here today...

i do not believe it was the 'beef bourguignon' that has kept me away...in fact it was quite possibly the first crockpot meal i have ever made that resembled something edible and actually tasted 'okay'.

no, i believe it is the fact that each day i snatch just minutes of 'cyber' time before the real world requires my 'undivided attention'. come dusk we still glow for miles around and i can not look mossy shed in the eye when i pull up on the drive ...

and so dear readers i feel a frustration inside that i have not got my 'little shop' up and running and i have not been beavering away making 'treats' for it...this does not make for a very nice Tif and this is the reason why i plan to take 'time off' from blogland. not for too long, just until Monday 3rd March and hopefully i can use the next few weeks to get some items made to open my shop up the same week...

i always have so much i want to say, but i know i need to just 'step back' and get some things sorted out around the shed and with dottie angel...tomorrow the contractors start dividing the room above the garage to make a bedroom for our #3 and the kitchen starts to get a 'makeover' by friday...it is all go for the next few weeks and i need to put my 'foreman' hat on and take off my vintage slip...then again maybe the slip will stay...

in the meantime and with my lack of posts last week i have a serious back log issue (yes you are correct, i did not type that with a straight face) so there is nothing for it dear readers but for us to deal with this the only way we know how...yep, a list...

cup of tea (check), something stronger (check), comfy seat (check)...then let us begin

1. have choosen color for the shed, it is a soft sagey greeny gray...

2. found a floor lamp on clearance at urbanoutfitters, couldn't find a shade i liked so crafted a 'skirt' for this pleated number...our #1 says it is so 'way off' it isn't funny, i think she could be right. i like the lampbase and i like the shade just not together. but for now it will stay...apart from the 'blood, sweat and tears' that went into making it, we need light in this part of the shed, no ceiling or wall lights makes for lousy reading at night

3. found some bits of china on my travels last week...i now own 2 side plates, 1 bowl and 6 cups. someone got to the 'pile' before me. it's taken me six months or more to collect this much, i shall make it a 'life' quest i think...

4. my thriftstore 1970's rocking swivel number which i love with a passion and is the perfect crafting chair is going to get restyled with the help of some barkcloth i found on ebay a few months back, seven yards all unused...

5. the brown and brass fire surround has gone black and looking much better for it

6. i recieved a lovely parcel from the brilliant janet the other day, a housewarming gift was amongst the goodies...can't get more perfect than this, thank you janet

7. my mum and dad sent me a lovely tablecloth they picked up from habitat on sale. it's by the very talented deborah bowness and is now living life as a pair of curtains in my kitchen...the cabinets are set to turn from dark wood to cream before long...

8. hair has gone blonde for a while (please note kitchen window did not get replaced therefore my hair does not have a 'halo' of green as in other rooms of the shed)

9. made a start on digging over the veggie patches, years of neglect means years of weeds and moss...i am determined to have one patch dug and sowed this year

10. have been dying vintage linens and am working on new ideas for my 'spring opening'...

she's wishing you a few warm rays of early spring sunshine from mossy shed and will see you in a few weeks ~ Tif

home comforts...

it has become apparent over the past few days that my household requires some 'home comforts'...there is nothing for it but to get out the crock pot and whip up a warm and hearty meal. my friend Suzanne gave me a whole folder full of 'tried and tested' recipes, she told me any fool and their slow cooker could produce a 'fantastic' meal if they just follow the instructions correctly...(ummm)

having studied the instructions whilst also studying 'paint colors' for mossy shed (multi tasking, i hope you are impressed) and might i add, digesting a little bit of 'cardboard' for breakfast (silent prayer to mail man "please hurry with my chocolate spread parcel") i realized that 'crock pot' cooking is way more than "bung it all in" and hope for a small miracle.

i am going to have to 'saute' meat and on further reading it is apparent that to make beef bourguignon, i require a 'bay leaf' amongst a whole load of other things, infact i believe i can only locate 'beef' and 'wine' in my supplies...this means i have to go grocery shopping, so before i head out the door dear readers, i must share a 'crafty moment' with you...

i noticed once my new drapes were hanging in the studio that it was all becoming a wee bit busy...i think if my studio was in a seperate room from the rest of the house and you could close a door it would be fine, but the truth be told and i have told it before, my studio is 'a open living area', it is a 'walk through' from front door to kitchen and it is also a place for us to gather and read of an evening (doesn't that sound like a walton's moment)...

so i decided my bookcase which is full of craft books, supplies, bits and bobs needed to be hidden away...nothing for it but to make a curtain. i made this descision last week when the windows were missing and a 'cold wind' was blowing through 'the shed'...hence my writing is a bit wobbly as i was stitching with mittens on. i had a go at attaching 'the birdie' a bit differently, Miss Ethel had a blast and only substained a minor injury in the way of a broken needle...

i attached the panel with one of those 'springy' cafe rods so i can actually pull it across and get into my 'bits and bobs' without being attacked by fabric...it would be true to say i am quite satisfied with the outcome...

so there we are, i shall let you know the results of 'the feast' tonight...i am bracing myself to hear groans from our #1 when she walks through the door and smells the crock pot.

however it must go on record that our #3 loves my cooking from the 'pot' and as i feel he is the one in need of 'home comforting' this week then everyone else is just going to have to "eat it" or "go hungry"...

she's thinking being twelve years old is crap at times ~ Tif

clear windows are so last year...

well i am all of a 'dither'...could be the cold, as having big expanses of openness in mossy shed can cause one to be a wee bit shaky. it could be the fact that i have white windows and it looks totally different, or it could be because i have noted my windows are slightly tinted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i asked one of the 'very nice blokes' who is installing the windows "why in the evening when i have my 'ambiance' lighting on (i call it that as we are lacking in a few ceiling lights around the place), i have a green tinted reflection in my windows"

"oh, that" he says "that's the very low UV filter film on the windows, helps keep the sun's hot rays out in the summer and the house warm in winter, it's quite common to have that" and he went on to tell me that because we are surrounded by 'greenery' that it gives off a green glow at night or when i put my lights on. so dear readers i am going to have to get use to living with 'a tint'...i could do with 'a tint' over my gray hair at the moment but i am not sure i required one on my windows.

i tell myself when the curtains and blinds are up and we start to move on to some other 'remodelling' project, over time i will get use to them but at the moment i am 'frantically' stitching to avoid thinking about looking out of 'tinted car windows' every day...

let us focus elsewhere for today...and let that focus be on 'curtains'...remember my thrifting on friday unearthed some suitable fabric for my studio drapes. well i have to tell you i am 'made up' with the results, i don't think i often say that, infact quite often i have to ponder for a while, come back and look a few times and basically be a 'critic'.

not this time, from the minute i started to snip into the tablecloth and fabric i felt it was going to go well...how could it not when i found them seperately but on the same day, and they were the perfect width for my windows, it just seemed to be destined to work out...

so i did my usual bit of this...

and i added black lace at the bottom to stop them looking too 'sweet'

i made them as 'panels' so they just hang from 'clips' on a rail

this way when i get 'bored' (which i can't ever imagine happening...but it is quite possible) and wished for a change i could then use them as throws on the sofa or a tablecloth at 'teatime' ("get real Tif, when do you ever lay 'tea' in the traditional sense at your table") this is a good point dear readers, i don't, but there is no harm at all in dressing your table from time to time with a 'pretty' but not overly 'pretty' cloth so that passing strangers who pop by might believe that you do happen to have 'tea time' in your house...

just for the record i'll give you a parting picture of my studio with the old window...next time, you can see it with my 'softly tinted' window look, that i am telling myself is the height of good taste...

she's whipping up a storm on old miss ethel ~ Tif

a 'purfect' day...

i will be useless today at doing anything...i am surrounded by beefy men and replacement windows. i am totally terrified of what mossy shed will look like with 'white' new windows instead of the 'brown' metal ones she came with. so i am going to busy myself with a spot of painting (nothing new there) and then a dog walk...in the meantime i must tell you how lovely it was to awake to all your comments on thrifting. it warms my heart to think of us all in our little parts of the world doing our 'thrifty' thing...

before i head out into the rain dear friends i must once again share 'India Rose' with you, she came to us via the humane society three years back...i can see now that it was my destiny to walk into that store for some cat food and find her looking for a home.

who would know that years on...we would be living at mossy shed together, me in my studio and her looking just lovely next to a bit of 'orla'...she is my constant companion during the day...the other cats choose to spend their day light hours on various beds upstairs but Indie, she lays her head down never too far from me...and always manages to look 'photo ready'...

she's wishing you a 'happy' tuesday and will return with some curtain news and possibly a snapshot of a window ~ Tif

thrifty finds...

thrifting on friday proved quite successful...my list (the written list that i could not find at the last moment, so i was required to use my brain power) went along the lines of

1. a wooden floor lamp

2. an old kitchen table for miss ethel to sit on in my studio (allowing me to give back the ikea number to our #1)

3. tablecloths

4. bits and bobs

5. a piece of old junk to paint 'mossy shed' on, so all would know when passing by that our house is called mossy shed

it was my friend Beth's birthday so a little group of us ladies went up to the 'country village' to see what treasures we could unearth...i had no luck with a floor lamp but i did find a little lamp that quite frankly made my heart skip a beat...it caught my eye tucked away on a 'high up' shelf...

"surely not" i said to myself... you know that feeling when you see something and can't quite believe that no one else has claimed it before you...yes, dear readers i picked up a little japanese wooden lamp in beautiful 'used' condition, i have no idea of age, nor do i care... even the electrical cord is a wonderful soft greeny blue. i checked the price, daring not to breath ("oh please let it be a bargain") the first price said $9, this was crossed out and next to it was $5 which soon turned out to be $3.75 as the vendor was having a sale. (even as i type this, my little heart is racing faster at the thought of my 'treasure' find)

next was some fabric, two pieces of it to be precise...the minute i laid eyes on it i knew this was the fabric destined to be my studio curtains...

then a lovely cream crocheted table cloth (excuse blurry pic)...

last but by no means least a lovely metal white side table which originally was for keeping records in (that's what i think, i don't know for sure but it sounds good...) now it houses my 'crafty' books just perfectly...so i am very happy indeed with the outcome.

i had no luck with a piece of junk, even looking through all this lot i couldn't find the right piece of 'decaying' something, so i shall just keep on looking...

i thought it might be interesting to let you know prices, i am always amazed at the items people find for very little cost. quite often when i come across 'lace' and 'doilies' in this neck of the woods i am staggered at the prices...it seems to vary so greatly from state to state and country to country. my friend laura on the east coast can pick up a great bargain when it comes to linens and slips for a lot less than me on the west coast. my mum across the pond does a fantastic job at sourcing great lace, at great prices and that is in 'pounds' not 'dollars'...

so here we go,

1.the japanese wooden lamp (did i mention it has the most perfect 'made in japan' stamp on the bottom) was $3.75, quite frankly i would have paid a lot more.. i put this lamp amongst some of my favorite things, heck i think it rides right up there next to mabel

2. the retro vintage fabric, one piece was 2 yards long and one was just under 2 yards. i paid $18 a piece, (yes that is correct "a piece") the vendor would not bargain and as the fabric was in prestine condition and the pattern perfect i went for it

3. the metal side table was $24, it fits perfectly in the space and once i got it home i was so glad i didn't pass it up

4. i also bought a 'vogue pattern' for $4 (i thought this a little pricey) could be wrong though

5. a linen tablecloth, with beautiful cut work and embroidered flowers, this was $22 which i thought was high as it had bad staining on it. however i planned to use it for the curtains in the studio, it was the right size so i went for it

6. crocheted tablecloth, no great age but in good clean condition, $15

there you have it, thought it might be interesting for you to 'cost' and 'compare' a little bit of thrifting...just one last thing before we go our seperate ways for today, you must excuse all 'spelling' forever and ever, or at least until i tell you..my 'spellcheck' is not liking me and refusing to co-operate...

she's working on her curtains and is very very happy with the outcome ~ Tif