Dorothy Tag Book Swap

I love The Wizard of Oz.  My grandma gave me my dad's copies of the books when I graduated from High School.  As a kid, I watched the movie every year when it was on TV.  When we got our first colour TV, I was amazed when black & white Kansas turned into technicolor Oz.

So when Karla announced a Dorothy Tag Swap, I signed up!

 I sent my package off last week.

Here is a peek at what I sent:

 I love Glinda,

so I used her as the basis for the front of my tags.

I love my dad's books,

so I used illustrations from a couple of them for the back of my tags.

I'll share complete pictures of the tags and also some cool images I used from Ozma of Oz &; The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum when I get my tag book back.

Happy October

      October First

      Beautiful child, may'st thou soar above,

      A warbling cherub of joy and love;

      A drop on eternity's mighty sea,

      A blossom of life's immortal tree;

      Floating, flowering forevermore,

      In the blessed light of the golden shore.

      And as I gaze on thy sinless bloom

      And thy radiant face, they dispel my gloom;

      I feel He will keep thee undefiled,

      And His love protect my beautiful child.

-- W. A. H. Sigourney

                                 

From A Mother's Year.  compiled by Helen Russ Stough.

New York:  Fleming H. Revell Co., 1905.

Pink Saturday

Happy Pink Saturday.  Click here to go to Bev's blog and see the list of this week's participants.  Do check them out!

This is my favorite pink in the shop.

As you can see, it is a bit the worse for wear.

I have photographed it many times for this blog.

In this picture you can't see the crack.

The plate is beautiful in shape and surface design.

I love the deep rose colour.

But what I love the very most is the Yankee thrift.

This plate was repaired, probably in the 1800's.
They used staples!

As you can see, the repairs are not elegant.
They did not use materials like we have today -- super-glue or porcelain repair kits.

 The repairs are not hidden, but this beautiful plate didn't get thrown away.  It might have sat on a shelf, maybe the crack was even hidden.

 

And because some Yankee housewife asked her husband to repair her favorite plate, I now have it to make me smile whenever I see it!

Not a Pink Saturday

Or Thoughts on My Shop 

 

There's no way around it.

My shop is GIRLY!

Half the walls are painted pale pink.  I carry pretty china, white linens, vintage women's clothing, shoes & bags, sewing collectibles, hatboxes, glitter in cut crystal salt shakers . . . you know, the things we all love!  I put white embroidered doilies under everything.

And while I am not the most sensitive person on the planet, I have been getting a bit bothered by the male customer's response.

A man came in Saturday and his first words were, "Oops!"

And then he turned around and walked out.


Comments like, "Nothing here for us guys," are much too common.  I have been feeling very defensive.

So yesterday afternoon I decided to see if I could make one area a little less off-putting to the men who wander in.

 

  I was having a tough time making the displays look good.  I wasn't sure what would work.  And let's be honest, the things I picked didn't look good to me.  There were no doilies on the shelves, no millinery flowers, no floral tea cups.

 

I called my friend Amy, the one who spent this summer helping me in the shop.  Her thought was, well I can't print her thought, but it ends with ". . . if they can't take a joke."  Which made me laugh.  She also reminded me that it's my taste which the shop reflects and I didn't need to change that!

I guess all I needed was someone to remind me to lighten up.

After that, it was fun to find things less frilly.

 

 Above this sign & planter I left Wendy Addison's Tinsel Trading glitter swallows hanging on the shutter.

So now when one comes into the shop, this is the cabinet they see.

It's not tools or fishing lures, but it's not pink or too floral either.

Of course when you walk to the back of the shop, this shelf is loaded up with pretty wedding goodies.

And while I've sold a number of things from this photo, these are still some of my favorite things!

Death to Plants

Our garden has been organic since we bought the house and almost 2 acres ten years ago.  By organic I mean we have not put any chemicals on it.  The delicate ecosystem that is Cape Cod is best if one doesn't add too much to the mix.

 It's probably why we produce such a bumper crop of dandelions each year!

 

But this particular bed has defeated all my good intentions!

The exposed dirt is where I have been digging:  removing weeds and vines and ivy.


 Sadly, whatever is in this bed does not agree with me.
I have tried all my usual healing methods.
So far I have determined I need to kill everything here or I will continue to be too cranky & itchy for words.

 

The garden bed on the other side of the brick patio is blooming!

It is still organic and agrees with me.

My son put in the patio last summer: Brick Path  &  More Bricks

I love the attention to detail he put into the brick-work.  He cut these wedges to fit all the little nooks and crannies.

  About 4 years ago my son cleared out the same bed that is giving me trouble and he had a similar reaction.  So, instead of either one of us digging, I went to the garden center.  They were actually nice when I said what I needed was "death to plants!"  They suggested Ortho Max.

It will probably look very awful when all this greenery dies.

 But I think it will look beautiful when I add garden furniture . . .

 an old ladder with potted plants (imagine the potted plants).

And these rusty pieces that need a little TLC.

Best pf all, I will be able to work there without cursing, crying or itching!

Mix & Match

My friend Amy spent most of this summer on Cape Cod.  I loved having her here!  Years ago, when we both worked at the BPL, she invited me to her folks' place on the Cape and that was that.  I have loved it here ever since!

This summer, once a week, she would arrive at the shop, play with the displays, help me with pricing,and either bring lunch or make it.

She has returned to Florida and I'm gonna miss her.

This display is my tribute to her.

Inspired by Amy's love of mix & match I set to work.

 I started with 4 hand-painted plates, each in a different pastel and fruit motif.

I found tea cups & saucers in similar colors, placed some pretty faux fruit in a center glass bowl, added stemmed crystal, crisp linens and . . . 

VOILA!

Wouldn't the crystal goblets look wonderful with a thick, icy fruit concoction?  It calls for beautiful silver flatware, a teapot, milk jugs and sugar bowls (and probably a larger table!)  If this was in your home, probably the centerpiece would be real fruit.

I love giving customers an idea of what to do with some of their pretties.  If this inspired you, I'd love to see your mix & match tables.

I'll be sure to share them with Amy.

A Day in Boston

August 3, 2010

I visited the Public Garden with my friends Kathleen & Maria.
My new banner photo is from this visit.

Kathleen & I meet & became friends in junior high school. We stayed friends in high school, lost track after graduation, then found each of each other again at our 20th high school reunion.

Kathleen & Maria include me when they visit Boston.
We have visited places new to me and
I love taking them to my old haunts!

We wandered all around the Boston Public Library:
The Rare Books Room, John Singer Sargent Gallery, Chavannes Gallery, the old card catalog room -- where I used to work, etc.
Click Here for a brief walking tour of America's first public library.


We then wandered over to The Christian Science Church Center.

Amazing architectural details.

We toured the church buildings.

We went to the Mapparium.
It's a globe of the world circa 1935. Made of glass, and back-lit,
you walk in as if you are inside the world. It is sooo cool.
If you're ever in Boston, it is such a fun thing to see.
The acoustics are so unique, students at
Berklee College of Music (just down the street)
visit it as part of their Physics of Sound course!
Sorry, you can't take photos inside.