The White Rabbit seeks refuge under the Daffodil Tree and gets lost in a tumble of tulips...
It's Springtime...
...anything is possible!
This is the time of year when energy is at its highest and everyone is itching to roll up their sleeves and remove those cobwebs that have settled in the corners of their minds as well as on their walls.
There is a possibility around the Cottage that some spring cleaning might be accomplished.
I have decided to start with the china cupboards in the dining room.
The original owners, the Garlands, had five people in their family, but since Mr. Garland was a mine superintendent, I can only assume that they entertained frequently, as the dining room is one of the largest rooms in the Cottage.
I have room for three china cupboards and that's a good thing, as I have three china cupboards worth of dishes (and then some).
This is a corner cupboard we picked up at a yard sale. It was all in pieces and we paid $10 for it. The Captain put it back together and I painted it and it fit perfectly in this corner of the room.
Here, I have arranged some of my white dishes. They are a combination of Limoge, Home Goods, milk glass, and thrift store pieces.
I have included a couple of vintage bunnies pushing their wagons and some dried roses from the garden.
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This cupboard was painted gray when we picked it up. That color, as the trend is now, would have been a perfect piece to keep in that condition, but back in the 70's the natural wood was all the rage so we had it stripped down to the original pine.
I have filled it with my pink set of china which I first saw in the Spiegle catalog, and where I ordered the large cream pitcher. I later found this pattern in an old ice cream store. I have also added some crystal wine and water glasses.
These are some cut glass sherbet dishes that I bought many years ago at an antique shop along with a few colored glass dessert bowls I found on Ebay.
Here, also, I have added a little bunny in a nest. The nest was picked up a few years ago, while we were vacationing in Anacourtes, Washington, at Bunnies By the Bay and the little rabbit was a gift to me on my first birthday (so you know that's vintage!)
"Bunnies are our best friends indeed.
They do delight and give
glad dreams."
Bunnies By The Bay logo
A pretty little girl bunny completes the arrangement along with some pressed glass antiques.
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The final cupboard holds mostly dishes that my Mom collected over the years.
There is Blue Willow along with pieces of metal and miscellaneous blue and white pieces.
The cupboard itself was built into an old house that a friend of the Captains' was tearing down. He said we could have it if we took it out of the house. It was painted white and used as a kitchen cupboard. This one I am most disappointed that we stripped it. It was a chippy, glorious piece as it was.
Here it is shown with a reproduction of a popular Easter toy and a pewter cup that I picked up at Good Will for $1.
A tiny basket of peeps to celebrate the season next to an old cannister and spice set we picked up at a street sale many years ago. It is marked Germany and is decorated in the Delft blue pattern. The set consists of 12 pieces.
The little boy bunny, the brother of the little girl in the pink cupboard, is from Home Goods, and a stuffed carrot complete the arrangement.
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So far, this is the extent of the "done" spring cleaning. We are working on a few more projects that might qualify in this area, but there are still a few cobwebs to straighten out.
"Spring is like a perhaps hand...
arranging and changing,
placing carefully."
E. E. Cummings
This was our yesterday...
...this is our today.
It is not only raining cats and dogs it is also raining: boots, alligators and frogs. (Am I the only one that can see them?) Might be a possible dinosaur thrown in there too!
Here are a few pretty little birds (Google states they are Cedar Waxwings) quenching their thirst from the fountain. They were all around the top and bottom levels but some flew away when I opened the door to get the picture. See how their little tails look as though they have been dipped in gold paint.
...Judy...
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