These are a few of my favorite things... I love this verse from the inside of a White Stripes album. So poetic, so beautiful...I loved it so much I wrote it out on brown paper and put it in an old antique frame backed with chicken wire. It reads:

Honesty in bloom,heart on sleeve,life ever exposed and safe,courtesy to them and all you know,down and cotton covered breath,out in the open with nothing to hide,mention of soft paper and pine,soda powder and brown paper bags,angora and hound`s tooth,youth and canvas,fresh color,blind chance and forward stumble,scarlet mood,and white ivory shimmering laugh,safe in mind and comfort in home,absent of flies and anger,blankets of your own,peaches in cellar,subtle hair and skin,sand and leaf,felt napkin and clothing line,warm air from heating vent,snow on ground,reunious of sane unforced presence,motherly intervention held in suspense,enraptured holy sight,reception in halls,your Sunday go to meeting,your helping hand,your summersault,your attic,your home and your preservation,so simple,so untouched,this is as wise as raven and as easy to trust,yet have they known,and yet may they wonder,with words and thought and thorn,this spirit and persona under

My sweet family...On our wedding day. The happiest day I can think of. Savanna was so small.
My antique rotary phone. I have been dreaming of getting it rewired so that I can actually use it. I must admit that a few times I have been caught making pretend phone calls. I love the weight of it in my hand and the way the dial sings when I release it.

My many collections...this is my antique clothespin and sea shell collection. I love to gather things around me in jars and just look at them. Gives me great comfort and pleasure.
My maternal grandmother...Lillian. She is my kitchen goddess...she's with me when I bake the pies and the lamb cake that you will see the tin for a little further down. Always keeping a watchful eye over me.
Just bought this book at the bookstore the other day. Am loving it so far. It is packed with inspiring projects to do with your little ones...or in my case, your not-so-little-ones. There's embroidery, nature, crochet, felting, sewing, singing, collecting, you name it.
One of my absolute favorite books...this fat baby is packed with every piece of folklore and tidbit you can possibly think of. Who knew that pretty much anything you can name has some superstition behind it. This is alphabetized. A super fun way to pass the time.
My moth collection. I love specimens...especially insect specimens. I love the color and delicate quality of these pretty ones.
This is Babi's lamb cake mold. Every Easter I bake up a little lamb cake. Some years he sits up in one piece...other years he's headless with 2 little x's for eyes.
My toasty stove. I don't know what I would do without this baby. Every night I make myself a little nest in front of it. I grab my favorite blanket and put my feet up on it...making sure that the heat goes right into the tent of my blanket. Heaven.
I found this bust at the Goodwill. I bought it because many years ago my mother had one just like it in her bedroom. We lost it in the house fire when Savanna was a baby. This brought back so many memories I had to have it.
This is Tessie. She came from an adorable shop on Etsy....www.theoakleaves.etsy.com. She is well loved by all who come across her...particularly my niece and nephew, Chloe and Liam.
Skeleton keys. I can't get enough of them. I have to be careful. I've had to stop letting myself buy them.
The sparrow tree in our yard. Those are my feathered family members out there. I started feeding them this past autumn and the flock has grown 3 and 4 times. If I haven't fed them by about 10 AM, they are all lined up on my fence staring at the house. Kind of creepy...but I like it.
My antique binochulars...for watching my sparrows...
and our Hawk, Mo Henery...who has come to view my fence and bushes as an all you can eat birdie buffet.
Some of my vintage bisque dolls. These were carnival trinkets back in the 20's. I love their big curious eyes and round bellies.
One of my favorie drawings that Savanna has done for me. When she feels safe enough to share her art with me, I can't get it into a frame fast enough.
I am reading To Kill A Mockingbird again. Timeless story..."I think there's just one kind of folks...folks"- Scout
I am yearning for some tea...
...and a ginger biscuit from Julius Meinl in Chicago. My brother took my mother and I there when we came to see his show. It was the warmest, quaintest little place I have ever been. I had a goat cheese, basil and tomato omelet...potato pancakes with applesauce and sour cream, and lots of jasmine tea.