Carved Angel in Rome

Such a beautiful image. I hope the families in Newtown are able to be comforted in their time of sorrow. The whole world weeps for and with them. via

Spider weaves love web.

via

Delivering the Egg Nog

I still have such fond memories of the milk man. Nothing today compares to those glass bottles full of fresh milk with the cream on top. Ours delivered eggs, butter, cottage cheese and probably a few other dairy products too. The egg nog at Christmastime was the best! Leaving the empty bottles in the milk box beside the front door with a note in one containing the next day's order was recycling at its best. Now that you can have your groceries delivered to your home after placing an order online, I say bring back the old-fashioned milk man! via

White on White

I love this photo. No footprints, just snow and shadows. I wonder if this was a color photo converted to black and white and shades of gray or if it was just a gray day? It's absolutely beautiful. You can hear the quiet, can't you? via

One Horse Open Sleigh

I can hear the jingle bells, can you? via

Goose Crossing in Hampshire England

A delightful thatched country cottage on the south coast of England. Charming! via

Perfect Tree Lined Drive

I hope there is a wreath on each of the gates now that the trees are (probably) bare. I'm curious about the driveway. Is it patterned concrete or stone pavers set in concrete? I'd like to see more of the walls with the diamond espalier. I love the way the canopy of the trees has formed a natural arch. Lovely! Have a wonderful weekend. via

Wonderful Weathered Door with Wreath

Another great old weathered door with a grapevine wreath covered with berries opening to a great room all decked out for Christmas. via

White Poppies

These white Oriental Poppies are beautiful. Must look for some seeds. Now is the time to sow them. image source

Red Tulips in White Ironstone Pitcher

The red tulips from Jill are lovely and they really stand up straight. I don't own many vases. I usually run for a pitcher or this ironstone coffee pot. Don't look too closely at the dust circles on the top of my bookcase. [my photo]

Hooked Rug with Not Quite White Owls

Not Quite White

21" x 27"

#8 and #6 cut wool on linen 

Designed and hooked by 

Karen Larsen

Crows’s Foot Farm Designs 

Elliottsburg, Pennsylvania 

2012

I recently reconnected with an old friend from this area who now lives in Pennsylvania. She has been hooking since 2006 and one of her original rug designs is on the November/December 2012 cover of Rug Hooking Magazine. 

Read about why these owls are "Not Quite White" in a portion of the article Creating White from Colors. I think she did a wonderful job, don't you? Her home was just photographed for an upcoming feature in Rug Beat. The owl rug looks beautiful on her dining room wall.

Image: IMPACT XPOZURES

Works of George Eliot

"Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. George Eliot." 

I couldn't agree more ~ Quote from  'Mr. Gilfil's Love Story,' Scenes of Clerical Life, 1857 

[my photo, my books]

Christmas Wreath on Cottage Door

I put the wreath on my front door a couple of days ago after I gave the outside a good cleaning. A red bow looked too garish for me so I left it unadorned. Yesterday I got some beautiful flowers with a big white bow and quickly put it between two pinecones. It looks amazingly perfect, doesn't it? To me it represents the purity of my mother's spirit. [my photo]

Tulips and Spatterware

White tiger tulips in a blue and white spatterware pitcher. My friend Jill brought them to me to remember my mother. They get more beautiful each day and she says they are very long lasting.

A Sweet Kitchen

Sometimes I wish I had done a cooktop and built-in oven below in my kitchen. It makes for a more seamless countertop. I like open shelves for other people but for me, I prefer closed cabinet doors in the working part of the kitchen. via

DIY Stamped Christmas Wrap w/ Tutorial

I've always been a fan of brown paper Christmas wrap and love the idea of carving a custom stamp to decorate it. Fabulous tutorial here. Once you make your stamp, it can be used for gift tags, Christmas Cards, Christmas ornaments, and you could probably even decorate cookies with it. 

Garden Arch, Regents Park, London, England. What a lovely place to sit and reflect. via

Beautiful Double Door in Italy

Wonderful old door in Rome. You can't fake patina like this! via

Sunless Days

This word describes the weather we've been having lately. Tomorrow is supposed to be very cold. I want to finish clipping my boxwood so they will all match. I sort of quit in the middle for some reason. I never put everything back in place after storing things before the hurricane either. I want to replace the tops on the birdbaths because they look nice filled with snow.

Thank you again for helping me with your wonderful words. We all have to deal with letting a loved one go at some point in our lives. My mother and I both knew her time was at hand and she told me she was not afraid. Even though her body was weak, she was strong of spirit up to the end. She was even able to climb into my big car with the running board to go to the nursing home. She walked inside with my help but we didn't get too far before she agreed to ride to her room in a wheel chair.

Because she was a nurse herself she was able to convey her appreciation of any kind care she was given and everyone admired her for that. There aren't many thank yous and hugs given to professional caregivers by the patients these days. My mother didn't forget. She made me proud and I always tried to make her proud too.

image source

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.