Making progress

Almost all the shopping is done. Wrapping parcels today. Bathroom is almost finished. I need to do a bit of paint touch-up,  a piece of accent fabric and a pressing will finish off the shower curtains.

When I saw this "chamber pot" I just had to have it. Brings back memories of visiting "grans" house. She had a wood burning cookstove in her kitchen and no indoor plumbing. A hand pump at the counter with water draining into a bucket under the sink; and of course no indoor plumbing meant no indoor toilets, so there were chamber pots under the bed for night time use. This was a real novelty to us kids.

( another chamber pot lid...just cause it was so pretty)

(note to self: refill toilet paper holder before taking pictures for blog)

I still need to do the window curtain, but that should not take too much time and there is a small blind on the window for now. I have to tell you there was a lot of painting in this bathroom. I not only painted walls and doors and trim, but I painted metal fixtures like towel bars, toilet paper holders, medicine cabinets, picture frames etc. We put in new flooring as well. For the most part I am pretty pleased.

I am off to make scones for tea this afternoon. I have a friend dropping in for tea and a visit to my sewing room. She is anxious to meet "Ruby". She may be in the market for a new machine soon and is checking out different options.

I have made some order out of the chaos that I call my sewing studio. It still needs a little tweaking to complete things, but I had to concentrate on Christmas gifts and cooking and cleaning because I had 10 for dinner yesterday and I am afraid I have really let things slide in the housekeeping department lately. There is nothing like having company to "motivate" you into dusting etc. Hope to share a few "studio" pics later in the week.

Cranberry Scones

3/4 cup buttermilk (or yogurt)
1 egg
2 3/4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup coarsely chopped cranberries(fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup sugar
rindo f 1 orange
1TBSP. butter melted
1/4 cup icing sugar

Preheat oven to 375. Whisk buttermilk and egg together in a small bowl and set aside.
In a larger bowl measure the next 4 dry ingredients. Cut in butter and mix to a crumble. Add cranberries, sugar and rind. Add egg and buttermilk mixture. Stir to a soft dough. Do not over mix. With hands form dough into a large ball and pat out to 1 inch thickness. Cut in 4 inch rounds and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes. While still warm brush with melted butter and sprinkle with icing sugar.
** Sometimes I omit the last step and just sprinkle with coarse sugar before baking.
Makes 8 Large scones
** taken from "The Best of The Best" cookbook.

Come and share a pot of tea 

My home is warm and the friendship is free.