Little treasures...

Little treasures...how I love them!  With a tiny house and little space, the smaller the better!

Spent a little time at the Country Living Magazine Fair in Rhinebeck, NY this past weekend. If you are ever able to attend one of these fairs, what fun!

Here is a wand from the  The Painted Fern.  Glorious paper art!  And a little Nicole Bowen Panda...so cute!  Fits right in with the kinds of things that I make and do.

On the way back from the fair, we went to one of our favorite antique and collectible stores In Millerton, NY,  where I found this wonderful primitive bear.  It is 7 1/2 inches tall and has a mohair head.

At another shop I found these early hand painted gnomes.  These are probably made in the  30's or 40's but they were made well into the 1960's in Germany as wall ornaments and nursery figures.

The weather has been...fun.  Some days warm, someday cold and some days incredibly beautiful.  The past few days have been wonderful.    It is a pleasure to go antiquing and for rides through the lush green New England summer landscape.

A new week begins.  Working on a few things...how about you?   Where have you been?  How is the early summer treating you?

Until the next time,

as always.

enjoy the day!

And then? It was spring!

All of a sudden we have gone from leafless trees to the lush overgrown look of summer!   I say this every year and must sound like the proverbial "broken record."  (Only people who know what a record is will get what I just wrote...)

We were off and running today stopping by some of our favorite places.  I just cannot go through the town of Millerton, New York, without getting out of the car and looking around.  The farmer's market had just opened and I cannot wait to try the artisan cherry and pecan round loaf of bread we bought.

For years I have lingered by the window of Hunter Bee and drooled over the marvelous window displays.   They are so incredibly artistic and will executed that they are serendipitous eye candy to me. Today I went inside and it was even better than the windows!  I met the owners (Hunter and Bee!) who have a fabulous eye for collecting and my breath was taken away at each display in the store.  Here are windows from inside the store for once!

And, yes,  I did take a photo of one of the windows.  It is an artist's atelier complete with easel and other artist's nécessités.  

The store is featured in a new and wonderful book.  The author will be conducting a book signing there soon. 

We were in other places including a traffic jam in Hyde Park, NY, caused by graduation day at The Marist College. It was kind of fun watching hundreds and graduates with caps and gowns and their families with balloons and bouquets leaving the college.

As for creativity, 

I was busy decorating small mint tins lately.  

Here are a few...

 
Last but not least:   Memorial Day is on  Monday but I have never really found it to be a picnic sort of day. It was a day when people went to cemeteries and placed flowers and/or flags on fallen military grave sites. It was quite different than nowadays. When I was young, we called it something different:  Decoration Day.

Here is a little patriotic wall hanging 

I made and swapped with a friend. 

 It is made from scraps and paper

maybe you might like to make one yourself!

  

Wishing you a safe and

happy weekend!

As always,

enjoy the day!

A long ride in the country...

Off we went!  To Millbrook, NY, 

to eat in our favorite diner

 and see the sights along the way!

A trip through Bish Bash Falls State Park 

brought us to an intersection with this lovely old church.

We passed this sign

 in the middle of nowhere.  

We backed up to see what it was about.

Who would have thought?  

It is hard to imagine 

so many people gathering

 in this isolated spot to see a famous prize fight.

 I mean--really-- 

there was no there there!

We stopped at one of our very 

favorite haunts in Millerton, NY.

 It is a most charming antique store. 

This chest of dolls was for sale...

And so were these delightful monkeys!

The windows at Hunter Bee

never disappoint!

It is getting closer to Christmas!  Hanukkah has already begun so  I want to say Happy Hanukkah to my friends who celebrate it.  For those celebrating Christmas, I am sure everyone is busy planning. shopping, and preparing for the big day!  Are you ready?

Until next time...

and as always...

enjoy the day!

More of the bedbug adventure...

After we had lunch we strolled across the parking lot to Harney & Sons....which was our original destination.

Bjork is there in the sign...
can you see her?

The tasting room...

When we made our purchases, Bjork jumped out of my bag and onto the counter. Russell graciously posed for a photo.

Just a short distance away was the most wonderful flower shop. As a person who was a florist apprentice during my high school years, I have always had the utmost appreciation for well done shops. This one took my breath away!

Country Gardens Florist, Millerton, NY

It is housed in a wonderful old station...

the decor is over-the-top beautiful!

The gracious and talented owner told us the story of the railroad station. (She painted the homage to Monet's garden in this corner of the shop.) The building is steeped in history. We stayed a long time and could have stayed longer and look forward to a return trip.

Soon we were on our way home. Bjork jumped back into my bag and took a long nap. But, we think we created a monster. On Sunday she was was ready to go again.


We were on our way elsewhere when we saw these mixed up belties.


Obviously, something went amiss and they are not true "belted Galloways." But they are charming in their own way...


It was a fun weekend... with a touch of spring. We think that maybe the snow is actually over for now. After a lot of rain, we see green grass.. and dandelions, too.

The week flew by! As we approach another weekend,

happy weekend

enjoy the day!

Out and about...with a bedbug!

This past weekend we were finally blessed with a warm sunny day. After some yard work, we decided to hit the road. We rolled our eyes when we saw lingering snow...


Bjork the Bedbug came along, Bjork is part of a group of international bedbug friends. You can learn more about them here.


First we visited Millerton Antiques Center, In Millerton, NY. Bjork made herself quite at home!

The German monkeys
were delightful!

And we wished we could take
these antiques home!

While I was looking at books,
Bjork had a nice chat

with Mary Poppins!

And Bjork fell in love
with these shoes
from the 1800's.

After all that fun, we had worked up quite an appetite. We dined in the neatest diner... and Bjork liked it, too!



There is more to this weekend adventure...but that is enough for now. Stay tuned to see the Tea Room and the Garden Shop!

As always,

enjoy the day!