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A woman after my own heart.  Lace, Tasha Tudor, dogs..... LOL.  I have 3 of Tasha's books. There's a peace about them. No rushing around.  Like your posts.  No rushing, just living, simply.  I love the lace additives! I'm a sucker for lace (and scallops).  And bunnies!  I'm reading Beatrix Potter a Life in Nature. LOL!!!!!  I don't have grandkids yet, but I have saved the Lincoln Logs, Legos, blocks, etc and when they come they'll have a closet!

I have grandkids, and I keep cubbies on a shelf, filled with mostly second-hand toys and small puzzles.  I have bookshelves in the living room that hold second-hand children's books on the lower shelves, to encourage reading.  I have a child's desk set up with paper, crayons and colored pencils.  I renew the supplies during back to school sales.  I want my grandchildren to remember pleasant times here, with adults who are always happy to see them. 

The rabbits are cute.  We weren't trying to collect them or develop a theme, but we somehow ended up with three cats statuettes in our yard.  One is concrete, and two are resin.  One is sleeping, one sitting, and one is peering up at the trees through binoculars. 

I had a nest of wrens in a nesting box on the porch, but something, probably a snake, got them after they hatched out.  I was so sad, but that is the way nature works.  I hope your baby bird escapes such a fate!

I love lavender, but it has not done that well for me.  I might try the varieties you are growing.  Our zones are very similar, if not the same. 

I've sewn smaller curtains, but measuring and cutting long yardages for curtains is difficult for me.  I don't really have room to spread it out, or a cutting mat big enough for it.  When I try folding the material up for cutting, it never seems to end up quite straight on the cut edges.  How do you handle that?  Your curtains look nice!

Thanks for a wonderful post, as always. I love bunnies too! We have new neighbors behind us that have 3 bunnies for their children. 2 of them escape under the fence and come and enjoy our yard. We are very quiet around them and just go about our business when in the yard so they've come to feel safe with us. I love watching them hop around. 

We have friends that have a lavender farm near us and we are planning a visit soon. The fragrance is amazing. I don't have much luck growing them. Not sure why. So I enjoy their place.

Your topic of children in the house is interesting. Recently I was thinking of people's homes I liked when I was a child and why I liked them. Some were family and others were my parents' friends or a neighbor. The interesting thing is that they all had a few things in common, even though the homes, people and decor were different. It was the "feeling" I had when visiting them. They were all peaceful/calm, organized, uncluttered, clean and interesting.  They reflected the person's personality. They lived their true selves. Their homes were a sanctuary and a place to feel safe. (growing up our house was not a safe, peaceful place so I think I was drawn to places that were) I think that is what I want people (and children) to "feel" when they visit us.

Hi Donna, I loved your latest article.  .  I chuckled when I saw that you too name  your collected bunnies and sewing machine.  I had my grandchildren here for an overnight stay on Saturday.  We played Mastermind, put the fire on (it wasn’t really that cold...but it has been raining here for a month) so it made our home cosy.  I had lamb shanks cooking in the slow cooker and I made homemade apple pie and custard.  My granddaughter who is 14 said she loves it here because the world “No” doesn’t exist...well I’m not too sure if that is totally correct!  My favourite game with them is to ask them their super power...we get some delightful answers to that one...then they tell me mine.....not surprisingly ...it’s that I cook wonderful food.  It’s wonderful to make a loving “home” out of a house.  Sending a hug from subtropical Australia. 

GRANDMA DONNA WROTE,  Joan S, I am not sure I am the one to answer your question.  I have the same problems with space and laying out the fabric.  I have never been good at getting the grain right on fabric.  I simply wing it the best I can when I sew, I have always sewn like this.  I normally safety pin my edges together and hope it ends up the correct way and then trim off the ends if necessary.  These curtains I just made last week I used a bed sheet and I just do the best I can by laying it out over a bed I do have a cutting mat that I use under where I am cutting.  I have always wished I could have someone show me the correct way in person so they can correct me when I am doing it wrong because I learn best by doing it wrong first.  Anyone here that can answer please do so for Joan S and myself.  

Ann E, I have always wondered if you were a big fan of Anne of Green Gables?  I have always enjoyed, Beatrix Potter and Tasha Tudor

Tandi S, I wish I could go with you to the lavender farm. I am glad that you knew who were your safe places.  Sometimes we learn from these life experiences how we do not want to be.  You have turned into one of the sanctuary homes and you may never know how that may have affected another child.  We keep doing what we do to make a difference even if we never find out while we are here.  

GRANDMA DONNA WROTE, Carolyn F, your grandchildren will always have fond memories of their time with you.  Your place sounds like a very interesting and fun place to be.  I have been hearing about all the rain there and here we are almost in a drought again.  The sewing machine came with a name scratched in the wood and the date 1923 so that is why I call her Clara, I love having a piece of history with the piece of history. 

How I love it when I see your name in my Inbox Donna.

I know I'm in for a treat..a time of "visiting", encouragement and learning. 

I LOVE having the grandchildren visit or stay. Nothing else matters those days except their happiness. Lots of hugging and kissing takes place. Lots of words to uplift them and tell them how wonderful we think they are.

I'm sure we all feel the same about our precious grandchildren.

Karen NZ

My grandmother always kept a children's drawer.  I can still remember everything that was in it from 50 years ago.  Plus she always had cookies in the cookie jar and candy in the candy jar!  And absolutely enchanting attic with a big trunk of very old clothes with things like a top hat and a WW1 army uniform to explore.  It was a quiet, nurturing house where I felt safe.  We played cards, baked together, and she let me use her Singer featherweight machine to sew things (which I now have).  

My kids have just reached adulthood and no grandkids on the horizon yet but I have saved quite a collection of children's things for someday when they do come to visit (or maybe if other people visit with their kids).  

I enjoyed your views on what is pretty to children.  It seems as if I go to people's homes recently and they are all kind of shades of white and gray.  I was looking for curtains not so long ago and the ones in the store were only neutrals which I don't care for.  I now make my own curtains in pretty cotton prints with a nice sun blocking/insulating lining.  They make the house so much more cheerful and cozy. 

Gosh, it's been nearly 25 yrs. since we've had children in our lives.  No kids, no grands, etc.  For that matter, my only relative to speak of is my brother.  He has addiction issues and is near homeless some 1500 miles away.  For what it's worth, we're it.  It was never part of the plan.  I wanted 5-6 kids, but ???  

My mom had a large extended family so I was often with her when we went visiting.  I never needed an entertainment drawer because I invented my own fun.  One of my older relatives had the most beautiful lawn ever and spent hours out there doing cartwheels and such.  I was often a fairy flitting among my beautiful garden flowers.  If I was inside, nearly everyone had a set of encyclopedias and I would read them.  I'd often draw the flags from around the world.  Even with all the changes, hubs is still amazed at how I recognize so many flags!

So, I don't expect anyone will much remember me. I was the invisible relative that sent money on birthdays, grads, and Christmas.  Looking back, I wish I would've kept it and gone on an Alaskan cruise!!

I have very fond memories of my maternal grandparents and staying over at their cottage during the school holidays. The warm smell of the tomatoes growing in Grandad’s greenhouse, the cupboards full of preserves and fresh cakes & scones made by my Grandma, it seemed like heaven to me and instilled in me a wish to live the same way

No grandchildren yet but I aim to make the same kind of memories for any small visitors to our house, my now adult nieces and nephew still talk about camping overnight at Midsummer in our garden, and hot chocolate & crumpets for tea at Auntie Lainey’s house so hopefully I’ve made a start.

I have several moon gazing hares dotted around the place, one of my favourite animals.

Grandma Donna,  Hello! : )  I love this post  : ) .  Makes me think of my grandmother who was my primary caregiver for a number of years  : ) .  My nest is pretty much empty, hopefully one day I can have a children's drawer for grandbabies : ) .  I love your blog.  It feels like home : ) .  Thank you. God bless : )

Bunny-"They do move around the house as they wish"  : D  : D

                - Jill P

As much as you like your dear little rabbits, I find little mice ornaments to be fascinating. When my daughter was little, we loved reading the Brambly Hedge books by Jill Barklem. There seem to be quite a few of her characters (china - not real!) that can be found around our home. Maileg mice have also found their way into our bungalow.
We have four grandchildren. Finley (14) and Samuel (12) who live a couple of miles away and we see them often. As they’ve grown, Lego and Uno have been their favourite activities here at our home. I’ve also provided other games such as Ludo, Snakes & Ladders, etc. 

Our daughter lives 300 miles away in Wales and is married to a lovely man. They have Talitha (2 & 1/2) and Luke (1). We don’t see them anywhere near as much as I’d like because of the distance, but we keep in touch mainly through video calls. 
I’ve a collection of vintage children’s books which I’ve told myself are for visiting children to look at - but who am I kidding?! I just love books of all types! 
1/12 scale miniatures are a delight to me and I have a growing collection of room-boxes made out of storage cubes similar to IKEA Kallax. I’ve always been fascinated by miniatures. 
My daughter used to collect little toys from cereal boxes, Kinder eggs, Christmas crackers etc. She called them her bitty-bits. I have such a collection for little ones to sort through, group, talk about or just play with. They are in a box and don’t take up much room - a box of treasures for little ones to explore 

Oh! So bitter-seeet! c

… should say bitter-sweet! xx

Hi Gdonna,

I am in a bit of an odd position of preparing my house for a newborn daughter AND for the anticipation of grandchildren in the near future due to my oldest children being 19 and 16 years old. My step son and his fiance also asked me if I would watch their future children. I, of course, agreed. Lately I have been going to local Goodwills a lot. People must be spring cleaning because the Goodwills are loaded with almost new stuff in my area. In the last week I noticed a flood of preschool and early elementary school aged school supplies coming in....alphabet puzzles, abacus, rocking zebra, animal puzzles, books.... and I have been snatching it up as quick as possible.  Found 5 (if I remember right) Nancy Drew books (like new) for $3 each. I am working on collecting them all for my daughter. I am also collecting wooden toys as much as possible. I am avoiding plastic. Melissa and doug toys have been my favorite go to toys recently. I hope to get a little children's play kitchen set up for my daughter and get her some play cleaning supplies....maybe a baby doll... things to help her learn to love home life. But, by preparing for her, I'm preparing for my grandkids too. I found some beautiful pink, floral fabric at the Goodwill, that I want to make curtains out of for my daughter's bedroom.  Hopefully, she thinks it's pretty. I am very grateful to have a second chance at raising a child because I know so much more than I did with my oldest children and I am so looking forward to passing this information on to my daughter. Children can teach us so much on how to cherish and live life if we slow down and listen. I was just thinking I wished you'd do a post on how people raised children back in generations passed and then I find this post! Thank you!

brought me back to sights and smells at relatives homes. Sometimes I'll be working in the house and all of a sudden I can smell them. I told that to a friend and she said boy you must really be in tune with them because I only feel them. We have saved our sons toys for one day when we have grandkids. He's still a teenager, but he even says I'm going to save this foir my kids. :)