A Dose of Silly and a Dollop of Sweet

Since I am always so serious and scholarly
in my blog posts, today I've got my silly on.

 :-P

Or rather, I'm borrowing my daughter's silly.

Among the tourist pictures Alida and Josh snapped

on their honeymoon in China were some choice signs.

No frolicking?   Those Commies are such spoil sports.

This sign was in the hotel shower.  Alida no longer thinks the "hot" cautions on coffee cups are the dumbest warnings in the world.  Really -- do people need to be told that a shower floor might be wet?

Photographic evidence of our honeymooners being disobedient Americans.

Really?  Those spoilsport Commies strike again.

Now why doesn't Elizabeth Arden have this sign in its front window?

I'd hate to see a 1-star rated potty!

I guess it's not copyright infringement if you call him Spoony?

And who wouldn't want to have a meat patty that explodes in your stomach?  Mmm mmm good. 

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And now for something completely different!

What's hiding behind those bloomin' Rose of Sharon shrubs?

Deep pink, light pink, and white blossoms --

Rose of Sharon is also called Althea bush, and Chinese Hibiscus.

It's tough as nails, and we have zillions of them,

growing along the stone wall at the edge of our street.

Peek-A-Boo!

That Old House is hiding behind the Sharons.

Anne took these shots from street level, looking up at our house.
Would you believe I almost had all these

bushes yanked out last year, until the landscape guy said,

"Ummm. . . don't you want to keep all the Rose of Sharon?"

I do like how the white house peeks through the softly colored blossoms.

It turns out, yes, I did want to keep them once I knew what they were!

They bloom midsummer through the fall, in lovely shades of pink and magenta and white, and from the looks of the picture, below, there are loads of buds still to open!

I am still surprised to look up at our house, and see that it is white.

But I am so glad that it is.

Even if it's just so that the fresh white paint
looks good with all those pretty pink flowers!

While it was tempting to have the Rose of Sharon
yanked out last year to expose

all of the lovely stone wall, I'm glad they are there to dress up

the front of the yard with their crepe-paper-y blooms.
Especially since not a heck of a lot else is blooming right now!

Happy Wednesday!  -- Cass

Linky Parties!

At A Southern Daydreamer, it's Outdoor Wednesday.  Click here!

It's White Wednesday at Faded Charm Cottage.  Click here!

China Far And Near, and Dion Speaks!

If you are new to That Old House, you might not
know that a month ago, our daughter got married.

Alida, our daughter, on the right.  Josh, not-our-daughter but our newly minted son, on the left.

After their New Jersey wedding, Alida and Josh returned to their new apartment in Los Angeles,

and then took off for a 3-week honeymoon in China.  They got back to California on Sunday.

Much to the relief of all their parents!

They have jillions of pictures, and Alida says that when things settle down

for them, she will do a couple of guest posts about their China adventure for That Old House.

About places they visited

I spy the terracotta warriors!  Look behind you!

 

And about things they ate.

 Look!  Blue and white china!

 Love the Tablescape, below.  I think I need one of those pots.  Goodwill, maybe?

Mmmmm . . . .

And even about things they cooked.

 If Josh knows how to vacuum, I see a long and happy married life ahead of them.

 Well, I see that anyway.

Now my daughter is a little like me, in that she can be moving in a straight line toward a goal,

and find several detours along the way.  But we'll remind her of her promise to guest blog, won't we?

Tourist!

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Speaking of china . . . 

it's what we need to make a Tablescape on this Thursday, a day in which I have been

detouring 

to fabric sites online and other tempting distractions and not settling down to the task at hand.

Focus!

And let's have tea in the Parlor, shall we?

A couple of weeks ago, I scored a Queen Anne style mahogany tea table at an antiques mall.

For 47 dollars.

I have only cleaned it -- not refinished it -- and popped it into the Parlor, where I think it looks right at home.

Today, we put the tea table to work, in the Parlor that just last week looked like this:

Now, that's a big improvement!

Dion is convinced there must be crumbs here somewhere!  He can smell cookies.

Pictures of the tea table, awash in blue and white.

 Johnson Brothers Indies Blue china cups, sugar and creamer -- one of my very favorite patterns.

 A blue and white tea pot.

 And the cake plate I got at Goodwill on Monday is already making itself useful.

 Made in China, it is not food safe (probably lead in the glaze) so I am using a little cobalt-and-gilt plate to hold

the dark chocolate cookies atop the pedestal plate.  I can hear my husband:  "What? We have cookies at home?"

 Sugar for our tea, in the shape of little pink roses.

A silver bud vase, fashioned from vintage flatware.  I love this piece, a gift from my sister-in-law Phyllis.

 On the mantel . . . not much.  We're going spare and Zen today,

because I am completely out of ideas for jazzing up the fireplace.

"I sniffed that whole floor and no crumbs.  What's up with that?"

Mr. Dion DiPoochy lodges his complaint

about cookies that are out of his reach!

Click to view; it's short.

Dion has perfected that high-pitched yap for when he really wants to get your attention.

Or a Beanie Baby tossed at him.  -- Cass

Linky Parties for Thursday!

At Between Naps On The Porch, it's the Mother of All Linky Parties -- Tablescape Thursday.  Click here!

At Tales from Bloggeritaville, check out Thrifty Thursday.  Click here!

Colorado Lady gives us Vintage Thingy Thursday.  Click here!

and

At Shabby Chic Cottage, it's Transformation Thursday.  Click here!