When You Come Into My House

 

 I haven't been able to come up with a thing to post the last couple of weeks...my 'summer dry spell??"  But, yesterday, I saw my friend, Kathy, who is inspiring, which is where I got this lovely 'rock flower' and I just had to find a place for it this morning.  After doing that, I thought "Aha, a post!"  Kathy has the cutest little shop in Beebe....so I think next time I go over there, I will take some photos and then you all can see it.  I love going there!  Anyway, now inspired, I wanted to show you where her 'rock flower' found a home. 

This 'spot' is just to the left when you enter my house.  I have no entry, when you come in the front door, you are in the living room, but there is a little corner on either side of the front door.  I'll show you the other one later.  This one is where I have placed a lot of my 'bird' stuff....what else would there be if you named your home "Bird Nest Cottage?"  Do you see the flower on the right side of this corner?  Yeah, right there by the mirror.

 

 Here is a better view of it.  Just an old piece of wood, which Kathy made into an art piece using rocks she gathered herself.  Now, you know I love that!  Such a cute flower.  I wanted to put it somewhere where it would really 'show' and this is it...you see it right off when you come in.

 

 She used jute for the stem, lace and buttons for the leaves, etc.  I LOVE it and I love that it came from her, a special friend.

  

 Who knew rocks could look so cute?  Thank you, Kathy, for the inspiration!!

  

 Now, some of you might be wondering just how I could possibly put anything else in this corner.  (Yes, I know you are.)  But, I'm sure I could manage to find more room if something special comes along! 

  

So, okay, there is the door.  I took these photos early today, so there is a lot of light coming in that side window by the door.....but, I could still manage to get a few photos.  I call this the "bird corner."

  

A vintage print, one of my very favorite things in the house, a bird house, made from other recycled wood, and various bird themed items.  You'll see.

  

Here are bird feathers I have managed to collect in the time I have spent in this house...as of now...a year, can you believe that??  I'm always looking for feathers when I go for my daily walk...well, rocks also!  And, bird nests.  These are all real nests.  The large one I found in a neighbor's yard.  An ACTUAL 'bird nest on the ground.'  It had been there for days and finally I asked for it and they gave it to me, thinking, I am sure, that I was nuts.  The two very tiny nests came from my daughter's yard.  I like to put little labels in the nests telling where they came from.  

  

 I find little birds here and there, these made of wood.  Sometimes at the flea, sometimes gifts.

 These are sitting on a mirrored tray.

 

I found this bird house at one of the fleas....made by a local guy.  It's taller than you think and I loved it instantly.  The flower pot holds paper flowers made by a friend, from book pages.  

  

Sorry this photo is kinda blurry, but you get the idea.  That apothecary jar is filled with feathers gathered from my former home.  During the time the 'old navy man' was ill and I needed a bit of a 'time out,' I would walk around our back yard for a few minutes.  All these feathers were gathered during those times.

It gave me something to look for and I would share them with him...he loved to watch the birds.  So, this jar cannot be added to....it's a reminder of how we tried to find one good thing a day to be amazed by or to make us laugh.  A lesson I still practice today.

  

A little metal bird dish....the tiny basket was given to me by a friend very long ago, and the thread buttons are from my collection.  

  

See.  Adorable, right?

 

Here is a vintage English tin with birds/nests and poetry on it.  It, also, is one of my favorite 'bird items.'  So sweet.  And, that nest is real.  For the life of me, though, I can't remember where that one came from.

  

I was reading blogs the other day and came across an English lady who had placed photos behind the edges of her light switch plates.  I loved that idea instantly and had to do the very same thing right away.  Now, there are light switch plates here and there in my house with photos or cards behind them.  Maybe you wouldn't do that....but me, oh yeah!!!

  

 My friend, Bibi, has given me real leaves over the years, Mod Podged and glued to paper or burlap.  These are several years old and still look just great.  I had gotten the little wreath from Kathy and decided to add the leaves to it.  Nothing to do with birds, really, but I liked it in the mix.  (And, you know me and my clothes pins!)

 The funny thing is....when you live alone, you can do just about anything you want.  I only have to please myself and am not overly concerned with what others think.  That being said,  I find being inspired by others just makes my day a lot of the time and I am so grateful to my sweet friends and even strangers in blogland, who constantly leave me thrilled with what they do.  

Hope you enjoyed this little tour of my 'bird corner' and it's special items.

From Bird Nest Cottage,

Until next time,

♥♥♥

That "S" Hook Story and Another Heart

After a weekend of trouble with the computer....thanks to it's inept operator...here I am to tell you the story of the 'S' hooks. As my friend, Brenda, wondered....should I really bring this up to you out there? As she reminds me, I got in enough trouble with it when it actually happened. Well, I've had requests for me to tell you as I DID bring it up and once that is done....some of you won't rest until you know what I am talking about....so, here it is:

Several years ago, I experienced something that can't be explained. Well, NOT by ME anyway and probably not by you either. It all started one day as I got out of my car in the WalMart parking lot. As I walked around my car, I saw an "S" hook laying on the ground. (I tend to look down a lot...you know...I'm always looking for those heart rocks and such.) This time, I saw that "S" hook, so I picked it up and put it in my purse. Never thought a thing about it other than I might need one of those 'sometime.' A few days later, I went to Hastings, the book/video store. I got out of my car, walked around it, went about fifteen feet and saw an "S" hook laying on the ground. I picked it up, put it in my purse and didn't think too much about it.

The next week, I was back at WalMart. Like I said, this was several years ago....at a time when our WalMart still sold DMC floss. That was what I was doing there that day....buying floss.
At that time, they displayed the DMC in little cabinets with drawers showing the numbers of the floss. So, I went there to make my selections, and THERE, on top of the cabinet, was a little "S" hook. The funny thing was there was not one place on that whole aisle where you could have used an "S" hook. Nowhere. No wire to hang it from, no loops, no pegboard, no nothing. So, I picked it up, put it in my purse, got my DMC and walked away.

By this time, I was beginning to think I was seeing way too many of these hooks. What did it mean? Why me? This happened to me over a period of several weeks. Every time I went somewhere, I'd find an "S" hook...in the parking lots, on the sidewalk...all kinds of places. I'd pick them up and take them home. I still have most of them, but not all. I found all sizes. They turn out to be rather useful and over time, I've used them here and there. It's weird...I supposed that someone, somewhere "out there" was sending me some kind of message. I have no idea what. Then, after those several weeks, I never found another one. (This photo is of the ones I have left...I keep them in a little drawer in the Nest.)

The trouble I had, as Brenda mentioned, was that my friends made fun of me for quite a while. Well, who wouldn't, if you think about it? It became known as my "S" Hook Saga. I've never heard of it happening to anyone else. So it hasn't....or else, they were smarter than I and kept it to themselves.

One of my readers suggested it was a wonder I wasn't arrested...I guess especially in WalMart for making off with one of their "S" hooks. I never even gave that a thought at the time. (Well, honestly, I thought it was put there for me....after all, there was nowhere it was needed on that whole aisle...and I did go there specifically for that DMC floss....why else would it have been there?) Of course, I'm not serious....I don't know why it was there, but, you have to admit it really was a WEIRD coincidence! What do YOU think?

Now, about the heart....as you know, I went to the Bee's Knees the other day and found that wonderful sign you saw in my last post. When I got out of my car, I looked down and THERE was this Heart Rock!!! I'm telling you....life is never boring!!! So, there you are....my "S" hook and heart stories. Who knew??? take care out there, pat

PS. Next time, oh, tomorrow or the next day....you'll get to see something really quite beautiful and made of fabric!

A Very Special Heart

I intended to post today about something other than what you see here, but I got so excited over this, I had to go ahead and show it to you. So, here's the story. As you've read on this blog before, I love to find heart rocks. I now look for them everywhere I go. My sister and brother-in-law remember that I do this. They live in Texas, where the old navy man and I are originally from. Actually, they live in McGregor, which is near Waco. My brother-in-law, Rick, (a carpenter, originally from the state of Maine) loves to go out in the Texas countryside in search of fossils, petrified wood,etc. The other day, he did just that and found one of those heart shaped rocks. A very special one, as you can see.

Here he is with his pickup loaded with petrified wood. And, in another photo, you can see the heart he found. Turns out he visited a mutual friend's home out in the country...between McGregor and Waco. And went searching. He says he was very excited and surprised to find such nice pieces of petrified wood and in picking them up....looked down and saw this rock, which turned out to be a heart. Of course, that made the day even more special....as he knew the rock would go to ME! How cool is that? What a very nice and thoughtful brother-in-law I have!!!

So, look at the heart....can you believe it? I received a tiny little package from Texas on Friday and couldn't believe my eyes when I opened it. There, inside a tiny red box, was this heart rock.
I had to call immediately and ask if it was a trick. Absolutely not....the story is true, I heard back.
And, I believe it....Rick tells the truth (even when it hurts)....one of the things that makes him a great brother-in-law. After a careful examination, everyone present at my house at the time (the old navy man, his sister, my father-in-law and me) concluded that it had to be real even though it was so unbelievable. Thank you again, Rick!!!!!

A very special heart....from nature....and from a sweet brother-in-law. How nice he remembered that I am partial to those heart rocks. Lucky me!

In my next post, I'm going to show you a heart delivered to me by someone out there in the universe unknown to me....one that will also surprise you. So, stay tuned! take care, pat