House Tour Continued . . . The Bedroom!

My sort-of-shabby bedroom -

My patchwork curtains - made by me. (Don't look at the corners!)

My dressing table - purchased in Michigan

One of a pair of china lamps inherited from my mother. My grandmother made the lampshades out of peach silk - by hand!

More pretties.

The first teddy I ever made.

More teddys. These cabinets hold my stash of vintage linens.

Thanks for visiting! Love, Linda

Seven

In the field of children,

Flowers stretch overhead;

Bees drone warmly,

Heavy-headed lilacs drench the air.

Under the boxelder tree

A discovery of violets,

Around the corners of houses

Our horses run merrily through the lilies.

Boxelder trees and lilacs

Find a sunny child

Running down tangled paths,

To hide deep in the flowers of memory.

Dream some dreams today. Love, Linda

Another Day in Paradise

"How to be happy when you are miserable. Plant Japanese poppies with cornflowers and mignonette, and bed out the petunias among the sweet peas so that they shall scent each other. Drink very good tea out of a thin Worcester cup of a colour between apricot and pink."
                                                           - Rumer  Godden


I don't know what half of those flowers are; I suspect they grow in England. I am familiar with petunias though. I really think that what this quote means is when all the big stuff is going wrong, find some small, exquisite thing to find joy and comfort in. In this spring season, it can mean growing something.

Basil. Grown from seed, it's inexpensive - not a disaster if it doesn't work out.

Remember the potatoes?? Here they go!

I filled up the pot a little more. Maybe the potatoes are growing under there!

A few annuals in pots. Use sunny colors to brighten your day.

For a small expenditure, you can have the joy of new life beginning.

Then drink some tea from your best china cup.

Or a glass of wine.

Keep looking up. Love, Linda

New Onesies

Today's sewing project:

Buy a onesie and some coordinating fabric. The brighter the better.

Make a little skirt. Put a strip of elastic on the back on the onsie.

Sew on the skirt and add a bow. Ca - ute!  6 month size

Three month size

To be listed on Etsy in the morning.

And now a word from our sponsor . . .

Time for dinner mom!

You gonna feed us??

We haven't eaten for Hours!

Have a fun day! Love, Linda

Plumbing Tutorial

Yes, well, this post borders on insanity, BUT now I know how to do this, and who knows . . . you might need it someday.
When they installed the chimney for the wood stove, someone stepped on the water line that runs around the house and brings water to the front so I can water the jungle during the summer.
This is what it looked like:

I tried fixing it with duct tape - I fix a lot of things with duct tape. In this case . . .

It didn't work. 

Excessive leaking and spraying all over the place. So the man from Home Depot showed me what to do. This is what you need:

Purple stuff. Glue. The connector pieces. The pipe. I got a ten foot one. It had to stick out the sun roof on the way home. In this case I was going from the old 3/4" pipe to the 1" pipe because the hose is 1" thick. Teflon tape. A hacksaw. I'm not sure if this is a hacksaw, but I do know it's a saw.

And it worked. I cut off the split, broken end.

The purple stuff is a primer/cleaner. If you ask for purple stuff they will know. Note to self: Wear gloves next time. The purple stuff is disaster for the manicure, because it runs all over the place, You should see my cuticles! They are a purplish-gray. Nice for a nurse.

The purple primer gets spread over all surfaces that get glued together. Let it dry for a minute. Note my purple hands.

After it dries, go over the same surfaces with glue.

The glue is clear. Then put the 3/4 inch connector on the 3/4 inch pipe. At this point discover that the old pipe is not 3/4 but 1/2"  Arrrrrgh! Back to Home Depot for a 1" to 1/2" connector.

Measure! Measure! Measure!

Put the 1/2" connector on the old pipe. Add the 1" connector to the other connector. Add the long 1" pipe that will connect to the hose.

All done!

Do the same thing to the other end that connects to the hose.

The metal part on the end gets connected to the hose.

Any place you have threads, use the Teflon tape. Three turns around and it seals out the water. All done!

Connect the hose. Let everything set overnight. (I cheated and watered everything. It works!)

Love, Linda

Cottage Garden Party

It's Etsy Cottage Style's Spring Cottage Garden Party! I don't have a cottage garden anymore, although I used to, but flowers that like sun don't grow in the woods. Here's what is coming up now:

Pink and white bleeding hearts

Lots of ferns

My onions are coming up!

 I also planted basil, peas, chives and parsley in pots. And with the help of Ben (who hires out for yard work), we moved all the plants and trees out of the greenhouse.

 Another photo of my magnolia tree.

Ben carried out plants for two hours.

More photos after I get my flower pots planted.

Happy Spring!

Love, Linda