TODAY I BOUGHT A SMALL BOUQUET OF FRESH SUNFLOWERS...

to replace the ones (or one) I shared with you yesterday. I could probably have done with a couple of extra sunflowers, but these were the only ones that still looked fresh and would last longer than a day or two. But first of all, I wanted to share the gnomes, one of which I also shared yesterday. They are about three inches high.

I took a photo after each step. It was fun putting them all together. Here's the sunflower gnome again and also a pewter rabbit I have had for a few years. It's actually a candle snuffer. I picked it up on a whim several years ago. 

Its body is hollow which you place over the lit candle. The handle is in the shape of a bunch of carrots. Again, nothing to do with Fall but I keep it out all year round just because it's one of my little animal treasures. We don't use it very often.  

The bird is dressed like a Pilgrim and more for Thanksgiving (next month), but it's nice to keep him out for a while... 

the same for the lady Pilgrim. Both have been around for a few years now. I picked up the salt and pepper shakers the same time as the gnomes not so long ago.

The container in the shape of a pumpkin I used as a vase for the sunflowers and baby's breathe. That's the lid you can see with the golden stem. Years ago it came with a bouquet of flowers. Not wanting to throw it out, it is carefully tucked away until needed.

The table is newish. We bought it just before our visitors arrived earlier on in the year and happily was on sale. We had a round table and the lazy suzan fit better on it. It twirls around when you need to reach for certain items after the table is set for a meal. The old round table had been with us for just over 30 years, the same for the chairs, and all were decidedly worse for ware, so it was time to get something new. It's a bit too big for just the two of us but it will come in useful when we have a get together. We were glad for it when our family were here. I am missing the napkins and cutlery but you get a good idea of the flowers at least.

Anyhow, that's the centerpiece I put together and I'm hoping the sunflowers will stay in the stores until Thanksgiving is over next month. Something new, I've discovered how much I like baby breath again. It's been a long time since I bought any.

Last one, a collage and that’s all for today’s post.

Thanks for stopping by. 

A happy Friday and weekend to you all!

SHARING MY COLLECTIBLES - A FEW CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

These are from the tree we have in the family room, the one I made into a 'wings' theme. First it was just for birds, then I expanded it. Most are bird ornaments, but there are angels of course and they have wings. Santas and bears as long as they are holding birds, or something to do with birds or even butterflies, they are included. I added the butterflies because of their wings, so they made it onto the tree. The bear in the frame above isn't at our house. It was a picture scene from pixabay.com, and the frame had an opening for people to put their photos into. It is a bear ornament with cardinal shared towards the bottom of this post. 

There are a few add-ons from the same place.  They have thousands of royalty-free graphics for public use and when I have time to play, I have a lot of fun putting them together with my photos. Sometimes they come out overly busy, but I like most of them.

I can't find a couple of boxes of ornaments. My star topper is also awol. It's probably in the same box as my homemade wooden ones. I expect it's under several boxes in the basement that I don't have the energy to dig into. This year I am going to make sure everything is labeled, and I know where everything is. I thought I had done that already but apparently not.

  

The nice thing is, I found some that I had forgotten all about as they had not been out of their box for a couple of years or more.  That's the way it goes in this house, we find all eventually.

Jemima Puddle-Duck usually makes it on the tree every year and she was probably added from our time in California. I have not read any Beatrix Potter in years and had forgotten Jemima's story, but you can read a shortened account here. The bird in the green woolly hat is another mystery but is a favorite, and I only know he's been around for a long time.  

This is a new one and you might recognize the artist as his ornaments and figurines are very popular these days.

I found the bear and cardinal ornament at a gift shop on the grounds of Big Meadows Lodge.  It's an old one too.

Lastly, another oldie but goodie, a parent King Penguin with its Chick.

I played around in my ArtCard app for the next one.

That's all the ornaments for now, maybe for this year with Christmas being right around the corner.  It was a lot of fun putting them together.

 

Thanks so much for looking and I hope your preparations are going smoothly.  

Have a wonderful day!

SHARING MY COLLECTIBLES

Thoreau was a wise man!

I can’t remember exactly when my fox box appeared, other than the fact that we were living in California at the time. (We have been in Virginia for 33 years.) It was a gift from my two favorite guys for my birthday. They knew I would love it. It was on our old mantle and it has been on this one ever since we moved here.

On the bottom of the box the print is way too tiny for me to read even with my glasses on, but in larger print it says it is based on an original painting by Shane Dimmick, who was born and raised in Wyoming. You can see her amazing artwork here.  I am so glad I decided to share my box today.  It made me pay more attention and my curiosity took one of its journeys.

Thanks for going on that journey with me, and I hope your day is a great one.