Poe Table

I love English.  I don't get to teach it right now however, I'm back to teaching Life Management which is a Home Ec type class.  It leaves me with very little energy at the end of the day.  So in honor of American Literature and Halloween coming I give you my Poe table.

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, 

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, 

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, 

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. 

"'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door - 

Only this, and nothing more." 

Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December,
And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.
Eagerly I wished the morrow; - vainly I had sought to borrow
From my books surcease of sorrow - sorrow for the lost Lenore -
For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Nameless here for evermore.

And the silken sad uncertain rustling of each purple curtain
Thrilled me - filled me with fantastic terrors never felt before;
So that now, to still the beating of my heart, I stood repeating,
"'Tis some visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door -
Some late visitor entreating entrance at my chamber door; -
This it is, and nothing more." 

Presently my soul grew stronger; hesitating then no longer,
"Sir," said I, "or Madam, truly your forgiveness I implore;
But the fact is I was napping, and so gently you came rapping,
And so faintly you came tapping, tapping at my chamber door,
That I scarce was sure I heard you"- here I opened wide the door; -
Darkness there, and nothing more.

Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before;
But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token,
And the only word there spoken was the whispered word, "Lenore?"
This I whispered, and an echo murmured back the word, "Lenore!" -
Merely this, and nothing more.

Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,
Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before.
"Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice:
Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore -
Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore; -
'Tis the wind and nothing more."

Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore;
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.

Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore.
"Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou," I said, "art sure no craven,
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the Nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

Much I marvelled this ungainly fowl to hear discourse so plainly,
Though its answer little meaning- little relevancy bore;
For we cannot help agreeing that no living human being
Ever yet was blest with seeing bird above his chamber door -
Bird or beast upon the sculptured bust above his chamber door,
With such name as "Nevermore."

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered- not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered, "other friends have flown before -
On the morrow he will leave me, as my hopes have flown before."
Then the bird said, "Nevermore."

Startled at the stillness broken by reply so aptly spoken,
"Doubtless," said I, "what it utters is its only stock and store,
Caught from some unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster
Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore -
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore
Of 'Never - nevermore'."

But the Raven still beguiling all my fancy into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird, and bust and door;
Then upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking "Nevermore."

This I sat engaged in guessing, but no syllable expressing
To the fowl whose fiery eyes now burned into my bosom's core;
This and more I sat divining, with my head at ease reclining
On the cushion's velvet lining that the lamplight gloated o'er,
But whose velvet violet lining with the lamplight gloating o'er,
She shall press, ah, nevermore!

Then methought the air grew denser, perfumed from an unseen censer
Swung by Seraphim whose footfalls tinkled on the tufted floor.
"Wretch," I cried, "thy God hath lent thee - by these angels he hath sent thee
Respite - respite and nepenthe, from thy memories of Lenore:
Quaff, oh quaff this kind nepenthe and forget this lost Lenore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether Tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted- tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Prophet!" said I, "thing of evil - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels name Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore."
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

"Be that word our sign in parting, bird or fiend," I shrieked, upstarting -
"Get thee back into the tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore!
Leave no black plume as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken!
Leave my loneliness unbroken!- quit the bust above my door!
Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore."

And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,
And the lamplight o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted - nevermore!

Thank you for stopping by to eat and read.

I'm linking to Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.

Stop in and see how others are setting the table this week.

Jeannine

Painted Bench

I started back to work as a long term substitute.  I'm teaching high school home economics again.  Therefore, I'm a little more tired in the afternoons and decided to only do a simple furniture makeover this week.

We bought this piano stool last summer for about $15. I used leftover paint from my daughter's room.  It is Behr's Embellished Blue.

I wanted the top to be a little more of a cushion to sit on.  This piece of high density foam is left from one of the twin mattresses we bought in the ME for our kids. I wrapped it in a layer of batting to soften the edges. The original fabric was firmly attached with nails so I decided to just attach my foam and fabric over the top.  The original fabric was dusty but did not smell.

Here is the finished bench.

I hid the staples and cut edges of the canvas with twill tape hot glued down.

If I was ambitious I would paper the inside with French script paper or something.  Maybe later!

Thanks for taking a look.

Jeannine

I will be linking to Between Naps on the Porch for Met Monday.  Please stop by and see what other people are up to with transformations. I've also linked to Masterpiece Monday at Boogieboard Cottage.

Giveaway Winner

And the winner of the African Necklace is AB HOME Interiors!  Please comment so I can get your address to send the necklace to you.  (Cat not included, unless you want a super cranky, fat cat!)

Congratulations!

Jeannine

Apple Tablescape for Fall

I'm like just about everyone else in decorating blogland.  Kids went back to school the second week of August and my mind starts wandering to fall things and Halloween.  Problem is, around here, we will have summer weather until well into November, if our wet 

May is any indication of the current weather trends.

So it is very difficult to sell out right away to fall colors.  I thought I would ease into the fall by having an apple based table scape.

We live about an hours drive from "Apple Hill" a foothill area of Northern California where apples and blackberries and raspberries are grown by a large group of local farmers.  They publish a map and invite the public to come sample their products throughout September and October. Lovely way to spend a day and come home with apple cider and apple pie and some pick your own apples.

All of my supplies have been seen here before, so just enjoy.

I wanted red apples but being from Washington state, I cannot find decent tasting red apples.  So I opted for  Granny Smiths which are tart and crisp.

Thank you for stopping by.

I'm linking to Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.  Be sure to see what Susan, our hostess, has posted plus all the other great tables. Sure to be lots of fall inspiration.

Jeannine

African Giveaway

For no other reason than it is September, I am having a giveaway!  One lucky Dazeofgrace reader will win this cute necklace.

Because I have been talking about British Colonial style recently I thought I would give away this necklace from Kenya.  It is a series of little carved African animals.  It is one Husband brought back from Africa. 

Spartacus thought it might be fun to wear as well.

To enter just leave a kind comment on this post.  I will draw a name out of a hat on September 7th at 7pm Pacific.  That should give plenty of time to enter.  Please, only US mailing addresses please.

Jeannine

First Christmas Stocking of the Season

It's that time of year again.  Time to start gearing up on projects for Christmas.  I have an esty shop and decided this year I would make stockings to sell.  I have been buying old linens at garage sales and added with my stash of quilting fabric, I came up with this one first.  

This was a hand embroidered pillowcase.  Lovely crocheted edging. Cute little bluebirds. I wanted to be sure to use as much of the handiwork as possible.

I even used a little leftover bit of the crocheted edging for the hanger loop.

A little flower for the stocking toe (it's a completely reversible stocking.)Same design on both sides of the toe.

I'm linking with Jami at Freckled Laundry for Air your Laundry Friday. See what other people are doing with their textiles here.

Thanks for looking,

Jeannine

Our British Colonial Style Living Room

Last week I posted here about British Colonial Style in the home.  Today, I'm sharing my living room.  It is decorated in a modified British Colonial style.
We lived for three years in the ME.  Both Jordan and Syria are former British colonies and Lebanon is a former French colony. British influences are all over Jordan including roundabouts and the types of stores available for shopping.

This is an overview of the entire room.  You'll notice that we have a Persian style rug over the Berber carpet with which the entire rental house is carpeted. The carpet was made in Turkey and purchased by us in Jordan.

The curtains are silk from Damascus, Syria.  We had them made for some massive windows we had in our flat in Beirut.  Now they swag on the floor of our American tract house. The shelf unit was made in Germany for a friend of ours, but she couldn't ship it to her next home country so she sold it and a twin to us in Jordan. The sofas are two years old, from JC Penney.

The piano was purchased by my maternal Great Grandmother in 1902.  It has Ivory and Ebony keys. That's pretty colonial! The paintings are of Jerash in Jordan and were purchased there.

A clock from Jordan (unfortunately it doesn't keep accurate time anymore.)

The lanterns were recently brought back from Jordan by Husband. The vase is also from Jordan.

A gallery style arrangement of paintings, also of Jerash.

Spartacus, our 22 pound cat.

The top painting is of the Treasury in Petra, Jordan. The various plates are from countries throughout the ME. Collectible books make great displays with the treasures.

A box from Jordan.

A globe.

Pillows with native animal pictures.

Tassels are very popular in Arab decorating.

The elephant bookends are from Tanzania.  (The tusks are plastic, no animals were harmed.)

I hope you enjoyed this tour.  Friends have come in and said our house looks like a museum, but I hope it still makes them feel comfortable and welcome.

Jeannine