I certainly hope this year we will see things start looking up!...I hope those without jobs will find work...I hope those that ail will recover and be well...I hope those who find it difficult to make ends meat will gain some wealth...and I hope those who are sad will find much joy!
I wanted to share with you a little lamp project I've just completed. I've always wanted a crock or jug lamp with a hexagon lamp shade and finally found just the right shade done in a lovely brown homespun and handmade too! I purchased it from
Heart and Hand Antiques, and let me tell you that it is beautifully made! So once I received the shade, I began to hunt for a jug in just the right size, shape, and color and found the perfect one on ebay...won it for $17.99 plus shipping and since it was coming all the way from Arizona during the Christmas rush, it took a couple of weeks to get here but it arrived safe and sound! Then all I had to do was purchase this:
It's the Westinghouse make-a-lamp kit that is sold at Home Depot and voila! I've got the jug lamp of my dreams! Here is it atop my pie safe...I've been playing a bit today and decided that this is the arrangement I'm going to leave up for winter:
That basket you see there is a little something I treated myself to recently, it's an antique basket that I purchased from my favorite local antique shoppe. I love baskets both olde and new! I also treated myself to this little antique pewter 5" bowl:
I just loved the patina on it and the shoppe owner says it's from the 1800's! I'm going to do some more playing and find just the right spot for it.
Well that's about it for this first day of 2011...I've got Celtic music playing, I'm burning one of my primitive jar candles, Christmas Crow, it smells divine, it's such a warm spicy scent, love it!...and I'm doing a little stitching, a little decorating, and of course a wee bit of blogging.
Happy New Year!
Ten years ago today was one of the worst days in my life. On February 18, 2001 my hero, Dale Earnhardt died. Your hero? a race car driver? you may wonder. Yes but he was so much more.
He was a kind man, a strong man, a tall man, a handsome man, he was a good man. He gave generously to charity, not only monetarily, but of himself as well, and most of the time we never heard about it because that's how he wanted it, that's just the kind of person he was. He never forgot from where he came and his heart was made of gold. He lended a helping hand to so many.
The Intimidator was his persona and yes, he was just that on the race track. Oh what fun he was to watch on the race track! He was The Man! But off the track he was a respected and beloved father, husband, son, and brother.
The sport will never be the same for me but I do still enjoy NASCAR and watch all of the races. I haven't attended a Cup race though since before he died. I've attended a few Nationwide (the secondary series) races but no Cup because that is where he raced and I guess I just haven't wanted to attend the race and not see that black number 3.
I'll never forget the first time he caught my attention when I was really getting into NASCAR back in the 80's. He was holding his little daughter in his arms before a race and she kissed him on the cheek and hugged his neck...the television announcer commented on the sweet picture saying, to that little girl he's no Intimidator, he's just Daddy. That just melted my heart right then and there and at that moment is when I became a fan...I will always be a Dale Earnhardt fan.
