Oh, I wish I was in the land of cotton.......

..... so off to Dixieland we go!! This springtime trip is two-fold.

My grandson arrives home next week after 15 months of serving our country in Iraq. He is stationed near Savannah, GA and we are going to visit him and his sweet family.

While we are in the area, we will go to my favorite spot in the entire USA.....Charleston, SC. I love the plantations, the shopping, the gardens, the people, the weather, the history, and the homes in the old town.

Quite by accident, we happened to be there during the Home and Garden Tours, three years ago. We were able to see lots of the old town homes then, but my thirst for them was not completely quenched.

I hope to see about two day's worth this time, also. The tours are arranged by neighborhoods and each day you can tour a different area. There are usually about 10 homes and gardens on the daily tour. You are not allowed to take photos inside as most of these homes are current residences of Charleston families.


If you ever get the chance, go visit Charleston. I know you, too, will have a wonderful time!

Enjoy!

Easter Egg Hunt Winners....

Yup, I said Winners........as in more than one winner. Miss Vickie emailed me that she had found the egg. I was so excited for her and I know her tastes mirror mine, so the custom made basket would be easy.

In checking my spam filter later that day, I discovered an email from Miss Rhea saying she had also found the egg. Her's was timed earlier than Miss Vickie's.

What to do?? Make two baskets, of course!

Miss Vickie was gone for the weekend, so I started on Miss Rhea's and finished it yesterday. If anyone knows Miss Rhea, you know how she loves soft colors with lots of white mixed in, so I chose my favorite Mary Rose fabric for the base. The roses are made from the same fabric. The lining is a soft white embroidered satin.

Miss Vickie has a more Victorian decor and she loves tea pots and tea cups, so I chose the Roses and Teacups fabric for her basket. The large rose millinery on the side is vintage from the 50s and it is embellished with clear crystal beaded fringe.

I sure hope these wonderful ladies enjoy their baskets as much as I did making them. It was so much fun!! I just love creating for people I know.

Thanks for visiting the cottage today!

Happy Easter

I want to thank every one of you that joined in the Easter Egg hunt. It was a lot of fun.

If you are wondering, the egg was hidden among the pillows in item #PS6022.

Our winner will be announced in a few days when I finish her basket to show you.

We hope you have a lovely Easter!

Easter Egg Hunt!!

I thought we'd do something fun for Easter this year...I love an Easter Egg Hunt! So, we will be offering a wonderful prize for the person who finds the Easter egg on my web site, Aunt May's Cottage.

A few hints:

The egg is pink and as big as my photos in the descriptions of the items in Aunt Mays Cottage.

The egg is hidden in the descriptions of an item in the cottage.

Just email me with the item number on the page where you find the egg. The first email I receive with this information wins a custom made basket!

These are some of my baskets from the past.....

These wonderful decorating elements can be used in any room of your lovely home. Use them for letters, stationary, cards, towels, soaps, guest room items, as a gift basket, florals, cosmetics, hair care items, lotions, etc.

I use one on the bottom step of the stairs and one at the top to hold items that go to the other floor. These are very sturdy and measure about 11 x 8 inches and 11 inches tall with the handle.

The lucky winner will be able to choose their own colors, trims and florals for their custom made, personal basket shipped to them free of charge.

Happy Hunting!!

Follow the ways of your ancestors...

This title is an old Irish proverb and very valued in the Irish community. I have traced my father's family back to Wales, but I understand that there is a strong connection with Ireland. I've yet to uncover proof of that, but I know from my own freckles and BG (before gray) auburn highlighted hair, it must be true. One of my sons is a redhead and so are all of my cousins on my Dad's side.

Do any of your relatives come from Ireland? This would come as no surprise as over 40 million Americans claim Irish ancestry. On March 17th, that number increases considerably when we all celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

The earliest recorded American observance of the day honoring St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was in Boston in 1737. But, the Irish as an ethnic group did not begin to make their presence felt in America until their numbers began to swell during the Nineteenth century.

St. Patrick’s Day became the day the new immigrants remembered their strong ties to the “auld sod” with parades and banquets. By the turn of the century, the celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day had become a distinctly American custom, with everyone, no matter what his nationality, wearing a bit of the green.

Curiously, the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland has evolved into a high-spirited holiday only in the past thirty years. Since the day was (and still is) a Holy day, people attended a Mass and all the pubs were closed. An authentic St Patrick’s Day observance with music, dance, food and liquid refreshment had to take place at home.

A ceilidh (Gaelic for “dance” and pronounced kali) is a gathering of family and friends to hear traditional Irish music, do a bit of step dancing, eat thick slices of soda bread slathered with butter, drink cups of strong tea or other liquid refreshments and engage in the Irish indoor sport of conversation.

But at the heart of any ceilidh is the Irish music, of which there are two distinct types: energetic dance tunes or lamentful narrative songs, usually ballads. In Irish reels, the main melody is repeated over and over again until it leads into another similar tune. The listener, who is unfamiliar with its unique circular structure, frequently comes away with the impression that he has been tapping his feet to one long Irish jig for over two hours.

Excerpts taken from writings by Sara Ban Breathnach

~~~~~~