Coping With Depression

I have not wanted to admit this to myself, but have decided that it's time

that I did.  I have been depressed for the past couple of years.  I keep

telling myself that it will pass and that I will be happy again, but things 

have happened that I won't go into right now, that have prevented me

from making progress out of the darkness.  

I spent Monday evening, all day yesterday and today crying.  

Something happened that set me back once again and now I feel

that I am now farther behind in my recovery.  I feel as though

whenever things start to look up, someone says or does something 

that sends me right back into that dark hole.

I don't want to feel this way.  I have lots of reasons to be happy, yet

I'm not rebounding as I should.

I don't want to start taking drugs.  I never have and I never will.  I have 

been able to overcome tragedy in my life without the aid of pills and

have managed just fine.  But this time it seems that circumstances appear to

be working against me and I am struggling.

I am working on it, I really am.  Just be patient with me.

Love,

Susan and Bentley

A Big Announcement

I was working in my studio the other day and playing around with some

ideas, when I got the urge to create something new and different.  

If you are a regular visitor to my blog, then you know that I have been 

working on a dollhouse miniature nursery for the past couple of

months.  I am having so much fun putting it together and it dawned on

me that miniatures have become a really big passion for me.  I love

curating mini rooms and have started to make some of my own minis

too.  

Years ago, not long after I started this blog, I created a dollhouse

blog.  I was too busy at the time to keep it up, so it just

disappeared.  Now that I am so immersed in miniatures, I decided

it was time to revisit a blog devoted specifically to minis.

While I will be maintaining this blog ~ Ash Tree Cottage, on a

regular basis, my new blog will give me a chance to share ideas

and tips for dollhouse lovers, without boring my readers who

are not interested in minis.  So ….

Coming soon will be the new Ash Tree Cottage Dollhouse Minis

blog.  I will be showcasing others who love minis, providing

resources, and sharing tutorials on this new site.  

Last fall, when my blog was featured in The Dolls' House Magazine,

I realized that my mini curated rooms were catching the eye of 

other mini lovers and their feature encouraged me move forward.

I was so excited that I framed the feature article and it is sitting

next to my desk.

Oh and by the way ~ I just purchased the Country Living Cottage

Style book you see above.  I had to laugh when I looked at the 

cover more closely and realized that the background is very, very

much like my fabric that I inserted in the door of my chest ….

See what I mean?

For you non mini lovers, Ash Tree Cottage will continue 

to bring you my cottage style, gardening, potting shed updates

and recipes as usual.  The minis will have their own home.

As soon as the site has been completed, I will give y'all the

link.  Until then, I am joining:

Metamorphosis Monday

Tweak it Tuesday

The Scoop

Inspire Me

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Those Sexist Robotic Designers

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Have you seen the latest female robot from China?  She is very life like

and probably will fulfill many men's fantasies.  To me it's creepy, but it

apparently is the way of the future, so we will have to adapt.

I am jumping up onto my soap box to protest the sexist tendencies

of these male robotic engineers.  What I am seeing is that they seem to

be creating their dream girls who will do their bidding.  It is the return 

of the geisha.  

Well, what about us women?  Where are the female robotic 

engineers who will create robotic males who will bring us

happiness???  Where is that Mr Right robot who will say:

Where is that honey do list?  I will happily complete

all the projects you have planned.  You just sit back and

pin on Pinterest for a few hours while I take care of

everything.

Robotic engineers take note ~ I am putting in my order

for a robotic version of Mr Carson!

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This is my dream robot ~ dignified, cultured, able to make sure that
the Ash Tree Cottage household will be running in tip top shape!
He will make sure that we have a proper breakfast each morning.
He will understand the importance of afternoon tea.  Martini glasses
will be chilled and ready at 5pm each evening.

Of course he will require a staff to supervise, so you robotic
engineers better get cracking!  And may I suggest the first
item on your list ….

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Mrs Patmore of course!  I would feel so comfortable having
her in our kitchen.  In fact, Bentley and I would probably
spend a lot of time watching her prepare our meals and
chatting with her too.  And my hubby will be pleased to
have wonderful meals coming out of the kitchen each night.

Now, another request please.  David and I do not have
grandmothers anymore, nor does Bentley.  Therefore,
a grandmother figure will be an appropriate addition to
our little nest.  May I suggest the one and only, drumroll
please ….

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The Dowager Countess of course!  We would happily look forward
to her visits and relish in her quick and witty quips :-)

Our Ash Tree Cottage is now perfectly appointed ;-)

Have a fun Friday y'all!  It is sunny and beautiful

outside and Bentley and I will be working in the

garden around the potting shed.  Mr Carson, would

you be so kind as to remind us when it's time for tea?

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

My Ginger is Blooming!

When you walk through the breezeway and start on the little stone path

headed to the potting shed, you will walk through some very high

ginger.  These ginger plants are at least 8 feet tall and grow like 

weeds!  I just finished cutting off quite a bit of these plants a 

couple of weeks ago.  Today, after some very big thunder storms

and a nearby funnel cloud roared through our town, I was able

to get out and take photos of the new blossoms.  Aren't they

lovely?  I am so pleased.  The ginger is very happy again this 

spring after all of the rain.  The plants in the front yard are 

blooming too.  By the way, as far as I know, the funnel did not

touch down, just scared us.

Do you see the potting shed in the background?  This is a very

private area, separated from the rest of the backyard.  It's like

my very own secret garden :-)

These buds are so pretty and will probably open up more tomorrow

when the temps will be about 84 degrees, sunny and no rain.

The storm today kept me off the internet and that's why I am 

posting so late.  I had a plan to post earlier, but Mother Nature

had something else in mind.  We are all safe and sound, although

everything is a bit soggy.

I need to go check on my banana trees in another part of the yard.

I have a total of five of them this year.  Maybe we will have little

bananas, my neighbor does.  That would be a real treat, especially

if they arrive in time for me to show off my quick and easy

banana pudding recipe next Tuesday!

Thoughts of Home

Bentley is happy now.  He can explore his yard now that 

the dark clouds have passed.  He was sad looking out the 

window earlier when he saw all the rain.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Potting Shed and Cottage Garden Dreams

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I would love to be out working around my potting shed, but it is

very soggy out there now with more rain and a thunderstorm 

expected in a couple of hours.  So, I am looking for ideas, both

to enhance the cottage garden area I am developing around the shed,

and the interior too.

Look at this sweet garden.  I love it.  It has the soft and cozy feel 

I like.  I realize that I am somewhat limited in my area because of the

sub tropical climate, but I want to get as close as I can to this sort of

look.

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I know that I have shown you this shed before, it's one of my all time
favorites.  I could just move in and live here forever!

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Check out the interior of this shed!  Of all the sheds I have looked at,
I don't remember seeing this one before.  I can imagine how nice it
would be to lay out some garden sketches on this big table while
deciding what to plant next.

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I could paint mine all white like this one.  Hmmm…

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This is super cute.  Look how they added a birdhouse/gable.  Isn't that
just the sweetest idea?  I love it.  The hostas in the bird bath is a great
idea too.  I have one hosta planted in the little shade garden at the end of
the breezeway on the path to my shed.  Sadly, the snails are eating it!
I saw a video on YouTube about how you can grind up egg shells and
place them around the plants.  The snails can't get over them without getting
cut on the edges of the shells, so they stay away.  I know, sounds
mean, but what else can I do???  I am saving egg shells now.
Bentley ~ would you like a scrambled egg for lunch?  Bentley
will nod yes.  He loves scrambled eggs :-)

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I am planning on having a carpenter put in a window at the far end of the shed.
That's a western exposure, so there will be a lot of light and sunshine coming
into the shed.  I am trying to decide on the type of window to buy.
I would love a bay, but that might be a bit pricey.  I love these
casement windows too.

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Look at the interior of this she shed.  How cute is this???

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My head is spinning with all these cute ideas!

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I have an old wing chair that I could put out there.  I am going
to need a cozy place to sit while paging through gardening
books, don't you think?  It's big enough for me to share with
Bentley when he's not chasing squirrels or visiting Harvey
the Multi-Poo through the neighbor's fence :-)

I can't decide which is more fun ~ decorating with dollhouse miniatures,
or decorating a potting shed.  Love them both!

Praying that Houston does not get any more rain today!!

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Pop Up Treats on Tuesday

I am not a big dessert eater, not because I don't like desserts, I think

it's too easy a way to add on calories.  So, I only serve them once 

in a while.  Lately, my hubby has been requesting desserts, so I

have had to think of ways to have a dessert treat, without the left

overs of a pie or cake.  And … I decided to share some of these

dessert creations with you.  I am calling them ~

"Pop Up Desserts" …

because they are in the kitchen for a limited time only;-)

Therefore, I will be having Pop Up Treats on Tuesday for

a couple of weeks to give you some ideas too.

Today's pop up treat is a throw back based on my Mom's

crepe recipe.  Mom often made dessert crepes for dinner parties.

She would spend an afternoon making lots of thin crepes and

then freezing them so that she always had a quick go to 

dessert for company.  She made the old standard with the

orange sauce and flamed them.  Sometimes she filled them with

fruit and sprinkled with powdered sugar.  They were always

delicious.  

My version is to fold the crepe over, drizzle with chocolate sauce,

sprinkle with almonds, and top with whipped cream.  I did taste

test it, and it's yummy.  

Mom's Crepe Recipe:

1/2 cup flour

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

2 teaspoons melted butter

Beat all ingredients with a whisk until smooth. 

Then lightly butter a 8" non-stick pan with a pat of butter,

cook till hot and bubbly.  Pour about 1/4 cup batter into pan

and tilt to coat the bottom.  Cook until bottom of crepe is

light brown and flip to cook other side.  You can stack the

crepes as you make them and cover with a tea towel to

keep them moist.  Makes about 4 to 6 crepes.

Next Tuesday  I will share my individual banana pudding

cups.  My hubby loves them!

Wow Us Wednesday

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

Ash Tree Cottage Memories

The skies have been so dark here the past couple of days and

even darker this morning.  I decided there was very little chance 

for taking any good pictures in such low light, so I decided to 

raid my albums for some photos from the past instead.

Before I start bringing up memories, I just want to thank

God for sparing our little city from the violent and scary storms

that were originally meant for us.  We had so many warnings of 

severe thunderstorms and heavy rains, but we were spared when

those storms went to the north of us and headed into Houston.

Poor Houston is suffering from severe flooding today with more

rain on the way, so please pray for those in the metro Houston

area.  We are not out of the woods yet, as the skies are getting

darker and darker here as I type, but  I am on my laptop, so we can

proceed with the memories without the worry of having my
desktop Mac receiving a power surge.

So many things have changed in my life since I first began
this blog.  I was still living in Idaho.  My parents, my aunt,
and my mother-in-law, were still alive.  My husband's cousin
Jim was still alive before he was brutally murdered in his
own home.  For those who don't know, or remember this
tragic murder, you can read about it here.  The very last thing
anyone ever suspects is for a man of the cloth, a servant of
God and a loving family man to be murdered in his own home
by an intruder.  Life was so different for us before all the losses.

My new blog gave me another way to display my creative nature.
It was fun to create new posts each week and the lives of my husband
and Bentley changed with all the new activity around our cottage.

My camera was always in my pocket or my purse, ready to capture
any shot that seemed blog worthy.  Of course, Bentley was always
the perfect little model :-)

He's always been a big ham!

I set up vignettes and took photos in the garden, in the house,
in antique and consignment shops.  The world is a stage and I took
advantage of every prop.

And throughout this journey I met other bloggers, and blog readers
from all over this country and around the globe.

Most importantly ~ I made great friends!  Friends

who have helped me get through the deaths of five

family members.  Took the time to listen and keep me

company on our long move from Idaho to Texas.

Friends who watched my unpack and get settled in our

new home.  Friends who kept me grounded during all

the upheavals.  For that, I will be forever grateful.

Blogging has encouraged me to be creative.

It has pushed me to not only be more observant of the world around

me, but to also dig into the depths of my soul.  It's been a wonderful

journey and I appreciate all of you who have taken this path with me.

I am looking forward to the future and let's see where this little

cottage blog takes us next.  Right Bentley?

Thunder is in the distance,  the skies are dark and laden with

rain, but I see a sunny road ahead.

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

My Bottle Brush Shrubs

I have never seen my Bottle Brush shrubs as full as they are this

spring.  I was not familiar with them until we moved back to 

Texas.  They were planted in a garden patch at the back of 

one wing of the house by the previous owner, and they are right
under one of the windows of the master bedroom.

The bush originated inAustralia and does well in warm climates.  It stays green all 

year and will thrive in drought conditions, but if it receives regular waterings,

it will bring forth these unique blooms in spring.

Isn't nature fascinating?

Have a wonderful Friday and enjoy the start of another
weekend.

Big Texas Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Tattered, Chippy and Loved

Just a few soft and mellow images for Wednesday.

Thoughts of Home

Home Sweet Home

Vintage Charm

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley

New Additions in the Miniature Nusery

I have added a few new things to the miniature nursery.  There is some

new wall art, an adorable baby afghan, a little rug and a dollhouse for 

the dollhouse ;-)

There is a new dresser and lamp, a changing table and stuffed giraffe.  The

little quilt on the wall is one I made years ago.

Here is what I have so far.  The are more additions to come.  I am

having so much fun with this!  

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley