Aren't you kind of impressed with people who know what things like stoneware, enamelware, toile and so on are? I love that sort of thing. Fancy, old, traditional stuff you keep around your home. To me, those things make a home over just a house you live in.

Everyone has their finishing touches. I like old and traditional. Not so much antiques, they are a responsibility. New old stuff is what I like. Don't get the idea that I'm looking for that fakery stuff. I do not like new stuff that has been made to look old. Scratched, burned, cracked, glued, etc. - that's not my thing.

I prefer a new enamel pot. It's something new based on an old idea. I wish I had a list of all the old fashioned things. Likely there is a website for this somewhere. I could just sink into all that information, especially if it comes with pictures or some kind of illustration to daydream over.

This is my home and garden fetish. I watch Martha Stewart just cause she indulges my fetish with things (like paper twist flowers, stoneware and toile), some of them, previously unknown to me.

What's your home and garden fetish? You must have one... don't be shy.

NOTE: The last newsletter (about family and antique methods of cleaning and maintaining a home) didn't go out to everyone, you can find it in the archives at BackWash