Before Four

Thought I would post in before the Fourth. After the fourth there will all those posts about idyllic family gatherings. Swaths of vintage fabric, buckets of lemonade with fresh raspberries floating away, drips of ice cream, children twirling and sparklers swirling. Me, not so much. Family times are always challenging. There is always room for improvement and I hardly relax. But I will be at my favorite lake with my favorite family members. I will look at this garden and do some editing.

I will be invited to these chairs in the sun.

I will follow this path...

To this dog.

And all will be well. Ahoy and happy holiday....

Magpie ya'll

I have certainly been at the antiquing pretty hard. I did not show you anything from last month because I was doing the eBay thing and was waiting to show you a little retro cowboy design project I have going. This June I located a few things locally and thought I'd show you.

In my constant fervor for all things child size, I found this table and chairs for the little buckaroos. Wow, I just said that didn't I?

A bushel of blocks for the youngin's. Oh make me stop.

You will just have to trust me on this one. It will be just darling.

I have a very large collection of these Oklahoma souvenir plates. Very large. However, I didn't have this blue hue...

I buy a bunch of things that say Oklahoma. This is from the Hollywood Shoppe in Elk City and had to have been THE place for all things stylish. This little gal kept her blue/brown felt hat in this according to the pencil mark on this box. Ooooo! I can just imagine what a number that must have been.

Regarding the retro kitchen, I have always wanted a butter churn. What a romantic notion, churning your own butter from real fresh cream. No trans fats or hydrogenation. Just cream. These are always so pricey, but this one wasn't too bad, is red and the paddle turns smoothly.

Speaking of retro kitchen! Look!

Eeeeeeek!

And a baby bed for my dollies...

I'll have to show you the western project. Someday. It's awful cute, ya'll.

Daddy

Well, I stopped buying father's day cards 11 years ago. I do always think about him when I see that section at stores. I always think "Happy Father's Day, Daddy." Now that I have this blog, I can express it in this form.

My father had a very difficult childhood. Curly on the left is my daddy. It is the only picture of him as a child I know of. They just didn't record every event, moment and thought like we do now. Even though there is only one picture to document the existence of his entire childhood, I have the honor of sharing it here.

He adored me and never stopped baby-talking to me. He was so sweet to me. I can feel so deeply sorry for not having him that I certainly forget to feel grateful for getting him in the first place. Happy Father's Day Daddy...

Framed View

A couple of posts ago I was talking about the daunting task of draperies for my two front windows and lamenting about being shorted fabric. I am still wading in oceans of heavy fabric. Each week "complete living room curtains" makes my list. I just keeping working on it and yet rolling that same task into the next week.

Once again "LR curtains" is on my list this week. While I have replaced the shorted fabric and of course the 12 yards of trim would not work for this new selection, I am still wading in the fabric pool.

In an effort to encourage myself, I thought I would show some completed tasks. These curtains are in my den and kitchen area. It is one of thosecombination rooms where there is a television, fireplace, a breakfast table and the kitchen. I chose a linen with a black check and red accents. While all the fabrics are the same I made each curtain a little different. I don't need privacy here so the curtain merely treats the window. Over the kitchen sink here...



The breakfast table here...

and the den windows seen here...

This window sits on a side door. This is the same slinky fabric I abandoned to professional help. I thought I could handle it for one window. I tied it to the rod as it hides the uneven length!

A powder bath window in a different yet slinkier fabric didn't turn out even either. An inside mount hides no flaws, so I hitched them up with tiebacks and viola, no more pesky errors to obsess over. On to compulse over something else. What a victory!

Here is a little sweet valance I am so proud of in a girlie room.

So I have actually started and completed window projects. I wonder if that will inspire me to "complete living room curtains"???

Dare

A good while back, during a time of transition and change (okay grief and loss) I ran across Joy Wallace at an art festival. I loved all her things so much but this spoke to me most. It features a chair which, you know, yum. A flower is growing right off the fabric and it reads "pushing the limits, daring to bloom."

This rose bush near my front porch is living, as all living things do, by this philosophy. It is reaching onto my porch.

It is embracing my yew. Embracing yew.

I know for sure that God grants fears. Surely in an effort to allow us to bloom...

Pots

I have really been putting off that sewing project. I mean I am still putting off that sewing project. We had such a cool and rainy spring here in Oklahoma that I didn't put any potted plants out. Well, okay, I never have put any out since we moved in February 2008. I just couldn't bear to lift one more thing. This year I got a little enthusiast about outdoor work since I need to be sewing. This pile was waiting for more than a year.

Then I found this lovely chair and got interested in the garden again.

Sprayed it with clear to seal that patina. It has been green, pink and white during its life. The same thing could be said about me.

I collect children's chairs so had to get this sweet one. It is a folding chair. Can't you just see some fidgety little kid getting folded up in it? And why does my interest in the garden involve so much furniture?

I put out a bunch of pots but they need to develop a little before I photograph them. However, these maidenhair ferns are going wild and are very happy on my dining table. We eat outside every single night that weather permits. That watering can is my mother's. She was still using it when I snatched it up. I see them in antique shops for stupid prices. When did junk become junque?

So now that I have been green and broken all my fingernails off I can get going on those drapes. Its. Just. So. Nice. Out....