Memories....

Memories from my childhood home.
This metal register cover is from the
house where I grew up.
In the middle of the dining room floor,
I can remember standing on it
with my brother and sister on cold winter days
after playing outside to "warm up".
It is now mounted on an old Singer sewing
machine treadle base and sits on our patio.
Love that I am able to have
this little piece of the past.

Memories made along the way

Framing Words...Beautiful Chaos

Describes my life and my house.
Chaos...at least it's Beautiful! 

Beautiful Chaos

We are now going to be offering some of
our signs with a wood frame.
We already had our Letter and Number signs
with frames and are now expanding that
to many of our new designs as well as adding them 
to some of our oldies but goodies.

After the Storm after Storm after Storm...

After five days of continuous storms blowing through,
the sun is shining on my little corner.
We've had about 12 inches of rain. Other places in MD and PA have been hit with much more.
Bridges out and trees down.

Monday, in between storms thundering through...

The Dumplin' and I went puddle jumping.

Last night another big thunder storm hit, 

and the downpour lasted for several hours.  

 The gardens will be needing quite a bit of work
with the beating the plants took
and I'm sure the weeds will be flourishing.
When I took the dogs out this morning, the mosquitoes swarmed me.
But the sun is glowing in the sky and
that is a good thing!

Saturday Rain...

A gray morning in my little corner.
Looks like it will be raining all day and into Sunday.
We really do need the rain.
Picked a few flowers to take to the Workshop with me.
Some summer color will make me smile
as I paint today.
Wishing you a most wonderful weekend!

www.countryworkshop.net

Garden Mickey...

I love this little Mickey Mouse statue
that came with a Mickey birdbath my daughters
gave me for Mother's Day years ago.
The birds kept knocking him out of the birdbath
and his ears would break off.
His poor little ears have been glued back
 on more than once.
He now has a place on the shelf on the porch.

Who plants a seed....

The first zinnia to bloom...
from the seeds the Dumplin' and I
planted in the spring. 
I chose zinnias and marigolds,
as they are sure to grow and bloom,
without a whole lot of fuss. 
Just add water.

The marigolds are showing off a bit too...

with the Dumplin's tender care.

www.countryworkshop.net

What a Wonderful Surprise...

What a wonderful surprise this morning...
the heat and humidity disappeared overnight. 
I'm sure the local weather people had
let folks know about this change of temperature
and the dreadful humidity, which was like
breathing water, but I have been so busy
 in the Workshop, that I didn't hear the forecast.  

So I had coffee on the porch as I sat, feet up,
enjoying beautiful morning, 

before heading to the Workshop
with Lou to wrap orders for shipping.
We are lucky that our local Post Office is open
until 2 on Saturdays.
We were able to get the packages
there just in the nick of time.

The rest of the afternoon was spent pulling
some serious weeds in the garden

and playing cards with the grandlittles, 

who were here for a few hours whileour daughter had a bridal shower to attend.

Peace and Grace

Independence Day...

My great grandfather, William C. Dorsey, 

one of 6 children of Irish immigrants, celebrating

America's Independence Day in Baltimore, Maryland. 

I believe this was taken in the mid 1920's.

Our plans for the holiday are rather laid back.
Scrapped plans for the annual
Towson 4th of July Parade because of
the horrible heat wave.
Hot dogs and hamburgers with the
our oldest daughter and grandlittles.
Hoping to view local fireworks if the
weather cools off in the evening. 

Wishing You a Safe and Happy 4th.

Welcome Bees and Butterflies!

A place for bees and butterflies in my little corner. Add this sweet sign to your garden. A wonderful gift for a gardener. Hand painted, worn finish wood sign to tuck into the garden. Everyone with a little bit of earth or a pot with flowers can help create a habitat for butterflies and bees. 

Click the link below to order one for yourself or a friend.

https://bit.ly/2IWnJRf

Thinking I need to add milkweed to my yard.
From seed or should I purchase plants?
Any suggestions?

No one looks back and says, "I spent too much time with my grandchildren."

Blessed Beyond Measure

The Secret Garden

 Secret Garden Yard Sign by The Country Workshop

Who read the Secret Garden as a child? 
While on a vacation to Ocean City, NJ
many, many years ago, my Mother read
 a bit of this book to her younger sister
and me every night.  

I always think of that vacation and that story 

every summer as my garden starts to bloom.

Created this hand painted, worn finish garden sign
for "My Secret Garden"
To order one for your garden click link below
Secret Garden Yard Sign by The Country Workshop

Another Little Snowfall...

It has been a strange winter...

 Lots of little snowfalls...just a couple inches at a time

...and colder than normal temperatures.

One can only hope these bitterly cold
temperatures we've been 

having here in Maryland means fewer
mosquitoes and fleas this summer.

Happy Birthday Elsie...

Yesterday was my Grandmother Elsie's 107th birthday. 
She was born in Baltimore, Maryland
on January 7, 1910.

I have been working on my family's history,
gathering facts,  scanning photographs
and need to start writing out family stories. 

Married in 1928 to John, the love of her life,
they had 3 daughters. 
My mother Betty was born in December of 1928.
  Second daughter Joan arrived in July of 1939
and Donna was born in April of 1949.  

My parents were already married
when Donna was born so Donna and I
were raised more like sisters than aunt and niece. 
She spent many weekends at my parents home
and I was at my grandparents house often. 
Because of this, I had a unique relationship
with my maternal grandparents.

Betty, Elsie, Joan and Donna

Mom Mom made my wedding dress
of white cotton dotted swiss, very hippie 1970's. 
After my daughters were born,
and I was a stay at home Mom,
 she called me almost everyday.
Blessed that my girls actually knew their
Great Grandmother.

Because my Grandmother, I knew what
kind of grandmother I wanted to be.

Elsie and John had
3 children
9 grandchildren
12 great grandchildren
and 4 great great grandchildren. 

We lost my Grandmother in 1989. 
I still miss her everyday.

Happy, Happy Birthday Mom Mom! 

things don't always go as planned...

I thought first day of a new year...
great time to start blogging again. 
Life around here got so crazy that something
had to go and it was posting on this blog. 

So only a couple of days late...here I am.  I started with a terrible cold on New Year's Eve and am still coughing, sneezing and nursing a sore throat.

I spent today in my jammies, in front of the fire,
watching old movies and drinking hot tea..

Lou, seems to be one day behind me
with the same thing...
He slept in a bit this morning but needed to
wrap some sign orders today
and took them to the Post Office.

So where did we pick up this stinkin' bug?
Pick a child, any child.

So many runny noses and coughs and sneezes
on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
It could have come from any one of
these adorable Littles.

We are suppose to get snow tonight and it has
been bitterly cold here in Maryland this past week.
The extremely cold temps will be
continuing through the weekend.

Are you ready for spring yet?