🐾Missy's Last Evening Walk🐾

Missy and I walked to the way back yesterdat at 4:00 to beat the darkness of a 4:35 sundown. I had to turn on the lights in the front and the floodlights in the back for our bedtime walk. I am always to walk very far from the house because of all the bear🐻sightings I read about in local alerts. She's going home today and so this is her goodbye post.🐾🐾

I must have jiggled the camera while holding the leash and the camera at the same time. Her right rear leg looks very odd but I don't have another shot of her looking back. She lives close by so I get to see her often and she's always glad when I pop in. I have a lot to do today after she goes home, mostly housework. I don't miss the dog hair associated with dog ownership so a dogsitter I shall remain.

🐱STUFFED CATS: Free Sewing Pattern and Tutorial🐱

These cute Happy Cats look pretty easy and you have over a month until Christmas to whip up a few. Pattern is in several sizes and it's a free download from Ann Wood Handmade.

https://www.annwoodhandmade.com/happy-cats-a-free-sewing-pattern/

You should start with the large one because turning and stuffing will be easier. It could be a cat toy too for your favorite feline and you could fill it with catnip. Fill with sand and it could be a pincushion. You could just draw the features with a sharpie if you use an unprinted fabric.

She has many other free patterns to download below:

https://www.annwoodhandmade.com/free-patterns-and-resources/

Happy sewing.

You're welcome☺️

xo

Beautiful White Clapboard House in Fall

The carpet of fallen leaves enhances the beauty of this New England colonial home. I love the stark simplicity of the windows with no shutters. via

A Curious Dog in Mother Goose Rhymes

Missy hasn't been doing any of these strange things. I thought this dog looked like her breed though. So far, we are having a quiet Sunday morning after a chilly brisk walk. She's patiently awaiting her breakfast but isn't begging. 

Just waiting.

See more of these delightful woodcuts of this dog doing funny things when the owner goes out to get him something.

click here.

Have a great Sunday. xo

🏸Tennis Poster: EMMA by Jane Austen🏸

This put a big smile on my face this morning. Isn't it clever? I love the brilliant idea of using tennis star Emma Raducanu's image juxtaposed on the movie poster for EMMA. Image found here. 

It really is the perfect match, isn't it?

 Missy had another event free night and was eager to go outside when I got up at 7:30. It was a chilly 22° so cold weather is back. It didn't seem very cold later and I was able to mow the way back. It was actually quite pleasant!

Enjoy your weekend. xo

🐾 Missy's Back 🐾

Missy was dropped off yesterday morning and she is always a welcome guest. I will have her until Monday or Tuesday. This time I didn't set up my crate or use her own. I have complete trust in her since she is so familiar with my house and we are on a regular schedule for walks. She still goes straight to her bed in the kitchen in front of the radiator after we come in from a walk. That's where her crate is usually set up. She also loves this blue bed I always set up in the living room in front of the TV and that's where she slept last night. 

I left her alone in the house yesterday afternoon for hours on end. It turned out to be nearly 70° and a perfect day for mowing over the leaves. I was so happy and got everything mowed except the farthest piece in the way back. I am fairly sure there will be another temperate day soon for mowing that patch, fingers crossed. Have a great weekend. xo

Wonderful Interior Details in A Children's Book published in 1900

A delightful wood engraving by Hans Tegner. Denmark. 1853-1932. It appeared in a book of fairy tales and stories by Hans Christian Andersen published in 1900 in the collection of The New York Public Library. It seems so sophisticated for a children's book and could easily be in one of today's Interior Design magazines or coffee table books. The room's decor is timeless. An adult reading to a child would have enjoyed this artwork and the idea of the story is perfectly illustrated for a child to enjoy and understand too! I love it, don't you? 

Photo source here.

UPDATE: I JUST DISCOVERED A LINK FOR THE ACTUAL BOOK OF FAIRY TALES AND STORIES BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN PUBLISHED IN 1900. IT HAS BEEN DIGITIZED BY THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

There are 524 pages. 

Who knows what else you will discover!

ENJOY! xo

https://archive.org/details/fairytalesstorie00ande/page/n19/mode/2up 

🐰The Rabbit's Dream🐰 Drawing Circa 1895-99 by Beatrix Potter

©Victoria & Albert Museum

Beatrix Potter’s drawing

“the Rabbit's Dream” one of four drawn over 4 years

He dreams BIG, doesn't he?

In the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

"Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) is one of the world's best-loved children's authors and illustrators. She wrote the majority of the twenty-three Original Peter Rabbit Books between 1901 and 1913. The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 1902) is her most famous and best-loved tale. This is one of four known versions of ‘The Rabbit’s Dream’, all dating from 1895 to 1899. The rabbit shown here – thought to be Potter's pet rabbit, Peter Piper – sleeps in the No. 4 bedroom at Camfield Place. Potter slept in this room when visiting her grandparents before they died, and made a detailed pen and ink drawing of the room. Framing the central rabbit are numerous drawings of him sleeping in different positions, reflecting the many studies of her pets Potter made."

I love learning the history behind her artwork and this one is very special. I love knowing she slept in this very room in her grandparents' house. Her drawing below is also in the Beatrix Potter collection housed in London at The Victoria and Albert Museum. I found it on Google Images. There is a new exhibit opening February 22, 2022 to celebrate her life. Beatrix Potter, Drawn to Nature. Be sure to mark your calendar and visit virtually. I'll try to remind you.

©Victoria and Albert Museum

Isn't this the most charming bedroom ever? I wonder if her grandparents' house was preserved? If so, there should be a sign: "Beatrix slept here." Sweet Dreams! xo

🐓Indoor Dining🐥

This photo made me smile. I guess the cook threw down the kitchen scraps and let the chicks and their mom enjoy some indoor dining. via

❤️Vintage Spools of Sewing Thread❤️

I have a huge stash of vintage sewing thread on old wooden spools and I am always rummaging in the containers trying to find the perfect color for a mending project and I am almost always successful. via

Built-in Cupboards and Drawers❤️

It would be fun to organize these cupboards but it would be a shame to close the doors and hide all of your beautiful things, wouldn't it? via

Great Before and After Renovation

This is so fabulous, isn't it?

I do love a great Before & After photo.

I found this cottage on Instagram

Christian Daw Design

Enjoy this larger photo and the weekend. xo

🐾 Dog Breeds That No Longer Exist 🐾

It's a dreary Friday here at my cottage. I spent the first two hours in a webinar for continuing education credits for my real estate license. The sun is supposed to come out later this afternoon and maybe I will rake some wet leaves.

I enjoyed reading this BBC fascinating article about dog breeds that time forgot. See link below:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211105-the-bizarre-dog-breeds-time-forgot

Listen to a 7 minute segment on NPR about Turn Spit Dogs. There is an illustration too:

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/05/13/311127237/turnspit-dogs-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-vernepator-cur

🐾🐾Enjoy🐾🐾

Have a great weekend.

Historic Lodge in England

The Lodge, Greys Court, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England via National Trust https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/

HISTORY OF THE FAMILIES WHO OWNED GREYS COURT

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/greys-court/features/the-families-of-greys-court

This is a good read with photos♡

Enjoy. xo

🐾Two Lovely Paintings of Dogs🐾

Yes, please. 

I love the dog paintings and the chair too.

photo source

Sleeping Porch in A Grand Old House

 I have always loved houses with sleeping porches and this one is wonderful. I would feel very safe sleeping outside up high like this. I would be uneasy on the ground floor. What fun it would be to wake up there on a summer morning. Watching it snow outside in the winter in this seating area would be fun too. I copied this photo from the MLS.

First Peek: Beds on My Lower Level

Yesterday, I put my vintage flannel fish sheets on the twin beds and covered the box springs too. The hooked rugs are companions. Long ago (2003) I bought these WOOLRICH items that are now discontinued and I am loving the look of a fishing lodge downstairs. The bed on the left is one small step down to the sitting room area opposite a large sliding glass door. The door you see in the hallway leads to the laundry room. I am still sorting linens and odds and ends in the part of this room you can't see quite yet. I am not planning on bedspreads, just blankets at the foot of the bed; I love the sheets too much to hid them. I have two pillows with matching fish pillow cases to pull out for guests. The large pillows there now are almost as wide as the mattresses and don't hide the headboards so they are out for the everyday look. My mother and I bought these painted iron beds from a farmhouse garage sale in Oldwick, NJ for a whopping $6.00 for the pair. She always brought me luck when we shopped together.♡

Christmas Books to Read Starting December First

I found a blog you will want to bookmark called TYGERTALE: A BLOG ABOUT BRILLIANT CHILDREN'S BOOKS. https://tygertale.com/

The illustration above is for reading on the 8th day of December:

Brambly Hedge: Winter Story by Jill Barklem 

There is even a delightful 25 minute animated movie of this story to watch at the end.

The entire blog post about Christmas stories to read each day in December leading up to Christmas Day is: https://tygertale.com/2020/12/25/the-best-christmas-ever/ 

Each recommendation has a link leading to the book with numerous illustrations. You will love it!

Enjoy and share. 

PS: It's okay to start early🎄

Latest Free Find for My Lower Level TV

I am still rearranging as I find new items to decorate my lower level! I found this small chest upside down at the recycling center after a night of rain recently. I thought the brasses on the drawer fronts were nice so I put it in the trunk of my car. The top was covered with all sorts of paint spots as if the previous owner had used it for as a painter's easel. I really wasn't planning to use it as a piece of furniture, I just wanted the brasses. BUT when I got it home, I realized it was the perfect size and height for the small TV I had in the attic and seldom used. After I touched up all the nicks and scratches with a small brush dipped in Old English Furniture Polish. After wiping off the excess, I put a small rug on top to hide the paint blobs, and it was transformed. It isn't old and many of the parts are made of "pressed wood" but it's perfect for all the other things down there that are either garage sale finds or curbside finds and it's the correct scale too. My mother sold all of her furniture when she sold her condo in Charlotte and came to live with me in 2001. We had such fun finding her new furnishings and now I am enjoying adding and rearranging down there. I never look for the things I bring home, they somehow find ME.

 

Have a great weekend and don't forget to set your clocks BACK an hour before you go to bed tonight. xo

 

My New Motto

NOW IS THE NEW LATER. It's true, isn't it? 

I have done so many things recently that I have been putting off until "later" and it has paid off. So many people I know have been doing the same thing. via