IN THE GARDEN

Well I did it. I couldn't resist temptation any longer. I planted the first flowers of the season! Granted, they're only pansies, which prefer cooler temps anyway, but c'mon, it's only March!
The Bleeding Hearts are blooming a full month ahead of schedule. At this rate, there will be nothing left to bloom by August!
The Redbud is spectacular this year.
A little corner of the back garden. which still needs alot of work. The birds don't seem to care though, because they really love that birdbath. It's very private and secluded!
I wish the daffodils lasted longer. I'm going to plant lots more in the Fall!
I got out part of my vintage garden tool collection and sprayed a clear matte finish on them, hoping that it will stop the paint from chipping off of the clippers, and stop everything from getting any rustier. At an estate sale today, I found the thing that I've been looking for, for the past 20 years, to put them all in. I'll save that for My Weekend Finds!
During these past couple of weeks of unseasonably warm weather, I've found that if I just sit quietly at the patio table on the back porch, I can get pretty decent shots of all the wildlife that flies, runs or crawls by. Do you like my new roof ornament?
Hello Mr. Robin! You sing so pretty just as it's starting to get dark!
Mr. Old Glory once said that this time of the year is "my time", and I think he's right. I am in my glory, and I almost feel like I'm blooming too. Does that sound crazy? I think gardeners know exactly what I mean! So, what's blooming in your garden?

MY WEEKEND FINDS

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of My Weekend Finds, the continuing saga of one girl's quest for more junk!
My first find is that mid century pink pottery planter hanging on the wall.
I found it on Ebay, and I was supposed to give it to Mr. Old Glory so that he could give it to me for my birthday, but I have no self control and dug it out of the box today and hung it up!
I bought this old shopping basket at the flea market, and the seller says it was used at a grocery store in Ohio, back in the day.
Now it holds my gazillion kitchen towels, vintage and new.
As soon as I saw the word DEBUTANTE on that old lunchbox at the flea market, I knew I had to have it, and the haggling began! A word of advice for flea marketers: Always bring lots of singles, because it really helps in the bargaining process if the seller doesn't have to make change for you! Oh, and I did get the lunchbox at my price!
It's even cute on the inside too. I wonder what the thermos looked like. I'll bet it was sweet....
A vintage Easter card and two little bunnies inside a red mushroom.
Halloween Boy!
Another old hose nozzle for my Old Hose Nozzle Collection, and some vintage seed packets.
I was almost out of the parking lot of the flea market when I decided to go back and grab this pretty duvet. I couldn't even buy the fabric for what I paid for this. I thought it would make a nice cushion for that bench.
Perhaps something like this. But after the squirrels are done with their nesting frenzy. I don't want a repeat of what they did to the pillows I made for this bench a couple of years ago. I don't believe in harming animals, but this could push me right over the edge!
I think there's a little bit of red in every picture, so I'll be linking this to Rednesday.
So, did you find any treasures over the weekend?

In The Garden and On The Porch!

I am going to be honest with you all, and tell you that I am a woman living in fear. Fear that there is going to be payback for all of this unseasonably warm weather we've been enjoying, in the form of snow or a frost!
LOOK! The first tulip of the season! Surely Mother Nature wouldn't be so cruel as to snow all over these, would she?
Oh, and the cutest little blue flowers ever are blooming too! I think it's called Scilla, but I'm not sure...
I'm probably decorating the porch way too soon. But after I put the painted watering cans out, I noticed that it looks like there's room for one more can down there on the bottom. Darn, darn, darn! I have to buy another watering can now, otherwise that is just going to drive me nuts. Question is, what color would I paint it???
I even put a tablecloth on the patio table. I've been having my lunches at that table quite a bit lately, so it might as well look cute, right?
JoAnn Fabrics has some really cute tablecloths this year. This one has pretty much everything you could want in a tablecloth: polka dots, hearts, flowers, the whole shebang!
I've even started a little project, replacing the rocks around the lamp post/bike garden with that curvaceous brick edging. So far, it's: Edging-1 My Back-0. Must learn to pace myself, because there's alot of projects I want to tackle.
A shot of the hyacinths blooming in that little garden. They smell heavenly, and if only I was more limber, I'd be bending down to get a really good whiff!
Speaking of those projects that I plan to tackle, alot of them involve this paint. I stocked up big time during Menards' sale on spraypaint, and I just might go back and get more. I go through cans of Heirloom White like crazy. Sale goes 'til the end of the month. Hurry!
This is a shot of the trellis/arbor that Mr. Old Glory made for me for my birthday last year. I'm betting that this year, the thing is going to be covered by the clematises in record time!
So I know I can't be alone in my fear that this weather is just too good to be true. It's only March. What are your thoughts?

MY WEEKEND FINDS-Flea Market Season Opener!

Thanks for tuning in to another episode of My Weekend Finds, the continuing saga of one girl's quest for more junk!

It's official: The flea market if OPEN for business! It's never opened this early in the year. Why so early? Global warming? Who cares! It's open!
I've coveted a Hendryx Art Deco birdcage for a few years now. They were the Cadillacs of bird cages back in the day! But these days they are very expensive. Once again it just goes to show you that if you wait, things will come to you at your price.
I can't believe I actually walked away from it though, and stunned that it was still there when I regained my senses and trotted back for it!
Vintage Easter baskets, only 50 cents each. These baskets, and the rest of my finds, were bought from a man selling his parents' things from their estate. His prices were so incredibly cheap that I almost started to cry when he said he wouldn't be back at the flea market next week!
LOVE this wastebasket. Again, SO cheap. Definitely needs a good cleaning though.
An old plant stand. I won't tell you how much it was, because YOU might start to cry! I have one just like it in our living room, but this one is going on the porch.
I've wanted some of these forever, and when I asked how much these mercury bead picks were, he said 50 cents. Each? NO, for ALL of them. Oh my.....
I love coming across a seller who isn't in it just for the money. And I have to tell you that I'm rather proud of the restraint I showed today, because I could have bought much, much more......
So, did you go flea marketing or garage saling over the weekend?

GREEN--In The Garden and St. Patrick's Day Decorations

Things are really poppin' in the gardens.....already! I even missed taking pictures of a couple of things, because I just wasn't fast enough!
The crocuses are poking through the leaves that I haven't raked yet because it's too early to rake the leaves! The leaves are there to protect the plants from snow and frost that I feel is still just around the corner, even though we've been in the 70s all week. Our normal temps should be in the mid 40s!
A white Lenten Rose, or Hellebore. I love these, because they bloom for months.
Another Lenten Rose.
And more crocuses.

I absolutely love when gardening season begins. It seems there's something new in bloom every day! And I would LOVE to find a garden cart like the one above. I'd gladly give up one small piece of junk, just to make room for it!
Anybody doing anything fun for St. Patrick's Day? Our town had their parade and festivities last weekend, so we'll be celebrating with some corned beef and cabbage.
Here are my decorations. There were more, but I forgot to take pictures of them. And now it's all packed away, and I've started decorating for Easter. Do you realize that it'll be here in a couple of weeks? That's barely enough time to enjoy those decorations! Oh, and our flea market opens on Sunday. WOO HOO! Wish me luck!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

REDNESDAY-Rearranging My Reds!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my reds for Rednesday! When you're done, head over to It's A Very Cherry World, where Sue hosts Rednesday every week.
I'm constantly rearranging all of my stuff. It's easy to do when you've got alot of junk! Do you do that too? The last time I saw that canister, it was down in the basement, where alot of my junk goes to hibernate. I spotted it when I was doing laundry, and decided that I wanted it back up in the kitchen. The rest of this stuff was elsewhere in the kitchen, but it's all living together for awhile on the counter.
I also spotted this vintage Wonder Bread wrapper while I was in the basement. No, there's not vintage bread in it, just a piece of loaf-shaped foam! I haven't found a spot for it yet, but it will need to go somewhere that kitty can't get at it and rip it apart!
I finally took the Valentine's Day tablecloth off of this little table in the kitchen. Geez I'm lazy...
And I replaced it with a vintage cloth. LOVE the tulips! Those old breadboxes underneath hold cookbooks, miscellaneous junk, and craft paint that I'm too lazy to go down to the basement to get. Do you sense a theme here?
I recently won this pillow in a giveaway at Hey Mom! What's For Dinner? Isn't it gorgeous?! Fran made it herself, and those embroidered roses are part of a vintage table runner.
I love it, and I think it goes perfectly with our old couch. You might remember me telling you that this couch used to be my grandparents', and that my Mom, who just turned 87, says that she remembers it from when she was little. WOW, that's one reeeally old couch!

Now head on over to Sue's to see more reds!