Little Things

Good Morning! It's already mid-January, imagine that! Today feels like spring---cold, grey and rainy---instead of the crystal sharp brilliance I expect of a January beach day. This quiet time of year is, for me, a time of enjoying, of noticing, the small pleasures that brighten each day.
A cup of tea or a new bergamot scented candle. (Bergamot-peppercorn, Bath & Body Shop)

I also treated myself to a small Mrs Meyer's Lemon Verbena candle here

... and her new laundry scent boost, also Lemon Verbena. Lovely for towels and sheets that will be stored until summer. here
One of my favorite things, on sunnier days than today, is getting up early and as I go to the living room to let Mo out, each day I am thrilled to discover the rooms filled with tiny rainbows. You all know how much I love rainbows.

In the fall and winter the sun is low enough to shine in my big beach-facing windows.

I like to hang these prisms to catch the sun and create rainbows in unexpected places.

I find these gorgeous old cut crystal / glass  chandelier prisms at the flea market and I often sell them in my etsy shop rewired with hangers as Christmas ornaments.

























But now and then a few get detoured and are hung on my windows. And they create the many little rainbows on sunny days. They make delightful suncatchers.

My mother had a small collection of cut crystal c.1950s ashtrays in our living room in Illinois when I was a little girl. She wasn't a smoker, but she loved the rainbows the crystal ashtrays created. She'd spin the little bowls, and the rainbows would also whirl like a kaleidoscope for our fascinated childish eyes.

Sometimes even Mo is rainbow colored though he wouldn't let me take his picture.

Here he is playing with his gifted hand crocheted Jelly, a jellyfish toy made by Mel. It's stuffed with crinkly something--fascinating! And I can insert small treats to add to the attraction. Mo is thrilled, though I fear Jelly may be loved to death and need refurbishing soon.

The snow melted, then returned on Saturday and Sunday. Our ''snow showers'' forecast ended up being 3 inches! This did not deter Mo, who actually made me sit out on the deck to sew on Sunday afternoon. Oooh, cold fingers, but he was so happy. [I lasted maybe 20 minutes, mostly because of the fast fading light.]

PS My potato soup came out good. It was a kit from my snow day stocked pantry, just add water and simmer. I added sauteed leeks too. It made gallons of soup! I froze it in portions and will make:
 1-bacon corn chowder & 2,-Mel's kielbasa-cabbage soup.  Maybe clam chowder? Just add a can of clams?  It's comforting to know the basic soup is there waiting.

Have a great week. Soon we're starting our indoor bulbs! Did you buy any last October?

love


lizzy

gone to the beach...

 not Mo. Yet.

Flea Market Flea Market Jiggetty Jig!

Hi guys!

To market, to market to buy a fat pig/ 
home again, home again, jiggetty jig!

That was the motto on a sweet little 19th century child's plate, seen today at the flea. I don't want to start collecting children's plates so I passed it up. It was so cute though..Kate Greenaway-ish children carrying a piglet in a big willow basket, lugging him home. Poor piglet---dinner?
It was sunny! But cold and gale winds. I was dressed too optimistically in cargo pants, tee shirt, cardi and denim jacket. I was glad to find a warm scarf and fingerless gloves in my car! Yes, I know the guy in the photo is wearing shorts, but trust me, someone is always wearing shorts here, even in the dead of winter or on a cold spring day. lol.

The market was fun, so busy! TWO hot dog trucks even. (But who wants a hot dog before noon, eeew.) I see that I am going to have to carry my big tote with me and snap up treasures as I see them, not think they'll be still there when I leave. Missed out on a neat white ironstone mixing bowl, the baby brother of the giant bread bowl I use to mix my lavender buds.
Lucky for me I was wearing cargo pants with roomy pockets for my small treasures.

Thimbles from a young guy selling mostly hardware.

He seemed puzzled that these were what I chose [above] as he was doing a brisk business in hammers and screwdrivers. He finally shrugged and decided, ''One dollar." Yay!

collection so far, one year

My collection is growing nicely.

Of the five thimbles, one is a tiny child's size 6 . It barely fits on my pinky.

Two are size 9, one is an 8, and one is a BIG size 12. Most thimbles are size 8, more or less.
The big thimble had stars.

One thimble said Germany, another Taiwan. And the star thimble says Austria. That was a surprise, who knew Austria once produced thimbles?

One thimble is very worn and had been squashed to make it stay firmly on the woman's hand.

(I'd never know, but isn't it fun to think one of the thimbles I find here at the flea is maybe the thimble of the lady who made the hand-pieced Chimney Sweep quilt I am restoring? Fantasy, I know.)
Another guy had an odd assortment of chandelier prisms and brass stampings/ motifs.

He was expensive! But I really wanted this big prism.

I sold the large prisms I had hanging in my window last winter and I really miss getting up each morning and finding my kitchen filled with rainbows. I hope this one works; the sun is now too far north to hit the windows; I won't know til next winter's solstice if this prism is a success.

And some colored drops, lavender and blues:

I also got just a few stampings.

Some folks love bees---honey bees, bumble bees.

I think they'll be wonderful on natural linen sachets, don't you?

And I love cherubs, so I took two of them too. Maybe for Christmas or Valentines Day on old velvet hearts?

NO silver strawberry handles and NO candlesticks to be found. My pinkeeps are made and await bases still.
This quilt keeps catching my eye.

 It's very definitely modern and machine made, but the grey-tan fabric is such an interesting twill, and the pattern is so good. I love the turkey red wheels. And note the red backing and binding! The main color is a medium taupe with a hint of lavender, but very neutral; the sawtooths on the wheels or gears are just a bit creamier version of the almost-same color.

Horrid machine quilting of the quilted bedspread kind, not hand done longarm fine quilting. And yet---? I love it. This is the dealer who had the tin molds at Easter, all gone now.

When I got home, Mo had been whisked off for a playdate. I was very happy to have a hot cup of tea and share  my finds with you all.
How was your weekend? Yard work, yard sales? Or maybe you went to the flea too? Tell me!

love

lizzy 

gone to the beach

I can see the boardwalk from my window