The Week That Was and Other Mundane Matters

Hi Dear folk,

Snow storm is in full swing and the way it's coming down I think it will be a big one.  All these pictures are from the past week not today.  Still spring is sitting dormant these buds on the rhododendron have been waiting for a while.

Our neighborhood is from the 1920's and I think when they built these houses they did certain plantings of shrubbery with them, and I do think the purple rhododendrons were part of that.  A neighbor has an absolutely huge one, although mine would be that big if we did not cut it back.

What have I been up to?  Well life isn't all glitz and glamor it's the every day small stitches of life that hold it together, all those mundane things that keep the boat afloat.

Mr. B. bought me this lovely bouquet and after trying several vases I eventually put them in a vase I inherited from his mum.  His mum died when he was four, really hard for him.  In any case his dad and step mom had kept a number items from their marriage stored in a barrel under the stairs, and this was one.

It was a wedding present in 1945, but I think dates back further than that, I would say what they call depression rose glass.  I appreciated having it.

Mr. B's parents were married in August 1945 between being sent back from England, where he was a flight engineer in B26 Bombers, and before he was meant to be deployed in the Pacific.  He was on his way across the country when the war ended.

Before being sent out to England he worked in Baltimore at the Martin Marietta plant and one of the planes they made was the B26 Marauder, where he worked on the engines, so not at all surprising that he was assigned as flight engineer on B26, The Widowmaker.

I finished the one patchwork curtain, trimmed in crochet and I am working on the second one for the other window.  It's hard to take a good photo when they are up at the window.  I used a new kebab skewer to hold them up, it works well and just slips in the hooks I already had up.  Threaded through the crochet at the top.

I found a nice edging crochet pattern for the bottom.  Mr. B.  said the hallway is darker with them.  Before I had wax paper up with pressed flowers in between, but they were old.  I had made them out of dried pressed flowers I collected in PEI and that's BFR (before Rob) so old.

Have you ever tried that for a window?  Taking pressed dried flowers and ironing them between wax paper, it is I think a lovely window treatment for a smaller window.

Enjoying the meter of my day.  Coffee and croissant by the fire, reading Expiation by Elizabeth Von Arnim; which is due to be released by Persephone Books next October.  As always I have the original first American edition from my local library.  They all know me, I'm the one who pulls old books out of unused shelving which exists on the top floor of the library, and someone has to be sent in to find it.  Love that they have them there, so special.

My little mug bought in Amsterdam, it reminds me of my paternal grandad working around his market garden and chicken farm.  He always looked like that with his trousers and braces and the other side has chickens on which you can just see in the picture above this one.

My boys have given me a pile of mending which I have procrastinated on, must get to that.

I have one project on the burner, but I don't want to count my chickens before they're hatched.  I filled out all the paperwork to apply to the local borough to build a garden shed.  I have a rough quote on it and will have it built from scratch, as it has to fit into a certain area and be in compliance with local ordinance.  I wished we lived somewhere where that didn't matter, are there places like that?  I assume so.

I went to the offices to submit them and pay the fee but they are closed until Friday for training, oh well!  I hope I don't get turned down because the fee to re submit is $550.00, and I don't think I'd contest it.

I'm not going to talk about my plans and ideas until I know that it is a done deal.  Well maybe a little.  I have old windows I want to use in the project that I've collected over the years.  Three circular columns that came off the house porch when we enclosed it and two sets of French door wood screen doors that came off also.  They are the original 1920's wood doors with windows that can be taken out and screens put in of which I have everything stored in the rafters of the garage.  Hope my vision comes to fruition.

Well that's the week that was and a little of what is.

Have a wonderful week.

Christine