Bargains and garden-finds......

In our local supermarket they had a special offer with these white primroses....to make them look a bit more special i wrapped them up again !

Last week i found these really old liqueur glasses in our thriftshop. They cost me 0,50 eurocents ..... and the 2 little glass dishes were 0,10 eurocents !! That was quite a bargain :) I also found a big piece of fabric that i already have plans with, i'll show you next time !

Along our orchard grow a lot of willows....and i picked a big bunch to put in front of the window.

They have already started flowering.

Last saturday i have been cutting and pruning the fruit-trees in the orchard...from the cherry trees we had to cut back a lot of branches and now i've put some in the house, hoping they actually will start to flower. I had so many i delivered them also to my family and friends.

This last picture is from the amaryllus i showed you before.....it's now showing a little colour !!

When it's fully flowering i'll take a picture again and show you !!

Till next time,

Janneke.

Some green and something old......

This morning i did a little round through the garden....and here and there i discovered some new green beginnings !!

Few weeks ago i already saw the noses of daffodils coming up but these are crocusses, i think. Oh, i cannot wait to see them flower.

I am also expecting some flowering in the livingroom ..... i planted an amaryllus-bulb that i got in december from Sinterklaas ! Posing next to it is Rosa.

And now he has finally started growing and a bud has appeared !!! I am excited what it will look like when it finally will open .....

Ofcourse on my kitchen-sill there are always bulbs to find. These are daffodils. I like the combination of the old flower-pots and the dishes underneath.

For many years i have been collecting old stuff ..... like these things that belong to a desk. Old ink-wells, old ink penns, stamps etc. Our desk is also old so these little things fit nicely in.

The desk used to belong to my grandparents and when they died, more than 20 years ago, i was so lucky to get it. Inside there were still some stationery and accessoires left (including a nice box of number-stamps) and until today i still use them in daily live!!

I discovered that my grandfather wrote down his initials inside the stamp-box. Brings back nice memories of my childhood.

Do you have any old and maybe inherited objects that you still use in your daily live ??

Till next time,

Janneke.

Robin Redbreast .........

My love for birds and especially the redbreast reflects in our house....maybe you can see one already overhere on this picture.

Here robin has company of the also beautiful wren.

In the kitchen i use this lovely little tin.

And this is my favorite mug of alltimes.....it's from Emma Bridgewater and i got it as a birthdaypresent from a friend and ever since it has been used twice a day !!!!

When i went to paint-class the little robin redbreast was a nice subject to paint and i was also inspired by the wonderful dutch artist Marjolein Bastin.

Hope you can see it properly .... the light of the frontwindow reflects in it.

For my winter-evening-sale i made some robins from vintage fabrics and they were quit a succes......all were sold so i had to make a new one for myself !

Mara keeping me company ofcourse...........

And here you see the result ..... i used the fabric robin to decorate the backdoor and welcome everyone who visits us !

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and thanks you all for your lovely comments :)

Till next time,

Janneke.

Books .......

This time of year i like to take a look at my interior- and garden books..... to get some inspiration for the new spring to come. Here you see a few of them, they are my real favorites. I will show you some pictures out of them.

The 3 pictures you see above are from "Short cuts to country style" written by Caroline Atkins. (isbn. 1-84340-323-4) She also worked for the UK-magazine "Country Living". It's not only a beautiful book for watching the pictures but also a practical book. It gives you more than 500 decorating ideas for a countrystyle interior. It has chapters like: livingroom, bathrooms etc.

Oh, I just have to show you this...Mara is with me (ofcourse) and she doesn't like the cold as you can see !! Problem is that when she's really asleep, every now and then she falls down !!

This picture is from the book "Die vier Jahreszeiten", yes it is in German.( isbn.3-512-03268-9) It's written by Mette Maria Ahlefeldt-Laurvig. As it says it's about the 4 seasons and it shows not only nice pictures but also ideas for decorating, garden and recipes.

These last 4 pictures are from "Country Escapes" by Bo Niles and Katherine Sorrell. (isbn.1-84172-678-8) For this book they made pictures of 32 houses in the countryside, mostly in Europe. They are divided in chapters as Traditional, Rustic, Romantic and Simply Tranquil.

I really love the cosy country style so i can get many ideas out of this book.

Do you have books that inspire you ??

Till next time,

Janneke.

Gift & parcel ......

I got a beautiful present from our friends who were staying with us on New Years eve.
They bought me this cute little candlestick in black with a matching cross.

They said it would be nice for our black-and-white toilet ! So i did put it there, but i am sure i am going to use it in many places.

I also had a special delivery from a parcel from Sweden. I bought a few things from Gerda from the shop Idemakeriet ......

Because Gerda was going to spent the christmas-holiday with her family, who lives closeby, she did not send it by mail but her husband delivered it on his bike !!!

All the things have already found a nice place in our house.....

At the moment i have started knitting again on my "summer" patchwork blanket. These months are perfect for those jobs .... and it's really cold so it's nice to sit in front of the woodstove and knit. Do i sound like an old lady, haha ??

Here you see the amount of squares i've knitted until today....

Still lots to do....but it will be a while before it's summertime ......then i will use my "summer" pillows on the sofa and this blanket goes with those colours.

Well that's it for now, i will do some more knitting :))

Till next time.

Janneke.

A wintery start .....

This year we had a wintery start into the new year !! I took a little walk around the house and through the garden. Here's a little impression....... The vegetable kale that we especially eat in the winter is best, as they say here, when it has had some frost...... well this one did !

The grass in our orchard.

Everything is covered in a layer of white .....

This redbreast visits us every day.

In the orchard there is still enough food for the blackbirds.

And to my big surprise i found, even in this cold time, a little sign of spring !!!

These are pictures of the baking of a very traditional cookie. We call them "rolletjes" and this year we baked them ourselves.....the flat ones we call "kniepertjes". It is traditional (here in the north of the country) to eat them at New Years-eve. The flat ones are a symbol of the year that has passed ..... it is "unfolded" and the rolled ones symbolise the New Year ....... the year is not rolled out yet. I believe it's only in the north where we have this tradition.

Till next time,

Janneke.