Sharing a few things........

I looked out my kitchen window and saw a butterfly - sitting still. It has been a long time since I have found one that would be still long enough to get a picture. So, I grabbed my camera and headed outside.

He moved just as I got set to snap but didn't go far and I got a fairly good picture of this swallowtail. 

                                  He fluttered around and landed again on the bottlebrush tree.
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"Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable, butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life"  I never get tired of seeing butterflies. Here, I mostly see this type of swallowtail and also the yellow and black one and monarchs. But, the monarchs are not as plentiful as they once were

I showed this when I first planted it up. It is doing very well. Several different succulents and a few other plants.

I just moved it into the screened porch where I will see it more.

I planted two pots of this coleus not long ago from cuttings from a friend. I just stick the unrooted cuttings in the soil and they don't even wilt down and start growing in no time! They bring a tad of color to the front up close to the house.

I was driving near my house and spotted a new store - Better Than New Pre-owned.  I saw it in time to swing in and check it out.  It is the kind of place that I will probably go in every once in awhile to see if they have added some new goodies. I got this little vase which had been marked down to half price.  It is from England - Winkle & company.

Today I was checking my bank account on line and noticed the sale which should have been just over $18. for this, and another item I selected, was debited for just under $70.  It didn't take me long to get on the phone to the store and get that corrected!  She had put the last four digits of my bank card as the total sale.  Boy, it does pay to check, doesn't it.

You noticed my jar of cupcake liners in the above picture and again this is something that I have shown before.  I was never quite happy with its look until recently when I found the two sizes of green papers. Adding them made all the difference to me - now it looks like it belongs in my kitchen.

A silly little thing here. It might be a little hard to know exactly what it is. You are seeing a spool of ribbon on a glass pedestal.  Last night I reorganized my ribbons which are kept in a big box.  They had gotten in a mess with colors mixed and some unwound and tangled.  A light went on in my head and I decided to put a rubber band around them to keep them from unwinding - works perfectly.  If you store a lot of ribbons you might want to try this.  I separate the colors and put them in large plastic bags before putting them in the box.  That sure helps to locate what I need much quicker.

Another even sillier thing. This cording was in the box of ribbons all unwound like this and tangled up with ribbon.  I didn't feel like staying up as late as it would have taken to get this rewound neatly, so left it on the loveseat where I was sitting.  Early this morning at the dawn of day and at first glance it looked like a bird had come and built a sloppy nest!  I liked the looks of it and almost left it there!  I know, very silly.

Now, this is what has pleased me most to get done this week.  I made this burlap wreath. It didn't look a bit good on my Burgundy/red door so I painted the door black.  Actually, I had planned to paint the door anyhow but getting the wreath made caused me to get busy and do it.

You can find the prepackaged burlap 5" ribbon (1 1/2 packages)  at Michaels and the red more narrow burlap ribbon at Joanns.  You need a 16" or 18" (mine is 18") wire wreath form.  I got some directions at topthistopthat.blogspot.com   You will need to find her March 17, 2012 post.

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"Go on, hitch a ride on the back of a butterfly.  There's no better way to fly."

Let it take you to the sunnyside of life!

In The Spotlight......

.....I took a quick walk around the yard this morning and right away noticed how the early sun was spotlighting certain small areas. It was as if dreamy and magical spots were being lit up in a hand-selected special way.

The pictures don't show it as distinctly as I saw it - wish you had been walking with me. This middle clerodendrum blossom was the chosen spot in this area. The tree on the right is dead.

Here, in the middle of this big patch of shade ferns, a large bromeliad was the only thing getting sun and was definitely being featured.

A few steps over Justin, named after my first grandson, was enjoying being "the one" above all else!  I bought this when grandson Justin wasn't much taller than figurine Justin. As soon as I saw him for sale his nonchalant stance and expression made me think of little Justin. Little Justin is way taller now with two children of his own.  The empty pot you see here had been the home of a pretty, purple hollyhock and I am hoping it will reappear this winter or early spring.  Do they reseed? I have forgotten.

This is an oversized seashell on a pedestal. I have a lot of cleanup to do here!  I've got runaway ferns and too many other things have popped up in the oriental jasmine ground cover causing this big patch not to be the neat place I like.

A sprinkling of sun rays on the peacock.

I have dozens of periwinkles in the front yard, along one side and here in the back of the house. I have white, lavender, peach and two shades of pink. They appear on their own and contribute color and interest with no effort from me. This one was the feature of the day.

I so love rose buds, even the ones that have no color showing.  They are signs of something good on the way. It is nice to watch things progress and mature.

My pepper crop - one plant and two peppers! It is being warmed by the sun, happily soaking it in.

While getting this together I kind of related the way the sun lights things up in the garden to our "garden of life". My garden includes a lot of standing water right now, empty pots, ferns taking over, not to mention the weeds, and a dead tree that needs to be removed. But, without expecting perfection it still has a lot of beauty. We are all living in an imperfect world with its disappointments, empty spots, intruders, and things we would like to have chopped down and hauled away.  But every day we all have special bursts of "sunlight" and some days full "sun" which allows for gathering golden moments that light up our days and we can thrive, be productive and have glorious lives.  

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Here is wishing you great  "Son"shine, light-filled days ahead!

Cool and Refreshing.........

........Cool and refreshing but I am not talking about the weather. It continues to be very hot here and rains almost every day. A big glass of lemon verbena tea is what is cool and refreshing! My plant grew enough again for me to make another pitcher of my favorite tea.

 It has a strong lemon aroma and flavor. It grows better in warm climates although it could be grown in a pot in the north and taken indoors in the winter.  It is deciduous so it will not have leaves in the winter.

This is what you need to make the tea. This is not a very large pitcher.  I steep the leaves, including stems along with one bag of black tea and one mint. Of course you could use fresh mint leaves.

These leaves can also be used in salads.

This is about 1/3 cup of sugar and it was more than I needed.  Lemon verbena is a sweet lemon.

I didn't pour the hot water into this antique glass pitcher. Just poured it all in for the picture shoot after steeping and cooling a bit.

The last wistful days of summer are upon us so we need to relax, sniff, sip and savor. There is nothing better to do that with than a big, ice cold glass of lemon verbena tea. I wish I could hand a glass of this to every one of you!

I would expect that some of you have already had some breezes wispering of fall. Savor every moment. From simple things come simple joys and oh the joys that open up to us if we are waiting and looking for them.

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Collections......

.........Life has been a little slow and dull this week so what do I blog about?  Not that my life is "that" exciting to others anyhow but some weeks are more interesting than others. I decided to go with one of my collections - BUTTONS.  Have you ever looked at buttons? I mean really looked?  Buttons (some) are tiny works of art. They can reflect social history, some become valuable. There are button museums. I have never had the pleasure of visiting one but would love to do that. Oh, my, keep me out of a nothing-but-buttons store!!!  A definition of  "collection" is, three or more of any one thing. I have a bunch of collections!!!

I never "set out" to collect buttons. I mean, just one day thought - I think I will start a button collection. But, somehow I have ended up with quiet a few old buttons, haphazardly. Like I have done with many other items.

None of mine are valuable, at least I don't know it if they are. I especially like mother of pearl and other cream or white old buttons. The two containers above sit in my bedroom.

There is nothing like having a martini of buttons as you are heading to bed! I am not a drinker so I may be calling the stemware by the wrong name.

Love buttons and love apothecary jars! Why not combine them?

The gallon jar (at least its lid) seems to be very old. I got it already filled with buttons at an antique store many years back.  The Singer tin is what I have kept as my personal button box for many years.

My younger sister, DeAnna had a huge collection of buttons.  When she died her two daughters gave me some of her buttons. I seldom think of buttons without thinking of DeAnna.

Playing with moms, grandmas or any persons buttons is a precious memory for a child. I loved moms buttons.

Aren't these buttons just the best! Love the buttons, love the cards, love having them!

Love the name.

The collection on the crocheted piece was assembled by DeAnna. I did the little heart.  On a side note...I started writing DeAnna's name with the A capitalized  and before long she adapted it and always wrote her name that way too - love it.

Those of you who have been following me from the start have seen this before. I found this very neat shallow wooden box at a garage sale many, many years ago. I knew when I saw it there was a good use for it.  It took many years to decide what that was.  One good example why I don't go along with "if you haven't used it in the last year, get rid of it".  I am so glad it stayed in the garden shed at my old house and then the garage after I moved here. It was just waiting for this perfect use. This now hangs on my bedroom wall close to the other buttons already shown.

The upper left quarter of the 18"x18" size.

The upper right.

Lower left.

                                                                    Lower right.

Middle.

I located these just in the nick of time to include them.  I have never been totally organized with my buttons! And, that statement can be applied two ways! These are lying on an old frame that I framed a piece of velvet in and used to display old jewelry on when I had a booth in an antique store.

When I first found these I intended to use them as name cards or little party favors but each time I thought of them I felt a little selfish and still have them. It might still happen and six special friends may get one yet!

             I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of my buttons. Do you have a button collection?

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