Can't Stop Rearranging and Cleaning

My grandmother said it best:

"It's easier to keep up than to catch up!"

Not much has changed in this view except the pillows on the sofa but everything has been moved and cleaned under and over and up and down. I could have hired someone to do it but I really wanted to do it myself so I would know it was done right. It IS possible to catch up and I am determined to keep going until everything is in apple pie order. Have a great weekend, what's left of it. xo

Birthday Card Request + The Death of Brown Furniture

Here I am again after a few days off wearing my Realtor Hat and working harder than you can even imagine. I am a member of NEXTDOOR, a neighborhood app where members can post and share. I am amazed at the questions, mostly looking for recommendations on home repair, good hair cutters, and child care workers. I especially love the photos of free things they are giving away!

The post below touched my heart:

I have my birthday card to this veteran who is turning 100 all filled out and ready to mail. I enclosed a dollar bill too, just like my grandmother always put in my birthday cards, ho matter what my age.

I typed out his address below if you want to send him a card as well. I love Hendersonville and my family always vacationed there. Doesn't Sunnybrook sound like a nice place?

Let's all help this 100 year old Veteran get 100 birthday cards!!!

Mr. Art England

Sunnybrook Assisted Living

Apartment 211

306 Spring Street

Hendersonville NC 28739

Now on another note. You know how much I love antiques and most of you do as well. This article that appeared in YANKEE MAGAZINE will break your heart. THE DEATH OF BROWN FURNITURE 

For those of us who still love old things with rich histories, it is a buyer's market. For those of the antique collecting community who paid premium prices for their possessions, it is very depressing. I rarely miss an episode of The Antiques Roadshow on PBS where they freely speak of the depressed market for fine antique furniture. I can't help but think the trend for "staging" homes that are for sale is partly responsible too. Having home sellers replace their possessions with rented furniture to go with gray walls with white trim might be sending another message. Maybe the buyers think they can't keep what they have but need all new furniture in order to move. I could go on and on but will get off my soapbox now. I am turning this platform over to you now!

Limelight Hydrangea Cutting Rooted in Water

It took a while but my Limelight Hydrangea experiment is working. A while back I showed you a cutting from my "Mother" Limelight that I pushed into the ground when I pruned her in the fall several years ago and the cutting rooted itself and is now a baby shrub. I took a cutting from the baby and put it in water at my kitchen sink and I got my first little roots this week. Plant propagating is another form of thrift and you know how much I love getting something for nothing. It takes patience and luckily I have plenty of that. I need to plant the two containers of lavender in the background that are full of roots.

My grandmother and grandfather purchased their retirement home in Greenville, SC and rented it out for years and years and years before they could actually live there. My grandmother rooted all of her boxwood at her sister's house nearby and they were mature when she transplanted them in their final resting place. I guess she was the one who gave me lessons in patience. She love African violets too and actually bred them on her window sills. 

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there. Enjoy your celebrations. xo

Vintage Chambers Range + Red Maple Sapling

I toured a smaller country colonial home yesterday that was a few streets over from me and loved the vintage Chambers range in the kitchen. It featured a well used griddle and two ovens. The last one I saw in a local home was ripped out when the house was demolished and probably ended up in the landfill. Boo hoo, but I have to confess it was not nearly as pristine as this one.

There was a nice size Japanese red maple seedling growing in the front pachysandra bed at this house and the listing realtor said I could have it. I couldn't pull it up but went back later with my gardening tools and dug it up. It is already thriving in my back yard near one of my bird baths. I am such a scavenger and I am always looking for something to transplant. The pachysandra roots had a stronghold on this little tree and it was much too close to the house to be allowed to grow in place. Lucky me. Now a little red tree has found true love and a new home.

I had a request to post a photo of the sapling so its growth can be recorded over the years. I have to be careful where I plant things with deep roots because my septic system is in my backyard. I need to scrub the birdbath and remove the algae buildup so the birds will be happy. We had rain overnight but I think it will stop around noon and just be an overcast day. 

Isn't this little tree a beauty? My grandmother, the master gardener, always said to put a fifty cent plant in a ten dollar hole and I followed her advice when planting this free tree. I can tell it's happy the way it sways in a gentle breeze.

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

My Little Whisk Broom Collection

Anytime you have three of something, you have a collection! The tiny one is my favorite.

My grandmother always used to use a little broom like this to brush off my grandfather's coat before he went out. She never got behind in any housework or outside chores. This was what she said about procrastinating. "It's easier to keep up than to catch up." 

She kept a perfect house too. She would devote one week to each room for spring cleaning. That was back in the day when women washed walls and waxed floors and removed old wax so they could wax them again. We have it so easy now. 

Hydrangea Explosion

image source

These are not Limelight hydrangeas, the variety I planted this year. My two bushes were just bare sticks with not much greenery when I planted them almost a month ago but now they are covered with lots of vigorous new growth and are thriving in the front and the back yards. I don't know if mine will bloom this year but they are on their way to becoming large bushes and I am thrilled. I have watered them daily and really babied them while they were in shock after being potbound. My plants were last year's stock and their roots were really packed. I untangled them and fed them lots of blue water almost daily. I followed my grandmother's advice too. She always said to plant a 50 cent plant in a $5.00 hole. The holes I dug were wide and deep and full of big rocks that I had to remove with my pickaxe. If you put in the effort when you plant something you will almost be guaranteed that you will have a successful growth. I mulched my plants too with wood chips to hold in the moisture. These plants are supposed to bloom on new growth so I am hopeful mine will too. Fingers crossed. I'm sure they are enjoying the rainy weather we had yesterday and last night with more on the way. Here is a very exciting HGTV article about Limelight Hydrangeas. Now I have high hopes that mine will bloom this year. I'm so glad I have them.

HRH Princess Charlotte of Cambridge

She has a name: Charlotte Elizabeth Diana

The newest UK royal, a girl born on Saturday, has been named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana.

The middle names, of course, hark to her great-grandmother, the current queen, and her paternal grandmother, Princess Diana, who died in 1997.

Charlotte, a feminine form of Charles, is likely a nod to her grandfather, Prince Charles. via

Galley Kitchen Love

via

In my opinion, the size of a kitchen doesn't matter as long as there is a window. This one would make me very happy and I love the arrangement. Can you believe they have a gallery wall instead of cupboards behind the sink? How wonderful! 

I had a change of plans yesterday and ended up tearing up one room and spring cleaning it from top to bottom. I surprised myself and I hope to repeat the process in another room today. My grandmother always spent one whole week in each room of her home on spring and fall cleaning. It was a real ritual that required lots of help moving furniture. I emulated her by moving everything out of the room except the bed and it really wasn't that hard. I hope I can keep up the momentum. xo

So Close, Yet So Far Away

I got rid of all the dog beds in the middle of living room so this is the last view of the one that was in front of the fireplace. I think we can safely say Tabitha and Webster are respectful friends now. I tore the living room apart over the weekend and did a major cleaning. I have decided that doing one room at a time is the way to go. I usually try to do the whole first floor which takes all day and seems like punishment.  My new way worked really well last week and I'm all finished except for the kitchen. My grandmother did her spring cleaning this way only she devoted one whole week to each room. Now that really does sound like punishment, doesn't it? See you later. xo

Dark Staircase

I took this photo in that old house yesterday. I loved the patterns on the wall from the lantern glass. There was a grandmother clock underneath.

Bathroom Detail at My Cottage

People always talk about becoming their mothers but I am becoming my grandmother. She used to spend one week in each room of the house doing spring and fall cleaning. My bathroom isn't very big but I managed to spend two whole days cleaning it recently. Keep in mind that I'm easily distracted and take lots of breaks. I'm so proud. I've been showering downstairs in my mother's old bathroom so I can keep mine clean. I'm sure the novelty will wear off any day now and I can go back to being my old self. Honestly, I don't know how people manage to work full time jobs and take care of themselves, much less a family, a house, and a yard. One room down and many more to go. I'll get there eventually. 

Future King Heaviest in 100 Years

The future King with No Name was slightly overdue and that made him a heavy weight. I did not realize his great grandmother The Queen was born by Caesarean section in her maternal grandparents’ London home in April 1926. At the time, she was third in line to the throne, but her weight was not announced. She met the little one this morning and then the happy family embarked on a one-hour trip to grandmother's house where Kate can be babied by her own mum while she recovers from the royal birth. Read more about royal baby weights here.

Stitchwort

I've never heard of this lovely little flower. I looked it up and found it's in the same family as chickweed. My grandmother was always complaining about the latter as being her arch nemesis, so I suppose stitchwort is a weed too. The flower is lovely, isn't it? I have enough weeds, so I'll pass on having this in my garden but it's welcome to invade my back field. I'll look for it. via

Pink Climbing Roses on a Stone Cottage

Such a lovely image. I wish I could smell them. Roses always remind me of my grandmother. via

Losing My Mother

My mother lost her own mother when she was very young. I think she was around 7 years old and of course it affected her deeply. We all need to be nurtured when we are very young. My aunt Elizabeth looked exactly like my grandmother. My grandfather was handsome even after losing his hair and he had the best laugh I've ever heard. We all adored him. He remarried and we all loved Grandma too. I think this photo of my mother's parents is probably their wedding portrait April 12, 1914. 

The flowers in the lobby of the funeral home yesterday were very pretty and my mother would have loved them in real life.

I brought some of the special things she saved over the years to send away with her. A small book of poems with an inscription from my brother Tim dated 1970 with an old picture of him tucked inside. The saddest day in my mother's life was the day he died in 1978 after heart surgery. They had a mutual admiration society that surpassed the normal mother-son bond. I also included a book of poems dated 1974 inscribed from me.  I sent her away with the first Christmas card received this year from her friend Tom who still lives in her old condominium complex in Charlotte. I found an old mother's day card from me dated 2006, a picture of our pets, the leash she always used to walk Tabitha, three dog biscuits from Webster, and some chocolate-covered raisins. She never failed to comment about how much she loved these treats covered with her favorite confection. The lipstick kiss on her forehead is from me too.

I helped load her in the small black van that didn't look at all like a mortuary vehicle. I rode up front with the driver and asked him if we could stop by the cottage on our way to the appointment in Basking Ridge and he complied. I wanted her to leave from home.

I chose cremation because the body doesn't have to be embalmed if it's done within 48 hours and there is no public viewing. She wore a flannel black-watch plaid dress that she always favored and she looked like a real sleeping beauty. 

After stopping in the driveway at the cottage we went to the place and I was with her all the way until the end. I'll scatter her ashes in special places up here and down south in the spring.

My sincere appreciation to all of you who have taken the time to walk with me down this last path with my mother. You will never know how much comfort your wonderful condolences have given me even though we are virtual friends. I hope I will continue to inspire you as you have inspired me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. 

Glad Thanksgiving Greetings

Be safe if you are traveling over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house for a family Thanksgiving celebration. I thought this vintage postcard was unusual and perfect for the vegetarian/vegans out there who will be passing on the turkey but enjoying all the trimmings.

Now That's A Garden!

This is the kind of garden my grandfather always had. Really big with no fence and pretty close to the house. He grew everything and my grandmother canned it all. I think it was just force of habit. Once a farmer, always a farmer. I don't think he ever learned how to plant for just two people. via

I am my own hired hand

I took this photo of my feet last night when I had to quit weed whacking at 7:30 pm -- not because I wanted to or was finished -- but because I ran out of day-glo green string. I was almost finished with one section too. Drats. I can't get the spool off by myself. Instead I have to bother Greg at the gas station and he gives it one easy twirl and it comes right off. I don't have the knack with anything that has a motor.

The top of me looked good after my new afternoon haircut. It's just not in the cards for me to be fancy in any way shape or form until I conquer the weeds in my driveway. 

I keep thinking about my grandmother's sage advice and wishing I had followed it.

A Very Young Prince Charles and The Queen Mother

The young Prince Charles adored and was adored by his grandmother Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother. We haven't had a dose of British Royalty lately and I know everyone will love this delightful vintage photo. via