My Everything Corner

I've got our home into full Christmas swing. I've really enjoyed making Christmas cards and they are on their way.  Next is to wrap the gifts and then into the kitchen for my favourite part, the baking!     I love this tree more every year.  It took me over 4 hours to put it together and I had help putting the lights into it this time.  There are so many memories in its branches, and we add more every year.   I can hardly wait until school is out for the year, and I can cuddle up with my family for Christmas movies and games. Even when we are all off in our separate corners doing our own things, I love the feeling a full house gives me.   This picture was taken just before sunrise.  Every morning, this time of year, I am so lucky to have a fantastic view.  

Home is people. Not a place. If you go back there after the people are gone, then all you can see is what is not there anymore.        Robin Hobb                                           I have followed up that quote with a photo of things.  A tiny sample of the things I fill my home with to make it feel warm and cozy.  But the problem with things, no matter how lovely they are, their magic only works when surrounded with the members of my wonderful family.  There are some things that hold memories of loved ones long gone, or of friends that have moved on. But they are few, and of course, very special.  I wonder which things will take on meaning after I'm gone?

Do you have anything in your home that you just truly enjoy walking by everyday?  I have several of these things, and I'd like to share a few with you now. The first one is a garage sale find.  It looks like a high-end boutique item, but it is much better.  An original oil painting bought off the streets in Paris from the artist by a couple on their honeymoon over 30 years ago.  It was rolled up in their closet for so long, they decided it was time to get rid of it.  That's where I came in, handed them $5 and walked away feeling elated and a bit like a thief.  The framing was done by a friend who needed her greenhouse taken care of while she was away.  So in exchange for my services, she framed my wonderful painting.  I love it's texture, colors, content, everything.  I could decorate an entire room around this painting.   The next piece is an antique replica, very French country.  It's near the dining room table and holds ...

I spend so much of my time searching the internet, especially blogs, for creative, decorative ideas that I forget to share some of the things I've done in my home.  I always feature the holiday decorations, but rarely the everyday things.  I know it's a dark photo, but that is the only time I have this little feature lit, when the room is dim, usually during a movie. The large bowl/plate, about a foot and a half across, was a steal of a deal at $2 from our local thrift store.  It is wooden and the color is a gorgeous red.  I've collected some very interesting dried botanicals, and the lights were a Boxing week deal that set me back an entire $3.  They are battery operated LEDs inside various sizes of rattan globes and their regular price was $14.  The nicest thing about this strand is the wire, it is very thin, and translucent, virtually unnoticeable amongst the botanicals.  It even looks great during the day w...

My house is turning into a zoo.  I will soon be able to charge money to anyone entering my home.  A gecko, several cats, a puppy, a fish, and who knows what will show up next. This little orange guy is Georgie's (the kitten he's hugging) big brother.  It took quite awhile to gain his trust, but he is now the friendliest cat in the house, and he does not show a desire to go outdoors, although that is where he was raised.  His momma is still around, but we rarely see her now that our new puppy has taken over the deck.  But she is showing up at her cat house everyday for food and was chased under the truck today by that puppy who has yet to learn what kitty claws can do. These kittens are a fun pair, going at it like gladiators one minute, and then curling up into a tight ball the next.  Their personalities are like night and day.  Georgie, the female, being far more uptight, aloof and chosey about when and how she will be handled.  Crush is far mo...

My husband likes to surprise people.  So when my daughter found the kites hidden for her and her brother, there were 3 very disappointed people.  My husband, because his big reveal was ruined, and my two little ones because Dad wasn't ready to give the kites to them yet.  The next couple of days, I had a son who went on with life like it was no big deal.  As long as he has his bicycle and a puddle, he's happy.   And I had my little girl trying to find things to do to impress her Dad to the point of giving in on the kites.  This past Saturday morning, that Dad took the kites and quietly went to his shop to start assembly.  My son, being curious as a kitten followed shortly after and came running back to the house after about 5 seconds outdoors, yelling at the top of his lungs that Dad was putting their kites together.    After another 5 seconds had passed, they were bot...

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...

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...

I love a scented candle, and the only thing more important than the scent is the jar that it comes in. I won't even pick up a candle to see what it smells like unless it is in a very attractive jar, one that I will eventually repurpose. I use the jars to store and organize all sorts of things. Bath products, beads, findings, beach finds, and even candy have all found pretty little homes in what was once a candle jar. The candle in the photo is unique in that it burns a wooden wick. It actually makes a small crackling sound, similar to that of a real fire. I'm very sensitive to the smells that surround me, and so I always feel more calm when there is a soothing scent in the air. Whether it be from a nice candle or a pot of soup on the stove, the house just feels more like a home when it smells great. But there is something extra soothing about being in the company of a flame. Of course, nothing can beat a campfire or a real fireplace, but since I have access to nei...