Friday, March 5, 2021

Broccoli Cornbread

I need to go grocery shopping so badly but keep putting it off until there is nothing to eat so I made broccoli cornbread for lunch today, the easy way. I steamed some frozen broccoli florets, chopped them after they defrosted, and added them to the batter of Martha White self-rising Corn Meal Mix. It was delicious as you can see from my photo. I sometimes do this with a can of drained whole kernel corn and that's good too. You can also use creamed corn. I've never tried green peas but I'm sure those would be delicious too.

I got my first Moderna Vaccine yesterday and haven't had any side effects at all. Even the shot was painless at the CVS pharmacy. Gail, northern California has already checked in on me as you will see on the comments of my last post. Dose #2 is in 3 weeks on April 1st. I am so relieved to be half way there. xo

UPDATE: A lot of you tell me you learn things from me so here goes. I met a lady yesterday who said her GPS took her to the wrong CVS. She said she had driven to the correct one several days prior and thought her GPS was just taking her a different way. I told her she should have driven the way she knew and her GPS would have corrected itself and she said she never knew that. I often tell WAZE how I want to go. I put in a driving request if I already know most of the route except the part at the end. I start driving the way that is familiar to me paying no attention to the voice instructions except at the end. Every time I contradict WAZE it corrects itself and lets me do what I want. This also teaches my phone a new route. I will do anything to avoid major highways and am teaching my GPS all the back roads. I hope this tip helps someone.

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Elegant Entrance Vestibule

It's Small But Mighty! 
Gorgeous too. 
I love everything and the sliding doors are genius. 
Even the ceiling is wallpapered. Love it.

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

MARCH: Planting Bulbs

Eugène Samuel Grasset (French 1845-1917) 
The Beautiful Planter 
Calendar page for March 1896
Eugène Samuel Grasset was a Swiss decorative artist who worked in Paris in a variety of creative design fields during the Belle Époque. He is considered a pioneer in Art Nouveau design.

New Finch at My Feeder

I had a new bird at my feeder yesterday, a HOUSE FINCH with beautiful red coloring. Purple finches were among the first birds to visit when I hung this feeder in the fall. The bird books say this is a western songbird bird that has become plentiful in the east and likes to hang out with sparrows. I found an interesting history that says If House Finches discover your feeders, they might bring flocks of 50 or more birds with them. Bring them on! The Juncos on the bottom posts don't mind sharing. xo

Monday, March 1, 2021

Tree House Designed By An Architect

This fantasy tree house is the stuff dreams are made of, isn't it? I love looking at architectural drawings and house plans and this could possibly be my favorite one ever. xo

Sunday, February 28, 2021

My Red-Bellied Woodpecker Hanging On

This bird's body really isn't built to latch on a feeding post, but he figured out a way. Today's photo shows how he manages. Where there's a will, there's a way! It was a lazy, rainy Sunday and I enjoyed it thoroughly. xo

Curious Bunny

HAVE A GREAT SUNDAY

Saturday, February 27, 2021

Stair Treads with a Painted Carpet


Designer Raquel Garcia’s Connecticut home. 

I woke up really early this morning and decided to try to schedule my two Covid-19 vaccinations on the CVS site. When I first logged on around 4:30 there were appointments open in almost every city on the New Jersey site. I think there must have been too many people trying to do the same thing because I kept ending up on a page that said Check Back Later. Sometime around 6:45 all the towns started showing up as FULLY BOOKED but I checked the Appointment Link and still got one for my first shot this Thursday and my second vaccine on April 1st. I am thrilled. Make sure your wallet is handy with all of the required identification card numbers even though there is no cost. The appointment confirmation comes in a text plus an email and it's very comprehensive and there's even a link for directions if the CVS is an unfamiliar town. 

I could walk to the CVS near me but my appointment is around 25 minutes away but I've been to the area before and I don't have to travel on a highway so I am not complaining.  https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/covid-19-vaccine
xo

Friday, February 26, 2021

Flower Basket Engraving

Victorian Flower Basket
Vintage Victorian style flowers in a vase engraving. Original from the British Library.

1878 Bird Print: My Hawk & Blue Jays

A color lithograph with my Cooper's Hawk and Blue Jays.

STUDER'S BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA
Leather Binding with embossed gilt cover and a detached spine.

Title Page dated 1878
This book was rather a poor man's Audubon's Birds of America because the birds were not hand-colored but printed in color thanks to the invention of chromolithography.

Thursday, February 25, 2021

Photoshop Fun: Apple on Leaf


APPLE ON LEAF
I photographed this beautiful apple from one of my antique prints and erased all the background and superimposed the image on a photograph of some leaf veins I took with my Nikon. This was long ago and I couldn't begin to do this again because it was very tedious. I added the shadow on two edges to give a floating effect too. Those were the days when you could buy a Photoshop software disc and use it forever. Then my computer crashed and times had changed. Now you have to rent the use of software and pay a huge fee every year forever and I am not willing to do that. So I do everything in the way of photo editing on my phone or with free apps like Snapseed. I'm thrifty that way. xo

Wednesday, February 24, 2021

Pancake Supper I Cooked Long Ago

I found this photo I took long ago and I have no memory of this meal. It looks like a large pancake spread with jam and coconut flakes and it looks delicious. That's my coffee table and everything on it is mine too. Remember when I said I lost many photos and more when my computer running Windows XP crashed? Well, I just found some of them saved to Google Photos and this is one of them. Click to enlarge.

Click the link if you missed my morning post about an Equestrian Painter. 

Today was beautiful and unseasonably warm with a high of 52°. There was a lot of melting too, thank goodness. I broke up ice patches that should be gone in a couple of days. See you tomorrow. xo

Equestrian Paintings by Sir Alfred Munnings

Portrait of Lady Barbara Lowther on horseback by Alfred James Munnings 1878-1959.

The artist himself. Read about Sir Alfred in a great article published by Christie's Auction House in London entitled: FROM WAR HORSES TO ROYALTY: THE ART OF SIR ALFRED MUNNINGS. The short biography includes many more paintings for you as well as one painted in 1954 with Queen Elizabeth. He painted continuously and beautifully up until the end of his life! I love the first one with the beautiful landscape in the background. Enjoy. xo

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Bluebirds in The Snow


What a thrilling photograph!
Bluebirds are my favorite birds and a winter sighting is always exciting. This shelter is perfect protection from the snow or for feeding them dried meal worms. via

Monday, February 22, 2021

Golfing Snowmen + Siberian Iris in The Snow


Seeing is believing!


I had beautiful purple and white miniature Siberian Iris at my first house and I miss them. Maybe this will be the year I plant some at my cottage. I normally have tons of snowdrops popping up in late February but they are buried under two feet of snow. I will be lucky to see them by April. The rest of the week will be warm with 40s and even 50s on the thermometer. Let the melting begin. via

Sunday, February 21, 2021

Beautiful Quote + Cat in A Box


Beautifully Handwritten Quote
"Painting is poetry
that is seen rather 
than felt.
Poetry is panting
that is felt 
rather than seen."
Leonardo da Vinci

This cat made me laugh😹

Red-Bellied Woodpecker Showing Belly

Red-Bellied Woodpecker, up close
I always thought this beauty should have been named for his head rather than his underside that's rarely this visible. Yesterday I got a vivid photo that illustrates his namesake perfectly. Thank you for all of your comments about my mistaken identity of the bird that perished this week. I now agree it was a Mourning Dove rather than a Hawk. It is a gorgeous Sunday morning here at my cottage with a cloudless blue sky. See you tonight. xo

Saturday, February 20, 2021

Something Killed my Beautiful Hawk😥



I knew something was wrong yesterday when all the bird activity stopped abruptly around 3:00 in the afternoon but I was too busy shoveling snow to investigate. This morning I got up early and there was still no activity. I went outside and filled the feeder up to the brim and still nothing. I went outside and looked over the balcony railing and saw large feathers scattered on the snow and I thought they looked like those of my friendly hawk. I went down and picked some up and I think you will agree. Would another hawk kill a young hawk? It's 9:30 now and the birds have returned. We were all worried the hawk was going to kill my little birds but I don't think anyone thought he would be the target. Boo Hoo😢
My blog is still broken and my sidebar has disappeared for computer viewing . Please click here to go to my mobile site. xo

Friday, February 19, 2021

Library off Living Room

I adore the wide board floors with the beautiful patina. The library off the living room looks as if it has bookshelves on all the walls and that's a good thing because you can't have too many (books or shelves). via

An Amazing Bathroom's Fine Cabinetry

WOW . . . THAT SINK SURROUND
I continue to be amazed by the art of the fine woodworker and the ideas of the homeowner or design professional. Bathrooms have certainly become sanctuaries of late, haven't they? via 
Click here for my blog's mobile view. Be safe in this horrible weather pattern. Next week is going to be much better! xo

Thursday, February 18, 2021

A Rabbit, Waist Deep in Snow + Powder Blue Kitchen Cabinets

Does He Look Fed Up?
I kept up with my snow by going outside often to shovel before it got too deep. It tapered off late in the afternoon and is supposed to start up again in the night but I think the worst is over. Wasn't too bad at all! I think animals, and this rabbit in particular, just take one day at a time and deal with whatever Mother Nature brings instead of wishing the snow would end the way we humans do. xo

Powder Blue Cabinets!
I have never considered powder blue as a color for painted cabinets, but aren't these lovely? via I am having a terrible problem with my sidebar not showing and I cannot fix it. Click here for MOBILE VIEW. xo

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

The Beautiful Cardinal + Acorn TV Updates

A Cardinal in the Snow
There's no prettier bird in the snow, is there? I am bracing for more tomorrow and will keep you posted. My heart goes out to the people in Texas with no power. I am so fortunate and count my blessings every day. xo

UPDATE: Feb. 18th
Season 2 of LAW & ORDER | UK was just added to Acorn.TV

I really enjoyed LINE OF DUTY too. I watched all 6 Seasons and I recommend it highly.

Instead of adding a new blog post, I am just going to keep adding updates to my existing evening post from the night before. A new post will be added between 8pm and no later than 9pm in the evening, Eastern time.

Tuesday, February 16, 2021

My Sunday Night Supper

Mac & Cheese
I should have posted this on Valentine's Day but I didn't. I made Mac & Cheese and added a can of tuna and frozen peas. I topped it with shredded cheddar and put it under the broiler to melt and brown. It was so good as were the leftovers for lunch the next day. xo

Monday, February 15, 2021

Cooper's Hawk Staring at Me

COOPER'S HAWK VISIT TODAY
He didn't stay long but I got quite a few poses. I wonder if he could see me through the window glass into my living room when I was photographing or if he could only see his reflection. He never flinched and I got quite a few shots just like this one only with his head looking in different directions. I know he is a predator of small birds but he didn't seem interested and was looking far away. I hope he spotted some mice because, as you all know by now, I am afraid of them. He last visited me on December 26th. The little birds came right back as soon as he flew away. This is my excitement for the day. xo

New House Looks Old Great Fireplace

This new construction in Gladwyn Pennsylvania is truly wonderful, inside and out. See all the photos and be inspired that architecture is not dead. look for the < > symbols with numbers in the cent to click through all 12. Archer & Buchanan Architects.