I seem to have, when visiting antique shops, an ability to pick out items all previously owned by the same person. Things that I treasure, they treasured. That is what happened recently when I visited one of my favorite antique shops.I looked up, hanging from the ceiling was this wonderful old basket, a basket that you could take into the garden and gather flowers in, be they wild flowers or home grown.
On the shelf I found a delightful old quilt of mellow colours of blue, salmon pink, and brown. This quilt was old and well loved, all hand sewn. The quilt reminds me of quilts I used to have tucked in around me when I was a little girl. I just love its warm, soft colours. I also found a linen dish towel with green and peach stripes. The quilt, the basket, and the linen towel had belonged to the same lady. I found out that she lived without electric and running water! She did her cooking and baking on an old wood cook range. I had to find out more about this lady! Later I found out that Martha was a gardener, loved watching the birds, looking at stars in the night sky, dolls, genealogy, and teaching Sunday School! I wish I could have known her, as true kindred spirits are a delight to find! We would imagine that Martha would have known and loved Tasha Tudor's illustrations, too!
There are more delightful finds of Martha's that we will share with you later!
I has always loved watching birds, too. In grade school one of my teachers loved birds and always fed them in a tree outside the window. I always liked to watch the birds instead of concentrating on school work. I received an award for perfect attendance which was a certificate to be redeemed at the bookstore. The second I walked in the bookstore I knew which book I wanted... a big wonderful book about birds. The book included a recording of all the lovely bird songs.The Corgyncombe Courant encourages their dear readers to feed the birds throughout the winter and never forget to feed them daily as our little winged friends depend on us! The birds are always such a joy to watch and to hear! They can also be amusing to watch, like the nuthatch who likes to perch upside down.
A beautiful Tufted Titmouse in flight!
The colours of the quilt remind us of the winter birds at Corgyncombe.
A lovely Mourning Dove.
In the basket are kissing balls to be hung on the porch. On the log, near the bottom of the chair, grows some Herb-Robert. Herb-Robert has lovely pink flowers when it blooms in the spring through autumn.
This is the nest of the Red-Winged Blackbird in June.'Tis hidden away near the ground in the goat pasture.
These nests are very hard to find but there were many of them nesting in the pasture and the meadow.
The colours of the eggs and nest also remind us of the old quilt.
This old tintype was found for 99 cents at another antique shop a little ways away from the other antique shop. It was full of mud and you could hardly see the portrait inside. It looked like it had been through a flood! At home I carefully took apart the tintype, glass, and case and cleaned everything. A lovely lady's portrait emerged! What a pretty frock she is wearing! We wonder who she was!
On St. Nicholas Day one year, Diane took this photograph of this lovely chickadee.The morn dawned snowy, sparkly white.
On Day 14 in "An Advent Calendar from Tasha Tudor", behind the doors, right above St. Nicholas and his sleigh pulled by owls, are two chickadees resembling the chickadee in my photograph. We are loving our new Advent Calendar that was a delightful find this summer "From Tasha Tudor, An Advent Calendar, Christmas Comes But Once A Year". Day 10 had the cutest little mouse in a cornucopia that reminds us of our Tillie Tinkham! We always open the doors on the Advent Calendars on the appointed days because not to open them would be missing half of the joy!
Take Joy in the simple things, this delightful Christmastide!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
