flowers :)

Blogger's Quilt Festival!

Amy is sponsoring the blogger's quilt festival time! Today I can't find a photo of a quilt that I've made that I haven't posted already--so I am posting a photo of one my antique favorite Sue tops :) It was made by a local Pennsylvania quilter in the late 1920s/early 1930s. Enjoy!

girl with ball...

A girl in a pink baseball helmet is a wonderful thing...


She can hit a ball and...

Chat with the opposing team as she runs to her base...


Work patiently at her base until...

the urge to draw in the dirt and sing takes over! Oh a girl in a pink baseball helmet is a wonderful thing!

Boys with Balls...

Top:  Seamus never met a ball he didn't like :)  Bottom:  Teddy found this ball in the yard a week or so ago.  He has a clever nose so I am sure he realized that the George kids next door lost it here.  Thing is, this is his favorite thing in the universe now.  He LOVES this ball and the kids were nice enough to left him keep it.  Sometimes it even keeps him from barking!

Wordless Wednesday

The Old Homestead

The cottage will be 100 years old in 2017.  It's not that old here in the Northeast but it's one of the oldest homes in our neighborhood. 

Happy Birthday Pete!

My little boy is 32 years old today.  It just seems like yesterday he was asking me a million questions and pretending to be He-Man.  Today I took Pete and Jess to lunch at his favorite Italian restaurant.  They are going to stop over later on to do the presents and some more partying.

Been a bit of a misty day because I am reviewing old photographs.  I was so thorough putting our family photographs in albums decades ago...problem is that the albums weren't acid free and some of the older pictures are starting to show problems.  I'm going to redo the albums as another summer project.

what the lilies sing to me...

White coral bells, upon a slender stalk

Lilies of the valley deck my garden walk.

Oh how I wish that I could hear them sing,

That will happen only when the fairies sing!

My favorite plants are the lilies of the valley.  I took a small patch about 10 years ago from Linda's garden and now have it everywhere.  It is my favorite of all flowers for one little reason--it was the first flower I ever received from a man. 

I was 4 years old.  My mom had driven my brother and I to Dad's company to pick him up (back then, people only had one car and if your mom could drive and had to do errands, she drove Dad to work).

When Dad got in the car, he handed my mom a big plant, turned around and handed me a wee potted plant with little white flowers.  "These flowers are for you," he told me.

 "For me?"  I was surprised. 

"For you." he replied firmly. 

This is one of the most vivid memories of my pre-school childhood.  I was awe-struck at the gift and the responsibility of having a real live plant.  As we drove home, I held it gently, carefully inspected the thick leaves and tiny flowers which seem to perfectly fit my little hands.  When we arrived home, my father and I planted the flower in the back yard of our track house.  A lot of plants could not grow well there because the clay soil was so awful.  But each spring, I looked for "my" flowers and was always surprised --and comforted--when the lilies appeared.  It was like getting my gift all over again.

In May, the lilies of the valley always bloom and when they do, it is almost like having my father near again.

Have a happy day!

Happy Mother's Day everyone! Happy Birthday to dear Martha, a wonderful quilter and blogging buddy! Have a joyful day!

"B"

Today is brought to you by the letter, "B"

BOY

BITE

'BEAR'

BOTTLE

BONE

BROTHERS

tree peony

I get excited when the tree peony blooms, the flowers really seem to usher in the season. Unfortunately, I'm still down with the sinus infection but getting better.