Don — Page 144

The Country Living Fair

June 6, 2015 at 9:57 am by Claudia

First off, let me be honest. I failed you. I didn’t take as many photos as last year, though the Fair in and of itself is set up in much the same way. So if you want to see more photos that give a very good picture of what is there, see this post and this post. And I took them with my iPhone, which is not my preferred way of photographing anything, but I didn’t want to lug around my big girl camera.

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It was an absolutely glorious day; blue skies, mild temps, and a view of the Hudson and the Catskills that couldn’t be beat. We got going early. I think we were on the road by 7:30. If you ever plan on attending the Fair and crowds and lines make you cranky (like me), get an Early Bird Pass. What a difference it makes! You are allowed in at 8:30, rather than 10:00, and it’s quiet, easy to move around and see everything, and your sanity will stay intact. Don couldn’t believe how much more crowded it was by 11:00 am.

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There’s a wonderful seller that carries all sorts of old signs and statues and salvage. I loved this one. Who knew that Bing Crosby had his own brand of ice cream? It was huge, by the way.

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Just down the aisle were these metal folding chairs. They were charming and we briefly considered them, especially the red ones that had a cut-out design at the top, but we didn’t bite.

6-6 HeidiCLFair

Here we are with our friend Heidi. She’s also our neighbor. Long time readers of this blog will remember that Heidi used to own a shop in our town. I actually worked there part-time for a while. She closed that shop last year, but she still has a booth at the Country Living Fair. Her daughter, Whitney, and son-in-law, Cory, were helping out.

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Don fell in love with this cart; very retro, with an outlet (that worked) on the back edge. He could see it sitting in our kitchen. I could, too, but I had some doubts about whether it would fit. It was a good price. We walked away. We went back. Don was sure it wouldn’t be there long. But, because we were unsure, we let it go for a while. Sure enough, an hour later, it was gone. In this case, it was for the best and we didn’t feel that pull of regret.

But I learned this lesson last year at the Fair. If you see something you want, grab it. It will not be there long. I lost out on a piece of McCoy last year, as well as a lamp I loved.

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I saw at least three gorgeous cake toppers in this booth.

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Almost bought one of these Jadeite egg cups, but they’re pretty common, so I held off. BPP. (BPP=blurry phone photo.)

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This is a McCoy frog planter. I don’t see them often and I saw two of them at the Fair. It’s the kind of piece I feel I should buy because I’m a McCoy collector, but frankly, it’s not my cup of tea. So I pick it up and hold it and consider it and put it back down. Several times.

6-6 quilttopCLFair

A simply gorgeous quilt top, no backing, no quilting. But isn’t it beautiful?

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Be still my heart. A set of Bakelite, yet another thing I collect. BPP.

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Can I tell you how much I wanted this tole tray? The blue, the red trim, the CHERRIES. But it was $45. And I wasn’t sure where I would put it. And I had already purchased a couple of other things. So I passed.

I’m sure it’s gone now.

There are deals to be had at the CL Fair, but I’ve also found that there’s a pretty steep mark-up in some booths. The dealers know they’re going to get a big crowd and of course they travel there, set up, spend hours each day selling, and have to make a profit. I get it. I didn’t bite on several items because I knew they were too pricey. I guess it depends on how much you want the piece. More on that later in the post.

6-5 CL Fair

Heidi took this picture of Don and me. We had the best time together, by the way. I’m so glad he came with me.

Okay. Here’s a little story. I’d seen a piece of McCoy that I coveted in a booth. I asked the price of the dealers (two women) and it was about $15 higher than I thought it should be. On the other hand, I never see this particular piece. Anywhere. I took a picture of it and we went on our way.

Later on, we circled back. I picked it up, held it. It was in perfect condition. After I dithered, Don told me to go for it. As I walked up to one of the dealers (who turns out to be Jane) I heard someone say, “You’re Claudia.” Startled, I turned around and said, “Yes.” It was the other dealer speaking, who turns out to be Valerie. She must have seen the startled look on my face because she said, “I read your blog.” She then turned to Don and said, “And you’re Don.”

Now, Don is usually the one who is recognized. Someone will have seen him on television (usually Law & Order.) When we were living in San Diego, he was routinely recognized everywhere we went. I run under the radar. But I have to admit to being flattered that someone recognized me from this blog of mine.

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Here we are. Say hello to Valerie. Valerie and Jane have a booth in The Summit Antiques Center in Summit, New Jersey – not far from where my niece used to live.

We had a nice chat with both Valerie and Jane and I left with my pretty piece of McCoy.

6-6 mccoyCLFair

It’s the hanging planter pictured here. You remember the vase on the left that I found about a month ago? Well, this one has been on my I Want List for quite a while. You can see the holes where a chain was threaded in order to hang the planter. It was more money than I should have spent and I felt guilty, until….

We found a cookie jar that we fell in love with. Also McCoy. (Don and I recently decided that we are starting a cookie jar collection. We already have our rabbit cookie jar, which sits on a window sill in the kitchen. Cookie jars are something we can collect together.) This particular jar was worth at least $60 or more. At one time, it would have been $75, but values have gone down a bit. It was priced at $24, and it was in perfect condition. The dealer gave it to us for $20.

6-5 mccoy finds cl fair

I’ll get a better picture later. Those are pears on the top. McCoy made a series of these basketweave designs, some had kittens on top, some had dogs, there are several different handles. Usually, there is some damage to a cookie jar simply because of daily use. There is absolutely no damage on this one. So, to end this rather long story, we paid more than we should have for the piece on the left. But we got a steal on the piece on the right. So it all works out! And I feel better.

Long post, sorry! We had a great time together, but by the time we headed home at 12:30, we had had enough. There are a lot of artisans at the Fair, as well as lectures and book signings, none of which I am particularly interested in. I’m there for vintage. But there is truly something for everyone there, including a great bluegrass band that we loved. We dined on veggie paninis and a chocolate milkshake.

And Don was greatly impressed by my ‘fame.’

I think things are going to change around here.

(Thanks so much to Stella Shows for the free tickets, as well as the opportunity to give some away to my readers!)

Happy Saturday.

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Friday Thoughts

May 29, 2015 at 8:37 am by Claudia

I have two posts up today. In addition to this post, if you scroll down one post or click here, you’ll see I’m giving away two pairs of tickets to the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck, which takes place next weekend, June 5-7. If you’re interested, make sure to leave your comment before Sunday evening at 9:00 pm. There’s a fast turnaround on this one!

5-29 rose in bud

A few days ago.

5-29 rose

Today.

Gorgeous. Mom, this rose is for you. Heartfelt thanks again to Martha, who gave me this bush last year in remembrance of my mother.

Henry has kids. Yes, just after I posted about him on Wednesday, I saw two little ones dining on some of our grass. Sometimes the kids are out on their own. Sometimes Henry is out there with them. Adorable.

Or perhaps I should say: Henri a des bébés.

Can you imagine them in little bérets?

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Oh yes. The poppies have opened.

They are so breathtaking. And their bloom time is short. So I take tons of photos because I know they’ll be gone before I know it.

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At the same time the poppies open, the catmint is flowering as well, so there’s a lovely purple and orange combination going on in the garden.

And, as I walked around the porch, I saw this:

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The clematis is blooming, too! Glory be. The garden has said yes to Spring. I planted this clematis several years ago, but it didn’t start taking off until the weeping willow came down. The willow had blocked the sun which caused the clematis to grow lots of leaves, but no flowers. Now, it’s making up for lost time. Welcome back!

Don, Scout and I sat on the porch last night and watched the sun set and listened to the birds and talked about our life and our gratitude for our many blessings. We looked around our property that not all that long ago was covered in several inches of snow and marveled at the miracle of spring. We’re grateful for our marriage and the strong love we have for each other and for Scout. We’re blessed with friends and family and work in our chosen fields. We’re living our dream. Though at times it can be a stressful struggle to make the mortgage payment or pay those unexpected bills, we’ve managed to do it and we’ve managed to do it as freelancers, never sure of each month’s income. Our parents helped us as we started out on this dream of ours. For that we are forever grateful. We’ve made our choice and are holding fast; life in the country in a lovely little cottage with our beloved animals around us, with green things growing and blooming, with music and laughter and a lot of hard work. We’re coming up on the tenth anniversary of Mockingbird Hill Cottage (in August.) It doesn’t seem possible, but it’s true!

Anyway. We’re grateful. We’re thankful. We’re blessed.

Happy Friday.

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Chatty: Gardening on a Budget

May 16, 2015 at 9:30 am by Claudia

A gentle rain is falling as I write this. We need it. It has been extraordinarily dry here, with much less rain than is the norm. There have been ongoing burn bans and a couple of forest fires not far from us. One of those fires was caused by someone burning brush in spite of the ban. I guess he thought the rules didn’t apply to him. Don’t get me started.

So I welcome the rain.

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I’ve been adding pots and plants to the Funky Patio and the porch. I love this Pink Ivy Geranium and I’ve used it for a couple of summers now. It takes me right back to my friend Kathy’s little cottage at the beach in San Diego. She had this growing everywhere in her garden. That little cottage was magical – Kathy was ahead of her time in her decorating style. All of those blogger/decorators who think the current trend of white and cream interiors with natural elements is a new thing? Not on your life. Kathy was doing it well over twenty years ago. She rented a little cottage and she made each beadboard nook and cranny into a little treasure – all on a budget and all with some ingenious DIY on her part. She covered cushions in linen and cotton duck. I can still see it now. I loved that place. In fact, I stayed with her when I first moved out to San Diego until I could move into my apartment. And that little cottage of Kathy’s was where I first met Don.

So this Ivy Geranium is little homage to Kathy and the beach and theater gatherings at her little cottage.

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Hens and Chicks on the Funky Patio Bench.

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Sweet potato vine in the galvanized planter.

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Along with some pink scaevola, which is the same plant I use every year for the hanging pots on the porch.

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I bought two of them this year and they’re gorgeous. They’re a little pricey for me, but here’s the thing, they last all summer long and into the fall. I don’t have to replace the plants in mid-summer. So, they end up saving me money and I’m all about thrifty gardening because I have to be.

Everything you see in the garden beds was purchased a bit at a time over the nine summers I’ve been gardening here at the cottage. (We’re starting the tenth summer this year.) No landscapers, no garden designers. For better or worse, it’s just me and a very limited budget. It took lots and lots of patience. But, oh my, it was and is so rewarding!

I am equally as thrifty about the annuals I add to the porch and patio.

5-16 porch

There are six places I can hang pots on the porch – six openings framed by the posts. Last year, I had only two hanging plants. This year, I have six. I purchased the two purple scaevola. I fill the rest of the pots myself. The pots themselves have been saved from year to year. This year, I bought a flat of impatiens. I already have the overwintered impatiens, which saves me a lot of money from year to year. The new flat of impatiens I use to fill a few little pots here and there, but mostly I use them for the hanging pots on the shady side of the porch. They will fill out beautifully and last through the summer.

This year, Don accompanied me to the nursery (that usually doesn’t happen but he’s developing a real love for the gardens and is much more observant about what’s popping up here and there than he used to be) and his eye hit on a beautiful hanging plant with deep red geraniums. We couldn’t afford another expensive arrangement, so I grabbed a small inexpensive pot of the same geraniums and plopped them in a hanging pot that I had on hand.

5-16 redgeranium

Don never asks for anything special in the gardens. He leaves all of that up to me. This year he asked for two things. I wanted to make sure he had his geraniums. He also fell in love with a little plant called Mexican Mint Agastache and asked if I could add it to the garden. Of course.

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It’s coming together, slowly but surely.

I’m very, very careful about each year’s gardening expenses, so much so that last year I didn’t buy mulch in order to save money. That was a mistake that I won’t repeat again. Yikes, Claudia, what were you thinking?

Mulch was purchased this year, along with the flat of impatiens, a couple of hanging plants, a few small potted plants, and some morning glory and zinnia seeds. That’s it.

Oh, and some bee balm, which had to be purchased because I mistakenly yanked all of the bee balm out of the garden.

Yes, you read that right. I thought it was some invasive mint (it smelled like mint) and yanked it. It wasn’t until a few weeks later when I realized I wasn’t seeing any bee balm come out of the ground that I learned that it is part of the mint family. I was so mad at myself! That bee balm had been in the garden for at least eight years. I felt sick to my stomach. It was as if I’d harmed a friend. And I had. Again, what was I thinking?

So Don insisted we go buy some bee balm the next day.

An added expense due to my momentary insanity.

Anyway. It’s taken nine summers to get the gardens to the point they are now. A few plants at a time. A little bit of money at a time. Now, I almost never add plants to the garden beds because they’re nicely full of perennials. (Unless I yank something by mistake, that is.)

Mulch, a few pots of annuals, some seeds. That’s doable for two freelancers. And knowing I did it all on a budget – very slowly, with no quick fixes – makes me proud.

Happy Saturday.

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The Country Living Fair

Friday Thoughts

Chatty: Gardening on a Budget

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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