Ice

Some say the world will end in fire;

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of desire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great
And would suffice.
~Robert Frost

We are covered in ice here in our cold corner of the New Hampshire. Barely any snow... just freezing rain. I'd almost think we were in the Pacific Northwest by the weather we have had this winter.

xoxo~
Abbie

FYI.. For those who might be interested... I have reopened my website, www.percyandbloom.com. All of the free antique clipart and images are back up!

bonnie & clyde

I'd like to introduce you to Bonnie (right) & Clyde (left), our 8 year old Miniature Pinschers. Little did we know how completely appropriate their names would be! They are brother and sister, altho their nicknames are 'Clyde the Cowardly' and 'Bonnie the Brave'.  We say all the time what a mistake they were... they are yappy, loud, and spastic little dogs, but truly we do love them. They are almost more like house cats than dogs. Their favorite place is curled up on the back of the couch cushions watching the world go by or tucked under the blankets snuggled up around our legs. Especially in winter.. they don't like the cold. Neither do I.. perhaps I can find a family to adopt me, give me two meals a day and let me sleep curled up in a cozy ball til spring.. sounds like heaven!

Clyde, lounging in front of our tree..

Dangerous Winds...

Organizing Hats, Gloves, Scarves, etc.. for a family of 5!

In winter's past we have been buried under the avalanche of hats, mittens, gloves, scarves, earmuffs, neck warmers, snow pants, coats, boots, etc... last year I finally realized it was taking waaaay too long to get out the door with three kiddos, three hats, six matching mittens/gloves, and hopefully 3 pairs of matching boots. That's when the $5.00 plastic hanging shoe caddy that would most certainly be a topic of nightmares for Martha Stewart, came into my life. It's not attractive, it's not sturdy, it's not handcrafted, and it's probably riddled with BPA. Given all of that, it is the most practical organization tool in my entire house. This thing works. Overtime. For free. It's hard core labor.

The scarves hang from $1 wreath hangers.  They are actually on clearance at our Walmart right now for 25 cents, as they are 75% off with the Christmas things. They work soooo well!! We can see all the scarves we have and it only takes a split second to grab one. These would work great in a regular closet for ties and purses as well.

A few rules for it to truly work:
1.)  It needs to have CLEAR pockets, they are a must.. I tried a more attractive, linen looking version and it didn't work. You have to be able to SEE the ENTIRE contents of each pocket (just in case a rogue mitten goes AWOL).
2.) It needs to hang on the OUTSIDE of your closet/hallway door, where you can see it. In full view. I tried it on the other side of the door. Obviously a much more 'clutter free' look, but the kids won't put things in it if they have to open the door first. I won't put things in it if I have to open the door first.
3.) Keep things where they can be reached. ie.. the bottom rows are for my wee girls, (ages 4 & 6), the middle for my 13 yr old and the top rows for my husband and I. That way everyone can reach to grab or put away their own things.

Do I still end up being the only one who puts things in the pockets? Usually. When we enter the house everyone tosses their stuff willy nilly and I quickly grab everything and chuck it in the pockets. It is easy peasy and if you are good enough to get your kids (or husband) trained to put things away themselves then more power to ya!

When we are heading out the door.. it's all right there. Love. it.

Do you have any 'can't live without' organization solutions? Share, I'd love to peek! They don't have to be pretty just have to WORK.

xoxo~
Abbie

Cleaning house...

**Aaahhaa!! It worked! FYI, I had to upload the image for my header into this post and then get the URL, then post the URL into the header setup box. The traditional option for uploading a header was drastically distorting my image. Nothing like making it complicated Blogger!**

I am desperately trying to upload a new header for my blog. I decided it was time to lighten things up a bit and switch from black to white. As with most images, they are more appealing to the eye against a black background, but the whole blog was feeling a twee bit too dungeon for me. The time for light, bright, and clean is at hand. Blogger is not cooperating (that's not unusual) but always at the most inopportune times. :/

If this sideways route to getting the above image up as my blog header works you'll be able to see it at the tippy top. And, if not, then you can atleast enjoy it here!

The cold is rolling in...

Winter's wrath has finally hit us here in New Hampshire. She took her sweet time, teasing us with thoughts of a gentle season.

a shot at the moon...

I have never been able to take a photo of the moon and have it be worth glancing at. This photo I took tonight, full moon, with my new 55-300mm lens. Manually!! I set the settings! *gasp*

It's still not anything too great, but it's all a learning process.
xoxo~
Abbie