Oodles and oodles

A dollar or less, 59 days to go*

How could I look at this face and not bring him home? He's much more well behaved than the other dog that lives here. Plus, he does tricks! Scotty, show everybody your price tag! Lie down, Scotty!




Good dog!







*in which we count down the days to the beginning of the yard sale season (on April 18, we're hoping) with frequent posts about yard-sale finds that cost a dollar or less

A dollar or less, 60 days to go

What I really need is a kind of Advent calendar for the yard-sale season - a little something to count down the days until the magical first-sale-of-spring arrives. Since no such object exists, I'm making my own. Sort of --with a post to celebrate anything I bought for a dollar or less at a yard sale, as often as I can between now and Friday, April 18, the absolute best-case scenario for the beginning of the season.
 
That's 60 days from now. Sigh. I have serious reservations about this project, among them: 1) my ability to post something every day for the next 60 days 2) actually owning 60 things that came from yard sales that I'd want to share with the world  and 3) that winter in upstate New York really will be over in 60 days. So - a post every day? Unlikely. Every week? Easy. A couple of times a week?   How hard can that be? Plus, I already know what object I'm saving for the Yard Sale Eve post on April 17. The best thing I ever bought for a dollar. Ever. I will never be able to top it.

In the meantime, here's a little find from last summer: an old metal canister that seemed perfect for storing birdseed. I loved the image, and it cost 10 cents. That made me love it even more.

Daffodils

On a rainy Sunday in February,
it's good to find daffodils blooming
in a patch of green.

Seasonal homes

Fresh snow and a morning walk around the meadow revealed that we've got all kinds of neighbors. I found a dozen or so nests, in all shapes and sizes, without straying too far off the path.


This little one is a bit of a fixer-upper. I think the proper term in real-estate parlance is "awaits your loving touch."

Have fun feathering your nest this weekend!

Come to tea!

My friend Cindy's annual tea party is my favorite Valentine tradition. Today was a crisp, perfect February day, and the banner across her front porch glowed in the sun. Last year we had to claw our way through a blizzard to get to the party. We wouldn't miss it for anything.

The cookies are too pretty to eat, but that doesn't stop us. The plates are heaped with brownies, raspberry bars, frosted ricotta cookies and cutouts shaped like teapots and hearts. Oh, and little chocolate candies, too.

The house is decorated with vintage valentines, fresh flowers and pine boughs strung with handmade hearts. The dining room table is piled high with construction paper and doilies and ribbons so we can make valentines for our sweethearts.

 

Cindy sends us home with a hug and a gift. This year she tucked a tiny speckled egg in each box to remind us of the new beginnings that await us all.

What makes Cindy's party such a treat is that it's the perfect reflection of who she is: filled with warmth and beauty and a generous spirit. Thank you for inviting us, dear friend.

All a-flutter

I'm figuring there's at least eight weeks until the yard-sale season begins in chilly upstate New York. Maybe 10. Really, I wouldn't mind this time of year at all if there were just a few sales to look forward to. To pass the weeks between now and the glorious appearance of the first yard sale ads, I'm pulling out some of my favorite finds from last year. There's one rule: It can't have cost more than a dollar.

I picked this little bird for two reasons: one, because I just adore him. So chubby and round and cheerful, and in my favorite shade of blue.

The other is to honor The Great Backyard Bird Count this weekend. That's when people all over the country look outside their window, count the birds they see and report their findings.

There are so many good reasons to take part: to help scientists know what's going on in our world, to give something back to these lovely creatures who brighten our days with their colors and song, to do a little something to take care of creation. You don't have to be much of a birder at all to join in. Here's the best thing: You do not have to go outside in the cold! You can wear warm pajamas and fuzzy slippers and drink a hot mug of coffee while you look out the window and count! That's my kind of scientific expedition.

If you click on the link above, you'll find out everything you need to know. Basically, all you have to do is write down the kinds of birds you see and how many you see of each kind at one time. All you need is a pencil and paper and as little as 15 minutes.

Apart from the feeling that comes from supporting a good cause, what I enjoyed most last year was the experience of sitting quietly and just observing the world outside my window for 15 minutes. It seemed like a long time. It's so rare any of us sit still and simply take in all of the beauty that surrounds us. It really felt almost like a meditation, watching the chickadees and juncos and hoping the red-bellied woodpecker would stop by.

I hope you see something that sets your heart a-flutter!

To my valentine

"Things of lacy paper stuff,
Cupid's bow and dart -
These will make a valentine,
But I send you my heart."

Happy Valentines' Day!

Bunny Love

Here's a project I've been working on in my spare moments ... embroidered bags that I'll be giving to our friends' toddlers on Easter. (I gave my kids first dibs, but they're 13 and 16 and felt the little ones might enjoy them more.) 

I came up with the pattern based more or less on a yard-sale find from a couple of years ago ... this little darning bag.



The fabrics are humble - muslin and homespun - and the embroidery consists of simple running stitches, French knots and lazy-daisy stitches. Don't you love the effort that went into such ordinary household objects?



I'm not quite sure where the idea for the bunnies came from ... they just hopped right into the middle of the project. The bunny design is based on an old embroidery transfer.

The first bag I made was OK but a little plain ... just a brown bunny and a lot of embroidering. Once I remembered that bunnies come in all kinds of springtime colors, I felt inspired to eliminate some of the more tedious stitching. I used vintage baby rick-rack for the carrot tops, velvet ribbon for a bow and a little pom-pom for the tail - lots more fun, and faster, too!



The only signs of bunnies in our yard right now are the tracks that appear like magic in the snow overnight. Little projects like this help me remember that spring will be here someday!

Pretty paper

The haul from this morning's estate sale. Having spent Friday cleaning up my attic, I was fairly determined to not haul home a lot of junk. I really like all of these: children's books with wonderful illustrations, a box full of notebooks and ledgers, some vintage wallpaper, a couple of rolls of vintage Christmas wrapping paper and the little basket. The box full of paper (see below) was $5, and almost all of the other treasures were a dollar each, bringing my total to $15.

Detail from the wallpaper.  Deeply embossed,  gorgeous colors.   My friend Linda and I have mad plans for this stuff.

 

The French flash cards. I could have found only these and been happy.



Finally, a few finds from the box of paper: A big ledger, a few smaller ones, some fun little notebooks and what looks like a lifetime supply of scratch pads and graph paper.

Hope you found some treasures, too!

Busy, busy, busy

A Valentine's Day display. The toy teapots and cooking utensils came from my mom, and the metal baby carriage on the bottom shelf is reputed to have survived the Johnstown Flood of 1889. I have no idea if that's true or even possible, but my great-great-great grandmother survived the flood, which is quite a good thing.

The valentines came from here and there; they date from the early 1900s to the 1960s. The strawberry plates and cups are tin litho pieces made by Wolverine. I bought them at a yard sale for a dollar. I love things that cost a dollar.

This whole display is a little busy for my taste, but for a holiday that comes in the midst of winter, it's just the thing to make me smile. After I had everything arranged, I remembered that I meant to dust the shelves. Oh, well. I didn't polish the silver spoons, either. It's very kind of you to overlook all of that.