Martha's Attic

I love looking at the old wedding photos, mainly the expressions on their faces. I study them and wonder, was this couple compatible after they wed? I'm not sure this is going in the right direction.  I think I need to change the background, it definately needs something! Any comments, good or bad are welcome!

Clover has found a comfortable spot on the back of the sofa! Check out those heavy duty back feet -she has a major stomp when something startles her.

I decided that sitting in a plane for eleven hours was a good excuse for buying a Kindle.  I do love to read and reading while flying keeps my mind occupied - I start as soon as I get on the plane, keeps me from thinking "other thoughts". I thought it would be great to have all of my books in one, instead of carrying a bunch of paperbacks around.  I found this one on ebay for a decent price, came with the leather cover and cord as well.  The cord is for recharging or connecting to the computer.  You can download books from Amazon directly from the Kindle -if you have cell phone service.  I don't have cell phone service where I live, out in the country, so, you can also download to your computer, and transfer the books to the Kindle -works great.  There are several websites (as well as Amazon) that allow you to download older books for free.  Gutenberg.org  has many books -pre 1923 that are no longer copyright restricted, and archive.org ...

I found these wonderful prints recently.  I just love them, but really have no where to put them.  So, I have listed them in my etsy shop.  They are pencil signed, titled, and numbered, by Polly Knipp Hill.  She lived from 1900-1990, I love the style of her painting. Old Home Place  9/100 Hogback Mountain at Buck Creek  4/100

I found this wonderful old book at an estate sale.  Yes, Shakspeare is spelled that way in and on the book.  It was printed in 1889 and has some beautiful engravings inside.  I have listed it in my etsy shop -but, because I can only use five pictures there, I have posted extra pictures here for anyone interested.

I went out with the camera yesterday morning intending to take pictures of the growing baby geese.  They don't look much like babies anymore, they are beginning to get their parents coloring.  But I couldn't find them, so I took a few pictures anyway. This fella let me get extremely close... You can see he wasn't worried about me at all. I really love the oak leaf hydrangea. And the daylilies. The lotus leaves don't come out until it's really warm for awhile. I made this shady spot last year with some flat stones we had left over.  It's nice and private. My sister has a curly willow in her yard, several years ago I took some cuttings from it, they are very easy to root in water, I now have three curly willow trees.

I just purchased flight tickets last night, my youngest son and I will be flying to Alaska in July to visit my older son, Tom and his fiance.  It was a very hard step to take.  I do not enjoy flying, but I want to see his new house and the both of them, so it's the only way to get there. I remember the first time I flew was to the beach after graduation! I was seventeen, I didn't have a car to drive, neither did my girlfriend, so we flew to the beach in a small prop jet.  It was awful, I can't believe I did it.  We bounced all the way down there.  I really didn't want to get back on that plane to come home.  The next time,  I was around 19, I flew with my husband to California to visit his grandmother, father, and relatives.  That wasn't too bad, a much larger plane, on the way back the plane was half empty, we were going from side to side to see out the windows! (That was some time ago).  In 2006 my son and I flew to Alas...

I just love books, and that includes old books.  I found this one today.  What really got my attention was the handmade fabric cover that was on it.  That fabric helped preserve the cover and keep it clean over the years.  The pages are a soft almost leathery feeling paper .... Selected from the most popular works in Europe and America, designed for the use of churches, singing-schools, and societies. The fabric cover had been on for awhile.  The fabric was worn on the edges and inside the cover are faded lines from the thread. 

I borrowed this tool years ago from my husband.  Yes, it is an expensive snap-on tool, it is a pry bar, that came in a set.  And yes, he really would like to have it back, sometimes he needs it.  But, I like it.  It is a perfect weeder. It is perfect for sliding right down beside a nasty weed and "prying " it up.  See, it is being used properly. It is also the best for weeding between the stones on my back patio -which I am thinking about cementing since this weeding business needs to be done several times a year, and I am the lone weeder.  Unfortunately my other wants his pry bar back - he even bought me a replacement, you can see for yourself that it is inferior, that bend at the end is just not going to work as well.  But, I guess he doesn't need his bar too bad, I still have it!

A truly wonderful book with many, many color illustrations of so many beautiful dolls.  130 artists are featured in this book -many "different" dolls.  And there are instructions on designing and constructing  dolls as well.  It's a wonderful book for the photos as well as the instruction. One of my favorites!

Two beautiful young girls, I think the girl on the right has the look of an "Old Soul".  There are some old pictures that just move you, I think I'll have to hang on to this one for awhile. The little sweetheart on the left is just precious!