Sunshine On My Shoulders

Pockets Full of Posies

Pleasant happenings involving posies have occurred in my small world these last few days. I decided to list just a few of them.

POSY HAPPENINGS:

• My new "find"...a vintage, hand painted, Jersey Pottery squat vase...from Scotland. I love it! My husband bought some posies for me to try out an arrangement. I adore fresh flowers. I've included them in my food budget for years...as food for the soul! 

 

• Another "find"...Martha's Bloomers, in Navasota. It is actually recognized as one of Southern Living's top 50 shops. HOW HAVE I MISSED IT ALL THESE YEARS? This  place contains a myriad of gift shops, a huge home and garden area with meandering garden paths, antiques galore, and, drum roll please...one of the finest, delectable tea rooms I have ever experienced. I give it Cindy's 5***** rating! The food was delicious and the presentation marvelous, such as edible posies atop my chicken salad. Also memorable were the complimentary cups of delicate, orange spiced tea and either blueberry or raspberry,white chocolate scones. I noticed people walking out with boxes full of these scones...they are that good. I'm told their dessert menu is well worth the indulging!

• After enjoying our lunch in Navasota, our family delighted in some gorgeous bluebonnet backroading. My granddaughter...the innocent little posy picker...did not know she was breaking a Texas law. I jokingly said we photographed her firsts...first time in the bluebonnets, and first time to break the law!

POSIES + FAMILY = PRAISING. A nice equation, don't you think?

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." ~JAMES 1:17

Hill Country Weekend: Eating & Shopping

Camp Verde:

Nestled in the foothills, 3 miles from famed Bandera Pass, on the banks of Verde Creek stands the Old Camp Verde General Store. Founded in 1857 and opened only on payroll days, the store was built one mile from Fort Camp Verde.

The Fort is remembered for being the location of the historical camel experiment of the 1850's, suggested by then Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, and supported by President Pierce for army transport and military purposes. The camels brought from the Middle East passed every test with flying colors, but after the Civil War, funds were no longer available for this experiment, and the Fort was closed.

Visiting Camp Verde General Store was a delightful experience for us. The garden, the excellent cafe, the gift store and of course the history makes this a great stop-over. The "Ooh-La-La" grilled sandwich was amazing, living up to it's name! Camel food was also on the menu...for healthier choices.

 

 Dave let me shop to my heart's content.

 

Having babies on the brain, my husband spotted this Jim Shore collectible figurine, and purchased it for our daughter.

Medina:

After lunching in Camp Verde, we made a 15 minute drive toward Medina, and stopped at The Apple Store for dessert.

  

Medina holds the claim of "The Apple Capital of Texas." The Apple Store is located on site at Love Creek Orchards, where you can pick your own apples, or purchase a number of unique apple gifts, like the potpourri which is pictured.

  

See the soft serve ice cream machine? It holds apple ice cream, which is flavored with apple cider and cinnamon, and is scrumptious!

 

Dave chose a "to go" slice of their famous homemade apple pie. His was sugar-free...he savored every bite!

Boerne:

Boerne is located only 22 miles northwest of San Antonio in the foothills of the Texas Hill Country. This historic and charming city is famed for being the #1 retirement city in Texas.

Boerne Market Days take place on the city square one weekend a month. We loved the festive atmosphere...and soaked up hill country local color.

You have not experienced a gordita until you have tasted one made with made-from-scratch  pita-type of fried bread. This family boasts that they make the best gorditas in all of Kendall County. After tasting one...whoa boy! That is the truth!

 

Most every outdoor event in the Hill Country will have icy cold fresh fruit drinks. Watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple...oh my! So refreshing.

 

Since I'm a "bag lady," Dave bought me a new purse at Market Days. Cute, huh?

One evening our friends, Helen and Rudi Soliz, took us to the Hungry Horse Restaurant in downtown Boerne. Country style...homemade...huge portions...definitely a place to go if you are hungry. The huge bran muffin/roll...that alone was worth the stop.

 

My daughter and I always check out a thrift shop run by a local animal shelter, which opens on Thursdays and Saturdays. They have a reputation for selling really good things, so lines are always long at the 10:00 A.M. opening.

This visit I was able to do one nice thing for a friend with a serious foot problem. Her podiatrist recommended Z-Coil shoes for her, but the $200 price tag prevented her from trying them out. Now, what are the chances that I should find never worn Z-Coils in her size at the thrift store? And for a mere fraction of the value. When I phoned her, she was shouting...and doing that nice thing sure made me happy.

Garage Sale Dating Outing

Here is a look at some of my garage sale loot from this morning's shopping spree. I'm still reeling that my husband actually went with me. Going to garage sales is not exactly his cup of tea, but he did it to spend the morning with me. What a sweetie!

 

The red tray is from Southern Living, which I run across all the time. I reasoned that gals attend the home parties and buy on impulse, resulting in garage sale fodder for people like me!

If I go garage sal-ing super early, I find plenty of buys within one hour of shopping time. That's not too much time to spend on such a fun hobby, is it? I have always told my family I'm just being a Proverbs 31 woman, rising early to provide for my family. *grins*

This morning we went to garage sales, ran some errands, made a long stop at Wal-Mart...all before 11:00 AM. So we ate an early lunch at our favorite "what sounds good to you, Honey?" restaraunt, here.

A date morning going to garage sales...what a treat!

Thrifting & Garage Sales...what fun!

Combing thrift shops or garage sales for unusual finds has become quite a hobby for my daughter and me. You can uncover some of the most unique items. The "hunt" is part of the fun, albeit you do have to look through lots of junky stuff sometimes, and you must be disciplined in what you choose so as to not clutter your home.

Look at these unusual handmade pottery cups my daughter located recently in a thrift shop in Oregon, and then presented to my husband and me. They are much lovelier than the photo represents. I'm so proud of them.

 

This alluring vintage purse made of real leather and peacock feathers called out to me at a garage sale. I was told that it is at least sixty years old. It is in perfect condition. What would you pay at a vintage shop for it?  Much, much more than the $2.00 I paid. Another reason I enjoy garage sales.

 

Have you seen the globes made with jeweled stones? I fell in love with them, but did not want to pay the high price. But I was happy to give a lady $3.00 for this one at her yard sale!

   

This beautiful vase came from Turkey. I actually bought two more similar ones with this one because I got them at such a great price. ..for gifts, I reasoned. But then I could not part with them.

 

Finally, I want you to see this chair. The lady told me she brought it over from IRAN. I recall seeing similar furniture in INDIA, so it appealed to me. I add a cute little pillow and use it at a small desk. It is made of teak wood and clad in metal. I'm showing pictures of the metal detail also.

 

 

 

Oh the joy of a wonderful garage sale or thrift store find. It is quite a high!

Flower Power

   

When I discovered my husband left a bouquet of flowers for me in the kitchen sink, I was delighted, but knew I could only spare about two minutes to place them into a vase. I grabbed this one sold by Southern Living at Home, an oval "easy-to-arrange" vase, and one which I have come to LOVE. It takes no more time to arrange them this way than it does to cram them all together and crowd them into a standard vase. This container will actually hold double what you see pictured here. I enjoy my flowers so much more this way.

    

Mine came from a garage sale, ***winks***, but however you find it, for more "Flower Power" keep your eyes open for one of these vases.

The Adventure of a Doggie Nurse

My soft hearted daughter is dog-tired...literally. When a stray puppy was found in her church parking lot, nobody would touch it...probably because it appeared to have mange...and it looked somewhat like a pit bull. Hmmm. Knowing it would suffer and die, my daughter took it home, with the blessing of her equally soft hearted husband. And so her adventure as a doggie nurse began.

She always loved nursing things, even as a child. Her daddy was consistently her patient as she would play doctor. She delighted in helping me to bottle feed two orphan kitties. And then as a young woman, after related medical training, she would assist the Indian doctor way up in the mountains as they treated poor tribal people. Once she called home to jubilantly announce, "Mom, today I got to treat all the orphans for lice. It was great!" Getting the children dental help and treating their scabies was exhilarating for her. While teaching in Taiwan, one of her best memories is assisting her friends in ridding their rooms of bedbugs...and their heads of lice.

So it should have been no surprise for me to hear the excitement in her voice while speaking of the relief this pooch received when smeared all over with green sulphery medicine. Wearing a t-shirt to help prevent scratching and to keep the medicine on, "Sugars" was quite a sight when I saw her.

Her dedicated doggie nurse is constantly washing bedding in steaming hot water, bleaching the floor and feeding, medicating and walking Sugars. A trip to the vet established her age as 10 weeks, and her breed as a Sharpei-Terrier mix, probably part pit bull. She is SO sweet...despite her afflictions.

None of the animal rescue places can take her yet, but there are some good leads. In the meantime, this grateful little pooch will have the best of care. Even though dog-tired, my daughter is a little trooper, and will stay at her nursing post with a smile until deliverance is at hand for Sugars.

Vintage House of Refuge

Since I unexpectedly had to leave my home overnight because of my new floor preparation, my daughter has given me refuge.

She is playing with decorating her music room. I thought it was cute! She took pages from an old hymn book and tucked them underneath the candles. Owning stacks of vintage sheet music, she is looking for ideas to use some of them in decorating too.

   

Her house has lots of fun corners to explore. You'll discover all sorts of vintage items tucked here and there.

Here are a few random pieces of her vintage jewelry. There is one from the 20's, one from the 50's, another from the 60's and finally, one from the 80's. Can you guess which is which?

Look at these fun vintage earrings. I am not brave enough to try some of them, but my daughter wears them and looks fantastic!

This final photo is one I was playing with, trying to get the detail on this unique ring.When I saw this shot, I liked it. This gold ring with the ghostlike pink stone has a gold rose etched in the center with a tiny diamond inside the rose. This ring has an interesting history. It belonged to the wife of a former mayor of Houston in the 30's. Don't you wish it could tell us it's stories?

   

This completes the vintage tour.

If you ever need a "house of refuge," come see my daughter. You'll have a great time exploring all her vintage joys!