A favorite shelf. This one is in the pink cabinet in my office. I especially love that blue and green paper.
If you’re interested, from the left:
Back row: the very old candy box that is the home to all the letters my grandmother and her little sister exchanged when Gram was in nursing school. Rhoda died from the Spanish flu when she was 15, as did the oldest sister, Maggie. Two sisters gone within days of each other.
Next to that is a framed motto about friendship, given to me by Lori, the owner of Vignettes in San Diego.
Next row:
Several pieces of cream-colored McCoy pottery. Sticking out of the piece on the right, a beautiful handmade powder puff by one of my earliest blogging friends. And now, to my embarrassment, I can’t remember the name – wait, it was Lori who had a blog that I loved. She no longer blogs, but I got the initial inspiration about putz sheep from her, as well.
Front row:
A piece of McCoy. Inside is a little plate given to me by my friend Donna. It’s the Claudia pattern. I’m pretty sure it’s Spode.
A Vintage by Crystal girl who reminds me of my mom as a little girl.
A cream-colored McCoy flower pot.
A deer – not sure who made it, but I love it.
Another McCoy flower pot.
A little vintage Christmas elf playing a horn.
Two pieces by Vintage by Crystal.
Another McCoy piece that looks like a gravy boat, but is a planter.
The Smurf was a gift from Michael Ausiello, the author of Spoiler Alert. Those of you who have seen the movie know that Smurfs are a key plot point.
Two Swarovski bunnies from Barbara.
I’ve done this before, but it’s been a while, so I may highlight some other shelves in the near future.
The kids have decided that even though they have a new home, this is their hangout in the afternoon. And sometimes even earlier. Yesterday, I did a lot of chores around the house because Don was out getting an oil change (I always get more done when he’s not here.) I was outside and there was no sign of them, so I thought: Maybe they’re established in their new home!
Nope. A little later, one appeared.
And even later, there were three, just as there were the day before. I saw one go in the garden, but the other two were dining on the green things near the Funky Patio. I don’t mind that at all. That’s where the rabbit sometimes eats, as well.
Then they just sort of hung out, lazing away on the rocks.
The blue bin lids were my ‘wall’ which we foolishly took down right after mama moved the kids. I retrieved them and leaned them against things, but it was very windy yesterday afternoon and they fell over.
The kids appear unfazed.
By 5:30, they were gone, having headed back to their house. It’s funny to watch them leave, they walk along the side of the house, hugging the wall, hop on top of the door to the basement, go through the gate, then the secret garden, then up the stepping stones to the back forty.
I felt a bit more tolerant yesterday, because they’re so gosh darned cute.
In a month or two, they’ll leave home and establish their own residences. There are babies around here every year, but I’ve only seen them on the part of the property that is nearest to our house twice. The first time, they lived under the shed.
Anyway, all this is to say, that they’ve been here for decades and decades and usually we coexist with them rather nicely. This time, a bit too close for comfort, but we’re okay.
Stay safe.
Happy Sunday.
Claudia, it’s so fun to see all your treasures on your cabinet shelf! The candy box holding your grandmother’s and great-aunt’s letters is an especially poignant treasure. And so sad the sisters passed, too soon and too near each other, must have been devastating.
Those baby groundhogs sound like they’re testing their independence a bit. Fun to watch!
It was. My grandmother never got over it. She loved both her sisters, but Rhoda, her little sister, was the apple of her eye. Having two sisters – one 8 years younger and one 11 years younger, I know how that felt. I would have never recovered if that had happened to mine. Rhoda was funny and charming and smart. Maggie, the oldest sister, is a bit of a mystery to me simple because I didn’t know that much about her.
Stay safe, Barrie.
happy to hear some temporary cooperation has been shown by the groundhog family. :)
may it continue!
thanks for the shelf tour. i greatly enjoy seeing what people hold dear in their hearts and display in their homes!
i’d like to share a story dear to my own heart.
yesterday my sister found a website that has archived the newspaper of the small town in which our father was born and raised. it goes back maybe 100 years and thankfully that site has a search tool. looking around, my sister found an article in the paper about our paternal grandmother and we learned something new … that one year she entered a garden contest and won. out of 128 votes, she received 100 votes (not surprised … she and our paternal grandfather were avid gardeners and filled their back- and side-yards with flowers, fruits and vegetables … filled … there were only a few narrow paths to get around back there)! special note was made of our grandmother’s use of false dragonhead flowers and for her efforts and talents she won a “pretty perfume atomizer”. *and* she did it seven months pregnant with her fourth child, our father! way to go, grandma!!! :)
happy, safe sunday to all!
kathy
i know you know this already, but how sad the two sisters/your great-aunts passed on so very young and within days of each other … and how extra-precious those letters are! glad you have them.
hugs …
kathy
My grandmother never got over it. She talked about Rhoda all the time. She was her adored baby sister.
Grandma came home from nursing school to nurse the family and she almost died, as well.
She said there seemed to be a constant flow of hearses going by their farm.
xo
way to go to your grandmother, too, with her big heart for nursing and especially for her family, for getting through very sad things.
kathy
xo
Lovely story, Kathy! How great that your sister found that website.
Stay safe.
thanks, claudia.
i’m glad she found that website, too … we’ve also seen (read) articles about our father, grandparents, a couple of aunts …! :)
found things in decades-past census reports, too. like my grandparents’ incomes, how much they paid for their homes … interesting.
hope you and don are having a nice night and that the groundhogs are dining only where you want them to be.
kathy
Yes, I’ve seen lots of stuff about my family on Ancestry – via census reports, immigration, etc. I used Ancestry on a short-term basis during lockdown.
xo
I always enjoy a look at your shelves, so many treasures. The babies are so cute and I know you enjoy them just don’t eat the garden. Hugs!
Yes, just stay out of the garden! (almost impossible, though)
Stay safe, Linda.
The photos you’ve been able to get of the babies are pretty amazing, to be able to see the groundhogs’ little faces up close; they’re sweet-looking little things, aren’t they.
The neutrals of the McCoy collection allow your other small collectibles to really shine.
How hard was it to place and stick that wallpaper at the rear of the shelf?
I shoot them from inside, too, through a screen!
They are very sweet little ones,
It’s actually scrap book paper and I cut it and attached it with the kind of wax I use for my dollhouses. That way, it’s not permanent. I did this several years ago and it has stayed in place. You could also use glue dots.
Stay safe, Vicki.
I don’t think I knew McCoy did a plain white/cream pottery. It’s lovely. And of course I love your “Crystal” pieces — you got me hooked on her!
LOVE the cute baby photos — I hope they respect the garden and learn from mom!
We are hoping!
Stay safe, Jeanie.
I gave two of the Vintage Crystal figures to two friends for Christmas. They were quite enchanted with them. Love the white McCoy and what a treasure your grandmother and great-aunt’s letters are. Sweet little groundhog faces. Glad you can all co-exist peacefully together. Hugs, Elaine
I love her figurines. Her work is so whimsical and fun!
Stay safe, Elaine.
The cream-colored McCoy is very pretty. I don’t know why I didn’t notice it before. The neutral color makes the shape the star. What does Lori’s motto about friendship say? When I enlarged the picture, it just got blurry. Approximately when did your two [great?] aunts pass on? I’m curious if the great flu epidemic around 1910 took them out, as it took out so many others then. I’m grateful that we seem to have taken the lessons from that pandemic and applied them to the current one; well, not all places did, but many did (for instance, your state and mine; not so much Meredith’s). Your little garden friends have the cutest little faces! I like hearing of their antics. Here’s hoping they stay out of your garden. My, but this has been a ramble! Take care of yourselves.
You know, I don’t remember what it says, and it’s upstairs and I can’t get there right now. My aunts died of the Spanish flu. I mentioned that in the post. I remember thinking as a child: “How can someone die from the flu?” Now, we know, don’t we?
When I have a moment, I’ll take a picture of the motto and write down what it says in a post, Elizabeth.
Stay safe!