A Tale of Three Cuffs

Our friend Terry's dad made this cuff out of copper tubing that he hammered flat then curved to the shape of a wrist, as well as carefully beveling the ends.  He stamped the end of a bolt on the outer side of the cuff, alternating that shape with the edge of a screw's rivet, creating a fine design.  It's simple yet original, it almost has a medieval Viking look to it. Terry's dad was a farmer.  I wonder if it was made in winter, during the traditional 'down time' on the farmer.

 

 

I bought the cuff below for myself from an artisan catalog.  It was made in Germany and perfectly reflects the Bauhaus principle of 'form follows function.'

 

This cuff was my friend Naomi's late mother's.  It combines elements of both the above cuffs, beautifully highlighting the pattern with an added oxidation process as well as detailing the inside of the cuff.

 

 

Pale, skinny Emerald Amaryllis

 

Right Under My Nose!

 

The Internet, at it's best, helps one discover how other people live.  A few years ago, while searching for a special shampoo, I found Mjolk, a wonderful combo Scandinavian/Japanese lifestyle and furniture boutique in Toronto, CANADA.  The owners are John Baker and Juli Daoust, a remarkably creative dynamo who, in their 'spare' time, renovated an exquisite countryside cottage, the loveliest of places for their two children and awesome Irish wolfhound.

Grandmother Sophia's fruit bowl

The photo below is of their cottage decorated for Christmas, as depicted on their website blog https://www.mjolk.ca/blogs/mjolk/.  That sweet hob-nailed amber bowl in the lower left of center foreground caught my eye, enchanting me.

I've looked high and low in northern Virginia thrift/collectible shops for anything remotely similar, to no avail.  Then, in a sudden flash of insight, I realized I have a lovely Depression glass bowl too, that my mother gave me, one of two heirlooms from my grandmother Sophia.  Tucked away in a safe drawer, I have been too careful to use it. 

This reminds me of the first friends we made when we moved to Grand Forks, ND, Bob and Toni Olson.  They did not have children and foresaw none on the way yet Toni had grown up in an enriched home, full of classic children's books, which they'd moved from San Jose, California to Montana then ND. "Books are best when loved and read, not tucked away in a corner of a bookcase," she said when she gave them to our oldest daughter Anna, then six.  I now understand what she meant.

My Ideal Summer Retreat: Northern Sweden

 

 

Autumn Glory from Goodwill

 

Oh happy days!  The weather's finally cooled off, highs in the high 60s, sunny, although the leaves are still on the trees, still green, or dull yellows, but autumn nonetheless, my favorite season.

 'Just got home from Goodwill with the above treasure, a mid-century modern Frederick Weinberg wrought iron and wicker chair.  I paid a whopping $16, with tax.  Needless to say, it's worth more.  

If ever you tire of predictability in your life, try scouring junk shops for treasures.  Nine times out of 10 you will leave empty handed, or with cheap junk, something I've developed an eccentric enjoyment of, it's the company I keep, I suppose.  But the goal of the hunt is good stuff, before it's chucked into the landfill.  

The problem with the above chair, is it would look 100 times better if I had two.  

Who knows, maybe some day...

Spring Fever

Forced forsythia with rose hellebore, early March 2017

Lucas with Azalea Branch, late April

My new Marimekko vase with Molly's tulip farm harvest, Easter

Spring Flowers window ala Elvira-style, first week of May