March Bucket List.

We have been so fortunate to have a really love "early Spring" though my daughter keeps reminding us that our "3rd Winter" should come along anytime soon! One can only hope. After a week of bitter cold, this past week was filled with beautiful blue skies, warm air and melting snow. It's slushy and I have no idea what color our car is, but the feeling that just around the corner, we'll soon be seeing buds on trees and flowers in our garden makes me so happy. It feels lighter. I wore a sweater to the centre yesterday, instead of a big Winter coat and boots, with hat and scarf, and layers of mitts. It was nice to put on a cotton pair of socks, instead of my wool ones. And to not have to warm up our wheat bag to warm our bed at night. If "3rd Winter" comes along, this little reprieve has been so lovely for my heart and my spirit. 

Love the "March Bucket List" as my visual for today. It has me excited for this month. The thought of starting some seeds inside, to wear lighter clothes and to decorate for St. Patrick's Day makes me smile! As a 4th generation Irish lassie (maybe 3rd, not sure how it works), this is one of my favorite celebrations. A whimsical day that truly signifies Spring for me. I've put all of Christmas away now, and have started to get out the green for the day. And then a bit of Spring is happening too. Changed out the front door wreath and hung up the wind chimes on the back deck. We couldn't put "Bruce the Moose" away as he's actually buried under some ice but once that melts, we'll hang him to dry and then tuck him away until next Winter. I'm starting think about our Spring projects for outside and what we'd like to accomplish this year. 

Hope you are starting to get excited about Spring!

💗 Chy 💗

Morning Sunbeams.

I've written before how much I love how

the sun casts light and shadows on our

lavender walls. I forgot of how often it

is a different look when it hit furniture.

~ Chy

Winter Weather.

..... has been amazing so far. We have

not had any new snow since early in

December and this week, the bit we

have has been melting as the warmth

that crept in settled and hasn't yet left.

We have had fog and frosty mornings

but the sun, the light wind and the air

has kept our Winter so nice. Many days

I have my jacket undone and the other

day, I wore shoes to work instead of

my big Sorels. I'm sure at some point

we'll have some fresh snow and maybe

a day of rough driving. But for now,

we'll embrace what has been gifted to

us for the start of 2023. I hope where

you are dear friends the weather is great!

~ Chy

Frosty Decor.

Before we entered in the current warm

snap, it's was super cold for a couple

of days. But no snow, just cold air. I

was thankful for that but love the warm!

~ Chy

Evening Fire.

It was a bit of a gamble to put a fireplace in our

master bedroom when we built our little cottage

in the big woods. But I'm so thankful we did go

int his direction. So cozy on a cold and frosty night!

~ Chy

Warm and Sunny.

We finally have great weather and our landscape is beginning to turn green. I'm loving the bright buds on the trees and the blooms that have started to shoot up from the soil. We stopped and bought a few plants to start my pots for the deck and the front veranda. A geranium, an ivy and another one I can't recall the name of. Hoping it all fills in nicely. Hoping to find the purple petunias that I love to plant in my green pots. Those fill the pot up and the colors together are amazing. Next we will dig up the veggie patch, add more dirt and compost, and then begin to fill it with seeds and plants. Hoping this year, we'll get a better crop. We're planning on growing beets, peas, carrots, onions and herbs. Maybe some potatoes that we tried last year that did come up. We did manage to get corn to grow but after about 2.5 feet, they stopped. That was at the height of the heat wave. Maybe we'll throw some seeds in this year and see if they sprout. More landscaping will happen too. Getting so close to being done. Then it's just maintaining it all. 

If you're Canadian, wishing you a beautiful Victoria Day!

~ Chy 

Morning Lights.

Different views of the morning light

that fell on the cottage early today.

~ Chy

Dreaming ....

.... of Spring! We have had some warm

weather this week, which has created

some melting, slushy roads, muddy cars

but lovely sunny days. But I am starting

to count down the days until the buds

return, the flowers bloom and the birds

are singing again. I miss the green. I

love new snow but not muddy snow!!

~ Chy

Seasonal Words.

Perfect words to describe our

Christmas Holiday Season.

Rainy Days.

After a couple of weeks of hot, dry weather and just a sprinkle of rain or two, it's been lovely to have some actual rainy days. The precipitation has cooled down the air and the moisture is, I'm sure a welcome gift to the wildlife and vegetation in our region. The province beside us is on fire and it's a scary time when it gets this hot. Structures are being burned to the ground and forests obliterated in moments. I hope that our rain will move to the West and douse the fires naturally. Send blessings.

I took a few pics the other night while closing up things for the night. The rain pitter pattered outside but inside was cozy and warm, inviting and calm. Our living room above. I'd like to find a nice soft rug to go in the middle. Not cover the whole floor, just a bit to offer a soft landing for tired feet at the end of the day. And we still need to figure out window coverings beyond the lace panels we have now. A work in progress. I know it will evolve in time.

The side table, comfy arm chair and my gramma's tea cart that sit in the bay window. I was gifted the tea cart not long after we moved out to the country. My mom had it in her little apartment but one day asked if we'd like to have it now. A sweet gift in the perfect spot in our home.

Looking from the living room in to the dining room, the light from the butler's pantry shines through. I'd love a rug here too, likely one that would match whatever we find for the living room. And of course, the same window coverings to keep things consistent. The bit of OCD in my little body would truthfully appreciate that. 

The "new to us but old to someone else vintage thrifted lamp" we bought last week for the also "new to us but old to someone else vintage side table" we bought the week before at the Antique Mall. 

Another thrifted find .... the heart shaped vintage chair we scored last year at the AM. I love this piece and it was so worth the price the vendor negotiated with us. 

The lamp sitting on top of the old victrola was the very first item we ever bought at the AM. It was upstairs, back in the corner of a very small and not really put together booth. Sitting on the floor with it's matching mate, we loved them right away. And at just $20 for both, we also knew that we were getting an amazing deal. The picture beside it was a $2 find from the thrift store ~ love the gilded frame. The little rabbit on the chair ~ another AM find for $8. And finally, the victrola we found online from a family that was moving from a community next to our County. We were the first to respond and made it out that night to pick it up. After we negotiated and made a deal, the family received quite a few inquiries and likely they could have received full price or even higher. One of our deals where it just all fell in to place. 

That's my rainy day tour to show you how soft the light comes through the lacy windows when it rains outside. I'm grateful for the cooling mist, a warm place to call home, a cozy neighborhood and a free country. I hope you feel this in your heart too, wherever you live. 

Sunny New Years.

Our warm winter continued again today with

a sunny, almost spring day. Even the bit of

snow we have was melting off our roof! I

caught the sun peeking through the trees.

How was your first day of 2016?

Was your weather warm or chilly?

Warm and Cozy ....

,,,, and ready for bed!

We finally put fairy lights above our bed. And with

the fireplace on to warm up our room, it feels very

cozy for a dark, winter's night. With all the terror

in the world tonight, I'm thankful for this little nest.

Do you have a favorite spot in your house?

Where do you get away from the outside world?

Amazing!

Hi everyone!

On this chilly, dark winter's night, at minus 20 degrees celcius, this amazing picture, shared by a dear friend of mine on Facebook, is making me drool for a warmer spot to be:

Benagil Sea Cave, the Algarve Coast, Portugal

Isn't it a beautiful spot? 

Can you imagine spending some time here?

Out our Front Door!

We've had great weather for the last 1.5 weeks, with temperatures above 0 Celcius and melting, diminishing the big snow banks. Warm and wonderful for our break from work. But today, the sun didn't shine, the wind picked up and our temps went from +4 to -12 in a few short hours.

The view outside our front door as the storm started.

Snow falling in the back yard.

Chilly garden!

Tree branch blew down onto the grass snow!

Warm and cozy inside with a view to the garden.

Christmas lights to keep our family room bright.

For dinner, home made chicken soup

with warm, soft biscuits.

I made a double batch so we have lots for the 

weekend. If we get snowed in, we're ready!!

Did your weather change drastically today?

How do you stay warm inside?

Warm and Cozy!

Winter finally arrived this weekend. It rained on Saturday, then later in the evening it turned to slushy snow and by Sunday morning, we had a white world. Ironically, Saturday was snow tire day at our house. We finished up the last bit of organizing the garage just in time, then slipped inside, not to leave the house until this morning. It was lovely to watch the big flakes fall from the sky, while we puttered about, getting ready for the week, enjoying the company of our daughters and grandson, watched a few movies, made homemade chili with biscuits, fresh pumpkin pie and soup for the week. It was truly a warm and cozy weekend at our little house!

We bought this great quilt at the Antique Mall

for just $12 from my favorite vendor.

I love the soft colors and the patterns.

It had a tiny hole that was not visible to me as

we examined it in the store but thankfully, I sew.

A quick fix, a good wash and fluff in the dryer and it went on our bed on Saturday night, to keep us warm and cozy through the night. When we woke up in the morning, we watched the snow gently fall while staying under our new~to~us quilt and talked about the upcoming Christmas season, our favorite. Feeling ready now for the long winter ahead of us.

How did you stay warm and cozy this weekend? 

Are you ready for the season?