Tuesday Gif with Peonies and Tabitha

Peonies in full bloom cannot take days and days of unrelenting rain.

I bought a couple of herb plants from Whole Foods in Morristown. I divided the Rosemary into two plants and repotted them. The Lavender was divided into three plants that I arranged in a clay pot shaped like a chicken. They look so nice at my entrance.

Too Much Rain !

We are in the worst weather pattern and the peonies are not happy. We went from no rain to too much rain and I really need a few sunny days for a project at one of my real estate listings. 

Artwork in Progress

I love seeing artwork in progress with the scene and the sketch in one photo.

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A work in progress in a very large sketchbook.

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The finished drawing is very nice, isn't it? It looks like an engraving but it was done with a gel pen. Sjaak Kaashoek is a professional artist living in the Netherlands.

Wonderful House Tour

Like what you see so far? 

It's even more wonderful inside.

Enter the Tudor Cottage here.

Great Kitchen Sink

Don't you love this farm sink with the high back? The rest is pretty nice too. via

P is for Pink Peony

William Morris Letter P via

My very own pink peony captured with my iPhone. They really got battered this week with all the rain but I still love them.

Spinach, Peppers, and Swiss Cheese Omelet

My Saturday morning omelet in the making. So yummy and healthy too.

Webster. His first animated GIF.

I am so happy I finally learned how to make a Webster gif. The wonder dog is so worthy, isn't he? He's rolling in clover and loving it. xo

How did I do it? It was very easy. I downloaded the Google Photo app to my iPhone. Then I selected these photos that had a similar background. Then I clicked the + sign on the tool bar and the rest was done for me automatically. So fun! Joanna Stern from the Wall Street Journal has a great tutorial here.

Blue and White Checked Slipcover

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My favorite fabric. This chair looks like the perfect place to curl up with a good book, doesn't it? I hope there is an ottoman somewhere. I love that the owner dragged another chair beside the easy chair to hold all the books because there were fresh flowers on the table. 

We had rain all night but it stopped at daybreak. Enjoy your Sunday whatever you do, inside or outside. xo

Classic Georgian Home in Evanston Illinois

Beautiful in every way. Don't you wish we could go inside? Click here for a little peek.

Hello Nantucket

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Such a nice compound. Looks like the lawn person is there today. We have had an entire week of rainy days and the grass is ready to be cut but I'm waiting for several sunny days first. 

Wonderful Container Garden

Simply beautiful. This gives me some ideas. Must buy a large bag of topsoil when I go to Costco today. via

The Squeaking Cat

Hold your cursor on the screen and turn on the sound. Squeak! Squeak. So cute. via

20 Homemade Popsicle Recipes

Lonny Magazine has a great link to an article with 20 very interesting and unusual recipes for healthy homemade ice pops.

This one from Jessica Alba has bananas, pineapple chunks and fresh spinach with no added sugar. Get this recipe and 19 more here. I think popsicles are the perfect summertime snack, don't you?

White Scandinavian Inspired Kitchen

This would work for me. Want to see a little more of this home? Click here. White painted floors throughout!

Austin Garage with Apartment and Tower

You can view the entire Austin Texas skyline from the tower.

This is the view from the kitchen sink of the house. The outbuilding doesn't look like a garage, does it? Tour the entire Alley House project (inside and out) by Tim Cuppett Architects here.

Lovely Antique Garden Ornament

Yes, please. I would dearly love to have an antique garden ornament this lovely to delight my eye when I look outside.  via

Webster and Tabitha Together

It's very hard to get a decent photo of these two together but somehow I managed on a sunny day last week. As you can see, Tabitha is on her throne ignoring poor Webster but he doesn't mind. He's always happy to be in her presence and he happily lets her rule the roost.

An Amazing Animated Gif

This dot line wave reminds me how my stomach feels right now. I've been up for hours but still haven't had my breakfast. The animals have been fed and now it's my turn. See you later. xo

Hydrangea Explosion

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These are not Limelight hydrangeas, the variety I planted this year. My two bushes were just bare sticks with not much greenery when I planted them almost a month ago but now they are covered with lots of vigorous new growth and are thriving in the front and the back yards. I don't know if mine will bloom this year but they are on their way to becoming large bushes and I am thrilled. I have watered them daily and really babied them while they were in shock after being potbound. My plants were last year's stock and their roots were really packed. I untangled them and fed them lots of blue water almost daily. I followed my grandmother's advice too. She always said to plant a 50 cent plant in a $5.00 hole. The holes I dug were wide and deep and full of big rocks that I had to remove with my pickaxe. If you put in the effort when you plant something you will almost be guaranteed that you will have a successful growth. I mulched my plants too with wood chips to hold in the moisture. These plants are supposed to bloom on new growth so I am hopeful mine will too. Fingers crossed. I'm sure they are enjoying the rainy weather we had yesterday and last night with more on the way. Here is a very exciting HGTV article about Limelight Hydrangeas. Now I have high hopes that mine will bloom this year. I'm so glad I have them.

TV over the Fireplace

I usually don't like flat screen tv screens above a fireplace but I really like this arrangement. The whole room is fabulous, isn't it? via

I recently entered the 21st century because I finally have a small (21") flat screen in my living room and I love it. Now I wonder why I didn't get one earlier. I have it on a small antique piece beside my fireplace in the same place I had my ancient fat 13" set from the dark ages. When I am sitting on my sofa it lines up with my eyes and my sight of vision perfectly. If I had it on my mantle I would have to put my chin up and head back and look up and that would be awkward. I think there is a formula you are supposed to use based on the distance between where you sit and the screen. Mine is the perfect size and it's perfectly located as well as being very unobtrusive whether it's on or off. I'm thrilled because as you all know, I'm a big TV person. xo

Tintern Cottage in Wales

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The hillside vegetation is trying to take over the lawn and the wonderful old cottage too. It's a constant battle, isn't it? We are having a nice soaking shower before the sun goes down so it will be a nice cool night for sleeping. I hope I can find something to watch on my DVR because there's nothing to watch on TV. I'll be glad when the summer programs start up. It's rare when there's nothing good playing on PBS. Next week we have the first episode of Poldark so things are looking up in June. xo