CelebrateTheSeasons

All good things come to an end

2009-06-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog. It has changed my perspective on life and helped me appreciate things even more. You see life and nature in detail as you blog about it. My blogger account is full and I am starting over with a clean slate and fresh ideas. I am having fun now with a new blog called The Cranberry Chronicle. I hope you will follow the link and join me there from now on.

To all who have commented on this blog over the years, I thank you. It has been wonderful to interact with you through here and I appreciate your comments. I treasure the online friendships I have made.

Pink and black...

2009-06-17T05:47:00.001-07:00

Pink and black really seem to add impact when you put them together. I did just that at my front door.

Do you remember me telling you about a garden project that we had? We bought a wrought iron garden table stand and a cut iron table top which Jos steel brushed and painted in black.

The table came up a dream by the time Jos was done with it! It is very heavy and so decorative.

I love dahlias and found these pretty pink ones in the garden center. They have a beautiful yellow tint in the center of the open flower petals.

This flower combined with the decoration on the table is a wonderful accent to welcome people to our front door.

Update on our disaster ~ Good news and bad news...it looks like our wood floors will be okay and our floor in the cupboard is dry but our walls are still drenched and really smell. We have major damage to a wall which was just pastered so that will have to be totally redone. Thanks so much for all your kind words and support about the flooding. I do try to use my sense of humor to battle grey clouds in life and enjoyed that so many understood my choice in the Soggy Bottom Boys to sing to you while you read about my woes. *grins*

This will be my last blog entry on this blog. My account is full and I already started a new needlework blog. Once I have decided on a title, I will be starting my new home and garden blog also. I want to thank everyone who has read this blog and especially for the comments left. I have really enjoyed it! I promise to give you the link very soon right here so stay tuned.

Disaster!

2009-06-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

This is me today! I don't have my energy built up at all yet but today was a real test of my endurance.

Yesterday our handyman showed up to install our over, hob and faucet. This morning, I got up and went downstairs only to walk into a puddle of water. I then realized there was a sound of water running. Here a pipe had burst and there was water everywhere. We called the man and he came right over. He found the problem and fixed it. He had a sweeper to sweep the water away. But then I realized that our cupboard under the stairs which is beside the kitchen was also flooded. He was long gone so I had to try and clean that up on my own. What a mess!

So I have my new oven but no energy to use it at the moment.

It arrived!

2009-06-08T11:22:00.001-07:00

Look what arrived in the middle of my living room today! We finally have our oven and hob. What a terrible time we had with this. First, the one we ordered was delayed a week. Then we were called to say it would be six weeks followed by a call that it would now be the end of July. They also told us there was no guarantee that it would arrive then either. We just gave up.

The problem is that I want a nostalgic look oven in black and they are no longer in fashion. Things not in fashion in Holland are just impossible to find. A couple of companies are still making them but they are few and far between. I found this one which has a great oven and not so great fob. I want iron not metal for the fob but this had to be my comprise as the next choice would have been very much more money and I would have probably had to buy new pans as they would not have held up. That hob had an extra strong burner. So I made the comprise and the oven is sitting in my living room waiting our handyman's attention.

He also has to replace our brand new faucet which is not working. It is faulty and we arranged for a new one (different model as this one is no longer being produced...go figure) and to be able to return the other one as soon as the handyman can switch them. They wanted us to bring it in when we picked up the new faucet but we told them we would have no water and have to pay our handyman for an extra visit. This kind of thing is fine when you can do this work yourself but not when you are paying someone. I will be so glad to see the last part of the kitchen come together.

To top that off, my electric water cooker died this past week. I always said when it did I would not replace it with another. I want to go back to the old fashioned whistling tea kettle. I bought one for Cranberry Cottage and realized how much I miss waiting for my water to boil and hear that whistle blow. A simple pleasure in life. I have picked one out I would like but we have to get downtown which is not easy for me right now.

Did you know it is cherry season? Cherries are available now again in the shops here in Holland. Hard to believe that it was not that long again that I was posting about driving to see the cherry blossoms.

Jos loves warm cherry sauce on ice cream. He saw they had cherries in a jar on sale at the supermarket and brought home a jar which he left sitting on the counter for me to find. I place them in a saucepan with the liquid in the jar and simply add some cornstarch to bind them into a thicker sauce. It is a great treat on a summer's eve.

A further note about my health ~ I had my check up at the hospital on Friday. I was told with two to four new higher dosages, I should be in balance again and start feeling better. If it ends up only two dosages are needed, that will be feeling better by autumn. The doctor told me to remain patient. I am not a person to only lie around on the couch and it is hard. I did get a little disheartening news in that my second biopsy is needed and has now been scheduled for August. I am scared this time as my thyroid is becoming hard as a result of the treatment. My doctor gave me something to take starting the day before the biopsy to help me relax. I will be very glad when this is over.

My Edith Holden rose

2009-06-05T09:20:00.001-07:00

Ever since I discovered The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady in a bookshop when I was a girl, I have loved and admired Edith Holden. Her handwritten diary is a joy to read over and over each year. Her life was also one I admire.

So when I found out quite by chance online that there was a rose named after her, I went on a search to find some for my garden. In the end, I found one nursery with them in Holland. I asked a friend who is from the area the nursery was if she had ever heard of the place. Not only did she know but her mother lived right next to it. She offered to have her mother go buy the rose bush for me and she would bring it back with her the next time she visited her mother. The bush is happily blooming again this summer. I just love it as I find it unique. So many ask me what rose is it as it is such an unusual color with a hint of brown in it. Up to this year, I kept it growing in a terracotta pot. I decided to plant it in the ground just under one of our maple trees this year. Edith is very happy there and blooming beautifully once again.

For the love of books...

2009-05-29T02:36:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the year, I had set a few goals for myself. I wanted to get some of my quilting and stitching projects finished and started reading more of my books that had sat neglected on the shelf. You never know what time will bring to you and with not feeling well, I am able to concentrate more on two of those goals than I had ever anticipated. I stitch a good deal as that is easy for me to do while I rest on the couch and I am reading.

My goal was to try and read about two books a month this year as I have many books that I had not gotten to in the past couple of years. My mother and I are always sharing cozy mysteries with each other and I let them stack up lately. My mother reads at an incredible speed which I do not. Some of them are rather older ones in a series. I pulled them from my bookshelves and have been working my way through them. You may get the impression that these are the only books I read but it is simply that I have so many needing to be read right now that I have decided to concentrate on these mysteries.

After having read three of them this month, I decided I need a break from mysteries and am rereading The Secret Garden as well as an Amish themed novel by Beverly Lewis. I want a change for next month's books. I am sure once I am feeling better, I will be up doing things and my pace of reading will slow down considerably. But for now, I rest with a cup of tea and a good book and it is not so bad at all. It is nice to see some open space again in my bookshelves for a change. It will bring me closer to my goal of adding more vintage books to my shelves if I can make more space as I pass on books to friends.

What kind of books are on your bookshelves? Are you like me and have many on your 'to be read' shelf? Do you have a favorite classic book that you like to reread?

"My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter. "

~Thomas Helm

Note to Andylynne: If you read this, can you email me once again. I cannot find your email and would love to email you back!

The Secret Garden

2009-05-27T02:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome once again to our "secret garden". Our garden is at the front of our home as the house is built right in the water. We wanted to created a place that still felt secluded and mysterious even though it is on the road itself. Perhaps I have been influenced by a favorite children's book "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

I find as the years go by, I am still fine tuning how I want the garden to feel and look (with the emphasis on the feeling in the garden). Many comment about this feeling when they visit our garden but I have not been able to put that into my photographs. I wish I could! Here are a few of the changes I was talking about in my last entry.

As you may remember, we added the iron gate last year. My wisteria has bloomed and now the green leaves are taking over. As they grow and combine with our red birch hedgerow, they add to the idea that you cannot see the entry gate right away from the street. But like little Mary Lennox, if you can find the door amongst the growth, you can enter the secret garden and it will come to life...

This year, we added a large urn which I have filled with pretty purple petunias. I love old fashioned flowers.

We also hung a mirror on one of the walls to add more depth to our tiny city garden. I fell in love with this mirror which is shaped like a church window.

I love the reflection of the flower filled urn in the mirror but it also gives the illusion that there is yet another garden room behind the wall.

One thing I find important is to look for accessories in your garden that really touch you. Little things like the lantern, child's wooden shoes and abstract bird statue I have placed on the wooden bench are just as important as the flowers in the garden.

If you have never read the children's book "The Secret Garden", why not treat yourself this summer. The story is about Mary Lennox who comes to live with her uncle at Misselthwaite Manor on the Yorkshire Moors after the death of her parents. The characters come to life on the pages of this joyous book and a perfect summer read. Do it for the child that lives in you! Here is an excerpt from Chapter 8:

"She looked at the key quite a long time. She turned it over and over, and thought about it. As I have said before, she was not a child who had been trained to ask permission or consult her elders about things. All she thought about the key was that if it was the key to the closed garden, and she could find out where the door was, she could perhaps open it and see what was inside the walls, and what had happened to the old rose-trees. It was because it had been shut up so long that she wanted to see it. It seemed as if it must be different from other places and that something strange must have happened to it during ten years. Besides that, if she liked it she could go into it every day and shut the door behind her, and she could make up some play of her own and play it quite alone, because nobody would ever know where she was, but would think the door was still locked and the key buried in the earth. The though of that pleased her very much."

Changes

2009-05-20T08:16:00.001-07:00

Spring is the season of change, of growth. In spite of all that I am facing with not being able to do much, we have been working on the garden to make a few changes. Here are a few of them done so far.....

A number of things have been repositioned like our sundial. I will reveal in the next post why we tucked it away in this spot now as we added some pretty new things to the garden. It no longer tells us the time where it is placed but we still love seeing it when we come into the garden. It was the first major thing we purchased for our garden after we got married and moved to Sweden over 22 years ago. We brought it back from there and have enjoyed it since.

This year, I moved all the planting between the poles of our pergola in the middle of the garden and replanted some here in the garden while others moved to Cranberry Cottage. I wanted to have rows of Annabella's which is a type of hydrangea to line the little path to the second terrace. They are growing well and starting to show a few buds. I am excited to see how well they will do in their first year in the garden. At the moment, our spring bulbs, wisteria and azaleas are all finished blooming so the garden is looking very green. The clematis is growing in leaps and bounds up the middle pergola with a promise of a roof like cover of many tiny blooms to come.

I have not planted as many vegetables and herbs this year. We have sage, basil and parsley all growing well...

...as well as two types of specialty leaf lettuces. We love eating salads in the summer and I find it fun as well as frugal to have these more expensive types of lettuce to pick leaves as I want them.

Our garden dame was disappearing among the growth so this year, we raised her up on a wooden pedestal which is already hidden among the planting. This is a statue that Jos just loved and bought many years ago. She has adorned 3 of our gardens and still looks lovely. Enjoy the words of this verse which to me paint a picture of the feeling of the season in our garden.

"The young May moon is beaming, love.
The glow-worm's lamp is gleaming, love.
How sweet to rove,
Through Morna's grove,
When the drowsy world is dreaming, love!
Then awake! -- the heavens look bright, my dear,
'Tis never too late for delight, my dear,
And the best of all ways
To lengthen our days
Is to steal a few hours from the night, my dear!"

~ Thomas Moore ~

Forget Me Not

2009-05-13T05:18:00.000-07:00

Forget Me Nots are the sweetest little flowers. Suddenly each spring, they are somewhere totally new in your garden. Like foxgloves, perhaps not a plant for the fainthearted as they will go wonder through your garden as they wish. I love that about both foxgloves and forget me nots. It is as if the flower fairies have played with them in the night and then coaxed them out to surprise in the morning sunshine. A little elfin hide and seek. This year once again, they are looking very beautiful at Cranberry Cottage.

I am sorry that it has been a large timespan between posts. I choose to share my forget me nots as I have not forgotten my dear blogging friends but had some complications as a result of the radioactive therapy done in March. The therapy was to try and shrink the enlarge thyroid which is otherwise health and functioning. Or it was until a couple of weeks ago. At Easter, I had fallen on the stairs and at the time thought it felt like I had no legs for a moment and just went down. I assumed it was my fibromyalgia. Only after seeing my doctor for my check up the same week, did she tell me that we had to watch out for certain symptoms including extreme muscle weakness and pain. Only later did it click that this probably caused my fall.

At the time, I told her I would never notice the symptoms she mentioned as many mirror the fibromyalgia. I was so very wrong about this. I became actually sick and had to call the hospital. She asked if I had a way to get to the hospital right then and there. Luckily, Jos was working from home that day and he ran me over. They did up my blood work and she called me the next day to say she was faxing our local pharmacy to get me started on medication immediately. She said I have had an extreme reaction to the therapy and my thyroid has stopped. It will improve after I have been on the medicine for a while. She told me I will see an improvement before I go back in for my check up. I did have to run to the emergancy doctor's post this past weekend and was put on antibiotics for a severe sinus infection which was making the breathing from the enlarged thyroid worse. That has really improved how I feel also.

Right now, I spend my days on the couch feeling very cold so I am wrapped up in a quilt I just finished which you can read about here on my other blog. I am not well but okay. I am so glad this problem is fixable with time so I keep myself occupied with DVDs and my stitching. I already finished a little sampler dedicated to my grandmother which you can see here. I am enjoying watching my double DVD of the life of the Bronte sisters wishing I was well enough for us to go to Haworth once again. Since I do nap a great deal, I can just doze off and dream of going there. *grins*

All things considered, I am doing fine and just need to find patience to hold me through the coming weeks as I wait for my body to respond and it will. Thank you for your comments and emails. I am trying to visit a couple of blogs each day now that I do feel a little better. I miss it when I don't stop in to visit with you.

When bees hum in the linden tree
and roses bloom in cottage plots.

Along the brookside banks we see
the blue wild forget-me-nots.

~ Patience Strong ~

Astonishing wisteria...

2009-04-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Each year at this time, we are again astonished by the beauty surrounding our garden literally. Jos and I have always loved wisteria and never had success in growing it until we planted it in our city garden. This tiny garden hosts hundreds of heavenly scented blooms each year. Each year, we are awed once again by its pure beauty. The Dutch call wisteria 'blue rain' which is exactly as it looks right now. It started to really blossom on Sunday and is going to peak this weekend. I am happy it is timed just right with having a few Dutch needlework bloggers over to my house on Sunday for High Tea.

We are making some subtle changes to our garden this year. Since I took these photos on Sunday, a few things have changed and I promise to share more about that later. What is happening in your garden this week?

Of wood and dandelions...

2009-04-27T03:16:00.001-07:00

We had a very busy weekend up at Cranberry Cottage. Jos has long been wanting a woodshed to store our firewood. This weekend, the carpenter came and built the woodshed. It is just amazing. I joked right away that it looks so nice, I want to live in it. *grins* We have to now lay a bit of sand and either tile or gravel the bottom so we can place some pellets on it to stack our firewood on. I am just tickled pink with how nice it looks. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would look this nice when we discussed our ideas with the carpenter. Take a look for yourself...

Last week, I was talking to my friend Joni via Skype. We were talking about gardening. Now Joni believes that dandelions are a flower. I guess Mother Nature agrees with you Joni because we stopped the car so I could jump out and take these photos for you. It is a pretty field with yellow flower...yep, they are dandelions and I have to admit they are a sight of beauty like this!

I wish you an inspiring Monday!

Old Dutch look kitchen...

2009-04-22T07:13:00.001-07:00

The kitchen is practically finished and I was excited to share some photos with you. The practically finished part will be revealed in a moment.

Click on the photos to enlarge them...

First, I searched for some photos of my kitchen as it was. I hated it. I lived with it for almost 13 years and tried to do things to make it feel cheerful and cozy while also creating light but I just could not make it work. Our living room is a U shape and the kitchen falls in the middle of the house with no window and no natural light. I called it "The Black Hole".

I realize I must have really hated it as I cannot find a photo of the kitchen. Only this photo taken in the kitchen of a gift I made for my niece's baby. You get a pretty good idea from this photo how dark it was in there. I have not changed the lights and the cupboards are the same but it now is a different world to me at least. Gone are the teal plain doors that shined but still looked dark... Gone is the drab and heavy drainboard of beech that always looked dirty... Gone is the floral tile border we had put in as an attempt to cheer up the space...

I now have a kitchen that reflects my love of old Dutch. The "bones" of the kitchen have not changed but we have a "new" kitchen for a very budget price. We had fun searching for the elements which I knew I wanted to include in the kitchen. It really feels like my own creation since we did the remodel this way and not just go into a kitchen shop to order a new kitchen. Both Jos and I have enjoyed watching it come together.

I knew a couple of elements I wanted to use including this tap which I matches the smaller version of our tap in the downstairs half bath or WC as we call it. I love the nostalgic look of the porcelain knobs with hot and cold.

Our new tiles are called "Hollandse witjes". These tiles are still being produced from as early as the 17th century. In order to be "witjes" they must measure 13 cm by 13 cm. They are all uneven and not necessarily perfectly square. They have a highly glazed finish which is why they were well loved. The tiles reflect light very well and created a light look to a dark kitchen back in the 1600s. What worked then, certainly works now. Our handyman stayed later than he intended the first day he did the finishing last week, even though it was his birthday. He wanted to see how the tiles were going to look so we did one wall before he left. I handed him the tiles in the order I wanted them put up. There are three shades which needed randomly placed. By enlarging this photo, you can really see how the tiles are uneven. This is what gives them their charm.

These wooden knobs are also still being made and can be found in very old Dutch farmhouses. One of the first things we searched for was a wood turner who still makes these.

I started out wanting a white sink but Jos talked me into going with the stainless steel again for ease of cleaning. I really like the shape of this sink now that it is in.

The drainboard is also the same look as found in original old Dutch kitchens.

We choose a cream color when we had our doors sprayed. I am very happy with how they turned out. Jos just painted my shelves which were also antriciet. We still have to touch up the walls after putting the shelves back and we are finished.

Here is my great gaping hole where the oven will be. I choose an antriciet nostalgic look oven and hob which they don't keep stock as they are not ordered often according to the company. I will wait patiently as I am sure it will be worth it. But having to eat takeaways for more than a month is not an option for me. Jos drilled an opening for my gas to connect to a loose hob which we were able to buy cheaply secondhand until the appliances arrive. We just made sure the hole falls within the area that our new hob will be placed. After all, necessity is the mother of invention as the saying goes...

My wall of speculaas moulds remains as it was. I really have a weakness for these beautiful cookie forms and the cookies themselves. *grins*

This cupboard used to go right up to the ceiling and extended out with hallogen spots to the other side. I was so glad to see the spots gone but also liked having the cupboard above the built in fridge gone also to create a more open feeling. The side was antriciet and we had it drywalled and skimmed so I could use the same paint as the rest of the room. This does not jump out at you now when you come into the dining area of our living room.

Edit: My mother just asked me if the tile are yellow but they look more so than they are in real life. They are the creamy color of real butter.

In the pink...

2009-04-20T05:57:00.001-07:00

This time of year as things start to blossom, I like to add a few pink accents to the house.

Jos came home from buying some groceries for me on Saturday morning with a bouquet of pink tulips. Aren't they pretty?

I also like using some of my vintage books that pertain to the season along with nests for decorating.

Two pink quilts I made that work together on my couch for some spring color.

Pink renoncules in my urns on the sidetable.

And this little man is in the pink soaking up the last rays of sunshine during a very busy time here. Our kitchen is just about done with Jos needing to rehang some shelves he painted. We also found a temporary solution to having no oven or hob until the order comes in. I hope that I can share some photos of it with you in the next day or so once our shelves are back in. We are both thrilled with how it has turned out. Dagi found it all to be a bit tiresome and even came downstairs to have a discussion with our handyman about all the 'goings on'. Perhaps all that meowing is what wore him out. *grins*

Apple blossom time! - Part two

2009-04-16T13:01:00.000-07:00

We now travel to the village of Ingen. This village is so picturesque that you just have to stop and take a look around. There is a beautiful ancient church, a windmill called 'Op Hoop Van Beter' (In Hope of Better) and amazing old homes. There are cherry orchards right in the middle of the village. Take a moment to walk around charming Ingen with me...

My mother told me I needed to find the song Apple Blossom Time for my blog. The only version I found was so old and made her giggle. She says it is from my grandmother's time but I think a classic is always good.

Note: Our kitchen renovation is coming along nicely. We have the new worktops and faucet installed. I also helped our handyman with one wall of tiling before the day was over. I am afraid we got some bad news that the oven and hob that I picked out will not just be a week delayed but a month. Not fun as I have no oven or hob now. We put our heads together and I realized we have a stove top that is able to be brought down here from Cranberry Cottage. The handyman is going to drill a small hole where the new hob will be inserted so I can use this one until our new one comes in. It will mean improvising for a while but I don't want to change my choice in the oven and hob. More photos will come as things are a little farther along...

Apple blossom time! - Part one

2009-04-14T01:57:00.000-07:00

The Easter long weekend holiday is behind us but I wanted to share our day out in The Betuwe, an area of Holland where the fruit orchards are. It is apple blossom time in Holland and with the sunny weather we had over the weekend, it was a great day out for our Easter holiday.

We used the ferry to cross the river and stopped at the first farm that is a tea room. It is called Hofstede De Koningslinde in a village called Eck en Wiel. A link to the farm's website can be found here. The farm is open as a Bed and Breakfast and also as a tea room. The owners are very friendly and welcoming. We enjoyed sitting in the sunshine while enjoying a piece of Yvonne's homemade apple pie. Take a moment to enjoy the slideshow for an impression...

Next time, more on apple blossom time!

Note: Thank you for the many comments about my new header photo. The quilt is one that I did make myself. Some of the blocks were given to me from ladies in my quilt group when we held a log cabin block swap.

The Easter bunny is remodeling

2009-04-12T04:23:00.000-07:00

Do you remember back in November when I showed you the start of our kitchen remodeling project? You can read about it here and here. A few have asked me since then if they missed the finish. No...we are still very busy working on it.

When we finally decided on a worktop, we had to order and wait over 6 weeks for it to come in. Our tiles were the easy part to order as I knew I wanted "Hollandse witjes" which are reproductions of the old handmade Dutch tiles from the 16th century. We are using three shades ~ white, cream and beige. Now the beige is a darker cream to me but this will give the look you find in old Dutch kitchen.

Our handyman called to say he had time again between jobs and could come this week. This meant we needed to use this long holiday weekend to hack the old tiles off the walls. You can see the old tiles in the first photo. They are tiled over another layer of tiles so Jos had to get through both layers back to the bare walls.

What a mess it made but after getting through inch by inch in the corners, he was able to get them off easily. They started coming off in big plates of three tiles and double layers at a time. We thought it would take him all weekend but instead he started at 2pm on Saturday and was all finished by 6pm including me cleaning the kitchen to be able to cook again.

Of course, now our garden is a mess. We carried bucket after bucket outside. But I am so excited to see the rest of the kitchen come together now. I am saying a prayer that my new oven and stove top arrive by Thursday. Last week, my hot air oven died for the third time and we have decided it is not worth the money to repair it again. I think it was meant to work out this way as we can have the stove top placed in the new worktop now.

Coffee breaks did have a little Easter flavor to them. These bonbons are so adorable. I must admit that I did not like them though and Jos gets to eat the whole box. I don't think he minds that at all. *grins*

Easter morning was a quiet and relaxed time for us. We has our breakfast and spent time on our laptops. I was able to make some blog rounds to wish people a happy Easter.

Wishing you all a very Happy Easter!

A hidden violet...

2009-04-10T04:49:00.000-07:00

On Good Friday, a tiny reminder of miracles and surprises of nature is found in my garden. I did not plant this sweet little violet but here it is blooming so prettily in a small corner.

Violets stand for modesty in the language of flowers.

"This humble flower has been celebrated in poetry and romance from ancient time and is mmuch loved for its delicate powdery scent. It was widely referred to by Shakespeare, who called it "forward", for it blooms early and heralds the approach of summer. The plant is often described as modest for hiding it dark beauty away in the long grass and for flowering so fleetingly.

There are many stories regarding the Violet's name, but it almost certainly originated in Greece where it is considered the flower of Zeus, the king of the gods. Legend has it that Zeus was in love with a beautiful maiden called Io and in order to protect her from Hera, his jealous wife, he changed her into a beautiful calf. Then in order to feed her with delicacies, he commanded the earth to bring forth a beautiful flower in her honour, which he named Ion, the Greek word for Viola."

~ from Penhaligon's The Language of Flowers

“The splendor of the rose and the whitness of the lily do not rob the little violet of it’s scent nor the daisy of its simple charm. If every tiny flower wanted to be a rose, spring would lose its lovliness.”

~ Therese of Lisieux

Easter eggs appearing in our home...

2009-04-07T04:43:00.000-07:00

Is the Easter bunny on his way? Our home has suddenly starting showing signs of him.

There are fabric Easter eggs in our entrance hall. I just finished making these yesterday. They were great fun and easy to do.

Then a find in a little shop in Havelte up north called Thuis(Home). I loved these little egg ornaments and decided I needed to do an Easter tree this year. I used to do an Easter tree each year and then stopped and gave away all my ornaments.

But these sweet little eggs tempted me. They are metal and I just love the cutouts on them as well as the aged effect. I will be looking forward to my next visit to this shop!

Flower fairies awaken

2009-04-01T02:12:00.001-07:00

Ah! April is here and the earth is warming up and coming to life again. The Flower Fairies are also dancing about as things start to come into bloom. Just another month and this Columbine Fairy will be dancing happily amongst the sweet little 'granny bonnets' of the Columbine at Cranberry Cottage.

We are discovering by trial and error what grows well at the cottage and what better in the city garden. Our rhododendrons looked very poorly here in the city garden and we took the two baby bushes to the cottage garden where they seem to thrive. We planted some French lavender last summer and I noticed that it had completely dried up and died at the cottage. I will be looking for something new to replace it. Perhaps the Flower Fairies can come and whisper in my ear what I should place there?

"Who shall the chosen fairy be
For the letter C?
There's Candytuft, and Cornflower blue,
Campanula and Crocus too,
Chrysanthemum so bold and fine,
And pretty dancing Columbine.

Yes, Columbine! The choice is she;
And with her, see,
An elfin piper, piping sweet
A little tune for those light feet
That dance among the leaves and flowers
In someone's garden.
(Is it ours?)

~ Cicely Mary Barker

When I got home from the hospital after my treatment in March, a gift came for me from a blogging friend Janneke. She sent me two vintage Flower Fairies books. I just love them! Thank you Janneke.

The colors of early spring...

2009-03-30T06:05:00.001-07:00

We took a drive up to Cranberry Cottage on Sunday to see how things are doing up there. It was the first time we went up since the hospital stay and my treatment. We want to try and go up this coming weekend and stay as it is our 22nd anniversary. We have a favorite restaurant in the area and my husband would really like to go there. I want to give it a try even though there have been no improvements so far with my breathing and eating.

We were glad we got to see a last few of our crocuses in bloom. Isn't it just beautiful? I love this deep purple in the green grass!

Another bloom in our garden at the cottage is lungwort. It grows there wildly. There is a spot in our gravel drive that it keeps coming up. I transplant it to the back in the garden and suddenly there is more coming up in its place in the drive. I have promised a friend to bring some back with me for her garden. It is such a cheerful little bell shaped flower and the bumblebees are enjoying an early spring drink of nectar as you can see if you enlarge the photo.

"And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest."

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

Our forecast this week is for warm and sunny days so our daffodils will be out to shine for us when we arrive for the weekend. They were already starting to burst open and greet the sunshine. Do you have a favorite spring blossom in your garden?

A light exists in Spring...

2009-03-23T04:01:00.000-07:00

What is it about March that sets us off in a light mood wanting to reflect that mood in our homes? Is it the change of smell in the air? Or increasing hours of daylight? Or seeing things outdoors come to life again?

I have been bitten by the decluttering bug and am editing my home from things I have no longer any use for. These items that don't bring a little money in from selling used items online will be donated to the thrift shop in our city. I like knowing there is perhaps someone else than can put these items to good use.

And then I got bitten by the spring decorating bug and am puttering around my home creating lighter and cheerful vignettes.

What a lace tablecloth and a spring floral arrangement can do to your home! I love making flower arrangements that are of the season. I have used freesias and violets with some greenery.

I find this mix of lace, plain glasses with tea lights and flowers in a rusted urn I borrowed from my garden table a pretty mix of textures. They are all things I have in my home so the spring transformation costs me only my own creativity. Do you have items around the house that you can use to say spring?

"A light exists in Spring
Not present in the year
at any other period
When March is scarcely here."

~ Emily Dickinson

A day at the opera

2009-03-20T07:05:00.000-07:00

No, not for real but perhaps in my mind. Jos is not a fan of opera so I will simply enjoy the aria on my playlist for this entry. Not only can I enjoy the music but also a very dear gift given to me by a fellow blogger Elizabethd. She had emailed and told me that she wanted to give me her mother's opera glasses for my collection. I got the package on the day I arrived home from the hospital and they were a joy to open. She had told me there were not any special ones but I disagree. They are so lovely!

These are lorgnette opera glasses with a sweet little case to hold them. I did not have anything like them in my collection. Elizabethd said her mother loved going to the theater and opera. She said this pair was well used in her mother's lifetime. I just love them and will cherish them in my collection. I find things I receive in this vein mean so much to me. I received lacemaking bobbins from my friend Carolien and I love them more than any of my own bobbins, my aunt gave me some very old glasses when she cleared out her home which I treasure, another blogging friend Mary has given me an pair of vintage reading glasses and book both of which I adore, and a sweet gift I will show you next time from a blogging friend Janneke. I love old vintage items and just find these gifts so dear to my heart.

Elizabeth spoiled me but sending along more little treats including a patchwork fabric bag. It will be a great thing to use to carry small projects along with me when I am traveling or off for a day out.

And if you only could smell the scent of the French lavender from this handmade and stitched bag. The lavender is from her own garden even. It makes me long for a vacation in France. Who knows, maybe this year...

Thank you so much Elizabethd for your kindness to me! I love knowing the story of your mother behind these glasses. That makes them the most special pair I own along with my very first pair I ever bought.

The meaning of art...

2009-03-18T05:56:00.001-07:00

Do you remember moments when something of intense beauty touched you very deeply? Do you find it travels with your very person and does not let you go? That is to me what great art is all about whether a painting or a poem. As a girl, I remember watching Anne of Green Gables and hearing Anne recite the famous Tennyson poem The Lady of Shalott. Years later, 18 years ago to be exact, I was visiting my neighbor for tea one afternoon and she told me I had to listen to a CD her husband just bought her as she was sure it was something for me. There is was! The poem set to the most beautiful music. It was a song by Loreena McKennitt which is now playing on my songlist. I have loved Loreena McKennitt's music ever since.

Around this same time, I had started to discover the Pre-Raphaelite movement. I love all things William Morris and found there were so many more like him in his philosophy. It was then that I first saw the Waterhouse paintings of The Lady of Shalott. He painted three over a number of years. Each is moving in its own right. Yesterday at the Groningen Museum, I finally got to see two of these huge canvases up close. To say they took my breath away would be an understatement! I was walking in one room and saw the third and last of his paintings of this subject from a distance. I stopped and left the room I was in drawn to that painting. You have never really seen it until you see the actual painting. It is amazing! It is so real that you can see, smell and feel all in this great work. I noticed things about the painting I had never seen before. I felt as though I could reach out and touch the water and it would move with my fingers. It was so real. I wanted to reach out and keep the third candle protected from going out so the Lady would live longer and see her Lancelot. I wanted to shed a tear for her and yet rejoice with her in the curse that now no longer had hold of as she left the tower and entered the boat which was to become her deathbed.

Enjoy the three paintings this master Waterhouse created while listening to the moving music or reading the poem by Tennyson. Enjoy and escape for a little while to Camelot...

On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the wold and meet the sky;
And through the field the road run by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Through the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four grey walls, and four grey towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.

By the margin, willow veil'd,
Slide the heavy barges trail'd
By slow horses; and unhail'd
The shallop flitteth silken-sail'd
Skimming down to Camelot:
But who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott?

Only reapers, reaping early,
In among the bearded barley
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly;
Down to tower'd Camelot;
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers, " 'Tis the fairy
The Lady of Shalott."

There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.

And moving through a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
Winding down to Camelot;
There the river eddy whirls,
And there the surly village churls,
And the red cloaks of market girls
Pass onward from Shalott.

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad,
An abbot on an ambling pad,
Sometimes a curly shepherd lad,
Or long-hair'd page in crimson clad
Goes by to tower'd Camelot;
And sometimes through the mirror blue
The knights come riding two and two.
She hath no loyal Knight and true,
The Lady of Shalott.

But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often through the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot;
Or when the Moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed.
"I am half sick of shadows," said
The Lady of Shalott.

A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.

The gemmy bridle glitter'd free,
Like to some branch of stars we see
Hung in the golden Galaxy.
The bridle bells rang merrily
As he rode down to Camelot:
And from his blazon'd baldric slung
A mighty silver bugle hung,
And as he rode his armor rung
Beside remote Shalott.

All in the blue unclouded weather
Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather,
The helmet and the helmet-feather
Burn'd like one burning flame together,
As he rode down to Camelot.
As often thro' the purple night,
Below the starry clusters bright,
Some bearded meteor, burning bright,
Moves over still Shalott.

His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down to Camelot.
From the bank and from the river
He flashed into the crystal mirror,
"Tirra lirra," by the river
Sang Sir Lancelot.

She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces through the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.

In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale yellow woods were waning,
The broad stream in his banks complaining.
Heavily the low sky raining
Over tower'd Camelot;
Down she came and found a boat
Beneath a willow left afloat,
And around about the prow she wrote
The Lady of Shalott.

And down the river's dim expanse
Like some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance --
With a glassy countenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.

Lying, robed in snowy white
That loosely flew to left and right --
The leaves upon her falling light --
Thro' the noises of the night,
She floated down to Camelot:
And as the boat-head wound along
The willowy hills and fields among,
They heard her singing her last song,
The Lady of Shalott.

Heard a carol, mournful, holy,
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her blood was frozen slowly,
And her eyes were darkened wholly,
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot.
For ere she reach'd upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott.

Under tower and balcony,
By garden-wall and gallery,
A gleaming shape she floated by,
Dead-pale between the houses high,
Silent into Camelot.
Out upon the wharfs they came,
Knight and Burgher, Lord and Dame,
And around the prow they read her name,
The Lady of Shalott.

Who is this? And what is here?
And in the lighted palace near
Died the sound of royal cheer;
And they crossed themselves for fear,
All the Knights at Camelot;
But Lancelot mused a little space
He said, "She has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott."

Signs of spring!

2009-03-16T06:03:00.000-07:00

This gift set on the bench by our front door by a friend gave me the idea for my post today. She had called me on Thursday after I got home from the hospital to ask how I was and said she was leaving me a little something at the door. What a cheerful sight to open the door to!

When I came home from the hospital, the first of these miniature daffodils was starting to peek its pretty yellow bonnet out to say hello. Since then, they are starting to flower well. The air has really taken on a change here in the last few days. Spring seems to have sprung!

We have placed our large pot of daffodils in a sunny spot to encourage them to start to grow even more. This year, I planted four kinds of daffodils in the one pot. I am looking forward to seeing them bloom.

This area right beside our front door is all in pink this year. I normally don't use much pink in my garden but decided to use it by the door this year.

We brought our little bench which is normally at Cranberry Cottage home to use here. I just love the hearts carved out of the side of the legs.

Our jasmine needed to be planted up in a larger pot with taller stakes this year. I am hoping it will grow much taller this year. If you peek in the background, you will see a project waiting for us. We got the heavy wrought iron table leg and the mismatched tabletop both for really great bargains. We plan to repaint it all black and refinished the chair beside it. I think it will be a cute little set once it is redone.

Our table on the terrace is fun to dress for various times of the year...

Don't mind this snail at all. He never seems to bother any of our plants. *grins* Spring has definately come to our garden and we see things awakening slowly. I hope you find a glimpse of spring here a cheerful part of your day even if you are still in the throws of winter's end.

"And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
rose from the dreams of its wintry rest."

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley

I wish you all a very Happy St. Patrick's Day if you celebrate it. This is my last day of isolation and a friend and I are off to see an art exhibition tomorrow. I am excited to get out and cannot wait to see the paintings of Waterhouse up close. I have been looking forward to this since I found out the paintings would be coming to Holland. Thank you all for your comments on my last post! I appreciate all of your good wishes.

When you're a cat...

2009-03-14T05:43:00.001-07:00

...life can be tough at times! Right now I am a very upset little kitty and decided to come on my mommy blog and tell you all about it. My mommy was released from the hospital on Thursday. Boy was she glad to come home. I got to talk to her on the phone on Wednesday evening but she was going a little stir crazy. I meowed really happily for her when she called my name but it did not help. The doctor says her body was doing a great job of disposing of the excess radioactive material so after he measured her, he told her she could call her husband (my daddy) to come pick her up. The poor lady in the room next to my mommy was still in there and going on her 5th day as her body was not letting any of the excess go. Mommy even had a shortened isolation period at home as it was going so well. Now there in lies the problem!

I normally catnap on this bed which is my grandmother's room when she visits. Oh the joy of laying in the sun for my 20 winks of beauty sleep! Yes that is even important for us male kitties. But that door is shut to the room and I am no longer allowed in. The first day of my mommy being home, I just gave her my hurt puppy dog eyes to try and get her to pet and cuddle me. When that did not help, I figured I needed some stronger tactics on the second day......just plain mad! So I stayed up until 3am screaming and crying at her bedroom door. 'Let me in, let me in!' Normally this works a treat and I always get my way. I am the boss in this house after all. I finally had to give up and go cuddle up against my daddy in their bedroom. I just don't get it. Why does she have to sleep all alone. I could be taking very good care of her. She must be so lonely all by herself in that room. I always snuggle up and keep her warm.

I keep trying to sneak up on her while she is sitting in the living room and sit on her lap. She keeps making me get off. Today she let me sit on her lap for a little while. She leaned back all funny to keep me far away from her neck but it was heaven. Then she made me get up AGAIN. I was not happy, I can tell you. She says she feels fine but just tired. Her neck is starting to become swollen today but we hope this is just temporary. Swallowing is more difficult so lots of soft foods are still in her diet. It will be 4 months at the earliest that we find out if the treatment will have any effect and a year before we know if it is successful. All I know is that I want her to start cuddling me again now!

The best made plans...

2009-03-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

Thank you all again for your comments on my last entry. I really feel wonderful support from the blogging community. I had made the best of plans but these are laid aside for right now. I was told this morning that I will have to be admitted into the hospital to start the isolation. I wish I could just run away back to home and let my mommy tuck me in. Don't you get those moments? Oh to be a little girl again. Of course, my mother just had her cataract removed in one eye today so we could just lay in bed together and be sick. *grins* I have talked to my mother who is home already and doing great. This procedure had to be done to an eye where she had an earlier emergency procedure done so I was hoping all would go smoothly for her which it has.

Now I am not worried about being alone although the room is going to be like a prison for a short while. I cannot go out and no one can come in. I am not worried about taking the radioactive therapy. What am I worried about? How as an addicted needleworker, I will get through a minimum oftwo days of not being able to stitch or quilt! I am not allowed to take along my needlework as they would have to dispose of it afterwards. I had so hoped I would not even have to be admitted. I had the idea of sitting in our spare bedroom here with my needle and thread, a pot of tea and the DVDs on my laptop.

The doctor says she thinks I should be able to go home sometime in the late morning or early afternoon on Thursday. Please keep your fingers crossed for me that it will be so and not longer? I have to wait until they register a legal amount of radioactive level to be allowed to leave the hospital and the first day it will be too high a dose. I kind of find it amusing that I don't use a microwave as I find the idea of nuking food unappealing. Now I am going to 'be nuked' myself but I know it is for my own good. I have found these first two days of testing easy as I know they are doing their best to make me healthy again.

I will be back again very soon and sharing more of the season and warm thoughts from my home...

It isn't easy being green.....

2009-03-08T11:45:00.001-07:00

Remember this song by Kermit? Just put on your speakers and listen for yourself. I have been joking with my family and friends that I will be turning green this week. That is followed by Kermit's rendition of Who Let the Frogs (oops Dogs) Out which I thought was very amusing. My treatments start on Monday. So a dear quilting friend Elly, lent me her daughter's Shrek DVDs for my isolation. I think I might be about the only person on the planet that has never seen Shrek. *grins*

Another plan is to watch my DVD set of the Brontes of Haworth. I have never allowed myself the luxury of sitting and really enjoying this all at once. Now the time will not be a luxury but certainly time which should be made enjoyable.

Had you simply looked at the photos, you might have questioned what they all have to do with each other? Here is another project I am getting ready to work on while I am in isolation. A friend's birthday is coming up and I am making her framed monogram letters since she loved the ones I made for myself and my niece. I will be making 3 letters. Once this is finished, I have another stitching project in the wings but I cannot reveal any of that as that friend reads my blog regularly.

Last but not least of my 'entertainment' during this time, I will be reading. I have a new mystery which I just started. It is a knitting mystery by Maggie Sefton. I had bought these books for my mother as a birthday gift and she brought them to me to read. I keep a wooden tray on my bed with books. I love having books in every room in the house. I just had a large order placed recently as there was a sale with the bookseller I purchase my books from and will be happy to finish a couple of books to pass on to a friend before the order arrives. It will be nice to make some more room on my bookshelves.

As you see, it might not be easy being green but I am finding many silver linings to focus on this coming week. And I find that life works better with a sense of humor!

Luck of the Irish!

2009-03-04T04:42:00.000-08:00

Yep! That is what I have today...the luck of the Irish! I just got off the phone with the doctor at the hospital. The biospy is okay although she is not happy with the amount of cells removed and wants to repeat it in 4 to 6 months to be sure but says I can go ahead with my treatments starting on Monday. I will not know until Tuesday whether I am able to go into my isolation here at home or start it with a hospital stay. I also have no idea yet how long the isolation will be but it is a maximum of three weeks. Thank goodness for blogging as it will keep me in touch with the world. I am used to seeing my stitching and quilting friends here and while I am allowed to have visitors it is with restrictions. I will leave them the choice as to whether they want to come or not.

Sorry for this repeat if you visit both of my blogs but I thought my shamrocks I finished yesterday were very appropriate for this post. I sewed seven of these and each has a different word or saying.

This was a fun way to give my entrance a real St. Patrick's Day feeling. And now I know that this day is special with thoughts of Tracy's wedding anniversary and Jo's sweet daughter's birthday. I will be thinking of both of them that day. And then when I thought I had all the luck, I find out I won Marie's blog giveaway. What was the prize to include but a set of shamrock linen napkins from Ireland. Thanks Marie!

I leave you today with another Irish blessing as so many mentioned that they loved them in my last post. This was holds very true for me today and I thank you all for your thoughts and prayers and supportive words.

"May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer."

And my ornery and evil twin (*wink*) sends this blessing...

"May those who love us, love us
And those who don't love us,
May God turn their hearts
And if he can't turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping!"

Now if that did not make you smile today, nothing will.

All covered in clover...

2009-03-02T04:41:00.001-08:00

Hard to believe but we are already into the month of March! I like to truly celebrate the seasons and each holiday as it approaches. March is, of course, the month of St. Patrick's Day. Now I have no Irish blood in me that I know of but on March 17th, we are all a little Irish. And why not?

Each March, I get out a beautiful set of dishes I had started collecting many years ago. I fell in love with this set of dishes called Limerick by Arklow. At that time, we did not have much money and I was buying just a couple of pieces at a time. The shop which carried these dishes told me they would no longer be available as the factory closed down. I never was able to buy them as our dinner dishes as I had started with the tea and coffee service. I was able to buy some bowls and small plates along with one dinner plate. No problem as I use them for breakfast or lunch or when having coffee or tea.

"May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go."

It makes a sweet display for St. Patrick's Day with the added Irish doily that has the same shamrock pattern in the corner (see the first photo). My mother found this while on a vacation in Ireland. I also placed a March pinkeep I made and a wooden shamrock my sister made for me on a tray on our table. Celebrating the season can be done in simple ways...

Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day in any special way? Try it this year if you don't. It is fun to be Irish for a day.

"There's a dear little plant that grows in our isle,
'Twas St. Patrick himself, sure, that sets it;
And the sun of his labor with pleasure did smile,
And with dew from his eye often wet it.
It grows through the bog, through the brake, through the mireland,
And they call it the dear little Shamrock of Ireland."

Mirror, mirror on the wall...

2009-02-26T06:06:00.001-08:00

Do you have moments when you see something in a shop and just know you have to buy it? I had a moment like that last week. It was school break here and a friend and I had promised her teenage daughter to have a high tea when she was off school. The place we went to is called the Esperterhoeve. It is a shop in a beautiful old Dutch farm with a little cafe at the back. After having eaten until we needed to shop off our calories, I discovered a set of beautiful black mirrors. I saw them in the distance and knew I had to buy them. They would really bring out our headboard just perfectly. Jos has now jokingly (I hope) said he hopes we have enough mirrors. *grins*

I had hoped to be giving you an update on my thyroid condition by now as I had my next appointment at the hospital. I had been given the choice of either having surgery or trying radioactive therapy. I choose the therapy which will take up to a year before we know if it is effective. It means being in isolation for most of March. If this is not successful, I will still need surgery in a year's time. I do not have hyper or hypo thyroidism which would have made it easier to treat with medication instead.

The specialist decided to repeat the ultrasound since the hospital where I am now going did not do the first one. I went to have it done this week thinking it would all be routine but ended up having to have a biopsy done right after they finished. I am afraid we are back to waiting. The appointments are set up for the radioactive therapy but it now all depends on how the results of the biopsy turn out.

Dressed just right...

2009-02-23T11:34:00.001-08:00

If only we dressed like this still...

The museum I went to last week with friends had a quilt exhibition. There were many aspects of quilting included. It also contained clothes. I love seeing these beautiful creations!

How is this for keeping warm on a cold winter's day? A heavily quilted skirt which is practical, functional and a thing of beauty all in one.

This little girl's dress was such a treat as was the beautiful quilt behind it. You can see more of the quilts if you are interested here on my other blog.

This was a favorite one of mine. I think the combination of tartan and check fabric is so pretty!

And finally, a lace collar makes any dress look something just that little bit more special. I wish I could go back and live in the times of the Bronte sisters just so I can wear the dresses. Do you have a favorite time period for clothes?

If the photos seem out of focus or dark, it is because I was allowed to take photos without the flash. I hope you can still enjoy them.

Come with me to visit 'Het Eysingahuis'

2009-02-20T01:59:00.001-08:00

This week, I went to a museum with a few of my quilting friends. There is a quilt exhibition at the museum in the northern city of Leeuwarden. I will show many of the quilts on my needlework blog but wanted to share some photos of the rooms in the house of the museum called 'Het Eysingahuis'. This house was the home of the family of a nobleman Frans Julius van Eysinga. He had this city dwelling built in 1779 where his family would spend six or seven weeks a year receiving guests and hosting dinners.

The house is built in the Louis XVI style and each room had a specific function. A few of the rooms are now decorated in a manner that a nobleman's home would have been in the 18th century although it is unknown exactly how 'Het Eysingahuis' looked at that time.

I love wandering through rooms like this and imagining the elagant ladies and gentlemen that lived and visited here. When there are few people in the rooms as there were that day, it is easy to almost see the ghosts of those long past.

The yellow salon was used for receptions, dinners or musical afternoons.

What a beautiful setting for a dinner!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T01:47:00.000-08:00

I hope today your thoughts will turn towards things like...

Wine! Okay I took liberties with this photos as it is grapes yet hanging on the vine from a vacation photo of one of our favorite destinations in France ~ The Alsace. It will be wine eventually...grins...

Chocolate! I am dreaming of the wonderful chocolate shops in Brugge, Belgium where you have two feasts ~ one for the eye as you choose your chocolates from the pretty displays and one as you enjoy later perhaps with a cup of cafe au lait.

Roses! For me, not the traditional red rose but the Edith Holden rose that bloomed last summer in my garden.

And speaking of gardens...did you know that Valentine's Day is the day that birds choose their mate? So I leave today to ponder on the thought that spring is coming and this sweet verse...

"Must, bid the Morn awake!
Sad Winter now declines,
Each bird doth choose a mate;
This day's Saint Valentine's.
For that good bishop's sake
Get up and let us see
What beauty it shall be
That Fortune us assigns."

~ Michael Drayton

Happy Valentine's Day to all my friends.
You all mean so much to me!

A 5th birthday...

2009-02-12T05:29:00.000-08:00

...and no I am not telling porkies as my English mum would say! *grins* I won't explain the story again but will send you to last year's entry which explains everything. Now I wish I could get my little grand niece Zoe to believe that her great aunt is only just turning 5 so look at this photo...

Is this card not proof? Did you enlarge the photo and look at that number? I just received it in the mail this morning from a dear quilting friend of mine. I am 5 because the birthday card even says I am. When I said that to little Zoe, she laughed and told her mother I should not tell lies. I liked the year before's response better. She said to her mother..."I already been 4 right Mom?" Children do grow up too fast which is why I find my big brother a very wise man with his philosophy. We will just never grow up.

The flowers are also from my quilting friend and thank you so much Elly! I made two bouquets out of them.

Then Jos came home with a bouquet of red tulips for me yesterday evening. I joke with him as he no longer brings me flowers. It has everything to do with him having allergies though. He can have certain types of fresh flowers in the house and tulips are one of them.

I arranged the bouquet in a metal (zink) pail which by chance that same friend again gave to me last year for my birthday. I have lined it with an old plastic bowl which I no longer use. Using unusual items like this for flowers is fun.

Jos bought me this book which is the complete works of the Bronte sisters. I have always wanted to get the Bronte novels in old books but never done so. I hoped to find them in an old secondhand bookshop which is in Haworth, England. We have not been back to visit Haworth for a while and I still don't have all the Bronte novels. With the exception of Jane Eyre, those I have are cheap paperbacks. Don't get me wrong, paperbacks are great for reading but not so fun for a collection.

Now I have all the Bronte novels in this huge volume that is so pretty. There are pencil drawings and old illustrations throughout the book. I will enjoy using this book for vignettes in my home.

The extraordinary today

2009-02-09T00:08:00.000-08:00

When I need a 'Bronte fix', I pick up my book of poems written by the three sisters under the name of Currer, Ellis and Acton Bell. I was reading a poem written by Currer Bell or Charlotte Bronte called Winter Stores.

A poem can be many things to many people. You can pull an insight from a poem which might change at another point in your life. This poem inspired me to remember that this is an extraordinary day.

Not extraordinary in a special event but extraordinary in its everyday normality. I am going to spend the morning baking and doing my ironing. But today is a gift even in doing normal chores. I am content in life. I love being a housewife. I love doing everyday things.

I am reminded reading this poem to let today's ordinary be seen as a blessing, making it extraordinary. Listen to Sarah McLachlan sing about Ordinary Miracles and take a few quiet moments and enjoy Charlotte's beautiful poem...

"Winter Stores"

We take from life one little share,
And say that this shall be
A space, redeemed from toil and care,
From tears and sadness free.

And, haply, Death unstrings his bow,
And Sorrow stands apart,
And, for a little while, we know
The sunshine of the heart.

Existence seems a summer eve,
Warm, soft, and full of peace,
Our free, unfettered feelings give
The soul its full release.

A moment, then, it takes the power
To call up thoughts that throw
Around that charmed and hallowed hour,
This life`s divinest glow.

But Time, though viewlessly it flies,
And slowly, will not stay;
Alike, through clear and clouded skies,
It cleaves its silent way.

Alike the bitter cup of grief,
Alike the draught of bliss,
Its progress leaves but moment brief
For baffled lips to kiss

The sparkling draught is dried away,
The hour of rest is gone,
And urgent voices, round us, say,
"Ho, lingerer, hasten on!"

And has the soul, then, only gained,
From this brief time of ease,
A moment`s rest, when overstrained,
One hurried glimpse of peace?

No; while the sun shone kindly o`er us,
And flowers bloomed round our feet,--
While many a bud of joy before us
Unclosed its petals sweet,--

An unseen work within was plying;
Like honey-seeking bee,
From flower to flower, unwearied, flying,
Laboured one faculty,--

Thoughtful for Winter`s future sorrow,
Its gloom and scarcity;
Prescient to-day, of want to-morrow,
Toiled quiet Memory.

`Tis she that from each transient pleasure
Extracts a lasting good;
`Tis she that finds, in summer, treasure
To serve for winter`s food.

And when Youth`s summer day is vanished,
And Age brings Winter`s stress,
Her stores, with hoarded sweets replenished,
Life`s evening hours will bless.

By Currer Bell (Charlotte Bronte)

Hearts galore!

2009-02-06T06:29:00.000-08:00

My winter tree is put away and I now have my Valentine's tree in the living room. I have again created a slideshow to share the photos I made of the tree and a few other spots decorated for the upcoming holidays. I hope you enjoy them...

Do you decorate for Valentine's Day?

The blessing of a friend!

2009-02-04T04:05:00.000-08:00

One thing I love in Holland is the fact that there are mail slots in the front doors. Your mail falls right onto your doormat. I love the old fashioned feel of hearing it plop onto the doormat. In this modern age, it is often bills or bank statements as handwritten cards and letters are scarce. So imagine my thrill just now as I heard the mail fall and went to pick it up where to my surprise I found a package for me.

It was from my blogging friend Mary who sent me a sweet gift and good thoughts over my health. I am so touched by this!

As many of your know, I love and collect vintage books. Mary sent me a book she found at her favorite antique shop.

This books is from 1917 and is a school primer. I love the fact that it is about the Dutch twins Kit and Kat. The pencil drawings in the books are so adorable.

Thank you so much dear Mary. I will treasure this book which I add to my collection but even more I treasure the caring and loving thought behind you sending it. I am glad to call you friend!

February's heartsease

2009-02-02T02:04:00.000-08:00

It is February and all thoughts turn to early signs of spring and signs of love. It is the month of Valentine's Day. A month when you let your spouse, family and good friends know that you love them and care. So while reading with my morning cup of tea, I came upon a sweet little passage about violets and knew I should write a post about this sweet little blossom.

Depending on our weather here in Holland, from this time on we can see 'bosviooltjes' or our wood violets appear. This year we are having a cold winter so it will be a while before the first appears. Called heartsease or commonly Johnny Jump Ups, these are wild pansies. Pansies mean "loving thoughts" while violets mean "faithfulness" in the language of flowers. Old fashioned wood violets are something I have never seen growing yet here in Holland. I did plant some last year at our cottage and hope they will return this year.

This is the first year I can ever remember that I don't have baskets and pots planted up with pansies. So far, with our cold weather, they have looked very poorly at garden centers and I have not purchased any yet. They are a very favorite of mine. So I am lingering over my photos of my baskets from last year and dreaming of adding these cheerful bright colors to my garden soon. In the meantime, I will content myself with this passage from the book "Flower Fables" by Louisa May Alcott...

"Then she spread the table afresh, and to it came fearlessly the busy ant and bee, gay butterfly and bird; even the poor blind mole and humble worm were not forgotten; and with gentle words she gave to all, while each learned something of their kind teacher; and the love that made her own heart bright shone alike on all.

The ant and the bee learned generosity, the butterfly and the bird contentment, the mole and worm confidence in the love of others, and each went to their home better for the little time they had been with the Violet."

I have a frog in my throat...

2009-01-30T09:31:00.000-08:00

Look very closely at this picture. Do you see it? I took this back in 2006 during the season when the tiny frogs came out at a pond in the forest. It is just a tiny thing unlike the frog I feel like I have in my throat each day.

I have had my appointment with the specialist and I have a thyroid that is 50% enlarged. It is the entire gland and that is creating the feeling that someone is strangling me and giving me breathing problems. I do not have any hypo/hyper thyroidism which I already knew before the appointment today. And thankfully, I do not have the same problem with carcinoma as my two nieces do. We were worried it could be cancer. All that being said, they are running a few more tests and will go farther into treatment during our next appointment. The gland will continue to grow if not treated. It is due to aging and I had made jokes about feeling old but apparently my body thinks it really is old. The specialist is talking to us about having a radioactive treatment which he hopes would reduce the size of the gland.

I have a long way to go and have been told that the treatment can take a considerable time to have effect but I am feeling very positive about the outcome today. I am so grateful for not having to face surgery at least for the time being. Thank you all so much for your support, positive thoughts and prayers. It has helped me through today!

Uncertainty

2009-01-29T05:38:00.001-08:00

Uncertainty is the theme of the day today. I have been waiting for the specialist at the hospital to review my ultrasound taken weeks ago at another hospital and get back to me about an appointment. We found out yesterday that the assistants had not even put my file up for review with the doctors at that point while we had been waiting for two weeks. They finally did review it yesterday and called immediately to say that I had to come in as it is an emergency. I am really not looking forward to this and very afraid of doctors and needles and the lot. I do hope to keep up but with the uncertainty of what is going to happen tomorrow, I thought I should let you know that I may not be able to be online on and off. We will just wait and see how it goes but hopefully I will still be around to say hello on all of your blogs with little to no interruption.

I am grateful for each of your kind thoughts, positive energy and prayers. I wanted to share this thought as a way to say thank you...

"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy -- because we will always want to have something else or something more."

~ Brother David Steindl-Rast

What dictates fashion?

2009-01-27T06:35:00.000-08:00

As I was putting a flower arrangement together today for a stand in front of my bookshelves, I started thinking what is it the dictates fashion? Who creates idea that certain things are just too old fashioned to be used anymore? And most importantly, why do we follow?

I was showing a friend my new tiles for our kitchen and she commented I was going very modern. Ironic thing is that the new tiles are far from modern. They are reproductions of the tiles that used to be produced in Holland back as early as the 16th century which is why I wanted them. Then today as I placed some red carnations in the arrangement, it got me to thinking about carnations being considered utterly old fashioned here. But why?

They are beautiful. Strong but elegant. They are a flower with memories for me as my father used to give my mother carnations all the time. It was her favorite and I don't think he would have ever come home with roses for her as these meant more to her. I love simple single petal pinks from the carnation family in my garden.

If you have ever read the Penhaligon's "The Language of Flowers", you will know that it reveals the meaning behind flowers during the Victorian times. Carnations had various meanings depending on the color of the flower...

Red carnation for "alas for my poor heart"
Striped for refusal
Solid for acceptance
Yellow for disdain
Pink for woman's love
White for sweet and lovely

From the book...

"The cultivation of these confident flowers goes back over two thousand years and it is said that the plant came to England with the Normans. It may be found growing wild in the walls of the Norman castles of Dover and Rochester and is believed to have been rooted to the stones imported from France.

The Athenians honoured Carnations by calling them Di-anthos, Flower of Jove, and used the flowers to make wreaths and garlands at their festivals, whence came the word "coronation" from which Carnation is derived. Due to their clove-like scent they are frequently referred to as gillyflowers, a name they share with both wallflowers and stocks, coming from the French "giroflier". Carnations were sometimes added to wine and ale to add spiciness and are still known as sops-in-wine in some parts of the countryside today."

Now how could we ever consider a flower like this old fashioned? Do you like carnations? Or perhaps you have another flower which is a favorite that is also considered to be old fashioned? Are you like me and don't care what is called old fashioned?

Thank you for your wonderful comments on my last post. I do love to read your feedback and thoughts about my entries.

More tea please?

2009-01-22T07:58:00.001-08:00

Today a dear blogging friend, Carolien, came over so we could do our handwork together. I did some patchwork and she did a little patchwork and stitching. I decided it would be fun to do an English tea for our lunch.

I set out my Wedgwood dishes with my etagerie filled with things I made for us to enjoy with a hot cup of Earl Grey tea. It has been a long time since I did a tea for anyone and I had fun putting it together to treat Carolien.

Our menu today was Turkey and Leek Quiche, Cucumber and Lettuce sandwiches, Stuffed Cocktail Tomatoes, Scones with Lemon Curd en Marscapone and chocolate cookies.

We had a touch of summer on the table when I used some pretty napkins sent to me by another blogging friend Regina. These napkins remind of her and her pretty garden.

I now realize that I miss doing a tea for people and should try and do it more often. I only wish I could treat more of my blogging friend to a tea...

A cup of comfort...

2009-01-19T08:16:00.001-08:00

In Holland, a cup of tea is often referred to as a cup of comfort ('kopje troost'). Since I talked about comfort last week in my post, I thought I would share another thing of comfort to me...tea. I love a cup of hot strong English breakfast tea with a little milk. It tastes good any time of the day and with anything or nothing to accompany it. Now I also love a good cup of Earl Grey, Darjeeling or peppermint tea but English breakfast is my true favorite.

So when I set up our sideboard after taking down holiday decorations, I decided to get a book out I have shared with you before. I really love this book and can recommend it to anyone who loves Jane Austen and/or tea. It is a fun book to read. It is called "Tea with Jane Austen" by Kim Wilson.

I tried to coordinate a few other items with the book ~ a Staffordshire cup and saucer, a silver teaspoon for loose tea, my antique tea caddy, and a little piece of bobbin lace I made a number of years ago.

Perhaps this chapter of the book is what I should be reading now (see photo below). I wanted to take a moment to update you on my health since many have been asking. I have now been referred by our doctor to the academic hospital in a city near us as I have a very enlarged thyroid. It is swollen overall but she thinks there is also pressure on my windpipe which is causing severe breathing problems when I try to lay down. It is also the cause of my cough and persistent clearing my throat. This team of doctors will do the testing and all treatments including arranging a surgeon if and when it comes to that point. She assured me that there have been great advances lately so we have to wait and see where we go from here.

I do admit that I am just exhausted as we are getting little sleep for the last month. I am so grateful to Jos for going through this with me. He gets up each time, makes me hot tea and sits with me until I feel I can try sleeping again. With him having to work three days a week in another country, it is really starting to put a strain on us both. We have made some major decisions about changing things in our life which I will tell you about another time. I am sorry that I am not getting around to your blogs as often as I normally would. I may also have times in the coming weeks as with this past week that I will post less. Thank you all for your care and concern and positive thoughts!

There in lies comfort.....

2009-01-13T00:53:00.000-08:00

Where do you find comfort? What are the things in life and in your home that give you that warm and peaceful feeling?

For me, comfort is a word I would use to describe my home when it is balanced and feeling right to me. After the holidays, I was redoing all the vignettes on my tables. I decided to place my bookends and a series of my old books on the antique sea chest by our reading chair and ottoman. I usually group the books by color but after I started playing, I decided to mix the colors this time. I added more items from around the home and my table looked just right.....the result was comfort.

I love vintage books and have decided that I will add one a month this year. It will be a treat to search online for a good book to add to my collection.

Another item I love collecting are vintage or antique opera glasses. This year, I would love to find a pair made of Mother of Pearl to add to these which I have so far.

My December vintage book find arrived on my doormat just this morning. It was a win on eBay and is in really great shape. A book called "Bird Life of the Seasons: Peeps at Nature" from 1920. Even the name is sweet!

There are black and white as well as color plates throughout the book. I wanted to purchase another bird book that was not in great shape just to save it. I knew someone was bidding on it probably just to rip it up and remove the many color plates. It saddened me to think of a book being destroyed. Books are a great comfort to me. I love to read them but also look to even just see them. I can go into an old library and literally not be able to breath for a moment in awe.

Do you have something that gives you this feeling of comfort?

Skating away...

2009-01-12T01:47:00.000-08:00

What a beautiful few weeks we have had here in Holland. Our temperatures have been well below freezing and the ice on the canals and ponds is nice and thick. But alas! The forecast is for a week of higher temperatures and freezing rain. I am afraid our cold joys on the ice is a fleeting thing but who knows what February will bring.

Jos skates but I do not. He did not skate this year though. We walked to the big pond near our neighborhood's shopping area yesterday to look at everyone skating. It was busy on the ice and everyone really seemed to be enjoying themselves. I heard on a radio chat show this morning that an estimated one million people skated in the country yesterday. This is an ice skating country. They set up stands right on the ice to sell hot chocolate to the skaters.

The way they have created the pond here, there are hiding places among the reeds. Normally this side of the pond is a natural haven for wildlife and we see some unusual water fowl here. Right now, it was a quiet place where just a few children came to skate away from the crowds at other areas of the pond.

Note ~ A number of people have asked about my tooth. It is there as I have decided to put off going to the hospital for it to be done until we have some answers to my having breathing problems. I hope it just clears up on its own but today have to go to the doctor's for a lung test and directly afterwards to the hospital for an echo of my neck. Thank you all for your caring notes to me!

Dark and cozy days of winter!

2009-01-08T08:18:00.001-08:00

Ah! The dark and cozy days of winter are here! When the holidays are over the peace of January comes and our homes are quiet after all the bustle of December. But what do you do to brighten the dark days and give a cozy glow after you remove the Christmas decorations?

A winter tree of course! A small tree that says we celebrate winter. This is my tree in our living room. It is filled with ornaments that I made myself...

...ice skates...

...warm woolen scarfs...

...and cozy mittens. I hope to make some button icicles this year too but am not sure I will have enough time before the end of January. The tree will be changed then.

A pinkeep on a stand by my tree. I made this back in 2006.

A snowman and a pair of old ice skates, what says winter more?

"The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued."

~ Robert Frost

Frosty beginnings

2009-01-05T12:04:00.000-08:00

January has started very cold and with a heavy frost over the garden. It is really a pretty sight. At first, Jos wanted me to put the pumpkins and gourds away to save them from the heavy frost. Why miss this beauty when they will begin to deteriorate anyway.

So I stepped outside at the cottage to snap a series of photos with them all painted by Jack Frost himself.

At the tip of his paintbrush, Jack Frost makes anything a work of art!

Another frosty beginning is the start of my new year. I am having to go to the hospital this week and next for tests but on top of all that my first of three weekly major dentist appointments is tomorrow morning. A fractured tooth will be pulled tomorrow so wish me luck. I am praying it will come out with no problems and the infection I have had for well over a year will clear up quickly. I hate going to the dentist so I am not looking forward to this. Lucky or not, my having to go to the doctor and then have tests done has totally distracted me from tomorrow's doings.

I found this drawing and thought it very humorous considering:

The caption from this drawing from "Punch" dating from 1920 is:
Mother (firmly, to little daughter about to have a tooth drawn). "Now, Betty, if you cry, I'll never take you to a dentist's again."

My own footnote would be..."Dear mother, is that a promise?" *grins* Now could someone pass me a tissue while I have a good cry?

Edit note: There is good news and bad news...the good news is that I am not at the dentist appointment but that brings the bad news. He has decided that I need to go to the hospital to have the tooth removed. We had called him to make sure my coughing would not be a problem with having the tooth extracted. He says that is not the problem but that they never should have made an appointment for this as he does not extract teeth when there is a complicated problem. Yikes! I don't do hospitals! The only cutting I want to be involved with in my lifetime is my quilt fabric!

This is all due to a bad dentist's work (not my current dentist) so the moral of the story is if you are ever in doubt about what a dentist is doing, stop him and go see someone else. I wish I had. More news, my hospital appointment has been moved up from Monday to today.

What are you doing on New Year's Day?

2008-12-31T06:02:00.001-08:00

Do you have any sayings or superstitions connected to the New Year? Our family has one which I will explain in a moment but I had another I adhere to each year. I looked up some more and found it very amusing to read them.

Kiss your loved one at the stroke of midnight to ensure warmth and a closeness of your relationship in the coming year.

The first guest to enter your house should be tall, dark and handsome to influence the coming year. It is best if he comes bearing a gift. Okay, let me indulge here! I would love to see Alan Titchmarsh walk in my door at midnight bearing new things for my garden like the hydrangeas I am looking for along with an iron vase and stand for the end of my pergola. As you can see, I have plans for my garden in 2009...

Now this is one my family has always practiced. My aunt used to ask me if I was eating my pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day. We always said it would bring you prosperity in the new year. I have now read that you eat pork because poultry scratches backwards, a cow stands still but a pig roots forward. By eating pork, you will move forward in the new year. You eat the sauerkraut simply because it tastes good with the pork.

And finally...
Do not do laundry on New Year's Day, lest a member of the family be washed away.

Whatever you do on New Year's, have a safe and happy holiday!

Mrs. Beeton's exhortation on housemaids...

2008-12-30T06:04:00.000-08:00

It is almost the close of 2008. At this time of year, as you start to clean up Christmas decorations, I think your mind automatically goes to decluttering. I am trying to refit everything that came out of those boxes back in once again. I had decided to pick up a book I ordered in this past year called "The Short Life and Long Times of Mrs. Beeton" by Kathryn Hughes. This will be my next read since I finished a book this morning.

My mind wondered to Victorian housemaids as it would if you are thinking about Mrs. Beeton. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a house full of housemaids when in the midst of Christmas chaos (cleaning up that is!)?

Here is a portion of Mrs. Beeton's exhortation on the duties of being a household maid. Life was busy and hard I think but then they did get those wonderful bedrooms up in the attic. *grins* I cannot help it as I grew up with a mother who wants an attic bedroom. *grins again* It would, of course, have to have an ample supply of quilts to keep me warm in the cold much like my bedroom now has. The other thing I am doing these last few days of 2008 is working on a new quilt. It is my reward between all the cleaning. Now I would not want a seamstress as I love having the needle in my hand...

DUTIES OF THE HOUSEMAID.

2292. "Cleanliness is next to godliness," saith the proverb, and "order" is in the next degree; the housemaid, then, may be said to be the handmaiden to two of the most prominent virtues. Her duties are very numerous, and many of the comforts of the family depend on their performance; but they are simple and easy to a person naturally clean and orderly, and desirous of giving satisfaction. In all families, whatever the habits of the master and mistress, servants will find it advantageous to rise early; their daily work will thus come easy to them. If they rise late, there is a struggle to overtake it, which throws an air of haste and hurry over the whole establishment. Where the master's time is regulated by early business or professional engagements, this will, of course, regulate the hours of the servants; but even where that is not the case, servants will find great personal convenience in rising early and getting through their work in an orderly and methodical manner. The housemaid who studies her own ease will certainly be at her work by six o'clock in the summer, and, probably, half-past six or seven in the winter months, having spent a reasonable time in her own chamber in dressing. Earlier than this would, probably, be an unnecessary waste of coals and candle in winter.
2293. The first duty of the housemaid in winter is to open the shutters of all the lower rooms in the house, and take up the hearth-rugs of those rooms which she is going to "do" before breakfast. In some families, where there is only a cook and housemaid kept, and where the drawing-rooms are large, the cook has the care of the dining-room, and the housemaid that of the breakfast-room, library, and drawing-rooms. After the shutters are all opened, she sweeps the breakfast-room, sweeping the dust towards the fire-place, of course previously removing the fonder. She should then lay a cloth (generally made of coarse wrappering) over the carpet in front of the stove, and on this should place her housemaid's box, containing black-lead brushes, leathers, emery-paper, cloth, black lead, and all utensils necessary for cleaning a grate, with the cinder-pail on the other side.
2294. She now sweeps up the ashes, and deposits them in her cinder-pail, which is a japanned tin pail, with a wire-sifter inside, and a closely-fitting top. In this pail the cinders are sifted, and reserved for use in the kitchen or under the copper, the ashes only being thrown away. The cinders disposed of, she proceeds to black-lead the grate, producing the black lead, the soft brush for laying it on, her blacking and polishing brushes, from the box which contains her tools. This housemaid's box should be kept well stocked. Having blackened, brushed, and polished every part, and made all clean and bright, she now proceeds to lay the fire. Sometimes it is very difficult to get a proper polish to black grates, particularly if they have been neglected, and allowed to rust at all. Brunswick black, which is an excellent varnish for grates, may be prepared in the following manner:--

Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, by Isabella Beeton, 1861 - Chapter 41 - Domestic Servants

After reading all of these duties, perhaps cleaning up Christmas decorations is not so bad after all!

Merry Christmas to all!

2008-12-24T02:31:00.000-08:00

From my house to yours...
...we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

The holidays have arrived. Here in Holland we celebrate what they call first and second Christmas Day. We have a nice long weekend as a result and Jos and I are off to spend it at Cranberry Cottage. I have just a few last things to do and items to purchase at the grocery store and I am ready for Christmas. Are you?

I did not get all my Christmas cards written this year. There were a number of bloggers along with family members that I have missed being able to send my Christmas wishes to as a result. So I want to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who reads my blog! I have been blessed with many friendships through blogging. I am trying to make rounds to wish all the bloggers Happy Holidays. What a joy to be able to share our lives together through our blogs. Thank you!

I have a number of readers who don't blog themselves and want to thank them especially! I enjoy reading your comments on my blog and have emailed with a couple of you like Donna and Hetty. I am enjoying the opportunity to get to know you. Thanks to Andylynne who has been reading my blog for so long now. To those of my online stitching group who pop in to say hello here. To my dear friend Elly from my quilt group who stops in to comment. Each and every comment is appreciated!

The weather forecast shows it is set to turn very cold. There is an excitement in the air across the country that the water will freeze over making it possible to ice skate. Who knows... These are one of my pairs of vintage Dutch wooden skates. Jos learned to ice skate with a pair just like this. I have an older pair which I use in January to decorate for winter.

Have a blessed Christmas everyone!

Pancakes and fairy lights...

2008-12-23T01:53:00.000-08:00

We are now in those magical days just before Christmas. The mood is exciting. Decorations are hung, trees glow, presents are wrapped and cookies are baked. Now we wait for Christmas to come and that magical feeling of Christmas spirit to descend on each house.

This is my fourth and final tree to share with you. It is my sewing tree in the quilt studio. If you would like to see this tree closer, visit me here at my other blog.

My friend came over yesterday and we spent the afternoon baking a batch of Russian teacakes, stitched and chatted. In the evening, her husband came over and we all went to the little village of Lage Vuursche. It is known as the 'pancake village' as it has many pancake restaurants. During December, it is a very special place in the dark evenings. The village street is lined with Christmas trees. There is always a special feeling in this place but in December it becomes magic...

Thanks for your company Sonja and Mike. We enjoyed the evening spent together!

Advent Sunday - the fourth candle

2008-12-21T14:03:00.000-08:00

It is the 4th Sunday of Advent. December has gone by so quickly even though I have tried to reflect each week on true Christmas spirit. I have not gotten caught up in the rush of commercialism. This candle is lit for love...

Reflections on this are easy for me. Although autumn is my favorite season, I truly love this time of year. Christmas is a magical time.

One major thing in Jos and my life is our love for Cranberry Cottage. We now spend each Christmas there very quietly. I am inviting you to join us by taking some time to watch this slideshow of the cottage decorated for the holidays. You can watch it here or click on the slideshow to watch.

I hope you enjoyed visiting us at Cranberry Cottage. What are some of the things you love this Christmas?

"...and to all a good-night!"

2008-12-19T05:06:00.000-08:00

" 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap..."

Who doesn't know that wonderful holiday classic " 'Twas The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clarke Moore. A favorite for me to read each holiday season. And this storybook poem evokes the idea of creating a fun Christmas spirit in the bedroom. Who says decorations are only for the living room?

Turn up your speakers and listen to a nostalgic version of this storybook poem...

Even Bronwyn Bear gets a festive pillow to cuddle during December!

My reading corner has a little tree filled with all my handmade bobbin lace. I will be featuring this tree on Sunday on my other blog.

The window sill has been filled with pinecones and fun silver boxes...

My armoire (this still has to be sanded and painted like the other furniture) has simple blue spruce wreaths...

A pretty Christmas box sitting on our bench...

And new accents on our nightstands to show Christmas cheer...

Some greenery, tulips and holly give a simple touch of the season...

And our stockings hang on each side of the bed (a first Christmas gifts many years ago from my brother Bill)...

"And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

A Christmas Tree

2008-12-16T06:40:00.000-08:00

"I have been looking on, this evening, at a merry company of children assembled round that pretty German toy, a Christmas Tree. The tree was planted in the middle of a great round table, and towered high above their heads. It was brilliantly lighted by a multitude of little tapers; and everywhere sparkled and glittered with bright objects."

This quote from Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Tree' was a great influence in creating my own Christmas tree. I loved this short story and decided that I wanted to have a tree that looked like that Victorian tree.

A tree bursting with ornaments of all varieties. A tree that kept you looking over and over at what magical things it contained.

A tree that reminded you of the wonderful people who gave you a precious trinket to hang in it or a place where you found that special toy to hang on its branches.

"This motley collection of odd objects, clustering on the tree like magic fruit, and flashing back the bright looks directed towards it from every side, some of the diamond-eyes admiring it were hardly on a level with the table, and a few were languishing in timid wonder on the bosoms of pretty mothers, aunts, and nurses, made a lively realization of the fancies of childhood; and set me thinking how all the trees that grow and all the things that come into existence on the earth, have their wild adornments at that well-remembered time."

One reoccurring theme for me in my own tree is the Nutcracker. I have some of the various ballet dancers from the Nutcracker. Look closely and you will find Clara, The Rat King, The Nutcracker Prince, Arabian Coffee, Spanish Hot Chocolate, Chinese Tea, and even the Sugar Plum Fairy herself...

It holds icicles, teapots, Santas, birds, angels, bears and even a peacock...

Poinsettias, berries and tulips adorn some branches...

Pearls are draped like snow drops around the bows of the tree...

And then, perhaps most important, is the glass pickle in my tree. It was the last ornament to be hung in my tree. It is there hiding among the branches. It is a German tradition that the first to find the pickle in the tree is blessed in the coming year and receives an extra gift. This tradition is a favorite each year when I hold my quilt group's Christmas party. Tomorrow night, the ladies will search for the ornament. I cannot show it hanging in the tree for that reason. There is a special gift wrapped and ready for the one who discovers its hiding place tomorrow...

Advent Sunday - the third candle

2008-12-14T13:48:00.000-08:00

The third candle in Advent is the candle of joy. I started to reflect on how I wanted to talk about joy. It can bring up so many things for us all.

As I am starting to finally put our Christmas tree up, I first thought of one of my ornaments (shown above) that is a pillow with the word JOY written out in gold beads.

There are many things that give me joy in the holiday season. Home baked cookies, decorations and shining Christmas candles and lights, a Christmas card from those near or far saying they thought of you...

One other thing that gives me joy all year round is my handwork, be it stitching or quilting. I get joy from working on them and then the joy of using them again for decorating. Here are just a few pieces of my stitching that I am placing in our home during this holiday season.

What things or activities give you joy at this time of year?

Let's do a little Christmas shopping...

2008-12-12T06:52:00.000-08:00

Remember the shop I found back in September? I had shared photos of this amazing shop and was asked to share some when the holidays came around. I stopped in this last weekend and Carla has done her magic to give the shop a perfect Christmas atmosphere. I left the photos as is so some show the pretty atmosphere instead of lightening them up. Click on any of the photos to enlarge them and step into the shop with me...

This is a photo heavy post but just put on your sound and enjoy some Christmas music while walking around this shop with me. Take off your shoes and enjoy! Maybe you will find some inspirtation for your own holiday decor...

The shop contains a mixture of vintage and new items. This is a pretty piece hanging on the wall which was sewn in 1944.

This 'poor man's silver' as it is called in Holland is very popular. My entrance has a number of pieces.

With low lighting and candles or Christmas lights aglow, this is a magical place to come. Carla, you did a wonderful job for your first Christmas season in your new shop! If you are anywhere near the village of Dwingeloo, be sure to visit De Juffer van Dwingel. You will be glad you did!

A little toy village

2008-12-11T07:13:00.001-08:00

I found my Christmas spirit today and have been decorating all day long. This little toy village was handmade for me by my mother and sister. We grew up with this village under my mother's tree and later she made me one for my very own. Don't forget you can enlarge each photo if you really want to go inside Christmas Village...

My sister's childhood song of the Little Toy Village haunts my mother and I as we put up our villages at Christmas. She used to sing that song all the time and I have never been able to find all the words to it...

"There's a little toy village, underneath the tree.
Sweetest little town you will ever see.
There's a Little Toy Village underneath the tree
And it comes to life on Christmas."

If anyone does know it, I would love to have all the words. Perhaps these carolers know them?

These boys are having a grand snowball fight at the pond in front of the toy shop. Of course, in Christmas Village, the toy shop is the largest building in town.

Carolers and bell ringers are everywhere...

People are busy preparing for Christmas and searching for just that right tree to bring home. Uh oh boys! Watch out as the school master is on his way to the village square.

And just what are these little rascals getting into?

Do you have your yule log ready for Christmas eve to keep you warm?

Don't you wish you lived in Christmas Village?

Santa and nostalgic moments...

2008-12-09T03:17:00.000-08:00

I love reworking an area of the house to make it look seasonal. I especially love sideboards as there is lots of space to really be creative. Our Christmas sideboard is now ready for the holidays...

My wall above the sideboard is normally where I have my little collection of silhouettes hanging. I love antique Santa cards and have a number of them framed. I would look for gilt frames each year to add another Santa postcard. This year, I worked them out so they could replace the silhouettes.

I had one nail that I could not find a small enough frame to fit well so I hung a very special card that was sent to me by my sister many years ago. I keep this card hanging on my hutch all year round to think of her.

She sent it to me once just because, as she wrote on the back, she said she was missing me. This is a real treasure to me now that she has passed on. I can just peek at her handwriting and it makes me smile!

I am setting things out a little more simply this year. I wanted a change in how I was using things. A few choice items placed just right...

I hope you turn up your speakers and enjoy the Christmas medley from the movie White Christmas. We were talking about this movie on my online stitching list and I could not resist to give everyone a nostalgic music interlude. Hope you enjoy it!

A Sunday of peace

2008-12-07T10:51:00.000-08:00

The second Sunday of Advent is a symbol of peace. I have lit my second candle today on our table.

Peace is a word that many talk about in these troubling days but what does it mean personally to you? For me, it is another word for home. I think when you have a haven to be in that makes you feel comfortable and complete, it gives you peace. How can that not but affect how you are in your daily interactions in your own area of the world? If we all felt peace in our own homes, perhaps more peace on this earth would exist? I would like to think that the peace I have created in my home reflects out to those who come to my home.

These posts each Sunday until Christmas are meant to provoke you to think about your own life and things that mean something to you. I hope will stop by and leave a comment and tell me what you think about home and peace. I would love to hear your reflections...

'Pakjesavond' in Holland

2008-12-05T02:19:00.000-08:00

Here it is! 'Pakjesavond' in Holland. The night all little children have been waiting for weeks for with excitement and anticipation. The night that SinterKlaas will land on his white horse on the rooftops and lower a burlap sack full of gifts to all the good little boys and girls. They don't even have to wait until morning to open the gifts.

Who is SinterKlaas? You can read about him here in a blog post I wrote back in 2006.

The Sint is the Dutch version of Santa Claus but also very much connected to who everyone now knows and loves as Santa. Read about this connection here in an entry I wrote last year.

I am afraid I have enjoyed playing Zwarte Piet this year and even just delivered a surprise to someone. *grins* If you live here in Holland, I wish you a warm and fun 'Pakjesavond', and if you don't, how about drinking a cup of hot chocolate and having a ginger spice cookie today to honor the Dutch SinterKlaas.

My nutcracker prince

2008-12-03T04:01:00.001-08:00

What child is not mesmerized by the Nutcracker Prince? What child does not want to escape the Land of Sweets and dance with the Sugarplum Fairy? What child is not amazed as they watch the Snowflakes dance? Or Clara fight off the Rat King? Or Fritz being ... well Fritz. (I had a Fritz in real life. You know that annoying little brother. Only his name was not Fritz. *grins*)

This is my collection of nutcrackers that I set up each year in December.

I had loved the Nutcracker ballet and when Jos and I went to Seiffen, Germany many years ago for the first time, I was able to buy a genuine nutcracker there. We loved visiting this pretty Christmas village where nutcrackers originated and it is Christmas every day of the year.

Since then, my collection has grown considerably. I set it up each year in our laundry room with is also our cloak room. Everyone goes in there to hang up their coats and lingers to look at the nutcrackers.

There are caroling nutcrackers...

...a miner or Santa himself...

...the Nutcracker Prince and his father the King...

...a shephard, a guard and a hermit...

...or if I became a nutcracker, this would be me I think, a mushroom gatherer...

Advent - a season of anticipation

2008-11-30T10:09:00.000-08:00

This year has been a true celebration of the seasons and all that nature has to offer. I feel that blogging has brought me closer in my wanting to move with the treasures of each season and not rush along. So this year, with each Advent Sunday, I will focus on a 'virtual' candle and reflect on what Christmas means to me while sharing some photos of my home.

I waited to start decorating so I have only decorated the entrance hall of my house so far. The first advent candle is traditionally the candle of Expectation or Hope. I found by waiting that my feeling of expectation resembles that of what I felt as a little girl. I was most excited about being able to start setting up the tree. I was bursting while waiting for my mother to say it could go up.

My brother's birthday is on December 17th and my mother made us wait until then. Oh how hard that was! One year, I asked her if I could set it up earlier that year and she said only if I was going to do it all myself. I did and happily. My father, who was from German descent, loved telling us that he never saw the tree until Christmas eve. His parents would set it up in a closed room and only let them see it when it was finished. Thank goodness he did not follow that tradition or I would have burst each year from expectation.

My expectations of Christmas have altered over the years. My husband and I no longer exchange gifts. We pick out two charities and donate money at Christmas. We are grateful that we have so much and feel that Christmas should now be about sharing that with others.

Regardless of your nationality or religion, maybe you can spend some time this week reflecting on your own expectations and hopes for the holidays. I hope it is not spent only in the hustle and bustle of shopping, baking and decorating but also thinking about what makes Christmas important.

I found this quote on the internet and felt it was good to pass on to you today for this first advent as SinterKlaas or St. Nicolaas is this week in Holland. Ponder this in the coming week:

A St. Nicholas’ Note . . . Edward Hays, A Pilgrim’s Almanac (adapted)

"It is fitting that the feast of St. Nicholas comes at the beginning of Advent and the beginning of the shopper’s season. As the patron saint of shoppers he proclaims, ‘Keep it simple!’ Keep it simple enough to fit in a shoe or a stocking.

"One gift that could fit in a…shoe, or in a stocking hanging on the fireplace, is a note that speaks of one of our most precious gifts, the gift of time. Such a St. Nicholas note might read: ‘The gift I give to you is half an hour of quality conversation each night right after the dishes are done.’ Or, ‘The gift I give to you is one Saturday a month to be with you and do whatever you want to do.’ We can appreciate the value of such a gift if we keep in mind that according to a recent survey, the average married couple in America has only 30 minutes a week of communication outside of exchanges that take place at the dinner table, and between parent and child is only 14 minutes. As you can see, the possibilities are almost unlimited for these St. Nicholas shoe gifts.

"Come, St. Nicholas, patron of shoppers and gift-seekers, and make Christmas this year fun, creative and love-filled."

On a separate note, this is what our drive home from Cranberry Cottage looked like. It was snowing heartily in the north. As we drove farther south, it turned to rain but we enjoyed a little bit of a winter wonderland.

Goodbye to autumn.....

2008-11-28T02:45:00.000-08:00

For me, Thanksgiving has one more meaning. It is an end to autumn. I am always very thankful for autumn and all its glories. It is the most colorful and scent filled season, from the parade of colors on the trees to harvest time's bounty to forest woods magical show of toadstools.

I am sad to say goodbye to autumn 2008 but look forward to the new autumn of next year. We enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal last night and I put some symbols of autumn's bounty on our dinner table.

I am looking forward to winter and hope like a little girl would for some snow days. I started my holiday decorating now. With my next entry, I will start sharing some of the festive corners of my home.

I hope you also had a wonderful autumn and are excited for the upcoming holidays?

"How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow."

~ Elsie N. Brady, Leaves

A day of thanks!

2008-11-27T04:19:00.000-08:00

I wish this could be me today bringing my mother a bouquet of pretty mums. She always loved them. But instead, I will close my eyes and think about her today ~ Thanksgiving Day! I am thinking of those things I am thankful for and there are many. I decided to dedicate this post to something I continue to be thankful for each and every day ~ my mother. She is a wonderful friend to me as well as a guiding light as a mother. I am glad that even though I am not really into many modern things of this day and age, the computer gives me the chance to be in contact with my mother every day at the click of a button. We no longer feel we are an ocean apart when we can talk to each other daily and share little things. Perhaps today, you can take a moment to contact someone in your family or a dear friend that you are thankful for...

Meet Mr. Turkey! He was a gift made for me by my very dear aunt. She passed away a couple of years ago but this little fellow she created spends each Thanksgiving with us. He looks over our dinner table and sheds a tear for his long lost cousin on our table. *grins* That is if I get to the grocery store to buy our turkey. We can buy a turkey breast here so I don't have to wait hours for it to roast. I am breaking tradition and not having pie for dessert. I really feel like having warm tapioca which gives me a feeling of home. My little brother and I would dance and sing the tapioca song when my mother made it for us. I decided that it was the perfect way to close off our Thanksgiving meal this year.

I wish you all a warm and happy Thanksgiving Day!

Creating cozy...

2008-11-23T06:09:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when one season melts into another. Today we are having snow which is unusual for us in November.

While we were still in the throws of autumn, the winter has appeared and the Snow Queen has placed her white cloak over our garden.

To me, autumn and winter are times to make a home cozy and with our new furniture, I find myself moving things around trying to find the best way to use things now.

And with this, last week I moved one of my sideboards out of the room as it was just too full. I then moved the sideboard I normally use behind the couch to the wall near our woodstove.

A winter roses tapestry tablerunner, chocolate colored lampshades and a floral arrangement with red carnations, branches and berries give a cozy and warm glow to the living room.

A piece of my handmade bobbin lace works well with one of the miniature portraits in my collection.

A magnifying glass for examining things just that little bit closer.

For years, I have had this sideboard set up to look like a writing desk. I have always enjoyed the look of it like this so was a little weary to change it. Now I am pleased with how this corner of my living room has turned out so I am glad I did change it.

Still not wanting to rush the season, regardless of the snow, our autumn tree is in a new corner of the dining area of the room. It lights up a very dark spot and makes it nice to sit there for our dinners. I am not going to start any holiday decorating until December has come but this creates a festive mood for the current season.

Creative privacy

2008-11-19T05:20:00.000-08:00

One thing I have not adjusted to in my 22+ years of living in Holland is the lack of privacy. Houses here are built so on top of each other and I find it very irritating to be so seen by my neighbors but also to see them. I know everyone says it is because land is at a premium here but I think that is simply an excuse accepted by all. Land is split up by our city officials and they have created this high pricing. They receive huge amounts of money by pressing everyone into a small area. Only 15 to 20% of the land in this country is actually housing.

You have to become a bit creative to give yourself a feeling of privacy if you do want it. Others leave things wide open but I don't feel comfortable doing that. So when I went with a friend last week to visit this wonderful farm selling all kinds of brocante, I found two wonderful wrought iron window ornaments and knew these would help give me a feeling of some privacy in the guest room.

I have been toying with the idea of having a balcony railing made by the same man who made our gate. It would be very costly and I still wanted more privacy too. Using these window ornaments works for both ideas. I have the added touch I wanted with the upstairs window and I also get a little bit of an obstructed view in the windows.

This is a perfect example of what it is like in our road. Our neighbors and we look directly into each others homes. My neighbor keeps his windows whited out even which means it is not the prettiest of houses to look at either.

If you have a view from your home, take a moment today to really look at it and enjoy it. It is a blessing!

Dutch traditions!

2008-11-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

Don't you love traditions? We had a busy weekend at the cottage but had to pop back into the village to run to the butcher and look who we ran into. This is one of the fun Dutch traditions that in mid November, SinterKlaas arrives in Holland by steamboat from Spain with his helpers Zwarte Piet.

He had a Pieten band to provide music while he talked with everyone. After we had been to the butcher, we drove back down the road and The Sint was still there talking to some mothers and their children so my 'big boy' waved happily from the car to him and SinterKlaas waved happily back to him.

Another Dutch tradition we have this week has to do with our kitchen remodeling. We are still waiting to hear from the sprayer but we have the door knobs. I wanted the traditional old Dutch knobs which you find in the very old farmhouses. After searching online, we found a woodturner near Jos' new office who makes them. He went on his lunch hour to get them after we ordered them online. Here they are. I love them! Now I have to start staining them so they are ready when the doors arrive.

Eating speculaas in February

2008-11-14T02:02:00.001-08:00

What a title! And then you see that this blog entry is about the work I have been doing in my bedroom decorating and that title seems to make no sense. Right? Well, it will as I tell you a funny story...

I started working on an idea for our bedroom back in September of 2007. You can see the start of it here. It started with me making a patchwork quilt. I found one online that was rather expensive and realized I had similar fabrics in my quilt stash cupboard. It was so simple as it was just a block pattern of squares so I made one myself. One thing leads to another...

The above photo shows the nightstands which Jos sanded and I drybrushed as I had done with my chest of drawers. But I still felt it just did not look right. The iron headboard Jos made for us and my lamps just look too cold against the oatmeal colored walls.

I bought some linden green chalk paint to paint the wall behind the headboard but it turned out the old saying "You get what you pay for" is true. The paint was cheap and was awful. It left the wall looking stained and not giving the chalk look whatsoever. I was going to run over to the paint shop and buy a pot of Farrow and Ball to use then realized I still did have a liter of paint left from a terrible mistake made by a shop when we were painting our walls in the entrance hall and laundry room.

I wanted to use a color called Speculaas which is a type of Dutch cookie. I collect speculaas cookie molds and loved this warm dark beige color which is the color of the old molds. Jos thought it would be too dark and talked me into going one step lighter to a color called Februari. So I comprised and we went to a DIY store that had a sale on this paint. A very young girl mixed two paint colors for us as we used a warm white together with it and we came home and got started. We loved the color Februari so much we decided to paint a second wall in the hall the same color but did not have enough paint. There was another DIY store starting a sale and we thought just pop there for the extra liter of paint as we could use the coupon for it there.

Jos got home and immediately started to paint the second wall but to our shock, it was not the same color. He went back and they checked and told him it WAS the color Februari but what he got from the first shop was Speculaas. The man was really nice and said he could try remixing that liter for us at our own risk. He could not get it close enough he felt in the end so we just bought a new liter and also brought home this remixed version.

The remixed version has now been used in our bedroom. It is a combination of the two colors so I call it 'eating speculaas in February'. *grins* It has worked really well to bring out the beiges in the patchwork quilt.

I enjoyed spending time this week changing all the little items around until I had this room looking just as I want it. I only wish I could convince Jos to replace that old digital alarm clock. It is left from his bachelor days but it gets him to work on time so we can buy more paint. *grins*

A new look

2008-11-11T05:15:00.000-08:00

We are not only changing the look of our kitchen but the living/dining room. Those of you who have read my blog for a while will know I had an English library look to the room. We had furniture which my husband picked out which was typically English. With my bad back, the furniture we had was becoming very uncomfortable. After my quilt group was here in October, I was having very bad pain from sitting on our chairs all evening and we decided we had to go out and search for some new dining room chairs. Now I love the look of my old Windsor chairs but they lean back just slightly and I need straight backs. So we went to a couple of shops and finally found what we wanted at the last one BUT one thing lead to another...

These are the four new dining room chairs. I think they really go nicely with our antique table.

But as we were choosing the chairs, I spied this set of couches. I have always wanted tweed fabric on my furniture. I love the robust country feel of tweed. Seeing the fabric made me go sit on one of the couches. It was just right as Goldie Locks would say! It had a harder seat and I could actually get up in one movement. I normally have to be very careful with our old furniture which was far too deep and soft for me. It was more in line with what my tall Dutchman likes but I have actually put my back out standing up from the couch before. After much discussion, he decided to go back to the shop and order these couches to be delivered with the chairs. I am not sure about my red wall now. What do you think?

I had made this quilt recently and it works just perfectly with the color of the couches. I was thinking last night that I will also bring down the knitted patchwork afghan my mother made for me to hang over the other couch. It is a cream color and I think will look really nice.

One item that remains and fits in very well is my leather chair and ottoman.

Magic in nature

2008-11-09T11:01:00.001-08:00

Sometimes nature gives us gifts of things that we have immortalized in children's stories making that thing seem unreal. The Amanita muscaria is one of those beauties in nature. From stories of gnomes to this postcard of Santa, the magical red toadstool with white spots seems almost unreal when found in nature.

This is a common toadstool here in Holland. On Saturday, we had to go to a village near Cranberry Cottage to do some shopping and found a great number of them growing along the banks of a canal there. Some were fading away, their bright red now going into a brown color.

"I am rich today with autumn's gold,
All that my covetous hands can hold;
Frost-painted leaves and goldenrod,
A goldfinch on a milkweed pod,
Huge golden pumpkins in the field
With heaps of corn from a bounteous yield,
Golden apples heavy on the trees
Rivaling those of Hesperides,
Golden rays of balmy sunshine spread
Over all like butter on warm bread;
And the harvest moon will this night unfold
The streams running full of molten gold.
Oh, who could find a dearth of bliss
With autumn glory such as this!"

~ Gladys Harp

What a busy day.....

2008-11-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

This has been a busy day with lots of people coming and going. Our new furniture was delivered this morning. I will share photos of that in another entry. Our handyman also came by today to get started on remodeling out kitchen. We are keeping the kitchen and doing some things to make it look very different. So here is what my kitchen looks like for a couple weeks while our doors will be gone to a paint spraying company. A friend said her cupboards would not look like this if someone took off her doors. Boy am I thankful I am organized behind those normally closed doors. *grins*

The doors are all laying stacked in the living room waiting to be taken to the painter now. Our handyman has put 3mm thick MDF panals around the doors which will give a very plain and modern dark teal door a country look after they are painted.

We are getting old Dutch wooden knobs and I cannot wait to see these painted and the knobs on. Here is a little closer shot but sorry for the glare.

Next we have to go pick out a new drainboard and sink. I already know what I am going to pick for a spigot. It is exciting to watch this come together. I will keep you updated on the progress.

Note to Karen ~ Welcome to my blog. I loved reading that your family immigrated from Holland. If you could email me (see my profile), I would love to talk more with you and give you my recipe.

Further note ~ Jos just talked to the painter who told us to come in tomorrow with the doors and trim. He is going to get it done next week. I have to go along to pick out the paint color and finish type. I am so excited to see these doors painted. I am happy to say goodbye to that teal color for good.

Simple pleasures of autumn

2008-11-04T12:29:00.001-08:00

The country roads in Friesland and Drenthe are beautiful any time of year but autumn has something very special. With my trying to simplify and slow down, I have really enjoyed the season even more than normal (if that is even possible since autumn is my favorite season).

Now as we notice all the foodie things associated with autumn and winter in Holland, it makes even having a lunch out in a cafe very special. I had my first bowl of 'snert' as they call it in Friesland which is the famous Dutch split pea soup. Now forgive me a moment while I wave the Dutch flag but no one does pea soup like than the Dutch. It is pure enjoyment to eating this soul warming soup. I love making it once a year for us too. It takes just about the entire day and I make a huge pot which I freeze in portions for us to enjoy on cold winter days. It is enjoyed with a slice of 'roggebrood' which is dark rye bread and a slice of 'kattenspek', a smoked and spiced type of bacon.

But amidst all this talk of seasonal things, what is this? I noticed something lilac colored in living fence between our neighbors and us at the cottage. Lo and behold, a single Rhododendron is in bloom as though to say goodbye just one last time before winter sets in.

I went to a great little shop in Exloo last week and admired all the wonderful brocante.

There were so many beautiful things to admire and gathered some inspiration. I love looking for ideas on how to simplify decorating while still having a great look.

This is the reason I wanted to stop in at this shop. I had these in my hand during my last visit and got sidetracked and forgot to go back and pick some up to buy for my laundry room. Do you know what they are?

Old Dutch clothes pegs. Unlike the American type which is rounded, these are so primitive looking. I can just imagine a woman in her 'klompen' (wooden shoes) out hanging her clothes on the line in the garden with these. They now sit in a wire soap dish on my rack in the laundry room.

For Sanne...why I love English literature

2008-11-02T10:24:00.000-08:00

While away for our week at Cranberry Cottage, I had the fortune to be able to meet a Dutch blogger and her family. Janneke welcomed us to her home where we enjoyed tea, a delicious meal and great conversation. I must admit that Janneke is just as she comes over on her blog, a very warm person, and has a beautiful home. We also got to spend the afternoon talking with her husband Wim and her beautiful daughter Sanne.

Now it is to Sanne that I dedicate my story about how my love for English literature started. It did not start with a book but with a filmed version of a book. As a child, I had started watching PBS television back in Ohio. One day, a film was on Masterpiece Theater called The Mill on the Floss. I was hooked. It was my first brush with these wonderful novels being filmed. I find this George Eliot novel to hold much sentiment for me as a result.

I never did get to ask Sanne if she has read or seen this one? You see we started discussing my love for the Brontes in the kitchen while helping her mother make dinner. The discussion continued at the dinner table after we had finished our meal. We talked about books and films and which version of which novel we preferred.

And so I want to share a photo I took in a manor house in Friesland a while ago which fits so well with a favorite quote from the book "The Mill on the Floss".

Do you have a favorite English literature book and quote?

“Oh, dear, oh, dear, Maggie, what are you thinkin’of, to throw your bonnet down there? Take it
upstairs, there’s a good gell, an’ let your hair be brushed, an’ put your other pinafore on, an’ change your
shoes, do, for shame; an’ come an’ go on with your patchwork, like a little lady.”
“Oh, mother,” said Maggie, in a vehemently cross tone, “I don’t want to do my patchwork.”
“What! not your pretty patchwork, to make a counterpane for your aunt Glegg?”
“It’s foolish work,” said Maggie, with a toss of her mane,—“tearing things to pieces to sew ’em
together again. And I don’t want to do anything for my aunt Glegg. I don’t like her.”

~ Excerpt from Chapter II of The Mill on the Floss

Happy Halloween tales...

2008-10-31T11:29:00.001-07:00

My mother (you can read about Fawn on her blog here) asked me to post a funny story about my sister's and her favorite holiday...Halloween. Now before you all think I had a rotten sister (well she was very ornery at times), I wanted to show you a "normal" photo of her. This is taken many moons ago as you can see by the camera she is holding. Vintage perhaps? *grins* The two of us took a road trip from Maryland to Ohio when I came home to visit. I wanted to see all my relatives and talked her into taking me up. We had a blast together and took some time out to visit Amish country. I told her I wanted to take a photo of her so she pulled out her camera too and this is the result. Fawn is taking a photo of me taking a photo of her.

And now a spooky Halloween story...My sister loved to go all out for Halloween. I was visiting that year and we dressed her up as a witch. She found a mask that made her look old and sat out on her front porch on a rocking chair with her candy in a large pot she used for making jam. She put on spooky sound effects and was ready to go. She told me to sit there in regular clothes so the little children would not be so afraid to come up and grab candy. This was a selective thought which I will explain further in a moment. She told me to ask kids if they liked my mannequin and the kids would go right up and look. Some older kids would say "Hey cool! She looks so real!" and then it would happen. She would start to rock and laugh her wicked witch laugh to scare them.

At one point, her youngest daughter Mandie's little friend came up to the porch and told me "Trick or treat" and just looked at Fawn. She knew Mandie's Aunt Heidi was visiting so did not think about me sitting on the porch step. Then Fawn let out a terrible laugh on purpose to scare this little girl. The girl threw her pumpkin in the air with all the candy spilling out all over the yard and ran. My sister sat there unable to compose herself from laughing. I told her she was really wicked to do that and she said she did not like that little girl being Mandie's friend. I wonder how long that friendship lasted?

Our family has many memories that arise as Halloween comes about my sister. We will always miss her and somehow feel she might be trick or treating today...

Autumn break.....

2008-10-25T12:47:00.000-07:00

You know the old saying that what you see often, you become blind to? Well, I noticed that I was no longer seeing my autumn arrangements outside any longer. I decided to rework them a little to make them different and seem new again. I brought our two blocks of wood up to the front door to replace the wooden chair and placed a mum, some branches and large pumpkin there.

The mum is just about at its end but should last another couple of weeks. I like that the front door now has a different look. Funny how the smallest changes can make such a difference. I also changed the table to now have a large tray full of various autumn items.

I am taking an autumn break and we are going up to Cranberry Cottage for this coming week. Our lives have been very hectic this fall as Jos has quit his job and Friday was his final day. He has this week off to rest before starting a new job the first week of November. We expect it to be a very involved job with longer hours so are looking forward to this week together. I will be back at the end of the week but still hope to be able to visit a couple of you while away using my laptop.

Our fan club?

2008-10-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Enlarge this photo and take a look at our fan club...

I looked outside and saw that all the ducks decided to take a nap right outside our window. I think they were waiting. Waiting for what? Well, fresh farmer's brown bread of course. *grins* Jos laughs at me for giving them our fresh bread but since we don't have old bread...well, they do have to eat don't they?

“Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but always paddling like the dickens underneath.”

~ Michael Caine

A Sunday stroll

2008-10-19T22:43:00.001-07:00

We thought it would be nice to just take a stroll in the woods right by Cranberry Cottage before driving back to the city. What a perfect fall day it was. I little bit grey and cool which made a great time to go walk and look for more toadstools.
A fallen tree branch from a previous storm becomes a work of art at this time of year.

The tame chestnuts lay scattered about the forest's floor. This one came home with me as a souviner.

I love the sound of walking on the fallen leaves. It makes me feel like a child again.

"The gilding of the Indian summer mellowed the pastures far and wide.
The russet woods stood ripe to be stripped, but were yet full of leaf.
The purple of heath-bloom, faded but not withered, tinged the hills...
Fieldhead gardens bore the seal of gentle decay; ... its time of
flowers and even of fruit was over."
~ Charlotte Brontë

What are some of your favorite sights of autumn?

Old is new again.....

2008-10-16T02:00:00.000-07:00

Remember back in September that I showed you this little chest of drawers that desperately needed a makeover?

Well, welcome to my reading corner which is in my bedroom. My old chest of drawers is new again.

Jos sanded down the cupboard for me and I bought color of paint called 'samenspel' which is perhaps best translated as 'harmony'. I almost dry brushed it on to achieve a very old vintage look.

While at this shop, I found these really pretty vintage Delft blue knobs and bought them for these drawers since I decided to use the previous set I had bought for a cupboard up at the cottage.

We are so pleased with how it turned out that we cannot wait to start on the pine nightstands in the bedroom now. We wanted to lighten up this furniture but not go with white. I was nervous that this would all turn out as I had planned in my head but have been really happy with the results. It was well worth all that sanding as it looks like a whole new piece of furniture and is new once again.

It is raining again here today so perhaps the best place to be in sitting in my reading corner enjoying a good book.

Ghosts, goblins and witches hanging around

2008-10-14T04:49:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year again. I am still only just now putting out my Halloween decorations so am rather late this year. My Halloween tree is standing on a small table by our front door. It is nice to see the lights on the branches from outside the front door or through the glass door in our living room. All the ornaments were made by my mother except the little porcelain jack o' lanterns. The tree top is a witch my mother bought for me in Salem when she went there on vacation.

My scarecrow is sitting very chipper on the edge of the wicker vase for the tree. He is keeping an eye on things for us.

The stack of pumpkins and black cat is a little something I bought back in Ohio and the magnet was a gift from my sister. She used to send a little something at this time of year. As some of you already know, Halloween was my sister's favorite holiday and I now do this tree each year in her memory. I always feel like she is looking over my shoulder as I hang the ornaments. She would, of course, be dressed up to try and scare me too. *grins*

What is it about little fairy lights that give such a special glow. I am glad our days are growing shorter and we can light up our evenings this way.

Do you decorate for Halloween?

Autumn sunshine...

2008-10-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

Our weekend was spent in autumn sunshine. We decided to drive to Assen to visit the outdoor market and see what vegeatables looked good. We came home with corn on the cob so a little bit of summer sunshine. Then we decided to take a walk in the Govenour's Park across from the parking garage. We talked about doing this for a couple of years and never did. For some reason, we thought this was going to be a large park but it turned out to be very small and this was pretty much the nice corner there.

Still, it was pretty to see the sun shining through the trees which were still very green. Some areas have brillant autumn color and others are still very green in the countryside.

Cranberry Cottage is decked out in its autumn slendor and I keep discovering more and more toadstools in the garden. There are more this year than last.

Our table has a little quilt with an autumn display. I just loved this pumpkin's stem!

Just before we left on Friday, I baked a Norwegian apple cake. Now having this to enjoy is a bit of autumn sunshine in itself. Don't you just love the over abundance of apples at this time of year?

I hope you had a good weekend too. Did you get outdoors and enjoy autumn?

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree."

~ Emily Bronte