My Corner

 

So this is my little corner now.  When we started redoing the kitchen we move my Hoosier across the room to where our refrigerator was.  This gives me a little nook which I love and a view out the window into the garden.  My computer is behind those sliding doors.




My ever present cup of tea is being sipped while I type this.  I'm drinking The Republic of Tea's Rose Petal Tea today.  It's lovely.

 

Can I tell you how much I enjoy my island?  We started with an old, enamel table at first so I had some space to work.  When we got the new to us cabinets we set a cabinet of big drawers in the middle and used the enamel top on it.  It worked and gave me some much needed storage space, though it had its own issues.

We added a second bank of cabinets back to back and flipped the whole thing around.  Sweetheart and his friend added the countertop to it last week.  We've got an overhang on one side and some stools for the kiddos to sit at and chat with me while I work. Having such a large work space is such a blessing. 

It's nice that some many of our things like the Hoosier match this gorgeous built in.  It passes into the Dining Room with doors on both sides.  I used to keep all my dishes in it, but since I have the storage in the island I am keeping all the bowls and plates in there.  It's right across from the dishwasher and it allows the kids to be able to reach whatever they need and to help put things away.
 
They were excited that they could help.  I know, they are weird, but we encourage it.  ;)  Actually, Cupcake is the only one after the initial excitement that still wants to help.  She's surprisingly helpful.  Well, except this morning when she got distracted and put the clean cups in the garbage can instead of the drawer where they belong.  She laughed and seemed to wonder why she did it when I pointed it out to her.  She didn't complain when she had to take them out and put them back in the dishwasher so that's something.  In fact, I think she knows better where things go than Sweetheart does.  Ahem.

There is still a lot to be done:  floors, trim work, the new antique :) lights to install, and the upper cabinets and microwave need to be hung.  I'll post final pictures as well as some before picks when it is completed.  Someday.

Until then, I'll just be excited for all that's done and enjoy the breeze I have now that the windows open.  And I'll look forward to having a microwave handy after three years without.  Plus, there is the thrill of being able to wash dishes in a built in dishwasher.  Who knew?

Question for you all:  with Google Reader disappearing in a few days, how are you planning to keep track of what blogs you like to read?  I have the option on the sidebar to follow by email which you are of course welcome to use, but I am curious as to what your plans are.  I'd hate to lose you.

Good Morning

Oatmeal Breakfast with Pumpkin Spice Honey Toast & Caramel Coffee

Today the weather changed. Whereas, yesterday was one of those perfect Autumn days that found me out in the garden before everyone else was up, today I just wanted to stay huddled in bed snuggled down deep. Alas, I had to get up anyway.

It was so gloomy and dark I thought our breakfast needed a bit of brightening up. Breakfast by candlelight not being an everyday thing here. Of course, it was so pleasant I may have to reconsider. In fact, the candle is still burning bright scenting our home with a delicious pumpkin spice fragrance. I cooked and baked up a storm yesterday and so am just enjoying what I made and not really cooking today, my usual preferred method for making our home smell yummy. Not much beats the smell of fresh baking bread, does it?

The good news is that Sweetheart did some work this weekend on my computer so I hope I'll be posting a bit more. The setup I've been using since July has been so uncomfortable that I have not written as much as I would have otherwise. I was in fact thinking of just quitting blogging altogether.

But, for the three of you still reading this, I've decided to keep going. Besides, where else would I be able to write and dream and share?

The boys are sleeping now, some dishes are soaking in the sink and the laundry is spinning away. Gentle music is keeping me company in the background and I am enjoying the simply beauty of a quiet afternoon. I've enjoyed a little reading (Mitford) and a lot of tea.

Around the house I've been tucking bits of Autumn color with flowers from the garden and some of my leaf garlands and ribbons. Of course, one can always tell what season it is around here based on the tea set that's in use. Since Saturday I've been enjoying my Lusterware set. It's a funny process. I needed to wash the tablecloth so I pulled out a burgundy one to replace it. Then the rose centerpiece no longer matched so I got out my candles and fruit and leaf plates. That meant that the rose Tree Chintz tea set clashed and so I pulled out the Lusterware. This then meant I needed to change the curtain tiebacks in the dining room. Those ribbons didn't match the one on the Victorian crystal candy dish and so I changed that out. Sweetheart just laughed.

While I was at it I did up a new wreath for the porch and changed out the porch flag. This necessitated the need to wash down the entire porch, walls and windows. I stopped there. Of course, I still have more leaves and ribbons and will probably putter around tucking bits and pieces here and there throughout the week.

I just heard a little boy wake up, so I'll go for now. So much more to write & share!!! Maybe later.

What are you doing to welcome Autumn to your home?

Busy Kitchen

Ok, so I've decided I need to get back to some regular posts here. I confess that it has been hard to write much lately. This has been an incredibly difficult time for our family this last year and I don't want to just mope and complain. I do want to be honest though, and not one of those perky, perfect bloggers who seem way too together for me to relate to.

I also know that many of you do pray, and I seek that out as a community of faith. Some of you have become true friends, some I see in real life, some through personal emails and writings. Thank you all for being so loving and supportive.

So, life continues on around here. It has rained/snowed/hailed seven out of the last eight weekends, making our dreams of finishing our yard seem a distant reality. We even had a tornado warning on Sunday afternoon. I've got a skid steer tractor stuck in my backyard from Sweetheart trenching for sprinklers. It's too muddy to move! Plus the 16" deep trenches have about 14" of standing water in them. Again. We thought we'd have the garden in and lay sod this weekend. Not going to happen. *sigh*

Seriously, our weather is absolutely gorgeous during the week and abysmal on the weekends--the only time Sweetheart can really work. Of course, we've still been out there working in the rain and Sweetheart does as much as he can in the rain and the dark. Not always too successful as we now need to replace a fencepost on our fence because it got in the way. Oops!

As for inside things, I finally completed a projected I've been working on forever and my sister will finally get her birthday present next weekend. Her birthday was in January. Yep. Sewing is new to me and I'd been trying to sew a purse for here out of some fabric I had she liked. First it was put off because I couldn't work the sewing machine with my bum ankle, then we had Pumpkin's stuff. I've been a bit addled myself and not too good on finishing projects. I've had to switch patterns because apparently pattern writing is a second language and not one I'm fluent in. But it is done. Finally.

I was so excited to finally finish, and was on such a roll sewing that I whipped up some new valances for the family room. I took down the velvet drapes and sheers when I washed everything for spring cleaning. When I was done, I hung back up the sheers and loved it not wanting to rehang the heavy drapes. It looked unfinished though. I had some fabric I'd picked up at a fabric sale in November. So far I'd made it into a table runner, but still had a few yards left. So, I quickly rolled out the fabric making sure it was wide enough and cut it into four equal lengths. I then hemmed all the edges and made a pocket thingy for the rod. Done!

(Look closely~you can see the skid steer through the sheers!)

Moving the sewing machine to the kitchen counter has made it easy to work on things and not have to wait until the boys are sleeping. I've also been whipping up some easy drawstrings bags for all sorts of things. I made fleece bags for Sweetheart's sunglasses collection which of course meant the boys needed bags for their shades as well. I made a bunch of light-weight bags for all my bulk foods and produce. I've used them a few times already and I love them!

Today I'm making salves, body butters and more lip balms. I'll do a separate post on the salve later. I've got little bottles and tubes all over and lots of things cooling on the window sill. The house smells great~like beeswax and lavender mostly.

So, picture my kitchen. I've got all my body product ingredients out, the sewing machine on the counter, and two flat of seedlings I'm trying to keep alive until they can be planted. It looks awful, but necessary. The boys are happily reading and playing with trains as I type. We can hear the birds outside chirping and there is a gentle breeze stirring the lace curtains at the kitchen window.

I'll sign off for now. I need to check on the body butter, and get lunch going for the boys. Hope you all are having a lovely day as well.

March

I love March. I do. It's a special month to me, a bit of brightness as winter heads to spring. That it contains my birthday, I'm sure had nothing to do with it!

I love to change the decor around with the changing months and seasons. Am I the only one? Maybe it's the former schoolteacher in me. How I loved to change the classroom bulletin boards, decor and calendars! It always freshens things up to me. Now that I'm at home, I am able to do these little things with all sorts of treasures we have.

After the Christmas decorations are packed away, bits and pieces of pink and red add bright spots to our home for Valentines. With the passing of that, I find little bits of green adding touches of spring here and there. A bit of ivy, a shamrock coffeepot, vintage postcards all find their ways to new places to shine. It cheers up cleaning as well as I take an extra moment to find the perfect home for a little treasure.

Side Note: An early Birthday gift from Sweetheart. A 1915 edition of Little Women illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith, on of my favorite artists.

This makes my heart sing!

I just finished reading a copy from the library last week and this arrived yesterday.

Here's a peek inside at some of the illustrations.

I rarely buy things for specific holidays, preferring to just use what we have. Though I do find an occasionally new spool of ribbon can really add a lot in a simple way. Bits of fluff and fancy move all around the house all year long. I love finding natural treasures, too. Squash from the gardens, flowers, seed pods, nests, pine cones, and what-all are used in abundance.

Things move around even within a season as squash are used for dinner, seed pods are played with to the point of destruction, and sometimes just because I decide I don't like how I put something out the first time. I took a few picture a couple of days ago, and have since switched teapots around and added some bits of ribbon other places. This to me is one of the joys of homemaking.

Of course, so is finding gorgeous plates for five dollars while out with my Sweetheart! So lovely.

Here's closeup of the copy I bought of Pilgrim's Progress for Sweetheart a few years ago. As it was such a huge part of Little Women, I decided I should be reading it a bit each morning as the girls did throughout the story. I'd better get back to reading it!

What do you like to do to brighten your home?