Show and Tell Thursday

Large letters, spelling Papa, dominate the side of the vintage lustreware coffee cup.

When I pass this on to my daughters, it will have been in our family for 5 generations.

As you can see, some of the gold has rubbed off the raised letters. Taken the fact that it was probably made somewhere in the late 1800's, I'd say it looks good.

The "Made in Germany" mark is still very clear.










My maternal great-grandparents were born about 1871, in Germany, immigrating later to Texas.

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I wish I had an interesting story as to how the cup and saucer traveled to Texas. What I think about is the number of times, my great-grandmother, my grandmother, and my own mother may have washed and dried this very cup.

There is not much dollar value with these two stemmed goblets. But, they are very special to my heart.  I remember sitting at my grandmother's kitchen table, with iced tea filling the glasses.

Meggie Mac

I want to thank my dearest friend, Elaine, at Pear Tree Log, who is joining me today, by posting a "Show and Tell".

Click Here to read what treasure she has to show us.

Starting Over with a New Garden

Does this remind you of a tulip? Look a little closer...it is a bud on a compact size magnolia tree.

I couldn't resist buying the "Jane Magnolia" for my new garden at Das Kleine Haus.








For many years, I worked on the gardens at the Farm. Most of you followed me all last year as I recorded everything from the spring planting of seeds, in the greenhouse, to the hot days in summer with all the daylilies and roses in bloom.

Now, I have a chance to start over with new garden plans and a blank slate.  It is hard work, removing grass and digging new beds.

Benjamin preparing a hole for the Palm Tree

I still have my trusty handyman, Benjamin, who has worked for me over 15 years or so. He arrives every Friday morning to work 3 hours with the very heavy chores, like moving a palm tree.

Daylilies, I brought from the farm, are already peeking through the mulch.

Sugar snap peas, trailing along the fence,  are blooming...



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and small pea pods are beginning to form.

You may find it difficult to believe, but these are tiny early tomatoes. They are growing in my cold frame. With my night-time temperatures dropping in the high 30's this week, I will simply close the top of the cold frame to protect them.

For cool weather blooms, you can always count on Dianthus. You may know them as Sweet Williams or Pinks.

Meggie Mac

Monday's Country Back Roads

In my imagination, I could write a short story about a life, at the end of this road. The one lane road appears to travel to the high sandstone plateau, known as The Bluff.

Just on the other side of the plateau, the rolling hills begin. This is where I call home.

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In the early morning light, the trees can still be seen in their grey winter coats.

Looking at the picturesque site, I see in the distance, a barn nestled beside the rising landscape.

What a peaceful view to start Monday morning....

Meggie Mac

Sunday Morning...Cowboy Style

Until I photographed this sign, I didn't realize there are about 750 Cowboy Churches  in the USA, with over 200 in Texas.

Enjoy your family and friends today...

Meggie Mac

Friday's Fences

 

And, the fence said to the tree, "Pardon me, I'm coming through".

 

 

Fortunately for the beautiful cedar tree, the land owner kept the opposite side untrimmed.

 

Meggie Mac

 

I'm joining in with Jan 'n Jer's Friday Fences.

 

Moving a Texas Palm Tree

This will be my first year of gardening at Das Kleine Haus. My plan is to move some of the existing plants to new locations.

There are three Texas palms planted much too close to the house. One was re-located this past week end.

I want to first see if it will live, before I make the effort to move the other two. The best location is one corner of the back deck. My thoughts are the foliage will give a nice backdrop for the outdoor cooking space.

I'm without a greenhouse for this year, so I have built several cold frames. The old windows were salvaged from the farm.

On the days the temperature is warmer, I can simply lift the top.

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Romaine and red tip lettuce have been planted directly in the ground. What you see covering the garden is fruit tree netting. It helps keep the small animals from digging around the plants.

Friday will be another Project Day with Meg's Studio. Check back to see the updates on the move.

Yes, I am the wizard who occupies the studio....

Meggie Mac

Discovering a Coppice Stool

While driving another country back road, near where I live, I saw this tree growing in the middle of a pasture.

Do you see the tree is growing out of the base of a huge cut tree? This is a Coppice Stool.

 It appears the original tree was cut. But, many times it just happens in nature, when a tree has fallen due to damage from storms. If you would like to read more about coppicing click Here.  Another good article, written by Britain's CAT, is Here.

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There is something very magical about a tree like this. It is a chance for the tree to continue to grow. It reminds me of second chances we all get in life.

 If you look closely, you can see a small dark opening at the base of the older tree. I wonder if it might be an open fairy door......

Meggie Mac

The Amethyst Connection

As you may already know, February's birthstone is the Amethyst. While appreciating this vintage glass, I began to think of other things I might have collected in this color.

Do you have anything you have collected in amethyst or purple?

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The illusion, in the first photo, comes from an amethyst bowl I had place on the dining room table with other Valentine decorations.

It is a three footed candy dish.....

The three dark dots, in the center, are actually the position of the feet of the bowl. The color is so delicate they show through to the top side.

I also have a pair of vintage earrings.....

As I was writing, I remembered I had two other items, in amethyst color, to show you.

This is a mid-size mixing bowl, I use quite frequently in my kitchen. Because of writing today's post, the very small glass sitting in front of the bowl, has become more interesting to me.

I'm thinking it might be for serving an after dinner Liqueur drink. The surprise for me, while cleaning the glass for the photograph, was something written on the bottom of it.  I've had it for many years, having no idea where it was made.

It took only one special moment, with the sun coming through the window of my kitchen, for me to see the word "Austria", faintly etched on the bottom......

Meggie Mac

A Tale for a Scottish Lass

I discovered this tree in the beloved state park on The Bluff, near where I live. It is one of the picturesque places I so often post about.

A very helpful Park Ranger, with a great deal of imagination, gave me this wonderful tale to embellish my photo for Valentine's Day.

   The heart was left when we trimmed a branch from another tree that was growing nearby. The branch landed on the thinner end and bounced an improbable direction, striking the other tree.

    The tree that was trimmed has since died. So, maybe, it was making sure the heart tree would never forget it.

I feel a love story is written in-between-the-lines of this tale, where one heart touched another heart...

Happy Valentine's Day
Meggie Mac

Sewing Nook On the Move

If you have ever moved from one home to another, you understand the challenges of making your new spaces and furniture work. Most of what you will see today, has been moved from my lovely sewing closet at the farm, to my new home in a Victorian Folk-Style house.

There are only 5 main rooms in the house, not including bathrooms and mud room, but each room is quite large. I decided to use the largest of two bedrooms, as an activity room, naming it "The Book Room". Most of my book library is in this room, with 4 book cases lining the walls. There is also a TV and a a sofa-bed for family stay-overs.

 

But, in one corner of the room, I have carved out a small space for my sewing nook.

When the house was originally built, around 1880, there were no closets in the bedrooms.  Luckily this room had a previous renovation of a large closet. It is the perfect spot for my stash of fabrics.

 It's nice to be able to see my fabrics organized. Some are grouped according to pattern.

While others are with like colors...

The work surface is an interior door, cut to fit the size of the nook. Just for decoration, I edged it with two wood yard sticks. The skirted table for the sewing machine, came from my sewing space at the farm. It is on rollers so I can angle it to watch TV while I'm sewing.

The door table top rest on two filing cabinets, giving it strength to hold the above shelving.

To help control the cords from the overhead fluorescent light and the extra lamp, I have cut a hole through the door. This allows my work service to be free of electrical cords.

I tried to maximize my space, using containers I have bought at the Dollar Store.

Here are the fabrics, I have pulled from my stash, to use in decorating my bedroom.

Some of this fabric is left-over from previous projects, like this vintage piano stool.











I hope you have enjoyed seeing the new space in Das Kleine Haus .....it is just the beginning.

Meggie Mac