A New Bathroom Makeover

A season of renewal, that's spring.

We are in the last phases of updating a small guest bathroom on our main floor, cottage style. We decided to get new fixtures and trim. This however is the same window and wallpaper that I love!

A new toilet....

new towel bars....

a new sink (and an older insurance man)....

a newly re-purposed storage cabinet....

and a new mirror above the sink.

We took off the old wallpaper border and replaced that with new white chair railing, still in process. The only thing left will be to add a grab bar. We are reaching an age where we have decided to start adding some handicapped accessories to the house for future use and hopefully that will make life a little easier for guests and for us.

A fun (for me) springtime project, and it is nice to have a project with a short turn-around time. After all, it's time to be out in the garden!

All Things December

 Fun with Piano Students

After school one day in December, we had an impromptu 'tea' only with hot chocolate and molasses sugar cookies. This is Abby and Emily, and their Mom Carol and I are sipping out of sight of the camera, and keeping warm in front on the fire. Brrr- it's been cold for a couple of weeks now.

Here is another group of students, and the one with the guitar is Shayli, then Brinnay and Ella in the green Christmas t-shirt, along with Mom Kindi. I have known Kindi since she was Ella's age, so it is so much fun to teach her girls. The home school in the kitchen while each has a piano lesson.

JoAnn has been busy baking up a storm, and made some very beautiful sugar cookies that were a work of art!

JoAnn and I had a fun time too, decorating the tree this year. We had purchased a few new trims and I sat and got the ornaments ready for her then she put them on the tree. What a great idea! I was happy to be sitting, and she was happy having control of the placement. Christmas music was playing and a plate of cookies was nearby for the hungry (that's us)!

Well, we have done some fun things in December this year. Tonight we are going out to dinner with 3 dear friends and have a special Christmas dinner together. Then on Saturday is our Church Ladies Christmas Brunch and I am going with a friend and looking forward to it. 

Then of course I am fitting it the baking and Christmas cards as time allows. So nice to spend these days preparing my heart and home for the coming of the Savior!

November Doings

 A fall treat I saw on Pinterest, and decided to try out. Chex mix with candy corn and candy pumpkins! 

 This was the month we got our piano tuned. I took the opportunity to take photos of the interior. It is so pretty inside. This old upright was made before 1885, by the Franklin Piano Company. My great-grandparents purchased it for my Great Aunt Minnie. She brought it with her from Iowa to Oregon, then Seattle by train. She taught piano with it for many many years until her arthritis was too severe. She gave it to my parents so I could learn on it, a wonderful gift! Now it resides in Bend, Oregon and I have continued the tradition and teach on it. So many years of wonderful pleasure I have received.

This is behind the bottom panel, with the sound board in the back. The funny black box is a humidifier, that I have to water every few weeks. We live where there is virtually no humidity, so to keep the piano and wood moist this is the solution.

Julie and family have a new addition. "Sunshine' has arrived to keep them all company. Isn't she a beautiful kitty?

 And finally, today is the day before Thanksgiving. I love the peace and fun of this day. Mom is here with us, and she and I are working on a few Christmas projects this morning. First experimenting with selfies. She is 95 and knows what a selfie is and how to take one. Wow!

 We are getting some ornaments ready for delivery, and having a great time doing it. Thinking and talking about each grandchild and great-grandchild. Hey kids, does this get you exited for December?

Happy Pretend First Day of Autumn!

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

George Eliot

I am pretending that today is the first day of autumn, instead of tomorrow. It was so beautiful this morning. Crisp and chilly, bright blue skies and sunshine, and a hint of wood smoke in the air. A few bushes and trees have a touch of turning color. 

I put on some beautiful music, and proceeded to decorate the house with my autumn things. It was wonderful and I even had a second cup of coffee to celebrate. I enjoy the cooler weather, and we do have beautiful fall days in Central Oregon.

In the afternoon I got a cup of tea (with a scone of course) and got out my Brambly Hedge book for Autumn and re-read it. Such lovely stories, drawings and books. I also put out my Brambly Hedge Autumn plate, tumbler and teacup and saucer. A great thing to do on the first day of autumn, don't you agree?

 Crab apple limbs in front of the pine trees.

A little pinkish red, which I can see from my front window.

And gorgeous plum colored crab apples, that the birds haven't got hungry enough to to find. 

Happy Pretend First Day of Autumn!

A New Way of Looking at Things

A while ago, I was reading on one of my favorite blogs (Susan Branch, Millie) about using old fashioned liquid bleach on linens. I decided then and there to try it out. I remembered my mother using it, and then ironing the damp fabrics. It was a trial and error for me.

I first collected all the vintage doilies, and linens I have all around the house. This is NOT by any stretch all of them!

I then ordered the bleach from Amazon. They still make the same old stuff....who knew?

Next I washed all the linens and line dried them to get out the yellowed/rust spots and make them smell sooo good! There is nothing like UV rays for whitening and brightening. Then I brought them all in and slowly soaked them in a mix of 1 part water to 2-3 parts starch. Back out to the line to dry again. I tried bringing them in damp to iron, but it didn't really work, so I let them dry again. Only this time they were STIFF.

But the ironing was easier and they came out lovely, slightly stiff, crisp and white, and they stay that way! Now ironing is not my favorite domestic chore, but somehow ironing vintage tablecloths, aprons, clothes, doilies and runners is more fun and rewarding.

Here are a few, line dried, and waiting for the iron.

I am now in the process of cleaning the linen closet, putting some out for display, and the rest nestled in their closet.

 It feels like Grandma's house around here, but I don't care because I LOVE vintage linens. (But it was a lot of work!) A rewarding household project, completed.

Bed or No Bed?

What a warm inviting cozy Christmas bed to climb into each night in December!
But I can't help but also think each night of the many in our community that don't have a warm cozy bed in our very cold temperatures. Our shelters are doing what they can to bring the homeless into town from their many camps, but it's never enough. I can't do much. I can help fill their stomachs with hot food. And I can whisper a prayer each night to the One who can do it all. 

June Happenings

Last weekend we had the blessing of attending a graveside service for my Aunt Joyce. We traveled over the mountain to where she lived her long, good life. We met up with my cousins Bill and Beckie, along with their families, shared some great memories and had good fellowship. We all grew up together, and it's hard to believe how old we are getting now...all these many years later. It was a true blessing to be together once again.

 Meanwhile, back at home the insurance man is hard at work, building our new storage shed. Every spare minute is going into this, hoping to complete it by the end of July.

It will not have electricity, so he found this cute window and placed it so that it faces NE, and will let in a lot of Central Oregon sunshine.

 Here are a few close-ups of the actual construction for those in WV interested in building a shed of their own.

and while he's working outside, I have a few 'shabby-chic' spots for reading and relaxing.

Winter Garden Foraging

 

I went out to the garden this past week and enjoyed just exploring what's going on out there. There were a lot of birds, frosty and snowy evergreens, and some small pinecones on the ground, probably from the squirrels knocking them down.

 I made a couple of winter decorations from the forage. Several boards from our snowy wood pile, juniper branches, pine cones, the insurance mans' car wash metal bucket (that is not in use in the snow!) and a string of small lights. Oh yes, and a couple of pine branches as well. Smells good and is welcoming at the front door.

 

On the kitchen table I filled a copper colored plant holder that I had with various kinds of juniper branches, l. e. d. candles, a few ornaments and again a string of small lights.

 

Best part? I had all the parts for these right here at home. Free!

A New Kitchen Look

 At Christmas time my cousin Beckie wrote to tell me that she wanted to give me a table and chairs that my Aunt and Uncle had owned. The table came from my grandparents, Guy & Mabel Erskine, and the chairs my Aunt & Uncle purchased to go along with the table. Beckie knows my love of family history, and it fits perfectly with my taste and decorating style. (An extra plus is that I just love the set, and have many happy memories of meals around it. Doesn't the idea of many delicious meals served make a dinning table extra rich?). We made a quick trip to pick the set up this past week-end, and today on Presidents Day had our first breakfast together. I can't begin to express my delight.

 

 The table legs had been cut down at some point in its life, and the table was currently on casters, but the insurance man removed them as he didn't want me rolling it around and scratching the oak floor. He quickly made some temporary risers yesterday, to make it the right height, and will be working on a permanent fix.

 

 I love oak, and the chairs are so comfortable and the carving so pretty on the chair backs. This really is a perfect fit for our kitchen and needs.

 

A few years ago, Beckie also passed on to me this wonderful dresser used by the same grandparents at their Oregon farm, and then by her mother and father. Next to it is a small oil lamp that her father, my Uncle Roy, used as a child. I painted the lamp holder for him as a gift about 40 years ago. Beckie and her brother were kind enough to also pass this along to me, and I view it as a real treasure. Next to that is a bed that belonged to a great aunt in the same family. My house is full of family inherited things, and I admit my sentimentality and love of things old. I wonder in which home these pieces will next reside? I am blessed.

A Treasure in Cascade, Idaho

On Labor Day, the insurance guy and I took a trip with my brother and sister-in-law to the McCall Idaho area. They usually fly in there, in their small plane, but they had discovered a treasure that they wanted to share with us, so we all drove in one vehicle. The treasure is called http://www.theashleyinn.com/and is in Cascade, Idaho.

 

A front porch like home greets you as you enter.

This is part of the lobby, and there are small sitting areas all around, complete with china tea cups and saucers. My eyes were huge as we entered and I saw all the beauty of this special place. It is full of wallpaper, and I am a huge fan! I thought wallpaper had all gone away in favor of paint, but it has all gone here (big smile!) Another special feature of the lobby is soft music playing 24-7, basically instrumental hymns and classical string quartet music.

This staircase right out of a fairytale leads you upstairs to their three floors of rooms. Our room had been reserved and was on the 3rd floor.

This loveseat was out in the hallway across from the alcove where our room door was located.

Room address outside each door...

4-poster beds in each room, gas fireplaces with a mantel, small desk, bay window alcove with another loveseat....

 

and white wicker table with tray for late night snacks? and did I mention the beautiful wallpaper?

 The bathroom was another huge room, complete with white shuttered windows, a jetted spa bathtub, and this cute sink.

 

The next morning we came down the staircase for breakfast, which was in this special breakfast room. You can only see the one bay window table here, but it is a huge room with lots of seating and food all around 2 sides of it. They have homemade biscuits and sausage gravy, homemade cheese and egg casseroles and lots of other fruit and cereal and pastry choices. It was delightful.

 Outside there is a large deck where you can eat when the weather co-operates. In our case we opted for this window seat as it had rained all during the night. They also have a lovely white gazebo, of course, with seating, and complete with a small waterfall.

 In the evenings they serve fresh baked cookies with coffee or milk for a bedtime snack. Wow! This is my cup of tea! There is lots more I could say about this treasure, along with the rates are just great, but that's enough for a tantalizing bit. If you're ever in the area...