Flower Power

Such a sweet time of year.......the flowers are just starting to push out their glorious blooms...
....and growing so fast in all of the warm weather.
The boys' old Radio Flyer has been converted into a planter this year.
A lot of fun to do...but really had a hard time drilling the holes in the bottom...
oh the memories of lots of wagon rides down the street!
However, the old rusty ride is enjoying life now as a planter. Vrrrmmmm!
(Thank you, Jean, for the tips on how to do this!)

Urns have been planted....

.....with lots of trailing vines and flowers.

One of the pink hydrangeas is really showing off this year!!!

She is magnificent!!!

And my pot of pansies, a gift from my dear friend Miss Jean and Mr. In The Garden,

are still doing the happy dance.....

...and the mossy baskets are enjoying time hangin' around.

Enjoy your week!

PS: Miss Krystal is going to be grinning ear to ear with all of your kind words left about the platter she made. She is as cute as a button and as sweet as candy! Yes....I love her tons and tons!! Can you tell? smiles......

addendum 6-1-09: For planting the wagon:

Drill about 8-10 1/4" holes on the bottom for drainage.

Line it with window screening (you can purchase this at any hardware store). It will keep your
soil from falling through the holes but allows the water to drain.

I used Miracle Grow Moisture Retention potting soil being as the wagon gets hot and dries up the flowers fast. Fill the wagon with your soil and flowers and sit back to watch it grow!

Enjoy!!!

How SWEET It IS!!!!

Does this look familiar? Well, I am sure it does as it is the design from my blog. My son's girlfriend, sweet Miss Krystal, made this for me!

Sweet Miss K. flew out for a visit in March (she is from the East Coast) and even carried this sweet platter in her carry-on luggage. Ohhhh....I am so happy it arrived safe and sound!
She hand painted each perfect detail onto the platter and had it fired in a kiln.
It must have taken her hours and hours to do this.
Krystal, my sweet girl, thank you from the bottom of my heart for such a lovely and personal gift. I will cherish it forever and ever. You are so SWEET!!!!!!

It is no wonder that Spen loves you so much!

So do I!!!!!



((hugs)) and XXXXXX

For Picks and Pins

Momma always said, "Every thing in it's place...and a place for everything." Perhaps it was her upbringing for her way of thinking or just her need to have things tidy and orderly in her home. As a kid I didn't understand it but now I do. Things were different in her days of growing up. There were objects that were made to be need specific and were sooo cute, too!

There is something so special about vintage utilitarian items. Sweet nostalgic pieces that must have been crafted by someone who wore a huge smile on their face as their paintbrush carefully glided over the object that they delicately held in their hand.

I am in love with the Union Jack pieces. Claire, at Vintage Home, sews the prettiest Union Jack pillows (and they are for sale on her website). I was doing the "happy dance" when I found the Union Jack pincushion above at at flea market.

Below is a sweet little piece that is a made in Japan toothpick holder. Oftentimes they will be listed on eBay as a vase, but they are really for putting your toothpicks in. I think it would be perfect as a vase or even to hold Q-Tips.

The little Scottie dog is another toothpick holder. Next to him is a little salt shaker that could also be used to hold old hat pins.
Above, and below, are more vintage toothpick holders. The one on the right was a gift from Miss Jean for babysitting her sweet little Maggie dear last summer.

Ok...he is just tooooo cute!
This precious little girl belonged to my friend, Shirley. It once belonged to her sweet mother, who loved to collect antiques. I just had to have her! Of course, I fell in love with her charming little pincushion basket.

They just don't make things like they used to...........would you agree with me?

~~~~~~~~

Our family is sending a sincere thank you for all of you who either emailed us or left a comment in behalf of Jordan's Memorial Day post. Sending love and gratitude to you as you really touch our hearts with your words and prayers. Thank you so very much! You all are very special and we appreciate the time that you take to share your thoughts, stories and love.





xxoo

Posting Of The Colors On This Memorial Day

Our family has always held a deep appreciation to all of the men and women who have served our Country, in the past and in the present. As many of you know, this Memorial Day holds an extra special meaning to us as we lost our beloved Jordan, Senior Airman USAF, in February. Jordan had served our Country the past three years as a Firefighter in the United States Air Force. He gave unselfishly to our wonderful Nation.
Our wonderful young son is buried in the Honor Garden. On each side of him are two local soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq. Someone left this wreath on Jordan's grave as well as on the graves of the two soldiers on each side of him.
This day we not only remember and celebrate our son, but also to honor those who have served before him and who are currently serving.

These photos were taken today at the cemetary where our Jordan has been layed to rest. As soon as we drove in and saw all of the flags, we immediately began to weep. There are literally thousands - all furling in the wind. It took our breath away.

This is the area where our sweet Jordy is. There is a Memorial momument and today these very special Naval cadets were proudly standing next to it. I could only cry as I took their photos. They could only apologize to me for my tears and loss. Such young spirit - bravado to the core and to the deepest depths of their being!

Below is our son's flag that was donated by his wife, Morgan. We were each presented a flag at Jordan's funeral. She gave her flag so that it can be honorably displayed for days like this.

Today it is stretched out....his angelic arms reaching out to us in love.

Jordan.....thank you, my son.....thank you for serving our Country!!!! We miss you so much!!!

With deepest love and affection this Memorial Day....

Your family....

Dad, Mom, Spen, Duhgall, Fiona and Socks

Thank you, Dad and Grandpa George (RIP), for serving our Country as well.

xxoo...

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We also send much gratitude to all of you who have, and have had, family who have served our Country!!!!!!!! There is no other sacrifice so special as this.

For those of you who are reading this post and are currently serving our Country, thank you for fighting for our freedom. Our Country should never forget those who have fought so that we can be FREE!!!!!

God Bless America!!! The home of the FREE and the BRAVE!!

Awhile back I saw these little felted birds and gasped! Not only are they adorable, but they are made by my little friends, Aubrie and Rylee! These little wool love birds came out of the cage just to have their photo taken this morning and to wish you a happy day!

If you have never stopped by for a visit at The Wild Raspberry, please treat yourself today. The blog is the creation of three sisters and sister in laws, Chasity, Deborah and Shauna. They have a lovely online shop and offer adorable pillows, handbags and aprons. They are also celebrating their 100th post and are having a lovely giveaway.

I am also asking for you to say a prayer for Shauna as she was just diagnosed with cancer. It seems so unfair that such young people are afflicted with illnesses like this. You have all been so good to me in sending me your deepest of thoughts and prayers, so I ask that you extend your hearts a little further to the Heck Family.

God Bless you and have a super weekend.

Stretching my arms wide to send a (((hug))) to you - where ever you are!

The Story Of Miss Red Chick

"Cluck, cluck.." "Yeh, you heard me...cluck cluck...."

"Cluck...cluck...you missed a spot on the floor!", yells Miss Red Chick. "Oh, and while you are at it,you need to polish that glass cook top and do your dishes!", pipes in Vintage Chuck the Chicken.

The crowd of little Dutch children cheer Miss Red Chick on as they peer over her shoulder. They are the kitchen supervisors and oversee my every move in the kitchen. Bossy little ones!!!!! No wonder I always feel like someone is watching me! Cause they are!!! Hey, do you think they will yell at me if I eat one of these cupcakes?

.......let me see............moving closer to those tasty treats..........fingers stretched....mouth is watering....icy cold glass of milk awaits me on the counter........ A booming voice yells:........"STEP AWAY FROM THE CUPCAKES!!!!!!!!!".....and the crowd cheers...golf claps.....sssshhhhhhhhhwwaaaaaaa!...more golf claps......

"Ok, ok," I say pouting and walking away empty handed. I am forced to drink my milk with no gooey chocolate chaser....

Characters:

Miss Red Chick, who is the creation of the lovely and ever-so-uber-talented Laura at Lallee's cottage.

Vintage Chuck the Chicken - an old friend

Kissing Dutch Children - previous orphans at an antique store
Cupcakes - another sweet creation of Laura!!

Up-Scale

There is just something so nostalgic to me about old metal things with numbers...old clocks...

old rulers...old thermometers and old scales. I found this old metal air mail scale last

week and just LOVE it! It is perfect to use to "up-scale" the vignette on the entry hall table.

This scale allows me to add height to this little vignette of an old clock, Syrocco squirrel tray and a metal flower frog that holds a favorite old photo. It is also just a fun and funky piece to have around the house.
I love to layer and here is an old suitcase topped with a great old book and an ironstone plate with a bird's nest and cloche.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to only mail a local item for a mere .07 cents?

Man, times have changed! Sure wish we could "scale" things back (yeh, pun intended).

I have shared this shelf before - infact on one of my first posts.

Just thought I'd share it again. The little Scottie vase was a gift

from my sweet friend, Kathy Long, way before I ever owned a Scottie.

Miss Fi-Fi-Fo-Fum went under the knife yesterday to get fixed. I know...I know... she would have made such cute puppies! So little Miss is being pampered today. You would hardly know she had surgery less than 24 hours ago. She and Duhgall wanted to play ball this morning!

My dear friend, Jean, had me over for a fabulous lunch about a week or so ago. Do you know I didn't bring my camera! Like "duh!" - what was I thinking? Her backyard is full of beauty with (geez - let me think - 50 or so...) pots full of flowers! Note to self: go back to take pictures for a post! Jean also is a wonderful cook and she made a Rhubarb and Apple dessert with a Phyllo Dough topping that was D-VINE! The dollup (ok - huge spoonful) of fresh whipped cream was the perfect touch! Stop by her blog to get the recipe. It is a show stopper!!!

Happy Weekend!

Gussied Up ~ Fiona's First Haircut!

Miss Fiona was the lucky recipient of her first bouquet of flowers for Mother's Day.

(The flowers were also for me...but I won't spoil it for her). Our sweet friends, Nancy and Mr. Gus (Fiona's secret admirer, who just so happens to be a very handsome Scottie boy) sent us this gorgeous spring bouquet. Nancy has started her own lovely blog, so please stop over to say hello!!

...sniff...sniff...

Oh they smell so good. I will tell you that Gus wants to take Fiona to Casbah, however she is not old enough to go out on a date just yet. So Nancy, tell Mr. Gus that Fiona will have to wait a few years before going on her first date.

"Ok, Momma.......get a good shot of my fuzzy ears before you take me into get gussied up for Gus!"

See how woolly these Scottie pups can be? She has a thick copper and white coat! Duhgall went in for his day of spa treatment, too, and also to give his little sister moral support. He is so good like that!! He makes sure that little Fiona is ok at all times.

All done!!!! Smile now for momma!!

Mr. Duhgall loooooves to pose for the camera. He was feeling rather swell after having his bath and haircut today!

He melts my heart!

Ok, Fee Fee....up in the chair for your mug shots!

....Turn to the left....

....now to the right....

Don't you just know she is thinking, "Aren't you done yet?"

Fiona said, "I'm outta here!"

It is good to be outside to stretch our legs and run through the muddy flower beds!!!!