WREATHMAKER

Wishing all our American friends a very Happy Thanksgiving!

House number one on our tour was fabulous! The very talented and charming hostess Shelley, holds classes in dried wreaths, swags, tablecenters, etc., as well as making and distributing  wonderful potpourri. The large room above the garage is the kind of craft area we would all covet… Photos were taken by my daughter, who has talent for such things! The ribbon area.. Potpourri…     Part of the cozy room..the craft table where classes are held.. One wall of clear bins for storage of the fruits and herbs which Shelley harvests and dries…oooh, such variety!… wrapping area… ..overview of the room… ...

Each year, Pineridge Hollow organizes a home tour for a charity. This year, the proceeds are going to aid an orphanage in Bolivia. Decorators from Pineridge do the decorating of each home, interspersed with the owner’s own decor. Many of the items on display are from the store, or can be ordered. The photos below are of the second home we toured..a 1920’s home along the river, It has been fully renovated. The Christmas decor is quite simple, but very effective,….. lots of brown with natural boughs. First, the dining table.. A chest at the top of the stairs The kitchen was so gorgeous, and this sheep on the counter just won my heart ($100)   A lovely bed in a room with an odd shaped window in a slanted wall… That is it for one home…I’ll be back with more photos of other homes.

These are some of the wreaths and swags which I sold at a recent craft sale. I find that they are vey difficult to photograph well…I think they sre much prettier in “person”….

    When you go to other people’s homes, do you remove your shoes? I have heard it said by British or American folks that you can recognize a Canadian gathering by the shoes by the front door… The photos show the shoes  in the foyer at a recent family event, and I chuckled at the fact that there were only one or two pair which were neatly placed. One of our little family members was scolding her Grandpa for wearing shoes in the house, not understanding that they were actually slippers, …so we train 'em while they’re young!  

We took a little drive to our favorite country shoppe, ( Pineridge Hollow) to check out their new furniture section. It was getting decked out in Christmas finery. We will soon be going on the house tour which they hold for charity. I like the pine boughs draped from the headboard, below, but if I did that, I’d likely wake up at night thinking that spiders were on my face!   Love the white jugs and the cow!

Remembrance Day commemorates the sacrifices of people in all armed conflicts, particularly World War I, World War II and the Korean Conflict. (I’m sorry I don’t know who to credit the photo to)