In the Midst!

It's Labor Day weekend and time to celebrate with friends and family or take that summer's end
va-cay.  The delicious aroma of barbecue is wafting through the neighborhood, and there is a buzz of activity everywhere.  We spent the day at the home our friends, John and Rosemary, and celebrated their niece's birthday.  Thank you, Rosemary, for organizing a lovely gathering and happy birthday Christina!  Christina's cake was amazing!  A chocolate cake piled high with chocolate mousse icing and a layer of cream puffs hidden inside.  Possibly the best cake ever!  Christina's one-year old white Shepard, Layla, joined the festivities.

Layla

Meanwhile, my little Sadie waited patiently at home for our return.   Can you tell I'm a dog lover?  Well, animals in general.

Sadie

On the home and gardening front, I harvested three hydrangeas and will attempt to dry them out and use them in various fall and winter arrangements.   Go to:  https://www.stonegableblog.com/drying-hydrangeas/ for instructions.  Thank you, Yvonne!   I'll pair them with apples for a fall vignette, as she suggests.

The arrangement currently residing on my dining room table is the result of foraging through my garage storage and putting something bold and interesting together.

Njoy your weekend!

Vinnie's SUNFLOWERS...again!

"They are such a happy flower” my friend, Diane, said.

I did a search on why they're called sunflowers.  They are a heliotrope (Helios is the Greek sun god) simply meaning that they track the sun.
Once the bud matures to a flower, it becomes fixed and faces east toward the sunrise.   Isn’t that amazing?!

Here is a link to an interesting video about the sunflower:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfBsWFfWkGE

Credit:  Yu Cheng Hong's Helios @ DeviantArt

Vincent van Gogh's

(the other Vinnie) Sunflowers

                                                                                     Happy Friday!

Helloooo!

Hope everyone has plans with family and friends for the upcoming Labor Day weekend, which officially starts now! (What official?)  A quick post to share my Labor Day table scape.  Lots going on:  books, flowers, loads of dishes and glasses.  Njoy!

Autumnal Equinox

What a wonderful summer.   With Labor Day weekend upon us, and the start of a new school year, everyone seems to be soaking up the last of our long days and preparing for autumn.  The autumnal equinox is September 23rd this year when sunrise to sunset will equal sunset to sunrise (does that make sense?)  The days will slowly draw shorter, and the gift of Indian Summer will remind us that it'll be months before the sun once again warms our skin.  On the bright side, we'll be celebrating the beauty that the changing season brings, and soon, we will be planning for the holidays.

The garden was joyful this year.  There are several areas around my home for plantings of basil, sage, lavender, sunflowers, geraniums and various other flowering plants. My husband, Vinnie, had a rogue cherry tomato emerge in the late spring that just keeps giving.  Vinnie is also responsible for the sunflowers.  He ordered a variety packet of sunflower seeds on Amazon for about $10, and we started them in little plastic containers. When they were 2-3 feet tall, we planted them.  Wow!  Over a dozen sunflower plants are giant and full of flowers.  So much fun

Taking a summer break from jewelry design, but I did make these earrings:

And my new found passion of table scaping needs to be mentioned.   Hours and hours were spent on eBay and Etsy looking for glass and porcelain beauties to adorn the table.   Recently unearthed boxes from the garage hid an amazing collection of Rosenthal which belonged to my Great Aunt.  You could hear a gasp as I unwrapped the first piece. I love looking at it and imagine my grandmother and her sister having tea with their friends.

I have enjoyed sharing with you and will post again soon❤