A Little Arrangement

I have a feeling that I'm a frustrated florist. Or maybe I was a flower seller in another life. ;)

At any rate, I love to make up little arrangements. This is just a few wild and cultivated asters, and some peony leaves that have turned a beautiful salmon color.

The vase is carved soapstone. It was one of my father's favorite pieces. The tray is a very shabby antique purchased a few years ago from a local antique shop.

Even just a few flowers around the house always brightens my day. :)

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

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It's almost time for another Mosaic Monday. Where does the time go?! Hope to see you this week. Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30pm Sunday.

Garnering

"Autumn asks that we prepare for the future—that we be wise in the ways of garnering and keeping. But it also asks that we learn to let go—to acknowledge the beauty of sparseness. "
--Bonaro W. Overstreet

What have you garnered today?

Mosaic Monday: Firemen's Parade

On Saturday our local volunteer fire company celebrated it's one-hundredth anniversary with a parade. All the equipment was lovingly shined, including the antique hose trucks and vintage ambulance. They were joined by neighboring fire companies, the high school marching band, several bagpipe bands and a local private school drum corps. The weather was beautiful, the parade route was lined with appreciative families, and there were cheers all around. :)

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.

A Sale and a Spoon

I went to an estate sale yesterday, just to have a look around. I wish I had brought my camera, because the house was so beautiful. Not beautiful as in perfectly decorated and lovingly kept, but beautiful as in "oh, this is my dream renovation house!"

It was a small nineteenth-century farmhouse, which looked as though it may have been the caretaker's house for some great estate. It was painted white with black shutters and a red door -- that almost iconic scheme for old houses here in the northeast. Just inside the front door was a small central hall, painted with a beautiful scene of the rolling green hills that this area is famous for. The hall led straight back to a sitting room with the most gorgeous old wainscoting and huge hearth. All the floors were wide-board pumpkin pine -- to die for! There was even a big sunroom at the back of the house -- definitely a more recent addition but beautifully scaled and executed.

Oh, my.

Of all the people who were at the sale while I was there, I think every single one of us asked the same question: "Is the house for sale?"

The house had already been sold. :( Which was probably just as well. Can you imagine me telling my husband when he walked in the door from work last night that we had to buy a rundown old house ten minutes away and move immediately? lol

So no, dear readers, I didn't buy a house. But I did buy a spoon. It's Sheffield silver, with a carved bowl (is that the proper term?). I have no idea what it is used for, but like a magpie I cannot pass up something old and shiny. :)

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Are you ready for another Mosaic Monday? I'm not, but I'm sure I'll figure something out by the end of the weekend. lol Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30pm Sunday. As always, I look forward to seeing your wonderful links! :)

My Thoughts on Your Thoughts

First of all, I have to tell you that I really enjoyed reading all the different opinions you shared here yesterday on the lost art of letter writing. I must say that I have not really written a long letter since college. But I loved hearing all about the letters you treasure. What a beautiful thought that is!

I can remember the substantial heft of a fountain pen in my hand, and the beautiful texture of fine stationary... and I think we are all missing something when we lose that. *Sigh*

As for the books vs. Kindle debate, I must make it clear that I LOVE books. My family is a family of readers, and we have many more books than space to store them. :) And while I will never have a home without all my books, I do find myself intrigued, not so much by the Kindle, but by the ipad. You see, I'm a Mac girl through and through. :)

And I would LOVE to try out the ipad! It would never replace real books for me, but it would be a neat way to take books along when I travel and to read all the newspapers I would like. There are also some new online magazines that would be fun to read on an ipad.

So that's where I stand. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with me here.

Oh, and the little white pumpkins are my first attempt at some natural autumn decorating! Aren't they adorable? ;)

A Lost Art

Does anyone write letters anymore? Not texting, not IMing, not a short and sweet email. No messages on a Facebook wall, no tweets at 140 characters or less.

Does anyone write real, live, honest-to-goodness letters -- filled with stories and passion and wit?

My husband and I have been debating the Kindle -- I think it might be kind of neat, and he says he will never get one. I recognize now that this must be an extension of the letter writing debate.

So I guess maybe I am romanticizing the whole letter writing thing?

Tell me, what is your take on this? Letters or emails? Kindles or books? I'd love to know what you think.

Mosaic Monday: Goldenrod

Some of you probably cultivate goldenrod in your gardens. It's a beautiful late summer perennial that grows wild in the meadows near our Little Red House. Goldenrod is a member of the Aster family, and it is a lovely companion to the purple autumn aster.

Goldenrod is often confused with ragweed, which causes hay fever. I checked it out on Wikipedia, and learned some interesting facts. Did you know that parts of the plant are edible, and it is sometimes brewed as a tea? Goldenrod is used in herbal remedies as a kidney tonic. And most interesting of all, Thomas Edison experimented with extracting rubber from goldenrod:

"Inventor Thomas Edison experimented with goldenrod to produce rubber, which it contains naturally.^[7] Edison created a fertilization and cultivation process to maximize the rubber content in each plant. His experiments produced a 12-foot-tall (3.7 m) plant that yielded as much as 12 percent rubber. The rubber produced through Edison's process was resilient and long lasting. The tires on the Model T given to him by his friend Henry Fordwere made from goldenrod. Examples of the rubber can still be found in his laboratory, elastic and rot free after more than 50 years. However, even though Edison turned his research over to the U.S. government a year before his death, goldenrod rubber never went beyond the experimental stage."

How cool is that?!

I've often tried to photograph goldenrod with little success, but this time I had a little helpful companion. Isn't he adorable? I'm not sure what kind of bug this is, so if anyone can identify him, I'd love to hear about it. :)

Now let's have some mosaic fun! Here are the instructions:
1. Publish your Mosaic Monday post.
2. Once it is published, click on the title of the post. This will lead you to the static link for your post. The static link is the page with only that post on it. Copy the url from your browser at the top of the page.
3. Paste the url into the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
4. Type your name in the appropriate inlinkz box in this post.
5. Click on "Enter."
6. Please link back to this Mosaic Monday post so that your readers can find other wonderful mosaics.

That's all there is to it! It's always a good idea to then check and see if your link is working. If you have any questions, feel free to email me: mrcarroll(at)optonline.