Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Cat with The Heart-Shaped Whisker


It's a very sweet image, isn't it? I makes me sleepy just looking at it and it's way too early for me to be thinking about going to bed. We had a very lovely day today with sun and the first blue sky I've seen in ages and very comfortable temperatures. I was so happy to turn off the A/C before retiring last night. See you tomorrow. G'night. via

Great Quote for the Disorganized | A .A. Milne

                                                                                                 I made this.
dis·or·gan·ized/disˈôrgəˌnīzd/
Adjective:
Not properly planned and controlled.
(of a person) Unable to plan one's activities or surroundings efficiently.


Listen to A. A. Milne himself read from Winnie-The-Pooh in 1929 on a gramophone recording. This video is delightfully illustrated with family photos and illustrations from the book. Click here if you are unable to view.

Woody Convertible? - YES


This is the only convertible I would ever consider owning. via

Rose Cottage in Chedworth Gloucestershire UK


It seems only fitting to follow a Beatrix Potter drawing with a Cotswold cottage. via

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Knitting Mouse | Beatrix Potter


I love discovering new drawings by Beatrix Potter that I've never seen before. This knitting mouse delights me. Signed lower right H.B.P. for Helen Beatrix Potter, her full name. via

My Next Kitchen


Wow. This is really all you need, isn't it? You would never know this free-standing cupboard was complete kitchen, would you? When it's closed it looks like this:

Rolling Garden Bench

Wheelbarrow bench, Abbey House Gardens, Malmesbury, Wiltshire. via

This is my favorite garden furniture design ever! Could anything be easier to move when you need to mow under it? I have a page bookmarked in an old gardening book with the following photo:

I blogged about it ages ago here. The photo still resides in my sidebar. I added the text to the photo to make this bench mine!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

My Bedroom of Choice for Tonight


It would be a nice place to bed down for tonight I think. I like the blue in the duvet cover but not the blue on the walls. The outside setting looks fabulous so I shan't complain. via

Perfect Reading Corner

This looks like a great place for reading and blogging, doesn't it? I might have to add a small bench beside the arm of the chaise but it's otherwise perfect. Agreed? via

Monday, May 28, 2012

Behind the Tall Hedge


It hurts me to look at this because it's almost too beautiful to be true. I don't think I could even dream about something this lovely. by Helena Bernáld Photography

Picnic on the Front Porch


Waiting for the parade to go by! I know it's a catalog photo but it's perfect for this Memorial Day porch picnic with watermelon. I love the painted flag from Pottery Barn.

Delightful Garden Shed

I love this tiny garden outbuilding made from salvaged materials, don't you? The arched gothic windows are fabulous. Happy Memorial Day. via

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Daisies are such delightful wildflowers.

They come up by themselves and require no care. I don't have enough yet to make a daisy chain. I took this photo yesterday on a walk through my field with Webster.

Vintage Memorial Day Postcard


How will you celebrate Memorial Day tomorrow? Parade, cookout, what? Kiss a veteran if you can. Be sure to honor those who serve and remember those who have passed on. Google Images

Can you see the face in this house?

Actually, it's all I can see. It's a happy house and it's smiling! Have a great day. via

Saturday, May 26, 2012

DISAPPEARING SUN | SO DISAPPOINTED


I hope you are having more luck with the sun than I am. I know it's still in the sky thanks to this iPhone capture on the bed in my guest room. It didn't last long and now it looks as if there's going to be another shower. Have a good Memorial Day Weekend no matter what the weather. 

Fabulous Colonial Kitchen for Today


I wouldn't change a thing except the name on the deed. It would be mine! via

Have You Planned Your Weekend Escape?


This elephant is planning his by measuring the jump. via photo by Judit Szabó

Friday, May 25, 2012

Wonderful Garden Path

Glorious Garden Paths -- Create a memorable walkway for your yard. See 19-photos from Better Homes and Gardens.

View from Farther Away


Here is a view of an earlier post from farther away during a moment of sun recently. I have 3 peony bushes and they are not all the same. So far only one variety is blooming. The watering cans keep Webster from breaking them. I have a whole vase full of broken stems at the kitchen sink that he broke while trying to take a shortcut.

Spring Flower Collage


I should have called this collage remembering sunshine! We can't seem to change the weather pattern we've been in all week. Can you believe it's Memorial Day weekend already? Have a good one. 

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Peony with Watering Can Protection

The watering cans make a great fence to keep the wonder dog from "watering" the peonies when I'm not looking. Enjoy your evening and I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight.

My Very Own Peony ! ! !

And my very own handwriting. I used to have such good penmanship. Must practice! It's not that easy writing with your finger on an iPad.

BEST BEDROOM VIEW

This has got to be the best view I've ever seen from a bed. I love that one of the floor-to-ceiling windows is actually a door to the patio. It's heavenly, isn't it? via

Tabitha Grazes without Getting Her Paws Wet


Tabitha has a morning routine she follows each day without fail. She goes outside with me when I take my mom her morning coffee and open the curtains on the sliding glass door. She loves to eat a bite or two of some tough grass that grows on the edge of the deck. She hates to get her paws wet from the morning dew or overnight rain so she hangs over.

She is giving me a silent message to leave this spot long the next time I mow. Maybe I will and maybe I won't. When it's short all over she is forced to touch the ground. She avoids all outdoor exercise as you can see from her round form. When we go for a walk to the way back I usually have to carry her down there so she has to walk back.
People are always asking about Tabitha. I usually have on my pajamas when we go through this early morning ritual but today I had on my jeans and my iPhone was in my pocket.

Puffy Protective Hen and Her Chicks


Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Portland Home of Jessica Helgerson

It's always interesting to see what an interior designer and her husband do when they restore their very own fixer-upper. I love the vintage stove in this delightful Portland kitchen. Click here and follow the arrows for a complete house tour. You'll be so glad you did.

A Picture to Sweeten Your Day

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Pinewold Cottage

A 1915 foursquare cedar-shingled cottage, nestles into a slope after its exquisite transformation by the Knickerbocker Group. I featured a front porch view of this cottage recently (shown below) and everyone loved it.

Click here to see more views of Pinewold inside and out. Use the arrow to scroll horizontally for the tour.

Another Awesome Flower Video


Click here if you are unable to view this video. View full-screen for the most impact. This video is especially stunning when viewed on the new iPad with its retina display. Flower photography by Magda Indigo.

Yellow Kitchen Love

 
 
 

This yummy yellow kitchen is in a guesthouse at Martha Stewart's farm in Bedford, New York. It seems to be an awful lot of kitchen for a guesthouse, doesn't it? I love every inch of it though and wouldn't change a thing except I would have Webster dog instead of the Chow. This is where Martha houses her collection of 19th century yellowware mixing bowls. Read more here.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Great Room with Neat Shelves

If you've been yearning for some built-in bookshelves but don't know where to start, these shelves would be a good alternative. I think they look very nice, don't you?  via

Peony in the Rain at My Cottage



The rain let up for a minute or two and I ran out front and snapped a few quick photos of my peony buds that are opening slowly. I hope the week isn't as bad as they are predicting with rain every day. I no sooner get ahead with my grass cutting than I'm way behind again. Oh well, what can you do? At least it's not hot yet.

 

Studio Flowers Video


Click here if you are unable to view the video.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

A Really Interesting Quote


What a great quote!

Peonies are Great Flowers for Cutting


Agreed? I am always amazed at how long peonies last in arrangements.
 

Back Then - DANDELION COTTAGE

I downloaded my first audio book yesterday and had a delightful time listening to Dandelion Cottage.
I never read this book as a young girl and I would have loved it back then. It's never too late to catch up, is it? The free app for iPhone and iPad is called Audiobooks -- The list of free books to download is wonderful. You can also read Dandelion Cottage online or on an eReader here.

440 East Arch, Marquette Michigan
Dandelion Cottage has historical significance for its association with a prize-winning Marquette (Michigan) author who made the house famous in her book of the same name. In 1904 local writer Caroll Watson Rankin wrote a popular children's story of four young girls who earned the right to occupy the cottage as a play house over the summer months for the rental price of ridding its yard of its dandelion crop. The cottage was constructed about 1880 and donated to Saint Paul's Episcopal Church by Marquette pioneer and philanthropist Peter White in 1888 as a rental property. The house was moved from its then-current location adjacent to the church on High Street to a site two hundred feet away on Arch Street. To avoid demolition of the disintegrating structure, then-mayor of Marquette, William Birch and his wife, Sally, agreed to purchase and move the cottage in order to maintain the noted structure's presence in the community. source

Real people still live in this delightful cottage. Read about them here: Back Then - mmnow.com

Dandelion Cottage by Caroll Watson Rankin -- Carroll Watson Rankin is the pen name of American author Caroline Clement Watson Rankin (1864–1945). She began writing the story one August day in 1903 when her young daughter Eleanor proclaimed she had read all the books in the world for little girls.

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Have a Rosey Weekend


Wildflowers at My Cottage


BUTTERCUPS GONE WILD

MULTIFLORA (love the tiny rosebuds)

Photographs in Photos | What a Great Idea


Dear Photograph---Thank you for reminding me that if I wait just a little longer the seasons will always change. found @ Dear Photograph a site that combines past and present.

Perfect Peonies


Mine have not bloomed yet and are still full of big round tight buds. A friend dropped these off for me yesterday because they were dragging the ground at her house. I love having fresh flowers in the house, don't you? Have a great weekend.