ZIPPODY DOO DA!!!!!

It was such an amazingly warm day today that we took the opportunity to get out a lot of the outdoor furniture. I may be jumping the gun a bit but I figure it is the second week of March and at worst even if we did get a sudden snow storm it would not last.

It was so nice to sit at my patio table with a cup of coffee looking over some nice outdoor living books. I am going to do a lot of work on the property this spring. Without Duffy & Penny I want to keep busy.

I painted this poppy picture when I had my livingroom in reds. It no longer goes but I think it looks great out here and being made of pine with lots of coats of varnish I am sure it can take the weather.

My house seemed to be smiling with the sun beating down on it today. The snowblower seems out of place but my husband wanted to be ready "just in case." I am hoping it goes away this weekend.

The gardens and the property look pretty bleak but the sun makes it all look better. This is a record for Ontario. I do not think we have ever had such an early spring, if indeed it is really here. I don't care, whatever it is I am just going to enjoy it while it is here and if this is spring........WHOOPEE!!!!!!!!!!

For pictures of my garden check out my blog LUCYS GARDEN.

TOO CUTE FOR WORDS!

I am a little under the weather today with a cold so I needed a some cheering up. These guys made me smile I hope they bring one to your face too.

Images from PINTEREST.

COULD IT FINALLY BE COMING!

We are all going a little stir crazy in my house. As you can see, Luca has taken to literally climbing the walls, or shelves. The weather is suppose to get to 60F. today. Could spring be on its way.

I want to get into my gardening so badly this spring.  I cannot wait to sit on my porch with a cup of tea and my Country Magazines.   I know we have not had much snow but the days seem to have been so long, gray and depressing.

How I long for the moment I can get out my lovely, weathered pots, fill them with fresh soil and new flowers. I cannot wait to put out the birdbaths and sit on the back porch watching the mornings unfold, birds chirping, squirrels playing in the trees. And the trees, budding their spring leaves bringing life to the farm once more.

I could not resist this beautiful pot of tulips the other day. If spring won't come to me I will bring it into the house for now.

I am heading back out to my studio this week. It will be the first time since I lost Duffy & Penny. I do not know how I will react to sitting there alone, no Duffy on my feet, no Penny curled up on the rug listening for me to open a bag of potato chips, they were her favourites. It is suppose to be up to 70F. by Thursday, I will believe it when I see it. I hope so though, so the ground dries up and I can get busy. It is very quiet and lonely around here at the moment and I need to throw myself into some work. We have decided that we are not adopting any more furry babies until next spring. It is just too soon.

I do hope you all have a lovely day today and stop by my blog LUCYS GARDEN I have stared my weekly posts SILENT SUNDAY.

DISCOVERING THE BEAUTY OF HMONG BAGS!

I have a lot of handbags. I am not particular about designers, although I do have a nice collection of vintage designer bags, but I do like a nice large bag. I am drawn to bohemian style bags, I love old fabric bags too.

I am always surfing through Ebay looking for different styles old and new. Last month I discovered a wealth of fabulous bags made by the Hmong Tribe in Thailand.

The Hmong are an ancient tribe who origninally came from the mountain region in China and Mongolia. They migrated to Laos, Thailand and Vietnam for political freedon. The meaning of the word Hmong is "Free".

Following the Vietnam War, many Hmong imigrated to Thailand. The Hmong are incredible embroiderers. They are often called "Flower Hmong" because of their brightly coloured work. They make their fabrics in celebration of births, weddings and New Year. They also make lively baby carriers and handbags.

The Hmong not only make handbags but they use their rainbow selections of fabrics in pillows, jewelry, clothing and much more. The Hmong also use vintage fabrics.

Pricing varies on the style and amount of embroidery in a bag. I found this beautiful piece on Ebay for $22.00 with free shipping.

I love this bag because of the large size and the roughness of the embroidered pieces. It is different of both sides. Now, I realize that you get what you pay for and this bag is not close the the more elaborited Hmong bags but I really like it and you cannot beat that price.

Hmong bags range from a mere $6.99 to upwards of $500.00, like the ones in this photo. I really want the one on the bottom right but at over $300.00 on Etsy it is a little out of my range.

A lot of work goes into one of these lovely bags from growing and dying the hemp to hand-sewing the embroidery. It also benefits the co-operatives run by the Hmong women.

Even if you don't purchase one you should stop by and have a look at some of the Etsy Shops such as DAZZLING LANA and KULSHI MUMKIN or on EBAY.

All photos with the exception of the ones of my Hmong Bag are from PINTEREST.

THANK YOU!

It has been a tough couple of days for us. I have not posted since we lost our Penny, I have been trying to keep busy but everytime I pass the mudroom I look for her.

This post is to say thank you to all of the amazing, kind woman I have met through my Blog. Your comments have truly helped me through a very sad time. I feel like you have all reached out and given me a very needed hug.

You have lifted me up when I felt down and been there to cushion the blow.

So thank you for being there and telling me to hang in.

It is a wonderful thing to have such lovely people who are from all over the world, reach out to someone in a time of sadness, for that I send you all a big hug and a kiss.

And know dear friends, that I am always there for you too!

So many hugs,
Sue

Images in this post, with the exception of the first one, are from PINTEREST.

GOODBYE FOR NOW MY SWEET GIRL

Last night we lost our beautiful girl, Penny. As you know she has not been the same since we lost our Duffy, ironically 3 months to the day yesterday. She had slowed down and the last few days did not drink or eat. It was a decision we struggled with but yesterday morning she tried but could not stand up. She looked at us with her velvety brown eyes as if to say "It's okay, I trust you and I am ready". We waited until the end of the day and there was a beautiful sunset. When we came home amazingly there were two bright stars in the sky. I like to think it was Penny going to Duffy.

It is finally a lovely sunny day here today. Even though she did not see it, we are having a cup of tea in the sun for her, she would have loved that.

When I think of her I will not see the tired girl but I will see my beautiful girl rolling in the spring grass and soaking up the sun.

The studio will not be the same without her. I don't know what I will do this spring without her looking at me from the rug, sharing my potato chips and Duffy crashing through the screen door he ripped so he could come in whenever he wanted.

I believe they are together now, he is no longer lonely and she is telling him the latest news. They are young and happy perhaps meeting all of our other furry family who have gone before them. I do not know what lies ahead for us. This is the first time in our married lives that we have not had a dog in the house. It is so lonely right now I cannot bear it, but I do not know when I will be ready for another, Penny and Duffy will be hard to top.

If I had 100 Wishes, most of them would be for the animals. One wish would be that their lives lasted longer and they stayed younger, 10 years is so short for us, it is not enough. We miss you sweetheart, I wish that our darling granddaugher could have known you better, longer. I wish you could have one more healthy summer, and selfishly I wish I had you both for just one more hug.