William Merritt Chase Group Portrait (his family)

Beautiful family portrait. Portrait Group (Dorothy, Helen, and Bob) (c.1904). William Merritt Chase (American, 1849-1916). Oil on canvas. North Carolina Museum of Art.

Chase first met his wife, Alice Bremond Gerson, in 1879 when she was only thirteen, and still known as Posey. He married her on 8 February 1886, although some sources claim it was 1887, when she was nineteen and he was thirty-six. Initially, the couple lived with William’s parents in Brooklyn before moving to their own place in Greenwich Village. Between the years 1887 and 1904, Alice bore a total of eleven children, of whom seven are believed to have survived childhood. They include Dorothy, Helen, and Bob, depicted in this work. 

photo found here 

Yesterday I went to an early afternoon movie with two girlfriends to see Where The Crawdads Sing and enjoyed it thoroughly. Have a great weekend.

My Mom Anna's Daffodils at My Cottage

I am so happy I dug up these daffodils my mother planted, from a spot I couldn't see without going outside, to a spot I can see from my kitchen window. Last spring was their first year and this year I do believe they have already multiplied. They are a later booming variety too and I like that. The daffs I transplanted in an area close by with a sundial have already almost bloomed out.

How does your garden grow? I am having such a good time outside this time of year. I have been organizing my barn/garage too, no easy feat! xo

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My Cow Creamer has A Calf Creamer

I went to an estate sale on Saturday and found this little calf creamer to keep company with the mama cow creamer I already had. Aren't they a delightful pair? I feel as if I have reunited a family.

Borzoi Father's Day

If dogs celebrated Father's Day, this would be a happy day in this Borzoi household. They are also knows as Russian Wolfhounds. It's a wonderful family portrait, isn't it? via And a great article about this breed here.

Baby Chef on Instagram

I know how I am spending Memorial Day! Watching @kobe_yn cook on Instagram.

Click HERE to watch the video for the 3rd photo

Click HERE to watch him make S'mores in 1st photo

Click HERE to watch him make his daily smoothie in center photo.

You will have to go to Instagram to watch all of his delightful posts. The photo above is just a screenshot. This adorable one-year-old can't even talk but he's quite good in the kitchen. He even cooks on the stove with his mom helping without being seen. My face is hurting from smiling so much. Kobe is great fun to watch. Enjoy! You're welcome.

Honoring Mother's Day 2020

Best Mother in The World for My Brother Tim and Me.

I miss them both but am happy they were in my life.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL MY LOYAL FOLLOWERS. 

ENJOY YOUR SPECIAL DAY.

Baking Sourdough English Muffins

I baked sourdough English muffins yesterday and they were easy and good but way too small. They look pretty normal in the photo but the are more like sea biscuits in real life, but good. The recipe called for a 3 inch cutter and that's what I used. My mother used to use tuna cans with the bottoms cut out. They don't make the cans that way anymore and you cannot cut out the bottoms. I just transferred the muffins from the griddle to this pan for the photo. To see more photos, go to my Instagram where I posted three photos. Use the forward arrow on a computer or swipe on phone or iPad. The jonquils were planted by my mother and I love seeing them sway from my kitchen window in a new garden where I transplanted them. xo

SWEET LAND movie recommendation

I watched the BEST movie last night on Pluto TV  This is an on-demand movie under the Romance category. There are commercials but they don't detract too much from this utterly charming film produced by Alan Cumming. Elizabeth Reaser is beyond fabulous as young Inge. It is also available on Amazon Prime. It is the sweetest movie and I know you will love it!!!! It is very heartwarming and wholesome too.

SWEET LAND

In the aftermath of World War I, Inge Altenberg (Elizabeth Reaser), an orphan from Snåsa, Norway, arrives in America to a very cold reception. The parents of immigrant farmer Olaf Torvik (Tim Guinee) remain in Norway, where they met her. Dialogue reveals that the four of them have worked out an agreement that allowed her to emigrate to America for the purpose of marrying Olaf. The Minnesota farming village of Audubon, in which her intended husband lives, is horrified to learn that she is a German immigrant with no papers. To make matters worse, she has accidentally obtained membership papers for the American Socialist Party. Scandalized, both the town's Lutheran minister and the county clerk refuse to marry them.

When events lead them to openly cohabit with each other, they find themselves ostracized by the entire town. They are then forced to harvest their crop completely by hand and alone. This particular harvest season brings not only work, but love as well.

Double Hearts on Pen and Ink 18thC Family Record

I have this framed family record on a wall in my living room that never gets any sunlight. Sorry about my reflection in the glass. It is hand lettered with pen and ink and the calligraphy is beautiful. Every line is hand drawn.

I especially love the double hearts with the word together in the center. This is the perfect post for Valentine's Day.

British Royal Christmas Card released Christmas Day

Happy holidays from the Cambridges!

On Christmas Day, Kensington Palace released a new photograph of the Cambridge family. Taken presumably on the grounds of their country estate, Anmer Hall — it shows Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis all bundled up in coats and sweaters. A hat-clad Prince William kisses his youngest child on the cheek as Charlotte grabs her brother’s shoulder. The scene was shot in black and white — and by the Duchess of Cambridge, who frequently takes official photographs of her family and children.

“Merry Christmas to all our followers!” Kensington Palace wrote on Twitter. “This photograph of The Duke of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis was taken by The Duchess of Cambridge in Norfolk earlier this year." Text and photo from Vogue Magazine. Read more.

Flying Staircase at Shirley Plantation

The flying staircase at Shirley Plantation, Charles City County, Virginia. Shirley is one of Virginia's oldest plantations, founded in 1613, and construction of the current house began in 1723. Eleven generations of one family have lived in the mansion, and descendants still operate it as a farm. via

I never cease to be amazed at beautiful architecture created without the aid of power tools.

Beautiful Chicken Family

I love this photo and wonder how many more chicks are hiding under the mother's feathers?. via Have a great Columbus Day Weekend!

Unseen Beatrix Potter drawings found inside books at Melford Hall Suffolk

Hooray for the cleaning lady who discovered these unseen drawings while she was dusting the books at Melford Hall, a stately mansion in Suffolk England. The delicate drawings depict scenes inside and outside Melford Hall, a Tudor mansion owned by relatives of Potter, whom she visited often between 1899 and 1938. Potter and her cousin Ethel Leech were very close, growing up together in Kensington. After Leech married Reverend Sir William Hyde Parker in 1890, Potter would often stay with her at Melford Hall. Read the entire article here. Old books hide many secrets, don't they? xo

Our Vines Have Tender Grapes: Movie Review

An endearing and quietly rhapsodic slice of Americana about a single year among the Norwegian immigrants in a Wisconsin farm town, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes enthralled 1945 audiences and critics with its timeless joys. Told from the viewpoint of little Selma (Margaret O’Brien), the film explores grand childhood adventures: making friends, a pet calf, Christmas, a terrifying trip down a flood-swollen river, a barn fire and a ride on a circus elephant’s trunk. In a change-of-pace role, Edward G. Robinson is a revelation of wisdom and compassion as Selma’s father, leading a fine cast that illuminates the profound power of everyday triumphs and sorrows.

I have watched this movie twice on TCM and love it. It follows the life of a close Norwegian family in a Wisconsin settlement. The family values of the whole village are wonderful and Margaret O'Brien is a treasure. I love her telling of the Nativity in the church Christmas pageant.

Maybe you can find the DVD at your library. You can stream it on Amazon and iTunes. This is a must-see movie. I have never read the book but it must be wonderful too.

Scrimshaw Double Heart Mourning Pendant

Scrimshaw double heart mourning pendant, 1807

“Beauty and youth in vain to these you trust

For youth and beauty shall be laid in dust.“

This quote is so true. Growing old gracefully rather than trying to turn back the clock is quite a challenge at times. 

BREATHE: True Story Movie with Claire Foy + Andrew Garfield

My blog is turning into a movie review site. I couldn't find anything interesting to watch on TV last night so Kanopy came to the rescue again with a fabulous movie with Claire Foy (The Crown). Just seeing that she was in it made me want to watch and I'm so glad I did. It's the love story of all time and every frame is true. The son of the couple is the producer of the film so it is partly his biography too.

After contracting polio at the age of 28, Robin Cavendish is confined to bed and given only months to live. But with the help of his wife Diana and her twin brothers, and the groundbreaking ideas of inventor Teddy Hall (played by Hugh Bonneville), Cavendish emerges from the hospital ward and devotes the rest of his life to helping fellow patients and the disabled. Click here find 8 videos about the film and the official movie trailer.

Google images has many photos of the real Cavendish Family

Happy Mother's Day

Anna and Tabitha

My mother was always afraid Tabitha would run away and always walked her on a leash. Anna died in 2012 at age 92 and Tabitha pass about three years later. I still feel that my mom is right by my side and she lives in my heart. Happy Mother's Day to all of you. 

Scottish Blackface Sheep: Ewe + Lamb

via

Mother and child portrait. Click on the link above to learn more about this easy-care breed.

Smooth Sailing

via

Safe and secure on Mother Swan's back. So sweet.

Owl Hatches a Wood Duckling Egg

This is my "feel good post of the week". A wood duck moved her last egg to another nesting box because it had been raided and only one egg had survived. Oddly enough, a mother owl sat on the duck egg for over a month and the hatched duckling thinks he's an owl. Read the charming story here with lots more photos. Am I forgiven now for being missing for almost a week?