The End of the First Month...

Sitting in the kitchen, browsing through my interests on the computer,
I realized that we are coming to the end of the first month of this year. 
How fast that happened.  I've said this before, the older one gets
the more quickly time seems to pass.

 We have a cloudy sky here in our part of Maryland
this morning but the sun is trying to break through.

One more month of this winter is almost finished...
that much closer to Spring.

The Country Workshop

Along the way...

Several more  photos from our trip to DC last month...

Interesting shapes and patterns to be
seen on the walk from

the Capitol Building to the Botanic Garden.

I do like the details.  

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The One Who Came Before...

We have lived in our home for almost 40 years and
every spring since that first spring, 
I am excited to see beautiful colors popping open in our yard.

  I have added bulbs and plants and bushes over the years,
but I am always grateful to the gardener who came before.  

 

There are many double jonquils, some in shades of yellow
and orange and some that are yellow with white.

Azaleas in pink, white and lavender
as well as iris of deep purple.

Also planted by the one who came before are wood hyacinths. 
Pretty in shades of blues and white and smelling so sweet.
Now there are hundreds of these as they have multiplied 
over the past 4 decades.

I do know that the people who we purchased the house
from were not the gardeners...
they didn't even take care of the house.  But there were two other
owners of the house before them. I am not sure who it was that liked
to play in the "dirt" but I am very thankful for
his/her garden efforts that are still going strong over forty years later.

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Summer Breeze...

Lucy and I are dreaming of summer on the beach...

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New in the Workshop...Handcrafted Vintage Look Soda Crates

 New for Spring,
We are offering vintage look soda crates. 
These are based on old Virginia Dare soda crates
I have from my childhood days. 
The E. Regester's Bottling Company was located in Overlea, Maryland
just half a mile or so from the house where I grew up. 

When my parents sold the old home, I fell heir to several of
the Virginia Dare soda boxes.

 

  Based on the Regester soda boxes, our
vintage look crates will be a
great addition to your home decor.
The Country Workshop logo is hand stenciled.

  Handcrafted wooden soda crates measure
18 inches x 12 1/2 inches x 5 inches.
Painted and carefully sanded
for a worn vintage look.

 ***************

 Store, carry and display in vintage style.  
Dinner and stemware, art supplies, gardening goodies...
the uses are as large as your imagination.

We will be adding more colors and sizes.

Also in late spring, boxes and crates will be available to be
personalized for special gifts and occasions.

Country Workshop Crates and Boxes
available on the website.

Even Lucy has the...Winter Blue Hoo's

I heard somewhere,  that this week in January is "the week "
when people get a bad case of the winter blues. 

Cold, gray days, snow and ice do take a toll on my brain.
There was one, almost springlike morning this week
and then back to cold, drizzly days.

However the snow did miss us last night.
Just not quite cold enough here in Maryland...
but the weather report  is telling me colder temps
and snow on Monday into Tuesday.

Planning on sitting in front of the fire this afternoon
and looking through garden catalogs and
pretty pictures of colorful blooms.

Garden As Though You Will Live Forever

A Visit with the Girl...

Had a wonderful few hours with grandlittle Riah J. 
She is so  much her own person now and quite the character.

After a lunch of ham and "orange cheese", she wanted to
watch a show and we settled on Doc McStuffins which
is on the Disney Channel.
Doc has become her new favorite show,
replacing the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and the
Hot Dog Hot Dog Hot Diggity Dog song.

I don't often make signs for myself, but as a Disney fan,
who grew up watching the original
Mickey Mouse Club,
I put together these blocks for our house.

Snow Day at the Workshop...

 

 Glad I don't have to drive to work...
just climb up a snow covered hill to the shop.
Heading back to the house can be tricky if the hill gets icy.
But I can always sit down and slid on my behind if necessary.
(and I did have to do that one time)

 Lucy, the shaggy dog, loves the snow.
I gave her a bath last night so she's really fluffy.

And the white stuff  looks really pretty at night.
Best of all, the high will be 43 degrees tomorrow 
and the snow should be gone by sundown.

The Country Workshop

Let There Be Sun...

 A beautiful, sunshiney Friday morning in our little neck of the woods. 
Thinking it will be warm enough to take the Christmas
lights down off the front of the house. 
All the other  decorations have been put away for a while.
Tomorrow , the weather report is calling for temps to be a bit more chilly. 

 I'll be heading up to the shop today to work on signs.  We have a number  of orders for our Salty Pirate/Beautiful Mermaid sign to put together.  I'm thinking this sign must have shown up somewhere out there in "Internet World"  because we've had a run on it. 
Not complaining...This is a good thing.

The Country Workshop

 

TBT... A Fountain

TBT
I thought I recognized the fountain in front of the Capitol Building
on our visit to Washington DC several weeks ago. 
Snapped this photo and when I got home
went thorough old family photos.

  I found this photo of my Grandmother, Elsie,
my Mom, Betty, and her two sisters, Joan and Donna. 
I'm thinking this was probably 1950. 
And yes...same fountain.

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A Bit of Sunshine....

on this gray winter's day.

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Sunshine on my Lucy makes her Happy

On these cold winter days,
Lucy finds whatever little bit of sunshine she can.
That will be her perfect napping place
until that sunny spot moves.
Then she does too.

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Winter Berries...

Even though it's winter here in Maryland,
there's still color in the garden.

The berries are bright this year.

 

 Also, as one rides along the highways of this beautiful state,
there are bunches of bittersweet hanging in the trees and climbing over fences. 
There is so much of it this winter and the berries are such a bright orange.
The plants are much more noticeable than usual as
the car speeds along the highway. 

The Country Workshop

A Visit to DC

 The week between Christmas and the New Year, Lou and I took a little trip. 
We live so close to our nation's capital and yet have not visited
Washington DC since the daughters were young. 
When our friends, David and Ann, asked if we would like like
to take the train to DC and visit the United States Botanic Garden,
we quickly agreed.  Early on that Monday morning the four of us
boarded a train heading for Union Station. 
We were careful not to get on the "quiet car" as the four of us
are not known for whispering when we get together. 

 We arrived at Union Station a bit after 8 am,
grabbed coffee and egg sandwiches at  Johnny Rockets
and headed off to the Botanic Garden.

We walked past the Capitol Building on our way to the Garden . 
The Capitol Dome is covered with scaffolding and restoration
has begun on this piece of American history. 
You can get information on this project by visiting
  http://www.aoc.gov/dome

 The Botanic Garden was still decorated for Christmas with 
lovely poinsettias in shades of pink, red and white. 

  

The four of us strolled through the desert...

 a garden of orchids...

and finally through the jungle.

 

More of our Washington visit in an upcoming post....