Tales of the Mortician's Wife

Be Comforted, Dear Soul.

Wednesday, January 19, 2022

“I’m not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship.”
– Louisa May Alcott

This little island was hit with two major storms in the past week – what a fantastic experience! Yes, we lost power but we were prepared.

I’m about to write some more of my thoughts of the past week, but leaving you with this quote:

“Be comforted, deal soul. There is always light behind the clouds!”
~ Little Women

I truly feel this will be a good year, a year of awakening.

Do not be discouraged – things are going to change!

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.
In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer;
I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33

Around the Home, Uncategorized

by Gigi

7 comments

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January 26, 2022 - 5:05 pm

miriam stoltzfoos – That picture of a candle in the window is so beautifullly done!!

January 25, 2022 - 5:58 pm

Lynnea – I love your posts and pictures…thank you for the encouraging words!
I’ve been opening the windows each day to let in the fresh brisk air which is delightfully invigorating.
PS – We live in a very windy area with the mountains and valleys, about an 8-hour drive to the Pacific Ocean. I’ve been opening the windows each day to let in the fresh, brisk air…so invigorating!

January 21, 2022 - 9:23 am

Teresa @ Simply Farmhouse – Storms strengthen our endurance in life…looking and trusting Him and Him alone! I look forward to your next post!! Stay safe and warm my friend.

January 20, 2022 - 12:53 pm

Gigi – Cathy, so glad we are kindred spirits in opening of windows and FRESH air! 🙂
Anew! Amen!

January 20, 2022 - 11:42 am

Cathy – Amen!
One of my words for the year 2022 is ANEW.
He is the light behind everything.

Oh, and I must add here I absolutely was thrilled with your post about opened windows, though I live in the south…but we do have winter…I have always “preached” not keeping our homes so airtight. We certainly open our windows in warmer weather, but I have always heard of sleeping with a cracked window even in the winter.

January 20, 2022 - 5:47 am

Gigi – Me tooooooo!!!!!

January 19, 2022 - 9:46 pm

Regina – I love Little Women. That one and Anne of Green Gables.

The Air We Breathe: Open your Windows

Friday, January 14, 2022

It’s -20c degrees outside right now.

And yet, every morning, each girl in this house opens their bedroom windows and air out their bedrooms. I open the kitchen windows slightly and have fresh air creeping in as I wash the breakfast dishes. Our bedroom window is opened, allowing beautiful clean air in to replace the stuffy feeling of a too-warm room in the winter. Yes, airing out our home is a morning ritual … and it must run in the family because I have noticed my sister does the same thing in her home.

I have visited some homes where I feel I can barely breathe – the house is kept so very warm and everything is shut up tightly. It does not take long for one to feel sleepy and lethargic in such a room!

I have read studies that suggest opening your window for at least one hour a day to exchange the bad air in your home for fresh, beautiful air. With 11 people breathing the air of this house, we must make sure our air is fresh and clean – especially in the winter months when windows are shut tighter.

This is something I feel very passionate about – airing out the home, letting fresh air in and breathing clean air … it sounds strange, but I cannot even fathom being in a room without some fresh air trickling in slightly.

And so we send out the bad air and bring in the good air – every day, we opens the windows, despite the temperature, and air out our rooms. Have you ever noticed how beautiful winter fresh air smells? You cannot even explain it … but I do know, in general, rooms inside houses definitely need refreshing – especially in the winter months when everything tends to shut up tightly to combat the cold winter outdoors.

Have you tried opening your windows for at least 10-15 minutes per day to exchange your old air for good, clean air? Try airing out your home two or three times a day. I have read that air inside your home is 2-5 more times polluted that the air outside your window. It’s so important to freshen your home and bring in that fresh air!

“Overheated houses waste energy, make us drowsy and become too dry for optimal health and comfort.
Airtight houses are unhealthy, and cold air will not make you catch a cold. Open the windows and let in the sun.”
– The Air in Your Castle, Home Comforts/The Art and Science of Keeping House

Many years ago, I was visiting my Dutch friend at her mother’s house. My friend and I were both young mothers, with new babies and a fresh start and clean slate on motherhood. Around 2 p.m., I watched the Dutch grandmother wrap up her grandson in nice homemade blankets and tuck him in gently into an old baby carriage, nestled up against the country house on the porch. It was winter, but that did not matter – she said the baby would sleep just fine and it would be good for him.

“That’s the way we’ve always done it,” she said, proudly, as she turned the kettle on for afternoon tea.

That little scene was so foreign to me – putting a baby to sleep outside in the fresh, cold winter air? While it may sound extreme, it actually does make sense. (Of course, modern parenting and professional advice would probably have a lot to say against this advice, but I do see the benefits in it, if done properly – and obviously, this grandma knew what she was doing.)

“Many people, especially those in European countries with mild summers, swear by keeping the window open for better night’s sleep, even in the winter. Proponents of this practice claim that soothing outdoor sounds, cool night air,
and fresh oxygen all contribute to a more restful bedtime.”

Do you sleep with your window open? I do – if at all possible! Yes, even in the winter … I would encourage you to try it one night.

“When you get adequate sleep, and you are sleeping in a room with an average temperature in the mid to high 60s, you are encouraging your body to produce more melatonin, the sleep hormone. Evidence links increased melatonin levels to brain health, cancer-fighting capabilities, and lowered diabetes, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s risk. Keeping light distraction to a minimum and stopping screen use a few hours before bed can also improve melatonin production. ”
-UpWelness, Dr. Josh

Can you smell that crisp, beautiful winter fresh air? There’s nothing like it …

Around the Home, Uncategorized

by Gigi

7 comments

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January 17, 2022 - 5:28 pm

Laura Jeanne – Yes, I do this too! I open my bedroom window every morning while I make my bed. I go take a shower, and when I come back I close the window. I do this even when it’s very cold. I love the fresh air also and when the weather is warmer I love to have all the windows of the house open. Unfortunately, at certain times of the year we have to keep them all shut, when the farmers around us are spraying their fields. That stuff smells awful!

I really liked your photos…that window is just beautiful!

January 16, 2022 - 6:10 pm

Rachel – Living in the desert means our home is closed up with the air conditioning on for a good six months out of the year. It’s just too hot! But for the the rest of the year, the doors and windows are left wiiide open!

January 15, 2022 - 1:12 pm

Gigi – Ohhhh, I love that idea! I am going to do that – drag out the mattresses! I do bring out the area rugs and hose them off and air them out … but I do love the idea of top to bottom cleaning, including mattresses!

January 15, 2022 - 12:43 pm

Teresa @ Simply Farmhouse – Gigi, I love sleeping with my bedroom windows cracked in the winter time, it is so good for the health. Yes, everyday I air out my home in the winter. In the summer we sleep with the windows open. Yes, I love having my kitchen window open when washing dishes! I love breathing in the clean fresh air,while listening to the birds even during the cold months. Every spring when I was little, my mom would have the boys to carry out all the mattresses and lay them on a trap in the hot sun, in a few hours she would have the boys to flip them. In the house all the girls would help mom clean each bedroom from top to bottom. With lace curtains, bedding, and rugs hanging across the clothesline getting kissed by the warm sun. Everything felt clean and fresh after a long winter. I love this post thank you for sharing it!

January 15, 2022 - 9:53 am

Gigi – Hello Danessa,
So glad you like sleeping with your window open, as well!
We are loving the winter here so far – not too bad, but the storms are WILD. We are without power right now, but are mostly fine with that – we have heat and ways of cooking, so all is well. It’s fascinating to see the island somewhat ‘shut down’ as no one plows the roads for a long time (compared to Ontario) for the sake of the wind blowing. Temperature wise, it’s very similar to Ontario. The difference is the winds – reminding me of the majesty and strength of our Creator! He is in control!

January 14, 2022 - 8:36 pm

Monica – Yes!! I do this, too. My bedroom window is cracked a few inches in the daytime most of the time. I used to open the window wide every morning while making my bed, a ritual I have gotten out of since I moved my bed in front of the window.

Funny, we visited my grandmother late this afternoon and when I walked in I just about passed out from the HEAT and stuffiness. Wow. It was overwhelming. I really didn’t want to take the baby inside! This is something we need to remember as we get older…to do…so important for the elderly not to be in shut up, overly heated homes!!

I loved this post! And such pretty curtains and windows, too. Xoxo

January 14, 2022 - 7:42 pm

Danessa stride – Hello again! I could not agree more, there is nothing better then the sweet aroma of clean fresh winter air, my husband and I sleep every night with our window open a little, I cannot settle without it! How are you finding the winter so far? Is the weather much different from what you are use to in Ontario? It’s only early yet in the season, here in Newfoundland we find From February to April the coldest months and that’s when we get most snow. Hope your enjoying it

A Fine Winter

Saturday, January 8, 2022

“Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast,
Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round,
And while the bubbling and loud hissing urn
Throws up a steamy column, and the cups,
That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each,
So let us welcome peaceful ev’ning in.”
-The Task: The Winter Evening/William Cowper

The strong winds of the Atlantic winter are bearing down heavily upon our little home. It’s our first true winter storm here on the Island of Prince Edward. Fresh snow is falling fast and being whipped into looming snowy drifts around our barn and yard … winter storm warnings have been advised. Stay home and off the roads, they say …. that is not trouble for us! The wind is so strong, it literally shakes our home. A little bit frightening to feel your bed shake at night, but this old home has been around for a hundred years … I am sure it can withstand another winter storm.

One of my favourite seasons is most certainly winter – when one can finally relax (once my bed stops shaking from the wind!) and rest after nearly a full year of outdoor labour and schedules run by the natural calendar … winter, to our family, is the time of rest and refreshment.

It is time to pull out the handicrafts, wool, needles and crochet hooks, puzzles, musical instruments, dust off the books and let yourself be creative … for me, the dried herbs, stashed safely away in my herbal cupboard, are calling my name … it’s time to begin making tinctures and medicines, salves and so forth.

Today has found me making my own blend of tea for that afternoon tea time … my sweet and favourite neighbour in Ontario would often have this brew on hand for me when we had our little visits on her back porch… I miss our tea times and would love to have her over again!

The tea is a blend of dried beets (grown in our garden), dried apples (from the local apple orchard), almonds and cinnamon sticks.

I dried the beets and apple pieces in our cookstove warming drawer – I had two do this step twice as the first time, I did not fully dry the apples enough.

Once dried, I store it safely in an antique mason jar.

Using a beautiful tea strainer makes the tea time more enjoyable, don’t you think?

Lately, I’ve been dreaming about a plot of land to grow more herbal tea varieties … I may not have mentioned, but when we re-located to Prince Edward Island, I brought along all my herbs … dug up and saved in pots, strapped down on a rickety old trailer behind our family vehicle, my ‘tea garden’ travelled with me. Now it is resting under a winter blanket of snow, but soon, it will be growing again. I am so thankful that every herb made its way safely here and flourished in the past summer sun. My idea is to grow more herbal varieties and perhaps sell some tea blends online … Prince Edward Island tea blends … a tea garden … doesn’t that sound like a lovely way to spend the summer?

So, as these wild winter winds blow around me, I will be sorting through my jars of herbs and sipping some lovely soothing teas … won’t you join me?

Around the Home, Tea at Two on Tuesdays, Uncategorized, {DIY}

by Gigi

11 comments

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January 16, 2022 - 8:18 pm

Teresa @ Simply Farmhouse – Now that you mention it, I think I remembered that post! That sounds beautiful surrounded by wildflower! Aw, thank you for thinking of me. Stay Warm!

January 15, 2022 - 1:15 pm

Gigi – I have it separate from my vegetable garden – it’s own plot. I think I posted pictures before but I will check … I keep it separate as herbs spread and I don’t till my herbal tea garden. Yes, I love the idea of having a wee little table set up for tea drinking IN the tea garden. In fact, I did have that this past year – surrounded by a circle of wildflowers … it was pretty! I will remember you when I get my chocolate mint dried!

January 15, 2022 - 1:09 pm

Teresa @ Simply Farmhouse – Aw, thank you for responding. I thought it would be an area of herbs used in teas! Do you plant it in its very own spot? Or do you plant it in your main garden? I guess I have never heard anyone use the name tea garden before. I can only imagine a charming area call a tea garden, with a place to sit while enjoying tea from the little garden. I may had to add that to my back yard one day. I would love to try the chocolate mint it sounds delicious! Hugs to you sweet friend! Stay Warm!

January 14, 2022 - 5:59 am

Gigi – Alissa, I just buy it from the local hardware store. It is unscented and not kerosene – just regular lamp oil. I hope that helps.

January 14, 2022 - 5:59 am

Gigi – Lynnea – do you live near the ocean? I’m glad I’m not the only one who brings plants to new homes! 🙂 I also brought all my house plants, including my mother’s large Thanksgiving cactus.

January 14, 2022 - 4:39 am

Gigi – Teresa, it would mean the growing of herbs for tea – such as chaomomile, lemon balm, mint (so many varieties!), and bergamot. I wish I had done a better job at describing it at my last residence- but I am so glad to have brought all my herbs with me – this spring, they will flourish again and I will make sure to do a proper post on them. My favourite mint is chocolate mint! It’s delicious in a tea!

January 13, 2022 - 8:25 pm

Teresa @ Simply Farmhouse – Dear Gigi, what a lovely idea selling PEI teas. I have never heard of a tea garden before. Please, share a post on it once it begin to grow again. That sounds so interesting, a lot like a cottage garden! Stay warm! Hugs Teresa

January 12, 2022 - 6:16 pm

Lynnea – Dear Gigi,
I share your love for the winter season and find it a very comforting, restful time.
I enjoy seeing the snow-covered hills from our front window while being warm and cozy inside, sipping hot tea, as I am at this moment. 🙂
We have our lovely quail friends that take shelter underneath our front porch from those cold whipping winds you speak of. I can relate to that frightening feeling when our little home is hanging on tightly amidst the squealing, creaking sounds going on all around outside! We’ve lived here for many years and I’m grateful God has kept us safe and sound through them all.
I love how you brought your “tea garden” with you on your moving trip to your new home there. It reminded me of our long moving trips and how I would bring along our houseplants to give them a new home wherever we were. They were like part of the family! 🙂
That sounds like a combination of tasty goodness in your tea with the beets, apples, almonds, and cinnamon! Does the beet flavor come through or is it more for the lovely red color? I will enjoy learning more about your tea making (and possibly selling!) adventures, and hopefully sample some one day! 🙂
Thank you for the visit and all your lovely photos! Keep warm and cozy!
❤️Lynnea

January 11, 2022 - 2:46 pm

Christina – Prince Edward Island tea does sound delightful! It sounds like a great future venture for you and the family. Lovely tea cup.

January 9, 2022 - 6:58 am

Alissa Neal – Hi. Would love to know the name of the lamp fuel that you use. I have inherited my grandmother’s lamp and would love to start using it but am a little wary.

January 8, 2022 - 1:18 pm

Monica – Sounds lovely and delicious!! Enjoy your true winter, my dear friend!

Clear & Frosty

Sunday, December 19, 2021

“The night was clear and frosty, all ebony of shadow and silver of snowy slope;
big stars were shining over the silent fields; here and there the dark pointed first stood up
with snow powdering their branches and the wind whistling through them.”
–Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery

And just like that …

… the little world we live in is so prettily decorated for winter … with icing sugar trees and laneways filling with snowflakes … children cheer happily from the steamy kitchen windows, as do mothers, as the days of dry — or muddy – grounds are not as much fun as great mounds of fluffy, sparkling snow for families and little ones …

Let’s enjoy sledding, skating and beautiful walks through the frosty fields … we are patiently waiting for our pond to freeze for hours of winter skating. We were also told our bay will freeze and that will also provide a great skating surface – if we are brave enough to skate on the Atlantic!

Recently, we had a historical author visit our home. She has been studying older homes in our area and wanted to give us information on the history of our little home … what a delight it was to gather around the kitchen table, with tea, coffee and cookies, to hear the stories of the past …

She told us that the first wife and mother of this home was the daughter of an Ice Boat Captain. Apparently, in the winter months, the islanders would need to cross the bay — or futher– for various reasons – and therefore, an Ice Boat captain was hired. He was in charge of transporting the group of bundled up travellers across the bay, to Nova Scotia or New Brunswick during the winter months by use of a sled-boat. If there was ice, he would required to pull the boat across the frozen waters. When the ice gave way to the frigid ocean, he and his team were responsible for putting the sled back into the waters and continue the transportation. Much of the mail was transported this way …

What a brave, but chilling job! I cannot imagine how cold he must have been after his travels across the Atlantic frozen ocean. I think this proves that we have a much easier life here in our modern times…

{photos from ArteFacts PEI}

While we are not as brave as our historical figure, we certainly are going to make the most of our first winter here on Prince Edward Island. Let it snow …

P.S. A lovely winter song for you …

Around the Home, Uncategorized

by Gigi

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December 27, 2021 - 2:26 pm

Christina – How lovely! Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to you and your family. It is so beautiful in your area. The history lesson was good too. Thank you.

December 24, 2021 - 3:13 pm

Teresa @ Simply Farmhouse – Merry Christmas Gigi,What a beautiful family photo. Thank you, for sharing a little of your life with us, I look forward to it! May God Blessings be with you and yours!

December 20, 2021 - 10:24 am

Gigi – Lynnea, thank you for your encouragement! I hope you have a good week!

December 20, 2021 - 5:34 am

Gigi – Hi Laura, yes, it was wonderful to learn the history, even of the island itself. I find the older I get, the more I appreciate history! Regarding the family photo – yes, I use a timer and then run into the shot. It has worked for the past 20 years. Do you have a camera with a timer? I also just put the camera on a ladder, tractor, fence post, anything that can put it on the right height for our family. I hope you can get one! It’s always nice for a momma to have photos of her babies – no matter how old they are! xo

December 19, 2021 - 8:54 pm

Lynnea – Thank you, Gigi, for sharing all you do with us…your beautiful photos and stories of family, home, God’s creation, etc. I always love and am blessed visiting here.
That’s an amazing piece of history..…how dedicated the Ice Boat Captain was and what a great responsibility doing his job in all kinds of weather conditions!
Many blessings to you and your family!❤️

December 19, 2021 - 6:18 pm

Laura Jeanne – How wonderful that you were able to learn the fascinating history of your home, and – what a wonderful family portrait! I am curious Gillian, as you are a photographer did you take the photo yourself with a timer, or did you have someone else snap the photo? Either way, it’s gorgeous. I very badly need to get a photographer to take a group photo of my family – the last time we had a good one done was 10 years ago when Amy was a newborn! It’s certainly time for an update.

The Kitchen: A Sacred Place

Wednesday, December 8, 2021

A true home is one of the most sacred of places.
It is a sanctuary into which men flee from the world’s perils and alarms.
It is a resting-place to which at close of day the weary retire to gather new strength for the battle and toils of tomorrow.
It is the place where love learns its lessons, where life is schooled into discipline and strength, where character is molded.
Few things we can do in this world are so well worth doing as the making of a beautiful and happy home.
He who does this builds a sanctuary for God and opens a fountain of blessing for men.
Far more than we know, do the strength and beauty of our lives depend upon the home in which we dwell.
He who goes forth in the morning from a happy, loving, prayerful home,
into the world’s strife, temptation, struggle, and duty, is strong–inspired for noble and victorious living.
– J.R. Miller

Since moving to Prince Edward Island, earlier this year, our family has been very busy settling the homestead, animals and gardens outside. Now that the cozy, cool weather is settling in (a season near and dear to my heart!), we can focus a little bit more on the inside of our home. My kitchen has been bustling with sugar cookie baking, tea drinking and lots of homeschool-filled mornings. One friendly reader asked if I had a pantry – and I realized I should probably share a little about my kitchen.

Now, while I’d like to show before photos, I feel that is also rather disrepectful to the previous woman who ran this kitchen – she lived here for 40 years and I am sure she has beautiful memories from this home. She was a baker and a mom of a little girl … I know this cozy kitchen was well used. I have changed it to fit my style, however, and hopefully this is still in respect for previous full lives lived here within these walls.

Recently, a historian of Prince Edward Island came to talk to us about the history of our home – it seems as if it was built sometime around 1840. Perfect. I don’t think I could live in a modern home – 🙂 …

This morning, the light was a bit brighter than the usual December morning; therefore I took a few photos to share here. This is not a set up kitchen for photos – this is real living and things are not perfect. I would like to change the sink (I have found the most beautiful vintage sink but I’m not sure if it will fit), eventually, but in time …

I’m so thankful for the help my husband has given to change it ever so slightly to appease his wife’s notions …

I love to wash dishes while listening to music in my little pantry-room – my favourite music is old time crooners (such as Dean Martin and Bing Crosby), opera music, and big band music. I have put bird feeders outside this lovely little window and I am seeing so many seasonal birds … it’s very joyful.

and yes, with a thankful heart, I have a pantry! I am so grateful!

{dried teas for the winter months}

The Man of the House’s coffee station area … his favourite spot each morning …through this bigger window we can view our field …

This sweet cookstove is propane, not wood fired, but I still love it. We found it on a used site and my husband brought it back from Ontario. The stove door says “Cook’s Delight”. Isn’t that sweet? And what’s even better is the thermostat does not work – just like my last stove. It makes me feel right at home. 🙂
I was so happy to find such a cute stove for our home …

However … let me introduce you to our other stove … a German stove, called a Kachelofen … yes, it is a strange stove.
Yes, it is a strange colour (although it does not bother me anymore – since green IS my husband’s favourite colour, and he just LOVES this stove). At first, I was determined this should go; it did not suit my style … but we, as a family, have grown to love it and actually, I personally quite like the style now, knowing it is from the old German days! We have seen it twice in older movies and that made me a little interested in this stove (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Sound of Music). It is also very unique. I don’t think you can find many of these in the modern world… there is a side portion to the stove that is, what I would call, a warming drawer. We, in fact, have two of these stoves the house and I am able to cook in both stoves. So I am still able to cook with wood – that is a good thing!

It really cozies up the kitchen! You will always find little people — and big people – sitting right here, staying cozy and drying mittens, reading and living regular every day life …

{Do you spot Rip, the faithful Basset Hound, sleeping under the table? Also, note the flour on the flour by my Hoosier – I was in the process of making dough for sugar cookies …}

We brought the antique kitchen lamp with us – I just love this light.

All kitchens should have a walk in pantry!

Do you love to look through kitchens as much as I do? It can be such a cozy space. I’d love to see photos of your kitchen … if you are willing to share your sacred spot of cooking and preparing meals … we could do a kitchen share post …

In the meantime … I hope you are staying warm and cozy and creating lovely meals for your family! xo

If you have been afraid that your love of beautiful flowers and the flickering flame of the candle
is somehow less spiritual than living in starkness and ugliness,
remember that He who created you to be creative gave you the things with which to make beauty
and the sensitivity to appreciate and respond to His creation.
― Edith Schaeffer

Around the Home, Uncategorized

by Gigi

18 comments

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December 20, 2021 - 5:36 am

Gigi – Wow, that is so neat that your parents in law had a kachelofen. We have now noticed the stove design in the book ‘The Trap Family Singers’, in the Sound of Music movie and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!

December 19, 2021 - 8:33 pm

Lynnea – Such a lovely warm kitchen…all so very pretty and inviting! I also enjoy listening to Bing and Dean’s crooning! 🙂
My husband’s parents had a “kachelofen” built into their home in Germany many years ago. It surely made the atmosphere warm and cozy. We like yours and think it’s handsome! 🙂

December 19, 2021 - 5:13 pm

Gigi – Debby, it is an espresso maker!
Oh, and Rip would love a good ear scratch, to be sure!

December 15, 2021 - 12:31 pm

Christina – Oh my! It is lovely and reflects family and warmth very well. Thank you for sharing. My kitchen is…lived in and cozy. Maybe I will do a post on it and share as well. Thank you for inviting us into your home.

December 15, 2021 - 5:48 am

Gigi – Oh my, Monica… that is so sweet (especially coming from you!)… yes, tea at that table (or better yet – at the ocean) one day, Lord willing. xoxoxox

December 14, 2021 - 9:38 am

Monica – Gillian, I believe your kitchen is my favorite in the world. It’s even better than the last one. 🙂 I do think adding a table in the center just makes it so cozy. You’ve given me so much inspiration for when we remodel our kitchen. Go older, not modern (as if I would! Ha!) Lots of love to you and ONE DAY, I hope to be visiting you in your beautiful home! Xoxo!

December 13, 2021 - 4:24 pm

Debby in Kansas USA – Oh, be still my beating heart!!! Green is my favorite color and that beautiful stove made me gasp!! I don’t do that over *things* very often. Wow!!! Thank you so much for sharing! It all looks so cozy and wonderful. I wanted to ask about the copper contraption in the coffee area. I’ve never seen anything like it. It immediately reminded me of a mini still, like on Andy Griffith! Rip is so big! He’s just adorable. I wanna play with his ears.

December 13, 2021 - 4:55 am

Gigi – Kristal, hello! Thank you for dropping by! 🙂 Just so you know … I brought everything … 🙂 🙂 🙂 I didn’t get rid of any antiques! I have a curated home and it takes such a long time to find all such pieces, I did not want to start over, especially since Prince Edward Island is so small (less options). I have my icebox but have not sorted out where it will go …

December 13, 2021 - 2:36 am

Ruthie – Thankyou so much for sharing these lovely pictures of your kitchen. Whenever I come here to your blog, I leave feeling blessed and encouraged in my work as a mother and homemaker.

December 12, 2021 - 1:15 am

Kristal – Hi Gillian! I feel like it’s been so long since I’ve had a chance to “stop by”. What a beautiful and functional kitchen! I hope in the future maybe you’ll share some more of your new home. I’d also love to hear of the vintage pieces you used in your previous home that you brought along with you. I’ll admit, I was so curious what might make the move. Like your ice box perhaps? Enjoy this beautiful time with your family. Winter might be one of my favorite seasons for the warm and cozy inside feeling as well. ~Kristal

December 11, 2021 - 5:13 am

Gigi – Oh, Congratulations, Rebecca! I would definitely be asking for another Elmira cookstove if I did not have the German stoves, but since I can cook in those ovens with wood, I’m feeling okay with the lack of cookstove. (I will always love cooking with wood! So special!) I’d love to see a photo of your cookstove! I should mention, oops, this stove I have is not gas, but propane.
A virtual tour – I will try … it’s so hard to get rooms the way you actually want them. 🙂

December 11, 2021 - 2:57 am

Rebecca – Love your new kitchen and little gas stove! I recently got an Elmira wood cookstove installed in between my kitchen and dining room — love it so much! Eventually when we remodel our kitchen I’ll also have a gas range (right now we just have an electric stove). Please share more photos of your home! A virtual tour!

December 10, 2021 - 3:51 pm

Teresa @ Simply Farmhouse – Gigi, I so do agree with you, an older homes are so full of charm. There is a farmhouse near by us and it is setting empty. It was built in 1907 ~ Oh, how I would love to buy her. Visit my latest post on Life in this 1817 farmhouse. ((( Hugs))

December 10, 2021 - 3:23 pm

Gigi – Yes, I understand. Older homes do require a certain special upkeep … so much charm though!
I’ll await your kitchen post! 🙂

December 10, 2021 - 2:10 pm

Teresa @ Simply Farmhouse – Oh wow, What a beautiful kitchen and pantry. Thank you for sharing this, I have been thinking about you and your new home. Awaiting for post that reflects you! You have made this new home homey and filled with warmth and love. I love everything about it. Yes, lets do kitchen and pantry post. Watch my blog for a post about my kitchen and pantries soon. I would love to live in a old farmhouse once again, but my hubby doesn’t want the work that comes with them. I respect that! Hugs, sweet friends!

December 10, 2021 - 4:43 am

Gigi – Thank you, Laura. I love the brightness of the kitchen. It’s smaller than my last kitchen, but it does not seem to matter … I’ve always wanted a cozy round table in the middle (picture Anne of Green Gables kitchen). I would love to have an old fashioned hand pump for my sink faucet. Wouldn’t that be fun? Looking forward to your possible future visit! 😉 ((hugs)) Oh, and thanks for liking the German stove. It’s strange, I know, and some may not care for it, but it has an old world feel and I rather enjoy it!

December 9, 2021 - 11:36 pm

Laura Jeanne – Oh, wow! This kitchen is so beautiful. And I am in love with your German stove. It all looks so amazingly cozy. What a gift for creating beauty you have, Gillian – although obviously you had a lovely home to work with to begin with. Thank you so much for taking the time to create this post – I thoroughly enjoyed seeing your new kitchen up close!

December 9, 2021 - 6:24 pm

Sue – Gigi, how exciting to see these lovely photos of your new home/kitchen and pantry! I’ve been patiently waiting for these 😉 Everything is so beautiful, just as I imagined it would be. I love all the little touches you have given it to make it your own. And what a blessing to have such a lovely pantry space, so pretty and practical too! Thanks for sharing with us!

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