Shelter Animals...The gift to yourself that keeps on giving

Since this is "National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week," I thought I'd take a minute to tell you about a very special shelter dog, a Great Dane named Casper.

(click any photos to enlarge)

Casper was a harlequin (although by Great Dane standards, her markings weren't really up to par). Rather than a large, patchy black and white coat, Casper's fur was completely white with only the tiniest black dot on her upper back.


I'd always dreamed of owning a Great Dane (I think it was a continuation of my unfulfilled girlhood dream to own a horse!). Whenever I saw photos of beautiful fawn Great Danes with their tan coats and black masks, my heart would melt. So when hubby and I got our first home back in the late 70's, I found a Great Dane rescue group who pointed me in the direction of a particular pound/shelter that housed the Danes they had up for adoption.


When we arrived at the shelter, several Great Danes came bounding to the front of their pens to greet us, jumping excitedly, licking our hands... I was ecstatic - these were the gorgeous dogs of my dreams, and we now had the chance to actually take one home with us!


But suddenly, behind all these majestic creatures, I caught a glimpse of something way in the back of the pen, huddled against the farthest corner. This poor pitiful creature was thin and dirty, her eyes void of any expression as she watched all the other Great Danes jumping and barking so excitedly. She definitely was not the dog of my dreams, yet I knew in that instant that I had found the dog I'd been searching for...


She was several years old. She'd been beaten, abused, and chained in a backyard without food or water. Along with her many sores, every rib and bone jutted out of her frame. But even sadder than the physical toll on her body was the fact that her spirit had been broken. This once noble, and truly Great Dane, was nothing more than the shell of a dog. She cowered from people; she didn't look you in the eye; she didn't kiss; she didn't bark; she didn't wag her tail...

But just as people respond to kindness and a gentle word, so do animals. And so the healing began. Physically, her sores disappeared...


... and she put on weight. (She loved nothing more than to finish off my coffee if it was left sitting on the table!)...


But the biggest thrill was when she barked and wagged her tail for the first time, which was a few months after we adopted her. And once she did that, there was no looking back!!! She had reclaimed her spirit, personality, and playfulness...every ounce of her greatness!


The dog who once cowered and shied away from human contact was now the biggest kissing machine ever! (My mom was the lucky recipient in this photo)... She was a one-in-a-million dog and we were so lucky to have found her! She brightened our lives for seven wonderful years, until she succumbed to cancer in 1986.

So, in honor of National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, if any of you are in the market for a companion who will love you unconditionally, you needn't look any further than your local shelter!! I also have several national shelter links on my sidebar where you can find any type of animal you are looking for. Please feel free to add them to your own blogs if you'd like.

I know I'm very partial to rescues, but I truly believe a shelter or pound animal will gift you with unconditional love their whole life through. I know our Casper certainly did. And all these many years later, she is still gifting us with such wonderful memories of our days together.

Donna

P.S. The statue in the first two photos is a brass statue of a Great Dane that I painted white with one black spot in memory of our Casper...

Hanging in there....

A lone petunia in the hanging pot on the treehouse...


Picture 1: The petunia in focus... the shed and yard out of focus.


Picture 2: The petunia out of focus... the shed and yard in focus...

Her friends all left with the first frost, but she has hung around to watch the yard turn from green to gold, and to see sprigs of orange leaves replace the summer's pink flowers in the windowboxes...


Her friends don't know what they missed... It's been a beautiful autumn. Of course it was a beautiful summer, too... I miss you, summer, no matter how short or rainy you were...

Donna

Planters, kitties, and goodbye Halloween...

My aloe vera has become a wild and crazy plant of late (said with a Steve Martin accent ... am I showing my age?)

It's growing leaps and bounds, hanging, curling, and looping around... There's no stopping it!

Just last December it was a tame and demure little thing, able to stand upright in a cheap plastic pot...

But no more.. Ever since sprouting this Medusa-like growth, the cheap plastic pot didn't stand a chance, constantly tipping over with the weight of the plant... Definitely time to find something a bit more substantial.

Just look at the crazing on this gorgeous robin's egg blue heavy ceramic pot I picked up. (The garden centers are having crazy sales right now, so if you're in the market for a birdbath or ceramic pot, now's the time to grab one!)

It's perfect in every way - just the right size for the bay window (can't encroach on the kitty cushion!) and just the right color for our little cottage living room!!


And most of all, Spotty approved! He thinks he looks quite handsome with his black & white fur offset by the blue planter, and I must agree!

Who's out there, Spotty? Anybody? Oh, you say it's just the leaves falling... How I wish our maple could stay this color for at least another month or so... but like everything else, it has peaked and has started losing its leaves... Can winter be far behind? I'm afraid not...

I also had a heart-to-heart talk with Spotty today, and as you can see, he tried tuning me out. I explained to him that his friend, Lamp Bandit (who he has grown quite fond of over the past month), was going away until next October...

I then gave them some private time to say their goodbyes before packing away Mr. Bandit Mask until next year... Don't worry, Spotty, you have your new blue planter, and it won't be long before all the Christmas goodies come upstairs. I've got a vintage angel that I think you're really going to like!!

And that reminds me! Ronda at Tempting Textiles is having a 20% off sale through November 8th.... Just enter the promo code Cozy November when you check out to receive the discount - she has lots of fantastic Christmas goodies in the shop, as well as her slipcovers and vintage finds!! Happy shopping!

Thank you to Cielo at The House in the Roses for allowing me to share my cottage blue planter with you! Please visit Cielo to see her cottage post and to find a list of others participating in "Show off your Cottage Monday."

Donna

Do you believe in ghosts?

Many people believe that The Colonial Inn, located in historic Concord, Massachusetts, has visitors (not of this world) staying at the Inn and in some of its other buildings...


This beautiful old Inn is located in the heart of Concord Center.


...so when Amanda and I headed to Concord last Friday we knew the Inn would be one of our stops.


The Colonial Inn has been the subject of many articles and TV specials on ghosts (I'll provide links at the bottom of this post so you can read more if you'd like)...


You don't have to be a guest of the Inn to enjoy their lovely restaurant. While Amanda and I were visiting lunch was being served and - oh my gosh - the aromas!! We really wanted to stop and have a bite because it smelled soooooooo good! But we had a lot of ground (all over Concord) to cover in very little time so we passed, promising ourselves we'd head back to the Inn restaurant in the very near future.


I love this door knocker on the restaurant door...


All of the doors leading into the Inn are painted bright red.... they're all so striking that I photographed all of them!


A close-up of the etched glass panes...


As luck would have it Room 24, where most of the ghostly activity takes place, was empty. One of the desk clerks was kind enough to bring us upstairs. This is one of the hallways that leads to Room 24. (Ever since The Shining, long hallways in old hotels give me the shivers!!)


Unfortunately, I forgot to change my camera setting once we were inside so all of my photos were taken on the Landscape setting - therefore out of focus and the tint is off... But here is Amanda at the door leading to Room 24.


The room itself is so bright and cheery...


...and on the day we visited, nothing was out of order... The room was very quiet and peaceful. We didn't even capture a single orb (more than I can say about my own house lately, as I showed you in last week's posts!!)

So... would I stay in this room overnight? I dare say I would!! How would I react if anything out of the ordinary actually happened? Now that I don't know!!

You can click on any of these links if you'd like to know a bit more about the Inn:

1) SunCast You Tube Video: A ghost in the Inn (it's the first segment of a short show)

2) Colonial Inn website - Haunted Inn page (scroll all the way down to watch Cambell Brown of the TODAY show's segment on Room 24)

2) Forbes: Transcendental Comfort

3) Boston Globe article: Historic Inn Scares Up a Ghost Story

4) Ghostvillage Radio: Episode 61: The Colonial Inn

5) Spirit Encounters Research Team (SERT)

6) LA Times: Where Redcoats and Walden Pond Meet

7) NY Times: Journeys; 36 Hours - Concord, Mass.

Happy Halloween, everyone!!!!!

Donna

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery...

...in historic Concord, Massachusetts. A perfect place to visit on a crisp October afternoon.

(click any photos to enlarge)

(Am I the only one who sees irony in the "One Way" stone marker above?)


Come along as we head up to Authors Ridge ....


Here we are at the top of Authors Ridge, facing the Alcott family plot...


...where Amanda stopped at Louisa May Alcott's grave.


The monument marking the Alcott family plot is intricately carved...


...but the individual markers are very simple.

"Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead."

(Louisa May Alcott)

Here is the Thoreau family plot...


...where Henry David Thoreau's simple headstone is adorned with gifts left by visitors...

"An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day."

Henry David Thoreau

The Emerson family plot....


Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke at the dedication ceremony for Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in 1855.

"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Hawthorne family plot...

...where, again, visitors have left gifts for Nathaniel Hawthorne.

"Our Creator would never have made such lovely days, and have given us the deep hearts to enjoy them, above and beyond all thought, unless we were meant to be immortal."

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Miles family plot...

And a beautiful marker for Lucy R. Davis...

SLEEPY HOLLOW by William Ellery Channing

(which he read at the Sleepy Hollow dedication ceremony in 1855)

No abbey's gloom, nor dark cathedral stoops,

No winding torches paint the midnight air;

Here the green pines delight, the aspen droops

Along the modest pathways, and those fair

Pale asters of the season spread their plumes

Around this field, fit garden for our tombs.

And shalt thou pause to hear some funeral bell

Slow stealing o'er thy heart in this calm place,

Not with a throb of pain, a feverish knell,

But in its kind and supplicating grace,

It says, Go, pilgrim, on thy march, be more

Friend to the friendless than thou wast before;

Learn from the loved one's rest serenity;

To-morrow that soft bell for thee shall sound,

And thou repose beneath the whispering tree,

One tribute more to this submissive ground;—

Prison thy soul from malice, bar out pride,

Nor these pale flowers nor this still field deride:

Rather to those ascents of being turn,

Where a ne'er-setting sun illumes the year

Eternal, and the incessant watchfires burn

Of unspent holiness and goodness clear,—

Forget man's littleness, deserve the best,

God's mercy in thy thought and life confest.

I highly recommend a visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery if you find yourself in the Concord area. In my next post I'll share some other photos from our little day trip to Concord, including The Colonial Inn (haunted?) and Orchard House, where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women...




Donna

Orbs... Dust? Or Loved Ones?

I honestly have no idea, but I'd like to believe they're loved ones....

Orb Story #1

While taking Amanda back to college in Feb. 2005, we took a little detour so I could drive her past the apartment I lived in as a kid (from summer 1959 - summer 1960). What are the odds that it was vacant with a FOR RENT sign on it? We called the phone # listed and the landlord agreed to let us view the apartment "for old time's sake" (sooo nice of him!)... My sister happened to be with us, so that made it even more special! Before the landlord showed up to let us in I silently asked my mom, who we lost almost 13 years ago, to join us as we revisited our old home...

(feel free to click any orb photos to enlarge them )

This apartment holds wonderful memories (I fell in love with windowseats because of this room!). I took many photos that day. It wasn't until I got home and looked at them on my computer that I realized I had multiple orbs, something I'd never had in any of my photos up until that day. Here's one in the dining room (I've tried to put arrows wherever I spotted them in the photos)...

But it was this photo of Amanda that I found amazing! She was like an orb magnet! Perhaps my Mom took me up on my invitation to join us and also brought along my Nana, Gamp, aunt, uncle, and other loved ones who Amanda never met!

Maybe that explains why they're clustered all around her!

Orb story #2

A couple of weeks later when dad was over, we were talking about visiting the old apartment and how we wished he had come with us that day. While we were talking about it, the dining room light started flickering and I jokingly said to dad, "Mom must be here!" I told him I was going to take a photo of him, just for the heck of it, to see if anything showed up (I still couldn't get over the orbs in my apartment photos!)... Well, I didn't really expect to get another orb but, sure enough, there one was right between dad and the dining room chandelier that had been flickering...

Orb story #3

My sister cut this Family Circus cartoon out of the paper for me back in May of 1997, five months after our mom passed away. She knew it would remind me of Mom, who loved going to all of the girls' recitals, performances, or school plays... I love it so much that twelve years later I still have it hanging in my office.

(copyright Bil Keane)

A few years ago, when Court was still in high school, she was in a school play (naturally I took photos at those performances!)... When I opened up the following photo on my computer, I immediately thought of the Family Circus cartoon... I captured several orbs in the auditorium seating section, and I've often wondered if what I really captured was departed loved ones who had come to watch their children or grandchildren perform that evening, just as Bil Keane had depicted.

I've tried to put arrows where I spotted them.

After the play was over, more photos were taken out in the lobby, where this was taken...

There's an amazing orb pressed right up against Court's ear, and I love to think it's my mom whispering to Court that she did a fantastic job!

After all, mom and Court did have a special "ear to ear" connection... When Court learned to whisper she didn't quite grasp the concept of "lips to ear," so she'd put her little ear next to Mom's and whisper away, much to my mother's delight!

So again... dust or loved ones? I'm voting for loved ones!!

Donna

Herbs and Orbs....

On Thursday I took advantage of our 70 degree weather to wash windows (if the slider looks dirty to you, it's because I didn't get to it yet!). I started in the dining room and since I had to remove the herbs from the DR bay window in order to Windex away, I decided to just move them into the family room.


I brought this old carpenter's bench in from the deck (and none too soon! Just look at the rainy weather we're having today! That deck was swept clean yesterday and just look at all the leaves that came down overnight!)

I've had this rustic beauty since my prim decor days, and it's always been used out on the deck... To say it is weathered is an understatement.

I'm using a piece of old Battenburg lace valance as a table runner... There's something about the look of crisp white Battenburg lace paired with old, distressed wood that makes my heart skip a beat...

There's also a handy little shelf section on the bottom - just the right size for the basket that holds peanuts for our Sammy's, Chips, and birds (this basket is a treasured gift from my awesome friend, Jill, who got it in Amish country just for me!! How luck am I??)

So after I took my closeups to share with you, I stepped back to take some shots of the herbs in front of the slider. I usually take 2-3 shots of everything now that I blog, just to make sure I get at least one good one!! Okay, so this is the first shot....

(click photo to enlarge)
And then I took this one. Now I sure didn't notice anything unusual in the viewfinder when I snapped, but when I loaded the photos onto my computer there was no denying that I captured something in the above photo! Above the rosemary on the right is either an orb or the biggest flying dust bunny I've ever seen! I may not be the greatest housekeeper, but I'm not that bad!! At first I thought it might have been something flying by on the outside (big bird maybe?)... But it's definitely on the inside because it's blocking my window grids...

So... any experts out there who can help me figure out what I captured here? I've heard that experts can tell the difference between dust, glare, and real energy/orbs! (Oh, and I wasn't using a flash, so it's definitely not a reflection from that)...

And stay tuned for my upcoming posts (which are perfect for the week leading up to Halloween!)... I'm going to share another post just about orbs as well as my awesome day trip to historic Concord, Mass, on Friday (which included a visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery!)...

COMMENT UPDATE #1: Our house was built in 1981, so it's not what you'd consider an 'old' home; also, we're the only ones who have ever lived here... And yes, we have had a couple of things happen here but I've just mentioned them to family and friends for fear of what I must sound like when sharing these stories!

COMMENT UPDATE #2: I'm getting chills!! The carpenter's bench is very old. I purchased it many years ago at a junktique shop and it was quite old and weather-worn even back then. I never even thought of there being a possible connection between the bench and the orb! It might be going back out on the deck very soon!!

Donna

They're everywhere! They're everywhere!

I don't know how many crows they're scaring...


...but these guys are popping up...


...everywhere I go!


All of these lovelies are located in Weston, MA....

I get to see them every time I go in and out of Boston...

...and since they're right on the road I take to the Mass Pike, I get to see them quite often....

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately the foliage hadn't really started to turn ...

This farm stand behind the field looks so cute. I really need to stop in sometime...

Well, I don't see a single crow, so these guys must be doing a good job!

I do have to admit, though, that when I drive by late at night...

... and there are no other cars on this dark road, they look a little bit spooky!!!

And if you're ever driving through Northborough, MA...

...these guys are right off Main Street...

...lined up in front of the playground....

Blue jean babies, for sure!

....but that's where the similarities end... They each have their own distinctive personalities!

Scarecrows... a sure sign that autumn is upon us!


Donna

October in New England

It was a beautiful 70 degrees here today so I headed outside, with camera in hand, so I could share it with you! (brrrrr... the 40's are predicted for tomorrow!)


We're only on about a 1/3 acre lot, but there's a lot of color going on in our small yard...


Come on along and I'll show you some of it...


The backyard is ablaze with yellows, oranges, and reds.

Our sweet Suchi (Sooshi), who appears in my sidebar, is buried back here...

Every time we dig a hole to plant something, we find BIG rocks so over the years we've (and by we I mean hubby) built a meandering stonewall of sorts...

I actually don't use this birdfeeder anymore...

... but it's never been taken down. I truly like the convenience of the screen feeder off the dining room window (no trudging through the snow to fill it!)

I love our birch trees....

Fungus? Fungii?

One leaf hanging on ....

From behind the stone wall...

The girls thought this small strip of trees along our property line was a huge forest when they were little... They spent lots of time playing in there... And that's where our Suchi is now buried...

This is the maple tree that we lost a HUGE part of during a major ice storm last winter. Thank goodness a good portion of it survived because it's so beautiful...

There's still a lot of green in the yard. It's been a funny fall.. perhaps due to our extremely wet/cool early summer...

Another shot of the maple tree....

Wishing you all the beauty of autumn, wherever you make your home....

Donna

A whining Witchy Woman... and lots more tweaking...

About a week ago I told you all I was sooooo lazy that I didn't even give Witchy Woman a scarf this year. Well she has been whining non-stop all week, begging for something a bit more than her pointy black hat...


And truth be told, I do understand. I mean Halloween is her holiday...


So I dug through my stash and found a vintage scarf and black clip-on flower for under her chin...



I'm happy to say she is feeling like the belle of the Witch's Ball now...


Okay, back to rearranging and tweaking... The pink polka-dotted pumpkin/pewter candleholder have been moved from the LR pie safe to the DR hutch...


...where the pewter candleholder now sits on the shelf beneath my Nana's photo (I am the lucky recipient of all of her china so she gets a place of honor over the hutch!)....

...and the pumpkin sits atop a small hobnail vase.

And the lamp that used to be on the LR pie safe is now on the little table next to the hutch...

It's nice to have a choice between soft lamp light and bright chandelier light at suppertime (maybe some day we'll get a dimmer for the overhead)...

I moved little Pete the Parakeet (in his HomeGoods cage) from the kitchen to the little DR table...

And last, but not least, I gave the top of the recycling bin a mini-makeover...

The swan was moved here from the half wall in order to make room for the fabric pumpkins...

I placed some of my favorite old books and a bird's nest around the swan, and it gives the top of this little recycling cabinet a whole new look...

So thanks for joining me while I tweaked this, and rearranged that, and gave in to a whining Witchy Woman...

I hear it might be SEVENTY DEGREES on Thursday so I might get to play outside, planting some bulbs!

I hope you all have fantastic weather wherever you are!!!

Donna

October's cottage living room...

It was a beautiful day in New England today as the sun made a triumphant return after the weekend's first mini snowfall... October has visited the living room in the form of "lamp bandit" in the window, "Ratty" in the birdcage, and a cottage pumpkin on the c0ffee table.

(click any photos to enlarge)

While Spotty lounged on the sofa, I 'tweaked' a bit more...


I decided that the big vase of roses on top of the pie safe was just too much in between the lamps. I love the vintage mirror that we attached to the top of the pie safe, and the roses blocked too much of it...


There... I think this is better. It's less cluttered and shows off more of the mirror, which in turn opens up the room...


The vase of roses has been replaced by a small green music box that plays Evergreen... ("Love, soft as an easy chair"... I love the lyrics to that song!).


One of my shabby stuffed pumpkins from Ronda's Tempting Textiles sits in the tray on the trunk...


...atop a small sampling of the many Halloween and/or spooky books I read to the girls when they were little (are they really both in their twenties now??? Talk about spooky!)

Wishing you all happy October memories-in-the-making!!!

Donna

Vintage 'Cottage Blue' Rose Lamps...

Back in May I posted about my trip to Fairground Antiques in Swanzey, NH where I found these sweet little lamps...


At $6 for the pair I wasn't about to pass on them... I mean they're cottage blue with peachy pink roses! Does it get any better than that? I think not!


I've had them since April and figured it was high time I put them to use. I originally intended for them to be part of our bedroom makeover, but since that has yet to happen I thought I'd find another place for them in the meantime...

So here they are, with their little white Target lampshades, making their home on top of the pie safe in the living room.

They brighten up this little corner on cloudy (snowy!) days, like today....

...and give a nice soft glow to that corner of the room at night (I'm using oversized 40 watt candleabra bulbs in them)...

Of course when one does a little "tweaking" to one area, it leads to a lot of tweaking in other areas... For example, I had to find a new place for the lamp that was previously on top of the pie safe...


... and for the the pink polka dotted pumpkin which has now been replaced by the 'button' vase of roses (although the jury's still out on that one...)

Of course tweaking and rearranging is always fun, isn't it? So in my next post I'll show you what else got moved around!

Thank you to Cielo at The House in the Roses for hosting "Show Off Your Cottage Monday." Visit her blog to participate with your own post or to visit all the other cottage bloggers sharing something they love about their cottages!

Donna

They're heeeeeeere........

No, not poltergeists....

The first flakes of the season... And it's only mid-October!

Stay warm, everyone!!!

Donna (who is being dragged kicking and screaming into w-i-n-t-e-r....)

Autumn in New England...

The colors of autumn are upon us here in New England, even in our own little yard...


Pumpkins and mums have replaced the blooms of summer...


The vinca vine continues to grow like crazy, though, thriving despite the bitter autumn nights...


Sprigs of autumn leaves have been tucked among the few remaining impatiens...

... who have refused to give in to the increasingly cold temperatures...

"Jenny" and her friend have taken over the Adirondack chairs, and more autumn leaves sprout from clay pots where summer flowers once put on a show...

Wishing you all a delightful autumn and Halloween!!

Donna

Frozen herbs...

Baby, it's COLD outside!!!


I took my herb pots in a couple of days ago because the nights have been downright frigid around here...


For the time being I've put them in my dining room window (although my Christmas cactus is not too happy about this arrangement since it has "lived" in this window for years and years!!)


What's left of the basil is looking a little rough....

The oregano is looking pretty good though...

The rosemary is looking a bit sparse...

Since this is the south-facing side of the house, I'm hoping these will get enough sunlight to keep them going, but that may be asking a lot of this gardener who definitely lacks a green thumb. I wonder if they will require some type of fluorescent lighting above them...

Hope you are warm and cozy wherever you are...

Donna (who is not at all enjoying the c-o-l-d weather)

COMMENT UPDATE: Hi Patty! The banner is a cropped photo of my Mrs. B, the beautiful kitty who graced us with her presence from 1976 to 1993.