A visit with 'the girls'

A photo collage of my visit to The Primitive Heart store in St. George, Ontario last Friday with my friend, Joy. When we arrived, the owner of the store, Christine was outdoors with her 'girls', Henny Penny, Miss Mabel, Florence and Trixie.

Before going into the shop to browse all the goodies, we watched the girls make their way around the yard and I followed them as they clucked their way through the carpet of forget-me-nots. Such a pretty setting!

Bonne Maman

A few nights ago, I was sorting through magazine clippings to add to my 3-ring-binder when I came across this article from the British Christmas issue of Country Living magazine. (No, don't panic, it is Easter and I'm just mentioning Christmas in passing - Happy Easter to all).

I was mesmerized by the photographs of the different ways readers had used the empty Bonne Maman jars for storage. Here are some of the clipping photographs.
I was wishing I was in England or France so I could enjoy some Bonne Maman preserves and start my own collection of cute jars. We went out for dinner the next day and browsed through the nearby supermarket on our way home. Quelle surprise! There was a display of Bonne Maman jams right before my eyes!
The Fig Jam jumped into my cart and came home with me. Tres delicieux! Now I need to go back and buy more flavours to get my collection going.

... more Kitchen Photos

Just a couple more photos to share ...

Kitchen - Before & After

Finally, after 2 or 3 years of dithering (and being encouraged and prodded along by a friend - thanks, Andrew!) we chose a granite countertop to replace the ceramic tile counters that were in the kitchen when we moved in over 20 years ago. The update feels fresh and we like the look - hope you do too!
There are only a couple of AFTER photos because we weren't happy with any of the pictures that we took. It sure makes me appreciate photo-stylists who do magazine layouts! I'll take another batch of photos later this week.

The Charm House - What I Collect

Today, I'm posting one of my collections to join The Charm House's party. I buy and sell vintage items and have sold a number of thimbles over the years but couldn't bring myself to part with these ones. Look at that cute little one!

Another view of the thimbles for you here.

My Daybook - February 25th

I am participating in Peggy's Simple Woman's Daybook today.

~For Today~
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Outside My Window...
the sun is shining and the sky is bright blue

I am thinking...
that I don't blog often enough

I am thankful for...
morning coffee with cream


From the kitchen...
Wednesday~Hot Beef Sandwiches with gravy, mashed potatoes and green peas
Thursday~No cooking, I'll be at work all day.


I am wearing...
flannel nightgown and housecoat and wool socks - charming!

I am creating...
"inchies" at Bizzy B stamping class tonight!

I am reading...
That Summer in Sicily - M. de Blasi

I am hoping...
to sift through and let go of surplus kitchen stuff

I am hearing...
the old pendulum clock ticking

Around the house...
are a few loads of laundry to finish and a kitchen floor to mop.

One of my favorite things...
petting my cat - I have two but only one of them lets me pet him. Well, the other one might let me for a minute, but there's a chance he'll decide he's had enough and without warning, he'll bite and scratch.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:
Really looking forward to my class tonight!

Here is a picture that I am sharing...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, I'm very pleased to have finally made something in my new attic space! This top Valentine tag is the one I made for my daughter. She loves the colour pink!

This bottom tag, I made for my son - it was the first one I made and I tried to make it look less pink and girl-y by adding the music notes. I mailed it off to the west coast earlier this week and am hoping it arrived in time for today.

These are some of my first efforts at making tags and I hope my layouts improve as I get more experience. It's new to me to be designing as I go along with no idea how things will turn out. the process is fun even though a bit nerve-wracking!

Can any of you experienced creative readers tell me if it's normal to be afraid of creating a dud?