Food, Fun, Finds & Finishing!

Summer has began & these beautiful fragrant lilacs give a showing of what is to come from Mother Nature! I brought this bush out east several years ago & it blooms more & more every spring.

 I just love the smell & texture to these beauties!

:-)

The texture of the flower is so soft & lovely.

Something New To Me!

While in Miramichi last Thursday, I was shopping in the new Giant Tiger, which is Canadian owner & operated. Whilst in the checkout line I was chatting with the clerk & another woman customer behind me, expressing how happy I was to see parsnips in the produce section. I use parsnip & potatoes together & whip them into a creamy mixture...really good as a topping on Shepherds Pie. They both said they'd never heard of it...however, both told me how delicious  carrots & turnip were done the same way.

 I started obsessing about such a dish. That night, my girlfriend Elizabeth was popping by for a visit after she shopped at the Co-op & asked if there was anything I need. Well, I didn't need anything I 'wanted' a turnip, that one puzzled her & I told her why. She too said it was a delicious combination & to add a bit of brown sugar & butter to the mixture. This must truly be an east-coast dish, everyone knew about it but me ! And the next day I tried it...    

 I cut the turnip & carrots up, about the same size to cook evenly.

Cooked them till tender, drained, whipped them up adding a bit of milk, butter, maple syrup, salt, & pepper.
OMGoodness!!!

The colour of the carrots took over but the flavour, OMG it was like none other that I had ever tasted, it was so good & something that I will try again & again. I froze what was not eaten that night.

 I also made corn muffins, the days have been a bit chilly here so the oven going on, takes the chill out of the kitchen & what a great supper I had that night! Your never too old to try something new!...

Or maybe NOT!

Bill was in China last week & was out dining with work his fellow worker & family. This dish was ordered, 'chicken fingers' yes these are the feet off the chicken!! A very desirable delicate dish in China, the babies teeth on these. They did not allow wee 5 month old, Lucas the pleasure that night as Bill was skirmish about that dish. You see it's all in the culture, I'm going to stick to my 'root vegetables'. Now when I hear 'chicken fingers' I have a new visual on those words! lol
You will too! A whole new meaning to ground 'beaks & feet' in processed chicken nuggets. lol

 And still on the food for thought, I've started a 'kitchen garden', here's some basil that I've already been picking the leaves off to have with my spaghetti sauce.

 And some thyme & spicy oregano.

 I'm going to keep them inside for a bit longer then transplant then into a flowerbox to continue to grow for the summer. I'm not much of a gardener...however I do love to eat.  When i was young, my father use to tell me "I may have been born in Hungary but you were born hungry!" how true. lol

So with the the garden theme I saw this Jean Wells wallhanging 38" x 38" & would like to make it, maybe this summer or next.  I'm having such a good time with my sewing machine & the buttonhole/blanket stitch...so much faster than hand sewing & my fingers are sore from the hand stitching I've been doing on my Vintage Tin. I was never taught with a thimble & find them so cumbersome to wear.

Sew, with that was my intro into the sewing....

My girlfriend Liz has done this quilt. It's a design by Nellie Holmes & Christine Baker of the Upper Canada Quiltworks, it's called A Night in the Forest & will finish at 63" x 81". Liz,  in about two weeks had it all but the binding done!! Well I'm still working on mine...

The 35,  9" x 9" blocks are now done...

This was frustrating, even with washing the fabrics, with the heat of the iron when pressing the colour would run. The green is such a saturated colour, too many blocks to worry about that! I'm hoping with a colour catcher cloth it will all 'come out in the wash'. I'm going to launder it after it's been completed...fingers crossed, my wish will come true & all that will be gone. You can't see it from the six foot rule!

Here it is all sewn together & the cardinal birds machine appliqued on. Now a black sashing & the final border. On that final border, at the bottom more animals are appliqued on, squirrels :-) rabbits :-) & mice :-(  You'll see next post when you stop by.


 Now some fun!

Elizabeth was on KIJIJI & found a listing of wool free to a good home, was I interest? Free?? yes!! I went to pick it up, the woman was moving to PEI & didn't want to take it with her. It was like Christmas going through her stash!! I thanked her & invited her to visit our rug hooking guild. She said she & her sister just may whilst visiting this fall. I hope to meet this generous woman.

It's from wool clothing that has been recycled & bags of cut worms too! What fun for years to come!

More fun in the find...

The Newcastle's thrift store had a find!  I found this sweet little sign for $1.50, it was so familiar to me. Not just because I feel at 'home' here in the east...

It's so familiar because...

I've stitched it! Yes hand stitched it, a couple of years ago! What a complimenting piece to add to the tabletopper, same primitive saltbox houses!

Now onto finishing!

Four of my five studio windows face north-west & the setting sun in the summer is so intense & hot. There's five windows that I didn't have enough fabric or blackout lining for last year. This year I found yardage that I bought at a neighbourhood yardsale many years ago with every intention to make drapes but there was not enough fabric for that project...till now! I needed a minimum of 8 meters of fabric to do the studio windows.

This is my one east window with its make do blind & drape. Kind of has that Anne of Green Gables pigtail feel to it! lol

Here are the other four, beautiful view of the grass & water but oh too sunny on the evening's sunsets.

The beginning of lined roman shades. One done...four more to go this week. Bill arrives a week tomorrow & my plan is to have them done & have him install them for me. :-)
Handsome & handy that husband of mine!


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More Finds!

Anne of Green Gables, I fell in love with her as a child when I read her book series...

I found these Catherine Karnes Munn pictures at the Goodwill last winter, how perfect for the cottage are these! It's a product of Canada & was originally purchased from the Knob Hill Gallery Inc., in Fredericton NB. It was much like one I purchased at a thrift store years ago...

Yes! the same artist. On the back it states "Through her paintings, she creates nostalgia and pulls the viewer from the hectic pace of today to a more peaceful era of the past." This one was done for the Anne of Green Gables souvenirs in PEI.

Another one of my loves...

I purchases her from the Value Village, years ago...

This is a dollhouse that my husband Bill put together in the 90's. I painted & wallpapered the exterior/interior.  Our granddaughter Samantha & niece Olivia spent many a playtime staging the house & characters. Both in their late teens, I still hear the memory of laughter from those girls as they delighted in simple play with this house.

I found this trellis of roses in England at a miniature shoppe near Norfolk. I was nearly hit by a car crossing the road because I was looking the wrong way!! Some places have notices on 'which way' to look...I know why!
 

Here's the inside of the wee house. I leave the furniture out & let the kids stage the furniture pieces & in the upstairs, just leave Anne waiting inside till the next child comes to play.

Thank you for stopping by on this long post. I hope you enjoyed your visit to the east coast, it sure feels like home to me!
Summer has finally arrived, enjoy each day of it!
It has to be the shortest of seasons but oh so warm & colourful!
Have a great week! :-)

Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions.