Happy New year to all. It has been far to long since I have posted on our blog, my apologies, it is a new year,with a new resolve. Heidi our sweet neighbor in Burton, has graciously offered to assist me in posting more often, she will take and post photos, and I can add the text.. sounds like a plan. Our web designer Christie also will be a part of this team,but as she lives miles away,her availability is less. These young talented women are a gift to me, and I appreciate all that they do helping Ludmil and I with our work.This first photos is a signature piece from Ludmil, followed by a Martin House… a bird condo. Ludmil only makes about 3 a yr. as they are time consuming, they make a wonderful focal point in the garden. For winter it adds an impressive detail.These birdhouses will be showcased at our spring shows in Houston, Urban Market Feb. 11/12 and some will head to Marburger in late March.. but I will post about that closer to the time. You are always welcome to drive by our place here in Burton to view these works, or to purchase if you simply fall in love at first site… if our cars are here we are “open”.

This amazing cabinet is one Ludmil built for me years ago to house my collection of wedding vases, as you see here. I took the vases to our first show here in Texas wanting to bring my best , a lady named Marcie bought several from me at that time, years later when our trip to France was being planned, the most amazing thing happened, Marcie, was referred to me by a friend to contact about renting her house in France while she was here in the U.S. when I contacted her, she told me the story of the purchased vases and how it started her love affair for them as well, soooo while we were in France this year I re-purchased a new collection, and here they are. I have decided to also sell the treasured cabinet. As those of you who know us, we are constantly changing our surroundings, swapping out this for that… it has wonderful trim that we bought on another trip years ago to France, and molding.. it’s a beauty, as all of Ludmils pieces are.  

The restored French aviary is such a stately piece….. it speaks for itself  , lots of detail, rebuilt to last a lifetime, a treasure for any ones home or garden. We had one client use an aviary in a sun room for finches, can you imagine waking up to the sound of those sweet chirps..ooh my favorite little collection, pink silk shoes, perfect little silk and cotton dresses for lasses..ribbons of all sizes, slips and cotton chemise’s all gathered in France at the brocante. Such pretties.. makes me smile.  Thank you for stopping by our blog, and for always supporting us no matter where we show up, California, Seattle, Ohio, Arkansas, and good ‘ole Texas…. I look forward always to seeing old friends and meeting new ones in our travels. We are so very blessed to do what we love, to find treasures all along the way, to travel. For Ludmil and I , this year has been one of the most enriching,exciting, fun, rewarding years of our life together, we have many to thank for that, if you are reading this you are one. till next time…. Much love and affection, Linda..

A precious doll dress under glass,again a token of friendship, a treasure of mine , this and the friends, Kaci Luanne,Angie.  but what ever is that #5… oh yes a sweet reminder of my 5 grandchildren, all reflected in a glitter mirror in my room for me to enjoy each day. there are special little cupboards here and there, so full that they have to house things on the outside, or is it that the things on the outside are just to dear to tuck inside. Yes that’s what it is, just too dear, like a little shadow box someone received for her 65th birthday, by dear friend Feliciacome sit awhile with me and I will show you all my treasures.we won’t worry about the time, it always passes too quickly when you are sharing it with friends.

this has been fun dear friends, we will do it again sometime.In the mean time as my Christie says, Peace &Grace , be yours today and always. Love Linda..p.s. thanks Christie…your the best!

one who speaks ever so softly, and another who is ever so talented. One who likes to play hide and go seek with a rabbit named Binkley, and one who helps me figure out all that I do not know about the world of computers.  Christie and Juliana were here yesterday and we had great fun, taking photos, eating lunch, watching the cows, giving the doves a bath. These are the things that make our lives rich and abundant, rich in laughter, rich in play, rich in love… I adore these two girls, one small and one tall.

Christie will be putting many photos on for you to see, and I will also come back and comment . In the mean time I will leave you with a photo that she showed me how to pull off my phone. Yes now supposedly I will be able to upload from my phone bear with me while I make this attempt… these photos are just ramdom. I also discovered I had been making videos, who knew… I was just pressing a button for all I knew. We had some great shots of dirt, feet, fingers, sky, you get the idea. This is little Julliana from her time here last summer, and she asked about this dress when she got here. Thank you both for coming to lunch and into my life. Love Linda

For those of you who check in now and again, here are some of my thoughts today.

I am having a growth spurt.. thank goodness it is not in my hips…. more in my soul, my heart.

Over 30 years ago I was counseled to learn to LET GO… I remember twisting in my chair, and saying to myself, ” what the hell is he talking about” more and more of the time now I know exactly what HE, was talking about….. let go of expectations, let go of judgements, let go of fear, let go of your children who are no longer children, they are adults. This has been a 30 year journey, and I am still on the same path. It is o.k. to be on the same path, it means you are still putting one foot in front of the other. You are still keeping on with keeping on. You are not out there wandering around looking for answers, you have them, you know them, you are the answer, it is simply a matter of applying what you know. True, really simple when you stop fighting your own knowingness.

I like this part of my journey, with it has come peace,and clarity. Years ago, I was described by a friend as being a rose, a new budding rose, with a tight perfect head, the rose opens and the petals unfold revealing their inside colors, some paler than others, some surprisingly intense, but all  beautiful ,  the rose  then fades and the petals fall to the ground,  preparing a soft place for you to walk.. What is left ,I asked  alarmed that , there would be nothing left of “the me”, the rose,  my friend said, ” the strong sturdy stem, the part that has always been there, the core of you, the strength, the fiberous substance of you, that can not be easily broken .

I have always reffered to that story, when I feel a little frightened, sad or alone… and it has always lifted my spirits,  I know myself to be strong. Much of my strength these past few months has come from my husband,and my friends, the people I consider my family. I have very little “blood” family, but I have an amazing extended family. If you are feeling a wee bit fragile, or blue…… please remember my ROSE story, as it applies to each of us.

Today I am happy, relaxed, and writing this first post of many to come, on my new Mac Book…. thank-you for checking in.

Peace and grace… as my sweet friend Christie closes her notes to me with…. borrowing that Christie.. it is perfect

Those of you that follow my blog, or who know me personally know that we were about to have our grandboys, and my son live with us.That has changed.
My son has his own journey, and his own challenges.

My lesson has been not to become an enabler.

Our hope is that he will choose to live near us, that we will be a support for he and the boys.

My other lesson has been, that Tough Love, does not become less painful for anyone.

I also know first hand the importance of boundaries,because when life presents you with painful decisions to make, if you have taken the time and effort to define where your boundaries lie, that is what will get you through those first moments, hours, or days, of despair, that knowingness of what you can live with, what you cannot, and what the outcome will bring when you put the boundary in place.

Thank-you all for your sweet, dear messages of love, Facebook, was a comfort to me last week, who knew??

Ludmil and I are rich beyond measure in so very many ways, and we are grateful.

On a lighter note, you will find us at the Houston Urban Market, May 14/15…. hope again that we see your smiling faces.. Love Linda

There are fine little details about this story,how it has all unfolded, in Dec. we had the good news/bad news, that our son’s family was splitting up, the details are not important,  they are personal,but you see I said good news/ bad news, and that is because this is a marriage that is not healthy in anyway, and while it is always sad to see a family break up, in this case it is what will serve all in a much more healthy way.

How did this news affect our life? For starters I will be living with FOUR MALE people, for such a girly , girl like me this will be a big change. I don’t do baseball, I don’t do fishing, I don’t do camping… I don’t do hiking…. and maybe that is O.K. for they will have their Dad.

Ludmil and I have never raised children together now we will be a part of raising a 7 & 10 year old, you have heard me say “it takes a village ” and now you see that is just what we will become, a village of sorts.

For many years Ludmil has really needed to have an assistant for his work, while Ludmil is  completing the design work, there are always details that can be finished by another person…. enter David, my son. He has many talents, and likes the work. So another wish granted.

For some time we have been discussing how to go forward with shows, as we age, now we will be bringing the young folks in, and while we do not want to break the “child labor” laws…. as time goes on hopefully this life will appeal to at least one member if not more , of this family and we will be able to continue with our Willow Nest journey for many years to come. Our grandson Jacob, is very creative , as a small boy always enjoyed coming to our shows in WA. many of our old friends will remember his presence at shows. Nicholas loves tools, and gardening, and likes to WORK…. and help…. right up Ludmils alley.

We are preparing their rooms, the lovely “romantic, pink, rooms ” you have seen on the pages of Romantic Country,(the summer issue, in case you want to take a peek.) will be de-pinked and made into , BOY , rooms, not quite sure how that will be, blue ticking comes to mind, but that is as far as I have come with that one.

All of this change, the move, the new shows, the new friends, the HEAT, have been embraced and welcome, but nothing compares to the excitement I feel to have my son, and his precious boys come live with us, work with us, travel down this road of life together. We are already planning a “Cousin Camp” at my daughters lake house, this will be year # 2… great fun, boating, swimming, all that camping and hiking stuff I mentioned… (you can find me on the porch swing, sipping cold iced coffee)

For all of you who have been a part of this amazing transformation, friends, family, customers, and some total strangers who have cheered us, encouraged us, helped us. You have been a part of all that we do , all that we are, and my heart thanks you. Love Linda

who's the fairest of them all

Much is happening here at Willow Nest  in the month of March.   I would not wish one person to miss out on the fun. Here is the low down…. March 6th.. 10:00 till 4:00 a Spring preview here in Burton.Please come!

March 11/12 The Dolly Johnson show in FT. Worth celebrating Texas’s 175th. birthday, great fun for all, a preview on FRI. night with live music… the works!

March 29th. opening day of Marburger…

This week Ludmil and I worked in the store and for the first time in a long time .As we looked around at our handiwork we both said “it looks like a store rather than a store room.”… we want to it  show off..Things look  so pretty in this old building , so much nicer in a room rather than a tent, or a field, or on the dirt…. as we so often find ourselves. This is not a complaint by any means, as we love doing the shows, the crowds , buzz of the other vendors ,all that goes with the life of shows. but ,as  we gazed around the room , we both felt, to bad no one gets to see this, and in the next breath, we said, jointly, lets do something about that! So we are having a March sale here in Burton, before the big Antiques week. We will be open for one day, Sunday, from 10 till 4:00 and hope that you might just choose to come spend a day in the country and see for yourself all that we have been busy creating for the Marburger show, and for another show we are as excited about, The Dolly Johnson Show in FT. Worth on the 11/12 of March.

Then of course we will be really busy getting ready for Marbuger after that and know we will see many of your smiling faces in our tent, tent A space a7… but it would be simply lovely to see you before that as well, either here in Burton or up in FT. Worth………. where many of our old friends from the days we did Canton will probably come.

Ludmil tied up our sweet peas today and we are attempting to access damage done to all the plants during the cold weather, much has not made it I am sad to report… but that is the nature of gardening.We were very lucky to not have any really big problems as some have suffered, broken pipes… things like that… just a few plants that could not tolerate the cold.

Ludmil has finished a beautiful smaller aviary , we have 10 bird houses to choose from, an arbor, French Beds, a full size iron bed, some special little smalls, and of course the little pretties that I create.Also selling some props and back drops, and the potting shed as usual is filled with markdowns… so there are about a million .. or almost good reasons to come shop!

We hope each of you are enjoying this amazing spring like weather, the winds are blowing tonight but it is a warm wind from the west and makes for a good sleep.  Night Night….

This is a small mirror embraced by a garland of faded paper pink roses……………………….. a gift from a new friend Patty,
made me smile on this cold winter day in Texas.  I have been thinking today of my friends, the ones I get to see often and the ones scattered all over the country..Cold days bring about thoughts that warm your heart, and mine is very warm indeed. Now my toes… not so much!

A pink basket of findings I am attaching to another project. Hope you enjoy.

The following shots are of my FRIENDSHIP cabinet, this cabinet Ludmil made and it houses all the special little gifts I have been gifted over the years.

The little shoe is from Lulu, the beaded chair from Mary, the LOVE pillow from Julie, the little heart on the box from Kay, the crepe paper framed boy, again Lulu.. see what I mean how very blessed I am in friendship…. and the photo credits are not mine they belong to my sweet lovely friend Christie. Each time she visits we run out of time ,are unable to say all that we wish to say to one another. She is young, I am much older, she has small children , I have grown children and grandchildren her childrens ages….we share many things, we are both very passionate, we always shed tears together, we are real friends, the only kind to have.. I adore her.   I am so very very blessed to share times, thoughts, feelings, stories.. and dreams, with many good friends, for that I am ever grateful.

This is my inspiration board, Christie thought you should have a peak …..enjoy the cold, soon it will be very very warm and that is all we will be talking about.. Thanks for coming to take a peek at Willow Nest, see you soon. Love Linda

With a new commitment to live our dreams,and we are this very moment in time, we simply laid aside all those the papers, all the discussion, and enjoyed a very sweet peaceful dinner with one another, went to bed early, to wake to another beautiful balmy winter day in Texas.

Today I plan on posting our show calender, and that’s all the planning I am doing this year, the rest of the time will be spent relishing the moment, and thanking the Universe for the continued beautiful life that I share with my husband, family and friends.If you are reading this, you are one of those people,Thank you for checking in. Love Linda