"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

"Gather ye rose-buds while ye may." Robert Herrick

Hello Friends!

Friends, Romans, countrymen...y'all. Foodies, gardeners, artists and collectors - let's gather together to share and possibly learn a thing or two in the mix.

Donna Baker

Friday, June 9, 2017

I Got Nothin'


Except for this.  It is a magazine I've purchased from time to time.  Thick, nice paper and once in awhile, it occasionally speaks to me: I think I'm a little old for it actually.


I have always had an affinity for windows.  Bought and sold many antique ones and painted them on canvas.  I love the crackled paint, but could never live with it.  I think heebie jeebies; hold my nose kind of thing.  Love to buy and sell primitives, but don't usually put them in my house.  


This really spoke to me though.  I think is was written for me (though I'm old enough to know I'm not going to change the world.) But, there is hope for the problem child.  And, like Candide, I'm off to tend my garden.
Have a wonderful, magical weekend.

30 comments:

A Brit in Tennessee said...

'Beauty in imperfection'....I simply love this quote.
It describes the truth in life, mostly imperfections.
Hope you are having a beautiful day dear friend.
Hugs,
~Jo

Mary said...

Should I say Good Morning Crazy One? Great post. I have always thought that Perfection was overrated! It is far from real. Have a great weekend. Mary

RachelD said...

Just look at that window---the multi-panes casting a century of glow upon changing decades of furniture and paint colour. The shutters have blown open long ago, after the house was stripped to the echoes, and the uncountable gallons of blown-in rain have done their will in sculpting of the paint and the floor.

What a magnificent picture, frozen in that chippedy aspect so beloved of the "farmhouse" and rust-and-lace decorators, but too shabby to live with in real life. I shudder at the thought of those flaky farmhouse tables garnishing kitchens with a college-education's worth of shining granite and tile, and used for food prep and dining, while I love their severe aspect and raw surface. I like the thought of their past lives, and I admire their steadfast keepin' on keepin' on.

And, like you, I'd not be happy to be sweeping up paint-flutters every day,nor hearing the rustle of the shards with every window open to the breeze..

r

donna baker said...

You too Jo. I imagine you on your front porch looking about.

donna baker said...

Thank you and yes. Being a perfectionist, I know you are right. Nothing is ever good enough. Age has taught me to let it go/be. Hope your weekend is great too Mary.

donna baker said...

Wouldn't it be fun with an overstuffed chair in an attic? I could handle that. I have to vacuum and mop floors due to cottonwood fluff everywhere. So I can't even go there. Have a great weekend Rachel.

Joanne Noragon said...

And, Johnny Appleseed was a hero of mine. Like you, it's the imperfect for me.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thought for a moment the window picture was of your sitting room Donna - my immediate thought then was 'That is not the Donna I 'know'!

donna baker said...

Wasn't Johnny Appleseed something Joanne?

donna baker said...

Pat, I would love it as an attic room or art studio.

jerilanders said...

I'm with you on primitives; I subscribe to a magazine that features homes full of Primitives. I love to look at the rooms, but really couldn't live in a house decorated in such a manner. I have a few Prim pieces, but the chipping paint is just a bit too much for me.
Johnny Appleseed must've been a misfit... I've always been one.

Elephant's Child said...

Imperfect sings loudly to me. And about me. Perfection isn't even something I strive for (often) any more. Have a wonderful weekend.

Joanne Noragon said...

I had a grade school teacher dismiss him as a loony whose seeds did not germinate. Of course I had to learn more, and found out he planted entire orchards of the trees, walking over much of this Connecticut Western Reserve I live in, befriending settlers and Indians. He was something.

donna baker said...

Well, I was a problem child, but consider myself an outsider and would never want attention. The crazy part is kind of me too. Worse than chippy paint is the rusty stuff. Don't like that.

donna baker said...

I think it's the age thing that finally takes care of the perfectionist thing. Hope you are enjoying fall and enjoying a good book Child.

donna baker said...

Thank you Joanne. I did not know that. What a man. He and Thoreau would have enjoyed each other.

Ry @ Sotto Il Monte Vineyards said...

We should never stop trying to change the world - to make it a better place. I love the decayed elegance of the room. I look at that photo and wonder what all took place in that room and why it was abandoned. Restoring old houses is not for the faint of heart. I collect old windows and doors - have a garage filled with them. Architectural antiques - someday I will build a greenhouse with them. Or so I keep telling my husband....

donna baker said...

Oh Ry, I do too. Most of the windows I sold, but still have doors. And my heart is way to faint to try and do a remodel. Especially if I'm living in it.

SHON said...

Great post! Thanks.

La Table De Nana said...

We're all a little off inside:)I am almost 100 percent sure☺️I know I am..

Mary said...

I believe those amazing words may have been written by Apple's "John Appleseed", not Johnny Appleseed the legendary horticulturist whose name was actually John Chapman. I must make a copy of them and look at them often - not as you say to change myself, far too late for that, but more to understand the young people growing up in this very different and often quite difficult age we now live in.

I love the old and worn, chipped and scratched etc., but yes, this would be a bit much - unless outside. I have a potting bench on my porch looking a lot like that woodwork!

Jacqueline @ HOME said...

I'm with Mary Donna ..... I love the distressed, chipped paint look .... I have loads of it !!! I would like to have those distressed plaster walls too but am not quite brave enough !! XXXX

donna baker said...

Well, aren't you sweet Shon. Thanks for stopping by.

donna baker said...

So right Monique. We still have that monkey brain;)

donna baker said...

Thanks for the info Mary. Bet you are right. Cool name isn't it? Yes, outside would be great. Yes, I too love everything old. Not so much the newly made to look old - just the real primitives.

donna baker said...

I'd love to see more pics of you home Jacqueline. Bet it is stunning. Mary's is.

Sandra Cox said...

What a wonderful quote. And the magazine looks like all sorts of fun.
I hear you on windows.
YOU, have a great day.

donna baker said...

You too Sandra. It is a nice magazine. Don't know how they make money on it though,

Debbie Nolan said...

Dear Donna - I have looked at that magazine before too. Loved the quote by Johnny Appleseed. It speaks to me as well. As for changing the world and being too old...I think you are wrong friend. You are for sure making good things happen in that lovely creative spot called the garden. Take care and have a beautiful day. Hugs!

donna baker said...

I guess I meant that from an introvert's point of view. I still do things when the spirit moves me - just small things on a one on one basis, though they don't know it. I like to do things unawares - in the vein of altruism, again, the introvert thing.