Forget-Me-Not Cottage

Happy Summer!

I've been so busy this summer with visiting family and friends, that I've completely neglected my little old blog.

Hopefully things will settle down soon and I can get back to more regular blogging . . . Until then, I'd like to wish everyone here at Homestead Blogger a very happy 4th of July and a very happy summer!

(The photo above is a pot of Nemesia and Cosmos on my porch decorated for the upcoming holiday - I love the cheerful colors of summer!)

Refreshing Oasis

"Miss Alice had the knack of making these Tuesday evenings a refreshing oasis in the midst of our otherwise hectic lives.

I often marveled that the interior peace of the woman was reflected so faithfully in her surroundings.

Even the selection and arrangements of her possessions gave an aura of uncluttered calm.  In addition, there was a directness in her approach to all of life - including the art of housekeeping - that never failed to fascinate me.

Miss Alice was a woman to whom color, symmetry of line and contrast of texture were important.  She flouted the accepted custom of covering her table tops with doilies or small scarves; the sheen and patina of the lovely old wood were all the decoration needed.  In a pewter bowl she could arrange with artistry a few well-polished apples and some nuts, or a piece of quartz picked up somewhere in the mountains along with some unusual leaves and berries.

I reveled in all of this.  Though David, manlike, noticed none of these details, he nevertheless responded to the atmosphere they created."

~ from the book, Christy, by Catherine Marshall

Country Sampler

I love a warm, homey, comfortable look and feel in my home, and Country Sampler is my favorite magazine for cottage/country decorating ideas.  Every issue features lovely photos of homes filled with all of my favorite things . . . antiques and primitive accessories, stoneware, quilts, candles and candle holders, oil lamps, hooked rugs, wool pillows, wooden bowls, baskets, wood floors, and my favorite country colors. 

I've had a subscription to Country Sampler for many years, and it is my favorite country decorating resource.

Have a lovely spring!

Kim

Spring Cottage Days

Although there is still a thick blanket of snow on the ground here at Forget-Me-Not Cottage, spring is in the air, and many spring projects and plans have already begun to take shape.

Cottage Improvements - My very dear and talented husband has just begun gutting our old 1920's-never-been-improved mudroom.  Right now, this little 10'x6' room looks quite awful and is the entrance to our home.  He will be removing the original horizontal fir plank walls, reinsulating, rewiring, laying down new flooring, nailing the original wood planks back up, and finally painting.  Once this is all finished, in addition to using this room as our mudroom, we plan to move our desk into this room.  It will fit perfectly against one wall, under a little window.  Until now our family desk has been in our livingroom.

Homespun Happenings - My dear 18 year-old middle son will be graduating from high school this year, and I've just begun putting together a graduation quilt for him.  I've written about the Friendship Sampler Quilt here.  These quilts are so special, and so much fun to put together.

School Days - Last week, my husband, youngest son, and I travelled out of town for a week to watch my middle son play in a high school basketball tournament.  It was so much fun to watch, and great to see so many kids play ball with so much teamwork and good sportsmanship.

This has been my quickie spring cottage update.  I'll be back once again as soon as the dust settles!

Have a very blessed and happy spring!

Kim

Proverbs 31

Artwork by Carl Larsson

These Proverbs 31 passages have always inspired me in my home.  Although this Bible version is more contemporary, the meaning is timeless.

Proverbs 31:10-28 The Message Bible

A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds.

Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it.

Never spiteful, she treats him generously all her life long.

She shops around for the best yarns and cottons, and enjoys knitting and sewing.

She's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places and brings back exotic surprises.

She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast for her family and organizing her day.

She looks over a field and buys it, then, with money she's put aside, plants a garden.

First thing in the morning, she dresses for work, rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.

She senses the worth of her work, is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.

She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth, diligent in homemaking.

She's quick to assist anyone in need, reaches out to help the poor.

She doesn't worry about her family when it snows; their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.

She makes her own clothing, and dresses in colorful linens and silks.

Her husband is greatly respected when he deliberates with the city fathers.

She designs gowns and sells them, brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.

Her clothes are well-made and elegant, and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.

When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly.

She keeps an eye on everyone in her household, and keeps them all busy and productive.

Her children respect and bless her; her husband joins in with words of praise.

Warm New Year Blessings

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged.  Our family Christmas was wonderful.  It was such a blessing, and so good to have all my sons home for several weeks over the holidays.  My dear oldest son is in college; and unfortunately, we only see him at Christmas and over the summer break.

Although all the Christmas decorations and goodies have been put away, out little cottage is warm and cozy; and it still looks like a winter wonderland outside.  Snow is falling gently right now, and there is a thick blanket of snow on the ground.  Although the ocean looks dark and cold, the shorebirds look content.  The temperature is about 19 degrees.

Last night, I fixed one of my favorite comfort foods for dinner - macaroni and cheese.  I use the recipe from The Tasha Tudor Cookbook, Recipes and Reminiscences from Corgi Cottage.  It is so yummy!

This is a lovely cookbook, and one of my favorites.  It has many delicious recipes, and is sprinkled with many of Tasha Tudor's beautiful illustrations of children, animals, and home.

Until next time ~

Wishing you warm and beautiful new year blessings, Kim  

Precious Gifts

A little Christmas decorating and crafting . . . lots of home cooking . . . even more Christmas baking and goodies . . .  winter chores . . . shopping . . . family, friends and fellowship . . . brotherly cribbage games . . . music and laughter . . . tales of travel, adventure and lessons learned . . . a dear son arriving home safely from a foreign land . . . prayers answered . . . joy . . . Love.

Yes, indeed, life has been so blessedly full and happy here at Forget-Me-Not Cottage this Christmas season.  Unfortunately, I've had little time to blog or read all of your lovely blogs.  I've missed all of you, but I'll be back to visit sometime after Christmas.

I'm wishing all of you a very merry, blessed, and peaceful Christmas.  Family is such a precious gift from God.  I hope all of you will have beautiful days with your precious gifts this Christmas season.

Peace and blessings, Kim

Give Thanks

I really enjoy working on little handicraft projects during the long, chilly evenings of fall and winter.  I just finished this cute little 7"x7" primitive-style counted cross stitch just in time for Thanksgiving.

This coming Thanksgiving day, and every day, I give thanks for all my blessings, especially my precious family.  They are truly a blessed gift from God.

Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life . . . a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seedtime and harvest, the ripe product of the year - and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God. ~ Ray Stannard Baker

Scrappy Quilt Project

My home has been so quiet during the day since my dear sons went back to public school.  I've kept myself busy doing a little extra cleaning, a little clearing out, and a little creating.

While going through and organizing my fabric stash, I had a little spark of inspiration to make a scrappy quilt out of some of my favorite old fabrics.  I have lots of little floral and star prints to work with; and lots of pretty country colors too.  So this season, my big pine kitchen/school table has been transformed into a kitchen/sewing table a few quiet hours a week.

I do miss my boys at home, but it's been nice to sit quietly with a sewing machine and create something pretty . . . and soft.  I'm sure mothers of only teenage sons at home can understand.  It's been especially nice when warm autumn sunlight falls just right on the table - glorious!

May you also be blessed with warm sunlight, inspiration, but especially Love around your kitchen table this beautiful autumn season.  

Antique Oak Wardrobe

I'd like to share a photo of an antique oak Tudor wardrobe that my dear husband and I just purchased for our home.  This is the ebay seller's picture.

We purchased this piece because we live in a cute little old cottage with some charming old features; but it lacks a single closet in the entire house.  We have managed clothing storage pretty well; using dressers for most clothing items, under beds for shoes, pegs and hooks on walls with dress clothes hung on hangers, and sons' sports equipment and winter clothing kept in an outbuilding until needed.  But, dear hubby and I have always felt we needed something more for our bedroom to neatly contain our things.  We have been looking for some kind of armoire or wardrobe for several years now; but everything we looked at was either too big, too small, too expensive, or too, well, ugly.  I think this wardrobe will be just perfect!

"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."  ~ William Morris

Broccoli Puff

Broccoli Puff is a delicious fall or winter dish to serve at dinner time; it's also a good potluck dish.  Even broccoli haters like it!

Broccoli Puff (Serves 8-10)

• 20oz Frozen Chopped Broccoli
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 1/2 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
• 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
• 2 eggs, beaten 
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook the broccoli according to pkg directions. Drain.  Combine all the ingredients and pour into an 8"x8" or 9"x9" baking dish.  Bake 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Thank You

Life has been so full to overflowing this month here at Forget-Me-Not Cottage; with routine chores, gardening, canning, home improvement projects, and friend and family gatherings.  But, I wanted to be sure to pop into my blog today, because it is my one-year anniversary with HomesteadBlogger!  And I'd like to thank each of you who have visited my blog, read my posts, and left nice comments.  Your kindness has meant so much to this newbie blogger.  I'd also like to thank all of you for your lovely, thoughtful blogs - each one is so unique.  I've learned much from many of them, and many have touched my heart.

Thank you dear blogging friends.  I'm looking forward to another year of lovely blogs and blogging.

Peace and blessings, Kim

I wanted to share a photo of what are, I think, the last of my summer flowers.  This is a bouquet of monkshood, foxglove, and lupines in my favorite blue Ball jar.

Wild Berries and Jam

I just finished making my first batch of jam this year, picked from wild berries growing on our homestead - eight 1/2 pints of salmonberry jam.  This first batch turned out a little runny, and the fruit is floating on the top, but it tastes delicious all the same on a warm, buttered slice of homemade bread.

A salmonberry looks like a large raspberry, but tastes more tart.  Its color is either orange or red.

PickYourOwn.org has a very helpful page about canning, as well as lists of pick your own farms, festivals, and events around the U.S. and other countries.

Tip: When making jelly or jam it is helpful to use a large pot because the liquid increases greatly in bulk as it boils.  It may boil over and create a huge mess if the saucepan is too small.

Mom's Garden

I'd like to share a few photos from my garden.

My 13 year-old youngest son gave me this "Mom's Garden" rock for Mother's Day this year.  It's so sweet, just like him.  Nestled in a patch of perennial geraniums, it cheers up this shady spot in my garden.

I love purple lupines.  I think they're simply lovely.

In the background of this photo is a 10' tall, dense thicket of wild salmonberries that will make delicious jam later this summer.

My dear husband and sons gave me this pretty little Miss Kim Lilac several years ago for Mother's Day.  They were so delighted to find a flower at the nursery with my name on it!  The memory of that day is so sweet.  The scent is light, but absolutely heavenly!

I am so grateful for God's blessings of love, beauty, joy, and abundance in my garden and home.

"Who loves a garden, still his Eden keeps."  ~ A.B. Alcott

Rain

"God created rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done."

I'm not sure who said this, but it certainly has been true for me this week!