American Heroes

The birthday of our nation is always a time of celebration and patriotism, so I wanted to share a few pictures and thoughts from my little part of the world. Here are a few pictures of display items from my shop--vintage flags and an Americana tray with picture of our forefathers. There is also a picture of a banner that I made using fabric from an estate sale.

Here is a little handmade pincushion created from new and vintage materials. Standing atop the pincushion is a figure of George Washington found at an estate sale. His hand is on a Bible, and an image of the American flag is at his back. He is surrounded by a collection of new and vintage buttons and trims. Behind the figure, I sewed ribbon, tinsel, and wired gold beads to resemble fireworks.

There are many American heroes, and we need to remember them all. But I wanted to share one who was closest to me.


Here is a picture of my Dad, my American hero, who passed away last year. He was one of the bravest men I have ever known. He was a World War II veteran, who served in a medical unit in France during the Normandy invasion. One of his jobs was to pick up the wounded and dead on the beach during the invasion. There is also a picture of his medical unit the day before they shipped out to Omaha Beach on June 10, 1944. He is the tallest in the middle on the back row.

In June 1994 his family accompanied him back to Normandy, France for the 50th Anniversary of D-Day. I am including a picture of my Dad and family standing in front of the Pointe du Hoc, a famous landmark, on Omaha Beach in Normandy. We accompanied a group of other veterans who landed on D-Day in 1944. Many of them talked about how the landing did not go as the military had planned. It was difficult getting off the landing craft because of all the dead American bodies floating in the water. Some of the veterans were paratroopers who jumped into battle at the Saint Mere-Eglise church where a famous paratrooper hung from the church steeple for hours. These men were not fighting on American soil, but they were paying the price for freedom in another part of the world.

















Most of us have lived in America without having to worry about freedom because someone else paid the price for us. On July 4, we need to remember those who have and continue to pay the price. I just want to keep my hand on that Bible like George Washington and say "Thank you for true American heroes."


Thank you for visiting and leaving comments. Happy 4th of July to all my friends and visitors!

The Sweet Fragrance of Magnolia

Just wanted to say hello after a long absence... ...thanks to all of you who are still blogging. Sorry I have been away so long, but I'm dealing with empty nest syndrome. Both my boys moved out, and in addition to coping with change, I've been cleaning out clutter and trying to readjust my life. I have opened my store three days a week, Thursday-Saturday, and thought I would share some pictures from the store in addition to some things I've been working on.


In the store, I have a mix of vintage, new, and handmade. I enjoy floral design and finding new ways to use vintage items. I am including a picture of a wreath created using re-purposed silk flowers. There is also a picture of my latest creations--the little pincushions created from vintage goods. The pincushion pictured is one called "Southern Belle" because the little vintage figurine looks like one! She is currently for sale at Etsy. Thanks to all of you who visit my Etsy Store and my blog. One day the Rosemarys Garden website will be finished!

Now my thought for the day: "Faith isn't the ability to believe long and far into the misty future. It is simply taking God at his word and taking the next step." Joni Eareckson Tada

I really feel like that's where I am right now. I've really been enjoying the sweet fragrance of magnolia blooms during my morning walks. I hope you have been enjoying your life. All my best to all of you.

Washington DC

This week I accompanied my husband on a business trip to Washington DC, and the cherry trees there just happened to be in full bloom! I couldn't resist taking a few pictures to share with all of you. The blooms only last a couple of weeks, so I was blessed to be able to be there and see this beautiful sight.Most of our time was spent in business, but we did manage to visit a few shops and restaurants in Alexandria.

I hope that all of you are doing well and staying encouraged in your personal and business pursuits. Thanks to all of you who visit me and leave comments!

Gardening Angel

Remember the Gardening Angel doll I was working on? I finally finished her! I have been working on several projects this week to place in my Etsy store.


I hope all of you had a wonderful Easter. My whole family came to my house, my sister and her husband, my two nieces, my two sons, and step-mom. Of course there was hubby and me also. We spent the day talking and relaxing. We made a pot of Earl Grey tea after dinner and ate the Easter cookies. I packaged some cookies for my nieces, ages 10 and 6. I asked them if they wanted to take some cookies home and they took them all!

Happy Easter!

Hello, I just wanted to wish everyone Happy Easter, and share some of the things I've been doing lately. Here is a spring arrangement I did for my Easter table with pansies and bunny. I will be making a chicken casserole, strawberry pretzel salad, asparagus, carrots, and rolls.

I have always wanted to learn how to use the hand decorating bags for icing cookies so decided to try it. I made sugar cookies from a recipe out of the Huntsville Heritage Cookbook. The recipe is called "Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies" and the author said it was her great-grandmother's recipe. It is a great recipe, and the dough was very easy to work with. I would be happy to share it with anyone who is interested. The cookies baked well and didn't crumble.









I made icing from
egg whites, confectioner's sugar, and lemon juice. The consistency was good and easy to work with in the decorating bag.





I was pleased with the results, but need more practice! Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter with your family!

Thank you God for Spring

I had hoped to take pictures of a doll to put on my post today, but I can’t seem to finish her. She is a gardening angel, and I will post her as soon as I finish. I am just going to say “Thank you God for spring, and the promise of new life.” My quince is blooming and the hydrangeas are beginning to bud. I hope we have some beautiful ones this year—it was such an awful summer last year with no rain and the painful loss of my father. Actually the last 2 years have been difficult for my family. In 8/06 my son was in a serious car accident, and we spent the last half of that year in therapy and recuperation. Then in 1/07 my father was diagnosed with cancer, so most of 2007 was spent in helping him get through the treatments and finally losing him in September 2007. He was such an inspiration in my life, and I will talk more about him later.

Needless to say, my business plans have progressed slowly. Maybe that was for the best, as it has given me time to see what is really important in life—God, family and relationships I am working on business plans to see what works best—my antique shop is not in a high traffic area—so I am in the process of developing a website. I seem to enjoy the more creative side of business, and would like to focus more on that. But I still have some local customers, so I am working on options for opening or closing the shop.

I hope I am not boring everyone with all my wanderings. If any of you have experiences that would help, please share them with me.

Thought for the day: There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter—Rachel Carson.

The Joy of Being Creative

Hello everyone,
I am new to the blogging community. I'm not sure about how to do this, but I will give it my best. This really seems like a wonderful way to connect to you creative ones out there. Just wanted to share these little pot holders with you that I made. Collecting vintage fabrics is one of my hobbies and for years, I've had these little squares of veggie fabrics that I wanted to do something with--just didn't know what. I finally came up with this idea--some cute potholders! What do you think? Isn't it amazing that when you have an inspiration to create something and follow through--it brings joy! I hope you have a wonderful day and have some time to be creative.