Hello everyone I am so in love with my new lamp that I had to share some more pictures.

Dont you love the detail of the bird?

Every year Christmas gets away from me and every year I hope that the next Christmas I will start earlier, be more organized, do more decorating...yet every year after Christmas there are more decorations that I find that didnt make it as part of a display and more baking that didnt get done...surely I am not alone!

When all else fails just have tea.

Many chocolates were harmed in the photographing of this blog.

Seriously.  These chocolates are divine.  They were a gift from an associate and are just sublime.

I usually take the time between Christmas and New Year's as vacation but this year the plan did not go according to plan.  I hope everyone enjoys the balance of this week as we all prepare for a new year...

~thank you for visiting~

Christmas Day at the Farm

Hello everyone and Happy Boxing Day!  Yesterday we hosted a small family dinner at the farm and while I have finally got my camera back I havent had much time to play with it.  I do have some quick photos to share with you.

We have been experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures for this time of year.  HIgh winds and rains have been the order of business for this past week with yesterday starting out as very stormy indeed.

A view over the barn at breakfast time.

By early afternoon the sheep were out and about, grazing in the field.

I have previously mentioned that last year we undertook a major renovation of our 1850s stone farmhouse.  We are still working on finishing the interior.  This is part of our new dining room.  The stone wall was the exterior of our old house and we are so excited to have been able to incorporate it into the new construction.  The lamp was a vintage find at a thrift store. 

The picket fence is supposed to prevent the dogs and cats from taking the ornaments out of the tree!  Last weekend "someone" removed a beautiful felt snowman and destuffed him.  We are pretty sure that Lucy was the culprit.  Holly however is being very well behaved on her dog bed by the tree.

An evening shot of our front veranda.  I do need to experiment more with the settings for night photos.

From the outside looking into the dining room.

The little sideboard at our rear entrance decorated for Christmas.

A new Tiffany lamp!  I have been keeping my eyes open for a Tiffany lamp for the breakfast room and found this fabulous lamp at a small shop in Caledon village.  

~Thank you for visiting~

Christmas Ornaments

Hello everyone, I had previously confessed that my little camera simply stopped working.  As I hadnt had it for very long and it couldnt be repaired I was offered a new upgrade camera at a very reasonable price.  Can you believe that after taking only 6 photos with my new camera it slipped out of my hand and...it stopped working.  While I am waiting impatiently for it to be repaired I used my tablet to take some photos of our Christmas ornaments.

When my husband and I first started our lives together Christmas was a very big deal for us.  Many of our ornaments became part of a collection that we started 25 years ago.  This little tree angel is one of them.

My mother and I (mostly my mother!) spent many hours crafting ornaments for the tree.  She made several of these little hat boxes decorated with ribbons and little ceramic roses.

She also made many little satin cornucopias decorated with sequins and pearls.

Other ornaments were purchased in our travels. 

Some ornaments were purchased during a visit to Niagara-On-The-Lake.

I suspect that we bought an assortment of these birds for some craft project that never came to be.  I have been using them in the Christmas tree too.

My mother created several different butterflies on felt with sequins and beads.

The simple snow flakes were my contribution to the tree.

I had crocheted a number of these tiny bags about 30 years ago.  Originally each bag had a tiny ball of scented soap but now they are simply stuffed with cotton.  As we havent put up a tree for about 3 years unpacking the box of ornaments brought back many memories!

~Thank you for visiting~

The Dogs of Carogil Farm!

Hello everyone, today I am sharing some quick photos of our dogs enjoying the snow.  We actually "only" have 4 dogs even though it sometimes looks and feels like a lot more!  Over the years we have adopted many dogs and are so lucky to have them in our lives.  I am passionate about our animals and implore people to please be responsible pet owners and spay or neuter their pets.  So many animals live out their lives in shelters when all they really want is a warm and loving home for the rest of their days.

~Thank you for visiting!~

Winter Wonderland

Hello everyone, I have been absent because my camera met an untimely end.  While I am waiting for my new (and improved) camera to arrive I have tried to take some photos using my tablet.  

I am a dawdler and havent cleaned up any of the fall decorations.

A view of the gazebo this morning.  I would consider this to be more than a dusting of snow!

We havent gotten around to putting away any of the lawn furniture either.

And I never did find a spot to hang this little bird watering station.  

Lucy is a little surprised with the snow too.

A beautiful sunny morning but there is another "dusting" of snow forecast for today.

~Thank you for visiting!~

Apple Lane

Hello Everyone, 

we have had quite a stormy week so most of our trees have lost their leaves.  Somehow the colours are a little ghostly, dont you think?  I took a little walk down apple lane and have a few photos to share.

Apple lane is one of the little mysteries of our farm.  A double row of old apple trees that lead no where.

We also have the odd hawthorne tree as well.  Their thorns are a menace for the sheep and dogs and over time we are cutting them down.  This one has lovely gnarled bark and mosses.

I love the large rocks with mosses on them.

Beautiful textures.

Beautiful colours.

We use apple lane to divide two different pastures for the sheep.  Sheep love to eat apples so it doesnt matter which pasture they are grazing, they will be able to get some shade in the summer and snack on apples in the fall.

~thank you for visiting~