Photo Challenge: Architectural Element

It should not be a secret to anyone reading this blog that I adore arched windows.

I visit little Southern towns and look for churches with great windows.

This grey stone church is in Edgefield, South Carolina.

It is a small Catholic Church facing a much used state highway.

The arched windows have no stained glass but have a lovely shape.

I like the somewhat severe look of this grey stone structure and the shape of the building.

We do not build buildings like this any more.

You can see other churches with arches I have taken photos of  here and here.

I will be visiting this town again as it is noteworthy for many things but one of them is turkeys.

I am linking with the multi-talented Chania from Razmataz.

grace surrounds us

Olive

Garden Tablescape

Tablescape?

Is that really a word?

I did my very first one last Sunday.

It was fabulous fun and Joe helped.

He cut and arranged the flowers, purple and yellow lantana from our garden at the yellow house.

 

~~♥♥♥~~

China: Mikasa Garden Harvest purchased twenty years ago

Flatware: An entire set from the 1960’s found at a yard sale

Stemware: Monogrammed from a yard sale (I will buy any letter or set of initials)

Tablecloth: Borrowed from friend Fancy who got it at a yard sale

Vase: Vintage from a yard sale

Cat: Mine all mine, I Luf him

~~♥♥♥~~

The photos were taken in our backyard at the yellow house beside our dwindling flower garden.

Thanks bunches Joe for helping me even when you think I am nuttier than usual.

~~♥♥♥~~

I am linking with the queen of vignettes Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday and the thrifty Linda at A La Carte for her first Junkin finds party.

grace surrounds us

Olive

Do You Ride?

The Fair comes to Augusta, Georgia every October.

I fondly remember going, when I was a small child, with my older brother.

We would tear through the house looking for loose change to fund our excursion.

I went on one of my first dates to the fair and have not returned until now thirty years later.

It has not changed except it looks smaller and perhaps dirtier.

Maybe my standards are higher now.

I did enjoy all the pastel candy colors on the rides.

 

The sky was blue and crisp and the colors on the seats just stood out.

These images would have been nice for the pink photo challenge!

The Top Spin is just NUTS! I do not go upside down but will gawk at those who do.

I did not catch a picture of them upside down but good grief ya’ll.

Okay, talk to me.

Do you ride the rides at theme parks or fairs?

 

I am linking with A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday.

 

grace surrounds us

Olive

Goodbye Little One

STAY CALM

STAY ALIVE

STAY HUMAN

I watched a mindless zombie movie and that tag line above kept playing at the bottom of AMC’s screen.

I giggled every time.

And thought of my little zombie.

After today he is retired until next year.

Does a zombie look better under glass?

Goodbye little zombie.

 

 

grace surrounds us

Olive

Estate Sales Will Be My Undoing

Estate sales will be my undoing.

The past two estate sales have been exceptional.

On day two the seller discounts every item fifty percent except for very large items.

It might have been better if I had not learned this fact.

Delft.

Reproduction bunny pottery which is adorable.

An original colored and signed pencil drawing of a lovely European town.

Nikko china from Japan.  The pattern is Dena.

I got twenty three pieces and of those eight are salad plates which I will use for dessert plates.

Price $15.00

 

I also swung by a garage sale on the way home and bought two really nice vintage pieces.

Joe cannot believe I bought another lamp but I did!

Lamps and urns make me weak.

Very very weak.

The pitcher is old ironstone and is cracked and chipped but was $2.00 as was the lamp!

Debbie of  Talking Trash discussed with ya’ll that I have a closet full of lampshades just in case I need one.

My spare shades come from garage sales.

I am linking with the fabulous Debbie of Debbiedoos for her Garage Salen Party.

grace surrounds us

Olive

Photo Challenge: Red

The Friday Photo Challenge at Razmataz is Red.

I had to go looking for red as we do not have much in our houses.

We found a couple of red things at garage sales on Saturday.

I never buy things just for the blog.

Both will be put to use.

A handmade toolbox which is red and rustic.

An anchor which is a more muted red and will live somewhere in the flower garden I think.

Later in the day Saturday we went to the fair and I took many photos which I will share later.

The Twinkie sign was very very red.

I just noticed that they are fried. Oh my goodness!

We do not eat fair food.

We walk around and stare at people and watch teenagers flip upside down on those worrisome rides.

Nerds. R. Us.

Please visit Chania for more reds.

grace surrounds us

Olive

Mantles at the Old House

We have ten fireplaces in the old house which was built sometime prior to the Civil War.

The interior of our house is very dark which challenges my photography skills immensely.

Every mantle in the house is different and we have ten total.

We do not use the fireplaces for making fires as catching the house on fire is too great a risk because the house is made from fatlighter.

The first mantle is in our den.

I took the photos just as it usually is.

No staging or dusting for that matter.

Authentic chippiness.

If we were to restore the house we would not touch this mantle as I love it just  this way.

The second mantle , I soon realized, is not shown in the photos. Oops.

We do have a vintage wooden mirror and some transfer ware on the mantle.

The alabaster mortar and pestle was brought back with us from Tuscany.

You can see our plaster walls which are wicked to keep painted.

They peel and crack.

Let’s just call it patina!

I am linking with the darling Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday.

grace surrounds us

Olive

Blue Store

Do you ever ride around in the evening?

We do.

Then I see a building, a flower or something and yell STOP!

Such was the case when I saw this blue chipppy paint.

The pieces are better than the whole.

It is a corner store in a sleepy little Georgia town.

Isn’t the blue faded and just right?

People were riding by while I was snapping pics and I can imagine they were thinking LOON.

I am one happy picture taking LOON ya’ll.

grace surrounds us

Olive

Scary Reads

Two books I read last year are my favorite scary reads.

One disclaimer, I do not care for gore, blood and guts.

None of that is contained much in these two novels.

Been there done that at the hospital as a nurse in real life.

I have witnessed the aftermath of stabbings and it is not pretty.

~~♣~♣~♠~~

Joe Hill’s Heart Shaped Box ,his debut horror novel form 2007, is a gripping ghost story.

A  ghost for sale on the internet is the premise of this novel. It arrives contained in a suit in a box.

An aging rocker, Jude who is flawed but likeable, buys the ghost and mayhem and terror ensues with the revengeful ghost.

Joe Hill weaves a tale of redemption and horror that is fast paced and difficult to put down.

This spine-tingler is my favorite ghost story ever. You will not be disappointed in Heart Shaped Box.

~~♣~♣~♣~~

Then there is Vlad the Impaler in Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historion.

I read this while we were sleeping on an air mattress at the yellow house last year and I was convinced Vlad was alive and coming down the hall to get me!

 The Historian  is 720 pages and has three story lines in three different time frames that intersect.

Kostova spent ten years in the Eastern bloc doing research for this novel.

It has wonderful historical scope and is beautifully written.

Historians, who learn the truth about Dracula, began to vanish but I do not want to give away the complex plot.

It is enough to say that for a few nights in 2009 Vlad the Impaler was very much alive again to Olive.

Kostova achieved a perfect thriller in The Historian and I was glad I was not a historian!

Just thought I would share some not so quick reads to disturb your sleep.

What is your favorite scary book?

grace surrounds us

Olive

Photo Challenge: Food

Irish Oatmeal Bars outside on the patio table.

With coffee.

What is better than that?

Please join Chania at Razmataz for the Friday Photo challenge.

grace surrounds us

Olive

Encore Azaleas

Encore azaleas are blooming now.

They are truly beautiful.

Enjoy

Shown in a little Staffordshire creamer.

I wish I could send them to all of you!

grace surrounds us

Olive

Pass the Tater’s Please

Party in the kitchen anyone?

Shelia at Note Songs is having a Heart of the Home Party.

This is our kitchen at the yellow house.

It is small but has a huge bar on one end.

Both of us love to cook in this efficient kitchen with our glass stovetop.

I have taken photos of some of the details I like best and the art work we have in the kitchen.

It has lovely views to the backyard where we feed birds.

The large bar needed a commanding piece of art and this oil painting, found at an estate sale, is our favorite painting.

This is a vintage print, probably from the 1940’s, found at a thrift store. It has some damage but I adore the flowers and the soft colors. The frame has tiny pink scallops.

This tiny oil painting is leaning on the top of the stove and was found at a garage sale. All the people in it have on hats.

Corbels are underneath the massive bar. I call it the “autopsy table” sometimes. Which is sick nurse’s humor. It measures 49 inches across.

This makes  it difficult to pass the taters across!

grace surrounds us

Olive