Just Playing Around

It's been so hot (111'F in our area)

that I figured I'd spend my time 

inside

trying to learn something new.

So here is my first real try at textures.

I'm joining

Kim Klassen

over at the 

'cafe'

for

Texture Tuesday

Yes 

I realize that I'm a 

tad late but the link is still up

 so what the heck!

If you haven't tried doing textures

with your photo's you should give it a try

it's a lot of fun.

I hope you'll head over to Kim's

and check it out....you just

might become addicted!

Have a great day!

Maura :)

It's all in the details

It's been much too hot to take pictures outside

and to tell you the truth 

there isn't much to see out there

as everything is struggling 

just to stay alive.

So...

I thought I'd go through my old

photo's to see what I had

that you might find

interesting. 

Some of you have seen these

photo's before but I

thought I'd post

them again for those who

may have missed them.

These first two photo's 

are of the embroidered

sheer panels I 

bought at JC Penny

years ago when we renovated

our cottage in the city. 

We then bought a huge

Victorian house

in a small farming town

in the country.

I never used the panels there and

almost sold them at our 

garage sale

when we bought our 

cottage in the country.

I was surprised to see how perfect

they were!

They are very well made and have

lovely embroidery all over them.

This is a broach that an elderly

neighbor made for me years ago.

It's heart shaped and covered with 

antique buttons.

Above and below is part of an

antique dresser set I have

on my old oak dresser.

My favorite tea pot.

Above is the dresser set sitting

on the old oak dresser I actually 

bought as a vanity for our 

bathroom renovation.

It didn't work out in there 

but it worked perfect in our bedroom.

Here's a few old photo's 

of the details on this dresser.

The dresser now sits in the corner

to the left.

This is a photo of our bed taken last 

winter.

Even though it's going to be

105 today

AGAIN

I still want to climb into it.

With the ceiling fan blasting on me!

Above are pillows 

that I found at garage sales

in the city.

This beautiful duvet cover 

was given to me by our neighbors

when we lived in the city.

They had never used it!

So there you have it.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the 

details from around the

cottage.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay cool!

Maura :)

In My Dreams

Source

It's HOT here in Kansas.

The weather all over is a little nuts this year

and many of us are

suffering through a serious heatwave.

According to the computer

it's going to be 105' here today.

Again. 

As I was watering the garden

AGAIN

I started thinking how nice it would 

be to lay in a hammock 

in the SHADE 

by the WATER

with temperatures around 80

and a nice soft breeze.

Sigh

Source

A light bulb came on 

and I thought

why not do a post on it!

So I start looking up

images of

hammocks

and these strange looking things

came up!

Source

They are called a

NESTREST

They were designed by

Daniel Pouzet

and

Fred Frety

(who are from Paris)

for 

DEDON

Source

Strange looking aren't they.

Source

But imagine having one like the photo

above...

hanging from a tree

in the shade

HEAVEN

Wonder how that guy got in there

without getting wet?

But wouldn't that be wonderful

to be in something like this

BESIDE the water.

Oh my.

Source

Source

These things are pretty big!

How much?

I have no idea

but I bet they're don't go cheap.

Seems they don't have a price out

on the internet...hmmm.

So I guess unless I win the lottery

I'll only have one

in my 

dreams. 

Would you buy one?

(if you could afford it)

Maura :)

Treasure Hunting!

Last month hubby and I attended the last

Flea Market of the season. 

There won't be another until September!

We're very lucky to have such a huge

Flea Market held every month

not far from us

and it's always a little sad to know

you'll have to miss a couple of months.

With temperatures in the triple

digits and no air conditioning 

in the building it's easy to 

understand why they shut it down for

the hottest months.

The first thing I spotted that made

my heart swoon was this sweet

cast iron barn.

It's HEAVY

I fell in love with it but I didn't buy it 

on the spot. I figured I'd come back

after we'd seen everything (and hope it

would still be there) as I had

something else that I was looking for that day.

Do you do that?

Go to Flea Markets or garage sales

looking for a specific thing?

I never found that 'thing' 

but this barn was still waiting for me

when we were done.

Woohoo!

I only paid $25 for it

because I 

bought the

wire basket below

along with it.

I also found this large basket

which is perfect for my knitting.

My day was going really well

and I was happy with the items that

I had found. 

I never did find the 'thing' I actually 

went there for (I can't even remember

what it was!) but then I spotted

this.

YES!....I had always wanted one

of these little red wagons

and this one was a real 'steal'. 

So we gathered up all my treasures

and packed them into my wagon and 

headed home.

I'll be looking forward to September.

:)

In the meantime 

I made up for not having the 

Flea Market  this month

by talking hubby into taking me

to the 

HUGE

Antique Mall 

just on the edge of the city.

He'd much rather have a 

ROOT CANAL

than spend a few hours there

but he grinned and bared it...

cause he loves me ;)

And look what I found...

This sweet little half pint milk bottle

will work perfect for a vase

or anything else I choose to put in it.

I also found this white bowl 

that I've been using every

morning for my 

porridge.

But my favorite 

treasure of the day 

was this old handmade

Whirligig!

Isn't he cute...

as the wind blows the

propeller

his arms move up and down

as he chops the wood.

It's not exactly what you'd see here

on the prairies. Maybe a girl milking

a cow or a rooster pecking a cob of 

corn would be more fitting.

BUT

it reminds me of all the years

my kids and I chopped wood

when I lived in the mountains

in British Columbia.

Perfect!

How has your 'treasure hunting' gone 

so far this summer?

Have a wonderful week!

Maura :)