Friday Favorite: This Old Blanket
I have this old blanket that I can remember having on my bed when I was as young as 3rd grade and I’ve used ever since. A very simple quilt, made by sewing two cotton king sized sheets together with a flannel sheet sandwiched in between. It’s tufted with that multi-colored yarn that was so popular back in the day.
This quilt was made for me by a group of older ladies in the church. Every time we’d come back to the States from Colombia, they’d present us with beautiful quilts, some very intricate and pretty, other’s crocheted from yarn and some plain and simple like this one.
This blanket is one of my favorite things because it’s the perfect weight for summer. It provides that comfortable weight that helps me sleep better without being too heavy or too hot. It’s also a great layer in winter, we usually add a heavy woolen blanket on top of it.
It’s not stunning, beautiful, intricate or pretty, at least not in the usual sense. I still LOVE it and it will be on my bed until it’s fallen into threads, not likely in my lifetime since it’s already almost 30 years old and shows no signs of wear. No doubt, many of the ladies that worked on it are no longer living and that makes even more special. I wonder if they realized when they lovingly stitched this blanket that I’d still be using it as an adult?
Keeping it around reminds me that it’s not always about surrounding yourself with beautiful things. Sometimes utility trumps beauty, and yet that makes something beautiful in it’s own way! This quilt will never be in a magazine, but it’s worth it’s weight in gold to me for the comfort it provides.
Do you have any items like this that you love?
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Friday Favorite: The NEW Bathroom
The bathroom is officially finished, checked off the list and it’s a GREAT feeling. So much better than the old one, it certainly looks like it fits in with the rest of the house now, it was one of the last remnants of the original house we purchased 10 years ago.
The old torn yellowed vinyl flooring *gone* replaced by 1″ marble hex tiles with light gray grout. New moulding inspired by bathrooms of old, made by Mr Chiots.
The old sad cabinet & stained sink *gone* replaced with a black cabinet that ties in with the black cabinets in the kitchen and a nice big sink that we LOVE (we have the same one in our other bathroom and really like it).
The bright green walls *a distant memory* now painted a light blue, very peaceful and much brighter. A few cherry blossom towels, a much needed new bath mat and an old road sign for the finishing touches.
I found this great little handmade salt pig at Local Roots Market that now houses our clay facial scrub from Mt Rose Herbs. Yes, Mr Chiots used an old-fashioned Classic Safety Razor and LOVES it (highly recommended as a gift idea for that special guy in your life). We love our new bathroom and are so happy with the outcome, we’ve been wanting to do this project since we moved in.
If you could redo one room in your house which one would it be?
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Friday Favorite: Floursack Towels
Up until last year I always used normal terry kitchen towels. When we stopped at Seed Savers Heritage Farm last August I purchased a few of their vegetable flour sack towels. When I got home and started using them I quickly fell in love and all my other kitchen towels started collected dust in the drawer.
So what do I love about them? their large size, how quickly they absorb water, how quickly they dry and with these how beautiful they are! They are available at Seed Savers Exchange if you’re interested.
I’m going to have to purchase a few more of these this summer because I occasionally run out. My other kitchen towels will be demoted to rag towels when that happens.
Do you have a preference when it comes to towels that you use in the kitchen?
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Friday Favorite: For the Birds
We love the birds that frequent the gardens of Chiot’s Run. I love watching them at the birdfeeder in winter, flitting around the gardens and nesting in the trees and birdhouses. Earlier this week I heard Mr Wren singing beautiful songs to me while I was out working and was happy to hear that he’s back. He’s already checking out the wren houses and will start building his nests, hoping one of them will attract a lovely lady wren.
The longer I garden here the more birds I see, not only in number but in variety as well. Birds aren’t just a pretty face in the garden, they provide valuable pest control. The more birds I have in my garden, the fewer pest problems I have. Wrens are especially great for cabbage worms, here at Chiot’s Run their broods hatch just about the time the cabbage worms are at their worst. Soon enough there are no cabbage worms in sight!
Another great thing about having lots of birds around is that you get to see them building nests and you get to watch the baby birds grow up and fledge. We have a robin that built a nest by our rain barrels the first year we put them up. They’ve come back to it every single year. I can’t get up and see the eggs, there’s not enough room, but I can spy the baby robins when they start to get big enough to barely fit in the nest.
We also have chickadees, hummingbirds, cardinals, finches, woodpeckers, and a few other varieties of birds that nest around here. Every year we see something new.
If you want to attract more birds to your garden there are a few things you can do:
*Don’t clean up your flowerbeds in the fall, allow seed producing plants to stand, this provides valuable food for the birds.
*When you want to add plants to your garden, focus on adding those that provide berries or seeds. For example, if you want a shrub rose, consider using ‘Rosa Rugosa’ which bloom beautifully, are very hardy and provide plentiful large hips in the fall for the birds.
*Add a source of clean water like a bird bath and refresh water regularly.
If I had to choose a favorite bird it would be the wren. I really love the male’s lovely song, I love watching them scurry around the garden gathering worms for their young and I especially love that they get used to me and will come almost right up next to me while I’m working and they’ll let me stand very close while feeding their young.
What’s your favorite bird to see in the garden?
If you want to read a little more about how to attract birds to your garden I did a whole series of posts about attracting and keeping birds in your garden, head on over to the Your Day Blog to read For Our Feathered Friends
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Friday Favorite: The Garden in April
April is that month here in my zone where everything seems to burst forth overnight. The tiny seedlings start to grow quickly, the flowers start to come out and almost all the plants start putting up new growth. I’ve truly been enjoying spending time outside this week, I think I’ve spent a few hours every single day, some days I’ve been able to spend 5-6. Here’s what my garden looks like right now:
The dogwood blooms opened up earlier this week and they’re quite nice. Not as prolific as they were last year, it seems they look especially great every other year and last year was their year. The front flowerbed is brimming with color and exuberant growth. I love to see it come to life after being kind of sad and bleak all winter long.
Things are coming right along in the edible garden as well. The garlic is looking fantastic, the first sowing of beets are coming up, the golden peas in pots on the front porch will be climbing their supports soon, and the strawberries are blooming prolifically.
I’m also super happy that the wrens returned yesterday. Mr Wren spent the morning serenading me while I weeded! The weather has been really great this month, though a tad on the dry side. I’m certainly not complaining after last spring when it was so wet I could barely get a few hours outside. I’m looking forward to what this coming gardening season brings; no doubt successes and failures, should be interesting!
How does your garden grow in mid-April?
