My Christmas Mantle

The fireplace mantle is my favorite spot to decorate for all the seasons of the year but, Christmas time is best. "Less is more" doesn't apply to me...I'm more of an "over the top" decorator.
This will be the backdrop for our Christmas dinner and it looks quite lovely when the winter dusk falls and the soft lights glow. A peaceful end to Christmas day, enjoying the company of family, eating a fabulous meal and contemplating our many blessings.

Christmas Trimmings

It's time once again to bedeck my wee house in all it's Christmas finery. This is no small feat (even living in a wee house) as I have been making and collecting holiday decorations since childhood. I normally spend the entire month trimming trees (2 large ones), stringing lights, rearranging vignettes and displays and making sure no corner misses some holiday cheer. My husband absolutely refuses to help...( I am "too picky" and he has better things to do for a month)....however, he redeems himself by doing all the outdoor lights and decorations...in our extreme Wisconsin weather, so I will cut him a break. Besides, he helps me take everything down after all the festivities are over.
I love the smells, the colors, the sparkle and the transformation of everyday living into a Christmas wonderland. I can't think of another activity that I would rather be doing for a month than creating the wonder and spirit of this precious season of joy.

Saving Flower Seeds

The harvest season at Turnberry Croft lasts well into November
and includes more than fruits and vegetables. When the flower
gardens have succumbed to frost, the time is ripe for gathering the
bounty of seeds from my annuals. This saves money next spring
as the cost of seed seems to rise every year and you get less seed
for your money. With flower beds as large as mine, I need vast quantities
of seed to produce the amount of plants I need.

This fall, I collected seed from my Cosmos, both the single and double,
Burgundy Bachelor Buttons, (the dark maroon color is especially
intriguing) and of course, the old standby of Marigolds, both small
and the taller varieties. Each dead blossom holds a wealth of seed,
so you get hundreds of them (which translates into plants) virtually for
free! I always leave some seed heads for the birds. It's such fun watching them perch o them perch on the spindly stems and feast on something that brings such
beauty beauty into my life and ultimately helps the local wildlife survive the long, harsh harsh winters of Wisconsin .

Halloween Night

Halloween was a great success! A spooky time was had by
by all our trick or treaters.......over one hundred little ghosties
and goblins showed up at my door. The October wind was
howling and the air was as crisp as the fallen leaves scattered
on the ground. The perfect background for the graveyard and
other frightening spectacles awaiting the costumed travelers who
dared to venture out on the scariest night of the year.

My sincere regrets for not posting since July. The garden, harvesting and preserving my vegetables took most of July and August. In September, over Labor Day weekend, I lost one of the closest companions I have ever had. Little Errol, my Maltese, friend and buddy for over 12 years, got suddenly very ill and we had to have him euthanized. I can't describe the devastation, heartache and loneliness I have been feeling ever since. I lost interest in most everything and wasn't sure when I would be able to move on. Then, two weeks later, my cockatiel, Rusty also passed away. He was ill with a terminal liver disease for a couple of months, so we were slightly more prepared for his demise. However, it being so close to Errol's death, it took even more of a toll on my already bruised heart. No joyful barking when I would come home and no cheerful chirps every morning to greet the day.

Finally, when the silence of our wee house became too much to bear, we started on a quest to find a new Maltese friend to share our lives. A house is not a home without an animal friend by my side. And, that brings me to Flynn, the newest member of the croft! Another Maltese, he is now 10 weeks old and has brought fun, laughter and chaos to our lives once again. However, a large portion of my heart remains solely for Errol. Our special bond cannot be broken even though he is no longer with me. Also, Rusty, a gift we gave my mother two years before she passed away and has since been a link to her for me. A complete change in my life, ending one phase, yet beginning another.

A Little Patriotic Crafting

Although I consider summer to be one continuous holiday, there is nothing like the 4th of July, to really give cause for a celebration. I just love everything about throwing a party, the planning, the decorations, the menu for special food and treats, and of course, time spent with family and friends.
To get myself in the mood, I usually like to do a few holiday themed crafts. With the patriotic theme, there are so many ideas and projects that I want to do, it's always hard to pick just one. I have dreams of decorating my entire home and yard with red, white and blue decor for the entire summer. July 4th sneaks upon me so fast, as my gardens take up most of my time, so I have to be content with one or two new items a season. This year, I plan on continuing to work on patriotic projects that can stay out past the actual holiday-themed decorations.
This simple, little pin was the beginning of my creative endeavors this year. I wore it for my Independence Day party and felt quite festive for such a small, easy to make accessory and I can wear it whenever I feel the patriotic spirit.

Wreathmaking

Just decided I needed to decorate some summer wreaths. Took a trip to Michael's Craft Store for some silk flowers and ribbon and got out my glue gun. It's always very satisfying to create something of your own to make your home reflect your personal style. Uniquely yours.

It's Finally Here

Please excuse my absence.........but I have been in the garden! After months of dreaming, planning, longing and infinite (seems like) waiting.......the season is now in full swing. As I have said before, Wisconsin is very fickle with her spring weather. One day can be warm and the next cold and rainy. I'm not even going to mention that there was a June FROST warning!
When the sun shines and it's warm enough, everything needs to be done and done now. Needless to say, I am very busy during May and most of June, digging, planting, weeding, staking, transplanting and generally, loving every minute spent following my dream.
Gardening is so much a part of my life, of who I am and how I feel. I want nothing more than to share this part of me with others, to live in beauty among the flowers and welcome all who enter my world.

Blank Slate

Our Wisconsin springs are unpredictable at best. There are still chances for a frost until the end of May, so, I usually plant my vegetable garden around the Memorial Day holiday. The long winter wait is over and I can finally stop dreaming and start doing!
After the soil is tilled and smoothed out, I relish the "blank slate" situation since it is a new beginning every year. By this time, I have forgotten last year's failures (insect pests, cucumber disease, drought, storms and rabbits) and once again can start fresh with new hope that THIS year I will have the perfect garden.
Realistically, I know there will be things beyond my control that will happen....that's what being a gardener is all about. Learning patience and acceptance, knowing that there will be disappointments as well as successes, these are the things that get me energized to do it all over again. So, you must excuse me now, as Errol (my little dog) and I have some planting to do.

Wonderful Magical May

A merry May Day to all! As a child, I would deliver handmade May baskets to special friends and relatives in our neighborhood. There were always spring violets blooming in my backyard on May 1st, so, I would pick a nosegay and carefully place it in each basket. For my best friend Debbie, I would substitute candy for the flowers. Then, the real fun would begin. My younger sister and I would carefully sneak onto each porch, place the basket on the doorknob, ring the doorbell and run! We had to find a place to hide while we watched the intended recipient being surprised....or feigning surprise. Either way, it was great fun and something I looked forward to doing every year. A tradition I think that I will revive.

Spring??

Spring warmth doesn't come easily in Wisconsin. The majority of days in April are the chilly, wet and mostly grey kind. After a long, cold winter, my soul and heart crave warm breezes, sunshine and days working in my gardens. There are seeds to plant and dead stalks to remove. Luckily, the bunches of daffodils, crocus and hyacinths are spotting the beds with tiny shots of color. Note to self: Plant LOTS more spring bulbs this autumn!

For now, I have to be content to tend to my indoor seedlings and grab every short chance of nice weather to dash outdoors and get my hands dirty. Gardening is bliss.

A wonderful St. Patrick's Day celebration to all.

Crochet Bits

Decided that today I would pick up my "fancy" work. I had started this crocheted Irish Rose Sachet, some time ago, so, after some initial studying of the pattern and determining where I had left off.....why didn't I mark my stopping point?.....I worked a few rows. I enjoy any kind of needlework and find it a creative and soothing way to spend time, not to mention that I end up with a lovely, handmade heirloom to boot!
My Mom and both Grandmothers were avid crocheters. As a child, I would sit and watch their hooks flash through miles of thread and was amazed at the lacy, webbed wonders that grew from their nimble fingers. Finally, after begging her to teach me, Mom showed me the stitches and techniques that make up the crochet repertoire. My awkward, painfully tight stitches were horribly misshapen, the white thread grubby from my sweaty little hands. It took me so long to make even the simplest chain.....I felt certain that I would never be able to coax anything remotely resembling a work of art from my clumsy hook.
Over the years I would try crochet again many times. Slowly, I practiced and became more and more comfortable with the hook and yarn and even turned out a few nice things. My Mom didn't give up on me and she would always be there to answer any questions and help me solve whatever goof I had made. My Mom and my Grandmothers aren't with me anymore. I am fortunate and grateful to have inherited many doilies, afghans and other "pretties" they created during their lifetimes. They grace my home and life with their remembrance and beauty. When I pick up my "fancy" work, I am flooded with memories and a feeling of continuing their legacy. I know that they would approve.

March Gardening

When the calendar says "March", lovely thoughts of spring and warmer weather drift like clouds through my mind. Wisconsin just laughs gleefully and gets ready to throw more below freezing temperatures (and at least one more huge snowstorm) at us desperate dreamers. I am certain that every winter season lingers weeks longer than last year's, sending me deeper into a frenzy of.....Gardening Withdrawal!
The only treatment for this horrid syndrome, the only way I can feel better, is gardening indoors in pots. I hear you laugh.... a poor substitute for the real thing I admit, but it helps me make it through the long, cold, slushy, grey days of everlasting winter, intact.
I am extremely fortunate that my husband heard my pleas for a year-round garden room and we added a greenhouse addition off the kitchen. (Don't ask him why anyone in their right mind would add a glass room to a house in a climate with nine months of winter......his crying gets pretty depressing every month when the heating bill arrives). Here, my much loved sunroom/dining room/greenhouse holds my salvation. My beautiful amaryllis bulbs are blooming right now, and none too soon! It's also time to bring the Angel Trumpets from their winter slumber in the basement, to the light, along with their fellow pots of shamrocks. And, the most fun of all.....it's time to plant seeds for the vegetable patch and bedding plants! Soon, dozens of tiny pots of seedlings will litter the floor and every available surface creating an olympian obstacle course just to get to the dining table. Can life get any better? So, come on Wisconsin, throw me your best snowstorm! I am happily puttering and potting in the warmth of my greenhouse and nothing you (or Wisconsin Power and Light) can do will dampen my enthusiasm!

Birthday Tribute for Errol

Happy 12th Birthday to the best little buddy a girl could ever ask for. You've been continuously by my side (literally) from the moment we brought you home, all 16 ounces of you, a tiny ball of fluff and unbearable cuteness. Born on St. Valentine's day, an appropriate date for a friend who gives love and adoration every day of the year. We bonded immediately and I am ever grateful that fate brought us together in such a serendipitous way. Eager to please and never holding my humanness against me, your feelings are easily hurt (on the rare occasions a little "naughtiness" comes through) and you aren't happy until proper apologies are made on both sides (hugs, pats..... and a nose lick for me). Your royal heritage befits you, and I treasure each and every moment as a gift of love and never ending loyalty........not to mention a whole lotta fun!

Can anyone tell that I am a certifiable dog nut?

Family Treasure

Every now and then, I enjoy a good treasure hunt at one of the many consignment and thrift stores in our town. My tiny little abode is already filled to overflowing, so, I try to find small knick knacky things to add some seasonal or everyday decorating interest. This particular trip was unusually successful--and I plan on sharing the rest of my "finds" in future posts. However, one item was of particular value, in the sentimental sense and as a valuable piece of family history. This particular shop I visited, is always crammed full of goodies, some jumbled in boxes, some in piles, some hidden way under shelves and you have to do a little bit of creative digging to find the buried treasures. Kneeling down onto the floor, I reached under a bottom shelf, to rummage amongst a pile of trays, and found a box of "silver" doo dads. I immediately grabbed a wine bottle coaster since I have been looking for one to buy for my husband. He was standing right beside me and I handed it to him and mentioned that it was engraved. He pointed out to me that the names engraved were the names of my Aunt Ruth and Uncle Ray (both now deceased). He asked me the date of their wedding anniversary and I said that I was certain it was Sept. 19. I couldn't believe my eyes and I couldn't believe that the names and date didn't even register as familiar in my mind! Of course, that was a sale that I absolutely couldn't pass up.....not to mention that it was only a dollar. I brought it home, cleaned it up and will use it every time we open a bottle of wine. Quite a bargain and a serendipitous find, it will forever remain a tangible reminder of two members of my family who aren't with us anymore.

Baking My Bread

Nothing warms a home on a cold winter's day like baking bread. I prefer to make it entirely by hand. I love the smell of yeasty dough and the pleasure of rolling up my sleeves and burying my hands deep in it's sticky midst while kneading, satisfies the frustrated gardener in me. I love to get my hands "dirty". My maternal grandmother, Lena, baked the best bread I have ever tasted. Spending time with her was a great treat for me as a child. She indulged my every wish and made me feel that I was the most precious person in the world... and I adored her.
Having lived most of her life on a farm in (very rural) Missouri, while raising and feeding eight children, food preparation was a normal and necessary focus of her days. Baking everything from scratch was a habit she maintained for the rest of her life....and perfected as an art.
I gladly and eagerly gobbled my way through countless cookies, banana breads, pies, cakes and, best of all, loaves of fresh, soft , crusty, white bread. Did I mention that I washed all these goodies down with my very own cup of coffee? Much to my mother's dismay, Grandma would pour me coffee and I would sit at the table gulping (no ladylike sipping for me!) and feel like one of the grown ups. Turns out Grandma knew best, all my mother's dire predictions that coffee would stunt my growth, turned out to be false. I'm a good five foot six inches tall.
Those memories and experiences have shaped the life I strive to live daily. A life filled with preparing and sharing wonderful foods, home made and home baked with loving hands and a generous, giving heart.

Cabin Fever

It happens every January and lasts well through April. I'm talking major "cabin fever". The snowbanks are as tall as I am and the temperatures fall way below freezing. So goes the climate in Wisconsin. I start out feeling just the tiniest twinge of restlessness and soon it balloons into feeling claustrophobic in my own house. I get cranky and irritable. I try not to have a negative attitude about winter but, each year, when January rolls around, the trapped and closed-in feelings return like clockwork. I'm a person who loves to dig in the dirt, planting seeds and bulbs and watching the magic happen. I love sunshine, warmth and balmy breezes so, why do I live in a climate with a growing season of four months??

To lift my spirits, I am posting a picture of my blooming perennial border in all it's summer glory. For now, I will have to be content with looking at my pictures and dreaming of the new gardening season ahead. I can already smell the heady scent of spring as I dig into the soil.......

Library Day

One of my absolute favorite places on Earth is our Public Library. I visit every three weeks and really look forward to the time I spend there, browsing among the thousands of books, looking for whatever titles pique my interest on a particular day. Today, I am in the mood for gardening books. Our Wisconsin weather has put us in the deep freeze for the past couple of days, closing schools and keeping everyone indoors because of the dangerous wind chills. (-25 degrees F below zero!) The snow and cold have driven me to get a breath of spring...so gardening books it is!

I remember the day I first got my library card. It was registration day for second grade elementary school. On the way home, my mother stopped at a huge, grey building and said that it was time for me to get a library card. I remember stepping from the sunlight into the cool, dim, interior and being enveloped in the wonderful , quiet world of the library and books. Even the smell was delicious...paper and ink, wooden tables and dusty tomes. I was smitten.

I picked out two books, one about cowboys and another about a small Chinese boy called Little Pear. I carefully and proudly signed my name on my brand new card and as we left, I asked my Mom why she hadn't paid the librarian for my books. She explained that I was borrowing the books and I had to bring them back. They didn't charge money to borrow their books.

I thought that the library was the greatest invention anyone could have come up with, free books all the time!

So, began my life-long love affair with books and reading. No matter what age I am, or how many times I have been to the library, the anticipation is still the same. I can't wait to get there and when I leave, I am eager to delve into the new pile I bring home....such richness!

So, I will log off for now.....I have some reading to do!

A Brand New Year

Every January, I like to take stock of where my life has been, where it is now, and where I want it to be as I ease into another new year. 2009, promises to hold economic and personal challenges as my husband has lost his job in the auto industry after 33 years.

Changes in life's direction are inevitable, and not always welcome but, I hope to take this loss and turn it into an opportunity to explore new ways of living. I'm not a great advocate of conventional methods anyway. I would rather use my imagination and creativity to craft a life uniquely my own, to reflect my beliefs and interests. So, I never make New Year's resolutions. I know where I am going but, the detours thrown my way will slow down navigation and hopefully take me on the path of new adventures I may have missed otherwise.