Collecting English Staffordshire Dogs

Attending the Holliston Antique Show in  Massachusetts was the perfect cure for what seemed like endless weeks of snow.  The sun was shining, the roads were clear. I was ready to enjoy the company of good friends while hunting for formerly loved treasures.

Collecting Staffordshire Dogs was a natural progression from my love of animals and my life of  incorporating canines into our human family lifestyle.  

Staffordshire Dogs, like real dogs come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes.  The most recognized is the brown and white spaniels complete with gold leash and locket. These were produced in the Staffordshire area of England and were most popular during the 19th Century.  

The dogs came in pairs that faced in opposite directions.  No Victorian home was complete with a pair of Staffordshire dogs gracing the mantle.

The expressions of the Staffordshire dogs differ, as they were all hand painted.  Some carry baskets of flowers.  I find these to be exceptionally charming.  

While most dogs were made to stand guard on the mantle some dogs were made to be used as pitchers. 

The spaniel is most popular, due to the popularity of the breed with English royalty.  In the 1600s King Charles owned a spaniel.  Queen Victoria had her spaniel "Dash."   

Staffordshire dogs were also produced to represent other breeds, including boxers, pugs, greyhounds, and poodles.

This adorable set of English Stafordshire poodles is one of my favorites.  They sport a coat of confetti fur, similar to the spaghetti poodles of the 1900s.   

Collecting Staffordshire dogs opens a world of canine delights.  The variation in painting and expression of the dogs will make collecting these dogs a very special experience.  

Till Next Time, Stay Well, Stay Happy

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5 Low Cost Ways To Cure Cabin Fever

Winter in the Northeast can be beautiful.  When the snow falls there is a calm quiet across the landscape.  Even a storm with blizzard conditions can be beautiful, as long as  you are prepared with whatever you need to make life comfortable for you should the power go out and the roads become impassable.

This winter has had its share of storms and blizzards.  The day after a storm is often sunny, a blessing in that sunshine is a known mood booster and it also helps to melt the snow.

Even so, there are times when even the most enthusiastic lover of winter gets cabin fever.  When I feel a bout of cabin fever I choose from one of my five favorite cures.  

Shop the Garden Catalogues

Make a cup of your favorite hot beverage.  My favorite is hot chocolate with mint. I add a healthy dollop of whipped cream on top.  During January the seed and gardening catalogues arrive.  Browse the catalogs, making note of what you would like to plant in the spring.  Take special not of new varieties, the growers are continuously developing new varieties that are often stronger and flower longer.  Place your order early to insure your selections are not sold out.

Search Back Issues of Favorite Magazines

I have a stock of back issues of magazines on gardening,  I pull out a dozen or so magazines and start browsing.  I am always pleasantly surprised when I come across an article I had forgotten about but had enjoyed when I first read it.

As I search through my back issues as sometimes I look for articles on specific topics.  This year I am determined to make a formal herb garden so I am searching and marking articles about how to plan an early American herb garden.

Tune into the Internet  

Search the world from the most comfortable and favorite place in your home.
Chat with friends on Skype, make new friends by exploring new sites and joining in the discussion of topics dear to you.  Update your Face Book page, send those messages to friends that you just never seem to have the time to send. Browse vacation spots and find new activities and places for the family to enjoy during spring and summer.

Move the Picnic Inside

 

Gather the family together and develop a menu for a family picnic.  Include favorite summertime foods and beverages.  Be sure to use a summer cloth on the floor and remember to bring the beach ball.  Add some summertime tunes for a lively sing-a-long and you will quickly find yourself transported to a warm and happy place.   Using summertime candles like coconut will add to the summertime fun.

Turn Your Family Room Into an Art Gallery 

 

Gather newsprint, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, and old magazines.  Have each family member make a collage of their favorite season.  Include in the collage, favorite activities, foods, places, clothes, and whatever else expresses why that season is their favorite.  Older children can help the younger ones.  Share the collage with the family. Leave the family art work on display for the next day or so.  You will be surprised at the continuing interest in the art work of other family members!

Till Next Time, Stay Well, Stay Happy

www.antiquesattheirongate.com

auctionmom80@gmail.com

This Week at Mass Hort: February 3, 2015 - auctionmom80@gmail.com - Gmail

This Week at Mass Hort: February 3, 2015 - auctionmom80@gmail.com - Gmail

Celebrate Mardi Gras with This Easy French Recipe for Kings Cake

The Kings Cake is well connected with the traditions of Mardi Gras.  A Mardi Gras party is incomplete without a King Cake.

The tradition of preparing King Cake originated with the French in the 12 century.  In the 1800s French settlers in Louisiana continued their tradition of King Cake.

Today the tradition extends well beyond the New Orleans, Louisiana borders.


King Cake may be ordered from one of the many bakers in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they will ship directly to your house.  This is a fabulous option for those of us who cannot attend Mardi Gras.

A second option, one which I am trying this year, is to make your own King Cake using one of the many recipes available online and in Southern cookbooks.

This is the recipe I selected.  Looks simple enough and traditional, as well.

A small baby made of porcelain or plastic is often baked inside the cake or place on top.  According to tradition, the person who finds the baby will enjoy good luck and is responsible for hosting the next party.


Cakes are decorated in purple, green, and gold according to tradition.  The colors represent the royal colors on the crowns of the Wise Men.



Purple signifies Justice
Green signifies Faith
Gold signifies Power

King Cake represents the three kings  who brought gifts to the Christ child.  The Mardi Gras season
begins January 6.  Mardi Gras Day, also known as Fat Tuesday, is always 47 days prior to Easter Sunday, the day before Ash Wednesday.

So even if you can not attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans, hosting a King Cake gathering in fine Southern tradition can be just as fun.  Bring out your treasured china and stemware.

Host your first King Party and enjoy!

Till Next Time, Stay Well, Stay Happy

auctionmom80@gmail.com

www.antiquesattheirongate.com

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Mardi Gras Traditions and Collectibles

Mardi Gras, the name itself sounds festive and fun.  A festive air has always been associated with Mardi Gras, though through the years the fun and frolic have surpassed the founders early plans.

This year Mardi Gras begins on Tuesday February 17, a date worth noting on your calendar.

Parades have already started in January and continue through February 16. One of the most informative sites for daily happenings at Mardi Gras is found at Mardi Gras Events

 
The history of Mardi Gras dates to the early Medieval Europe.  When a group of French-Canadian explorers led by Bienville, arrived  miles south at what is now New Orleans,  When the explorers realized the date was the eve of the festive holiday, they named the spot Pointe du Mardi Gras.


Bienville also established Fort Louis de la Louisiane, now known as Mobile.   The 1st Mardis Gras was celebrated at Fort Louis de la Louisiane in 1703.

Secret societies were formed and parades were held to signal the coming Fat Tuesday,which marked the beginning of lenten meat fast.

By the 1830s processions of masked celebrators were accompanied by elaborately decorated carriages and horseback riders. It was shortly after that masked balls were introduced.

What to Collect at Mardi Gras

Beads and Throws

During the parade krewe members on decorated floats throw trinkets to the parade watchers.  These trows have become quite collectible and include doubloons, beads, cups, homemade trinkets, and toys. What is thrown is up to the imagination, creativity, and historical roots of the krewe members.

Learn about the various krewes and their beliefs at Mardi Gras Krewes


Masks

Everyone wears a mask on Fat Tuesday.  Float riders are required by law to wear masks.
Masks originally allowed differences between class cultures to be disguised.


Ephemera

Mardi Gras creates an abundance of paper, Ephemera that can be collected and valued for its significance to a particular Mardi Gras event.

Restaurant menus, trade/business cards and signs posted to advertise events are favorites to collect.

Till Next Time, Stay Well, Stay Happy

auctionmom80@gmail.com

antiquesattheirongate.com

Are You Prepared to Attend an Internet Auction?

I attended live auctions with my family as long as I can remember.  In those days the auctions were country auctions held on Saturday and Sundays in the outbuildings of farms and flea markets.  There was no seating, no bright lights, and no second chances if you won or lost a bid.


As a child I was not allowed to bid but I did watch the other bidders as they focused on the items and bidding strategies of their opponents as they developed their own bidding strategy to win the items of choice.  There were no friends during the auction.  Only after  the last pound of the gavel and the words "Sold Bidder # _" did the friendships revive and the storytelling begin. 

Watching the bidders was often more fun than seeing what was being auctioned.  Eyes glanced from side to side, then down and to the side again.  Pencil and paper in hand they tracked the prices realized for those items won and lost.  Eye contact was avoided among the bidders, their body movements  were more revealing of their intent to continue bidding or not.

Occasionally a bidding war ensured.  It usually started with three bidders.  This would continue for about a minute then  one bidder would lower their head and turn their body, indicating they were now out. The audience would follow the remaining two bidders turning to look at each as the bidders held constant their number or slightly nodded their head alerting the auctioneer to continue.  


In the parking lots the trading began as winners examined   their purchases imagining the prices they would gain and losers approached winners to inquire if they could strike a deal.

Attending a live auction requires people watching, learning the nonverbal behaviors and what they mean to those you are bidding against.  I have always found watching the bidding audience as well as the auctioneer to be helpful in my own bidding.  At times this knowledge has allowed me to win a sleeper; other times it has stopped me from bidding beyond reason for an item. 

The most noticeable difference between bidding at a live auction versus an internet auction is that there is no personal verbal and nonverbal communication among bidders or the auctioneer.  If you are a people watcher like myself, this may determine whether you are destined to enjoy bidding at such auctions.  

 To get a sense of what it is liketoattend an auction follow different on-line auctions to get a feel for the bidding process.  You will also learn whether you like bidding against unknown and unseen bidders.  

You must make quicker decisions when bidding on the internet, these auctions move quickly!

6 Quick Tips for Bidding at Internet Auctions 

1.  Search a site such asProxiBid  to explore the types of auctions offered.   

 2. Visit the sites of auctions you find interesting, jewelry, autos, art, etc.

3.  Register for an auction that interests you.  Be sure to read the policies of the auction house, policies differ from auctioneer to auctioneer. 

4.  Review the online catalogue of items to be auctioned. Complete this several times.  Select items of interest to you. 
Determine the highest bid you will make on each item

5.  Follow through with you financial plan developed in step 4. 

6.  Celebrate a winning bid.  

Till next time, stay well, stay happy

auctionmom80@gmail.com

www.antiquesattheirongate.com

Decorating Your Home for Christmas Using Yard Sale Finds

The holiday season is upon us.  For many of us the fall and winter holiday season begins in the USA with Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer.  From Labor Day through Halloween to Thanksgiving and the winter holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, we become the intense focus of retailers and advertisers.

Retailers try hard to convince us we need their products to be "good parents"  "to increase our status with friends and coworkers" "to keep up with the latest music-technology-games-health products-fashions......and on and on with any reason that touches our buttons.

Decorating our homes for the holiday season has become more stressful and demands more decisions and money than ever before.  The options and cost for lighting  can be overwhelming even to the most avid holiday decorator.  The availability and decorating options for inside your home can be just as, and oftentimes more stressful.




The home images we see in various media send a message that we must decorate our home from top to bottom in the holiday theme.  Of course the retailers offer for sale exactly what we need to accomplish this retail goal of a MacHoliday House.


     

 This holiday season you may want to decrease your decorating stress by increasing your recycling and letting your imagination guide you in preparing your home for the season.

Here are 3 of my favorite yard sale finds from this past summer that I will use to decorate my home this holiday season.

Tea is Served

One of my loves is china and porcelain, especially china cups.  This summer I focused on purchasing miniature cups.  These will be used to decorate a 4 foot tree in the dining room.  Old lace obtained from auctions will be used instead of garland.  The tea cups will be attached to the tree with silk ribbon, also gathered from yard sales and auctions.

 

Making Merry with Music

Music continues to play a large role in my life. It is not always easy to find but when old music is found at a yard sale there is usually a lot to be had for a little.  I use the music sheets in many ways. sometimes to make a border around a small picture that I then hang on the tree.

Other times I make a cone out of a sheet of music, fill the cone with dried flowers and bittersweet from my garden, Antique lace or ribbon is used to hand the musical cones from the branches of the tree. I also us bittersweet to decorate the garden arbor, benches and fence .

 Bittersweet provides lovely decoration and food for the birds.

Bedazzling Tree Ornaments


Fashion jewelry is plentiful at yard sales and flea markets.  It seems everyone has an abundance of
bracelets and necklaces with broken clasps and earrings that have long lost their mate.  Necklaces can be wrapped around tabletop trees and used as garland.

On larger trees mismatched jewelry adds nostalgic glam. Earrings mingle easily with other ornaments often hanging from bracelets.  A large brooch makes a dazzling tree topper.

Till Next Time, Stay Well, Stay Happy

auctionmom80@gmail.com

http://antiquesattheirongate.com

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