!2 Rules To Live By ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

12 RULES TO LIVE BY
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

• Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things.

• Make the best of circumstances. No one has everything and everyone has something of sorrow.

• Don't take yourself too seriously.

• Don't let criticism worry you. You can't please everybody.

• Don't let your neighbors set your standards; be yourself.

• Do things you enjoy doing but stay out of debt.

• Don't borrow trouble. Imaginary things are harder to bear than actual ones.

• Since hate poisons the soul, do not cherish enmities and grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy.

• Have many interests. If you can't travel, read about places.

• Don't hold post-mortems or spend time brooding over sorrows and mistakes.

• Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.

• Keep busy at something. A very busy person never has time to be unhappy.
• I posted this long ago (February 16, 2010) and it suddenly became popular again with lots of views so I thought I should repost it for everyone to see.

August Already?

Walter Crane illustration. Verse by his daughter Beatrice Crane. Arts & Crafts movement, late 19th century. Can you believe it's August already? I can't! I always try to embrace this month because when September rolls around the rest of the year flies by.

 

Today is the closing of that real estate transaction that has taken up so much of my time so maybe I can get back to blogging again, fingers crossed. My mower is out of the shop following a tuneup and I used it yesterday. It really felt good to walk behind it once again. The weather has been unusually cool since Sunday and I want to take advantage before it heats up again. 

I never feel guilty if this is the only thing I do.

Quote found here: https://www.inspiringquotes.com/

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Weekend Photos Missy's House + 4 of My Antique Boxes

When leaving Missy's house earlier in the week, I spotted these mushrooms and bent down to photograph them and got a good picture of her house too. 

I have four of my antique boxes lined up on my mantel to act as stands for my antique silver trophy cups.

I love the fancy drawer fronts on this one using two types of wood.

This miniature blanket box has a lift top and a single drawer.

The fancy inlay on this one is on all surfaces except the back and the bottom. It has a lift top and opens to a dressing box with mirror and liftout tray with dividers for small items like earrings or cuff links. Could be a gentleman's dressing box too. The box has a lock and the original key. It's my favorite. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend with some relief from the heatwave. It was "only" 81° today and wasn't as humid as it has been.

See you again in a day or so. xo

Project That is Long Overdue

This stand in my bedroom has always been a pain to dust and I have always wanted to sew custom covers for the tops and today I did. This was fun and pretty easy and I have tons of this fabric for curtains should my current ones ever need replacing. Dusting the drawer fronts, legs and sides will be a breeze now and I like the way it looks. Why today? I don't know but the mood just struck me and I ran with it. I wish I had done this sooner but better late than never. Remember dresser scarves? Maybe it's time to bring them back♡ xo

Two TRUE Spy Movie Recommendations: FREE ON TUBI

THE CATCHER WAS A SPY

https://tubitv.com/movies/684147/the-catcher-was-a-spy

I enjoyed this so much. It's a true story about a Princeton educated catcher for a baseball team who became a spy. I recommended it to a friend who had also read the book but didn't know it was a movie.

RED JOAN starring Judi Dench

https://tubitv.com/movies/100000249/red-joan

It's mostly flashbacks to her student days and early employment. The actress who plays her then reminds me of a young Laren Becall. This is a must-see movie before seeing OPPENHEIMER that comes out this week about The Manhattan Project.

Hope you are all having a nice summer and have found ways of staying cool. I didn't turn on my central air until July 2nd. My house is very comfortable. I have mine set at 79° and that seems to be perfect unless I am doing something strenuous. I only have two zones, my main floor and the attic. I find that if I leave the basement door open it removes the humidity from down there too. I turn it off completely at night because the condenser is just outside my bedroom window and the noise would keep me awake. So far this system is working perfectly. I also turn it off completely when I go out. I changed the filter too. 

Let me know if you watch either or both movies and if you liked them. TUBI is wonderful and has a really vast catalog of great movies. They say it has surpassed YouTube in popularity. https://tubitv.com/home There are commercials but they aren't very distracting.

Enjoy. xo, Rosemary

July First Evening Photos

Two tiny geranium cuttings I just pushed in the dirt of this hanging basket and they are both blooming. Geraniums are so easy.

The begonias my friend gave me are lovely.

An overview of the bed to the left of my walk. The peonies are finished but the greenery in the foreground is still nice. The same for the lilies of the valley that are my main groundcover to the left all the way back.

Mainly pansies and a few begonias mixed in. I pinched the pansies daily. My mother always said the more you pinch them the more they will grow. And she was right.

I started some ferns in this corner and they should spread over time. The impatients that were a give are doing well too. 

The hanging basket with the tiny geranium cuttings.

An overview of this corner of my world.

Hope everyone has a great long July 4th weekend.

See you again soon, I promise.

xo

Click any photo to enlarge.

Find Your Old Nutcracker to Open Screw Top Lids on Milk Cartons

I mentioned buying a nutcracker at a thrift shop recently and posted this photo on Instagram a day or two ago. The response has been overwhelming. So many people didn't realize the plastic tops have been reduced in height and there is no longer enough surface to get a good grip and unscrew them. When I saw this nutcracker I knew immediately it would work and it does. I could have used pliers but I only have one set and it's downstairs in my toolbox. Most of you will have a nutcracker in your junk drawer and won't have to buy one. I love giving new life to old things and this nutcracker now has an honored place in my kitchen silverware drawer. See my Instagram post HERE Now I know I'm not the only one with this problem. Trader Joe's private label milks have gone back to the old carton design with no plastic at all. You just rip open one of the sides and pour. 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CtwSeyhOnIG/

Just a random photo from one of my walks. Allium seed heads look like exploding fireworks, don't they? xo

Wildflower Garden I Photographed with Mostly Bachelor Buttons

 I went out on Wednesday to do some food shopping and to my favorite thrift shop to donate back at the loading dock. To my great surprise they had planted the most wonderful wildflower garden against the metal siding. I was mesmerized by its beauty. I have always loved bachelor buttons or blue cornflowers and there were so many of them. I took a video shown below but I might have to delete it if it doesn't upload correctly. I won't know until I publish this post. I only bought one thing when I went inside for 50 cents. It was an old fashioned squeeze nutcracker. I always have trouble unscrewing the Half & Half tops since they reduced the height. Now they are so shallow I have a really hard time unscrewing them. The nutcracker worked perfectly for this task and I am thrilled. Tara made me feel guilty about not blogging in a while but I have been very busy with many things. More about that later. xo

Have a great weekend. We finally got rain and I have two baby groundhogs that I've been enjoying. I only have weeds and they are welcome to eat all they want. Will try to get a photo to show you.The video worked♡. To see it in your email notification you have to click "continue reading". xo

Saturday Vibes

I brought a few lily of the valley plants with me from my former home. It has taken over 20 years for them to become a ground cover that gets bigger every year.

Nothing earth shattering here, just the picket fence that surrounds my air conditioning unit, my gas meter, and my electric meter. It looks so nice since it was painted last summer. Have a great weekend. xo

My Happy Place Behind the Barn

This is what is hidden from view behind my garage/barn. This is where my compost bin lives (not shown) and where I do my repotting. The zinc container with the garbage can lid on top is full of potting soil and various gardening tools. As you can see, I am way behind with my mowing but I will eventually catch up. Can you believe this is the last day of May? Where did it go? It was unusually cool and very busy for me but it has calmed down a bit going into June and summer. xo

 My peonies all i bloom -- Pink, White, and Red.

Click photo to enlarge.

This photo is stunning when enlarged on a computer.

So happy.

xo

First Peonies of The Season

The ant 🐜 is a bonus. They are supposed to be good for the peonies as they eat the sticky nectar which helps them open.

My busy days in real estate have slowed down because the house is under contract for a June 21 closing. Will keep you posted.

Now I am busy with mowing and more mowing. Most of my pots are planted in the front garden and on my balcony. May has been exceptionally cool and I have enjoyed it. Have a great Memorial Day tomorrow. xo

A red one is opening this morning.

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY🇱🇷

xo

Bluebirds Galore and a Boss Baby

Proud Father.

Father, trying to teach baby everything.

Baby is on railing to the right,

Boss Baby, trying to bluebird.

Isn't he adorable? I love him💙

Buttercups, my favorite wildflowers (right now) outside my front door.

It's supposed to get quite cold tonight but I am not going to cover my geraniums. I think they will be fine, fingers crossed.

xo

Disturbed a House Wren Nest by Accident

There was a house wren's nest full of her clutch in this hen planter. This photo is after I put it back along with all the dead plants that I scooped up without knowing there was a nest.

I had my hands full and wanted to dump the soil near my parked car where I planted a Buttonwood Bush seedling my town gave out on Earth Day. I got 4 rooted cuttings of this native plant that is attractive to pollinators and butterflies.

When I bent down to spread the soil I noticed some movement and look closely and saw a pile of young wrens. There must have 6 or 7. The mother took them back with no problem but she made them fledge today.

Here is a photo of the empty nest. That was my excitement for the last couple of day. Tomorrow I will show you my overwintered geraniums that are looking so pretty on my balcony. xo

News from the Nest

I am thrilled to report I have a pair of blue birds building a nest in this box. This is an old photo but it's mine.

Another old bluebird photo of mine. I need to put up this box somewhere.

An illustrated quote I made but it's not my photo.

More good news -- Mother Robin is back in her old corner. I'm sure there must be eggs by now but I haven't looked. I was worried she wouldn't return since all of her old nests were removed when my deck was power washed last summer. Robin nests are very messy and just thrown together  and held in place with some mud. 

She couldn't decide what cubicle she wanted so she tried several before deciding on the second from the right. See all the dried grasses hanging down? I worked on pruning the boxwood in back of my barn/garage cutting back dead wood and clipping with my shears. They look so much bette and I left lots of little sticks on the ground for the birds in case they want easy pickings for nest materials. I've been busy away from home and had an office meeting this morning. There was another one after lunch but I stayed home and worked outside instead. xo

 

New Listing or Why I've Been Busy

Just posted on Instagram Tuesday 6:45pm

The owner took this photo and I love it.

The cherry tree wasn't as pretty when I took this photo.

The owner took this photo too.

We already have appointments lined up and the first showing isn't until Friday. It has been a whirlwind but it's up and running.

See you later. xo

Welcome May (and the Sun)

Maybe I can put my geraniums out this week and turn off my heat. Sorry I have been absent but have been working on a listing and helping client get ready. All of my neighbors (except one) have already cut their grass twice and I haven't even started thinking about mine. Today the sun out after days and days of rain and it's glorious.

      

Happy May Day! This is my view on Monday morning outside my living room window looking out across the street to my neighbors barn/garage. xo

Walking to Dinner Out Yesterday Evening

A realtor friend invited me and another friend to join her for an early dinner yesterday evening at 6pm. This is a quick photo of the approach to Jockey Hollow Bar and Kitchen in Morristown NJ. It was a lovely evening and fun walking around town a little beforehand. I found a parking spot right away as I'm always early and I picked up my friend who doesn't like to drive at night. We celebrated the sale of her house and still got home early. I have toured many of the upscale apartments here over the years but had never been to the restaurant. https://www.jockeyhollowbarandkitchen.com 

Located at 110 South St. in Morristown, N.J., the Vail Mansion was built by the first president and chairman of AT & T, Theodore Vail. The first floor of the mansion was originally designed to house Mr. Vail´s collection of art and family inventions, while the second floor was to be his living quarters.

A project architect designed and supervised the restoration of this 1918 Palladian building as part of an adaptive reuse project. The upscale condominiums are beautiful with many amenities. https://www.ctsarch.com/vail-mansion-morristown-nj

A Wonderful Dog Painings🐾♡

Arthur Wardle, R.I., R.B.C. (1864-1949) 

Waiting for master, a wire coated fox terrier

https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-arthur-wardle-ri-rbc-waiting-for-master-5583159/?

Sold at Christie's in 2012. I have always loved this breed.

Isn't this a delightful rendering of man's best friend?

xo

Best Pantry Ever, Really!

Swoon. Found on Instagram artichoke_ltd -- all of their custom cabinetry is handmade and everything I have seen is absolutely wonderful! ♡xo

https://www.instagram.com/p/CqcqRzZt8wU/?img_index=1