Cat Sleeping with Seagull Teddy

So adorable. Do you think Santa brought this stuffed seagull? Don't you love photos of animals with their stuffed toys? via

xo

After reading the comments about this photograph I learned there is a children's book THE STORY OF A SEAGULL AND THE CAT WHO TAUGHT HER TO FLY by Luis Sepúlveda 

A cat. A seagull. An impossible task. A worldwide bestseller and the subject of a feature film, THE STORY OF A SEAGULL... is finally out in paperback! Her wings burdened by an oil slick, a seagull struggles to the nearest port to lay her final egg. Exhausted, she lands on a balcony where Zorba the cat is sunning himself. She extracts three extraordinary promises from him: that he will watch over the egg, that he will not EAT the egg, and that, when it's time, he will teach the baby gull to fly. The first two promises are hard enough, but the third one is surely impossible. Isn't it?

Interested? Search for a copy using my favorite book search HERE.

January Chickens

They seem to be going down the ramp willingly, don't they?

Somehow chickens and snow don't seem to go well together to me. I'm pretty sure the chickens agree. Fond here.

xo

Golden Hour Photo of My Cottage

A golden hour photo of my cottage taken a couple of days ago. Hope everyone had a great weekend. I am all set to watch 60 Minutes and then switch to PBS for three new series. I am especially looking forward to Season 3 of  All Creatures Great & Small. See you tomorrow.

xo

New Bird Book for My Library

Stopped in an Old Bookshop yesterday and looked up to see this quote.

"I cannot live without books."

Thomas Jefferson

I took off the book jacket to take this photo of my purchase.

This is a nice addition to my bird books and it's very informative. The dust jacket was back on the book for this photo. It wasn't the book I was looking for but I am enjoying it. I've been looking for a large bird identification book I got rid of for some reason and if I ever come across it again I will buy it back.  I paid $7.00 for this used book in fine condition. Here is a book search with prices starting at $1.00 and going up to $60.00 for a first edition. Happy Hunting.

xo

Great Garden Room

If you like what you see here, you will love her Instagram.

@HelenNorman 

You're welcome. I wasn't kidding, was I?

xo

Circa 1700 Former Laundry & Dairy Renovation

Former winner of Period Living's home of the Year award, this beautiful family home was once a neglected outbuilding

Every part of the house needed attention, from the chimneys down. You can still see the marks in the brickwork where the doors and windows were moved. New windows and a front door were made by RM Jones Joinery. The couple also added a bootroom (left of first picture).

The back hall, with wall-to-ceiling cupboards made by Gwyn Dowell. The flooring is limestone, which works well with the underfloor heating, and the walls and cupboards are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Oval Room Blue(opens in new tab) (Image credit: Kasia Fiszer)

Click HERE to see the fabulous kitchen and the rest of the in house Denbighshire, Wales. The building was in the husband's family for 5 generations. The article is fantastic and so inspiring. I know you will love it.

xo

Tree Portraits

So simple and so lovely.

Decorated by Mother Nature.

via

xo

Wonderful Pen and Ink Drawing: Miranda

                                                             Pen and Ink Drawing

Robert Anning Bell, 1863-1933, artist.

Circa 1900

Found here.

Miranda is one of the principal characters of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. She is the only female character to appear on stage. Miranda is the daughter of Prospero, another of the main characters of The Tempest. Wikipedia

This drawing was done for Bell's decorated edition of Shakespeare's Tempest, published by Freemantle & Co. in 1901. 

Click HERE to see more art by Robert Anning Bell. 

Click on each thumbnail to enlarge and get more information.

xo

Amazing.Photo

 

This amazing photo blows me away!

Artist | @niphisi 

Do yourself a huge favor and look at the other photos on this Instagram feed. Each one is extraordinary and it would be quite impossible to pick a favorite. I am so glad I found it to share with you. Happy New Year.

Click HERE.

xo

New Year's Day Food for Good Luck

I slow cooked all of my New Year's Day lucky food on top of the stove today. Dish on left is cow peas, middle is organic brown rice, dish on right has collard greens. I ate mine on a blue willow divided dish and I had two helpings. It was so good. I should have made cornbread but I didn't. I thought I had black-eyed peas in my pantry but only had dried cow peas. They were actually better than the traditional BIPs. They are redder in color and have the same dark center. I emptied the bag in a pot and added 4 cups of boiling water and ended up cooking it for two hours and they were perfect. I had to add two more cups of water somewhere along the way. The rice took only 45 minutes and the collards 35 minutes. I like my peas on the soupy side. I had almost totally forgotten about this traditional southern meal until I got a text from someone in the midst of cooking hers with a ham hock. 

Did you cook anything special for New Year's Day?

I found these birds on Google Images.

xo

Happy New Year and A Sunrise Photo

I took this sunrise photo on Friday morning to capture this sky on fire. Today I woke up to fog for New Year's Eve morning. 

♡My wish is for health and happiness for you in 2023♡

xo