Thifting Thursday

Last week I shared with you an article I read about collecting. The Antique Week newspaper was encouraging it's readers to keep collecting. The article mentioned that items that were being collected were going up in value. Now I have always said, the items that are for sale are only worth the price if someone is willing to pay it.

But getting on to starting a collection. What is a collection anyway? The dictionary has several definitions but this is the one we will look at today -
"something that is collected; a group of objects or an amount of material accumulated in one location, especially for some purpose or as a result of some process: a stamp collection; a collection of unclaimed hats in the checkroom; a collection of books on Churchill."

You know how a collection starts? Let's say you pick up something that you like. Then you see another piece somewhere else and you add it to the first one. So now you have two, and you have started a collection ;-)

Years ago, I would shop with an Aunt who loved to collect Bristol vases. After years of collecting, she amassed quite a lot of them. It was something that she liked and she enjoyed hunting for a new piece to add to her collection.

There are different ways of collecting. You can collect a line of something, like Limoges china, first edition books or the work of an artist you like. You could also decide to collect things specific to areas, like pottery made in Italy, or Poland.

I always loved tea cups. When I first started collecting tea cups, I was not too specific in what I bought.


If I liked it, and the price was right, I added it to my collection. Then I started looking more specifically for tea cups made in England. So now I have a nice collection of English Tea cups.

I also have a nice collection of Tea Pots. Some are made in England, Russia, and the US.

The point is, if you find something that you enjoy, and you have a way to display or store them, make your collection work for you. Whenever I have friends over for tea or lunch, I really enjoy using the pretty tea cups and tea pots.

Let's talk next week about where to go to find a treasure to collect.

Check out the other Time Travelers on Time Travel Thursday

and Cherry Street Cottage!

Vintage Things

If there is one thing that my sweet daughter has learned from me.........

it's how to find vintage things............


and bring them home to roost..........


Please join Coloradolady and Vintage Thingie Thursday.

Outdoor Wednesday

Every Spring, I am enthralled with this beautiful English Dogwood. I was visiting my in laws on Saturday, and as I was leaving I noticed that the tree was in full bloom. I don't remember how old this tree is, but it has been in my in laws back yard for as long as I can remember. It sure does say "Welcome Spring!"

I am joining Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.

Tea for One

Don't you love it when Spring time raises it's pretty head and let's us sit outside to share in the warmth of the sunrise?


It's always so much more enjoyable to set a pretty table. Even if it is on the porch :-)

Thanks for joining me today.

Please stop by and visit these lovely tea parties.

Sandi's Tea Time Tuesday

Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday

Teapot and Tea Things Tuesday

Table Top Tuesday

Martha's Favorites

A Return to Loveliness

Words to Live By

"Let him that is thirsty come. And let him take the water of life freely."
Revelation 22:17

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Spiritual Sundays

Thrifting Thursday

We were traveling last week. So when we stopped in an Antique shop in Greenville NC, we picked up a copy of Antique Week. It was an old copy, dated February 28, but it had some interesting articles.

One thing that caught my eye, was an article about collecting. I did not read the whole article, and sadly it was left behind when we headed home. But the gest of the article was how collecting anything nowadays is a good thing. Well I've known that for years :-) I've collected things since I was a child. You know the kind of things. Rocks, seashells, coins etc, etc..... But over the years my collecting has taken to include things that I use in my home.

I thought I would share some ideas about collecting. Do you collect anything special?? Some people start a collection because of a gift, or because they like a certain line of something. Years ago I used to go with an Aunt who loved to collect Bristol vases. We went to garage sales, antique shops, antique shows. She would look at so many beautiful things. And through my time spent with this Aunt, I think I learned a few things too.

I am a quilter, so whenever we go to an antique shop, I look at the quilts. Sometimes they are in great shape, and sometimes they are rags. But because I am a quilter, I look for certain characteristics in a vintage quilt. And when I come across one at a reasonable price, it comes home with me. I've not bought many quilts, but it is still fun to look at them.

So the first thing I would suggest if you are interested in collecting anything is to educate yourself. By that I mean, look at many different sources. Go to the Good Will or Salvation Army and just look around. You would be surprised to find many treasures there. Then go into Antique shops or malls and note the different prices. I've been to Antique Malls where the same item can range in price. You can read a post of my experience with this item

here.

Next week I'll share some insights about collecting, and how to go about starting a collection. I hope you will join me, and share some of your insights too :-)

I am linking up with Time Travel Thursday. Let's visit the other travelers :-)

Happy Thriftin!

VTT

Isn't it fun to find treasures? Last week our family took some time away as my son was off for Spring Break. We traveled to the mountains of West Virginia, and then on to North Carolina. While my hubby was in meetings my daughter and I explored some Antique Malls in New Bern. And of course we came away with some treasures.

I love these Syracuse cups. I collect made in USA dinnerware, and these have such a lovely pink floral design.

I was only going to buy two, but when we were checking out, the owner said "wait" and she brought out two more and gave them to me, no additional charge :-) So all four were had to $2.

On this trip, I was on the look out for a specific item. This item!!

I've looked for a scale in other places, but they were always too pricey or in terrible condition. This one was in my price range. So it came home with me.
I am joining Coloradolady this week for Vintage Thingie Thursday.

Spring Time, Tea Time

Spring is definitely in the air. Everything in our area is bursting with color. So in honor of SPRING and all the beauty it brings, let's have a Spring Time Tea Party.

How fun it is to spread the table with flowers and butterflies.

Our Best Granola

Many years ago, a dear friend shared her recipe for Granola. Our family loves it, so here it is!

8 cups regular Oats, uncooked
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup sunflower kernels
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup bran
1 teaspoon salt

Combine these ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine the following -
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey
2 Tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine honey, oil, water and vanilla, stir well and pour over oat mixture. Toss gently to coat, place mixture in two 15 x 10 x 1" jelly roll pans

Bake at 275 degrees for 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. During the last 15 minutes, stir in 1/2 cup of raisins.

Cool, and store in airtight containers.

Serve as cereal with milk.

Thanks Gladys! After all these years, we still love it!

I am linking up with Remodelaholic Recipe Swap

A Simple Woman's Daybook

I have not done this in a while, so I thought I would share my day.


FOR TODAY: March 14


Outside my window... is starting out as a nice day


I am thinking... of what I need to accomplish today


I am thankful for...for my family


From the kitchen... Ham and eggs and toast


I am wearing... comfy clothes


I am creating... a knitted scarf


I am going...to read today


I am reading... a biography


I am hoping... safe travels for family members

I am praying for....my loved ones


I am hearing...quiet


Around the house... nothing much going on yet


One of my favorite things...spending time with my family


A few plans for the rest of the week: shopping


Here is a picture that I am sharing

this is the first time this pink tabebuia tree has bloomed :-)

Have a great day!

Words to Live By

Love Unsought How do you know that God exists? How do you know that God loves you? These questions, upon the hearts of so many, have answers as real as the formative moments in your life. As I have aged I seem to grow more and more prone to nostalgia. Many of us do this instinctively, clinging to memories past, perhaps looking backwards with the hope of seeing a purpose for our lives. When I travel to India, I make it a point to revisit time and again those significant marking points of my own life. As I recall these moments past but not forgotten, I hear the gentle voice of the God very much in the present. And God says, "I was there." "When on you were on your bike contemplating suicide, I was there. When you were but nine years old and your grandmother died, I arranged for her gravestone to hold in time the very verse that would lead you to conversion. I was there." It is often in these harrowing moments—your parents divorce, your child's birth, the death of a loved one— where God leaves a defining mark. There is reason you remember such moments so vividly. We have a choice to hear or to ignore, but regardless his voice cries out in our memories, "I was there." God has been in our past. God is here today. God will be there in our future. God exists, as Lewis worded it so well, in the "eternal now." And the psalmist, always writing with feet firmly planted in time, but arms ever reaching for the eternal, beautifully explains, "Thou art God from age to age the same." And while hindsight is often God's means of gently revealing his presence all along, we can be comforted in the peril of the moment nonetheless. As we encounter these markers in time, our sorrow is held in the beautiful mystery of one who wept with a friend, who answered her question "Where were you?" with tears of his own. Beside Lazarus's tomb, Jesus offered Mary a glimpse of the present love of God, though he knew a greater future. God was with you then. God is there with you now. And He loves you. William Shakespeare once reasoned, "Love sought is good, but given unsought is better." How do you know that God loves you? While you and I were yet lost and wandering, Christ was wandering after us, by way of the Cross. And this sacrifice stands as the greatest marker in all time. ~ Ravi Zacharias Spiritual Sundays

VTT

Vintage. I love to dig around in Antique shops looking at all of the Vintage things from yesteryear. Do you ever wonder where things came from. Who used them? What was the occasion??

From the time I was a little girl, I remember this item being in our home.

I don't know how long my mother had it, or where she got it, but for 50+ years, it's been a staple either in my Mom's home or mine.

One day, my Aunt's gave me this.......

It has a couple of nicks on it, but the color is just the same as the bowl.

I think they make a nice pair, don't you??

Please join ColoradoLady at Vintage Thingie Thursday.

Breakfast on the Porch

Now that the weather is warming up in the deep south, we can start enjoying our porch.

Join me for breakfast, won't you??


Can you hear the birds singing this morning??


Please join me as I link up with -

Sandi at Tea Time Tuesday

Tuesday Tea for Two

Table Top Tuesday

Lady Katherine's Tea Time Tuesday

Martha's Favorites

A Return to Loveliness

Tablescape Thursday

Words to Live By

A couple of months ago, Coloradolady gave out a challenge. The challenge was to write letters! Now I know writing letters does not sound like very much of a challenge, but when you take into account that letter writing has basically gone out of vogue, it puts things into a new light. As Suzanne mentions on her blog, a 12 month commitment to anything nowadays is a challenge in itself.

Here are her words -

"FIRST, FIFTH, FOREVER That translates to The FIRST of the month, the FIFTH day, and a FOREVER stamp being used, or changing someone's life in an instant or forever, just by a little time and a card.

Letter writing is a dying thing, in our busy worlds we live in, we don't take the time for such things anymore. Is there someone who you have never told how much they meant to you? What about someone who goes out of their way to make you smile, is there a lonely relative who would love to receive a special greeting? I am sure you could think of a few to send."

For the first two months, I sent cards with a personal note to special people who have had an impact on my life. It only took a few minutes, one stamp, and I hope that it encouraged their heart. We all need encouragement from time to time.

So how about you? Can you take a few minutes today, and send a personal note, add a stamp and mail it to someone who has invested in you? Can you think of a friend, relative, a Senior citizen or even just someone you respect? On the 5th you can link up with Coloradolady for First, Fifth, Forever. This month I am writing to a lady who has just gone through her 46th surgery. I've never met her except online, but she has been an encouragement to me, and I think she could use some cheering during her recovery.

I'm linking up with Spiritual Sundays. I can't think of a better way to honor the Lord, then to share a few moments of your time and let someone know how they have blessed your life.

"A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing." Proverbe 17:22

Foto Friday

This has to be my very favorite time of year!

Enjoy your day!

Vintage Thingie Thursday

During an antique shopping trip, I was browsing up and down, row upon row of booths filled with every this and that you can think of, my eyes came upon this little grouping.


A breakfast set, in the most creamy blue color you have ever laid your eyes on.
I have to tell you that my heart skipped a beat when I saw this lovely shade of blue.


I have a real weakness for china and pretty dishes. Mostly ones made in England and the good ole US of A. This set is Johnson Brothers made in England. Can't you just picture some fine lady receiving her breakfast in bed served on this beautiful display of china?? Egg in the egg cup, oatmeal in the bowl (or grits if she was from the south) and toast under the cover. A perfectly brewed pot of tea or coffee with fresh cream and a dash of sugar.

So very lovely.

Please join me at Coloradoladys Vintage Thingie Thursday.

Outdoor Wednesday

The days are warmer, and we are seeing signs of Spring here in the deep South.

The other day when I went by our old house I was overtaken by the beauty of this blooming tree. I even turned around to get a better picture.

It absolutely looks like it is exploding with color.

Thank you Susan at Southern Daydreamer for sharing Outdoor Wednesday!