Treasures of the Past

It's a wonderful winter day...... a day off to reflect about dreams. Cloudy, rainy, blustery, wintry........ a perfect day for oh, so many reasons! One of which is a recent treasure that was given to me by my brother and sisters. Upon my dad's passing, many sentimental items of my mom's were given to me....items that have no monetary value....but are rich in the sentimental value that I have for them. A week ago, my brother and sister brought over a curio cabinet that was still left from cleaning out dad's house. I wasn't sure where I would put it, but got that figured out yesterday when I passed on to my son his great-grandmother's radio and lamp that have resided with us for 20+ years. In its place is now my mother's curio cabinet and treasures of hers now adorn the shelves.

I put on a pot of coffee but couldn't stop unpacking, washing, drying and setting up the cabinet. I was surprised at how excited I was to set this up! The coffee could wait a while.

My mom had three of these beautifully etched glasses. I don't know the story behind where these came from....which is unusual. I only know that I love them....and find their story curious.

A gold-plated vase that was my grandmother's. Mom passed it down to me many years ago.

A porcelain yellow rose on a porcelain branch. As a little girl, my favorite kind of birthday cake was white with white frosting and yellow roses. Sweet mom always got that for me. Truth be know, it is still my favorite kind of birthday cake.

A sweet cranberry glass vase. I had bought two of these one day...one for me and one for my mom because we both loved cranberry glass. I still have mine, minus the cord. But to have my mother's back was a full circle.

As a child, my brothers and I would spend the summers with my grandparents in Iron Springs. Every day we drank out of Grandma's cactus glasses - so iconic for a little scamp of an Ohio girl in Arizona. I'm not sure what happened to Grandma's set - I think they ended up getting broken or shuffled around. So imagine my glee when visiting my Grandma's sister, Aunt Ann, in Colorado I discovered that she had a set of the same glasses!! They were given as a free gift with a fill-up from Blakely gas stations back in the '50's and I've always had such a spot in my heart for the memories they hold for me. Aunt Ann was happy to pass her collection to me, where they have sat wrapped-up in a cardboard box in my garage for probably 15 years. That all changed this morning.

I remember when my Mom bought these from J.C. Penny's back in the early 70's. She just thought they were so pretty and they have endured for 30 years. For some reason, I've always liked them because my Mom liked them.

My new cabinet graces my home with cherished treasures. I sat down with warm cup of coffee, finally, and simply admired it. Two cups later, it was time to check a few things around the house outside before the huge predicted storms arrived.

A walk of my garden had me standing in shock and awe at this little spot....look at these iris buds!!! They were NOT there yesterday! I know because I planted some freesia bulbs there yesterday and those stalks were not there!!!

Garden Happy Dance !!

I love how the buds are the same soft, periwinkle color of Mr. Garden Wizard!

Hmmmm......... I wonder if he didn't have something to do with this when I wasn't looking!?!

Speaking of surprises, as I was planting those freesia bulbs yesterday, I pushed some garden bark to the side to find a spot to dig in and lookie what I found!! Daffodils sprouting through! I had received blooming daffodils last year as a gift and planted the bulbs here - and lo and behold, they are getting ready to spread yellow happiness in my garden!

I love the juxtapose of our ash tree.... autumn leaves clinging with their last bit of stubbornness, while fresh new growth bursts out all around!! Add in some bare branches and I have a tree of autumn, winter and spring!!

Time for some homemade lemonade!!

Out my kitchen window was my mulberry tree, loaded - not with mulberries (it's not that type of 'mulberry' tree) but with cold, puffy birds! They aren't as keen to the weather as I am!! They are predicting rain ALL WEEK LONG!!! (does her rain happy dance!)

How is winter looking in your corner of the Earth?