America - (the one with the "M") From Sea to Shining Sea

Last week, as I got ready for the barn sale, I made a couple of flags. One "beachy," one "traditional". I got excited (or maybe it was delirium due  lack of sleep because I finished 5 in the morning.) Either way, I put the "beachy" one on the mantel in the family room. 

 I added a bunch of shells that I've collected over the years, a starfish swag, and a concrete statue of a child with a seashell that I picked up at a flea market last year.

 Some beach glass, a little sand. It was looking pretty cute. I got out the ladder and got one of my plover decoys down off of the shelf in the family room to add to it.

 Plover decoys are wooden statues of shore birds. I have collected them since my first trip to Nantucket, long ago. They generally reside atop the pediments at both ends of our family room (as you can see in the badly lit photo below if you have really good eyesight and/or a vivid imagination) except when I take them down to dust them or when they fly south for the winter. Okay, they don't do that.  But they would if they could because Midwest winters are really crappy not fun.

 After putting away the ladder and posting the flag on my blog last week, I got a phone call from my friend, Ann who has known me since I was in second grade. She tried to be tactful when she said to me, "you know, this might be just a nit, but your "M" in America kinda looks like an "N"...just sayin."  Amazingly, I didn't hang up on her immediately.  This is primarily due to the fact that we're life long friends. In this case, it was also due the fact that I'd spent a fair amount of time and energy making stuff to sell at her sale which was, oh, 60-or-so hours away at the time.  I walked into the family room and took another look.

 Yep. I had to admit it. She was right. I told her that. I said those words, right out loud. Without crying.
 Later that night, I had a Facebook chat with my friend, Breida,  from Breida with a B, she said the same thing and, while the tears did well up in my eyes just a little, I thanked her.  Then, since I was crabby and maybe a little overtired going to have to fix it anyway, I took it down and put up the other flag that I had made.

 The "M" on this one has only two "humps" as well but, due to the fact that it's printing and not cursive, it "still works"...or so I'm told .

I added some vintage blocks, old lanterns, a milk bottle, some flags, a reproduction of Uncle Sam on a bike and a bow.

Amazingly, no one said a word about the "America".

Oh, and I fixed the other one.

 and then I sold it. At the Barn Sale.

So, right this very moment, my mantle looks like this:

Pathetic, isn't it!? Yes, I realize that big metal trains have absolutely nothing to do with the 4th of July. Even if they do have a couple of huge, festive, patriotic, bows on them.

Good thing I've got a couple of weeks to make another flag. I think that I'll stick with the traditional one. The "M" will be less confusing for me that way. It will also mean that  there's a very good likelihood that Ann and I will still be friends for her fall sale. As long as there's no cursive involved.

xo,

Kimberly


Linking to:
52 Mantels
Alderberry Hill
Full Circle Creations
Happy Hour Projects
Itsy Bitsy Paper
No Minimalist Here
Restore Interiors
The Lettered Cottage

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