Early Spring Drive

Hello, Dear Friends, I hope that you are finding small 

pleasures in simple things as we journey 

into spring together. 

Or autumn, if you are on the opposite end of this

beautiful Earth that we all call home.

My internet has been down the last little while.

Ramblin' Man was away ramblin' and I was here 

alone, so I waited for him to get home to figure things out. 

It's all a mystery to me.......

With an interactive phone call, he and the tech figured it out. 

So grateful for his 'expertise'.

I have missed catching up with all of you! 

I hope you can come along on an early spring drive!

The plum trees are blooming and I wanted to
share them with you before they fade away.  

Such a cheerful sight after a long and dreary winter.

A lovely touch of color against dark evergreen trees.

A sweet blue bungalow and pink tree = love. 

The very first home I lived in as a child was similar to this,
set in a pretty hemlock grove
by a small, New England lake.

I remember best, the 'sun-porch' with its high,
 pane'd windows just like this one.
I have a lovely memory of a cushioned, wicker love seat
under the windows where my Mother
taught me to sew.
I held a large, plastic needle, threaded with colorful
yarn that I used to sew bright felt bunnies,
chicks and flowers together through pre-punched holes.
The morning sunbeams shone through the windows
and a little bird sang outside.
The call had two notes - one high and one low.

I've always wanted to know what kind of bird that was.

Whenever I have gone back to visit loved ones in New England,
I occasionally hear that bird and
it reminds me of those precious mornings when
my Mother was young and I was small.

When I drive down these country roads,
my heart just smiles. <3

I simply can't get enough of the spring beauty.

 14,411 ft. Mt. Rainier dominates the skyline.

The wild plum on the road to home at the edge of the 'elk field'.

Right before we turn to reach the top of our little mountain.

We stop to open the gate.

We admire the pretty blossoms once inside.

Kai and Whitey Bear.......

The welcoming committee.

Come inside - I'll bake some cookies!

Have a Happy and Blessed Easter and Passover, Dear Friends!

So glad that you came along!

xoxo

Happy Spring!

Hello, Dear Friends! 

Welcome to spring! 

I know that some of you are still in the grip 

of Old Man Winter, but Spring is 

showing her frilly skirts here 

in western Washington State. 

The wild plum are waking the forests

with their lacy blooms, and the birds are singing 

once again. 

I have been very busy in the gardens, 

as we have had a week of lovely, early spring 

weather, but the temperatures are dropping

once again and we may get a flurry of snow 

by the weekend. 

I've been so busy outside, that I have neglected 

any semblance of Easter decorating 

except for this tiny ceramic basket filled with candy eggs,

 and a few fuzzy chicks. 

The truth is - my Easter decorations are buried in 

my storage unit.  I am not hosting 

an Easter dinner, so we won't mention it again......

*  *

^

(~ )

I did have a very enjoyable shopping expedition 

to Hobby Lobby recently, with my daughter, Heather, 

who's dear husband watched all three babies 

so she could get away for a bit. 

Here she is with her hands full a couple of weeks ago. 

The twins are 2 mos. old now! 

'Big brother' is now 17 mos. 

I spend two afternoons a week helping out

with this little guy. 

We also spent time with this little one - 

my son Gabe's little boy who is almost 3. 

These little ones are the sweet reward 

for putting up with our teenagers. 

*  *

^

0

I meant to buy a few Easter decorations at Hobby Lobby, 

but I spied this wonderful gate,  

which completely blew my budget. 

There was a big sale and it was 50% off, 

which helped in my decision-making :)

I just fell in love with it..........

I put together these little pots 

from faux hyacinth. 

These are terra-cotta pots that I painted with a white 

base-coat and then lightly brushed Annie Sloan 

chalk paint over all (in Duck Egg Blue).  

I found these faux grape hyacinth

 and bags of green moss at my 

local Ben Franklin Crafts store. 

I just tucked the moss firmly around the plants 

to hold them up. 

I was pleased with how they turned out 

and they were so easy. 

I found this lovely urn at Hobby Lobby, too. 

It is very heavy, which I love for stability. 

This was my first visit to Hobby Lobby, as it is 

a 45 min. drive. My daughter did the driving :)

We are expecting a new store to open soon, only 

25 min. away!

One of the drawbacks of living so far off the beaten track......... 

Because the gate was blue, I 'shopped my home'

 for a few more items in this shade. 

I took the vintage laundry basket,

 filled with my garden hydrangeas,

from the armoire in the bedroom.

Greens and blues go so well together.

I am loving white flowers right now. 

 I took the blue, knitted throw from the chair in the bedroom. 

It brings out the colors of the pillow 

that I made last year from some vintage needlework. 

Some sweet soul put a lot of love into 

this pretty crewel-work. 

I made the Irish crochet sachet recently.

The work in progress is a baby sweater. 

The sachet started out as a practice square for 

a blouse, using a vintage pattern, but the hook and the thread

were all wrong and it came out too large. 

So I sewed it to linen and made a sachet with it. 

I filled it with rose/lavender potpourri

that I made a few years ago, 

and have kept sealed in a large glass jar. 

It is still just as viable and smells divine. 

When I need to make more, I will give a tutorial.  

I added a blanket stitch to crochet a shell border around the perimeter
and a large, vintage button.

It smooshes deliciously, releasing the heavenly scent

for anyone who settles into the cushions.

Speaking of settling into the cushions.....
this is Ramblin' Man's spot and I was worried
that he would mind all the flowers,
but he has been gamely 'breaking the cushions in',
as he puts it.

I try not to mention the tortured condition
of them when he is done relaxing. : o

I couldn't resist these sweetly stitched meadow cushions
and the price was very reasonable - almost a steal.
I kept looking at the price to make sure it was right.

Despite the 'breaking in' every evening, they seem to
be holding up just fine.

The room is so tall and narrow with all that rustic woodwork
that Ramblin' Man installed himself.
(After building the whole house :)

I can't seem to have enough flowers to soften it up!

The television and stereo hide in the cabinet.

A few angels are always nice.

I admit that I torment my pillows, too.
xoxo
Comfort is what it is all about.

The vintage leaded glass window has its original
blue frame and perfectly matches the gate.

You can see that my Easter cactus is blooming in the window.

My son gifted me with the vintage seltzer bottle
a few years ago.
The fish compote was my dear Mum's.
The lid opens and there is a little glass spoon.
It's perfect for cocktail sauce.

A French pitcher and vintage books
bring more subtle blue into the room.

The blue 'car-boy' bottle belonged
to my dear Mum.

We have been using the woodstove in the evenings, still,
as you can see by the sprinkling of ashes......

I really do love a little touch of blue.

Just a touch.....
xoxo


Thank you, my dear friends for the kind condolences
on the loss of our little 'grand-pup', Weenie Baby.

xoxo

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak
but their echoes are truly endless."
-Mother Teresa-


Today I am linking with:

Cooking and Crafting with J&J



Floral Passions - Floral Bliss

Let's Add Sprinkles - Keep inTouch

Won't you join the fun?

xoxo