Remembering Pansies

The first flower I remember from my earliest memories is a pansy. But with seeing them in my mind comes the memory also of the lovely little fragrance that they have. Most people will say that they have no scent, but believe me they do. Every year when I go to buy my winter pansies I sniff and sniff until I find the pots with the most fragrant blooms. I think with all the hybridization that a lot of the fragrance hase been bred out, just like the roses you find in the florists' shop. Well anyways this is a pic of some of the pansies I found this winter.

The Kitten Next Door

This little sweetie showed up in our backyard for the first time yesterday. I knew the mom had to be pregnant, but I did not know when the kittens would arrive. There is only this one small kitten. He seams to have a perpetual worried look on his face... just like the father. So very cute though! I have no idea where he will end up, but, I hope his cuteness will get him a good home.

Button Love

What is this fascination with buttons? For as far back as I can remember, I have loved buttons! This is just a small, small group of some of my favorites. For the most part I collect mother-of-pearl buttons...the bigger the better! I am also drawn to the lovely vintage rhinestone buttons. Funny though, I have a hard time using any of button collection in any of my sewing projects. I am afraid something drastic might happen to them once they are attached to fabric. So most sit in darkness, in boxes or jars. So I have to change my view and use them, that way others can appreciate them too! All this being said, I think I'm going to start on a project where I can use some of these buttons! A jacket? A purse? Well maybe I will start it tomorrow.

Bedroom Decor?

Yesterday my husband and I were in a local antique mall. I spotted this cute chicken across a large booth. Well I almost fell over myself to get to this kitchen towel Darling huh? Well I picked it up and it was two.... pillowcases! Now, this is not my idea of bedroom decorating, but who could pass these up? Not me! I thought I could cut them down and hem them to be kitchen towels.
It must have taken hours and hours to make these. I really appreciate all the time consuming work women in the past put into even the smallest of things, to bring beauty to the world!

Meet My Cat

I would like for you to meet my cat, Mr Fluff. Isn't he beautiful? Fluff is HUGE! I am not sure of his weight right now but it is at least 24 pounds. He is not overweight, he is just a gigantic cat. Also he is a ragdoll, so when I pick him up he is all floppy and actually difficult to manage. Fluff is a stubborn cat as well. He is intensely interested in shoes! He looooves them. Many of my best shoes have "love" scratches on them. No mater what we have tried, we cannot break him of this fascination. I suppose I should buy him his very own pair, maybe that would make him happy. Humm.............?

Unusual Summer

Here is another pic from our crabapple tree. This poor tree is so mixed up! Truthfully I think it is on its last legs. This is a final attempt to propagate itself. Sad really.

I have a couple of new things in the works for the shop, so keep checking in there.

Thrifting, Sweet Heart Soap, and Summer

Mom and I went thrifting the other day and these three things are what I found. The cute little pansy fabric is bright and crisp, and will probably be used in one of my patchwork purses.

The lovely dish will reside in the bathroom holding a pretty bar of Sweet Heart soap. For those of you who remember Sweet Heart soap it has long been out of the marketplace, but The Vermont Country Store has re-created it with the exact fragrance. It is wonderful!!!

We have had the strangest summer... as most of the world has had. Here is a pic of our crabapple tree with a few desperate blossoms in this late hot summer. It might reach 100 degrees today! Oh well, we had so much rain earlier this summer I think I won't say anything else.

Living With Celiac Disease

If you have found this post by googling the word celiac, have heart, there is hope for enjoying food!

When my husband was told twelve years ago that "no" he did not grow out of being a celiac sufferer, the first thing I thought was what will I be able to cook that he can eat? It did look grim at the time.

I searched the health food stores for hours, reading labels, searching for obvious gluten and the hidden gluten. It was, I must say a labor of love, as I wanted my husband to live a healthy life free from the discomfort consuming gluten brought him. I have chosen to keep the same diet and I feel better too!

Now people in the health industry are much better informed about gluten intolerance. Many companies cater to the wheat and gluten sensitive. There are so many good cookbooks that deal with this problem.

I, however, had to develop some of my own cooking strategies as my husband is also intolerant of dairy. Even with all the "experimental" meals my husband never complained. Some were flops, nearly inedible, but I learned, and now even though we choose to eat simple meals they are good, and healthful.

Look for brown rice tortillas from Food for Life if you like Mexican food. That was a life saver for us. Also try a variety of gluten free breads. All those years ago we only had one to choose from and it was not too good. Today there are many. We use the Kinnikinnick White Sandwich Loaf. At Kinnikinnick they focus all their products on being gluten free. Their products can be found on the Internet and also in some health food stores. Here is their link www.kinnikinnick.com They also have donuts that are really good.

Be positive! What we always focus on is "Look how many things we can choose from!" not how much we miss the foods we had to leave behind.

The Cat Next Door

Here is a pic of our next door neighbor. He looks like a respectable cat from the angle I caught him. In reality, behind the lattice on the right, his cheek has a huge strip of raw flesh. The top of his head is not much better. I will never understand how people can have a pet and not see to their medical needs. He is not neutered and gets into heated fights. He has so much scar tissue on the afore mentioned right side when he meows only the left side of his face moves. I do feed him several days a week to try and keep him going (he is quite thin). I am happy I can do something to comfort him.

Joining the Blogging World

It seems strange for me to start a blog since I never write anything...not even a postcard. But I have really enjoyed reading other peoples blogs, so I thought I would plunge in and join the blogging community.

My banner pic was taken this morning. We have been fortunate this spring to get quite a bit of rain and all the flowers, trees and grass have benefited greatly. The Impatiens (above) have been really lush and full of blooms. I hope we haven't been spoiled, because as summer comes on all things green usually get a bit brown and crispy. Maybe it will be different this year!

My first blog entry...this has been very enjoyable.