My Car is Fixed! and A Curtain Refresh

Yes, it's true. My car is truly fixed and it seems better than ever. My friend, the mechanic, said it was really four security systems and he could see why the dealer didn't want to get involved. He said he had only installed one system in his entire career but he has removed over 500. They eventually break down and removing is the only option. I had to get a new battery too. He said to keep driving my vehicle and see what happens. That was my plan too. 

Now about the curtain in my bathroom. It is directly across the hall from my guest room that has full length curtains in the same Lily of the Valley fabric. I previously had this curtain on a black rod with ball finials that covered the side woodwork. They were parted in the center and the black rod showed and the curtains hung straight down. 

I decided to redo the top casing so there would be a ruffle on top and to hang them from a tension rod this time. I wish I had made the casing for the rod a smidge bigger so adjusting the gathers would be easier. But it worked so I am not about to get out my seam ripper. 

I decided to pull them back and experimented with a grosgrain ribbon, twill tape and ended up with organza ribbon and I love the look.

*Note: I had the overhead light fixture on to brighten the room and it was a warm bulb that makes my Lancaster Whitewash walls look beige. This window gets the morning sun from behind and never any direct sunlight on the front of the fabric.

I love the look of a sheer ribbon that does not hide any of the design. I put a ring through the fabric and made a continuous loop with a stapler. The ring is at the end hanging on a decorative nail. The panels will be easy to close in the summer when the hot sun is blazing and I want to block it to keep the house cooler. All I have to do is unhook the ring and slip the ribbon loop down to the bottom hem and completely off and reverse the process to part the panels again when the sun is on the other side of the house. 

Being without a car has been a blessing in many ways because I have gotten so much great work done without the distraction of leaving the house. You know what I mean, when you leave and come back, you sometimes lose your momentum and it's hard to get back into the swing of things.

I will catch up on my errands tomorrow. xo

Clean Curtain in My Bedroom

You have all heard of selective hearing, right? Well, this is selective photography. What you can see looks perfect but in reality the bed is unmade and all my pillows are piled on the chair at the other window. My down comforter is usually folded accordion-style on this drop leaf table in case I get cold in the middle of the night. Anyway, I wanted to show you one clean and ironed curtain in my bedroom. I keep fiddling with the gathers trying to get them to hang just right. I was tempted to use my spray starch on them but I didn't. Right now, they are very soft to the touch and hopefully will develop a memory of the way I want them to look. They are on a tension rod inside the window casing.

I am so pleased with my domesticity lately but I have only dealt with the tip of the iceberg so far. There is still much to do. I have to assign myself certain tasks and try not to think about the big picture or I would surely go mad. The reflection you see on the right is my flatscreen TV on a pile of books so I can watch from my bed if I can manage to stay awake. 

Thank you all for your concern about my car. They will look at it on Monday. Have a great weekend. xo

Our Mothers Worked So Hard

Doesn't this vintage photo found Google Images make you love your mother more? Mine only had two children three years apart but I still marvel at all she did with no help. She kept our homes beautifully, sewed her clothes and mine too and she even sewed for my brother and my father. She cooked delicious and sometimes complicated food and we ate healthy meals. She always looked beautiful and I don't think we gave her the credit she so deserved. I was so proud to be her daughter and she did know that. This photo just struck a cord of how hard it must have been to hold it all together back in the day. 

I wish I hadn't been so lazy all summer long because it is really hard now. I should have taken my grandmother's advice.

She really did say this, I'm not making it up. I am playing catch up and have the feeling I will never get to the point of having every room cleaned from top to bottom the way she did. I have told you before that she devoted one week to each room for spring and fall cleaning. I just seem to jump around and do the same task in each room instead. Right now it's still windows and I'm almost finished.

Have a great weekend. Thank you for giving me the will to continue blogging. I am enjoying it again and will continue. Thanks for clicking on the ads in my sidebar too. xo

Pumpkin Pie Crusts for Fall

If you could ever find these little leaf and pumpkin cookie cutters, you could make these beautiful pies. Actually, after I typed the previous sentence, I searched and found them here. Pumpkin pie is my favorite because it isn't too sweet and has some nutritional value too. Get ready, the season is coming, ready or not.

I am feeling very smug and pleased with myself because I got rid of a lot of junk this week at annual trash day in town. I put it out several days early as did my neighbors, so people driving by could stop and take what they wanted and it worked! I searched my neighbor's pile too and discovered a 10-ton log splitter they were getting rid of. I immediately called a friend who helps me with big tasks and he came right over and got it. I guarded it while he was in transit. Luckily, he was nearby in his truck. Some things are just meant to be, right?

Thanks for stopping by. I have been disappointed in my blog lately and most days I have to force myself to post. My readership is way down and when Google discontinued Feedburner I lost about 3,000 followers. Instagram is so much easier to post and respond to comments as you know. But I'm hanging in there for my loyal few. xo

Socks for My Ironing Board in Attic

Don't laugh. I made a long stocking and two little socks for the legs of the ironing board in my attic. I used remnants from an old Fair Isle sweater vest that had holes in it. I tried leaving my ironing board up all the time but it was in the way. Leaning it against the wall was leaving marks that I was able to remove with the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Yesterday, I got the bright idea to make covers for the three legs. I made a stocking for the long leg and was able to turn the fabric inside out to hide the seams. The other two legs were too narrow so the seams of the short socks are on the outside, trimmed closely. It was a quick project with wonderful results. A friend gave me this sign since everybody always asks my advice for some reason. They know how grounded I am and they see the wise choices I have made for myself. I have it hanging here when the ironing board isn't being used. 

Here is another view of my attic workroom. The flat file is full of antique prints. I am still working up here and will post other views soon. We are having fall weather all week with no sun until Saturday. I need to bring in my house plants before it gets any cooler. It is noontime and the temperature is only 61° outside. I melted all last with the central air running night and day so I am not complaining about the abrupt weather change. I know we will have some more warmer days before fall sets in for good. I'm going to put the cover on my outside air conditioning unit though. I refuse to use it again until next year. Have a good Monday. xo

Old Barn Becomes A Modern Farmhouse

Photo by Northworks Architects + Planners
Click here and use the arrows for the complete tour. It is amazing. I hope your heatwave is over and you are enjoying the cooler weather. It is giving me the energy to complete some of the ongoing projects around my cottage. See you later. Enjoy your weekend. xo

New Curtains I Sewed for My Attic

What an adventure I had this week making curtains for my third floor home office/work room. This is where I have my sewing room and ironing board as well as two PC computers. One is an iMac and the other is an old Windows XP computer.

I moved my sewing machine next to the last window and I really like it here. I worked today rearranging the part of the room you see in the ten photos I am posting today. The rest of the room is is wreck but I will slowly get it just the way I want it.

This is a view showing one of the windows closed. I created a monster when I started this project. Right away I had to take out the screens and wash them in hot soapy water outside. Then I had to clean the windows inside and out. Thankfully, they are tilt windows so it wasn't hard at all.

This is a view to the way back.

This pic shows the white twill tape tie backs. In the winter when it's freezing outside I can remove and let the curtains hang shut so there won't be so much heat loss downstairs as the warm air rises and hits the cold window panes. If I'm sewing and need more natural light, I'll just tie back the ones beside my machine.

Here is a close up of the wonderful designer fabric. It is woven in a damask pattern and it's the same on the reverse side. I am so thrilled I found four panels of long draperies that I remade for my little windows. They were double lined too. One layer of white flannel for insulation and the white cotton lining material.

Here is a view of the wall behind my Singer. The TV on a vintage artist's stand was for sculpting and now my TV and DVD player use it. I don't have my cable working in the attic and I mostly listen to NPR up there. The baseboard heat is on this wall too for warmth if I sew when it's cold.

Another view. Are you bored yet? This shows my comfy chair pulled up to the machine.

This might be a repeat.

My trusty Singer I've had since about 1965 and it is still simply wonderful and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I had to have the bobbin winder repaired several years ago but otherwise, it has never had a problem. I had a cabinet for it at one time but I sold it to a friend long ago. It works fine on this makeshift stand that is easy to move around. I love my pin cushion with the clear plastic wrist strap. I have a red one too but the bracelet part broke and I've been using it with elastic that needs to be replaced. I found this blue one in a drawer this week and was so excited. It's better than my red one because it is filled with metal shavings that sharpen the pins every time you poke one in. It says made in Japan so it's very old. I always look at sewing supplies at house sales.

That's it for my this project that I started on Tuesday morning. My windows look so nice from outside too, just like the cozy cottage that it is. Enjoy the weekend. It was overcast all day and has just started to rain. xo

Greenhouse in a Walled Garden UK

An estate management firm publishes so many swoon-worthy photos of their work on Instagram. I love them all. Wouldn't you love to have a place like this to work and garden? It's like a giant adult sandbox. The greenhouse is the perfect size too. This is the kitchen garden on a large estate in Glouster.

More Peonies and A Field Mowing

Here are my ruffled white peonies open. They are my favorites because of their beauty and because they don't droop since the heads are so light. They close up on cloudy days and at night to protect their delicate blossoms. Peony season is the best, isn't it?

My friend with a tractor showed up unannounced late yesterday afternoon to mow my field and he ended up mowing my lawn too. Everything will green up and be uniform in no time. I didn't come inside again until almost eight o'clock when I took this photo. I still have to do some handwork here and there and I had to use my leaf blower in the front but that was fun. I am so glad to have this task behind me to maintain my field so trees don't grow back there. An unmowed field will become a forest in no time. 

I took this photo today at noon so show how nice my front lawn and garden are looking.

Today, it feels more like fall with an overcast sky and 63° at ten o'clock on Sunday morning with rain coming tomorrow. Tuesday will be filled with nothing but sunshine though and that makes me happy. Enjoy your Sunday. xo

House Plants Outside on Work Table

I found this primitive old work table on the side of the road quite late on the last day of the town's junk days for residents. I have had it for a couple of years or more. The top had some kind of covering and a million rusty nails. I honestly didn't know the front stretcher was in old blue paint too. The paint was what attracted me to it in the first place in a huge pile of discarded items, probably from a barn. Yesterday I removed the composite top and all the rusty nails and scrubbed it down with hot soapy water. I moved some of my house plants outside today and it is starting to get me excited about my balcony again. I washed it down yesterday with a deep cleaning deck wash in a bucket of hot water and swabbed it with a mop. It is looking almost new again in the hot sun this morning. The sun is continuing to bleach the embedded mildew. I shall stop obsessing about it now and maybe concentrate on a little inside cleaning. (Smile)

I adore my roadside finds and feel good about saving this table from the landfill, especially since today is EARTH DAY 2018. Happy Sunday. See you later. xo

Organizing Your Potting Shed

Whether you store your gardening items in its own potting shed or in your garage, as I do, you might get some ideas from this article. The few nice days we had this week sent me into a frenzy of pulling every weed in sight and more. Yesterday, I deep cleaned my Trex balcony floor with my hose on the jet setting to clean out all the fine debris from the cracks. After that I scrub brushed it by hand with a mixture of Dawn and bleach and it looks almost brand new. It was way too early in the season for this task but I wanted to take advantage of an 80° day. I might have to do it once more later but it will be much easier the second time around with just a mop. Have you been killing yourself outside too? 😅

Gorgeous London Photo

I wonder how long it took for so many red busses to cross the bridge while composing this gorgeous photo? via

I woke up to snow again this morning but it stopped in fewer than three hours and is melting quickly. I got in two full days of manual labor outside this week. I severely pruned (hacked down) the bushes that were obstructing my view of oncoming cars at the other end of my half-circular drive drive. I have wanted to do this for years and for some reason the mood struck me on Wednesday and Thursday. It felt so good to do some hard work in between snow storms and before the hot weather sets in. I took down some large weed trees too called Trees of Heaven. They spread like wildfire and are an invasive species from China and they grow very tall in one season, thus their name.

Enjoy your Friday. xo

Nor'easter #2 in 2 Weeks

OK. The worst is over. I took this photo this morning around 8:00 while making coffee on my gas stove. I am not sure how much power my coffee maker uses and I am running on my generator and want to be conservative. Today I shoveled a path to my car and finished cleaning it off and a path all around it. Tomorrow I will shovel one car width out to the street. I am parked very close to the road so it won't be too hard. I have been using this system all winter and it has worked well. Why plow the whole horseshoe driveway when all I need is a spot for my car? Every day for over a week upcoming is going to be in the 40s so there will be a slow melt and that's a good thing. I am so glad I am still able to do hard work and maintain my independence. It is a very satisfying feeling. 

I hope all of you are dealing with March Madness and its weather and haven't had anything too tragic happen to your house. It will soon be over and we can get to the business of picking up sticks and maybe seeing some spring bulbs emerge. xo

Cleaning My Refrigerator

I have been in a cleaning frenzy lately. My refrigerator was today's project and boy, did it ever need it. It took me a long time too. I started out this morning thinking I would just do a shelf or two and ended up doing the whole thing, and the two freezer drawers down below as well and it felt to good! Weekend before last, I tore my bedroom apart and cleaned it top to bottom. It must be something in my starts. I get this way every now and then and I hope it continues. I put this photo on Instagram today and it seems nobody likes to clean the refrigerator. It is one of those dreaded tasks and it's a pretty thankless job. 

You know what they say about housework: "It's something nobody notices until you don't do it." HaHa.

Cozy Snow Day at My Cottage

I am all set for a lovely snow day. My cottage is right on the line between 5"-8" of snow and 1"-4" of snow. I think we have about 2" so far but it's hard to tell because of the wind blowing sideways. I added another blanket to the top of my fireplace and I'm all set with a stack of DVDs from the library and a good book. I went grocery shopping yesterday too. I hope you are all safe and can stay indoors until it stops. That's my plan. I live on a county road and the snow plows come by really often. My roof got finished yesterday so I am all buttoned up and can report the blanket is working nicely to keep the heat in my room instead of up the chimney. Why didn't I think of this sooner? I actually hired a plumber to put in a gas line so I could get gas logs and have a fire anytime I wanted. But you know me, I have to research everything to the Nth Degree and I learned a lot. You have to install a clamp that keeps the damper open a little in case you forget to open the flue when you want a gas fire. Actually, it was highly advised to keep your flue open ALL the time if you have a constant pilot light burning. So I talked myself out of this notion and canceled the plumber. The money I saved was applied to my new roof which turned out to be a better investment. See you later. xo

My New Roof (Side View) + A Good DVD

Not wishing to bore you, but here's another view of my cottage showing my bedroom wing so you can see my many different roof levels. My bedroom is small, but not as tiny as this wing suggests as the room extends into the next level. I have been recharging my battery with mindless things like watching DVDs and old movies ever since my roofing crew left on Friday afternoon.

The following is a recommendation or a 2-disc set I really enjoyed.

11.22.63 (DVD)

On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy was killed, and the world changed. What if you could change it back? Based upon the bestselling novel by Stephen King, 11.22.63 is an epic thriller from J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Prods. James Franco stars as Jake Epping, a high school English teacher who, encouraged by his ailing friend (Chris Cooper) travels back in time to prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Delving into the darkness of the American dream, viewers are transported to the world of 1960s Texas as Jake explores the mystery surrounding the supposed gunman Lee Harvey Oswald, his family and associates. But Jake’s mission faces threats not only from Oswald, but from Sadie Dunhill, a beautiful librarian he falls in love with, and from the Past itself … which doesn’t want to be changed. And if the Past doesn’t want to be changed, it will push back…often violently.

Tonight I am looking forward to watching New Year's Eve Live on CNN with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen starting at 8:00. I love both of them and together they really are a great pair. I hope they survive the coldest year-end ever, since this celebration began at Times Square. 

New Roof for My Cottage

My roofers came on Wednesday in the bitter cold but it was their choice. I was skeptical at first but they work the year round so it was fine with me. They almost finished today and are coming back next week to complete the area where the man is working on the other side. I could not be more pleased. The crew was very hardworking and I like that. They came at 8:00 and left at 5:00 for three straight days. They did a first-class job too and I am so pleased. There is one section of my cottage to the left behind the picket fence that does not show the fifth level of my roofline. 

We had a bad wind and rain storm on the 5th anniversary of Superstorm Sandy in November and I had a leak in my roof that penetrated my plaster ceiling in the hallway outside my bedroom. My neighbor is a roofer and his men came over to try to locate the source. They had to come back a second time and told me my roof was in sorry condition due to improper installation. The guys that did it weren't roofers, but carpenters. I decided to replace it and agonized over roof shingles for about a month. I drove to see different jobs, went to new house open houses, watched YouTube videos, and finally made a decision. I am that way about almost everything. I do extensive homework first and am rarely disappointed with the final outcome. I am thrilled with the way my Certainteed, Grand Manor, Colonial Slate roof turned out. Click on the photo to enlarge. I am looking forward to the weekend to undecorate my house. See you tomorrow. xo

Quick Cleaning Tips

This probably isn't the right week to post these cleaning tips since Thanksgiving is on Thursday but who knows, they might come in handy. I had a friend in my youth who didn't have a dishwasher and she used to put her dirty dishes in the trunk of her car if someone called and was coming over unexpectedly. That tip is not on this list. via Pinterest

Turn Off Your Outdoor Faucet

Don't forget to turn off the water for your outdoor faucets and drain the line. It's going down to 19° at my house tonight. I winterized all my faucets a couple of days ago. We've been blessed with mild weather and today was a real shock to my system. Nesting season has arrived. google images

More Generator and A/C Photos

After taking these photos of my 14 year old air conditioning unit, I put a cover on it for the winter. As you all know, I don't use it daily in the summer, just on very hot days. But I'm glad I have it on those days. I love to sleep with my windows open whenever possible.

Here's the generator after some pruning and raking a couple of days ago. The black pipe above the gray piping is the new gas line.

More beautiful piping.

Now it looks like rain and I can take a breather before the four days of bright sunshine that start tomorrow. Sorry to have bored you with home maintenance photos but that's been my life lately. I went to an open house this morning but it wasn't worthy of any photos to show you. I see an afternoon movie in my future. xo