Odds and Ends from The Last Week in July + More

 

Here's the latest Cheerful Cherub. It's very timely, isn't it? The artist was only 20 years old when she was hired to do this daily artwork and poem for the Chicago Sun Times. She had already been doing them for her own personal pleasure for a long time. She took her art portfolio to the newspaper and they weren't interest in anything she showed them. When she was packing up to leave several of these Cherubs fell to the floor. When the editor picked them up and looked at them he was charmed and hired her on the spot to continue them for the paper. 

I took this photo early Saturday when the morning dew was still on the leaves. Many if you left comments that you had never heard of Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis). Most of the other flowers have already shed their seeds and a small round green pod is left. In my reading I have learned these mature into a reddish rounded fruit that remain all winter and add interest to the plant. I'll keep you posted.

Mrs. Groundhog has three little ones this year and they are adorable.

I had a large tree that was overhanging the house cut down last year and have so enjoyed the weathervane on the stump. My property is badly overgrown due to all the rain we've had. I'm in the process of looking for someone with a large tractor to do some field mowing for me.

This was a big hit on my Instagram Story on 7/29. I can't remember any of my childhood phone numbers because we moved around too much. I have an 85 year old friend who can remember his though. He can also remember his high school locker combination and all sorts of other useless stuff but he cannot remember his cell phone number or ANY passwords. I made him a "business card" with his cell number, name and address, and email address. I put it behind his clear cell phone case. Now he just hands over his phone at doctor's offices, etc. when someone asks for any information. It has been so very handy for him. I have an address book for all of my passwords. I have a friend who could NOT remember her passcode to unlock her new iPhone. The only place it was written down was "in her phone". Apple locked her phone for 2 weeks before she could get it back. So it's very important to have a system for all the things we have to save to work and play on the Internet. 

Any time I add something to my weekly post you will get another email from "follow it". So open the email and scroll down for something new I've added.

Thanks for stopping by to see my weekly post. xo, Rosemary

Buttonbush for the Polinators and Milkweed Caterpillars and More!

This is the first year my Buttonbush has bloomed. I planted it three or four years ago from three bare rooted native plants the Land Trust was giving away. It wasn't my first choice but I got there late. A friend recommended this as it would attract bees and butterflies. I babied the "sticks" and it took a couple of years before they looked like an actual shrub. This is the first year and the bush got buds that finally bloomed and it's glorious. It turned out to be my favorite plant and I am so glad I was late to the event. I had never heard of Buttonbush and now it is thriving in my yard. 

There are only a couple of blooms in this photo but now it is absolutely covered with them.

I have been enjoying the monarch caterpillars on my milkweed plants too. They seem to grow overnight. This is a fat one.

I photographed this rabbit on Saturday morning happily eating weeds in my driveway. It froze and let me photograph it and didn't move until I started walking. Friends with vegetable gardens don't like them but they don't bother me and they are welcome to my weeds. We have had more rain this year that any summer I can remember so the weeds have really taken over. I'll get them hacked down and mowed eventually.

The above three images are from one of my favorite books, The Cheerful Cherub by Rebecca McCann. It was published in 1928 and includes 101 favorite posts by her in that appeared in The Chicago Sun Times newspaper. Her original drawings and little poems featured The Cheerful Cherub and his little dog. She was only twenty years old and wise beyond her years, right? I'm trying to catch you up on the three I have put on my Instagram. Enjoy!

I finished this book last weekend and liked it a lot. It's about the early 1940s in NYC when penicillin was new and in short supply. You could die from a cat scratch or a skinned knee if you got an infection. It reads like a historical novel and is full of facts that were unknown to me with a little romance thrown in too. 

Have a great week. 

xo, Rosemary

New Thrifted Bookcase for My Living Room

Don't you love this heavy iron bookcase I found recently? I thought I would hang it on a wall somewhere in my cottage but couldn't find a place plus it is very heavy and I would have had a hard time securing it to my plaster walls. Thankfully it was freestanding and fit perfectly on a tilt-top table in a corner formed by my fireplace. I Then I couldn't what to display on it until I remembered these leather bound books in my attic. They turned out to be perfect and I couldn't be happier. 

As I mentioned earlier, I am active once again on Instagram and you can follow my daily postings there. I'll try to post something on my blog every Sunday. 

https://www.instagram.com/contentinacottagerosemarybeck/

See you in a week. xo, Rosemary

I am posting again on INSTAGRAM

 https://www.instagram.com/contentinacottagerosemarybeck/

STAY IN TOUCH WITH ME ON A DAILY BASIS ON INSTAGRAM

click on the link below.

contentinacottagerosemarybeck

See you there. 

Many of you have already reconnected with me there.

xo, Rosemary

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2024

One of my favorite Jessie Willcox Smith images.

Cranberry muffins I made long ago when my mom was still 

with me. My favorite trivet is standing in the background.

I was up super early this morning on a rainy Thanksgiving Day. I think it will stop before my dinner with friends at 3:30 this afternoon.

I copied these images from some of my older posts about Thanksgiving HERE. Click on the link if you want a trip down memory lane. Enjoy!

xo, Rosemary

Summer Day When A Bear Visited My Cottage

 On June 10, 2024 I was in my bathroom brushing my teeth and happened to look out my window. I saw a big black blob moving in the far rear of my back yard and thought it was a bear. I grabbed my iPhone a ran out on my balcony and filmed it. At one point I almost dropped my phone when I moved closer to the edge to watch him go out of sight. Look closely when he gets near my bird house and you will see a bird sticking his head out the hole. He flew out and it didn't faze the young bear at all. I was unable to post this video because it is too long but I made screenshots.

Bear getting closer to my house having come from the "way back".

There was a bird in the box that had already flown out. Photo is farther down -- sorry it's out of order. 

Wondering what this box on a stick is?

Strolling past the birdbath.

This is out of order but look closely, there is a bird inside getting ready to fly out. The bear seemed very uninterested in harming anything. He is just a youngster out on his own just taking a walk.

After he passed my house he turned right and went into the deep woods.

This one is out of order too. It was just before the one above showing the corner of my balcony railing. I had just moved to the edge and he heard me but didn't know I was way above him. He never saw me. The flag is a survey stake showing my property line.

Finishing this post on Friday night at 8:45 pm. Have a great weekend. I don't like the way my posts are being emailed the next day instead when I post them but that's out of my control. 

Goodbye August! Why did you fly by so fast? xo

New Thrifted Artwork for My Bedroom

I purchased this framed poster several weeks ago on the third day of an estate sale. I couldn't believe my luck. I have always admired this artist and I have been living with a blank wall in my bedroom since 2004. It was very heavy (20 pounds) and I didn't get up the nerve to hang it until yesterday. I am beyond thrilled.

Here's a horizontal view showing how it lines up with my window. I got the placement right on the first try. Actual hanging it was a little tricky because the wire kept getting stuck on the hanger instead of the hook. After some tricky maneuvers I finally got it on the hook. I used to do custom framing and had a space in an antiques center where I hung my antique prints so I know how to measure the placement of hanging hooks.

Mine is, of course, a reproduction and that's fine with me. An original sold in 2007 at Christie's in London for 12,500 British pounds. Alphonse Mucha is the Czech artist, painter, illustrator and graphic artist living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period. This delightful  artwork was used as the cover for a promotional copy of a British literary magazine THE WEST END REVIEW in 1898. 

Thank you to those of you who have emailed me to see where I've been. It's nice to be missed. There are some things I'm supposed to be doing to my blog that I cannot figure out. I decided today to just keep doing what I know how and hope for the best. xo, Rosemary

Three Indoor Painted Tin Planters Thrifted for My Cottage

Painted and decorated tin planter #1 sits on top of my tin box on stand looking out my living room window. Could the fit be more perfect? I had to bring geraniums indoors again so I could enjoy the planter box right away. All of my blooming geraniums have been planted in outside urns and they look stunning.

Here's #2 (one of a pair). This one is residing on the left side of my sofa flanking my French doors that look out on my rear yard.

The mate #3 is on the right side of the sofa. All three are very French and two are pretty fancy but I think they look nice in my cottage and they cover my clay pots for a new look. They have liners so they won't leak water on the furniture. I filled them with gravel to elevate the pots.

Now you can see the whole arrangement in one photo. I hadn't planned on having any plants inside but then what would I have done with the planters? I couldn't possibly wait until cold weather! My new real estate office is near my favorite charity shop and we have office meetings every 2 weeks. I'm thrilled because it used to be a special trip to shop there and now I can go twice a month. 

Now that my geraniums are all planted in their summer homes I can concentrate on cutting my grass. I did part of the back but the front looks like a jungle. I have this problem every year. I should have started earlier but I didn't. But it always gets done eventually. I will post outside photos of the blooming geraniums soon. xo