Life's Little Instruction Book, page 154

This is the last page. Boo Hoo. It's been such fun posting this book page by page. Shall I start over?




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Spring Bulbs Forced Indoors

Narcissus, grape hyacinth, and lily of the valley forced indoors in unfinished wooden flats that were sprinkled with fast-growing grass seed. How nice. Photographed from one of my books: Paradise Contained, Growing and Decorating with Flower Bulbs by Kathryn George and Mary Sears. Photography by William Stites.
Get started now and these spring-flowering bulbs will be ready in time for your Easter table. The lily of the valley sprig in the scallop shell is my photograph from last summer. I love the scent of these tiny flowers best of all.

"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few." Anne Morrow Lindbergh

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Words To Live By

My office isn't quite this neat yet but my project for today is to get rid of all the clutter. Love this work space, don't you? Great poster too. Wonderful advice.

"Work hard and be nice to people."

via


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12 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.

Good Rules For All ~ A great piece of needlework.


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Releasing The Bird

One day soon I hope I'll wake up to see a spring scene outside my window instead of the white stuff I'm looking at right now. We got more snow overnight, just enough to be annoying. I actually did have a bird in the house recently. It fell down the chimney and came out in the furnace room. I opened the door and he flew outside unharmed. That was a big surprise too. via




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Laptops + Fine Art = Perfect Together

I was reading blogs in my Google Reader and this cracked me up. More classical images like this are posted by a special someone celebrating her first blog anniversary. All of the women look right at home behind their laptops, don't they? Happy anniversary Sande.

Forever a blogger, Rosemary.




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Antique Wash Boards

Wash or Scrubbing Boards by unknown artists. American, circa 1840-1870. Left to right: carved and doweled pine, carved fruitwood, pine and wire, carved and doweled pine. Private collection.

Scrubbing boards were found in every laundry room in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century America. Soiled clothes were soaped and then rubbed against the ridges of the board, which stood with its legs in a tub of wash water. The fruitwood board second from left is of one-piece construction, all of the other boards are jointed.

I never tire of looking at beautiful antique utilitarian items from everyday life in America, handmade to last. I'm sure these would be wonderful to touch as well. Years of scrubbing clothes by hand would have left the wood very smooth and the hands very rough. We have it so easy, don't we?

Photographed from one of my large coffee table books: America's Traditional Crafts by Robert Shaw.




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J.D. Salinger Archives in Six Libraries

Getty Images

J.D. Salinger fans in need of a fix don’t have to wait to see what will eventually surface from his New Hampshire hideaway. The following libraries all hold unique Salinger archives, from never-published stories to caches of letters that are often as charming and telling as this hermit's fiction.

• Firestone Library - Princeton University
• Harry Ransom Center - University of Texas at Austin
• The Harvard Law Library
• New York Public Library
• Library of Congress
• Morgan Library
  
  
• Read More

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George Washington's Birthday

George Washington's Birthday is celebrated as a federal holiday on the third Monday in February. Before 1971, Washington's Birthday was one of nine federal holidays celebrated on specific dates, which—year after year—fell on different days of the week (the exception being Labor Day—the original Monday holiday).

George Washington was born in Virginia on February 11, 1731, according to the then-used Julian calendar. In 1752, however, Britain and all its colonies adopted the Gregorian calendar, which placed Washington's birth on February 22, 1732.

I don't think too many people are remembering George Washington today. This holiday has become a day to shop. The banks and post offices are closed but all the stores are having sales. This year we have two major shopping days in a row...Valentine's Day and President's Day. Happy shopping. Sorry George.

George Washington Bookplate
Rare Million Dollar George Washington Stamp
George Washington Miniature Portrait

I think Abraham Lincoln's birthday has been lumped into Presidents' Day but I couldn't find a single reference to corroborate this fact. This one comes close. Am I correct?




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These Made Me Smile Today

Now this is what I call a pie chart.

Awww. How sweet is this?
Both images.




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I'm Definitely Judging This Book By Its Cover

Library, An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles. I love the cover so much. I know you aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover but I can't help myself. It's agreat one, isn't it? You can read a portion online here before you reserve it via your favorite librarian or purchase the book. Let me know if its good. Rosemary




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My Blog in The Baltimore Sun

Susan Reimer mentioned my blog today in her Valentine's Day post for The Baltimore Sun. It seems that other gardeners were able to find hearts in their gardens too. This is so exciting. Thank you Susan. She writes Garden Variety, A Blog for the Mid-Atlantic Gardener.

What a nice surprise. Blogging brings us together in very unexpected ways, doesn't it? You can follow her on Twitter too.




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Year Of The Tiger + Love On Valentine's Day

In addition to being Valentine's Day today is also the first day of the Lunar New Year or Chinese New Year, The Year of The Tiger. The USPS has both events covered very nicely indeed. Happy Valentine's Day and Happy New Year too.

A wonderful antique Valentine from a past century. Luckily it was treasured, loved and preserved to inspire us today. Have a great day, Rosemary

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Loving This Mood Board

I love this bulletin board or mood board, don't you? It's big and simple. Nice.
found here

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