Wednesday, March 14, 2012

~The Friday night bath~


No one loves a bath , more than me.
I love my Friday night ritual. It's how I decompress from the week.
I enjoy the whole process of preparing the bath as well.

Lighting the candles


setting the mood

lighting  the fireplace

something to drink

lotions, potions, jams and jellies




a soft terrycloth pillow

and then comes my favorite moment, when I slip into the silky hot water and sink up to my chin.  
And that is where I stay. Contented, for 2 hours or until my skin prunes off. I usually turn on the jets for about 30 minutes, then I add my bubbles and soak away my cares. The work week evaporates with the rising steam.

Ahhhh!



I can't wait for Friday night.



How do you decompress?

Sunday, March 11, 2012

~Meet Elizabeth Bennett~




Not quite what you were expecting?

Well, this is OUR Elizabeth Bennett
or, Lizzie for short.
I'm sure Mr. Darcy would agree that OUR Elizabeth also has ' a pair of fine eyes'
She's
 Sometimes also known as :


She is the 'other girl' in Mr. Wonderful's life.
They are joined at the hip.






But she loves her Mommy too.


She takes her job quite seriously, which is to keep a close eye on Mr. Wonderful and  see what he's up to at any given moment of the day.

 
She also guards against any possible attack from ....birds....or squirrels.

She poses for Animal Crackers, just to get Mr. Wonderful's attention.



She is the keeper of the Castle Gates.




 And no one enters without her permission. Except for the terrorist who already resides within the Palace walls.
dum....

dum....

dum....

Yes, America's Most Wanted. The ruthless, the treacherous

BABY KITTY



Blessed are we who have animals in our life, to show us what love is all about.



'Some say there are no dogs in heaven. They are missing the point. The truth is heaven has already come bounding up to us, muddy pawed, wet nosed, tail wagging in the selfless trusting uncomplicated love of a good dog.'
                                                 -Angus





Thursday, March 8, 2012

~A place for everything~

Now where did we leave off? Oh yes, I was thinking


Trying to come up with a scheme, I mean a plot, I mean a solution to my dish storage problems.

AHA !!

" What if we take that barely used coat closet right here between the kitchen and the dining room......and turn that into a China Closet?" I ask slyly.



" Then we can use the pie safe as we intended ,as a  food pantry.  Wouldn't that be a great idea?"
Mr. Wonderful mulls this over, trying to figure out if it is actually some sort of devious plot.
But in the end he agrees, it is indeed a great idea

So as usual, I dream it and HE builds it.


preparing for really sturdy shelves.

Mr. Wonderful always exceeds my expections. Such as installing this great lighting system, that I never would have thought of. Lights, illuminating every shelf. Perfect.




Beautiful beadboard walls.
See how nice and deep the shelves are?

Now mind you, this does not include my everyday dishes, or my collection of white ironstone which have a home of their own
( so far)

To me this looks like a GIANT jewelry box. Full of beautiful sparkling things.
But instead of diamonds or gemstones, it's filled with silver and crystal and colorful china from near and far.

The top shelf holds seasonal dishes. Christmas, etc.






My collection of mismatched vintage silverplate, in vintage glass containers.
Not the family heirloom silver, but fun pieces collected over time and perfect for tea parties.



Pretty tea cups all in a row.





Granddaughters little tea pot.

Wicker basket holding plates chargers and a few silver trays.




I really don't have that much. It was all just a matter of proper storage!!!



And now I have a place for everything.
Tons of room. More room than I ever imagined.
Room, glorious room. Room to spread out...... (for now.)

 Oh, by the way, here is the lovely pie safe/pantry as intended. Much better, yes?










"Now this time I mean it." says Mr. Wonderful. " When you fill up this closet you're done."



"Of course, Darling. I agree completely."