Broker Open House Today

I have this circa 1835 renovation bookmarked for a broker open house tour today. Isn't it fabulous? Can't wait! All photos from GSMLS. All the other rooms are fabulous too. See you later. xo

Laundry Room in a Vintage House

A laundry room and mud room in an old house that was recently sold in my area. I loved it when I toured at a broker open house and I'm happy someone shared my taste and purchased it. Photo from GSMLS.

Spectacular Bathroom

Everything I see in this bathroom is wonderful. It ticks all the boxes, for sure! Simple, elegant, and luxurious. via

Kitchen with a Red AGA Range

This bright red AGA range is beautiful next to the gray custom cabinetry. I so wish I could see the rest of this kitchen! via

Jumping Rope is My New Exercise

I picked up this jump rope a week ago yesterday at a rummage sale. It's far from perfect but it has gotten me into jumping in my kitchen with the high ceiling. I have ordered a better one that is on the way and should arrive on Monday. I have been looking for a way to exercise without buying a machine or going to a gym. 

I did a lot of research before ordering my new rope and this is the best article I found. Here's the link: https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/building-up-bones-with-a-little-bashing/
Be sure to read the comments too. They have as much information as the article.

Jumping rope is NOT bad for your knees. It's actually good for them. From everything I've read, it's the best exercise for your bones you can do. A really long time ago there was a program on PBS called "Bones for Life by Ruthy Alon". It was so interesting and informative. I wish I had recorded it because the DVD set sells for a whopping $300.00 and it is currently out of stock. She has her own channel on YouTube and you can watch her sessions free of charge. The one thing I remember from the PBS program was something you are supposed to do when you first get up in the morning to stimulate new bone growth. In bare feet, you are supposed to go up on your toes and go down hard on your heels. Do this at least five (5) times.

I started doing my situps again too. I don't do crunches. I just lie flat on the floor with my hands to my sides and go up to a sitting position and then down to touch my toes. I use nothing but my abdominal muscles and this made-up method works best for me. I am doing 25 repeats before retiring at night. I am not good at all with the rope I got last week but I am doing 100 jumps. So far, 22 consecutive jumps is the best I've done. I just keep counting (even my misses) until I reach 100. I am feeling so good and so much stronger, especially in my lower back. Will keep you posted on my progress. Time to jump now!!!! xo

UPDATE: Here's another great article written by a 91 year old woman who jumps rope.

Snow Melt Day

As you can see from the icicles on my balcony railing and the sheen on the tabletops, the sun is trying to burn through the clouds and the melting has already begun. By eleven o'clock this morning, the thermometer will be reading numbers in the 40° section. I always like for the sun to do the hard part before I go outside and deal with the small amount of snow on my front walk and front windshield. I did the hard part yesterday. Once again, I am happy to report another not-too-bad snowfall. I am so thankful too! I put this photo on my Instagram feed today. Enjoy your Thursday. xo

Cute Wallpaper in a Laundry Room

This post will be short and sweet. I'm pooped from shoveling. Not much snow and easy to get rid of but I did most of the driveway too. I photographed this wallpaper in a laundry room at a broker open house some time back. xo

Full Moon on my Tall Case Clock

I am so happy I looked at my calendar this morning and learned tonight was the full moon. I'm not that surprised because when I went to bed last night the moon was very bright. Luckily, I was able to move the moon dial on my tall case clock this morning. There is some sort of gear that locks it into position at certain times of the day but it was unlocked at 9:20 this morning. My kitchen has a low cathedral ceiling. My roofline is in sections and this was the lowest part of my attic and there was no way to stand up in any part of it. It just made good sense to incorporate it into my country kitchen at the time I was renovating 2002-2003. I had no idea the other ceilings in my cottage on the main floor with the one-room-wide living room, hallway to my two bedrooms, and full bath were 7'8" and my clock needs a full 8' to stand up with the center finial. This was the ONLY place to put it when I moved in and it turned out to be absolutely perfect. Isn't it funny how unplanned things sometimes turn out so well? See you later. xo

My Home Office in Pantry: Rearranged

Click on either photo to enlarge. When I sit at my drafting table under the window to work on my laptop and pay bills, I needed more room to spread out my papers, make entries in my check book and file the papers until they can go to the attic filing cabinet.

I added a side table for a more efficient work space. It's an old cutting board attached to an antique adjustable wrought iron base on wheels found at a rummage sale years ago. It had been in use in my basement kitchen that is no longer in use since my mother passed. I got the brilliant idea to put it in the pantry for more horizontal space for my favorite things. I do best when everything is in plain sight rather than in drawers. There is a small separate bookcase that fits perfectly underneath to hold wire baskets for unpaid bills, etc. I am thrilled with the way it all worked out. I have played around in there for a couple of weeks and yesterday I finally declared it perfect.

Walking on Slippery Ice

I have blue skies and bright sun this morning but it's still below the freezing mark. I MUST go out and hack up my icy patches with a pick axe so they will hopefully melt later today. More snow is on the way overnight turning to rain Monday morning with temps in the 40s and that will be good. Hopefully all will melt before nightfall since it's going down to 18° and there will be more ice. Take care if you aren't as sure-footed as these penguins.
I thoroughly enjoyed the three-episode mini series on Penguins called SPY IN THE HUDDLE. I can't remember whether it was on NatGeo or BBC America. It's on Netflix now, so if you are a penguin fan, look for it and watch it. It is a fascinating series with an up-close look as spy cam decoys are set up in the penguin colonies. BBC photo above.