All good things come to an end

I have thoroughly enjoyed writing this blog. It has changed my perspective on life and helped me appreciate things even more. You see life and nature in detail as you blog about it. My blogger account is full and I am starting over with a clean slate and fresh ideas. I am having fun now with a new blog called The Cranberry Chronicle. I hope you will follow the link and join me there from now on.

To all who have commented on this blog over the years, I thank you. It has been wonderful to interact with you through here and I appreciate your comments. I treasure the online friendships I have made.

Pink and black...

Pink and black really seem to add impact when you put them together. I did just that at my front door.

Do you remember me telling you about a garden project that we had? We bought a wrought iron garden table stand and a cut iron table top which Jos steel brushed and painted in black.

The table came up a dream by the time Jos was done with it! It is very heavy and so decorative.

I love dahlias and found these pretty pink ones in the garden center. They have a beautiful yellow tint in the center of the open flower petals.

This flower combined with the decoration on the table is a wonderful accent to welcome people to our front door.

Update on our disaster ~ Good news and bad news...it looks like our wood floors will be okay and our floor in the cupboard is dry but our walls are still drenched and really smell. We have major damage to a wall which was just pastered so that will have to be totally redone. Thanks so much for all your kind words and support about the flooding. I do try to use my sense of humor to battle grey clouds in life and enjoyed that so many understood my choice in the Soggy Bottom Boys to sing to you while you read about my woes. *grins*

This will be my last blog entry on this blog. My account is full and I already started a new needlework blog. Once I have decided on a title, I will be starting my new home and garden blog also. I want to thank everyone who has read this blog and especially for the comments left. I have really enjoyed it! I promise to give you the link very soon right here so stay tuned.

Disaster!

This is me today! I don't have my energy built up at all yet but today was a real test of my endurance.

Yesterday our handyman showed up to install our over, hob and faucet. This morning, I got up and went downstairs only to walk into a puddle of water. I then realized there was a sound of water running. Here a pipe had burst and there was water everywhere. We called the man and he came right over. He found the problem and fixed it. He had a sweeper to sweep the water away. But then I realized that our cupboard under the stairs which is beside the kitchen was also flooded. He was long gone so I had to try and clean that up on my own. What a mess!


So I have my new oven but no energy to use it at the moment.

It arrived!

Look what arrived in the middle of my living room today! We finally have our oven and hob. What a terrible time we had with this. First, the one we ordered was delayed a week. Then we were called to say it would be six weeks followed by a call that it would now be the end of July. They also told us there was no guarantee that it would arrive then either. We just gave up.


The problem is that I want a nostalgic look oven in black and they are no longer in fashion. Things not in fashion in Holland are just impossible to find. A couple of companies are still making them but they are few and far between. I found this one which has a great oven and not so great fob. I want iron not metal for the fob but this had to be my comprise as the next choice would have been very much more money and I would have probably had to buy new pans as they would not have held up. That hob had an extra strong burner. So I made the comprise and the oven is sitting in my living room waiting our handyman's attention.

He also has to replace our brand new faucet which is not working. It is faulty and we arranged for a new one (different model as this one is no longer being produced...go figure) and to be able to return the other one as soon as the handyman can switch them. They wanted us to bring it in when we picked up the new faucet but we told them we would have no water and have to pay our handyman for an extra visit. This kind of thing is fine when you can do this work yourself but not when you are paying someone. I will be so glad to see the last part of the kitchen come together.

To top that off, my electric water cooker died this past week. I always said when it did I would not replace it with another. I want to go back to the old fashioned whistling tea kettle. I bought one for Cranberry Cottage and realized how much I miss waiting for my water to boil and hear that whistle blow. A simple pleasure in life. I have picked one out I would like but we have to get downtown which is not easy for me right now.

Did you know it is cherry season? Cherries are available now again in the shops here in Holland. Hard to believe that it was not that long again that I was posting about driving to see the cherry blossoms.

Jos loves warm cherry sauce on ice cream. He saw they had cherries in a jar on sale at the supermarket and brought home a jar which he left sitting on the counter for me to find. I place them in a saucepan with the liquid in the jar and simply add some cornstarch to bind them into a thicker sauce. It is a great treat on a summer's eve.

A further note about my health ~ I had my check up at the hospital on Friday. I was told with two to four new higher dosages, I should be in balance again and start feeling better. If it ends up only two dosages are needed, that will be feeling better by autumn. The doctor told me to remain patient. I am not a person to only lie around on the couch and it is hard. I did get a little disheartening news in that my second biopsy is needed and has now been scheduled for August. I am scared this time as my thyroid is becoming hard as a result of the treatment. My doctor gave me something to take starting the day before the biopsy to help me relax. I will be very glad when this is over.

My Edith Holden rose

Ever since I discovered The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady in a bookshop when I was a girl, I have loved and admired Edith Holden. Her handwritten diary is a joy to read over and over each year. Her life was also one I admire.


So when I found out quite by chance online that there was a rose named after her, I went on a search to find some for my garden. In the end, I found one nursery with them in Holland. I asked a friend who is from the area the nursery was if she had ever heard of the place. Not only did she know but her mother lived right next to it. She offered to have her mother go buy the rose bush for me and she would bring it back with her the next time she visited her mother. The bush is happily blooming again this summer. I just love it as I find it unique. So many ask me what rose is it as it is such an unusual color with a hint of brown in it. Up to this year, I kept it growing in a terracotta pot. I decided to plant it in the ground just under one of our maple trees this year. Edith is very happy there and blooming beautifully once again.