Where does the time go? It’s time for our third A Favorite Thing Saturday. I don’t know about you, but I’m having so much fun hosting this party. I hope you are having just as much fun being a part of it. Let’s take a look at some of last week’s contributions:

Olive Out shared the Spider Lilies that spring up around her yard at this time of year. Aren’t they beautiful? I haven’t seen anything like this flower in my neck of the woods. I’m a wee bit jealous. My friend, Olive, just had her gall bladder removed today (Friday) so stop by and wish her well.

Joy, of A Vintage Green, shared her chalkware heron plaques. Be still my heart. I love the colors, the raised design, the gorgeous herons. Again….jealous.

My friend, Regula, shared her handmade socks. It’s that time of year again – cool nights, warmish days – just the right time to start wearing our favorite cozy clothes. And what is better than handmade socks?

My contribution for this week’s party is my favorite painting. Well, to be more accurate, my favorite painting not painted by a member of my family. I have to say that because my dad has given me several of his oil paintings and I treasure them. But this one….this painting from France is one I found in my favorite shop in San Diego, Vignettes. I had my eye on that painting for several months and each time I stopped in, I stared at it. And stared at it. The price was more than I had ever spent on anything like a painting. Lori, the owner, even gave me a discount. Still, I debated. But finally, I realized that when you love something that much, it’s meant to be with you. I bought it. It’s about 3 ft. tall and narrow, so it hangs rather nicely on the enclosed chimney in the bedroom. But since it’s in the bedroom, the light is not the best. The frame is actually more of a turquoise color. I love cherubs. I love turquoise. I love all things French. Had to have it.

Okay! What do you have to share this week?

Here are the details:

You can link up any time from this evening through Sunday night. Make sure you put in the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come on over, paste the URL info into your link info and there you go! If you have any questions about it, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. (When you copy your post URL into the link, make sure that http:// only appears once, otherwise the link won’t work.) Also, please link back to this blog on your post. That way those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit other blogs. They are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do.

It’s time for A Favorite Thing, week number 2! Thank so much to everyone who participated last week – I loved reading your posts and hearing your stories. Every week, I will randomly pick a few highlights of the week before. Last week, we saw this darling chair from  Carolynn at Chenille Cottage. She’s had it since 1975 and she recently made a new red toile cover for it. I love red. I love toile.

Isn’t it adorable?

Sally Ann Magundy shared a ceramic donkey that belonged to her mother, along with a wonderful photo of her mother, brother and some friends in Tijuana.

Sally’s mother always kept stray buttons in that basket and Sally would play with them as a child.

And Donna, of  An Enchanted Cottage, shared the surprise she found when sorting through her late father’s things. He had stopped wearing his wedding band many years before after witnessing someone catch his ring on something and get injured. Much to her surprise, she found her father’s wedding band in a tin box – inscribed with her parents’ initials, the date they got married and the word, love.

Priceless.

This week, my contribution is simple. All of you who read this blog know that we lost our beloved dog, Riley, almost 3 weeks ago. During this time of heartbreak, we are so grateful that we still have our girl, Scout. She’s 13 ½, slowing down a bit, but still feisty as ever. Seeing this face every day keeps me going.

I just took this the other day. How can I cry when I see that smiling face?

Now, it’s time for you to share a favorite thing of yours!

You can link up any time from this evening through Sunday night. Make sure you put in the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come on over, paste the URL info into your link info and there you go! If you have any questions about it, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. (When you copy your post URL into the link, make sure that http:// only appears once, otherwise the link won’t work.) Also, please link back to this blog on your post. That way those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit other blogs. They are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do.

Have fun everyone!

Welcome, everyone!

Time for our very first A Favorite Thing Saturday! I’m so glad you’re here. The idea for A Favorite Thing grew out of a recent post where I shared photos of my great-grandmother’s syrup jug. I often do that sort of thing around here and it got me thinking that a weekly get-together in which we could share a favorite thing might be a neat idea. You’re not limited to an antique or something vintage, it could be a car or your lawnmower or your mixer or your local beach….

I’ll start the party off with this:

Not easy to photograph, the darn glass kept reflecting me and my camera. In this shadow box frame is a brooch my late brother gave me. He fought a long battle with lymphoma in the late eighties and early nineties. In 1988, he drove out to visit me in Philadelphia, where I was living at the time. Dave wasn’t necessarily a demonstrative person, though I knew he loved me. One day, while he was staying with me, I came home from work to find a present waiting. He’d been out walking around and found this brooch in a shop. It was perfect for me, as I wore a lot of black and red in those days and I loved jewelry. I wore it often, thinking of my brother every time I put it on. He died in 1991. I was so afraid of damaging or, even worse, losing the brooch that I decided to frame it.

It’s so striking that it works as a piece of art. It lives on the wall in our guest room. Thank you, Dave.

Now, what do you have to share?

The nuts and bolts:

You can link up any time from this evening through Sunday night. Make sure you put in the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come on over, paste the URL info into your link info and there you go! If you have any questions about it, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. (When you copy your post URL into the link, make sure that http:// only appears once, otherwise the link won’t work.) Also, please link back to this blog on your post. That way those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit other blogs. They are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do.

Have fun, everyone!