Plants Wintering Over Downstairs

I brought in the geranium and the flowering nasturtiums over a week ago and they are both very happy downstairs looking out of the sliding glass door that gets the morning sun. I dug up the geranium that was planted in a large metal urn. The nasturtiums were grown from seeds in the center pot while the pot on the far right contains nasturtium plants I dug out of pots in my front garden on Sunday. They are still in recovery mode. I have never tried overwintering annuals but I read online that nasturtiums are a good plant to try. We shall see.

These pots are too large to display anywhere else in my cottage. Every available spot is already taken on my main floor and in the attic with smaller pots of rosemary, thyme, geraniums, lavender, and more nasturtiums. I like indoor gardening and tending plants rather than leaving them outside to freeze and die. They are very beneficial for the indoor air quality too. 

I have been very busy washing all my sweaters and mending tiny holes here and there. I started out washing two by hand in the kitchen sink. Then I noticed for the first time there was a setting for knits on my 15 year old front loading washer. I decided to try it with 4 dark sweaters turned inside out. I was thrilled with the results. My washer spins everything almost dry and the sweaters dried quickly on drying racks in my furnace room. The mending is another story. I'm so glad I have so much thread but none of it is wool. I matched the colors perfectly and took little made-up darning stitches and mended the holes almost invisibly. Nobody else will even notice and I will have a fresh wardrobe of my favorite sweaters looking brand new in a few more days.

I posted these two photos on Instagram this morning. I usually don't blog using the same pics but they will be new to those of you who don't do social media.

xo

Kitchens Without A Center Island

I was so excited this morning when I found an article that once appeared in the Wall Street Journal about "Why Kitchen Islands are Ruining America's Kitchens". I went thru this process when I was designing my own cottage kitchen in 2002. My contractor wanted me to put in a breakfast bar and I didn't want one. I don't like them because people can't look one another in the eye when sitting side by side. Please read the article in the link because I think it hits the nail right on the head. The photo above is the author's kitchen. She shows other views in the article.

I measured and measured, put down a cardboard cutout the size of my farm table and it worked perfectly in my cottage as you can see below.

This is my kitchen that was designed around this antique farm table. The bentwood chairs came with my cottage. I have never looked back. xo

Antiques in My Kitchen

I got a a new toy yesterday and had to test it out after Amazon delivered it at 9:00 last night. It was a device to clip on my iPhone so I could use my tripod. It was a little awkward but I think I am going to like it. It's good for composing what you want in a photo and getting it right the first time. 

You've seen my tall case clock and my pantry many times (first photo).

My huntboard is in a recessed nook in my kitchen (second photo) and I've photographed it many times for my blog.

I don't think I've ever shown you a much wider kitchen view with a corner of my farm table and my refrigerator (third photo).

Stay cool in this heatwave if you are having one too. For some reason, the heat doesn't seem to bother me as much as it used to. I guess having grown up in the deep south with no air conditioning has made me realize you can survive it if you know the ropes and try not to think about it.

Enjoy getting ready for July 4th. xo

My Cottage Kitchen w/ Farm Table

I refuse to take any photos of Mother Nature's current temper tantrum aka known as Toby and Foureaster. Instead I took this photo of my kitchen. I finished my taxes on Monday and have put away all the papers and files I had spread out in categorized piles on my farm table. What a relief to have that task behind me for another year. 

The storm hasn't been bad so far (only a couple of inches) but the fine snow is supposed to continue for possibly another 12 hours. I'll give you an update tomorrow morning.

I watched a great movie on Netflix last night -- TULIP FEVER. 

Click here to view the video if you cannot see it above.