine.

However, the next day Molly fell ill with extreme itching and off we went to see the vet where we left him $151 and something cents. Ai yi yi. No vintage stovetop. By Monday evening, while watching Dancing With the Stars, I was getting kind of twitchy myself just thinking about the stovetop and wondering if some other gal had snagged it.

By eight in the morning, we were at our favorite breakfast restaurant only to discover that a pipe had burst and they were not open. Fine. Straight to the flea market without breakfast. Nothing like doing business on an empty stomach. The owner said, "I can tell when people are on a mission." John did some dickering and got the piece for ten per cent less. (It was already marked down.) Perfect! Even more perfect was that it fit into the trunk. =D

Off for a leisurely breakfast without worrying about whether the stovetop would be there. Funny thing is that on the way back home, I think I saw the base of this stove sitting on the side of the road. I don't want the base preferring a more cobbled look, but still...'twas interesting.

Here it is waiting for its scrubbing.

And here it is in place...

And here it is side by side with the photoshopped stovetop seen in yesterday's post...

The photoshopping really did help me decide that it would work and that I would like it. I stole the stovetop for photoshopping from this picture.

Isn't she sweet? Six thousand dollars sweet. You can check it out right *here.*

This is what happened to the platters that switched places with my former cookbook nook.

I don't know if you can tell, but the faux leaves are held on the branches by those itty-bitty clothespins available in craft stores. Love them!

Now all I have to do is tidy up the place. Funny how bringing something new into the house creates so much of a mess.

So tell me, what was the last thing you dragged home?

Cobbling My Haven

Have you ever had something about your home that bugs the living daylights out of you? I'm sure you have. Feel free to share because I'd really like to hear about it.

For me, one of the biggies has been the windows way up there in the peak above the garage doors. Here, take a look and you decide.

As It Is

It's plain weird. The scale is wonky. The entire garage had to be offset because of property lines. We simply ran out of room. It's an annoyance, but we like our side entry and, in order to access it, the garage doors are also offset. The transom windows were added at the last moment (not my choice) so the door frames do not match the transoms. The upstairs windows are really too far up there.

Since I enjoy playing with Photoshop, I goof around trying to "fix" it. It helps us decide if it's worth the money to get it right. Again, you be the judge.

Trying out a New Window

In our opinion (John's and mine), it's better, but those doors are still troublesome. What if we did this?

Trying Out a New Window and Trimming Out the Doors



And again, John and I both agree. Perhaps we'll see the garage sided before the snow falls. I sure hope so!

We're off for breakfast this morning and then to pick up something fun. I hope to be able to show you tomorrow, but I can bad photoshop for you today. ;>

Something How It Might Look

There's an antique stove top calling my name. I hope that it is still there!

So when you're not sure how a thing might look, from hairstyles (hahahahaha) to windows to antique stove tops, try your Paint program or photoshopping. It's fun!

Now, it's your turn. What's bugging you?

Honoring Yesterday

What a glorious day yesterday was! Cold and windy, crisp and clear, beautiful and bold. After yesterday, we are reminded of what is ahead...

Yesterday, I remembered two special birthdays and hope that I honored the memory of those who are gone from me (my grandmother and my first husband). It was fun to celebrate their birthdays together through the years and now, perhaps they've celebrated together in Glory.

Yesterday, I was blessed to go to my grand's soccer game and watch him play. (He's the little guy on the left above.) What fun! So invigorating!

(We have another challenging birthday coming in November. It will be my mother's birthday and the anniversary of Nan's death. Such an odd coincidence or Divine planning? I don't know. It's strange and we have even more strangeness concerning birthdays and anniversaries of passings. I have heard from a number of you and the same things are true in some of your families. It seems that, as we mark these first anniversaries, the happenings are fresher in our minds. Normal, I think. I hope.)

Yesterday, I remembered that this life is for the living. Heaven is not yet mine; the veil between this life and the next has not been lifted. I'm working on staying focused on the here and now. Thank you, Lord, for allowing these remarkable people to be a part of our lives. Don't allow me to forget and do help me be present for the living.

You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.~Eleanor Roosevelt  

Thank you to all who offered blogging/commenting suggestions on my last post. I do realize that I've been down this path before, around this mountain, over this hill, across this sea, whatever. It's a me problem. It reminds me of the quote above. I worry too much. So that's why I visited you all yesterday and enjoyed my visits and commented hardly at all and you didn't mind. I know you didn't.

Now, to return the favor, I am closing comments for today so that you can read and scoot. Have yourself the most delightful day.

But do return tomorrow and see what I've been working on. I can't take too much silence.



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