Changes -- One is a Surprise, One is a Puzzlement, One is Practical

The Surprise

This morning, we awoke

to find these pansies which we had planted not that too long ago

To be huddling under a blanket of snow

And not just a dusting

But a real snow

We were glad we filled the feeders yesterday

For the back garden was snow covered

 As was the patio

About 4 inches we estimate

It's March

Snow falls on the prairie mainly in January

sometimes in February

rarely in December

(we always dream of a White Christmas -- sigh)

but hardly ever in March

and almost never the end of March!

It is beautiful

And the snow kept us inside today

Church was cancelled

And we lingered over breakfast

And the morning papers

And another cup of tea

The Puzzlement

Thursday, we found something in the back garden

This little guy

I immediately posted his picture on facebook

Because I was sure he was lost

But no one even commented on the post

I must admit he is working his way into our hearts

And Dolly likes him

He doesn't have a name

But I did buy him a collar!

And with the cold and snow

Snuggling on an afghan on the sofa seems to be the perfect thing to do!

Unlike the corgi, he does like the sofa!

The Practical

The top of the Chinese chest in the dining room was filled with blue and white bowls.

They've been there a long time

And are purely decorative

They serve no purpose and I really don't use them

They're ringed by part of my collection of silver napkin rings

And I do think they look nice but . . .

It is a flat surface and it would make for good storage

The blue and white bowls, alas, got relegated to the basement

And in their place the bigger pieces of silver that previously resided in the cabinet itself

Freeing up room for my Old Paris tea set

The two silver chafing dishes, the silver dome, my silver coffee urn and the silver epergne

And next to the cabinet is the old server

Which held some of the blue and white china

But

I felt that

I needed even more room in the Chinese cabinet

And decided in was the perfect place for storing more silver --

My Grandmother's teapot, the old Estate sale find teapot, a silver water pitcher I fell in love with and a chocolate pot

In the middle is the silver curate which I had stored under the sink

And was a real pain to get out and put back . . . and I did that 

several

times in the last month or so

I needed a much more accessible spot

And that was really why I decided to make some changes

A storage place for the curate

I'll have to polish a bit more often

because silver stored in light tarnishes much quicker

But that's okay

I really do like to polish silver!

And with the snow today and a new cookbook to peruse

Sunday lunch was chicken breasts poached in cream

Husband Jim pronounced it delicious!

The new cookbook -- The Canal House Volume 3 -- Winter and Spring

I'm already a big Canal House fan!

It's Monday and I'm sharing my changes with Susan at Between Naps On the Porch for Met Monday.   And I'm sharing my chicken dish with Yvonne at Stone Gable for What's On the Menu Monday