Oh How I love Wooden Things

Show and Tell

Somewhere over time I have found it in my heart to fall in love with wooden things.  My knees grow weak when I spot a wooden spoon.  I love them even more if they have age and need a new home to call their own.  I try to imagine what their old life looked like, some had been hand carved and are really just bare bones in their construction.  I think those ones are my favorite, rustic beauty!

My family teases me in my silly wood fetish.  They wonder how many spoons one woman could need.  How many old rolling pins should one try to acquire?  Still they all reach into the drawer or jar (given to me by my oldest son as a gift) to get the one that feels just right in their hand.

On a recent trip my oldest son also came home with a stick that had the perfect shape to be coaxed into a handmade spoon.  He works on it as the spirit moves him, slowly it is revealing what was hidden for so long; it's need to be a ladle/spoon!  She isn't ready to be revealed quite yet, but her day will dawn here in a post soon enough.

The gift of trees bring me joy.  Just a small thing really, but I think simple pleasures are often the best.

A Simple Touch of Home

We have a pot of water simmering on the stove. Into this post I have added, a handful of whole cloves, a whole cinnamon stick broken in half, the peels left over from the oranges we ate for snack.

Left to simmer with a watchful eye, as it is necessary to occasionally add a bit more water to the pan.

The house smells so yummy. Let's go sit in the living room and read a good book together!

Forcing forsythias

Come the end of January, many of us New Englander's are desperate for spring. We are sick of the long, dark, cold days and deeply ache for signs of spring. I spotted robins in town shortly after Princess Mercy arrived home...surely it was a sign that winter was soon to end.

While visiting me mum on her little patch of heaven, she graciously offered me some of her forsythia branches that grew in the field near the cows pasture. Her grandbabies all ran outside, happy for the visit to the cow pasture, to see some of their favorite cow friends. I grabbed my camera and shot a few moments of outside, as they are rare for me here in winter. (brrrrr)

Me mum clipped a good armful and then I carted them home in Katrinka our tank. I placed them into a vase filled with fresh water and patiently awaited their lovely yellow show that they'd soon offer us. Every few days I refreshed their water and then brilliantly their show began.

I guess I am sharing this because 3 of my girlfriends came over, they were all surprised that they were 'REAL' forsythias in full bloom. None of them knew you could cut them, bring them in, and force them to bloom. Silly me, I thought all mums taught such things. I forget that not everyones mum is a Master Gardener.

So, give it a try...you can force other spring blooming branches too, some require a longer wait, but apple blossoms and crab apple blossoms can really display their beauty magnificently too. I haven't tried my pink weigela, but that might be worth the go, while I wait for them to come into bloom outdoors.

Only 3 more days until spring officially arrives...awwhhh, I am going to SHouT for JOY!

Show and Tell

Today is Show and Tell Friday over at Kelli's ...come join the fun!

My treasure is actually the manger that this antique baby doll is laying in. We use it as Jesus' manger Christmas morning in our barn. My father was a welder and the base of this is made of wrought iron.

My Hungarian father, Laszlo, also etched the wood to make a pattern into its sides, kind of a criss-cross pattern. When I was a wee lass, my parents used this as a flower planter. My father learned welding from his father, who was the village blacksmith. My father created many beautiful things in his life time with iron, though I only have a few of them. Truly he was an artist and walked in the creativity that God gifted him with.

I lost my father 17 years ago, so I treasure this piece of him. I only use it for our Christmas celebration of our Savior's birth, as I am sure if I continued to fill it with soil and water that it would not last too long. It is a simple wooden planter, but honestly it is one of the things that is greatly precious to me, as is the Lord of my life-Jesus.

Show and Tell...the nitty gritty look inside

He is a nosy little kitten, probably wondering where I stashed his wee baby bottle. (yes, I am still dropper feeding him. Yes, he is 5 months old. I know, but he is my 'hairy baby,' until God sends me a human one. You should probably "up" your prayers for me ;-)

I guess I must be VERY sick, as I actually thought this was a great idea for a post. Something tells me that it probably is less exciting than I think, but I so think that you can tell a great deal of someone by looking at what they eat and into their home. Mind you, I was sick about 2 weeks and this is one of our two refrigerators (the kitchen one), so it is a little sparse on fruits and veggies, which is a huge staple to our diets. But, eh, have a peak around at what a family of 8 eats.

The reason I started snapping pictures into my freezer was that I had never seen it so empty. With me not shopping for 3 full weeks, beside one stop at a gas station -on the way home from a drop off to dance class-I grabbed a jug of whole milk. My Knight thought I was strange, but eh, he married me, so he probably had a clue about that revelation a while back, right?

25 lbs of cranberry granola (food co-op)

I normally shop at Sam's Club (a warehouse food club), a big trip every month, with smaller trips weekly. I also belong to a food co-op, where I order $200-$300 worth of yummy natural foods once a month. (with a pick-up off the 18 wheeler on Saturdays...HEY, while I got your attention can you join me in praying the Co-op off of Saturday! We got moved by the company 4 months ago and we all are miserable!)

This is not very neat, but in reality, sometimes junk like this happens. With the best of intentions to be orderly, well sometimes it slips by me and becomes 'life on the edge of chaos.' It could be worse, right?

When God sent us the 3 wee ones last year, it forced us into the realization that one refrigerator was no longer sufficient. So now we have a second (free-cycled) in the garage, along with a full stand-up freezer.

Yes, that is a lot of food, just the way I like it.

I have to admit, that the very next day we went to Sam's Club and we spent $446.90, our highest shopping trip ever! Not sure if I was desperate to get out of the house, after being sick so long, or if we just really ran low on everything? Hmm, how's your fridge looking?

Welcome to Show and Tell Friday~my talented friend Kelli has come up with this great way of us getting to know each other better, at the close of our week. Head over to her place, get the details and join in the fun.

Psalm 46:1

This old picture hangs above our mantle in the room we call the study. It has been part of our home since our oldest was a preschooler, so about 12 years. We bought it in the same town as last week's show and tell~(Newport, Rhode Island), while vacationing with some dear friends. It was tucked away at the back of this huge antique shop. It was very dusty, but upon seeing it, I knew it has to come home with us. It is in its original frame and it appears to be from the early 1900's. I think it was about $30.00- pretty cheap I think.

Looking back, we did many a long weekend in Newport. You see we hadn't a lot of money and it was only several hours away. We could go and poke around vintage shops, coffee shops, walk around the boardwalk area and all the touristy little shops in downtown, without spending much more than gas money. Our friends were in similar situations, so it was an easy match. These friends later became family, as one of them married my baby brother. (my one match making success, I am now out of business!)

If you were a guest at my house and came to our front door, this is the first thing you'd see upon putting your feet into our front hall. How true that God is our refuge and strength today and tomorrow. I hope you can say the same.

There is another picture of this mantle in yesterdays posting about my day out to tea with my sweet mother in law if you want a better idea of how it looks above my mantle.

Show and Tell a day late...

Somehow Friday got away from me....but Kelli is hosting her Show and Tell Friday and has graciously invited all of us to join the fun. Swing by her place and pick up the details for Show and Tell Friday.

I have had this cupboard since early marriage (I've been married for 21 years...so probably 19 years it has been hanging around here.) We found it in a thrift shop in Rhode Island. We were on a weekend getaway and had filled our weekend with vintage shops, thrift stores and good eats. Not too much of this going on now, but back to the 'telling,' it was hand painted and just screamed buy me. It was very inexpensive and a treasure to my heart, though I think I am the only one who enjoys it here.

I didn't get a good shot of the top, but it was faux marbled (way before faux painting had been popular I think.) I have a hard time thinking that something that must have taken so much time and effort could be discarded, but guess it was no longer needed?

Inside 'her' belly is my stash of,'to read books.' Since we adopted our wee three ones (a sibling group through foster care) I haven't had as much reading time-but the stash remains happy in the waiting area for now.

This is a devotional book I love and highly recommend.

Yup, a lot of good reads, some of these are actually my Knights guess he likes the cupboard more than I thought ;-)

Cheers!

Show and Tell Friday!

My friend Kelli, at There is No Place Like Home, is hosting her weekly Friday, Show and Tell. She has invited everyone to join in the fun, in sharing something from your home or garden with rest of us.

Today I am sharing a decoupaged suitcase I finished over the summer. My son's are using it on their dresser to catch all the lonely socks. I love how it came out-it began as a 70's suitcase set that I picked up at a thrift shop for a few dollars. I chopped some vintage children's books that I picked up in my travels and adhered them with some Modge Podge glue, finishing off with a couple of coatings of varnish to shine it up! They have a second one under their bed to hold their tiny little shoes and another small case awaits in the garage, as I found it 2 weeks ago and it told me it so badly wanted a make over!

Have fun...hope you join the fun.