Two Owls, One Blinking

Don't you just love these two owls? I love whoever created this gif. So fun.

September 11, 2016

My area was especially hard hit by the 9/11 tragedy since so many commute to downtown NYC. It's very sad to watch it happen all over again on TV. This is really a day to reflect, especially with a Presidential election less than 2 months away. image source

Victory Garden 1951

Wouldn't it be nice to have a garden that didn't require a fence? My grandparents never had one around theirs in various gardens big and small. Stevan Dohanos - Victory Garden [1951]

My Wonderful Set of Old Copper Pots

I discovered this matched, graduated set of old copper pots at an outdoor antiques show years ago. Each one has this monogram on the front opposite the handle. Somebody was really proud of them and so am I because they look wonderful on the top shelf of my pantry. The large dovetails are beautiful too. The bottom of the biggest one is marked on the bottom with an incised E. I don't know what that signifies but it's probably a maker's mark. I didn't look on the bottom of the others. They fit inside each other nicely in a nest for easy storage. I like them lined up better. At my former house, they were displayed on a standing pot rack. The insides need to be re-tinned so I don't use them. Plus they are really heavy!

New Roadside Find for My Balcony

I am still amazed at the things people get rid of when they move. This nice little table is perfect between my two deck chairs on the balcony.

It weighs a ton and has very nice stone mosaic squares set in concrete. I'll have coffee there in the morning. Enjoy your evening. xo

Dog Portrait by Reuben Ward Binks

The mastermind behind this canine work of art is British artist Reuben Ward Binks. In his youth in the late 1800s, Binks showed artistic promise and verve, and won a competition at the tender age of 10 for his flower paintings. He found his calling, however, in canine portraits.

The artist was soon painting Royal dogs left and right, from the Prince of Wales’ Cairn Terriers, to the Duke of York’s Labrador Retriever and even the Clumber Spaniels owned by King George V himself.

Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, the alleged ‘favorite niece’ of J.D. Rockefeller, had a soft spot for pooches as a dog show judge and a breeder of championship canines with big dog shows just up the street from my cottage. Years later her estate auctioned off 150 of her pup-friendly works to help benefit the Saint Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, NJ. I did not attend this auction but I know people who did. As expected, the best paintings stayed in the area and helped raise some serious money for this worthy dog rescue charity. Read more here.

Bookplate with Bad Dogs

This is a pretty terrifying image, isn't it? Do you think J. A Kennard had a lot of experiences like this? I certainly hope not! The image is signed by the artist, lower right. 

I can't find the specific blog post, but it's somewhere on Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie.

The History of LABOR DAY

This is a reblog from both 2008 and 2009 for new followers who haven't seen it.

A young sweeper in Central Mills; Sylacauga, Alabama

Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. In between eating that hot dog or hamburger at your barbecue, you might want to learn more about the history of this holiday.

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September. The holiday originated in 1882 as the Central Labor Union in NYC sought to create "a day off for the working citizens".

Congress made Labor Day a federal holiday in 1894. All fifty states have made Labor Day a state holiday. In European countries, China and other parts of the world, May Day, the first day in May, is a holiday to celebrate workers and labor unions. Before it became an international workers holiday, May Day was a celebration of spring and the promise of summer.