Jarsa and Company Stone Engraving

12/28/2024

12/28/2024

12/11/2024

There comes a time when the muddy paw prints and nose prints no longer matter.

11/09/2024

The gift of Autumn stayed late this year, and it was everyone's favorite party guest. Sadly, the exuberant laughter finally ebbed, and the lights quietly dimmed, and only remnants of the grand affair lay strewn about.

08/16/2024

"New" pieces of vintage iron for the rock garden...

The cast iron parlor stove topper in the birdbath (background) was found at the Heritage US-12 yard sale last week.

And this interesting mailbox now lives out its second life holding business cards.

07/12/2024

Something a bit unique for Ross Kinsey Music. He's become a local celebrity as of late, and it's always fun when he brings the "summer tunes" to Coldwater.

Thank you again https://www.facebook.com/rosskinseymusic for remembering the hurting people of Hillsdale County, in light of recent events.

06/23/2024

In the early 70s, my dad's auto body shop kept busy with rust repairs. Some of those old cars back then were true classics. But they didn't seem to last very long...especially with salt-laden winter roads.

I guess the reason why I like I like rusty stuff so much is because it's a sobering reminder that nature eventually reclaims every element mankind has ever extracted from the ground.

We humans are also included...and I'm ok with that.

06/23/2024

With temperatures hovering well into the mid-90s all week, the heat stress produced some amazing colors.

06/09/2024

Besides being an avid gardener, my grandmother was a wonderfully good cook. As a new bride in 1929, just months before the infamous crash of Wall St., she and my grandfather settled down on a dairy farm in Orleans, MI.

Sometime during her early married life, she acquired a set of Guardian Service cookware. Made from cast aluminum, the extremely robust pots were desirable for slow cooking.

Gran’s tiny kitchen was short on storage space, so many of the pieces resided on the countertop when not in use. And from my earliest memory, I can still see them…either bubbling over with baked beans on the stovetop or being pulled from the oven with a Sunday roast.

From the looks of the patina on the outer surface, it’s obvious that her set was purely utilitarian…as most were back then. The dribble stains served somewhat as a badge of honor to the many fond memories of mealtimes past.

For the better part of fifty years, her Guardian Service cookware was a very special part of life. And after our Christmas 1989 celebration, her extended family finally outgrew her modest farmhouse. Subsequent holiday gatherings were held at a rental hall…and sadly, the food just didn’t seem the same.

I inherited my small piece from Gran some time ago, and the other pieces were distributed amongst the cousins.

For decades my pot sat on a shelf and served no real purpose, other than being filled with odds and ends and shuffled here and there as I needed more shelf space.

I had mixed feelings about drilling a drain hole in its bottom, but I fully believe Gran would be proud that I’ve given it a brand-new life. Not only does it serve a new purpose, but I also think of her (and her amazing meals) every time I see it.

05/29/2024

The river stone gabion is finished. There's nothing like working in a cool, springtime shower.

Approx. 14" x 14" x 48" high, filled with 6-inch river stones.