the cottage
At last! There's a place in the world where you can leave your cares behind for awhile.
Think of this as a virtual visit to your Grandmother's house! If you're looking for peace and rest for your soul you'll find it here.
We live down the lane, in a little old cottage the color of rain. It's cozy inside, and often smells of cookies or warm apple pie. Use your imagination.. that's what we're all about. While you're here you can visit:
Our cottage is filled with laughter and fun.
And also filled with music - mostly the music of the late 1800's through the 1920's - those oldies we grew up singing, dancing, and listening to. 
There is a favorite theme song for each page. You can hear them in your media player by clicking on the little keyboard.
Our theme song Second Hand Rose plays here and in the parlor. This wonderful midi rendition was sequenced at Parlorsongs.com - a huge educational and thoroughly delightful source for music to fill anyone's home.
Nola plays in the kitchen and April Showers is the theme song for Bootsey's Picnic. Both Midis were sequenced especially for us.
People will forget what you said.
People will forget what you did.
But they will never forget how
you made them feel.
author unknown
Be like a postage stamp.
Stick to one thing until you get there.
author unknown
Tear Up Last Week's
Newspaper 
and
Make Some Papier-Mache`
Here's what you'll need:
1 cup white flour
2/3 cup water
Newspaper strips
(torn about 1 1/2 inches wide)
A hint - newspaper tears best from top to bottom. If you're not getting even strips easily - turn the paper around and tear from the other direction.
A small disposable container of some sort to use as the base for your project. A little cereal box, an empty plastic milk carton or soda bottle, a strong balloon that's partly inflated
Mix the flour and water in a good sized bowl. It should be about like thick glue when you've mixed it all up. If you want it to be thicker or thinner - add more flour or water a LITTLE bit at a time.
Put down a thick layer of newspaper to work on - so you won't make a mess on the table. Dip a strip of newspaper into the paste, gently pull it through your fingers to take off any extra paste. Now put it smoothly on the base for your project. Repeat with another strip and this time crisscross or overlap the first strip. Repeat again and again, until the base is completely covered in newspaper strips and the whole thing is about 1/4 inch thick. Set it aside to dry thoroughly.
When your project is dry you can decorate it with poster paints or hobby acrylic paints, bits of braid, buttons, lace, ribbon or anything that pleases you.
Keeping kids busy while the weather outside is frightful and dinner is "not quite ready" can be a real challenge. When faced with this dilemma... we've printed off several of the wonderful Paper Craft projects from Yamaha, and set up a kid's table with scissors and paste.
We chose projects simple enough to be completed in an hour or two, yet intricate enough to hold their interest.
If those projects are just too much for 'em you can always spend some time surfing Nana Ellen's Kid Safe, grandmother approved links - HERE
Established online 
November 18, 1996.
"Family ties are forged by heirlooms, steeped in sentiment, reminders of constancy amid the passage of time. Here we share some of our favorite things.. legacies of the heart, forever untarnished by time - keepsakes that embody not just beauty but memories of those we love." _Victoria, May 1990.
Things may be simple, quaint and more than a little old-fashioned here, but it's a peaceful, relaxing place to be. Children, young and old, almost always find special treasures or mysterious odds and ends to take back home with them. After all, everyone's the same age inside! Right? The stuff at in our cottage brings back warm memories of the hodgepodge of hugs, cookies and wonders from your very own grandmother's house. But, in case you had no such place to visit, well... we think it's about time you have one. Drop in any day – stay as long as you like.
To really have the most fun at Nana's you have to poke through each room... touching everything, exploring like a child. You never know what you might find! So... pick out a room (over in the left-hand menu) and come on in.
We want the time you spend with us to comfort your soul and bring a nostalgic smile to your heart.
Oh,
and come back whenever you need a hug, or a cookie, won't you?
Alright... we know... lots of you have your browser set to "accept no cookies", but these are the old-fashioned chocolate chip kind and we guarantee that while they may expand your waistline, they will have absolutely no effect on your 'puter
As with any trip to your Grandmother's House, looking at the place through 'rose-colored' glasses is usually a sure bet. We've been told our site is painfully drab compared with the modern designers. I guess it's like a good many other things in life... it's all in how you look at it!
Personally, I love the softly faded and slightly frayed comfort of real stuff. I hate the cheap plastic fakes our society has adopted as normal and calls beautiful.
Nowadays everybody's in a rush and we know sometimes things around here run about as fast as an old lady in goulashes. So if you don't have the time,
nor the inclination to wait around today, please, bookmark ourSite
Map Then,
come back some day when you have more time or more patience with the
old lady.
out to the undiscovered ends,
There's nothing worth the wear of winning,
But laughter and the love of friends."
Hilarie Belloc
We never have time to be bored at Nana's.
There's always something to do.
So. . . if it's raining and you have to stay indoors, or you're just tired of all your toys and games today, ask a grown up to help you with some of our favorite things to do. They sure make the "nothing to do blues" go away quick around here.
A secret for Grandmas and Moms: You can buy a small bottle of glycerin at almost any pharmacy. Keep it on hand for rainy days. Add a few basic items from the kitchen and you can produce hours worth of fun!. It sure beats listening to the kids sing the "but... there's nothing to do..." blues all day long.
And what I do, I understand."
Chinese Proverb
and Paint a Picture
Mix the vinegar and soda together in a little bowl; add the corn starch and glycerin when the soda stops foaming. Stir in the water a little at a time, until your paint seems about the right thickness. This makes about 1/4 cup of stuff. Divide it into three or four little jars (baby food jars are perfect) and add about a drop of food color to each one. We usually make red, yellow, blue and green. Now find some paper, a brush and have fun!
1 tablespoon of vinegar
(either white or cider is OK)
2 tablespoons of baking soda
1 tablespoon of corn starch
1/2 teaspoon Glycerin
1 teaspoon of water
2 drops of food coloring
One of my all time favorites is to pull out an old steamer trunk filled with outrageous clothes from decades past and let them 'play dress up'
Bubbles Make Your Own
Here's what you'll need: 1/2 liquid dishwashing detergent
1 cup water
2 drops food coloring
Mix all the stuff together in a jar with a tight cover. Make a bubble wand using some wire, or use a purchased bubble pipe or wand. Store your bubbles at room temperature when you're not using them.
and
Create
Critters 1/2 cup table salt
(not kosher or sea salt)
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup cornstarch
a few drops of food coloring in 3 or 4 colors
Mix the salt and hot water in a large pan. PLEASE - don't ever use the stove without a grown up to HELP you. OK? So.. ask your helper to bring the salt and water to a boil over high heat. Put the cold water in a small bowl and stir in the cornstarch. Add coloring now, if you want your clay to be red or green or yellow. We usually leave ours white and then paint our little critters with acrylic hobby paints. Now, add the cornstarch mixture to the boiling salt water and stir hard to keep it from lumping up. Continue cooking the clay over low heat until it becomes stiff.
After the cooked clay is stiff, carefully turn it out onto a bread board with a big spoon. Let it cool completely and then knead it until it gets smooth. Now it's ready to use. Or, you can wrap it up tightly in plastic and store it in an air tight container for a few days.
Your clay critters can be preserved by letting them air dry at room temperature for 3 or 4 days, or by baking them in the oven at 200 degrees F for about 2 hours. Remember, you promised not to use the stove without a grown up to help you.
To make Christmas tree decorations, roll out the dough about 1/4 inch thick, then use cookie cutters to make ornament shapes. Use a toothpick to make a hole at the top for a string or ribbon. Bake until dry and decorate any way you want.
Write a Play - then invite some friends over and Act it OUT!
Make Some Finger Paints 
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup water
3 tablespoons glycerin
a few drops of food coloring in assorted colors
Mix the flour and water in a good sized bowl. Divide the mixture equally into three or four smaller bowls. In each small bowl - stir constantly as you add 1 tablespoon glycerin and a drop or two of food coloring.
Put down a thick layer of newspaper to work on - so you won't make a mess on the table.
Set a dishpan or large bowl of water nearby to rinse off hands between colors. Have fun! Hint: Pictures of the Kid's hand prints are a favorite on the fridge at our house - cause then we can see how big they've grown. One year we even got a white sweat shirt with everyone's hand prints all over it in primary colors of acrylic hobby paint. We still love that one!
