A little "me time"...

.....with my morning coffee, my favorite magazines and a good book.  What could be better, especially on a rainy, gray Saturday morning but to curl up on the sofa and enjoy what makes you happy.  

My Victoria magazine came yesterday in the mail and I saved it for this morning anxiously awaiting what was in those pages once I turned the cover, and The English Home magazine is one that I read over and over again and never tire of.  
The book I am currently reading is "After the Fire" by Belva Plain, really good.  I found this one at our local library for $1.00.  

So don't forget to have yourself a little "me time" every now and then 
with whatever makes you happy!

Garden decor.....

...for the new year. 

It's January, can you believe it?  Happy 2012 everyone! 
Over the holidays our family played Secret Santa at one of our gatherings and this is the gift I ended up with.  I love it!  It's a metal garden stake temperature gauge in the shape of a flower adorned with marbles.  It's perfect for the garden.  And as you can see the temperature is only in the 20s.  Brrrrrrr.  There was ice in the bird bath this morning.

So what's the best thing to do on a really cold bitter day?  Cozy up by the fire with a hot cup of coffee (or tea or hot chocolate) and enjoy reading your favorite magazine.   

Hope you're staying warm in your neck of the woods! 
 

Sneak preview...

I started a new painting on the weekend. I found a photograph in one of my magazines and I loved the colors, which caught my eye first, and the tablescape, I thought, was beautiful. I must paint this, I said to myself.

So I am painting this delightful tablescape with the light blue vase and pink flowers along with dainty tea cups ~ my own version, of course.

Enjoy your day, everyone!

Quiet time

A chilly morning calls for time to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and some of my favorite magazines. Do you keep favorite magazines that you love and just can't seem to throw away? (A great hiding place is under the sofa.)




Otis and Riley like to nap by my side when I'm reading. Riley is here....and Otis is up on the back of the couch behind my head. Always nearby.





I like to paint on days when it's too chilly to be in the garden, and today was one of those days. I finished painting a wooden rooster that hubby made and carved in the woodshop.
Ready to go in my etsy shop.







Be sure to check out my cool GaRden ARt teacups and teapots in my shop too!

Mourning Dove Cottage

I'd like to share with you something very special that Mourning Dove Cottage received in the mail yesterday.

My sweet blogging friend, Deb, from posted from home, sent me a beautiful handmade card with the letters MDC, for Mourning Dove Cottage, and a photo of a baby dove on the front ~ this dove, by the way, is one of her dove babies. How cute!

Enclosed in the card was an article she clipped from a Mary Engelbreit magazine about a beautiful home and garden called Dove Cottage. The article is filled with lovely garden pictures of an enchanting naturescape, herb and flower gardens, and a charming farmhouse built in the 1850's.

Thank you, Deb, for thinking of Mourning Dove Cottage! I've already found some wonderful ideas in the article that I'd like to incorporate in my garden.

How beautiful a day can be

When kindness touches it!

~George Elliston

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wanted to mention that the 4th of July event at Brier Creek was loads of fun and a very successful day. The fireworks were fantastic!

Quiet time

Since I'm up at the crack of dawn now (5:15 AM) with hubby, I have some quiet time in the morning after he leaves for work. This is my time for reading. I pour another cup of hot coffee and curl up on the sofa. It's dark outside.

This morning I got lost in the pages of my new Victoria magazine. It's the September/October issue and the warm colors of fall are everywhere in the magazine. True Autumn delights!

Lovely decorated rooms.

Pumpkins everywhere.

Beautiful places to travel.

More wonderful decorating.

I think I may have to do some decorating of my own today and get a few fall things out of the attic. Such inspiration!

I'm also reading another one of Maeve Binchey's books, Evening Class. So good!

Quiet time in the morning. It's one of my favorite times of day.

Extreme heat...

...that's what the weather forecaster reported this evening. Five straight days of 100 plus degree heat! Too hot to be outside. So, in the evenings, this is what I do~

the crossword puzzle after reading the evening newspaper,

enjoy a few of my favorite magazines,

and watch a good movie. This is a wonderful movie about the life of Beatrix Potter.

I'm hoping tomorrow evening I can enjoy the back porch.

Staying in

Brrrrrrr, there's a nip in the air today, it's really cold outside. I'm staying in and doing a little painting and lots of reading. My Country Living magazine came in the mail and I'm in the middle of a good book "Up Island" by Anne Rivers Siddons which I picked up at Goodwill a couple of weeks ago. Otis and Riley are all cozy and warm in their blankets.

Hoping for warmer weather...