White Wednesday, Out and About

Now that I am on the "lookout" for white items and displays, I am seeing more detail and noting the nuances of white...the different shades, textures and materials. Here are a few photos from my excursions this last week in Ozark, at three different stores.

I have loved old clothing since I was a little girl. My Dad restored antique cars, and we always had authentic clothing to match the year of the cars. It was a wonderful activity for our whole family. We really did it up big. I need to go through my Mom's boxes of momentos and find some of those great photos.

This little lady appears to be somewhat askew, but I think it's just the mannequin.

Someone we all know purchased this incredible set,

so you will probably be seeing it again, at one of the shows.

If I had seen it first, it would be at my house under my oak tree in the backyard.

These are bookmarks, aren't they gorgeous?

Be sure to visit Kathleen at Faded Charm

and check out the growing list of participants in her White Wednesday.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Debra

P.S. Thankyou for all the caring comments about my daughter

and her health, from yesterday's post.

We all had dinner, and enjoyed our time together so much.

Happy Birthday, Alyson Re-Post

Please read for some important health information.

(I want to re-post this entry. Sometimes I'm in a hurry so I don't take the time to read all the post, and this is sort of a long one. I just glance at the photos and on I go. But today, please know this is not just me showing pictures of my girl, it's important medical information that can save a life. So now, the rest of the story...)

Twenty-nine years ago today, we were living in San Antonio. We left Missouri to be "grown-ups", on our own, except it was hard for me because I missed my family so very much. While we were there our little Texan was born, Alyson Leigh. I remember thinking about names for the baby. At that time, sonograms were not the norm, so we didn't know the gender of the baby. I would look through the newspaper every Sunday in the society section and all the beautiful engagement pictures, weddings, graduations, all seemed to be about the elusive "Allison". Not wanting to TOTALLY follow the crowd, we chose "Alyson", a different spelling, but still the quintessential "society" name.

My favorite senior portfolio picture.

1997

Alyson and her cousin, Spencer, at her wedding, August 2003.

This photo above is one of my favorite random shots.

Sorry for the fuzziness. I had to enlarge it.

The picture below is with Grandpa, my dad,

at Mom and Dad's home here in Missouri.

It looks as if she has a little boo-boo on her head. She was very active.

Always jumping and bouncing and often ending up hurt, because of it.

An Easter photo in her little sailor dress.

This post has a little serious side to it, which I want to share because this affected Alyson's life and wellbeing, along with the rest of us. I"ll try to keep this as short as possible. PLEASE read the rest of this post, as it might save the life of someone you know or love.

Alyson was born 5 weeks early and weighed a little over 5 lbs. We took her home 2 days later, but she had problems feeding and keeping formula down. At one point after a bottle, she choked and turned blue. We called the paramedics, but she would not have made it had I not just washed out an old nasal syringe. I cleared her nose and throat, and she recovered her breathing. Because she was so early I didn't have her room finished, nor any baby items in place. I had had a really rough pregnancy, and I felt lousy most of the time, so God timed my one day of early preparation, when I found a box of some of Erin's baby things, washed them and put them away.
She vomited daily, and we took her over and over to the pediatrician, but they said, early babies sometimes had problems with their digestion, so it was dismissed.
Fast forward 26 years and many distressing times. Aly had many upsets in her life, and growing up complained frequently of digestive problems, nothing ever showing up at doctor's visit.
Three years ago another problem started. She had numerous skin rashes; problems with eczema on her hands and face, which at times looked as if she had been burned with an iron.
She had to quit a job because she felt so horrible all the time, but remained a "trooper", trusting God for healing. She saw doctor after doctor with tests, tests, and MORE tests. I started going with her to talk with them, hoping they would take this more seriously, and that maybe I could shed some light on some of her "history". So finally we got to an Endocrinologist who was baffled and ready to give up. By this point I was "mad, and I'm not going to take it anymore"!!! I was hurting for my baby, and I was darn well going to get the answer! Finally, an obscure test was done as a "last resort" sort of thing.

Praise the Lord, an answer.

Apparently "House" was the only doctor who knew the answer to this medical mystery, as we saw on TV last year. Alyson was diagnosed with a blood disorder called "Hemochromatosis", which is hereditary. (our older daughter, Erin, does not have it) This physically causes her not to be able to process iron in foods and supplements. She literally was being poisoned because of it, as the iron build up starts to corrode organs and tissues. This diagnosis answered so many of the questions concerning her health through the years.
Untreated, the prognosis is early death, usually in the patient's 40's or 50's. Undiagnosed, this condition causes illnesses that begin to cause doctors to tune them out, or just think they are hypochondriacs. This condition has only been known about since the early 90's. Until then, people would go through their lives miserable, sick, hurting, and not knowing why.
So don't give up on getting an answer to your medical and health needs, stick with it and pound on the doctor's door. And if a child has serious vomiting that lasts, look into this medical issue.
She now is much better, as she limits drastically her red meat, and takes vitamins without iron. Occasionally she needs to have blood drawn, which helps remove some of the iron. All in all, she's back at a job, feeling good, and loving her life.

Thanks for letting me share. I love my beautiful daughter and know she wants others to be aware of this condition for diagnosis and management.

BE RELENTLESS in getting the answers you need.
Debra

What I Rescued This Weekend, Monday

This is another one of the times I'm showing the "after" photo first, because the "before" photo is pretty icky. This little chair is a good example of Eastlake furniture that I had mentioned last week. Victorian, but more linear. Originally, I'm sure this little chair was part of a set that was most likely mahogany or walnut, probably with a dark velvet upholstery.

At some point it had been painted gold, 70's or 80's I imagine, because it was very chippy. I love the square inset that has carved bees, one on each side. I just did a creamy-white wash over it, so some of the gold still shows through.

This is a child's bedroom dressing screen. It is really old and had been covered with multiple layers of wallpaper, but then badly discolored due to water damage. It had probably been in someone's basement or cellar.

I stripped off the wallpaper and then found I really liked the patina of the wood with it's aged look. It was pretty rough and uneven so I gave the panels a little dry-brushed cream paint to even it all out.

My helper is in the background on the table.



Before shot, showing the gold paint. The upholstery is a new heavy linen,

good quality. I would have done a natural linen, but this will stay, for now.

You can see the details easier of flowers and bees.

And then, this is the scary screen.

After shot, so you didn't forget.

I think they turned out pretty sweet, and I didn't have to put a

tremendous amount of effort into them.
Here are some other items I found. Some old white dishes...

and does anyone know what these little rose paper thingies are?

They are embossed heavy cardboard. I assume they are some sort of pad,

maybe a paper hot pad or pad for an iron? I'm not sure.

Sweet, but I don't know how practical that would be.

Let me know if you know.

I love this little set of white camillia prints with a gold metallic frame,

very 40's. A little purse that has lost it's chain and a button,

but has a "tuxedo" design to it.

And a huge cutwork tablecloth with napkins trimmed in taupe.

I'm trying to keep on the lookout for fall things.

Darker colors. These little decoupaged trays, one in flowers and one in fruit,

are so cozy looking, maybe with a little after dinner sherry or appertif.

This is a little Belgian tapestry, only about 12 inches square.

And a petite print.

Sorry that my bigger finds are all in a dirty garage, but that's where I have to work on things, and it's just easier to leave them there to photograph.

I guess all of us junkers have a spot like that.

We like to call it the "staging area".

My husband had his car in the garage for the first time in a couple of years

and he was just so so happy, but then I found a few bigger pieces

that I had to paint, so now he's outside again.

I do have a goal to get things organized and out,

so maybe he can be back in by winter.

Ahem... OK, maybe sooner.

Be sure and say Hi to Polly over at Sassafras Stuff

and check out all her finds from this last week.

Debra

What's A Girl to Do...?

...when she has some really pretty plates, that are mismatched orphans? I love old dishes of all kinds and I have random bits and pieces of sets. I love any kind of transferware, especially brown and green. When I find a plate that catches my eye, I usually buy it, then not know what to do with it.
I found these two Austrian gold rimmed plates several years ago and they have been in a drawer of my china cabinet. They are just so sweet and feminine.
I have wanted to try this little, and I do mean "little", project for a long time and just never got around to it until last week when I saw a couple of other blog posts showing their beautiful plate pedestals. So I dug around to find some glass candlesticks that I had and voila! Look what I have!

This little salad plate pattern is called "Coronet".

Something plain now can take center stage, or center "table".

I'm sure that many of you have created these,

but there are a few of us late bloomers out there that either didn't have the time

or the motivation to try it.

And if you don't have any fabulous cakes, cupcakes or desserts,

why not try something else just as sweet, with no calories.

I have found a wonderful blog that I'm sure many of you know about,

French-Kissed. Jermaine was my motivation to get busy on these.

Her blog and photos are beautiful, and you can get lost for a few minutes

in her lovely home and French-Kissed philosophy.

Her entry of July 10 highlights her masterpieces. She is a real inspiration.

I used E6000 adhesive to bond the plate and candlestick.

Many of you craft gals are very familiar with this brand.

Have a fun and creative weekend.

Debra

My Sister's House and a Recent Graduation

This is a week or so late, but I wanted to share with you some photos of my sister's kitchen. She had been wanting to lighten it up for a little while. She wanted something with a gold tint to it, but in these photos the walls look mostly beige. You know how paint is, it changes with the daylight. She found a great black floral print in Waverly and let that be her starting point.

A baker's rack is her focal point for decor,

and she has some fun things for every season.

This cute little wire rack is above an antique buffet that my mom had while we were growing up. It sat behind her long jaquard sofa and seperated the Living Room from the Dining Room. I'm not sure why I didn't get a shot of it. It has Queen Anne legs and is very sweet, not to mention functional. It's black now, but has been several colors over the years.

In this picture you can see the touch of gold in the paint color.

Becky has this wonderful bombe chest in her entry that I love.

Since this is a "family" post I wanted to share pictures from my nephew Nathan's recent High School graduation. You met his younger brother, Spencer, at Spring Creek Tea Room for lunch a while back. Nate is a talented young photographer, (Hmm...lessons??) who was co-editor and Art Director of his school newspaper and Art Director of his yearbook,

both of which received national honors. Not only is he talented, and handsome,

but he's also super-smart.

He won the Presidential Scholarship for Drury University, here in Springfield.

His girlfriend, Sarah, will be attending Kansas City Art Institute,

so I imagine momma will have to agree to some road trips.

Here we all are at "Millie's", which is a great little downtown place,

celebrating after Nate's graduation.
Becky's husband Tom is setting behind my mom, Sarah and her mom,

our family friend Retta, My hubby and I, and Chris and Alyson.

My proud sister and her boy!

Becky's husband Tom was there, but he was taking pictures

and didn't make it for any of the outside shots.

For holidays we beg Tom to make his mean smoked tri-tips roast, and awesome

"Faux-garitas", virgin margaritas. yum.


Thanks for letting me share a few shots of my family life...and brag just a little.

Sure do love 'em!
Debra

The Daily Affirmation

Or, My Thoughts on One Month of Blogging

I imagine anyone who has a blog has had the thought that what we post about might be considered "ego-centric" to some; that we want to show our latest finds and newest projects, our decor, shops, junk, kids, grandkids, gardens, flowers, etc. Blogs are intended to be about expressing oneself, and enjoying the company of likeminded people, an interchange of ideas and information. I never get tired of seeing other people's "take" on something, or how they put a room or display together. I love seeing how other people live and their various environments. I love leaving, and receiving comments, even if it is a sentence.

I love the "community" of blogging; the friends I've made, the ideas, the inspiration...all of YOU.


So that whole concept of affirmation and gratification from blogging, brought to mind the SNL character Stuart Smalley, and his "show", Daily Affirmations.


I guess we just get a little dose of daily affirmation from our blog friends. I know I do. I've found that when we post about our latest find, new project, or show photos of our favorite things, it's our own way of reaching out to others, and to say that we have something wonderful in common. Our lives and hearts meet for this time and we share a bond.

I have met some incredibly talented, gifted, funny, loving people in this last month, and I wouldn't have missed it for anything!

So repeat after me. "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!" And that's ...okay.

(see where it got Al Franken)

Have a day filled with love and affirmation.

And a P.S. from yesterday's post on "White Wednesday". It has been brought to my attention that at first glance the lithograph of the kittens in the basket appeared to be a tattoo, on some... er... ah... questionable part of my anatomy. To that, I rolled in the floor with fits of laughter!!!

LOVE you guys!

Debra