tick tock

Source: jessicajanuary.com via Caryl on Pinterest

Do you ever feel like time is racing by and that you are falling behind. You know the old saying "the hurrieder I go, the behinder I get". I have been feeling that way lately. There are so many things I want to accomplish and they aren't getting done.

My six year old granddaughter created this and my daughter photographed it. It made me think how we are all just trying to live our lives from A to Z. There is so much to do every day and sometimes I wonder if we set our expectations too high.

That is so definitely me on some days. I feel like the bag lady has struck. Have I been getting anything accomplished. Well, of course. I've made some pillows for my new line.

but, frankly it is going slower than I would like. The creative process seems to take longer for me. I have to search through jars of buttons to find just the right one. 

I have to put fabrics together and then look at them for awhile to know if they make me happy together. 

and because my concept involves being eco friendly, I have to hunt down my materials; old quilts, vintage linens and feedsack fabrics. It takes more time than I like. So I have been working on creating happy thoughts along with my work. When I start to feel bogged down, I think about a moment in my life when I felt perfectly free and happy.

Remember what it was like to be a child and to feel completely uninhibited. There was just pure joy in the simplest things. I can remember being about ten years old and riding my bike through town and singing at the top of my lungs. Some man drove by and started to smile when he saw me. At first I felt a little embarrassed, but then I realized how good I felt and that I had made him feel good too. So now I conjure up that feeling when things seem to be getting me down.


And when I get my knees fixed, one of the first things I plan to do is get me a bike. SO if you see some crazy lady riding a bike and singing at the top of her lungs, that will be me. 

SALE, SALE, SALE

Today is the 4 year anniversary of ImSoVintage the shop. Yes, I opened my shop on February 29th,leap year, four years ago. To celebrate, I am offering a 15% discount on all purchases today only. Just use coupon code ANNIVERSARYDAY at checkout.

 

but does it cure you?

Yes, I agree it is a pretty box of tissues, It's all flowery and springlike, but it isn't my favorite companion and there are a lot of things I would rather be doing than blowing my nose. Yes, I have a sinus infection and no, I am not very patient about getting well. I want instant gratification. I want to be healed like........ yesterday.


I can remember my father giving me some particularly nasty medicine and saying "if it doesn't kill you, it'll cure you" .......gee thanks. He was also famous for making us hot toddies, the southern cure
all, back in the day, for anyone over the age of birth suffering with a respiratory illness. I wish my father was still around, because I could sure use one of those hot toddies now that I have actually reached the age of reason. maturity... well, you know.


Since I don't have the ingredients for a hot toddy, I guess I will think about making some chicken soup from last night's leftover chicken that my sweet mama made. Bless her heart, she is still cooking at age 87.

This is my recipe, which I have been making for years, It kind of varies each time, as I use what I have on hand. 


The first thing I do is make stock. 
Remove all the usable chicken meat from the chicken carcass to save for making sandwiches later or for adding to the soup.

Break up the leftover bones of the carcass a bit, so they don't take up as much room in the pot. Put the leftover bones into a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Add a yellow onion that has been quartered, some chopped carrots, parsley, thyme, a bay leaf, celery tops, and some peppercorns.

Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to bring the stock to a bare simmer. Add salt and pepper, about 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of pepper. It sort of depends on how big your chicken is. You can always add salt to the soup later. I'm not a big salt eater so you may like it saltier.

Cook for at least 4 hours, uncovered, occasionally skimming off any foam that comes to the surface Keeping it uncovered will get the stock to reduce.

Remove the bones and veggies and strain the stock, ideally through a fine mesh strainer.

Now it's time to make the soup.

Return your stock to the pot and add chopped carrots, onions, and celery in equal parts. Add some parsley and a couple cloves of garlic. Add seasoning - poultry seasoning, sage, thyme, marjoram and/or a bouillion cube. Cook at a bare simmer until the vegetables are cooked through. Finally I add some noodles and some reserved chicken simmer until done and voila you have your soup. 

I've never actually figured out if the soup cures you , or if all that work you do preparing it sweats it out of you. Either way, it seems to work and it tastes really good.

 

garden shopping and planning

Apparently I am getting into full on garden mode. First there was the post about Community Gardens on Saturday, then I started pulling out the garden catalogs and drooling over all the goodies, and now I am up in the middle of the night cruising around Etsy looking for all things garden.


Why am I up in the middle of the night you ask? Well, I have a bit of insomnia along with what I think is a sinus infection. So I woke up at 2 am with a sinus headache and running some fever. After trying to will myself back to sleep for an hour I finally just gave up and pulled out the laptop. 


I love Spring and am very impatient for it to begin. Every year I start counting down the days to the first safe planting day. I want to dig in the dirt. I want to see flowers blossom and veggies start to grow. I want to feel the warm sun on my face.......


So as today is my shopping on Etsy day, I thought I might as well get an early start. Here's my list for what I need to do.


Start out with the best seeds

organic heirloom seeds

gather together the right tools

vintage garden tools

make sure I have some sweet garden markers, because even though I feel certain I will remember what I planted where, I know I won't.

herb garden plant markers

think outside of the box for some interesting planting options.

walnut tree hanging garden

be prepared to do lots of watering (I sneaked something in from my own shop)

primitive galvanized metal watering can

make sure the grandchildren are prepared to help

kids garden apron and tool set

and if I can't wait for spring, since i'm just like a kid in a candy store, start inside.

retrofuturistic glass globe terrarium kit

Have fun shopping. It is now 6am so I think I'm going to head downstairs to see if a cup of hot tea will help me feel better.


(if anything in today's post doesn't make sense, I'm blaming it on the fever. I'll have to think of another excuse for the other days)

 

Community Gardens

When I was nine years old, my father received a big promotion. It meant leaving our little house in Kentucky

and moving. We didn't just move to another city or state, we moved to another country.

 Yes, this little southern girl left a city in the US and moved to a very small town in Canada. 

It was a beautiful little town with a carillon tower that chimed carols at Christmas, a river that ran through parkland in the center of town, and a wonderful sense of community. As part of that community, my father as president of a company that was located in town, started a community garden for all of the employees. Southern Ontario is the garden spot of Canada, and the garden was to provide plenty of vegetables for anyone who wanted or needed them. We had to pick our dinner, but I didn't mind, because we always had the best vegetables. 


I know that many inner cities now have programs that have started community gardens, but I have wondered lately why there aren't more in these difficult economic times. Maybe, I am out of touch and there are more than I know about.

 So,I googled community gardens and found that there is an American Community Garden Association, which you can find here. According to the ACGA the benefits of a community garden are:

• Improves the quality of life for people in the garden
• Provides a catalyst for neighborhood and community development
• Stimulates Social Interaction
• Encourages Self-Reliance
• Beautifies Neighborhoods
• Produces Nutritious Food
• Reduces Family Food Budgets
• Conserves Resources
• Creates opportunity for recreation, exercise, therapy, and education
• Reduces Crime
• Preserves Green Space
• Creates income opportunities and economic development
• Reduces city heat from streets and parking lots
• Provides opportunities for intergenerational and cross-cultural connections

I'm not sure if my father had all of these things in mind or not, I do know that he had been raised on a farm, fought in World War II where he was a prisoner of war, and lived during a time when people had victory gardens. I know he wanted to share some of his good fortune. 

Maybe it's time to bring back that good old fashioned sense of community. Maybe it's time to bring back victory gardens. I know that no one in this country should go hungry and I love the thought of getting to know my neighbors better. So, as I think about planning my own little crop of vegetables that I will be planting this spring, I am thinking that I would like to find out more about community gardens in my city.


What are your thoughts on this?

the road less traveled

 One of my favorite poets has always been Robert Frost and I love his Poem "The Road Not Taken" I was thinking of this stanza yesterday when I got in my car to drive to Staples to pick up some mailers.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I wasn't really thinking of it in terms of the directions I have taken in my life, but more along the lines of how I was feeling hemmed in. I guess that spending so much time indoors over the winter has made me want to get out and about more. I can remember when I was a child my family would always take Sunday drives. It was a tradition I carried on with my own daughters when they were young. We would always pick the less traveled road. 

The meandering lane, where horses, a frequent site in this part of Kentucky, grazed lazily in the fields seemed much more interesting than a busy road. 

I miss those drives. My children are grown and gas has become so expensive, that it seems a luxury to drive around for an afternoon. But, yesterday I was feeling restless. It was a gorgeous day, so pretty that I could almost taste spring in the air. 


So, I decided to sneak away for an hour, for just a short jaunt by myself. I rolled down my window and breathed in the fresh air. It was wonderful.


There were beautiful old homes...

and barns.....

and more barns.....

and yes in the distance, there were horses grazing in the fields.

and there were the remembered roads from childhood, Parkers Mill, Lane Allen. and Longview....and there it was  the little house where I first lived as a child.

This little house hasn't changed much since I was a child. It's yellow instead of white now, but there is the tree my father planted 60 years ago, the sidewalk where I roller skated and skinned my knees, and the yard where we played hide and seek. I remember this house so well and it is just the kind of little house that I would love to spend the years yet to come.


As I rounded the corner on to Clays Mill, I saw what I had been looking for.

The daffodils are blooming and that means Spring is almost here. My little trip was definitely well worth it.


Linking with:
Potpourri Friday
Fridays Unfolded
Insspiration Friday

 

a profusion.....

We are having some thunderstorms today and the temp will be almost 70 degrees. Yesterday, I noticed that the daffodils in our neighborhood have budded out and are getting ready to bloom. It makes me long even more for spring and summer and fresh flowers to brighten up the house. I know we can buy flowers at any time of the year, but nothing beats flowers picked fresh from your garden. 


When I was growing up, my father always had a rose garden wherever we lived. It was one of his special talents and he loved to bring the garden into the house. He always arranged them in a beautiful crystal vase in the center of the dining room table.  Whenever I smell freshly picked roses I am immediately transported back to that dinner table. I love to put flowers all over the house. They are especially wonderful when placed in unexpected places, in unique vintage containers.


What could be prettier than a profusion of roses in a simple white vintage enamel pitcher.

source

Old tins make a great casual display. This is perfect for a porch or garden room. 

Source: stylemepretty.com via Kori on Pinterest

This unusual shaped vintage bottle makes a gorgeous statement with a single floral  stem

Source: etsy.com via Marina on Pinterest

Love this rustic look

Source: barefootcontessaboutique.tumblr.com via Barefoot on Pinterest

Don't you love when children bring you a handful of flowers (hopefully not from the neighbor's yard). Nothing is sweeter than an old Ball jar filled with flowers on the breakfast table.

Source: etsy.com via Mariana on Pinterest

I like how this collection of old glass beakers has been grouped together and decorated with a single flower here and there. It gives a more modern look to an old element.

Source: etsy.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

and now that the daffodils are getting ready to bloom in my neighborhood , if I only had some children to.........

source

button button........

Button, button, who's got the button?

No, not those kind of buttons. Although, I must say, I do love filling my old apothecary glass jars with vintage buttons. I love looking at them and digging through them for just the right button for one of my projects. I found the one on the right, that is now holding my collection of white buttons, at the thrift store for $1.50. I am always excited to find these with ground stoppers.


Actually the buttons I am referring to, are my Grab Buttons. One of my special blogging friends, the wonderful and lovely Ricki Jill from Art @ Home  pointed out to me that my new button wasn't working and as she had deleted the old one to replace it with the new, she was now without one of my buttons. 


Of course I went into panic mode. (so silly) I should know not to do anything late at night when my brain has shut down for the day, but when I get a bee in my bonnet (boy that really dates me) I have to do it right then. Of course, I had left out part of the code. DUH!!!


This was my original button.

Too Boring!!!


Then I tweeked it to this last week.

Still not liking it. So, what was a a girl to do????.


My oldest daughter, Cary, who is also the artist behind Little Love Blue and the mother of my two amazing grandchildren made me this wonderful Tree of Life for Christmas. 

I love it, although I am still waiting for the frame (hint, hint)


Anyway, I wanted my buttons to reflect this tree of life so I found an image of a tree, and redid my buttons. 


To this 

<center><a href="http://imsovintage.blogspot.com/"_blank"><img alt="ImSoVintage" src="http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/lauralee1227/buttontree.jpg"/></a></center>

and this

<center><a href="http://imsovintage.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="ImSoVintage" src="http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n536/lauralee1227/buttontree2-1.jpg"/></a></center>

So now they are actually functioning. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. It just takes us a little bit longer.

an addendum

This popped up on my personal facebook page today.  It seemed to fit in  perfectly with my earlier post of the day and with some of the responses to that post, so I wanted to share it.