“Do you think we have enough rooster and chicken
stuff in this kitchen?” my husband asked when my new placemats arrived in the
mail.
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| Perfect for my country-style kitchen (even hubby agrees!) |
He made me think. When we first bought our little
farm, the country-style kitchen had a very cute border tile of farmyard poultry
that we loved. It seemed to be a good starting point for decorating the room.
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| The kitchen tiles that started it all |
Our friends certainly thought so. Our first rooster-themed things were
gifts—ornaments and dishtowels.
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| Italian, but purchased in San Francisco when the Romance Writers of America conference was there |
I enthusiastically picked up on the theme. I’m a
lover of gadgets and knick-knacks anyway, and love to bring back souvenirs of my
travels. So over the last few years the collection has grown.
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| The gorgeous girl in the middle was bought in Reno, Nevada when the RWA conference was held there, and came home in my hand luggage on the plane |
Two years ago, a house fire destroyed most of our
kitchen and severely smoke-damaged everything else in the cottage. Most of
those border tiles went, only a row around the chimney breast (we have an
old-fashioned wood stove in the kitchen) remained. Try as we could to find
those tiles to use in the rest of the kitchen, they couldn’t be replaced.
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| I use this cute timer often, I found her in Mendocino, California when I was doing location research |
Thankfully the other chicken-themed stuff remained. I like them even more
knowing they survived the fire.
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| Bowl from a flea market, eggs courtesy of our chickens |
The latest purchase is some beautiful placemats and
coasters, exactly what I want for my wooden table. They’re easy to clean and
look smart. I love them!
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| I didn't need it, I just thought it looked cute by the fireplace! |
I’m sharing some of my treasures here today, but
there are others. Too many? I don’t think so. My eye is too easily caught by a
rooster or two. (And yes, I am writing a story with a rooster in it!)
We have real chickens, too. Thirteen Isa Browns at
the moment who look wonderful in the yard and give us beautiful brown
eggs—perhaps my favorite chicken-themed items of all!
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| Meet Ginger, we rescued her from the jaws of a fox and my daughter nursed her back to health |
I have friends who collect owls, dolphins and cats.
My daughter loves anything with Audrey Hepburn on it. It makes gift-giving so
easy! What about you? Do you have a favorite theme for collecting? Anything
unusual? A theme you’ve grown tired of? Please leave a comment—I’d love to hear
about it!
Kandy Shepherd
writes fun, feel-good fiction.
Her new
contemporary women's fiction e-book, Reinventing Rose, is available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, and
other e-book retailers.
Kandy’s romances
include the Amazon bestseller The Castaway Bride, Something About Joe, and the award-winners Love is a Four-Legged Word and Home Is Where the Bark Is.
Watch out for her
first release from Harlequin Romance in 2014.
Visit Kandy at
her website
www.kandyshepherd.com
