bowerbird & friends antiques, gifts & art

The second stop on my Monday birthday wanderings was to my favorite shop in Peterborough Center, down along the river.  Not only is is a delightfully packed antique store offering unique treasures, home decor and lush greenery, but Katherine, the owner is such a joy to visit with.  Often, I find when I enter a store these days, the staff is busy chatting amongst themselves or otherwise occupied, not greeting the customer.  Not so here!  At Bowerbird, customers always feel like old friends being welcomed back.  It is truly a pleasure to stop in.  I thought you would enjoy the eye candy I have to offer you in the form of these tantalizing photos.

 

Love the just hatched chick painted onto this vintage black rocker.  And the blue of these autumn asters is phenomenal.

Wide open spaces, good lighting and lovely displays greet the visitor.  And while you know you are on a riverbank in New Hampshire, you can't help but feel as if you've been transported to a European market somewhere.

The patina on this honey colored cupboard is lovely.

This is one of two metal medical cabinets that I covet.  And not only for sale, but perfect for display of one of my favorite things to collect: vintage tablecloths.

Once, formerly a florist shop, the bountiful light nurtures the many plants still calling this shop home. 

The second medical cabinet that I covet.  Oh, but for a place to put them and money for the purchase...

Beautiful displays, incorporating botanicals, natural materials and antiques grace every surface, this one on the top of a cabinet.

This planting bench and the sink below are located in a small greenhouse like planting room looking out on the river.  Just lovely...

 

Last, but not least (actually one of my favorite little ditties in the whole shop) is this clever display of bubblegum rings from an era gone by.  Katherine's 13 year old daughter, young entrepreneur that she is, has these for sale at mom's shop.  What a great way to display them:  a vintage BINGO card adhered to a wooden box.  Slits in the card in place of BINGO markers, for called out numbers, serve as perfect holders to display the eclectic little rings.  If you'll recall my birthday post on Monday, the Elsie the Cow ring ended up being a very happy, warm fuzzy birthday surprise for me from Kathy.  Thank you again Kathy.  I grin each time it catches my eye.

My trips up the mountain to the dairy are always more special when I continue on down the road into Peterborough to visit Kathy's shop.  You will not regret taking the trip yourself.  The only regret you may have,is not having enough time to poke through every nook and cranny.  Enjoy!

Twin Elm Farm Home Furnishing and Antiques: Early Autumn Days

This past Monday, as a part of my enjoyable birthday, my mom and I trekked up the mountain to the dairy followed by adventures in Peterborough, NH.  First stop was at Twin Elm Farm, my new favorite stomping ground.  The place was already hopping with activity of shoppers and dealers alike.  By the change in stock, it is easy to see that so far, this new establishment is enjoying a good measure of success.  It is no surprise since the atmosphere is delightful, the employees very pleasant and helpful and the prices, very fair.  Twin Elm offers a wide assortment of items ranging from new to old, traditional to eclectic, and from decorative to collectible.  I thought you might enjoy some updated photos of some of the displays.

I love this booth.  It makes me feel so serene.

LOVE the sign.  Not sure if it is old or not , but love it just the same.

 

What a great use for a tired out wicker chair.  These mums look happy to take a seat.

This booth remind me of a trip to an old country store.  It just feels homey.  Love the little red table.

I did make a couple purchases.  One of the purchases lent themselves to showing me just how honest and kind the staff at this shop are.  I asked the young woman at the counter to please take a good look at the jadeite teacups and saucers I wanted to purchase while she was wrapping them.   The light in the back where I found them was not conducive for my not so good eyes to check closely for chips or cracks.  She could have easily wrapped them up and said they were all fine, but she did exactly as I asked and did it with honesty.  She did find two flaws, one so small I probably never would have noticed, the other a crack.  She pointed them out to me and I was able to make my decision to purchase a set of four or six based on that.  Thank you Twin Elm for being as kind and supportive of your customers as you are no doubt to your dealers!

I leave you with this silly picture hanging in the powder room.  Hey, how did a quarter get in there?

Brimfield Finds

As you may recall, this past Saturday I went to Brimfield for the last antique mega market of the season.  It was a picture perfect weather day and the crowds held off till about noon.  I took a break then for a picnic lunch by a lilly pond out behind the field where I parked.  The ground was still quite damp from all the heavy rains during the week.  I had brought a quilt with me, but didn't want to spoil it by sitting on the spongy ground.  As luck would have it, I found a dry stump by the pond's edge to use as a seat to sit on.  I padded it with my folded quilt and enjoyed a dry, comfortable seat for my picnic.

This is the view across the pond I picnicked at.  To the right you can see the edge of some of the dealer tents where the goodies are waiting for us buyers, but to the left is a wide swath of devastated timber, cut down by the tornado that swept through the area this past summer.

It is amazing to see such beauty and such devastation existing in the same place.  I guess that is true of a lot of things.  That's why attitude is so important.  It's all how we look at it.

Here are the photos of my purchases:

The tablecloth is actually large enough for my long dinning room table, the first one I have found that is.  The sailboat glasses are in mint condition and I have a pitcher that matches them, amazingly enough!  I love the little packages of Dennison labels in their original little boxes.

The wooden bobbins and spindles from a textile factory are destined for sale.  The pincushion is a model for me to follow.  The oilcloth shopping bag was a great find at only $5.  I also found a few bottle caps to add to my collection that I have made into refrigerator magnets.

Here's a close up of a reproduction of an original handkerchief card.  What a great idea for displaying or giving handkerchiefs.  I bought this to reproduce again and use to sell my own hankies when I have them to sell at the Cooperage.

Here are the larger items I found.  The cot frame folds up into a very storable size and is the perfect fit for a mattress I took out of my vintage trailer.  Together they mate to form a great portable bed to have on hand here at my house.  I found a flea market cart which I will do up like the one I sold at the August Market in 30 seconds flat.  The two wooden trays are from a silverware factory.  One will become a chalkboard and the other a serving tray.  The baby carriage is going to be part of an experimental project.  We'll see how it turns out.  If it's any good, I'll let you know.

This is probably my favorite find of the day.  It is a sheet of vintage linoleum about 9 feet by 3 feet.  It was discovered under a carpet of a house destined to be demolished.  It had never been tacked down and it was easy for the dealer to remove.  I plan to cut it into sections to make into mats to either set beside a home's entry door for a shoe mat or in front of a kitchen sink as a pretty floor covering.  Some will stay in my house and the rest for sale at the Cooperage or the October Market.

The day was very productive and I enjoyed it immensely.  Unfortunately it ended with a case of food poisoning.  It was a miserable ride home and I was sick all night.  Fortunately by the next afternoon, I was back to myself and able to enjoy by purchases and happy thoughts of the last Brimfield of the season.  Till May....

Happy Things on a Happy Birthday

Today was a lovely birthday day and evening.  I spent the morning and lunch with my mom in Peterborough, doing some errands and fun shopping and a nice lunch on the patio of Twelve Pines in the town center.  This evening we all enjoyed a delicious dinner, cooked by my mom.  The whole (local as of this evening) family was together: Fritz and I, our girls and my mom and dad.  A round-robin prayer brought tears to my eyes as each member of my family thanked the Lord for me!  How very, very special.  I thank Him for all of them everyday.  My life would be meaningless without them. 

So, a couple very happy highlights from my birthday:

This super moist, super yummy, made-from-scratch-just-the-way-I-like-it chocolate cake my momma made me.

This very cleverly folded twenty dollar bill given to me by Heidi as an early birthday gift on Friday evening, so I would have it to take along to Brimfield.  I used it towards the purchase of a fantastic vintage dress, never worn and still with the sales tag on it.  I told the vendor about my 14 year old giving me this special money heart and she put it in her wallet so touched that she said she didn't think she had the heart to unfold it and spend it.  Isn't that amazing, how Heidi's loving act for me could reach out and touch the life of a stranger?

Kayleigh frosting my cake.  I must say, I think it tasted as amazing as it did, due to the cook and the expert froster.

And silly as it may seem to some, this vintage bubble gum ring was one of the highlights of my day.  While visiting Bower Bird and Friends Antiques in Peterborough to take lots of photos to post on an upcoming blog this week (keep an eye out for it), I received a silly birthday text from my sister that made me laugh out loud in the shop.  I explained the text to the shop owner, Kathy, who had heard me laugh and so she ended up knowing it was my birthday.  As it was nearing time to leave, I admired this little bubble gum machine ring of Elsie the Borden Cow and decided to buy it.  It is fun and funky and matched my outfit!  Kathy totally took me by surprise when she told me the ring was a birthday present to me from her and she did not want payment.  I got a great big hug from across the counter.  Something so simple, yet it made me feel amazing!  I can't remember the last time someone was so kind and genuine towards me out of the blue like that.  Kathy, thank you.  You really made my day.

There were lots of other little happies today and thoughtful gifts and silly cards.  It is rejuvenating to be spoiled a bit.  Tomorrow it is back to reality, but it will be with lots of leftover warmth and joy from today!

So Much to Catch Up On!!!

Well, it has been well over a week since I've had the time to sit down and blog.  I've composed many posts in my mind while I was driving or working at something, just haven't been able to carve out a slice of time to put it down.  Well, here I am, sitting and soaking some sore feet (from wearing a pair of dress shoes too long today) with time on my hands to catch up.  Thanks for joining me.

The first task to keep me ubber busy was canning the bushel of peaches I had.  I had to do them over three different evenings, due to all of the peaches deciding to ripen at different stages.  I can at night to keep from heating up my little kitchen too much in the day time.  If I do it at night, things cool off in there while we sleep and no one is uncomfortably hot indoors.  In all I produced 27 pints of sliced, ready to eat right out of the jar peaches.  Jars of sweet summer sunshine!!

Over the Labor Day weekend we managed a one and a half day escape up to our cottage on Long Pond in Lempster, NH.  On the way up, two stops (the first for corn and the second for ice cream) yielded a couple fun photo opts.  This first one, the chickens were enjoying a peck or two (or three or twenty!) at the just harvested peaches.  I heard the farmer calling the name of the brown one as he chased them off.  Apparently, Eugene the chicken has a peach tooth!

The second farm stand in Antrim, NH sells ice cream.  This doorway with its casually stacked bushel baskets and just picked corn caught my eye.  The nearby mums, set an autumn mood to the scene.

And here, our final destination, Buttercup Cottage.  One of these days I'll get around to posting photos of our sweet place.

After coming home from the cottage, life for me was all about getting ready for the Cooperage Market Place this past weekend.    Here are two furniture transformations that took place.

This is a vintage metal security cabinet.  The door has a three digit combination lock under the door latch.  Inside are several drawers and cubbies.  It was looking a little tired out when I found it.

I painted the main part of the cabinet an almond color and painted the door with chalkboard paint.  I think it would look sweet in a family room and the chalkboard could be used to leave messages or reminders, special quotes to inspire the family or as a score keeping tally board for games played by a family sprawled out on the family room floor spending special time together.  And because it is also magnetic (being solid metal) it adds another dimension of possibilities.

Here again is a quick look at the cupboard I picked up on my trip to Connecticut earlier this summer.

Stripping, sanding, scrubbing and repainting later, it turned out lovely, don't you think?

On my way to the Cooperage Market Place on Friday morning a lady flagged me down on the road.  She didn't want a little fawn who was wandering next to the road to get spooked and run into my car.  I put on the warning lights of my car and pulled over to get out and see the little guy.  It was quite the bittersweet experience.  He (or she) was a package of pure 100% innocence and trust.  We made kissy sounds and he came right up to us, eating some grapes right out of the lady's hand.  I was so close to him, I could have wrapped my arms around his little body and picked him up.  Mama was no where to be seen or found.  A very sad thing.  She must have been killed by a predator and now this little baby was all on his own and already making the mistake of wandering in the street and trusting humans.  It was in many ways, such a gift to see this little guy and experience his innocence, but it made me cry as I drove away after he finally went back into the woods, knowing that he probably wouldn't make it.  Yes, I know the deer population is too high, but he was just a baby, in this world like you and I, and the thought that I had said hello and goodbye in one experience was a hard one. 

I had myself a good cry and then moved on down the road, out of the woods to the Market Place to work the morning.  Here are a couple photos of my spot.

Not as much little stuff as I usually have, as it has been hard to come by lately.  I did have a good flea market haul the Sunday prior (although no time to take photos to show you) which saved me a bit or it would look even more sparse.  The weekend was successful, though and a good deal of these items found new happy homes.

Lastly, a small peek at a banner I made and displayed on this vintage movie screen.  Another post will give you a close up and how to.  It sets the mood for the change in the air around us this time of year.  Yes, summer is on its last leg and autumn is taking its place, getting ready to plant its feet firmly and stay for a bit.

Saturday it was off to Brimfield for the last antique show of the year.  Tune in soon for the low down on the loot and details of the day.  Till then...

Scones and Marmalade on the Porch

I spent an absolutely delightful morning visiting with my mother, here from Nebraska.  We started by puttering around in my upstairs bathroom.  I have some ideas for a redo involving paint, new towels and decorations.  We decided that it is going to be wonderful.  Photos and a post on this at a later date. 

Next we made a batch of scones from a mix sent to me by my aunt in Seattle.  (Thank you Aunt Patsy!)  A pot of tea and some blood orange marmalade and sea salted butter to spread on the scones, topped off a delicious morning snack out on the screen porch.  The weather was a perfect 75 degrees with a fresh crisp breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the nearby trees. 

A card game of Quiddler rounded out the morning on the porch. 

After the game, we enjoyed a short walk down the road with the dogs.  It was a picture perfect morning.  Couldn't have asked for anything nicer.  Love you, Mommy!