Promising Poinsettia

So far, the poinsettia looks promising, a couple of the leaves are starting to turn red. Every other year that I try to re-bloom my poinsettias, I brought them in too late and they started to bloom about Christmas-time and are at their peak at Valentine's day. I hope this year we will have a nice big, bushy poinsettia for the holidays. It has a ways to go right now, but in a month it should look a lot nicer.

Bargains At The Auction

Last month I went to an estate auction nearby which was held at the owner's home. There was a big tent that was set up because it was raining off and on. A lot of tools and machinery were being auctioned off in the yard while the furniture, and household goods were being auctioned off in the tent.

There was a lot of collectible glassware, china, and pottery to bid on. There were four tables set up with box lots on them, which they auctioned off first, waiting for a larger crowd. As they emptied the tables, they took them down to make room for more people. They had trays set on the tables full of odd china and glassware. I bid on and won a few items for a couple of dollars just because no one was bidding. I was interested in a few items that I was outbid on, but that was okay.

I also got a few nice shabby chic items, an antique white ironstone wash pitcher with a chip, an antique English stoneware wash bowl with a crack, and an antique Wood & Sons chamber pot with a crack. I got all of them for under $5!

I bid on a vintage Quebec hooked rug which had gotten damp from the rain that morning. Nobody was bidding on it because it was wet so I got it for $20, I think I got a good buy. Now that it is dried out, I noticed that there was a little bit of bleeding but it is in otherwise good condition. I think it may be from the early to mid-20th century.

I'm going to do some research on the design to see if I can narrow down the time frame. The rug was hooked on burlap, probably a sack. The border is sewn on by sewing machine, it must have been a heavy-duty one. The material used to hook the rug looks like a knit textile, usually seen in woven rugs. The black is not colourfast, at least, not the black that's around the outline of one of the flowers.

Next one

Leaves Are Down, Lights Are Up

Before you know it, the first snow is going to be flying, the weatherman is calling for flurries next week but it is mild today. The trees are bare and my clematis is still flowering! Nothing spectacular, the leaves are all turning brown, but there are still a few buds on it. The snapdragons are still flowering and the sweet peas are straggling, otherwise, the rest of the garden is going dormant, except the weeds! I look out the door at my vegetable garden and I see green everywhere.

I brought the cactus in that was in the front garden and re-potted it. I think that it liked the full sun better than the indoor lighting, it is surviving but not thriving. I'll put it out next spring after the chance of frost is over.

My husband brought our Poinsettia inside about six weeks ago, and I brought it up from the basement last week. It was in the utility room and the light was on a timer so I was forgetting about it all the time and it was dropping leaves. The first buds were coming so I hope it will keep flowering. I'll know in a couple of weeks if the leaves start to change.

I am going to over-winter the fuschia downstairs, in the laundry room, it's been in the garage since before the first frost. I have to bring in two rosemary plants that are in the garage as well, I have to re-pot them into a smaller pot for in the kitchen for the winter.

The Christmas lights went put up yesterday, before the weather changes. There are a lot of lights this year, there are two less bushes to put the lights on this year. My husband already mentioned this morning what furniture needs to be moved where when we put the Christmas tree up.