Roses

But he that dares not grasp the thorn

Should never crave the rose.

Anne Bronte

On a Lighter Note

 

The rainy weather last week made for beautiful

sunrises over the Sierra's.

As the storm ended Monday it brought my favorite clouds,

big, low, puffy ones.

 They look like you could sit on the edge and dangle your feet over.

If only my ladder was a bit taller!

Even their reflection in the pool was cool.

The sky was a brilliant deep blue that we only get after a good storm has cleared the air.

Later we went for a drive and spotted this family out for a walk.

Whimsy is alive and well after all!

We stopped at a drive-thru and I was horrified to see what I thought was several dead birds.

Too much orange chicken from the Panda Express patio?

I was glad to see my first impression was wrong.

It turned out to be

The Red Rock Bird Spa.

As we sat and waited 5 to 10 birds at a time would be in this one spot. It was so amusing to watch bird after bird flutter over from the nearby bushes and take their turn in the sauna made by the water under the warm rocks. There were many puddles nearby but this was the place to be!

We have a busy day planned today but I will get back to visiting soon. Everyone is well (knock on wood!) and we're all back in our routines. My son is assisting with his high school's varsity basketball team and his Special Olympics team starts practicing soon so he's happy as a clam. My daughter is back to her chipper self and enjoying friends at school instead of playing with mommy! I missed all the New Year's posts so I'll be checking in to see how you all are and what your plans for 2011 are. For me it will THE year to get organized and get fit. Oh, wait, that was last year's resolutions...

Vintage Slipper Chairs and a Wedding

Remember these?

Lovely but worn out slipper chairs from an estate sale for $15 each.

They now have a fresh lease on life in a scrumptiously soft chenille. (Please ignore the floor lamp stuck awkwardly behind them, I had just picked up the little table at another estate sale and wasn't done rearranging when I grabbed my camera!) The pretty, but ripped and dirty turquoise velvet didn't fit my color scheme and the upholstery really need to be redone to keep the padding in shape.  I loved the lines and they seemed really sturdy to me. The manufacturer's tag said "Comfort Chair Co., Inc., Hickory, N.C. I couldn't find anything on the company but I knew North Carolina is associated with quality furniture.

 I took them to Tracy's dad, a professional upholsterer, to see what he thought. The first thing he did was throw them up on some saw horses and try to twist them apart. He seemed surprised they passed the test and said that chairs of this design without arms don't always have the support they need. I think when I called him and asked him to look at some $15 chairs he didn't expect much! He said they were probably made in the 50's judging by the materials used and they were well worth the cost of reupholstering them. The only design change we made was to omit the tufting on the seat. I paid a couple of hundred each to have them done. I know that's not pocket change, and is way over the price of a slipcover, but at a total of about $275 each they were way under anything comparable I could find.

Like the tufted one on the right for $2365... plus fabric!

See, you were thinking I was crazy but I do know thrifty when I find it! And that's why I'm linking up with Leigh for Thrifty Thursday in Bloggeritaville. Please pay her a visit see all the thrifty finds and crafts at her link party.

One last thing before I forget. I'm happy to say that Tracy is, finally, officially my sister-in-law. Congratulations to Tracy and my brother Walter! If you'd like to see photos of their wedding in Carmel a few weeks ago you can check out Erika Jackson Photography. Make sure you scroll all the way to the end. The barefoot on the beach photos are my favorites, although the winery ones are great too. wedding photography has sure come a long way since I got married!

Hugs,

Dawn 



Playing in the Garden...

with a paint program.

Original Photo

Softened and Warmed

As an Oil Painting

I'm so happy my red roses have finally bloomed.

First Signs of Spring!

It's been a beautiful weekend here in central California. We've been outside working and took a little trip up into the foothills yesterday. Here are some of the first signs of spring we've seen.

Bees

Buds

Tender greens

and swings!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Doors

Please visit Heather at Simply Heather to see other Wordless Wednesday photos. She is guest hosting while Dixie takes a break in French Lique, Texas. (Pssst, Dixie's got wedding photos!)

Wordless Wednesday ~ Hot?

Please visit Heather at Simply Joyful Photos to see this week's Wordless Wednesday posts.

Heather is filling in for Dixie in French Lique, Texas for the summer.

You Look'n at Me?

There are so many stories behind this photograph I don't know where to start. I guess the beginning is as good a place as any. This little heifer and a bunch, oops ~ sorry cow people, a herd of her friends live down the road and around the corner from me. We drive by them several times a day taking the kids to school or going to the Starbuck's drive-thru. Not that I go to Starbuck's several times a day...well, maybe when they have that nifty little promo where you use your morning receipt to get a deal in the afternoon. Did I mention I'm starting this post in the middle of the night? Are you here with me Mona, or are you "wsprng" sweetly of cottages in your sleep? Back to the cows.



Every time we drive by my daughter talks about the cows. We talk to the cows. We yell "Good MOOOOOrning" to the cows and darling daughter laughs and laughs. Then the questions start...
Why are they by the trees? It's shady there.
Why are they walking to the barn? It's feeding time.
What are they saying to us? Go away.
Do you think they know us? Yes.
What are they saying to each other? There go the crazy people again.
Why are they playing leap frog? They kicked the football into the neighbors yard and don't have anything else to do...
And then the question of all questions...
Why are they all white? They're a different kind of cow.
What kind? I don't know.
WHY NOT?......I'll look it up on the computer when we get home.

Okay, I don't have the answer to every thing. If I had known there were such things as a text service that answers all your questions, I would have called and asked Gwen at Murphy Grace Home. But I didn't. I really meant to find the answer online but every time I turned on the computer I was compelled to check on all my bloggy friends and soon forgot about the all white cows.

Then one day I was hanging out in French Lique, Texas and saw a photo of an all white cow! The caption said, "This is a Charolais Heifer"! In her infinite wisdom Dixie had answered my question without even knowing I had one.

Just to be sure I pulled up my little white heifer photo, and put it next to Dixie's little white heifer photo...and they were almost a mirror image! What did I tell you Dixie? We are in a parallel universe!

Below is my original photo. Have I told you how much I love my camera's 10x optical zoom! It keeps me from having to climb over fences into cow pastures! But it's still small and lightweight. Love it, but can't tell you what it is 'cause I don't remember.

Now my darling daughter is happy and back to asking a million other questions about the cows. I'm thrilled I didn't get a ticket for taking that heifer's photo from the middle of a busy road ~ took me three days to get the opportunity with no other cars around. That's why she's looking at me that way. She is thinking, "That crazy lady and her little girl are stalking me again and this time she's gonna get run over by a hay truck!"

I'm also left with memories of my grandmother who fondly called me "you little heifer" and my sister...but we won't discuss cow tippin' in front of you know who.

I almost forgot ~ Cotton Blossom, please tell Mama Cow we said Good MOOOrning when you drive by to let the kids wave!

You all watch out for the hay trucks and have a great weekend!

Dawn

Wordless Wednesday ~Trust

Dixie is taking a summer break from Wordless Wednesday but has invited us to post on our own. I don't know if she is on some fabulous adventure or sitting on the porch in French Lique, Texas with a glass of tea and a good book but I trust she'll be back to tell us all about it. In the meantime its Blogger's Choice and I choose...Trust

Thrifty Thursday ~ Time Out

It's been a long week and I'm ready for a trip to Bloggeritaville! Check out Leigh's cool thrifty mirror ~ it's really awesome ~ along with all the other thrifty finds when you're done here.

This was going to be my Wordless Wednesday post yesterday. That is, until the mailman pulled up with a package from dear sweet Kathy from Kathy's Cottage. The kid's wanted to swim just then so I grabbed the package and my camera and headed to the pool. I bought some great vintage fabric from Kathy's Etsy shop: HensinDaisies and that little darling added in some beautiful little surprises on the side. After a I took tons of photos of my haul I was just too excited and couldn't wait to share them with you. So now this is my Thrifty Thursday post because it features my bargain rocker ~ more about that at the end.

This is my new Time Out spot, just for mommy. From now on, when daddy gets home and decides to tease the kids and start all that loud horseplay and squeelin', I'm "taking to" my rocker until the ruckus dies down. Have you noticed since I started blogging I'm picking up all these southern phrases. Maybe there's a "lady" inside this California girl after all. I'll never be able to set a table like you all though!

So here is my little corner of peace and quiet on the porch. I got this big, chunky rocker in a thrift store several years ago. It was already peeling paint and was set on top of a bunch of stuff that was stacked to the ceiling. The guy didn't want to climb up and get it but I begged and begged. And offered him all the money I had on me. That did the trick. I still think it was a great thrifty buy even though I shelled out $50. Can you see how thick the seat is? My hubby and his friends were like, OMG its solid oak...strip it...stain it...varnish it...and I was like, step away from the shabby rocker and no one gets hurt! Ah, there's some California speak for ya, like for real!

Did you notice my new bird trellis? I teased you with it last week. It was a bit of a splurge from Lowe's. I planted a few ferns under it to soften the base without hiding the design. I've always wanted something there to stop the eye and this was perfect. Now if I could only get the rest of the porch looking as cozy.

Stay cool,

Dawn

Edited to add Thrifty Thursday 'cause hubby needed the computer last night I didn't know if I would get back here in time to finish it.

Wordless Wednesday: Water and/or Wind

This is my first attempt at participating in an event. I hope I can do Dixie proud and get everything linked up right. Even if I don't I hope you can find your way over to French Lique and visit all the other participants!

Water...

Dawn

Hollyhocks

On my way to the attic yesterday I spotted the hollyhocks blooming around the corner in a tiny side yard. They get almost no light there except when the sun is straight overhead. This one was just peeking around the corner.

There are two different petal types growing here. This frilly one...

and one that has rounded edges.

Some white ones too. The first year we moved here I fell in love with these. After the blooms faded and the seed pods dried I collected a gallon size bag of seeds. I planned to plant them everywhere. A week later I went to get the bag to share some seeds with a friend. Imagine my shock when it was full of mosquitos! Hundreds of mosquitos! I should have known not to use a plastic bag but who would have thought those seed pods were full of mosquito eggs? Live and Learn.

Dawn