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4th of July around the Smith House

Happy 4th of July to all...................

Sweet Betty June

It's been forever since I last posted!!  Life in the Smith house has been busy...Summer always seems that way for us. 

A couple weeks ago I was in a little antique shop downtown and met a "kindred spirit"....not only was she wearing a Red Sox shirt but she was working on a collage as she tended the shop!!  We started chatting and she explained to me that she was working on a piece of art to submit to a juried show at Libertytown Art Center for a show called "Discarded Potential: An Exhibit of Trash Art".  Those of you that know me know that I have enough "discarded junk" in my little studio to supply the entire state and then some.  Sharon(my new found kindred spirit friend) explained to me what they were looking for and I went home and immediately went to work!  Yesterday I took my assemblage to Libertytown along with the statement of provenance and submitted it to the juried show.  It's anyone's guess whether my piece will be selected to be displayed in the show but it was fun putting Sweet Betty June together and served to jump start my rather sluggish creative flow as of lately. Here's some snippets of Sweet Betty June....

***I got a call yesterday from Libertytown and my piece was accepted!!! 

 

 

 

Rosary Love

Lately, I've been all about the Rosary. I hunt for them whenever I go into antique shops or thrift stores or flea markets.  I'll take them in perfect order or broken...I'm not pickey when it comes to a Rosary.  I'm one of those mentally afflicted kind that read an idea book and then becomes obsessed and goes on the hunt to find the materials used to create the masterpieces in the book. Sadly, I usually never clue in that I have no talent in even coming close to recreating those masterpieces and am left with boxes of this and that that eventually wind up in a vintage jar in my little "studio" as decoration(as was the case of vintage rhinestone necklaces and before that horse show ribbons). In this case my latest obsession came from purchasing these two books.........

Amy uses broken bits of  vintage this and that to create her pieces and lots of her designs come from broken Rosaries.  Since this is a fairly new book in my collection I haven't amassed much of a collection of Rosaries....yet.  I'll update my findings from time to time as well as my creations....humble and weak as they will be as a Plebe in the art of jewelry making.  Oh and on a lighter note........don't go into a Catholic Thrift store and ask if they have any vintage Rosaries for sale and if they are broken that's ok.  I did that last week and the sweet little old lady behind the counter let me know promptly that they would NEVER sell a Rosary for fear it had been "blessed".  She then went to the stock room and loudly told the other little old ladies that they had a psycho woman in the store who will no doubt burn for all eternity in hell.....well she didn't exactly use those words but the message was loud and clear!

Sunday Morning Visitor

Mr. Tortoise came calling this morning.  I love unexpected visitors! 

 

Sunday Around the Smith House

I've neglected my Blog lately so this afternoon I set out to make myself feel better about in that department and snapped some pictures around our home.....things that make me smile.  First on the list..... A little wreath I made over the past couple days.  I have tons of vintage lace and just started wrapping and knotting....fun little project and I feel good about using up some of my stash. 

My husband pruned the Magnolia tree that I simply had to have when we  built our house.....would I insist again that we plant it knowing what a pain in the butt it is for my husband to maintain....hell yes...but he has a different opinion....  

Been doing some "Spring Sprucing" around the house......tossed these flags in a big pot of instant coffee and aged them up.  My 2nd born  gave me this GurglePot for Mother's Day.   I love how the flags look in it........love the sound it makes. 

 I've been collecting Catholic things lately........rosarys and metals.....I'm a little Methodist Girl so I don't exactly know what to call them.  I'm going to start making some Amy Hanna bracelets, etc.  She is so inspiring.......  

And last......I made this cobbler for my Beantown Husband this afternoon.  I used honey instead of sugar and worked the recipe to cut bad "stuff" from it.  It was cooling on a trivet when he found it....and ate it...........most of it.  He has such a sweet tooth!

I hope everyone had a great weekend......

My $7.50 Score!

It's cold and rainy here in the 'burg.......perfect time to hit a Flea Market!  We have the nastiest, dirtiest, and creepiest one around just about 10 minutes from my house.  It's the kind where you leave feeling dirty and slightly depressed but you never leave empty handed.  I scored some great little treasures today!  I'll have to sift through the jewelry and probably end up with just a few pieces but that's ok.  I love the little pin that says Mother....especially since it has a little disc attached that says Great Smokey Mountain National Park.  My first born is getting married there in July so I'll just have to wear that little pin to the Rehearsal Dinner.  On the back of the perfume box it says.....To Ella from Dear Grandfather and Grandmother 1914. Love it when the Junque stars align! 

Recipe Friday

Nothing says "summer's coming" like strawberries from Belevadere Farm and asparagus from Snead's Farm.  My BFF and I headed out to both today and each came home with a flat of berries and 5 lbs of asparagus. This was actually my 2nd visit to both and I had already made my Beantown Boy a fresh strawberry pie.  I make mine the old fashion Kentucky way....I cook my berries!  Here's the recipe:

Fresh Strawberry Pie

1 Cup Water

I Cup Sugar

4-5 Tbsp. Corn Starch

1 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice

2 Drops of Red Food Coloring for coloring if you wish

3 1/2 Cup of sliced Strawberries

Cook all of the above(reserving 2 cups of berries) until thick. Cool. Pour into prebaked pie shell that has been filled with 2 cups of sliced strawberries. Chill!  Enjoy with fresh whipped cream! I'm making a pot of Cream of Asparagus soup for dinner.  It's so easy and just the best recipe for it I've ever made!

Cream of Asparagus Soup

1 lb. asparagus, cut in 1 inch pieces

4 c. chicken stock

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp flour

salt and pepper

2 egg yolks

6 tbsp. milk or cream(I use cream)

Place asparagus in a pan with the stock and onion, cover, bring to a boil, simmer until tender.  Puree asparagus and liquid in a blender or with a "stick" mixer.  Set aside.  Melt butter in a large pan, stir in flour and cook until straw colored and thick.  Remove from heat and add pureed mixture.  Simmer until hot.  Mix egg yolks with cream and add a little of the hot soup mixture to the eggs/cream  and add egg mixture back into the soup(this keeps the eggs and cream from curdling..  Reheat being careful not to boil.  Enjoy!!  I always double this recipe.  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!  We have rain coming our way here!

 

Caroline

Had a great 3 days in Tampa this past weekend.  Finally have one graduated and one to go! We are so proud of our Caroline...she graduated with honors and is heading into the world of Special Education.  She is going to be an amazing teacher and her goal is to be a Professor of Education....no doubt that will happen!  Way to go Caro!!!!     We got to take Maddie to a little aquarium in Tarpon Springs.  She is so fascinated by sea life and this time it didn't take long for her to put her chubby little hand in the water and touch the starfish!     Hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day! 

Thrift Store Finds!

Stopped yesterday at a couple thrift stores here in the 'burg and found some wonderful little chippy finds.  This entire lot cost less than $5....love when that happpens!  The glass jar says Cookies and the tin says For Mother Dear...

I bought this Eiffle Tower before I went to Paris and never did anything with it.  So this afternoon I gathered everything I could find that was red and hung it all over.  I need more but that's all I had on hand.  I'm heading out in the morning to pack my 2nd born up at Ferrum College and will be home Sunday night.  I'll be real sweet to my Beantown Boy so he'll stop at all 327 antique shops between here and Ferrum, Virginia!  Maybe I'll strike gold or "red" and find more for my ET! 

A Frog with a Gold Ball

I totally forgot to post what the Easter Bunny so sweetly brought me.  I have several pieces of Herend that my family has given me throughout the years.  I love the bunnies the best and they stay out all year and never fail to bring a smile to my face when I pass by them.  So this year my husband surprised me with a new addition to my collection..... a little black and white frog holding a big gold ball. At first I didn't "get it".  I'm not a frog collector nor much of a frog lover so he explained.  Here's my version........

A few years ago I took my 16 year old daughter(who is now 20) to the pet store to pick up a toy for our Lab.  I didn't leave the store with the toy.... I left with a Tree Frog and a 10 gallon tank and all the crap that goes into makings the frog a "happy frog".  I failed to read up on the frog before purchasing it because if I had I would have found that this particular breed of tree frog can live up to 20 years.  I have no doubt in my mind that it will.....along with the bird who is 13 and will probably live to see 100.  So my husband did the math.....$3 a week in crickets to feed the frog(which by the way has no name other than 'the frog')....another $10 every couple months to clean out his environment....tabs to purify the tap water for his little pool....special bulbs to keep his tank warm and cozy..food to feed the crickets so they live more than a day or so.  It wasn't a lot of money but at the end of the 20 years if the frog lives as long as the books say he will if well taken care of.....well there would be a nice little chunck of cash that would serve me well at a weekend antique flea market. 

So the frog holding the gold ball makes a lot of sense now....however....I love the little Herend piece so much that it's almost worth having the frog just to have it...almost.