I heard the peepers last night. If you’re not from this area, peepers are tiny frogs that sing (called chorus frogs) in the early spring. Our neighbors have a smallish pond near the road, where a bullfrog resides, and as I walked upstairs last night to go to bed, I could hear them through the window. Oh, so lovely! And a true harbinger of spring. If you’re interested, I recorded them and the results are on my Instagram post from last night. Hearing them call to each other is magical. There’s also a little bullfrog in there, as well.
Eggcups, final edition. Let me say that I’m sure I’ve left some out, in fact, I know I have. But most of them have been displayed on the blog this week.
Some of these eggcups live in the china cabinet in the kitchen – the rest live in the cabinet in the den.
Starting from the left, a transferware, flow blue egg cup that I found in a shop – no markings, so I have no idea how old it is. The one in the middle (don’t you love the smile on that duck’s face?) was given to me by a Teresa, a reader of this blog. This was made out of what was called a Holland mold and hand painted by someone with the initials LH in 1958. He or she did a great job. This is one of my largest egg cups. On the right, a Delft egg cup, marked with the number 28. A gift from my mom.
A goose egg cup (one of my favorites) that I found in an antique shop. It’s marked: Sarreguemines, France, with the letter A. It has a lot of crazing, so I’m venturing that it’s fairly old. The next egg cup is one I found in San Diego at the shop, Vignettes. I love the colors. The wooden egg cup is one of a set of four sent to me by Barb, a reader of this blog. The darling chick egg cup was also sent to me by a reader – Judy.
Okay, in looking back through my blog to identify the names of the readers who so generously sent me egg cups, I see a few I’ve left out. Just have to find where I’ve ‘placed’ them. So I’ll be showing a few more tomorrow!
I posted about this next item on IG because my sister doesn’t do Instagram, but I had to hold off on the blog until the package arrived at her door, which it did – yesterday. Two years ago – yes, two – my sister handed me her Maggie Rabbit pattern/kit and asked me to make it for her because she didn’t have the time. I brought it back home with me.
And it sat.
I was eventually consumed with guilt and needed a project – I’m finding it hard to concentrate on anything lately, I blame my need to read about Trump and his crimes – so I pulled it out. I have to say it was incredibly satisfying to make and I felt a calm come over me that I hadn’t experienced in a long time. (Since November 9, 2016, as a matter of fact.)
Here she is, Meredith’s Maggie Rabbit:
I found myself talking to her when I was making her. I was the kid who talked to my stuffed animals and my dolls and I still do.
I even brought my Maggie down from the bedroom to keep her company.
Mere’s Maggie is on the left, mine is on the right. I did a better job with Mere’s; having one already under my belt helped. This is a kit from Alicia Paulson of Posie Gets Cozy, and it came with the pattern, felt, fabric, embroidery floss and yarn. She still makes the pattern, but no longer includes the supplies. While I was posting it on IG, a former student of mine named Michael, who, along with his husband, is a new father to a lovely little baby girl named Everly, said “I want one for my girl.” And he does. He also said that ‘”Aunt Claudia has to deliver it in person.” He lives in Los Angeles.
So I’m hanging onto the pattern and I will order the necessary supplies.
The best thing was that I knew Meredith would be completely surprised because she had most likely forgotten about the kit. She had. She was, I’m happy to say, thrilled to receive her Maggie. Just in time for Easter.
Happy Friday.
Hi Claudia. I heard the peepers here in Michigan yesterday :) We say the frogs
are hollering. My people are from Kentucky. Spring can’t be far behind. Have
a good day. Bobbie
Love hearing that sound, Bobbie! So glad you heard it, too!
I love the glimpses into your amazing egg cup collection, and the bunnies and lambs, too. So festive and —Easter-y! Your little frogs sound so bird-like. I don’t know if ours sing at the lake. I’ve seen little frogs and there are always birds chirping, at least I’ve thought that they were birds chirping…hmmm. It’s amazing that there would be frogs so soon after the icy cold weather! Nature is a wonder.
They do this singing in the very early spring. I don’t think they do it later. Mating calls, etc.
I will take any sign of spring that anyone can offer! It is an absolute fact that spring will, indeed, occur, but WHEN is the big question. One that I would like answered. I think if I knew “the date” that we would feel some warmth, (and that it would stay!!) I would be ok. The unknown is so frustrating.
I bet Meredith was thrilled. She has had a tough few months with the extra work load. Those puppies must help with a few smiles, though. Not to mention Little Z!
I have my annual BP check w/ the Dr every March. Last year I told her how upset I had been about the “election”. This year she told me I would be surprised by how many patients have said the same thing and report that the angst continues. The entire Roseanne crap makes me nuts and the fact that his numbers are going up take my breath away.
Have a good Good Friday, Claudia. With a husband who is a church organist and choir director, Holy week is a busy time here. (Just like that good Christian, Laura Ingraham. UGH)
Oh that woman. I tweeted my thoughts on that to her. She is not a nice person. Not one bit.
I listened to your sounds…they sound like our marsh sounds. Very peaceful…spring-like. You know, for all the antique malls, consignment shops, and thrift stores I frequent, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an egg cup. But, then I don’t think I was really looking. I do believe I will be now….I must have room someplace for a few? Because, I just have to have some now. Darn!
Meredith’s Maggie rabbit is adorable…you could have a new career making those! ;)
Egg cups are hard to find nowadays. And the figurals that are done well and are vintage are almost non-existent. Even on eBay. I think I found the ones I have just in time. But you’ll find some!
Love the Maggie, love the larger egg cups (I always think of them being quite small). Going over to I/g now to see if I can hear some croaking.
Wow, what a chorus. Of course being unfamiliar with a peeper, I would have thought them to be night birds. How interesting, and how quiet in the country. Amazing you can pick that up with a phone.
Someone mentioned the return of birds. Yes, my jays returned and I happened to be near an abandoned bank building where there was a rather large, visible nest in a boarded-up window alcove, protected from the rain just-so, ‘way above the street, when the mama bird flapped her way onto the nest to where all I could see was her motionless head. I dunno – – you hear the expression of ‘bird brain’ but I think birds are pretty darn smart, like how could she figure out to put a large-twig nest there? This is not some little bird; she was darn big (for all I know, it’s a giant crow[!]; I didn’t recognize a species [something I’m not good at]). Birds in my yard still remember and still wait for me to feed them, although I don’t anymore. Always find myself saying, “Sorry! I’m sorry!” to them. Although my yard and hillside is alive with spring green shoots, trees, plants, bushes, birdbaths, teeming wildlife of other sorts (I’ve seen worm holes since the rain), so they do have food source in their environment.
Bought four good-sized tomato plants yesterday: Roma, cherry, heirloom. Can’t wait to plant them this weekend. It seems a little early but we’re not gonna get anymore frost here in SoCalif and, last year, I got second yields, so I had tomatoes all summer. Yum. Also bought a bright-yellow watering can. Yellow just screams Spring and Easter to me! So sunny & cheery.
I confess to going a bit crazy at the garden center. I edited myself in terms of what to put in pots or in the ground; not gonna do herbs or lettuces or peppers or eggplant this time ’round.
I did buy some lovely chimes I couldn’t resist and an aqua-green ceramic pot. Spontaneous purchase; sigh.
The little bit of frost/near-freeze we did have this year actually got to my potted red bougainvillea. I should have covered it but didn’t want to be out in the night air with my cough. So, with a huge array of vigorous, young, healthy bougainvillea for sale at the garden center yesterday, I was presented with a ‘do I or don’t I’ and, well, I went with ‘yeah, I do’ on a gorgeous purple. Grown south of me in Fallbrook, Calif and bred to survive to 20 degrees (F), so we’ll see. Sounds good! They are nice-sized to plant to a pot, before they get so thorny you can’t handle them. (I’ve had super-big garden pots for this, reusing them over and over for things since 2005; they’re indestructible because they’re ‘plastic’ which isn’t my preference and I’d never use them for growing food, but they fit the bill for even a small patio tree.)
I had magenta bougainvillea covering an entire wall of my house (the last one, my precious cottage) which had been there ‘forever’ but it was really difficult to work with due to the size and ‘lethal’ thorns. In the house I’m in right now, which had belonged to my parents, there was stunning orange and yellow-y bougainvillea trained to a block wall but we had to take it out (long story) when we did a yard overhaul four years ago. My favorite street-long patch of bougainvillea in town (went for the equiv of half a block) was reduced to powdery ash in the December wildfire. So, I’ve been bougainvillea-less and I’m a huge fan of it. But I’ve now blown my garden budget and it’s still March!
We had bougainvillea all around us when I lived in San Diego, but none in our yard. Our yard had morning glories! But I’ve always loved bougainvillea. So beautiful!
The peepers were even louder last night. I could hear them in the den with all the windows shut! I really love that sound.
There are all sorts of egg cups in many different sizes!
Thanks for your lovely springtime posts Claudia! Your friendly duck, gorgeous goose and endearing rabbits are spreading the warmth (and ever multiplying,as is appropriate!!!) and are happy images to carry into my work weekend! I hope you are feeling much better and enjoy the weekend!
I am feeling better, just taking it easy until everything is out of my system!
I love the sweet bunny. You have inspired me to make something like this. It probably would be soothing and much more helpful than spending time reading the news or watching it.
Exactly. It really did help in calming me down, Sally.
Maggie Rabbit is adorable, Claudia. Glad you were finally able to make her for your sister. Little Emily’s parents will appreciate hers until she gets older and can love it on her own.
Yes, it’s not for the real little kids. It’s more of a collectible.
Loved seeing the annual “parade of egg cups” over the past few days. Never get tired of them PLUS it’s almost another sign of Spring to me now – LOL. Every year I see at least one I don’t remember from previous viewings, so that’s fun too. PS – I talk to my stuffies too [also plants]. I believe when we go on to whatever’s next, we’re going to find out that our pets AND our stuffies AND our plants all have souls, and heard every word we ever said! Maybe they talk to each other at night & when we’re not looking [like “Toy Story”]. Hope you get to NYC – Easter weekend must be pretty there & it sounds like it’s going to be nicely-mild. Peace.
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
#Resist
#ProtectMueller
I talk to plants, my stuffed animals, my dolls, and when I had dogs – my dogs. I’m glad you do, too!
We have a pond with peepers too! Haven’t heard them yet. Maybe because we’ve still been waking up to frost on the ground some mornings here in southern WI. Anyway, I too always listen for them so I know Spring has sprung. Then we have a magnificent bullfrog chorus all summer. Your egg cup pix these last few posts made me go in search of the few I have. They belonged to my late dad’s mother who gave them to my mother. Mom passed away recently and her funeral was this week. Finding those egg cups the day before was a nice reminder of her long life. Love Maggie. Was heavily into primitive dolls, bunnies, etc., in the late nineties. Have kept a lot of those patterns and you’re right, it could be just the thing to take my mind off obsessing about you-know-who.
I’m so sorry to hear of the loss of your mother, Kay. Please accept my deepest sympathy.
Thank you, Claudia
to kay …
sorry to learn that news of your mother. my condolences and prayers …
kathy in iowa
Thank you, Kathy.
I saw some new to me egg cups this post! I always enjoy your collections. I listened to the IG peepers and loved it. I’m putting together Easter baskets for Tiger and Scout and a family one with a movie and popcorn in it(I may add a bottle of wine for the adults). It’s warmer and things are really blooming but then the pollen is sky high and my allergies go wonky! Still it’s beautiful out. Enjoy your weekend.
Isn’t that the way? We can’t wait for spring, but spring brings pollen! Ah well!
The Maggies are so sweet. I have trouble concentrating on anything now and have for the same time period as you. Distractions are what I can manage right now. It will get better, I have to believe this!
I do, too. Because it’s very frustrating, isn’t it?
Love, love, love the rabbits!
Thank you, Carolyn Marie!
I love Maggie Rabbit. You did a great job. Crafting is relaxing. Those peepers must be so nice to hear. I have never heard of the peepers.
Marilyn
They’re pretty amazing and they really do ‘sing!’
great work you did making both bunnies … they are adorable!
love the fabric (small vintage florals are a face for me). what are their boots made of?
sure liked the audio you shared (as long as they all stay outside!). thank you. been hearing lots of birds in the morning here. love it.
hope your cough is gone, that you feel better and have a nice easter. He is risen!
kathy in iowa
The boots are made of felt.
The cough is still here but much less than it was. All is well!
good!
thought the boots looked like flat cork.
and small floral are a faVe of mine (not faCe) … am sure you figured that out … ha.
Cork would be hard to work with!
I can so relate to your comment on how post-Trump has affected our personal lives. I so miss Obama when all was right in my world and peace and goodness prevailed. I simply cannot understand why people were so dissatisfied then. Love both Maggie’s and glad you’re feeling better.
-Eileen in Fla.
I will never understand it. I have my suspicions but I won’t write them here.
Thank you, Eileen!