A Visit from a Little Lizard

Good morning. Tina here again, finally.  It took me a while to figure out the new puzzle that blogger threw at me, but I think I have solved it.

If you look at the photo below, on the porch railing, between the planter and the metal dragonfly, there is a little teeny tiny lizard sitting there in the sun.

 

This little guy came up from under the porch, where I imagine he was born, inside the plaster "urn" which now holds a begonia.  I didn't see him until I had dragged the urn up onto the porch, and was tipping it over to dump out the leavings of winter.

 I think he decided he liked it there on the railing. He basked a bit in the sun.

 He checked out the view.

 He saw such great opportunities now that he was higher up in the world.

 Life is his oyster.

 I am not sure when he went on to other pastures, I got busy finishing the little begonia project I was working on.

 Just a few urns with little pots filled with small begonias, joining my eight hanging planters which I had planted with petunias, and also tucked in some sweetpea, morning glory and nasturtium seeds.

 The little lizard should be happy growing up on our porch.  As long as he watches out for our three cats!

 Once in a while perhaps he will return to his place on the railing and I can see how he has grown.

Meanwhile, let's all enjoy this glorious spring.

Mother's Day Wishes

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful mothers out there - the ones I know, and also those whom I have never met.....
...who, with all of the love they have in their hearts, work very hard to make the lives of their children and families the best that they can possibly be.
I salute you all, with much appreciation for all that you do.
Have a wonderful day!
Illustrations are by Sunny B. Cook (top) and Doris Stolberg (bottom) from vintage Wonder Books in my collection.

Italian Farmers Of The Central Valley

I found the card above in a thrift shop. I had to pick it up, because I loved the image on the front. It brought to mind the pictures I had seen of my husband's grandfather and his uncles, shown in the two images below.
His grandfather is the one in the dark coat, and he and his two brothers were all farmers in Hanford, California. They grew grapes, apricots, and almonds, mostly, as he recalls. My husband also remembers how they would all sit around the dinner table and drink wine, and cut cheddar cheese off of a huge round of cheese that was purchased at a store that was also run by another family member.

The image on the card also made me think of the father of a dear friend of mine who grew up on an almond ranch in Escalon, California. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting her parents once many years ago at their home and we sat down and had a midday meal, and for the first time I had that "salad" with fresh mozzarella and garden-ripe tomatoes (does it have a name?) - yum. Anyway - that's it - just some memories. I may add more to this later when I have time - I am at work, on my break!

Rick-Rack Flowers

I bought these two patterns recently; both are from 1966:

I wouldn't mind learning how to make some of those pretty rick-rack flowers. Maybe if I ever have time, I will attempt to do so.
The two pictures below were taken of a lovely picture that Tina gave to Lori a few years ago. Rick-rack flower crafting at it's finest:

And - speaking of my sisters - I got to see them both on Wednesday for the first time in three months! We had a nice afternoon together, first we did some thrift-shopping and then we enjoyed a nice meal at "Mel's" in Jackson.
It was fun! I miss them.

A Farewell To Maurice Sendak

I was saddened this morning to hear that Maurice Sendak has passed away. This wonderfully talented man wrote and illustrated some of the greatest children's books of all time - including those below:




He is probably best known for the two books "Where The Wild Things Are" and "In The Night Kitchen", but the little "Nutshell Library" books are my favorites. I have told you before about my obsession with "Chicken Soup with Rice".
I believe that his books should be a part of every child's life. And I am grateful that he left us the legacy of his fabulous works.
We will miss you, Mr. Sendak. And I thank you for being you.

Angel Beauty

Just one more beautiful angel for my collection.
Perhaps I am biased, but.....


.....quite honestly, I do not see how anyone could look at her and not think she was absolutely beautiful.
LOVE her.

Wrap It Up, Vintage Style

I very rarely find vintage wrapping paper, so when I do it makes me happy! Discovered at a local thrift store, not all of them in the lot were spectacular, but some of them are pretty darned cute...
..like these sweet little kitty-cats:
Baby wrap:
Pretty color combo on the left, and cute pandas on the right:
Lovely wedding wishes:
And some flowery sheets, as well:

Pretty stuff!

The Perfect Container

I always use Lawry's Taco seasoning when I fix tacos, because I love it.

And I think my vintage glass canister with the Mexican style decals is the perfect container for my packets.
And furthermore, I think I feel like having tacos tonight for our Cinco de Mayo dinner.
Yum.
(P. S. You know how I like to sneak in Disney references whenever I possibly can, right? Well, you may or may not remember that Lawry's was actually the sponsor of the "Casa Mexicana" restaurant that was located in Frontierland at Disneyland from October 1st, 1982 until sometime in 2001 when it was "rethemed" and changed into what is now the Rancho Del Zocalo restaurant. I still miss my old Casa Mexicana.)

Azaleas Again

I have written about our azaleas before - in fact, maybe every year - but I just can't help it! They're so pretty that I want to share.
The potted ones:


The ones along the driveway:

And the ones around the side of the house:

A closer view:

And the little orange one, below. We thought it was completely dead, but it came back. It's gorgeous, but unfortunately it is completely hidden behind the other larger bushes! It's just a little bitty thing now, but it will grow. We are still able to enjoy it , and it is SUCH a pretty color!

Hope you like 'em.

Danskins Are Not Just For Dancing

Some old Danskin advertisements:






Because they're not just for dancing, don't you know?

Fabric Finds

Just sharing a few pretty fabrics I've found lately. First up, below - a close-up of one of the two bark cloth curtain panels I found at a thrift store. I love the colors and the gold detailing:
This gorgeous paisley from JoAnn Fabric and Crafts Store is going to be a skirt for work:
The two below are (top) a work skirt, and(bottom) a work pinafore. Also from JoAnn:
And this last one - yardage I couldn't pass up when I saw it at a thrift shop because it had butterflies in orange and pink and it was so bright and pretty. (It's for sale, if anybody's interested. E-mail me from my Profile.):

....and she fluttered away, to come again another day.

'Round The Maypole

Let's ring in May in a happy way.....

....and dance around a bit today!!