January Beauty...

I know that many people despise the cold of Winter and that I am one of those odd ducks who revels in these often bleak months...still...how could anyone not see the beauty that this much maligned season can bring? A gentle overnight snow fell and all the world seems dipped in sugar...

"The door was shut, as doors should be,

Before you went to bed last night;

Yet Jack Frost has got in, you see,

And left your window silver white.

He must have waited till you slept;

And not a single word he spoke,

But pencilled o'er the panes and crept

Away again before you woke.

And now you cannot see the hills

Nor fields that stretch beyond the lane;

But there are fairer things than these

His fingers traced on every pane."

- Gabriel Setoun, Jack Frost

Stay warm and be sure to enjoy the beauty this Wintry month offers!

Love and Hugs,

Susie Q

Little Traces Of Long Ago Spaces...

I guess I am just an incurable romantic. I love things with a past. Those things that have seen a few years roll by, suffered a ding there or dent here, not unlike me I guess! Little treasures picked up at a flea market, in dusty antique shops & thrift stores. Sweet gifts that arrive from a friend, cherished memories of trips and faces from our past. The bits and bobs of our lives.

Kitchen roosters and rabbits keep watch... The laundry room fowl never tell...

Blue and white in the study

I never knew this young woman but I have written her story,

as I imagine it was...where she traveled and with whom.

Treasures from China and Carmel, California

A friend's gift...

Dining Room Plates

With rabbits for companionship...

A Chinese goddess stands guard

Walking sticks from Concord, Massachusetts, Ireland & China mingle with the cane my father used late in life....I always stop to touch the handle as I pass, and think of him.

Vintage Italian photo and a modern San Francisco watercolor

Soft light in our bedroom

Treasures from my Grandmother mix with books waiting to be enjoyed

Bedroom plates and a wee heart which reminds us to....

A subway sign from NYC....

Guest room eye candy

From England and China

Gifts from the ocean....

Virginia Beach, Padre Island, Texas, Pensacola and

Tampa, Florida. The Bahamas, the coasts of Southern and

Northern California, Maine, Cape Cod, Diego Garcia, Connecticut....

Cherished handmade treasures from my mother in law....now watching over Grace.

A memory from my childhood which is now

passed down to my daughter.

I have never been one

who wanted

everything

in our cottage to match.

I pick up a piece here

and another somewhere else.

Somehow, a little at a time,

a treasure at a time,

it all comes together

to make our house a home....

and tells the story of our lives.

Hugs,

Suzie Q

Lovely Things