Pencil Tree - Chapter 4

Now that the excitement of Easter is over we move on to the next chapter in the pencil tree saga. Chapter 4 is "Spring has Sprung" with beautiful flowers, butterflies, apples, eggs and a little birdie and nest to top it off - I think we have accomplished a spring look. I am so excited to plant my real flowers, the hot weather sure has been a teaser. This spring look chapter should be there for a few weeks, hm wonder what will come next?

I'm A Little Teapot ....

Cozy and warm on a cold winters day and sharing a hot cup of tea with a friend, is there anything better? I love my teapots - it is an eclectic collection; some were gifts, others were garage sale finds and a couple were passed down through family. My favorites are the ones from England, of course no one makes a better cuppa than the British. Hot tea reminds me of the song "Lets get back to the basics of life". My favorite blend from Smicksburg is blueberry vanilla. So come on over when you can spend a few minutes - and enjoy.

New Treasure

Back to collecting..... I love vintage enamelware and my friend Jenny is carrying some in her shop, His Light In Our Valley - the most unique little Christian book and gift shop. Since she is located in the same building as my office I have the opportunity to keep up with her inventory. I happened to be over there when the latest supply was delivered and look at this little treasure I found. It is a sugar bowl in fairly good condition. This is the first time I have seen this particular piece and I was so happy to snatch it up quickly. I looked on eBay and haven't found anything similar so it must be unique :)
Lucky me!

Sing ... sing a song...

My weekend project. I am having a fling with organization right now; cleaning out drawers, cupboards, closets, boxes, everything in my path - one way or another I am going to get this house organized! Now herein lies the problem, when your are blessed(?) with a bit of an OCD personality you can become your own worst enemy. I decided the project to tackle this past weekend was organizing my Cd's and downloading them onto iTunes for easy access and mixing play lists so that I can load my MP3 Player and the new iPod Shuffle my sister got me for Christmas. I am a music lover for sure - I like all types - starting with my favorite Christian, followed by Country, Classic Rock, some Pop, Bluegrass, Classical, Island music, a little Rap (depending on the lyrics) just about all of it. And this is where the OCD issue comes into play - once I started the downloading process I couldn't stop until it was finished. I didn't realize how long this would take (and my computer is fairly fast) but needless to say I didn't get much of anything else done all weekend!

Pencil Tree - Chapter 2

Well I warned you that I am into my pencil tree this year. Who knows what you may see on it next. Right now we're geared up for St. Patrick's Day. Not as colorful as I like - green on green, but it will have to do. I do have a bit of the Irish blood running through my veins. Perhaps that is where my stubborn streak comes from. Not sure about the luck o'the Irish - I don't really believe in luck. I do believe that our lives are a combination of the choices we make and the will of God for our lives, and where one stops and the other begins isn't always obvious. As far as the pot of gold ..... I settled for some gold raffia at the base of my tree.

Glass Jars

I love my glass jars - I guess I have been thinking more about them now that our local Glass Plant is closing but I have fun displaying and organizing things in them. It is nice because you can actually see what you are looking for instead digging through boxes and bins. And they look nice sitting on a shelf. I am always looking for more ..... just another hobby to add to the list.

Scavenger Hunt

OK - maybe that title is a little formal for what I do, cleaning out the basement and closets etc.... but when you have lived in the same home for 26 years and during each of those years collected some things that you stashed away - well what else should I call it. I found this cute little hand painted slate that hung by my Grandma's kitchen door for as long as I can remember. I was excited when I found it! The most amazing thing is I keep finding things I have totally forgotten about. Now I will try and track down where and who it came from - there may be a little family history that goes with it. I hung it in my "work" room and every time I sit at my table in there I look up and see it :)

Cookbooks

Well this is a funny one - I LOVE cookbooks, but I can't seem to find the time right now to try new recipes very often. And of course the favorite is the family cookbook with Grandma's picture on the front. So I just continue to gather them for the day when I do have the time. It seems that when I like something I can't like it "just a little" which in turn has made me a collector of many, many things. One thing for sure when I find a recipe I like, I love to share it. I also appreciate all of my recipe guru friends who share their finds with me. I'm sure in the future you will see some on here.

Stars at Home

I decided to look around and check out my home and see what tickles my fancy - I have several recurring themes; scripture, candles, coffee mugs, wooden signs, teapots, throw pillows ..... but nothing seemed to appear as often as the stars - hence the photo collage which shows several of them. My family room is done in an Americana theme so most stars are there. They do show up in other rooms too. What is so special about stars, I guess they signify hope- in our deepest darkest moments we need visual aids to realign our thoughts and I think the star is perfect. It led the wise men to Jesus so it can certainly lead us to the light.