Forget-me-not....please!! and...Baked Pancake Pie

"Forget-me-nots, and violets, heavenly
blue, Spring, glittering with the cheerful drops like dew"

The sun is shining, the crocus are blooming and I've been looking through old country magazines....the Spring cleaning bug has hit. I can tell when it starts because I head to Lowes and pick out paint chips. Spring cleaning really means Spring re-decorating in my mind. But I think it keeps Dino's blood pressure down by calling it "cleaning". This year the kitchen will be dove gray by the way....

I hope you all had a lovely Easter. We had a cold sunny day here in Pennsylvania. Everyone was cheerful to see sunshine and no snow! I finished Lydia and Alice's bunnys early that morning, talk about cutting it close!! (a Soft-in-the-Head design) We had dinner at my mom's with two tables because of space and my grandfathers wheelchair. I felt like I was on a date because the grandkids ate at the grandparent's table while my sister and her hubby and Dino and I ate in the kitchen...next year I hope for candlelite! Afterwards we always head to my brother-in-laws home for dessert. There are usually about fifteen of us with at least that many desserts! Nothing like sitting around the table chatting and gorging! That makes for a good holiday.

Speaking of gorging...below is a great recipe for a baked pancake. I make it almost every holiday for breakfast because it is so easy and reheats well if you want to make it ahead of time AND Lydia loves it!

BAKED PANCAKE PIE
3 Eggs beaten
3/4 C Milk
3/4 C Flour
1 TBSP Baking Powder
1 Large Granny Smith Apple peeled & sliced
1/3 C Fresh Blueberries
2 TBSP Butter
2 TBSP Brown Sugar

Place a 9" round pie pan in oven and preheat to 375 degrees. While preheating combined eggs, flour, milk and baking powder. Blend well. Remove pie pan and melt butter in it. Spray sides with a little non-stick spray also. Spread apples in bottom of pan. Pour egg mixture over apples. Add blueberries on top and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake 20 - 25 minutes until knife comes out clean. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

Have a happy pleasant day!!!

Lucky Days

Happy St. Patricks Day! I am a quarter Irish, which means I'm with the "In-crowd" today....this doesn't happen very often. I plan on watching "The Quiet Man" tonight with a big bowl of popcorn and a glass of red wine. One of my all time favorite movies, it stars John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara (I just love her). John Wayne's character returns to Ireland and falls in love with Maureen O'Hara's character. Most of it was filmed in Ireland and is a wonderful funny love story.

I woke up early this past Saturday to hit a few estate sales with my mom. We had a good morning...I'm glad she's home from vacation. I found these three wooden dolls for my website. Oh I love their old dresses. Each wearing lace-trimmed slips and bloomers. My favorite is the one in red calico...she's the oldest. Her hand-painted face has such personality.

I also found a few primitive pieces of pewter. I had to keep one for myself for all the hard work~hee hee! I forgot to put that one in the picture, it's a small simple compote to tuck a tiny birds nest in ~makes me happy.

Today is lovely and pleasant here in Pennsylvania. Its going to be about 50 degrees. I'm hoping to go outside and work in the garden...rake up some leaves and cut last years perennials. Dino if your reading this, don't get your hopes up! Dino is my husband and he loves everything neat and tidy. I am just the opposite, I love to keep everything wild and almost out of control. I call it "cottagey", it just sounds better don't you think? Life is good! Have a happy day.

Hippity Hoppity....

Oh I was so glad to "Spring forward" this weekend. It was nice to have the daylight yesterday at 7:30 p.m. I had a little time to finally pulled out my Easter decorations. These pictures are a few from my collection.

All year long my mom and I comb estate sales looking for vintage holiday decorations. Since we collect a lot of the same things we usually go our separate ways and meet up at the end to see what each other found. She is so much better at these sales than me because I tend to stay in one room looking too long missing out. Most of my treasures have great memories of the "find" with them. They are all so very special.

This past weekend I found a few vintage Easter decorations that I will be listing on the website this week along with a few other primitive handmades.

Today I am finishing up a covered box with hand painted clay robins eggs which I made to look like old chalkware. There is a robin pincushion that will sit on top. This was such a joy to make!! I am also listing a little cloth needlebook made from calico and old wool. I will try and post a picture or two later when done. Hope you all have a blessed happy day!

~Welcome to my new blog~

I have put this blog thing off for a long time but have finally decided to just do it! I can't promise I will write every day but will try at least once a week or when something inspires me.


We had a few warm days this week finally. As I was leaving the house to take Lydia to the bus stop I noticed my witch hazel was blooming. It's not the prettiest shrub but the little blooms smell heavenly. Also seeing them is a sure sign that Spring is on it's way.


I have a small garden by my front porch that have all the early bloomers in it...you don't want to miss those. They are real troopers blooming in the snow and cold. I added a few pictures of the snowdrops also and if I ever clear the leaves I'll post the hellebores........Poor things, I'm sure they have buds all over them!