Irish Country Tablescape

My first St. Patrick's Day tablescape - here today - is a reinterpretation of what is typically portrayed on this occasion. Most typically, you may expect an explosion of kelly green with four-leaf clovers or shamrocks, dancing leprechauns, colorful rainbows, and pots of gold. Instead, I have assembled a low-key, casual Irish Country table setting, which can even be used beyond the feast of its celebrated namesake.

Tracing family roots on my father's side, our ancestors arrived in the US, just before the Revolutionary War, from County Tyrone, Ulster Province, Ireland. Geographically situated in the northern area of Ireland, County Tyrone borders the largest lake in the British Isles, Lough Neagh. This history and geography was the springboard of my inspiration for today's tablescape. Imagine a quaint village, with farmers and fishermen, serving from farm to table, and the scene is set.

Hard-working folks would likely have a humble setting at the table. My table base is covered with a natural cotton cloth and matching napkins, all with frayed edge trim. Layered on center is a gray-green cable knit throw, with individual plate service consisting of celadon salad on ironstone dinner. The muted palette reminds me of the blurred lines between land and water on a foggy morn, or between the seasons' landscape from winter to spring. The bird motif on the plates, along with a single oxalis (shamrock) plant, are the only indications of the hope of spring to come in the otherwise soft palette.

The shamrock's history is steeped in Irish lore. The three leaf triad was a symbol of luck in the Celtic religion. St. Patrick, when introducing Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century, used the triad as a symbol of the Holy Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).

Tidbits and tipples: a winning combination of cheese and grapes, wine and ale or, as an alternative, seltzer. Who's to say if the time of day is mid-morning or midday; after all, we are speaking of the Irish!

After the tidbits and tipples, the ironstone and utensils in the cutlery tray assure service for the next round of food and drink fanfare - maybe the traditional corned beef hash and soda bread. The large, round bread board at table's center makes serving a cinch.

I have never been to Ireland, though I would love the opportunity to visit and explore. In my mind, I would expect the landscape of Ireland to very much be muted, like this tablescape, as winter fades into spring. The natural browns of the cloths and woods, even the glasses & ale crock, hint of brown grasses expected this time of year. The gray-green colors on the table remind me of things seen in nature - lichen on trees logs, benches and rocks - with the slightest hint of a more vivid green coming from the oxalis plant. I imagine cabled sweaters - like the throw - cozy for both mornings and at night, especially for those who spend their time outdoors.

You may have noticed I nonchalantly labeled this tablescape as Irish Country. We have French Country, Romantic Prairie Country, American Country, so why not Irish Country? It's a laid back, casual, easy style, no matter what country's 'country' label you attach to it. :)

Regardless of your ancestors' origins, March 17th is the one day of the year where everybody can be Irish, no blarney! Do you celebrate the wearin' of the green? How so?

Tablescape Source List:

Tablecloth, Napkins - 9' X 12' drop cloth, pre-shrunk and cut to 66" square, along with 8 napkins, 14" X 15" - Lowe's

Cabled throw - Pottery Barn

Amber glasses - Libbey, 1970s vintage

Flatware, Ironstone plates, pedestal & cafe au lait (vessel for grapes), Celadon salad plates, European bread board and seltzer bottle, American cutlery tray, English ale crock, and glass float - all antique and vintage items from my personal collections

Wine bottle/soy candle - locally crafted

Oxalis plant - Kroger's

(A special thanks to Cindy for featuring this post at Amaze Me Monday #155!)

Last Chance for MacKenzie-Childs Giveaway!

Get your name in the hat by leaving a comment on this post: Traveling Totes March 1, 2016 Giveaway before March 15th, 2016. The winner will be announced March 16th.

Rita C. at Panoply

Sharing: Dishing it!, Amaze Me, Show & Share, Inspire Me, The Scoop, Cuisine Kathleen, Tablescape Thursday, TOHOT, Foody Friday

Nature's Awakening: 2016 State of the Garden

Fickle February was a month that could even test the notorious duality of a Gemini spirit such as mine. The cold, gray and snowy days had me wishing for warmth and sunshine, but as the weather would flip to spring-like conditions, literally, in under 24 hours, I'd find myself conflicted. While wanting to get outside, I was feeling a little stressed that winter's hibernation might be coming to an early end. It's March now and, ready or not, nature's 2016 awakening is imminently upon us here in my Zone 7a region and garden.

Sitting at my desk inside the house one snowy February day, I spotted the male bluebird (pictured above) right outside my window, on the balcony post. I've never had the pleasure of hosting these beautiful birds in my landscape, but when the female and male landed together moments later, I thought perhaps they were scouting nearby real estate. What a lovely way to start the 2016 gardening season it would be if the bluebirds took up residence in my yard! Regardless, it's a sign of spring coming.

A walk through the neighborhood the last week of February showed more signs of spring coming.

Fighting Canadian geese from taking up residence on our riverbanks is a year-round, non-stop effort, but early spring is when they start pairing off for mating, so we are especially diligent this time of year. Sightings of robins collectively foraging in open, grassy areas, seeing evidence of crepe murder remains, and spotting crocuses popping up (even if alongside snow piles) are all signs that spring is in the not-too-distant future.

A walk through the garden on a mild day the last weekend of February prompted observation of the overall health of plants. I took pictures as part of my journaling, and made a mental list of things to tend to prior to emerging signs of new growth. As a matter of fact, I even took advantage of that mild day to knock out a few menial tasks on that list. I changed my garden flag from hearts to shamrocks.

I cleaned out a pottery birdhouse and hung it among my screen of nandina plants just inside the landscape fence which separates my neighbor's property next door.

One year a chickadee nested in the pottery birdhouse, a delightful surprise.

I also cut back my clematis vine on its tripod trellis in the NW corner of the property.

Among the scraggly vines on the trellis, there was a small nest - empty and droopy from winter snowmelt. It became collateral damage in my cleanup effort.

There will be plenty more of those messy type of nests, with wrens and sparrows seemingly being the most indiscriminate in choosing where they nest and, consequently, are some of the worst of nest builders. We have plenty of both species in our area. Wrens will even have several 'false starts' to building, as the female selects the one which will be completed.

My statuary has been a mainstay in my garden since its start, and after Valentine's Day I de-robed my book-reading boy, Augustine. He seems to have grown a bit of lichen on his curls over the years, which makes him more endearing to me. He was my only statue purchased new, in 2007.
My four seasons are doing okay, weathering well through the years.

My poor little cherub under the weeping cedar atlas tree seems to have lost an arm over time. If you look closely at the photo below, she's reclining to the right, on the ground, beside the weeping atlas. A closer view shows the deterioration of her right arm.

That's okay. She'll blend right in with the Bunny van Gogh, which I rescued last year.

Signs of growth were already apparent in the garden by late February. Sedum (Autumn Joy) beneath the birdfeeder, Love-in-a-Mist throughout the southernmost ground area, and the iris patch are all showing signs of green emerging above the mulch.

Pansies and daffodils planted last fall persevered through winter, including the Snowmageddon of 2016, but the daffs sprung up prematurely in December, confused with the warmer temps. I'm hoping they will burst in full color later this month. The pansies are great for show in fall, and then rebound again in spring.

The majority of my landscape maintenance is completed each fall, but tree trimming is addressed in late winter. This year, we will be having one large tree on our river property, a boxelder, removed.

In the photo above, it's the multi-limb tree leaning toward the street pavement. We I have spent the last several years trying to spare its inevitable fate, convincing my husband to put more money into it than it's probably worth.

We've more than once had the tree trimmed and even cabled from one limb to another, in attempts to strengthen its stature. Mother Nature has had her way with the tree, most notably during the 2012 derecho summer storm. Woodpeckers and squirrels have had their way with the tree, too. The photo below shows a couple of squirrels, scampering about (L), and sitting (R) just above a couple of the many ports of entry in and out its limbs. Boxelder bugs become a nuisance each year also. It's time.

My hesitation in taking the boxelder tree down, unfounded or not, is in exposing yet more of the surrounding trees, namely, the huge sassafras that stands on the riverbank nearest to the boxelder, to fierce winds with nothing else to block them. Time will tell.

One last update for my so-called state of the garden is in the lemon plant propagation experiment I started in winter 2015. It was a diversion from the boredom of winter, but it's turned out to be a pretty good test of time and patience, one year later.

The very top of the above collage shows the germination of seeds I extracted from my daily consumption of lemons. They sprouted into seedlings, which eventually grew from peat pots to small containers, before being transplanted last fall into one large container. The bottom right frame shows how they look now. No fruit; in fact, none is expected, but the plant is satisfying to look at, if only to confirm my green thumb is not yet showing signs of turning black.

Ready or not, spring is upon us. I'll admit I'm not ready for the workload in the landscape just yet this year, a first for me. Therein lies my own fickle feelings toward the cold weather months of hibernation and warm weather desire to get outside more. For the record, I'd choose spring any day over winter. Maybe I'll just hire a gardener. Nah. Maybe I'll just cut back on the plants I choose to nurture in the landscape this year. Or, maybe I'll change my fickle mind and get out there like I always do.

What about you? Are you chomping at the bit to get out and get your hands dirty with garden and DIY projects, and/or flea markets and yard sales? Or, do you need an excuse like winter to allow yourself down time to hibernate?

Thanks for your visit and comments - I enjoy them all. If you want to see my garden in years past, just go to the drop down menu bar at the top of my blog, under Home & Garden - My Landscape Garden, and you'll find many other posts on the subject. It's a favorite topic. Even when I'm being fickle.

Rita C. at Panoply

Just a reminder: don't forget the Traveling Totes giveaway that's going on! Be sure to leave a comment before March 15th, 2016 on that post of March 1, 2016 to have a chance to win the Mac-Kenzie Childs Courtly Check enamel pots and sticky note pad pictured below.

Sharing: Amaze Me Monday, BNOTP, Inspire Me, The Scoop, TOHOT, Delightsome Home & Garden, Designs by Gollum

Tales of the Traveling Totes: Biding Time Until Spring and a Giveaway!

For the background on this series of related posts, you can read all about the makings of the Traveling Totes Tribe here. Be sure to read to the end for a chance at this month's giveaway!

I have been biding my time with winter, patiently waiting until spring arrives. Other than regular walks outdoors and weekly trips to the antique mall to fluff the booths, it's been a somewhat quiet period for Miss Luna C and me since the holidays.

Apart from the crappy weather and all its ensuing salt, cinders and mud, I rather enjoy time to catch up on reading and organizing indoors during winter. I have always been one to recycle my magazines as soon as I've finished reading them. I typically pass them on to my sister, who reads and returns them, and then I pass them along to a family friend. She, in turn, passes them on to others. In January, however, my friend took a pass on her turn, so I did something perhaps better. I filled Miss Luna C with my recent stash and took the magazines to our cancer center's infusion center so patients would have something current to read. I read and purge, they receive and benefit. It's a win-win.

Miss Luna C toting recycled magazines to the Cancer Center's Infusion Center

On the calendar in early February was a lunch date with a group of local friends at a local restaurant. It's a convivial group called the CRS (Can't Remember S#@&!) bunch, and we meet monthly. Topics of conversation are always diverse, and no one worries too much about leaking juicy details outside of our lunchroom; after all, most everyone is of the CRS mindset anyway. ;) Of course, Miss Luna C went along for the ride and errands which followed.

Miss Luna C at the Bistro

Later in  February, I toted Miss Luna C to a great little workshop hosted by a local artisan/jewelry maker, Anna. I first met Anna several years ago at a craft fair, and have followed her around various art & craft venues through the years. Anna provided not only the expertise in making a bracelet and earring set from copper wire and river beads, but she also provided homemade takeaway kits, filled with all the supplies needed to get a jump on making the jewelry outside of the workshop.

Miss Luna C at the jewelry-making  workshop, clockwise (top): supply kits; Anna at the workbench; finished product

My sister M and daughter B came to the workshop also, and we had a great time, not only learning to make the jewelry, but in sharing time with Anna's laid-back style and artistic spirit. Miss Luna C toted some locally baked goods into the workshop, and my jewelry-making pouch out. :)

Clockwise (top): Anna' China Jewelry Workshop; our finished bracelets; Miss Luna C at the workbench with Anna and B.

Anna is currently best known for her artisan line of china jewelry. She has won several awards for her work in juried shows. I have purchased several pieces of her jewelry, mostly interchangeable pendants, which I wear casually.

Assortment of Anna's pendants, mostly from broken china

You can see and like Anna's Facebook page here: Anna's China Jewelry. She's recently started making rings from Fiestaware china, and I think I may have to get one!

Lastly, Miss Luna C and I attended another group luncheon of which I am a lifetime member, the University of  Charleston (WV) Builders. As an alumnus, I am an active member and am currently serving on its Board. Our mission is to raise awareness of the university in the community, and we host luncheons coinciding with the academic calendar. Luncheons are held in the gallery pictured below which, while I was a college student in the 1970s, was the school's library.

University of Charleston Builders' Luncheon - Erma Byrd Gallery

The entire right side of this gallery is floor to ceiling (two stories) of windows. I used to sit and study at a table on the upper level and look out at the view below (our capitol building). Those were the days!

View of WV Capitol from University of Charleston (from riverbank, left; from 3rd floor gallery, right)

Our luncheons are most notably with a book and author theme. Invitations are extended to local authors to discuss and sell their books, and February's luncheon was host to local cooking instructor, April Hamilton, and her book titled, "Counter Intelligence: The Best of April's Kitchen". What a delightful and enthusiastic speaker April is! Her cookbook is inspiring, even for the casual or lazy cook. You'll also find recipes on her website - April's Kitchen Counter - easy, simple ingredients, and good nutritional tips from her registered dietician friend throughout.

April Hamilton (and B) at University of Charleston Builders' Luncheon

April's playground is the kitchen, and these days she is quite the activist, sharing her love of good, home-cooked food for families to enjoy. When Jamie Oliver visited West Virginia in 2009 as part of his Food Revolution, he inspired April to make inroads in our county's school food program as a result, and she's been pushing efforts to better nutrition in local schools ever since. My daughter B joined me at the luncheon, as April was collaborating to host a cooking class event (Farm to FestivALL) for my daughter's arts group employer in the days following this luncheon. Of course, I purchased her cookbook, and tucked it inside Miss Luna C., which also provided transport for another armful of magazines to drop off at the cancer center after the luncheon.

ONTO THE GIVEAWAY!

Speaking of biding time until spring, let's get busy with this month's Traveling Totes' giveaway! Whether you're lucky enough to live in an area where the weather is better than cold and bare or, like me, antsy to get out and get busy with some outdoor, warm-weather activities, then I'm sure you'll find this little package useful.

Leave a comment here, on my blog (or send me an email mentioning this post if you are unable to comment here), for a chance to win a MacKenzie-Childs sticky note pad and a Set of 3 Courtly Check Enamel Herb Pots. Both are just in time for your spring planning and planting (or for stashing pencils & pens, utensils - you decide)! Feel free to share this giveaway opportunity with your friends.

Panoply's March Traveling Tote Giveaway: Courtly Check Sticky Pad and Set of 3 Enamel Pots

A winner will be randomly chosen by March 15, 2016

If you'd like to revisit Miss Luna C's previous travels, just click on Traveling Totes under the drop-down menu bar Travel header (top of blog), and you'll find all those posts. Or, just click on any of these links here:

Miss Luna C and the Traveling Totes Tribe

Miss Luna C Goes to the Park!

Miss Luna C's Autumn Joy!

Miss Luna C's Holiday Rush and a Giveaway!

Until our next adventure (coming June 1, 2016), thank you for traveling along. It's a pleasure to have your company and visit!  

Where have all the other Traveling Tote tribe members been of late?  By all means, go check them out at the links below. I tell ya, these girls get around, and now we have another tribe member - Emily McGriff at the French Hutch. Welcome, Emily!

Debbie and Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths

Linda and Miss Posie @ More Fun Less Laundry

Patti and Miss Kenzie and Miss Taylor @ Pandora's Box

Sarah and Miss Merry Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Samantha and Christabel @ Samantha Stone
Emily and Miss Courtly Childs @ The French Hutch

Rita C. at Panoply

Sharing: BNOTP Met Monday, The Scoop, WOW, SYC, TOHOT, One More TIme

Girls and Pearls: "Deco"dence Tablescape

A recent gift with purchase and some winter daydreaming have inspired my tablescape today. It's a girls and pearls, "deco"dence theme (as in Art Deco era).

Whether it's Galentine's Day (a recently coined day for ladies celebrating ladies, on February 13th, as the alternative to the traditional notion of Valentine's Day), a bridal shower, a tea party, or even a fundraising event with women as the central focus, this tablescape inspired me to glam it up with my gal pals in mind.

Back in December, Macy's offered these little dessert plates as a gift with purchase in the cosmetics department (I know, sounds crazy). 

As I was going through my inventory of dishes, I wanted something light and subtle to complement the geometric design of the dishes. My nearly forgotten, trusty Corelle Livingware was exactly what I didn't know I was looking for!

As a side note, I must confess this tablescape grew from my original idea for a simple, side table vignette. Once I found my Corelle dishes (with mugs!), I wanted to hang the mugs on a mug rack I've had, stack the dessert dishes on top, and use the Corelle dinner plates as a riser for the mug rack. The mug rack was a burnished bronze color I didn't care for. I also had a silver plate rack I had scored at an estate sale last summer. Taking advantage of some mild winter temps, I took those babies outside and spray painted them black!

A Side Table Vignette Becomes Basis of Tablescape

Using the plates as a riser was nixed when their circumference ended up a tad small for the legs of the rack to balance upon. Having pulled the two dish towels you see in the above photo for my vignette, I remembered I had a package of new [old] stock, black & white dish towels in my deep inventory of vintage textiles. One of the towels had scenes of Paris. A tablescape idea was born. 

Paris-themed Dish Towels Used as Napkins

Culling from more stashed items, I pulled my Art Deco pressed glass candlesticks, a more recent vintage set of cut glassware, and cast iron Eiffel tower candlelight items.

It then became obvious to add some of my favorite Art Deco handbags from my purse collection to the mix, as the visionary guests' accessories, on this table. (Those gals were bawdy in the '20s and '30s! Purses were small, big enough to hold rouge or lipstick, a few coins and hanky, but they found ways to tote their own nip!)

Notice how the sunlight catches the glow of bezel-set rhinestones of the French handbag, my favorite of these four (below).

Rounding out my girls and pearls tablescape, I added several of my vintage pearl necklaces on the table with abandon. 

As the delicate whites of the dishes juxtapose the geometric designs, the black against white contrasts, the coquette yet bold girls who would grace the scene, the flatware (Nobility Plate, vintage) offers delicacy in appearance as opposed to their utilitarian purpose.

As it turned out, the original idea for the side table wasn't totally lost.  I was able to not only display and stack my mugs and dishes, I also used my MacKenzie-Childs planter pots as utensil vessels for coffee and espresso service. 

The dish towel used as cover for the riser was sourced on our trip to Canada, where we stayed a few days at Le Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City (a Fairmont Resort).  Four queen bees live in garden rooftop hives there, one of several sites where the resort manages a sustainable bee program. It was a fitting accessory to this tablescape concept.

It doesn't have to be a special occasion to make an occasion special, but this tablescape could be the basis of a great party theme. You can see how my train of thought progressed in taking this idea from pretty ordinary to something that's sure to make guests feel special, start some great conversation, and make for a great time.

Always appreciative of your visits and feedback, feel free to leave a comment and let me know you stopped by.  

Rita C. at Panoply

Sharing: BNOTP Tablescape Thursday, Thoughts of Home, Foodie Friday, Tray of Bliss, FNF, Table It!, Celebrate and Decorate, Inspire Me, Grace at Home, Katherine's Corner TFT, Delightsome Life H&G, French Ethereal SYS, Pieced Pastimes