Saturday, September 24, 2011

Thursday, September 22, 2011

ANY GUESSES?

I went on an early morning walk along a road by the river.
Along the way I saw some weird things.  I don't know 
what they were but I have some guesses.
a.  Parts of a maze for giant hamsters
b. Hurdles for a groundhog race
c. Someone's failed attempt at...
..."Bring Me a Rock."
d.  Dead Pac Man
e.  Bird outhouses
f.  Low budget set for the shooting of a Ben Hur chariot race
g.  This way to the White Rabbit and the Red Queen

Okay, if you're so smart, what are they?

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

GOOD-BYES MAKE YOU THINK

Good-byes make you think.  They make you realize what you've had,
what you've lost, and what you've taken for granted.
Unknown

Art is the unceasing effort to compete with the beauty of flowers--
and never succeeding.  
Gian Carlo Menotti

Earth laughs in flowers.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am following Nature without being able to grasp her.
I perhaps owe having become a painter of flowers.
Claude Monet

People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy
the whole time to have such things about us.
Iris Murdoch

There are always flowers for those who want to see them.
Henri Matisse

As much as I love gardens and flowers, it's kind of nice to take a break from the
digging and weeding and let the snow decorate the yard for a while.
Me

(photos from my garden, except for the waterlily,
sent through a few filters in Photoshop)

Monday, September 19, 2011

I'M NOT PLAYING WITH DOLLS I'M COLLECTING VINTAGE MINIATURES. There is a difference, you know.

I don't remember playing with dolls much as a child.  I did get a Betsy McCall doll for Christmas one year.  She came with two extra dresses, pajamas, and a coat and bonnet sewn by my mother. There was also a box to keep her in, made by my dad, complete with a rod and hangers for her clothes.  Although I loved my Betsy McCall, I found all the dressing and undressing a bother.

So I still have her and her clothes in almost mint condition.  The next year I asked Santa to bring me cowboy boots and a plaid shirt.  Later I really, really wanted a Daniel Boone coonskin hat but that never happened.

No, my favorite dolls had their clothes painted on and were three inches high.  Along with my brother we made whole villages for them to live in along the canal.  They had boats and gardens and places to keep their animals.    I guess I still like little dolls.  Ebay, Etsy and Paypal have my number and have been delighted to point me to all kinds of miniature doll house items for sale. If you've followed my blog much you've seen some of my collection  in "The Dahlies" posts.

Above are some of my latest doll house furniture purchases.  They don't match well, but I truly like the little wooden table (bought from Linda Sue's "gollygollygolly" Etsy site) which came with the china vase/soup tureen.  I've filled it with real flowers.  The tiny Tiffany lamp came all the way from China and, as you can see, lights up.  Yes, they have my number.