Thinking Ahead...

Brynwood Needleworks - Newest Cookie Cutters

I'm thinking ahead this year. I'm not sure my niece will host her annual Christmas Cookie Exchange as she's now the Director for a large nursing home facility. She instituted tighter Covid restrictions for the protection of her residents, and of course, holds herself to those restrictions as well. It's no wonder her residents love her.

I am attending a smaller Christmas party gathering on December 15th, and rather than having a gift exchange, we'll be sharing cookies instead. While I'm used to making six dozen cookies for my niece's party, we've only been asked to make three dozen for this exchange. Easy peasy!

The gathering is with friends who quilt and do wool applique', so I wanted to do some of the cookies in a sewing theme. I found a thread spool and knew it was one style I'd want to make. I'll do a dozen of those. As I looked through the Etsy shop (RikRakShack) and found a few others I wanted to add to my collection. They're high quality, and unbelievably affordable. 

 

***ATTENTION***Do you recognize the other shapes? Can you guess which other two cutters I'm going to use for the party? Tell me which ones. If you guess the right ones, I'll send you a dozen cookies when I make the rest for the party! I'm not going to mention this giveaway again. The first person to guess the right two cutters (aside from the spool cookies), will win a dozen of my handmade cookies in December.

Brynwood Needleworks - Hanging My Teacups

The other thing I did yesterday (in addition to removing the rest of the back hall tiles) was to add cup hooks to the shelf in our dining room china cabinet. Not only does this free up some space on the shelves below the hook, but I think there's really something lovely about hanging my tea cups.

The little bunny was hand carved by a dear friend who passed while we lived in Florida. It was one of the first things I ever purchased from him. Seeing this little guy makes me smile and think of our friend. I love that bunny now resides in our farmhouse china cabinet.

Farmhouse China Hutch - Finished...

Hickory Hill Farm China Hutch

When Handsome arrived at the farm, he carried the last of our china with him. This is the set we purchased shortly after our marriage to be "our" wedding china. I didn't want it damaged in transit, so we kept possession of it ourselves to keep it safe.

We brought the (heavy) box into the farmhouse when he arrived, and I unpacked the contents yesterday. I carefully unwrapped every single piece, and we were happy and relieved to find that everything got here just as it left Florida.

I'd left "place keepers" in the hutch that I removed, and then I started placing the last of our china where I'd imagined it would go.

Farmhouse China Hutch Inside Left Side

The plates standing on the second shelf are our wedding plates. They're Spode "Gamebirds" plates, and they represented the best of both worlds for us. The gamebirds were the outdoor touch that Handsome and I both love, while the floral border was a more "traditional" touch. It speaks perfectly to who we are, and I'm so glad it arrived intact.

Farmhouse China Hutch Inside Right Side

Now, everything is here and it's all in the hutch. Please don't judge. I know I have at least three complete china sets, plus a Scottish tea set and two different Spode "sampler" sets. There are also a few odd, precious pieces, like the little lavender-colored, acorn and oak leaf honey pot in front. It was a gift from my dear friend, Denise.

I've also placed our gamebird glassware - which used to belong to Handsome's parents - in this cabinet. We have used it nearly every day since it came to us thirty four years ago. While it's in the china hutch now, once our kitchen is renovated, it will reside there to use with our everyday sets.

Tom Beardsley Carved Farmer Mouse

Handsome and I also emptied out the cargo trailer he pulled behind him this last trip. It was filled with all of his percussion equipment (which also arrived safely), along with things he needed to have with him for the last weeks he spent in Florida. It also held all our outdoor equipment from our little shed behind the house. Garden tools have arrived just in time!

 

Our little mouse was a present from a talented wood carver and dear friend, Tom Beardsley, here in Wisconsin. We have a number of pieces, all of which we cherish, created by his gifted hands. Sadly, Tom passed while we lived in Florida. It's hard to believe that there will never be a new piece in our collection, and that we'll never share an afternoon or evening with him again. We'll miss him.

By the time we were finished unpacking, we were both tired. I made dinner for the two of us, and then, like Tom's tiny, carved farmer mouse, we decided to put our feet up and relax. It was a fitting end to our first, lovely Mother's Day weekend at Hickory Hill Farm.

As I Wait...

Brynwood Needleworks - Farmhouse Built-in Buffet

 

The trucks will be arriving with our belongings today, but won't be emptied until the weekend. As with the loading, we've hired Moving Staffers™ to handle moving our things into the farmhouse. While I wait for more boxes and furniture, I emptied a box that has been here since our last trip north.

The box contained some of my favorite pieces of English transferware, and more than a few antiques. In the upper shelf of the cabinet are a few of my antique Toby mugs. I have Toby teapots and Royal Doulton Toby jugs that will join these pieces soon.

Brynwood Needleworks - Antique Transferware

The bowl and pitcher set belonged to my mother-in-law. The pattern is "Reverie" from Alfred Meakin. Next to it is a large cheese keeper. The label/mark on the bottom is "Victoria Ware" Ironstone. It's actually quite large and heavy! 

Some of my Johnson Brothers "Old Britain Castles" bowls are in the upper cabinet, waiting for the rest of this set to arrive.

Brynwood Needleworks - Antique Duck Casserole

 

On the other end of the counter is my antique duck casserole. This one is also ironstone, but has no visible-to-me makers mark.

 

In the cabinet above on this end (temporarily) are my three dog plates...a black Labrador Retriever, a Pembroke Welsh Corgi and a yellow Labrador Retriever.  These will eventually hang, but I haven't yet decided where.

Once the truck is unloaded, I'll have more dishes to place, but the last - my much-loved Spode - is with Handsome. When he brings that with him, our farmhouse china cabinet will be complete.