Library at Château de Groussay in France

{Click photo to enlarge}

The private library or bibliothéque of the Château de Groussay located in Montfort-l'Amaury, France. The Château was built in 1815 by the duchesse de Charest, a daughter of Louise Elisabeth de Croÿ-Havré, marquise de Tourzel, the governess of the royal enfants de France of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

The desk is especially wonderful, isn't it? I'd love to have a similar one with a much deeper horizontal working surface so I could pile up more books.

Strange Footprints in New Snow at The Cottage

I just returned from a walk with Webster and saw some footprints that look like perfect arrows all over my property. Wild turkey? I can't say for sure but they look as if they were made with a rolling branding iron. I thought at first a hunter was sending secret messages to another hunter but there are no human footprints anywhere except mine. They are left in a single line by each animal with foot dragging lines inbetween each perfect arrow. 

A single bird (or alien) leaves a print like this.

Lots of them in one spot. Help me please if you know what bird leaves such a distinct impression in the snow. Whatever it was it came very close to the house. Should I be scared? :-) These are my photos taken today.

Never mind. I just found out they are Pheasant tracks. I'm so excited. I've never seen a pheasant on my land before. See more on Google Images.

image by ©wikesgerald

Petunias Make the Best Hats

Mitza in the garden.

Just a quick post to make you smile. I'll never look at petunias again without thinking of animals wearing them as hats. [image by ©Dragan*]

Sewed All Day

I've been sewing off and on for the past two days and have used almost every sewing notion I own. Can you even remember the last time you used a sleeve board? I just finished altering some things to wear to an upcoming special event. Is there anything harder or more frustrating? I think not. It's so much easier to sew something from scratch than to take a finished garment apart and make it fit properly. I know, I know -- I could have taken the items to a tailor or dressmaker or even the cleaners and they would have done it for me. But I wanted to do it myself and I did. So happy.

White Kitchen with Black Accents

No color allowed in this spectacular kitchen. Only white dish towels and aprons, white enamel and black cast iron cookware, white dishes and white food. via Crush Cul de Sac.

Spectacular Library in Dublin

This is a wonderful sight, isn't it? I'm not sure whether it's a library or a bookstore and the location is a mystery. I could never climb that high on a ladder. Heights are just about the only thing I'm afraid of.

A reader just advised me this is the Library at Trinity College in Dublin. Thanks so much! 

Must Change Attitude

©Mary Engelbreit

I sent this darling image to a friend with a young daughter who cut her own hair. The beauty parlor "fixed" it into an Audrey Hepburn short cut and now she's growing it out. I love this style, don't you? The pouty face is perfect for this particular little girl as well. I'm off to an office meeting this morning. See you later.

Super Perigee Moon - Washington, DC

In this photo provided by NASA, the full moon is seen as it rises near the Lincoln Memorial, Saturday, March 19, 2011 in Washington. The full moon is called a "Super Perigee Moon" since it's at its closest to Earth in 2011. The last full moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993.
(AP Photo/NASA, Bill Ingalls)

DIY Sliding Barn Door Made from Recycled Fencing

We just can't get enough of these interior sliding barn doors, can we? I know I can't. Dana and Handy Hubby from House*Tweaking made one themselves from old fence boards. They show you how step by step in two blog posts starting with the old wood being transported home in the back of the car. The second part has line drawings with measurements. The photo above shows the end result. Very nice. Let me know if you make one. Part I and Part II and With Door Handles

My other blog posts about these sliding doors inside and outside.

Baobab Trees from The Little Prince

Baobab Trees

Now that I see what these trees truly look like I can see why Le Petit Prince was so worried about them. The Little Prince spent his days caring for his "planet", pulling out the baobab trees that were constantly trying to take root there. The trees would make his little planet turn to dust if they were not removed. Throughout the book he was taught to be patient and to do hard work to keep his "planet" in order.

The Little Prince

A Genuine Library, No Decorator Involved

It's wonderful, isn't it? Collecting antiquarian books is a great hobby and a great way to decorate a room.

The first full day of spring arrived at my house with 2" of snow. Boo!

W.P.A. Book Poster for March

In March Read the Books You've Always Meant To Read. 

Sounds good to me. This poster, and others like it, was created under the sponsorship of the WPA's Federal Art Project in the late 1930s to promote libraries and literacy. 

Vi Bakes Pie to Illustrate Pi is Wrong | Vi Hart Math Girl

I loved math in school through Algebra. After that I was lost. I passed Geometry somehow but never took Trig. The thing I remember most about Geometry was the circle thing. For 10 years of schooling I had been taught that a circle had 360 degrees and now they wanted me to prove it. My attitude was you've been telling me this for years and I believed you. Case closed.

Vi Hart is my new hero. She talks fast, has a wicked sense of humor, and I have no idea what she is talking about.  In this video she is telling us Pi is wrong via making a Pie. 

She's been written up in The New York Times and she has her own YouTube channel. 

She is a great doodler too. This video is my favorite with Infinity Elephants. Snakes and Graphs is fabulous too. Actually it could be my new favorite.

She has a website for teachers who want to show how cool math can be but the school doesn't allow YouTube in class. Go to vihart.com She's as cute as a button and she's a geek and a popular one at that. Do you love her now? Did you already know about her? Please pass this on to someone you know with kids that are struggling in math class because it can be fun. Especially if you sit next to someone like Vi Hart. Maybe this will be good for home schooling parents too.

A Spring Morning to Come

I wish I had some flowering trees to look forward to. I'll just have to enjoy them on the properties of others. A red bud would be nice.

How Do You Gift Wrap An Elephant?

Like this of course. Do you know any other way?

Webster Says: This Bed is Not Big Enough for Two Dogs

Webster got up and left after I took the first picture giving the whole thing to Piggie who goes home tomorrow. As soon as he found out he could take over Webster's bed, The Pig got up and went back to his own.

Reach for The Sky This Weekend

When I was a kid I used to love to swing and could go so high that the frame would leave the ground. Try to reach for the sky too this weekend. 

Perfect His and Her Bath | Betty Lou Phillips

Betty Lou Phillips has created a wonderful his and her bathroom in her own home. Monsieur and Madame monogrammed towels and mosaic on the floor to clarify who stands where.

Go get your own towels. HIS are in a wonderful shower shown in the complete article. The zinc tub, marble floors, walls, and window surrounds are fabulous.

An old medical cabinet was refurbished and is perfect in this bathroom for storing marked terry cloth bath linens. I have a similar one in my attic studio but there is no room for it in my bathroom. Read more...

Books by Betty Lou Phillips

This post should not in any way make you dislike what you have. I just wanted to show you something amazing to inspire you. Maybe you got an idea or two. Hope so!

Geranium

One of the geraniums I wintered over has started to bloom. How nice. I'll be putting them outside again in a month or so. They are pretty hardy and can stand some cold nights. Enjoy your weekend. Photo by me.

Cut Flowers for Your Table

I love the clear vase with interesting twigs in bloom showing through below the lip. This flower pot shape is nice too. It could do double duty as an ice bucket. via

A Frenchie Takes A Sun Bath

We just returned from a nice walk. It's still a little too chilly to sun yourself outside but the rug in front of the kitchen sink is perfect. Plus a piece of food might fall from the sky. A hungry dog is the best kitchen cleaner around. Piggie is like a Roomba, one of those little round robotic vacuum cleaners.

Happy Friday.