More Signs of Spring

Buds on Maple TreeMarch 26, 2007Mike Thomas, a reformed anti-blogger who's blog is call Brannigans Law commented on my cooking blog about a video his wife had made about gnomes. I just had to check out her video called "I Think I'm a Gnome Now". This is a must see for all gardeners unless of course you don't like gnomes. I have three of gnomes in the video: Jack, Jeff and Phillip. Thanks

Signs of Spring

There have been a few signs of spring here. The temperatures reached 77ºF here on Monday and that's after our first thunderstorm of the season. Yesterday I spotted our first robin, the bluejays were back to pecking at the window and the weather was very mild. So I did a little garden work, took the solar lights out to charge in the greenhouse and take a few pictures.ChivesI have two outdoor

A Few More Treasures...

Sometimes I put things together and I'm not quite sure they work...this is one of those times, but I decided to post the pictures anyway. This display is on top of my computer hutch. This chair is one that I sat on as a small child when I went to Sunday School at the little community church my dear Mom and I attended (My dh, dd and I still attend this church). Our church was selling these chairs several years ago and I just had to have one of them (wish I would have bought a few more...they're really sweet). The birdhouse was a recent purchase from Goodwill, the basket was from a church sale, the small teacup and saucer belonged to a dear family friend, and the flower pot came from Wal-mart. The violet is an artificial plant picked up at Target several years ago on clearance. The picture in the background came from Home Interiors.

Gram's Recipe Cards

Here are a few pictures of a quick and easy project I completed over the weekend. I took several recipe cards that belonged to my dear Gram and put them in small picture frames. I mounted the recipe cards to gingham fabric that I already had. The frames, along with another pie pan, were hung on the wall behind my cooktop.

Thrift Store Finds

While out running a few errands I decided it was time to make a trip to our local Goodwill store. This is what I found: a Country Living book called Country Chic, the birdhouse and the cute little bunny. I managed to get all of these items for a little under $5.00!

I also picked up a plate hanger that I'm going to use for one of my dear Gram's pie pans plus two small burgandy colored picture frames for a few of my family's hand written recipe cards. I'm going to display these items over my cooktop...hopefully I can get this project completed over the weekend and get a picture taken to show all of you. Have a great weekend...thanks for stopping by.

Phillip & JeffPlease welcome Phillip and Jeff, my newest gnomes checking out one of the seed trays. They arrived by gnometravel this morning. While Gnameless is still looking for help in the garden, these two don't really looking like they have their mind on garden work. But that's ok because I'm sure Gnameless already knows that a gnome village requires input from all the little folk. Gnomes

Gram's Pie Pans

While browsing through my new issue of Country Home I spotted old pie pans displayed on a wall. It inspired me to get out my dear Gram's old pie pans. I haven't put them on the wall yet (I have three of them) but I decided to display them in my kitchen hutch. These pie pans have seen many pies in their day. They are a little bent out of shape and have deep grooves in them where the delicious slices of homemade pie were cut, but I love them no less...oh how I long for a piece of my Gram's wonderful apple pie. Unfortunately, I do not have her recipe for pie crust or pie filling...she wrote many recipes down but these must have been a secret!

A Few More Corners...

The first picture shows the top of a white storage cupboard in our upstairs hallway; two quilts - bottom one was a wedding gift from our maid of honor and best man, top quilt was made by my dear Gram, two green pots, and a fish bowl full of seashells.

The bottom picture shows three handkerchiefs that belonged to my dear Mom displayed with an oil lamp that was my dear Gram's.

I have to admit that I thought winter was behind us...I was wrong...here are a few pictures of the snow that visited us this past weekend.

This is what I saw when I looked out of my kitchen windows

Ten Ways to Go Green in the Gardencompostuse mulchuse only organic fertilizersmanually remove pestscollect rainwater for garden watering needsuse solar powered lighting instead of electricattract beneficial insectsuse natural pesticidesuse companion plantinguse organic soil ammendmentsHappy Gardening!Garden Gnome©2007

Corner of my Home

Today's corner is in my kitchen. The first picture shows a beloved cookbook that belonged to my dear Mom, a vase of geranium cuttings and a bowl of branch balls. These items sit on top of the table that holds all of my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks (the shelf is between the legs of the table). The second picture shows two more cookbooks with a crock that belonged to my dear Gram. I store tea in this crock.

Skywatching

SunriseLexington Harbour, MichiganA very condensed version of this entry was first posted on my personal blog, My Journey this morning. Once I started writing it, I thought if expanded it would make a good entry here. The entry on that blog starts with a little animation I was playing with this morning but I thought for this entry, I would start out with a sunrise picture since skywatching is

Please Wecome Jack My New Gnome

Gnameless Gnome & JackGnameless gnome was used to being the only gnome in my garden. As you can see he lost a couple of pieces off his rake so I'll have to see if I can find a way to fix that for him. He was joined by a wide variety of other garden decorations. This year I decided to use a unifying theme instead of a mish mash of decorations. Of course that theme had to be gnomes! The

Basement Craft Area

Welcome to my basement craft area. When we first moved into the farmhouse this area was originally the laundry room. After enclosing a seldom used side porch for a new laundry area and powder room I had space for a craft area. The yellow cabinets were from the home of my husband's employer. They were having extensive remodeling done and wanted rid of these 1950's cabinets. The cabinets were made by General Electric. I never knew GE made cabinets...I thought they only made appliances. One thing I didn't like about the basement was the fact that you could see the electrical panel, water pump, etc. I wanted a way to disguise these areas so I took some curtains that my friend Beth no longer needed and hung them up. It still gives you easy access to these items...I'm just happy you can't see them any longer. The dresser belonged to my dh's grandfather. I have some of my craft supplies organized in canning jars. I like the fact that you can look in them and see what's inside. I also have craft books handy, too. I am lucky enough to have two sets of metal cabinets. The second set has some projects that I'm working on. I have a shelf that I need to finish painting, a small wooden cabinet that needs to be sanded and painted for the powder room, and a set of metal plate racks that I want to spray paint black for my kitchen walls. As Kelli would say, UFO's!

These cabinets are great for storage...and I'm all about storage and organization. I can't tell you the thrill I get cleaning things out and reorganizing them.
Thanks for stopping by!

Let the Fun Begin!

It's that time of year folks! Time to get all the seed packets in order, start seedlings indoors and get your hands dirty. It's also a good time to rejuvenate and start houseplants. Let the fun begin!Seeds Everywhere!I admit it, I'm just a little behind on starting my seeds indoors but only by a few days. Yesterday was sunny and a balmy 63ºF so that spurred me into action. Unfortunately the

Master Bedroom Pictures

Here are the pictures of the master bedroom as promised. The first picture is a little sitting area in the bedroom where I have the small table my Mom refinished.

One thing I love about this bedroom is the big picture window with it's awesome view of the countryside. I am in awe every time I look out this window. I'll be posting pictures of our view sometime in the future.

I'll hope you'll come back tomorrow for a visit. I'm going to be posting pictures of my basement craft area. See you all then!

Spring Is Near!

Hello dear ladies...I hope you all had a pleasant weekend. My dd and I went to a small town near us to browse some of the darling little shops. In one shop called "Persnickety" (I just love the name) I found a small birdnest for three of my eggs (don't they look sweet). I also decided to get an ivy plant and new pot plus paper spring flowers that look similar to forsythia (they also have very small pipberries on them as well).

I've been wanting a new throw for my loveseat in the livingroom. I found this as well this weekend. I love the pattern on it.

7 Ways to Get Rid of Pet Odors

When a house you’re trying to sell smells like a pet, there are some tactics that can improve the odor situation. Don Aslett, owner of Varsity Contractors, offers up these tips for identifying the source of the smell and then eliminating it:

Use a fluorescent black light (pet-supply stores sell them), to expose odor-producing spots on the carpet, couch, floorboards and even on drapes.

Remove all solids and blot up as much liquid as possible with a clean towel. Apply an appropriate odor neutralizer or cleaner according to directions.

Never use ammonia, which takes on the smell of what it's supposed to be cleaning, can trigger more accidents.

Choose the best product to remove the problem. On water-safe surfaces, try Simple Solution stain and odor remover. The problem area must be thoroughly soaked and left to dry.

Bramton's Oxy Solution Pet Stain and Odor Destroyer can remove odors and stains from surfaces that won’t withstand soaking, but test first in an out-of-the way place.

The most effective and safest disinfectant for use around pets is Chlorhexidine, which is sold under such names as Nolvasan, Chlorasan and Chlorhex by veterinarians and medical-supply outlets. Use these for problems that demand deep cleaning.

When all else fails, temporarily neutralize odors using a product such as Fresh Wave.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Sarah Casey Newman (03/10/2007)

Corner of My Home

These are a few of my favorite things...the oil lamp belonged to my dear Gram. On the oil lamp is a pipberry candle ring...it has white berries with a hint of green. I have several of my favorite devotional books underneath a small birdcage that was a thrift store find. The flowers in the birdcage were also a thrift store find. You'll find these items in a corner of my bedroom sitting on a small table that belonged to my dear parents. My Mom loved to refinish furniture and this is one piece that she redid. Stay tuned for more pictures of our bedroom!p.s. Kim from Daisy Cottage, I'm so honored that you wish to add my website to your lovely blog...thank you!

Garden Goodies

Garden GoodiesI treated myself yesterday for behaving at the dentist. I hate dentists so actually bribed myself. Yes I know, I clearly stated here that I was gnomifying the garden and I am but the store I stopped at had no gnomes! I bought two new bird feeders and solar lights. I think I might pick up another set of the post solar lights and perhaps another solar rock. All are on sale until

Another Egg Picture

I hope by now you dear ladies are not tired of seeing my pictures of eggs because I have a few more to show you. Several years ago I found a small nest on the ground. Of course, I gathered it up right away and took it home. I then went to one of my favorite country stores and found a small pipberry candle ring with white berries on it and a small speckled egg. This is what it looks like all put together. I keep the nest in a glass bell jar candle holder. I found the candle holder at a church sale for $2.00. I also wanted to show you a picture of the table cloth I found this past weekend at Marshall's (it's similar to TJ Maxx).

Eggs...again!

I just had to share this picture of the darling box of eggs I found this weekend at TJ Maxx. I was so excited when I found them...I've been on a search for eggs ever since I found the trinket box eggs at the Dollar Tree. I'm not sure if I'm going to leave them in the box (which I think is pretty with the ribbon around it) or put them in a small basket.

Just wanted to say....

to all of you sweet ladies who have been visiting my home and leaving such kind comments. I really appreciate each one. I've enjoyed getting to know all of you and visiting your sweet blogs...again I thank you all from the bottom of my heart!

Smooth Roads are Coming

The Road LID.....

Click here to read about the upcoming LID for Ocean Shores....

Balloon FlowerPlatycodon grandiflorumThe balloon flower is one of my favourites. Platycodon means like a broad bell and grandiflorum means having big flowers. The plant gets its name from the shape of the buds. They look like small pillowy balloons. I only have one balloon flower plant. It usually blooms in early to midsummer. This plant does seem to be rather hardy. A well meaning family