Hello February 2024

This February has an extra day for Leap Year and that's nice, isn't it? As usual January flew by because it's my favorite month. It was a busy one with several snows but they weren't too bad. We had some very cold days  that didn't last very long, thankfully. I repotted several geraniums and rooted some clippings and potted those too on a day I could work outside with potting soil and compost. I'll be seeing my snowdrops mentioned in the poem above soon. They are the true harbingers of spring. xo

PS: This morning (February 1st) my snowdrops are breaking through the soil and are up about one inch. Will post photos when they flower.

August Already?

Walter Crane illustration. Verse by his daughter Beatrice Crane. Arts & Crafts movement, late 19th century. Can you believe it's August already? I can't! I always try to embrace this month because when September rolls around the rest of the year flies by.

 

Today is the closing of that real estate transaction that has taken up so much of my time so maybe I can get back to blogging again, fingers crossed. My mower is out of the shop following a tuneup and I used it yesterday. It really felt good to walk behind it once again. The weather has been unusually cool since Sunday and I want to take advantage before it heats up again. 

I never feel guilty if this is the only thing I do.

Quote found here: https://www.inspiringquotes.com/

14-quotes-to-start-your-morning-on-the-right-note/ZEaOIvkZ4QAI6I7X

 

HELLO, APRIL

APRIL --- The trees are budding forth, the grass is springing green, and April, young and fair appears upon the scene. Pale golden is her hair, her eyes are misty blue, and even when she smiles her tears fall like the dew. Clad all in tender green, she comes with timid feet; A basket with her bringing, filled full with blossoms sweet.The primrose pale & fair, T

the yellow daffodil, the wind flower, wild hyacinth, and other flowers still. All these she casts around to show that Spring is here, with first a smile so sweet, but dropping next a tear.

THe verse by Beatrice Crane -- Design by Walter Crane -- 1889

It feels like an April Fool's Day trick but it isn't! Today is really the first day of April full of April showers this morning at my cottage. I'm glad I did my grocery shopping yesterday! Be safe if you are experiencing severe weather. Some of that is in my forecast for later, probably in the night. xo

Hello, March and A Lamb Cake

March came in like a lamb at my cottage. It was 23° when I thought to look at the weather app on my phone but there's no wind. I was thrilled to see a bluebird checking out my bluebird box so hopefully she liked what she saw and is ready to set up housekeeping soon. Fingers crossed.

Do you have a lamb cake mold? No? There's still time to find one and if you do, here's the recipe. I found a link for this mold on Amazon. Be sure to read the reviews about putting wooden skewers in the ears and neck for stability. Happy baking.

Hello, December

Last December I published a red copy of December page from The Procession of the Months by Walter Crane. It seems like yesterday. I worked outside chopping down tall weeds with my electric hedge trimmers and cleared quite a lot of lawn. It felt good to be outside. This was my third day in a row doing such. Today it's much colder and there is a freezing rain that could turn to snow later. I unearthed my snow shovels yesterday too. Enjoy what's left of the first day of December 2019. xo

Hello Novmber

I posted this image one year ago a tan color HERE. So far, I have posted January through November in Red. The description for the tan one at Harvard can be read here. 

We had a horrible rain and wind storm overnight and I woke up to a tall tree from my next door neighbor's property over the part of my driveway leading down to my red barn and the canopy of the tree with no leaves in my front garden. No damage was done and a tree person said my part of the cleanup will be very inexpensive. It was horrible just after midnight when I woke up to see what was happening outside. And then I heard the crash but could not determine the source. I slept soundly somehow and found the tree when I opened my front door. Power never went off and many people all around me had much worse damage. All that on Halloween night too. Yikes. Hope you didn't have any damage. xo

OCTOBER, already?

I should have posted this yesterday but I hit the ground running and never stopped. I had my furnace checked out and serviced for the upcoming winter and my generator too. The service man came at 7:30 and I was shocked that my furnace came on when I set the thermostat to the heat setting. I still have my windows open and don't plan to have my radiators cranking for some time.

I am so enjoying my garden claw and the ease it has given me in pulling my tall weeds. It's rather like wrapping spaghetti around a fork. If you ever see one at a garage sale, grab it. It does take a bit of upper body strength, but I have plenty of that so it's not a problem. Men would probably like this tool too.

Hello, September

Hello, September and hello all. Sorry I haven't been around for a while. My washing machine broke and cannot be fixed and I have had a really hard time finding a replacement. The part is no longer available (of course) and the repair man found one on eBay but it was $600. YIKES. I looked and looked and looked and absolutely could not find a front loader that would fit in the tight space in my laundry room. I settled on a Maytag front loader that will fit but it might not exactly line up with my dryer because I completely forgot about the shallow cabinets above. I might have to pull it out farther than the dryer in order to get the top open. I think it will be fine, fingers crossed. It is being delivered on Thursday. I am not at all excited about getting a new one and having to learn how to use it. Nothing is simple these days, right? Things don't last the way they used to and the manufacturers have planned obsolescence built in. I have gotten numerous tips by watching demonstrations on YouTube. Some of the comments are hilarious. My old one was a high efficiency front loader and I could see that it used very little water. My new one is HE too and all the comments were about the lack of water in the drum. It doesn't have the old-fashioned agitator that sticks way up either. My clothes are never very dirty except when I am down on my hands and knees in the garden. I have old work clothes so I don't care if they don't look brand new when they come out of the washer. Sorry to sound out of sorts. I am really fine and just wanted you let you in on what's going on in my life.

Enjoy the long Labor Day weekend. I am loving the cooler weather after a long hot spell. I am not ready to kiss summer goodbye, are you? I love fall except for the leaves which I never get raked until spring rolls around. I have learned the birds like it this way because they can find winter food underneath the leaf cover. I don't feed them so this is the least I can do for my feathered friends. xo

August 1st + Two Legal Drama Movies

August is a month to try to enjoy in spite of the heat because once September rolls around the rest of the year flies by.

I enjoy legal dramas and two that I have enjoyed on Kanopy are shown below.

Emma Thompson is wonderful. View movie trailer here. I loved the interior design of her London apartment too.

This movie is based on a true story and the legal trial takes place in England. 

Based on the acclaimed bookDenial: Holocaust History on Trial, DENIAL recounts Deborah E. Lipstadt’s (Academy Award® winner Rachel Weisz) legal battle for historical truth against David Irving (BAFTA nominee Timothy Spall), who accused her of libel when she declared him a Holocaust denier. In the English legal system, in cases of libel, the burden of proof is on the defendant, therefore it was up to Lipstadt and her legal team, led by Richard Rampton (Academy Award® nominee Tom Wilkinson), to prove the essential truth that the Holocaust occurred. View video movie clips here.

July is here. Let the summer begin.

Happy first day of July.

The year's half over.

Hello June

I wanted to post this wonderful 19C. illustration and poem on time. Happy first day of June.

Merry May by Walter Crane

I am a few days welcoming May. So far, she's has been chilly and rainy. I heard on the news this morning that in the past 20 days, 16 of them had rain. I have had to mow earlier and more frequently this spring than in any other. An illustration from: The procession of the months: the verses by Beatrice Crane; the designs by Walter Crane, [1889]. via Houghton Library at Harvard.

Hello, April

Happy April Fool's Day. This calendar page by Walter Crane has the perfect illustration for welcoming in the first month of Spring that we've all been so anxiously awaiting. It's bright and sunny with a blue cloudless sky here at my cottage but still chilly. I can't believe we are already into this year's second quarter. My, how time flies.

Hello February

Another month has come and gone, hasn't it? February will go even more quickly since it's the shortest month of the year. I hope the fair maiden in this drawing by Walter Crane sees the Polar Vortex on its way out. I am looking forward to seeing my snowdrops as they always emerge in February. xo

December by Walter Crane

The Procession of the Months, collection in the Houghton Library at Harvard. Illustration by Walter Crane. Verse by his daughter Beatrice Crane. See their November calendar page here. See his woodcut engraving called The Angels here. More information on Walter Crane's life and career here.

'The Angels' by Walter Crane

I am somewhat obsessed with the artwork of Walter Crane. He was friends with William Morris and I love the Pre-Raphaelites of the Arts and Crafts Movement. I found this image on Pinterest.

I voted today in the midterm election but it's way too early to get a feel for who won. The polls don't close in NJ until 8PM. I went this morning in the pouring rain.