Category: Blue

Buttons Buttons

I love buttons – all kinds of buttons – but old buttons most of all. So when Uncle Jerry asked me to go through some of Aunt Konnie’s craft items and take what I wanted – I chose her beautiful blue button tin full of buttons. I hated to leave her knitting needles behind and all her crochet thread but I don’t knit and I barely know how to crochet and I just don’t have room to store things like that. It was hard, very hard to leave them behind. But those buttons – they just had to come home with me. After getting them home and going through them I wonder if some of them weren’t Grandma’s buttons as many are really old. Dad said he’s pretty sure they are. That makes them even more special!

I have buttons all over the house in old canning jars and tins. I love to look at them, sort through them, just run them through my fingers. I save buttons off of clothes. I have even been known to buy a jar or two of buttons here and there at garage sales. I use them for magnets, in crafts, on my cross stitch projects. But this one blue tin full of buttons I won’t use. Aunt Konnie’s button tin – those I’ll keep just for me!

No Reason

I took this picture out of the car window while the car was moving. For no reason other than I love this view. I’m not a photographer by any means and this is not the best photo but I love it anyway. We were heading home from Uncle Jerry’s house after spending the afternoon with him and my two cousins. Aunt Konnie had passed away the day before and we all felt the need to be together. This barn sits down the hill from their house, through the tiny town of Rubio and around the corner. A couple of days later when we drove by there were cows roaming all over that hill and that would have made an even better picture but Drew had my phone and I wasn’t thinking about taking pictures then. It was a beautiful August day, the sun was shining, the sky was a beautiful blue with little puffs of white floating by. I would have loved to have taken a book and wandered up that hill, sat down in the shade of that barn and just enjoyed the quiet.

Home

I’ve always been a homebody but it seems the older I get and the longer I’m out of the workforce, the more of a homebody I’m becoming. Being away from home these past few days was fun but I would find myself wishing I was back home.  When we got home Sunday evening and headed down to check on the chickens I found our first blue egg. Matilda had laid her first egg while we were gone. It really didn’t matter that I wasn’t home when Matilda laid her first egg but it felt like I had missed out on a milestone in one of my baby’s lives! Silly I know but I just like to be home!

Monday

Today is a cold windy Monday at 1 degree and the wind makes it feel even colder! I just came in from cleaning out the chickens. They are happy campers now. Clean coop, fresh water, feed bowl filled and banana peels for a treat. As happy as they can be I guess being cooped up in the coop. They sure don’t like the snow and cold. The kitties have fresh water too and a bowl full of food and a nice warm insulated doghouse full of straw.

Today has been busy. A two hour delay at school due to the cold and wind. That means keeping Drew entertained and yet ready to go to school when it’s time. He doesn’t sleep in and he gets all settled in at home when there’s a delay and then it can be a fight to get him out the door. Today we played with legos and talked about school. I think that helped.I made chocolate chip cookies when I got home from delivering Drew. Eric goes back to Iowa today and I wanted to send him off with something yummy from home! Then I spent some time on the phone with my mom who is trying to help my aunt learn how to use her new iPhone. Mom doesn’t have an iPhone so it’s quite comical trying to get her to understand over the phone so she can explain to Aunt Konnie over the phone what to do. I think we might be running to Konnie’s house tomorrow afternoon. It’ much easier to explain in person than doing it this way.

 

I did manage to squeeze in a frugal pantry craft though. Am I the only person who will buy a product at the grocery store just for the pretty label? I loved this label on the store brand flour at our local grocery store. Now, in this instance I would have bought this brand anyway due to it being the cheapest. When you shop at the local grocery store in a small town, you tend to buy the store brand. It still many times is more expensive than anything you can buy at the bigger name brand store. But sometimes it’s just cheaper and much less time consuming to run to town which is seven miles away than it is to run to the closest Fareway or Hy-Vee which are 30 miles away.

I was in need of flour and when I saw this label on the flour bag I fell in love. It’s blue for one thing and I love the old time feel!  I thought it would be perfect glued to my flour jar. Now to find similar labels for my other jars – sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, powdered milk, rice, macaroni noodles, etc. I’m not sure that will happen at the store so maybe I can find something on Pinterest I like that will coordinate. I like the how cheery this looks sitting on my cupboard and would like to have all my jars look pretty. And I used wheat paste so if I need or want to I can take this off and replace it with something else down the road.

Not So Colorful Decorating

A splash of colorful flowers – a mix of wildflowers and garden flowers with a splash of blue in the old quilt square on the table.

As I visit different blogs, check out different decorating groups on Facebook, peruse Pinterest and scroll through Instagram I am amazed at all the beautiful colors that people use to decorate with. I’m especially drawn to vintage and cottage style decorating and colors. And yet, as much as I am drawn to them and love looking at them, I look around my home and that is not what I see. I don’t have bright cheery colors. I don’t have a lot of fun vintage shades of aqua that I am so drawn too. I live mostly with primitive colors. Everywhere I look. And I feel the most comfortable with this. It fascinates me how color plays such a part in our lives. It would be a boring world if we didn’t have color and it would be a boring world if we all liked the same colors. I’m thankful I can appreciate all the different colors and decorating styles out there but give me the primitive browns, burgundies, blues (got to have blues!) and golds with a splash of a little brightness here and there and I feel comfortable and at home! There’s nothing better than a piece of old wood that is weathered and worn from time and use – that to me is one of the most beautiful colors in the world!

Old books, old bowls, old bowl and pitcher on an old Hoosier cabinet. The old wooden box on the wall holding my antique sheep – a favorite corner of the dining room!

An old shelf I just painted black. It still needs to be sanded down to show wear and then a coat of stain. I’m thinking I need to paint the little blue frame on the bottom shelf. Or give it a coat of wax to dull it down!

Old ironstone on a chippy old shelf in the kitchen. The grater on the left was a gift from Eric one year for Christmas. He knows me well! The spice cabinet on the right was a Goodwill find I painted, sanded and stained then added the material under the glass. The tea towel was a gift from Abby!

Old frames are a favorite of mine. And if they aren’t old – a can of paint and some stain will help to make them look that way!

Peace Be Upon Us. A favorite stitched sampler I stitched years ago framed in an old frame found at a favorite antique store in town that has now closed its doors.

Old, chippy and blue. My favorite combination!

Even my stitcheries have to be coffee stained and left wrinkled to look right to me! Add a touch of Sweet Annie to smell good and add that drab touch of perfectness! The frame on the left holds the lyrics of a song called Fading Echoes written by my Great Grandma Houseal. A treasure for sure.

A splash of color in the kitchen. But of course it’s sitting on a doily I stitched and stained for that beautiful prim goodness. These faux lemons smell wonderful! I do have a splash of color here and there!

Suitcases

My new bowl – this is not a good picture. The bowl is white and blue. I’m not sure what to display in it yet. I stuck this pinkeep in it for now!

My favorite antique store is closing. Suitcases is located in an old two story house in town that I always enjoy visiting. It’s run by the mother of one of my old classmates and she’s getting to the point where she just can’t keep at it anymore. It’s always a joy to visit. There’s always a group of women (and sometimes a man or two!) visiting Barb for coffee and the best times are when she is unloading boxes. I could sit and listen to them all day talk about the antiques Barb is setting out and reminiscing about them. The memories of old – things that before long will be long forgotten. I also enjoy visiting with Barb’s daughter Missy. She’s a sweet person and we visit about this and that.

I hadn’t stopped in for quite some time. If I don’t visit – I don’t spend money but when I saw they were having a closing out sale I knew I’d better stop in. They are hoping to be done by the end of May and with the What Cheer Flea Market coming the first weekend in May I knew I’d better stop by. The flea market draws people from far and wide and they stop in the local antique stores on their way to What Cheer. Some of the vendors will even buy things to sell at the flea market. That’s another fun place to visit – the What Cheer Flea Market. It is amazing!

My haul from today:

One small frame to be filled with a something stitched. I’ll have to dig into my stash of finishes. I will swap the old cross stitch picture into the other frame that’s hiding behind it. The one it’s in needs some TLC. Two small ironstone creamers.  A nice blue bowl – I love the design on the rim.  A small blue and white bowl. (It’s hard for me to pass up anything blue!) A beautiful smaller wooden bowl with a favorite prim shade of blue bottom  and my favorite – two old rag rugs. They are much brighter in the picture than they really are. They will be perfect on each side of our bed. How nice in the winter not to step onto the cold floor.  And not pictured – an old copy of the book Black Beauty. I’m slowly starting to collect old books and this is one that I loved to read when I was a little girl.

I hate to see this store closing. I hate that Barb is getting to the point that she can’t keep it going. There’s just something about an antique store that draws me in and makes me feel at home and this one especially. It’s a special place and will be missed.

The weather here has not been very nice. Today it’s chilly, windy, and rainy. It doesn’t look like things are going to be improving any time sson either. Drew checked last night and Miss Mindy has moved her kittens. I’m hoping she’s found a dryer, warmer spot. The spot up by the house was pretty exposed to the weather. Not good for those little ones. We’ll have to keep an eye on mama and see where she’s spending all of her time if we want to find them again.

Well, I think I’ll run to town to buy paint. I haven’t painted the walls in this old house for quite a few years and it’s definitely time for an update. I’ve joined a couple of Facebook groups that showcase prim and country style homes and have been getting a lot of inspiration. It’s fun to see how others decorate. There are some beautiful homes out there. Mine doesn’t come close to comparing but that’s okay. It’s my home and I’m content.

I Choose Joy

Its been slow going on this one – a lot of frogging for some reason. But it hasn’t upset me in the least – I just remind myself to choose joy and enjoy the process!

I fell in love with this pattern as soon as I saw it. It’s by Lori Rippey. She designs the most beautiful prim patterns. This one has really been a joy to stitch! It definitely is a choice and I’ve learned through the years that no matter what, you can choose joy and your life will always be better for it!

Besides the obvious things that bring me joy, God and family being right up there at the top, these are a few of the things that are bringing me joy right now:

The Bleeding Hearts are blooming. A spring favorite that brings me joy.
A worn out Pierre – five whole days of having Drew home is hard on a cat!
A new prim finish. There is something about the feel of pulling that needle through cloth that brings joy. And horses and flowers and old prim frames. Pure joy.
The newest book in the Bellingwood Series – just waiting for me to open it up and jump in! Do I read it now or wait three months for the next installment? I love having more than one to read so I can visit Bellingwood longer!
My turquoise and red dish cloth and hot pad. I find joy in using the things that I’ve made. These are headed out to the camper!
Candles and some splashes of blue – for some reason burning candles right now brings me joy and the color blue has always brought me joy!
My wonderful husband surprised me yesterday afternoon – he asked if I was ready for the camper to come home. Oh joy! Of course I was ready. I’m always ready for the camper to come home! So off to Pella we went on a road trip to get the camper. There probably wont be any camping in our future until after graduation but at least I can start getting this baby ready. Our second home!

And now I’m off to take care of the chickens. Another thing that’s bringing joy to my life right now!