You light up my life!

You really do! With all sincerity, everyone that takes the time to stop by and read my blog and leave me a message or comment or email, brings light and warmth into my life. I really do look forward to hearing from you. For that I thank you!

But for those times when you aren't around, I must rely on other methods of light and warmth. I love to light candles for the warm glow they give a room. There is nothing like it. And it is what Colonists and Early Americans used primarily. I like pure beeswax candles because they burn so nicely, but they sure do burn fast. But, let's face it, it is pretty hard to read or work by candle light - especially with 54 year old eyes. Over the years I have been fortunate to collect a variety of Colonial inspired lighting. Some are for task lighting, some for mood lighting. Some are overhead and wall lighting. Some are made in a style pretty close to what might have been used, only they are electrified. Others are really more inspired by colonial times and are less accurate but I still prefer them over what the typical discount and home decor stores carry. I have been asked by a few prim friends to show my lighting so here is part of my collection. Be warned - picture heavy post!

When I first started to look for more primitive lighting back in 1986 or so, it was not easy to find - even in the local primitive shops. One of my favorite things to do was to take an old jug and make it into a lamp. One local shop back then sold lamp kits that were set into a cork and the cork was then set into the jug thereby avoiding making any holes in the jugs. I have seen similar kits using a rubber stopper instead of a cork in stores in my travels and online sites but I don't recall exactly which ones right now - sorry. Below are some of the jugs I made into lamps back way then.

Two in this corner of the living room...

This one on my little desk in the living room...This one is on DH's side of the bed...
And this one is one top of my desk in my office...
Some of my other lamps are made to resemble different style candle holders. These are not great for bright light, but when used with the silicone dipped bulbs, they are wonderful for soft mood lighting. Almost as nice as a real candle. Now that our eyes don't adjust at night as well as they did years ago, we use a few of them as night lights.
Here are two on my side of the bed...
This one is a night light in bathroom...
This one in DH's office.... This one right next to my computer monitor...And this one on top of the refrigerator is a night light too. My favorite are these two lanterns - this one in the dining room I got at the Seraph MANY years ago...
and my newest lantern in the living room. Except for this one, I have had all my lamps and electric candle sticks for several years at least.
These next few pics are types of bridge lamps. Some are old and some are repros.We got this is wall sconce when we moved here. The previous owners had something hard wired here and I didn't like it. Back then it was hard to find colonial wall sconces and when I did find one, it had to be modified because this was not linked to any wall switch. And it was brass to boot! We started to replace the ceiling fixtures almost immediately. This one in the dining room did not have the dripped candle look sleeves back in 1986. I added them several years ago. I got the sleeves from New England Traditions in Sturbridge.
I added the drip sleeves to this one in the kitchen too - this is from 1986 as well!
This is the second colonial light fixture we have had over the sink. The first was a punched tin witches cone but it blew up one day! I couldn't get the parts or another one exactly like it so I got this revere lantern instead. Of course I then found the cone lanterns everywhere after that!
This little guy is in the front hall.
and this one from our bedroom is the exact same style, just painted.
I love this one in my office....
And this is in the hallway outside our bedrooms...

So that is the lighting tour Behind My Red Door! I hope that was helpful to the gals that asked me to post the pictures of them. Some sources for primitive lighting are: New England Traditions, Irwin's, Lt. Moses Willard, The Country House Catalog, Piper Classics, Circa Home Living, and Early American Tin Lighting.

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Now for Whatcha Working On Wednesday! Make sure you head on over to Leslie's to see more! We have had a busy time the past week Behind My Red Door with the in laws in town and babysitting our sweet angel and other summer time business, but I did manage to finished my pillow from last week. And I even managed to make two more little pillow tucks for the fall but I can't show you those just yet!

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I wanted to let you know the source for the Swedish Rhubarb Meringue recipe It was from the Heart Change Place Blog. Thanks Kathy for steering me in the right direction!

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We have had a few glorious days of gorgeous summer weather. Mid 70's, dry and breezy - but it is coming to an end tomorrow. The humidity is coming back with a vengeance - DARN - and just in time for my Prim Gathering tomorrow. Back on go the a/c's. I have been busy cleaning and tweaking and primping. It's amazing what you notice needs fixing, dusting, or tweaking when you have prim friends coming to SEE THE HOUSE! LOL

I offered Bonnie and Audrey a choice of a lunch or a brunch menu and Bonnie chose brunch so I am making:

Broccoli cheese quiche

Apple maple chicken sausages and

Colleen's Strawberry, Spinach and Feta Salad.

After brunch we are going to head out to Country Plus in Hopkinton, and Pepperberry Cottage in Westboro. One of my blog followers, Tricia, will be working at Country Plus for the owner, so I will get to meet her - how fun is that??!! When we get back here, we'll have a cool summer dessert made with fresh blueberries and raspberries before the gals head home.

I best get back to my tweaking and cleaning. I heard Bonnie is packing a camera!

Until Next Time - Hugs, Linda

Bee skeps, being blue, a baby's belly button, baking, a birthday, burgers and Bonnie!!!

LOL - sorry, the post title was much shorter originally but I kept seeing B's pop out at me and so the title had to change to reflect them! Just be happy I stopped when I did!

Don't you just love bee skeps? I do! I have 5 right now. Cept I can't show you one of them because it is almost completely covered with ground cover and it is slowly becoming one with the earth. That's what happens when you leave them out all winter in New England. It has been disintegrating for a few years now. I didn't dare move it after that winter. I won't make that mistake again -leaving it out I mean,. They come inside with me about the time the pumpkins and cornstalks go up. So right now I have 4 that are still in fairly could shape. Some in better condition than the others, but I love them all. I was trying to remember where or when I first saw them but I have drawn a blank! That is soooo not me. I have a pretty good photographic memory. It could be in one the many books I use for inspiration - and then I may have seen the first one in person the first time I went to Pickity Place with the Garden Club I belonged to before we moved to this town. Jen was 3 so that was 25 years ago! OH MY! How time flies when you are having fun! If are a new follower, click here to learn about this wonderful restaurant in the woods of southern NH. It is one of my favorite places to go with a friend. The food is yummy, the gardens are gorgeous and they have a cool gift shop with all kinds of food and herb and spice related items. Of course it might have been on one of our many trips to Old Sturbridge Village. I think I have seen them there. They have some interesting old time gardens there and a wonderful gift shop too. I know I bought this big one at the Handmaiden in the town of Sturbridge.
Or perhaps it was the first time we went to Williamsburg, Va? It could have been - but I have a good reason for not remembering everything I saw there that visit. You see it was 110 -with an even higher heat index. As in degrees. As in HOT! Not, let me re-state that. As in EXTREMELY HOT!! So while we did tour some of the many gorgeous gardens there, I am sure I had heat stroke by the time we were done so my memory of those days is not the best. That was also the year of the blue smurf incident. Yes, blue smurf. ME - a blue smurf. I heard you giggling. It wasn't funny then and it isn't funny now. It all happened after one of the water rides at Busch Gardens. I have no one to blame but myself. That makes it even more painful to recall. I HATE the heat - did I tell you that yet? But I am a very good mother so I do what has to be done. That year, we needed to visit Busch Gardens amusement park on the way home from Jen's National dance competitions in Myrtle Beach. How did we know it would be the hottest day recorded to date! Yes it was HOT. EXTREMELY HOT! So it was my idea to go on that water ride first thing so that we would get a little wet and that would help keep us cool. I had on the cutest matching top and shorts. Remember the ones they sold back in the early 90's? The top usually had a pretty design. I had a really cute blue set I had gotten in Myrtle Beach. I had my brand new white tennis shoes and white ankle socks on too. They didn't stay white too long. Because we didn't get a little wet. Nope. We got DRENCHED TO THE BONE. Yup. And my pretty blue outfit started to run. As in loose the dye. Did I tell you I was wearing shorts? Do you know what happens when blue fabric is DRENCHED and starts to run? Did you know water follows gravity? YUP. That smurf blue water went right down my legs. And into my white socks and my white sneakers. I turned blue. Yes I did! Even though it was 110 degrees (with an even higher heat index) I was turning blue. Right in front of thousands of curious eyes. Do you know that I can run from the back of Busch gardens to the exit in the front in 10 seconds flat? You would too if you were turning blue!! Did I ever tell you how much I HATE the heat?
Well, no matter where it was that I first saw bee skeps, I have had at least one ever since. They really say summer don't they? Much better than water rides at Busch Gardens if you ask me. Who needs those!
I have been asked about my sources for skeps several times and I have to tell you that I get my bee skeps at local shops that don't ship. BUT I do know of one online source. I have never ordered from this source but I know a few gals that have and they were pleased. Click HERE for that source.
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I got an email from Jay the other day and his excitement came right through the computer!Liliana has a belly button! Yup, the umbilical cord finally fell off. It must have tuckered her out so much that she fell asleep on the couch watching TV I guess. Just like her daddy, and his daddy too! At least she doesn't snore. And she sure is a lot cuter - no offense guys.

The next dayLiliana and her mommy came to lunch with me while Grampy and Great Grampy were out playing golf. Her mommy and I had turkey wraps, but she just had formula. Now don't let this picture fool you. She may look all sweet right here but let me tell you, you don't want to know what she was getting ready to do. I think she even looks like she is contemplating it! How can one sweet little girl, make such a stinky mess? TWICE! That's when it is time to assert your Grammy's rights and say "here mommy- change your baby!!" hehehe And here she is clapping for joy because she is now clean and dry and sweet as can be!
After visiting me, she and mommy went for a walk around the park and she loved the fresh air.

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I had a few questions on the pronunciation of Liliana. The best way I can explain it in print is that it is pronounced like this: Lily Ah Na ...Not Lily Anna. I hope that makes sense!

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You might have guessed that DH's parents are in town from their home on the golf course in SC. They usually come home in May, but this year they waited until the baby was born. Jay is their only grandson, and so they were very excited to meet their second great grandchild. Their first lives in Texas and they don't get to see him because of the distance. It is getting harder and harder for them to make the trip back home here even, so we treasure each visit. My MIL loves babies like no one else, so when she got her hands on Liliana, it was a love fest for sure. It was great to see DH's parents enjoying our first grandchild so much!
Four generations..

Today is also my FIL's 82nd birthday so we had a party here. It's been awhile since we were together on his birthday. We had a cook out and I made a variety of salads to go with the burgers and it was the perfect weather for it. On the menu-
French onion dip (my own recipe) and chips
Broccoli salad ( humm shoulda put that in the title too!)
Italian Pasta Salad
Garden Salad
Burgers
Hermits (my in laws love them!)
Swedish Rhubarb Meringue
I found the recipe on a blog weeks ago and can't find the source now, so if anyone knows it, please let me know. I'd like to give credit where credit is due because this was out of this world! My in laws are Swedish and love rhubarb and I knew they would like this better than a cake.

Swedish Rhubarb Meringue
2/3 cup margarine or butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar

5 cups diced rhubarb
4 egg yolks (save whites for meringue)
2 cups sugar
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup evaporated milk or whipping cream ( I used cream)

4 egg whites
5 tablespoons sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix first 3 ingredients and press into the bottom of a 13x9 pan. Prick the bottom with a fork and bake 10 minutes. It will come out looking like this.

Mix the next 6 ingredients and pour over crust. Bake 45 minutes. It looks like this.
To make the meringue beat the egg whites until foamy in an electric mixer or by hand. While continuing to beat, add sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Meringue is ready when stiff peaks form. Spoon over rhubarb mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until meringue is browned.This result was so worth all three steps!! OH YUMMO!!!!!! I imagine you could substitute apples or peaches or some other firm fruit for the rhubarb if you wish!
We all loved it!

Note: the bottom crust pops out easily because of all the butter but the second two layers stuck to tha pan so I would grease the pan next time.

Happy Birthday Dad !

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After my last post I had a few requests to make a new summer wool pillow pattern to share and while I so appreciate your confidence in me, I am not sure I am ready for that right now. It's one thing for me to try and decipher my own hen scratching but quite another to make it presentable to the world! I also had several gals ask if I sell anything I make. I don't. I have a hard enough time making what I want for myself and the gifts I need to make. I had vowed some time ago to read more and I am indeed doing that so stitching often takes a back seat. And of course the number of blogs I follow is huge and even though I can't get to each post - especially those that post several times a week- I try to visit them at least once a week. We all know how much time that takes. And then there are the small projects around the house and the gardening and the keeping of the house and the cooking nice dinners for DH every night and well, like the rest of you I am sure, there just are not enough hours in the day!! A gal that used to be one of my teachers, still works at the school. We were chatting the other day and I asked her is she had thoughts of retiring and she said to to me " I could never retire and just sit at home twiddling my thumbs". I told her, I wish I had TIME to twiddle my thumbs!

And then there are the prim friends I love to see in person too! Later this week I am having a little gathering with my friend Bonnie and new friend Audrey. You met Bonnie here. They are coming to my home for brunch and then hopefully, a few of the prim shops around here will be open. I'll hope to take plenty of pictures to share.

Thanks for stopping by everyone. I hope your weekend is being good to you!

Until Next Time - Hugs, Grammy Linda

Whatcha Working On Wednesday?

Happy Wednesday soggy friends!! Are you soggy? We sure were here Behind My Red Door! It is sunny, not too warm and just beautiful today after a VERY wet Tuesday. Probably more importantly we did get 3 absolutely perfect days over the long weekend. Saturday, Sunday and Monday were dry, nice temps in the mid 70's, the sky was blue with fluffy white clouds and there were wonderful light breezes. We did errands, worked outside and got the yard and gardens in shape again, had some wonderful family time and a cookout, and DH got some golfing in and I got some deck time in and finished two books I had gotten months ago. It does not get any better than that in the summer. And the best part of course was that DH and I had some great snuggle time with Liliana and that is now my favorite activity.

But since I can't hold her 24/7, it's time to get back into crafting and creating. So I decided to join Leslie and yes, I really am going to post something I am working on - finally! I know, I know, it has been a loooong time since I have joined you all on a Wednesday. My long time followers probably remember waaaaay back when I had something to post about every Wednesday it seems. Really - I did!! Yes, I actually picked up a needle and floss, or dough, or paper and glue and made things! I know, it is hard to believe. To prove I really can make things and mostly because I REALLY need to inspire myself to get busy creating again, I decided to post pictures of just some of things I worked on in the last year. I really am not a slacker - really!! After all, I did finish two books this week!

Of course you all know by now that I LOVE LOVE LOVE fall. I decorate as much for fall as I do for Christmas. And even though our home was in Mercantile Gatherings this spring, originally Twigs had asked me if our home could be in the Fall 09 issue. That meant photo's had to be taken last fall. So I really outdid myself if I do say so myself. Later Twigs asked me to if I could take pictures of our home for spring, so the fall pictures never made it into print. You can see them if you click here! I decorated a bit early and was inspired to stitch up storm.

Like this trio of wool pillows. All my own hand drawn patterns. I saw similar pillows on another blog and liked them and made my own
And this wool leaf candle mat made from a pattern from Create and Decorate magazine, October 06 issue I believe.
And this pumpkin table runner - again wool. This is a Lake View Primitives pattern.
And this wool candy corn pillow... again, my own pattern.
And the white pumpkin wool pillow - my own design again.
And then to get ready for Christmas decorating, I made up these ornamental ginger boys using a recipe I saw on Colleen's And Baby Makes Five blog way back in the fall. Click on her blog name for the recipe!
Most of them went on this Swedish Cookie Tree DH made me in 1985 from a photo I saw in Country Living back then.
And then after a trip to Sturbridge to the former Primitive Cellar, I had to come home with the wool and pattern for this wall hanging. I also bought the pumpkin runner pattern above at the former Primitive Cellar. Doreen now has her shop in the historic Walker Homestead. I attended the open house and you can read all about it here.
I hung this here and to see the rest of our Christmas 08 decor, you can click here.After the holidays, I got inspired to change the display in the cubbies of my long red shelf in the living room. I already had the crow pillow so I decided to make some more wool pillows and wool rag balls to join them. All the other pillows were inspired by patterns I didn't have so I printed out photo's and traced them to make my own patterns.
As spring approached I decided I needed a few bunny themed items and so I whipped up this little guy...(my own design)
And made this needle punch picture from a Primitive Betty's pattern. Betty very generously shares many patterns with us!
And this is another punch needle I made in the spring. This is called Penny Rug and is a Hooked On Rugs Pattern.

And just a few of the hundreds of cards I have made...

So you are saying to yourselves - Well Linda, quit the shameless plugging and showing off (or embarrassing yourself depending on one's point of view!) and get to it and show us what are you are working on NOW!! Yes, I heard you. They say the hearing is the last sense to go you know...

I decided I needed some new late summer decor. I know it isn't late summer yet, but maybe if I start NOW I will be ready when it really is late summer! And what could be more late summer than sunflowers and crows?? I decided to use the crow and sunflower from this Sunflower Mini Mat pattern LAS905 by Lily Anna Stitches. Don't you just love the name Lily Anna? No Liliana isn't pronounced quite the same but it is close!Sorry, there is no website given on the pattern but the there is an email address: lorikabat@charter.net. Instead of a mini mat, I am making it into a pillow. I love small pillows to tuck in here and there each season. So far I have gotten as far as tracing and cutting out the wool pieces and ironing them on the pillow front. When I get off the computer, I am going to get stitching so that next week, I have a finished project to share and maybe even another. Make sure to check back then!

One gal who is definitely not a slacker, whether she is making Ornamental Gingerbread or sharing yummy edible recipes or stitching up a storm or caring for her three adorable kiddo's, is my friend Colleen. She surprised me with this adorable new stitchery!! "Whenever a child is born, so is a grandmother". Isn't that perfect?!!I was so delighted to learn the kiddos helped pick out the design. Do you see the daisies? My favorite flowers! And the lilac butterfly? Just like in Liliana's nursery! Didn't they do a great job picking out the pattern? And Colleen did a great job putting it all together for me. Thank you so much Colleen - this now has a place of honor in my office!! In fact, it was the perfect inspiration for me to tweak my office decor a bit and so I spent some time doing that yesterday. I'll have some pics to share later this week - I hope. These days I am keeping my schedule loose so no promises!
And before I forget... if you haven't seen the newest homes in the Member's Gallery of A Primitive Place, you really should stop by. Some of our favorite blogging friends have recently added their homes and some gals not in blogland as well. Kristine has done an amazing job creating a place for us to share our love for all the different styles of prim, colonial and country decor.

I hope summer is being good to you all. Thank you for stopping by and visiting my little corner of the world Behind My Red Door.

Until Next Time - Hugs, Grammy Linda

In the headlines...and beyond.

Storms bring flooding and power outages
By Linda Bock TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
An Upton man was injured by a lightning strike this morning during a thunderstorm that dumped heavy rainfall across the county, flooding streets and basements, and prompting the town of Sterling to consider declaring a state of emergency.(Upton and Sterling are towns nearby.)

YIKES - there is not much good in the headlines today and so I decided I had better post something, before we float away here in Central MA!! June 09 was officially the wettest and least sunny June on record in these here parts. Here is another headline from today's morning paper.
Worcester sets June record with 6.5 inches rain.
And July isn't starting out any better. Yesterday and today we have had torrential downpours. Out back, the brook is about as high as I have ever seen it. I snapped this picture of where the brook starts to run behind our backyard. There are mini rapids out there! And out in front, the water was backing up into our driveway when leaves and debris clogged the town's storm drain that just happens to be smack in the middle of the edge of our driveway.
This is after I cleared away some bigger branches. The water was a good 6-8 feet further onto our driveway. I was beginning to think I needed to start building an ark!
That is almost funny. You see we actually ARE in a National flood zone. Even though we don't get water in our house ever - well at least not in 23 years we have lived here. Even though even during hurricanes, the brook doesn't get even close to the house. There is not enough water upstream of the brook to fill an in ground pool usually, never mind rise to the level of flooding our home. The flood zone thing is something that changed after Katrina. Or something that was suddenly enforced after Katrina. We have been told different stories. No one seems to know the real truth. Certainly when we bought this house 23 years ago, we were not in a flood zone. When we refinanced years ago to lower the interest rate, we were not in a flood zone. Then suddenly, about 2 years ago, we got notified that we were required by law to now carry National Flood Insurance on the outstanding principal on our mortgage and if we didn't find it on our own, the bank would find it for us at a ridiculously high price. PERIOD. Luckily our home is all but paid for because even on the very small mortgage balance, it was a few hundred dollars a year. It really is rather silly. Another one of those over reactions to a bad situation some where else. I know someone will ask or comment - why not pay off the mortgage then. We debated whether we should. In fact I suspect most people would just say the heck with it, I'll pay if off and be done with it, but my DH did his magic on a spread sheet and taking income and everything else into consideration, he decided that for now, the tax deductions make it worthwhile to finish paying it off over time. Even with the silly flood insurance. Which leads me to wonder ... is an ark considered appropriate insurance?

And if the flood warnings were not enough, we are now being bombarded with mosquito warnings too!
Mosquito population explosion!

Is yet another headline in the paper today. More from the Telegram... The damp and drizzly June weather will make for more mosquitoes this summer, according to experts. The blood-sucking insects breed in standing water, and after all the recent rainy days, there is plenty of it. The weather has made it harder for people at the Mosquito Control Project to do their jobs. When it's misty or rainy, they have to reschedule routine pesticide sprayings. It takes four to five days for mosquitoes to develop, and another few days before they hatch. The insects can be expected to show up a week to 10 days after a big rain event. “People should continue to search out areas around their homes so no containers are holding water for more than a week,” he said. That means checking birdbaths, wading pools, gutters and unused flowerpots. If you're outside between dawn and dusk, use a repellent that contains DEET or lemon eucalyptus oil. Water is a necessary part of the mosquito's habitat. A mosquito's life starts as an egg. Eggs typically are laid on the surface of water, and most hatch within 48 hours, according to the American Mosquito Control Association.

Yikes! No wonder I can't wait until it is Fall!!!!!!!!!! BTW, did you ever notice the counter that is always on the bottom of my blog?? UGH 82 whole days until Fall!!!! Terry, are you as ready as I am??

We did have a few hours of sun here and there last week. And I mean VERY few hours. Rain for hours and then the sun might peek out long enough to make it steamy at times. I did get one or two chances to sit outside and enjoy the new conversation set we bought for the deck. A comfy love seat, 2 chairs and a coffee table that is not pictured. It hasn't stopped rainy since that got assembled so it was in the family when I snapped these pics the other day. Just in the time it took to snap the pics, the sun went back behind the clouds and hasn't been seen since. And please ignore the water I spilled out of one of the pots. Don't want those mosquitoes to breed!

The cushions are really a darker barn red than they appear and go rather nicely with the summer blocks I got last summer from our talented friend Kindra from 3 guys, a girl and a prim place.
This is the fist time I have seen sunflowers in pots so I bought one for the deck and one for out front. Even with sufficient drainage from a hole in the crock, it doesn't seem to like this weather. Normally by July, my deck is an explosion of color. Not so much this summer.
The plants are very slow growing. They need sun - just like we learned in science class in the 2nd grade!
We got a nice umbrella too. Unfortunately it is not big enough to keep the whole deck dry in these downpours. As much as I hate the heat, I'll take a little as long as it comes with the sun!
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Still, there have been some really bright spots Behind My Red Door in the last few days despite the lack of sun. On Monday, we babysat for sweet Liliana for a few hours and it was heaven! DH and I loved every second of it. We know how hard it was for Angela to leave her sweet baby the first time, so we were honored to have been able to help her.

I am always getting asked if my DH is really as sweet as I say he is and I think these pics will answer that for you. You all know that Brady LOVES his Grampy. The kids cover the love seat that is in front of the bay window with old quilts and that is Brady's couch. He loves to nap there and watch the world go by. When we visit, DH always sits with Brady and they have a love fest. Well this time, there was a third party joining the love fest. And Brady was very curious to see who Grampy was giving some of his attention to.

He sniffed her bottom...

Then he sniffed a bit higher....And the gave Grampy a look that said "She's OK. Just don't forget I am here too."
Then Brady settled back on the couch and let Grampy finish feeding our sweet Angel.
I'd say any guy who can put up with me for this long, and keep both puppies and babies happy, has something going for him, wouldn't you?

And there were more rays of sunshine in the form of some packages in the mail. Don't you just love fun mail?

Recently our queen of thrifting bloggy friend, Janene from Primitive Lifestyle had blogged about a whisk broom she found. I mentioned I had been looking for one and she told me if she saw more when she went back, she would get me one. I agreed if we could do it as a swap. Well lookey at what came in the mail the other day! I have something I plan to do with it and I hope by the end of the summer I can show you the finished project! Thanks Janene!! I so appreciate your kindness!! Just when you least expect it, something will show up in YOUR mailbox! And another package came from my friend Laurie Z from CT. Laurie and I have been chatting via email for a few months now and we have a lot of things in commons. New grand babies, DH's who don't necessarily share our love of fixing, painting. tweaking and old things. Still, her home is just gorgeous! She too lives in split level but a very different one from mine. She has a much more open floor plan that I love, PAINTED woodwork, some wonderful antiques, and a summer porch that I covet!! I hope to show you pics of her home at some point once I get her permission and figure out how to get them off the photo storage program her daughter uses. So stay tuned for that. Despite being incredibly busy, Laurie sent Liliana the cutest and softest leather baby shoes you have ever seen! They are made by Audrey Hussey, who is known as Kaboogie Baby Shoes on Etsy. Wait till you see these adorable, soft leather shoes. They are so cute. I want some in my size! looke at the cute flower on the front!! Aren't they the best!!?? Thank you so much Laurie. I can't wait to see these on Liliana. You touched my heart my friend!

And then just today, I came home from dodging rain storms and lunch out with my friend Jenn, and there was another box waiting for me. This one is from Tammy from Country Girl at Home and her adorable and very sweet and kind daughter Joy from Doodlebug. The note said that they couldn't resist buying these for Liliana when they saw them. It is the cutest polka dotted sundress with bloomers underneath and a set matching hair bows! The colors of the bows are the exact same colors and the polka dots. How cute is that - and so girly. I can't wait to see Liliana all dolled up in this with a bow in her head of dark hair.

Thank you so much Tammy and Joy. You are so kind to think of our little Angel. It really means so much to me!

I am still amazed and blown away by the genuine kindness and thoughtfulness of so many wonderful women that I have met through blogging and my love of prims. I hope that someday I can adequately convey to Liliana the outpouring of love, good thoughts, prayers and gifts she received from you all. I promise that I will do my very best. To everyone that has sent her gifts, or left me kind words, well wishes and prayers, or mentioned us on your blog, thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart. Being a Grammy is just the VERY BEST and yet somehow, you made it even sweeter still.

Until Next Time - Hugs, Grammy Linda

PS I know I used sweet at least 50 times, but that is EXACTLY what I meant each and every time! :-)

An Emotional Journey....

I have been told that some Grammy's get pretty emotional after their grandchildren are born and that has been true Behind My Red Door. To be honest, I have to say it started long before Liliana was born. We can go way back to the day Jay called to say Angela was pregnant. I won't even tell you where I was sitting when DH handed me the phone because Jay couldn't wait to tell me something! Good thing I was sitting down! And then when we found out it was a girl. Oh and then it was very emotional when we went to the 3d Ultrasound and saw our sweet Liliana for the first time. My emotions were overflowing, when I was in the stores looking for just the right things to bring to the baby shower. Or how about when I was making a card to have ready to bring to the hospital when she was born. And you should have seen me in the restaurant when Jay called on the 18th to say that Angela was in labor! LOL I can only imagine how crazy I looked! Jenn knew something was up just by the look on my face.

And then there was that first time I got to hold her in my arms. I felt my heart swoon! I told her that I loved her right up to the moon and back.

And now I get so emotional when I see a new picture of her, or better yet hold her, or hear my son say "isn't she beautiful?" Just the other day when I was picking out a porta crib for our house - I could feel the emotions welling up inside me. And then when the mail came the other day, well the flood gates let loose. Look at some of the pretty cards we got congratulating us on our new grand daughter. Each one means so much!

And I got teary again when I opened this package from Sherrie, who is one of my followers and lives in SC. She is a Grammy too and she told me she saw something when she was at the beach and she just had to send it to me. Look at this pretty this bag...
And lookey here.... isn't this the most darling thing you ever saw?? L for Liliana!! What is it? I hear you asking.....
A burp cloth!! Isn't that the most clever idea! I mean if a sweet little girl is going to do something as indelicate as burp and spit up, she might as well do it in style. And look what Sherrie wrote... "because spit happens!" Isn't that the cutest?
So I was already blubbering and then I unwrapped the second package and Niagara Falls let loose! Look at the PERFECT book she got me!! Remember Mama duck hatching her eggs right by our front steps? Well Sherrie thought this was just right for me to read to my "little duckling". And it is. I LOVE books and this one will hold a place of honor in my library. I am going to print out the pictures of Mama duck and the eggs and tape them inside the cover of the book to show Liliana some day.
THANK YOU so much Sherrie. You really touched my heart with your thoughtfulness and kindness.

And then when we got home from visiting this sweet little bundle of pure joy the other day,

Grampy noticed a box tucked near the front stairs. I was expecting something else, but when I opened it, I was pleasantly surprised to find there was a note for me from my sweet friend Carol, and this pretty wrapped box for Liliana! What fun! Because the kids were coming on Saturday, I decided to wait and let them open it.

They were delighted to find the softest and prettiest little sleepers you ever saw and they match the nursery too! The bottom set has snaps all the way down the inside of the legs and can be used as a sleep sack or sleeper with legs. It is so cute! Liliana is going to look so pretty in these. I wish I had jammies this soft.

Thank you so much Carol and Jerry. It meas so much that you thought of our Liliana.

And Saturday was a pretty emotional day for other reasons as well. It was the day Liliana got to meet my parents, her great grandparents for the first time.
But she didn't make it easy. Our little bundle of love slept soundly for the first hour. My mom was ready to climb in the car seat with her and just start loving on her! And I was too!

Finally, Liliana was in her Great Mamma's arms, and it was love at first sight!And Liliana seemed to enjoy Great Bampa's soothing voice. There are only 87.5 years age span between these two after all!
Yes, it certainly has been an emotional journey, and one that I am thrilled to be taking.

I can't wait to see you tomorrow Liliana. Grammy loves you right up to the moon and back!

Until Next Time - Hugs, Grammy Linda

PS a special congratulations to our dear friends Pat and Joe down in PA. They too became grandparents for the first time yesterday. Please give Kat, Brian and baby Benjamin hugs for us!!

Assembly Required

Grammy alert!!

Baby pics ahead just because I can!!

It just feels so good to hold this sweet baby. I could hold her all day. She feels and smells so good. And she is opening her eyes more. Here she is on her changing table. Jay says Liliana does not like diaper change time!! She is very loud I am told. hehehe Like her daddy when he was little? What is they say about grandparents revenge? hehehe
Her daddy took this next picture and sent it to me to thank me for doing some grocery shopping for them. I have it as my external wallpaper on my phone now. It looks like she is trying to talk. She does squeak though. I almost forgot about those cute sounds babies make when they are so young.

Just as content as could be in her other Grammy's arms. This baby is very loved!
Liliana, Grammy Linda and grampy David love you right up to the moon and back!

Now for the title of my post. Assembly required. Those two words are feared by parents (and grandparents) across the globe. It is another thing I almost forgot about babies - assembly required. LOL It came right back to me today though. Instead of prim shopping, I did something even more fun - yes MORE fun than prims. I went shopping for my sweet Liliana. I was in search of a portable crib so that we have a comfy place for Liliana when she spends time at Grammy and Grampy's. I was just amazed at the new versions these days. Gone are those old wooden slated ones. So many styles and colors to choose from and some of them are so elaborate! And the colors and patterns. I settled for this convertible version.

It took me awhile but I got it all together. What amazes me is that for something with 10 billion safety warnings, they don't make the assembly instructions very clear. Not the words or the drawings! And I am the queen of visual stuff but they had even me stumped for awhile. If it needs to be put together just soin order to be safe, then make the instruction more clear Graco!!

Right now the bed is up high like a bassinet and later I can move it down to safer level when Liliana gets more active. It can be used as a playpen as well.

And it has this neat changing table built in too. I don't know how practical it will be when she is older, but it will work for now. I am sure this is old hat to many of my followers who are parents and grandparents but I was just amazed !! I wanted one of everything!

I have the best friends! Last Thursday I was about to have dinner with my friend Jenn, when Jay called to say Angela was in labor. We quickly left the restaurant without ordering, but before we said goodbye, Jenn gave me this gift for Jay and Angela.
She made them all these gorgeous had stamped thank you cards. This one on top is my favorite! Isn't that stamp adorable?

Each one is different and so detailed!
Jenn has her own blog, Stampin Angel Jenn, so named because she too angels patients with cancer. In fact that is how we met and became friends. Stop by her blog and see some of her other card creations. And Jenn is a Stampin Up Demonstrator if you need any Stampin Up supplies, just holler. She is cool - she doesn't hound you like some other demonstrators do!

Thanks so much Jenn! I know the kids will love using them.

I am looking forward to our rescheduled dinner tomorrow evening! We have so much to catch up on - even more now!

I have to give a woohoo to Dawn over at Holly Hills Primitives. Her sweet grand daughter Lucianna was born yesterday. Congrats to the whole family Dawn!!Lucy is just gorgeous! How sweet to see Abbey holding her. Enjoy your newest grandchild!!

That's about all from Behind My Red Door today. I was hoping to have some garden pics to share as well because my garden is usually so pretty this time of year, but with rain for days and days on end, the garden is pretty wilted. Anything that blooms is rotting away. So sad. It is still much cooler than usual too. Almost July and the a/c has been on rarely and usually only for a short time- more to dry out than cool off. In fact I actually made Chicken Pot Pie for dinner. At the end of June. Pot Pie! Unheard of! Even I am ready for some sun and heat and I NEVER say I want heat! LOL The latest forecast says we may get some sun tomorrow. I hope so because it is time for my daisies to bloom. My favorite flower! And isn't it funny how the sun coming out coincides with golf night! Come to think of it, the last time we had even a few hours of sun was last week when DH had a charity golf tournament. Humm......

Until Next Time - Hugs, Grammy Linda

PS - our friends over at A Primitive Place now have a blog. Stop on over and sign up to be a follower!

A Special Day Indeed!

Not only is this Father's Day, and the day Liliana goes home to her pretty lilac room and gets to meet Brady too (oh would I like to be a fly on the wall when he sees and HEARS HER!) but it is also our 34th Wedding Anniversary. On a very hot and humid day, 34 years ago, David and I said our "I dos" in front of family and friends. We dreamed of the future when we would be own our own home, which we did less than 2 years later, then become parents, 2 years after that and then grandparents - 30 years after that! Yes, this week we can say our 3 big dreams came true!

Happy Anniversary and Happy Father's Day Grampy! You are a great dad and amazing husband and I am so blessed to have you in my life. I could list the many wonderful traits you have and the way you have always provided for us and taken care of us, but I think the best compliment and the simple truth is that Jay could not have a better role model as he starts his journey as a dad. He has learned from THE BEST. 143-734 I look forward to celebrating over a nice dinner out for just the two of us when things settle down a bit.

Grampy and I had some wonderful time with Jay, Angela and Liliana at the hospital yesterday before anyone else got there. Grampy got to sing to his new grand daughter, just like he sang to his babies many years ago. I can tell she already has him wrapped around her pretty little pinkies!!

And Liliana just had to come early so Jay could celebrate his very first Father's Day right away. I think she has him all wrapped up too! Happy Father's Day Jay!! We are so very proud of you and so excited for you too. We know that you are already an incredible daddy, making sure your family is loved, safe and cared for even before Liliana took her first breath of air. Enjoy this special time and all the wonderful years ahead of you!

And I want to wish my dad a very Happy Father's Day as well. I can't wait until you and mom can meet Liliana!! For now, have fun with Allan, Cindy and Gracie and I'll see you soon!

Happy Father's Day Dad Rudman! We are all looking forward to your trip home in a few weeks. I know Grampy David can't wait to introduce you to his first grand child. In the meantime, enjoy the Open today and your time on the links!

After we left the hospital yesterday, Grampy and I shopped, cleaned, cooked and did some laundry for the kids - all the things they planned to do this weekend. Grampy then spent the night with Brady so Jay could spend the night with his family in the hospital - just the 3 of them.

Thank you again for all the well wishes and comments. It has been so nice reading them all. There is nothing like a babe to bring people together!

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's in your lives as well. I hope you all have a chance to honor them some how.

Until Next Time - Hugs, Grammy Linda

Worth The Wait!!

Well this Grammy is so tired she almost can't get another woo hoo out but I'll try...
WOO HOO! I finally got to hold my precious girl. OH MY there is NOTHING like it and so worth the wait! She is just so sweet and it feels so good to have her in my arms. Ang has a big family so it was a revolving door at the hospital today but I still managed to get some kisses and snuggles in. I had first dibs!!

She and mom are still recieving antibiotics but are otherwise doing great!!

Yups, she knew she was safe and very very loved in her Grammy Linda's arms.
And a very tired Grammy managed a smile for the camera. This is what it looks like when you have about 3 hours sleep and sat in a straight chair or paced the floors all night.
A very proud Grammy with her firstborn and his first born. Another sleep deprived Grammy with her 7th grandchild. And a sleep deprived Grampy with his baby girl's first baby girl.
And her Auntie Jen couldn't wait to get there after work and hold Liliana. Auntie Jen has a new job and couldn't take time off so it was killing her to have to wait until this evening to go to the hospital.
I can tell these two are going to have a special bond.Ang is not quite ready for a public debut because her poor face was incredibly swollen after pushing so hard so we'll give her a chance to rest before we show pics of her and her sweet baby girl. And Grampy David had other duties to attend to today so pics of him with Liliana will follow. We plan to go up to the hospital tomorrow and get some more hugs and kisses and snuggles in before we head to Jay's house to spend some time with Brady.

And thanks to the dozens and dozens of emails and messages and comments. Jay had his laptop at the hospital today so I was able to read a lot of the messages left here on my blog and the emails too when Ang's friends and relatives were holding Liliana. I read many of them to Jay and Ang as well and we are all so very moved and touched. I will never get around to everyone of you, but please know, every single message message brought another warm fuzzy feeling and a tear or two. Good tears!! Even many of my regular followers who don't often comment took time out to send good wishes. It really means so much to me to be able to share this very special time with all of you. I will be printing out those comments for Liliana's scrapbooks so that she can someday see how many incredibly kind and good people were following her story. THANK YOU!

Now this tired Grammy is off to dreamland with visions of that sweet baby dancing in her head.
Until Next Time - Hugs, Grammy Linda

She's Here!!

Liliana Lee - born 6/19/09 at 4:19 AM 8 pounds, 2 oz, 20 inches long.

Look at that head of dark hair!! Isn't she the cutest baby you have ever seen? This was taken on Jay's cell just before Liliana was whisked away to the nursery.

I got to the hospital at around 7 PM and was in the labor room with Jay, Ang and her mom Lori for several hours. Ang had an epidural and was quite comfy and slept through a great deal of her labor fortunately. At around 2 AM Angela spiked a temp and it was time to push at that point and the staff made me leave. I had to wait in the waiting room alone down several halls and through 2 sets of locked doors - that place is like Fort Knox and they sure don't make it comfy or easy for grandparents to wait. (DH was at Jay's house overnight Brady sitting). Finally at around 4:30 ish, Lori came to get me and once we got back to Ang's room the staff stopped me and wouldn't let me in so I had to go back down the hall and wait alone again. Finally around 5:30 Jay was able to come out to see me. By then Liliana was in the nursery and would be for some time so I decided to head home when it was clear I wouldn't see her any time soon. Both mom and baby needed some more fluids and antibiotics for the temp.

I just talked to Jay and Angela's temp is gone and both she and the baby are going to have their baths and they should have the baby soon. I am going to take another quick nap before I shower and head back up. Hopefully, I will see her for myself finally and take lots of pics!!

This very tired Grammy Linda is signing off for now!!

Until Next Time - Hugs, Grammy Linda

WOOHOO!!!!

This is it! I just sat down in a restaurant with my friend Jenn to eat dinner and Jay called. Angela is having contractions and I am awaiting word from him to head to the hospital. I will update as soon as I can! Oh I can't stand it - it is so exciting - I am shaking! Please say a prayer that labor is not too difficult and that both Angela and Liliana do well. Thanks so much!!

WOO HOO! The next time I am back, you can officially call me Grammy Linda!!

Until Next Time - Hugs, Grammy Linda

PS I won't be around to read comments so it is shut off. We can chat later!!

Heartstrings...

This sign is on the fireplace above the mantel in our family room which is the space under both our dining room and living room. It is a nice big space with full windows on the front and a slider to a patio on the back. It is not a dark dingy basement room at all. Still, I have been struggling with this room for about two years now. I have mentioned before that it was paneled in the 70's when the house was built. In the last 2 years I was able to convince DH that that paneling REALLY is outdated and so it is now painted 2 soft colors. Powell Buff on the top and Wilmington Tan on the bottom. That sort of solved one problem.

Because it is in the lower level, there is a shelf running around the 3 outside walls. If you aren't familiar with split level homes, that shelf is actually the top of the foundation. Below the shelf, behind the paneling is concrete. That shelf makes placing furniture very hard. Nothing can be placed flush against the wall. And while it is nice to have it to display some things, too much of anything is not good. So I struggle with that. And there are some other structural issues I struggle with.

And then there is furniture. All the things that don't really fit into my decor upstairs. They are just not what I would pick out today even though they are all quality pieces. 3 of them are even Johnston Benchworks made and so they are staying.

But as I was tweaking down here this week and adding some of my new treasures to the room as well as making room for a high chair, I had to smile because there are some really wonderful things about the room too! What I love the most is the fireplace made of reclaimed brick. Now it doesn't have a wonderful colonial paneled surround that would be my first choice, but I am OK with that. Maybe someday. But it does have a mantel shelf that DH added when we first moved in. And I love the black iron doors. And I have some really wonderful things in this room that really mean a great deal to me. Like the wicker rocker in the corner that was my Nany's. And on it is the quilt my SIL gave me for Christmas. And in the bowl on the coffee table is the soy candle my prim friend Karen (PrimKarlee) gave me. The only candles I burn. And on the hearth is a church birdhouse a school family gave me. (Our school was in a church.) And on those iron doors is the prim heart that my friend prim friend Bonnie(Prims4me) gave me, made by my blogging friend Karen of Our Colonial Home blog. And see that black double candle holder in the corner, that came from Sweden with David's Nana.(It was white then!) And on that shelf next to the fireplace is this stitchery made by my blogging friend Colleen, from And Baby Makes Five. She sent it to me as soon as I announced I was going to be a Grammy months ago. It says "What happens at Grammy's, stays at Grammy's". Perfect!
And lookey here! See the crow stitchery, another gift from Bonnie, made by Karen. And yet another Karen, my sweet friend from from Liberty House (formerly My Yellow Farmhouse) is represented here in the penny quilt flower tray I won from her blog giveaway last year. I love how the colors in the tray are echoed in the crow stitchery and the heart. And this still life was painted by my mom many years ago. And my son gave me this piece of salt glazed stoneware many years ago.And this flag was a gift from one of my wonderful teachers when I left school. And my dear friend Pat gave me the redware plate many years ago.

My dear friend Jean gave me this yellowware pitcher many years ago as well. And I could go on and on about the rest of the things in that room that were handed down to me, or gifted to me by family and friends. So many things that mean so much to me. So even though I might struggle with some of the elements of that room, I still get a warm and cozy feeling when I go down there and use the 12 foot bar to fold my laundry, or when our extended family gathers for appetizers and cheer before we head upstairs for a meal.

And now there is that high chair, and there will soon be a port a crib and other baby paraphernalia as well. Yes, it is a real family room once again.

And so now we come back to the sign. It really does say it all.

Family and friends are tied together with heartstrings.

And that is just how it should be!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you want a good read that will tug at your heartstrings with a very happy ending, make sure to do whatever it take to get the summer issue of Mercantile Gatherings. I took a drive to one of my favorite Prim Shops, Homestead Primitives in Fitchburg, MA just to pick up my copy today and I have to tell you that reading about our dear blogging friend Jen from Taylor's*Farmhouse*Attic brought me to tears! To say Jen has been through a lot to get to where she is today is a real understatement. More than most of us will ever face in our life time. It really puts things in perspective and I am truly honored to say I know her.

Congratulations Jen on the wonderful article. Your home looks wonderful. I am so glad you chose the road you did so that we could meet in blogland!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio
To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

I saw that headline on a post in another blog the other day and I loved it so I thought I would post it. But first I decided to research Regina Brett. Well, come to find out, she is indeed a writer for the Plain Dealer, but she is not 90 years old. Not even close! LOL As with too many things on the Internet, they get exaggerated or twisted as they are sent around the globe. I am guessing some of you have seen this in your mailbox with the same claim about Regina's age just as the other blogger received it that way too.

To see the original column, click HERE. No matter how it comes to you though, as an email with the 90 year old info thrown in, or as they were actually written, I think these life lessons are worth reading. Over and over again. That's why some of them may have appeared on my blog in the past. I hope you will find at least of few worth REALLY thinking about today.

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Baby watch update!

Angela saw her Dr. Monday afternoon and nothing has changed. Liliana is sitting very very low so Ang is feeling a lot of pressure but nothing else has changed. That little girl is just not ready to come out yet!! And believe me, you will know when she is because it won't a few sentences at the end of a post.

It will be THE post!!

Until Next Time - Hugs, Linda

Breakfast for dinner!

HAPPY FLAG DAY!!

Today brought us a mixed bag of cool weather, at times sunny and other times rainy so here Behind My Red Door I decided it was the perfect evening to serve breakfast for dinner. The menu, homemade waffles topped with strawberry rhubarb cram. Strawberry Rhubarb Cram is what we call strawberries and rhubarb cut into chunks and cooked with enough sugar to taste to cut the tartness of the rhubarb. It is then thickened a little with a cornstarch slurry and cooled. We eat it on toast, on pancakes and waffles and sometimes, I make lazy man's pie. I unroll a pie crust, cut into wedges, sprinkle with sugar and bake the wedges. Then I fill a custard cup with cram and serve a wedge on the side. Lazy man's strawberry rhubarb pie. The best part is the crust stays crisp.

But today, we had our cram on our waffles. YUMMO!

And as you can see, on the side, we enjoyed a link of all natural Alfresco Sweet Apple Chicken Sausage with Pure Vermont Maple Syrup.

They are made here in MA and they are so good! You can really smell and taste the maple syrup and they are a great alternative to a regular breakfast sausage.

Yesterday was a glorious late spring day while David and our son Jay were playing a round of golf yesterday, I decided to and head to Brookfield, MA to the Walker Homestead's Grand Opening. One of the partners in this new venture is Doreen from the Primitive and Rustic Forum I belong to and she posted a reminder about it and the timing was just perfect for me.

Some of you know Doreen as the proprietor of the former Primitive Cellar and Colonial Quilt Shop in Sturbridge. She has moved both shops to the Walker Homestead. She carries a wonderful selection of reproduction fabrics, hand-dyed wool, rug hooking supplies and patterns for the primitive crafter.

In addition to the very primitive decor, they offer kitchen design as well. Oh wouldn't I love to have them build me some custom kitchen cabinets instead of our outdated oak ones!!And her business partners have the most gorgeous primitive garden and offer native plants as well. You can step out the back door of the shop and enjoy a stroll in the garden. It was a lovely way to spend a little time yesterday.

I look forward to going back in the fall. I can only imagine how beautiful the setting will be. The homestead is at the end of long winding road that goes up a big hill. At the end of the road, it levels out and is a one lane dirt road and then it opens up and ahead of you is the Homestead and gardens. Just the quintessential old New England homestead.

I really thought I might just get a fat quarter of wool and call it a day, because I am saving my spending money for the fall, but I got really lucky and found 2 primitive portraits by folk artist Diane Ulmer Pederson who is from MA also. They are not the typical prints on paper, but are printed on stretched canvas making them look even more like an original painting. Here is the Girl with Bird in our master bedroom.

and the Boy with Pull Toy in the front hall next to my settle bench...

Can you see the little redware jug on the left side of my glove box mirror? I got that yesterday as well. I have been asked about this mirror many times. I have had it for many years and it was made by Yield House and was dark pine when I bought. At the time, I wanted to remove the original mirror from my dresser. It was a typical dark pine with shelves on either side. Something very common in the 70's and early 80's. The glove box mirror was a great way to change the look of the dresser. Eventually I painted the mirror and more recently the dresser. It might be time to change it up again - maybe a nutmeg brown???

Oh - I got sidetracked - sorry - where was I? Brookfield is a just hop, skip and jump away from Sturbridge so I decided to make a quick stop in a shop that I don't get into very often, The Seraph. If you are a purist and have a healthy wallet, this is a great place to shop for great period reproductions. They also have a great selection of historically accurate stencils and home decor in their online catalog.

And it was in the corner on those shelves that I found that little redware jug and it had my name on it. REALLY - it said Linda - take me home! So I did!

Look at these gorgeous pieces of home decor...

I don't usually post about giveaways on other blogs but this one is a must see. In my post HERE you saw the wonderful needle case that Kaaren of The Painted Quilt gave me. Well now she is having a very generous July 4th Give away and you can enter it by clicking HERE. Kaaren is a very talented decorative artist and is offering 4 different items to giveaway. Each one made by Kaaren. Each one a treasure! Run on over now and enter!!

Thank you to all the wonderful folks who are eagerly awaiting word on Liliana's birth. As of right now, there is nothing new to report and we are still playing the waiting game. I have cleared my calendar except for a few things that can be easily rescheduled and I am not getting into any big projects for now. I want to be ready to hop in the car at a moments notice to head to the hospital whenever Jay calls and tells me to. I so honored they want me in there when Liliana is born.
The next time I am back, a few shots of our family room. I recently added some of the treasures I have been given by bloggy friends and it makes all the difference in the world.

Until Next Time - Hugs, Linda

A false alarm and my dirty little secret...

The phone rang the other morning and it was my son's cell phone number on caller ID. My mind started to race and my heart started to beat faster because he doesn't use his cell phone when he calls from work. As a Grammy in waiting, I thought - could THIS be it?? Right off the bat he said "now don't get TOO excited Mom, but we are on the way to labor and delivery. Angela woke up with some symptoms and they want us to go and have her checked out". Then he told me how I would have to go to his house to get some things they didn't have ready yet - LIKE THE VIDEO CAMERA! He said he would call soon when they knew more. So I rushed through a shower and got some make up on ( I need to be pretty when Liliana meets me the first time after all!) and I got dressed and I thought about all the things I wanted with ME if I was going to be at the hospital for hours as well. But it turned out to be a false alarm. In hind sight, it was probably a good thing it happened because my normally organized and well prepared son and DIL, and this normally VERY well prepared and VERY organized mom (that would be ME!) realized we needed to be even more prepared and organized. They live only about 10 minutes from us and the hospital is about the same distance from either of our homes, so we are lucky that nothing is that far away. And Jay and Angela were scheduled for a tour that evening so they were able to get it while they were there, another reason it was not a wasted visit. Angela was a nanny for one of the labor and delivery nurses at that hospital, so she will have the added benefit of a trusted face when labor really does start. SOON hopefully!

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Before I get to my dirty little secret and my yellowware pics, I wanted to show you where I put the candle sconce that I got at the Gingham Goose last Saturday. I tweaked the display on the door of the cabinet as well. I think the sconce was just what I needed to help balance this side of the wall with the window on the left side.

Donna, over at The Country Nest told me I was just 2 miles from her house when I was there. So now I am definitely planning to go back when the Gingham Goose is in their new home this fall and I hope to meet Donna as well. If you don't know Donna, do stop over and meet her. I fell in love with her home on RMS long before I knew she was a blogger. She has gorgeous gardens as well. Oh and her porch- just to die for! And she is a sweet gal as well. What more could you want! Make sure you tell her I sent you!
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You know there is a very good reason why most kitchen cabinets have doors on them. They hide a lot of dirty little secrets!! Now don't go acting so surprised. I know most of you have at least one cabinet that just doesn't seem to stay neat no matter what you do. That's better - I saw you all shaking your heads in agreement. And yes, even this normally organized gal has some secrets behind my doors. And today, I am going to get brave and share one of them. The one that WAS behind THIS door...
That is the cabinet I call my baking cabinet because it holds all my herbs, spices, nuts, raisin, oil and vinegar and other cooking and baking needful things. And it used to look like this...
If you look closely, you can see the plastic edging on the shelf is all cracked and chipping off. There was no rhyme or reason to the mess and I was certain there were some spices in there since the 90's. So yesterday, I emptied it out. Scrubbed down the walls and the shelves. I lined the bottom with a piece of vinyl flooring to make it easier to wipe up those drips and spills and I painted the walls and the shelves with Wilmington Tan from Benjamin Moore. It is one of the colors I would consider using if I ever painted the OUTSIDE of the cabinets.
And then I wiped down every container, threw away old spices, consolidated others, and put all the nuts, seeds, dried fruit and even the salt and baking soda into canning jars. I got everything back in the cabinet and stepped back and enjoyed how nice and neat and clean it is. For NOW.
Now just don't go looking in my junk drawer!!

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I have mentioned several times how badly I want to paint the cabinets and woodwork and how my DH prefers that I don't. He is so good at letting my have free reign in decorating just abut anything else, but he loves his wood. When I was in the Gingham Goose last Saturday, some customers and the cashiers were oohing and aahing over the Mercantile Gatherings article and I mentioned how I wanted to paint them and explained my DH's preference. One gal came right out and said " Just paint them when he he isn't home". I am always so surprised that some one would suggest I disrespect my husband like that and I quickly found myself defending his preference. Still, I really have been hoping that I could change his mind. Well after last night, I can tell you it won't be happening any time soon! When he came home from golf I said, "Honey, let me show you the cabinet I painted in the kitchen. " Well his face just dropped. The smile just vanished and he looked at me and said in the saddest, most deflated voice - "Oh honey, YOU DIDN'T PAINT MY OAK CABINETS did you?????" I swear he looked like someone just stole his precious golf clubs! I had to quickly explain and he was sooooo relieved when I showed him it was JUST the inside that I painted. I guess I won't be trying the paint on the woodwork this summer either...
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FINALLY - here is the post on yellowware a pal asked me to make. I did a little research to find a few facts for you. This is what I compiled from a variety of online sources.

Yellow ware is a kind of pottery made from a yellow colored clay that can fire to a warm butter color or a spicy mustard color. American potters began making yellow ware, redware and stoneware items, before the American Revolution on the eastern seaboard of the original Colonies. Crocks, plates, cups, bowls, ladles, funnels, skimmers, rolling pins, and colanders were all made of yellow ware. From one band of color around a bowl to ornate geometric designs covering the entire piece which might be sponged, spattered, applied with putty, rags, or brushes, incised or drawn, in a variety of colors, decoration was all hand-done. Yellowware is seldom marked. This is why if you want to become a serious collector, you have to do your homework. There were literally hundreds of factories spreading all the way from Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New England, and New York. Many of the bowls you will find today were made near the end of yellow ware production, about 1915 to 1935. Most yellowware's glaze contains lead, so avoid using cracked pieces for food preparation. Even dishes in top condition should not be used for storing food in the refrigerator, for preparing acidic foods, or for baking, because this may cause the lead to leach out of the glaze. Yellow ware was mostly used for mixing, baking, and storage rather than as tableware.
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I first started collecting mixing bowls sometime in the late 80's,. And soon after I found this bowl rack in yet another shop that no longer exists. In fact, I got it when the shop was closing for quite a discount. For a long time, I didn't have a bowl to fit on the top and then a dear friend found the little one for my birthday one year.

I have tipped them so you can see the banding. I am not sure if it is true, but I was told that the bowls with the rounded top edges are more valuable.
And here are two more of my antique pieces. Both this bowl with the brown banding and

the one on the bottom of my rack above were 'payment' for helping clean out the home of my nanny's elderly neighbor Cecile. She had no children and her nieces asked my mom and I to help. When I pulled them out of the depth of a pantry cabinet, I gasped. The nieces promptly told me that their aunt would be thrilled to know they went to a good home. I have fond memories of Cecile and her husband Tommy so these bowls hold a lot of love!

I love my two molds and have used them for pantry cakes. Back in the day, they were used for loaf cakes, corn bread and more.
and my last piece of antique yellowware is this custard cup. Just the right size to hold a votive.
I would love to own a rolling pin and more molds someday, but for now, I get great pleasure in the pieces I do own.
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I also wanted to share with you a great tutorial for a blanket crane. The very talented Kris, over at Simply Prim shared this with blogland a few days ago. I love the blanket crane that my friend Jill made for me and so many gals have asked me about and now Kris had made it easy for anyone that wants their own. She even sketched the steps and measurements for us and made it so easy! So hope on over here if you would like to see it! And make sure you check out the rest of her blog and all her prim goodies! Thanks Kris!

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And last but not least, I want to congratulate my sweet friend Jen from Taylor's Farmhouse Attic for the spread in Mercantile Gathering's summer issue. She just got her copies and now I can't wait to get mine. Jen also got the word that she will also be featured in Country Sampler in the future and is just waiting to find out when they will be going to her house to shoot it. I am so excited for you Jen!! Woohoo!

I REALLY hope that the next time I update it is just a brief post saying that I am on my way to the hospital for Liliana's birth. After the other day, I got a post ready andit is just waiting for me to publish it. If it isn't soon, I just might need to clean that junk drawer for some more before and afters. I don't know about you, but I am thinking a post with baby pics would be soooooo much better!

Until Next Time - Hugs, Linda

PS I will be called Grammy Linda and DH will be Grampy David

Life is just a bowl of cherries!

I just love black cherries when they are in season and are dark and firm and oh so sweet. I have to make sure we have some in the house chilling from the moment I notice them in the stores until they go out of season. And if anyone dares to eat the last cherry, they just might find themselves in the grocery store no matter what the hour of the day or night. And just so I don't have to wait a full year for them, at Christmas time my DH always manages to find a source for some rich dark sweet ones and he fills my stocking with them as a very special treat. They cost almost as much as gold bullion at that time of year but he knows how much I love those black cherries!

So when Janet from Winter Willow Primitives emailed me asking a question about "a gathering with a bowl of cherries" that she saw in one of Kathy's Home on the Hill albums, I knew immediately the exact gathering she meant. You see I have coveted those cherries ever since the first time I laid my eyes on them. Thais is the exact gathering that is on the top of Kathy's antique pantry cabinet in the dining room of her Home on the Hill that I got to see in person in March. You can bet I went straight over to that bowl of cherries as soon as it was polite to do so!! They are so cute aren't they??!!!! (I guess I might just be a wee bit impartial !! ) And of course the entire top of the pantry looks wonderful - just like the rest of Kathy and Stephen's home.

Janet was asking me about the coverlet piece because I had given it to Kathy. After chatting back and forth, luckily for me, Janet shared the source for some cherries that are very similar to Kathy's and I ordered them immediately and now I have my very own. They are not exactly like Kathy's but they look pretty real don't you think? I have them in a small trencher on my dough board. I just hope I don't get tempted to pop one in my mouth when I am making my midnight snack run!! You can find these at USI Floral Imports.

To see why Janet was chatting with us about that gathering, you can read part one here!
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I love mail too! Especially when it brings a sweet and unexpected and completely heartwarming gift like this needle case from the VERY talented Kaaren from The Painted Quilt. My DH wanted to know why I was crying and all I could do was show him this. Kaaren thought up the entire design herself and made 2 one afternoon. That kind of creativity and talent is a true gift. You can see both of them on her blog.

And lookey here!! She included the most wonderful pair or reproduction Putford scissors and the scissor fob she whipped up as well (see the bee skep on the end of it?? Could it be any cuter!!) and see the little pockets on the left and the removable pincushion on the right? I just adore every detail for the wool appliqued flower on the front to the pinkeep, pockets and pincushion inside!

Last night we went over to my folks house to bring them some homemade quiche and I brought my needlecase to show my mom, and she was so impressed. My mom is a very talented seamstress as well as a quilter and painter like Kaaren, and she could not get over all the details either. THANK YOU again Kaaren for touching my heart with this amazing gift. As I said, you will be the cause of many smiles for years to come!
And I have to show you the note card that Kaaren tucked in. Look at that gorgeous painting on a turned wooden plate that Kaaren did! I hope you can click on the photo to see the details. I did some tole painting in the 80's and nothing I did ever looked as real as this. Sometime when you have a chance, head on over to Kaaren's blog and see all the things she creates and read about her career teaching it too. She is gifted indeed!

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I also love June 6th. You see 37 years ago today my mom sent the cute college kid who was the delivery guy at the old fashioned pharmacy where she worked, to pick me up and take me out for the afternoon. His blue eyes, dimples and chiseled physique captured my attention immediately but it was his kind disposition and sweet nature that kept me interested. I was just ending my junior year in high school and he had just finished his sophomore year in college. Now 37 years later, we are middle aged and almost grandparents!! Oh and we are married to each other too!!
So today my sweet guy who still has blue eyes, dimples, and kind disposition, and knowing he has had plenty of time on the links lately, told me we could do whatever I wanted as long as we were home to Brady sit in the late afternoon. So I planned a trip to a few shops I wanted to visit in southeastern MA as well as a few stops he would enjoy including lunch out. Mother Nature gave us wonderful weather and we had a lot of fun. An added bonus was that I got to see a project he worked on for over a year while he worked at GPE. Of course I enjoyed browsing in the shops, but mostly it is the time with DH that counts the most. I love that he enjoys driving trips as much as I do and is such a good sport to take me to places he really couldn't care less about. We pop in our favorite CD's and he sings to me and we enjoy the scenery and life is good. I really didn't care if I came home with nothing but him, and I didn't get a thing at the first two shops and I wouldn't go back to either of them, but I hit the jackpot at our last stop - The Gingham Goose,78 Middleboro Rd, East Freetown, MA 02717. 508-763-4833 (no website) The shop is moving in September so almost everything in the store is 50% off! Woohoo! I almost squealed. Of course things were quite picked over already but I managed to snag some goodies. At those prices, even DH was excited! (Well almost!)
The mustard pillow sham from Family Heirloom Weavers, is already on the daybed with the coordinating blanket right here in my office. The bread board already is at home under my antique fly screen in the picture above with the cherries, and the other two items will find homes soon I am sure. So if any of you live near southeastern MA, head over to the Gingham Goose when you can!

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Many of my peeps have asked about the ducks and we have yet to see them again. So on Thursday, we got our driveway sealed and now the front looks much nicer. We still need to change the color of the shutters when we have some time and DH feels like climbing the big ladder and gettng them all down for me.

And I love my followers - all 301 of you. I realize that there are many many other blogs to read so I really do try to keep you in mind when I write my posts. I hope that each time you visit, you find something that amuses you, entertains you, teaches you or touches you somehow.

I promised one of my peeps a post about yellow ware but this one is getting long so next time I am back, I will do that. UNLESS Liliana makes her way into the world before I come back. Then you will have to put up with Grammy bragging!!

Until Next Time - Hugs, Linda

Make way for ducklings!

One of the mommas has had her babies and the other is getting close to having her one! I bet you can guess which is which!

Over the weekend and amazing thing happened behind the little prim fence that hides the outside faucet right close to My Red Door...

and if you look closely for some yellow....
you can see one baby duckling!!
DH was outside chipping golf balls one evening and all of a sudden I heard him say "honey honey - come quick" and I knew right away what it was. Momma duck puffed herself right up and covered that baby as quick as can be too. She made some noises to warn us to get away so we left her alone for the evening. The next morning bright and early we checked and we saw more... Once again, she puffed herself right up and we left her and her sweet babies alone.
And then we went out about 2 hours later and this is all we saw....
Just a pile of downy feathers and egg shells!! We left them undisturbed for well over 24 hours in case she had taken the ducklings to water and had left any unhatched eggs behind, but she never came back. We have walked up and down the brook where we can access it, and we can't see her or them. These 3 pictures show only part of the brook. You can see there are many places to hide if you are a momma duck wanting to protect your babies! The brook is the dark areas you see behind the trees and shrubs. It meanders along starting at the back right edge of our property and goes all the way across the back and and then heads toward the street on the left side or our property and goes under the street. You see the old New England stone wall that was built a long time ago when this was part of an old old farm called Rawson Farm. That is Rawson Brook. There is enough poison ivy on the other side of that wall to keep Calamine Lotion and Benedryl in business forever so we don't venture over there. I suspect Momma duck knows that!
Or she could have taken them on a ride down this brook to the pond that it spills into about 1/4 mile away. I guess we will never know!! DH and I are still amazed that Momma duck picked that spot in the midst of our little concrete jungle to lay her eggs. I am so glad our home provided her with a safe haven when she needed it. I am so glad we were able to get photos. And Monday, when I was browsing the Smith and Hawkins garden decor at Target, I found the perfect and useful item to commemorate momma duck and her ducklings. This sweet duck garden hose guard.
My curly garden hose is normally attached to the faucet and hidden behind the fence during the summer months and I always need to be extra careful that I don't break my flowers when I pull it across the front steps to water my perennials. Now this little duck will watch guard - just as we did for momma duck! It is just perfect and even DH was excited about this purchase. Every spring when I take out it once again to stick in this spot, it will remind us of this astonishing event. I really love that it reminds me of the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture in Boston. If you aren't familiar with the story behind this sculpture, click on the name. And that reminds me, I need to buy a copy of Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, a Caldecott award winning book so I can read it to Liliana some day! We are all anxiously counting down the last few weeks and I suspect no one more than Angela. She had a check up on yesterday afternoon and she is 3 cm dilated and 40% effaced already so there is a real possibility that Liliana could come sooner than her due date. Stay tuned for the next report!

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Waiting for me when I got home Monday was a package with a note on the outside saying it was a gift from my sweet friend Bonnie. I introduced you to Bonnie last August when she and I met and spent the day shopping together. You can read all about it here. Bonnie lives about an hour north of me and she shares my love for colonial and prim decor. Click here to see her gorgeous home when it was the featured home on A Primitive Place. Look at these wonderful goodies she sent me in appreciation of some things I had given to her.

Bonnie ordered them from our blogging friend Karen from My Colonial Home and she had Karen send them directly to me. Double the fun! A gift from one sweet prim friend and made my another sweet prim friend. How blessed I am!! Thank you Bonnie! I will treasure these!

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And because this is a new month, it meant another outing for my friend Chris and I. This month we decided to head to the Village Shoppes in Marlborough, CT. This area was formerly known as The Marlborough Barn, and is a short ride from Hartford, CT in a lovely rural New England setting and it is anchored by the perfect little pond. We have been going to Marlborough for years now. Some of the shops have changed but Sadlers Restaurant and New England Traditions remain steadfast. New England Traditions also has a shop in Sturbridge and that is where I have gotten many of my ceiling light fixtures over the years. Sadlers is a lovely little restaurant in an old cape style New England home. They make the best Butternut squash Bisque and they even share the recipe on their website. New England Traditions is the gray building and Sadlers is on the right.

This shop was the former barn. Now it houses a shop with an odd mixture of things like stationary, boutique style clothing and a kitchen shop Here is the pond... it is a bit overgrown these days.
This shop is a new extensions of New England Traditions and has curtains and some prim shopping as well as fireplace accessories and hand forged hard ware.
These shops house a Bakery for dogs and a consignment shop and craft area.
I didn't find a thing I had to come home with this time!! But we did have a delightful lunch and here is the one picture I got inside of Sadler's. I enjoyed a mesclun salad with strawberries, raspberries, apple slices and sunflower seeds with a raspberry vinaigrette. YUMMO!
And because the weather was splendid and we were only 15 - 20 minutes away, we scooted over to Tessier's in Bolton. This is where I went with Jill a few weeks ago. This time I took my own picture outside but was promptly asked to put my camera away.
And can you believe I bought a light bulb and nothing more? I saw a dry sink for $3,900.00 I wanted to take home, but I stopped and counted to 10 and put my debit card away. I was a good girl. But even though I didn't come home with the perfect accessory, it was a perfect day spent with a dear friend so who could ask for anything more?!!

Well how about earning some hefty change by using your debit card and checking accounts! And yes, you heard me right - I said debit card! Doesn't sound right huh? I know! And I know I have mentioned several times how we charge everything and pay off the charge card bills EVERY month and earn some really great rebates that way. Well that and the stock market losses (ouch!) just weren't good enough for my brilliant DH, who really wants to retire early and spend more time on the golf course! So armed with that motivation, he did quite a bit of online homework and research and found several banks that give 5% interest ~ YES 5%!!!~ on checking accounts if you meet several requirements. For each account, you have to deposit a certain amount of money and each month you have to make so many debit transactions (usually 10) as well as at least one automatic bill payment and you must view your account online so it is a paperless account saving printing and mailing costs. So my very smart personal money manager moved a some of our retirement money into 4 different FDIC insured banks with these type of accounts. Keeping track of 4 debit cards was a full time job so I use 2 cards and DH uses the other 2 and HE has detailed spreadsheets to keep track of them all. Dave Ramsey - move over - there is another Dave R on your heels! I have said many times, my DH could have written a similar course a long time ago. He has trained me well and if he can succeed in keeping MY spending in line, he can help just about anyone! I mention this because if my DH can do his homework, other folks can as well and maybe you too can earn 5% interest. Just remember you still have to live well below your means and budget carefully and you too can grow your retirement account. And that's a very good thing!

With that I leave you until I am back again to answer a few more requests. My peeps are keeping me busy lately. And that's a good thing too. I so enjoy all of the wonderful folks I have met online. My world has been immensely enriched!

Until next time- hugs, Linda