Not a Photo ....

.... I truly thought this was a photo but

it is indeed a painting. The talent from

this artist is breathtaking, with the level

of detail he has showcased in this piece.

~ Chy

The Cow.

This is one of the art pieces from
one of the artists we interviewed. I
love the "expression" on the cow's
face. Like he is posing for the canvas.

~ Chy

Trio.

More eclectic art from the Art Gallery

shoot tonight. Floral trio of beauty.

~ Chy

Felt Art.

Excited to see these pieces from a local

artist who does felting with embroidery.

I ordered a felting kit from Susan Branch

and can't wait to try this amazing art medium.

I'm not sure mine will ever get in to an Art

Gallery but it will fun to create textured art.

~ Chy

Improv ....

.... introduced by one of our hosts

from our Art Gallery shoot.

Such a fun night being entertained and taking in

the fine art from our local hamlet in our County.

~ Chy

Art Gallery Shoot.

Shooting our show at the Art Gallery tonight.

Mike check before the show.

Audience is in and we're shooting!

~ Chy

Private Spa.

I came home achy and cold the other

day and after dinner, ended up here ....

.... soaking in a warm tub, surrounded

by candles to light my little private spa.

~ Chy

New Pot.

I moved this plant over to the turret

corner and it's done so much better.

I actually had to find a bigger pot to

transplant it in. And within a day, new

blooms popped open. You can see the

big growth in just a few short days. 

~ Chy

Stretching ....

I love this sweet plant and it's stretching

tendrils that keeping filling all the space.

~ Chy

Display Shelf.

I used to showcase this sweet little

display shelf back in our old house.

We found it at the charity shop for $10.

Super heavy and in a dark green color.

Dug it out of our garage in the Fall and

painted it the same sage as our cabinets.

Love finding items to fill it up with. I

will go back to themes. But for now, a

few snowmen, my favorite tea pot, some

other trinkets, jugs and a tiny little cottage.

~ Chy

Heavenly Hyacinth.

My first sweet Hyacinth for 2019. I love the

scent and the pretty buds when they bloom.

Early stages but soon this will open and

the stalk will grow as the scent fills our

home. I'm going to try and plant the rest

of the Hyacinth in my garden. Heavenly!

~ Chy

Feeding Stress.

If I had to watch this today ....

.... then this was on the menu all day.

Stress & chocolate .... a combination

that truly needs no explanation!

~ Chy

Neighbor Dinner.

We finally had a chance to take our

neighbors out for dinner on Saturday.

We chose a local restaurant that none

of us had yet tried and it was amazing!

I had a tart Raspberry Lime Margarita, 

yummy Stuffed Neptune Mushrooms

(with fresh baked bread), and my entree

was 4 Lobster Tails with Garlic Butter,

Asiagio Rice and Asparagus. After I

shared a chocolatey dessert with dh.

Great company (we are so lucky to

have such amazing neighbors), a new

spot for dinners and great food to fill

us up. Couldn't ask for a better night.

~ Chy

Cold But Sunny.

It's warmer than it has been but it's

still pretty cold for this time of year.

But with the sun out, it somehow just

feels that much better. Almost Spring!

~ Chy

Icy Notice Board.

Picking up our mail today and I noticed

these tiny icicles precariously hanging from

community notice board. A bit of warming,

a bit of sun and now we have icicles. Finally!

~ Chy

Blustery Drive.

In addition to the recent extreme cold

we've endured, we've also had snow.

On this day, as we drove home from a

trek into town, the clouds opened ....

.... the winds picked up and the snow

blew across the roads, making them slick.

We were both so happy to come down our

range road and turn down our little lane.

Nothing more comforting than seeing our

little cottage behind the trees, cozy and warm.

~ Chy

Cozy Office.

I'll write more detail in time about

my new little office space for my

counselling practice. I've painted

the walls and the trim is next. And

then it's figuring out where the items

I've gathered will go to make this a

cozy and comforting office space. A

few clients have seen it and love it!

~ Chy

Tiny Goalie.

Our little guy asked if he could try out

as the goalie for a game on the weekend.

And he did an amazing job, so good that he

somehow ended up in an goalie clinic last

night with 12 other tiny goalies. It's nerve

wracking to watch the other team to get

close to the net but to see him in action

was great too! Could be a great season!

~ Chy

Crazy Traffic.

We were driving home last week on a

very blustery day and all of a sudden,

this convoy of three big tanks drove

across the highway and right in front

of us! We had to stop and sit, which

was fine but I thought "hmmm, is it

just because they are so big they can 

ignore all common rules of the road?"

And then earlier today, we saw this ....

Yes, that is a huge truck driving down

the wrong side of the highway. We did

hang out or slow down to find out why.

Just kept driving and hoped all was well.

~ Chy

Another Corner.

Another corner to share. This spot is in

our living room at the front of the house.

I love the armchair, the Robert Bateman

painting, my grandparents glass lamp, our

Celtic Harp, the handmade throw, the tiny

teddy and the gramma pillow. So cozy.

~ Chy

A Favorite Corner.

 

Do you have a favorite spot in your home? I have a number of spots that I love to spend time in. Maybe I'll do a little feature here on the blog about all the corners in our home. Let me know if you'd like that. I'd love to see yours too! Lace curtains let the sunlight shine through, the small lamp adds more when the days are dark with clouds or in the evening when just a bit of light in this corner is needed. A small round vintage picture from the Antique Mall and a framed floral print underneath, above the china rabbit (she has clothes on!) sitting on a wire chair and a potted plant.

The corner I've chosen today is in our main floor turret ~ it's 3 stories high, with the lower level housing our daughter's kitchen nook and the upper level is our master bedroom sitting area, complete with a window seat under all the windows. On the main floor, we use this corner in a variety of ways though the year. It houses our old Victrola, currently a writing desk and our tea cart (not pictured). Oh, and my gramma's hope chest (also not pictured) sits along the end of the staircase. It holds our Christmas tree decorations through the years. In the Winter, this space is where we set up our Christmas Tree. And other times, we move the desk out and the piano in and it becomes the music room. Very versatile and always fun to change around. 

I love the 2 floral prints we picked up at the charity shop for $4 for both. But then it was a 50% off day, so we actually got both for $2. We bought them to put in to our Antique Mall booth. However, after a few weeks of sitting on the desk, I picked one up and held it up in this spot and suddenly they had a new home! Love them and I do promise to take a closer shot so you can see the lovely flowers and the border and the pretty gold frames. The plant in the stand has tripled in size since we moved it there a few months ago. The light is just perfect but it's grown so quickly, I'm going to have to repot it soon. The wrought iron unit it is sitting in was a boot sale find ~ I recall paying about $6 for it. At the end of the day. No one else had bought it, so the vendor reduced it down to $6 just as I walked over to her. Perfect timing! Underneath is a folk art basket and a stone angel that I should probably put in the garden in the Spring but for now, it sits cozy and content on the bottom shelf. Resting next to is is another wrought iron piece that we're trying to decide where it should go. It was at the charity shop, sitting behind some pots and other outdoor items, almost buried. Paid $4 for it, again on a 50% off day. It was in my cart and every few minutes someone was stopping me in the shop to ask where I had found it! According to the staff, it had sat in that very spot for over 2 weeks. And suddenly everyone wanted it. I love treasure hunting there because you really have to be willing to push other items aside to see what's hidden behind. So much fun!

One of the many writing desks in our home. We have a desk under the stairs in the great room, this one in the turret, the secretary desk in the living room, a desk in our guest bedroom, one in our master (in the turret that is set up like a mini office) and my husband's editing desk in the art studio. Grandson has a desk in his bedroom in the apartment and youngest dd has one in her bedroom as well. If I've counted right, that is a total of 8 desks in one house. On this desk is a sweet birdhouse unit. Each of those round holes is actually a drawer. I don't have anything inside at the moment but in time, this might end up in the art studio to hold small art items. Or in the laundry room where I have collected framed prints of birdhouses. Next to it is a small pink candle holder, then a framed picture of dh's grandparents. On the back, it says "Wedding 1927" and we're trying to determine what their wedding date was. Next is a pile of notepads, typed up with a pretty blue ribbon and a vintage banker's lamp that belonged to dh's parents. I love the green ladder back chair. The other one sits at our desk in our master bedroom. This is a lovely spot to sit and write, while gazing out at the little forest to the south of our house. A calming and inspiring spot in so many ways.

The lace curtains let in just the right amount of light and filter the strong sun on the days it's very bright outside. I love that we can see our little potting shed through the lace. We truly don't need curtains out here but I don't like the look of completely naked windows ~ to me, they always look like the room is unfinished. Working on the second layer of curtains to go on here. I have the living room and dining room figured out, along with the kitchen nook, the laundry room, the french deck door and the huge window in the great room ~ that's a whole other post. But the turret still needs some thought. I'm in no rush. I know just the right look will come to mind one day. There are 4 windows in the turret and they are very tall ~ 6 feet in total height. So planning here for window coverings will take some time and a lot of input from family. We'll get it right, in time!

That's the tour of my current favorite corner. I'll take shots of the hope chest and the tea cart later. I'm off to spend some time with my family on this special "Family Day Holiday" in Canada. I don't think we need a day off to spend with family as we're together all the time but appreciate our leaders believed in a day to reconnect and do something fun with family and friends. Hope you'll join in and share some of the favorite corners in your home that we'd love to know more about. Post in the comments or your blog. Can't wait.

~ Chy