All is Calm, All is White!

Down came the snow, mostly overnight, blanketing us with almost 15 more inches. My little birds waited hungrily until I was able to get to their feeders and clean the snow that had covered them and fill them again. I put out a disposable aluminum tray to hold more seed so that my ground feeding birds could have their breakfast. Then one by one, my little squirrels found their way and with snow covered noses went digging for anything. When they saw me, they sat upright. They know I always have their peanuts!

My Cozy Corner

Long Island is getting hit with another storm starting tonight and into tomorrow. They were predicting 6-12 inches but now, as of 5 am this morning, the forecast is 12 inches plus! Oh my~~that's a lot of snow. I enjoy it so much but not when it hinders Bill's contracted work and other family members who are traveling for work or working outdoors. Lets hope we'll be able to shovel out by Thursday!

On the bright side, I stocked my kitchen well with some goodies and as I have been reading through old issues of TASTE of HOME magazine and KRAFT FOOD & FAMILY, I found some good comfort food to prepare. Hoping we don't lose power as I have an electric stove!

You can be sure that once the snow is falling at some point in the day I will be in my favorite spot~~my chair in the family room that is comfortable right next to a window that has a "birds eye view" (no pun intended) of my bird feeders! A nice cup of coffee and my country decorating magazines, and I am all set! Everyone needs a special spot to relax and unwind and that's mine. I also enjoy my little front room parlor and everyone time I sit in there I am immediately joined by several cats! Maybe I'll even get some crafting done!~~~in between shoveling duty, that is!

My Lil' Prim Stitchery

Sew...I mean so, (!) I finished a couple of my little stitcheries using those vintage buttons I told you about. It was so fun choosing them for my "garden" of flowers! I hope the photos show the details on the buttons. Super simple, and I think it's so cute! I'll show some others shortly. Have a super Sunday!

My Snowy Friend

My little buddy waited patiently in a tree that is right outside the sliding glass doors of our family room. He knows I would be opening those doors to throw him his peanuts and any cookies we aren't eating anymore. He's such a sweetie! When I did open the doors, he came down from his tree and ran right up to me. He politely sat upright and, with gratefulness in his little face , accepted his daily gifts.

Check out my SNOW! page above~~my birdfeeders with guests, our shed, the pine tree we planted when we moved here in 1994, and more!

The Button Box

This is our button box. I know it's not a box; it's a can. We just always referred to it as the button box! This is a beloved item in our home! For as long as I can remember, this same can has been holding buttons. All of them are from my late Great Aunt who came from Italy as a young girl in the 1920's and worked in the garment district for a clothing factory. As the years passed, she managed her "floor" of this factory and always brought home buttons, material and trimming.

Every child in our family wore our Aunt's handmade pajamas, slips, and summer dresses. If we were no longer wearing a particular piece clothing and it couldn't be passed on, before it was discarded all the buttons came off and were put into this can. When Mom was replacing a button, she went to this can to search for a match. My Aunt would bring home buttons and into the can they went!My kids love this can of buttons because it gave them so much joy playing with it! Caitlin fills up little cups with buttons and pretends she's cooking with them and when Billy was little he used to love to sort them, group them and use his little action figures to dive into the can! All in all, it may just be a can of buttons but it's very special. The buttons are beautiful. I especially love all the red ones! So I went to this can to find just the right buttons for the stitchery I'm doing. The buttons will be my flowers! Not a cluster; just a single button to represent each flower. Whe I finish with my *very* simple project, I'll show you!

I'm starting my list of New Year's resolutions and one is to complete some crafts I have started and a stitchery I started and never finished. It's something I'm sewing on burlap with some vintage buttons. I think you'll like it!

Happy New Year!

2011 is here! It's a new year and a clean slate just waiting for you to make your mark on it. Think of all the things you'd like to achieve, improve, or learn. Think of things you hope for ~~for yourself and for others. Make a list~~mine is in my head~~and it's a long one! There are so many things I'd like to do this year. Some things new and some things old; hobbies or interests that I have let fall to the wayside that I would like to incorporate back into my life. There are new things I would like to try. I have goals I would like to reach. So I will take this ever growing list of intentions and "pick one" to start with and take it from there!

For me, 2011 will be a year of hopefulness, optimism, enthusiasm and healing. I hope it's all you wish it will be!