Cool antique store find

You might remember I visited the city of Gloucester last week. Well after my friend Lori Lee and I had breakfast we checked out a few antique stores.

I found a wonderful old photo album that I just had to have.  Here it is on display in my hallway.

Here's a closer look. I liked the color of the album and noticed it had some of the colors of the lamp.

The album is hand painted and the paint is chipping.  But I don't mind.  It adds character.

Here's an extreme closeup.  It's so cheery. I just love it!

 It must have locked at one time. The fact that it won't lock now doesn't bother me.  My life is an open book, right?

And speaking of open books, when I opened the album I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of the interior.  Also, the book was filled with pristine vintage photographs.

Don't you love the painting around the photos? So gorgeous!

This page is my favorite.  Love the little girl and the embellishment around the photo. It is just so charming.

 Here's a closer view.

And an even closer view of the artwork. Magnificent!

I love this little boy's outfit.  I am not sure what era this is from but I sure am curious. Their names are Fred and Ethel!

For a second, I thought I had an original Abe Lincoln photo and I thought I might be able to retire early. But it turns out this is Gramp Hill, a Lincoln lookalike.  I guess I will have to keep my day job! So perhaps this is a Civil War war album? That would be so cool!

This photo was made of a different material.  Lori Lee thinks it's silver gelatin. Really?

And another stylish toddler.  When I brought this to the shop owner I asked if the price was firm and he discounted it quite a bit.  Then he when he opened the album he asked if I would like to sell the photos back to him.  I said no way.  They're part of it's charm!

I'm joining Cindy from My Romantic Home's Show and Tell Friday. Click here to see more posts.

I am happy to report that Miss Marble was rescued last night.  We started feeding her in the carrier /trap a few days ago and she took right to it.

The rescue was scheduled for yesterday morning with the help of two ladies from the cat society.  Little did we know that the landlord of the building had scheduled lawn mowing and cleanup for the morning. There was so much noise that our little feral did not show up.  The rescue was postponed until last night.

My sister was there.  I couldn't bear to watch.  She reported that Miss Marble did not freak out too much after being trapped.  We had noticed that lately she seemed to want to be caught.

She had lived a hard life. Living outside near a busy street, becoming a mother of 5 kittens, foraging for food, all that at such a young age.

Today she had her surgery. She came through it fine and will be released tomorrow. My sister and I will work together to care for her as she recuperates. Just as we worked as a team when we took turns feeding her.

My sister's landlord at her art studio has offered an empty retail space for Miss Marble.  Seems Miss Marble has won his heart too.  She has a lot of people pulling for her as she transitions from stray semi-feral kitty to indoor kitty and house pet.

We have a few leads for a forever home for her.  My hope is that someone will take her in and love and care for her and spend time with her so she will learn how to trust and show affection.  She is safe from all outdoor dangers now and that is a reward in itself.

A daytrip to Cape Ann

 Thursday I took the day off from work.  The weather was just perfect, not too hot or cold with a nice breeze. My friend Lori Lee came down from New Hampshire.

We decided to go for breakfast first. I suggested Sugar Magnolias in Gloucester.  Sugar Mags was on the way to Rockport, our final destination.

Lori Lee had not been to this restaurant.  She loved the menu and decided to go with the decadent Georgia French Toast.  That's marshmallow and chocolate chips atop the toast.

The Motif No 1 was looking good. The harbor was quiet. Just a few pleasure craft.

The water color was such a gorgeous blue.

And yes, of course, we went to Helmut's Strudel shop.  This is the view from the deck.

And another view from the deck. How fun would it be to take out a sailboat on a day like this?

Our table was right here, behind the railing. We had coffee and studel. So good, we each got a box to go home.

Everyone who sits on this deck does not want to leave.  It is possibly the best spot to view the goings on in the harbor.

Mini sailboats on the water.  We watched as sailing school went by us.

We found some interesting shops in Rockport. In Gloucester, we hit two antique stores and a consignment shop.  I'll post about my finds in a few days.

Hope you're having a great weekend.

My cat is gifted

Which cat you may ask? Well Oscar of course!  I always knew he was smart but he's smarter than smart. He's gifted!

Right now, Oscar has a small vocabulary.  He can say why, no, and Mum. But lately he's been talking in complete sentences. It's just a matter of time before he speaks fluent English.

And then could talk shows be far behind? I can see him on Letterman, maybe Regis and Kelly, definitely Animal Planet.  We'll do the talk show circuit.  Maybe some commercials, by the way, he eats Wellness Cat Food.

Of course, we''ll need him to drop his Boston accent. I'll have to teach him to say his R's.

Don't worry, his brother and sister will keep him grounded.  As I write this post, Percy is biting Oscar's neck and then I am sure they will chase each other around the condo.

We have to make sure he stays as sweet and loving as he is today.

Weekend Wedding

This weekend I attended a wedding of my friend Deborah's daughter.  Heidi looked lovely in her dress. Here's the closeup of the gorgeous back of the dress.

The beading was on the bottom of the dress as well.

The reception was on the Spirit of Boston.  It was a 3 1/2 hour sunset cruise.

I love cobalt blue! In fact I was looking for dress the very same color.  I never found it. I ended up wearing white linen pants and a navy blue top with a glitzy necklace and bracelet.

Here are the wedding cakes.  Yes, I did say cakes! There were six of them! I can't remember all the flavors but there was a red velvet cake, a mocha, a dark chocolate, and a white cake with strawberries.

Red velvet cake was by far the most popular although I had to go with the mocha.
The bride's aunt decorated the cakes. Don't you love the butterflies?

And real monarch butterflies were released at the wedding ceremony earlier in the day. One of the butterflies landed on the bride's father's shoulder.

The Minuteman cake, an ode to the region the bride's family lives.  Surely, you've heard of historic Lexington and Concord.

My friend Deborah looked gorgeous in her blue gown.

Her son Landon was one of the ushers.

Heidi and Luis were introduced.

And they were ready for the spotlight that would shine on them all night.

Heidi and her father danced to a beautiful country song. Not sure what it was called

but maybe it was I saw her first.  I probably should have researched this for you.  Anyway, it made everyone misty, it was so beautiful.

Roger, her father, hangs on tight for his last dance with his daughter.

And then granddaughter Olivia joined in.

The couple's first dance with bridesmaids looking on.

The cruise took us past Boston's Zakim Bridge.

We had a wonderful buffet. 

And then it was up on the deck to watch the sunset.  It had been another 90 plus degree day so it was nice to feel the ocean breeze.

The clouds and colors of the sky were everchanging.

To the right in the photo is the Logan Airport tower.

Here are the girls from the tea group.  The bride's mother is our tea group friend.

 More pink clouds as the sun sets over the Harbor.

The wake from the boat made interesting ripples in the water.

Must be great to sail on Summer nights like this.

Heather was content to stay out on the deck all night.  Me too!

From orange to pink, such an interesting sky.

Have I bored you yet with my sunset shots?

As I said earlier, I went for the mocha cake.  I didn't regret it.

The going away dance for Heidi and Luis.  Not sure where they are honeymooning.

And one last look at the Boston skyline.  It was a magical night.

Man, it's a hot one...

Man it's a hot one, like seven inches from the midday sun ....

I listened to the lyrics from the  Carlos Santana song, Smooth, which was on my car radio today.  It was 102 degrees outside according to my phone.

When I first got in the car, I nearly burned my hand on the steering wheel! I was hating the heat but then I remembered these scenes from not that long ago.

I remember listening to snowplows working hour after hour during the night and me worrying about the morning commute.

I remember having to clear my car off abour a million times a day to keep up with the accumulation of snow and ice. And one of my least favorite sounds in the world is the sound of an ice scraper on the windshield of a car. It sends chills up my spine. It's like nails on chalkboard!

I remember having to keep my distance from all the cars on the road in case I skidded or worse yet, someone who does not know how to drive in snow slid into me.

And I remember having to shovel a path just to get to the car and then still having to shovel off the car.

Ok, I am not going to hate these triple digit temps. I think I can make peace with the heat.

How are you staying cool?

Oscar's Photo Shoot

This is Oscar. Yesterday was his photo shoot.  Or I should say yesterday was supposed to be Oscar's photo shoot.

He hates having his picture taken! I told him that I wanted to enter him in the cutest cat in New England contest thinking that might sway him.

He listened and thought about it carefully. I thought I had him convinced to cooperate...

I raised my camera to get ready and then this is what he did.

A not so subtle way of telling me to get lost! Ok Oscar, you win round one but just remember I always get my shot!