I'M BAAAAAACK!!!!

Hello Friends!  I have missed writing on my little blog here.  I have had the most wonderful summer so far. 

This year I have been spending time in our beautiful Trout Lake.  Soaking, swimming, floating dreamily....yes, life is beautiful at the lake.

I re-connected with an old friend who has the summer off and she loves the lake like I do.  We spent many happy hours chatting and laughing and remembering good times.  In fact, we refer to the beach as the "office" where we like to say we are busy solving world problems.  And we have had some great meetings at the office I must say.

There is a family of loons that make this area of the lake their home.  Every time I spot them, my heart swells with love for them.  So beautiful and silently graceful as they float past us and then suddenly they dive and swim underwater for great distances.  The mother and her 5 little ones displaying such love and devotion for each other. 

Things have been busy in my garage as well.  I have been buying and selling like never before.  I am decorating a summer home for my friend with treasures found at the yard sales.  Tables and chairs and fabrics for curtains....such fun seeing the delighted look on her face when I show her the latest find.  Her home will be beautiful when we are done....no doubt about it.  A summer place where she and her family will gather surrounded by beauty.

I shall always remember the summer of 2011 as one of relaxation and happiness.  Appreciating the beauty of nature like never before.  And hey, summer isn't over yet! 

My creative juices are flowing too.... I have many fabulous projects coming to share with you.
Stay tuned folks!

HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!

Happy Day everyone.  Sorry it has taken this long to write a post on this blog.  I have been sewing, thinking, painting, cleaning and a whole host of other activities! 

Here is an update on the slipcover.  I did not bother to cover the back cushions.  I opted to leave them off entirely and a quilt is in the works for the back.  Am I happy with the cover?  Well, no.... and for those of you who know me, this is no surprise!  hee hee...  But hey, it'll do until something better comes along...(like an Ektorp and then I can order a slipcover!!!)

The garage sales on the weekend were ok, but not spectacular.  However, it was nice to run into one of this blog's followers (Hi Mary!)....what a sweet, sweet lady she is. 

I am working on some wall art for over our bed.  I can't wait to show you when it is finished.  It involves a beautiful cotton voile tablecloth, some burlap and a picture of a goose from the 80's...how is that for a hint!

Lastly, I have to tell you about a new love in my life...MAINE COTTAGE FURNITURE!!!!   I recently discovered their on-line catalogue and WHOA.... do I love it!  Now, the prices are outrageous and I understand they recently had a severe financial downturn, but the quality, the concept and well.. just everything from the fabrics to the photos is a thing of beauty!   I am now on the hunt for some of their colors from my local paint store.  I have some great little cottage pieces that could use a little WOW.  And their colors will certainly provide that!  I have had white and cream for a very long time and while I still love it, I thirst for the vibrancy of "hot lime" or "trueblue".  Check it out if you are so inclined to do so!  You will love it I am sure.

GARAGE SALE SAFARI!

Hello Friends... well, today is the first post of my "garage sale safari".  It is a beautiful sunny day here in the north and I came upon the mother of all fabric sales this morning!  Oooooooohhhhh yeah!  All I came away with was this .... cotton voile.... ( for a tank top maybe?)

Yes folks, I am trying to practice self-control.  NO MORE FABRIC unless I will use it in the immediate future.  (man oh man I am hard on myself!!!!)  There is no sense in trying to fool myself...I have a fabric problem as I have shared before in previous posts.

The market umbrella is a candidate for some fabric painting perhaps and the pig will house some lovely ivy.  I don't really know what grabbed me about the little pig, just that she is so flowery and pretty.

Lastly, check out the flashy mirror!  Just look at it's glossy swirly loveliness.....  momma likey.....

There you have it ... next week I will try to remember to bring my camera for some action shots of the actual sales.... although some people are funny about someone taking pictures of their sale....

Happy Day Friends!

TODAY IS A SPECIAL DAY

On April 28 1975, I had a beautiful baby boy.  Jamie.  He would be 36 today.  Sadly, we lost our precious son to a depressive illness on November 21 2006.  He was handsome, intelligent, thoughtful, articulate and self-made.  He worked his way through university and graduated with an Honors Degree in English.  He got married and had a beautiful baby girl.  His job at the National Library of Canada was a challenging one and he won an award for being the project manager of a website for jazz great Oscar Peterson.

Then one day, he fell ill.  Very very ill.  He thought it was a flu that wouldn't go away.  But the symptoms were all too familiar to me.  Depression.  And he lost the battle with it.  I know that if Jamie were here, he would want me to use this platform to say that if anyone of you or someone you know, has this dark sickness, please seek medical attention immediately.  The symptoms are here at depression.com. 

This day also marks another loss in our lives.  My sweet mother-in-law, Marion, passed away on this day in 1980.  She suffered a major heart attack and passed away on Jamie's 5th birthday.   She was a mother to me in every sense of the word.  I was a very young bride and mother and she took me under her wing, teaching me what I needed to know about caring for my little family.  I loved her so. 

I debated about sharing such personal information on this blog.  I do so with the intent of helping others who may suffer challenges in their own lives.

We do not define our son by how he died, but rather how he lived.  He did the absolute best he could in this life and we are so proud of him.  I feel that we will see him again.  If I didn't have this assurance, I don't think I could get through this.  But, I am getting through and so is my dear husband.  We know that day by day, we must make the decision and effort to feel the joy and happiness that is ours.  Do we feel down, unhappy and sad at times?  Yes, absolutely.  The feelings of loss will always be with us.  But, we must make the best of the remainder of our lives.  We feel we have a responsibility to do this when so many cannot. 

I wish you dear reader, all the love and joy that is yours on this special day. 

IN THE MOMENT

Happy Easter everyone... I hope you are enjoying the love and hope that this day brings.

I am STILL working away on the slipcover for the sofa....

Now I do not especially enjoy sewing slipcovers.  But, I have made up my mind that I will embrace this task with a better attitude.  I keep thinking that it will be a wonderful addition to our decor here at the bungalow.  I am grateful to have a bit of skill which enables me to create this thing.  I am VERY grateful to Miss Mustard Seed for her fabulous tutorial as well!

I think that when we are "in the moment" and savoring it as we ought to, the task at hand seems much more manageable... don't you think?  I like to take a lesson from my adorable Molly...she really lives in the moment too!  Here she is savoring a lovely nap....

Please stay tuned for the big reveal of the slipcover.... hopefully in the very near future!  Happy Day all!

COTTAGEY CHAIR

Is there such a word as cottagey?  Well, I guess there is now!  Happy Day all!  Sorry I have been MIA from this blog for a bit but I have been giving my sofa the "slip".

Now back to the "cottagey chair" which I think turned out so very well.  It sat all winter in the dark recesses of the garage and when I moved my bedroom chair out to the porch, I found this little chair would be a perfect replacement.  That is, with a bit of sanding, cleaning, paint and fabric for the seat.

The fabric on the seat is Liz Claiborne's beautiful linen.  I LOVE this fabric and you will see how much once I have finished the slipcover in my livingroom!  It washes well and even though some thread escapes the little circles which are embroidered on, I can live with that.  The color of it reminds me of beach sand.  Sigh.  Guess I won't be seeing much of that for a while since we got a huge amount of SNOW the other day.  Ugh. 

Well, back to the slipcover....

Linked to http://www.beyondthepicketfence.com/

SLIPCOVERS

Just the word slipcover is enough to send shivers down my spine!  In a word, making them can be....daunting.

However, not according to that slipcover genius, Miss Mustard Seed!   Thanks to her fantastic series of instructional videos, I think I can actually tackle this thing!  And by thing, I mean my velvet sofa.  It is burgundy and looks quite dated.  So, it is off to the store to buy my drop cloths for the slipcover.   If only Ikea were closer, I would just bite the bullet and buy an Ektorp sofa and be done with it.  But alas, my sofa is in good shape and I cannot justify getting rid of it because of the color.  I figure I can cover this thing for under 100.00.

Of course, if I can get this done and if it looks okay, I will tackle the chair which sort of matches the sofa.  It is from Pottery Barn and I bought it last year at a garage sale for 75.00.  It has great "bones" as they say and would be worth the time and energy to slipcover it as well.

Wish me luck friends!  If I am missing in action on this blog, it means I am up to my armpits in fabric!!!!!!