What's new at the Potlake farm

How much is 22 yards of dirt? 

A lot. A really lot. 

 Last fall we built 6 very large raised beds. Due to the rocks. It's easier to shovel 22 yards of dirt than dig a garden through rock.  I showed you here.

The garlic is up and the lettuce, peas, radishes and spinach have sprouted.

The house is coming along. Tile in the shower is installed.

The floor is pebbles ( aka little stones ). 

This is the back porch. 

 Happy sunlight streams in all day.   

This is the master bedroom. Another sunny room with french doors that lead out to the open porch.

The pine floors are acclimating. Hopefully, they'll be laid soon. 

This is the porch off our bedroom. I'm hoping that a coat of paint will make it look more like a porch and less like a deck...

Keep your fingers crossed for the bead board ceiling in the kitchen, dining and living rooms to start going up in the coming week.  It's been on backorder at the mill ( pout ).

Once that is up and painted, the floors can go down and then the bathroom fixtures, baseboards and window trim. 

We're close.... it's coming together.

Have a sunny week! 

hugs, K

Rainy Days

This morning dawned grey and chilly. It rained again. 

And so we went for a drive.

 I found this vintage cotton and lace baby dress.

 To say that the bonnet has seen better days is an understatement.

Thankfully, it has a new home :-) 

And thankfully, the sun came out late this afternoon.

:-) 

Have a happy, sunny week.

Karen 

Rock on!

Construction at the Potlake house is coming along.  Drywall is complete and it's all primed and painted.

We're waiting for the bead board ceiling to go in, then floors, then trim and the kitchen.

The yard will be cleaned up this week - there are several piles of dirt  rocks from when the basement and foundation were dug. 

So many rocks it makes me laugh out loud.

I like rocks.  A lot.

( hmmm, I wonder what Freud would say... )

I've picked  ( well, hoarded really ) as many as I can. They're stacked up around avery tree...

Tonnes of them. For REAL. And I've carried every one!

And I'll carry them all again to the perfect spot in the garden.

I've been dreaming with the help of Pinterest.

I can barely wait to start building flower beds.

I'll use rocks...

and rocks...

and rocks! 

Do you have big (or heavy ) garden plans? 

<3 p="">

Karen 

When I have a porch...

This chair asked to come home with me a couple of months ago. 

The stain on it had become so dark it was almost black and the finish was crackly like alligator skin.

It had paint spatter on it and some obvious repairs. - like a metal bar screwed all the way across the front.

But its a very cool old school recliner. 

:-) 

There's a metal rod that you can adjust to recline the chair.

I was going to paint it white to match the rocker that I like to sit in...

but it's for Mike to sit in on our porch so I refinished it instead.

I wanted to keep some of the original patina. 

Stripping and sanding it down to new would be like disregarding it's whole storey. 

This chair has earned every dent and chip. 

It's still an old chair and I love it. 

Glad I didn't paint it.

I still have to find the right cushion. 

When the porch is finished, I'll be ready! 

p.s. you can see some green in our very grey lawn - come on spring, you can do it!

<3 p="">

Karen 

Kissing the Blarney Sone and an Irish Blessing

To celebrate St.Patricks Day, some photos of our trip last year to Blarney Castle. 

According to legend, kissing the stone endows the kisser with the gift of gab or blarney; the ability to flatter and persuade with the highest degree of eloquence and wit.  

Even though the parapet is fitted with iron rails to prevent folks from slipping through, I'm too afraid to hang upside down from the top of the castle to kiss the blarney stone 

I can barely even walk by myself.

 Thanks Mike for the hand :-) 

See how high up we are?

Wishing you a rainbow

For sunlight after showers -

Miles and miles of Irish smiles

Fore golden happy hours -

Shamrocks at your doorway

For luck and laughter too,

And a host of friends that never ends

Each day your whole life through!

<3 nbsp="" p="">

Karen 

On the Needles

 I LOVE Knitty free patterns.

 I've been working on this sweater for a while.

Small needles...

and small yarn.

I love how it's knit in one piece.  Pretty nifty! 

I feel like I've been knitting and knitting and knitting - and my sweater's not getting any bigger.  

Frown.

So I started a smaller project with bigger needles...

 and bigger yarn. 

Instant gratification.

Smile.

It'll be an eternity scarf.  Hopefully I'll finish before the weather turns warm.

I'll take that back - hopefully it's too warm to wear it by the time I get it finished this week! 

I usually work on one project at a time, but I'm impatient. I think it's a symptom of a long winter.  

I wanted to feel like I'm making progress. And now I do. 

 What have you been crafting up while waiting for Spring?

hugs, K 

Sweet Surprises

You never know what you might find when you least expect it.

We were rushing about running errands trying to make the most use of a cherished Saturday when low and behold...

a new antique store has opened.

I found an ironstone serving dish,

a beautiful deep platter that will be perfect for serving pasta,

and a beautiful white eyelet lace coverlet.

Unexpected and lucky finds.

All for $18. 

Sweet! 

have a good week, K