Gardens, Goodies and Ms Kitty Wobbles

Well I climbed back on the planet after having fallen off for awhile...  So much fun stuff has happened I'm not sure where to begin... Maybe let's start with the garden...

We have had so much rain with periods of intense sun in between that the results are my garden has exploded into bloom!

The scent of Jasmine is beyond lovely and wafts into the house in the afternoons...  it's wonderful!!  It is one of my all time favorite flowers!

I took these pictures right after the most recent downpour so the flowers are a bit past it now.  Of course they peaked right in the middle of the storm!  I think you can still get a sense of how beautiful they are/were.

I love how the Jasmine and Roses are intertwined.

Here the Jasmine has grown right up through a bird cage I have hanging from the avocado tree.

And through a small candelabra.  I will have to cut it back after it blooms or we'll have a Jasmine tree...  hmm, however...

The Geranium is running rampant too!

This side has a mix of scented Geranium, Basil, Daisies and Roses, all run wild.  Oh and Jasmine of course.

Foxglove...  a proper faerie flowers!

The Calla Lilies are magnificent at the moment.

The bird bath is a bit buried...  it is more like the jungle bath

So in addition to the garden growing like mad I have been a very busy little bee.   Since we last spoke I have refurnished and decorated a 5 bedroom 7 bath home for a bride and groom that spent a week with us culminating with their wedding in the barn (which I decorated).  I also decorated a most magnificent 50th birthday party with loads of pink Peonies and Roses.  I will post lots of pictures as soon as I get them!  In the mean time in searching for goodies for the house I was working on I got to go to the Rose Bowl swap meet in Pasadena... a couple of times...  WOW!  I have been trying to go for years now.  I finally made it and my head is still spinning!  I found so many cool things for the house!  It was just like Christmas!

Here is a sampling of the things I bought for me.

A beautiful vintage wooden hat box, an old tattered silk shawl with great fringe, and a beautiful ivory fan.

Look at the detail in this fan...

Here is another lovely vintage fan.  This one is ivory and silk with a beautiful painted cherry blossom design.

Here is another one that is lace, silk and ivory.  The detail is beautiful!

Look at this great collapsible top hat I found.  That is the box it comes in.  Also some bits of embroidery and

tapestries to play with.

Also a rather dilapidated but precious Iroquois beaded pin cushion (at least I think it is a pin cushion).

The back,

The inside,

I went to the Rose Bowl swap meet with one of my future brides and her family (there's will be the coolest wedding, when the groom was asked to describe the style he pondered a bit then said "imagine a Zeppelin crash lands in a faerie forest..."  How great will that be?!).  The bride's parents are just as much as fun as the bride and groom.  The mom found this tea cup and had seen on my blog the collection I have of my Mom's.  She bought it for me as a present... so sweet!

What was really neat was when I got home and added it to my china cabinet I noticed that it is different from the others.

This is the new lady above...

And below is the lady from my collection.

How fun!!  I didn't know there was more than one style!  Now I am hooked.  I have to find more ladies!

Now for the best find!  Hang on to your socks Lisa, Queen Mab and Frick over at Medieval Muse...

Nobody knew what this was.  The man I got it from said he thought it was a couple hundred years old.  If I recollect my art history college days I think it is a whole lot older than that!

Stylistically this is medieval at the latest I would say.

I think it is of the three kings. The middle name is I believe Balthazar which in my rusty old memory I think is one of their names.

The raised detail appears to be a plaster of some sorts.

Here is the back.  I think it is from a frieze.

Anyone have any idea what I purchased?  Whatever it is I love it!  I can't believe I get to have it!

Even though this is a long post already I have to tell you about the newest member to our family...

Meet Ms Kitty Wobbles...

We have actually had her for a few months now.  She belonged to a neighbor across the way who had to move.  He couldn't (wouldn't?) take her with him so we said we would feed and take care of her.  She is positively ancient, stone deaf and partially blind.  We didn't feel it would be fair to move her so we kept going over every night to feed and check on her.  We made soft warm beds which she refused.

We kept this up for a few months and then when the serious winter chill set in we had to bring her back to our house.  She just wouldn't go into the little houses we built for her and she definitely didn't have a winter left in her.  So now in her later retired years she is spending her time right in front of the heater in our hall way.  She has a cozy basket bed where we place a hot water bottle every night, full bowls of food and water and even though she can go where ever she wants in the house she seems quite content to stay right where she is.  Occasionally she will join me at my desk when I am writing but overall she seems quite happy in front of the heater.

Hope you are all warm and cozy where you are!