Patio Gardening

Somebody's been busy forcing bulbs in terracotta pots and it's paying off. What a delightful small walled garden. found here. 

I took my pruning shears on my walk this afternoon and got carried away cutting down multiflora rose. It's pervasive and has to be controlled along my paths or it will soon take them over. It was very satisfying. The thorns on those wild rose bushes are evil.

xo

Happy First Day of Spring

I honestly woke up to a bird singing the same song over and over this morning to welcome the first day of spring. I think this rooster has been used several times on this date in past years but here he is again. He's an engraving from one of my antiquarian books, The Royal Book of Crests. I hope your day is like mine with bright sun and a blue sky. xo

Lisa D. wanted to know the name of that bird I heard. I found a YouTube video of New Jersey birds singing and have identified my bird as THE TUFTED TITMOUSE, the first bird in this YouTube video. Enjoy seeing so many of the birds of New Jersey who enjoy bird feeders and sing for their supper. xo

Hunt Board & Art Wall in My Kitchen's Nook under Attic Stairs

I am standing in front of the door that opens into my kitchen off the vestibule. The Dutch door for my office/pantry is behind me. You can see a corner of my farm table in lower right corner. The shiny thing on right is my refrigerator. This little nook is another favorite area in my cottage that evolved over the years. The sideboard was my mother's and was in her apartment downstairs until she died in 2012. We bought it together at an estate sale in Madison,NJ. We toured the sale, I bought a few things, and when we got in the car I asked her if she wanted the sideboard for her room with the sliding glass door and she immediately said YES. We rushed back and bought it ($100.00) just in the nick of time before another person said she wanted it but we were already in negotiations and had paid!!!!!! My mother used it in her sitting room and loved it. I love it too! It's just the right scale for this nook with a low ceiling. The back wall is clad in old wood that was attic flooring salvaged when the roof of my kitchen was raised during the renovation. The lamps with blue silk shades came from a local estate sale. 

I have been gathering things all week for a Girl Scout Textile Drive at a nearby elementary school. I cleaned out stored linens and blankets and used clothing. The girls were young and very enthusiastic about the volume I collected. They were going to sort for the homeless and donate the rest for textile bundling to be picked up and made into rag rugs. I hope they do this again next year. Such a worthy cause and so easy to drop off. This is my favorite kind of recycling and donating.

Have a great weekend. xo

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I'm very late in posting this greeting as St. Patrick's Day will soon be over. A friend came for lunch and I honestly don't know what happened to the rest of the day. There's plenty of daylight left for me to try and do something constructive though. Wish me luck. 

Greeting found on Google Images

xo

Up With The Sun This Morning

I seem to be adjusting well to the new time. Today is the second day I've awakened a few minutes before the alarm went off. I had already finished my coffee when I took this photo in my kitchen. Have a great Thursday. xo

Contest: Best White Cake Mix ~ Surprise Winner

Southern Living blind-tested 5 popular boxed white cake mixes. Easter is coming and there will be cake so you might want to read the article and pick up a few boxes of the winning mix. Read the article HERE. Were you surprised? I was! xo

Snow Day????? Not Really❄️

Remember these show shovels I left leaning on the wall last fall? They are working to scare the snow away, just as I hoped they would! Now if I could just devise something to deter the high winds coming later. I have a friend in the Berkshires of Massachusetts who's getting two feet. Be safe if you live in such an area. I always remember getting real winter weather in March, just when spring is right around the corner.

xo

Beatrix Potter ♡ Four Illustrations Today ♡

We have a little garden,
A garden of our own.

Female rabbit entering her burrow.

Gentlemen came every day,
Till Cecily Parsley ran away.

... And this pig has none.

Illustrations from: 

Cecily Parsley's nursery rhymes

found here

Enjoy! xo

1916 Silver Trophy Cup: Dog Show

I love old sterling presentation cups with unique engraving.

This one is dated 1916 and was won by a Scottish Terrier.

She was a good dog!

Maybe this post will encourage me to polish some silver.

I'll do it along with my spring cleaning.

I did my bedroom yesterday, all but the dusting.

It was still dark this morning at 7am.

Have a great Sunday.

xo

MORNING SMOOTHIE or "HOW I EAT MY GREENS"

My Oster blender has an additional container for smoothies and it works wonderfully. I filled it about half full with soy milk but you can use the liquid of your choice. I add 1/2 a banana, sliced. Then I put in some leftover beets, some leftover crushed pineapple, and two really big handfuls, tightly packed, of raw collard greens. I buy them in a large bag already washed and torn into small pieces and they last me at least a week. Raw collard greens are the best greens you can eat for your eyes and I can honestly say my vision has improved in only two weeks of making these smoothies. I vary the ingredients but the banana and collards are always included as is the soy milk.

This is a closeup before my first sip.

I ordered these stainless straws with an adjustable sipper and cleaning brush recently because a standard straw is too short for my Oster container. They are made by OXO (see link HERE) and there is a carrying case for travel. These are life changing and I love them. What do you think of My Breakfast of Champions? I was having an awful time eating my greens in other ways so this has solved my problem completely. If I somehow miss it at breakfast time, I will have it for my dinner. I add berries too, just didn't this morning. I always have frozen blueberries on hand. Each one has been delicious and the greens don't impart much of a taste but the banana does! HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

Here is my complete Oster package.

Maybe you have the same one hiding in your cabinet like I did.

xo

Please Don't Eat The Snowdrops

This must be in England because I have snowdrops everywhere and nothing has ever eaten them. It's an adorable photo though, isn't it? Happy Friday! It's raining at my cottage and will continue all night into Saturday. Have a great weekend no matter the weather. via

xo 

I searched Google Lens for source of original photo and found this. 

The rabbit is eating snowdrops in a meadow in Germany.