My Bluebirds are Building a Nest and MORE

It's a good day when the first thing you see when you first wake up is a bluebird sitting on the edge of a birdbath. His mate was entering my birdbox and they both have been busy since then setting up housekeeping. I couldn't be more thrilled. There are birds of all kinds scurrying around the lawn looking for worms, mostly robins. I have seen bluejays, cardinals, house wrens, mourning doves and chickadees too. The photo above is from Instagram and I've been saving it on my phone because I love it.  See my previous posts about bluebirds here.

My oven is preheating, the oatmeal is soaking, and I'm almost ready to stir up another batch of Oatmeal muffins that are getting rave reviews. I added 1/2 cup raisins this time.

This recipe really is forgiving. Somehow I turned off the oven when turning off the timer for the 15 minute soak. When I was ready to put my heavy vintage blue enameled cast iron muffin pan in the oven, the temperature registered 176° but I put them in anyway and turned the oven on and set it to 425° and set the timer to 25 minutes. They turned out fine and I took them out before the timer went off. I left them in the muffin pan for 10 minutes just in case. They are so good with the raisins!

This made me laugh.

Found on Instagram @retrieverloverz

Oatmeal Muffins Using Minimum Ingredients

Here is a photo of one of my oatmeal muffins on a cupcake stand, a Christmas gift from Stacey Snacks long ago. Here is the muffin recipe I found online. I really like it because it is so flexible for these times. It uses a minimum amount of sugar and oil and there are numerous substitutions if you are out of anything. Uses no baking powder, only baking soda. Almost all of the ingredients you will probably already have on hand plus there are many add-ons too for variety. This is just the basic recipe and my muffin is a basic one too, but delicious.

Ingredients: start preheating oven set to 425°
1 cup milk (almond, soy or rice milk works great too) I used my homemade soymilk yogurt.
1 cup quick-cooking oats or 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (off-brand works perfectly and they are no different from the name-brand) I used old-fashioned oats
1 egg (or 1/4 cup of mashed banana or 1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 2-3 tablespoons of water) I used an egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil or 1/4 cup canola oil I used Avocado Oil. Otherwise I would have used oiive oil.
1 cup all-purpose flour (or wheat flour) I used whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white sugar I used organic sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon I also added 1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°f (220°c). Grease or spray 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners. I just oiled my muffin pan with avocado oil and a pastry brush.
In a small bowl (I used a 4-cup pyrex measuring cup), combine milk and oats. Soak for 15 minutes. I used this same cup for the other wet ingredients after the 15 minute soak to save dirty bowls.
In a separate bowl, beat together egg and oil; stir in oatmeal mixture. In a third bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, sugar, baking soda and salt. Stir flour mixture into wet ingredients, just until combined. I never sift anything but stir with a wisk. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups until cups are 2/3 full.
Bake in preheated 425° oven for 15-25 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. 20 minutes was perfect in my oven.

300,000 Free eBooks: Free w/ Library Card

read entire message here

There's good news for all the e-bookworms out there. The New York Public Library released an app today that allows anyone with a library card (and an iOS or Android phone) to "borrow" any of the 300,000 e-books in the collection.

It's called SimplyE and will allow you to read books on your phone, but beware, there might be a wait list for some popular titles, including the Game of Thrones series. (Check out the Harry Potter books, quick!) The online collection will continue to grow, and there are Kindle and web browser versions in development. But, for now, take a break from Pokemon Go and read to your digital heart's content.

All you have to do is download the app called SimplyE

I have already downloaded it from The Apple App Store. So this is what the IOS version looks like. If you have an android phone you can download it too. I think you have to do it thru Google Play. 

I hope Audio books come next. Take care and stay busy. xo

Help is On The Way

Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba. is donating 500,000 coronavirus testing kits and one million protective face masks to the United States. The Chinese billionaire already has pledged 2 million protective masks to European countries.

Read the article in the link below.

https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/14/21179624/alibaba-co-founder-jack-ma-coronavirus-test-kits-masks-us

The Washington Post has a daily free newsletter on coronavirus. I signed up for it and it's very good. I cannot find a link devoted to the newsletter alone but it appears on today's Washington Post article. Look closely and sign up. It's got all the information most of us need.

Look for a black box with the words Sign Up and a circle with a red envelope indicating email and the wording below:
Get our Coronavirus Updates newsletter

Receive the most important developments in your inbox every day. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.

Sign up

I put my outerwear out in the sun to disinfect after I went food shopping yesterday. I put my phone outside too. It's raining today and will be again tomorrow; I'm so glad I went out when I did. There were lots of empty shelves but I got everything on my list. There was no bread and absolutely no canned goods and not much cereal. I keep trying to sign up for InstaCart for home food delivery but I can't make it do what I want so far. The things I want don't seem to come up on the list. Will keep trying and keep you informed.

I am a homebody at heart and I love being at home anyway so my life seems much the same. Friends are checking in with me and that's comforting in case I need them. Be well and hang in there. xo

The Metropolitan Opera is streaming operas FREE during coronavirus closure. Read more here.

Free Digital Concerts - Berlin Symphony. Read more here.

I just found a really darling video of an Australian shepherd giving advice on how to protect yourself from this virus. Follow @my_aussie_gal showing you how. You will have to click on the arrow to start the video. She is the smartest dog ever.

Nine, Ten, A Big Fat Hen

A Big Fat Hen

to brighten your day

via

Best Carriage House Ever!

Best Carriage House Ever!

Photo from Real Estate Listing via GSMLS

The main house in Madison, NJ is amazing too.

Still Life Saturday

Still life with raspberries and cherries
Eloise Harriet Stannard (English 1829-1915)
via

Still life at my kitchen sink.
Posted on Instagram here.
*Baby pilea plant.
*Antique opera glasses for looking out my kitchen window in style.
*Antique porcelain funnel.
*Old one-cup porcelain coffee filter.
*Happy Easter rabbit dish picked up at a resale shop.

Happy Saturday and have a great weekend. xo

We Are All Scared

Charlie Mackesy on Instagram -- follow him if you don't already. His illustrations are wonderful and he has just done a book that looks fabulous 

https://www.charliemackesy.com/ 

Charlie’s first book -- The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse is now available to buy. I love this illustration and find it very comforting, don't you. xo

Handmade Buttonholes

These are the most beautiful buttonholes I have ever seen and are definitely a lost art. They are too lovely to even cover up with a button. The twine is gorgeous! via

My Old Clothes Line with Webster

As I mentioned in this old post, I lost all the trees to the right of my garage/barn after Superstorm Sandy but I still have the white pine on the left. Webster the Wonder Dog used to love watching me hang out the wash. All I need is a new post and I could have a clothes line again. I still manage quite well with drying things outside on wooden clothes racks and my balcony railing so all is not lost. In the winter, the clothes racks are perfect in my furnace room for all but large top sheets which I dry on my balcony. I love sleeping on sheets that have been dried outside and I can honestly report that sunshine leaves an aroma on them like no other. When I enter my bedroom after putting on clean linens, the whole room smells like sunshine. The items dried inside have no aroma at all because I use a detergent with no scent.

The sun can kill the Corona Virus bacteria that can live on fabric for 6-12 hours. Normal laundry detergent should kill it on items in the washing machine. Winter clothes that can't be washed can be put out in the sun to kill the virus. Continue to wash your hands often and be smart about being out in public. xo

PS: I just found an easy recipe for DIY: Homemade Hand Sanitizer

Cutest Little Chick w/ Flower Hat

This darling photo caught my eye this morning after getting up way too early thanks to daylight savings time. I am now ready to go back to bed but dare not. Isn't this little yellow chick darling? xo

via

Waiting for My Daffodils

Title: Daffodils. 

Etching, Isabel Saul (early to mid-1900’s)

I am still waiting for mine, The shoots are several inches out of the ground but I don't have any buds yet but it won't be long. via

Daffodils come before the swallow dares, 

and take the winds of March with Beauty.

The Winter's Tale. William Shakespeare.

Snowdrops are So Delightful

This photo doesn't begin to capture the true beauty of a clump of snowdrops along my walk and almost against the foundation at my front door but it will have to suffice. I moved a few more clumps I found in the woods to different locations in the front and back yards. I cannot ever remember doing so much gardening so early in the year and I'm loving it. Hooray for mild winters. All of my snowdrops are the result of just a few clumps I brought from my last house. They are trouble free and they multiply like crazy. The bulbs are very tiny and it is hard to weed around them later in the year without pulling up a few so I try to dump the weeds in certain spots in the woods so I can dig them up again a few years later after the clumps become sizable.

Take care, try to stay healthy, and wash your hands often. The only thing I have stocked up on so far is Bathroom Tissue. I went to Costco yesterday and there was none...the shelves were bare. I went immediately to Wegmans and got what I needed and then some to store away. It's my favorite brand anyway. No panic buying there....yet. xo

My First Hellebore Plant

I had a hard time picking out the perfect first Hellebore and here she is. I put her in the ground right away and topped the soil off with a fresh bucket of wood chips. It rained lightly overnight and I am thrilled with my new shade-loving perennial. The flowers are beautiful when there is nothing else in bloom except the snowdrops. We shall see when they bloom next year. They are also called Lenten Roses and this one is called Glenda's Gloss (Helleborus x 'Glenda's Gloss' PPAF)

I have been transplanting a huge grove of snowdrops I found in my woods where I used to dump my weeds. There is always a bulb or two in the mix and they multiply like wildfire. It's nice to have another flower in the garden before the daffodils are in bloom. 

Hello, March and A Lamb Cake

March came in like a lamb at my cottage. It was 23° when I thought to look at the weather app on my phone but there's no wind. I was thrilled to see a bluebird checking out my bluebird box so hopefully she liked what she saw and is ready to set up housekeeping soon. Fingers crossed.

Do you have a lamb cake mold? No? There's still time to find one and if you do, here's the recipe. I found a link for this mold on Amazon. Be sure to read the reviews about putting wooden skewers in the ears and neck for stability. Happy baking.

The Leap Day Lamb

I posted this in 2012. I added the text to this darling leaping lamb. I plan to work outside on the extra day tomorrow. It's going to be cold but not windy so I will be fine. If you dress warmly for outdoor work, it can be most pleasant. Happy Leap Year Day! xo

Dog Topiary in London

Love this. I saw it on Instagram and just had to post it. One of the comments said she saw this dog topiary in Islington London. It is simply wonderful, isn't it? This post is short but sweet. I had an 8:30 annual eye exam this morning and my pupils are still huge from being dilated. Have a great Friday. xo

California Movie Star's Cottage Home

I love both views of this restored home owned by a movie star we all know. I'm not telling who until you fall in love with these two photos in Architectural Digest. The article is a reprint from 1993. Click here to read it and be amazed. I am usually disappointed in celebrity homes, but not this understated one.

THE PERFECT BEDROOM

I don't recall ever seeing a more perfectly made bed! I could fall asleep between those crisp white sheets in an instant. This bedroom ticks all the boxes and I absolutely love everything in it. via

Rabbit doing Yard Work

I wish I had a bunny to help me clean out all the leaves I didn't get rid of in the fall. I have learned it's best to leave them and wait until spring because wildlife can find things to eat under them. Maybe this rabbit is clearing them away to get at some tender grass to eat. via

Two 19thC Farm Buildings

These two 19th Century farm buildings or ice houses were partially buried for cold storage before refrigeration and are still useful. I photographed them at a Broker Open House on Thursday. They are lovely and are currently being used for storing gardening items.
Have a great weekend.
xo

Kitchen Garden Near My Cottage

I photographed this raised bed kitchen garden all ready for planting on Thursday at a Broker Open House up the street from my cottage. There was a huge fenced garden with raised beds on the other side of the house too. I love the design of this one. It looks just right for herbs and vegetables. I will keep going back to see if anything gets planted since the gorgeous home is now for sale. I love the doggie door too that opens into a mudroom off the kitchen.

Bunny Ears

This bunny looks as if he is on high alert and his ears indicate he has heard something straight ahead. photo credit Rabbits' sense of hearing is their most vital sense. Their large ears can detect sounds from a long way off. But the key to rabbits' hearing ability is their ability to swivel independently. This helps the ears funnel sounds from every direction. More information on their 5 senses here. I never knew their ears swiveled, and independently at that, did you?

The life expectancy of a wild rabbit is much shorter than our domestic pets. In fact, a wild rabbit usually only lives for about a year….sometimes two.

Wild rabbits don't live very long because of a variety of different factors. Disease, harsh winter conditions, lack of food and predators all influence how long the rabbit will live.

Although it seems harsh, this is nature's way of balancing the rabbit population. via

George Eliot Quote: Feeling Safe

Mary Ann Evans, known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era.

I love this quote. via

A set of fine bindings in my antiquarian book collection. See old post here.

Frog Mug

Yet another find from last weekend's estate sale. I have always wanted a frog mug since seeing my first one at a neighbor's house around 1976.

I am a very patient person, aren't I? My patience paid off and I got three frogs instead of a single one in the bottom like my neighbor had and two handles instead of one as well! I posted these photos on my Instagram yesterday so this will be a repeat for some but not all of you.

SWEET LAND movie recommendation

I watched the BEST movie last night on Pluto TV  This is an on-demand movie under the Romance category. There are commercials but they don't detract too much from this utterly charming film produced by Alan Cumming. Elizabeth Reaser is beyond fabulous as young Inge. It is also available on Amazon Prime. It is the sweetest movie and I know you will love it!!!! It is very heartwarming and wholesome too.

SWEET LAND

In the aftermath of World War I, Inge Altenberg (Elizabeth Reaser), an orphan from Snåsa, Norway, arrives in America to a very cold reception. The parents of immigrant farmer Olaf Torvik (Tim Guinee) remain in Norway, where they met her. Dialogue reveals that the four of them have worked out an agreement that allowed her to emigrate to America for the purpose of marrying Olaf. The Minnesota farming village of Audubon, in which her intended husband lives, is horrified to learn that she is a German immigrant with no papers. To make matters worse, she has accidentally obtained membership papers for the American Socialist Party. Scandalized, both the town's Lutheran minister and the county clerk refuse to marry them.

When events lead them to openly cohabit with each other, they find themselves ostracized by the entire town. They are then forced to harvest their crop completely by hand and alone. This particular harvest season brings not only work, but love as well.

Antique Wirework Find

My Valentine to myself. Yesterday's find at an estate sale is so exciting. I love this piece of wirework and will have fun finding things to display in the baskets. Fruit for now. I used the portrait mode on my iPhone for this photo. Have a great weekend.

Gnome Knitting Valentine Hearts

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

via

Double Hearts on Pen and Ink 18thC Family Record

I have this framed family record on a wall in my living room that never gets any sunlight. Sorry about my reflection in the glass. It is hand lettered with pen and ink and the calligraphy is beautiful. Every line is hand drawn.

I especially love the double hearts with the word together in the center. This is the perfect post for Valentine's Day.

First Ever Bluebird Twins

Four eggs (including an unusually large one, lower right) hatched into five chicks—a first report for Eastern Bluebirds. Photo by Gerald Clark. Read the article here. More sad news about the twins here.

If you are a bird lover and don't know about Cornell Labs, you are in for a treat. Homepage here.
Sorry about the poor quality of these photos. They are not mine but I wanted to share this story.

Simpkin 1902 - Beatrix Potter Artwork

Simpkin at the Tailor’s Bedside, c.1902 by Helen Beatrix Potter (English, 1866–1943)

This is yet another illustration that is new to me. It is very charming, isn't it. The tailor of Gloucester appears to be doing needlework in bed and kind Simpkin is bring him a cup of tea. I love the big bed with a window view. The bedding is quite lovely too. xo via

Hot Chocolate Recipes

I like having this recipe for the hot cocoa dry mix. Mine will leave out the crushed peppermint candy and will probably never be served over homemade marshmallows. This recipe is worthy of being framed with the lovely poem around the edges. 
Thank you Karen and Pam for mentioning in the comments that Susan Branch is the illustrator and author of the poem.