Friday, November 16, 2018

Living in The Studio


A shot of the end of our kitchen.. we use it more like a studio, being as the house is so small... Everything is stacked up to the ceiling.   Brought one of the kerosene lamps out just in case the power goes out... I want to be ready... but right now I am enjoying the light being reflected off the snow.. altho I am not crazy about snow, by any means.


We had our first fire of the season back on Oct. 11. felt really good too.. had a little fire on most every day since.
 It has become cold very early this year... feels like we are going into our next Ice Age right before our eyes. 


Had the 2 cds. of firewood stacked outside and drying since early summer.. this is the wood for next year. mostly maple... we have this years wood already dried and stored inside.. we always dry our wood a year ahead if we possibly can... That is the woodshed John built last summer... sure is nice to have a real woodshed now instead of the Hobbit hut we had the first year here. that year it was stacked outside with snow piled all around it and John had to dig down to it every time we needed some.. looked like he was crawling into a igloo to get it on his hands and knees.. was not fun... good exercise tho, if one wanted to look at it in a positive way.


This stack of 2 cds was put away in the woodshed at the end of October.. that is late for us but it was not an especially good drying year. but John had it covered with two old sheets of tin roofing which let the air thru and kept it pretty well dry... all in now!!


Been playing around in my sketchbook this year during our sabbatical.


Oatmeal Brown Bread with raisins, sunflower seeds and flax... Love having time to make bread for us all.. it has been so many years since I have bought bread from a store, I can't remember. I always make 2 batches at a time and divide each batch in 2.. makes it easier to store and keeps it fresh as I put the other 3 in the freezer and then I don't have to make bread for a few days.


in the side field the milkweed is gently spreading its seeds... little parachutes flying everywhere.


Planted the garlic on Oct.22... later than last year.. was waiting for the ground to dry up a bit as it was a rainy Oct.  ...managed to plant over 100 cloves, double what I put in last year .. had to sacrifice them from the crop I grew this year.. sure hope they grow. 


to finish up I covered them with a thick layer of straw.  


I store them in a net bag I crocheted last winter.. this type is called Music and they are the best tasting garlic I ever had.. got the original bulbs from a garlic farmer not far outside Fredericton.


The birds are liking the sunflower seeds in the feeder outside my studio window.  We used another old piece of tin roofing to make a roof for the feeder, to give the birds a little shelter while they treat us with their beauty.. usually a big fat gray squirrel is sitting in there.. 


The snow is coming down out there right now and amounting to quite a bit. 


Still making a few earrings or posting some designs that have come to light after searching around in the backs of the jewelry storage cabinet... 


These sold in minutes on our FaceBook page soon after I posted them.


"Square Spiral" earrings, solid copper, antiqued with sterling shepherd  earwire... approx 7/8" across and 1 1/4" long. $25. pr.




"A little Medieval"... hammered shaped Sterling with African Turquoise... approx. 2" long .. handmade at Desideratum studio. $25. pr. 


If interested in any of our earrings please send us a message on our right sidebar. 

Well looks like winter has come early.. Hope everyone has a cozy place to curl up and stay warm.. till next time, Cheers, Gwen at Desideratum Art and Jewelry



18 comments:

^.^ said...

I cherish the earrings you sent me, friend Gwen … Love your wood stove … making fire wood is a lot of work and stacking it is an art … I remember the one year, grandpa and I were stacking all day, and just when we left the shed and walked to the house, all came down with a humongous crash … We just looked at each other in amazement … and said: Nah … so that year we had no neatly stacked firewood instead we had a humongous wood pile. I see you have quite a bit of weather in your neck of the woods. Be well and keep warm, eh? Much love, Theo and cat.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hi cat, yes winter in bearing down.. today the snow is very grainy and mounting up quickly on the highways.. glad to not have to be out there. Totally understand your experience stacking firewood.. it can be fussy sometimes. at least you and your grandpa had a good attitude towards it. Best wishes to you and stay cozy. xo

BumbleVee said...

Hiya Gwen... thanks for stopping by to check out my new little guy.... it's been a long time since I tried making one and of course...it seems I forgo more than I ever knew.... hhahahha.oh, well.

It's snowing here today too... got a couple inches already...but I don't feel up to shovelling...had a shingles vaccine yesterday and man...I just feel so puny and achy..... been in bed most of the darn day. Just barely starting to feel sort of like I"m getting back to being me.

You know I love to bake too.... your bread looks great....today was supposed to be muffins..but, didn't get around to it....ah, well...there's always tomorrow.....

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hey BumbleVee, I must have gotten your vibe cause I made Muffins this afternoon.. carrot, sunflower seed and raisin.. with a touch of citrus rind.. smell great but haven't tasted one yet. I'm sorry that the vaccine gave you such a reaction.. hope it clears away soon and you feel super again. xo

Guillaume said...

I love your bookshelves and the stove. And the logs. Oh and the cats sketches!

Maya Sara Matthew said...

Your kitchen studio looks so cozy and inviting.
Thank you for the peek into your life and the surroundings.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hi Guillaume and Maya, Thanks for checking in. Just came in from shovelling almost a foot of snow off the deck.. Nice and sunny and bright but still too much snow. glad the stove is humming, Cheers!

laura said...

oh my gosh, Gwen, is there anything you can't do! I just started baking bread myself, so far just boules; tried a heartier nut and raisin bread, but it did not turn out well! your loaves look especially good to me!

Rain said...

Hi Gwen! :) Nice to see a snippet of your life. Oh the snow...I'm not going to talk about that...ugh!!! The woodshed looks great. I am always nervous about losing power. Here in the rental we have an energy-sucking fireplace, but we try not to use it because we lose more heat that we gain. When I finally get settled, a wood stove will be priority. Lots of garlic!! I hope it grows well!!!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's a beautiful kitchen!

sandy said...

Really love this new/old house of yours! You both have done a beautiful job with the kitchen and everything I've seen in your posts. Love all those books. I made the mistake of getting rid of most of my books when we downsized and i wish I still had them all. Books give such character to a room and such comfort.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Laura, Oh you know us prepper types, we have to have our hands in everything... ha... My bread had been spreading out in the pan too much.. still tasted good but was kind of flat,, discovered if I just kneaded a bit more prior to its second raising it seemed to develop more gluten and kept its shape. been working so far. Bet your bread tasted excellent!!

Hi Rain, I am quite surprised that this little stove heats the whole house, but after we gutted the place completely to do new wiring and plumbing and to rebuild the walls, John super insulated the place as best he could... also to get a better draft from the chimney we added another length of chimney.. did that ever make a big difference!

Hi Lon, Thanks so much... other than our little work rooms (as we both work at home) we practically live in that room. I have discovered I really like living in a small house more than I ever thought I would.... everything is close at hand and we all see each other more often.

Hi Sandy, Moving is such a big job. What to keep, what to part with... I wish I could have had room for my old piano... I miss that the most. but could never live without my books.. .. I did part with many in the move before this and decided I could not do that again. We are really enjoying living here,, although we are not near the ocean anymore, we are only 10 min. from the convenience of the capital city but feel like we live in the country. we are happy with our move. xo

WILDSIDE said...

Gwen, I think you know I leave comments and then delete... And I do think you can see them yet? Sorry! Won't repeat -- or at least try not to?

Curious about all those books! And which ones would be your favorites.

Wishing you a cozy, comfortable season at your new place. It looks so from your photos, anyway...

Gwen Buchanan said...

Hi Wildside, Yes we are pretty cozy here.. one thing about a small place is Everything is close at hand... ha. oh please leave comments anytime... something strange about the blog in the last year is that I don't receive the comments in my email anymore, like they use to come... now I only see them if I open the blog page.. don't know why they changed that feature.. wish they would put it back.
Pretty difficult to pick a favourite book.. they are like children, love them all.. general knowledge, art, nature, animals, cooking, history ... not much fiction. love having a reference library.. Thank you for commenting

WILDSIDE said...

"not much fiction. love having a reference library..."

ditto for me here!

thanks, gwen.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks Wildside.. I do believe we have lots in common xo

sandy said...

i hope your New year is wonderfully creative and will continue to check back here. Your place looks so cozy.

Gwen Buchanan said...

and a very Happy New Year to you Sandy... wishing you everything wonderful