I woke up yesterday morning to a great surprise, a snow day! I work for the school system here so I find myself, once again, just like a child, looking forward to those special winter gifts called snow days:>) (Paid snow days no less!) It wasn't particularly snowy, but the roads were icy from a thaw/rain/freeze cycle and there are a lot of country dirt roads in our district so school was suspended. Yay! I dont work more than 3.5 hours a day but those extra hours right in the middle of the day seem so much more productive. Afternoon is when my energy is lowest it seems. So I spent the day making some more hearts and listing them on my etsy shop, getting a little cleaning done (and I do mean a little!)and just enjoying the thought of not going to work. Then I checked my email and Polly at Counting your blessings emailed me to tell me I won the adorable Valentines banner above from Mary at Isabellas Closet! Isn't it pretty?! She is having a give away right now at her blog for another beautiful banner, you should run over and check it out! Today it was back to work as usual. This time of year it is hard to find things to blog about. The thrift shops seem pretty devoid of really good stuff, and I don't feel like braving the cold to go look. I am still trying to get up the gumption to finish painting the bedroom, it just isnt happening for me right now. I have exactly 1 and a half walls painted. It will get done but I'm not sure it will be this week! I pretty much go to work, come home, clean, mess around with a few craft projects and collapse in front of the t.v. waiting for bedtime. I visit so many blogs with women who get more done in a day than I do in a week, it amazes me and puts me to shame. I know things will pick up in the spring when the sun comes back, I just have to wait it out. I am checking out new blogs and visiting my long list of old friends so that keeps me happy too:>) I do see others who are hunkering down with warm soup, a warm blanket and their favorite old movie or book so I don't feel totally lazy! Ahhh, time to go hunker down and dream of spring. I'll see you all soon:>)

Jan at Day Lily Lane gave me the spread the love award! Thanks Jan! It is easy to "Spread the Love" in this community of sweet and supportive people:>) Stop over to Jans place and check out her adorable etsy shop full of handmade cards. She stamps and cuts and makes the prettiest cards to sell. I am passing this on to BJ at Sweet Nothings and Cielo at House in the Roses and Rhondi at Rose Colored Glasses, all new friends and such loving bloggers that this award just fits! Actually, I can't think of a single one of my blog friends who doesn't deserve this award, I love you all:>) Thanks for all the wonderful comments, the support, the kindnesses you have shown me. You are all wonderful people to know!

A tour of Cathedrals

Sorry I have been missing in action this week. Too much to try to accomplish and too little time. I thought I would share a little dream tour with you. These pictures were actually taken by my daughter Victoria for her art class. Her dad took a day and drove her to some of the prettiest churches in the area so she could snap some photos for drawings. Melissa at the Inspired Room has been doing house drive-bys , and I love those, but I have always been in awe of churches. I have often said I would love to take a tour of Cathedrals and even small country churches as long as they were old. We just don't seem to build them like we used to. It's all about the details and these buildings have them! I grew up in a little country church and it was old enough to have little "secret" rooms and stairs that many people didn't know about. As a teen I cleaned the church so I found them. (Ok, I'm a bit of a snoop too!) Ever since, I have looked at churches like these and wondered what I could find inside if left to myself for an afternoon?
What forgotten doorway, walled up stairway, unused Sunday school rooms or storage rooms?

Could I find old chairs? pews? artworks? Churches are constantly adding on, repurposing rooms. One person stores an item and nobody else thinks of it for years. I found a folk art model of the first Free Methodist church in our little town while we were cleaning out the storage room several years ago. I asked that if nobody wanted it could I have it? I got it, and found out that it was actually made by my husbands great grandfather who was one of the founding families of that church. What a treasure, and I had no idea when I asked for it.

So I would love to go on a tour of Cathedrals and old churches, alone, with my flashlight. Just like treasure hunting old houses, bet I'd find some really amazing stuff!

An award and some heart

Ahhh, finally I got some more valentine hearts finished and in my etsy shop. I am having so much fun digging through my vintage jewelry, ribbons and fabrics, and since my husband gave me a new glass cutter for Christmas I decided to add some personal touches with a few little charms I made. This pink rosey heart is my current fave, but since I hate to repeat myself I have a few other styles and colors too and I'm still working on more. Here is another I love...I call it True Love and it reminds me of pillow covers my grandmother had in her farmhouse. Beautiful rosebud ticking, I'm glad they still make it. Check out the rest at etsy.

A big thank you to Mary at the Little Red House for giving me the Daily Dose award:>) Mary is one of my own Daily stops and I always love the things she writes about! We share an obsession with dishes and so many other things! Thank you Mary, I am honored that you thought of me. I am going to pass this along to Tracey at Notes from a Cottage Industry who also provides one of my daily doses of creative inspiration. If you have never been there go check her out, she is a genius with paint and old furniture! Once again, I am feeling the love from blog land. Thanks for the sweet comments and the orders. You can't know what it means:>)

Thank You!

A big thank you to all of you who have been so kind to order from my etsy shop! The response has been so wonderful:>) I am working on more hearts and some other surprises right now and hope to have some more listed tonight. It has been a very busy but fun week. I'll see you all soon!

Ok, I didnt get them listed tonight, but I will have them up by Monday at latest:>) SOrry about that!