Nancy's Gallery

Today we popped by my Mom and Dad's briefly
on our way back home from grocery shopping
and got a chance to see what my mom  

 has been up to.  You see she has not been feeling
so great the past years and not really felt well
enough to paint.

However today she showed me some paintings she
has been working on since she has been feeling
a bit better and I have just got to share them  with
you along with others she has painted
over the years.  I am so amazed by her talent
and she really is very humble about it,
no, actually, she does not believe she is
really really good.

She started painting late in life just like her mother,
who also was a very talented artist.

Well see if you agree with me and please do click on the
picture to see them larger and the detail she puts
into them.

I showed you in my very 

first blog post 

 this picture which she gave us that I adore.

(apparently she whipped it up in about 15 minutes).

and the technique she used in this

one is so interesting

and this is one of my favourites with one of my

favourite colours, turquoise.

this one is also stunning

I have a slightly different and smaller painting she did for us of this beautiful
 tuscan scene  which is in our front porch but she changed up the 

sky in this 2'x3' version.  Aren't the colours just spectacular?

A cozy cottage with a different colour interpretation is so cute 

and makes you want to peak inside, doesn't it?
Sorry the glass it is behind has blurred the photo  a bit.

Another of my favourites in it's simplicity.
Maybe she will sell this one to me.

Little girl by the river, I also have this one she gave me.

Sorry the picture didn't turn out to well.

So hard to paint such detail in all one colour 

but she masters it.

I can't imagine the patience it takes to 

paint such detail. 

This is one of Mom's favourites as

it reminds her of her grandchildren Colton and Jacy.

 This is my, "little girl by the river" she gave me and if you look

closely  you can see her, she is wearing red.

She masters trees beautifully.

I love the simplicity of this one.

Another of her favourites

She even makes the simple things like her  suburban backyard

fence and some rocks  in the winter time when she lived

in Calgary look interesting

Looks like the stunning Lake Louise in Alberta 

doesn't it. 

and I will buy this one too when she lets me. I love the shadows and the

use of orange and blue and white.

and I think this one is one of her finest. She blessed us with it

and it touches me especially because the lady resembles my

younger sister  Catherine so very much.

Mom I am so very proud of what you have 

accomplished 

and  thank you  for the beautiful pieces of your work you have 

graciously given us. They make me smile every time I look 

at them. I love you.

hugs

Sandra

Take That Ikea

I love buying  much better quality 

second hand pieces for much less than

what it would cost for new ones of

the same quality and sometimes

poorer quality.

We have had this little dresser for years

and it is solid wood, maybe maple. I paid $150.00 

for it. Todd cut a little bit off the 

legs to make the same height as

the other dresser which

is the best height as a night stand for our bed.

and this maple one which I found on Kijiji for $20.00.

We removed the kick  

and I thought I was going to get him to 

make it look like this but I have 

changed my mind and decided to 

go with a similar look to the other
dresser.

I removed these pretty glass knobs off the darker dresser

and may use glass again if I don't find my dream 

clear glass lamps.

Great solid wood dovetailed drawers on one

and wood drawers notch construction on the

other is much better than any pressboard/mdf 

construction. 

and everything got a coat of latex Bin 123 primer yesterday.

and while I was busy doing that Todd got a coat

of primer on the side stair built-ins, SWEET!

and today is another grey day, calling for freezing rain. I've got

a busy day planned with more painting and groceries and maybe if

the weather permits a drop down to Mom and Dad's for  a quick visit.

So if you are thinking you need a new piece of furniture and 

are going to hit Ikea, Walmart etc, why don't you check out the classifieds or 

craigslist to see what second hand beauties you can find and 

transform to make your own.

and 

if the sun is shining where you are

send'er my way please!

Have a great day

hugs

Sandra

Laundry Days

Weekends are when the laundry gets done around here and while

I'm dreaming of days when I can hang the laundry out to dry

 I don't feel deprived very much at all when I get to be in our

laundry/mudroom

To me it is more than I dreamed I would ever get to have for 

the place to do what sometimes seems like a chore.

I don't think I shared a picture of the sink cabinet after

it got a coat of white paint so here she is.

And our salvaged sink has a super deep bowl

on the one side  and a nice shallow bowl on the other that is so handy.

One of the first things that was a sign that something was

not going right with my health was a sensitivity to perfume

and then chemicals. After learning from a friend that he cured his 

son's newly developed asthma by making sure that his home did not

have any cleaning chemicals or unnatural soaps for bathing or for their laundry

I switched from the typical Tide to natural laundry products and my 

favourite is  Seventh Generation.

and there is no need to resort to chemicals for stain remover either.

Buncha Farmers stain remover stick does the job as good

as Shout and is biodegradable.

Or a long time tried and true stain remover 

called Endit. I'm not sure if it's biodegradable though as

I no longer have the packaging.

I get to look out at the farmers fields across the street 

while I fold. Sadly there are plans for new homes to go

there in the next 5 years. My heart is broken by this fact.

The view behind me as I fold.

The bench used to be in the front porch 

but when we did the bookshelves in the dining room

we had to find a place for my beloved empire style dresser

and the porch was the only place for it.

The bench is a great place to pile the 

clothes or sit down to put

your shoes or boots on.

And the wonderful reflection of the backyard in the mirror.

 I love our home, this house that has taken up 10 years of our lives

with all it's history and character of yesteryear.

  I know they say "home is where your heart is"

but my heart IS in this home and this town and I want to stay 

for many years to come. 

Lamp Love

It's been  very very busy at work lately and I am so grateful, 

however it has left me exhausted at the end

of each day and the week. 

Last weekend I  prepped our bed and dressers  for

paint but I haven't been able to find the energy

to do the painting so this is what our

dining room has looked like all week. 

I just want to get it done so that I don't start second

guessing all my ideas. I find that when I'm tired I do that

 a lot. I guess it's the fear that if I make a mistake

I won't have the physical or financial resources to 

fix it. Oh well, ya gotta live on the edge some time,

don't ya.

In the meantime I was so pleased to make a sale on Kijiji 

to put some money towards some new lamps.

I had tried a couple of stores looking for my all time

favourite lamps for this room only to come up short. 

I had spotted these white glass lamps at Lowe's and thought this pretty

drum shade looked so fresh with the base but it is so 

far removed from the lamps I adore that they just wouldn't do. 

So I have taken it one step farther. I thought, why not call the head office

and ask the buyer if they will be bringing this lamp back in stock. Well I got a nice lady

in customer service who told me that without a stock or upc number there 

was nothing that could be done. I told her that I could give her a very distinct description

and that it is not in the store anymore so I can't get the number. She told me 

that without it she can't help me. 

The next day I called again and by chance got the same person in customer service.  

I told her I am just crazy for these lamps and have to just try somehow to see

if they will be available again. She said she understood. I asked her if I could email

a picture of a lamp that is almost identical to send that to the buyer. She said she could do that

for me.  So this is the picture I sent her and now I've got my fingers, toes and legs crossed

hoping I may be lucky enough to hear back from them with good news!

In the meantime, if any of you have a lead on this style of lamp in Canada for about

$40.00 I would love to hear from you. 

Isn't it just sheer perfection, SIGHHHHHH.

and here are some other  beauties that we spied when

we went just window shopping on our long family day weekend

It was nice to get out and go downtown and even stop

at our favourite awesome Italian bakery for some home made

stew and vegies. 

I have round mirror love too!

Very cool real gas lamp

Well have a great weekend!