Just a Short Post

Good Afternoon! I didn't have much to post today but was excited that I did to go to my favorite thrift shop and picked up some sweet things. Not much but enough to quell my eagerness for garage/estate sale season! I'm just dying to get out there and hunt! Every time we have a sunny day now I think "Spring is almost here..." and then I hear the weather report with words like "..snow this Sunday night into Tuesday..." and "accumulating snow is coming..." ugh! So if the garage sales have to wait, at least there are the thrift stores!
I haven't been out much lately at all due to my son's illness and the various tutors for homeschooling from our high school so it was nice to go out and have a little "me" time :) BUT  before I show you my treasures, I must give a shout out to my little chickie girl Frankie who has laid not one, not two but unbelievably THREE eggs this week....It's a record! Silkies aren't known for being big layers and the fact that Frankie is somewhat of a country club chicken here at our house and is very temperamental makes it even more amazing! So see below what we call the "Frankie Eggs."  They are smaller than the usual chicken eggs you buy. These are smaller than your pinky finger but equally wonderful!

Okay enough of my chicken bragging....On to my finds!

Could not pass up this pretty girl....You can see how tall she is and I fell in love with her. My friend said she fit right in with my house. And she was right! She has dried flowers on the rim of her hat and in the basket so I may spruce them up a bit but considering she is probably from the late 70's or 80's, she is in good shape.

Picked up this wooden scoop. I know it is meant for a candle and it does hang but I am thinking of making a shadow box vignette in it. Between Kim K. and Shirley Hatfield's ideas for vignettes and shadow boxes, I think that is what inspired me to do it and as soon as I saw it, BINGO.  A must buy for only $1.

Last but certainly not least, I saw this sweet face and could not resisit. A Precious Moments style doll though to me it is the face of Betsey Clark (remember her from the 1970's?) I believe she was created by artist Holly Hobbie as well. I had Betsey Clark dolls, colorforms and paper dolls. When I saw this doll, I thought of her. There were greeting cards, etc for this character but although this doll is not Betsey Clark, she does have the same type of facial features. She's darling. I had to adopt her.

 There's always room for one more, right?

Girl Power & a Book Review of "I Like Giving"

We were treated to warmer temps over the weekend. It was absolutely springlike here on Long Island. Our snow mountains had shrunk considerably due to the heavy rain we had. We still have snow piles but they are smaller :)  Caitlin was swinging on her swing Saturday and Sunday, Billy walked down to the park nearby. Glorious Spring! BUT THEN....the arctic temps returned! Today we sit once again in what has become known as the polar vortex. I guess that's just the way it is going to be for what remains of Winter 2014! I refuse to get the Winter blues and what better way than to do crafts? or have some special friends over for brunch? I did both!

I worked on this earlier in the week. It had been blue and had a large metal flower above the faucet.

I was never completely happy with it but now I am!

It sits by my back door now. It's amazing what some wall paper decals, stars, and paint can do! Oh and of course a cute little bucket! Redo, Repurpose! SO much fun.

I planned a brunch for some special ladies in my life. Everyone who came has been my friend for a minimum of ten years and mean the world to me. If you surround yourself with good people, and these ladies are GOOD people, you truly reap the benefits of their conversation, humor, and fellowship. It was so rejuvenating to have all of them in one place at one time. There was just one person missing that I thought of all day and wished was here and that is my cousin Jo from Lancaster County...hopefully soon we'll get together .

I made a "Very Best Coffee Cake", a recipe from an Amish cookbook that I love. The perfect coffee cake it is  to enjoy with coffee or tea.

Baked french toast---a winner from the Pioneer Woman of Food Network. Really good!

A simple pasta recipe using zesty italian salad dressing, balsamic, cherry tomatoes, onions, garlic and fresh parmesan!

I also made two kinds of quiche--ham & tomato and broccoli & cheddar. A Mexican seven layer dip that is always a favorite and a few more things...And the desserts just kept on coming!  what a lovely day! It sure was uplifting considering the weather and handling my son's stomach situation and doctors appointments for he and my Mom...Plus because my son has been on medical leave from school we have home schooling from tutors every day.

Polar Vortex?...Snow tonight? BRING IT ON! I'm ready!

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And Now, because I have started to read and review books I receive for FREE (!) for Blogging For Books, is my first review! I hope you enjoy it.

I was looking forward to reading "I Like Giving" for I knew it would be an uplifting read; however I did not know if that feeling would sustain itself throughout all the chapters. It surely did! It was marvelous and inspiring book that explores and explains the act of giving. There are so many facets to "giving" that I found it hard to put this book down as it lead me from example, to explanation, to tools, to feelings, to anxieties and ultimately the good of giving. Because we live in a world where we are encouraged to take care of ourselves first, compete, and succeed it often clashes with our other "self" that attends church, charity events or donates to the poor. Giving rewards to others but mostly receiving them yourself through how it makes you feel. Living a generous life is what Jesus intended for us as that is the life he lead. If you choose to give and lead a generous life, you are rewarded back far greater than you have given. Brad Forsma cites examples of giving and how it comes in many forms such as giving when people ask, giving when they have not asked, tipping the unexpected, giving not only with money but with your time or with your words. Random deeds of kindness. He also tells about people's hesitancy to receive and how your giving may not always be accepted. Or perhaps we feel we have nothing to give; that we are strectched financially beyond our means and giving is out of the question? All of these scenarios are confronted and explained by example that makes this such an inspiring read. Most of all, he emphasizes that he believes we are made in the image of God and it is God's nature to give. In the end he poses the question to all of us--will you choose to lead the giving life?

 

More Snow is Coming.....

More Snow is on the way (no surprise to anyone really! It has just been that kind of Winter.They are predicting a bit of a warm up by the end of the week so that will be nice. I am a Winter lover but I just need some Springtime now! Not much happening here... the kids are on WInter Recess ( a week-long break) and I love having them home. We'll be pretty much homebound as a plumber is due to work here this week adding heat to our second floor so I have to be home for that. I'll be working on some St. Patrick's Day stuff such as my tree! I'm not finished yet.

Gold coins and pots of gold, rainbows and wee Irish folk! Caitlin is already planning her leprechaun trap.

Last year. the leprechaun left her some great goodies! But he did escape from the trap she made! Remember if you are making one this year to make it glittery and sparkley! Leprechauns are attracted to shiney things!

Also menu planning for a pre-Spring brunch I'm having with some friends. Everyone has cabin fever so what's better than getting together! More on that in future posts. For now, stay warm, stay dry, and be safe!

Valentine's Day in the Snow

Happy Valentine's Day! It's a beautiful day here. The sun is out and making my kitchen even brighter as the sun reflects off all the snow. And snow we have plenty of :)  Oh man! We added 14" to the 14" we alreaady had and the 2" of ice.....now tomorrow morning it's another 6+ I have just heard....But before I show you some of the snow pictures I took, lets celebrate the day, and I have so many that I love! Sending hugs to all of you! Just before I started typing this, there was a knock on my back door and my good friend who lives behind us came over with  Valentine gifts. She beat us here--Caitlin was just gathering together all that she had for their family when we heard the knock!

 

Brownies, candy bags and a lovely flower pot filled with a bag of M&M's and more! What sweethearts they are! :)

It was no easy trip for them to trudge through the snow! We may live back to back but  that doesn't make it easier in the Winter! Under that snow is my white concrete patio table!

 

And here is the chicken/bunny coop/playhouse:

My husband had wrapped the top in bottom in heavy plastic to prevent any drafts but it is truly buried. The rabbits love to stay out in the coop and they are warm in the hay. The separate bunk house is very warm and I found that when I would bring the rabbits in at night (I thought they would prefer to sleep indoors at night) they were miserable. SO the rabbits now stay out, but Carol & Frankie come in at night. Since Carol & Frankie are silkies, they do not grow feathers that insulate them or keep them dry. Silkies do not do well in the cold like regular chickens can. Althought they enjoy the Winter days, in the late afternoon I bring them in and they sleep in an indoor cage I have for them.
Here are some interior shots of the play area for the bunnies and chickens. The white walls you see is actually the plastic hanging down on the outside so the wind doesn't get them. It's positively balmy at times.

 

 

Loaded with hay as is the bunkhouse for sleeping which I can't show you the interior but here are the doors to the back part of the coop that houses the sleeping quarters:

You can see how deep the snow is. Oh and here are Carol & Frankie! Frankie is the female on top of the extra cage for chicks. And Carol is the rooster!

This will make you chuckle! Here are the apple trees my son planted last Summer! They look like bushes!

 

So now that Valentine Day is here and almost over..what else do we have to look forward to......

That's right! March 17th!

Stay Cozy Gals!

Keeping Busy in the Snow & Beatles Fun

It's been a challenging Winter this year. Here on Long Island we are averaging two snow storms a week. Our next one is scheduled for tomorrow night into Thursday evening. It is so pretty to see; I think we can all agree on that :) I am getting weary of it all and I never thought I actually would but I am beginiing to worry about some of my bushes--the heavy ice and snow weighing them down:

You can see the weight on the branches of the trees. There is a layer of ice under that fresh fallen snow. I hope my plants survive. The ice was so thick we couldn't sleigh ride. Speaking of sleds, here is the one I got for $1 at a garage sale back in October:

Just using it for decorative purposes. I'm sure she was enjoyed for years by the family that owned her. Now she is retired and just meant to be pretty.

 I'm still working on some projects. I have since finished my sun bonnet sue plastic canvas picture. I snapped this picture when she was half way done. She has now has a lovely apron and a colorful background.

 

She came out cute. I will photograph the finished product shortly. I also bought a plastic canvas pattern book from ebay and this great book to "paint Plain Folk"; it also came with patterns.Folk art painting is so fun.

 

If you love folk art, there is a great catalog called Kruenpeeper Creek or KPcreek.com   check it out. I have ordered from them for years and their prices are terrific! They still print a catalog for mailing too that I just LOVE. I miss getting catalogs in the mail! They have excellent prices and just the cutest stuff ever.

 

In between all the snowstorms I did have a wonderful day with my brother in NYC on Saturday. He and I are both Beatle fans; it's something we always shared. He is nine yers older so I grew up listening to the Beatles my whole life and loving them. We decided to go the Beatles Festival in Manhattan to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles arrival in the USA. Now I wasn't even born till 1965 but their arrival was still amazing to me from watching all the film clips and seeing their effect on music over my 48 years! I live an hour from NYC so John and I went in and spent an incredible day together. To think it all happened right here!

Before we went to the festival, we walked through Grand Central Station to kill some time before the festival started. If you've never been through this amazing building, let me tell you it looks as though it should be in Italy with the amazing architecture and murals of the constellations. It's like a city within a city.

 

When we did go to Beatlesfest, we had a great time going through the shops and exhibits, seeing the films and hearing the guest speakers. We were treated by performances of the 60's groups Chad & Jeremy and Peter Asher of Peter & Gordon. Donovan was there, Denny Laine of the Moddy Blues attended and so many others. And then I got to see George Harrison's ex wife Patty Boyd which was super! She was in A Hard Day's Night in case you didn't know. That's where she met George. SHe'll be 70 on St Patrick's Day and I think she still looked fab!

 

Such a fun day!

I hope you have a great Tuesday!

Valentine Tree

Quick post to wish you a happy weekend! Ground Hog Day, Super Bowl and my son's 15th birthday are all tomorrow! We aren't much of a football family--actually not at all--we're all about the Super Bowl food! Thanks for all the well wishes for my son. Billy is trying out his new prescription so hopefully the stomach spasms will be curtailed. He will continue to be home for now and receiving in home tutoring from our high school.

I've been working on a few things. Finished my Valentine tree and started a plastic canvas sewing project of a Sun Bonnet Sue. I just love her. Have you ever worked with plastic canvas? It's so fun and I would like to do a haunted house. It's amazing how you attach walls and roofs...I'm looking for a good pattern on line...Look up plastic canvas on google and you won't believe the many projects.

 I also made some primitive candles even more prim with a cinnamon rub. They smell so good.  Just busy being busy in this long, cold Winter! Don't let the Winter blues get you down! Below is a haunted house made out of plastic canvas. So cool.

 

Have a great weekend!