I Wish You Enough…

 

This is an exerpt from an e-mail  I recently received from an old high school friend. I had heard the expression before, and just didn’t quite know what to make of it. This gives me a little more insight on its meaning.

I wish you enough!

Recently I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, “I love you, and I wish you enough.”

The daughter replied,  “Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom.”

They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?”

“Yes, I have,” I replied.”  Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?”

“I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,” she said.

'”When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, ‘I wish you enough.’ May I ask what that means?”

She began to smile. “That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.” She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and she smiled even more. “When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.”

Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

         I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more..

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

 She then began to cry and walked away.

 

TAKE TIME TO LIVE.....     To all my friends,  I WISH YOU ENOUGH.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.        

                                                                                 

This Red’s for You….

 

I’ve had several requests to show my red wallpapered kitchen, and because Gloria @ Happy to Be  asked so very sweetly~  honey, this red is for you…

I chose this red, scrolled paper because I felt it had a bit of the French country feel to  it. I have always loved wallpaper and would much rather hang it than paint. I have a very difficult time trying to keep paint splatters off the woodwork, the ceiling line, and myself. I obviously don’t have a steady hand.  And I cannot abide seeing lines of paint on the walls, so I sometimes end up painting a wall two or three times just to eliminate them. I think professional painters call them “holidays.”  So, instead, I wallpaper.  

As you enter the kitchen from the great room, my half-round checkered table is on the right. A stained black shelf with a bead board back hangs above it and it’s decorated with keys and door knobs.  This shelf used to be in the downstairs bathroom, but I re-appropriated it. The wall in the bathroom is still bare, but I’m waiting for the perfect thing to go call my name and  tell me it belongs there.  I think some of you may know how that goes, don’t you? 

 

 

I just love this half-round table. I never could figure out why no one had bought it from Mr. Sullivan’s store. Guess it was just meant to be mine…

 

The island has a Jennaire cooktop that is original to the house. When we remodel I’d like to replace it with one of those Electralux cooktops that spokesperson Kelly Ripa does commercials for.  It’s the one where the top stays cool to the touch because only the cookware gets hot.  I think mine is a bear to keep clean. I have to wait for it to cool down to wipe it  and if food gets burned on, I have to use a blade scraper to clean it. Then, I use a glass cleaner on the entire thing so it’s shiny.  Give me a gas stove any day!  The only advantage to the Jennaire is that I don’t have to have a vent hood.

 

 

This is the view looking from the opposite side of the island towards the only long run of cabinetry that I have. I never had a window over my sink before moving into this house. I love to look out and see the trees and wildlife as I perform that drudgery chore of doing dishes. Actually, I don’t mind washing, it’s the drying and putting them away that is the chore. I try to hand that job off to Mr. Sullivan whenever I can. He IS pretty good about helping, I must say.  I like to keep my dish towels and napkins in the tiered basket- that way they’re always handy.

 

 

 

I only have one long run of cabinetry. It runs from this corner to the refrigerator on the left.  The cabinets were glazed as a temporary fix until we can update the kitchen. The idea was to make them look old and grungy with wear.  If you were looking closely, you will have seen that I moved my birdhouse and the canisters.  I wonder how many of you caught that….

The picture above shows the original color of the wood. This finish made for a dark, dreary kitchen, don’t you think? I’m so glad we lightened it up with the glazing process.

 

My wine-inspired French style clock.

 

 

I love the different patterns on my canisters.  Why only three, you ask?  Flour, sugar, and chocolates… Need I say more?

 

There are two shelves on either side of the window above the sink. I use them to display pretties.

I’ve started to acquire tea pots of all different shapes, but mostly in white and off-white. The sugar bowl  above is one I found a few weeks ago in a yard sale. There are cut glass covered bowls on each of the shelves.

 

The green sugar bowl above has a matching tea pot that I keep in one of the guest rooms.

 

 

My black painted hutch contrasts so well against all of the red. I recently re-covered the chair seats to tie the two pieces of furniture together. They were originally white, which made for a lot of cleanups.

 

 

        

 

I like simple white dishes because they go with everything. I’ve placed one set of them on the hutch.  To add another touch of color, I’ve placed four luncheon sized plates on the top shelf. You can see that I’m continuing the wine theme on this side of the room, too.

      

 

 

Even the top of the refrigerator is not immune to being dressed. Two pieces of silver, a basket, and some wine bottles top this surface.

 

 

Having a small number of cabinets within the kitchen could make for a very bad storage problem. Fortunately, I have two large pantries in which to store my food and the overflow of dishes and cookware.

 

I keep my canned and dry goods in this pantry.     And yes, that is my purse hanging from the chair….

 

 

         Do you think it might just be a little full? 

          I think this is due for a little re-arranging…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Extra sets of dishes and cookware occupy this pantry.

 

 

 

           How did I accumulate all this stuff?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We estimated that the storage room in both pantries is equivalent to having 11 extra cabinets! That would have taken up a lot more wall space that we just don’t have.

 

This hallway connects the garage to the kitchen, the laundry room, and a bathroom.

 

This console stores excess bar glasses.

                                              

An old blackboard from an Indiana schoolhouse helps me remember what’s going on in our lives.

Some of you may have noticed that the rooster decor is now gone.  I get tired of it, take it down, but when the whim strikes, I put it out again.  Only the clock remains, because I’ve got to know what time it is!

So there’s my kitchen in all its red entirety, Gloria.  It’s not gourmet, but it’s comfortable and functional.  It’s cheery and bright, and most of all~ I like it. 

I’ve linked up with Mary @ Work of the Poet for Ruby Tuesday.

It’s not time for the last hurrah, quite yet…

 Rhoda is back from the beach and is hosting Thrifty Treasures once again. So why don’t you you stop on over to see everyone has found to add to their own treasure troves….

~~~~~

I had been thinking that the lack of  yard and estate sales over the past few weeks was due to the fact that fall was fast approaching and most people had already had their sales earlier in the season. But after last week and the proliferation of sales that were held, I’ve come to the conclusion that the procrastinators who didn’t hold their sales earlier in the summer are now rushing to get their sales in before the weather changes.  I don’t think we’ve seen the last hurrah quite yet.

Last week Mr. Sullivan and I hit some interesting estate and yard sales. He started accompanying me a few weeks ago to see what the yard sale hoopla was all about, but he was feeling a disappointed because we never found much of anything. Estate sale prices were high and yard sales didn’t seem to yield anything but a few bargains. He kept saying that homeowners valued their junk too highly!  But last week we hit the what he called the mother lode of sales.

We hit an estate sale where we encountered a few things I can re-purpose or  paint.  I told Mr. Sullivan to look past the “ugly” and not to shake his head at me like he kept doing! These two prints are Spanish Rococo and not quite to my taste. But once I spray paint the frames and  perhaps add some toile fabric, they will look much better to me. 

                          

The pair was a bargain at $2.00 each.

 

 

I plan on painting these candlesticks black  and using them in a Halloween tablescape.

 

 

I loved these footed compotes/candy dishes. I’ve placed Halloween candy in one of them. But it probably won’t last for very long…..   I am a bit of a chocoholic!

 

 

The heavy ladle called to me when I saw this $6.50 silver server.  Nothing flimsy, here.  I can see some tasty sauces being served out of this dish.  Think I can avoid curdling the hollandaise?

 

 

These eight sundae cups were full of dust and hiding in a basement storage cupboard. I don’t think anyone would ever have thought to look for glassware in there.  I paid $3.50 for the lot of them.  I’ll be serving hot fudge brownie sundaes in them tonight.

 

 

I’ve been needing a five foot ladder ever since I fell off my wobbly, old one  and it got smashed to pieces.  So what do I find hiding in the corner behind the above named cupboard? A sturdy $2.00 wood ladder.  Mr. Sullivan checked it out personally and it withstood the test with flying colors. I don’t care how paint splattered it is -  that shows character!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think these might be butter pats, but I’m not sure because I’ve never seen them in silver. What do you think- is this what they are?  I found six of them for $4.00.

 

 

I took him to an estate sale I had gone to the day before, hoping that a set of wicker furniture  I had liked was still there. I hadn’t wanted to pay the price they were asking, even though I know now that it wasn’t really priced that badly. I took the chance that it would still be there and I could get it for 25% off on the second day, but I was, as the saying goes- a day late and a dollar short!  Well, I actually had more money in my pocket to spend since I  didn’t buy the wicker!

 

We looked at all the left overs and I found this large Pyrex bowl. It’s the perfect size for mixing cakes and cookie dough.  I paid $4.00 for it.

 

Mr. Sullivan loved this $1.00 wooden gavel and he placed it in the study when we got home.

 

I’m using these three spindles in a tabletop display in the kitchen. You’ll see them when I post for Rhoda’s  fall decorating party in October.

 

Before we went home, we stopped at a yard sale where two men were manning the fort. Seems that the wives had gone to a garage sale down the street. The homeowner was quite willing to deal on prices and I think I made some good bargains on the few things that I bought.

 

This Johnson Bros. plate is gorgeous.  The gentleman let me have it for a dollar.

 

 

 

    These bakers were fifty cents each. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided I want to do an entire section of wall with blue and white plates, so this  $3.00 10-inch floral will begin my collection. 

 

 

If Barb at Bella Vista ever decides to host another rooster party, I’ll be ready with this small plate that I got for  fifty cents.

 

I’ m so glad that Mr. Sullivan finally got to see what fun it it is to unearth treasures at estate sales. I told you he had caught the bug for yard sales a few weeks back, and I know that he isn’t looking forward to them ending anytime soon.  Just wait til I tell him about auctions!!

Forging a new friendship…

 

 

I had the extreme pleasure of meeting another blogging friend yesterday while Mr. Sullivan and I attended the Springfield Extravaganza. This flea market and antique show is one of the largest in the midwest - and in May and September, over 2000 vendors gather to sell their wares - from yard sale finds to fine antiques - and LOTS of stuff in between.

Kathy Stantz, from Sylvia’s Vintage Daughter, and I have been chatting back and forth for the past few months. She is from Mansfield, Ohio, about a two and a half -hour drive from me here in south Dayton.  Between our busy schedules, we just didn’t have the time to connect over the summer. When she announced that she and her friend, Terri, would be doing the Springfield show, I knew that would be the most opportune time for us to meet, since Mr. Sullivan and I had already made plans to go to the show.

Kathy was expecting me sometime during the course of the weekend, and we’ve seen each other’s pictures on our blogs, but when I walked up to her booth, she turned to me with an expression of surprise and questioned, “Sue?”   I said yes, we hugged, and we laughed.  Mr. Sullivan looked on and probably wondered why we were carrying on as we were, but he related later that he thought it was really neat that two people could come together like this!  Kathy introduced me to Terri her “partner in junk”  for their booth, Nostalgia’s Cottage. We exchanged stories and and just chatted in between the times where she was helping the many customers who were enamored with her merchandise.  Realizing we need a less distracting atmosphere where we can get to know each other even better, we decided that we should get together again next month. Gee, that’s coming up real soon! LOL

There was so much to see and touch in her booth! If I had been blessed with an unlimited amount of funds, I would have spent a lot more money than I did! Kathy is a voracious thrifter and crafter. She finds things at yard and estate sales and often re-purposes her junk into clever and practical things.  You can see many of her talented make-overs and re-do’s by clicking on her blog name above.

 

  There were numerous items of jewelry fashioned by both girls. There were pieces of silver, enamelware, old diner dishes, painted furniture pieces, collages, and so much more.

 

I wish I had bought this cute little curio cabinet- it was so reasonably priced.  When we came by the booth later in the day, I saw it had been sold. Darn, why did I hesitate? Lesson learned - BUY IT WHILE YOU CAN!!! 

 

  A hot item I saw in many booths were aqua-colored dish drainers. If my color scheme would have accommodated it, I definitely would have bought this beauty.

~~~~~

My plan is to show you my purchases tomorrow. I have tons to do today- finish a bit of laundry, clean up a messy house, get ready for a dinner party I’m hosting, and then try to take a minute for myself!   Stop on over to  see Kathy’s blog, say hi, and tell her Sue sent you over.  She’s a clever one, that girl!  And I’m glad to call her my new friend.

Who ya’ gonna call ? Corporate office! ~ update on the gas leak saga

 

I’ve achieved a sense of satisfaction now that I have spoken to the local project manager of Vectren’s riser replacement repair project. It took 45 minutes on the line with a very helpful customer service representative who works in Indiana to try and connect me to the right person to help me with my problem. She directed me to Fred Willet, who has an office in Fairborn, Ohio- less than 30 minutes from me here in Centerville.  After almost 40 minutes of discussion with this man, he has determined that the fault of my gas leak did indeed lie with the contracted firm who worked on my gas line.  You can read more about my problem HERE.  And I believe I have made him aware that, even though my situation may have been an isolated case of  workman incompetency, there are issues that Vectren needs to address regarding safety and competency within the company and its contractors.

It was explained to me that, while these contractors do not have to a be licensed plumbers or technicians, they have passed a certification that complies with the guidelines of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio.  So, they should have the knowledge that it takes to do pipe work and know how to deal with the intricacies of a gas line.  However, once I gave him the details of where the leak was actually found and how it had not been detected by the technician who came to turn on the gas last week, he assured me that the issue will be addressed with the contractor and a written reprimand  will be issued to the workman.

Fred concurred with me that all fittings  from the line replacement should have been checked after they restored gas service to the house last week. A leak would have shown up with a simple soap test, and one would assume that a competent worker would do this. Instead, someone failed to do his job.  During the course of our conversation, Fred made several attempts to reassure me that the potential for fire or explosion had been minimal. I told him that we will never know what possibly COULD have happened if I had not discovered the leak.

I also found out that the field supervisor who originally made the decision to make me wait two days for service called Fred at home on Saturday morning to ask him what he should do about the situation.  My thoughts are that perhaps Curt felt guilty about making a bad call  and he wanted to let himself off the hook by calling HIS supervisor. Whatever the reason, Fred authorized the service, citing that I should never have been inconvenienced in the first place. 

*** Oh, I was just interrupted to take a call from Chase Kelley from Vectren’s corporate office. Seems that my comments to Fred and the CSR in Indiana that I fully intended to speak to someone at the main office did not go unheeded.  Fred placed a call to her and the CSR  e-mailed her. Toward the end of  our conversation she relayed to me that she will be delving into the decision made by Curt to make me wait for service until after the weekend. She stated that it is company policy to deal with any type of gas leak  24/7.  And what a coincidence that she is having a meeting tomorrow with company project managers for the riser replacement program! As part of of the meeting agenda, she stated she will be addressing the issues that I encountered regarding the contractor and the Vectren field supervisor. 

Originally I thought that I was being charged for the gas that was leaking.  When I mentioned to her that the leak was detected in a valve below the meter, she told me that the gas had not even registered as my usage. She said it was company-owned gas that had been dissipating into the air.  It hadn’t entered the meter yet!   She agreed with me that this was lost revenue for Vectren and that other leaks caused by poor workmanship could still be out in the field.

Maybe this dollar loss, small as it may be, will be more of an incentive for Vectren to resolve its internal company problems regarding the handling of gas leaks and those it has with its contracted firms regarding shoddy workmanship.  You know what “they” say about companies only addressing a problem when it hits  them in the pocketbook….

I feel much better about my issues after spending several hours discussing the situation with knowledgeable company personnel. I believe that Chase Kelley will look into the field supervisor’s  decision making skills and that she will discuss safety concerns and guidelines with company contractors.  With the company addressing these issues, it should be a step in the right direction for helping them resolve future customer service and safety issues. 

Oh where oh where have they gone?

My follower list is gone! And I do not know what happened. I miss seeing my peeps!

I know I remember reading that a few of you have lost your list in the past, then either it was restored or you had to start all over again! Is it Blogger?  I certainly didn't have any reason to be playing around with this list. I checked Dashboard to see if the list would show there- it is gone as well. I tried adding my name to the list and it posted. Now it is gone, as well. 

What is really weird, is that  my list shows up on my laptop, including my name. But when I ran downstairs to check the computer in my study, it is gone! But my list on dashboard on the laptop is gone, too.  I have re-loaded and refreshed both computers to no avail. Am I in the Twilight Zone, or what?

 Anybody out there have any suggestions? Are YOU seeing my list?  Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

Smelly Scare…

I don’t know what possessed me to walk to the  right side of my house yesterday. It is a pathway I rarely use.  Immediately upon rounding the corner, I detected that unmistakable odor of natural gas. There was a leak and the smell was coming near or from the meter that is similar to the one pictured below.

photo from Flikr

The smell of gas has always scared me.  I grew up with a gas water heater in my parents’ house, and my dad instilled in me and my siblings that “bad”  things could happen if   there was ever a gas leak. He told  me that if I ever detected the odor of peaches, we had a gas leak and I was supposed to let him know immediately.  (Gas does not naturally have an odor. Companies add something to it to give it its distinctive odor, and back when I was growing up, that smell was one that was similar to peaches.)  

I asked my next door neighbor, Kelly, to take a whiff of the air.  She definitely smelled it.  I went into the house for the phone to call the gas company and the operator who took my call said she would dispatch someone.  Then she proceeded to tell me not to go back into the house, not to use the phone, not to open or close windows, not to have an open flame near the house, and in general- just to leave the area.  

I walked next door  to Kelly’s house, where her husband told me the leak was  probably the result of the work that had been done on the meter the week before. I had to concur.  Only last week, Vectren, our local gas company, left a hang tag on my front door stating that  a contracted firm  would be replacing a “riser”  leading from the gas line in the yard to the meter.  Company literature promised that the area in front of the meter would be dug up and that the area would be returned to its original state.

I am not a  trusting soul when it comes  to believing that  any repair work will be to my satisfaction if I am not around to check our the end result.  And having my yard torn up didn’t sit well with me, no matter how small a job this riser replacement would be. Call me picky, but workers often do things incompletely and/or don’t check to see if everything works or looks like it’s supposed to once they’re done with the job.

The very next day after receiving the initial hang tag notice, I returned home to see a green flag in my yard and a new hang tag on the door telling me that the “scheduled”  work had been completed, and since I was  not at home when the workman completed the job, he had turned off the gas  and I would have to call to have my gas service turned on and the appliances re-lit.  I called the phone number I was given, gas service was restored, and I never gave it another thought.   That is, until yesterday when the smell of gas and the possibility of fire and my house being blown to smithereens kept haunting me. I am not an alarmist, but who wouldn’t think the worst when faced with this type of situation?

When the Vectren technician showed up  at my house a short while later, I was relieved. I figured he would fix the problem and I could go back into the house.  Wrong.  He determined the location of  the leak, told  me he believed that the contractors who performed the work could have cracked  a seal, and he couldn’t fix it because he didn’t have the parts. He called his supervisor, explained that he needed someone else sent to the jobsite, and asked for approval. The supervisor, in his infinite wisdom of  probably never having worked out in the field, said NO.  Excuse me, but aren’t gas leaks considered a priority with this company?! Should I be inconvenienced because this man won’t allow another tech to bring over a needed part? The technician was told to turn off the gas and explain to me that someone would be out to repair the problem after the weekend and I could possibly expect someone on Monday.  

I would be without gas for cooking and hot water for bathing for two days! And even though the neighbors offered us the use of their home, I knew I had to make an another attempt at having our service restored. I called Vectren once again and asked to speak with a field supervisor. I was told no one was on duty to speak with customers because it was the weekend.  I asked to speak with the customer service supervisor. I was told that there were no supervisors on duty over the weekend. With no supervisors on duty whatsoever, what DO Vectren employees have as an option when they have a question, a problem, or in general just need to contact a supervisor?  Do they just run amok because there is no one on duty to see what they are doing, or in my case, NOT doing?

I was resigned to doing without hot water for the weekend after hearing the customer service rep tell me once again that she could not help me. She reiterated that I would have to just wait for someone to show up for service. I dejectedly went back to the Kelly’s  house and had lunch.  Her husband came in to tell me that a different technician was now at the gas meter and was attempting to fix the problem. I went over to talk to him, and he explained that his supervisor had called him to say that he was authorized to fix the leak.  The original tech showed up a few minutes later, as well.  Both of them  concurred that the crew that did the repair work had botched the job.  Turns out that the first crew was not even employed by Vectren, but rather, were workmen from another company contracted by Vectren. They are not even licensed plumbers or technicians.  And this is who works on the gas lines leading to people’s homes????

If someone had inadvertently lit a match, fired up the barbeque grill,  or had caused any sort of  spark near the gas meter, the possibility for an explosion was there.  Someone could have hurt.  All as a result of someone not doing his or her job correctly. 

Vectren will most assuredly will be getting a call from me on Monday morning. Surely, company supervisors will be on duty then.  I will be telling them that the initial work was done shoddily and that  no one even checked  the finished project to see if there were any gas leaks in the newly replaced pipe joints. (easily done by applying a soapy mixture to the pipe joints to see if any bubbles appear).  I’ll also be telling them that the crew didn’t leave the work area in the same condition as they found it.  And I’ll be telling them that the field supervisor’s original decision to make me wait 2 days for service was ludicrous.

I still don’t know what actually made the field supervisor contact the technicians to tell them they could fix my meter and the leak.  Did he have a moment of remorse in his decision to inconvenience me and let me go for two days without gas service? I don’t know.

I guess I am just glad that nothing happened in the four-day time period that the gas was leaking into the air outside my house. Was  there enough gas pooling to have set off an explosion if a spark or a flame had made contact with it?  Maybe, maybe not, but I’ll never know. Does that  make it any less important or scary?   I just count ourselves lucky.

Remember the Date and Honor Those Who Serve….

 

I don't think any of us will ever forget what we were doing on that eventful day of September 11, 2001. We, as a nation, must never forget the attack upon our soil and the lives that were lost in the attack and in the aftermath.

We had a real wake-up call eight years ago, and it showed us our vulnerability. We are still not immune to future terrorist attacks in any shape or form.  We count on our military forces for protection, and it is only fitting that we honor and pay tribute to those who  are willing to put their lives on the line to help protect the freedom that we Americans have come to take for granted.

Our lives will never quite be the same after the attacks of eight years ago, and we must continue to protect ourselves at any cost. Unfortunately, that takes its toll on the members of the military, most of whom are young men and women.  When I first saw this video and the campaign to show gratitude to  members of the military, I vowed to make this small attempt at any time I could, to thank all who serve in our armed forces. I’ve done it in the airport and in shopping malls. And although it felt a bit awkward for me the first few times I did it, I know it did not go unnoticed and  it was appreciated by the service men and women to whom it was addressed.

To those who have suffered the effects of the indignities of the war on terrorism, I thank you. To those who continue to join the ranks of the brave men and women who serve  in the many capacities that help protect the freedom of this country, I thank you, too.  Bravery is not limited to the combat field.

Won’t you take a moment out of your lives to honor  a member of the military in some way or the other the next time you see him/her in public?   It doesn’t have to be a salute. Walk up to them and just thank them for their service. Any  gesture you make  will not only make that person feel appreciated, but it might make their service to you seem just a little closer to home.

 

Welcome to Fall and my Cloches ….

 

 

Welcoming you to my front door is a dragonfly cloche and my fall flowers.

 

 

 

The metal cloche is decorated with two different styles of dragonflies, and it has a base of oak leaves that I found while yard sale-ing today. I created a ball of leaves by taking a  large styrofoam ball and  layering it with fabric leaves. Then I “planted” it in a clay pot in the middle of the cloche base.  It kind of looks like a head of lettuce or cabbage!  I surrounded it with dried pomegranates, miniature gourds, artichokes, and  oranges. You may recognize the large gourds in front of the table as the ones I found in a yard sale a few weeks ago.

 

 

 

Here you can see a bit more detail of the dragonflies and the leaf ball.

 

 

 

There’s a big game this weekend between Ohio State and USC. And being from Ohio, I felt we should pay some small tribute to the Buckeyes in this party!  The cloche is filled with buckeye necklaces with the team colors of OSU ~ scarlet and gray. The necklaces, worn by fans throughout the state, are strung with beads and buckeye nuts. Ohio is known as the Buckeye State, so Ohio State’s teams are known as the Buckeyes. This is your trivia for the day!

 

 

 

 

 

This ceramic leaf is the perfect place to set a small, ripe pear.

 

 

 

 

Don’t sunflowers just say, FALL? I found this small cupcake cloche when we were in Iowa this summer. 

 

 

 

 

My back entry hall needed a bit of fall decor, so I filled this cloche with a variety of dried apples, nuts, and artichokes. This topper rests on a large metal leaf.

 

 

 

 

Sometimes, simplicity is best. Three dried gourds, some berry sprigs, and some fabric leaves make up this setting.

 

 

And now for whimsy!  I wanted a fun cloche to get me into the Halloween spirit. Do you know how hard it is to try and find candy corn before October? I cannot tell you how many stores I visited.  Fortunately, I had some left over from last year. I really don’t know how I  found it buried in the pantry. Even more puzzling is why I even kept it.  It was stale as could be, but perfect for this fun candy corn inspired cloche!!

 

 

The tray the cloche sits on holds four candy corn kernel candles.  Say that fast, four times!!!  The black candies are “DOTS” and are surprisingly NOT licorice flavored.  I had to perform a taste test, of course, and found out that they are fruit flavored. The yellow/orange DOTS don’t taste like traditional candy corn, but rather like fruit and vanilla. Not sure what kind of fruit,  I only know  that they are good. I made many efforts not to continue taste-testing my display before I photographed it!

 

Take a stroll down to Marty’s. She’s hosting another Cloche Party. I’m anxious to visit her and everyone else who is participating in this season’s party.