Tuesday, July 14, 2020

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME...












A long time ago,
 a friend of the family,
 gave my mother a little table
 that she had always admired
 when she was a guest in this friend's home.
  I remember when 
it first came into our home and
 I thought it was 
the most beautiful thing 
I had ever seen. 
 The shape was very pleasing 
as it was a little taller than most tables, 
more the height of a plant stand,
 and made of mahogany veneer
 with a bright, shiny finish. 
 The top was round, 
just big enough to hold a lamp and 
a small bouquet,
 with tall, slender, curved legs.







This is not the actual rose painted on the table. I found this painting at a flea market many years later and bought it because it reminded me of the original.


The look of the table, however,
 was not what made me think
 it was so beautiful. 
 The friend, had hand painted 
a long stemmed white rose on the top,
 and this painting was 
what captured my attention 
above all else. 
 It looked so elegant and 
I can remember thinking 
I wish I could paint
 a flower like that.





FYI: This photo of my dad was taken after the earthquake.  You can see the hands of the clock stopped at the exact time that the earthquake hit and were never changed.  There is another table under the clock.


Throughout the years,
 I remember the table being
 a place of honor for a 
beautiful hurricane lamp and 
many wonderful flower arrangements 
that my mom loved making. 
 She just had a
 natural ability 
of putting one together and 
I have never seen,
 even a florist's bouquet,
 prettier than any she would make.

 Over the years,
 my dad built a new house for he and my mom
 and this beautiful little table 
had a place beside 
her collections of books 
that filled the bookshelves 
that Dad had made. 
 My mom became sick and passed away 
during the 1980's and 
in 1989, the Loma Prieta earthquake 
hit and that large clock 
that you see behind my dad 
fell off the wall and 
onto the little table 
which was broken into pieces. 
 During the following years
 the table was hidden away
 in my dad's workshop,
 with plans of someday 
being put back together
 but, sadly,
 that never happened. 
 My dad had to move 
out of the house and 
when my sister, brother and I 
were cleaning out the house, 
the little table
 came home with me.








The table top,
 now with legs lost,
 sat in our garage for about 25 years.
  Time had taken a toll on it and 
the veneer had been
 cracked and chipped and had fallen off and 
the beautiful rose painting 
was lost.







A few years ago,
 when we finished 
the screened porch in the Secret Garden, 
I found an old, rusted milk can
 that I wanted to use 
as a side table.  
I thought of the beautiful little table top
 sitting, unloved,
 in our garage and 
decided to use it as a 
top for the milk can. 
 The Captain sanded off 
what was left of the veneer and 
the top was once again 
being put to
 good use.








We have used it 
for the last couple of years and 
it is a sturdy piece of furniture. 
 The can is very rusty and 
the wood that was under the veneer
 was rustic as well
 so they made a good pairing. 
 Every time
 I would sit down beside the table, 
I would think about
 that pretty rose 
that used to be a part of it and 
vowed that someday
 I would try to recreate 
the whole thing. 
 Well,
if you have seen my paintings
 you know that there was no way 
I could perfectly recreate it,
 so that is where
 the title of this piece
 comes in...







...a rose
 by any other name 
would be 
a tulip!

I thought a tulip 
would be more fitting 
than an elegant rose
 for this rustic situation.
  








The little table
 is once more being loved and 
I would like to think 
that that dear friend 
from long ago
 would think it perfectly reasonable and 
she would be happy
 that my mom enjoyed it 
as long as she did and 
now I am having 
my time with it.











This is the newest
 paint by number 
that I have been working on. 
 I haven't shown it 
for awhile because, 
for the longest time, 
all the paint colors 
were close to the same and 
it never looked like 
any progress was
 being made.






Here it is finished, and 
I think it turned out pretty well. 
 I didn't change anything 
on this one
 except in the lower left hand corner, 
there was a part of 
the cement in the brick wall 
that just looked like 
a big gray blob to me,
 so I copied the leaf
 in the lower right hand corner and
 it only took me one try! 
 This is definitely 
a fall painting 
so I won't display it 
until then.








Stay smart, stay well and wear your masks.

  You must be getting 
tired of hearing this,
 as tired as I am 
of saying it.

 Why,
 are we still 
debating this issue?

 Especially now 
when things are having
to shut down
 again!



...Judy..










Enjoy the week.


Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

and

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles

34 comments:

  1. Judy, it is perfect. I love how you reclaimed something you had loved for so long and then made it completely your own. It looks ideal on that milk can and then to have "revamped" the painting makes it so personal. Big smiles here for you!

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  2. Thank you, Jeanie. That is big news coming from you and I appreciate it so much. It was a fun project waiting a long time to be done..Stay well my friend..xxoJudy

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  3. Aw Judy, what a memory. Make sure you paste the story on to the bottom of that table 'lid'...so someone finds it one day! hugs, Sandi

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    1. Thanks so much, Sandi. That is a really good reminder, I love it..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  4. Good for you! What a great solution and it looks just right.

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    1. Thanks so much, Adrienne. Could be better but if I keep plugging along maybe I'll get there someday..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  5. Hi Judy! Your table top is such a treasure and your pretty tulips are such a fitting add. Pieces filled with memories are the heart and soul of home. Jane

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    1. Thanks so much, Jane, I agree with you and you certainly put it very beautifully..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  6. I so enjoy your wonderful stories. Love your paintings.
    You have a beautiful blog.

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    1. Thank you so much, Renate. I really enjoy doing it and appreciate your kind words so much..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  7. Judy,
    This is why I so enjoy visiting you!! what a wonderful story you shared here and your beloved table looks lovely and charming in the setting in which you have it!! Your paintings amaze me because I do not have a steady hand and I can not paint for anything free hand...Thanks so much for stopping over!! Stay safe, healthy and happy!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

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    1. Thanks, Deb. You are really too kind. I'm glad you visit also and if I can paint something, you could too..It is great therapy if nothing else..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  8. What a way to salvage and make pretty once again!

    Your rose photos are beautiful. What program do you use for the effect in your photos?

    Enjoy your week ~ FlowerLady

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lorraine. Thanks so much. Those are older photos as my roses aren't that pretty this season. I use Picaso for my special effects. It is a program that I have used for a long time and even though I can still use it, it is no longer supported by Blogger or Google. One of those! I don't know if you can still sign up for it.. There are a lot of programs that do beautiful work, as I have seen by different bloggers, but I am just familiar with this one so keep using it until I can't anymore..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  9. How great that you could have that beautiful table still having a place in your home. All the great memories. Love your painting too. So pretty. Happy Wednesday.
    xoxo
    Kris

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    1. Thanks so much, Kris. I am glad I could put the little table to use once again. It is fun to look back and remember all the good things in life once in awhile..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  10. What a wonderful story, Judy! I love the way that whole room looks and the story about the clock is crazy! Pieces like that hold our memories...thanks for sharing yours with us. I hope you're doing well...xo

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    1. Kim, thanks so much. I will never forget the timing of that earthquake and I didn't know that my dad was going to memorialize it that way. We are doing well for the time being and hope the same for you..xxoJudy

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  11. So glad youwere able to at least save part of the table in which you had fond memories of. Janice

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    1. Thank you, Janice. I wish I had a picture, at least, of the original, it was really a beautiful little table..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  12. Well this is the sweetest story! What a beautiful way to hold on to a memory!

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    1. Thanks so much, Jacqueline. It is a fond memory..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  13. Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Kinga. Roses are really a beautiful flower..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  14. Memories, what would we do with out them? I am recalling more now than I ever did. I like sharing them and I love hearing about your memories. The picture of your Dad, a handsome man, and a fine suit he is wearing. Such a happy picture and nice smile.
    Your painting is beautiful and turned out so nice. You create such pleasing vignettes through your home and I love seeing them. Happy Week end, Betsy

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    1. Thanks so much for your sweet words, Betsy. My dad was very handsome and a pretty snappy dresser. My mom saw to it that he had all the latest fashions and he loved to wear them. I wish I could recall more than I do of the memories but some will be lost forever. Hope you are staying well, my friend..xxoJudy

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  15. Oh what a story that table has!!! I loved hearing it and love the picture of your dad beside the bookshelves.. with the table in the background! I'm SO HAPPY that you are getting to use the table (at least part of it) once again! and the painting you did on top does it a great justice as it is so perfect with the milk can base. I have an old antique desk that was my mom's (someone gave it to her) that I remember coveting since I was a child! That is the one thing I told my mom I wanted.. and I have it to this day, but only use it as a place to set a lamp on. I never use the desk part and would love to. Years ago I did use it as a desk as it has a top that lifts up on hinges and the inside has little cubbies. Of course a little girl would love those little cubbies! My only problem is.. it's a very dark wood and I would LOVE to paint it white! But I'm so afraid to paint over something that I remember as dark wood. Would I destroy the memory? Would I ruin it? Should I leave it alone in it's original form? But oh I'd love to have a little white (or even pink!) desk that I could actually use! I guess if that old/vintage/antique piece is our very own, we can do what we want with it, but it's so hard to change something from its original form. Such a dilemma with all old pieces of furniture.. now if it was someone elses' memory, then I wouldn't feel so bad to change it's color, but when it's MY memory, now that's another story! Don't know how I got on that subject.. guess I thought of it when you painted the flowers on top, and I thought, well that's not so bad, maybe I should do something to my desk! Oh how the mind wanders! Hugs.. Marilyn

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  16. Thanks so much, Marilyn. I think we would be in bad shape if we couldn't wander our minds once in awhile. It is always nice to get away! You know, when we first started fixing antiques, there was a terrible stigma about painting over pretty wood and I'm sure there are some that don't believe in it today either. My belief is that if you love the piece but want to change the look, go for it. The memories will still be there and you might have taken the piece just to a different level. I would have loved to have the original rose on the table still, but time took that away so I don't feel bad about painting something different on it. It is the thought that you can still love it only as different, not gone. I think you should paint the little desk and make it yours, but still have the memories of your mom that will always come with it..Stay well, my friend..xxoJudy

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  17. Love what you did with the table. It looks terrific with the tulip painting. Also enjoyed your fabulous tomato header. Take care. Definitely wearing my mask.

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    1. Thank you so much, Buttercup for your kind words. I saw that saying somewhere and then when I took the pic of the tomato, they just had to go together. Thank you so much for wearing your mask. Pass it along to all you know as it is the answer to getting back to everything being opened. It is as simple as that..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  18. Judy,
    Me again!! Just stopping by to thank you for your visit!!
    Hugs,
    Debbie

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    1. Thanks so much, Deb. It is always my pleasure..Stay well..xxoJudy

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  19. Beautiful and very interesting post :)

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    1. Thank you so much, Martyna. I'm glad you enjoyed it and glad you stopped by..Stay well..xxoJudy

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Your comments are so special to me...Judy