Oh Sweet Lorraine

A fairy tale love story set to music. Please watch. You won't be disappointed.
(But do keep tissues handy.)
God bless you, Fred, and your sweet Lorraine.

Dedicated to my very own Fred and Lorraine...

I love and miss you, Mom & Dad...

Love, Donna

Now I need to head over to iTunes to purchase this amazingly beautiful song. Wish me luck as I'm pretty old school with my CD's, so buying music online will be a new experience for me!

Our Galway Girl...

 ... with her hair of black and her eyes of blue...

I come from a long, proud 100% Irish heritage on my mom's side! To this day, I can still hear my mom singing Danny Boy! And I'll never forget the 45 of  "Who Threw The Overalls in Mrs. Murphy's Chowder," that used to play on our old phonograph when my sister and I were kids!

Mom always made sure my sister and I wore something green on St. Patty's Day, and she did as well!

I made sure my girls did, too, when they were younger.

Love and miss you, Mom! Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!

And wishing all of you a Happy St. Patrick's Day as well!!!

After all, everyone is at least a wee bit Irish today!

Donna

A gift from my father...

Back in the 1960's, my dad started a small trucking company. The file cabinets in his home office are still packed with paperwork from the decades he built, and owned, that business.

It's been just over a year since my dad passed. I think I'm still coming to terms with him being gone because it's taken me this long to start sorting through some of his things. Last week I opened one of the file cabinet drawers and sitting atop a stack of papers was this small oval box wrapped in a rubber band.

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I opened the box and found my dad's gold wedding band! You see, my dad hadn't worn his ring since the 1950's when he witnessed a coworker's wedding ring get caught while jumping down from a truck, resulting in a very bad injury. So finding this treasure was such a gift!

But there was also a mystery. In addition to his gold wedding band, there was an inexpensive, lightweight silver ring inside the box!

Had my dad given this inexpensive ring to my mom before buying her a diamond? I know they had no money whatsoever back in those days, so that certainly seems plausible. Or did my dad try wearing this inexpensive break-away ring after witnessing that workplace accident so long ago? With both mom and dad both gone, there's no way of knowing the sentiment behind this ring, but I know there is some significance for it to have been inside the same little tin box as his wedding ring.

So the silver ring was put back into the little tin box. It will be placed in a prominent spot in my office/studio so I'll never forget the magical moment I found it. And as for my dad's ring, I'm now wearing that next to my ring finger.

I had been wearing my mom's rings as well, but a jeweler confirmed what I suspected, that the diamond is very loose, so I won't be wearing it again until I have some extra money to get the ring/prongs repaired.

My dad's ring is inscribed with his and my mom's initials, the date they got married, and the word Love...

I still can't get over how easy it was to find something I wasn't even looking for... Truly a gift from my father.

I treasure both my mom's and dad's rings and I'm so happy to be able to share them with you today! They are most certainly a favorite thing!

Thank you, Claudia, for hosting A Favorite Thing Saturday" at Mockingbird Hill Cottage! Be sure to pop over and visit Claudia's blog and share your own favorite thing in her first party! "Favorite Thing Saturday" will be a weekly event and she will have the party link up post up and running this evening around 8 PM EST.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Donna

Mother's Day...

 Happy Mother's Day, everyone!

 (click any photos to enlarge)

 Just a little rambling post today... 

This is one of a small collection of Mother Mottos/Samplers I've purchased over the years since losing my mom in 1996 (I think I have a total of about eight).

Every once in a while I'm drawn to something that reminds me of my mom, so I have a small collection of Mother Mottos and books. I purchased this particular little book about 12 years ago on eBay. It was a very well read copy of "Mother" by Edgar Guest  (I already had a small collection of his poetry books, but this one appealed to me because it was all Mother poems).

This book has a place of honor on one of the shelves in our family room bookcase.

It's hardly a pristine version, but I've come to realize how that makes it all the more special. And perhaps because of this book I am all the more drawn to aged, well used, worn, vintage pieces.

I'm so ashamed of myself, though, when I think of my original reaction to this book. Although I knew when I purchased it that it was old and used, when I actually received it, I was so disappointed. The condition of the book was much shabbier than I had expected. 

I contacted the eBay seller, letting her know of my disappointment. She sent me the loveliest email, telling me the history of this lovely little book and a bit about the life of her amazing grandmother who had owned and loved this book. After reading the entire email (much longer than what I have shown above), I came to realize what a treasure I was holding in my hands. This was a prized possession of a very special lady, and I feel very connected to this book. The seller ended by offering me my money back if I was unhappy with my purchase. Needless to say, I kept this little gem and left her glowing feedback. 

I also printed her email and tucked it into the front of the book so I will always be reminded, in all situations, to never judge a book by its cover.

(copyright 1925, the year before my mother was born)

When I came into my office this morning, this card was laying on top of my keyboard from my Amanda. I absolutely LOVE it, both the image and the quotation!. Amanda, who is both an avid writer and reader, tells me it is because I read to she and her sister every night when they were growing up. I have to admit, it was my absolute favorite time of each day. (A bit later today we will be getting together with Courtney. I can't wait!)

 This card will be tacked to the bulletin board next to my desk which contains (in addition to work items) mostly sentimental materials (photos, the girls' artwork, cards, etc.) As a matter of fact, the b&w card in the center is another card Amanda gave me a few years back of a mother reading to her two little girls! An old Mother's motto that hangs beneath my mom's painting (painted by Amanda in college) reads:

FOR  MOTHER

This is my loving Wish for you...

A flower-lined path Your whole Life through.

Isn't that the sweetest sentiment and painting?

So, my dear sweet Mom, Happy Mother's Day to you! You will always be our beloved Mom, Nana, and always our beautiful Galway Girl... 

We all love you so very much!

Love, Donna

A little visitor...

While sitting at the dining room table yesterday, I happened to glance toward the living room window where I spotted the brilliant red that can belong to only one bird here in New England...

I begged him to stay while I ran to get my camera, and he kindly obliged.

I love it when I spot one of these beauties. Cardinals were my mom's favorite birds, so I naturally think of her when one visits.

It's been a very strange winter here in New England as we've only had to shovel the walkway and end of the driveway once thus far. The lack of snow coupled with warmer than normal temperatures have made for quite a pleasant winter for this non-snow/cold lover.

However, we were hit with a mega snowstorm the week before Halloween, when the trees were still covered with leaves. The weight of the snow on the full foliage branches was just too much. In addition to losing major branches from multiple trees, we also lost entire trees in some cases, including a maple next to our driveway, an oak in the side yard, and yet another in the back yard.

This maple tree that sits in our front yard also lost some major branches, but it could have been so much worse. I'm thankful that it is still standing, providing a perfect spot for the cardinals to visit whenever they'd like. Happy February, everyone.... Donna

Our Galway Girl...

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you, Mom!

You were taken from us too soon... But we know how blessed we were to have had you, our very own Galway Girl, in our lives for so many years... I know you're wearing green today, and you can be sure that I am, too! (You taught me well!!!) I miss you and love you always...



Donna

1960's Vintage Rose Prints...

I've had this set of coordinating rose prints since I switched over to a shabby/cottage decorating style... I remember these hanging in our house when I was a kid. I believe my mom bought them at either a Woolworth's, Grant's, or Mammoth Mart store as those are the only places she shopped at back then... After my mom passed away, I found them down in her basement...
(click any photos to enlarge)

This is the largest of the three prints, about 8x10. It hangs in a corner of our family room... (By the way, that's the bird lamp my girls bought me as a Christmas present from Urban Outfitters several years ago, which is when I learned that UO carries some really great stuff - see yesterday's post)....


The vase of roses in this print looks like an actual painting...


... with lush roses...

and spring green leaves...

As I said, my mom got these back in the early 60's and the frames, now being close to 50 years old, have the perfect 'shabby/distressed' look to them....

There are two smaller prints that coordinate with the large one... I have them hanging above the windowseat in the family room...

Now how did mom know, all those years ago, that I would come to love this style of decorating? The fact that they were picked out, by her, so long ago makes them very special to me!

Love you, Mom! I hope you like the way your old prints are displayed...

Donna

Our Scrabble Queen...

"In thy face I see the map of honour, truth, and loyalty." ~ William Shakespeare

My mom would have been 82 today. We lost her in 1996 and I swear, sometimes it seems like just yesterday. But we were very blessed to have had her in our lives for such a long time. I know many people are not so fortunate as we were.

My mom had a fantastic sense of humor. She was easy going, quick to laugh, gentle and kind. And she was our Scrabble Queen! This is the fancy schmancy "turntable" board I bought for her many years ago (I highly recommend it if you play Scrabble regularly!). Mom taught my sister and I to play and I'll tell you, she was a hard one to beat!

So, Mom, I dedicate this to you. Most of these are words that remind me of you :) The Q and Z words were tougher to come up with (but I knew you'd want me to use those letters, and you always were the biggest PRIZE in our lives!) And did you notice the Q landed on Triple Letter score and J on Triple Word score? Nice, huh?

What I wouldn't give for one more Scrabble game with you, Mom. Happy Birthday and Happy Mother's Day!

With all my love,

Donna

Our Galway Girl

This is for you, Mom... our very own Galway Girl with your hair of black and your eyes of blue...

We miss you always, but know you are still with us.

Happy St. Patty's Day to you!

P.S. Yes, I am wearing something green!!

Love you always,

Donna