Time to Polish the Silver

Ooops!  I am a week too early for Silver Sunday but that's OK!  Hopefully I'll remember to link up for the party next week, or maybe one of you kind ladies will remind me.  I am sure those of you joining me from the Metamorphosis Monday Party will not mind though.  This is one of those changes that if you haven't started on yet, you'll be glad I posted this and reminded you, well maybe.

I know most of us in blog land enjoy our tarnished looking silver, but let's face it, our guests, not so much!  With the holidays coming up, I decided to get a jump on polishing the silver yesterday.

I have many of my silver pieces stored here in my kitchen china cabinet.  My husband just recently added a second shelf to the top portion of this cabinet I am so happy to finally have more usable storage space.

This gives me a good amount of space to keep all those pieces of silver that I have but don't use often.  My treys and platters are stored in the bottom of my new china cabinet in the dining room.

As you can see I have quite a task ahead of me.  Shew!

I didn't pull out everything just a few things I thought I might use.  It's often rather hard to guess what you might use, but I sure don't want to have to worry about polishing silver the day right before serving, do you?

My first conquest, this small beautiful Chippendale silver tray.

Wow!  Just look at that!  What a difference so far!

Next up, two sets of salt and pepper shakers I have only recently inherited.

This is going to be quite a challenge.  I started out using one type of silver polish that worked very well at getting the tarnish off quickly but seemed to leave my silver with a slightly yellowish tinge.  This product was newer to me that I had purchased last year to use on my jewelry mostly.  One tray in particular kept trying to tarnish immediately after cleaning it with that polish, so weird.  This polish was also giving me quite a big headache from the smell of the product.   Yes, I am being very considerate here by not naming the exact product.  Anyway, after working on the trey that wanted to re tarnish immediately I decided to pull out my older silver polish and it cleaned the tray beautifully without any reappearing tarnish.  Very strange!

So, I decided to continue on using this polish only, but I didn't have very much of this left even though I had two nearly empty bottles in my cleaning cabinet.  Now do you get the picture? 

I wasn't feeling up to running to the store so I just continued on doing a few things I wanted to get done first.

This is as far as I got yesterday before having to stop and open up the window for ventilation.

As you can see, I got a little side tracked and decided to polish some of my jewelry also.

My beautiful tray!  Oh, that is NOT a smudge on the tray, only a glare from the camera and lights.  LOL!

Gorgeous leaf tray!  I just love this one!

And another small round tray.  I really wanted to use one of these small trays to put some potpourri in the half bath.  After polishing them up though, I am having a hard time convincing myself to put silver in the bathroom.  I want too, but I dunno know!

The salt and pepper shakers are not coming out as well as I had hoped but I am still very happy to have inherited them and will happily use them this year as is.

These cream and sugar pieces certainly cleaned up well.  I still haven't polished off the cleaner on the sugar piece yet.  Well at least that's what I think this is supposed to be.  Feel free to correct me if I am wrong and tell me exactly what these are.  I will use them for condiments, but do like to know the proper terms.

On the other side of my table sits a few more pieces that I didn't get too.  I will have to think about what I want to use here and get back to polishing soon.

Or maybe NOT!  Somethings may just go back in the cabinet.  LOL!

How about you?  Are you going to polish up the silver for the holidays?

It's very cool here this weekend, great for cozying up inside and preparing for the season.

Thanks for dropping by today! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend too!

Mary



To get the Message, You've got to read the Words.

Last night while catching up on reading a few blogs, I came across Debbie's post from Words on Wheels.  I have been lucky enough to be exchanging comments with Debbie for awhile now.  Mostly I have been captivated and inspired by her lovely tablescapes.  I still haven't quite gotten a grasp on the whole story of who "the duchess" really is.  But that's just a thought for today's post not the point, at all.

 I confess that I have not devoted the time to follow her all that closely because if I had, surely I would have known what grabbed my attention last night.  With so many wonderful bloggers out there, I tend to be a skimmer, but last night I decided to linger on a few and I'm sure glad I chose to linger on her post.

Debbie's post for yesterday, Simply Studying, was one full of passion, her passion for God's Word.  She spoke of her Bible studies; both her own studies, her teachings and her excitement of an upcoming retreat.  I was curious about her passion for Bible study.  I do not currently belong to any study groups, but do enjoy reading the Bible and meditating on His word.  Confession number 2, I have been very lax in that too.   Debbie's post inspired me to think of a different approach to studying scripture.  She talked of looking at words and studying their meaning and why God chose that word.  I am sure I would never be able to intelligently translate words like her but it is an interesting approach of study I have not thought about before.   I liked her post so much I had to come back again this morning and study her blog a bit more.  I was also reminded I need to just pick up my Bible more and read.  I know God speaks to us through his word, so why do I  always wait and expect another way, like maybe answered prayers or something.  Too often I find myself discouraged because things are not going my way, and they really aren't right now!  I can pray and talk to God all day long at times and never hear a thing, and still I don't pick up my Bible.  What is wrong with me?

 

On revisiting Debbie's blog this morning I also went back and read a post she had written about having a smack down from God.  Boy, could I relate to this!  I've had a few of those before and seemingly still need them often.  Her smack down came from Hebrew 12, you can visit her post here.  I was pondering her thoughts and the verses and finally decided I need to pick up my Bible and read this myself, perhaps the discipline of these verses needs to apply to me as well.  Yep, they sure did!

Only, God also led me further to the verses in Hebrew 12:14-15.  They really hit home!  I have been living with a root of bitterness that wants to grow like crazy.  Shockingly, I am reminded that others cannot see the Grace of God in me when I harbor such things in my heart.  Have you ever realized how ugly your face is when your joy does not reach your eyes and worry has taken over?  

Most recently, it has been about a job that I interviewed for that would be a perfect fit for me.  It looked liked it was all coming together so well then just stopped cold.  I had been promised an answer one way or the other after several attempts to get one and have yet to receive one.  It has been just over 7 weeks since I interviewed.  I also had bitterness over my old job that I loved but lost because the business closed.   I thought I had dealt with that already, but apparently not.  I cannot help but think I should not even have to be worrying about a new job..that's bitterness y'all! 

I have some bitterness, about the sadness of my aging mother and my terminal father in law and what me and all my family members are going through with both of these difficult situations.

Then there's the state of  our economy in general and the VERY sad stories of others who's situations make mine pale in comparison.  Now can you see, that's a whole lot of bitterness, that needs to come out?  So even though I have somewhat recognized that I have had this feeling taking over I haven't realized how to get rid of it.  I tend to think if the situations would just change then everything will be fine.  LOL!  I also tend to look every which way for solutions that are often just unattainable.

Now my point in telling you all this, (and this is as personal as I like to get) is that I was reminded again, that I need to do some serious digging alright!  Not just digging out, but digging in too!  I'm not telling you this so you can feel sorry for my circumstances.  Please save your pity for those who really need it, like those who never turn to God.  I am telling you this because if I can also inspire one more person to pick up their Bible then it will have been worth it.  Let's not ever forget our blogs are open to

 many who never comment, reach many eyes, and hearts.

    Thank you Debbie, for the inspiration to dig into God's Word more often, and in a new way. I know those ladies at the retreat are going to be blessed by you this weekend.   Mostly for the reminder, that if I want to hear what God has to say, he's already provided that for us too, we need only open it up and read it.  You have truly inspired me today and that's why I am joining Inspiration Friday.  Thank you!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Mary 

G is for Gobble

Good Morning Miss Jenny!  I'm here! I'm here!  Yes mam, I am feeling quite spunky this morning.  As  a matter of fact I'm rearing to go, ya know!   Oh yes mam, I did bring my homework today.  Here ya are, it was "G" right?  I thought so, and that would be "G" is for Gobble, Gobble!  Hee-hee!!!

Well, go ahead, sit right down, you know you want to.

Go on, gobble-gobble-gobble!  Hee-hee! 

What?  Yes, mam, I am being silly.  I just can't help myself, but you know you would love to eat this.  I know that because cousin Mary sure would.  She'd eat this everyday if she could git (I mean get) away with it.  This here's for me!  She only serves this up when I come around cause she says,"You just can't get away with eating stuff like that when yer her age".  She's so silly!

I guess you got to be a little silly when the weather looks like that outside. Ughh!

Just look at those Grey skies, would you!

No mam, Grey is not my "G" word, it's Gobble remember Miss Jenny?   Are you feeling okay?

  Oh no mam, I wasn't trying to be sassy, just asking.  Lot's of older folks get off track easily.  Mam?  Oh no mam!  I wasn't trying to imply that you was old.  Mam? Yes, I meant to say, you ARE old.  What?  No mam, I didn't meant that!  Oh gosh!  Can I please just show you my homework now?  Thank you, whew!  

Like I said, G is for Gobble!  Yes mam, I thought that was clever too.  Ya see, I was visitin cousin Mary and I started looking around and saw a few Gobbles showing up.  I'll show ya!

Here's one in here kitchen!  I think this one ran that old rooster off of his perch.

Then when I walked into her dining room I saw another Gobble.

This was a big ole one here!

And right colorful too!

Then I turned my head some more and another Gobble popped right up.

He was sitting up there on her dishes like he owned the place.

I thought that other one was colorful, but this one takes the prize!  When I told cousin Mary I thought this one quite colorful she agreed right away.

She said, "Oh he's quite colorful alright, just look at that attitude!"  Hee-hee!  Sometimes, ole cousin Mary ain't quite half bad ya know.  She can be lot's of fun when she got her wits about her. 

Why she even invited me to go out to lunch with her today too, right after school of course.  She promised we'd go shopping after she picked me up from Alphabet Thursday.  She wants to look around some for more interesting Gobbles and such.  Mam?  What's that you say?  Yes mam, I do know the proper term for them birds.  No mam, I couldn't very well call them Turkeys could I?  That would be a "T" and not "G" then.  Gosh, Miss Jenny!   Are you sure you feeling Okay?  Maybe I'd better sit down and you can check someone else's homework now.  Just in case you need to go home early ya know.

Whew!  What time is it?  Is time to go yet?  I'm so excited!

I can't wait for that bell to ring!  I hope you have a good afternoon too!

"Little Missy"

Decorating Fun

Last week I spent a wonderful afternoon with my cousin in law helping her tweak a few areas in her home. When someone places such faith in your abilities it is quite daunting, but I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed being invited to come over and help her accessorize.  Although she lives almost 2 hours away it was so worth the trip for me just to be able to play around with someone Else's decor.  Let me just say, professional decorators have got to have the most enjoyable careers ever!


My cousin in law works full time as a pharmacist and has a very active social life with limited time off.   Recently she emailed me about an antique corner chair she purchased for her living room.  After getting home and placing the chair where she wanted it to go, she realized it was much smaller then she had envisioned.  This is the before photo she sent me of the area she wanted help with.

I was so excited when I saw this as I knew right away with the violin on the wall she had some idea of what direction she wanted to go with this area.  Shew!  It's so easy to decorate for yourself when you know what you like, but decorating for someone else takes a little more effort.

The plan was, I would come up for the day and shop her house, then we would do lunch and time permitting go out for a little store shopping for any additional items needed.  What fun!

This was the other photo she sent to show me the rest of this room.  Of course I took this an invitation to tweak this area a bit too.  Little did I know she was going to allow me to tweak any other areas throughout her home as well.  Can you imagine?  She really didn't need much but it was fun making suggestions all the same.

And here is the corner after I finished it, sort of! 

 You see,  I left her with a few instructions to complete this look as her time permits, some of which she has completed.   Some are still to be done yet, including replacing the dead mum with a live plant.  LOL!   I am just so pleased she has gotten this far.  She was so funny taking notes on everything I said.  I was so flattered.

    We pulled the large pedestal plant stand from the foyer where it held a decorative garden artichoke?  I really wanted something to bring some height to this corner.  I liked how this was not too tall or to large of a piece to totally dwarf the chair.  She had a large box of antique sheet music that has been in her family for some time that she really wanted to use.  Perfect!  Some pieces are over 100yrs old and some were signed as well.  After rummaging through we picked out a few cover sheets that had great color and images.   There are three antique sheet music books that I suggested she wrap in twine and place on the stand.  Then we added this  brass candlestick she already had but spray painted with ORB per my suggestion.

We shopped Hobby Lobby for frames for two of our sheet musics.  These frames were prematted for multiple photos but were the perfect size and color matting and an inexpensive solution to custom framing.  I suggested putting the sheet music right on top of the mat so the worn edges would show giving it an authentic vintage appeal.  What do you think?

  

This picture is on the opposite side of the room going into the dining room.  I love how this one had enough room withing the frame to show bits of the music as well.  Even more special is this music has special meaning to her as it was some of her mothers favorites.

Here is a close up shot of the chair showing me how she plans to make a throw pillow for the seat.  While we agreed the chair really does not need a pillow we liked the idea of adding a bit more color to the whole area.

The fabric she found on her own this weekend.  I suggested something with multiple colors and texture similar to a club chair she already owned in another part of the house.  She knew she wanted to bring in a bit more blue in this room.  However, I really wanted her to find something that also had some of the reds and golds she already had.  I think this was a perfect choice! 

Perfect because I suggested she find something she could use on this side of the room too.  I just love how much softer this whole area looks now.  I added the blue pieces (found around her home) on her side table as well as few books to raise the height of the lamp.  She is going to add some blue pillows on the sofa soon.

It was such a fun day!  If you ever get the chance to help a friend out this way, I highly recommend it.  Thank you Lisa for sending me all of these photos, you are so kind! 



BEFORE



AFTER

BEFORE



AFTER

Please be sure and visit the links below for more similar posts and and fun meme parties.

Tabletop Tuesday

and

SSS Before and After

Thanks for visiting today, be sure and let me know if you stopped by.

I love hearing from you!

Mary
 

Blogging Help Needed

Good Morning, blogger friends!  I would love a little help and a few suggestions please. 

1.  Do you know how to "search" for blogs using a word to find other blogs that relate to that word?

For example when looking at someones blog in particular if you put the word "pumpkin" in the search box it will bring up all those posts relating to "pumpkins" for that blog.  I want a search that will give me listings of all "blogs" with the word, "pumpkin".  Can it be done?  If so please tell me how, or point me to the directions for help.

2.  How do you personally find new blogs about subjects you are interested in? 

Thanks for you help!
Mary