A Blue Quilt for a Blue Monday

Time to air out the quilts on this Blue Monday morning. This one has been in the spare room for much too long. The fold lines are much too evident. My MIL and I both collected quilts. This was one of hers. I think it is a variation of the Rose of Sharon pattern probably made somewhere between the 1920's to 40's. If someone knows the correct identification of it, please let me know.


This is a great day to hang out the quilt-a gentle breeze and subdued sunshine.


This is one white center piece with 20 appliqued flowers. The applique work is quite impressive with about 10-12 stitches per inch. You can see an overall quilt design as well on the white background.


These are two of my favorite colors-blue and green. In fact, we used blue and green as our wedding colors 38 years ago. If I had known then that my MIL had this quilt, I would have tried to use it some way in the wedding decor.

A paler shade of blue...

juxtaposed against a darker flower.

It can rest at the foot of the bed...

become a tablecloth for a future tablescape...

make a great tablecloth for a romantic picnic...

or display on a quilt stand.

Have a wonderful Blue Monday. Visit Smiling Sally to view more participants.

It's a Christmas in July Tablescape Thursday!

For every Hallmark store owner, we are celebrating Christmas in July with our Ornament Premiere. So what better way for us to contribute to Tablescape Thursday than with a little bit of holiday cheer. For this occasion, I am using my Lenox Winter Greeting's Everyday dinner ware. I am sure that many of you have this same winter pattern. I enjoy using it after Thanksgiving through the new year.

For those of us who live in Virginia, the cardinal is a very special bird.



Take away the sauce bowl, and we see the salad plate...


and finally the dinner plate.


There are very limited pieces to this Lenox pattern-sauce bowls, soup bowls, salad and dinner plates, and an occasional serving piece.

I enjoy collecting antique napkin rings.


The center piece is a metal sled filled with magnolia leaves, a hurricane shade, and a tall candle. If this were in December, I would also use nandina berries, and some pine to round out the sleigh.


This little fellow was made by my friend Linda many years ago and now rests in the magnolia in the sleigh centerpiece.


A few Hallmark ornaments mark each place setting. This is a new series call Season's Treatings.

And who couldn't resist a snowman or two. This little fellow is Zak E. Zamboni from the Snowtop Lodge series.


The Community Church is the fourth in series from Noelsville.


Could you guess there is a golfer in our household? The Teed-Off Gopher from Caddyshack is sure to be a hit.


Since it is Christmas in July, we must have a hint of patriotism on our tablescape.


Alas, Christmas in July must come to an end.


Visit Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for more Tablescape Thursday.

Pink Saturday

For my contribution to Pink Saturday, I thought I would share some of the pink Christmas ornaments that are on display at our Hallmark store.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Barbie. Shoe-sational is so stylish!

Here is another Barbie in her Preferably Pink outfit.

This is China Rose , the 22nd of the Rosemary's Angels series.

Madame Alexander's Wreath of Holiday Wishes is the 14th of her series.

How about A Sugar Plumped Fairy?

Or a Teen Queen?


Proceeds from the sale of Angel of Strength helps to benefit the Susan Komen fund for breast cancer.


This is Precious Beauty, the fourth in the Angel series.

But my favorite has to be Ralphie's Pink Nightmare from The Christmas Story.

Visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more Pink Saturday.

This Week at Applejack Lane

This has been a busy week at Applejack Lane. Last Friday, June 26, David's company nTELOS flew him to San Francisco for a seven day Cisco Convention. He enjoyed seeing new sites and participating in Cisco's 20th anniversary celebration which included concerts, carnival rides, and fabulous foods. He did have to attend classes, but he said on the whole they were very enjoyable. He learned a few new things, interacted with other businesses like his, and would definitely do this again if the company paid for it!

With Dave in San Francisco, Timmy and Burt came out to Applejack Lane for their vacation.














Murphy was banished for his sake to the outside.

It was quite a week carting the dogs to Dave's house during the day and back to Applejack Lane at nights. Plus, somebody got fleas! After numerous flea baths, the scratching subsided. Of course, Timmy had to wear a red bandanna handkerchief around his middle one night so that he would not dig himself to death. The pooches were a little traumatized with Dave not being around. But, Tim and Burt did have some nice walks on country roads to help expend some of their energy and enable them to sleep well. On Friday, off to Doggystyles they went to see their friend Ann who massaged and groomed them beautifully for Dave's homecoming.

With Timmy and Burt back home on Friday, Team Cathy arrived Friday afternoon to celebrate Cathy's birthday and visit for the 4th of July. Murphy was able to come back into the house because he and Kahlo are friends. We had chicken and vegetable kabobs cooked on the grill along with pasta salad, and fresh corn on the cob. Kahlo decided to rescue the cobs that Guy threw over the fence and eat them later that evening-that's six whole cobs! You can see him here checking out a few extra chicken kabobs.

Instead of an ice cream cake this year, we resorted to more health conscious fare with a July 4th concoction of blueberries, strawberries, angel food cake, sugar free pudding, and light whipped cream.

Amy thought the Pepperidge Farm chocolate pirouettes weren't so bad either.

Cathy unwrapped a package or two...

and dazzled us with her fashion style.


Since the store was absolutely dead on Saturday, we decided to close and headed out to a new winery in the Fishersville area-Barren Ridge Vineyards.

This is a lovely facility which was transformed from an old apple packing shed by the present owners.

The covered balcony and patio area is set with tables and chairs overlooking the beautiful vineyard and countryside of Augusta County.


The patio is even equipped with an outdoor fireplace so that the winery could be used in the early spring to late autumn for a variety of activities and entertaining. There have even been wedding receptions here.


We tasted about seven of their wines. I recommend anyone visiting in the area to stop by for a free tasting. You can taste five more for a $5.00 charge, but we thought seven tastings were enough. I was getting a little woozy at this point anyway.


By Sunday, we were all pooped. Even Kahlo seems to have lost a lot of his zip. It was rainy and a little on the cool side which made for a lazy day.

By 11:00 A.M., Team Cathy was packed and ready to return to Richmond. I was whipped, too, after a week at work, caring for Timmy and Burt, preparing for company, and cooking over the weekend.

So, I decided to make myself a wine spritzer or two and just relax for the rest of the day here at Applejack Lane. Come on back for another visit!

Let's Celebrate Cathy!

It's getting close to the 4th of July, and that can only mean one thing-it's time for Cathy's birthday! Cathy was born on on July 2 which also happened to be the birthday of Baba, her grandmother. Hopefully, she and Kahlo will be able to drive in from Richmond to celebrate the festivities with us during the long weekend.
Cathy has lived in Richmond for the past four years and shares a row house with her college friend Amy. She works for the United States Geological Survey and is on the road much of the week traveling to various sites over the state to monitor water quality. She has goals of attending graduate school very soon to further her career. When she is not working, she enjoys running. Last November she completed the Richmond Half Marathon with plans this year of entering the Richmond Marathon. She has started training for this event with runs of 8 to 10 miles. She has a dog-Mr. Kahlo-who is a wonderful companion for her. She has trained him well. He is a welcome visitor to Applejack Lane anytime.

Cathy enjoys adventure. When she gets the opportunity she loves to visit new places. She has traveled west to Utah and Colorado, Minnesota, Washington, and south to Florida plus many more states. One of her favorite trips was to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. When she travels, Kahlo gets to have a vacation here. She likes to visit NOVA to have the opportunity to visit museums and attend cultural events with her friends. Cathy recently started a supper club with some of her friends in Richmond who enjoy eating new and different cuisines or entertaining at one an other's homes about once a month. She is thinking about inviting her friends here to enjoy Autumn in the Valley during October. She says that in order to live life to the fullest, one must experience all that one can.


So here's to Cathy on her birthday on July 2. We hope to see her very soon, and she is ready to attack a new birthday cake!

Happy Birthday!!!