I suppose a few of my friends and certainly some of my neighbors think I'm a bit eccentric. When my husband built our deck, I loved it right off the bat, but also, I saw that it could use, oh, a little something...
since the neighbors had already figured out I'm a bit odd, I just reinforced their opinions.
That naked railing screamed out for dec
orating, at least to my ears.
This is from Mexico. I light this sometimes when I'm sitting at the table.
Thank goodness Noah made it.
Snow White (my favorite Disney heroine of all time) shares space with a tacky vase and fake flowers.
Tink just appeared one morning, I swear ;-)
She shares space with Florida shells.
Here's Tink's bodyguard and a few pretty rocks from a creek bottom.
Here's a tribute to our troops. The ones on the left are U.S. GIs and the ones on the right are _______ (whoever), and they are surrendering.
This more peaceful tableau shows a very quiet kitty with some Florida shells and crystals.
Not sure why the bunnies are in this boot, but it just seemed to go with everything else.
The chives that grow in the old boot are tended to by Merry Proudfeet, the proud little gnome.
This is where the 'skeeters' come to gas up. Roger Rabbit is there to serve.
The little Strawberry Head is supposed to be a porch ornament. How did that get there? There's a little he-man type there to protect him from raiding possums and they share space with a very fake Lladro.
The gnomes work in shifts, so some must sleep in the day.
Berry Hapster is on the job, making sure the birdfeeder is full.
Brighteyes Forester shares a bit of the railing with a Surfer Dude whose upper body bobbles in the wind. Don't know where he lost his surfboard but he seems happy, anyway.
This old lantern involves my BFF Sharon and deserves an article of its own someday.
This is our half Pom - half Sheltie named Shorty. He's keeping an eye on the birdfeeder. Those pesky squirrels are usually planning a coup of some kind.
Daisy keeps watch, too, but she usually runs back to my lap if the squirrels attack... I'm sure it's to protect me. ;-)
Maybe this is the surfboard that Surfer Dude lost? This one came from Florida. We saw scads of pelicans there, but darn it, no dolphins.
This little lady doesn't have a face, but dig the hat and braids.
What's a deck without a fake doggie or two... or seven?
Here's another pelican and another pup.
I like this little woman. Sometimes I wish I had a little crown, especially when my girls call me "The Queen of Honeybear Lane."
This was a gift to me from a friend I met in a 12-step program. She was found dead of a heroin overdose two summers ago.
This is our new little coffee set for the deck. It's a nice place for morning coffee and late evening reading. My daughter got me the bookworm in the center of the table. Now why would she buy a bookworm for ME?
Thanks for taking the tour of the deck. We'll come back again sometime when there've been more additions. We've only just begun on the lower railing!
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Comments: 58
This isn't how this looked in draft mode, so I apologize for how chopped up it looks published.
It all looks so charming to me. I especially love the chives in the boot.
Thanks, Kay. The chives thrive there. I have the other nailed to a tree with hen and chicks in it.
My son-in-law/daughter-in-law decorates some boots for chrismas with ornaments or whatever else he gets his hands on l.
Perhaps a little eccentric but more original...
Send me your old boots, Ron. I need to plant something.
Vicky , this is so cool ! Not eccentric to me ( Uh oh ! ) ,great photos and captions ,I love this type stuff .
phil, I had the photos and captions all lined up so nicely, and then the Gather monster ate it and spit it out sort of chopped all up. Thanks - I think it's cool, too. What does that say about us? Of course, I have an Elvis on black velvet, complete with a tear running down in cheek, in my family room.
Berry Hapster reminds me of Doyle. :-)
That's a lot of chackies to keep clean. Do you have to take them in if there is a storm coming?
Nope, they just weather and look older every year. Just like me!
there are a whole bunch of cute stuffs there.....wonder what Ross would think if I started decorating our deck like yours
I say go for it!
My grandkids would love it if I did our deck like yours! I think I will do it for them just this summer for one of their birthday parties and see what they think. I think I can find enough of that stuff from Hallmark and the thrift stores around here to get started. :-)
I look at "second-time-around" stores, dollar stores, yard sales, and Goodwill provided the diner and gas station for $2 each. Of course the shells and rocks were free :)
I love the protective Daisy! Hehehe
Whenever there's trouble, the other two run towards it, she runs to my lap to take care of me.
heyyy Girly - I can't really call this eccentric - I think it's totally you and filled with things you love - which is fabulous and fun! Enjoy your summer on that delightful patio! I have a whole Pregnant Onion Plantation for you, just haven't had time to mail them! hugs, Salud
Hey, my pregnant onions popped out four babies, so save yours for someone just starting out. Our original pregnant onion plant is 15 cause we bought it the first year we lived in this house. Are you back in SB now?
hey girl, flying tomorrow to bayouland for four months - so that's a whole new adventure - ok well I hope they grow up and give you a whole bunch more - I have them all over the place - and I bought my first one at a swap meet for $1.00 in 1978. Salud
Nice photos & essay. So when it really storms, does a bunch of that stuff get knocked off?
No, everything is glued down. I can't believe Van didn't squawk, but he did not and even bought the correct type of glue for me so that it dries clear.
Now, why would ANYONE think you are eccentric? I can't see it, myself!
Me, either, Ishbel. In my front yard is a concrete goose who changes clothes for different seasons and holidays and its name is Ina. We have a pig made from a propane bottle and he's adorable. Also one tree has the other work boot nailed to it and hen and chicks are in that one. There's a new woman across the street and she put out lots of plunder and she likes gnomes and elves just like me.
Concrete geese? What's odd about that? Don't we ALL have those?!
OK, mine is not concrete it's resin... But it's a GOOSE!
I love the chick with the hat and braids!
I think this collection would fit in our den rather nicely, but at least you don't have to dust yours like I would if it were indoors. Rain does the trick for you!
That's the best part. Sometimes I knock away a cobweb, but otherwise, Mother Nature takes care of the cleaning.
Too totally tacky! I've been thinking of things I might do to irk the residents of my new slick suburban neighborhood. You have inspired me, Vick! Where can I find a tobacco-spitting gnome?
I don't know about one that spits tobacco but my Mom had a gnome that was mooning the world, then someone stole him. He probably went to Paris or something.
i love it. i don't think it's odd at all as that's kinda what the inside of my house looks like, but a little more morbid due to the skelletons and skulls.
There's always something to look at, that's for sure. Van says I'm not nuts, that I just like my yard and deck to look "busy."
I'm loving all the cool things that make you smile or bring a special meaning to mind. I have collections like this all over the inside of my house...no ledge is safe from me.
Like I said above, these don't have to be dusted like the stuff in the house. I've started on the bottom rail and I still have lots of room. No telling who or what will show up.
Looks tasteful and subtle Vicky.
Well, it's me, sharon. I think it has so much more character than just a railing.
This is so not me, and yet so perfect for you. My deck railing would look so naked to you...the most I have there is tiny white lights, but they aren't even up right now. Tinkerbell is my favorite Disney character, so I'm happy to see her there!
I bought a set of battery powered lights to weave around things and turn them on in the dark, and now I can't find them! I got them at Pier One but they don't have them online. Hey, eBay!
I have stuff that sits on tree hunks that when we cut down trees we moved. I will share that at a later point in time.
A stump in our front yard became the stand for a frog prince who's holding a reflecting ball on top of his head. You can't just have a stump sitting there!
we have an empty stump in the front that needs something.
Very interesting and creative. I think this is on the "charming" side of eccentric. So cool that hubby didn't squawk about you doing it, too. Did you see the photo that Peter posted of the car with all the stuff glued to it? I wonder if they used the same glue? :)
There's a car with stuff glued all over it? That sounds right up my cluttered alley!
It's a post by Peter Swanson A cool car I saw parked...
I love the Noah's Ark (doesn't sound like me, does it? but I really do), and the ceramic dog. We would love each other's houses. I have a living room full of Peanuts figurines that all my eccentric friends enjoy.
Do you also get, "Do you READ all those books?" I bet you do.
I do! Kind of the way people look at me when I order a huge dessert, just before they say "Are you going to eat that?"
I love spaces like yours Vicky - always something fun and interesting for the eye. And I was curious about the rain also so I'm glad that question got answered in the comments :)
My Mom took a dead redbud and had all the limbs cut off at a 90 degree angle. She nailed up about 30 all different birdhouses. Her pictures made it into Birds and Blooms. She liked to have a "busy" place, too. The idea of planting something in old boots was hers too.
Totally cool. Eclectic, perhaps, but I wouldn't call it eccentric. (But then you should see my mother's stuff.)
Maybe if you add a mannequin in a swing chair?
[Looks around, ready to run for it...]
Wow, now my yard feels naked. What a collection you have!
You definately are eccentric Vicky, and unique and beautiful you. I love your deck and all the happy friends you have there with you. My daughter would go crazy over it too. You have two of her favorite people there.........Tink, and Cinderella.
View your deck 'cause
My nude deck would be
Green with envy.
I remember the looks I got when I brought home a half mannequin woman (no arms, no legs past the thighs, no head). She wouldn't fit in my trunk so I drove with her buckled in the front seat of the convertible, top down.