At Last. . . Spring

 

 Last weekend Brett and I were away enjoying another B & B.

This time it was a gift from our youngest son.  Apparently the boys think we need to get away and relax more and we are quite happy to do so :).

Driving along the country roads we turned the corner and were greeted by this beautiful bed of daffodils. In amongst the flowers an elderly lady was in the midst of picking a bouquet.  We pulled over to tell her how lovely her daffodils were and she said, in her sweet Southern drawl, "come on out and pick yourself a bouquet".  Not one to pass up an offer like that, I hopped out of the car and joined her.  As we picked flowers, she told me that this peaceful farmland was her family homeplace.  Her dad was born in 1904 she said with a little smile.  Somebody else was tending the farm these days, but come June they set up a roadside stand to sell vegetables.  Starting with tomatoes and corn and wrapping it up in December with collards.  She reminded me that collards on New Year's Day was a big thing in the south. 

She said that the new farmer did all of the work and she is the one to work at the roadside stand because she loves talking to the people.  She also enjoys having her supper and watching people stop along her country road to take pictures.  She shared that her daddy always loved daffodils and she knew it would make him happy to see people enjoying them.

My time with her was short.  Much too short.

I could have listened to her for hours.

 Luckily we had a bottle of water in the car.

Just right for a makeshift daffodil vase.

At the end of the day, the little bouquet made a lovely addition to our room at the inn.  Sunday dawned rainy, cold and gloomy.  So happy to have the scent of spring flowers there to remind us of warmer and sunnier days ahead.

Also happy to be reminded of my short visit with a sweet lady with an even sweeter southern accent.

Well, it's officially Spring!!

How's it looking out your window today?

Hopefully warmer and sunnier days are ahead for all of us.

Happy First Day of Spring!!

Fresh Picked

 

 ~ Good Morning to You ~

 The first bouquet of daffodils freshly picked from the garden.

Can't think of a nicer start to this late winter morning.

It's been a loooong winter for so many.

If you are feeling like winter may never turn to spring . . .

my daffodils and I are here to encourage you to hang in there.

It's on it's way... we promise :)

Happy Monday! 

 

We Interrupt This Blog Break...

 

Is there a saying about

you know you've hit middle age when a clean fridge excites you?

Ha!  Sad to say but that's whats been making me happy on my blog break.

Every shelf has been removed and scrubbed, the condiments have been organized, bits and bobs have been discarded and, best of all, the menfolk have been informed of the correct place to put things once they use them.  No more cramming the salad dressing any old place it will fit.  No sirree. kindly place it on shelf #2 in the door.   

  In case anybody starts slacking on the rules, I've stationed my Texas Christmas Pickles front and center to keep everyone in line.

Just kidding, of course.  Truthfully, I haven't had the heart to "undress" the pickles since my neighbor gave them to us for Christmas.  Talk about a cute presentation for her homemade pickles.

When I announced my "blog break", I knew it was time to do a bit less blogging and a bit more spring cleaning.  Soon it will be gardening season and then summertime will arrive.

I'm trying hard to get the house in order so that we can enjoy our time outside when the nicer weather arrives.  

So, officially I'm still on a blog break, but the truth is I miss you all and even though I'm cleaning and organizing my mind keeps wandering to what is new with all of you.  

In fact, I'll admit I have poked around in blogland a bit while on this so called break and as it turns out that has been a very good thing.  I happened to read this post  right about the time I decided to get serious about whipping my house into shape.  She is offering a challenge each day for the month of March and after looking it over it seemed very "doable" to me so I am on board and busy completing my daily assignments working toward an organized home by the end of the month.

What started the ball rolling was my pantry.

Since the holidays it had become so packed and messy.  It was driving me crazy every time I stepped in there.

This was taken after one shelf had been emptied and the clean up was getting started.  You can see how the floor space was being swallowed up by who knows what.  Yikes!!

My method is to empty one shelf at a time and give the shelf a wash with some nice soapy water.  Before replacing the food I check it for expiration dates and keep out the things that need to be used.  As I clean I brainstorm ideas for using up these items.  In one instance I had a small amount of angel hair pasta and a package of smoked salmon that we received in a gift basket.  I had no idea what to do with smoked salmon until I read a recipe on the back of the pasta and there was one containing both of these ingredients.  The dinner dilemma was solved although I'm not sure I'm a big fan of smoked salmon.  Whew, talk about a fishy smell.

 Once all the shelves were done I took everything off of the floor, vacuumed the nooks and crannies with the crevice tool and washed the floor.  

 Everything back in place.

As the chief cook and bottle washer I guess it just makes sense that a clean and organized pantry makes things run smoother.

When I was looking for inspiration to get started on this pantry overhaul, I found it here and in an effort to keep things from getting out of hand, this simple idea is one I plan to put into practice.

Good thing I was doing a bit of cheating on my blog break or I never would have gained all of this inspiration which, in the end, is helping me plug along on my spring organizing project.

I'd be lying if I said that it's been all work around here.

There's been some fun too which I'll be sharing just as soon as I get a handle on a few more jobs around here.

Miss You,

Break Time

 

I'm taking a break from blogging.

Help yourself to a muffin and a cup of coffee in my absence.

Conversation in an Antique Shop

Back here  I shared the story of this children's ironing board which resides in my laundry room.  Despite the fact that I'm all grown up, these little vintage toys tug at my heartstrings.

You may or may not understand this attraction.  If you don't, you may want to mosey on out of here as continuing to read may make you wonder about me.  :D

Okay, now that you've been duly warned...

on with the story.

When my mom was still alive she would sometimes give me a monetary gift with a note included saying it was to be used for something I would enjoy (i.e:  not to buy groceries or pay bills).

Not one to disappoint my mom, this little gem was calling   screaming my name from the antique store shelf recently:

 

 Thinking I couldn't possible justify the price I remembered a monetary gift I'd received for Christmas.  Hmmm, what would mom say?  

As long as I'm on the subject of vintage toy love...

I've had these child sized clothespins for a long time.

The laundry tub in the first photo above was way too big for this little vignette.

When we were on our recent getaway, we stopped into the local antique mall where I was hunting for one thing...

a galvanized child's size laundry tub.

I searched carefully through every booth with no luck.

Truthfully I didn't even know if such a thing existed.

As I was about to leave one of the sales ladies asked me if I found what I was looking for.  After telling her what it was, she said she had one in her booth.  A conversation ensued.

She told me her parents had sold antiques together after their retirement.  Her mother's special interest was children's  items.

She shared with me that her mother had died unexpectedly last year.

When I told her about my interest in children's kitchen and laundry toys, she said she knew she had a box at home of  children's kitchen items that had been her mom's.

She offered to call me if she could locate them and I could come in before the shop opened the next morning to see if I was interested in any of them.  She told me she would be happy to know that they were going to a good home.

The next morning when I met her at the shop, she was on the phone for a while.  After hanging up she apologized and said that her dad had just fallen.  Since he lives in another state she was trying to assess what to do.  As the middle child she said the decisions seemed to fall to her.  As a fellow middle child, my ears perked up to this.  She went on to explain that he has been falling a lot recently, he has been lost without her mother,  though a very capable man he was nearly useless in the kitchen she said.  We laughed about how with that generation it was so common for men to stay out of the kitchen and laundry room.  

Though we needed to get on the road soon, I knew she could use a listening ear.

As she talked I felt her pain.

Emotions still very raw with the loss of her mother and now she said she felt it was probably time for her to find an assisted living home for her father to move into.

These decisions are never easy.

My heart went out to her as I was reminded of going through a similar scenario with my mom.

As we talked she showed me her mom's vintage kitchen toys.

She said she'd like to offer me a better price on anything I was interested in.  Along the way she told me bits and pieces of the history of some of these treasures.  

A little board to roll cookies on and an angel food cake pan for the little stove remind me of my mom's love for baking cookies and her special angel food cake dessert that we all loved.  They also remind me of the antique store owner's mother.  A lady I never met but feel that I would have enjoyed knowing had our paths ever crossed.

I'm also reminded of two middle child daughters doing their best to support and love their parents til the end of their days.

Happy Valentine's Day to You

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Looks like there won't be any outdoor picnics today.

 Our southern snowstorm brought lots and lots of the white stuff.

This was the scene outside the front door shortly after Brett shoveled.

The cardinals were grateful for a well filled bird feeder and we were thankful to be enjoying their beauty in that sea of white.

He looks like a little Valentine out there

 

XO, 

Hi from Hiawassee

 

Thinking their dad could use a little vacation, our boys gifted him with a weekend getaway.

A little bed & breakfast in the Georgia mountains was the destination and, lucky me, I got to join him.

Having driven through Georgia several times, it had never occurred to us that there were mountains in this state.  But, now we know up near the NC border there are many mountains and in Hiawassee, GA sits a charming destination that offered rest and relaxation for both of us.

We have enjoyed bed & breakfast travel throughout our marriage.

It all began with this show.  In fact that show inspired us to plan a fall trip to Vermont and several other New England states.  We stayed in bed & breakfasts all along the way.  That trip took place in 1984 and still stands out in my mind as one of my favorite trips ever.

I know that this type of travel isn't for everyone, but we enjoy it for a variety of reasons.

One of my personal favorites is the homemade breakfasts.  Waking up to the smells of breakfast cooking and then coming down to this is worth the price of admission in my book :).  Of course not having to clean up after breakfast is nice too.

On this morning we enjoyed a vegetable frittata, fresh fruit salad with Greek yogurt and warm from the oven biscuits with blueberry butter.

After eating this substantial breakfast we felt a bit of exercise was in order.

Which brings me to another reason I like staying at B&B's...

the host(s) are always very helpful in assisting you in making your plans for the day.

We said we'd like to take a hike and see some waterfalls too.

They provided us with a backroads map and told us what to expect as we drove to our destination.

We zigged and zagged up that mountain and even drove through a small stream.  Had we not known to expect this it could have been a bit daunting.  That mountain driving isn't for the faint of heart.  Good thing Brett was at the wheel.  Ha ha.

Traipsing through the forest on the way to the falls I spotted this mossy little abode.

I fully expected to see a little mouse in an apron with a broom in hand.

Can you tell I spend too much time with children's storybooks?

While the hike was only 1.2 miles each way, it was a good workout as it was mostly up hill (mountain) on the return trip.

The sights and sounds of a waterfall are something I always enjoy. 

In case you like them too, I made a little video.  However, I'll have to share it next time.

I loaded all the pictures for this post last night and forgot to add the video.

Now I'm at work and don't have my pictures on this computer.

Just so you know I don't normally blog while on the job.  I'm doing so today because it is s.l.o.w. here today as we are bracing for a BIG snowstorm.  They say we could get 6-12".  In fact I hope to leave for home soon as it's really starting to come down out there.

For some reason I didn't take any pictures of our room.  Interesting how I took several of the food though :-).  I guess you can see where my priorities are.

Anyways, the walls and floor in the room were knotty pine.  The ceiling was white bead board.  Very charming and perfect in a mountain setting.  The first photo above is the bathroom window.  I thought it was so pretty with the sun streaming in.

In case you're interested, breakfast #2 is a puff pancake filled with fresh berries, bacon and an egg (not pictured).  Interestingly the first time we ever had a puff pancake was at the very first B&B we stayed at in Vermont.  When we told this to our hosts they said that the puff pancake originated there and they call them "hootin anni's".  Have you ever had them and if so what do you call them?

I used to make them often, but it has been a long time ago now.

Maybe I'll give them another try as they do make a pretty presentation and are delicious too.

Speaking of pretty and delicious...

we found this in our room upon returning from the hike.

Just one more reason to love those B&B's.