"There is a harmony in autumn, a lustre in its sky -- Percy Bysshe Shelley

So much to share that it will take several blogs. This has been a wonderful trip with my honey. He has been taking me all around his boyhood haunts and some of his favorite locales. The following are photos taken around the White Mountains, New Hampshire and the lovely little community of North Conway, NH. Rather than put narrative under each photo, I thought I would let the colors speak for themselves. (not sure why the first 5 will not enlarge. The remaining photos do if you click on them...looks like I have more blog geek work to learn)

So much beauty in this country. We are truly blessed. Sea Witch

A Sea Witch in New England

Hello everyone, this Sea Witch is taking some mandatory PTO (paid time off) and have flown to Boston to tour this lovely historical city with my honey and to take in a day at Salem...a village that I have always wanted to visit, especially the House of the 7 Gables...one of my favorite books by Nathaniel Hawthorne, notable American author.

I hope to have some pics up this weekend, forgot to pack my card reader so I will have to find a cheapie replacement while I'm up here to post some photos of this lovely part of the country.

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with New England, I just liked it. Have a swimmingly wonderful day. Sea Witch

Got a little silly

Okay, so I did get a little silly. I tricked out my "little friend" the shark in his favorite Halloween mask of Hello Kitty along with a dye job of Candy Corn on his menacing dorsal fin. Hey, sharks just want to have some Halloween fun too!

Found this photoshopped pic of a cat in a dive suit with fins, tank and mask. Had to post it just to show that I'm not the only silly one who likes to trick out their favorite pets in weird costumes. So is this really the proverbial "cat fish"? Have a great Tuesday. Sea Witch

Halloween at Vintage Village

Yes, Halloween has arrived with its pumpkins, and autumn leaves, ghosties, and more and it can all be seen at Vintage Village http://vintagevillageantiquesandmore.com/. This is such a fun holiday that the entire family can get involved in from decorating the home, making their costumes and planning a party or two. No longer just for kids, this holiday really is a family affair. The dealers at Vintage Village always have something for neat for Halloween and the fall decorating schemes; I hope you enjoy a few of these photos and you can always visit their website at the link above.

A spooky entrance from one of my favorite dealers at Vintage Village. Lynn has an enviable talent for decorating just right. Her prices are also a "steal" as I almost always walk out with something I must purchase.

Set your table with lots of fall color.

This hard to find copper boiler is a gem for holding cold drinks, displaying your favorite yarns or decorating with a witch bowl.

How clever. Black and white frames with vintage postcards and pretty ribbons.

Autumn truly is here and this pretty sign heralds the season.

My Vintage Heart, another favorite booth of mine never fails to please. she has married up crows with antique transfer ware and a ladies thunder mug.

How clever are these delightful pumpkins made from old canning jars. This dealer took tissue paper and Mod Podge's it to the outside, decorated with spooky faces and inserted tiny white lights for a creative and spooky display. You can use them as Halloween luminaries as a decorative way to invite your trick or treaters right to your front door.

I hope you enjoyed these few pictures of Vintage Village and stop by if you are in the area. We are always happy to see you. Sea Witch

Honest Scrap Award - Me Me Me

I am excited and so appreciative to have received my first blog award from Sandy and Joe at Rhubarb Reign http://rhubarb-reign.blogspot.com/ . Rhubarb Reign is one of my favorite blog spots and one day, I hope to meet Sandy and Joe at one of their shows. Who knows, it could happen. Well on to the award, I have been bestowed with the Honest Scrap Award.

The Honest Scrap Award states that I must share 10 things about myself that not many people know, and then must select 7 other bloggers to be so honored. So here goes:

1. I have moved 19 times in my life. 17 of those relocations were part of a 29 year marriage to a DOD employee. I'm a natural born gypsy and am always looking forward to my next adventure.

2. I wore a pair of white hot pants under my high school graduation gown. Hey, it was 1972 and navy tights and white hot pants were all the rage.

3. My baby sister and I can get to laughing so hard that we become a quivering mass of shaking and cannot speak as we gulp for air. When we do speak, all we say, is "Stop, it hurts" and continue laughing.

4. I went skydiving at age 19 and was one of the first 10 women to jump out of plane at a southern jump school's location in 1973.

5. As a teenager, I wanted to be a backup dancer for Tina Turner. Hey, we all have our big dreams.

6. I lived in Taejon, South Korea for 3 and half years and took a weekly, Korean aerobics class. I was one of 3 other American women in a class of locals. It was hilarious and fun.

7. I belonged to a 4-H group in New Jersey; the name of our group was, The Eager Beavers...yes, that really was the name. We sewed tea towels and aprons enthusiastically in the 1960s.

8. As a little girl, I and some school buddies were rescued from a hurricane storm in a Mr. Softee truck. Mr. Softee let us eat ice cream all the way home.

9. I can still get into my wedding dress from 1975...as long as I don't have to pull it up over my knees.

10. I am a crack shot with an air rifle and used to shoot the Christmas lights off the floating tree in our pond in Minnesota.

So enough about me and here are 7 blogs that I enjoy and follow and would like to know a little bit more about the posters so I bestow the Honest Scrap Award to:

Cute n Cool Blog Accessories - incredible backgrounds and thingies and all FREE for the taking.

1893 Victorian Farmhouse - love reading about this home's renovation

A New England Life - Gifted photographer, you will love her posts.

Appears no different from a galloping horse - how can you not love this blog name

Javajune's Blog - another talented and gifted photographer and woman who takes words and makes you soar.

A Whimsical Chick - a dear friend and antique buddy. She is new to blogging but her heart shouts through.

Ticklish from a Distance - recently discovered this blog, a sweet soul lives here.

So go and visit these blogs if you are not familiar with them. They will enrich your lives. Sea Witch

Afternoon with the Queen

It has been a month since I launched my booth space at the Queen of Hearts Antique Mall in Buford, GA and I am thoroughly delighted with being there. It's hard work trying to maintain two spaces and a full time job and all of my extracurricular activities that I often feel like I have stretched myself way to thin, but I have no regrets. I so adore the antiques business and my new space that I wanted to share a snapshop of some of my favorite booths at the Queen; which was hard to do because there are so many that I adore. Many of these booths are set up like a gallery or a fully decorated parlor, country kitchen, cottage beach bedroom or sitting room. This is a wonderful place for ideas.

Now this is a Halloween display. Everything is black, white and silver. Really invites you into the store as this is smack in the middle as you walk in the main entrance.

I couldn't end this posting without at least one picture of my space...the last photo in this group. I hope you enjoyed these unique spaces and if you ever have the opportunity to come to Buford, Georgia, please make the Queen of Hearts a stop.

Incoming, Outgoing

Let's start with the incoming...the good stuff, the wonderful things that arrive via snail mail from blogger friends. Those marvelous souls you have met through blogs and they become part of your daily routine. You must visit their blogs, you cannot help yourself and you are a richer individual because of them.

I was a winner of a Catnip Studio giveaway, my first. (you must checkout her latest header in her sepia series. Delightful! http://catnipstudio.blogspot.com/) Well via snail mail, I received a lovely sepia toned, gift tag full of dimension with a sweet little tassel made by Cat Nip. I love it and I'm thinking of displaying in under glass like you would a butterfly specimen.

The giveaway did not stop with the lovely butterfly tag. No, inside a white envelope tied off with pretty turquoise eyelash yarn were three notecards selected perfectly for a Sea Witch. Rich blue tones of mermaids in their element. I haven't decided what to do with them yet, so many possibilities other than notecards. Thank you, Catnip Studio, for a lovely giveaway.

Now for outgoing! I finally got around to finishing the two "car seat" blankets for the twins. I utilized soft fleece with tiny stars on a field of maize. Then I selected a nice salmon pink in the softest chenille imaginable and then the same type of fabric in mint green. These new fabric chenille's are like velvet they are so soft. The car seat blankets along with other new baby items and big sister present were packed into two large boxes and shipped to Italy where my son, his lovely wife, big sister Kit Kat and the newest arrivals reside.

My to do list is still longer than I like it to be, so I'm slowly working on that right now. Have yet to get to my jewelry making and am still working on the second blog...dare I even say that I want it to go live this weekend? We shall see. Sea Witch

How lovely is this sound?

Such joy and all created graphically with a musical track added. I love things like this. You may want to turn off the background music I have running at the bottom of this page...just scroll down and click the double bars. Have a joyful Monday. Sea Witch

Say hello to my little friend

With the change of the season, I am called to switch out my header and in keeping with the frightful, Halloween decor I could think of no better header pic then "my little friend." Yes, this bad boy pic was taken by me over Thanksgiving in 2007. My hubby and I and my youngest son ran way to the Bahamas for a long dive weekend and I was lucky enough to capture this shot. We were at tail tale end of our dive and enjoying a leisurely swim back when I felt the presence of someone near me. I just assumed it was my son who was always all over the place and as I turned to the right, this Caribbean Reef shark was about 3 feet from me. I didn't even set my camera for a shot...I just snapped the pic and hoped for the best when I got on board the dive boat. My little friend followed me for about 200 yards and then decided I wasn't worth his time and he slowly swam off.

When I got on board the dive boat, I couldn't believe my luck that I captured such a great photo of a shark so close to me and with my first time using my underwater housing. You probably want to ask me, was I afraid? It never occurred to me as I was more anxious to see if I got the shot. LOL. My little friend was about 6 feet in length and wide in the middle. Beautiful to watch as he moved quietly through the water until he swam away.

Wanted to share some other shots of the Bahamas. One of the many, conch shell lined docks to tie up your dingy. So charming.

Pink hibiscus plants abound.

Velvet soft, sage green tropical plant.

The view from the imfamous Nippers bar and grill. Colorful tables and benches, crashing waves of the surf, and always great music. Caught the Barefoot Man concert here and it was a blast.


Had to post this shot of my son's first tropical dive. He had just gotten certified in the cold Atlantic with three dark dives. When he hit the tropical waters he was like a kid in a candy store. This first dive was at the location called "the Aquarium" and it lived up to its name. Rich with sea life. Aaron had just entered the water and he was lost in this frenzy of fishies.

The sunsets are amazing in the Bahamas so I thought I would share one with you. There is so much beauty in this world. Below and above the water. Go and share whatever beauty you can find with someone you love. Sea Witch

October is here!

I cannot believe that this year will be over in 92 days. Where has the time flown this year? October is one of my favorite months with the sky always a brilliant blue, warm southern days and cool enough nights to keep your windows open while you sleep and a blanket wrapped around to keep you toasty. It also means I have to get into hyper drive and start filling my two booths with holiday items. Halloween is just around the corner and I found another pile of "horror & ghost story" books at my local Goodwill and repurposed them into Halloween decor. I enjoy repurposing everyday things (often found at Goodwill on the cheap) and giving them a new life.

Vintage wine glass and patina candlestick with a little faux blood provide the illusion of a quiet evening gone bad.

Vintage medicine bottle, brass candlestick and blood spattered gauze suggest a Frankenstonian physician's library of favorite reads.

Sweet vintage lampbase, faux pearls, a little blood and Stephen King novels about "strong women" are a nice Halloween touch.

I decorated with several of these in the foyer of my home over Halloween last year. They had a marvelous, realistic look when lights were dimmed and the candles lit.

Really easy to make...you just purchase 3-5 inch nut and bolt sets, drill a hole up the middle of the books you want to use and screw them tight with the bolt sets. Glue down the candlesticks and any other theme items, pour a little red acrylic paint for the right touch of spilled blood and you have Halloween realism Hollywood style. Sea Witch