Happy Leap Year Day

Thrift Finds

I don't usually mention the little things I find at thrift shops and yard sales. Oh yeah that's right --Duh --- maybe it's because I have not even been to a thrift shop or yard sale since I started this blog January 1st. It's always fun to read what others pick up as treasures. I enjoy reading that kind of blogging stuff so much that I couldn't wait until it was my turn to go thrifting. Today was my day.
I went to the ATM took out $20. Spent almost $15 for the stuff you see. Saved $5 in my piggy bank and helped our local hospital! I wouldn't exactly call this odd ball lot treasure...but it was fun to look for and I'm happy with my finds. Afterall, the real thrill is in the hunt.
I know a certain somebody who will read this and laugh because she gets so much more than this and pays absolutely NOTHING! She takes a few items to donate to the swap shop at her local dump and comes home with things that would make your eyes pop open. She just always seems to be in the right place at the right time. You know who you are don't you? She's even had people handing things to her, God Bless Ya.

This is what the cat dragged in today ----

1. A big red photo album. I like it because it has slots to slide the pictures in and anything that can help me organize is welcome.

2. A never been used colorful terry dish towel. It's not for my dishes though. This will be going out to my shed. Can you see the picture on the right of my clothesline? That's my shed behind it.... my hang out

3. A package of 4 plastic plates more like platters giving the directions on how to eat lobster. I personally don't like to eat lobster but my father in law does. The past 2 years we've presented him with a big lobster on his birthday. He has Parkinson's disease and the pills he takes makes him very forgetful. He realizes this and might get an extra smile when he sees these plates with his lobster next birthday. (Lord willing)

4. I'm not sure what this thing is but it is pretty and I'll use it to slice cheese on. It's a maroon colored flat dish, much like a tile but with a little foot and it's a bit curved.

5. A made in Japan toothpick barrell.

6. A little vintage table cloth with a red hand crocheted border. It's very sweet.

7. A bowl that says ...Have A Great Day

8. Last but not least. That gorgeous blue wool sweater.

***

That was this morning. Since then, I have deconstructed the wool sweater and washed it with my jeans in the washing machine with hot soapy Dawn dish liquid. Then I dried them in the clothes dryer with hot air. It shrunk up nicely and is now nestled in my wool stash where it will sit forever and a day until the Spirit moves me.

Like the bowl says...HAVE A GREAT DAY! xoxo~Elaine

Say No to Mud

These are pictures of last spring in my backyard.

A little while ago I got a magazine in the mail and I was meaning to share a little of it with you. It's called Birds and Blooms. It only comes out every other month so I'm constantly going to my back issues for my garden fixes. I love looking at gardens. Flowers make me happy. I have shelves of gardening books and magazines. I can never get bored with anything in nature.

Living in New England has advantages and disadvantages when it comes to keeping a garden.

Sometimes after a long cold winter we're over anxious to get out and get things started.

I would just like to pass on this bit of info for any impatient gardeners out there reading this.

This wisdom holds true no matter where you live.

I'll write it here for those that can't read the picture.

Working soil that is too wet can actually cause long term damage.

Squeeze a handful of soil --- if it crumbles through your fingers, you're ready to garden.
Otherwise give it a few days to dry.

xox ~Elaine

Youth Bed

My Son's Youth Bed

It's a crib mattress fitted to a youth bed. It's Xavier's "birthday bed". He got it almost 2 years ago on his 4th birthday, but mostly my grandson who is 18 months younger takes his naps here. Xavier always ends up in my bed. (that's another subject!) Last night after I put him to bed I noticed the poor kid's feet were dangling out the bottom rails.

I've been contemplating the idea of getting bunkbeds for the 2 of them, maybe that will keep Xavier out of my bed at night. As you can see by the way he's growing...something must be done quick! I'm a little afraid of bunkbeds but it really is the solution to a problem we have with a shortage of floor space. Even a trundle bed requires more space then we have available.

As my dear Mother used to say..."When my ship comes in!"

Flowers

You know I love Love. I am such a romantic and Valentine's Day has always been celebrated around this house. We visited Nana and Grandpa, exchanged valentines, had a toast with bubbly, ate some chocolate, looked at pictures, smiled, hugged, laughed, came home, made tacos and went to bed.

I appreciate your visit, thank-you. xox ~Elaine

Happy Valentine's Day to You

Xavier was busy signing his Spiderman Valentines. They came with tattoos but not candy. We scotch taped a Hershey kiss to each card. The home made valentine above is from Emma when she was in grade school. I've had it hanging in my room since she presented it to me years ago.
This is one of my most favorite days. I'll post more soon. I just didn't want to miss out wishing you all a wonderful day today.
Spread the Love!
XOX
Happy Valentine's Day!~Elaine

Nature's Candy III

The fruit is a hit. If this were a race with apples vying against oranges, the apples would be winning. Nothing will waste and that was my main concern. Just for the record I've posted what kind of apples and oranges these are. Oranges can be very tricky to pick out. I hope this link will help you to choose a good one. Always run fruit under the tap and give the skins a good rinse and rub.
(of course you do)
Empire Apples and California Naval Oranges.

Independent

Today p'nut butter and crackers tomorrow ... the car.

Xavier has been making his own snacks for a long time. But today as I watched him break each cracker with precision and hold the knife like an artist painting a masterpiece I had to grab the camera. Having this blog is a good thing because I usually wouldn't even think of getting a camera for little moments like this. And it's exactly all the little moments like this that make up the days and weeks and months and years that slip right by without a camera to witness. The little moments that we forget but that are certainly worthy of remembrance. Like the feeling inside you when you break a graham cracker right on the dotted line and it doesn't shatter to pieces.

Nature's Candy Part II

Nature's Candy

I know, I know...it's another dark grainy picture. But if I let that get in my way of being here then I just might not get here at all. I'm aware that good pics are like eye candy. Well....? This is about nature's candy...fruit. I took this picture in the middle of the night, because I wanted to show you the blob of fruit there. Ordinarily we keep a few pieces of fruit around at a time. We usually put the fruit in the glass fruit bowl up in the open window. Don't worry when you see curtains above those candlesticks. I would never light them up while they are on the shelf there. They come down to the table for dinner and the go back up and out of the way.
So today when I was shopping for fruit I bought a bag of apples, a bag of oranges and 3 bananas. Now the test begins. Will my tribe see all this fruit and let it sit there to waste? Or will they eat it up promptly as I do hope they will? That remains to be seen. I purposely avoided buying O.J. and I'll put the orange squeezer on the table to encourage squeezing.
Guess what? I never did get those needle felted Madonna's finished. Plus the little chickadee jumping rope skipped to Etsy only for a few days and then I made her an outfit and moved her over to ebay. She's priced at 99 cents and she's getting her fair share of rejection too. There's not a lot of people that want a jump roping chickadee. Gee..I don't know why.
If she doesn't sell...it will be back to etsy for her. Instead of my shop being called Feel mY Felt..I should have called it the wool museum. I'm only kidding. I rank myself down all the time. I think I may have been raised to be like this. I don't know. I don't want sympathy just understanding.
I feel like sprucing this blog up a little. I need to add a list of the inspiring blogs I love to visit. There are so many wonderful ones out there. I find myself becoming more and more drawn to certain types of blogs. For example, there's this one blog that I check in on everyday. She never makes a new entry because she's taking a break. She tells us that but I keep haunting the place hoping for her to come back and I don't even know her! Click here
Maybe I'm like that on your blog too! Thanks for the visit.