Dad's Big Day

We are currently on vacation up in Prince Edward Island. It is cold and rainy with a high wind pelting the rain against the windows. I love that kind of weather...seriously! Good hot chocolate weather. Yesterday was Father's Day (even in Canada) and here is the card I made for the father of my children. It was funny because just the other day he was saying the part he misses most about the kids being grown up was reading to them when they were little. I found this picture to feature on the front of my card and it is perfect because my son Colin (who will be 21 this year!) has such a delighted smile on his face. Oh how he loved his stories. I can still see him picking out the books that he wanted read to him each night. India is just a baby but she is listening intently. Thomas is a great reader and to this day could probably recite some of the Berenstain Bears stories by heart. I used to be able to recite "The Lorax" by memory. For those of you out there with small children, enjoy these days and don't skimp on the reading. It will be one of your best memories!

Hopelessly Devoted..to my Clothesline

I wait all year for this... a lovely breezy spring day to dry my clothes. I don't attend church but this is where I do my thinking and have my quiet time. It is pure simple joy to hang out my clothes and inhale that clean fresh scent of cotton when I take them in. I hang out clothes all year long, even trudgeing through hip deep snow and dealing with sheets that are frozen like glaciers. I may be crazy but it's just my thing. I LOVE my clothesline!

I bought these cheery curtains Saturday morning at the church rummage sale and they were hanging out on my clothesline by noon.

Some more signs of spring... wild bleeding heart and pulmonaria (polka-dot plant).

Couldn't resist taking this shot of my four-legged "helper" Miss Bella Luna. She loves it when I turn on the hose!

Birthday Week

This was my daughter's thirteenth birthday and she wanted her favorite ice cream cake. This is the easiest cake you could ever make and it's always a big hit with the kids- and so pretty too! I got the recipe out of a very old Better Homes and Gardens:

Two packages of soft cookies with a jam center (such as Archway)
1/2 gallon favorite good quality ice cream ( I used strawberry)
fresh strawberries
fresh blackberries or blueberries
Strawberry jam (warmed in a saucepan until liquid)


Line a souffle dish or bowl with straight sides with saran wrap leaving an overhang of about 6 to 8 inches on the sides. Soften up the ice cream to a spreadable consistency.

Line the sides of the bowl with the cookies standing on end with the jam centers facing outward. Line the bottom with more cookies breaking them up to fit. Spread 1/2 of ice cream in the bowl. Layer more cookies on top. Spread remaining ice cream so that it fills up the cavity. Cover up the top with the overhanging saran wrap. Freeze until firm ( a few hours).

Before serving: Lift out the frozen cake and unwrap. Place on a cake pedestal and decorate with the berries. (good to have these all trimmed and ready to go so your cake is not melting). Pour strawberry glaze over. Voila!

This was our birthday table.. my daughter did the decorating for her friends.

I found these cool flower pens which made a nice centerpiece and then the girls got to take them home.

My big birthday gift was my "Little Giant" ladder. I have been longing for one of these for ages and always make the guy demonstrate it whenever I go to a flower/garden show. My husband finally gave in and bought me one for my fiftieth. Now I can do my own demo!

Valentine Wishes

Happy Valentine's Day! Here is an old suitcase that I painted and decorated a couple of years ago to hold all the valentines I've given and received over the years. I love the way it looks both closed and..... Open! Like a true treasure chest of loving wishes.

I have a fabulous old circle taffeta skirt from the forties that was started but never finished. I took some of that great polka dotted taffeta and made a little ruffle for the pocket.

Here is a shot of my mantle which I try and decorate for each holiday. I made the doll years ago and she is pretty primitive but I still love her. The large hand coloured photograph in the frame is my great aunt Helen. She was my grandmother's sister and their father took this photo and handcoloured it himself. My grandmother painted the frame and this was a most treasured possession that she wanted me to have. Her sister Helen tragically died when she was a young woman and I think this photo gave my grandmother a lot of comfort. I am happy to have it grace my mantle through all the seasons.