Found Treasure

The other day Craig brought up a long lost box from the basement filled with my old books, and a forgotten treasure—my grandmother’s high school algebra book, copyright 1929.

My paternal grandmother grew up in a small town in Ontario, Canada.  She eventually married an American (her brother’s wife’s brother, got that?), moved to the states and became a U.S. citizen.  She had three children, including my father, survived two husbands, and led a very full life until she passed away in 2007 at the age of 89.

This book offers me a rare glimpse of her as a teenager.  It is scrawled many times over with her name and address, doodles and poetry.  The kind that teenagers write in each others yearbooks.

Miss Pauline Watterworth, Glencoe High School, Box 232, Phone 55, Canada.  Her full maiden name was Pauline Lavina Maud Watterworth.  Her handwriting is familiar; it stayed much the same.

Inside were tucked some cuttings from a newspaper, although there doesn’t seem to be anything particular of interest on them, not even the whole comic.

They are from the London (Ontario) Free Press, Wednesday, September 20, 1933.

There was also a pressed leaf, on which she wrote her name.

Here’s is a caricature of Esther.  I don’t know if Grandma drew it or not, but it looks just like a girl from the 1930s should.  Esther may be forgotten, but Grandma stayed in touch with her high school friend May her whole life.

The poetry appears to be written by various classmates, and is quite humorous. 

“As sure as grapes grow on a vine/ Never depend on a young man’s mind/ For a young man’s mind is like a flower/ It blooms and fades in half an hour.”

On another page “They say it is a folly to flirt/ A cruelty unto man/ But my advice to you, Miss/ Is go it while you can.”

And this one, which makes use of the hymn Yield Not to Temptation  “Yield not to flirtation/ For flirting is sin/ Some sister will help you/ Her brother to win/ Fight lovingly onward/ Blondes ever subdue/ Look to the brown head/ He will carry you thru”.  I can’t read it without inserting the tune.

I don’t know why Grandma saved her algebra book, or if she did it intentionally, but I’m glad she did.  It’s a treasure indeed!

I’m joining Julia’s Hooked on Friday party and celebrating my grandma’s life at Melissa’s A Beautiful Life party.

Do You craigslist?

I’m joining Hooked on Fridays today because I’m hooked on craigslist.

I’ve spent a lot of time talking about my thrift store purchases on this blog. You know I love to find a great bargain or unexpected treasure. But what if you’re looking for something specific?

Craigslist is a great place to start. I have found several things that I was intentionally looking for, as well as a few that I just stumbled upon while browsing.

This old 46” square window was $20, and exactly what I was looking for to add interest to my big plain window.

My sectional couch was a steal at $260.

We got our down-filled, slip-covered couch last summer for $200, and it was just what I was looking for.

My china cabinet was an accidental find for $35!

Before we moved into this house, I did a lot of shopping on craigslist; I found this console table for $50 and the big mirror for $25.

I also found a black side-by-side refrigerator for $500, with three years left on the extended service contract the original owners had purchased. We had to use it for a repair right away, because after being stored in their garage over the winter it had developed a leak.

Are you looking for something specific? How about something that you could paint or repurpose? Lots of times the older furniture is solid wood and way better quality than you could get brand-new for a comparable price.

How about this buffet for $65, maybe painted white? Rats, I don’t have any room for it.

Look at this cool antique secretary, listed for $100.

Somebody is selling this antique table for $59! Again, I'm thinking paint or maybe just restaining the top.

There are bargains to be had out there; you just have to look!

Hooked on Mitford

I am a reader. I love fiction (though not all genres). One of my all-time favorite series is the Mitford series by Jan Karon. I’ve read them all several times.

The main character is an Episcopal priest that lives in a small town in the mountains of North Carolina. I know…it didn’t really grab you, did it? But there is just something so charming about these stories that it makes you feel homesick. Like you were meant to live in Mitford but somehow fate dealt you an unlucky blow.

I’ve even wondered if I should switch over to Episcopalianism.

This is well-written Christian fiction. It’s wholesome and clean. It’s funny, cozy, friendly. It will encourage you as a Christian, and make you want to come back.

There are seven books in the series, plus gift books and cookbooks (food factors largely). Ms. Karon has recently started a new series about Father Tim, and the first book, Home to Holly Springs, lived up to it predecessors.

Next time you’re looking for a good read, take a trip to Mitford. Meet you there!

Julia is hosting Hooked on Fridays at her blog Hooked on Houses.

Bad Habit

I have recently acquired a bad habit. A habit fueled by the DVR and A&E. In the last couple of months, I’ve discovered CSI: Miami. I’ve never watched a current season. I just watch the out-of-order re-runs which seem to comprise about a third of A&E’s airtime. This isn’t typically my genre. Blood, murder, science…in general, not major interests of mine.

Since the airing order of reruns seems to be totally random, I don’t even know a coherent storyline. I get bits and pieces with every show and try to fit it all together.

It’s formulaic and kind of funny. Horatio’s one-liners are always good for a laugh (“champagne? lipstick? looks like our vic was on a…..killer date!”). There’s always a piece of evidence left right where they can find it, but they rarely find it until their second or third visit. A hair, a toothpick…it always offers up the DNA.

They almost always interview the killer a couple times before they figure it out. It doesn’t matter how unpracticed (a 16 yr old girl) or hardened (repeat offender) they are, they always calmly and coolly deny everything. The suspects are never nervous or shifty-eyed. But when the team gets it all figured out, the suspect always goes “okay, I did it” and confesses everything.

The scenery is pretty, the colors are saturated, the people involved are attractive, and they always solve the crime. What can I say? I’m hooked!

Visit Hooked on Houses for Julia’s Hooked on Friday party.

Having a Ball! (Giveaway!)

Giveaway is now closed!

I'm going to add this post to Julia's Hooked on Fridays this week, because I heart these ceramic alphabet spheres so much! As I said originally, I don't know what it is about them. Somebody said basically the same thing in the comments, and I got thinking about it a little bit. I didn't come up with anything profound, but maybe we love letters and numbers because it's a reminder of childhood, of learning our ABCs and 123s on mommy's lap or in our cozy kindergarten room. Maybe because a mere 26 letters and 10 digits are the basis of all communication in the English language, and have formed great documents of freedom and beloved works from Shakespeare to Jane Austen to J.K. Rowling.

What-ever! They're just really cool. And even if you don't care about all the nonsense written above, you can still enter the giveaway until 6pm today (Fri. Apr 17).



A couple of months ago Dixie and I were in Pottery Barn and saw a display with some ceramic alphabet balls. I don’t even remember looking for a price, but they are not on the website, so apparently are not available.

We both loved the look and started brainstorming about how to create such a thing. Dixie thought of ping pong balls. I ran with that, and remembering some rub-on letters that I had, gave that a try. It worked great!
The next day Craig asked me to spend an online gift certificate we’d had for a while. There were only two stores that I recognized that accepted it; one was Coldwater Creek, so I started there. I couldn’t believe it when I stumbled upon their Word Play Letter and Number Spheres! On clearance, no less!



I don’t know what it is about these, but I. love. them. They’re just so cool! Dixie and I ordered a large and small set of both the letters and numbers and divvied them up.

I thought I’d go ahead and try one of the ping pong balls, just to give you the option of making them if you wanted to.



I got the little package of ping pong balls at Walmart, but they have a logo on them. If you were going to do this for real, you would want to get blank ones.



I cut out the rub-on letters individually, held it down sort of curving around the ball, and just rubbed it on with the stick. If you look closely at the top photo, you can see that each ceramic ball has the letter several times. Six, to be exact; four around the diameter and then one top and bottom.



Next, I gave it a few coats of glossy ModPodge. You can push a pin into the ball and use that to hold it while you brush on the ModPodge.



I then stuck the pin into some floral foam to let it dry. Obviously, if you were doing a bunch of these, you would need a lot of pins and a lot more foam to stick them in. Really, it could be anything that would support it and allow you to push the flat end of a straight pin into it. Maybe clay or playdough.



Maybe even a pan of brownies. Or in this case, what’s left of the Easter carrot cake. Well, it would give you an excuse to bake some goodies!



Here, I’ve put the ping pong ball in with the ceramic ones. It’s the ‘U’ on the top left. If it wasn’t a slightly different typography, I don’t think you could tell!

This was really quite easy, and you could make a bunch of them without too much effort. Or, you could order them from Coldwater Creek. Or, you could enter my giveaway!



Yes, I thought of my readers and ordered an extra set of large number spheres just for one of you!

• Leave a comment on this post to enter
• Blog about, and link to, this giveaway for another entry (let me know if you do)
  
• Become a follower of my blog for another entry

Contest will end Friday, April 17 at 6:00 pm. Good luck!
P.S. If you decide to make your own, be sure to let me know how it turned out!

Looks like it’s gonna be a good crop this year, Vern.

Have you heard of growing wheatgrass? Some people do it for juicing purposes, and it’s supposed to be very good for you. I’d heard it was really easy to grow, and thought I’d try it, not for juicing, but just for “pretty”.

I got wheat berries in the bulk section of a health food store, put some potting soil in pots, sprinkled the berries on it, and watered. That was last Thursday afternoon, and when I got up Sunday morning it had sprouted. It continued to grow at a rapid pace; you could almost watch it happening!

Tuesday, 8:40 am:

Tuesday, 4:00 pm. See the difference?

Wednesday, 3:20 pm. Holy cow!

Thursday, 9:00 pm. Time for a trim.

That’s better!

Well, I didn't get it straight. That's why Craig cuts the boys' hair and not me. But isn’t it pretty? I don’t know if it will continue to grow, and I’ll keep trimming it, or if I’ll have to plant a new crop.

This was seriously so easy. I just misted it with a spray bottle several times a day. It would be a fun project with kids, especially since it’s practically instant gratification.

(Just in case you’re wondering, my little pots came from Target Dollar Spot a few years ago, and I painted them with a strip of chalkboard paint.)

I’m joining Julia’s Hooked on Friday party today; see what others are hooked on over there.

Spring has Sprung!

This week I’m hooked on spring! We had some nice days here and there in the last month or so, but this week it really seems to be here to stay. And of course, today is the first official day of spring, so it seems fitting.

I’m hooked on buds on the one little tree in my yard.

And a forsythia wreath on my door. I had the wreath, bought the forsythia branches on sale at Michael's, pulled them apart and stuck them in.

Hooked on birds, especially the real ones that are twittering and tweeting now after a winter of silence.

Remember these beauties from Williams-Sonoma?

I’m hooked on my recreation of it. I mentioned before that I wasn't sure where everybody was getting their little nests, but I found this one, just the plain nest, at Walmart. The next day I saw them for less at Hobby Lobby. Moss from Walmart, twigs and fuzzy weedy thing from my yard, little blue flowers from a faux lavender plant I had.

Visit Hooked on Houses to see what everybody else is hooked on today. I’m just guessing, but I bet I’m not the only one in love with spring!

Springtime Palette

When I saw Julia’s post on Wednesday, I immediately recognized the first photo. That house was featured several years ago in a magazine that I have. A quick hunt revealed it was Better Homes and Gardens Home Planning Ideas Fall/Winter 2004.

I thought it would be fun to give an expanded tour for Hooked on Fridays (when you’re done here, be sure to visit over there). This home is located in Harbor Springs, Michigan on the northern shore of Lake Michigan. Another beach town, and you know I’m hooked on those!

The builders and owners are Rob and Vee Mossburg, and not only is it their home, but the first floor houses their business—The Cottage Co. of Harbor Springs. They built the structure to blend in with the neighboring buildings, and it is often mistaken for a renovation.

The floor plan shows that it is three stories. The second and third levels are the 3000 sq. ft. home.

One side of the living room.

Living room fireplace.

The kitchen. I’m not in love with the lavender color scheme here.

The dining area. The floral and green fabrics from the living room are repeated here.

The next three photos are of the master bedroom and bath. Lavender again, although I like it better here. I love the toile chair.

This is apparently Rob’s side of the bathroom. I like the furniture piece turned vanity.

And this is their rooftop deck, complete with a grill, refrigerator, cabinets and countertop. Not to mention the view. Sweet.

This is certainly a lovely home, and offers a refreshing peek at some spring-like hues. But it is also very feminine. The quote on the photo of the toile chair says “I tried to achieve a balance throughout the room by juxtaposing feminine color and style with masculine scale” (Vee). According to the article, what that means is a “massively proportioned” bed, armoire and desk.

Obviously Rob was agreeable with the decor, but what do you think? Is big furniture enough to give pastels and florals a masculine edge? What would your hubby think?

Article credits: David Bradley (writer), Michael Partenio (photographer), Sandra L. Mohlmann (stylist)