Wonderful 19th Century Bookplate

How wonderful. I couldn't agree more. I still think about certain books I loaned out and never got back. I remember one in particular and know who has it but it's a book I can live without. When I was very young, I turned down the corners of book pages and then I quit. It still pains me to think about all those times I hurt a book. via

Farm Sink and Topiaries

What is that extra faucet on the left? If it were Instant Hot it would not have dual handles. This kitchen detail has so many things to love; the extra-deep farm sink, marble counters, white cabinets, polished chrome faucets, big window, wonderful houseplants, black hardware. What is that counter cabinet behind the topiary in the clay pot? A garage for appliances? Does it pull up like a garage door? I hope so, otherwise you would have to clear the counter in order to open it. The rest of the kitchen must be nice too because this snapshot is very well thought out. Happy Sunday. xo

Bluebirds in February

I could not be more excited having seen lots of bluebirds circling in my backyard this morning while brewing my coffee. This is an old photo and I recently replaced this house with a larger one from the Audubon Society. Last year the house wrens claimed it and I have high hopes the bluebirds will win out this year. I worked in the yard before the ground froze and installed a new metal post that is much sturdier than the copper pipe on the house above. Bluebirds are very picky about where they live and they were always happy here before the wrens took over. Fingers crossed. Spring is definitely in the air today and the sky is blue with no clouds. So nice after several days of rain. Enjoy your weekend. xo

Two Book Shelves in my Bedroom

Two shelves full of some of my favorite things in my bedroom. On Instagram, this is known as a #shelfie. I am loving taking interior photos on my second-hand iPhone which was a gift from a friend. The dual cameras are awesome and have encouraged me to take more photos for my followers.

Thursday Ramblings with Pictures

All images above are from This Delightful Blog

Early American Decor

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I love the style of the curved stairs with the natural wood treads and handrail and the paint color on the rest. This looks like a homey cottage and I would love to see the rest.

Teddy Bear Portrait

This is an old jointed teddy bear that usually sits in an antique child's chair in my cottage. I didn't notice that his left ear was turned back until I got back in the house after his photo session. I was just playing around with Portrait Mode on my iPhone 7+ and it is so easy and so much fun. It's an overcast gray day here at the cottage and pretty warm (55°) for February with rain coming this afternoon and continuing for a couple of days. Maybe I will get caught up on the three episodes of PBS programs I missed on Sunday night: Howards End, Sanditon, and Vienna Blood. I am enjoying all three. 

Maine Farmhouse All Lit Up

There is nothing better than driving by a house with a light in every window. This house must be in a very private location since there are no window treatments. I love it! This looks like an old house that has been renovated. Or perhaps it's a new house. 

Stonewall farmhouse, Portland, ME. Whitten Architects. photography by Rob Karosis.

Tablescape Photo at My Cottage

Nothing earth shattering here. Just playing around with a new-to-me iPhone on portrait mode and it looks like a Nikon 35mm camera photo. This is going to be fun. 

It is not the newest model but an iPhone 7plus and I am loving it. 

Super Bowl Cookies

I made a double batch of Chocolate Chip Oat Cookies for a Super Bowl Party tonight. They are honestly the best cookies I have ever made. I have never used this recipe or this cookbook before. The first batch was so good I made a second batch.  The second batch is on the bottom and I didn't have quite enough butter so they didn't spread out as much as the first batch on the top layer. But they taste the same. They are better than Tate's. This will be my go-to cookie recipe from now on. My next batch will have raisins instead of chips.

Click to enlarge. I used whole wheat flour instead of white flour because I was out of white.  I increased the old fashioned oats from 3/4 cup to One Cup. I decreased the sugars to 1/3 cup (each variety) because the chocolate chips are so plentiful, you don't need so much sugar. I will let you what other people think after tonight. Enjoy the Super Bowl. 

My gas range has a gas oven and I always have to increase the baking temperature to get anything to brown on top.

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY click to watch a delightful video of one eating an apple. Be sure the sound is on😀 

Hello February and Leap Year

There is an extra Leap Day at the end of February this year. Has it really been four years since the last one? Photo found here in a Google Images search.

Bungalow to Farmhouse: Renovation Photos Before and After

I watched this transformation on my street and still cannot believe my eyes. It is now my real estate listing and it is quite impossible to describe the renovation. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? It is perfect now in every way. The vision of the architect owner is now a reality.

Folk Art Cat - Winter Show @ The Armory in NYC

"We generally cast our affections with dogs in the pet department, but there’s something pretty lovable about this c. 1840 watercolor gray-and-white cat. Poor mouse …"

I think this cat looks exactly like a dog. 😊

Offered by: David A. Schorsch and Eileen M. Smiles American Antiques booth at Winter Show.
Click on link to see many more photos of the wonderful antiques and folk art being offered at this annual event. Article from The Magazine Antiques.

Open House Today w/ House Tour

I just got home from putting out my Open House signs and my hands are like blocks of ice. I hope the realtors who have not seen this wonderful home will come. I have scheduled a Public Open House for this Sunday from 1-4pm. I know it's Super Bowl Sunday but it's a Super House and I think people will come. Wish me luck.

Virtual Tour Here Scroll down a bit for the Slideshow Video. Isn't it a wonderful house? The owners are an architect and a designer. It is right down the street from my cottage.

503 Spring Valley Road in Harding Township NJ. It is on the eastern side in the Green Village section. MLS # 3612070

Thanks for looking. xo

Laundry Room with Visiting Goat

Look what happens when you leave the mudroom door open. This room is fabulous, isn't it? Do you think there is a washer and dryer in the room too. That would make it perfect. It is already doing service as a potting shed and a place to wash off the vegetables from the garden. Love it❤❤❤

Snow.Cat

What?

I'm fine.

Go back to what you were doing and leave me alone.

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Stunning Kitchen

Those windows and doors! The stone walls. The beamed ceiling, The floors. The range hood. The outside. The old cutting boards. All of it. Yes, please. 

@ozarchitects

Beatrix Potter: Old Mr Pricklepin

Yet another new to me image by Beatrix Potter in 1905. Old Mr. Prickly Pin, later renamed Mr. Pricklepin. A hedgehog wearing shoes! How quaint.

OLD Mr. Pricklepin

⁠has never a cushion to

⁠stick his pins in,

His nose is black and his

⁠beard is gray,

And he lives in an ash stump

⁠over the way.

Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes.

Quinoa Muffins Recipe

This recipe for quinoa muffins uses leftover dried quinoa (you know that last bit in the box you have that just sits in your pantry for months…), fresh herbs and fruit (this one used plums, but any fruit would work like peaches, blueberries or strawberries). The link is not responding but luckily I included the ingredients. The rest is up to you. xo

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ cup raw quinoa
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 ¼ cups yogurt
½ cup olive oil
½ cup honey
¼ cup basil, or another fresh herb (we used mint!)
1 plum or other fresh fruit

Beauty in The Cotswolds

The Cotswolds, England | @eskimo

The sun on the local yellow limestone homes throughout the Cotswolds is amazing.

Snowshoe Hare

The snowshoe hare, also called the varying hare, or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet. The animal's feet prevent it from sinking into the snow when it hops and walks. Wikipedia

Bird's Eye View

This is such a gorgeous photo. Don't you wonder what the bird is thinking? I hope he's not thinking anything, just soaking up the beauty of the view. via

Perfect Greenhouse + An Appalachian Cottage

Dream on. 

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Cottage in Appalachia.

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I took a road trip in Baby Shark this morning to the Department of Motor Vehicles to return my old license plates and it was wonderful. I left around 10:00 and there wasn't much traffic. It is a trip I usually dread but it was painless in my new car. I am still learning things about it. I didn't even turn on the radio because I wanted total concentration. I was familiar with the route so it went very smoothly. I love the way my Honda handles and we are becoming fast friends.

xo

My New Car

It was an absolutely paralyzing week for me but it ended well with a new car. On Monday my 2002 Chevy Suburban SUV was declared not fit to drive. My mechanic said he could fix the current problem so I left it with him. About 4 hours later he called me and said he would love to make the money on the repair but he feared for my future safety and thought it would be best to get a different automobile. I certainly appreciated his honesty and will hold him in high regard forever.

On Tuesday I was so traumatized I stayed in my pajamas all day wondering where to start. It is very hard to buy a car when you don't have a car, right?

On Wednesday morning I was up with early and started my Internet search. What should I buy? Used or new? I really didn't want to have to learn a new car at all. I looked and looked and looked. Sometime in the late morning, I called a girlfriend who always knows what to do. She said I should least a brand new car for three like she and her husband have been doing. They are on their third lease after owning cars outright in the past.

So I called the closest car dealer, the Honda dealership in Madison. The girl I got was so very helpful and she helped me narrow down my choice by asking me questions and listening to my wants, needs, and wishes. I was mostly interested in cargo space for open house real estate signs. I certainly did not need the third row seats that came with the Honda CRV I initially thought I wanted.

We narrowed it down the the HR-V and they were running a special on the 2019 unsold inventory to make room for the 2020 models. She even brought one to my house for a test drive. WOW, talk about customer service! I drove it back to the dealer ship and loved it. It took a couple of hours in the office for all the paperwork but I drove away with a 3 year lease with 10,000 miles per year allowed miles. I don't think I will have a problem with this since there are days I never leave the house and I never go very far. So on Wednesday late afternoon I had a new car. Since then I have driven on one nice day, one rainy day, and today I drove it in the snow. Tomorrow (Sunday) there will be ice and rain.

This is a photo I found online in Google Images. Click to enlarge.

I got this color, Modern Steel, with black or very dark gray cloth seats and interior. I have all-wheel drive and a back up camera. My car has a key instead of that button start and I'm glad. The key has buttons to lock and unlock. The back seats go down very easily for a full flat cargo space that is huge. It has been trial by fire all week but I am confident I made the right choice. It was pretty painless too. They took care of everything for me. Plates, insurance card, registration, etc. All those things you usually have to do yourself when you buy a new car. I am donating my old car to the local fire department. 

Sorry I have been absent for a while. Now you know why. xo

This is Baby Shark on Sunday after I shoveled the snow on the driveway and moved her so the front could continue melting in the sun. She was so easy to clean off!

Detail of her shark fin with my cottage in the background.

Snow.Bunny

This has got to be the most charming photograph of a snow bunny ever! via

Great Laundry Room with Old Sink

I especially love the vintage porcelain sink with built-in drainboard. It looks perfect in this wonderful laundry room. The wall drying rack is nice too. via

Gorgeous Marble Bathroom

I love the huge floor to ceiling marble tiles surrounding the window opposite the tub. The large square marble floor tiles are gorgeous too. It's a lovely room in all respects, isn't it? via

My Kitchen Today

I had some good sunlight shining on my farm table after lunch today. I had three pots of rosemary plants overwintering on the counter where my TV used to be but they died from neglect during the Christmas season. Thankfully, I still have a giant plant that is thriving in my pantry. Yesterday I moved some cookbooks to that spot and I'm loving the new look. I had an old wooden bookstand that I could never find a use for -- until yesterday and I'm so glad I didn't donate it. I moved all the cookbooks I reach for first to this location and I'm going to make pumpkin muffins with raisins later today thanks to the new area. Click photo to enlarge.

New year, New look.

Wonderful Greenhouse Interior

I love every detail of what I can see of the interior of this greenhouse. The door is especially beautiful. via Click photo to enlarge and swoon.

Winding Path on My Property

I took this photo over the weekend when the fog had almost lifted. It seemed the perfect photo to write on with my Apple Pencil. Watch a demonstration of the Apple Pencil here.

My Snowdrops are Starting

I took this photo on Saturday and was shocked to see a large clump of snowdrops emerging. They usually don't start until February. There is a lot of very cold weather coming and I hope they can withstand it. They are such dear little things and unusually hardy too. Fingers crossed. xo

New Year Goals

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This made me laugh.