Happy Monday

Happy Monday Everyone

It's been a cloudy dark day here today with almost constant showers. It's been magically cool here today and it sets me to longing for Autumn. Then again there's this little part of me that longs for autumn in every season. We are working hard to get the new Etsy Store open. I recently upgraded my computer to windows 10. There are things that I like about it and some that I am really struggling with and one of the changes is with getting my pictures uploaded and edited.

We are offering beautiful linens and vintage items as well as our own  crafts and handmade items. We literately have dozens of extraordinary vintage and antique linens that we are adding each day. Each one hand laundered and ironed and it takes a bit of time but we love bringing beautiful linens that are ready for your home when they arrive.

I'm still bringing out bits of autumn when ever there is a free moment and I know it is a bit  early but I do so love the season.

This time of year I also begin bringing out my large collection of grandmothers linens. I like to launder them is spring and autumn. I plan to do a post about Grandmother in the near future. I will show pictures of her need work  and talk a bit about all of the wonderful time I had as a child at her knee.

It's also time to get the quilts and and coverlets out for an airing in the fresh cool breezes that will be arriving soon, this is another job that I truly love. I hope everyone is have a wonderful Monday.

The Comfort of Hearth and Home

I've posted many times about my own hearth and today I thought I'd share some thoughts and pictures from Pinterest .There is not anything quite as lonely has a hearth without a soul to enjoy it. From the beginning of time we have sought the comfort of the fire.  The earliest settlers built their cabins by hand and hard labor near a stream or river. A place of comfort and safety with a hearth and a fire to prepare food and to keep them warm from raging winter storms. But the hearth has evolved over time.   

How many secrets have been told by the hearth. How many prayers shared and so much of the history of man has been passed along through generation after generation while the family gathered by the hearth.

 I try to imagine the hearth built by the hands of my ancestors. This was a time when the world was quiet and dark. No artificial light disturbed the brilliance of the stars and only the voices of the woodland creatures  were to be heard. The crackle of the fire and the wise voices of people that knew way more of the beauty of hearth and home than we know today would speak softly of the ways of life and family, man and nature.

How many weary travelers have lit a pipe and sought solace at the hearth of and old Inn or a kind stranger offering a meal and bed for the night.

In today's world many homes have no hearth at all but even still we tend to gather at an outside fire.  This is a place of family, of dreaming and story telling. In the cold months whenever I travel I find my eye being drawn to the rise and curl of  wood smoke from the chimney of an old house along  the road. It tells me I will be home again soon.

The picture below is my own hearth, Even now in the heat of summer it calls to me. It reminds me of the warmth that I have enjoyed here on the cold evenings of winter, I remember peaceful family gatherings and dream of  future gatherings that will come. It beckons to me, it draws me near and it comforts me.  I can sit here in peace and quiet and for a few moments on a day late in summer I can allow myself to hear the soft voice of my grandmother as she taught me sew,  I can see visions of her own mother and father and grandparents as she tells again the story's of their lives, The magic of the hearth bringing family together across the barriers of time.          

A Little Bit of Autumn

Hello, I hope everyone has had a pleasant week.  It's been super hot here but we had a lovely cool down today. It's been a quiet, cool day. One of those peaceful dreamy days that hints at the coming of autumn. I love autumn, it seems as if all the madness of the earth starts to slow into a very enchanted calmness. The little lady above is called Hilda. My mother was named Hilda. My daughters and I call her that because she has this wicked little smile that Mom had when she was up to something. You would have had to know her to understand but she was definitely her own person and just slightly so wicked in the best possible way.

  

Autumn is starting to appear here and there in the house and I am counting the days till the pumpkin farm opens.

The lovely tea towels shown above were found by my oldest daughter. These as well as some other very lovely linens that she offered went to live at a bed and breakfast during our sale in Halifax last month. We love it when our finds move on to be loved and appreciated by others. Lisa has a good eye for antique linens and she has also been finding some amazing primitives as you will see in the picture below.

 

We have a lot of beautiful things that will be making their way into our Etsy shop next week. The teapot below is another treasure that Lisa found. It doesn't show very well in the pictures but this teapot is cast iron and has an overall raised texture design. I've never seen another like it. Now Lisa doesn't collect primitives like I do but she is certainly developing a good eye for primitives. She has such a deep interest in history and has been working with me on our genealogy. So far we have traced our family back to Jamestown. The only problem being we both wish a little bit that we could be colonists or pioneers. It doesn't hurt to dream and who knows we could possibly manage a small farm. Well I'm letting my thoughts drift away again, it is a perfect day for dreaming. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy these last  weeks of summer.