My Everything Corner

My Husband knows me.  He knows me very well.  He not only bought me the best knives I've ever had the pleasure of using, he bought me jewelry for the kitchen.  Have you ever seen more beautiful knives!? They are made by Shun which is owned by the Japanese company Kai.  I won't bore you with all the wonderfully, interesting details of how these are manufactured.  I will tell you that they are sharp!!!  Sharp far past the point of being dangerous.  I had barely cleaned up the mess in the living room after unwrapping our gifts, when I headed to the kitchen to see what I could chop up.  Celery, lemons and potatoes all met a useless end so that I could see what these knives were capable of.  To make a long story short, I now understand how they can do what they do with knives on TV.  My old Victorinox knives from cooking school will still be upkept and used to train my kidlets in the kitchen, and I won't lie, I will have a hard time letting ...

Waking up to snow on Sunday morning was nice, but waking up to a thick hoar frost this morning was wonderful. Before Halloween was over the leaves had already lost their colour for some time, and all that was left for cheeriness out there was the bright orange of the jack o' lanterns.  But with the freezing nights and the warm days, they quickly rot and I had to haul the seventy or so personalities to the compost pile.  A sad moment indeed, and I already find myself looking forward to next year and searching out seeds for different varieties to grow.  Anyway, back to the snow, and the overnight change in seasons which put me in a very surreal and calm place.  With the yardwork done for the next five months, (minus the snow removal), I feel like I can really get back into my  hobbies.  Cooking and baking bring a new satisfaction and eating those preserves I worked so hard on through late summer is now paying off.  Throughout the spring, summe...

The little kitten we rescued from the wild has taken to her new home so well, you would never know she was brought up wild.  She loves to play with Junior, my 18 year black male, and he has accepted her into the family without question.  Here he is giving her a bath, and she only complains when he pays too much attention to her nether regions.  It took quite a bit of debating on a name for our new, little kitty, but we finally settled on 'Georgia Winifred', and we've been calling her Georgie for short.  No one escapes a nickname in this house, and I'm sure, with her strong character, she will earn many. JuJu (Junior-the black one), has been having to put up with being chased continuously.  Anytime he decides to  go for a walk, she is relentlessly at his heals, playfully nipping at his paws and backside and jumping for his tail.   If JJ gets tired of it, he jumps on a windowsill, and she looks up at him with eyes that say, "Now...

On September 1st, while doing some yard clean-up, we came across a Mama kitty and here litter of 3.  We promptly set up a proper shelter for them and brought Mama some food and water.  By the next morning she had moved herself and the week or so old kittens to a place we couldn't find. We just kept taking food out, and it kept disappearing.  Curious as to who I was feeding, I put the food on the deck, and sure enough, Mama showed up.  Twice a day, everyday, she enjoys her meals on the deck under the picture window in my dining room.  But, we can not get close to her.  She will sit about 5 feet away, and if you take one step nearer, she bolts.  Hopefully, in time, this will change. After about a month, I really started looking for the place she was hiding her litter.  For feral cats, 6 to 7 weeks is not too early to intervene.  But I had no luck.  Then, yesterday morning, while blogging actually, I heard a terrible cry from outs...

There have been so many pictures online of beautiful, inspiring front porches decorated for the season that I thought I ought to share mine. I have this gorgeous set of iron planters that I always have something going on in. This fall it is chrysanthemums in the perfect autumn colours, homegrown pumpkins, gourds, and corn. There is a wreath made from Engelmens Ivy and a few handmade brooms I threw together with caragana branches, twigs and grass. On the other side are my set of black, basket weave planters.  They contain another chrysanthemum, poplar brances, corn stalks, cattail grass and a couple of super cute gifts from my sister.   She gave me that little ghost solar lantern and, look closely, there is a crow she created from corn husks.   I have no idea how she did this, but I plan on going out for a lesson.  I also had a couple of pumpkins that lost their stems, and so they have been stacked and topped with a gourd, that apparently is ...

Here is a scattering of things going on in my house right now.  Any pumpkins that were ripe, (and a few that were not) have found their way to various locations inside the house.  They are in piles on the floor near cabinets and the front door.  They are lining the staircase and the half wall, and a few have found their way onto pedestals and window sills.  Yay, I actually have deep window sills in my new house!  There are still about 80 greenish turning orangish ones on pallets in the garage. There are several clusters of grapevine pumpkins, (not all shown) and there are the ones I have crocheted while watching many a movie.  There are also metal pumpkins and mini pumpkins on vines (putka pods), and pumpkins in paintings on the wall, (also not shown). The wooden signs that say 'Trick or Treat' and "Happy Halloween' along with the countdown to Halloween blocks, I created this past week. There is an antique, glass jug which my sister gave me last week, and i...

Open the front door to my house, and you are greeted by a large landing with 13 foot ceilings.  There is a mudroom/laundry room at the end, across from the entry, directly to your right is a large, 4 step up, curved set of stairs up into the kitchen/dining area, and to your left is a double set of closets.  Mainly, there is a lot of room for decorating.  This is just one of the pieces I have down there now.  It is an antique (circa 1940) wash stand that my sister picked up for me at an auction.  It will always be decorated for the season.  Here is what I did for Halloween.  The little sign hangs from what would have been used for towels, and I have a garland strung across and hanging down the side.  The bowls currently contain black licorice, black and orange gummy worms, and the big bowl is holding a mixture of autumn coloured candy.  I've had to refill these twice in 2 weeks, and I've been able to keep my freezer stash of goodies just...

Meet Jared, my 6 year old boy, a tumbling ball of energy.  I've yet to meet a Mother of a little boy who cannot relate to me. His most frequent question is,"Mommy, can I climb this?".  His second favourite is, "Mommy, can I hit this with that?".  His third, and this is what makes up for all the rest, is, "Mommy, can I have a kiss and a hug?".  Well, at least I don't have to say no all the time. Creative, imaginative, energetic, and my favourite, snuggly, are all words that perfectly describe my little guy.  My daughter was the poster girl for independence, never wanting to be held, let alone snuggled, so since this wee creature entered my life 6 years ago, well, let's just say, I've yet to have a snuggle-free day.  Works for me, as I've always been a snuggler and it drove me crazy when I learnt that my first baby (girl) just needed to be put down to stop crying. I miss the days of having a tiny baby in my arms, and even though my kids a...

Serveral years ago, I received a garden swing for Mother's Day.  It has been one of my favourite features in the yard ever since. In our Cold Lake yard, it moved around constantly, but out here, I put it under a maple in the northeast corner, and it must be the perfect spot, for it hasn't moved in 3 months.    The canopy, weakened by the sun and damaged by the wind, is better left off anyway.   It is very natural to just lay back and look upward into the branches of this beautiful, old maple. My kids, especially my son, love the swing.  He loves to lay it out flat and lie down on his tummy with his nose aimed toward the ground.  He then swings himself while watching the ground move back and forth, back and forth, for what seems an impossible amount of time.  It must be very hypnotizing, because he is always in a very relaxed state after he has treated himself with a bit of motion from the...

The majority of our yard spans in front of the house, south, and to the west.  We have a lot of trees, most of which are very young.  The ones you are seeing in the foreground are Giant Leaf Poplar, (whose leaves sound like rain), and Lilac.   I'm not sure what the variety is, but they bloom a light pink.  There are also Green Ash, Willow, Larch and some little Spruce trees, all planted in neat rows to eventually shelter the yard from the main grid.  In the background, the trees are mature and with exception of the large spruce to the east of the house, are growing in the wild.  There are mostly maples, poplar, and warrior caragana.  But there are some wild roses, chokecherry and saskatoon bushes as well.  So far, it looks as though everyone has yellow folliage for the season.  I would really like to see more reds, so I'm going to find a way to work in some different specimens to break it up a bit.  There are cherry trees in th...

"I can fly!', are not  words any Mother wants to hear from her young child.  But when they've spent 3 days working on a flight suit that they hope will make them airborne, one hopes that they will achieve at least a slight lift off. My 8, almost 9 year old daughter, Kaitlynn has always had a strong, vivid imagination and a drive to create.  She is constantly coming up with new ideas, and actually, a lot of them have worked.  So when she came to me with her paper feather suit and asked me, "Mommy, tell me honestly.  Do you think I'll be able to fly with this suit?"  I have to admit, I was a bit stumped as to what my answer should be.  Should I be honest and tell her exactly what was going to happen?  Or should I falsely encourage her and tell her to jump off the roof?  I decided to walk the middle ground and said something to the effect of, "I think you might need a few more feathers and a stronger support for those feathers, but go play ...

After a very rainy couple of days, on September 1, the kids were very excited to start school.  My sister, Auntie Lynn, is their bus driver, as well as the school cook. Two of her children are on the bus, and the kids just think this is a fabulous connection to have.   There are only 30 plus children in the entire grades K-8 school, and only 3 classrooms.  Grades K, 1 and 2 are together, grades 3, 4, and 5 are mixed and then the grade 6, 7 and 8's make up the last class. Their old school had about 70 kids in one grade alone and they were separated into 3 classrooms.  So this is a huge change.  But they are adjusting very well, and have even told me that they really prefer this school to their last.  Nearly 3 weeks has passed since their first day, and they are feeling right at home.  Their bus ride is even shorter out here than it was in Cold Lake.  A total of 35 minutes a day was shaved off their daily riding time.  So much fo...

It was fun to watch how our yard handled a half inch of rain in a little under a half hour.  When planning our landscaping, it is essential we know what rainwater does.  In our case, we're lucky.  The water all flows a nice distance away from the shop and the house, through a nice little ravine in the grass across the driveway and into the ditch.  The only thing that needs attention is the driveway.  We cannot change where the water goes, but we can change how fast it drains.  We don't need a massive mud puddle in our driveway for days after a rain, although my kids would disagree. As for that natural ravine in the grass, I can easily envision a dry river bed running from the driveway, all the way down to the ditch.  How many years will that take me to do?  A few I think.  I've already started eyeing up a few rock piles from which to start my harvest.  We are currently working on building our garden shed.  A much needed building in...

The threat of an early frost had us fleeing to the pumpkin patch to save our crop. We came home after enjoying a supper with relatives and after being given some serious advice, we were out there with flashlights unil about 8pm (yes, it is getting dark that early already), saving all that we could find. There were only about 6 plants all together, but the patch grew massive, bearing nearly 100 fruit. We took off about 75, and left the small ones to weather the storm. We did not get a frost that night and that was over a week ago. Upon closer inspection in the daylight, we have found at least another 25 pumpkins and squash. We will let them grow until the threat of the next frost and then in they will come. The morning after picking was spent washing each individual with a bleach solution, and then placing them in their own space (not touching their neighbors) on wooden pallets. Now, hopefully, they will last to be carved for Halloween. To date, the most pumpkins we'...

There is nothing like a wide open space to encourage kids to play outside. My kids have always loved the outdoors, but since we've moved out here, they've at least tripled their time outdoors. Between the snake nest, the salamander crossing and the froggy patch, they are always on some sort of adventure, exploring and collecting. Not long after we moved in, we added bicycling to our repertoire of things to do outdoors. Within minutes Jared was off his training wheels, and my daughter wasn't far behind. Now we all ride together. Our favourite road runs just east of our place. It is quiet and there is a large water feature about a mile down where we love to watch the ducks swim and flap around. It is still very green here, but soon will be my favourite time of year to be outdoors. Once the colours start to change and the leaves start to cover the road and once I need a sweater to be comfortable outside and it gets dark early enough to enjoy the stars again. Th...

After nearly 14 years of living in town, (our entire marriage) we are moving to a 10 acre parcel in the country. Currently in Cold Lake, Alberta, the move will take us over 700 kilometers Southeast to near a little town along Highway 16 called Theodore. The nearest center is Yorkton, Saskatchewan with a population of just over 16,000, not that much different from where we are now at just over 13,000. So what would take us there? Family. We were both born and raised on farms, within 8 miles of each other. My Husband intends to continue working his current camp job,(week in and week out) and help out his Father and brother on their large, 17 quarter section grain farm. The ultimate goal is to retire into the farm. The photo is of my two little ones, now 5 and 8 years old, exploring what will be their new yard by the end of this month. Most of that water has dried up already, but we know what we have to look forward to in the Spring. Not only are they excited about the new open yard, but ...

This one, I first read this morning on a blog I follow, " Artful Living on the Bluff ". Out of the entire, lovely collection, this one stood out the most. I am definitely guilty of not staying focused. I find it very easy to jump around from idea to idea, constantly trying new things, with very little, or no focus on any one thing. "People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully." - Steve Jobs Another favourite... "And the time came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." - Anais Nin This one came to me at a time when I had to make certain decisions and changes in the way I dealt with loved ones. When you believe that a choice could hurt someone, even it seems best for everyone involved, it is very difficult to get past blaming yourself for...

All winter I dream of flowers, and with my birthday being in March, when my daydreams are at their brightest, I receive the most beautiful bouquets. This one has iris, gerbera daisy, spider mums, alstroemeria and all kinds of unique filler, my favourite being that grass. I'm not sure what it is called, but it brings an exotic, romantic look to the bouquet that received a lot of compliments from my visitors. Now, with Spring just around the corner, my daydreams of flowers can evolve slowly to a reality as all my perennials start to poke their heads out of the ground. Just yesterday, I noticed the first bloom in the garden. Only an inch from the ground, and in the palest of lavenders, was the first viola. In another month, being from the bravest of seeds, she will be the largest viola in the garden, with the most blooms, and if I'm diligent about deadheading, she will continue to bloom well through July. Spring is long overdue in my books, and on chilly, cloudy mornings like thi...

A calico with multiple personalities and a criticizing stare, Sarah is my cat, or she was up until fairly recently, when she suddenly turned into an animal I barely recognized. She has never been an easy animal to take care of, or even to love for that matter. She's always had her own set of problems and attitudes, and she has never been too shy to let us know about them. It all started when my Husband and I had to stop in at the local pet shop for a few supplies. Here was this very large cage with this very small kitten huddled up in a corner, and she watched our every move. She was the last of her litter that was brought in only a few days before. Sensing her dejection, we decided to take her home and give our only cat a sister. At the time, I had been missing a quirky friend of mine from college, and decided very easily that this would be my new, little friend's name. Once home, it took Sarah a bit of effort to work her way into the heart of my other cat, Junior, (an entire...

Here is a collection I put together for a team I support on Etsy. A lovely collection that got more attention than most of my other ones. Although I am quite happy with the number of views and comments, I thought I should elaborate on just the type of drama I'm talking about. I have a true distaste for the drama that so many people unconciously create in their lives. That is, that soap opera type stuff. Not that I'm an innocent in this category, far from it. I've done my fair share of wave making for no apparent reason. Having now spent quite a few years on working it out of my system, I have been leading quite a calm, some would say dull life. Not to say that I don't have a long way to go, but I have managed to transform a portion of the energy that I used to spend upsetting myself, and so many others around me, into creativity. You'll still find plenty of drama surrounding me in the form of art, paintings, music, pottery, jewelry, really just about anythi...

The main problem with collecting is that it is way too much fun. The second issue is finding a place for said collection, or in my case collections. There are probably a half dozen other reasons why collecting is a con, but oh well, there it is, I'm a collector. The brooch in the photo was slated for my shop on Etsy. But I wanted to price it very high, too high, a very good sign that one does not truly want to sell something. So, of course, it ended up finding a special place in my ever growing collection of jewelry. As a matter if fact, I picked up a small apothecary chest last week to start organizing it all. Much better than a traditional jewelry box, the chest consists of many little drawers that I can further organize with little boxes. It is working out wonderfully. The only problem is, I think I need another chest, or I will soon. So, there is another problem, one collection inevitably leads to anther. In this case, a jewelry collection is leading into a furniture...

This absolutely fabulous piece of art was done by Ester Orloff of E Makes Art , and I was lucky enough to win it. During the One World One Heart blogging event, organized by Lisa Swifka , hundreds of bloggers chose something, usually their own creations, to giveaway. Then all we had to do was spend a bit of time blog hopping around the world, leaving comments for all the wonderful bloggers and artists out there. At the end, we just chose a random number out of our hundreds of comments, and Voila!, a winner! Anyway, more about Esther - she is a stay at home Mom, and a talented artist who loves mixed media, photography, and even making the occasional piece of jewelry. All of her work is beautiful, and if I had to chose one word to describe her pieces, it would be 'calming'. Here are some samples of her jewelry . Truly unique and wonderful pieces. Click here to see one of my other favourite pieces, besides the one I won, of course. Take a bit of time, maybe with some tea, and p...

The One World One Heart blog tour is over. What a ton of fun that was. I met so many wonderful people and their art, and have added several more blogs to my reading list. A huge Thank-you goes to Lisa Swifka for organizing this huge event. The amount of work she put into it is so much appreciated by all of us in blog land. The winner of my stone necklace is Vicki from 2 Bags Full , a beautiful blog about her travels and her adventures in knitting and in life. I hope you enjoy your new necklace Vicki. I have not, as yet, been contacted from any of the blogs I visited during the event, but if I am lucky enough to win something, you'll read about it here. Thank-you to everyone who participated and to everyone that visited my blog. Although this event is over, I am definitely not finished with bloghopping. I look forward to meeting many more bloggers and their many forms of art.

This collection has only been recently started. Last year, I came across a necklace on Ebay, and I just had to have it. It turned out to be, for the price, of exceptional quality and detail. I was hooked, and suddenly found myself researching vintage and older costume jewelry. I found out that there are a lot of people with the same fascination, as there was plenty of material out there to read, and I am still reading. I've purchased entire lots, just for one single piece. The others, though beautiful in their own right, ended up in my Etsy shop. Although, I have to admit, there have been a few that ended up back in my drawer, and there have been a couple that I regret selling. I only hope I come across them again. The brooch in the photo is by Trifari, and that seems to be my favourite brand. I am definitely not a 'brand' person. But time and time again, I am drawn to the designs that Trifari put out. This molded glass brooch is one of several pieces I have now...

This is what we spent a good portion of our day doing yesterday. In the morning we baked, and after lunch we decorated. A large portion of cookies went undecorated and will go to my Son's Kindergarten class tomorrow. Using pink, purple, red, white and a few sprinkles, we put together a beautiful assortment of cookies to celebrate each other. Several days ago, we also created little boxes so that we could create Valentines for each other and have somewhere to keep them until we open them on Tuesday. We will be celebrating a day late because that's when Daddy gets home from camp. . . . . . . . . . The kids picked an assortment of different shapes. These are Kaitlynn's cookies and included here are hearts, flowers, birds and kitties. Also, being the super-duper kid that she is, she handmade all of her Valentines. She did 25 for her class, and several for her family as well. I can't wait to see what she put together. . . . . . . . . . . . . These are Jared's cookies. ...

Here is my first real attempt at a zentangle. I say 'real' because my actual first attempt was a bit of a cheat. First of all, I used pencil, and therefore was too tempted to use an eraser. This is a big no-no when working this particular form of art. The idea is to 'go-with-the-flow', use a pen, and see where that mistake leads you. This art of doodling is a sort of meditation. It is not only very calming, but in the end, surprisingly rewarding. In this one, I borrowed my son's hand and traced it, then continued from there. In about 2 hours, (divided), I had completed not only a piece of art, but a keepsake of the size of my little guy's hand at the age of 5. Are there mistakes in there? Yes. Would I do things differently next time? Yes, but that's the whole point, they are all different. There are no two alike. I came across this idea when blog hopping around the world during the 'One World One Heart' bloggers event, and new instantly tha...

This looked like a ton of fun, so why not? I started a blog as a way of introducing myself to those who wanted to get to know me better than what my little Etsy shop offered. I had absolutely no idea where it would go, how long it would last, or if I would get any response. As it turns out, none of that matters. I just love to do it. And I love reading the blogs of others as well. It's far better than TV. Click on the picture for all the details, and to register your blog. Here is what I'm offering up as my giveaway. A stone necklace with various findings. All findings are silver plated and it has no clasp because it measures a long 33 inches. I can not wait to see what everyone else is doing.

My Grandfather always had a bag of 'Dad's' cookies on hand. Out of all the choices, the chocolate chip ones remain my favorite. I love to bake, and I rarely buy cookies, but about once a year, I come across a bag of these, and there in no resisting, (and yes, this is the big bag). One bite, and I'm transported back to a young girl on a warm autumn day, waiting for Grandpa to come back into the yard, turn off the tractor, and invite me to share his lunch with him. He always brought extra, and he even let me have some of his coffee, just a sip. It was the perfect afternoon moment. Later on, when Grandpa could no longer farm, we visited him in town. There was always a bag of cookies sitting by his refridgerator. He must have spent more money on cookies than any other grocery, because there were 5 of us Grandaughters, and we were constantly there, eating his cookies. When we got old enough, he sent us uptown with the money and a list, and I would always, without ...

I always said that I wouldn't be the parent who answered 'because' to my children's questions. But sometimes, there really is not a better answer. There are just certain things I do not want to explain yet. Like this recent question that truly caught me off guard, "Mommy, why do boys and girls have to be together to make a baby?". My answer, "Because, they just do." She's 8 years old, does she really need that answered honestly yet? My son often resorts to this word to answer my many questions for him. "Sweetie, why do you need to take apart your sandwiches before eating them?" My son calmly replies, "Because, I just do." There are many times I will dignify my children's questions with long, drawn out reasons that satisfy them. "Mommy, why do I have to clean up my room?" My answer, "Because, if you don't, Mommy can't clean the floors in your room, and then all sorts of little nasties will w...

I recently reached the 50 sales mark in my Etsy shop, and that has been (mostly) due to the vintage jewelry. It's funny though, no sooner did I type that, I received an email, saying that I received payment for one of my handmade necklaces. But it remains true, that the majority of interest has been in the vintage jewelry. There are so many beautiful, reusable pieces out there. I have even noticed that the quality of these older pieces is often superior to a similar item you would currently purchase in a department store for about the same price, and often less. Some people are collectors and have bought pieces to add to their own special vintage collection. Others have purchased a particular piece because it looked just like something their Grandmother had. And some people have bought pieces because they want to do their small part for the Earth and reuse as much as they can. Now, I have never been interested in history, but it has been a lot of fun to have all these won...

A little into our second year of marriage, 12 years ago, we came across this beautiful Husky - German Shepherd cross pup. We both instantly fell in love and without hesitation adopted our Ginger. We lived up North in a small and quiet oil town with a large yard. We also did a lot of hiking and camping, and we knew she would make the perfect companion on our journeys. We already had two cats at home, but that wasn't a problem for any of them. They took well to each other quickly, and you could often find all 3 of them napping together on the doggie bed. Ginger loved to be constantly by our side, and if I didn't kennel her during the day, she would soon find her way to where I worked and sit outside the window. In a thunder storm, she would come into the house, press her head against my leg, and go wherever I went until it ended. She is terrified of storms until this day, and will do things out of character when one in approaching. She even went missing for nearly 2 wee...