White O'Morn Cottage

Vintage Sewing Lucky Dip Surprises & Irish Stew Recipe

I love a lucky dip and when I saw this little plastic bag in the British Cancer Charity Shop in Enniskillen, for 50p I knew I should have it without even looking inside.

When I got it home I had so much fun looking through it. Were the contents worth the 50p? Ooooh, yes.....

As you can see it had some handmade doilies and ribbon....

and this strange little kit for hanging your clothes up to dry indoors?

That's a great idea...but...will these tiny pegs hold up a wet sock? Methinks not!

 

There were several spools of lace making cotton, iron on binding....

and two truly beautiful hand crafted doilies - one in cream and one in emerald green...but the real treasure was this vintage,engraved, fine crochet hook.

 

I just love it and use it for picking up any dropped stitches when I am knitting (yes, I drop the odd one...(I blame the stew aformentioned)

 

So pretty.

 

I will treasure this little item and keep it close to hand in my knitting basket. It's both beautiful and practical. I wonder if it was a special gift for the lady who made the lovely lace items?

I have been on Ebay again and found this old needle compact. Such a beauty and again very practical. Why use drab, new packs of needles when you can enjoy using one like this?

 

 

 

Then I found these two in Virginia, Cavan on my way to Ballinamore. A lovely old decorative spoon and some sweet buttons.  It reminds me of the song..."Just a spoonful of buttons make....."(buttons  -huh?)

 

and a close up. Hmmm...these are just begging to be crafted into something SWEET! Let me work on it and I'll get back to you.

 

That put me in a frilly frou frou mood and so I piled my frilliest cushions on to the bed. The peachy roses one on the extreme left, I made - and the rest were presents and finds and the one at front right is a nightie case.

 

 

Remember in an earlier post I said I was going to copy this customised chandy?

Well I did it last weekend and I'm very happy with how it turned out. I may add some more to it and even fix some of the matching saucers around the stem. Like many of my projects it's a work in progress!

 

 

Also in the kitchen I have added the old 1940's cooker I collected from Carrick-on-Shannon. I found it on our freecycle site Jumbletown and the lady who gave it to me told me it belonged to her aunt who lived in Ballinamore. So it is coming home!

The old lady is still alive but getting on in years and had to move and was adamant that she did not want her cooker dumped and was sure someone would love it. It was in daily use until a few weeks ago. Her niece told her she would try to find a good home for it but did not think she would find a new owner.

Well!.... Mrs Reilly of Aughawillan, Ballinamore...your much loved cooker has found a new home in my kitchen and is wonderful. It makes a great Irish Stew!

 

...and here it is. Delicious!

As we say here: "Sure there's eatin' and drinkin' on it!"

Irish Stew Recipe:

Lamb or Mutton: gillions = loads!

Spuds: (whole potatoes) 2 each-ish

Onions & carrots: (chunky chopped)

Fresh parsley and thyme :(lash them in on their stalks and remove before serving)

Soup mix :(= dried barley, lentils, split peas mix)

Stock cubes: (chicken and/or veg)

Salt and pepper: (a whiff of each)

Water: (fill yer' pot if there's any room left)

Boil up until meat is tender and serve with crusty bread. DEADLY!

(I don't know the quantities - just use lots of 'em and make enough for the next day as something happens to it overnight and it tastes even better the next day. It's true! (I think it ferments into alcohol or something)

(update: day 3...I have jussss had wha' iz left and I tink it has moo-tated inna sUmm-ing illegal! Wheee!)

Day 4? Don't even go there! ...... We're talkim'  'bout nuke soup!

 

Serve it up on old Willow pattern mismatched crockery for a really old fashioned Irish meal.

Well, bye for now ...enjoy your stew!...Pam

 

Gardening and Craft (& Paul) News

I'm back at last and have some of my recent crafting projects to share with you. This first one is a WIP and I really must get it finished off as I wanted to use it as a summer handbag and summer is flying by! It is a stocking stitch knitted bag with blossoms all around the top. The flowers are really easy to make - indeed the whole thing is so easy it is a pleasure to work on.

 

Below are the two cushions I made from the Moda, Carrots and Peas fabric Teeda gave me.  I love these muted colours.

 

 

Now for some of my PIPs ( projects in planning stage) This flower is so easy to do too.

 

More of a challange is this lovely piece of embroidery work. I haven't done embroidery for a while, I hope I can remember how to!

 

 

Is there a more beautiful blue than that of the little forget-me-nots? This is a close up of the ones growing in my cottage garden beside the green bench where I like to have a nice cup of tea and admire the view

 

...and here is the said bench with the said forget-me-nots at front of cottage.

 

...and last but not least here is a pic of two of my three "garden inspectors" Chewy inspecting the flower tub and Pretty peeking out the door keeping a close eye on the gardener...Me!

 

Thanks to all of you who have been thinking and praying for Paul. He is fine at the moment and just waiting to hear a date for his next operation at end of July and course of radio therapy after that. We are off to our annual holiday on Friday to enjoy some relaxing time before we have to worry about such things. I think he is looking very well considering all he has been through...here he is...the one and only......Paul Flynn!

Ring a Ring O'Roses A Cottage Full Of Posies....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pink, porcelain, paper or  painted ....you just gotta love roses.....

 

 

Delight in the Little Things

What a marvelous weekend we had. In these hard times it is getting more and more imortant to find pleasure in the simple things of life. To that end we had a "Delight in the Little Things" weekend. 

This meant doing things that did not cost a fortune but gave great pleasure and being very aware of that pleasure and appreciating it. Counting your blessings sort of thing.

• Walking the dogs up the mountain...well, the weather was gorgeous and the air was fresh and we just strolled for as long as we wanted and then turned around and headed home for a nice cup of tea.

• Next we went to the local library where I found eight, yes, 8 gorgeous crafting books and took them home for a good browse and got lots of inspiration.

• Next we went food shopping where we found that they were selling off for very little lots of good fresh food that was nearing its sell by date. Lots of fruit and veg for nutritional meals. Good for the body, easy on the pocket and good for the spirit (bargains are always good for the spirit or lifting them!)

• Then we met Lizbiz in Ballinamore and gave her a bottle of wine and a pressie for her dog, Coco. Giving is one of life's best pleasures!

• Hard physical work...well, it was hardest of all to find pleasure in this one! We laid some more of the flagstone floor in the kitchen. This did of course, give us a fabulous appetite for our home cooked dinner that was to come.

• Gardening for the first time this year. Oh how I loved this one. The crocus were out and the daffodils were sprouting and the forget me nots had just started to bloom along with the wild primroses. I got lots done and was so pleased to survey my work.

• Crafting. Always a pleasure. I got to finish my first pair of socks! I need to stitch them up now and I will be modelling them for you. I did some more squares of the lap blanket I have been working on. I also made some red gingham curtains for under and around the Belfast sink and they look really well. It is one of life's little pleasures when one finishes a craft project.

Here are some pics of magic moments over the weekend.

Dogs really know how to relax. Every chance they get it's "Let's have a snooze in"  Chewy left and Pretty, right get settled in on the couch for a good ol' session of ZZZZZZZZZ-ing

 

Below is a pic of Betty's great pic of John Wayne in its new home  in my Quiet Man corner. Looks great.

  Below are some of the craft books I borrowed from the library and my first pair of socks and lap quilt which are WIP's at the moment.

   

After a hard days work it was so nice to sit down to a lovely meal and a glass of wine by the fire. The kitchen is a work in progress and we usually set the table on the coffee table in the living room. So cosy. It made a relaxing end to a very wonderful day.

Weekend in the Country -what a difference a day makes!

When we arrived in Ballinamore last weekend we stopped off in Solas Art Gallery to see the fabulous exhibition of children's art. There were some there I wanted to buy but they were not for sale -

Here is one of my favourites...painted by Meghan Quinn (daughter of local artist, Colleen Quinn -as we say here "Black cats have black kittens")

 

 

Imagine my surprise when we went for a walk near the river and I spotted this...surely I had found the original model for Meghan's painting!

As we drove past Lake Camagh I snapped this picture. It was such a lovely early spring day and the sun was shining.......

 

....The following morning I took the very same picture but how it had changed!

 

The snow had fallen overnight and I was keen to see how my other favourite spots looked so it was down to the town to take some more pics along the locks of the Shannon Erne Waterway....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brrrrhh!!! It was so cold there so we hurried home and took a quick couple of pictures in the garden...

 

 

Next it was into the cottage for a cup of hot tea and fresh scones by the roaring fire. A lovely end to a lovely day!  

A Pub That Sells Hangovers??? ...Who Knew?

Every time we pass The Woodbine Inn in Virginia, county Cavan I say "Where's the camera? "

Well today I had it ready to hand and finally got the picture...apparently this pub sells beers, spirits and hangovers!...

Hangovers in a pub? Well, what next?

 

This was the scene from our door at dawn this morning......shhhh, can you hear the silence? Photo credits to Paul, my DH.

The name of our cottage - White O'Morn means the white of morning or dew of dawn or mist of morning or first light of day....anyway you get the idea...

I think this picture says it so well...White of 'morning

Well done for taking this beautiful photo Paul, ('cos only you would be caught up at the crack o'dawn.  I'm with LizBiz on this one...Loll for Ireland! LOL!

 We don't get much snow in Ireland so when we do we snap, snap, snap 'cos it is gone in an hour.

This is how my quilt project is coming along. Must say how much I am enjoying doing it. I have about one third done so far.

 

We recently got our timbered ceiling (tradiotional cottage style) done in the living room and we put up a blue floral border to finish off the room. Both seen here in this pic of our bookshelf next to the rugged chimney breast.

The brown beer bottle on the right is empty (wasn't me - I didn't do it) and was dug up from the land outside. It was probably cast there many decades ago by someone who lived in the cottage. I love to find these little treasures from the past.

I have a collection of them now...mostly syrup of figs bottles, milk of magnesia bottles and beer bottles...MMM... must have been inhabited by a billious, constipated alcoholic!

 

Now - how would you like to wake up to this scenery every morning. It is actually one of the two lakes my pal, Jill, can see from her house near Ballinamore. The other lake is called Corgar Lake and this one is.....unpronouncable.

This is the sloping driveway from the front of the house and yes, the lake is across the road. 

Jill house is beautiful and she has three tables hand made from longways slices of trees. This one has a fissure on the right hand side that might have been seen as a flaw in the wood but the craftsman has turned it into a feature.

  

More of Jill's fabulous rustic tables....

 

This is Jill's lovely home at the top of the hill..."Jack and Jill went up the hill"...Pity her partner's name is not Jack!

They have beautiful views from every window. How wonderful is that? Their house is called "Cois Loca" which is Gaelic for Lakeside or Beside the Lake. Well named. Jill is camera shy and would not have her photo taken. Next time Jill!

 Now, Jill, your gorgeous doggies were not so camera shy. The black and white one is called Chuckie (not spelt like that but I don't know the real spelling) and the brown and white beauty is Judy. Champion stick chasers both of them. They would give Coco (Liz Biz doggie) a run for her money!

Now back to a more modest dwelling...White O'Morn Cottage. The lovely Liz Biz gave me this dinky little cup and saucer this weekend. I put a tealight in it and it lit up the bowel of the cup and gave a cosy glow to the deep windowsill in the living room. I love it Liz, Thanks so much.

 Oh, and I am in the process of making a pressie for Coco the wonder dog. She will eat it in five minutes flat (not that it is edible at all, at all) ...but that is part of the fun and I reserve the photo rights!

Outside this morning in the soft light of dawn Paul took this picture of my painted milk churn, (centre), my painted gate (right, painted to match the one in the film Quiet Man) and my crock of gold, (left) which sits outside my cottage at my end of my rainbow.

I must admit...the crock of gold is not real gold. Not at all.....I just painted local rocks with gold paint and put them in the black crock.  It just symbolises treasure at the end of the rainbow...but you knew that right?

 

I laughed when I saw this rusty sign I have hanging on my fence..."Take a peek at my bloomers" ...and not a "bloomer" in sight. Ah well, Spring is on the way.

This little fairy has been sitting in the corner of the garden for about two years. In that time she has lost her wings and if you look closely you will see tendrils of some kind of moss entwining her legs and arms and waist. She is being claimed by nature.

  

OK, I know this is not a pretty picture - but to me it is fantastic! It shows the vintage Belfast sink (butler's sink) with its copper taps/faucets. We got it up -FINALLY - after two years of storing it. The kitchen seems to be an endless project.

Kimme and hubby, I promise it will be done by the time you come to stay this year! 

I am so looking forward to meeting such a good blog friend. You have been such a comfort in recent sad times. I very much appreciate your kind words and support which came just when I needed it most. You don't know how much it meant to us all. Thank you.

Kimme, Irish Cottage Dreams is on my sidebar as is Liz Biz Ballinamore, and Angie of the Old Schoolhouse. We'll all meet up in good ol' Ballinamore for a toast  in Smith's Pub!

Watch out Ballier...Here come the  GIRLS!

Fields of Gold and Diamonds

More dog walking..this time in Leitrim. Paul set off ahead of me up the winding road that weaves its way up the mountain called Slieve An Iarran *translates as the Iron Mountains. Our cottage is in the foothills just to the right off this boreen which is English for bothereen which IN English means small road. Does that make any sense? Yes? No?..good...we'll carry on so. 

The narrow road winds and winds......The sun was catching the fields giving them a lovely golden hue...Fields of Gold.                                                                                                                                                       

 

The late evening sun casts long shadows

They walked up the mountain and marched back down again.

I was hanging back picking wild flowers (as you do) for some photo vignettes that Teeda said I should do for the front page of the new website.

When I looked over the ditch to my left.......WHAT!!!! ...I couldn't believe my eyes! I was nearly blinded by the sparkle of.......Diamonds! .... A whole field of wild irish diamonds...who knew?

 

...Of course the moment didn't last long because I realised ...they hadn't grown there...they had rained down and were clinging to the blades of long grass. It was raining diamonds in the fields of gold in the Iron Mountains. Alas my "diamonds" were only raindrops clinging to the blades of long grass. Ah well, maybe I'll find my Pot o' gold...I'll go hunting today and keep you posted.

Oh...and the photos of wild flowers...well here they are

Introducing ...the kitchen! ....and the Nualas are in the house!

I don't know it you have ever noticed but I have never put up a picture of the cottage kitchen  - and for good reason too!

It was a bit of a mess, storeroom, workroom and unusable as a kitchen or for dining. But this weekend it was the setting for the inaugaral dinner!

My two lovely friends, Ruby and Nuala came to stay for the weekend and this motivated me to sort out the kitchen for once and for all. Here is the table set for our special dinner. I used the lovely Willow Pattern dishes I have collected for years. Ruby and Nuala cooked and I set the table and we had a fabulous meal and finished it off with a bit of line dancing in the living room!

Here's one I accidently collected earlier!

I had just painted and hung a shelf unit and could not decide what to display on it. I decided I should collect old teapots from now on. But of course...when I gathered the ones I already had...it was filled!  Who knew I had a collection around me!

I finally finished my hand knitted tea cosy so what better place to show it off!  It is a replica of White O'Morn. Kimme has some gorgeous tea cosies on Irish Cottage Dreams and she is doing a PIF on there at the moment. You'll find it on my sidebar...Will you have a tea cosy? Ah ye' will go on..go on go on....

Tomorrow Angie and I are going to a huge fete in Celbridge to help sort the donations. We are sure to find lots of goodies for ourselves. We'll be showing and telling on here and Angie's blog  - The Old Schoolhouse..see sidebar for the link.                                   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here is the original!

A room with a view

I'm back and missed you all. I am busy catching up on all yer' goings on. I am so relaxed that - if I was any more laid back ...I'd be horizontal!

I had spent a very busy morning spring cleaning the cottage (yes, I know it's June but I'm just catching up) After all the building work it was time to wash all the china as it had a thin coat of sawdust,  which - I'm sure is full of fibre and roughage and is good for the digestion but I just don't like it. So, I got knee deep up to the elbows in hot sudsy water and washed all of it in one go!

I was busily drying each piece and placing it on the table when.... I looked up and stopped in my tracks. ...Not for the first time ... I saw it as if for the first time...the view framed in the kitchen window. The peaceful vignette formed by nature in the background and gleaming vintage china in the foreground. I hope the novelty never wears off. I grabbed my camera to try to capture it...Did I get it? Do you get it?

I'll be checking out all your doings and leaving appropriate comments thereon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PS. on a more sombre note. Please send your loving, healing thoughts, wishes or prayers (whatever works for you) to Angie's 23 year old nephew, Colm, who fell and broke his back while on holiday last week. Miracle needed. Do what you can. Thanks.