Jane Austen Quote + A Green Zinnia

I couldn't agree more.

"They are much to be pitied who have not been given a taste for nature early in life. Jane Austen. via

Here is another Envy Zinnia. It looks more like a Dahlia and is quite different from my last Envy post. I am so pleased my seed packet contained more than one variety. They don't seem to mind the numerous fierce rainstorms or the intense heat. The are still standing straight and tall. They don't need to be babied and I like that! xo

Handmade Pitcher for Watering Plants

I went to an antiques show last week to benefit a local firehouse.

The firemen's wives had their own booth full of donated goods with inexpensive prices. The lady that sold this to me said she knew the lady that made it and the big funky spout was for watering plants. The leaf design is on the reverse too. I have plants in every window up in the attic and the blue and white was perfect with my curtains, so I bought it for $5.00 and love it. It's ever so much nicer than the plastic squeeze bottle I had been using. Smile.

Gorgeous Courtyard / Patio

How very lovely. I love the light blue doors, the white stucco, the patterned brick floor with stone mosaic center, the large potted plants and the furniture. Did I miss anything? This is outside living at its best. via  Happy First Day of August!

Chintz Fabric is Back

I adore this entire room!

Lovely!

Gorgeous. All of it.

images House & Garden UK

Click on the link above for more photos using Chintz fabrics. I picked my three favorites to show you. Chintz never went out of style in England and it's coming back here, just like wallpaper. Now that all the people with wallpaper have removed theirs, at great expense, because the realtors told them to, it's making a big comeback! Go figure.

Attic Bedroom Under the Eaves

I have never seen a doorway like this, have you? It is much more interesting than a dormer would have been. Eaves, toleware, and toile. Nice! I like it. image: Cozy Cottage Bedrooms Better Homes and Gardens

Vintage Pull Toy Rescue Today

I rescued this darling vintage pull toy in the original paint from a chance garage sale today. It has an original paper label on the bottom too and it was made in Bayshore, New York by A MERRY MAKER. It could be a baby duck but I'm calling it a baby chick because of the pointed bill. A small child would probably have more fun pulling it and making Quack Quack sounds though. I put it on Instagram too -- See all 6 photos here. I am looking forward to the final episode of ENDEAVOUR tonight on PBS. See you tomorrow. xo

Two Portrait Paintings

I collect miniature portraits and posted this one on Instagram recently.

There is a lock of hair on the reverse side of the locket.

Portrait of a young boy by Lillian Cotton 1913

I adore smocked children's clothing.

I acquired this painting years ago on a "left bid" at a local auction house that isn't around any more and I really miss it. You have to to to New York City to see and touch auction items in person these days. Selling or buying on-line is another option. I went to an antique show sponsored by a country fire house this week and it was a fun day. I saw some lovely things there too.

Enjoy the weekend. It finally stopped raining last night and the entire weekend looks grand for the last weekend in July. xo

Symmetry in My Living Room

This is the living room wall that is between my French doors that lead out to my balcony overlooking the rear of my property. I almost got the perfect symmetry I was aiming for with my iPhone on a tripod. Enjoy your weekend between the rain showers and thunderstorms if you live in New Jersey. The weather for Sunday is supposed to be nice, fingers crossed.

Pie Crust Sampler

This is a clever way to map out an 8-slice pie so that each person gets a different decoration. via

My Green Zinnias

My first chartreuse zinnia called ENVY opened up this morning on an overcast day. Of all the flowers on my hot balcony, which gets direct sun for much of the day, these plants are doing best of all in a big round clay pot that is somewhat shallow. They are heat-loving annuals that grow straight and tall. I posted this photo on Instagram this morning and people are loving it.

Here's a photo of the seed packet. Next year I want to plant them earlier than I did this year and might even start them indoors and transplant them when the weather is warm. The note on the back of the seed packet says "Transplant outdoors after last frost. Zinnias do not benefit from being planted early; wait for warmer weather". I sowed my seeds way too late but better late than never, right?

I edited my photo a little more to get rid of the green reflections on the lower portion. I use the iPhone edits and then go to my Snapseed App (free download for iPhone and Android) for final perfection 😎

A Fantastic Kitchen

via

I like everything I see in this kitchen. It's a big one but it seems to be well designed. More than one person could work here and not get in the way of the other(s), I can't really see the sink in the marble island, just the faucet. I like the window over the farm sink, the oriental runner, the wooden floor, the Wolf commercial range, the beams and everything else. I like the white cabinets and the steel windows too. Wish I could see the rest of the room but I'm sure I would like it.

The weather today was very strange with torrential rain for five minutes, and then it would quit for five minutes. Repeat. This was all morning long. The sun came out in the afternoon but more rain is coming in the wee hours of the morning. Big wind is starting up now. Off to close all the windows. See you tomorrow. Sleep tight. xo

Cake with Flag Icing

I love this cake! The next holiday with a flag theme is Memorial Day in September. That will give you a little over a month to figure out how to do this. The cake stand makes it look like a straw hat decorated like a flag. via

My Vintage Singer Sewing Machine

I posted these two pictures on Instagram today because so many people wanted to know what sewing machine I was using. The decal on the front says it was manufactured in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Don't you love things that were made in the USA back when things were made to last instead of being thrown away? I believe the term is "planned obsolescence" and I don't like it one bit. I still prefer having things repaired whenever possible.

The instruction booklet says the Slant-O-Matic was the greatest sewing machine ever built! And I would have to agree. I can remember my mother saving up S&H Green Stamps for her first electric Singer. That's the only brand we ever had. We had an old treadle machine too and I loved sewing on it as a child. The next page of this booklet says ©1961. I think I bought mine a little later than that but it was still the most current model at the time. It is all metal construction and is not computerized. The decorative stitches are all gear driven. It is nicknamed The Rocketeer because of its futuristic mid-century modern design. I guess it would be called Retro now.

I have this Olive Oyl cartoon saved on my phone. I love texting it back when I receive a text that is worthy of this response.

Curtain with Red Geranium

Sunday morning sunshine in window with geranium.

It rained all night and was very windy too. Before it started yesterday, I put a red geranium in the first window I see when I go up the attic stairs. This is the way it greeted me when I went up to open the windows this morning. Thank you for all of your wonderful comments. 

Now I will tell you more. I had originally intended to do only one panel for each window, like a roman shade completely collapsed. Well, that didn't work at all. Too skimpy and not full enough to tie back in one direction, and they made the room too dark. Back to the drawing board to make three more. I have never made roman shades and didn't want to learn. I had no idea what I was going to use to tie back the double panels. I tried various twines, ropes, ribbons, etc. but was too lazy to make them from the same fabric at this point (burnout was just around the corner). Then I discovered a new roll of 3/4" white twill tape and that was the answer. I used white chair glide pins to anchor them. The white looks perfect from the outside too, matching the lining material. It was an evolutionary process, not planned the way it turned out. I could never be a decorator for anyone else. How would you explain process this to a client? Now that it's finished, I wouldn't change a thing. I sometimes cook this way too. What's for dinner? No idea. Start chopping an onion and see what happens. Not planned but delicious. Have a great Sunday. xo

New Curtains I Sewed for My Attic

What an adventure I had this week making curtains for my third floor home office/work room. This is where I have my sewing room and ironing board as well as two PC computers. One is an iMac and the other is an old Windows XP computer.

I moved my sewing machine next to the last window and I really like it here. I worked today rearranging the part of the room you see in the ten photos I am posting today. The rest of the room is is wreck but I will slowly get it just the way I want it.

This is a view showing one of the windows closed. I created a monster when I started this project. Right away I had to take out the screens and wash them in hot soapy water outside. Then I had to clean the windows inside and out. Thankfully, they are tilt windows so it wasn't hard at all.

This is a view to the way back.

This pic shows the white twill tape tie backs. In the winter when it's freezing outside I can remove and let the curtains hang shut so there won't be so much heat loss downstairs as the warm air rises and hits the cold window panes. If I'm sewing and need more natural light, I'll just tie back the ones beside my machine.

Here is a close up of the wonderful designer fabric. It is woven in a damask pattern and it's the same on the reverse side. I am so thrilled I found four panels of long draperies that I remade for my little windows. They were double lined too. One layer of white flannel for insulation and the white cotton lining material.

Here is a view of the wall behind my Singer. The TV on a vintage artist's stand was for sculpting and now my TV and DVD player use it. I don't have my cable working in the attic and I mostly listen to NPR up there. The baseboard heat is on this wall too for warmth if I sew when it's cold.

Another view. Are you bored yet? This shows my comfy chair pulled up to the machine.

This might be a repeat.

My trusty Singer I've had since about 1965 and it is still simply wonderful and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I had to have the bobbin winder repaired several years ago but otherwise, it has never had a problem. I had a cabinet for it at one time but I sold it to a friend long ago. It works fine on this makeshift stand that is easy to move around. I love my pin cushion with the clear plastic wrist strap. I have a red one too but the bracelet part broke and I've been using it with elastic that needs to be replaced. I found this blue one in a drawer this week and was so excited. It's better than my red one because it is filled with metal shavings that sharpen the pins every time you poke one in. It says made in Japan so it's very old. I always look at sewing supplies at house sales.

That's it for my this project that I started on Tuesday morning. My windows look so nice from outside too, just like the cozy cottage that it is. Enjoy the weekend. It was overcast all day and has just started to rain. xo

Cat with a Sewing Project

I have been busy up in the attic sewing curtains for three windows and I have been enjoying myself immensely. This kitten sewing with a red hot needle made me laugh. Will post photos when I'm finished. I found four long panels of lined sewn curtains in a big blue and white checked fabric and I had remake them for my windows. They were double lined and will make my attic much warmer this winter. More later. xo

King George VI and Princess Elizabeth

I love finding vintage images I've never seen before. via

Delightful Mud Room

The view outside the Dutch door is amazing and I don't see mud anywhere. Crisp Architects NY.

Butterfly: Photo + Video

I could never determine whether this was a butterfly or a moth. It stayed in place for a very long time flapping its wings and staying still. My still photo is shown above (click to enlarge). I posted my video on Instagram yesterday. See it here. Click on the white arrow to start the movement of the wings. I love the antennae that look like threaded beads.

Winnie The Pooh Map Illustration

Winnie the Pooh Map Illustration Sets a Major New Auction Record

This original illustration sold for $570,000 and is the most expensive book illustration ever sold. Drawn in 1926 by illustrator E.H. Shepard, the map depicts the homes of beloved characters from the story, such as Christopher Robin, Pooh Bear, Piglet, Owl, Eeyore, and Kanga and Roo, in addition to other local spots.

An illustration of Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh walking through the Hundred Acre Wood, which sold at Sotheby's London. The illustration was offered alongside four other original Winnie the Pooh drawings, also created by Shepard, all of which have been out of the public eye for nearly 50 years. Combined, the five illustrations were sold for a total of $1.2 million, though they were estimated to only fetch between $412,000 and $584,000. 

Read the entire article here. Photos from Sotheby's

Cloudscape from My Balcony

I have the most amazing sky views, in all kinds of weather, from my balcony. via Thankfully, my heatwave is over and I'm back to having all the windows open with birdsong streaming inside. xo

Video: Stars and Stripes Forever

Be prepared for foot tapping. I adore this family affair. These siblings are having such fun! If you cannot see the video below, here's the link.

Dill Explosion at My Cottage

Dill is probably my favorite summer herb. I love it in tuna salad, potato salad, on cucumbers, in my yogurt, on salmon, etc. It's beautiful too. via

Tiny Greenhouse

Sweet. Tiny, but this little greenhouse must fit the needs of the owner. I'm pretty sure it was built from found materials. via

Terracing at its BEST

Lovely treatment of a hillside.

A View of My Living Room using Tripod

When I leave my kitchen sink, this is what I see as I walk into my living room. My two French doors, frequently photographed but not shown here, are on either side of the big comfy sofa and both lead to my balcony. The door going down to the basement (not shown) is on the immediate left. The area with my fireplace, not shown, is in front of the sofa and table lamp on the left. I closed the doors leading down the hall to my bedroom, guest/dressing room, and full bath. It took me a long time to discover these doors. In everyday life, the left portion is a door to my linen closet and the right-hand door is for all of my mops, brooms and other items stored a utility closet. When you open them simultaneously, they come together to make a double door for closing off the private areas. The man who built my cottage had a lot of ingenuity and I love this clever feature. 

We had rain overnight and this morning and the heatwave is over. Tomorrow is going to be fabulous with 79° as the high temp and a low of 55° for Saturday night. Doesn't that sound wonderful? Hope you can look forward to a great weekend too. xo

Breakfast Room / Sitting Room + View

Charlotte, VT, breakfast room with a view. TruexCullins Architecture + Interior Design. via

Yes, please. I can see myself in that chair with ottoman. Isn't that the best view ever? Swoon!

HAPPY JULY 4th 2018

Things are so much cooler since we had a torrential rain yesterday. You can see the mist coming back in the distance because the earth was hotter than the air.

Enjoy the fireworks tonight.

Remember this? It is an old composition I made on my kitchen counter with cherries and a flag made from safety pins and colored beads.

Here is another fireworks display. 

HAPPY JULY 4th