The mother's corner...

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Many years ago, my mom had two little girls.... (My sister and I were very blessed because we had just about the best mom ever....)


...and then I followed in my mom's footsteps and had two little girls of my own... (and I was blessed again - twice!)

Today is not only Mother's Day, it's also my mom's birthday; Mom is never far from my thoughts, especially today.

Since it's Mother's Day, I thought I'd share a little corner of my office that's something of a tribute to my mom... I have a small collection (only two!) of Mother's Mottos. They both feature beautiful verses (that remind me of my mom) and sweet little cottages (and you all know how I feel about cottages!!) One of my mom's favorite movies was "The Enchanted Cottage," so my love for all things 'cottage' goes way back!


Wouldn't you love to live in a little cottage just like this? (The verse says, "FOR MOTHER... This is my loving Wish for you... A flower-lined path Your-whole Life through" copyright 1939 P.A.M. CO.)

This "Mother Dear" motto is quite old and I'm assuming it's some type of memorial plaque (judging by the verse)... The names Cecilia & Kathryn appear to be hand-lettered beneath the printed verse (in a different colored ink). The sentiment and artwork are both lovely (you can click to enlarge for reading)... The trees remind me of our flowering crabapple trees that I just posted about here.

Hanging above the two mottos is a hand painted portrait of my mom as a young woman, done by Amanda when she was a first year art student in college (what a special Christmas gift that was!!!) Hand-made gifts are absolutely the best, aren't they?

Also hanging on that same wall is this framed art sign that Courtney made for me many years ago... We were big fans of "The Berenstain Bear" books when my girls were growing up (I think we've read all of them - many, many times!!!) When Court gave this to me she said (something to the effect) "I made this for you because you remind me of Mama Bear when she's upset and stomps around!" Ha Ha!! Gotta love it!!! Again, you just can't beat those hand-made gifts from the heart!

Thanks for letting me share my little "mother's corner" with you... I hope you all have a very Happy Mother's day! And Happy Birthday, Mom! (click here for last year's post on my mom's birthday - she was a very special lady!!!)

Donna

Birdcage Deja Vu....

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This birdcage sits on top of the TV armoire in our living room. It may look familiar to you....


...because I showed you photos of it last year...


... when I found it (along with these two vintage frames) while junktiquing in New Hampshire.

The cage is flanked by the reproduction Staffordshire dogs that I got for Amanda last year...

They seem quite happy to be protecting it (although from what, I don't know!)

(mid 1950's... Nana lifting up my sister so she could see Pete the parakeet in his cage)

If you've ever read some of my older posts, you know I love vintage children's books... So you can imagine how excited I was when I happened across this copyright 1954 "Parakeet Peter" book (with the 29 cent price stamped on the front cover!)

It's just perfect! (This is exactly how my mom, sister, and I would hold our Pete's while teaching them to talk)...

We had a ladder and bell just like the ones pictured here...

And a few posts ago, I showed you a photo of my Nana's Pete with his bowl of water sitting in front of his cage, just like in this picture... Deja vu indeed!

Yup... We even had a mirror for our Pete...

Such sweet memories this book brought back!!!

Donna

Can you stand another bird cage??

I know I'm really milking these bird cage posts, but to be perfectly honest, I don't lead a very exciting life; therefore, I'm often at a loss as to what to blog about! (If you follow the widget links below each post, you can see all my previous bird cage posts!!)

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So I'm going to take advantage of my bird cage collection and string it along a bit more...


I found this beautiful vintage cage and stand while visiting western Massachusetts last year... Here's a picture of it in the shop, right before I carted it out to the van!


And here's the plastic Pete who lives in this chippy white birdcage, which now stands in a corner of our living room.



The very nice thing about plastic Pete's (as has been mentioned in previous comments) is that they aren't the least bit messy! Can you imagine what this scrapbook paper (that I lined the bottom of the cage with) would look like if that was a real parakeet up on that perch?

The base is also old and chippy... perfect for a shabby cottage look...

I sometimes decorate this cage for the holidays. This is what it looked like during October with a little white bird nesting on a big pink floral pumpkin!

And at Christmastime, it became a vintage barn for the glittery sugarplum reindeer that I painted...

And here's yet another blast from the past... My little sister and I posing with Nana's Pete (again, with his cage door open)... This is a rare photo from our old albums. Purchasing color film and having it developed was much more expensive back in the 50's, so this is one of just a handful of color photos that I have from that era, the majority being black & white...

Check back tomorrow for my one year anniversary giveaway post!

Donna

Mini Bird Cage... #4

This is something of a make-shift corner in our dining area, with all kinds of things sitting on top of each other!! (See all the rainbows from my window prisms?)


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I've had this mini bird cage for so long that I don't even remember where I bought it! It sits on top of a little mirrored cabinet which, in turn, sits on top of our little jelly cupboard.


I thought these parakeets were life-sized when I ordered them on-line a year or two ago. When I got them I was disappointed because they were so teensy weensy. But then I realized they were the perfect size for this little cage...


So little green Pete sits on the right hand side of the cage...



...while little blue Pete sits on the left...

And here's my beautiful Nana posing with her handsome Pete back in the 1950's. She absolutely loved her parakeet(s). In many of the photos I have of her with a bird, the cage door is wide open so her Pete could come out if he wanted. In the photo above, you can see that the cage door is open and she has put a little bowl of water in front of Pete's cage for him to bathe in. The writing on the back of several photos tell how Pete loved to bathe in these little water filled bowls that Nana put out for him...

I have a table very similar to the one pictured above that belonged to my mom. Some day I'll post about it. But just the other night I saw tables almost identical to this one at Target, except they were black and my Nana's was green.

By the way, I'm going to try to post my 'one-year blog anniversary' giveaway items on Saturday, so be sure to check back then, especially if you like birdies!!!

Donna

Bird Cage Love #3... Chippy Cottage Green!

Continuing with my bird cage collection....

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Last week you met Pete, who lives in this little footed cage on our kitchen counter.

And yesterday I showed you this white wire bird cage that is currently housing my philodendron plant...

Today I'd like to share a favorite old bird cage that makes its home next to one of the family room windows (all the better for the birds to see out!)...

I purchased this vintage bird cage from eBay years ago. I absolutely flipped for the chippy, cottage green color. It was also the perfect size for this old black bird cage stand...

I love the domed top, the deep base, and the scrollwork on the front.

And this is sweet Pete, a beautiful blue-green celluloid parakeet who spends his days swinging back and forth...

... while his friend, Miss Canary, spends her days eating! They are the best of friends and share the cage together... (just look at those perfectly chippy cottage green bars!!!!)

The scrollwork on the cage shows up better in these night-time photos...

I don't know if I'll ever get another live bird. I haven't had one since I was a teenager. But if I were to get one, I think I'd have to purchase a larger cage than what we used in the 50's... Looking at some of my old photographs, the cages seem so small. With all my talking about wanting a parakeet lately, the girls suggested we transform the windowseat area of our family room into a big cage and get a couple of parakeets! Wouldn't Spotty and Tiger love that!

Did you know that you can adopt birds from Petfinder.com? I think that's so great because if what I've read is true regarding most pet store birds (bird smuggling and bird breeding - think puppy mills, but for birds), I'm afraid it's not a very pleasant existence for these beautiful little creatures. I've added a link to Petfinder on my sidebar (just click on the parakeet photo), where every possible species of birds can be adopted. As a matter of fact, through the Petfinder website, you can rescue/adopt a wide variety of animals, from cats and dogs to birds, lizards, and farm animals... It's definitely a website worth checking out if you are looking for a non-human companion!!!

And I couldn't end this post without sharing another old famly photo of Pete... (Note: All our parakeets were named Pete)... Here, my sister and Pete are enjoying a warm summer day out in the yard. (I wonder if my sister was trying to capture a playmate for Pete??)

More cages to come in future posts...

Donna

This bird cage planter may be short-lived....

Okay, this is my old basket planter that I've had hanging above our front entryway for as long as I can remember...


Flashback to the 50's, Nana and I under "Pete" the parakeet's cage at my Nana's home. I guess you could say bird cages are my equivalent of "comfort food." They bring back such warm memories...


So when I spotted this pretty white bird cage at The Christmas Tree Shop last month, I thought it might make a nice planter....

Oh my gosh, it took me so long to get this plant inside the bird cage without harming any of the branches.... It pains me to think that I'm now considering 'disassembling' it and putting my old basket planter back up...

"Why?" you ask? Because it's so darned hard to water the plant inside the cage!! I suppose I could break down and get an actual watering can with a long spout that would reach between the bars... But for the past umpteen years I've just used a large measuring cup to run around the house and water my plants, and old habits die hard...

So I might just have to find another place for this nifty little cage and re-use my trusty old basket planter in the entryway...

Outside birdcage planter: If you'd like to create a birdcage planter for your porch or patio, check out this post, where I showed, step-by-step, how to transform an inexpensive birdcage into a outdoor planter.

My one year 'blog anniversary' is coming up soon, so be sure to check back to see some of the goodies I'll be giving away. I went to The Christmas Tree Shop, which you know is one of my favorite places to find great deals... and I picked out items that I would love to have in my own home, so I hope you'll like them as well!!! (Think birds, spring, robin's egg blue, and roses...)

Till then, have a great week!!

Comment Update: Thank you for all your suggestions, from watering systems to faux plants. I've had this one plant for sooooooo long in this same location (as was mentioned in the comments, you just can't kill these plants, which is good because I do not have a green thumb!!)... I'll definitely let everyone know the eventual outcome...

Donna