1916 Silver Trophy Cup: Dog Show

I love old sterling presentation cups with unique engraving.

This one is dated 1916 and was won by a Scottish Terrier.

She was a good dog!

Maybe this post will encourage me to polish some silver.

I'll do it along with my spring cleaning.

I did my bedroom yesterday, all but the dusting.

It was still dark this morning at 7am.

Have a great Sunday.

xo

Spring Cleaning Checklist

This photo is on the cover of a book I own on Spring Cleaning. 

Refresh throughout the home:

• Wipe down doors and trim work
• Clean interior and exterior windows – let the light in
• Spot clean walls and touch up any scuffed paint
• Clean and treat floorboards - especially if you’ve had wet pets in and out all winter
• Clean ceiling fans and light fixtures

Entryway and mudroom closet

• Store your winter gear including snow boots, heavy jackets, hats and gloves – if it wasn’t worn this winter, consider donating
• Thoroughly vacuum closet floor and re-organize any storage bins
• Corral small items into baskets

Kitchen

• Empty the refrigerator and throw out expired food. Wash drawers and shelving with warm, soapy water
• Purge the pantry and clean all shelves and drawers. Forgotten crumbs can attract unwelcome visitors like ants and pantry moths
• Remove all appliances from counter and clean behind each one
• Remove build-up on kitchen cabinets – try Parker & Bailey Cabinet Cream or something similar
• Polish stainless steel appliances – always with the grain
• Deep clean microwave and dishwasher; be sure there is no trapped food
• Check countertops to see if they are in need of sealer (stone) or catalytic finish (wood)

Living room and dining area

• Deep clean rugs and upholstered seating
• Remove all books and displays from shelving and clean
• Polish silver
• Add fresh flowers to dining table

Bedrooms

• Purge closets of winter clothes, shoes and accessories – consider donating items not worn by family members
• Remove heavy winter blankets from bed and change to lighter linens
• Flip all mattresses

Bathrooms

• Change shower curtains
• Purge worn towels or bath mats
• Organize vanity – dispose of expired medications and cosmetics
• Clean tiled areas and check grout for discoloration
• Clean mirror thoroughly

Are you exhausted yet? I found these detailed instructions by a Boston/Martha's Vineyard Architect with photographs here. Enjoy your weekend. xo

Unboxing My Surprise Gift from A Blog Follower

An antique English Ironstone soap dish and two mystery boxes tied with bunny ribbon.

A natural bristle nail brush and a bar of Crabtree & Evelyn Gardeners Soap. It is infused with rosemary, sage and time and has fine pumice to gently clean my gardening hands.

The verse on my card is sweet. "It is often difficult to tell if a hedgehog is ticklish. If you try, you're more likely to find him pricklish."

I rearranged the cleaning supplies I leave in plain view on the counter behind my double farm sink and now I am ready for spring garden cleanup too. I always wear gloves when I work outside but I also manage to get my hands very dirty when I take them off for fine work. I already had the Gardeners Hand Scrub and my old nail brush was too embarrassing to leave out. I am fanatical about clean nails and I adore this new brush. Thank you, Katherine for such thoughtful gifts in appreciation of my blog. I am also impressed that you were able to find my address at the office. Some of the associates at my meeting yesterday wanted me to open the gifts right away but I decided to wait and open them for you and my other faithful blog followers and friends after I got home. Today's post was fun to prepare and present. xo

House Plants Outside on Work Table

I found this primitive old work table on the side of the road quite late on the last day of the town's junk days for residents. I have had it for a couple of years or more. The top had some kind of covering and a million rusty nails. I honestly didn't know the front stretcher was in old blue paint too. The paint was what attracted me to it in the first place in a huge pile of discarded items, probably from a barn. Yesterday I removed the composite top and all the rusty nails and scrubbed it down with hot soapy water. I moved some of my house plants outside today and it is starting to get me excited about my balcony again. I washed it down yesterday with a deep cleaning deck wash in a bucket of hot water and swabbed it with a mop. It is looking almost new again in the hot sun this morning. The sun is continuing to bleach the embedded mildew. I shall stop obsessing about it now and maybe concentrate on a little inside cleaning. (Smile)

I adore my roadside finds and feel good about saving this table from the landfill, especially since today is EARTH DAY 2018. Happy Sunday. See you later. xo

Cleaning My Refrigerator

I have been in a cleaning frenzy lately. My refrigerator was today's project and boy, did it ever need it. It took me a long time too. I started out this morning thinking I would just do a shelf or two and ended up doing the whole thing, and the two freezer drawers down below as well and it felt to good! Weekend before last, I tore my bedroom apart and cleaned it top to bottom. It must be something in my starts. I get this way every now and then and I hope it continues. I put this photo on Instagram today and it seems nobody likes to clean the refrigerator. It is one of those dreaded tasks and it's a pretty thankless job. 

You know what they say about housework: "It's something nobody notices until you don't do it." HaHa.

Shark Day at My Cottage

Did the title of this post get your attention? A few days ago, I washed and cleaned all the filters and the canister on my Shark Bagless Vacuum Cleaner and it was like new again. Yesterday, I decided to use it instead of my upright Hoover. Here is the end result in my living room. I have a hard time doing inside housework in the summer, do you? It's a necessary evil though! It was somehow quite satisfying to see all the dirt and dust I collected. I did a really thorough job in my living room and kitchen (moving furniture) but only gave a lick and a promise to the 2 bedrooms, bath, and entrance vestibule on my main floor. I had to empty the canister 3 times! My windows are all open and the outside dust is on its way inside but I don't care. I like being clean as a whistle once again. Doesn't it look nice? xo

Mosaic Tile Floor with Birds

This is spectacular, isn't it? Wish I could see the whole thing. What a work of art! Hope you are having a great weekend. Most but not all of my trees are budding and the spring green is beautiful. I cleaned my deck yesterday and it looks almost brand new. I forced all of the dirt from between the joints with a screw driver and blew it away with my power leaf blower. Then I squirted with the jet selection of my hose sprayer and wet everything down. Then I mopped it with a foaming oxy-deck cleaner and scrubbed it with a stiff broom. It was fun playing in the water and the end result is very satisfying. I didn't clean it at all last year and it really needed it. That and hacking away at overgrown multiflora were my two accomplishments yesterday. Today I've just been enjoying the weather and not much else. xo

Photo Source

My Metal Polishing Products and Secrets

This post is on the fly this morning. Running late for an office meeting.

Yesterday I polished this antique copper coal scuttle. Last time it was polished during my stewardship? Never! I left the inside unpolished. I use this for storing old magazines. It's really a fireplace item but I don't have room for it there.

I polished all of my brass candlesticks and trivets. First I spray down the item with Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day multi-surface. Then I dip my dampened cleaning rag or sponge into some Bar Keepers Friend cleanser which I have in a shallow bowl. The rest is magic. The spray loosens the tarnish and the cleanser dissolves it before your very eyes. Wipe and buff. For really old tarnish keep spraying and dipping and rubbing. No need to wipe it all off until you are finished with the entire item. 

For horizontal surfaces like switch plates you will have to soak your rag in the liquid (just the part wrapped around your finger) and wipe over the tarnish first. Then do the second step. I used a Q-tip when I was polishing an engraved brass plate on the top of a cellarette without ruining the wood.

Just experiment. You will be amazed. Handle the powder with care. It's powerful stuff and is probably quite dangerous. But it's been around since 1882 and hasn't been recalled yet. I don't plan on using it every day so I don't think it will kill me before I'm finished. 

I got this "Radish" Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day spray at TJMaxx because this "scent" has been discontinued. I'm sure almost any multi-surface spray will work; this is just what I had on hand. I polished all of my silver trophies using this method and nothing got scratched. You can probably make a paste using these two products as well to "dissolve" the powder if you are afraid of scratching. All of my things are antiques and have already been around the block so I wasn't worried.

Good luck. I think I have hunted down almost everything tarnished in my cottage except for my copper pots and my antique andirons. I will tackle them soon. I spread a small tarp on my kitchen table to do the coal scuttle. For the smaller items, I used a folded turkish towel on my kitchen counter near the sink and rinsed under running water before drying and buffing, Just play around and see what works for you. You can also "rinse" small items in a dishpan full of water and keep using it for that purpose. You can soak heavily tarnished brass candlesticks overnight in this solution for really easy cleaning the next day.

Polishing Frenzy at My Cottage

If you are silver

or 

if you are brass, 

I will find you!

Once I get started on a big project, I can't stop. I have polished almost everything in my cottage that is in plain sight except for the andirons and they scare me. I want to wait until the weather is mild enough for me to do them outside. My fender looks fabulous and so do the fireplace tools. So happy. xo

Copper Kettle + Cast Iron Stove Plate

I have a copper kettle just like this one. via

Hopefully, this photo will inspire me to polish it.

I love the decorative cast iron stove plate too. The urge to start spring cleaning is coming on!

Great Quote about Possessions

I love this quote. I released lots of snow on my walk and on my car this morning and it made me happy. The bright sun is doing a nice job of melting the driveway, just as I hoped it would. Happy first full day of spring. Have a great weekend. xo