Showing posts with label My Cottage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Cottage. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

Looking Back: A Dozen Photos

My grandfather clock. My pantry with Dutch door closed. An early sundial on the counter before I had a microwave there. The outlet behind it was broken and I finally had it fixed when I needed an electrician for a more pressing repair.


An amazing winter golden hour. Photo was taken from the balcony off my living room.


Footprints in the snow. I walked halfway down my property a cold winter's day and these were the first prints I encountered.


One of my cardinals.


Bluebirds are my favorites. They love this corner of my balcony railing.


Geraniums on the lower level deck next to the sliding glass doors.


A favorite photo of my kitchen showing my tongue and groove ceiling.

The wreath on my front door last year photographed from inside.

A lovely notecard with a real shell on it.

My favorite photo of my cottage after it was painted summer 2022.


A nook in my kitchen.

One of the first photos I ever took in my kitchen.

I hope you enjoyed my trip down memory lane with old photos you have probably already seen. I had a great Thanksgiving and hope you did too. My new eyes are just wonderful after my cataract surgery. It will be three weeks on Thursday since I had my rught eye done and a month since the left one. I was a little concerned about the "floaters" in my right eye but they went away after two weeks. I couldn't be more pleased.
xo

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Inside My Cottage -- 4 Weekend Photos

Another view of this wall with the blue and white platter hung very recently and I am enjoying it so much there. 

It's been a wild November for me so far. I had cataract surgery! My left eye was done on 11/2 and my right eye on 11/9 and both were very successful and I am thrilled with the outcome. Of course it's only been two days since my right eye was done and the new lens is still settling in but it's doing nicely. So many people I know have decided this was the year to finally have their eyes done and I'm glad I did too. 


I have had this clear glass rabbit candy container on this windowsill for ages. His head lifts off and I use it for my small binder clips. I change the way he's looking every time I get out a clip while doing paperwork at my desk in the pantry office. He always makes me smile. The full-bodied black cat featured recently also lives in this window.


The trees are nearly bare in this kitchen window to the right of my stove overlooking my leaf-covered driveway.


Another side window in my kitchen showing a fall late afternoon sky. I took a walk outside to get some exercise and looped around my property twice. No heavy lifting, no stooping, etc. and I'm trying to be careful so my eyes will continue healing nicely. Have a great rest of the weekend. xo
 

Sunday, November 5, 2023

So Many Leaves


This is a photo of the end of my late afternoon walk on Saturday (yesterday). I had a wonderful time crunching through the leaves. When we get some wind they will blow away. I woke up early this morning and the extra hour of sleep was nice. The sun was already up and that was nice. So far, so good with Daylight Savings Time. Have a great Sunday and you might want to rethink raking the leaves.


I absolutely love seeing the sun shining through my geranium leaves in the morning. All of my indoor plants are thriving because I brought them in early. They actually didn't love being out on my balcony all summer. It was just too hot out there so next year I am going to relocate them to the front where they will just get the late afternoon sun. xo

Friday, October 27, 2023

Full Size Tin Cat Silhouette in My Window


I promised Tasha T I would post my other tin cat silouette with marble eyes. She looks out of my office pantry front-facing window. She's ready to pounce but no bird is in danger. She's especially nice this time of year with the beautiful fall leaves in the background. My red begonias are still going strong. We had our first killing frost on Tuesday and my neighbior's mums are already dead. Begonias don't care though. I wonder how much longer they will last? Yesterday it was in the high 70°s and I had my house painters come over do do an intense final mowing. I had done the front and back to the barn/garage's back edge. They did the rest all the way to the way back and everything looks lovely.


There is a lot more of the "way back" behind me in this photo but you get the idea of all the mowing and weed whacking that went on yesterday. I am thrilled. I am getting stuff done without waiting until the last minute this year and it feels so good.

Posting Friday 10/27/23 10:34 am

xo

Saturday, July 1, 2023

July First Evening Photos

Two tiny geranium cuttings I just pushed in the dirt of this hanging basket and they are both blooming. Geraniums are so easy.

The begonias my friend gave me are lovely.

An overview of the bed to the left of my walk. The peonies are finished but the greenery in the foreground is still nice. The same for the lilies of the valley that are my main groundcover to the left all the way back.

Mainly pansies and a few begonias mixed in. I pinched the pansies daily. My mother always said the more you pinch them the more they will grow. And she was right.

I started some ferns in this corner and they should spread over time. The impatients that were a give are doing well too. 

The hanging basket with the tiny geranium cuttings.

An overview of this corner of my world.

Hope everyone has a great long July 4th weekend.
See you again soon, I promise.
xo

Click any photo to enlarge.

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Scenes around the Cottage 6PM Walk

Base of my faux bois birdbath with mini daffs.


Late afternoon shadows.


Path down to the way back is turning green.


Bed of daffodils I can see from my kitchen window.

It got up to 71° today and really felt like Spring.

xo

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Hunt Board & Art Wall in My Kitchen's Nook under Attic Stairs

I am standing in front of the door that opens into my kitchen off the vestibule. The Dutch door for my office/pantry is behind me. You can see a corner of my farm table in lower right corner. The shiny thing on right is my refrigerator. This little nook is another favorite area in my cottage that evolved over the years. The sideboard was my mother's and was in her apartment downstairs until she died in 2012. We bought it together at an estate sale in Madison,NJ. We toured the sale, I bought a few things, and when we got in the car I asked her if she wanted the sideboard for her room with the sliding glass door and she immediately said YES. We rushed back and bought it ($100.00) just in the nick of time before another person said she wanted it but we were already in negotiations and had paid!!!!!! My mother used it in her sitting room and loved it. I love it too! It's just the right scale for this nook with a low ceiling. The back wall is clad in old wood that was attic flooring salvaged when the roof of my kitchen was raised during the renovation. The lamps with blue silk shades came from a local estate sale. 

I have been gathering things all week for a Girl Scout Textile Drive at a nearby elementary school. I cleaned out stored linens and blankets and used clothing. The girls were young and very enthusiastic about the volume I collected. They were going to sort for the homeless and donate the rest for textile bundling to be picked up and made into rag rugs. I hope they do this again next year. Such a worthy cause and so easy to drop off. This is my favorite kind of recycling and donating.

Have a great weekend. xo

Thursday, March 9, 2023

My Entrance Vestibule

My vestibule, photographed with the wide-angle lens. The front door is on the left. Door opening into my kitchen is on the right. Behind me is a coat closet with door. Each wall flanking closet has coat hooks and there is a tray for wet boots on the floor with a bootjack for easy removal. This area was a covered porch when I bought my cottage and the front door was on the wall where the chair is located. I could never have gotten my furniture in the house without my current setup. The outside of my cottage looks as if it has always been this way. That's always a good sign of a thoughtful restoration. I'm meeting two girlfriends later for an early dinner.
xo

Sunday, March 5, 2023

Good Morning Sun

Sunday morning coffee time in front of the tv watching Antiques Roadshow from Palm Springs on PBS. I haven's raised my other shade yet.

My view from the front window looking at my across-the-street neighbor's red barn. The blue sky and the bright morning sun are so very welcoming.
I hope your Sunday is lovely too.

xo

Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Snow Day on Tuesday

Outside my front pantry/home office window.


View from the window over my kitchen sink.


View from my front vestibule door. Walk not shoveled.


Feeding frenzy. 
How many times will I have to refill the feeder?


Bought navel oranges yesteday.
I ate the missing one in middle tier.
It was delicious.


View from my living room overlooking balcony and rear property.

It's not bad at all. I didn't even move my car to the front. I have nowhere to go and did my grocery shopping yesterday. By noon, the temperature will be above freezing and the melting will begin. The snow is very beautiful from the inside looking out. My road is black and cars are whizzing by but I am staying put until Mother Nature helps me out with her snow melting capability. Stay snug. 
xo

Thursday, February 16, 2023

Me & My Shadow + More Photos Outside My Cottage

Me and my shadow two days ago on an afternoon walk around my property. The sun was getting low and the sky was still blue. We have rain at the same time today ending at sunset. I had an outside inspection for a real estate customer and got it in before the rain started.

This is a photo using the wide angle lens on my iPhone.

This is the beginning of what I call the "way back".

This is my cottage from near the end of the way back.

The snowdrops are popping up along my brick wall.

Every year I transplant clumps and am always surprised when I see snowdrops thriving in a new location. It seems like Friday but it's only Thursday so enjoy what's left of the day.
xo

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Bookshelves / Library in My Spare Room

These are all of my reference books in my dressing room. That's what I call my extra bedroom because it has a closet. I sleep in the back room that has an identical custom bookcase scaled down for the smaller space. I added both when renovating my cottage. On these shelves I have reference books on antiques, architectural reference books, gardening, birds, New Jersey. Many are broken down into categories like antique furniture, antique silver, antique houses, antique prints, etc. and many DIY books. I need to get in this room and rearrange a bit and return some books I pulled out so the remaining ones are currently leaning. You can never have too many books, can you? Have a great Sunday. xo


Sunday, January 15, 2023

A Corner of My Livingroom

I just looked at the clock, and yes, it's still morning for 10 more minutes. I moved this cast iron squirrel pushing a container so I could enjoy it more. I filled his little container with a tiger's eye or Agate polished egg-shaped stone I have had for ages. I wish I had a giant acorn but I don't. We have bright sunshine today and it's very welcome. Enjoy this Sunday and the long MLK holiday weekend. 
xo

Sunday, January 8, 2023

Golden Hour Photo of My Cottage


A golden hour photo of my cottage taken a couple of days ago. Hope everyone had a great weekend. I am all set to watch 60 Minutes and then switch to PBS for three new series. I am especially looking forward to Season 3 of  All Creatures Great & Small. See you tomorrow.
xo