Good Things Come in Small Packages

Ad in MARY ENGELBREIT'S HOME COMPANION, November 1997

The ad says:

"Good things come in small packages ~

always have, always will."

Oh, indeed! These little enamel boxes recapture the 18th century craft of enameling. In Georgian days it was the fashion to give these little boxes as a token of friendship or to celebrate an event.

Decorated with the designs of Mary Engelbreit and produced by Alastor Enamels of England, these exquisite little boxes would please any ME fan. So you can imagine my delight when I opened this presentation box to discover . . .

This little jewel ~ a gift from a very thoughtful student.

Joining The Cherry Chick for

M. E. Monday

Silver in the Shadows

Joining Hey Harriet for Shadow Shot Sunday

and The Gypsy Fish Journal for Silver Sunday.

Recent days have been crisp and sunny ~

perfect fall days to play with shadows.

I moved the white ironstone that holds our silver and mother of pearl flatware to where the sun streamed in through the bay window, sat back and relaxed with my stitching, and watched as the sun did a shadow dance.

The sunlight glistened on the pearly whites of the flatware and the leaves of dusty miller.

As the sun sank lower, more interesting shadows began to form. Lacy images appeared on the ironstone from the delicate rim of the gallery tray.

The sun grabbed hold of the mother of pearl with intensity . . .

And created shadows within the individual handles.

As time passed the sun began to drop its hold on the handles of pearl and instead offered a touch of warmth.

Then Mr. Sun gently slid . . .

And offered up a picture perfect autumn vignette.

Drop by the following blogs for more Silver, Shadows,

White, and Tabletop Vignettes:

Hey Harriet for Shadow Shot Sunday

Gypsy Fish Journal for Silver Sundays

The Gypsy's Corner for Three or More Tuesday

A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

Faded Charm for White Wednesday

Caw, Caw, Caw ~ Black Crow's Warning

There is a Native American legend that I always 

shared with my students this time of year.

It was believed that in ancient times, all crows were as white as the snow. The native Americans that roamed the plains in search of buffalo hunted on foot. It was a difficult life, and the people depended on the buffalo to survive. They used every part of the buffalo for food, clothing, tools, and shelter.

The crows were friends of the buffalo, and as they soared high above they could see everything that happened below on the prairie. When they spied hunters approaching a herd, the crows would swoop down to the buffalo and call out in warning: "Caw, caw, caw. The hunters are near. You must run." The buffalo would scatter and leave the hunters without a kill. With time the people began to starve.

Among the crows was one that was larger than the others and the leader of the flock. The people decided that they must capture this big white crow and teach him a lesson. They devised a plan.

A young brave would wear a buffalo skin with head and horns. He would graze among the buffalo as if he were one of them. As the hunters approached, the crow called out his usual warning: "Caw, caw, caw. The hunters are near. You must run." All but one of the buffalo stampeded away. So the crow flew down and perched on the lone buffalo saying: "Caw, caw, caw. Can you not hear? The hunters are near. You must run and save yourself."

The brave then reached up from under his disguise and grabbed the crow. He tied a cord to his legs and attached the other end of the cord to a large stone. The crow was captured!

The people met again to decide what to do with this bad crow who was causing them to go hungry. As they gathered, one impatient brave grabbed the crow and threw him into the council fire. At once the fire burned through the cord, and the big crow flew to freedom.

But the big crow's beautiful white feathers were now black from the fire, and as he soared above the people could hear him call: "Caw, caw, caw. I'll never warn the buffalo again."

From that day on, all crows are as black as the blackened scorched feathers of the big white crow.

You might be interested to know that crows are very intelligent birds and can mimic sounds. These large birds are often a problem for farmers and gardeners because they tend to live in large flocks which consume large amounts of food.

So if you have a garden, you just might want to add one of these.

Linking to

Friday Favorites @ Whistlestop Cafe Cooking

A Few of My Favorite Things

@ Bargain Hunting &Chatting With Laurie

Seasonal Sundays @ The Tablescaper

Image of the crow with white feather is from Sturbridge Yankee Workshop. As blackbirds are some of my favorites, I've ordered one of these for my own bookshelves.

Brigitte Comes To Life

When I first saw Linda Ragno's Garden Ladies by Cooper Oaks Design, I was totally charmed. I just had to stitch this lovely flower lady with her basket of lavender. French Country style simply makes me happy. (Click here to read more about this artist and to view a catalog of her designs. Her work is available here at the Needleworks.)

Wall of Needlepoint Canvases @ Needleworks

Stitching is a favorite pass time and yet another passion in my life. I'm one of those travelers who pulls out the yellow pages when I arrive somewhere and check out the needlepoint shops in town. Anyone else out there do this?

I named her Brigitte, and here she is after I stitched the canvas. Every stitch brought sunshine to my days as my sweet Brigitte came to life!

With Brigitte stitched, I shopped my fabric stash and pulled out some of my favorite Souleiado fabrics from Pierre Deux. With only a small remnant of the blue, a patchwork idea quickly began to evolve.

I worked up a plan,

gathered everything together,

and took it all to my friend who is a master finisher.

Voilà, Brigitte completely finished!

With this sweet face and French fabrics,

I decided she must share the upstairs guest room . . .

with another young French lady

who loves to pick flowers from the garden.

Sophie is a handmade limited edition doll from the Fritzi-Contini Collection. She has always been content to while away the days in her antique Thonet rocker, but I thought she might like to join Brigitte on the wicker settee and visit about gardening.

These two were getting along splendidly,

when all of a sudden 
mademoiselles Gabrielle le chat

and Zoé le lapin called 
out from across the room.

They begged and pleaded and insisted that Brigitte join them in their comfy spot atop the quilt on the bed. The work of Ilonka, a California artist, these two captured my heart back in the 1980s. They always seem to get their way with me, so Brigitte happily snuggled in between these two charmers.

But look who is patiently waiting in my needlepoint basket. She hopes to be stitched up this winter and join the other girls in the French guest room. Until then she seems happy to have two little Russian girls to keep her company. I just hope she doesn't let that rooster crow when the sun comes up.

I originally posted about Brigitte here, but reworked this post to share for Kim's Before and After Party this week. Click here to join Kim and see her latest paint transformation. You'll also find a list of others who have a Before and After to share.

Also linking to

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home

Feathered Nest Friday @ French Country Cottage

A Harvest of Horse Apples

Last fall while visiting a friend in Dallas, I learned about Horse Apples. You can read my original post on this interesting fruit here.

I suppose I'd seen them before, but never paid them any attention. Turns out there is a Bois D'Arc tree near my home. It dropped its horse apples into the street for weeks.

I gathered some up and brought them home to enjoy. They fit perfectly in the antique wooden dough bowl I found while in Santa Fe this past summer.

I had a little fun playing with them in the afternoon shadows.

Linking to

Seasonal Sundays w/ The Tablescaper

Shadow Shot Sunday w/ Hey Harriet

Fresh Flowers Are Always Favorites

HAPPY PINK SATURDAY

TO ALL MY PINKY FRIENDS

As you might imagine from the name of my blog, fresh cut flowers have always been a favorite in our home. So when I saw mention of a "new to me" meme last night while visiting my friend Cherry Chick, I knew what I would post for My Favorite Things this week. Liz @ Rose Vignettes celebrates Fresh-Cut Fridays on the first Friday of the month. With not much time on hand, I decided to share a few mosaics of fresh cut flowers from previous posts.

The flowers can be from one's garden like these zinnias from my summer garden.

Or they can be flowers purchased at the grocery store like these mini green hydrangeas and Yoko Ono mums.

The flowers can come from a garden of a freind like these white snapdragons from my friend Ann.

What ever the source, fresh cut flowers are sure to put a smile on your face, fill your heart with joy, and bring sunshine into your life.

Thanks to the following ladies for hosting these mems. Be sure to click the links below to join them for more beautiful Fresh-Cut Flowers, Pretty Pinks, and Favorite Things.

Liz @ Rose Vignettes for Fresh-Cut Fridays

Sandi @ Whistlestop Cafe for Friday Favorites

Beverly @ How Sweet the Sound for Pink Saturday

Laurie @ Bargain Hunting & Chatting w/ Laurie

for A Few of My Favorite Things

Mosaic Monday @ The Little Red House