...empty nest syndrome.

Mr Cardinal ~ or as he has become fondly referred of late 'DADDY CARDINAL'

Let me introduce you to the latest members of our 'Porch Family'...

'MOM' Cardinal... who is VERY camera shy!!
(this is a glimps of their humble abode in our Rose of Sharon at then end of our Summer Porch!)

The beginning of June we started watching the pair of Cardinals, building their nest at the end of our porch, did our research to learn what we could about the Cardinals...

and as you can expect, over the next few weeks we became VERY attached to our 'extended family'!

Needless to say, we were not quite so happy when started to discover just how rapidly our family was growing as others detected the 'impending eggs'...

 One early Saturday morning, just a few days after the babies (two of them!) had hatched, I went outside, as usual... went past the nest to say 'Good Morning' (don't ask!)... they were gone.  I was. so. bummed.

I called to J.

'They're gone.'

We both searched the ground under the nest.

gone.

8-(

J continued to look around the house...

He FINALLY found one safely tucked inside of another small bush toward the front of the house...

Overnight they had learned how to fly!!!  Well, kinda 8-)... they were still mighty unsteady!  We spent the morning watching them zip-zap around the yard with Mom & Dad close by their sides keeping larger birds away. 

This went on for a couple of days, now our 'babies are gone', nest is abandonded... Mom/Dad are still bopping around - I think they may be working on their second 'batch' for the season. 8-)  I love the fact that Cardinals mate for life!

 After the nest was deserted, I had to sneak a peak...  I was curious to see if there was any leftover shells - didn't you ever wonder what a cardinal eggshell looked like? 

 The nest was too high up in the tree for me to see in, and I was kinda squeamish of what I might see... so I made J hold his camera up there and just take a photo, so he could preview and then just show me... (how's that for some logic?!!)  He took a couple of photos before he got a clear shot, he looked, shook his head and said "I shouldn't show you."  I was afraid it was a baby that didn't make it...

Kinda, but J just didn't want to show me because he knew that I was going to want to rescue this 'PERFECT, abandoned little egg, with no chance of ever hatching and keep it as a remembrance of our little 'bird family'.

He knows me too well.

GOOD JOB MR & MRS CARDINAL!!

...don't get your beads in a tangle!

THE 'infamous' Porch Chandelier has been transformed and is now in place.  J, once the 'nay-sayer' has even been converter to the 'I-have-to-admit...that's-not-so-badder'.  Excuse MY bad photography, but I HAD to try to capture the feel of the light in the early morning hours - that and twilight are my favorite times on the Summer-time porch.  OH heck, We L.O.V.E. being on the Summer-time porch ANY TIME!!!

While we were out on the porch hanging the chandelier on the West end, the East end felt a 'bit' shabby and neglected, so I did a bit of rearranging - after all it has been like this for a whole month and a half now!

This left room for some M.O.R.E. vintage Beads (curtains) ~ YEH!!   I don't think that I have ever shown them here before.  We currently have 2 sets that we put into use annually on the porch above the railings, but I have (cough, cough) numerous 'ladies in waiting' in storage in my studio... just in case... some day...

And Hey!

That 'Some Day' had arrived!

so off to the Studio I went!!

TWO beautiful 'ladies' no longer are a waiting 8-)!

...they were a 'bit tangled' after all these years -

but you gotta cut 40+ year olds some slack!

and they are beautiful in the morning sun...

 

 (This isn't 'technically' considered a collection... right?!!)

HAPPY & SAFE JULY 4th !!!

...ALOHA!? ...¡Hola! ?!

Monday was spent finishing a few last touches to The "Hawaiian Porch of '09 ". Our main problem is that neither of us has been to any of the Hawaiian Islands! I'm afraid the porch is a rather schizo confusion of Mexican, Spanish and Hawaiian!! I don't know the difference between a TIKI, an Incan Icon, a tribal Warrior, Mayan Ruin and a Polynesian Kahuna! I guess that we will just have to kick up our 'umbrella drinks' a notch, then ((maybe)) nobody else will notice!!


~a cheapie grass skirt (found at a Garage Sale for .25¢) 'dresses-up' a curbside stand~

...and...

This 'surf board' that I picked up last Fall...

~now resides on the wall above the 'grass skirt stand'!~

You may remember this BOX. With a little graphic inspiration from a 1966 booklet HAWAII'S FLOWERS, PLANTS AND FRUITS /Marie C. Neal of B.P. Bishop Museum (mahalo to Shara)... It has a new look on life! I pulled some leftover paints from the basement for the base coat, added wheeled casters from my Dad's shop, painted freehand, vibrant graphics on the top using my stash of craft paints, quick clear coat, and voila'! Porch-ready side table/ moveable stool - complete w/ storage!!

Okay... we're ready!

...LET THE FUN & GAMES BEGIN!

I have been a delinquent blogger... funny how warm weather tends to makes us "vacate the virtual world for the real world" - which is a GOOD thing in my opinion!!

So, what have I been up to in 'my' real world?

• The sale was a HUGE success (though, NO vases of cut flowers sold!!) ... six boxes were shipped off for a local church Rummage sale, leaving two for me to take to a consignment shop. That's it. ALL GONE!!
• The porch (in all of it's Hawaiian stylin') is ready for the partaking of drinks with little umbrellas!
• Our salmon Iris have finally blossomed!
• I have started 're-shelling' the stump in the flower bed (I had this completed a couple of summers ago... but then the bark started peeling off, now it is time to start over - no bark this time!!)
• 'REBECCA of the garden' has had her yearly 'concrete patching', 'new tubing', 'fresh paint' and is all decked out with fresh plants - WOW! talk about a 'high maintenance' girl!!
• I'm sure you are all a little concerned by now at my lack of 'stuffing it' (I think DH was even a bit worried about me - 2 weeks - NOTHING!!).... Rest assured, I was out bright and early Saturday morning!! The lure was a 'Street Wide Sale' and a 'Community Sale' . HA! Somebody needs to inform these people, that 'Two sales does not a Street Wide/Community make!'. Luckily, enroute I stumbled upon a Church Youth group having a sale at a private residence, just as they were opening!!

WICKER & GLASS & SILVER... (sombrero, Austrian Airline glass, 2 small Swanky Swigs (??), dark amethyst glass jar with tin deco cover and a carving set...

PLASTIC & POTTERY...

(ghost blow mold, Rumrill vase, 2 vintage sporting mugs, unmarked Shawnee-like pottery, NH studio pottery dish, glass fish ornament, yellow plant pot)

GAS MONEY...

(TWO!! Starbucks Mugs - been having very good luck with anything Starbucks on E-bay lately!!)

ALL of this 'stuff-goodness' for slightly over $2. - !! (yes, I gave them the $3, and told them to keep the change - generous person that I am...).

Hope everyone is having a great Holiday!!

... 69... 45... 27...

...AND THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN!

We don't subscribe to any of the local newspapers, so on Wed. or Thursday each week I go online to check out the Garage Sale Ads. Beside the link to the ads, there is a total of the number of classifieds in each category. A few weeks ago, the GARAGE SALE category had a whopping '69', last week it had dropped to '45', and this week it was down to a measily '27'! Another sign that Fall is rapidly approaching here in the NE.

But hey, definitely better than Nothing! Look at this hot 'Hawaiian Stud' that followed me home!!!

On Saturday the weather Gods were not cooperating, and it was 'almost' a wash out, but I did come home with FIVE items.... and there was a blatant theme!!!

SURFS UP!!

I think it is carved in stone, next years porch will have a Hawaiian Twist! Complete with Surf / boogie board ($1) and a stack of vintage Hawaiian Cocktail napkins (.10¢)! I think my coconut heads will feel right at home!

There was no Haeger, no VERA and no sweaterclips to be had, but I did grab this sweet 'glass chain' to add to my other half dozen ...

Less to unpack, clean-up and find homes for (or list on e-bay), that is for darn sure!!

Hope everyone is surviving the Hurricane impacts in their part of Blog Land!!

...48 hours

Various members of my family are diverging on our house in 48 hours, and what am I doing?
-BLOGGING! ...and Taking/downloading photos for e-bay auctions! ...and spray painting...

The iron flower stand I picked up this morning while saling, and The 'Moderne' tin garbage can that you may remember from earlier this year...

~BEFORE~

~AFTER~

Voila ~ lime green plant stand to blend in with the eclectic summer porch!

and tres chic chocolate brown /pink garbage can for the walk in closet (converted from a TINY, unusable bedroom!) !!

ARGH!! I must stay focused! I started out good, but when I went down to the basement to do laundry, I had to walk past the shelf that held various cans of spray paint... and when I was picking up the house I came across some things that should be on e-bay NOW...

...and now I'm inspired by a SWEETFINDS blog that I was just reading (because I HAD to do something while the photos were loading!!). She is posing the 100 ITEM PURGE challenge! I'm gonna go for it!! Anybody else ready to 'purge'?? I'll keep you posted on my progress!

...BUFFETT meets THE CAPE

THE PORCH IS OFFICIALLY OPEN FOR THE 2008 SEASON!

YIPPEE!!

We put the finishing touches on the porch over the weekend, and it has been christened with the first beer (Saranac Pale Ale), and the first 'meal'. MY favorite meal at that... BREAKFAST! Homemade french toast with Fresh Upstate NY Maple Syrup (a colleague of DH's makes it) and fresh bacon (another colleague of DH's raises cows & pigs - we just got our yearly 1/4 pig!). Sorry - I know that probably turns some of your stomachs, but I like knowing how the meat we do eat is raised and that there are no chemicals used - and it is so!...So!!... SO!!! MUCH BETTER than junk from the supermarket!! ( You'd never guess from reading this that DH works with a bunch of Engineering Geeks would you?!! ) We have an ever-evolving 'warm weather/seaside' theme to our porch, which tends to vary from SouthWest Sandy Desert to Rocky Coastal Maine to Tropical Bahamas. Looking at our porch this summer, it kind of looks like some bizarro version of JIMMY BUFFET and Old CAPE COD!! Go figure.

Maine Lobster trap buoy and cactus greet you...

The 'coconut heads' are all snuggled amongst the Wisteria..

the beachy table, Haeger, wicker and a 'crawdaddy'...

Cancun sand dollar encrusted 'pot-o-seeds' and more cactus...

'Jingle shells' from The Cape, dangling from a piece of driftwood from Lake Ontario to make a most relaxing 'chime' - accompanied by a pottery 'sun' from the islands...

It must be 'all good'... even the neighborhood cat, Mia, seems to approve!!

... and THREE makes yet another...

Saturday was a WONDERFUL fix!

I got to the SPCA rummage sale 15 min. before it was to open, and there were already about 50 people in line.... Yes it has been a L~O~N~G Winter here in the NE!! I didn't have my hopes too high, but was pleasantly surprised!

These were just TOO Cheery to pass up on a cold winter's day! Measuring spoonholder is plastic and the two ashtrays are china.

-SORRY NO PHOTO-

A lovely lot of 30 Hankies!

'Charming' solitaire 'mad cleaver yielding chef' and an unsuspecting elf posing in front of a nice Brush-McCoy Pot!

Last but not least, THREE unused, Large size scented candles - not Yankee, but still good ones from Maine! When the house is sealed up tight all Winter it is fun to have a yummy smelling candle lit!

ALL of these goodies for $5 - gotta Love it!

As an added bonus, while out running some errands Sat. we stumbled upon an estate sale. It was later in the day, so just as we got there they were lowering everything to half price!!

Does anybody know if old, 'new' in box paint by numbers of Clowns do anything in the resale market? I did a little research, but haven't had much luck!

FUN finds! Two metal lined trash cans that I think may sell nicely when title Mid Century Moderne (who am I kidding, I'm already picturing the metal liners different colors and which rooms I could use them in!!)! AND a few 'summer porch' additions - Coconut Pirate Head, Clay hanging planter with a goofy Monkey and an older pottery Kahlua Tiki! At .50c each, how could I go wrong?!

Now is probably the perfect time to introduce you to our PORCH. We do not have a typical front porch, but rather a secluded back porch. Full width of house x Approx. 10' deep. We LOVE the porch and we spend WAY more time there in warmer weather than inside!! (warmer weather being above 40 degrees!!) The porch usually consists of a table and 4 chairs, and 4 comfy chairs, an ottoman, a couple of small wicker end tables and a couple of tall iron shelves for plants. Each year it is decorated in a 'coastal motif'or 'warm motif' (depending on recent vacations/finds!!). Some years it is done in SW hazy orange browns & Donkeys (ie Arizona or Mexico), some years Maine Coastal Salty fishermen and Lobsters , some years a Tropical Motif of colorful birds & flowers, OR often my own blend of 'D. All of the above'. Of course porch season only lasts April - Nov (in a good year!), and then it ALL gets packed away to the depths of the basement, so that those nasty Arctic blasts that dump the snow on the porch don't ruin everything. Packed away until that long awaited first warm spring day when... The fiberglass 'wind block' panels from either end of the porch get taken down! A good sweeping! ... a few pieces of furniture in place! ~sorry, I'm daydreaming. we have a LOT of cold weather before 'that Spring day'!~

In the past year I have picked up two coconut heads... just because 'they spoke to me' and were too funny not to pick up! They ended up getting positioned on one of the joists of The Porch. Saturday, I found another. That makes three. It's 'Not really' another collection, is it?!

8-)