More Laura Stoddart Art

I ran across an empty card box in my attic office today, and look what I found. I knew I liked this artist and had some of her artwork already. I used my scanner to show you this clever birthday party invitation. I don't remember ever sending out this card so maybe it was always an empty box filled with buttons or other smalls at a garage sale. Anyway, I will keep it in one of my sewing drawers and find a use for it. xo

Yesterday's Dahlia After My Evening Walk

I worked outside almost all day yesterday and was amazed at how much I accomplished. I got a good photo at day's end of a dahlia for those of you who aren't tired of seeing them. I am glad to have something personal to offer since time is limited this morning because I have to look like a real person today instead of a farm hand for an office meeting. The latter is my preferred mode of dressing. I donate lots of my things on a regular basis but never old clothes because I wear them until they are threadbare and then they go in the rag bag after I remove the buttons. You can't get any real work done in good clothes and I was trained as a child to change into play clothes so I wouldn't ruin my good things and I still do it. On the days I stay "dressed up" I accomplish nothing constructive once I get home. So now I do the opposite; I wear work clothes at home and change into better things to go out. xo

My Kitchen This Morning

I took this photo of my kitchen standing in the doorway next to my attic door and this viewpoint shows my ceiling beams and lighting fixture as well as the shiplap boards. This was 2 rooms (a dining room and small galley kitchen) when I purchased my cottage in 2001. The attic space above was too low to stand up so I decided to incorporate it into my country kitchen. These beams are old floorboards from that space and I have never regretted this decision. The cabinet top over my stove in the corner was the old ceiling height and if I had not vaulted the ceiling I wouldn't have been able to stand my tall case clock anywhere. This was a happy accident. August is half over and I still have so much to do. Onward and upward! xo

Click here for Other views of my kitchen showing the ceiling.

Side View of My Hanging Files

This is the final view of my hanging file so you can see the shape of the file boxes. You are also allowed to peek into my living room in a seldom seen corner.

Thank you to Lisa Smith for identifying this artist as LAURA STODDART 

https://www.laurastoddart.com/

Her website is wonderful.

I used my scanner this morning to duplicate a group of gardeners I liked on a page I ripped out of a magazine. I've always liked this unknown artist and his long-legged characters.

It's nice and cool today and all of my windows are wide open once again. Happy Sunday. xo

Attic Door Closed in My Cottage

This is a portion of the hallway showing my attic door closed and the coat closet door closed and a tiny bit of the window opposite.

Here is a side view. The weekend is in full swing and so is my cleaning/ organizing/ rearranging frenzy. I'm enjoying it and am determined to keep it up until I run out of steam. Enjoy your weekend too. xo

Yesterday's Organizing Find

Thursday seems to be my lucky day to find things to make my life easier when I donate items and shop at the same charity's retail outlet. Yesterday I found this metal hanging file to go on the back of my attic's batten door. I usually have the stairs piled with things that have to go up to be shredded or filed away. I usually have the half basket full of mailing labels I have ripped off the junk mail and I will still use it for the small ones. But now I have a place for the full-size sheets to be destroyed. I try to shred every single item with my name and address on it to prevent identity theft. I surprised myself by hanging it today instead of just propping it against a wall for ages as I have been known to do. I have a closed attic and I had to go outside to take this photo through a raised window. I couldn't back up enough in the hallway to get the full door and staircase. I can't believe how perfect it is. The area to the left is my living room's fireplace wall and my kitchen's huntboard wall is to the right. Happy Friday. I am late in publishing my daily post because I was invited out to have breakfast with friends. Happy Friday. xo

My Guilty Pleasure: The Donna Reed Show on Decades

The Donna Reed Show comes on in my area on DECADES from 9am until 10am and I always switch to that channel if I'm home. I think it's on MEtv too. Since cutting the cord I am definitely stuck in the 1950s with my Air Antenna and commercials unless I'm watching a PBS channel. That's fine with me because I'm finding the commercials healthy because I jump up and do quick tasks while they are playing. It reminds me of my childhood days when my mother and I would jump up and rush to the kitchen to finish cleaning up and rush back when a program came back on asking, "Did we miss anything good?" to my dad and brother. 

I found this photo in a NewYorkTimes article entitled: 

Back When Mother, Too, Knew Best.

I just love that all the "living" was done in the living room including dancing with music from the record player in the corner when teenagers came over. There was no rec room or den. The kitchen was for breakfast and lunch as well as ironing, and paying bills. The family ate in the dining room most nights. I don't recall any episodes with a TV set. There are 8 seasons in all from 1958. Try it, you'll like it. Yup, I'm stuck in the 50's and loving it! xo

Before There Were Patios, We Sat On The Grass

I took this photo at a realtor open house near my cottage.

The dwelling was a caretaker's cottage and the grounds were fabulous. Who needs a patio when you have vintage wicker furniture and a beautiful lawn? The cottage was delightful with no central air and was really untouched since it was built. It had always been maintained and lived in and was being offered for rent. The outdoor furnishings were included and there was garage/barn for storage. There were custom waterproof covers for the chairs to protect them from the rain. The open house was years ago as are my pics. Due to Covid, there are very few (if any) open houses these days. Just virtual tours and private showings by appointment.

Cutting Garden Diagram

This is the 2021 cutting garden belonging Anya, the garden fairy, arranged with the lowest in front and the tallest in back. She is so inspiring and a real hands-on DIY gardener. She grows most of her flowers from seeds and she is fun to watch on Instagram @anya_the garden_fairy xo

Irish Lemon Pudding Recipe

I bookmarked this recipe because it calls for ingredients I always have on hand very little sugar. It's almost like a lemon meringue pie and is adapted from an authentic Irish recipe in the cookbook pictured below. I'm a true lemon🍋 lover and buy lemons in bulk and always have them in my refrigerator crisper drawer. Limes, not so much, except in limeade.

Irish Traditional Cooking by Dariana Allen

This link has a preview of the book and the history behind it.

Recipe and images found here along with the cookbook information. Happy baking. Enjoy! xo

Natural Pest Control Has Wings

Barn Owls have the best ♡ shaped faces.

Shy barn owlet peeking out.

It's a lot to read but this article is very rewarding if you are at all concerned about pesticides on your fruit or in your wine. Fruit growers in California have begun putting up nest boxes in their orchards and vineyards and letting the occupants help with pest and insect control. They are finding the birds are outperforming the pesticides and I find that to be quite thrilling. I always enjoy Penelope Bianchi's owl videos on Instagram showing her barn owls bringing vermin back to the nest box to feed their young. Of course, bluebirds in nest boxes help with insect control as do other small birds.

I have two more dahlia photos awaiting processing which I will add to this post later. I have to transfer them from my Nikon camera on my attic computer which has a card reader. I am waiting for my generator to come on for the weekly 15 minute test cycle before I turn on the computer. I'm glad so many of you are still enjoying my cottage flower photos. xo

The green background seems to fighting the green dahlia foliage of this Black Velvet beauty in my backyard.

I enlarged this dahlia by cropping out all but the flower. It's the same photo I posted yesterday minus the rooster.

Lovely Porch

Old houses with porches are always fun viewing and this one is the perfect place to sit and chat without being is direct sun. I'm a shade lover myself. Have a great weekend and check back later for a dahlia photo. xo

As promised, here's another dahlia with one of my roosters in the background. I still enjoy watching the buds open, making every day a treat. I'm glad they aren't opening all at once. xo 

Wonderful Beehive in the Form of A French Country House

 I wonder if the bees🐝 know how lucky they are or were? Isn't this beehive wonderful🐝? I would never have guessed this replica of a French Country House was a beehive, would you🐝? The honey would have to be very special and the person who designed and build this structure should be celebrated because this is folk art at its best! It looks as if this house replica is being displayed indoors, saving it from weather damage. Nice! via Reminds me a little of the Early American Dollhouse I blogged about in 2010.

I surprised myself yesterday when I mowed the front in the morning and the back in the afternoon with my walk behind mower. Today I will do the field and more with my riding mower and more tomorrow. Happy Friday!

Landscape Perfection

This is ideal, isn't it? Pick one area of your property to be perfect and let the rest go natural. I love this landscape design, don't you?🌿 photo source

Friendship Token

The back of a Victorian 1883 Liberty Nickel.

I love the penmanship that was somehow etched into the metal looking as if it were done with a single stroke. I love the two engraved hands  symbolizing the friendship. source

♡ F + B ♡

Joan Didion's Kitchen

Vogue Magazine 1972

I never would have pictured this kitchen belonging to Joan Didion. It appears she's a real cook and this surprises me because she is so very thin  and I just never imagined her cooking. I love the wire baskets, the herb pots holding up the cookbooks, and her recipe cards in a real box!❤️

UPDATE: Thanks to PAM here is the article she posted in the comments. The 100 Greatest Home Cooks of All Time and Joan Didion is near the top of the list. Who knew? Thanks, Pam❤️

Your Dog & A Gardening Poster

Here is another Illustrated Quote I made long ago and posted back in December 2010 so newer followers probably haven't seen it. 

The seed planting posture made me laugh. I use this position too when I have on my "good" clothes and don't want to get my knees dirty when weeding. Poster image found on Pinterest.

Hello, August -- Gather Your Rosebuds

First published on my blog back in 2008

New version of this etching from my Royal Book of Crests showing what a difference a thin black border can make. It's not that obvious when you view it on a computer and in the full version of my blog with the gray background. But it makes all the difference in the world when you see it in the email version if you subscribe or in the mobile version if you are viewing on an iPad or your phone. August always make me want to hold on to each day in the last month of summer and gather all the buds I possibly can before the leaves start falling.

xo

My Bookshelves & One More Dahlia

It's hard to show you anything but dahlias so here is a detail of the bookshelves in my bedroom.

And ONE MORE dahlia, shot this morning in my front garden. Have a great weekend. xo

Dahlia Day 7-- Fully Open

Overnight raindrops were still on the first dahlia of the season this morning around 9:00. We had very hard rain for about an hour at dusk last night. This variety has very substantial stems and stalks so no damage was done.

The shape has change dramatically from flat on the back to being rounded from the back view.

A profile view showing ball form.

Other side.

Front view showing the holly-shaped leaves and stems. I have decided this is a BLACK SATIN dahlia.

The limelight hydrangea I rooted from my mother plant in the back yard is very sturdy this year. Last year the stems were wimpy and couldn't support the blossoms so I cut it back to the ground. This year the stems are sturdy and the big blossoms are standing straight and strong. You really can't kill this shrub no matter what you do. Sometimes a severe pruning is just what the doctor ordered.

xo

Copper Cookware Love + Dahlia Day 6

I hope this kitchen has a full time copper polisher and I'm sure it does because it belongs to Martha Stewart. This lifetime collection is amazing and so very beautiful. I need to do some metal polishing myself, both silver and copper. Dust and tarnish are my personal indoor housekeeping enemies.  View the slideshow and see 14 photos.

Martha and the Art of Collecting Copper Cookware 

See my own copper pots HERE and HERE.

See an old post of mine about how I polish my brass and copper HERE.

Day 6 -- I got down low enough with my camera that the nibbled petals don't show too much along the top edge. Pam wanted to see the center and there are petals in that location still in the process of opening. I honestly thought it was going to be a center like that of a daisy but I think eventually the center will disappear. We shall see! xo

Dahlia Day 5 + New Ones

Miss Dahlia it is fully formed and an insect has nibbled away at some of the outer tips. The center has virtually disappeared. Now I know to pick them earlier and have them open fully inside the house. 

This one is blooming in the back yard and it's a beauty too and has some companion buds.

I really don't want to cut it since it is also a first bloom for the back yard but I'll keep an eye out for insect damage.

I was able to get in some quality mowing yesterday afternoon late when it was all shaded. Last night it rain again and I will wait a day or two before doing the front since there are two sunny days coming up with no rain or thunder showers. xo

Limelight Hydrangea + Dahlia, Day 4

When you read the label on a limelight hydrangea as seen in the right background, please believe it when it says the mature size can be up to 8' x 8'. All the rain we have had this season made mine get that large and I don't think there's any stopping it from getting even taller. Last year, I pruned it from the bottom to encourage height. I want it to become more of a tree so the deer can't reach it. They have begun to nibble recently so it needs to get even taller. They munched a little on the Lacecap too. I am especially pleased with my grocery store geraniums in the planter against the window wall. They are blooming their hearts out.❤️

Here we go with day 4 of my dahlia that is supposed to get to be 4 feet tall but I think it's a little taller. I think it will open up a little more around the center before it is fully "in bloom" and I can stop boring you with its beauty. When I look at the plant from inside the house through my living room window, it looks jet black with a yellow dot in the middle. As you get closer you see the deep red tones.♡🤎♡ I am so behind in my mowing and seriously must get out there this week.😩 

xo

Foggy Morning + Dahlia Bud's Day 3

The morning fog is the result of last night's rain and an already hot Monday morning. I watched Miss Potter again last night on Hoopla, a free movie service powered by my library card. That is a movie you can watch over and over and love more each time.

Here we have Miss Dahlia on Day 3. I couldn't be happier with this color which is a dark burgundy that looks almost black in a certain light. If all the tubers turn out to be this variety, I will be thrilled. This site is a good one if you want to learn more about dahlias. xo

Here is is after lunch when all the rain and dew drops were burned off by the sun. It gets prettier every time I walk past.

Dahlia Bud Opening: Day 2

My first year with dahlias is just starting to happen. I took this photo a few minutes ago on Sunday morning after an overnight rain. This is day two of my first bud beginning to open.

The plant is taller than my old boxwood and still growing. I was given a box full of tubers and planted them all not knowing whether or not they were viable and with no idea of the color. I think most of them came up but the heights are all different. I will be sure to pull them up before the first killing frost and store them over the winter. I will keep posting this particular bud as it opens more each day. See yesterday's post on Instagram for day one in the opening process. xo

Moving Bathtub in Switzerland

Click to view: This is the most bizarre thing I have seen in a long time, maybe forever.

It is a moving bathtub on a rail, like a railroad car, that goes outside overlooking a backyard. I was going to try to copy it but it's better viewed in the link above. So very strange😱