Wednesday, June 19, 2013

BLUE STAR CREEPER.....

MY BEE BAROMETER.................?

                                                                                        
 
Our front yard is planted with Blue Star Creeper.
What started out as a memorial of sorts to my Grandmother,
(she had a "blue lawn")
became over the years our answer to conserving water, and not using fertilizers.
 
 
The last few years it has been a "bee gauge" of sorts.
We used to have to warn children not to walk or play on the "blue  lawn"
unless they had shoes on, because they were likely to get stung.
It wasn't unusual to have several types of bees working it at a time,
and the buzzing was actually quite noticeable.
 
 
This year......... not many bees at all.
 
 
niche update:
 
We finally got the niche placed in the yard, but
haven't been able to find a madonna to put in it.
 
 



 
 

Saturday, June 15, 2013

A LITTLE MAKEOVER...............

Of the mudroom, which had become very........
well.......mudroom like............

                                                                                          
 
Our mudroom was in dire need of a sprucing up.
After tossing around lots of ideas,
I decided to decoupage the walls with pages from the book
"Cabinet of Natural Curiosities"
by Albertus Seba.
 
This is the biggest wall in the mudroom, and it is
a lot to take in. However there are two large bookcases
that stand in front of this wall,
so really most of it won't show.
 
 
Here's the upper corner of the same wall (before molding), and
I couldn't resist hanging the bookplate of
old Albertus himself.
 
 
From inside you enter the mudroom thru a wide opening from
the kitchen.
(white door goes to laundry room)
(brown dutch door goes to backyard)
 
 
You can see that when I started putting everything
back in, the walls sort of receded a bit and
weren't so "in your face".
 
 
I think all the books help.
 
 
I have always hung these museum posters in there
and I didn't think they were going to work with the walls....
and maybe they don't.......
but I decided it was an interesting mix,
so I am leaving them.
 
 
We rescued this old dutch door from Garys
grandmother.....they had bought a new door and sent this one to
a corner of their garage.  
 
So what do you think?
 
I had seen this on ......where else.......
Pinterest!
 I thought it was perfect for us.
 I was a bit leary of doing it because I
knew once it was up.......it was up for good!!
Then just when I was  starting it a friend told me 
that the new issue of Country Living
featured a home where someone had done a powder room using
the same book. I am guessing they saw the pin on Pinterest
or online and couldn't resist it either?
 
Hearing that gave me mixed feelings.  A bit of valadation, 
I mean if it was good enough for Country Living........
however......I think if I wasn't already so far into the project,
I probably would not have gone ahead with it.
I'm a bit contrary that way.
 
Anyway, it's done now, and trust me.....it's
not going anywhere.....
but that's ok,
'cuz we really like it.
 
 
 
 
*"Albertus Seba's "Cabinet of Curiosities" is one of the
18th century's greatest natural history achievements and remains
one of the most prized natural history books of all time. Though
it was common for men of his profession to collect
natural specimins for research purposes, Amsterdam-based
pharmacist Albertus Seba had a passion that led him far beyond
the call of duty. His amazing, unprecedented collection of
animals plants and insects from all around the world gained
international fame during his lifetime.
After decades of collecting, Seba commissioned illustrations of each
specimen and arranged the publication of a four volume
catalog detailing his entire collection."
 (Amazon)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                                                                                            

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Our Lady...........

                                                                   
Of Guadalupe...............   
                                                                     
 
 
 
 
 
 
I finally finished this.