Yearning for Spring

Just a few days ago, I could smell spring in the air.  I know you know what I'm talking about.  I've been reading your blogs and we are all yearning for spring.  We are all thinking about spring and talking about spring.  Easter is coming and we are all excited about digging our hands into the soil to plant those seeds we've been collecting.  I signed up for a workshop to make an Easter planter.  I never sign up for workshops.  I'm a fly by the seat of your pants kind of gal, making it up as I go along. But I am so yearning to smell soil and plant pretty flowers and feel the warmth of the sun.  I guess the next best thing is a couple of hours in a greenhouse for a workshop.  Now if I can just hold on til the middle of March.

We had a big storm blow in last night.  We didn't get hit as badly as some but it is a bit demoralizing to go to bed with the smell of spring in your nose and wake up to a blizzard.  I guess it is just the capriciousness of Mother Nature.  She makes a promise and then takes it back.  I guess that is what makes spring feel like such a gift when it firmly takes hold and the buds pop open.

Today was a stay home in your jammies and wait it out with a hot chocolate kind of day...

Unfortunately, I couldn't keep that up all day because I had an electrician coming to fix the wiring in the basement (lost half of the power on the weekend - there's been a few days of snakey extension cords going on here).  I did have to finally give up the pjs and get dressed.  Luckily I had a good friend suggest an electrician who fixed all my problems at an extremely reasonable rate.  Maybe I should treat myself to a pot of tulips tomorrow ;).

A nice roast beef dinner was topped off with my Mom's apple crisp and vanilla bean ice cream.  All in all, pretty good day.  I guess I can wait a little longer for spring to arrive.

Julie

Horseshoes to Hearts

That sounds like a country song but I mean it literally.  My best friend's son, Josh is learning to be a blacksmith and you might have noticed that I have had one of his hearts on my blog.

He uses vintage horseshoes and makes hearts out of them.  I think this theme fits in nicely with Brenda's Tweak It Tuesday so I'm joining her party.

I just love them.  They are all unique.

Josh makes other things too and is willing to take suggestions and make things to order if possible.

 













But the hearts are my favourite...and Josh is offering a special price to readers of my blog.  If you would like to order a heart from Josh, he is offering them for $15 plus the cost of mailing (from Ontario, Canada).  Just leave me a comment or e-mail me and I'll pass your info on to Josh.

Joshua's open air workshop

hearts * hearts * hearts

this one looks like mine ;)

Julie

A Little Organizing on a Simple Sunday

I am joining Elaine for Sunny Simple Sunday.  Today I did a little desultory housework.  The basement really needs cleaned but unfortunately the lights are out in half of it.  I'll have to do what I can by lamplight and extension cords and call an electrician this week.  One more bill.

I found this lovely organizer at Homesense and decided it would be the perfect thing for my bedside table.  The drawer is always a mess even though I did buy some small plastic bins at the dollar store.

My Mess

So I hauled everything out and threw some of it away.  Good time to clear out the hoard.

And I started fresh.  Isn't this lovely?  I love things with a bee motif.

And voila - organized and neat...at least for now.

Julie

Books & Magazines (these are a few of my favourite things...)

I'm joining Claudia for A Favourite Thing at Mockingbird Hill Cottage tonight.  My most cherished possessions are my books and magazines and while I have them all over the house, most of them are in my bookcases in my sewing room/office.

My books are chock a block...

My collection of Agatha Christie's.  I think I have them all.

My collection of shells from holidays on the top shelf....

My baby picture and shoes.  So tiny....

My in-basket - bills, bills, bills.  A few of my magazines - Martha Stewart Living, House & Home, Style at Home, Victoria, Country Living, Bon Appetit, etc.  I keep a lot of my magazines but I'm running out of room.

Part of my cookbook collection...the rest are in the sunroom.

Agatha Christie, cat books, Diana's life story, financial management books and The Secret.

One of my favourite teacups....parlez vous francais?

The hand print of my little Mouse taken just before she left this world...

Some of my favourite books by Nora Roberts, and Cathy Kelly.

The blue bird of happiness in my little sanctuary or maybe just a Blue Jay in honour of my favourite baseball team! (I have a book about them too ;)

Julie

Second Thoughts

I haven't been able to start painting my bedroom as I've had a terrible cold for the last two weeks.  But I did decide on white paint and went out and bought it so I'd be ready as soon as I recover.  Then today on my Facebook page, Farrow & Ball sends me this picture...

"Try the clean, mid-tones (not too heavy, not too pale) of Lulworth Blue in a bedroom. Contrast with Wimborne White in Estate Eggshell on the woodwork to complete the look!"

OMG - now I'm having second thoughts.  Maybe I need to paint swatches on the wall because, of course, I've already bought the Lulworth Blue as well......maybe I'll sleep on it.

Julie

Do you remember the 70s?

a little photo editing makeup applied

I bought a new mirror at a vintage store that brought the 70s flooding back.  The harvest gold appliances in the kitchen.  The pink tile and fixtures in the bathroom (with pink poodle towels no less).  The orange shag rug (not kidding here...)

Trust me, if you don't remember, it was the height of fashion.  Our coffee table was adorned with an orange ceramic ash tray and a reclining female nude statue (obviously purchased for Mom and Dad by the kids one Christmas).  Kinda like the one here from E-Bay.

One of the things I fondly remember is a beautiful mirror my Mom put together.  We had some old  ornate plastered frames from the farm.  Not exactly a matching for the swinging 70s decor but she spiced it up by painting one of them metallic gold.  I always loved that mirror in a kitschy, way over the top,  Liberace bling kinda way.  Then I saw this last week...

mirror has been blanked out so you can focus on frame

It was tucked away in a back room, marked to $10 and feeling very orphaned and forlorn.  I knew it was coming home with me.  The metallic gold doesn't hold the same allure that it did for the 8 year old girl.  Now it is definitely getting a repaint.  Probably white but I'll going to put it in my bedroom so I'll wait till the walls are done to make a final decision.

I'm joining Elaine for her Sunny Simple Saturday.  Someday soon, my mirror will be a lot more simple.

Julie

Happy Valentine's Day

Julie

Soup and Sandwich

Well I've come down with the bad cold that is floating around and I'm feeling pretty whiny, I must admit.  I've coughed so much that even I'm sick of me.  Tonight needed to be an easy dinner so soup and a sandwich was perfect.  A can of Campbell's tomato came to the rescue and I made my Veggie Delight Croissant.  Enjoy....

Julie

The Calm After the Storm

After the big snowstorm, the sun broke through and dazzled the snow into diamonds...

It was beautiful and warm in the sunroom...

In honour of Valentine's Day (I'm not much for decorating for Valentine's), I hung up a horseshoe heart that my honorary nephew, Josh made.  He is learning to be a blacksmith and is making some great decorative pieces...

I hung it in the sunroom over a picture of my cats and a picture of my Mom...

The sun is streaming in through the blinds...and painting tree shadows on the snow outside...

The cats are warm inside, taking it all in.  Everything that happens in the neighbourhood is noticed by their sharp little eyes...

We are joining Claudia for A Favourite Thing and Elaine for a Sunny Simple Sunday.

Cheers,

Julie (and Finn and Lucy)

The Hockey Gods are Smiling on Peterborough

Just yesterday my backyard was covered with green grass and Saturday is Hockey Day in Canada. This is a big deal in a country where hockey is almost a religious experience. But today, the Hockey Gods got together with Mother Nature to give us this...

 My neighbourhood ice rink at the park behind us has been getting smaller and smaller like a glacier receding.  Even though it has been ringed with green grass, the kids are still skating and playing hockey on it.  I even saw a couple of older guys playing one-on-one there yesterday afternoon before school let out.

They have also been working very hard keeping ice on the canal groomed so the game on the Lift Locks can go ahead.

There is so much snow today and it's still coming down that they are asking for volunteers to go over to the canal and help shovel!  I'm sure there will be a bunch of kids there as it's a "snow day" and a lot of schools have cancelled class.  The Stanley Cup is here this weekend too which is very exciting for a lot of people.

I'm one of those rare Canadians that are not very interested in hockey and I won't be freezing my face off (geddit?) at the Lift Lock tomorrow but I can appreciate the pageantry of the event.  If you want to read more, check out this link and the CBC's website.

Julie