Brown and White Transferware Plate . . .

A brown and white Staffordshire transferware plate in a Willow Pattern (most often seen in blue). Another item that was sold some time ago. I wish I had saved all of my photos; but unfortunately I was not blogging and figured I would never need them again. So many lovely things were permanently erased from my hard drive. What a shame.

A miniature portrait on ivory from my collection is in the background.

A Wonderful Weathered Pot . . .

It is virtually impossible to get this look on a new cement pot. This one was old when I got it over 30 years ago. Unfortunately it is getting ready to "blow up" from the potbound roots of a boxwood planted inside. I am quite sure it will just crumble to pieces when I attempt to remove the shrub. That's why I keep putting off this chore.

Maybe I can put some sort of putty inside to hold it together. I will certainly try! Maybe I can get help from all the King's horses and all the King's men!

When a Chicken Finds a Typewriter . . .

Look what happens when a bored chicken finds a typewriter! I don't know about you but this just seems wrong to me.

There is a lady in Basking Ridge who sells fresh eggs from her porch. From now on, that's where I am going. I know her hens don't know how to type!

I took the last photo ~ I found the others on Flickr.

Alone in a Garden . . .

Orchid Pattern Transferware Wash Set . . .

It is time to get washed up and start my day. I am showing an early Staffordshire pitcher, bowl, and covered soap dish in brown and white transferware that I sold some time ago. I am very glad I saved the photo; I really like the composition with other items from my collection in the background. The name of the pattern is orchid.

I am thankful for indoor plumbing with running water when I look at personal grooming items from the past.

My Fan Club ~ A Slug and A Boy . . .

I was able to get a good shot a slug's face yesterday. No eyes; is that slit the mouth? More research is necessary on this end. You can enlarge the picture if you want a closer look.

Meet Evan from Charlottesville, Virginia. His mom and aunt are friends of fellow blogger Stacey of Stacey Snacks. She is blogging from Paris right now eating the things I photograph ~ escargot (snails).

Eight year old Evan reads my blog and wanted me to see this cool Walking Stick insect he found in his back yard. His name is Mr. Stick and he seems right at home on his master's cheek.

You can read more about Phasmatodea on Wikipedia. Believe it or not these insects make ideal pets!

Have a great weekend.

Time for the weekend . . .

The American tall case clock outside my kitchen pantry says it's TIME for the weekend. It has been raining most of the day and the evening fog is rolling in about now.

I slept in my car back in my younger days in order to be one of the first people in line at a house contents sale. I peeked in the window earlier in the day and saw this clock. Even though I arrived at 11pm the night before, I was #11.

Luckily I was the only one after a New Jersey clock so it all worked out fine. This is the one and only time I tried that tactic; I think it was over 25 years ago. Thanks to the Antiques Road Show you could never find anything this nice at a reasonable price today.

I am so excited that my blog won its first award for Best Blog of the Day on September 10th. My thanks to the judges!

Have a great weekend.

'Coco Chanel' TV movie on Lifetime 9/13 . . .

Shirley MacLaine as Coco Chanel in a tv movie this Saturday night on Lifetime.

I am not a shopper! I went to the Short Hills Mall yesterday with my friend Lynn to help her buy an iPhone from the Apple Store. Not that she needed me; she already knew what to buy because of advice from one of her daughters.

I guess it pays to get out once in a while because as we were leaving I saw a poster for a movie about the life of Coco Chanel. Lynn knew all about it. It is a 3-hour television special on LIFETIME this Saturday evening (9/13).

I have set my dvr and you should too. Should be interesting!

Delightful interiors . . .

I love this stairwell full of prints in black frames.

A nice wet bar or place to arrange your flowers.

I absolute love the design based on an antique stepback cupboard.

The best mudroom ever. It would be so nice to rinse your boots or dog's muddy feet here.

I had a really busy day today and decided to post some photos that I've saved on my computer over the years. Hopefully they will give you an idea or two.




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Secret Life of Bees ~ The Movie ~ Can't Wait . . .

One of my favorite books is now a movie! The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd premiers October 17th. I watched the trailer and it looks good. I think it is perfectly cast. I listened to the audio book and anxiously await the film.

Go to Kidd's website to watch the mover trailer and a video of the her first visit to the set.

Enjoy.

Sunflower hearts . . .

I posted about this phenomenon in July and it still amazes me! This wildflower was a volunteer ~ probably planted by a bird. When I processed the picture I was very surprised to see that the dark center is completely comprised of small hearts. The second photo is cropped to show them up close. No Photoshop tricks were applied; this is Mother Nature at her finest.

Great desk for Bloggers . . .

Somebody should make this.
Seems like an idea whose time has come! Love the bed drawer!

You can click to enlarge this hilarious NewYorker cartoon.

Slug Portraits ~ Not for the Squeemish . . .

I seem to be having great luck lately having invertebrates pose for their portraits! This guy was washed out by Hanna's big rain and landed on an extremely prickly object. I always wear leather gloves when I rake up these American chestnut pods. They really hurt! I guess slugs feel no pain because the thorns did not seem to hinder him. Mr. Slug moved right along and found safety rather quickly. All shots are right out of the camera and some are fuzzy. I won't leave them up forever, so look if you dare.

D-Day at Target Sunday, Sept. 7th . . .

Just a reminder! The John Derian items will be offered for a limited time beginning Sunday, September 7th. The weather here in New Jersey should be fine tomorrow after the Hanna aftermath blows over.

For a while today, it was raining sideways! All of my inside window sills were soaked and as I was wiping them off and closing the windows a light bulb went off in my head. Since everything was already presoaked, it would be a good time to wash the part of the sill that touches the screens. I had done them earlier in the year but they needed it again.

I got a stainless steel bowl, squirted in a little Dawn dish soap, added some really hot water, grabbed my favorite round fat paint brush and a cloth, and off I went. I did 19 windows in no time at all. I was really racing to get finished before dark. No need to worry about the soapy liquid running down the outside of the house either. The rain washed that off too. I am thrilled that I tackled that chore.

Late on a Saturday too ~ how pathetic is that?! Made me happy though...that's all that counts.

Begging dog balances duck on head . . .

Webster has absolutely no trouble begging. I taught him this trick very easily when he was just a young puppy by putting a Cheeze It cracker in my mouth and holding him up manually. He quickly learned that when he begged by himself he could get a free treat. He was pretty wobbly at first but now he can hold the pose for as long as it takes to get what he is after.

This head balancing thing is going to be a little more difficult. It is hard for me to grab the camera after the object is in place on top of his head. I am not going to cheat with double sticky tape or anything like that. He wasn't any good at all with my cup full of sharpened pencils. The rubber ducky was better.

He is pretty humiliated right now so I'd better stop.

Dog balances coffee on his head . . .

The first photo is one of my very favorite things. It is a life-size begging dog stand. It was probably originally used as a smoking stand because there are burn marks on one edge. He even has an old brass dog license hanging from his collar. It is stamped with the number 41.

I like to think that it was made in woodshop by a boy or girl. I took woodshop in 4th grade, so it could be a girl! It is the perfect height for holding my mug of morning coffee; it sits next to my computer chair.

The second picture is the real-life version found on flickr. Dogs are so smart and so wonderful!

Pitbull with Lipstick . . .

I could not resist posting these timely images.
Sarah Palin photo courtesy of Getty Images; dog from flickr.