A Touch o' the Irish - Spring Greens

Hello my friends, I hope you all had a lovely weekend! 

Ramblin' Man was away at a Sales Conference all week, 

and then we met in Seattle on Friday night
to celebrate his company's 30th Anniversary
with 250 of his business associates, 

many of them good friends. 

We stayed at a lovely hotel downtown, called 'The Maxwell', overnight. 

We had a lot of fun - sorry no photos :(

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out inside,
as it was cool and rainy, so I decided to do a little
redecorating in my kitchen for spring.

I 'shopped my house', and gathered all things green
to add a little touch of spring, and honor
my Irish roots. My Grandfather, John Leo, (husband
of Beatrice Euphemie :) was from County Cork, Ireland.
He had a lovely Irish brogue.
You can see their wedding photo on my sidebar.

Ramblin' Man's Grandfather was also from County Cork!
I hope to travel there one day......

In the meantime, I will celebrate the wearin' o' the green,
by dressing the kitchen in this lovely color.

So step inside and I will brew a pot o' tea and I will show
you around!

I've added a subtle touch of green to the table with
 faux checkered lilies in a basket-weave pot.

I like using table runners rather than whole cloths,
as I use this table for many things, including meal prep
and crafts, so it is easy to just slide the whole table runner
down to one end :)

My hand carved wooden candlestick was a thrifty find.
The shell and brass candle snuffer was from Pier 1 Imports a few years ago.

I've replaced the Royal Albert tea-set for Valentine's Day,
with my collection of green Depression Glass and
similarly hued modern finds.

The green canning jars were a Ball Limited Edition
release just a couple of years ago.

I sporadically collect green glass and
I have had many pieces for years, but the
two center platters and the relish tray
were recent finds on a shopping trip with daughter, Heather.

I also found this vintage St. Paddy's Day postcard.
Can you see the little shamrocks in the window?

I need to find a sweet frame for this.

A favorite cookbook comes out of hiding.

This one is illustrated by Tasha Tudor.

The napkins draped over the cupboard door are a set of four,
found a couple of years ago.

They are beautifully embroidered with crochet lace inserts.
I can't bear to use them as napkins, but they are
lovely as tray liners or pretty accents under serving dishes
or bowls.

The other door holds a sweet tea towel.

Charming embroidery.

Some of my own handy-work - crocheted
shamrock garland around the cake dome,
and two little crocheted baskets.

I found the directions for the garland in this sweet book.
( I receive no compensation for mentioning it)

The baskets holds green handled cookie and biscuit cutters
and green stevia packets for tea.

My spice racks get a green update, too :)

More sweet canning jars.....

A miniature painting I recently found.

Sweet vintage shamrock cookie cutter and St. Paddy's Day mug
for a cuppa with treats.

I've added some spring green to my cozy
daybed corner, too.

A thrift store painting takes center stage.
I've hung this painting in many places,
 depending on my mood.
I keep a little collection of paintings in storage
 - all thrifty finds.

A gathering of green and cream colors.

Handmade pillows of 'Irish Lace', made with
vintage doilies, place mats and table runners,
taken from my living room.

'Shamrocks' (Redwood Sorrel) that I have had for
several years. These winter inside, but reside happily
on the shady side of the deck in summer.

Marbles found in the garden where my children's sandbox
used to be.

An appropriately titled book....

A collection of green bottles in the light.

The view from the daybed.

My green vintage tool box.

A perfect seed box - my next project inside!

Thank you for visiting, Dear Friends!

I hope this inspires you to bring in a little
 green to your home
for spring.

xoxo

Here are a few Irish Proverbs:

The smaller the cabin the wider the door.

Great mansions have slippery doorsteps.

God is good, but never dance in a small boat.

Be kind to those that you meet as you rise,
you may pass them again as you fall.

Long loneliness is better than bad company.

A guest should be blind in another man's house.

A loud voice can make even the truth sound foolish.

xoxo

Today I am linking with:
Julie's Lifestyle - Cooking and Crafting with J&J

The Enchanting Rose - Roses of Inspiration

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth - The Art of Home-making Mondays

Spring Scenes - Five on Friday

Hello Friends, I hope you are having a good week! 

We have had a stormy week with lots of wind, rain, 

and a little bit of sunshine, too. 

Today I would like to share with you, five scenes 

that made me smile this week. 

1. One morning I woke up early and caught 

the sunrise on Mt. Rainier. 

The river valley was full of mist 

after heavy rain the night before. 

Beautiful alpenglow. 

Every moment a different scene. 

 Full illumination. 

2. Another view of sunshine, late in the afternoon

looking out my glass kitchen door. 

Beautiful shadows.......

Potted Iris and primrose catch the light.

3. Looking further we can see that the wild plum trees are blooming. 

Kai says hello! 

With a closer look we can see it is very windy. 

A Steller's Jay enjoys the view. 

Clouds moving in.....

4. In between rain showers, I ventured out 

to see what was blooming in the yard. 

Here we see more plum tree blossoms. 

The property has many of these - progeny from 

a long ago Italian Prune Plum that was broken in a storm. 

The new shoots reverted back to the original rootstock. 

The fruits were smaller and loved by the wild pigeons

and have been spread far and wide,

much to our delight. 

The holly has a similar story. 

They pop up here and there and of course

we love them dearly. 

You can see the Hellebore (Lenten Rose) 

is blooming beside it. 

Daffodils are ready to bloom. 

You can see the mossy rocks - a testament to our 

very wet and mild winters. 

A wider view. 

 A lovely ground cover is spreading beneath

the bench. Native plants and ferns fill in behind. 

Two blooms nearby. 

Kai enjoys the garden, too. 

The twiggy shoots are Salmon Berry 

which have lovely pink blossoms in a few weeks. 

Primrose are also blooming. These are still in pots, 

but I planted them soon after and forgot to take a photo. 

You can see the slugs have been at the leaves, 

so I have put out pet-safe, 'Sluggo'. 

5. Lastly, I wanted to show you the land we just had cleared

by my son's childhood friend. 

I've know him since kindergarten, but now he 

has a son old enough to help him out! 

Where does that time go?

Ramblin' Man wants to build a storage/wood shed. 

Only the young alder trees were taken down. 

They were damaged in an ice storm in 2012, 

losing most of their branches and were starting to fall. 

Left standing are Western Red Cedar, Douglas Fir and Hemlock. 

You can see the very large pile of branches that 

needs to be chipped. It is taller than I. 

Kai investigates an interesting scent. 

This area was cleared years ago 

but had become overgrown. 

It was once a paddock for my children's ponies. 

We will seed it with wildflowers and grasses. 

Whitey Bear and Kai check out their new playground. 

Sad to cut the trees down, but they were not healthy and a danger.

Now we have plenty of firewood to last for a while. 

One thing that didn't make me smile this week....

 this very large Hemlock that blew over in 

 high winds and is caught up in the trees. 

Of course, Ramblin' man is away at a Sales Conference. 

We only get big storms when he is out of town, 

it seems :) 

You can see the back of my Ford Ranger

to the right of the photo which gives you

perspective of its size. 

It's always something.......

Hopefully it will fall in the next storm. 

It will just miss Ramblin Man's lawn equipment shed. 

 That is something to smile about! 

xxoo

I hope you have something to smile about, 

Dear Friends! 

xxoo

"Psychoanalysis on the basis of one's woodland is out of place. 

But you can't help thinking that there must be something

written there, if only you knew how to read it."

- Geoffrey Charlesworth - 

The Opinionated Gardener (1988)

 Today I am linking with: 

Love Made My Home - Five on Friday