Backyard Neighbor

WALL POCKET LOVE - A sweet gift

 Please join Angie at, Knick of Time to enjoy vintage treasures. Thank you angie for hosting this fun blog party.

Linking also to...

 

Thank you Linda at, Coastal Charm, for hosting  Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays  as well.

Please visit Angie's and Linda's blogs for some great fun with bargain and vintage hunting treasures.

Wall Pockets are interesting and fun to collect.

My sister has a lovely collection that I will share soon. 

My sweet wall pocket was a gift from Claudie at, FRENCH PINK POODLES AND PEARLS.   She knows I love birds and you can see why I love this one so much.  Thank you Claudie for thinking of me in such a sweet way.

This wall pocket will be hung on the wall.  In the meantime it is sitting on my hutch. I love the birds in the design.

A bit of info about wall pockets from Google.

Vintage wall pockets, vases shaped for hanging on walls, make fascinating focal points or highly unusual themes in home décor. Here are ideas for home decorating with these captivating collectibles.

Age and Materials of Vintage Wall Pockets
Though still produced today, "vintage" wall pockets are often considered to be those made thirty or more years ago. Retro wall-mount vases from the 1960s and 70s, collectable pieces from the 1920s - 50s, and genuine antique wall pockets from the early 1900s and before, all qualify as vintage. Older wall hanging vases are available for decorating from many periods in each era's popular styles. Vintage vases made from numerous materials in a seemingly endless variety of patterns were produced in the past. Ceramic, pottery, and glass wall pockets are most common. Vases made of other materials such as metal, wood, and wicker may also be found.

Happy hunting for the things you love to collect.

Love,

JEANNE

I LOVE THE COLOR BLUE - A POEM

Thank you Sally for hosting blue Monday so faithfully.  I always wonder if I can possibly find another blue thing to post but so far so good.  I enjoy this event so much.  Please visit Sally's blog for lots more blue at, Smiling Sally.

 

A BLUE POEM

Blue is the color of the sparkling sea,

Blue is the sky that looks down at me.

Blues are music musicians sing,

Blue is the saphirre in a dazzling ring.

 

Blue is the water in a crystal glass,

Blue are the lilacs that grow in the grass,

Blue is delicious blueberry pie,

Blue are the sparkles in my cats eyes. 

 

I love the color blue!

By Sgt. Pepper Kamicat

Happy Blue Monday

Love,

JEANNE

 

 

 

 

FAMILY SKIING TRIP FROM THE PAST

WELCOME TO "MY"

 Beverly, at How Sweet the Sound, is hosting Pink Saturday for the most fun Blog Party of the week.  My year will be a pink one because of you.   Thank you Beverly.

 

A FAMILY SKI TRIP TO PARK CITY, UTAH

I was looking at some old photos and came across a photo of three of our five children with their spouses that went out west with us to ski. We spent several years skiing out west and the memories of these times are very special to us. 

I noticed I was wearing pink so I am sharing this photo today in honor of the color pink.

 

(from left to right first row girls)

daughter Christina,  Jeanne, me, daughter Diana, dtr-in-law Beth (passed away from cancer at age 42)

(back row boys)

Son-in-law Garrett, Bill, my hubs, Son-in-law Robert, son Brett

The sun was in our eyes so we all look kind of squinty.

I really miss those happy times.

Happy Pink Saturday

Love,

JEANNE

MY MOTHER AND HER SISTERS - A VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPH

Suzanne at, Coloradolady, is our host for today's fun event.  Be sure and visit Suzanne's blog for lots more vintage fun.

Thank you Suzanne for hosting this event.

 

A VERY SPECIAL PHOTO

I have wanted to share this photo for a while now and since I have shared many of my treasures that were given to me by these special women, it is time to share 'them' with you.

My mom also had four brothers but that will be another day.

This photo was taken in 1947 at my Aunt Dorothy's wedding.  She is the fourth sister in the photo in the wedding dress. I was 8 years old and remember well that special day 64 years ago. My cousin Bob that is visiting us now, is my Aunt Dorothy's son.  He was pretty excited to see this photo of his mother's wedding day.

 

    THE SISTERS...My mother and my very special Aunts.

Sadly, there is only one sister alive from this wonderful loving family.  Aunt Shirley is the youngest sister and she is a lively 83 years of age. She is the third sister in this photo in the bridesmaid dress. Close to your age LV. Smile.  I can tell you she is not  blogging like you are but she is an active antique dealer that sells vintage buttons.  Do you remember the buttons Suzanne?

 First is Aunt Maudie.  She gave me a leasded glass Lamp, a Heisey vase and many other lovely gifts that I treasure. She is the Aunt that had cracker jars all across her kitchen counter like mine.  Many of mine were hers that were given to me when ahe passed away. She was like a second mom to me when my mom passed away at 65 of cancer. I loved her dearly.

Second is my mother Mae. She was a lovely women who raised all six of us to love each and our loving family as well as my father's side of our family.   She already had six children when this photo was taken. My parents were married 47 years.  We lived on the dairy farm where all ten brothers and sisters grew up. Still today, 62 years later, I miss that old farm home and the life we had on the farm.  It is still there and it is over 100 years old.

The house is much bigger than it looks.  It has 6 bedrooms and the sleeping porch on the front. This is a recent photo.  The farm has been sold off for many years. It was 300 acres when we lived there with 4 huge barns and a silo.  And...lots of cows that my older sister and I had to bring in for milking every night. The one thing that is missing is the many rose bushes and flowering shurbs around the porch. We also had a lovely goldfish pond in front of the house that my grandfather built for my grandmother.  The farm house was built by my grandfather's family and you can see it was built to last.

Fifth in the photo is my Aunt Jean.  I was named after her and the sixth Aunt whose first name is Sylva,  ( my first name) but she went by her second name, Aunt Lorite.  They were all attractive but Aunt Lorite was stunning and beautiful alll of her life. She passed away just last year at age 92. She is the aunt who made the button pins I shared recently.

I hope you don't mind my long post today. This was a post that touches my heart.  I was loved by these women and I loved them too.  They all were a 'vital' part of my life, even though for most of my life we lived in Florida and they all lived in MI. We moved away from the farm in 1948.

Blessings and love,

JEANNE

 

DRIVING IN THE RAIN SAFETY - GOOD TO KNOW!!!

Linking to Outdoor Wednesday and Blue Monday

 Susan at, A Southern Daydreamer, is our host for today's event.  Please visit Susan's blog for great outdoor posts.

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT DRIVING IN THE RAIN?

PLEASE READ THIS...IT COULD MEAN LIFE OR DEATH.

driving in the rain -- this may save your life

I have heard of the second part of this,
but not the first part.


GOOD VISION IN A DOWNPOUR
 
How to achieve good vision while driving during
a heavy downpour.
 
We are not sure why it is so effective;
just try this method when it
rains heavily. This method was told
by a Police friend who had experienced and
confirmed it. It is useful....even driving
at night.

Most of the motorists would turn on HIGH or
FASTEST SPEED of the wipers during heavy
downpour, yet the visibility in front of
the windshield is still bad......
 
In the event you face such a
situation, just try your SUN GLASSES (any
model will do), and miracle! All of a
sudden, your visibility in front of
your windshield is perfectly clear,
as if there is no rain.
 
Make sure you always have a pair of SUN
GLASSES in your car, as you are not only
helping yourself to drive safely with good vision,
but also might save your friend's life
by giving him this idea..
 
Try it yourself and share it with your
friends! Amazing, you still
see the drops on the
windshield, but not the sheet of
rain falling.
 
You can see where the rain bounces off the
road. It works to eliminate the
"blindness" from passing semi's
spraying you too.
 
Or the "kickup" if you are following
a semi or car in the rain. They
ought to teach that little tip in
driver's training. It really
does work..
 
This warning is a good one! I
wonder how many people know about
this~

 

NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON
This driver thought she was
being cautious by setting the cruise
control and maintaining a safe consistent
speed in the rain. But the
highway patrolman told her that if the cruise
control is on when your car begins to hydro-plane
and your tires lose contact with the pavement,
your car will accelerate to a higher rate
of speed making you take off
like an airplane. She told the patrolman
that was exactly what had occurred.
>
The patrolman said this warning should
be listed, on the driver's seat
sun-visor - NEVER USETHE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN
THE PAVEMENT IS
WET OR ICY, along with the airbag warning.
We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and
drive a safe speed - but we don't tell them
to use the cruise control only when the
pavement is dry.
 
The only person the accident victim found,
who knew this (besides the patrolman),
was a man who had a similar accident,
totaled
his car and sustained severe
injuries.
 
NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota
Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow you to
set the cruise control when the
windshield wipers are on.

Wishing you safe driving in the rain or not.

Blessings,

JEANNE

ROSES AND TEA

Thank you Sandi for inviting me to your "Tea Time 2nd Birthday Party.'  Please visit Sandi at, Sandi 's Rose Chintz Cottage for a lovely time to enjoy roses and tea.

Happy 2nd Tea time Birthday Party

 

I can hardly wait to have a piece of this cake...

 

Now for the tea party birthday celebration

 

Please join me for tea. The Painting is a vase of lovely roses.

The bowl of roses are faux but I think they are beautiful.

 

 

My teapot is not roses.  I hope pink counts. Smile!  The flowers on the china look like little roses.  The pattern is Springtime.

 

This plate is one of my favorite treasures.  Vintage and hand painted from Austria.

I hope you enjoyed my birthday tea today.  Thank you for coming.

Love,

JEANNE

 

 

MY POODLE IS A COUCH POTATO

Thank you Sally for hosting blue Monday so faithfully.  I always wonder if I can possibly find another blue thing to post but so far so good.  I enjoy this event so much.  Please visit Sally's blog for lots more blue at, Smiling Sally.

 

CHERI' IS A COUCH POTATO

Yep, that's right.  Our poodle owns the back of our couch.  She loves to lounge on the blanket we keep there.  In fact she gets a bit upset if we dare to cover up with the blanket when we take a nap.  She actually jumps on me and lays on the blanket when it is covering me.  Of course, we don't care because she is the love of our life. The truth is she owns us too. HA!

The following photos were taken without a flash.  I was trying to avoid red eye. They did not turn out great but they sure are cute.

Do you see that very glamerous dog collar?  It is a gift from my sweet friend Julie at, This is How I See the World.  Thank you so much Julie. Cheri' is in grand style.

 

See what I mean?

 

Oh yeah, this couch is mine!

 

Did you say "get down?"

 

No Way Mom!!! (this photo was taken at night)

 

Cheri with my cousin Bob and my hubs, Bill

 

Cheri' with my cousin Bob.  "Don't you know you might fall off this couch? Let's talk about it!"

"Do you know why dogs have so many friends?  They wag their tails instead of their tongue."

Author unknown

My sister Jane Anne sent this quote to me today

Thanks sis! Love it!

Happy Blue Monday

Love,

JEANNE

 

FOR THE BEAUTY OF PINK

WELCOME TO "MY"

 Beverly, at How Sweet the Sound, is hosting Pink Saturday for the most fun Blog Party of the week.  My year will be a pink one because of you.   Thank you Beverly. 

WOMEN'S SEARCH FOR BEAUTY

IN PINK...

 

 

Pink is a favorite of women for the ages.

Especially in cosmetics.

 

 

I found this card that I loved.  We must seek the beauty inside ourselves, not just the external self.

 

Happy Pink Saturday to all of my Pinkie friends.

From my heart to yours,

JEANNE

 

 

HANDPAINTED TREASURES

Suzanne at, Coloradolady, is our host for today's fun event.  Be sure and visit Suzanne's blog for lots more vintage fun.

Thank you Suzanne for hosting this event.

 

A UNIQUE COLLECTION

I  had a wonderful Aunt that collected hand painted water pitchers some time ago.  They were all glass and beautifully painted mostly with flowers. I was named after her (Aunt Jean) and I loved her dearly. She was my mother's older sister.  My mom was one of six sisters and she also had four brothers.   A large family and most of them were great collectors of things they loved. My hand painted water pitcher was given to me many years ago from Aunt Jean's collection.  She gave one to each of my sisters and she let us choose the one we wanted.

This is the one I chose.

 

I added the four glasses myself.  I love the amethest color. In the background are several of the vintage cracker jars that include some that belonged to another of my mother's sisters, Aunt Maudie. She had a large collection that lined her kitchen counter much like mine do.  The memories of my much loved Aunts are all around me. I am so blessed.

 

I also loved the hand painted daises. The one daisy is a bit over exposed. The imperfection of the painted dots around the top,  just brings out the charm.

Have a happy 'Vintage Thingy' day.

Love,

JEANNE

IT S TIME FOR SOME SNOW SKIING FUN

Linking to Outdoor Wednesday and Blue Monday

 Susan at, A Southern Daydreamer, is our host for today's event.  Please visit Susan's blog for great outdoor posts.

Very soon my daughter and her family will be here for some fun in the snow.  Sadly we haven't had enough snow but our local ski area has all of their slopes open for the season.  Snow making equipment has been getting daily use for several weeks.

 

Located high in the mountains of Western North Carolina, we are the home of “Great Skiing in the Great Smokies!” One of the first areas in the region to open each season, we are committed to making your skiing and snowboarding experience the best it can be. We utilize one the most advanced snowmaking systems in the Southeast and offer 100% snowmaking on 16 lighted slopes including the Cat Cage Terrain Park. With a variety of terrain for beginners to experts alike and over 4,000 sets of snowsports equipment, the Cataloochee experience offers something for everyone. Plan your Great Skiing in the Great Smokies vacation today at Cataloochee...where we're all about the FUN!

 

Our grands enjoying the slopes at Cattalochee last year.

 

It won't be long now.  I do hope we get some snow that sticks instead of melting the next day.

****************************

MOTHER NATURE'S FROST ART

My cousin's truck hood this morning.  Amazing!

 

 

A fun surprise.  Have you seen anything like this before?

Happy Outdoor Wednesday.

Love,

JEANNE