Special Easter!

Vivienne wearing a smocked sun dress
and bonnet that I made her Mama, 30 some
years ago. 

Our tradition lamb cake that I make.

Kissing the lamb cake

Our little Easter Bunny

Easter brunch

Michelle's family

Peeps for our little Peeper

Easter outfit from Oma!

Our Easter was made special by Michelle/Craig/Vivienne coming to spend the weekend with us.  On top of it being "special"....Michelle dressed Vivi in a dress and bonnet that I had made Michelle about 34 years ago.  It just makes my heart smile when I see my grand daughters in something that I had made and kept for so many years, hoping that they would be worn again.   Every Easter, I make a lamb cake from the cast iron mold that I inherited from my Mother.  As far as I know, it is from the 1940's.  It could even be older than that.  Vivi thought " kissing the lamb" tasted pretty good!  Spring with all the lilies, tulips, wisteria blooming and Easter is the " most wonderful time of the year"!

Beautiful Purple Deck!

I planted one wisteria at the corner of our deck, three years ago and this is the first year that we have been able to enjoy the fruits of my labor.  Last Spring it was covered in buds but we got a last minute frost and it ruined all the buds.  It never had a chance to bloom.  Not this Spring!!!  It all started to open last week and now it's beautiful drippy down, purple flowers with an amazing, wonderful smell.  I wish it would last forever.  Well, at least all summer.  I'm enjoying it every chance I get to go out and stand or sit on the deck.  We are suppose to get a hard rain in a couple of days and I'm pretty sure, along with the rain, will be purple flowers coming down.  It has been a dream of mine to see a canopy of purple flowers over our deck and now another dream of mine has come true.  I will never give up dreaming!

The New Front Porch

The rocking chair end of the porch....to rock your
cares away. 

Table/Chairs by the dining room windows

Spring means " new" . ..new flowers blooming, grass needing to be mowed and porches needing to be cleaned and rearranged to make them look new also.  I had fun renewing the front porch last week.  I'm holding off on the cleaning part until all the " green pollen" is gone and not all over everything that lives outside.   I am lucky that I  have two porches ( three counting the one at the studio) and a deck.  It's like having extra rooms to the house during Spring/Summer/Fall.  We use them all!!

The New Garden

The garden is all tilled, fertilized and planted...
even a cutting flower bed . 

New blueberry bushes.....

Eight new blueberry bushes, plus
the one we already had.

One of the pear trees, blooming

A garden is a lot of work....with the spraying to kill the weeds, tilling, fertilizing, tilling again....and then planting.  Next is keeping it all watered every day.  It is all so worth it when you are picking fresh veggies every day during the summer.  It's such a thrill when you walk down to water and you see more and more little tiny plants peeking through the dirt.  Then, the peas and beans start to climb the fence...and then bloom.  This Spring, I decided to plant a " cutting flower bed" at one end, outside of the garden.  I can see it in my mind.  Now just if it all comes up and everything blooms for me, the house will be full of fresh flowers all summer long.  Happy Spring everyone!!!!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Spring.......

Forsythia on each end of the front porch

Tulips in the bell flower bed.  

Tulips in the urns on the retaining walls

Snow drops by the back door

One of the many kinds of daffodils at Brambly Pines

Grape hyacinths 

More tulips by the back door 

My new hydrangea....

 Every Spring, I say that Spring is my favorite season.  How can it not be with all the pretty flowers that I could never grow in Florida.  All the fruit trees are blooming and the garden is planted and starting to come up.  Soon all the Spring flowers will be gone and the summers one's will appear.  Then Summer will be my favorite season with us eating all the veggies from the garden and picking flowers from my  " cutting flower bed" for bouquets for the house.  Yes!  living where there are four seasons is the BEST!!!!!

Downton Kitty

In honor of the last episode of Downton Abbey being aired tonight, George decided to be the Downton Cat in the Downton chair.  Not sure if my new soup tureen would have shown up on their dining room table but I think it's pretty on ours.  It's sad to say " good bye" to our friends who have lived in our hearts and TV's every Sunday night for so long.  It was the best " TV show EVER" and it's really going to be missed.  Thank you Downton Abbey for letting us all dream how life was for some in the 1920's in England.

A Rose Garden Bathroom

Vanity skirt

Shower curtain

Ruffle detail on shower curtain

Matching foot stool

Valance...

Curtains covering the shelves in the closet

My dream bubble bath space

Pretty Roses...

Roses in the shower area

Added lace curtain to the shower area

  I think I have finally finished my bathroom after living in the house for over five years.  Sometimes my visions and projects just keep growing.  This time I took the same fabric that I used on the vanity skirt and made curtains to cover up all the " stuff" on the shelves in my closet.  It's nice to open the door and see pretty blue fabric with roses on it instead of boots and tubs of seasonal stuff.  Next came, making the valance to go over my antique leaded glass window.  Of course, there had to be a matching shower curtain and foot stool.  I think that will be the end of using the matching blue rose fabric.  I actually only have a strip of fabric that is five inches wide.  Never under estimate a piece of fabric five inches wide and a woman with visions.  

Christmas Again

LOOK!!!!  Yes, this Christmas cactus bloomed three months ago for Christmas.  A few weeks ago, I noticed it was getting buds again and now it's in full bloom.  What a fun surprise!!!