Hello everyone, I hope this new year is off to a good start for you!  I am so happy to be sitting here writing to you with a hot cup of tea nearby.  This handcrafted cup and saucer was a Christmas present. Our 'green' Christmas was a very good one, and with three grandchildren aged 3 and under there was never a dull moment.  In those quiet days between Christmas and New Year's I was able to get a few pictures to share.

Before Christmas, was filled with the usual rush to bake, clean, buy and make presents and decorate, besides babysitting the grandchildren.  I sewed a leather tote bag and crocheted dishcloths to gift.  

My hopes for the new year, as always, are to complete many of the projects I have in progress...a sweater and scarf to finish knitting, my embroidered tablecloth to catch up on, a needlepoint project, a blouse and skirt to finish sewing, and several zipper pouches and tote bags I have all cut out and ready to sew.  There are actually more works in progress I am afraid to say....

As always, I am looking forward to a new year in the garden.  Last year I was able to can and freeze the most food yet, since we've been in our new home here.  We were able to harvest some peaches off one of our trees, and hope for apples and cherries to start producing soon. 
Last summer, we also put in a stone patio ~ my husband, I should say ~ and it was a lot of back breaking work for him.  It wasn't completed until late summer, so we look forward to using it more this year.  There are also steps from the house to be built and some trellis/arbors to be added. 
And, what I am most excited about is our plan to build a small greenhouse using recycled windows.  It will be so good to have a warm place to get plants off to an early start! 

Recently I have been overhauling the living room...some deep cleaning, moving furniture around and hanging pictures.  It seems that time of year to purge the excess and get organized.  In the kitchen I hung a small pot rail to hold my thrifted copper cookware.

In the background below, is a thrifted wicker bottle that I finally made into a lamp...

I hope you are all well, and thank you for stopping by to visit.  I would love to hear from you in the comments. 
Take care,

Deb

Are you enjoying any signs of Spring yet?  Here the robins are back, the snow cover is disappearing, there is birdsong in the morning, and the days are getting noticeably longer.  We have had a handful of days warm enough to get outside and start a bit of garden work.  Which all means I better get some spring cleaning done, and the season of Lent seems the perfect time for that.  I spent the good part of a day recently cleaning and organizing the pantry and laundry room, so I took some photos to remind myself of how it looks when clean and organized and for anyone who might want a tour.

Above:  My $10 flea market shelves

Above:  laundry-folding table from a piece of Craigslist marble and a shelf with shaker pegs that Mike built

Above:  a salvaged old door for the coat closet

Above:  my great grandmother's rolling pin

Below:  an old salvaged chimney cupboard to hold laundry supplies

The large cabinet on the left, which was found at a local antique shop and is from Eastern Europe, holds all our pantry supplies.

Thank you for taking the time to visit!