About Me

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Recent retiree--35 year's experience teaching reading, English, adult basic education and volunteer leadership skills. Started this blog to exchange ideas and commentary with friends and others having an interest in joining the discussions. Greatest life accomplishments include: 1.organized my 3rd grade class to check out library books for me to get around librarian's weekly limit--Amazon.com, the Mullins Elementary 3rd Grade Class of 1956 is still waiting for "thank you" notes; 2. volunteered in the Peace Corps, island of St. Kitts, West Indies; 3.taught adults to read, earn their GEDs., and speak English as a second language; 4. bought a border collie puppy for $6, got evicted rather than give him up, and began a life-long love affair with all things "Dog"; 5. joined a physical fitness boot camp in my mid-50s--don't mess with someone who's been doing regulation pushups in wet grass at 5:30 a.m.; 6. walked across Northern England with best friend Sally--over 80 miles from the Irish to North Seas; and 7. travelled to many foreign countries for pleasure and work.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Friday Fences - Lydia Wells' Wrought Iron and Estate Auction

Here I am again, folks--using Friday Fences for more than one purpose. Last week it was to introduce Chet the puppy (he's doing great--got his first nail clipping this afternoon and not a minute too soon!)and now this week I'm sharing the wrought iron fence around the home of my late friend, Lydia Wells. If you read my blog you may have seen the post that I wrote about her untimely death the end of January and our 30 year friendship. So, first the fence and then some business! Lydia Wells' home is in Frankfort, Kentucky. She bought it for its beautiful yard and landscaping. We all loved this ornate wrought iron fence around the back yard:
Over the years Lydia Wells improved the landscaping with dramatic tree plantings; shrub and flower borders--a place where all wild creatures were welcome--birds, squirrels, raccoons, possums, and the odd neighbor cat. Here a newly leafed Japanese maple sparkles in the sun:
  
And, of course, since it's Derby weekend in Kentucky must share this great horse head lamp post along the front sidewalk:
And here are a couple of views of the backyard with their sweeping flower and shrub borders. The sweet little reading boy is tucked in among the iris:
And now to the business! Lydia Wells entrusted the settlement of her estate to a friend of over 30 years with help from another friend and me. We call ourselves the Three Amigos and have worked since January--with additional help from many others--to carry out Lydia Wells' wishes regarding her estate. We are now to the point of holding an estate auction on May 15 in Louisville, Kentucky to sell her beautiful antique furniture, paintings, crystal, silver, and other objects d'art. You can view much of her estate pieces by clicking on Hays and Associates Auctions . Scroll down the page to "Antique Auction" and click on the Tuesday, May 15 date to see everything. In addition, our friend had a fabulous collection of fine and costume jewelry--gold, sterling silver,vintage pieces, and a collection of over 500(yes!)butterfly pins. We've set up a shutterfly account so you can zip though almost a 100 jewelry photos in no time. From the shutterfly homepage just click on the 3 categories: Butterfly Pins, Horses, and Fine/Vintage Jewelry. If you enjoy jewelry it will be a treat to just see all the unusual pieces she has. Go here for the tour: Lydia Wells Jewelry . Finally, you don't have to be present to bid--just contact the auction company if you need a sugar chest or a butterfly pin! Lydia Wells selected three charities to receive proceeds from this estate auction: Best Friends Animal Society, Habitat for Humanity, and The Nature Conservancy.  So you can see why we hope to do well with this auction. Now for some straightforward fence stories be sure to check out all the Friday Fence players at Janis' link .

(Note: I'm having trouble with new Blogger post formatting. Tonight couldn't get some photos to upload. If you like antiques and jewelry, be sure to take a quick tour of the auction and shutterfly links.)

25 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

aww. i'm hoping your sales do well, too. i know this must be bittersweet.

Jan n Jer said...

Very worthy Charities Faye...hope the auction does well! Lydia sounds like she was a very interesting person and an asset to society!

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

How could you help but fall in love with that elegant fence?

Elusive Spring Storm

Betsy Banks Adams said...

So sorry about the death of your friend, Faye. Lydia was a very creative, talented lady. That is so nice of you three to handle her estate for her. Good Luck with the sale. She must have had some beautiful pieces.

No family???? That is rare these days.

Beautiful photos..
Hugs,
Betsy

Ebie said...

Her Estate is in good hands, and hoping for a great auction proceeds for these great causes.

She has a lovely house, and the fence is really artistic.

Linda said...

Sorry for the loss of your friend - hope the sale goes well! Beautiful fence!

Elizabeth Edwards said...

wow, what a gorgeous fence. you are such a wonderful friend. lucky i found a way to get back to the old blogger. i wonder when it officially changes completely i wonder what will i do. i could not find a lot of the items i normally use in the old blogger. i love change but i also get nuts when things change. have a great day. big hugs. (:

Nature in the Burbs said...

Your friend had a lovely home.

Millie said...

Beautiful home. It's obvious she truly cared about her home and gardens.

Tanya Breese said...

i'm so sorry about the loss of your friend...she has a beautiful home/yard....good luck with the sale :)

A Colorful World said...

I am so sorry you lost your friend. What a wonderful thing to bequeath the proceeds of the auction to those three charities. She sounds like an amazing person! I LOVE the fence and yard. Wonderful!

Roan said...

I hope the sale does well. She sure did have beautiful landscaping and a great fence.

Unknown said...

What great friends you are, hope all goes well with the auction. Love the wrought iron fence.

Michelle said...

I'm so sorry for your loss. She had a beautiful home and landscaping. I hope all goes well with the sale. I know it must be difficult.

Amy Burzese said...

A great tribute to your friend. And, Chet is a cutie pie.

EG CameraGirl said...

Lydia's gardens are gorgeous. I hope the auction goes well. And I'm so sorry for your loss.

new outlook said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

Thanks so much for sharing these photos. I loved looking at them and remembering the times since 1985 that Lydia and I have spent together. She was such a special person and a great mentor for me in the early years of my career. I really miss her.

Anonymous said...

Hoping you achieve your goals in the sales of her beloved belongings...

Sarah Paul said...

Wow,great article, I really appreciate your thought process and having it explained properly,thank you!



Iron Fences

Unknown said...

I know it's been a while now but I feel sorry for your friend. It's rather difficult to loose someone who'd been with you all through the years. I wish you could still have her memory by nurturing the landscape that she once created.

#Larry@JDPRemodelingContractor.com

Unknown said...

this ornate wrought iron fence around the back yard is very, very beautifull! i like it!
See more for iron fences design: hang rao sat ma kem

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