ALMOST THE END OF SUMMER

 

It has been a crazy year so far,

and summer has not been much different.

I have been trying to keep up with things, but

I have been failing in most everything.

My hubby has been having medical issues,

and I have not been able to concentrate on much else.

And to everyone who has been asking

about when I will make and post dolls,

I am working on them.

It has been slow going because

I have not been feeling very creative of late.

But I thought I post a few pretty pictures

of flowers we saw on a drive awhile ago.

 

 

Soon all this beauty will be gone.

But I am basically an optimist, and hope

that fall will bring better things for our family.

 

 

Our butterfly bush is almost finished blooming.

I love watching all the  different butterflies and bees.

 

 

 

Last spring I found these wonderful old

pictures of this absolutely beautiful lady

dressed for the perfect summer day.

 

 

If this does not say summer,

I don't know what does!

I wonder who this lovely woman was,

and what her life might have been like.

 

 

And with fall approaching soon,

I will enjoy the last warm days of summer.

 

Please except my apologies for not answering all e-mails,

not visiting blogs lately, and commenting.

I do appreciate hearing from all my friends.

 

I wish everyone beautiful late summer days.

 

God bless,

Evi

 

A FUN AFTERNOON

 

 

 

I have been sort of down in the dumps lately.

This has been a year so far, I wish I could forget.

And to help cheer me up,

hubby and I went antiquing to one of our

favorite antique malls,

the

Coxsackie Antique Center

in Coxsackie, N.Y.

Here are some things that caught my eye.

 

This cabinet was so lovely!!!!

Alas, not for my pocketbook.

 

 

Loved the patina, and could picture it

with magazines in it...

like my Jeanne d'Arc Living Magazines.

 

 

Some day I'll get one....

maybe not quite so big......

 

They had two chairs there.

I came VERY close to taking them home.

With a little love and paint,

they would have looked lovely in the garden.

 

 

 

What wonderful toys children long ago had to play with!

 

 

I have never been to an antique mall where there are

not a some well-loved little doggies

waiting for a new owner to love him or her.

 

This made us chuckle.

Hubby does not have a man cave,

otherwise it might have come home with us.

 

 

This looks like it has been thru many concerts.

 

 

 

Another pretty thing that I fell in love with.

 

 

Oh, the lovely patina.......

 

 

 

Maybe if I played the Mega Lottery this week,

I could afford all the things I fell in love with.

But then I would need a bigger house, or two, etc, etc.

 

 

This piece of furniture was really neat.

Of course, it was "not for sale".

What a tease!

Could have done without what was in it, (for the most part).

But with books, it would be just wonderful!

 

 

Another sweet hound.

Neat for the garden....

 

 

 

This gate is WONDERFUL!!!!

If I play Lotto, maybe I'll be lucky, ha ha.

 

And I wonder who wore the West Point Uniform.

 

 

This guy seems mighty interested in the widow at home.

Hmmmmm,

don't quite know if I trust him.....

 

 

Laura, these shutters have your name on them.

It's your blue, love.

Never seen any like this!

 

 

Now this is really bizarre, strange, and scary.

Who was the poor guy who had to lug this around?

I lifted it....it was really, really heavy.

 

 I liked this for the colors.

Another thingy for a man cave.

 

 

And this would come in handy

for all the pretty  antique sewing goodies I own.

Not to be....

Here is the wish for the lottery win again.

I MUST buy a ticket this time!

 

 

 

And now for the things I actually did come home with.

Do you remember I was looking for a small vintage

shelf for the little bathroom in my last post?

Well low and behold,

in an antique center that was closing it's doors,

there it was.

I know you are probably thinking

"big deal".

But I had been looking for just something like this,

metal, dainty, not too long, not too deep, low edge, and worn cream color

and of course....vintage....

I bought two for a mere $ 1.50 each.

Hurrah,

I am one happy camper.

 

 

Now hubby has a clock close by

 while he is getting ready for work.

 

 

And of course, I am always looking for things that I could use

for my doll making and to decorate.

I LOVE old textiles!!!

I found wonderful antique linen underskirts.

Two perfect, one with some holes.

No matter, something pretty will be made out of it

for a doll.

The prices were great.

 

I love tucks and lace......

 

 

picots and crochet....

 

 

In one bag with a collar,

I found these long black old

women's stockings.

I am definitely thinking Halloween.

 

 

And here are some of my other treasures.....

 

 

.......lovely trims and goodies.

 

 

 

This little handmade basket is exquisite.

Maybe I'll make a make-do with it.

 

 

This embroidered "ribbon" is actually a suspender,

all hand embroidered.

It will become belts to cinch my dollies waists.

One side is in poor condition...so I don't feel

bad cutting it up.

Oh, and those sweet, sweet little shoes.

What little darling wore them once?

 

 

As you can see, I had a lovely time.

The "blues" have been banished for now.

 

I hope you all have wonderful summer days,

filled with fun, love, friendship and adventure.

 

God bless,

Evi

A BIT OF THIS, AND A BIT OF THAT

 

Well, I have been absent from blogging lately.

But for a reason......about that later.

 

This has been a crazy spring,

and a horrible summer for us in the North-East.

 

The spring was cold and rainy,

frost the end of May,

and  then the heat and humidity hit us full force.

Today we had 98 degrees, and so humid

that I feel like a sponge.

In between there have been torrential downpours,

washing out our driveway and toppling a huge oak tree,

thank God, not near the house.

I only have air conditioning on the downstairs level

where my studio is.

On the upper level there is just a small one in the bedroom.

Thank God for the pool, but even that is like a bathtub.

Well, in short, we are baking.

The garden does not like the heat either.

My beautiful roses were gone in no time.

 

 

And then came the CICADAS.

Thousands of them!!!!

The noise was incredible,

and they were everywhere.

And they lasted for weeks!

You start wondering what will be next.

 

 

 

But there were some good moments too.

Hubby and I went to the Country Living Fair

in Rhinebeck, N.Y. in June.

It was their first time there, and not that far away from us.

We went early Friday morning.

Unfortunately it poured.....

I don't mean just rain....no you could have strangled frogs.

But I did not care.

The show was wonderful, and I hope they will

have it again next year.

It was a mixture of antiques, vintage, and handmade things.

We were with the first bunch in,

 and I got amongst other goodies,

this wonderful carrier at Stephanie Lloyd's booth.

 

 

 

It was filthy, and needed a really good scrubbing.

 

 

 

 

But here is the surprise.

The price was fantastic!

But I do not think that it is a pet carrier,

unless you mean pigeons.

If anybody has an idea what it really is,

please let me know.

 

And now to something else....

 

 

You might remember my post about the half bath

off our bedroom.

I had never gotten around to taking pictures of the remodeled one.

This was the old "green hornet"......

 

 

 

.....and this is the new bathroom.

Because it is so small,

and because I was REALLY sick of the green,

I wanted everything white,

light and airy.

The most important thing

(and the most costly),

was turning the toilet around.

No more hitting the cabinet with your knees.

 

 

 

I used a cabinet from the Martha Stewart Collection

at Home Depot.

Unfortunately the origional gray was not the right color.

It needed 3 coats of white paint.

And I think it was meant for a giant,

so the legs had to be shortened.

I am still looking for an antique-looking wire shelve

for over the toilet.

Something pretty to hold a little clock and maybe a small

vase of flowers.

 

 

It came out well, nice and simple.

Love the swiveling faucet from Martha's collection.

Makes it easy to clean the sink.

 

 

 

Long ago I bought these wonderful pressed botanicals.

And they finally found the perfect spot.

 

 

 

So I am ending this post with our little Lulu.

I think only a cat can find the darnedest spots to sleep.

Draped between two antique French finials

my girlfriend Debbie brought home for me from a trip

to Europe.

And now for why I have been so slow with posting or

visiting blogs.......

We had a photo shoot for a national magazine here of

our home last Friday.

I cleaned and cleaned...

rearranged and sweated thru it all.

It could have gone so much faster without this inferno.

 I cannot tell you the magazine, because we don't

know yet in which one it will appear.

The publishers have several different magazines.

It will come out next year, and I will let you all know.

So, this is it for today.

 I will be spending the next few month in my studio,

preparing for upcoming shows.

 

I hope you all had a wonderful summer so far.

 

God bless,

Evi

 

FATHER'S DAY AT WEST POINT

 

Belated a post about Father's Day, which we celebrated at

West Point.

Our son invited us to a wonderful brunch at the

Hotel Thayer,

named after Sylvanus Thayer, who was Superintend

at West Point in 1817.

He was known as the "Father of the Military Academy".

Under his stewardship it became the Nations

first college of engineering, in which he upgraded

academic standards.

He also installed military discipline and emphasized honorable

conduct.

At this wonderful brunch we were joined by our sons

girlfriend and extended family.

 It was their first time at the Point.

 

 

West Point sits in beautiful surroundings.

We live a mere ten minutes away.

 

 

 

The Hotel Thayer,

very large, and very impressive.

 

 

Our son and grandson on this special day.

He is a wonderful dad, and it shows.

There is much love and affection.

 

 

Beautiful Alexandra growing up so fast....

fifteen coming up soon.

 

 

And hubby is enjoying his special day too,

taking it all in with pride.

After our brunch, our son gave everyone a guided tour.

He works at West Point, and is retired Army.

His knowledge is vast, but because I forget

things about military stuff,

I wanted to make sure I get my facts straight.

I gleaned much information from Wikipedea.

I found it very interesting, and it is

worth checking it out.

 

 

 

There is much to see, and much history.

I will keep it to a minimum....

West  Point sits on scenic high grounds

overlooking the Hudson River, 50 miles north of N.Y. City.

It is a National landmark.

Most of the buildings are in a neogothic style

constructed from grey and black granite.

It's existence can be traced back to fortifications

constructed on the West Point of the Hudson River

during the Revolutionary War in 1778.

President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation

establishing the United States Military Academy on the site in 1802.

What you see above is a commemorative walk depicting

some of West Points history.

 

 

There is much information.

Here is just a little clip, including carvings of generals

Lee and Grant.

I found reading it all interesting and moving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nearly every general officer of note

from either army during the Civil War

was a graduate of West Point.

 

 

What stands above it all, is the Cadet Chapel.

Completed in 1910, it stands in place of the old chapel,

which was build in 1836.

The architecture is Gothic revival.

It boasts the largest chapel pipe organ in the world.

It is a Protestant church, but there are other

churches for different denominations, including

a beautiful Jewish Synagogue.

 

 

 

The church is massive, impressive, but also beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love all the flags flying and all the gorgeous stained glass

windows.

Many young West Point cadets have said their "I does" here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 There are numerous statues and monuments on the grounds.

 

 

 

This includes remnants of the "Great Chain"

The great Chain and high ground above the narrow "S" curve in the Hudson River enabled the Continental Army to prevent

British ships from sailing up the River and

dividing the colonies.

 

 

 

 

Hubby holding down the "Fort".

 

 

 

This is the Central Cadet Parade Ground.

When you see graduation ceremonies on TV, it is

here that you see cadets throwing their hats joyously into the air.

Also celebratory parades take place here.

 

 

 

Artillery against

the softness and beauty of this landscape.

 

 

 

Beautiful old homes that are housing

for the Superintendent and other esteemed officers.

 

 

A true juxtaposition between luscious landscapes and

war machinery.

This area has seen it's fair share of skirmishes and war.

The Hudson Valley has many historical sites,

and would make an interesting visit for anyone

in love with the early history of our country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

No wonder that many famous painters have

painted this gorgeous landscape.

 

 

 

 

 

This statue says it all.

My family likes to express their admiration and gratitude

to all who served, and are still serving to

protect this country.

 

God bless you all!

Evi