While you're in town.....

This Friday evening, October 1st, from 6 to 9 PM some of you may be visiting Charolette's Brocante in Canby (click here to learn more) and if you have never attended....you should.

Locals know the house where the sale is held, as the historic Barlow House.  Once or twice a year, the mistress of the house, goes to France to buy and bring back the most incredible French-flavored treasures that she sells in her little shop in the back!  There is more information and photos on her blog.

While you are in town.....drive about two miles south to Aurora, there you will find one of Aurora's best kept secrets.....a flea market that is held at the Legion Hall, located on the east side of 99E and Main Street.

Actually, you may want to come to the flea market BEFORE going to the Brocante, since we will only be there between 4 and 6:30 P.M.....setting up AND selling.

If, you can't make it Friday night, we will be there Saturday, October 2 from 9 until 4 P.M.  There are lots of dealers and lots of DEALS and the Legion ladies sell homemade soup and pie....so stay for lunch, when you come.

A couple samples of what I have to sell!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am a retired antique dealer and I'm clearing out...so the prices are LOW! 

Aurora is always fun to visit...make a day of it.

As summer fades....

We've had just enough rain, here in Oregon, combined with sunshine....that some of the flowers are still giving us a great show of color for fall.

Another example of why I am so enamored with the Roxanne Hardy Geranium (in the background), it is covered in beautiful, bright blue flowers all summer long.  In the foreground is an Alyssum that volunteered from last year and the yellow-green leaf is Gold Barberry.

Yes, indeed, I like the blue/yellow combo.  Here the Hydrangea's blues play off of the Dahlia's yellow-gold and the variegated leaf in the background is Andromeda or Pieris. 

On the other side of the garden we have Blue Oat Grass, always a winner, with more Roxanne Geraniums, purple asters and the faded blooms of gold Crocosmia.

A broader view of my front garden, the hydrangeas are on the left and the bed with the blue oat grass is out of view on the right.  After December, this will be but a memory....until next spring!

Finally, I am getting ready to sell at a flea market this Saturday and I had dried some lavender stems that I thought would be fun to gift wrap and take with me to sell.  They smell sooooo good!

Thanks so much for visiting, remember I really like to hear from you. 

I am linking this blog to Tuesday Garden Party , Bloomin Tuesday and Outdoor Wednesday.

PUSHING BUTTONS.....wrong ones!

Seems as though, sometime last February, I pushed the wrong button and immediately cut this blog off from the outside world!!!!!  WHAT? 

Yes, faithful followers, your "blog roll" or "follower's list" may show that I have NOT posted for seven months.  Not true!  I must have had some free time and started playing with my settings.....so it would not send out  new blog updates when I posted. Duh!

Thanks to dear Marla at Always Nesting , who took the time to e-mail me yesterday and ask what was going on, I think it is fixed.  Marla, also, went in and deleted the old blog connection on her computer, replaced it with the new, rebooted and all is.......WELL!  Thoughtful people like Marla are why we blog, I can't thank her enough for all of her help.

So, if you had given up on me because you thought it had been months since I posted.....PLEASE, PLEASE try again.....I'M BACK!

A month or so ago, I changed the look of my blog page and the header.  Today, I'm going to share a few more photos from the same little cabinet that holds the header vignette.

First, let me tell you that this cabinet sits on a shelf my husband made from old corbels and a shelf and is hung on the wall beside the bed.  Notice the little cabinet that sits on that shelf, I bought it at a garage sale for a dollar, painted it white and lined it with dictionary pages.

I LOVE my cool antique bed frame.  I purchased the head and foot from a friend for a cheap reasonable price, had it sand blasted and painted.  Then we had a welder add a piece to lengthen both side rails, so our queen size mattress would fit. 

  

My blog header is the second shelf from the top.

 

Everything in this little cabinet holds special meaning to me.  Call me sentimental!

 

 

 

The collage is one of mine, the very small perfume bottle was given to me when I was about 9 or 10 years old....it's little glass perfume dauber is still intact.  The spray of pearls, I bought when we went to the big sale in Round Top, TX.  I just like the color of the box!

This is a photo of my kids, and my parents, was taken back when mullets were more of a fashion statement than a joke!  All three boys have the hair style of the day, for which they tease each other now! 

The newspaper clipping is a favorite of mine, it reads  "My age doesn't bother me but I am appalled at the age of my children".........who doesn't relate to that! 

The middle pill box is new, the one on the left was a gift from a friend, who was an antique dealer in Bellingham, WA for many years.  Sadly, she past away a couple years ago.  She, also, gave me the little rouge "pot" on the right.

I don't collect glass or baskets, but I really like this little hob nail cranberry glass basket.  The paper weight I found at a sale some where. 

The two beaded bags are very special to me!  Both of them were gifts, many years ago, from my friend in Bellingham.  The one in the back, I believe, has it's origins with a Native American tribe.  The little coin purse in front reminds me of something from WWII or the late 30s, early 40s.

P.S.  If you read the "comments" you will find one from Staci, my granddaughter, who remarks about how much that little beaded red, white and blue bag that held the little round "rouge pot" when she was little.  Now, she has shared that history with her little Emma, who is 4.  That is how sweet memories linger!

Last, but not least, is the photo of my hubby when he was 12 or 13 years old.  The rose ball I purchase some where, it is still slightly fragrant and I love it!

A psychologist might have a field day with this post because these are some of my most meaningful and sentimental possessions.  What do you think they say about me?

I know it says my heart goes pitty pat over blue-green and pinkish coral....(did you see that coming?) and I have a handsome husband, three equally handsome sons, a beautiful daughter, I miss my parents and my good friend from Bellingham?

I just know, it gives me great joy just to look at these treasures and remember friends, family and places I have been.

Come with me as I link to the following blog parties Metamorphasis Monday, Blue Monday, Tabletop Tuesday, Rednesday and White Wednesday.  Thanks for visiting, please leave a comment and come again.

As summer ends.....

Fall is in the air, as they say, the sun is lower, the light is different, the nights are getting cooler and the days shorter.

Thought I would do a little end of season round-up and share an Oregon fall-is-coming scene with you.

Labor Day Monday our family drove up into the foothills of the Cascades to visit this special spot.......Butte Creek Falls.

This is the first glimpse of the falls, coming down the trail.....you turn the corner and see this......

close up view...........at creek level.

Note....leaves are not changing colors, yet!  It was a beautiful day and we had a great hike, a picnic and some family fun.

Back home.....I want to share the gorgeous red blossoms

of our Crape Myrtle.  I'm not sure when they bloom in other parts of the country, but here in the northwest, it isn't until September.  We have two in our front yard named Dynamite, for their "explosive" red color, I assume!

My other fall bloomer is this unusual sage..."Salvia Spathacea" or Hummingbird Sage.  Grows best in dry shade and produces these magenta flower spikes.

I have it planted on the east side of the house, where it get morning sun.  It is low growing and has a sharp "sagey" smell.

I planted this plant three years ago and it has spread to about three feet wide and only grows to 12 or 14 inches tall, excluding the flower blossom.

Here you can see why the Hummingbirds are attracted to the flower that is reddish and tubular.  I'm a plant collector, of sorts, and I love the unusual qualities of this plant, even the odor.   

Thanks for visiting today, remember I love comments and followers.  Today, I am linking with the following blog parties Tuesday Garden Party. Bloomin Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday and Rednesday.

My take on art journaling!

Since I started writing this blog, the first of this year, I have mentioned my artwork and shared a few pieces but today, I want to share one of my art journals and I hope you will enjoy.

This little book is made up of 4 1/2 by 6 inches cardboard pages that I have punched with three holes.  The holes are fitted with metal rings that bind the whole thing together...the cover comes later! 

This is not a book with one theme....it very random...like me!

Here I stamped and added a glittered crown that tops a cool 50s car that sits a top a map, a piece of a blueprint, tape measure and a strip of glitter paper topped by a cork circle stamped with a "y".

A bingo card topped with a coaster and clock hands.

A page from a bookkeeping text book is stamped with the Eifel Tower and two strips of paper that say "I dream in French".

  A bird sticker, feather and the saying by Alexander Pope that reads "all nature is but art unknown to thee".

One of my favorite photos, is actually my Grandmother and her friends, who look like they have just enjoyed a day in the outdoors so I added a leaf and seed pod.  All this tops a piece of sheet music titled "Can't You See I Love You".

 

The dragonfly sits on a piece of painted and stamped paper finished with a piece of cardboard and a twig.

 

 

This is a half page, that is between pages, it is covered with wallpaper, a ticket stub, a clear overlay hand and some type.

 

 

 

 

This side of the half page is stamped, paper lace, buttons, lace and a tape measure.

 

 

 

The next full page is pretty self-explanatory "the working woman...is a force of nature!"

A beautiful page of old handwriting topped by a seed packet and a dried pansy.

A real mix of textures, sheet music, felt, muslin and paper, stacked and stitched, topped with a wood heart, ribbon and ticket stub.  A salute to "girls who wear glasses".  

Finally, a tribute to young love with a sweet photo and stamp on top of a piece of cardboard trimmed with lace and ribbon.

 

 

This will become the cover of my art journal.  I love the old worn blue color and the title "One hundred narrative poems".  I'll punch holes and add the metal rings for binding.

 

I am going to add some beads and other trim to finish it all off and there is room to add several more pages, if I want.

This quiet, rainy Saturday afternoon gave me some time to browse my list of blogs I follow and I came across this great party September Holiday Open House at The Answer is Chocolate and so I'm off to join the fun!

Thanks for visiting me today!

All work, no play.....no way!

I started off my Labor Day weekend, laboring!

First: by roasting a mixture of Sun Gold tomatoes and the red Early Girls, from the garden, with some olive oil and springs of rosemary.  Having that on pasta tonight!

Bought a couple pounds of green beans at a local farm stand so, I prepared and froze few bags.  I'll get some more next week, it is just so easy to do them in small batches, at least, for me it seems easier.

Since "all work and no play, would make Jan, at the very least, a bored girl".....I played with flowers.

I know silk flowers are very popular, and with good reason, most of them a quite realistic and they could last for a generation, or two....they are so durable.

But, dried flowers still have a place in my heart.  I just wanted to talk about how easy it is to dry flowers you may already have growing in your yard, or a friend's or neighbor's yard.  Here are some examples..........

  These are onion seed heads!

Now if you are a really good girl and harvest all of your onions when you are suppose to, you have never seen these before, but if you are like me.........!  These were left over from last year!

I cut them off, hung them upside down to dry.  Upside down drying, allows them to hold their nice round shape and allows some of the million little black seeds, that these globes hold, to fall on the ground or floor.  Shake out the rest of the seeds (or most of them) and spray with clear varnish. 

The stems will be brittle and if they break, like mine, cut them in half and slide the small end of the stem into the larger end....voila'..a new sturdy stem.  A note here: cut the stems on all of the flowers much longer than you think you will need.  You can always make them shorter, much harder to make them longer...but you knew that!

Next, I cut the faded flowers from my Liatris.  Let them sit for a few days to dry a bit.  Then pulled off all of the dried leaves and sprayed them with varnish. 

 

Same day, I picked a few of the round thistle-like heads from my Ecinops (Globe Thistle).  Same process.....let dry for a few days, then I could remove the actual dried little flower petals, removed the leaves and spray varnish.

End Result!

A free bouquet!  I did add some feathery "blooms" from a tall Karl Forester grass, I have growing in my yard.  You could, also, add wheat, or other grain or grass heads.  Then, at the last minute, I added two hydrangea mop heads.  The hydrangea will slowly dry in the vase and I thought they added weight to the bottom of the arrangement and the added color really livened up the dark pink liatris. I am not a great flower arranger, I'm a "throw them in a vase and see where they land" kind of an arranger.  I can see in the photos that I need some of the grass spikes in the center, I'll change it, I promise!

Any way, there you go......start looking around and you will be surprised by the number and types of flowers that will dry well.  It's fun, easy and cheap, cheap, cheap!

The only sad thing is....dried flowers and Labor Day pretty much shout the end of summer and I am NOT ready for summer to end!  I do plan on playing some more this weekend with a family bar-b-que and a hike. 

Hope yours has been a wonderful and fun holiday weekend.

Please join me as I visit and link to the following blog parties:

Blue Monday

Metamorphasis Monday

Tabletop Tuesday

Bloomin Tuesday

Rednesday

Outdoor Wednesday

Tuesday Garden Party